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Jen Payne
Jen Payne

257 Followers

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Published in Live Unlimited

·Pinned

Welcome Back

She said to herself, as she opened her laptop — Hello readers, hello friends, hello Medium. It’s been a few months. I thought for sure I’d have been back well before this, but, here I am… struggling to write a few simple lines. It’s a little hard to believe I haven’t written anything in months, I was writing almost every…

Writing

3 min read

Welcome Back
Welcome Back
Writing

3 min read


Published in Equality Includes You

·Pinned

Dear Black Voices — I Owe You An Apology

I listened from a place of privilege and never actually heard you. — I often ask my partner to read my work before I publish or submit it. When I asked him to read my article titled Dear Black Voices, Questions for those with, and from one without, perspective I ended up hurt and angry at his reaction. …

Racism

5 min read

Dear Black Voices — I Owe You An Apology
Dear Black Voices — I Owe You An Apology
Racism

5 min read


Published in Live Unlimited

·Sep 14, 2021

Family Is More Than Blood

And then, my dad got sick — First, let me say this… My dad is my hero. He was 19 years old when he found out my mother was pregnant with me. I don’t know how he felt when he heard that news. I don’t know what he thought. I only know what he did. He bought a house for my mom…

Family

7 min read

Family Is More Than Blood
Family Is More Than Blood
Family

7 min read


Published in Live Unlimited

·Sep 14, 2021

How a Fear of Failure Led Me To Commit a Federal Offense

I was a disappointment to my father and I knew it — Ten years ago I was starting my first business, a local coffee shop and art gallery. At the time I was newly separated from my kids’ dad, had moved back to our hometown, and worked with my dad at his dealership/auto shop/salvage yard (he was finally living his dream). I…

Prison

3 min read

How a Fear of Failure Led Me To Commit a Federal Offense
How a Fear of Failure Led Me To Commit a Federal Offense
Prison

3 min read


Published in Just Say It

·Sep 2, 2021

Excuse me, white people

We’re not done here, stop high-fiving and get back to work — I don’t know why I’m surprised to find that so many of my fellow white anti-racism allies have decided to pack up and go home. It’s a fairly common American trend. …

Racism

5 min read

Excuse me, white people
Excuse me, white people
Racism

5 min read


Published in Just Say It

·May 24, 2021

Ho-ly Sh*t Was I This Ignorant?

Response to a reader’s comment — there was a time I would have helped him explain away his bad behavior — I’ve read this comment a dozen times and the pic above shows my exact reaction every time. I’ve been trying to find a way to phase my reply that won’t be either too gentle or too harsh. That will neither offend, nor endorse. …

Comments Invited

6 min read

Ho-ly Sh*t Was I This Ignorant?
Ho-ly Sh*t Was I This Ignorant?
Comments Invited

6 min read


Published in Live Unlimited

·Updated May 18, 2021

My Best Friend Died Yesterday

And I’m so angry — It wasn’t yesterday anymore, but it still feels like it. I just saw him. We just had coffee at Cafe de Paris. We were just on the beach together. He was just here! Except he isn’t anymore … Two weeks ago my best friend sat down out back of the…

Grief

3 min read

My Best Friend Died Yesterday
My Best Friend Died Yesterday
Grief

3 min read


May 18, 2021

Actually, that's sort of what happened in one of my "holy shit" moments.

Actually, that's sort of what happened in one of my "holy shit" moments. I was listening to the novel by Angie Thomas, hearing it from the perspective of a mom, and I thought, "My god, that's what a mother of a black child is afraid of every day in this…

2 min read

2 min read


Published in Live Unlimited

·Apr 22, 2021

Super Fly Speaks Truth to Power

As blunt and brutal a soundtrack as has ever been made — In an upcoming Singspiel Aside, AJ DeLicious and I talk about the Curtis Mayfield hit, “Move On Up”. While researching for this conversation, we discovered another work by Mayfield, the soundtrack from the 1972 Blaxploitation film, Super Fly. We loved it and while we decided to keep the podcast…

Black Culture

7 min read

Black Culture

7 min read


Published in Equality Includes You

·Apr 6, 2021

Dear Black Voices

Questions for those with, and from one without, perspective. — Here’s what I know with certainty Systemic racism, anti-Black bias, and white privilege exist and are prevalent in the US. The Black experience in the United States is something that no one who hasn’t lived it can understand. Dear white readers who want to argue about this … please be quiet and listen. An abbreviated timeline of Black medicine in the US

Racism

5 min read

Dear Black Voices
Dear Black Voices
Racism

5 min read

Jen Payne

Jen Payne

257 Followers

Fearless Writer | #momlife | Social Change Entrepreneur | she/her | https://medium.com/subscribe/@paynejenifer https://medium.com/membership/@paynejenifer

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