💛 Hey Reader,

Given recent events, I thought Our Human Family and OHF Weekly should offer a statement regarding these rapidly changing times. This special edition of OHF Magazine deviates from our tradition of exposing readers to celebrated Black writers and their literary works in a way that cuts past the manufactured fear and loathing and reveals why the writers—and their works—are considered a vital part of the American literary canon.

We’ve culled a few articles from our catalog and added a couple more that we hope will enlighten, inspire, and encourage you to be an agent for positive change as you forge ahead during America’s season of discontent. 

The edition opens with Michael Greiner’s “A Brief History of Racism in American Politics,” in which he establishes the fact that this current and virulent wave of racism and oppression sweeping the nation is nothing new. The trend is as woven into American culture as the concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In “We’re All Racists,” OHF Weekly Managing Editor Sherry Kappel lays down a very provocative premise about racism, what it is, what it isn’t, just how pervasive it is in American culture, and why it so often goes unnoticed. She also drops several examples of behaviors that readers can readily identify with in the solitude of their own hearts without having to bear the shame and recrimination a show of hands would prompt.

“If Not Now, White Folks, When?” is my firsthand account of the highs, lows, foibles, and triumphant experiences with friends who tread that road less traveled to antiracism. And of course, there’s a story about the one situation that always makes me ask with incredulity, “Really, white guys?” 

If you’re not a Person of Color and the words “white privilege” make your hair stand up on end, writer, trauma therapist, and educator Rebecca Hyman’s article, “The Strange Paradox of White Privilege” is for you. In it she examines the grammar of how the concept is first introduced can virtually guarantee the meaning is misunderstood. 

OHF Weekly fan favorite William Spivey uses a provocative title, one of the most effective tools in a writer’s toolbox, to pique readers’ interest. In “When You’ve Been White Too Long,” Spivey examines the long-term effects of a lifetime of Blackness and whiteness in America.

Fear not. All the articles in this special edition do not opine on doom and gloom. Drew Downs rounds out the collection with “Hope Rejects Fear: The Super Power We’re Most Afraid to Use.” In his article, Downs not only details how fear creates and perpetuates oppression, but he also presents readers with strategies to neutralize fear.

This special edition of OHF Magazine is complimentary and available for download now. Get yours and share the link with a friend.

While the other side is working to bring the America we know to an oppressive demise. That outcome is not inevitable. To successfully thwart that bitter end, everyone who believes that democracy’s best days are ahead must actively pursue the future they seek. Get registered and make a plan to vote. Take a friend or two with you. Continue to do good. And encourage those who are undecided and burdened with the weight of current events. 

The other side is already working toward their goal. The good news is: you can, too.

Love one another.

Clay Rivers
OHF Magazine Editor-in-Chief