How long till justice? Juneteenth symbolizes both question and answer

Growing up deep in the heart of Texas, I learned in (segregated) school that Juneteenth was a big celebration day for Black people because it marked the date on which the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, finally reached Texas on June 19th, 1865.

This date, when federal troops arrived in Galveston to take control of the state after the Civil War, at last ended the egregious practice of legal human slavery in the United States.

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8 Ways to Be an Effective Leader for Change

Issue 132 — June 22, 2020

I first learned about the power of organizing to make change when I was about 15 years old. In the small town of Stamford, Texas, where I lived at the time, there were two short order restaurants in town. One was called Son’s City Pig and it had indoor tables with juke boxes where we kids could sit and kibitz, as teenagers do. And as teenagers were inclined to do, we created various fads. One was eating our French Fries with mustard. OK, I admit I started that one.

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The Sum – Meaning of the Week: One

The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.”  Warren Bennis The word of the week is one. As in one woman speaking her truth gives courage to others. As in the power of taking that one step that starts the march to progress. As in one woman’s story and then another and then…

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The Sum – Meaning of the Week: Transform

The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.” —Warren Bennis. Word of the week is TRANSFORM. As in the women who transformed Rwanda. As in women transforming lives and communities through philanthropy. As is in a transformational confrontation with one’s power demons. Ever have one of those weeks when you have to, as I…

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The Sum Volume #8: Connect

“The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.”—Warren Bennis. Welcome to the Sum, where I share my take on the meaning of sum of the week’s parts. I want your voice too. Leave comments here or @GloriaFeldt My word of the week is CONNECT. Actor Caileigh Scott and Wonder Woman, um, me. Tell us your…

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The Sum Volume #5: Move

“The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.”—Warren Bennis. Welcome to the Sum, where I share my take on the meaning of sum of the week’s parts. I want your voice too. Leave comments here or @GloriaFeldt. The word of the week is MOVE. As in a movement has to move to be…

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The Sum Volume #4: Heat

“The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.”—Warren Bennis. Word of the Week is: Heat  I landed in Phoenix @ 120 degrees. Or 122, but who’s counting. Yes, it feels like putting your head in an oven even if it’s a dry heat. There’s lots of heat everywhere.  They say if you can’t…

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Quick! What’s Happening August 26, Really?

If you said “Women’s Equality Day,” you’d be right. And if you said it’s the 95th anniversary of the date in 1920 when women’s right to vote officially entered the U.S. Constitution, you’d be spot on. But the greater significance of this day is not about looking backward at quaint sepia photo of suffragists picketing…

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How Women Lead: Not A Hero, Everyone as Hero

 L-R: Lauren Sandground, Rhoda Hassan, Cheryl Swain meet to plan Take The Lead Challenge Feb. 19 launch
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Arizona State University student Lauren Sandground at a meeting to plan the Take The Lead Challenge Launch event (happening February 19 at ASU—check it out here and plan to be there live or by livestream). Lauren, a senior, started an organization named Woman as Hero in 2009 after being surprised to encounter gender biases in her own life even today, when young women are told they can do or be anything.

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