Yvonne D. Hawkins

Writer-Editor | Professional Coach | Clergywoman

Gainesville, Virginia

I'm a writer-editor, counselor-in-training and avid storyteller. I've transitioned a rewarding newspaper journalism career into freelancing and life coaching businesses. I'm particularly interested in stories that highlight the intersections of black faith, black culture and the collective American narrative.

Yvonne D. Hawkins

Writer-Editor | Professional Coach | Clergywoman

Gainesville, Virginia

It was not about Obama
It never really was about Obama. Or politics. Or even a black president, for that matter. Rather, the hubbub about being there to witness history unfold probably best was encapsulated in a gathering miles away from the National Mall outside the municipal boundaries of Washington, D.C., itself. Before the millions gathered Tuesday afternoon on the Mall, several thousands crowded last Sunday night inside Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Md. They came to that event, like my Dad and I, to join in the Inaugural Gospel Concert, one of the dozens upon multiple of dozens of unofficial events heralding the words "presidential" or "inaugural" in their titles and being held at locations sprinkled throughout the D.C.-Virginia-Maryland metropolitan area.
Argus Leader
Opinion columns Argus Leader
"Politically correct' shows words matter
Please, don't call me Why-vonny. Or Why-von. Especially don't call me Why-von-nay, a pronunciation that dumbfounds me every time I hear it. My junior high school band teacher used to call me that - for two straight years. I thought he would be the only person to mangle my name so severely, but sadly that's not true. E-von doesn't bother me, though, because I understand why people say it. It's the most common pronunciation of my name even though - at least according to my parents - it's correctly pronounced Yuh-von. What's really special, though, is when I meet someone new - or even when a longtime acquaintance or colleague approaches - and the person asks: "How do you pronounce your name?" I promise you, it's like I hear angels singing the "Hallelujah" chorus in perfect harmony. With harps playing melodically in the background. And white, puffy clouds perfectly decorating the bluest sky above.
Argus Leader
Opinion columns Argus Leader
Black History Month still vital
If ever there was proof that Black History Month still matters, it's the controversy that shrouded the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his former parishioner Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. As excerpts of two or three of Wright's most inflammatory comments during his 36-year ministry begin circulating as TV sound bites, I remember sitting in my office here in Sioux Falls confident in my profession's ability to offer the badly needed context of where such statements could arise, if even there was no way to ignore why they were wrong. I remember crying at the danger of a half-told story, given that if all I knew about Wright and his ministry had come from those news reports, I also would be convinced that he was a racist extremist who despised this country, despite his own U.S. military service. But I know Wright. I've worshipped many times at his former church, Trinity United Church of Christ, on Chicago's South Side. I went every chance I could when I lived in Illinois and would do so still.
Argus Leader
Opinion columns Argus Leader
Immigration debate may reopen old wounds
What makes me nervous about what's happening in Arizona or even just south of here in Fremont, Neb., isn't the search for ways to curb illegal immigration. Nor the taking of tough steps to ensure that people living here are obeying this country's laws. I'm all for law-abiding citizens, and I often tell newcomers to Sioux Falls not to be fooled by this city's sometimes Mayberry-ish feel. Law enforcement officials here are a far cry from the buffoonish Barney Fife. So if you're doing something illegal, whatever it is, and get caught, it's a sure bet you're going to jail - or at least will be appropriately punished in other ways. I'm all for that, too.
Argus Leader
Argus Leader Opinion columns
The many faces of coercion
She was my first patient during my clinical pastoral education unit. I had taken CPE partly because I was scared stiff at the thought of ministering to people in emergency hospital situations. I had been in ministry for a couple of years, but because I wasn't a senior pastor, I hadn't been called to emergency visits. I knew that surely wouldn't last. So enrolling in CPE - a pastoral care training for chaplains but one that other ministers also take - I chose to face my fears. Turns out that I wasn't the only scared student. But much like medical residencies, CPE is based on a philosophy that spiritual caregivers learn best by doing. So after completing some foundational work, each person in my group was assigned to two hospital units and sent off to serve patients.
Argus Leader
Opinion columns Argus Leader
Argus Leader Editorials
It's understandable that passions about a proposed events center are running hot. Residents will live with the outcome of various decisions surrounding the project for years to come, so stakes are high. However, the City Council's 5-4 decision to build the facility adjacent to the Sioux Falls Convention Center has exposed a deep rift in the community, and the situation is on the verge of growing worse. It's one thing to engage in vigorous dialogue to ensure that decisions are the best ones possible. That's how democracy should work, even if the process gets messy at times. Still, it's important for those who support the events center but remain divided over location to be keenly aware of the presence of those who oppose the facility altogether. Those opponents are all too eager to allow supporters to tear at each other, dragging the community through a destructive debate in the process. That kind of divisiveness gives an edge to people who say build it nowhere.
Argus Leader
Editorials Argus Leader

About

Yvonne D. Hawkins

Blogging

Life coaching

Writing

Group presentations

Leadership coaching

Editing

Content management

Christian leadership coaching

Small group facilitation

Christian life coaching

Christian education

Sermon development

Preaching

As an award-winning journalist, I specialize in opinion writing and community conversation. I also have extensive experience in content and product development as well as business news.

As an ordained clergywoman, I specialize in pastoral care and counseling. I'm currently a counselor-in-training as an MS/Ph.D. student in pastoral counseling at Loyola University Maryland in Columbia, Maryland.

As a life and leadership coach, I help people transform their personal pains into personal power, and maximize their God-given potential.

The most fascinating stories to me combine the intersection of black faith, culture and the American narrative.

I'm a proud graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where I received a bachelor of science in journalism, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where I earned a master of divinity.

I also have trained at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, based in Shrewsbury, N.J., and the Maynard Media Academy, sponsored by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

In my spare time, I enjoy nature walks, meditation and jigsaw puzzles.

Yvonne D. Hawkins

Yvonne D. Hawkins

It was not about Obama

"Politically correct' shows words matter

Black History Month still vital

Immigration debate may reopen old wounds

The many faces of coercion

Argus Leader Editorials

About

Yvonne D. Hawkins