We often build from brokenness. We grieve, then put ourselves back together again more times than we would like to admit. When I see the word “reconstruction,” I notice the prefix “re,” meaning “again.” That gives me hope. Hope that … Continue reading RECONSTRUCTION: Clear the Wreckage, Return to the Blueprint
Bernie Madoff became a sacrificial lamb because he violated the rules and took advantage of the untouchables: wealthy, “white,” male, landowners. Every now and then, they may drop one into the system to give the appearance of justice and no … Continue reading The Game
“If you get rid of unfair practices,quit blaming victims,quit gossiping about other people’s sins,If you are generous with the hungryand start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,your shadowed lives will be bathed in … Continue reading Peace, Be Still: Reconstructing America After the Storm
No society simply survives a storm. Every society reconstructs. The only question is what it reconstructs. Some rebuild institutions while leaving injustice intact. Others restore public order while preserving the assumptions that fractured it in the first place. Still others … Continue reading Every Reconstruction Builds a Moral World
“Let us rise up and build.”Nehemiah 2:18, KJV Dear Reader, I am a native of Wilmington, North Carolina. My family and I are what I call geographical ancestors of 1898. We are not descendants looking back at a distant place. … Continue reading After the Fire, What Do We Build? Wilmington, 1898, the Voting Rights Act, and the Unfinished Work of Reconstruction
We focused on the silent scream of the unborn, even as we daily ignored the cries of the poor and oppressed, all while our politics and religion, our propaganda, history and self-interest inoculated, absolutely inoculated us, from hearing the cries of God’s … Continue reading White Confession for a Sunday Morning
Every community we inherit is the result of reconstruction. Some communities rebuild after natural disasters. Others rebuild after decades of disinvestment, displacement, discrimination, or the slow erosion of cultural traditions. We often think of reconstruction in terms of roads, schools, … Continue reading Who Gets Remembered? Reconstructing Our Collective Memory
I never dreamed that vacationing out of the country is not only a luxury, but a necessary mental health break to reset my mind from the dark and depressing political state that our country is in right now. It appears … Continue reading August 2026 Theme: Now What?!?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2026), a storm is a catastrophic event usually marked by nature or life circumstances. Starting over after a storm is no simple task. It requires faith, patience, support, strength, and willingness to achieve your desired … Continue reading Reconstruction: What We Build After the Storm
Three-Fifths 