Strem Talks

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” -Winston Churchill Unless you’re black in America. There, I fixed it. And I have had enough.  I am white. I have privilege. And the question I ask myself is, how far do we have to fall down this rabbit hole before we finally stand up, and I mean STAND UP , in defense of our BROTHERS AND SISTERS in distress. And even that sentence is too simplified, too gentle, too kind. When will we finally stand up while our BROTHERS AND SISTERS are MURDERED? How far does it have to go before we all collectively stand up against the racist bigots who are killing people in our country in the name of JUSTICE ? I am white. I have had encounters with law enforcement. I have NEVER feared for my life during those encounters. I have shaken, I have been scared, but I was not, “God, please don’t let them kill me right here in broad daylight,” scared. I. Have. Privilege. I have watched white women, specifically, try to assault officers, swear, insult them, insul

"I think, therefore I am." -Ren é  Descartes I heard this quote recently, and it made me realize a lot about myself and where my life has led me. This weekend was the 11 year anniversary of my college graduation. (I know...it made me feel old...don't remind me.) This brought me back to my plans after college. Some backstory: I was the first one in my family to go to a four-year college. I had a few scholarships and I made pretty good grades and my senior year I was working on an optional Senior Thesis that would have me graduating with Honors from the History Department at Suffolk University. I was part of two honor societies because of my grades. I thought, "I look pretty impressive!" Then I got my first rejection for grad school. I had applied to some of the best history departments in the U.S. and the first to reject me was Yale. They didn't even send me a letter, I got an email.  I would later be rejected from Notre Dame, Columbia, and a few others I can