AUTHORJON.COM
  • Home
  • Events
  • Books
  • About
  • Work With Jonathan
  • Blog

#IRunWithMaud

5/12/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Happy Tuesday #Jontourage,

​Welcome back to the “Classy Gent Chronicles”, where staying classy is the only way to be. In this week’s edition, read about how I spent my last Friday and the greater meaning behind it.

Last week, I participated in the #IRunWithMaud initiative.  For those of you who may not be aware, Ahmaud Arbery (an African American male) was killed by two white males while he was jogging.  He was killed on February 23, 2020.  The situation hit hard for me because I exercise outdoors pretty much every day.  On top of that, I live in a predominately white area so that really could have been me. 
Since I work at a university, I posted a video on my department’s Instagram page to encourage students to get involved.  The response was truly overwhelming.  The video received over 100 shares and almost 200 likes.  The day of the challenge, over 35 people participated in walking at least 2.23 miles to honor the life of Ahmaud Arbery and shared their results with us.  Although the #IRunWithMaud initiative went well, it opens the door to additional dialogue. 


Picture
As a society, how can we work on this issue of racism in our nation?  Here is my take on some things we can do as a nation, especially as people of color:
 

  1. We must speak up early and often.  Participate in peaceful protests.  Don’t just send one email.  Don’t just make one call.  Don’t just write one letter.  Speak up at your workplace and in your neighborhood when you see discriminatory things happen. We must be consistent and show that we are not tolerating it.
  2. We must pay attention to our local politics.  Although there is a demand that the White House and Supreme Court do right by people of color, we must also hold our mayors, council representatives, local sheriffs and local judges to the same standards of excellence.
  3. Consider how you spend.  Money plays a big role in everything, especially the private prison system.  Many companies are investors in private prisons including prison labor so when you shop at certain stores, you are indirectly funding the prison system.
 ​
Moral of the story: Of course there are a million and one factors that play into the issues we have but everyone can do something to help make things improve.

Remember, in order to live out your dreams, you have to think it, feel it, live it! Until next time, stay classy...

For more Classy Gent Chronicles blog post, be sure to visit https://www.authorjon.com/blog
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jonathan C. Harris is no stranger to leadership, hard work, or success.  At the age of ten years old, he earned the right to be a guest weatherman for a day on Fox 5 DC News.  He has already received over 100 honors and awards including Forty Under 40 for Prince George’s County, MD, TEDx Talk speaker, American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Outstanding Men’s Program, high school Valedictorian and the Kiwanis Club Citizenship Award.  Raised in Fort Washington, Maryland, he has served in leadership positions his entire life, from being the manager of the school store in elementary school to the president of the Homelessness Awareness Club in middle school to the president of the National Honor Society in high school.  
    One rainy day and a flat tire later, Jonathan’s life would change forever when car troubles inspired him to write a book.  In March 2016, Jonathan’s published his debut book, “Master of Ceremonies: A Male’s Guide for a Successful Life”.  In 2019, he released two children’s books on the same day, “Growing Gents” and “Girls with Pearls.”
    In addition to being an author, Jonathan serves as a motivational speaker, life/career coach and blogger.  In his spare time, he enjoys reading, investing in the stock market, spending time with family and friends, mentoring the youth, volunteering in the community, video games and watching movies.  He is the founder of the movement, #GiveAuthorsAChance, which encourages kids to read more, be exposed to more authors, and for more media outlets to recognize and support authors.  For information about book talks, author visits and workshops, contact him at Authorjon.com.

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Events
  • Books
  • About
  • Work With Jonathan
  • Blog