What Are You Looking for in an Employer? There is one interview question that sounds simple, but I have come to see that it can reveal a whole lot about both the applicant and the employer. The interviewer may ask, “What are you looking for in an employer?” or “What would your ideal company be
The Interview Question That Can Tell You More Than You Think Read More »
Reparations Are About More Than a Check Whenever reparations for Black Americans come up, the conversation can get heated before anybody has clearly defined what reparations would actually mean. Some people immediately imagine the government handing every Black person a large check and calling the matter settled. I think the subject is much deeper than
The Debt America Still Has Not Settled Read More »
What Younger Generations Were Taught About Racism A lot of younger Americans grew up understanding racism differently from the generations that came before them. They learned about slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement mostly through textbooks, documentaries, museums, and classroom discussions. Those lessons taught them about the struggles Black Americans had faced
When History Starts Feeling Like the Present Read More »
The Lesson Behind Shaka Zulu When I think about Shaka Zulu, I see more than the familiar story of a powerful African warrior king. I see a complicated lesson about leadership, institution building, succession, and what happens when too much power becomes concentrated in one person. Shaka was born around 1787 in what is now
When Greatness Does Not Outlive the Leader Read More »
We Did Not Always Know What We Were Sitting On I have often thought about what happens when Black neighborhoods that were once dismissed suddenly become some of the most expensive places in a city. Families may have lived there for generations without realizing how valuable that location could eventually become. The houses might have
When the Neighborhood Becomes Valuable After We Leave Read More »
Interviews Are About Value, Not Fancy Words I have learned that a job interview is not really a contest to see who can use the biggest words. The employer is trying to determine whether the person sitting across the table can solve problems and contribute to the organization. A candidate can have an impressive résumé
Five Words That Can Make You Sound More Valuable in a Job Interview Read More »
The Burden of Having to Stay Excellent There are times when being Black in America can feel like being asked to remain excellent while somebody keeps moving the goalposts. We are expected to walk into the room prepared, polished, professional, strategic, calm, and confident no matter what is happening around us. We are told to
When the Goalposts Keep Moving Read More »
A Young Woman With Everything in Front of Her Every now and then, I learn about a talented Black performer from years ago and wonder why later generations barely know their name. Sheila Guyse is one of those performers who deserves another look. At one time, her future seemed full of possibilities. She had beauty,
Sheila Guyse: The Star Who Was Supposed to Be Next Read More »
When Having Less Costs More The older I get, the more I understand something about poverty that sounds backward until you look closely at how America works. Sometimes having less money actually makes ordinary life cost more. A person with savings can absorb an emergency, while somebody living paycheck to paycheck may have to borrow
The High Price of Being Poor Read More »
When Chaos Starts Feeling Normal I have come to understand that a person can live under pressure for so long that pressure starts feeling normal. Chaos becomes familiar, stress becomes expected, and struggle becomes part of the daily routine. You wake up preparing for trouble before trouble has even shown its face. After enough years
When Survival Mode Becomes a Way of Life Read More »