Despite the inevitability of everyone’s cultural cancellation, we still need to go about our lives cancelling any targets who trip and fall into our sight. The challenge is, how to determine whether to gossip, report, file a complaint, or go nuclear and file a lawsuit or talk to the press? So many options for the probability of ruining someone’s life. Well, they brought it on themselves, right?

That said, we can’t excommunicate people for minor violations. What’s the socially punitive equivalent of a speeding ticket? Even twenty-five US dollars is a hardship for far too many people. Excommunication also has…

Admittedly, it’s bizarre to write about the benefits of being friends with white people my whole life — I even married and divorced a white man. I joke that I was raised like a middle class white boy because my education and cultural context resembled that of my lily white peers. I was marginalized growing up less because I was Black and more because my parents were relatively affluent. Key word: relative. I’m an Army Brat with physician parents, and I have enjoyed the privilege of white proximity my whole life. …

I admit it, Roblox is an amazing evolution in gaming. My kid is taking architecture, design, household budgeting, and business administration seriously because of what she’s learning on the incredible platform. I have an account where I join her and her peers in ridiculous gameplay from time to time, and it’s fun. What’s not fun is the obscene amount of hate and racism spewed by other kids in the game.

I’ve written extensively about the details of my child’s racist encounters in Roblox. This piece addresses why Roblox’s struggle to squash the racism may perversely benefit some affected kids. The…

I’ve waited my whole life to become an adult. I think it’s time to give in and acknowledge that I am, I fact, a grown ass humxn. Yet, I feel 25 because I am full of vitality, energy, optimism, joy and joie de vivre. The older I get the more I realize that the gravity of age diminishes over time. I can enjoy most of the benefits of staying on this orbiting planet for the duration — the perks of seniority, experience, and context aren’t lost on me. I also appreciated the hell out of the privileges of youth while…

As an inclusive organizational development researcher, when you put people first, outputs are improved. People who feel supported, included, seen and heard are less stressed, healthier, more joyful, and more free to innovate and be productive. For decades, I’ve been researching and facilitating organizational change through a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) lens. It’s time to revisit work and redefine it as conscious co-creation.

The connotation of the noun ‘work’ is associated with labor, arduousness, and a necessary output with a degree of difficulty. The verb ‘to work’ implies that systems are functioning. I believe that our current conceptualization…

Companies and boardrooms across America are replete with white people, often white men, terrified of losing their seat at the table to a Black person or a gender minority. I’ve witnessed countless confessions affirming this notion in my work as a justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) leader. A recent series of decisions by ESPN left a couple of reporters exposed when a hot mic and recorded video captured white fear of reparations for all to see.

Reparations come in many forms. My favorites include baby bonds, free education, jubilee, and community reinvestment. When people think of reparations, they jump…

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. No, seriously. Marry a few people, date some folx— then let me know which works for you. Here I speak only of what works for me and what I’ve learned on the terrian. I was thrice swindled by the delusion of happily ever after before understanding that I’m nonbinary (enby) and have non-traditional relationship needs. So I traded in the fairytale for a fantasy of my own design — and it’s far more authentic and satisfying.

Here’s my imaginary personal ad (the modern equivalent is what, a dating app bio?). I forgot to…

Droves of companies have reached out to my business looking for qualified employees of color since Black Lives Matter took center stage back in 2020. I work in the justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) field. My team helps companies calibrate inclusion with metrics-based accountability. We do not specialize in recruiting, but its tempting to consider now that formerly under-appreciated demographics are in super high demand — and recruiters can’t seem to find us anywhere.

Companies are under more pressure than ever to hire Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to avoid the appearance of corporate Blackwashing. This is…