The Color Of My Mind

The Color Of My Mind is a photo essay based on the viral online photo series entitled the "People Of Color and Mental Illness Photo Project" launched in September 2014 by Dior Vargas. The project started as a result of Dior noticing an unfortunate trend in the homogenization and misrepresentation of mental health conditions and the people affected by them. Now, this photo essay seeks to highlight the diversity in the mental health community. The Color Of My Mind visually depicts the experiences of 34 individuals as they discuss their struggles, strengths, and lessons learned while living life as a person of color with a mental illness.

Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

Too many of us take too much for granted. For example, if we saw an old lady crossing the street, many of us would look at her and say, Well, thats just an old lady, or wouldnt think anything of her at all. We dont stop to realize that the little old lady is someones mother, that she belongs to someones family, and that she means a lot to somebody. We take too much for granted. We let the little things that mean so much go by every day, and once they are gone, time never gives them back. Concentrate on these things, because they can bring so much to your life. Take the time to thank your heavenly Father, make family time, husband time, wife time, children time, listening time, talking time, caring time, sharing time, crying time, peaceful time, special time, and last but not least, giving time.

“An indispensable text for understanding educational racial injustice and contributing to initiatives to mitigate it.” —Educational Theory American students vary in educational achievement, but white students in general typically have better test scores and grades than black students. Why is this the case, and what can school leaders do about it? In The Color of Mind, Derrick Darby and John L. Rury answer these pressing questions and show that we cannot make further progress in closing the achievement gap until we understand its racist origins. Telling the story of what they call the Color of Mind—the idea that there are racial differences in intelligence, character, and behavior—they show how philosophers, such as David Hume and Immanuel Kant, and American statesman Thomas Jefferson, contributed to the construction of this pernicious idea, how it influenced the nature of schooling and student achievement, and how voices of dissent such as Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and W.E.B. Du Bois debunked the Color of Mind and worked to undo its adverse impacts. Rejecting the view that racial differences in educational achievement are a product of innate or cultural differences, Darby and Rury uncover the historical interplay between ideas about race and American schooling, to show clearly that the racial achievement gap has been socially and institutionally constructed. School leaders striving to bring justice and dignity to American schools today must work to root out the systemic manifestations of these ideas within schools, while still doing what they can to mitigate the negative effects of poverty, segregation, inequality, and other external factors that adversely affect student achievement. While we can’t expect schools alone to solve these vexing social problems, we must demand that they address the injustices associated with how we track, discipline, and deal with special education that reinforce long-standing racist ideas. That is the only way to expel the Color of Mind from schools, close the racial achievement gap, and afford all children the dignity they deserve.

A rich, thought-provoking collection of essays, critiques and interviews from the influential author of Ain't I a Woman and All About Love ‘If one could make a people lose touch with their capacity to create, lose sight of their will and their power to make art, then the work of subjugation, of colonization, is complete. Such work can be undone only by acts of reclamation.’ In a collection of essays, critiques and interviews, bell hooks responds to the ongoing dialogues about producing, exhibiting and criticising art and aesthetics in a world increasingly concerned with identity politics. hooks shares her own experience of the transformative power of art whilst exploring topics ranging from art in education and the home to the politics of space and imagination as a revolutionary tool. She positions her writings on visual politics within the ever-present question of how art can be empowering within the Black community. Speaking with artists such as Carrie Mae Weems and Alison Saar, and examining the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Art on My Mind is a generous and expansive body of work that has become increasingly relevant since it was first published in 1995. Here is an essential tool for understanding the contemporary moment, and a fundamental text for any reader concerned with making and sustaining a democratic artistic culture.

The things I write, what’s on my mind, The Holy Spirit talks, and I give him time. The things I wrote was the way I feel. At that particular time, it was all for real. My first poem was about he had nothing to do, Kids in Joliet prison, and they didn’t have a clue. Life should be about trying to do better. I started out with Ruthie from the first day I met her. I went to Africa, and it was supposed to be a thrill, But the poverty I saw, not in books, it was all for real. A couple of my poems came with a beat. I rapped for RL Manaway, and he couldn’t stay in his seat. I’ve written poems at funerals and really felt alone. Love ones and friends, I looked around and they were gone. Some are a joke just to see you smile. To see people happy, I’ll walk a mile. Others, about my youth, and there’s quite a few. I’m sure you will agree that’s my point of view. All my writings, some people say they’re fine, The things the Holy Spirit says, what’s on my mind.

From bestselling author and Alzheimer's advocate Maria Shriver comes the first coloring book created for brain health and people with Alzheimer's. This interactive coloring book is filled with inspiration and information that was developed in partnership with neurologists, psychologists, caregivers, and, of course, people with Alzheimer's. Each coloring page also features prompts to help people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers create, connect, and reflect. Color Your Mind combines coloring with useful brain health tips about: • Nutrition • Exercise • Social Connection • Sleep • ...and other valuable lessons for a fulfilling, balanced life. The activities, images, and approach in Color Your Mind were developed and refined through visits to nursing homes and memory care facilities. These visits and interactions also informed the selection of cheerful, inspiring coloring images throughout the book.