AVIVA BROWN Hi! I'm Aviva Brown, a black, Jewish wife, and mother of four biracial kids, aged 10, 8, 5, and 3 months. I’m currently writing a children’s book about our colorful Jewish family. So many adjectives, describing my life—black, Jewish, woman, mother, convert. I’m still becoming these things, becoming fully myself. It’s challenging. Addressing Representation I began ...
I was a soldier in the US Army from ’97 to ’01. Before 9-11 happened, I deployed to Kosovo and Bosnia as part of UN and NATO forces peace keeping missions. As an intelligence officer in Bosnia, I saw reports from UN investigators responsible for investigating, identifying, and charging those involved in war crimes. They ...
I do want you to put a label on me. The first thing people consider when they think of me is, ‘She’s a single mom.’ I’m okay with that. Being their mom is my purpose. The implication of being a single parent, however, is that I have to deal with the pressure of being both mom ...
I lost my dad when I was 12. But, it didn’t hinder my will to achieve and be, me. Part of my sensitivity to the world came from allowing myself to grow from tragedy. I want similar for my 2 boys. To know that they can still function and live a life that they want, ...
I get stares from people of all ages - I find people have a natural desire to categorize me before they speak to me, but I fuck up their ethnicity-determining algorithm somehow. Spanish speakers act surprised when I can’t answer back in Spanish. Many people will make small talk just long enough to ask which tan-skinned ...
Raising well-adjusted children is no easy feat. I have received tons of unsolicited advice from just about anyone that decided to share their "opinion". Most often, these "words of wisdom" were delivered to me in response to allowing my child to try certain tasks on her own. When I was teaching my then one year ...
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