My mom raised me on her own, pretty much from the moment I was born. She did it so well I didn’t realize most kids have two parents until elementary school. That’s when I started making friends and having sleepovers, where both parents were present. The more I got to know kids my age, the more I saw differences between my life and theirs...

Two years ago Saturday, nine beautiful people were shot and killed inside the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. As it has been with a growing list of terroristic tragedies in this world, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, and I remember the revulsion and bereft I felt...

As of Monday, it’s been a year since the shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. It is the worst mass shooting in American history, with 50 dead and more than 50 injured. It’s no secret that we have a problem with madmen having access to guns in our country, but this column isn’t about that. This column is dedicated to those 50 lives we lost last year...