I often find myself in discussion with people about their reason for travel.  

Is it to engage in cultural exchange or to treat yourself to some relaxation abroad? Is it to eat all of the foreign cuisines you can or be pampered in an all-inclusive resort? Or, is it a mix of it all?

Not all hair is created equal.

Hair in the black community has always been a controversial topic. Sadly, black women especially, know that the hair on their head is much more than, “just hair” and can be the target of oppression at work, school and many other places. In September 2016, Pretoria High School for Girls in South Africa was in the news because a group of students protested against the school’s hair policy. The school policy called for, “neat” hairstyles and forbid, “eccentric” hairstyles which equated to the black girl's natural hairstyles in the school.

We are only half-way through Black History Month and I can already say with confidence that this has been the most publicly revolutionary and active celebration of blackness during our "designated month" in my lifetime.

In the last few weeks, public faces of the black community have openly taken a stand against the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the injustices against people of color in the United States and around the world. From Jada Pinkett Smith's call for a boycott of the Oscars...

Last year was a monumental year for me and my company (Glass Ladder Group). I am often in disbelief and awe at the amount of change, transition and success that I have seen in this short amount of time.

A year ago, I lived in Washington, D.C. and was working for an organization as the Acting Director. My work environment was miserable. Each week I put in way more work than my fair share and each week I was told that my consistent 13 hour work days did not matter. My life's work, intercultural relations, was not important. It did not bring in enough money and it was a waste of the institutions resources. For me this was devastating.

Let’s take a moment to dispel the myth that culture begins and ends with our ethnicity, or that culture shock is only a thing that we experience when we move to a completely new country.  Truth is, moving from the 60s to 104th is as much of a life-changing cultural exchange as living abroad in Paris for a semester.