The issue of race has been an issue since America began, and it's the same thing with the juvenile justice system. Unfortunately, the presence of racial disparities has been evident in the system since its inception. Racial disparities are one of the first things that stand out in what the juvenile justice system looks like. For example, The Sentencing Project is a foundation and an organization that focuses on disparities in our juvenile court. Black youth are four times more likely than their white peers to be held in these juvenile facilities. Even though we're starting to see fewer youth held in facilities, the racial gap is beginning to get smaller, but it's still clearly evident.

The black youth placement rate was 315 per 100,000, and then whites were 72 per 100,000.

When we go to a place like Machu Picchu or Belize, I tell my travelers when we're using those foreign shampoos and foreign soaps and introducing them into an ecosystem that is not used to it; you are affecting that ecosystem. I want my travelers to be mindful of those things. Depending on which trip we're going on, I always make sure that I give them that information and educate my travelers on the place we are going to. All of those things matter.

The U.S. is still by far the largest economy in the world. There undoubtedly other economies rising, in other parts of the world that are developing economically, China is the most prominent. I'm not sure if the rise of China means that the U.S. will be less critical in world affairs or the global economy, but certainly, the future holds a shared stage for the U. S. rather than being the sole center for the world economy.

Often in our society, we tend to try to be so politically correct and try to please everybody, so we're not defining who we are. People are not accepting the gender roles that we have had since God created Adam and Eve. One thing that I feel people we can turn to is their father. Everyone has a father, whether dad was there or not. As men, we tend to want to look back and say I want to be like my dad. I don't want to be like him because he was not good, or maybe even I don't know who he is. Men look at fathers to say, tell me who I am. Where does my identity lie? Men are looking for a father to get that affirmation; when dad is not there, maybe dead, or he doesn't give it, the cycle of having these men step into manhood and adulthood when they don't even know what manhood looks like starts the problem. It's vital that as a society that we affirm, yes, it is okay to be a man, and it is okay to be a woman and follow your roles biologically.

Happiness is my ability to see myself as imperfect but perfectly, and with that clear vision, I can do all things and continue to work hard and continue to make progress and know that even when things get out of balance sometimes. I love myself and respect myself enough that I can bring it back to that center place, and I can act from that place again, and while my definition of happiness has certainly changed, self-acceptance is the one that works for me.

You need to tap into history to understand why environmental inequity and injustice primarily impact low-income folks of color. Specifically, one policy from the 1920s called redlining, which continues to shape our cities today, essentially forced residential segregation. Where communities of color, particularly Black, Latino, Asian, and Jewish communities, were forced to live in some cities, away from white communities. And these areas were in undesirable locations that were near polluting industries. Later in the following decades, cities would build highways through these neighborhoods, and toxic waste dumped near these communities. And over the years, these communities have become overburdened by pollution and toxins, which has led to all kinds of detrimental health impacts today.

There is a huge concern that the wage gap will widen when women are forced out of the workforce and then come back to it. They often cannot command the same earnings as they could before. The wage Gap already was still not closing at any speed, and women of color were being left even further behind.

You often hear about the 82 cents on the dollar on the average for the wage gap. When you start talking about women of color, Latina women, for example, are paid just a little over 50 cents on the dollar for every dollar paid to a white non-Hispanic, man. We had a situation going into the pandemic that already was deeply unequal.

The shock of motherhood is brushed over in society with people saying that delivery is not that bad or painful, you will feel instant love once the baby arrives, it is not about you now, and of course, you should hurry to have another one. This lack of acknowledgment has silenced many women until recently. Women are now getting comfortable with discussing and exploring the truths of becoming a mother.

As talks have increased among women, Black women are left out of the conversation for various reasons.

Looking back to the beginning of 2020 in January, I noticed that I longed for something new and different in this new decade like many people. Although I did not expect different, to be so dramatic, this year certainly made me rethink my life and plan.

The average cost of childcare in the United States is about $1,230 per month (American Progress) and the average family income in America is around $50,000 per year making childcare unaffordable for the average family. The reason for the expense comes down to individual child needs, supervision ratios, and business operations.

I think that people in this new decade are going to seek nourishment for themselves in all forms; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. The last decade showed everyone that people have not been taking care of themselves, their communities, their families, the environment and our children as we should. To start off 2020 I want to look at how we can continue to look at problematic societal issues with hopefulness and a solution-oriented approach.

In today's media, we are confronted almost daily with something about race and oppression. The story usually goes something like this, this person of color was minding their own business when blank came and told them to leave, someone said that them being there was not okay, the N-word or some other term was used, the person was shot, told they could not dress that way, not given the job, fined a crazy fee … etc.

My conundrum about writing about this topic was trying to say something different than what is always said. I feel that when this topic is touched upon it loses its effectiveness because people in society have built up expectations on what is going to be said.

The irony is that even with this mistrust of companies, when it comes to doing good, Millennials only want to work for companies that focus on doing good or social impact. The Gallup report on How Millennials Want to Work and Live cites working for organizations with a mission and a purpose ranks of higher importance than money. Since Millennials will soon be the leading generation in the workforce its critical for every organization and company to do some self-examination and incorporate CSR plans and initiatives in their company cultures to thrive.

The explosive growth in technology has obviously changed how we function day to day but, it has been said that it is also changing our minds. Humans along with the human-experience and technology are beginning to merge into one. People are developing mental health conditions as noted in an online article by the BBC which highlighted the growing problem of Nomophobia - or no mobile phone phobia - the onset of severe anxiety on losing access to your smartphone. The effects of technological disconnection on mental health and being able to function at work are widely known and documented. This can easily lead many of us to question. Are we spiraling out of control with technology and will being human be redefined?