My experience of blackness as a white man is as someone allowed inside a community which is not my own. To members of the Black community, I am a cousin, a friend, an ally, teammate, coworker, and in times past, a romantic partner. Yet, I remain white. What of merit can I say about blackness?

Where to start

The first stop on any white person’s tour of their personal history with race is an acknowledgment that the color of our skin does not present a social barrier. This is the heart of many acts of unintended, but not inconsequential, racism. …

Ignorance can be educated. Of the many reasons for obtaining and maintaining a thorough and unadulterated education, this is the most important. Unlike mathematics, the humanities — which include history — demand repeated and ever-deepening explorations in order to fully understand the why, who, what, when, where, and how. On the surface, some of these questions may appear easily answered. Rest uneasily, they are not.

The true study of history requires more than a mere knowledge of past events. Historical study insists upon a knowledge of anthropology and its subdomains, of the psychology and sociology of the time being studied…

In all my (almost) 38 years on Earth, one individual came close to never receiving my forgiveness. Having not only inserted himself uninvited into my life, the results of his actions detonated my biggest dreams and obliterated my life to the point of rebuilding from foundation. Examining this 15 years later, I realized that somewhere along the way I forgave him.

Yet, this man exemplifies but one of many for whom I boiled a grudge. Stewed silently as they continued to prosper. In no way am I a model for tranquility. For too long, the dark harbor of my being…

If anyone found the rush on toilet paper, et al. absurd, they’ve either never lived through a major storm or failed to view It’s A Wonderful Life. The 49er-like stampede continued from Brisbane to Boston for days on end. Even with strict, retailer-imposed rations in place, aisles of dry goods, dairy, and meat remain lean. The rationale ranges from panic buying to long-term preparedness. Unless one plans on selling ultra soft rolls at twice the price of crude on the net, logic supports both.

From groceries, the world pivoted rapidly to masks and gloves. The need — much less the…

In the span of less than a month, educators across the United States proved their worth in spades. Ixnay the soul-cushing, state tests. Ixnay the cumbersome, formal evaluations. Throw down the gauntlets, get creative, and teach. These marching orders thundered from the highest levels of educational bureaucracy — not without some gnashing of teeth. Yet, teachers, nay educators, rose to the challenge and continue producing some of the most enlightened, invigorating curricula seen in years.

A national, life-or-death crisis forced administrators and politicians to allow these steps. …

Bright lights. Thunderous crowds. Primed competitors. For communities across America, our local high school sports’ teams provide the very essence of unity. Win or lose, these players embody storied pasts and expectant futures. Their feats become the sustaining lore of lives beyond their own. We embrace them with gladiatorial enthusiasm. Thus, the countless sacrifices — late nights, summers, relationships, grades— prove worthwhile.

Don’t they?

LOOKING BACK

From the modern Olympic games forward, coaches encouraged elite athletes to maintain vigilance on a singular skill. Yet, the overwhelming majority of high school student athletes fall well outside this category. …

That Changed His View of Service & the World Forever

Anxiously awaiting takeoff from St. Louis International for Marine Combat Training, the pilot’s announcement of a delay did not help. I craned my head from the aisle seat and stared out at nothing but open runway and a clear, blue sky. Distant storm? This seemed the only possibility… for about 10 minutes.

Shortly, the pilot informed us of a nation-wide ground down. “If you’ve seen the news in the last forty minutes, you understand why” was his only explanation. Seen the news? I hadn’t. …

When Ariel entered my room that morning, I recognized something was wrong. Foremost, she came in long before class during a time when she usually laughed it up in the cafeteria with friends. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she collapsed into the papasan and asked if we could talk. I never expected what came next.

Ariel’s flare for the dramatic stood out among her peers. Was this more boyfriend issues? A jealous rival? Just more middle-school angst? I prepared to meet any of those issues with assurances that everything would be fine. We’d walked this path a few times…