2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

dear (future) school official: my son will be absent

By Tiffany Rose Smith | Originally Published at Rose With Words. October 27, 2015 dear (future) school official: my son will be absent because in our house we teach him to respect others, but also stand up for himself and those in need. we do not want [...]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

Race, Memory, and the World That Made New Orleans

My father is listed as white on his birth certificate. His great-grandfather was the founder of America’s first black daily newspaper. But when I tell the story of my family, inextricably linked to the narrative of New Orleans and, in fact, to the country, I [...]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

How Could Such a Rich Country as Ours Produce So Many Poor People?

The following is an excerpt Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice, by Les Leopold (Chelsea Green, 2015). The United States is among the richest countries in all of history. But if you’re not a corporate or political elite, you’d [...]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

Why The Edmund Pettus Bridge Must Be Renamed

The Edmund Pettus Bridge is a symbol of freedom all over the world. It is also a symbol of voting rights and democracy. However, the very name stands for the exact opposite. Symbols are powerful. Symbols enter into our conscious and subconscious without our screening them. [...]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

This Is the Perfect Illustration of Why Microaggressions Hurt

Panel 1 (Llelena, the main character in this comic, is a heavy, dark-skinned woman. She is standing in front of a mirror in her apartment that is placed above a table with a vase on it, smiling and pointing at her reflection.) Llelena: [...]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

10 Uncomfortable Truths About Being Black in America

I talk and write about race a lot. I can’t escape being Black, even if I want to. I have always been race conscious, known who I am, and where I stand in the world. However, everything changed for me during the Trayvon Martin [...]