Blog

One of the best ways to visit in my head is through my writing. I will be adding blogs as I write them..  These are three of my favorites from over the years.

The Meek Will Not Inherit the Earth

The Meek Will Not Inherit the Earth

I showed my university class the first minutes of the Disney classic, Cinderella.  I asked them, was Cinderella a person with virtue?  Without hesitation, the unanimous consensus was that, yes, she was.  Why, I asked?  What did she do?   At first, they seemed confused...

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Singing to Prince

Singing to Prince

As the world remembers Prince, his genius, his showmanship and his influence, there is one little known Washington story that shows his relationship with his audience.  In 2004, he was back in the public. This tour was his reentry into the musical mainstage after a...

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Black Women and the High Stakes of Breast Milk

Black Women and the High Stakes of Breast Milk

Soon after my daughter was born, she started to scream. I had decided to breastfeed but my milk had not come in yet and the nurse had put a bottle of formula in her mouth.  The doctor told her to take the formula away, that my daughter would be better off hungry.  He...

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Is Mental Illness a Crime in America?

Is Mental Illness a Crime in America?

In March, Dallas police were called to a house of a black family. A man, a member of the family, had a screwdriver. Police were told that the man was mentally ill, yet the police did not act in accordance with the established protocol of talking and calming.  Instead...

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Dr. Parks brings a wealth of knowledge from her background in everyday aesthetics and her involvement with numerous high-impact interdisciplinary projects. As a speaker at our international symposium on Beauty at Work, she brought to bear insights integrating theory and practice in unique ways. The audience was left inspired by her rich examples of initiatives integrating art and justice which had transformative effects on diverse communities.

Brandon Vaidyanathan, Ph.D., Catholic University

I wanted scientists from around the world to appreciate why our research, constructed carefully in laboratories, matters to a wider world. Dr. Parks’ work with Baltimore youth and with farmers through the Natural Dye Initiative demonstrates powerfully the importance of beauty across race, gender, and social class. Many meeting attendees went out of their way to tell me how Dr. Parks’ presentation moved them and motivated them to think more explicitly about the social relevance of their work.

Anjan Chatterjee, M.D., Director, PENN Center for Neuroaesthetics

Sheri L. Parks rivets listeners with profound insights, drawing on deep knowledge, both academic and experiential, of what it means to endure and, beyond that, to create community today. Marked by remarkable generosity and a playful spirit, her work and her words inspire. It has been a special treat in my career to hear Dr. Parks speak and then to host her at my institution.

Bethany Wiggens, Ph.D., Founding Director, University of Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Humanities

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