The closer we get to this new reality, this new world, this new way of life, the harder they fight to kill it — Me and my kid kneel by her bed for prayer. We have performed the same ritual for years, but tonight I offer something new. Me: Okay, you go first. My kid: Heavenly Father, thank you for Mama and Daddy and all my friends and all my toys and thank you…

If you’re an only child, you never had to share. Upside? You get all the time, all the attention and all the praise. Downside? You get all the responsibility and all the blame. Being raised that way made me fiercely independent and emotionally self-sufficient. It also made me determined to…

My spiritual identity was once built on a simple premise: The universal love embodied by Jesus Christ can inspire anyone to change. So when White churches wanted to try racial reconciliation, I was curious. They wanted to change, they said, by making their churches more diverse. And they wanted Black…

I am thinking about the seed sowers today. The men who planted something in me all throughout in my life. I am thinking about Richard Mahone. He raised me. My Dad was there, day in and day out, constantly teaching me what it meant to be present for the people…

I always felt ‘special.’ I was an only child and the oldest grandchild on both sides of my family. And since I was never afraid to stand up and talk in front of a crowd, the Black folks in church always supported me. …

My yoga studio, Khali Yoga Center, recently did a 3 day juice fast. I learned a lot, like the connection between my mind and my body and how community can strengthen you through difficult challenges. But ironically, here’s the biggest lesson: I. FUCKING. LOVE. FOOD. I love looking at it…

Growing up, Christianity was like a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation. “Life was hard” The Old Folks would say. “Sooner or later your soul gets sick.” For them, church was the vaccine and everybody Black had to take it. But you really don’t know if that’s the…

Everybody in America knows the Nativity story. The Three Wise Men. Jesus in the manger. Mary, the Virgin Mother. If the Christmas story is a quilt, these people are the stitching that hold it together. You know who we forget? Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. This guy raised the…