With 4th of July events coming up, there will be many gatherings and parties. In any type of party, whether particularly posh or just cool and casual, a set of implicit rules always exists: Don’t eat before everyone else; Don’t get drunk, and Don't talk about politics or religion. However, life for People of Color hasn't exactly been a … [Read more...] about Never Invited to the 4th of July Party: The Case for Reparations & Citizenship – Part II
Dr. Denise O'Neil Green
Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” and the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)
This month is the 25th Anniversary of Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing. I remember seeing the film for the first and only time in 1989. The film portrayed tensions between the local residents and an Italian-American family in the Black neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, on the hottest day of the summer. In a Rolling Stones interview, Lee … [Read more...] about Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” and the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)
Your Pride Is Our Pride
Last year I experienced Pride Toronto for the first time. It was festive and the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled against DOMA – the Defense Against Marriage Act, a case that had intimate connections to Toronto. This year World Pride 2014 is coming to Toronto, and you can see signs of preparation all around. Businesses have transformed their displays to show … [Read more...] about Your Pride Is Our Pride
A Note to Chief Diversity Officers: Be A Rainbow in the Clouds
When I heard that Dr. Maya Angelou had died on May 28, I was sad to hear she had passed away. She was such a phenomenal woman that all types of media outlets reported on her death, including Canada’s Globe and Mail. That following Sunday on Oprah’s OWN network, they broadcast several interviews that Oprah had done with Maya Angelou. For three hours I … [Read more...] about A Note to Chief Diversity Officers: Be A Rainbow in the Clouds
Affirmative Action, Affirming Access, and Coates’ Case for Reparations – Part 1
When I arrived home Friday, May 23 after work, my partner asked me had I heard about the Atlantic article by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations. I told him no. He was somewhat surprised given that I always seem to be on top of everything, but I had not heard. So, immediately I went to Twitter and searched “case for reparations”, and found a … [Read more...] about Affirmative Action, Affirming Access, and Coates’ Case for Reparations – Part 1