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A Life Well Lived

"Anywhere where the humanity of people is undermined, anywhere where people are left in the dust, there we will find our cause." 

Desmond Tutu died earlier this week. He was 90 years old. As I look at my office bookshelf, I see his books and think, how did this religious leader who lives on the other side of the planet find his way into my life? How did this man, living under such an oppressive regime, break through the systems of apartheid? How was he able to rise to his position of leadership as the first Black archbishop within the Anglican faith? How has he, despite the conservatism associated with his faith and geography, become such an ally for the LGBTQA++ communities

Desmond Tutu has had such a profound impact on me, an outsized impact that goes beyond books and translates into my life. 

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NFL: A Case Study in Institutionalized Racism

I am an incredibly low-key NFL spouse. I rarely even talk about my relationship with Richard Dent. I actively avoid using my relationship with him to leverage my own career or identity. However, I’m compelled to speak out about what’s happening to him and so many others who played in the NFL. 

I am absolutely appalled by:

1) the treatment of their retired players–their “legends” 
2) the lack of responsibility for LEADING on the issue of calling out and ending institutionalized racism
3) their lack of accountability for their own deeply racist practices and 
4) their treatment of Black players  (Note: I could actually keep going with this list...) 

I am officially fed up and I am stepping into the arena with my sisters.
Sitting quietly in the corner is not where you’ll find me.

The lawsuit I’m referring to is a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and Richard is one of the lead defendants. The NFL’s actions in this...

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Solidarity with the API Community: What Comes After the Statement?

By Molly McInerney, Senior Consultant

We at DeEtta Jones & Associates (DJA) are horrified and heartbroken by the rising rates of hate crimes, racist violence and harassment, and discrimination against members of the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community. We are committed to the racial equity movement for all people of color and condemn racism in any form. We believe stating our support of the API community is a single step on the journey towards solidarity. We honor the API community’s pain, anger, and grief in the wake of Tuesday’s racist attack, which took the lives of eight people, including six Asian/Asian American women working in the greater Atlanta area. 

We are a company known for centering voices from a variety of lived experiences, and we’re sensitive to the negative impact of organizational virtue signaling on the API community and other people of color. This is why we ask ourselves in these critical moments, “what is the best way to...

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My Connection to LGBTQ+ History and the Road Traveled

In October 1998, Matthew Shepard was found nearly dead, hanging from a fence just outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Matthew was 21 years old. His murderers said that he made sexual advances toward them. They robbed and brutally beat him. Matthew died of his wounds six days later in a Fort Collins, Colorado hospital.

Just two years before, I was living in Fort Collins, CO. I was pursuing a master’s degree, had a full-time assistantship as coordinator of multicultural education and training, and had an internship in the Human Rights Advocacy and Education Office, a department of the City of Fort Collins. My work involved listening to complaints of discrimination in public accommodation, housing, and employment. There was also a huge amount of listening, educating, and advocacy. I was given, early in my life and career, a window into others’ realities in ways that helped broaden my awareness and perspective. I learned that many LGBTQ+ people had been living with threats and...

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