DEI & Social Justice

This piece provides a unique way for each of us to evaluate the privileges we have in our lives, and to consider how that may impact our lives and how we impact other people. The current design of our social systems creates more friction for some people (marginalization) and less for others (privilege). Those who experience less friction have more energy, and therefore have an opportunity—if not an obligation—to apply that energy to reduce the friction caused by our systems and attitudes. In other words, it’s a framework to help each of us move at the speed of care.

Andy was honored to be interviewed by Jordan “Dxtr Spits” Holmes for the How Men Cry project, which is a collective seeking to change the narrative around men’s mental health by sharing honest stories in safe spaces. Wherever you are on your journey, they welcome you with everything you carry.

Fourteen years ago today I awoke from a dream more vivid than any I’ve had before or since. I saw a vast network of intimate dialogue spaces where people were connecting at a level of depth that remains too rare to this day. I saw the true power of our Internet technology as a means to connect…

I grew up in a small town of 10,000 people called Fulton, Missouri, USA, in the 1980s. While the area was generally rural, Fulton was unusually rich in culture. It has two colleges, the state school for the deaf, a state prison, a significant connection to history (e.g., Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, a sculpture made from eight sections of the Berlin Wall), lots of farmers, academics, scientists and working class families. Fulton stands as the seat of Callaway County, which seceded from both the North and South and technically has never rejoined the United States. To this day people still refer to it as the “Kingdom of Callaway”.

Yet even with all that diversity of thought and experience, it is still populated— overwhelmingly—by people with lightly melanated skin (a.k.a. white people).

It’s easy to feel defensive about the term, “racist.” Most people don’t want to be identified in this way. Generally our society frowns upon the notion of hurting someone or holding them back just because of the color of their skin. And that’s a good thing!

It’s easy to say, “I’m not racist” and to believe that being a “good person” in our society is defined by working, tending to self and family, believing in a higher power like God, and not actively engaging in acts of bigotry and hatred against people with darker skin. It’s not enough.

“It isn’t enough for your heart to break because everybody’s heart is broken now.”—Allen Ginsberg I’m dedicating myself to a new tradition of reflecting and writing in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year. I’m also committed to attending community events and have built this day in as a paid holiday at my…

I recently spoke on a panel for a women’s networking group. The subject was “Bridging the Gender Gap at Work” and the first question was about whether or not men and women are wired differently. I believe that most of the behavioral differences we see from all people are much more a matter of conditioning…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a notable checkpoint of growth for me. It serves as a beacon for so many things I’ve devoted myself to learning around bias, racism, privilege, fear and what it truly takes for us to build a world where each person experiences dignity and agency. I used to think of…

I have a dream that one day we will stop focusing our attention on a convenient figurehead as yet another way to avoid addressing the real tragedy of race in our country. Literally and figuratively, President Donald Trump represents America today. Read that again. How does it feel? Does it make you angry at me?…