Welcome to THIRD SPACE

An introduction and ethos for our creative commons.

I am lucky to be one of those people who keeps a pristine, storied journal collection. Since 2010, you’ll find ruled, grid, dotted, and even ripped pages chronicling my life—each one a record of moments both ordinary and extraordinary. It all began with daily schedules scribbled on trips with my mom, a young scholar working on the Baraka Campaign in Newark, New Jersey. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, presentations to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and trips to Duke University for hush puppies with Professor William Darity. His wife once taught me how to play cat’s cradle as we waited for the check. 



The adults were amused to find that I—a child surrounded by indulgence—did not like ice cream. As they wiped off their milk mustaches, I realized something profound: children hold a unique power at the table. As long as we were diligent, kind, and respectful, we could listen, learn, and contribute. If we mimicked the best of the adults around us, ignored the worst, and asked good questio…