This idea of shared humanity and the connections that we make with one another - that's what, in fact, makes life worth living.

We tend to think of racism as this interpersonal verbal or physical abuse, when in truth, that is only one way that racism manifests itself. The reality of contemporary racism is that it while it is ubiquitous, it is often invisible, subsequently making it more difficult to name and identify.

Empathy should not be contingent on our proximity to suffering or the likelihood of it happening to us. Rather, it should stem from a disdain that suffering is happening at all.

Silence is the residue of fear.

A cage that allows someone to walk around inside of it is still a cage.

When we say that black lives matter, it's not because others don't: it's simply because we must affirm that we are worthy of existing without fear, when so many things tell us we are not.

We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't.

The death penalty not only takes away the life of the person strapped to the table - it takes away a little bit of the humanity in each of us.

In an effort to create a culture within my classroom where students feel safe sharing the intimacies of their own silences, I have four core principles posted on the board that sits in the front of my class, which every student signs at the beginning of the year: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, tell your truth.