Part ONE Once long ago, in late 1976, I set out to write the great American Quaker novel. Or at least, a page-turning historical potboiler. It was to be be about Quakers on the island of Nantucket, during the American Revolution. Two of them in particular: the gruff but pious William Rotch, — who was … Continue reading The Island of Two Stories: A Four-Part Mini-Saga
[NOTE: I once seriously considered retiring in Ireland. It was 2010 and, closing in on 70, I wondered if there were any peaceable options to the ongoing mess and mass shootings in the USA. Initially, Ireland seemed to be several positives: ancestral ties (O’Brien was my mother’s maiden name); a similar language; a reported friendliness … Continue reading Gwynne Dyer: The Northern Irish “Troubles” Are Over. Will they Stay Over?
[Sectarian NOTE: The author here does not mention (and why should she?) that the South, especially North Carolina, has been very important in the history of my own small tribe, the Quakers. I didn’t know or expect this when I came here 21 years ago, so far from the self-identified and self-important “centers” of the … Continue reading Powerful Quote of The Week: the American Future Is In the South
Florida, 1949: Where Woke Went And Didn’t Die By Stephen W. Angell We don’t know the exact date, or the place, when Richard Bradshaw (“Brad”) Angell (1918-2010) had his encounter with the Klan. All the participants are dead, and the story has been passed on orally. But we know the time and season: 1951, likely … Continue reading Exclusive: A Quaker Was Noticed By the Florida Klan in 1951. It Didn’t Go Well. (But It Could Have Been Much Worse.)
[NOTE: Kudos to the Post & Timothy Egan. The good news here is that when the Klan faced the Law for real, the law won. But in its bloody heyday, in the 1920s & after, it was repeatedly abetted by the connivance, corruption or cowardice of those charged with upholding it. The bad news also … Continue reading Klan Rising: Are The Media (& the Law) Finally Going to Pay Attention? (And, How About Quakers?)