Blog

House Chamber - 1800's and Current Day

Two weeks ago, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, I wrote about the history of this symbol of our democracy and how it was built and designed by men who believed in White supremacy. I focused on the Statue of Freedom,...

“People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.”

~ Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Last weekend I saw Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the classic movie, West Side Story. I loved the movie, the acting, the choreography, and the music as much as I...

A year ago this past week, the U.S. Capitol was the site of an insurrection against our democracy. But the U.S. Capitol has been a landmark for White supremacy since its founding. The Capitol was built and designed by those who believed in White supremacy.

BACKGROUND

On July 16, 1790, Congress declared the city of Washington in...

“Very few people will ever do great things, but all of us can do small things in a great way.”

~ Mother Teresa

Hopefulness is the driving force behind every great endeavor. Because it allows us to envision positive outcomes, it can help focus our energies on generating beneficial effects. While there has been some...

Hopefulness is a mindset that helps us see the bright side of things and plan for a better future. Despite the continued systemic racism in our country, in the 18 months that I have been writing about racism, its impacts for our country, and ways to combat it, I have seen some rays of hope. One...

Throughout the 19^th century, the Black press—those daily and weekly newspapers and magazines published by and for Black Americans—provided a forum and gave a voice to a people who were voiceless. With a pen as their weapon, Black journalists and publishers were soldiers without swords. Black newspapers played an equally significant role in the lives of Black...

The Black press is a critical—but often ignored—aspect of Black history and culture. Along with churches, political and service organizations, cultural institutions, and schools and universities, the Black press has been central to community formation, protest and advocacy, education and literacy, and economic self-sufficiency. Black journalists played a dual role, serving as of purveyors of news and information and as agents...

[The following recommendations are abridged from “Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy” by the Equal Justice Initiative.] For the past two weeks, I have focused on illegal racial discrimination in jury selection and its consequences. Eliminating this racial discrimination will take considerable effort on the part of court officials, legislators, judges, prosecutors, defense...

“In our courts, when it’s a White man’s word against a Black man’s, the White man always wins.”

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishes the right of a defendant charged with a crime to a trial by an impartial jury. But the history of...

[Information for this newsletter comes from “Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Service: A Continuing Legacy” by the Equal Justice Initiative.] After reading about the jury selection in the trial of the three White men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia last year, I was inspired to learn more about the issue of jury selection. Arbery,...