Transitioning Times

In late 2017, the #MeToo movement catalyzed a change in our national conversation about sexual assault and harassment. The movement began when actress Alyssa Milano shared accusations of sexual assault and harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein. As other Hollywood mega-stars began to come forward with similar stories, #MeToo went viral. Twitter confirmed to CBS News that over 1.7 million tweets included the hashtag "#MeToo," with 85 countries that had at least 1,000 #MeToo tweets. Long before it became a hashtag, we are also aware that Tarana Burke began the #MeToo campaign in 1997, and we applaud her for her activism, her voice, encouraging others, especially women of color, to use their voices. This movement is shining a necessary light on an issue that has always been present for centuries. Historically, some people who have come forward regarding the violence perpetrated against them have had their voices elevated higher than others, particularly wealthy whit...

I have been a major fan of football ever since I can remember.  I watched all the “greats” of the game with my Dad when I was little.  Over recent years, I have been seriously shocked with some players regarding their abusive actions and hoped the league and NFL Commissioner would hold them accountable.  The almost weekly accounts of abuse from some players prompted Commissioner Roger Goodell to take a serious look at the issues of domestic violence in the NFL and inspired conversations to bring some much-needed education and awareness to intimate partner violence.  Yet, with all the bad, comes some good.  I was never more impressed with a player than in the 2015 season when I saw William Gay wear those now famous purple shoes.  Finally, someone was taking a stand for anti-violence.  You see, when William was 8 years old, he lost his mother when she was fatally shot three times by his step-father before he killed himself. He said his mother “didn’t kn...