Cosmic Gardener – Cultivating a Life

As I was reading Booker T. Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, I experienced  a teachable moment with a longtime friend, of African American descent. I reached out to inquire how they saw and what they thought of the differences between Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, both early, post-slavery advocates for the upliftment and advancement of those newly freed.

I touched a nerve. Unintentionally. “I don’t know why you think I know a lot about them.”

Knowing their love of learning, I responded that I hadn’t presumed they would be familiar with the histories of these men by virtue of their race, but rather because they were curious, like I am.

Hopefully our history will allow us to sort through and move beyond my microaggression, ”the kind of remarks, questions, or actions that are painful because they have to do with a person’s membership in a group that’s discriminated against or subject to stereotypes. And a key part of what makes them so disconcerting is that they happen casually, frequently, and often without any harm intended, in everyday life.”

Earth School. Still learning.