The Metaphor: So, I planted a rosebush next to my mailbox. I thought it would be a beautiful thing. I thought it would grow up and have pretty pink flowers and like so many of my neighbors’ mailbox flora would … Continue reading “The Rosebush and the Root”
I love you. I have loved you since before I could write my own name in either cursive or print. As a child, I publicly waxed poetic about you. I pledged allegiance to you every morning. I sang songs to … Continue reading “Of Thee I Sing”
1444 marks the beginning of the Atlantic Slave Trade. This is when the Portuguese transported the first Africans to Europe as slaves. By 1526 they expanded their reach and delivered their first shipload of enslaved Africans to Brazil. In 1619 … Continue reading Slavery and the Roots of Racism/White Supremacy
My father took me to the eye doctor not long ago. The pressure in my eyes has been slightly elevated. After a thorough examination and waiting for the eye drops to finally kick in, the doctor told me I’m doing … Continue reading Ignorant Beliefs of Cultural Roots have Damaged Life in my community
I hold each kernel between my fingers. The seeds were planted close together, and, in order to reap the benefit of each new start, I must separate the small plants. Because they are so close, very little dirt adheres to … Continue reading The Ongoing Work of Growing Things
The first time I read Richard Wright’s 1937 essay, “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch,” it took my breath away. I stumbled across it while flipping through a fat volume I’d checked out of the library, The … Continue reading What I Never Knew: Reading Richard Wright
If we truly seek harmony in these yet to be United States, we must stop the hagiography of its founding and fix the fragmentation built into this nation of our cohabitation. Continue reading Racist Roots of a Revolutionary Nation
“Need a Different Med” “What in the world are you doing back here?” I stood in the doorway, confused by my patient’s appearance and mere presence. He winced as he shifted upright in his bed, bracing the same shoulder that … Continue reading Antiracist Resistance: How Reparations May Be The Missing Prescription
“Please, we need your help. We have recently suffered from the worst of possible tragedies, of which we had no part in this most unfortunate matter that has been so egregious and damaging to our crops, property, and livestock. Our … Continue reading Remorse, Taking Responsibility, and Reparations
Three-Fifths 