Inside from the Inside » Barbara

Homelessness, mental illness, and The Soloist

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:00:52 +0000

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images I recently became involved in a community project to develop a plan to increase pathways to employment for the homeless. The initial discussion included defining homeless. The stereotypes abound: drunk on the corner with the sign and his dog, drug addict, mental illness. The realities include a much broader segment of [...]

Somali Pirates

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:00:25 +0000

I wander around the Internet like a child in a candy store. So much to look at, so little time. I end up in places without any idea how I got there and wonder if I could get there again. In many ways, the Internet feels like a wilderness back country where you blaze your [...]

Cradle to prison pipeline

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:00:23 +0000

Meandering through the World Wide Web, a headline – “A Child’s Questionable Arrest” caught my attention. Written by Marian Wright Edelman in 2007, the story of a 7-year-old black child unfolds. The young man was arrested (7 year old) for riding a dirt bike on the sidewalk. He (a 7 year old) was taken into [...]

Ambivalent retreat from racist past

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:00:47 +0000

Ambivalent – uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow Elwin Wilson, described as “a sad, sickly man, haunted by time,” feels ambivalent about his life spent hating black people. At the age of 72, in poor health, Elwin faces mortality and doesn’t want to go to hell. “All I can say is [...]

My white skin screams privilege

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:40 +0000

A young man stopped by to see me the other day. I looked up, delighted to see him. I hadn’t seen him in nearly two years. I heard that he moved to Chicago. I expected to see him on Oprah one day. I met this young man at a diversity training opening week at the [...]

i am not a coward

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:00:07 +0000

i am not a coward I can’t quite remember how I found Tiffany. I probably surfed through an ocean of websites before landing on YouTube. Oh, I remember. I clicked on something and ended up on The Sable Verity. Tiffany vlogs on YouTube. Through her vlog, Mulatto Diaries, Tiffany shares her thoughts and experiences as [...]

Defining mixed-race identity

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:00:10 +0000

I never really thought about it until I heard a young woman whose parents were Hispanic and white talk about the tension in her family. Her mother’s relatives, the white folks, never accepted the young woman as part of their family. Her father’s relatives, the Hispanic folks, never accepted her either. She said it took [...]

Economic Bust, Schools, and Civil Rights

Barbara Leveque — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:00:33 +0000

Economic Bust, Schools, and Civil Rights Buildings crumble. Teacher pay hovers at the bottom rung of the pay scale ladder. The public school system in America has long needed an overhaul. With the economy tanking, most schools will face very real and sizable budget cuts. Recession spells disaster for the public school system in the [...]

Children in Prison

Barbara Leveque — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:41:44 +0000

Black Prisoners Caucus Summit 2006 Monroe, Washington You are cordially invited to click on the link to hear Kimonti Carter speak at the Black Prisoners Caucus Summit 2006. Pretty powerful. Fourteen and fifteen year olds sentenced to prison for life because they committed a heinous crime. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning nor [...]