Big Ideas Recap

 

My brain is working this morning but not in any organized fashion. It’s on plate-spinning mode, I guess. Try as I might I can’t make it behave. Ah, well.

I watched the Changemaker Challenge last night and was fascinated by all the big ideas. Congratulations to the winners: 

$10,000 Audience Choice Award: Community Ecology Institute 

$10,000 Womens Giving Circle Award: Kits to Heart

$15,000 Changemaker Award: The 3rd

$25,000 Changemaker Award: Alston for Athletes 

By the time the evening was over I was truly sorry that all the finalists couldn’t win. Hats off to the Horizon Foundation and everyone involved the this year’s Changemaker Challenge. Oh, and that includes whoever did the videography and made everyone look so good.

One of the finalists whose work I find deeply important is Marlena Jareaux of Howard County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation. I hope to write more about her project soon. Ms. Jareaux has been making frequent posts about Howard County history on the Howard County, MD group on Facebook, if you’d like an idea of the work she is doing. 

On the one hand, telling the truth about Howard County history - - all of it - - is long overdue. On the other hand, it couldn’t be more timely.

Dinner Time Viewing

 

Over the years I’ve encouraged you to read various pieces on other websites, attend meetings, write letters, even make monetary donations for a good cause. Today I’d like to suggest that you eat dinner in front of your television. Well, laptop or tablet device, actually.

Tonight, from 6 to 7:30 pm, you can join the Horizon Foundation, the United Way of Central Maryland, the Women’s Giving Circle, the Community Foundation of Howard County, and a whooooooole bunch of your neighbors for the 2021 edition of the Changemaker Challenge.

The Horizon Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, Women’s Giving Circle and Community Foundation of Howard County are igniting and recognizing new and continued innovation in our community with the Changemaker Challenge. Think “Shark Tank” for social change! This biennial event awards funding for project ideas that promise to make a difference in Howard County, especially after an unprecedented 2020. That’s why our theme for the 2021 Changemaker Challenge is – Innovate. Cultivate. Uplift.

Taking place every other year, the Changemaker Challenge has drawn an impressive variety of ideas from our community. You can learn more about past winners here. One of the winners in 2017 was Beth Harbinson for Sobar, mentioned on the blog yesterday. (I see that Sobar is offering beverages for tonight’s virtual live event, although I’m guessing that the deadline to purchase has passed.)

If you are curious about the concepts you’ll be seeing tonight, here’s the rundown of the finalists from Changemaker Challenge website:

The 3rd – Create a space in downtown Columbia that brings the community together. The space melds live/work elements all in one space and is run by, supplied by and incubates women of color entrepreneurs.

4Girls2STEM – Launch a STEM program for girls of color in Howard County.

Alston for Athletes – Provide Youth Mental Health First Aid Training to athletic directors, coaches and trainers in Howard County.

The Community Ecology Institute – Create a Nourishing Gardens initiative that will transform lawns throughout Howard County into ecologically beneficial food growing spaces. The program will offer job skills training and work opportunities, increase the local supply of fresh, healthy produce and seek to get it to those in greatest need, improve the ecosystem and provide community engagement and education opportunities.

Howard County Lynching Truth & Reconciliation, Inc. – Create an interactive, web based platform to assist with educating the community about our history, which impacts us all today.

HoCo Pirate Adventures, Inc. – Eliminate economic and transportation barriers by creating a free app that will guide residents on pirate-themed scavenger hunts in parks throughout Howard County. Hunts are targeted to kids and families and are intended to have a positive impact on the mental and physical health of families.

Oakland Mills Online – Introduce students to the lived experiences and career paths of their community members through an in-school Speaker Series (starting at Oakland Mills High School) that connects today’s leaders with tomorrow’s leaders.

Kits to Heart – Improve the mental and emotional well-being of those affected by cancer through an innovative art therapy program by partnering with the Howard County Arts Council to offer free art classes and workshops for the cancer community.

Upcycled, Inc. – Upgrade the recycling center to simplify the “Upcycling” process and facilitate an interactive educational area.

Howard County Autism Society – Support the Autism Hiring Program, an innovation that advances workplace neurodiversity and acceptance, connecting businesses to an untapped workforce and targeting jobseekers not supported by existing systems.

