Confronting Racism and Classism

“Hard: Confronting Nazis. Harder: Confronting everyday racism practiced by loved ones, colleagues, and people you share community with. Hardest: Acknowledging and confronting your own racist tendencies. All are necessary if we are serious about ending oppression.” ~ Maurice Moe Mitchell For my own practice, replacing the word racism with classism is also true and important. I’m […]

May This County Experience Equal Protection for All

150 years ago today the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed all people born on this soil or naturalized as citizens “equal protection”. May we see a day when this is actually true, when we have a just and compassionate governance system with human rights laws that are enacted in ways that create equal […]

The Horrid History of Convict Leasing

In 1865 the 13th amendment abolished slavery except as punishment for someone convicted of a crime . The crimes that people were convicted of were ridiculous (being recently “freed” from slavery, but arrested and convicted for not yet having found employment). So convict leasing as a form of slavery continued. And basically still exists. If […]

It’s Time to Genuinely Protect ALL Children

On this Father’s Day, I am thinking about the societal role of father’s as protectors. I’m profoundly grateful for all the men who show up to protect, love and nurture young people and I’m grateful to all the mothers, grandmothers, sisters, brothers, and aunties who fill that role when the fathers aren’t able. I’m also […]