Ismatu Gwendolyn: Educator, Activist, and Empathetic Lovely

In lieu of an essay to share with you all this week, I thought to share resources through to someone who’s been my guiding compass these past few months.  I’ve been following Ismatu (all pronouns, with respect) for the greater part of two years on Tiktok, but only recently with the events of October 7th … Read more

Letter to A Past Life: On the Inhumanity of Academia and “Speaking in Tongues”

These places of possibility within ourselves are dark because they are ancient and hidden; they have survived and grown strong through that darkness. Within these deep places, each one of us holds an incredible reserve of creativity and power, of unexamined and unrecorded emotion and feeling. The woman’s place of power within each of us … Read more

Breaking Free From Semantics: Saving Face & Saving Our Souls

The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists … Read more

Envisioning After Dismantling Notes by Nancy Slavin of Clackamas County SURJ

Editor’s Note: On March 2, Respond to Racism cohosted a community forum with Clackamas County SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) and the Clackamas County Equity Coalition. Below are notes from the forum captured by SURJ’s Nancy Slavin. Envisioning after Dismantling: The Past, Present, and Future of DEI in Clackamas County Public Forum held on … Read more

A Lesson on Media Literacy: RuPaul’s Drag Race & the Neverending Constipation of Cultural Appropriation

RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) encourages a kind of “show and tell” for stereotypes, but never matures into a learning moment—transforming those assumptions into understanding. Whether or not you have ever watched an episode of RPDR, the popularity of RuPaul Charles is undeniable as a household name and one of the most famous drag queens of … Read more

Barbara Chen | Life After the Bubble

Screenshot from an interview with Barbara

Check out the latest episode of Life After the Bubble, featuring a conversation with Barbara Chen about her experience going through Lake Oswego School District. About Life After the Bubble: This series seeks to spotlight the experiences of alumni and former students of color from Lake Oswego schools. “Life After the Bubble” will feature interviews from … Read more

Daniel Nsengimana | Life After the Bubble

Screenshot of Daniel from the interview.

Check out the latest episode of Life After the Bubble, featuring author Daniel Nsengimana. New episodes of Life After the Bubble will be released each month over the course of the following year. Subscribe to our YouTube page so you don’t miss a Respond to Racism video. About Life After the Bubble This series seeks to spotlight … Read more