2020 Robert L. Giron Global Humanities Lecture: Literature Consoles & Confronts

2020 Robert L. Giron Global Humanities LectureMontgomery College, Takoma Park, Maryland Literature Consoles & Confronts:Poetry Making a Way for JusticeA reading from Raising King Joseph RossNovember 18, 2020 I am very happy to join you today. I want to thanks Professors Cinder Cooper Barnes and Carol Moore for their kind invitation. I am also grateful

Chaos or Community?

The election is over and the United States will, I think, have a new president. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris earned roughly 75 million votes and the Trump/Pence ticket earned 70 million. More people voted than ever and the Biden/Harris ticket received more votes than any president and vice-president in U.S. history. it is time

Who Are We, America?

In just over one week, America’s 2020 election will come to an end. We will either elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice-president, or, we will re-elect Donald Trump and Mike Pence. This election will reveal America’s heart. It will show the world who we are. It will also reveal who we

Voice & Silence

We are living in some difficult days. Recently, the United States recorded 200,000 deaths from Covid-19. The world is close to passing one million deaths from this deadly virus. Black people suffer the continual onslaught of police violence. LGBTIQ refugees continue to suffer in the massive Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Migrants and refugees are

#BadBall. Trust, Commitment, Love

by Jimmy Friday I am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was a student-athlete on the football team for four seasons, from 1995 until 1999. Two of those seasons, Lou Holtz was the head coach. In January of 1995, Lou Holtz came to my home and gave a speech about Trust, Commitment,

Teaching Year 32: Literature Consoles & Confronts

I can still see him sitting to one side of the classroom after his friends made their way out to lunch. His American Literature Anthology was still open to the last page of Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” He leaned forward, looking like he was going to cry.

John Lewis’ Gift to Us

It is hard to believe John Lewis is dead. Having thought of him as a hero for so long, it is hard to settle into the knowledge that he does not dwell here as he did. The story of his life offers us so much richness and wisdom. I don’t want to let him go.

Refugees Deserve Refuge

These days, the world convulses with violence and sorrows of all sorts. One that is most heartbreaking is the reality of refugees. Whether fleeing violence in Syria, poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, violence in Myanmar or Central America, refugees have been largely left to their own devices. This makes their plight harder and unfair. In particular,

True American Founders

The people who truly founded America didn’t have to be alive at its founding. Some might find that an odd thought but it’s not odd at all. If we respect the most basic ideal on which America was founded: freedom, then those who lived that ideal are the true American Founders. George Washington and Thomas

Facing Race in America

Sometimes, when people discuss removing Confederate statues from places of public honor, they ask where the removals will end. They wonder if we should remove public honors from anyone who owned slaves, assisted the Confederacy. Simply put, the answer is “Yes.” America needs to dive into its history with honesty and decide to stop honoring