This is US

By Way of Prologue Anyone wanting an easy listening overview of a city’s attractions knows exactly what to do: climb aboard a climate-controlled tour bus. For the price of a ticket and minimal mental effort, you get to sit back, relax, and get an infotainment version of local history. Those were the likely expectations […]
A “Karen” by Any Other Name . . .

In gratitude and memoriam for Erica Garner, Heather Heyer, Fannie Lou Hamer, Coretta Scott King, Dorothy Parker, Ida B. Wells, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg I know. I can hear the indignant objections now. Somehow in the past two years, what was a “comical” media meme is now loaded with racialized invective, evoking everything from […]
“Sir, Can We Talk About Your Knee on My Neck?”

Try to imagine this scenario. You walk into your home and see that it has been plundered by burglars. You even know who the burglars are; after all, they have ransacked your home and stolen your property many times before. Since you know who the burglars are and how they operate, you decide that it’s […]
After Justine, What’s Next?

Just a few weeks ago, we were all pulled into yet another heartbreaking headline about the senseless death of an Australian woman, killed by a person who had been sworn to serve and protect her. It has been almost 20 years since unarmed Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by police. Since that time, but […]