I would like to give a sincere formal apology. Last year I used a term that was inappropriate and that may be offensive to certain people. During the first Jehan Talks I used the term "mildly retarded" to describe someone. I would like to apologize for using that phrase. It is easy sometimes to say things and not think about what you said and how it may offend someone until after you've said it. I am aware that all of us are not the same and that there are children and adults that struggle on a daily basis with physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, social, cognitive and developmental disabilities. I apologize if that term offended anyone. That was a poor choice of words on my behalf. A lot of words can be offensive to certain groups of people. We have to be careful not to say these words, the N word (which I feel that I do have the privy to use because I am black), the F word, and the R word. I realize that I have used the R word before in one of my poems, "Sometimes". I honestly had no intentions of offending, making fun of, or hurting anyone's feelings. I sincerely apologize and in the future I will be more cognizant of the words that I choose to describe people and to express myself.

~ Jehan