I am writing this from my in-laws' home in Cotonou, Benin. Every morning, I wake to the sight of Black boys and young men moving freely through the neighborhood. Some are working. Some are playing. Some are sitting still. Some are wandering aimlessly. Some are sleeping beneath a tree or resting against a run-down building. From the first time I visited this place, amid the hustle, the poverty, the wealth, and the harsh yet beautiful realities of daily life, what struck me most was a sense of...

How to Apply the Navigating Courage Framework The past year has been trying. The raging system continues to cause physical, mental, and psychological harm—especially for those of us who still believe in humanity. Watching that harm unfold, again and again, has left many of us carrying a quiet despair. And the dangerous part is this: despair doesn’t always announce itself loudly. Often, as we navigate the path of Courage, despair seeps so deeply into our souls that we become unaware of its...

I write about CouRage because in systems fueled by rage, those of us who still believe in humanity often find ourselves in distress—sometimes even in denial—of the evil that exists within and around us. Our hearts, our bodies, and our souls cry out. When that happens, many of us are reduced to debilitating fear. We look away from the carnage around us, clinging to whatever real or imagined protections we believe might save us. But it is in that retreat—into safety, comfort, denial—that...