You can see them make their pitches tonight from 6-7:30. But that’s not all. Viewers will have a chance to vote on their favorite idea and the audience choice winner will receive $10,000 to help jumpstart their changemaking idea. We may have become blasé about commercially packaged television shows that encourage viewers to text in their favorites. But this event, while using a similar concept, is effectively giving participants the opportunity to fund a project that will help their own community. 

I find it rather mind-blowing. And the fact that I can do it virtually is a big plus.

Overall, the prizes that will be awarded this evening break down like this: one $25,000 grant, one $15,000 grant, and two $10,000 grants. One of the $10,000 grants will be awarded to an entry for a project created by or serving women and/or girls in Howard County, and the other $10,000 grant will be awarded based on audience choice.

So register here. It’s free. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about some really big ideas for our community, not to mention your moment to be a $10,000 philanthropist by voting for the audience choice award. Your “being there” could very well make a difference for a big idea to become reality.

And maybe tonight will inspire you to come up with a changemaking idea of your own.

Celebrations and Contemplations

 

In a week or so my youngest daughter will turn twenty-one. It’s a big deal, at least to me. One does not automatically become an adult but it does feel like a momentous entry into adulthood. Twenty-one used to be the age of majority but when the voting age was lowered to eighteen the official age of majority followed. The legal drinking age has fluctuated around the country. In Maryland it’s twenty-one.

That must be why I found mostly cards with alcohol references and illustrations when I went looking for a 21st Birthday card online. I was looking for something special. What I got were beer steins, champagne toasts, and martinis. (Truth in advertising: I found an absolutely perfect one on Etsy but the shipping was three times the cost of the card.)

When my older daughter was in middle school I attended a parent event about alcohol and substance misuse. The point that stayed with me from that whole evening was how unwittingly we teach our children that certain life events must be marked with alcohol. New Year’s Eve. Anniversaries. A new job or promotion. Twenty-first birthdays. The presenter pointed out that it was a way that we wordlessly teach that there are life events that require alcohol. The unspoken message is that those events will be less celebratory and less valid if you don’t have a drink.

You have a choice, she said. You can make sure that you chose a variety of ways to celebrate in your family that don’t center around alcohol. She wasn’t saying, “Don’t drink.” If anything, she was saying, “Don’t link.” Don’t link weddings and birthdays and new ventures with a requirement to imbibe alcoholic  beverages. Be creative. Be purposeful in how your family approaches these events.

I hadn’t ever really thought about it that way. These are ways that we teach our children to feel “I need a drink” merely by our example. It’s another one of those things that, once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Here in Howard County local nonprofit Sobar continues to move forward with the goal to create and share delicious and appealing non-alcoholic beverages. I’d say they lean in the direction of educating the public that, while it’s fine to want a celebratory beverage, it isn’t necessary to have alcohol in it. Many of us have family, friends, and neighbors for whom including alcohol as the norm means excluding them. 

Right now Sobar is asking folks to participate in a three minute survey about non-alcoholic beverages and sober spaces. You can find it here. You’ll also find the recipe for the drink that won their most recent mixology contest. 

This isn’t an anti-alcohol sermon. It’s about examining what we do and realizing that we have more choices than we think we do. And we can offer others more choices once we understand that.

As for my daughter, she is not particularly interested in alcohol at this point in her life. She has mentioned that she’ll probably have one frozen strawberry daiquiri to see what it’s like. I can’t predict what will happen after that. I just hope she knows there are many ways to celebrate in life, and that alcohol isn’t the only one.

Getting Political

 

In Howard County there are people who have a good deal of experience in politics. Some have held elected office. Some have worked on political campaigns. We also have people who follow what is going on locally and statewide not only by reading the newspapers and checking social media but also by attending/watching public meetings, submitting testimony, or serving on committees.

We have people who hold themselves in high esteem as learned political analysts. We have people with experience and insight. Sometimes those two groups overlap. Not always.

I’ve long said that I’m not a political blogger. I’m aware that it’s not my area of expertise. I’m a community blogger who will occasionally step up and discuss political races if I feel that what is at stake will impact the community in such a way that I think it would be wrong for me to ignore it. 

I can imagine some of my more politically-minded friends laughing a bit at this. “All politics affect community,” I can hear them saying. “You can’t keep them in separate compartments.”

