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“Xenophobic, anti-Islam, anti-Semitic racist.” Who, me?
When you’re running for a school board position in suburban St. Louis and tweet out memes about banning Islam in America, what could possibly go wrong? A retweet by Jeanie Ames from October, 2017....
View ArticleThe hostage crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border
The Trump administration is holding children hostage. They can call it “family separation.” They can say that it’s meant as a “deterrent” to illegal border crossings. But, bottom line, this is a...
View ArticleRed Hen Incident reminds us of the wisdom of Michelle Obama’s words – “When...
Is it understandable that the frustration of living in a world with the duplicity of Donald Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and others would want us to lash out? Of course, it is. But is it time for us...
View ArticleDe-naturalization: Trump’s latest weapon in the war on immigrants
The Trump administration is employing a new weapon in its war on immigrants: de-naturalization. Yes, that’s a real word. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a process in which a naturalized citizen is...
View ArticleWhile Rome burns, the ACLU rebuilds
The Constitution is important. Full stop. It does many things, chief among them being defining and protecting the rights of people in the United States. So, what happens when America elects an...
View ArticleIt’s not just Kavanaugh; it’s the whole process
In a truly just world, Brett Kavanaugh would not be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court for so many reasons. While the “he said – she said” conflict between Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey...
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Defying religious misogyny, Hindu women create a human wall of inclusion
As we in the U.S. watched the federal government shut down because of one man’s fixation on a border-wall boondoggle meant to exclude desperate families fleeing violence and poverty, in the southern...
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Reflections on the Lynching Memorial and Legacy Museum
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice made me cry. And that, I’m sure, is not a unique experience. I can’t speak for the busloads of other people who were there, and I can’t pretend to know how...
View ArticleOn hearing “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball” in Montgomery, Alabama
Visiting Montgomery, Alabama to see the civil rights sites, we walked over to the old train station along the riverfront. Inside what appears to have once been the baggage room, we learned that it is...
View ArticleAbortion: as old as pregnancy itself
One of the most contentious and emotionally charged issues in American politics today is the issue of abortion and a woman’s right to choose. Forgotten in the increasingly divisive crusade to deny...
View ArticleUS attempts to abort UN resolution on conflict-related sexual violence
Another day. Another outrage by the Trump administration. This time the outrage happened on the floor of the United Nations. While the attention of the American people was focused on the troubling...
View ArticleThe Redemption of Robert Byrd and What Biden Could Learn
Robert Byrd served in the United States Senate for 51 years representing the people of West Virginia as a Democrat. 51 years is worth several lifetimes in politics and the country changed in a myriad...
View ArticleCultural sensitivity at colleges: Separate but equal again?
College campuses are supposed to be places where students can grow intellectually, while also feeling comfortable enough to share their beliefs and opinions. However, if a student or a group of...
View ArticleLife after the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder—to overturn the “pre-clearance” requirement in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act—continues to have major ramifications for voting rights in...
View ArticleCreative strategies that could have worked in aftermath of George Floyd Murder
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson sent the United States Army into Detroit to try to calm the streets after rioting and police conduct had resulted in the deaths of forty-three. Fifty three years...
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Do Introverts Commit Acts of Violence?
Here’s a question for you: “Do introverts commit acts of violence? The only way to try to answer this question is to acknowledge that at least one premise of the statement is probably faulty. It is...
View ArticleStudents Discuss How to Steal an Election / Suppress Voter Engagement
Civitas, a St. Louis-based educational non-profit, is working with seventeen interns this summer. They are researching (a) why certain individuals do not vote and what can be done to encourage them to...
View ArticleThe First Amendment and social media: Let’s review
Some thoughts about the (likely) purposeful misuse of the the 1st Amendment freedom of speech in the wake of events like Simon & Shuster canceling their contract to publish Josh Hawley’s book,...
View ArticleExpand the Court
For the past year, I’ve sat through a lot of anxious liberal pearl clutching commentary about the danger of a stolen Presidential election. “This time was practice, next time they’ll get away with it”...
View ArticleAnother Lesson We Can Learn From Jackie Robinson
A central theme in the 2016 Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson is that Robinson would have to suppress his anger in his early years in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He did it so...
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