“There are many painful truths living and being aware as an American minority. One being the road to reconstruction is hard. But the call for justice reform is a torch that must be carried, a light that cannot be snuffed out. Nothing is going to change until the system is dismantled and reconstructed. Preferably with everyone effected present during the conversations. It can happen. It has to. Policy over everything.”

“As I stated last week, I have been very intentional about diversifying my Instagram feed over the last two weeks. It can be difficult to find diversity in the foodie, food blogger, and homemaker circles on social media, but that’s what we have hashtags for! This week, I would like to share some of my favorite Instagram accounts that are run by Black women.”

A Bridge to Understanding is a community building podcast featuring two friends with very different backgrounds. This podcast seeks to discuss topics that will lead to a better understanding between people who may look different, think different, or have different access to the American Dream. The show offers to bring light into the dark, and often under-discussed topics that shape the American landscape today.

“As August draws closer, I will continue to let myself dream of my baby and their future. I will continue to sing and read to my baby, and remind them that though this world can be dark and filled with selfish people, it also has real beauty and self-giving people as well. I will continue to pray for the health and safety of my baby and all soon to be mothers across the world who are facing the same challenges, or deeper ones, than I am. As scary as COVID-19 is I refuse to let it destroy the joy of the miracle and mystery that motherhood is.”

“Preparing food, to me, is one way that I care for myself: I love the creativity of transforming fresh produce into a delicious meal, as if I were creating a mixed-media art piece. It’s a way of accomplishing one small thing that nourishes and re-energizes me. It’s a way of absorbing and honoring the energy that farmers, farm workers, and gardeners (including myself) have put into growing the food I’m putting into my body.”

“I think it is important to support black owned business, especially at a time like this where people are being divided more and more. Supporting black-owned businesses is not reparations, and it is not enough, but it is a small way that an individual can empower less privileged communities and help lift them up from the many systemic ways that they are oppressed.”

“America, God is not our scapegoat. God did not create these problems; we did. And whether you are holding up the Bible as a magical talisman or whether you think the president is the Antichrist, God wants no part of our partisan fiddling as the nation literally is burning. In another time of national crisis, President Lincoln once said, ‘Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.'”

“When someone is grieving one of the best things to do is just be present. Your presence was felt Three Rivers. I balled afterward and finally regained a sense of peace knowing that so many others care, are willing to have the hard conversations, and take a stand against injustice. After all of the mourning, there was joy.”

“As a fan, as a Little League alum., as a ‘stat nerd,’ baseball has provided me more joy over the years than I can put into words. But for MLB to play ball right now would be greedy, foolhardy, and dangerous; and worst of all, it would be our national pastime sending a terrible message to the rest of the country precisely at the time when we need moral leadership the most. So in the words of a century of Cubs’ fans, I’ll ‘wait ‘til next year.'”