It’s Whittier’s birthday. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) is now mostly thought of as a very old-fashioned conventional poet, who can be dispensed with in light of modern notions of verse and literary values. But I think such a dismissal misses a big point which should give us pause today: Whittier was also a very public … Continue reading Whittier’s 214th Birthday: The Peace-loving Quaker War Poet
Not to ban the slogan. But to close it like a book, and put it on the shelf with others that have been read, which delivered value, and have become part of a reference collection. In the almost sixty years since I was drawn into racial justice work, many such slogans have come and gone: … Continue reading To Promote Racial Justice, It’s Time to Move On from “Anti-Racism”
I’ve said that when I was Director of Quaker House (2001-2012) I had the best Quaker job there is. But I didn’t always feel that way. In fact, my initial stance was emphatically the opposite. Now that the job is open again, it’s worth describing how and why that changed for me. This is a … Continue reading Quaker House, 9-11 and Me: Arguing With God
I’m not much of a data wonk, but I can read charts that go up and down. And handily, the Washington Post & New York Times put out such charts for COVID every day. So here is our recent history with the pandemic compressed into four simple charts. 1. Summer 2021 started well, but turned … Continue reading Quickie Covid Update: Bad News, Good News, Bad News (Again; Sorry)
Doggone it, the 2022 Texas law banning the teaching of critical race theory came too late to help me. I was particularly sorry to miss the mandate that educators avoid anything that might end up making anyone “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or … Continue reading Not-Banned Black History Month: Critical Race Theory & Me — It Could be Verse