Progress
A Glimmer of Hope
No Help Here How effective at making immediate improvements are the accusatory fingers pointing at white privilege? How many black youth struggling in violent neighborhoods have been helped by cries of institutional racism? How many young man with no positive messengers to model themselves after have been given a positive direction by the more fortunate…
Read MoreA Recipe for Failure
A Recipe for Success Recently, Mayor Emanuel of Chicago announced that he would like to impose some new requirements to graduate high school. According to the Chicago Tribune: Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants Chicago public high school students to show they have a plan for what’s next before they can get a diploma. Emanuel’s proposal would…
Read MoreA Different Wall
In my first blog post, I spoke about the importance of dialogue and a non-judgemental stance in order to overcome issues of race. I personally have seen improvements, large and small, made when individuals or groups are willing to come together and perhaps step into a zone of discomfort. This is why I continue to hope…
Read MorePresident and Mrs. Obama Phone Home
When I express remorse over what I see as the loss of a once in a generation opportunity by President and Mrs. Obama, most of my left-leaning friends and family are surprised. Their first thought is my frustration with President Obama’s foreign policy, but that’s a different story. A writer at the Chicago Tribune recently…
Read MoreSeat of Honor – Tamar Manasseh and Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK)
The Woman Behind the Mask I want to pay tribute to a woman and an organization that are doing something to improve the lives of black Americans. She does not have a big stage or microphone to work from. In fact, she literally started with one city block, a chair, and the daring to stare…
Read MoreThe President and I Have This in Common
On Saturday, April 23rd, President Obama called out Black Lives Matter by saying you “can’t just keep on yelling” about issues it wants to change. This was reported in the New York Daily News on April 24th in an article by Jason Silverstein. He went on to quote President Obama: “Once you’ve highlighted an issue…
Read More