Hat tip today to Reporter Olivier Knox, whose Daily 202 newsletter for the Washington Post, reminded me that today (November 30) is the birthday of Samuel L. Clemens, aka Mark Twain (born 1835). Knox sent me in search of some Mark Twain quotes, of which there are of course many. Here are a few, relatively … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mark Twain, You Old Anti-Imperialist!
[In midlife, Diane Faison and her family faced multiple traumas while living in Richmond, Virginia., including the murder of her mother-in-law and family conflict over her estate.] Diane writes, After all this, it was no surprise that my husband said he wanted to leave Richmond. I don’t want the children living in this atmosphere, he … Continue reading “Passing the Torch”, Author Speak #6: Diane Faison Mckinzie
In 2010, after eight years at Quaker House, I couldn’t recall ever seeing an article in our local paper, the Fayetteville Observer, that was affirmative of GLBT issues, or in particular, supported the repeal of the military’s repressive “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, which since 1994 had pushed gay troops into the closet or out of the services..
This doesn’t mean the paper was a font of homophobic verbiage; but when anti-gay articles did appear, they usually went unanswered.
That silence was consistent with the general atmosphere of the community. Racial integration has been the policy of the military for sixty years, and federal law for almost fifty; racism still exists here, but it skulks in corners and speaks publicly in code. Mixed families in mixed neighborhoods are everyday.
Homophobia was another matter. I was acquainted with a number of gays and lesbians there, some who were quite active in the community. But there was no visible gay presence in the city. No “Gay Pride Day,” no vocal organizations, and the gay bars kept a very low profile. It was the most closeted city I had lived in.
Flashbacks: an article in the August 17 (2019) Washington Post, about a donnybrook developing around the vacationing Supreme Court, is giving me flashbacks: It seems like a century ago — October 4, 2018. The first day of hearings on the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination. Everybody was waiting for the predicted bombshell sexual assault testimony … Continue reading The Fight Over the Supreme Court is not Over — Just Ask Sheldon Whitehouse
[Scroll down for updates.] On August 2, federal judge Petrese B. Tucker issued a decision on a motion to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed in July 2018 by two former teachers at Philadelphia’s Friends Central School (FCS). The teachers, Ariel Eure and Layla Helwa, were suspended in February 2017, and fired in May, after they … Continue reading UPDATED: Friends Central School Discrimination Lawsuit: Fired Teachers Win the First Round