Louisiana is one of the states with the highest incarceration rates, with a total of 28,387 incarcerations (Department of Public Safety and Corrections, 2020). African Americans make up the highest percentage rates of individuals being incarcerated, followed by Caucasian Americans … Continue reading The Sharing Circles of Health Equity: The Louisiana Prison System
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “circle” has about nine different definitions. This illustrates how a circle can mean many things in various contexts. However, one particular definition stands out: “a group of persons sharing a common interest or revolving … Continue reading See Thy Neighbor: A Healthy Civic Circle
And Other Secrets the White House Doesn’t Want You to Know And Reasons Why Immigrants Won’t Share Your Rights With You Before gathering around the Thanksgiving table let’s pay homage to the First people of this beautiful nation, the pre-colonial … Continue reading Descendants of U.S. Chattel Slaves Exempt from Unfriendly Laws, Secrets of 2023 Supreme Court Decison Provides Protection for the Historically Vulnerable
Over 50% of prisoners have been diagnosed with either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. It is obvious to me that the greater good is better served by helping the vulnerable become stronger and the ill become healthy. My son is one of those people who ended up in the system because of trauma-triggered mental illness and lack of appropriate, timely intervention by medical staff who should have seen the signs of addiction. Continue reading Unmasking The Trauma Of Mental Healthcare
Change. That word—three syllables that shake the bones of a nation built on sandcastles, fragile and crumbling under the weight of its own contradictions. Does America have the capacity to endure the tremors that come with shifting toward justice, toward … Continue reading Does America Have Capacity for the Enduring Qualities of Change?
Does America Have the Capacity for the Enduring Qualities of Change? Let’s take a moment to ponder. They gazed into the heavens, and at first shine, they glowed, and they blazed in the brilliance of the color spectrum of magnificence. … Continue reading Resting Upon Fallen Leaves
I was raised in a Norwegian Lutheran tradition in the rural Midwest. The “Kýrie” is an important prayer in Christian liturgy. Like a prairie fire, Kýrie disrupts and awakens. With song like a prairie, Kýrie is a call for healing … Continue reading Kýrie
As America stands at a crucial crossroads, whether we are ready to tip the scale toward meaningful change becomes increasingly pressing. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes the tipping point as a pivotal moment when an idea, trend, or … Continue reading The Temperature in the Room: Is America Ready to Tip the Scale?
I will confess that I’ve found myself many times in a place of giving up on this country ever healing and changing. For all the talk of being a “melting pot”, I look back over the past and present of … Continue reading Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?
Three-Fifths 