For the past few years, I’ve been greatly disturbed by the growing rancor, divisiveness, and hatred on display in America. I’m not so naive as to believe that the parade of abject malevolence is anything new. Like several of you, I’ve long suspected the seeds of bigotry had been lying dormant just below the surface in need of only a fresh heaping of fertilizer and a climate of fear to take root, blossom, and overrun our sociopolitical garden with brambles, weeds, and rodents aplenty.
In response, I decided to take action. While I support demonstration and rallies, participation in those types of activities isn’t practical for me. (Think: a forty-eight-inch tall man wedged in a sea of people, with a much heftier build than the average chunky eight-year-old, and a field of vision of maybe a foot at the most obscured with up-close and personal views of the nearest butts and/or torso.)
Nope. I’m not that guy.
But I have lent my talents and gifts in other ways. Given my decades as a designer/art director and the consistently favorable response by Medium readers to my essays about racism (who knew?), I focused my energy on starting a Medium publication about equality, Our Human Family.
Some might say that the tiles on my intersectionality Bingo card are maxed out. I like to think that my race, gender, sexual orientation, choice of faith, and physicality — all gifts which were not left to me to choose —have been essential to shaping my opinions on equality, diversity, racism, and the like.
Perhaps the combination makes me seem approachable or safe or something, but either people share things about themselves without solicitation or provocation or I’m perceptive. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. Either way, over the years, I’ve come to know people who grew up in patently bigoted environments only to discard their bias and prejudice against people who look, live, or love differently than they do and become more inclusive and compassionate versions of their former selves.
“Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And there’s something I’ve learned in the process:
- People can change when they know change is possible.
- People can change when they want to change.
- People can change when they know how to change.
So anyway, earlier this year I started a publication . . . and now, I — along with one of the best creative directors I know, an exceptional team of writers, and killer photographers — am taking this whole equality, diversity, change is possible “thing” to the next level.
The Special Projects Team at Our Human Family in conjunction with Constant Rose Publishing, has launched OHF Magazine, a print supplement to the similarly titled Medium publication.
Like its online counterpart, OHF Magazine celebrates equality and embraces the diversity of human experience by showcasing the inherent humanity of all people regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, faith choice, age, physical ability, economic means, or anything that would divide our human family.
OHF Magazine is written to two very specific audiences:
- People who want to move to a more inclusive worldview, but don’t know how or that it’s even possible, and
- People who don’t believe there are everyday people out there who are working to make the world more equitable for everyone.
OHF Magazine isn’t about hope. It’s about challenging the ways we all see ourselves, one another, and the world in which we live—and without shaming or blaming. We simply share experiences you might otherwise miss. And remember, lasting paradigm shifts don’t happen overnight and seismic shifts are rare. The only place any of us can start is right where we are. Right now. Today.
Our limited-edition inaugural issue, officially available for order on December 2 (Cyber Monday), is a thirty-six-page, stylish journal rooted in the theme unity across differences and is packed with compelling stories and stunning visuals to connect with our readers on visceral and tangible levels. Remember, once these issues are gone, they’re gone. But . . . uh . . . since you’re in the inner circle, I hope you’ll join the movement to bring equality back (okay, bring equality to America for the first time) and access your copy.
Love one another.
