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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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The Joy of Mentoring

I am a volunteer mentor with Columbus City Schools in Columbus, Ohio.  I am a part of a program called Project Mentor.  I have been matched with a 7th grader who is working hard to do well in school.

Mentoring offers small rewards that accumulate into big joy.  In Project Mentor, I spend one hour each week at school with my mentee.  This past weekend I attended a youth football game to watch him play.  To my great joy and surprise, when I arrived, he introduced me to his little brother and cousin, and teammates as the "best mentor in the school."

There is no objective way to determine who the best mentor is, but that is beside the point.  What is important is the benefit that the student is receiving from the relationship. The satisfaction from seeing a big smile, and the joy he received from my presence at his football game are priceless.

Mentoring is one of those few experiences in life that is "more than it is cranked up to be."  There is no way to place a value on the joy that is returned for a very small investment of time.  Young African American children are in desparate need of mentors and positive role models.  If you are invited to join a mentoring program, find a way to make the time for participation.  You won't regret it.