The thing is, I don’t enjoy politics for its own sake: door knocking, fundraisers, the carefully worded press releases followed by hecklers from The Other Side launching a counter attack. And I have an aversion to the horse race aspect of politics. I truly dislike all of it. I have friends who are energized by it. I guess that’s a good thing. Somebody has to.

That be said, as I have been seeing  announcements (almost daily) from candidates entering the political arena and those declaring their intent to run again, I’m finding myself more interested than ever in local and state races. I don’t see myself as a political analyst or activist (and you may feel the same way about yourself) but we are absolutely qualified to stay informed, ask questions, and learn as much as we can about the important issues in Columbia/HoCo and the candidates who aspire to address them.

About a year I wrote this about possible outcomes of the Presidential Election:

If you can look at [the two candidates] and think you’ll be fine either way, then you have a privilege that many Americans do not. If you, or people you care about, are:

LGBTQ+

Muslim

Have pre-existing conditions

Black Americans

Refugees

Immigrants

Women

...then it will not be fine either way. 

A year later it’s clear that teachers, librarians (and intellectual freedom) have been added to that “hit” list. Yes, even right here in Columbia/HoCo.

Current events have shown how certain toxic talking points are being pushed from one community to the next as a means of changing both educational and political outcomes. We’re seeing angry public meetings and public speakers with dubious qualifications invited from out of town to hold forth on an ideology which is inches away from creating destructive political platforms.

So I’ll be writing more during this election cycle about issues and themes that matter to us as a community. It would be irresponsible of me not to. I’ll probably be asking a lot of questions and offer a number of ideas for us to examine together. 

As always, I invite you to participate in the comments.

The Truth in Black and White

 

We see quite a few photographs these days. Social media and the internet rely on them as a means of communication unto themselves. Those photographs tell us a lot. This one, a stock photo, tells you that it is hilariously out of place.

An issue I hadn’t known about until relatively recently was how photography historically shortchanged Black subjects and people with darker skin. I listened to a piece on public radio about it a while back. And here’s a more recent written treatment:

Time for a new lens: The hidden racism behind photography , Solaya Huang for the Calgary Journal

I was motivated to bring this up today because of a group photograph taken at a recent event where it was clear that the photographer did not know how to cope with the fact that one of the subjects was a Black man: the County Executive. This has been an ongoing problem during Dr. Ball’s administration, though not constant. Clearly some photographers are savvy to this issue.

I wonder if he will look back on this time in his life as the time he was photographed with many white people, but badly. Now that I think about it, his years on the County Council probably inured him to this phenomenon. It’s rather symbolic, isn’t it? In the case of a mixed group, photographers will often adjust and correct to the lighter skin tones. 

So the Black people just look…bad. 

Take a look at this video from Vox. I’ve excerpted the photo below to give you an example of what happens in the photographs of mixed racial groups.

In the case of local photographers, particularly amateur ones, I don’t think this is done with a particularly evil or malicious intent.  There’s a lack of knowledge, clearly. But there’s likely an underlying bias that informs them. This is what they’ve always seen; they can imagine nothing different.

There’s so much of systemic racism that works like this.

People don’t “see” what is demeaning and othering in photographs that consistently make our Black leaders, artists, and neighbors look…awful. When you really think about it, that's simply unacceptable. We truly can do better than that here in Columbia/HoCo. Even with a cellphone camera you can at least take the time to make the most basic of adjustments to make the subjects of your photo look more like themselves.

If people feel more comfortable taking photographs of all-white groups, well…there are still plenty of all-white events locally for them to snap away to their hearts’ content.

Sigh.

That’s a blog post for another day.

Content: Advisory

When I was in college I put a cartoon on my door that read, “The world is full of people who are anxious to serve in an advisory capacity.” It was my way of pushing back against those folks who seemed to be ever-present with unsolicited advice and critiques. Quick to jump in, judge, and jeer.

I see you. My cartoon was saying. And I am not impressed.

This old cartoon has been on my mind this week as I’ve watched comment after comment on social media deriding teachers from people who have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be a teacher right now. For that matter, they aren’t teachers, they don’t have the education and training required to be teachers. They went to school once and they have anointed themselves as experts.

I see you. And I am not impressed.

Perhaps they weren’t listening or didn’t care when the workload was crushing teachers even before the pandemic, or didn’t pay attention when teachers were giving 150 per cent during the height of the pandemic. And now, when teachers suggest waiting to reinstate midterm and final exams, and request some additional non-teaching time to complete required non-teaching work: why, they’re most anxious to serve in an advisory capacity.

