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Four Ways to Honor the Life of Olivia Gaines

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My daughter, Olivia Gaines, died on June 13, 2026 at City of Hope’s Helford Hospital . Many people have asked our family how they can honor Olivia’s life and ten-plus year struggle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease (cGVHD) . #1 - Donate Whole Blood - The entire process will take about one hour of your time, with the actual draw taking 6 to 10 minutes. Olivia was very passionate about people taking the time to give whole blood donations because of the number of Red Blood Cell and Platelet transfusions that she needed to keep her alive from 2015 to 2026. Here’s Olivia expressing gratitude for the “LIV Inspired Blood Drive Event” that was conducted at Kalamazoo College in 2016: “Thank you for taking time to be like the countless strangers who’ve saved my life.”   Roughly 62% of the United States population is eligible to give blood, but only 3% of the people who are eligible to donate blood actually do it. But at some time in life, nearly half...
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Righteously Angry At The Racist Ways of Trump 2.0 - Trump & The Old South

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Van Lathan shared his viewpoint on the Trump Administration reinstalling two statues honoring Confederate soldiers in the DC Area. Point blank - The Trump administration has proven themselves to be racist (most racist in my lifetime & that’s saying something) & anti-Black in a myriad of ways. Too many for me to recount in this post. My July 17th Facebook Post (see Below) featured a Rebel Flag and started off with this statement: “MAGA - The central question is what time period are those who identify with the MAGA movement referencing? The rebel flag?- The Confederacy? 1860? 1960? I’m all ears - I really want to know! My view is that MAGA is a racist dog whistle!” I’m still waiting for someone who is in support of the Trump administration to respond! Van Lathan emphasized that it was the post-Reconstruction period in USA history when the Confederate Battle Flag was adopted, the Klu Klux Klan rose to power, and Confederate Monuments and Memorials started appearing throughout the ...
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The Black Power Mixtape (1967-1975) -- Reflections

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  It’s powerful and illuminating as an adult to watch Göran Olsson’s “ Black Power Mixtape (BPM), ” which is about “the evolution of the Black Power movement in American society from 1967 to 1975 as viewed through {the eyes/lens} of Swedish journalists and filmmakers.” I came of age during this period of American history, a time period that encompassed my fifth grade year living in a segregated society in the South and attending an all-Black Catholic school to starting my Senior year in high school at an elite boarding school (Episcopal H.S. – Alexandria, VA ) founded in 1839 that welcomed its first Black students in 1968 and since its inception schooled “boys from some of the most prominent families in Virginia and neighboring states.” I lived and breathed these moments as a young child and teenager but seeing this film takes me to the depths of my being in truly understanding a movement that I was mostly sheltered from. 1967 was a remarkable year in my family’s history. My dad’s ...
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bell hooks & Big House -- "Living by a Love Ethic"

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Gloria Jean Watkins aka bell hooks passed away on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.  If you're reading this post, you probably are somewhat familiar with her writings and philosophy of life.  In 2020 my African American Experience class at Glendale Community College was assigned to read two chapters in bell hook's book: "all about love -- New Visions."  My response: We’ve read, written, thought and discussed many angles of the African American experience this semester. It’s been a tremendous journey, one that has caused me to think deeply about the uniqueness of growing up Black in America, its challenges and its joys. So much of the Black/African American experience is tied to the legacy of slavery and the pain and suffering that has emanated from a society that five centuries ago defined a group of people from the continent of Africa as chattel, rendering them to be thought of by the majority as less than or other. When you understand the physical and psychic damage  t...
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Reflections on the “13th”

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The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865. One sentence with a complicated legacy: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."  This week in my African American Experience Class we studied Mass Incarceration and the Prison Industrial Complex. We watched Ana Duvernay's documentary 13th   which can be viewed on Netflix & YouTube -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8  and read the Introduction in Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. I highly recommend that you read the Preface in the 10th Anniversary Edition of the The New Jim Crow which was reissued in 2020.  The last time I took a college course was in 1982. We are required to post a summary of our thought...
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The Right Way - Reflections on the Chicago Bulls 1990's Dynasty & "The Last Dance"

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"The Last Dance," a 10-part documentary series by Executive Producer, Mike Tollin and Director, Jason Hehir chronicles the rise and sustained excellence of the great Chicago Bulls team of the 1990's that were led by Michael Jordan. The exploits of the 1997-98 Bulls as they march towards their 6th National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship are highlighted in each episode due to  " 500 hours of footage on some 3,200 reels of 16-millimeter film"  being shot by  an imbedded NBA Entertainment crew during the 1997-98 season in anticipation that this would be Jordan's last season in the NBA.   'The Last Dance' ESPN Trailer Who am I & why are my reflections about "The Last Dance" worth reading and hearing? I was a scout and front office executive with the Chicago Bulls from 1989 - 2000 working directly with Jerry Krause.  Oftentimes when I've listened to a podcast or read commentary on "The Last Dance," I remark to myse...
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