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Have you ever asked yourself this question: At what point in life did I become aware that mental health is a big deal — as big a deal as physical and emotional health? We rush to the side of family members, friends, coworkers, and sometimes even strangers, offering our thoughts and prayers when they are suffering from a physical disease like cancer, or grieving over the loss of a loved one. But what do we do when we realize someone we know is suffering from a mental disorder?

My personal journey is a real-life answer to this…

Since the beginning I AM was there, clothed in garments of light with no darkness in Him. He is the creative architect behind the design for the heavens and the earth. Being the God of universal creation, everything He made was good, perfect, and full of light. He created with love and purpose, reflecting His glory.

Angels are God’s created beings, designed to carry out His desires. There was a time in heaven when one of God’s angels exercised his will against God. Pride and rebellion rose up in his heart, consuming him with Gollum-like intensity. …

VOICES OF THE 21st CENTURY

When pondering my contribution for the next Voices of the 21st Century book, it didn’t take me long to decide to tell a story in the voice of my young grandson.

He was born in March 2020 as the pandemic was spreading throughout the world — as mask-wearing, social distancing, and staying at home become the norm. He was born shortly before the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. He was born into a world where his home country was being plagued by two viruses, one biological and the other systemic.

CAIRO

The decision to write my story…

Color blindness is a handicap,
a poorly constructed ideological excuse
to remain white while blotting out color:
attempting to blot out color on the basis of a lie;
a lie based on the assumption that the
Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement
were enough;
a lie based on the assumption that the election
of a black man as president
means I now live in a post-racial, colorblind society.

The weakness in color blindness is this: In a feeble attempt to blot out color lies a feeble attempt to put a mind at ease, pretending not to see what is…

My younger daughter asked me a profound question as she and her sister recently prepared to protest in Pittsburgh PA, joining others across the nation in a cry for justice on behalf of George Floyd and the black community. She asked if I thought her son, my grandson, would have to march during his lifetime. My grandson is just about three months old. In that moment I had a revelation. My mother protested. I protested. Now my daughters protest. That’s three generations of protesting directly connected to my life alone. …

Back in the summer of 2019, while speaking at a local educational event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I met a woman by the name of Cynthia Devine-Kepner. It was one of those extraordinary encounters where two people just click. Turns out she was a member of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH (Association for the Study of African American Life and History). She in turn introduced me to Ann Mason, who at the time was serving as the president of the Pittsburgh branch. Those two introductions led me to ASALH, a national organization dedicated to carry forth the legacy…