This week’s column was really hard to write which means I had to do it. Plus, I’m fairly certain, I’m not alone. I hope you’ll read this one.
“That’s the hardest part. When it comes to hashing it out so we can be siblings again, I’m just not worth it to him. Cutting me out of his life and moving forward was his better option. I don’t think he likes the person I grew up to become and perhaps he prefers the echo chamber that like-minded people can provide.”
for Hispanic Heritage Month I wanted to shine a light in a dark spot and I’m grateful that my husband let me write his story to help do that. I hope you’ll read and share.
“My husband, who is also Hispanic, has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years. He started in accounts receivable and then moved to operations, working first on a manufacturing line. He’s encountered bigotry and racism while forging his own path to upper management. One of his early supervisors thought it was cute to call him “spicktacular,” and she honestly believed she was paying him a compliment. Another manager questioned my husband’s motives when he helped a Spanish-speaking hourly worker write an incident report in English for human resources.
“Now my husband is the plant manager of a local auto manufacturing plant. He is also the only nonwhite manager at his factory. Recently, my husband came home from work with quite a different story. A Hispanic hourly worker approached him to say that because of him, she has an example for her teenage son. She tells her son, “No nomas somos trabajadores.” Which means, “We are not just workers.”
“Workplace representation matters. It not only matters for aspirational employees, but a study from McKinsey and Co. also found that diverse businesses enjoy increased profits as well as better employee engagement, access to talent and consumer insight.”
Read the full column below.
Teaching a class of 25-plus kids requires some uniformity and consistency in expectations for the day to run smoothly. Why then, are people advocating for “parent’s choice” when it comes to school mask mandates?
Read the full column linked below
“Beyond the pandemic deniers, the pushback to getting vaccinated boils down to fear. Fear of rare side effects. Fear of missing work. Mistrust in the vaccine’s speedy approval process, big government, corporate medicine or overall long-term unknowns. This fear prompts justifications for concerns and then settles on a decision that the vaccine is just not worth the trouble. But it is.”
Read the whole column at the link below
“When asked what drove her to see it through, she said that she wanted to be an American citizen like her children and husband. She wanted to show them she could do it and make her family proud. Manuela also very much wanted the right to vote. On July 14, 2017, she was sworn in as an American citizen.
“The opposition to refugees and immigrants is strong, but it is the most universal story we share as Americans. It should be the common ground that unites us.”
Click belw to read the full column
I really enjoyed this conversation with Julian Rubinstein and Terrance Roberts. Julian’s new book The Holly which focuses on Terrance’s story is a great read that manages to shine a light on how local media failed Northeast Denver. The interview recording is linked below. I hope you’ll watch.
I also reviewed this book for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and that review is linked below the recording. The book is worth the read.
critical race theory
“I recently moved back to my hometown of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, located just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. I promised my husband, who’s Hispanic, that it is more progressive and more diverse than when I was growing up. I also sold him on the fact that it is one of the top school districts in the state. But, as I sat in a community meeting in our local high school auditorium and listened to my fellow community members make public statements about a proposed elective course on social equity, I worried that I was wrong.
Read the full column at the link below.
Many of the comments at the microphone were in favor of teaching social equity. Some shared a personal story to illustrate why it’s important to them. But those who spoke out against the course hammered home the same sound bite that’s been echoing across the country as states seek to ban critical race theory (CRT) from public education.”
In this article for Subaru Drive magazine I take the reader through our backyard conservation projects to remove grass, establish pollinator gardens, install rain gardens, and turn our turf lawn into a clover lawn.
I like a lush, inviting yard. Grass? Not so much. Grass isn’t “green” – it’s wasteful, costing homeowners time, money and energy in an endless cycle of planting, watering and cutting. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that landscape irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling almost 9 billion gallons per day. Grass is actually considered America’s largest irrigated “crop,” beating out even corn.
Read the full article below.
For a simple step-by-step guide to install your own pollinator garden click the link below!
Read more articles by Bonnie on the environment HERE
“Both driving and public transportation are heavily subsidized, but drivers are either unaware of that or OK with government support of personal transport. People get upset when states start talking about toll roads and bridges. Ironically, these tend to be the same people who think public transit should be self-sustaining. It’s not, and it never has been.”
