Diversity

Really enjoyed this recent UK Guardian article (https://bit.ly/3vMIYyh) about older people making significant changes in their 90s. There’s the story of Maybelle Blair, who proclaimed, “I was in the closet for 95 years. Then that door blew open!” Imagine coming out as a lesbian at 95. Wow!

Chip’s Note: I love my dear friend Wanda who was in our first MEA beta group more than six years ago. We’ve created reggae music festivals, ventured to Burning Man, and will soon be living near each other part-time in Baja as she’ll be a resident in my co-founder Jeff Hamaoui’s Baja Sage community.

Grace Lee Boggs said, "You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it." But, it’s hard to do that on the margins when you’re not part of the dominant demographic of a society. We are all mirrors for each other, but that mirror isn’t color blind.

Chip’s thought: I met Peter when I was overseeing all of Airbnb’s global hosts. He was such a wise, generous soul in London and that comes through in today’s guest blog post.

Chip’s Editorial Comment: Diane has been an active part of our MEA community and has traveled down to Baja three times. I always appreciate hearing her perspective.

One of my modern-day heroes is Bayard Rustin, the African-American activist who was pivotal in a variety of mid-20th-century social movements for civil rights, economic empowerment, nonviolence, and gay rights. I'll never forget seeing the documentary of his life, "Brother Outsider," (https://bit.ly/3Np1xhC) at the Sundance Film Festival two dozen years ago. I don't know if I've ever been so inspired by one man's story. He used the term "angelic troublemaker" to describe the people he admires; of course, it's an apt description for himself.

“I am not entitled to have an opinion unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people who are in opposition. I think that I am qualified to speak only when I’ve reached that state.” - Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

The original meaning of the word “epic” is not an adjective to describe “bigger than, greater than, king of the hill, master of the universe.” It means a long form story of “derring do” – daring to do and daring to be. And stories are important. It turns out we don’t live in our lives or our relationships.

When I was 25 and finishing up a temp job at a large brokerage firm, I asked the man I had been assisting if he would answer a few questions. The industry intrigued me, but I didn’t know how to get started so I asked for his suggestions.

As I see the commercials for Wakanda Forever, Black Panther 2 movie (a just-released sequel to the 6th highest-grossing superhero film of all-time), I immediately think of the extraordinary experience those of us had a few weeks ago at the first-ever Black Modern Elders workshop.