Founded out of frustration and a desire for an integrated community of creative and curious Believers who welcomed deep convos,

I created Hope and Hardships for earthlings who were starting over in life, battling bias and maneuvering trauma with Christ.

(Note: I recently moved out of a harmful household. So, this space is also for anyone who wants to witness the 200 mistakes I’ll be making this year, as I rebuild my life from scratch.)

Hope and Hardships will house two companion platforms on its website: Notes On My Life (subscription-based) and The (Un)Biased Church (complimentary).

Notes On My Life is where I’ll share my boring and bizarre stories re: my turbulent journey with Christ, plus my unfortunate adventures as a darker-skinned woman who’s stuck inside a biased bubble.

The (Un)Biased Church will serve as a story guide for forward-thinking, multi-hued, empathetic and compassionate Christians in media who want to:

• get comfortable talking about skin;

• better understand racialization, deracialization and the damaging or deadly consequences of skin tone bias;

• reimagine a Christ-centered leadership that challenges the gospel of segregation and better-ness; and

• create a complexion-inclusive community that safely welcomes the full humanity of darker-skinned women.

FYI, my joy deposits have dwindled in the last three years.

And my heavy heart is burdened with permanent potholes.

So, at the suggestion of my professional development coach, I’m committing to dumping my pain and my perceptions on digital paper for the rest of the year.

If you’re into perspective-shifting insights or Soul-searching stories that don’t sugarcoat the reality of living in an upside-down world, then I invite you to sit at the Hope and Hardships table, where our skins don’t divide us—they bind us.

The hope is low. The hardships are high. The Love is higher.

Thank you for stopping by,

Your melanated neighbor