“I don’t know if you watched it or not, but this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day celebration at Ebenezer Baptist Church here in Atlanta was awesome,” I said to Deborah Levine, Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the American Diversity Report. Continue reading Recharging African and Jewish American Dialogues – by Terry Howard
All posts by Terry Howard
Domestic Violence and the man in the mirror – by Terry Howard
Hey fellas, it’s me, your humble columnist.
I decided to send you a letter and gift you with a mirror to gaze at as you read this narrative. You see, the gift of self-reflection (and mirrors) are the greatest gifts you can give yourself if, taken together, they lead to positive change on your part and on that of others.
But first, I’ll ask you how’s everything in the bar, the locker room or on the golf course while you’re “shooting the breeze” with the boys? Lots of talk about sports, national politics, your trip to Europe and, eh, I’m guessing, the opposite sex, huh?
Continue reading Domestic Violence and the man in the mirror – by Terry Howard
“Toni,” what else could I have done? – by Terry Howard
Today’s story is about “Toni” and the point her story makes as we look back on October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
ME: Good morning, Toni. How was your weekend?
TONI: (Subdued) Okay, I guess.
ME: Wait, are you okay? Is that a bruise on your forehead. Did you take a fall?
TONI: No, my husband beat me up again. Yesterday he hit me upside my head with the Holy Bible. Can you believe it?
ME: Oh my! I, uh, I’m so sorry, and…
TONI: Thanks for asking. I’ll be okay. This is my second marriage, and like my ex-husband, this husband beats me up too. The story of my life is that I seem to attract abusive men.
Continue reading “Toni,” what else could I have done? – by Terry Howard
The little known life of Willis Carter – by Terry Howard
I could be wrong (and hope that I am) but the guess here is that those about to read this column are probably unfamiliar with the name Willis McGlascow Carter. (How about a show of hands by those who do and are anxious to prove me wrong.)
But for those who don’t, no worry since until recently, neither did I although he spent most of his life as a teacher, newspaper editor and activist in Staunton, Virginia, which happens to be my hometown.
Continue reading The little known life of Willis Carter – by Terry Howard
Mr. and Mrs. President, tear down those border walls – by Terry Howard
In case you didn’t know, September 12 is the start of HHM (Hispanic Heritage Month). And I’ll be completely honest with you, readers – I missed writing something uniquely significant and celebratory about HHM and other heritage months over the past few years. To be clear, I’m not Hispanic by birth, although that doesn’t matter, nevertheless I still regret missing that annual opportunity.
Continue reading Mr. and Mrs. President, tear down those border walls – by Terry Howard
Confessions of an unashamed DEI Hire – by Terry Howard
BREAKING NEWS: Recent Department of Labor statistics show that nationwide, Black women lost 319,000 public and private sector jobs from February to July this year compared to 142,000 and 176,000 increases, respectively, by white and Hispanic women. White men saw an increase of 360,000 over that same period of time.
Now that I got your attention, denial, urge to fact check me or fire off a letter to the editor look, just chill out as we turn our attention to all those unqualified “DEI Hires” we’ve been hearing about. If you believe the pundits, those “DEI Hires” have infiltrated every organization, taken over our nation and taken our jobs, that is except the thousands of (“DEI Hires”?) who, out of fear of deportation, have abandoned the backbreaking jobs picking fruit and vegetables in California, mopping floors in hospitals and putting in long hours in restaurants and on construction sites leaving their employers desperate for new workers.
Okay readers, let’s peel back the onion on the who and why behind all the “DEI Hire” shenanigans, shall we?
Continue reading Confessions of an unashamed DEI Hire – by Terry Howard
The Realities of Dark-Skinned Black Women – by Terry Howard
I begin this piece with a test on your ability to immediately recognize the names of the following five prominent Black women in the United States. Any luck?
Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Board member
Latitia James Attorney General, New York
Ketanji Brown-Jackson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Stacey Abrams, former Georgia State Representative
Jasmine Crockett, Texas State Representative
Continue reading The Realities of Dark-Skinned Black Women – by Terry Howard
Legacy Museum and the Institution of Slavery – by Terry Howard
Let this sink in before you move on!
Call me stuck in stereotypes, a time warp, “la la” land or whatever, but when I peered out the windshield at the sign “Welcome to Montgomery,” well the truth is that my racial anxieties set in, emotions no different than those when we first approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge crossing into Selma a few years ago. My knowledge of history and caution kicked in so I decided to make sure we adhered to local speed limits.
Okay, to be honest, when I think about Montgomery, Alabama, I think about Rosa Park and her refusal to take a back seat on a bus that led to a yearlong boycott and the rise into preeminence of its chief architect, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought about Governor George Wallace’s “segregation now, segregation forever” failed promise. Now all that doesn’t make me delusional; no, it makes me wary.
So, with that as an entre, this narrative is about our recent visit to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery and the nearby Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and National Museum of Peace and Justice.
Continue reading Legacy Museum and the Institution of Slavery – by Terry Howard
The Mysterious Woman in the Polka Dot Dress – by Terry Howard
Dear readers: Before you bid au revoir to this side of planet Earth, add Little Rock in Arkansas and, a few blocks away, the Little Rock Nine Museum, to your must-do bucket list. And if you get there, before leaving town take the walk down South Park Street – alone like I did years ago – in front of the imposing fortress of Little Rock Central High School. Hold that possibility until the end of this narrative and, with it, a recommendation.
But before the anti-DEI history erasing crowd comes gunning for my noggin, snatches me off a street corner and handcuffs me for a one way government expenses paid one way trip to a prison in El Salvador, I figured that I’d try to stay one step ahead of them with another little-known bit of history they’d prefer that you didn’t know about, namely that of one Grace Lorch.
Continue reading The Mysterious Woman in the Polka Dot Dress – by Terry Howard
Welcome to our Grieving Community – by Terry Howard
Silly me! You’d think that I’d have learned by now that acting on a hunch can take you into uncomfortable situations, places that can leave you struggling with finding the right words. I guess I’ll never learn.
You see, given the turbulent times of today – and acting on a hunch – I called to check in on several longtime friends “Jimmy,” “Barbara and “Eddie” recently. Although I was primarily interested in their physical well-being, after reading an article about “grief” (I’ll get to it further down ) I’d hope to get their thoughts on that topic as well.
Continue reading Welcome to our Grieving Community – by Terry Howard