
Navigating the messy middle between the truths of a chaotic and beautiful world, together.
Navigating the messy middle between the truths of a chaotic and beautiful world, together.
Finn tells me that if you've just met me, you'll know within 5 minutes that I lived in Myanmar growing up. In my defense, that was the watershed moment in my life. It defines me and was the springboard for me to study Chinese and go on to get several degrees in International Relations. My passion is helping people navigate cultures and t
Finn tells me that if you've just met me, you'll know within 5 minutes that I lived in Myanmar growing up. In my defense, that was the watershed moment in my life. It defines me and was the springboard for me to study Chinese and go on to get several degrees in International Relations. My passion is helping people navigate cultures and the diversity of truths in between, and I'm blessed that my passion is also my profession.
Frequent collaborator, W.F. Twyman, Jr (aka Wink) is an author and former law professor. He has written essays and articles in many magazines including the National Black Law Journal, the Pennsylvania Lawyer, and the Intellectual Conservative. His self-published works are On the Road to Oak Lawn: Truth, Reconciliation and the Twymans (December 1, 2018) and Gotterdammerung (July 3, 2019).
I am 18 years old and a Theatre Arts student at McCallum's Fine Arts Academy. I have a passion for basketball, track and acting. History and science are my favorite subjects.
The Challenge: read an article a day from both a "progressive" and a "conservative" view.
The Goal: Learn how to navigate the messy middle with compassion, and to communicate and articulate the truth you find in between.
In a world that is increasingly polarized, both my son, Finn, and myself often find ourselves caught in between two very different views. With the proliferation of media outlets catering to one view or the other, it is very easy to find yourself in a silo or an echo chamber, hearing only the views that mimic your own. This makes it difficult to understand, let alone respect, those with opposing views. In many respects, this is a luxury - you don't have to think critically, after all, everyone else in your various circles have the same view.
Not being able to afford this luxury, I have given us the challenge to explore the divide. While there are some truths that are undeniable - black and white - many "truths" are relative - relative to your upbringing, neighborhood, culture, etc. In essence the world is full of varying shades of gray.
The middle is messy and uncomfortable, but we believe that it's the only way to move forward and repair the breach.
Welcome to the Truth in Between and our navigation of the messy middle.
Unsatisfied with the relentless pace and narrow constraints of social media, two Americans, Winkfield Twyman, Jr. and Jennifer Richmond — a black man and a white woman — rediscovered the art of letter writing and maintained a years-long correspondence about race in the United States. In Letters in Black and White, they share their exchanges in full for the first time, charting their journey from wary strangers to trusted confidants.
At a time when many Americans are dazed, confused, and angered by the country’s current state of race relations, they offer a model not only for having those needed but difficult conversations but also for a better way forward. Marked by well-crafted turns of phrase, sharp wit, and sober reflection, they intentionally avoid those fashionable words and phrases that have been drained of real meaning or hopelessly saddled with excessive baggage, such as antiracism, white fragility, allyship, and wokeness. Rather, on topics ranging from the murder of George Floyd to the launch of the 1619 Project to the debate over reparations, they tell the truth as they see it in their own uncorrupted language, speaking for no one but themselves.
Particularly critical of the ideological battles that fuel media programming and entrench political rivalries and the noble-sounding social and cultural projects that fail time and again to offer any meaningful solutions, they identify productive ways to unify across our differences, to find our common humanity, and to mend America’s divided soul. Ultimately, they offer an inspirational message of hope and optimism for all — one that does not allow the past to define our present or determine our future.
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Pre-Order Wink & Jen's forthcoming book, Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.