Tag Archives: Racism
FMM 6 12 2020 All the Rage
“Retribution haunts everyone, but catches up only the few.”~ Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. I admit I was naïve. I blame Jamaica. I had grown up as a white girl surrounded by a population whose motto is ‘Out of many, one people.’ The majority of Jamaicans are descended from the enslaved Africans who were brought to the […]
FMM 6 5 2020 Two Americas
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” ~ Malcolm X. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” When you want to be a writer, or even an author, you aspire to create a killer first line, an opening sentence […]
FMM 5 29 2020 No Jestering
“Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.“ ~ Amos 5:24 and Martin Luther King Jr., (Letter from the Birmingham Jail). Growing up and attending a school in Jamaica (as in any country associated with the British Colonial past) included studies in ‘Bible Knowledge’ (BK, or some variation on that name). […]
FMM 2 14 20 Sing me a Song
“My music had roots which I’d dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.” ~ Ray Charles. The road trips of my early childhood included many a song. My family had a repertoire of songs which distracted and entertained on the long journey which would take us from the city […]
FMM 1 31 2020 Color your Perspective
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” ~ Elie Wiesel. This is my story, condensed, abridged, minimized, retold. Picture an almost eight-year-old white girl (blonde hair, blue eyes) transplanted from grey rainy Manchester along with her entire family and […]
FMM 11 22 19 Acknowledging
“’We, The People’ is more than a statement of purpose. It is an acknowledgement of an obligation to each other.” ~ Charlie Pierce. There are many traditions that have been lost in this technological, smart phone driven era. My family was fortunate to be blessed with many aunts, all of whom were very good about […]
FMM 8 2 19 Self-inflicted pain
“Life isn’t as serious as the mind makes it out to be.” ~ Ekhart Tolle. One of the hardest lessons to learn, or at least to put into practice, is the art of living in the present. I can remember, even as a child, trying to prepare for new events by seeing them in my […]
FMM 11 9 18 Who let the dogs out?
“The only thing I know that truly heals people is unconditional love.” ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Until my family moved to Jamaica, we did not have pets. Although, come to think of it, somehow I ended up being the guardian of a group of water snails. They were entrusted to my care by my teacher, and then, […]
FMM 8 24 18 New World Order
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”~ Stephen Hawking. I never forget the first time I heard the saying that the definition of insanity is doing things the same way and expecting to get different results. I was in one of those continuing education classes, trying to get my hours at the last minute […]