Nature, Love, and Safety

When I was a child, I had the fortune to go to sleep-away girl scout camp on a scholarship, and that’s where I felt love and safety for the first time in my little life. It was in the middle of a coastal forest on the West Coast, and we slept in tents or open-structured buildings with all of Mother Earth’s creatures for company. There were always trees around us, holding us in their calming presence. So many strong, loving women, taught us to sing together in one voice. The song I remember best is always in my head when I walk in the forest, and I heard it there today:

“Green trees around us,
blue skies, above.
Friends all around us,
in a world filled with love.”

Mr. Rogers said — and I believe — that love is a verb, an active word, like struggle. I see much struggle, but also much love, in our world right now, and I am glad for it. I would rather have and build that kind of love.

I found a safe, quiet, peaceful place to nurture my soul today. I hope you found space for that, too. xx

p.s. The mountain had a message at the top for us! Scroll to the last photo, and take heart.

Lighting a Lamp For Child Welfare Reform

“‘Let me light my lamp,’ says the star, ‘And never debate if it will help to remove the darkness.’” - Rabindranath Tagore

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I have spent months reviving my lamp. The flame had grown weak, and the brass, tarnished. I polished it for many weeks, discarding blackened rags one after the other. I washed the clouded glass with my tears until it was as clear as mid-ocean waters. I refilled the empty well. It was an abyss; I had burned down all the oil. Now, the flame is bright and strong enough to shine through even the darkest of these unexpected winter nights in New Zealand.

This past week, I’ve been listening to what is happening in the US. I’ve sought out new voices to help me understand our history of institutionalized racism & oppression. Kelsang Gyatso said, “Listening is a lamp that dispels the darkness of ignorance.”

I’m ready to speak here again, but at this moment, more than any sailing story, this is the one that must be told first. . .

For every black adult victim of systemic racism in the US, there are many more black children harmed every day, because inequities in every society start with our young.

I’ve been learning & grappling with a truth I’ve known for years. The privilege granted me by the color of my skin led to a far different foster care experience than that of black children, who:

• are 2x more likely to enter the foster care system than white children

• primarily enter care for neglect (due to poverty), not abuse

• have the highest prevalence of having parental rights terminated

• are less likely to be adopted than white children

• have the highest rate of moving from child protection to juvenile detention

If we want to dismantle racism in America, we must start here. Black Children Matter, so I support not only criminal justice reform, but also child welfare system reform.

How you can learn/support this:

• in Minnesota: pass the African American Family Preservation Act- see https://www.preserveourfamilies.org, give to Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s Kofi program to provide black children with school-based mental health care, give to EVOLVE Family Services UMOJA MN camp

• Nationally: support the Children's Defense Fund, and national efforts to reform the child welfare system, like through the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.

• Locally: seek out orgs serving poor black families & foster kids like Amara in WA state, Black Family And Children Services in AZ. Call your reps and tell them that #blackchildrenmatter, especially those in poverty, homelessness, and foster care.

Let us light our lamps and, together, remove the darkness.

-

Further reading/selected sources:

• https://youthtoday.org/2018/02/found-black-foster-parents-confronted-racial-disparity-foster-care/

• https://nccpr.org

• this brief TED talk https://youtu.be/c15hy8dXSps

• EYE OPENING READ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/nyregion/foster-care-nyc-jane-crow.html

• https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/racial_disproportionality.pdf

• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-816/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-816.htm

• https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/foster-care

• https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/foster.pdf

Interview (!!!) with Out The Gate Sailing Podcast!

Ummm, so... the Out The Gate Sailing podcast just dropped a new episode, and it’s Part One of a two-part interview with YOURS TRULY!! It’s not only my favorite sailing podcast, but it’s made back home in the Bay Area by Ben Shaw, who is a wonderful interviewer and huge supporter of women sailors. I’m so honored by the opportunity... and I feel like 2020 just keeps on giving us rainbows!! (By the way, have you ever seen a rainbow at sunset?? I hadn’t before this one!)

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Take a listen to hear a bit about my sailing origins, why I’m so passionate about shining a light for the foster care community, and how you can become a supporter for these kids, in ways large or small.

Check it out, and support Out The Gate Sailing by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you so much!!

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photo taken as I arrived at sunset to Palmerston Island, on 5 Nov. 2019.