April 2017

Be ruthless. As a U.S. Army recruit, that’s how Christopher L. Kukk was taught to get ahead—and it’s a philosophy you’ll hear in boardrooms, on sports teams, and even in school. The theory is that there’s only so much success to go around, and you have to aggressively compete for it. But according to Kukk’s new book, The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success , ruthlessness is overrated. Instead, he outlines a pathway to success and achievement paved with compassion ,...

On Wednesday, the White House issued an executive order to establish a commission on combating drug addiction, and we now know that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will head it. The Christie appointment seems to signal a soft approach to handling drug problems, given his own experience addressing it in New Jersey. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that this new commission has created a “split personality” within the administration’s drugs policy, given that it seems to clash...

Women say, “You have to love yourself before anyone can love you at all,” and that seemed like solid advice, until I wondered what advice like that means to a person who is from a collective culture? A person like me. The self, as we know it, is a western construct—a white invention. Self-help, self-love, and ascribing value to the self, couldn’t be more white, because it all amps up to the idea that people have quantifiable values, and that value is directly related to meaning. ‘What are...

Although being black in this world certainly comes with its struggles, I wouldn't trade that integral part of my identity for anything. Black-girl magic is real. But it's a sad fact that black women are often plagued with disproportionately high incidences or mortality rates for various health conditions, like heart disease , breast cancer , and more. It sounds scary—and it can be—but knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your physical and mental health. Here are eight health...

An assembly hosted by faith group Justice Matters on Thursday brought up community issues such as mental health, affordable housing and school equity, and event organizers weren’t shy in voicing their disappointment that not all local leaders attended. The conclusion of the third annual Nehemiah Action Assembly likely sent cell phones of two local leaders — School Board President Marcel Harmon and Douglas County Commission Chair Mike Gaughan — buzzing with text messages after their numbers...