Georgia’s Justice System Failed
Do not be fooled. Not for one minute. The State of Georgia’s justice system failed Ahmaud Arbery. It failed. While many of us are relieved at the guilty verdicts again the McMichaels and Bryan, those verdicts happened in spite of Georgia’s justice system, not because of it. Remember these details: It took seventy-four days forContinue reading “Georgia’s Justice System Failed”
America: Broken & Breaking – Part 1
America is broken and breaking. And, as the wisdom goes, unless we look straight at what’s broken, consider it, reflect on it, admit it, and strategize about it, we cannot change it. This reflection, and the few that will follow it, are not optimistic. Why? Because it is not time for optimism, It is timeContinue reading “America: Broken & Breaking – Part 1”
When Students Teach
Twelve of my students amazed me last week. They didn’t surprise me, I knew they could do it. But I still wasn’t certain the plan would unfold with such beauty. For the last few years, my student-poets have built a relationship with 4th and 5th graders at Bishop Walker School in Congress Heights, Southeast, Washington,Continue reading “When Students Teach”
Hope & Responsibility: Teaching Year #33
The beginning of a new school year always fills me with hope. What will I learn? Which students will catch fire from one of the authors we read? Whose writing will grow into clarity and beauty? After last year’s difficult and uncertain school year, I am far more hopeful about the one that begins, forContinue reading “Hope & Responsibility: Teaching Year #33”
LGBTQ Refugees Attacked Again in Block 13 – Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
It is hard to even find words for the suffering of LGBTQ refugees in Block 13, Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. For more than two years, they have been attacked by local people, other refugees, even the security forces charged with protecting them. Last night, August 16, 2021, several of their shelters were set afire. Fortunately,Continue reading “LGBTQ Refugees Attacked Again in Block 13 – Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya”
The Humility of Aging
Aging requires an honesty almost unknown in other stages of life. It requires an honesty comfortable with humility. Yet, few of us are comfortable with humility. The humility of aging calls for a new relationship with one’s own body, and something of a new relationship with younger people. This humility has a kind of internalContinue reading “The Humility of Aging”
Breathing in Summer
I knew I needed a different kind of summer. After teaching for thirty-two years, this last year, teaching during Covid, was the most difficult of all. I knew this summer had to be different too. I realized I needed a return to a more intentional meditation practice. So, I’m taking two Breath/Meditation classes each week,Continue reading “Breathing in Summer”
Why We Need Stonewall Today
“That night, the police ran from us, and it was amazing.“— a participant describing the first night of the uprising. June 28, 1969 We need the Stonewall Uprising today because it teaches us three essential truths: diversity, weakness, and power. The Stonewall Uprising shows us the need for diversity in groups seeking social change. ItContinue reading “Why We Need Stonewall Today”
The Empathy School: We Don’t Choose Where We’re Born
This is the fifth in an occasional series on empathy, titled The Empathy School. I was born in a place I did not choose. So were you. So were we all. None of us chooses where we’re born, to whom we’re born, or when we’re born. Call it random, God’s will, chance, luck, or curse,Continue reading “The Empathy School: We Don’t Choose Where We’re Born”
Refugees Deserve Refuge: Isa and Deo – Free Block 13 – Week of Action
Refugees face unimaginable suffering. And LGBTQ+ refugees face more than most. As many of my readers know, Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, is one of the largest refugee camps in the world. It holds more than 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from various African countries. The LGBTQ+ refugees there have faced savage violence forContinue reading “Refugees Deserve Refuge: Isa and Deo – Free Block 13 – Week of Action”
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Joseph Ross 