Peace doesn’t happen by accident – it has to be built with intention and strategy. As ICE escalates operations in Minnesota, many Americans are asking what they can do without protesting. This piece breaks down real, practical actions that hold federal agencies accountable and protect civil rights.
Grief in Motion: Losing Someone During the Holidays
Since my Aunt Deborah passed this week, I’ve still been moving through life. Christmas parties. All-day strategy sessions with clients. Meetings I committed to long before grief entered the room. In a normal week, I’m at my home office 90% of the time – getting work done, liaising with my ADS Agency team – emerging…
Part 2: What Americans Should Know About Scotland (From a Black American Who Lived There)
When I posted Part I of this series, I shared some of the biggest lessons I learned as a Black American living and working in Scotland for a year. And yes — I emphasize Black American because the TikTok trend that started this whole conversation was about Black Americans being surprised to see Black people…
Sticks & Stones: Charlie Kirk, Debate and the Power of Words
Read Time: 7 Mins. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s cute to say, but it’s not exactly true, is it? No one I know is “cheering” Charlie Kirk’s death. The narrative that people on the left are somehow celebrating an assassination is a distortion. A man has…
Part I: What Americans Should Know About Scotland (From a Black American Who Lived There)
I cannot tell you how excited I was to learn that “Black people in Scotland” was trending on TikTok. This was made for me — because once upon a time, I was that Black American who got to live and work in Scotland for a year. Why emphasize Black American? Because the TikTok trend itself…
Want to Stop School Shootings? Look to Scotland.
Today’s tragedy in Minneapolis — where two children were killed and more than a dozen others wounded during a school Mass — is yet another grim reminder of how broken America’s relationship with guns has become. Once again, people will mourn. Once again, there will be the lighting of candles and whispered, fervent prayers. And…
An Answer | #TheScotlandBook Chapter 9 Snippet
Not every heartbreak comes crashing through the door. Some just settle in — like steeped tea left cooling on the counter. You don’t even realize how strong it’s gotten until it’s too much to swallow. In Chapter 9 of The Scotland Book, everything’s packed except my certainty. I’m in between worlds — not in Columbia,…
That First Hint of Razor Throat: A Summer Covid Story
Last Saturday night, I was sitting at our round mahogany table – that cozy compromise between dining and catching the TV – when I told Marc, “My throat hurts… all of a sudden.” Not a scratchy build-up, just instant pain, like a mild case of strep. A sudden onset that sent me racing to the…
Hot, Humid and Low Hemoglobin: My Honest Recap of the Peachtree Road Race 10K
Why I Did It (Even Though I Really Didn’t Want To) I’ve lived in Atlanta for 10 years. I’ve seen the posts. I’ve heard the hype. But I’ve never run the AJC Peachtree Road Race. Why? Because I don’t like big crowds. Because the idea of running double my usual 5K sounded… unreasonable. And honestly?…
Flying with Queen: A Lesson in Humanity
I sat down in my seat, 54F by the window, and next to me was a massive black bucket purse with an even bigger, well-worn and very warm-looking fluffy cream coat piled on top. The purse was stuffed to the brim, and the coat was so puffy and huge that it practically swallowed up the…
A.D. Smith 