By Lauren SmithFebruary 18, 2026“We are our grandmothers’ prayers. We are our grandfathers’ dreaming.” —Ysaye M. BarnwellI am the grateful beneficiary of my ancestors’ imagination. Their courage blesses my life and the lives of my children.My great-great-grandparents lived in Wilmington, NC during t
By Ali K.C. BellFebruary 11, 2026“We are powerful because we have survived, and that is what it is all about—survival and growth.” —Audre LordeThriving is deeply embedded in the DNA of my family. My great-great-great-grandma Melinda Benton, on my mother’s side, walked out of slavery in Arkansas a
By Antoinette HollamonFebruary 4, 2026“I’m rooting for everybody Black.” —Issa Rae, writer and actress, at the 2017 EmmysI grew up in a historic, all-Black freedom town founded in the 1800s by, and for, free Black people. Every mayor in its history has been Black, and the town has had its own police
By Takiyah Nur AminJanuary 28, 2026“We have a wonderful history behind us… If you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, ‘You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else’.”—Carter G. Woodson, Father of Black History MonthW
By Sue Oshiro-ZeierJanuary 21, 2026“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”—AesopI grew up in Hawaii, in a town of eight hundred people, so I was excited to leave home for college—starting with flying alone to Montana.My Baptist pastor and his wife wanted to ensure I had a positive
By Christine SlocumJanuary 14, 2026“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” —Joseph CampbellBinoculars were in my hands; anticipation was in my heart. The sky was clear and the sun was bright as I waited for people to arrive. Our church doe
By Tim AtkinsJanuary 7, 2026“[W]e with our lives are like islands in the sea, or like trees in the forest. The maple and the pine may whisper to each other with their leaves… But the trees also commingle their roots in the darkness underground, and the islands also hang together through the ocean’s
By Takiyah Nur AminDecember 17, 2025“Our children need a sense of specialness that comes from participating in a known and loved ritual. They need the mastery of self-discipline that comes from order. They need the self-awareness that comes from a knowledge of their past. They need Kwanzaa as a tool
By Laura DobsonDecember 10, 2025“[Anglo-Saxon pagans] began the year on the 8th calends of January [25 December], when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. That very night, which we hold so sacred, they used to call by the heathen word Modranecht, that is, ‘mothers’ night,’ because (we suspect) of th
By Kahla Childers December 3, 2025“While you might think it’s a trick, having affection for one’s goofy, crabby, annoying, lovely self is home. This has been my meager salvation.”–Anne LamottDecember is a whirlwind in my family, and possibly in yours. Throughout this frenetic season I bake countless
