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Showing posts from February, 2009
This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending a luncheon honoring young black men. Usually, the luncheons are all the same. You arrive, have about a half an hour of hobnobbing with people that you see at all the other luncheons, someone rings a chime, the doors open and you new file into a ballroom and find your seat. Generally, you sit with people you know, because you have bought the table yourself or been invited by one of your friends who did . You kiss everyone on the cheek all around the table and comment on each others clothing. Usually, there’s a salad in front of you already waiting, and sometimes the dessert, too. The table is usually too crowded, and you sit around and wonder quietly which napkin is yours and hope you choose the right fork. Finally, some with courage will be the first one to dig in. They grab a napkin and everyone follows suit. Fortunately for me, I had my big one with me, and she informed us that the right way to go was to wait for the oldes

Never miss an opportunity, even in Morocco

I didn’t know what to expect at all. This was my first time on the African continent, and I was standing face to face with some of my American prejudices. I’d just gotten off the plane and was making my way to immigration in Casablanca, my steps slowing the closer I got. All the way down the maze of hallways, a man had been shouting at the top of his lungs. Shouting, and I couldn’t understand. I glanced at him casually, masking my annoyance and his long, black beard stabbed at me. He continued yelling in Arabic. Part of me was bathed in relief, the kind you feel when something embarrassing is happening around you and you’re glad that the person committing the deed isn’t black. The other part, the part that has been bombarded with orange alerts and strip searches, cringed and tried to distance itself from the man and his unintelligible rant. We ended up in the immigration lines next to each other. His yelling kept getting louder as we neared the desks, despite his friends tryi