Listen on Spotify  Part VI: The Kind that Poems Could Never Capture the Longing Of    When a person is in crisis it shows. Overly emotional reactions, not seeing things clearly or admitting mistakes: these are all traits of someone in crisis. And from the stories this director told about their life lately, it was obviousContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

Listen on Spotify Part V: Right Now What Cha’ll Want Gonna Lose to What Cha’ll Need to Hear    When the account stuff was finally resolved near July 2023 (as in the system started working; not that I or anyone else received an apology), I was relieved but still hurt. This had a huge negative impactContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

Listen on Spotify Part IV: I’m Not Gonna Tiptoe No More I Swore I’d Leave It Here    With Keith out of the accountant position, we were all waiting for the account to be changed over by the deadline missing director so we could move forward with business as usual. And slowly but surely, finances startedContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

Listen on Spotify Part III: I’m Certain that I’m Weathered    “How to ensure a space will have equity and inclusion…? The key is education…People of color can hate white supremacy and still be anti-black and/or anti-indigenous. Entering a space especially for POC does not magically make that person anti anything, it takes work and itContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

Listen on Spotify Part II: We Don’t All Fly    That’s right: individuals on the Climbers of Color Board had voted no, effectively blocking me from becoming a board member in the very organization I had helped to build over the last 5 years. One person voted no and another one abstained from voting (in solidarityContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

Listen on Spotify “...I thought this day would never come I’ve seen plenty rain but never sun And whether or not you seek it on the surface ain’t nobody perfect and I’m certain that I’m weathered from The kind of storms that daddy couldn’t warn you of The kind that poems could never capture theContinue reading "Hidden Figures in POC Spaces"

“Now I'm so in mode to just emote until my throat is hoarse 'Cause they wouldn't recognize a trailblazer until the road is torched So if you follow me, beware, my accounts are probably jaded. Maybe a characteristic of the underappreciated…” -Sa-Roc1    Occasionally events happen that cut so deep emotionally one wonders where it stemsContinue reading "Deep in the Bones: An Issue of Plagiarism"

“Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned everywhere is war” -War by Bob Marley1    A guide: a person who has the necessary skills to teach people an outdoor discipline or lead an outdoor experience. When that word is uttered, what type of person comesContinue reading "Scope of Understanding"

Part VIII: Policy, You Nasty P    White culture and dominance is still prevalent in US society as well as elsewhere: and it is enforced by policy. But how, exactly, has hair entered into policy of the US? We touched on it earlier when talking about race based discrimination ending in the workforce. What the policyContinue reading "Black Hair and Climbing Part VIII"

Part VII: Perception    I have talked a lot about white presenting and Black presenting through facial features, hair texture, skin color, etc. How we are seen in the world is how we are able to move through it experiencing oppression or privilege. Presenting to the world as a light skinned person with Afro hair andContinue reading "Black Hair and Climbing Part VII"