On Mercy… One hour, twenty minutes. That’s how long Hugo Tale-Yax lay on a sidewalk in New York, in front of shops and businesses, in the path of passersby. One hour, and twenty minutes during which dozens of people walked past Tale-Yax, some staring, some mocking, but most seeming to pay no attention at all as he lay dying on that sidewalk on an April morning in 2010. One hour, twenty minutes, during which time it simply was too easy... Read more
Prudence Crandall is recognized as the State Heroine of Connecticut. As a young teacher, in 1831, she had set about the business of forming the Canterbury, Connecticut Female Boarding School, a private school where young women throughout New England might come and be educated. The following year, a family of freed black persons sent their daughter, Sarah Harris, to the Canterbury Female Boarding School. The Harris family was a fine, upstanding family of freed people, and as they were... Read more
When Ear Infections Become a Battleground When our older daughter was about six months old, she began experiencing a wave of ear infections. It seemed that we scarcely recovered from one before another had set in, leaving her constantly crying and pulling at her ears. We found ourselves with appointment after appointment with our pediatrician, and prescription after prescription for antibiotics, none of which seemed to resolve the problem. Like any parent, I was worried: worried about how her hearing... Read more
26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. [John 19:26-27] More than a few years ago, a man who lived alone took note of neighbors who lived in the house across the way – a husband, wife and young son. Even from... Read more
It’s that time of year…long, chilly December evenings seem to be meant for movie watching. Before you settle down with your popcorn and hot coffee/tea/chocolate, please take a look at this list of twelve inspiring, food-for-thought, movies to watch for messages of love, peace, and hope to carry with you through this season and beyond. The films were chosen because of their contemplative nature, and the thoughtful messages these films offer for any of our lives. A note from the... Read more
Genesis 25:7-10: 7 This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred and seventy-five years. 8Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. This is... Read more
On September 4, 1957, Black students who would later be called the Little Rock Nine made their first attempt to enter Little Rock’s Central High School under a desegregation order. When the students were not allowed to enter, President Dwight David Eisenhower issued executive orders for the students to be enrolled, but the orders were ignored by Arkansas authorities. On September 24, President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to enforce desegregation of the school and admission of the students. An... Read more
Fear drove the Jabara family from Lebanon. Khalid, Rami and Victoria Jabara’s parents feared for their family’s safety in a place where bombs were falling and violence had become a way of life during a civil war that began in 1975 and continued for fifteen years. The Jabaras are Christian – adding to their fears about persecution in a majority Muslim country. So they decided – along with an estimated one million other Lebanese citizens – to give their... Read more
Back in the day, choosing not to identify oneself by race in applying to colleges and universities, and even for employment, was much easier: Photo identification wasn’t required for applications. In theory (but only in theory – for certainly surnames, schools attended, and even interests can be racial/ethnic identifiers), one could apply “race blind” and be judged objectively on such things as grade point averages (GPAs), test scores (SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, etc.), interests and extracurricular activities.... Read more
What caused the fire? When scholar and author Matthew Desmond spoke in Memphis in May 2023 about his latest book, Poverty, by America, he borrowed a line from author Tommy Orange and compared privileged Americans’ attitude toward poverty as that of onlookers watching kids jumping from the windows of a burning building: Everyone is focused on the jumpers, and believes that if only we could stop them from jumping, everything would be okay. No one, Desmond says, is asking about... Read more
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