Combating Racism – Injustice in Criminal Justice
Combating Racism – Understanding History – Fugitive Slave Laws
An 1851 poster warning of police acting as slave catchers
I’ve continued to read The New York Times magazine of August 18, 2019—The 1619 Project. One of the poems contained in the project is a redacted version of the first Fugitive Slave Act, signed into law on February 12, 1793 by George Washington. Below is a...Combating Racism – Even In Poetry
I’ve just returned from a two-week writing retreat conducted by one of my favorite authors, Natalie Goldberg, who is most well-known for her book, Writing Down the Bones, but has also authored many other incredible books about writing practice. During the retreat, she shared this poem, “The Blue-Green Stream” by Wang Wei (699–759), a Chinese poet,...
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Combating Racism – Understanding Independence Day
Independence Day commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Although the vote for independence took place on July 2nd, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later.
The tradition of setting off fireworks on the 4th of July began in...
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Combating Racism – Eradicating Race Norming
Some people in our country argue that systemic racism isn’t real—that it happened in the past, during slavery and Jim Crow, but that it doesn’t exist today. Yet earlier this month, the National Football League (NFL) confessed to a practice of systemic racism in determining awards for injuries suffered while playing. This practice has been...
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Combating Racism – Celebrating Juneteenth & Father’s Day
This past Wednesday, Congress voted overwhelmingly to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday, marking the day—June 19th, 1865—when Union Army General Gordon Granger and his troops advanced into the remote, former confederate territory of Galveston, Texas and announced that slavery was officially over in the United States.
"The...
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"The... Combating Racism – Understanding History – The 1619 Project
The cover of the August 18, 2019 New York Times magazine bears this quote:
In August of 1619, a ship appeared on this horizon, near Pont Comfort, a costal port in the British colony of Virginia. It carried more than 20 enslaved Africans, who were sold to the colonists. American was not yet America, but this was the...
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Combating Racism – Felon Disenfranchisement
Today, felon disenfranchisement laws continue to impose on the civil rights of felons – America’s most disadvantaged group.
To be ‘franchised’ is to have the right to vote. This basic civil right is central to any democratic nation and essential to the fundamental principles of democracy. It’s how we – the people – exercise our power through a...
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Combating Racism – More Progress Is Needed
As a privileged white woman, I looked at progress that has been made to combat racism in the year since George Floyd’s murder as a glass half full, and wrote last week’s newsletter from that perspective. But since then, I’ve wondered, thanks to a conversation with a trusted Black friend, if I were a Black woman,...
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Combating Racism – Honoring George Floyd
This Tuesday will mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the anniversary of my changing my Best Self blog posts to Combating Racism blog posts. Since May 25, 2020, Floyd’s death has sparked global protests about racial inequality and police brutality, and renewed pledges from some to fight racism. In this newsletter, I highlight...
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