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In Memory of Isabella Faith Tichenor, Who Was Loved
Author’s Note: This article is about the humanity of a child of God. There are many of us who have experienced bullying and segregation. This article is solely about how we as communities accommodate those who stand but need support, how we treat those who are different or differently abled. Isabella Faith Tichenor was all of these. Isabella Faith Tichenor, aged 10, died by suicide. Saying that is enough to make anyone heartsick. Her story is more than her death. She was a student in the Davis School District in Utah, at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake. Her family nicknamed her Izzy. She loved and was loved by…
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Stand as a Witness — and Join the Bouquet of Humanity
In the final closing argument of Derek Chauvin’s trial, prosecution attorney Jerry Blackwell referred to the witnesses as a “bouquet of humanity.” It brings to mind the well known scripture in Doctrine and Covenants section 14: “And it shall come to pass, that if you shall ask the Father in my name, in faith believing, you shall receive the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance, that you may stand as a witness of the things of which you shall both hear and see, and also that you may declare repentance unto this generation.” Eleven months ago, when George Floyd was killed, I asked that the women of MWEG watch the video…
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Are You Aware? How Farmers Survive
This is part II in our “Rural America” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Do you know how farmers survive? They have relied for decades on USDA loans. Every year many farmers apply for loans to buy or rent farmland, to buy seed or stock or equipment or fertilizers, and even to cover living expenses. Many farmers could not operate without loans. It’s an annual cycle of borrowing at the beginning of the crop year to purchase the needed items, and then paying up at harvest and not having enough cash reserves to start the next growing season — and then beginning the cycle again. Timing…
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Are You Aware? Made in Detroit
This is part IV in our Awareness Wednesday series for Black History Month 2021. Read the other posts in the series here. In the 1920s, Detroit was the fourth-largest city in the United States, and there was considerable tension in the city. The city — which in 1910 had a population of 456,000, with fewer than 6,000 Black people — had a population of 990,000 in 1920 with nearly 41,000 Black people. The tension created by this phenomenon gave rise to a relatively large Ku Klux Klan presence by the mid-1910s. This was fueled by southern whites and European immigrants competing with Blacks for housing and jobs. The automotive industry, although in…
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Are You Aware? Black Entrepreneurship and Obtaining an Economic Foothold
This is part III in our Awareness Wednesday series for Black History Month 2021. Read the other posts in the series here. Booker T. Washington said Blacks should obtain an economic foothold before trying to tear down social and political barriers. There have been, throughout our history, Black people who have prospered as free people — who made a living that allowed them to buy their own freedom or those of other Black family members. But for most, there have been enormous barriers of prejudice and scant means to overcome in their pursuit of success. This post is about those who have worked to secure an economic foothold. The result…
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Are You Aware? The Destruction of a Dream and the Race Massacre of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street
This is part II in our Awareness Wednesday series for Black History Month 2021. Read the other posts in the series here. After the Civil War, Blacks availed themselves of the opportunity to buy land. During the 1889 Land Rush, the “Unassigned Lands” (ceded Native territory) were the only lands approved to be sold to Blacks. In 1868, John and Rosanna Gurley lived in Huntsville, Alabama. That year they welcomed their firstborn son — Ottowa. Eight years later, John and Rosanna relocated their family, including Ottowa and his three younger siblings, to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. During this post-Civil War era, Black families were quick to take advantage of their newly…
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Are You Aware? The Harlem Renaissance
This is part I in our Awareness Wednesday series for Black History Month 2021. Read the other posts in the series here. The Harlem Renaissance was a product of the Great Migration. Millions of rural Blacks left the South, which had failed them, for better opportunities in western, midwestern, and northern cities. These largely factory driven cities needed industrial workers, especially during World War I. Cities like Detroit, Chicago, Tulsa, and New York were the beneficiaries of the great pool of talent and labor that arrived. Once they had arrived, they built up vibrant neighborhoods full of art, music, and industry. Restaurants, barbershops, grocery stores, and pool halls were opened…
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Are You Aware? Face Value
This is part IV in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American Experience. Read the other posts in the series here. As we anxiously awaited the birth of our daughter, I found myself, as countless parents before me, wondering about my baby and her future. What would she look like? What would her personality be like? What traits would she gain from us and our families? However, I also spent time thinking about how my baby girl would see and be seen in the world — how would she self-identify in terms of race, and how would others define and perceive her because of her appearance. In 1941, another first-time mother was…
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Are You Aware? The Model Minority Myth
This is part II in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American experience. Read the other posts in the series here. I tried to step lightly across the hot sand in a graceful manner but failed as grains of sand made room for the weight of each step as I balanced three pairs of sandals and an extra pair of goggles that my daughters and husband didn’t need. We were vacationing in Kauai for the first time, and, as is normal, they all ran pell-mell into the surf leaving all their belongings behind. As I gathered their accouterments to the chair where I had staked out our spot on the beach, I…
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Are You Aware? A Brief Review of Asian American History
This is part I in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American Experience. Read the other posts in the series here. Asian culture and peoples have always been the “East” to the European “West.” During the Roman Empire, trade routes and networks were established early on between these two regions and cultures. The fascination and desire to trade with the East and its otherworldly foods, animals, and the like is what compelled many, including Christopher Columbus, to embark on a voyage in search of Asia. Early migrations The first Asians to set foot in the Americas were mostly from China, Japan, and the Philippines, arriving in New Spain (Alta California and parts…