Let me be blunt. They are trashing teachers all up and down the internet. 

No education. No expertise. No experience. And, worst of all, no empathy.

Some of these people were likely shouting from the rooftops last year that distance learning meant nothing and that only in-person face to face classes had any meaning. One assumes that this meant they believed somewhere in there that education has value.

Yet again, I do not understand people who are so anxious to have their kids in school while having such deep and ongoing disrespect for their teachers. I wonder if they have ever read the story about the Goose with the Golden Egg.

They should.

More teachers than ever are leaving the profession right now, and fewer are entering teacher training programs in college and graduate school. There is a reason, and honestly, it isn’t from a lack of people serving in an advisory capacity.

If you truly value education you must value teachers. If you don’t value teachers you are clearly more interested in hearing yourself talk and in some misbegotten notion of “getting your money’s worth” than in being a part of the solution for students and teachers in our community. Remember, the whole point of that is supporting better educational experiences for our kids. Period.

I’m interested in seeing who has empathy and who shows respect. I’m looking for people who acknowledge the truth of what is happening right now and want to help. I’ve heard that a lot of parents wrote to the Board of Education  last week in support of those six half-days to give teachers a little breathing room to get things done. That’s a good sign. It’s small, but it’s a start.

If you don’t want to be a part of the solution? Go read a book.

Here We Go Again

 

I’m never prepared for the swift onslaught of the Christmas/Holiday shopping season. You turn off your porch light on Halloween, eat a piece of candy, go to bed, and - - BOOM! Everything is red and green and decorated with tinsel. 

Shop, shop. shop. Buy, buy, buy.

On the other hand, this year we have been warned to be patient because of delays caused by supply chain issues. 

Okay…

If you do holiday shopping - - and not everyone does - - you get to make your own decision about jumping into the season right away or warming up to it more gradually. But if you are worried about long delays for packages in transit the answer is clear: shop local.

Last year shopping from places like Amazon meant we didn’t have to expose ourselves to COVID. This year we may still be masked, but we are also vaccinated and that means patronizing local merchants is once again not only a convenient choice but a savvy one. Buying what you find on the shelf in our community negates the problems with supply chain issues.

It also supports your neighbors. 

Think creatively. Going down to the shops is one way to find what you are looking for, but not the only way. Gift certificates for experiences like massages, restaurant visits, and even purchases from independent artisans/makers are readily available options.

I will be compiling your recommendations for local holiday shopping again this year. Send me your best ideas. The more the merrier!

Two immediate recommendations come to mind. First, this Saturday is the Oakland Mills Annual Craft Fair.

It’s going to be sunny and clear, so if you have kids along you can add in a trip to the amazing new playground at Blandair. Don’t forget to stop by the Oakland Mills Village Center for something to eat.   Shopping can make you hungry.

Second, if you are the kind of person who likes to plan your shopping over Thanksgiving dinner, I have a suggestion: this year have your planning session over pie. Sweet potato pie.

The 3rd is again offering sweet potato pies from Chef Jamila for your Thanksgiving dessert. From their Facebook page:

It's that time of year again -- Pie time.  Get ready for The 3rd’s 2nd annual Thanksgiving Pie sale.  

We want to take some things off your plate. So we are making sure you order early to get @Chef_jamila_ 's pies on your plate for Thanksgiving!

There are a few options for purchasing Chef Jamila's homemade, unbaked, frozen Sweet Potato Pies:

- Pre-order one pie: $40

Get one pie for yourself and donate another to @columbiacommunitycare and @power52official: $75

- Donate a pie: $40

- Get as many pies as you want (no one's judging )

* Each pie comes with a handwritten Thanksgiving note*

Pre-order by November 17th.

Where: The 3rd, 10215 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, MD 21044

When: Pick up between 3 pm-6 pm on November 23rd or 24th

And if you forget to preorder, don't worry! Chef Jamila will be making a limited quantity of extra pies so that you can buy a pie day-of for $50.

Here’s the link to order:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-3rds-2nd-annual-sweet-potato-pie-sale-tickets-202562920147

I'm looking forward to hearing your tips for shopping local. In the meantime, I’m suddenly hungry for pie.