Does Feeling Angry About a Black Little Mermaid Mean You Are Racist?

Last updated on: July 7, 2019 at 3:22 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

The Mouse (Mickey Mouse) made racial waves with the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s Live action film, The Little Mermaid. On one hand, people across race celebrate increasing diversity in family entertainment. These individuals welcome expanding our perspectives to include a Black mermaid. On the other hand, numerous people express disappointment and anger that Ariel will not feature a White woman with red hair, as in the earlier Disney film. The majority of opinions about the angry... Read more

Final Week of Quitting the Bible for a Year

Last updated on: July 3, 2019 at 11:02 am By Dr. Sam Kline

Last week marked my final week of quitting the Bible for a year. I think God might give me a crown in heaven for it-or a gold star. I feel grateful for pausing from the Bible. When I attempted to confide in certain Christians, they seized the opportunity to puff themselves up for reading the Bible. Last week was no different. Who does that? Reading the Bible or religion is not a safeguard from suffering or the ups and downs... Read more

Fasting to Celebrate My Birthday

Last updated on: June 25, 2019 at 5:52 am By Dr. Sam Kline

Last week, I celebrated my birthday. By celebrated, I mean I chose to fast for the day commemorating another year of life. Before continuing, let me share a little known personal Black history fact: I am neither the first nor last person to spend her birthday fasting. I know I am not doing anything ground-breaking. As I reflected on week 51 of my year without the Bible (and, now, no longer being a Christian), I decided to explore my birthday.... Read more

Lessons from a Toddler About Race, Knowing Yourself, and Boundaries

Last updated on: June 22, 2019 at 2:33 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

During an outdoor walk this week, I watched a scene unfold on the path ahead of me. On the left, I saw a white woman with her toddler, enjoying the sunny reprieve from the rain. To my right, I peered a black woman, who either ignored or disregarded the leash regulations, sitting on the ground with her midsize off-leash poodle/retriever mix dog. (I have a “thing” about people following the leash regulations in these shared spaces. I shall refrain from... Read more

Choosing Emotional Honesty Over “I’m Fine”

Last updated on: June 18, 2019 at 2:18 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

Are you honest with your emotions, or do you tend to stuff them down or store them away? Last week, during a phone conversation with an acquaintance, a particular situation that has been assisting me with new ways of expanding my patience (in other words, trying nerves I did not think existed), hit a new low. We momentarily ended the conversation, so I could attend to the matter. While I communicated with the central figure orchestrating this miserable and unethical... Read more

Crisis in Sudan: Ways to Stay Informed and Help

Last updated on: June 15, 2019 at 5:07 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

Sudan is in crisis, and it is political. It is about independence-freedom. Through a peaceful revolution, the people of Sudan ousted Omar al-Bashir, dictator of over 30 years. However, The Transitional Military Council (TMC) has conveyed a lack of investment in a peaceful transition to democracy and giving up power. On June 3, 2019, they reportedly killed over hundred peaceful protesters in a crackdown against the opposition. At this time, the actual number of casualties remain unknown. Social media has... Read more

Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” Did Something To Me-I’m Still Figuring It Out

Last updated on: June 12, 2019 at 1:25 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

It took several days to prepare myself to watch Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. Her four part miniseries tells the story of injustice from the eyes of the wrongfully convicted men known as The Central Park Five. As I watched,* I took breaks to process, to have a moment, to cry—to breathe. By the end of Part 4, I sobbed. I did not sleep the entire night because I was sitting with the weight of what happened to these... Read more

Muhlaysia Booker: Let Black Transgender Women Be

Last updated on: June 12, 2019 at 1:26 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

For weeks, Muhlaysia Booker has been on my heart and mind. She survived a brutal transphobic public beating. The horrific events included a crowd watching men attack her and someone even offering $200 dollars to a man beat her. However, a little over a month later, Muhlaysia was found dead. Being-existing as a Black transgender woman can be dangerous. Muhlaysia Booker was simply being in this world. Being is not a crime and definitely not one warranting attacks and death.... Read more

When White Folks Catch the White Supremacy Holy Ghost

Last updated on: June 12, 2019 at 1:28 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

“Before freedom we always went to white churches on Sundays with passes but they never mentioned God; they always told us to be ‘good ni**ers and mind our missus and masters.’” –Clayborn Gantling, formerly enslaved in Georgia Gantling’s words can remind us how certain contemporary societies and Western Christianity, including progressive forms, still reinforce racism through a myriad of ways of instructing Black people to be “good ni**ers who mind our missus and masters.” The moment a Black person challenges certain... Read more

I Am No Longer a Christian

Last updated on: June 3, 2019 at 12:06 pm By Dr. Sam Kline

I am no longer a Christian. I am not anchored in Christianity. I am not using any terms to try to express how my spiritual walk is “about a relationship” with Jesus through creative phrasing to distinguish myself from other Christian denominations and beliefs. I am not using terms to suggest A new form Another way Improved Truer Updated Clearer Open Closed Version of Christianity. I am not a follower of Christ, a follower of the Path of Christ, or... Read more