One of the difficulties of studying history lies in the inherent tendency of people to not see themselves as playing a small role in a larger story. We are all the center of our own universe, after all, so it’s hard to remember that everything isn’t actually revolving around our own brilliance. Our actions are our own, but they make up a part of the larger trajectory of human progress. In studying history, the goal is to compose these fine details into a larger picture […]
Get mad, then get involved
I try to space out my political reading, especially during an election year. I often find it equal parts enraging and frustrating and I wind up in a funk for several days after reading. What’s great about Naomi Wolf’s book is that it doesn’t just make you mad, it tells you how and where to channel that anger into something constructive. Give Me Liberty is exactly what its title suggests it is. But it is also a guide for us as citizens to re-involve […]
Segregation, hate, and love
When we learned about the Civil Rights movement in grade school, we watched videos of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches and some of the protests. I remember being horrified at the racist, white people screaming with all the righteous indignation their stupidity could muster. I figured they must be so ashamed of themselves now–having been caught on the wrong side of history with their violent ignorance. As much as those videos affected me, I still did not understand the reality of living in the South […]
The devil is bathed in blue light, rides a white horse, and is voted into office.
As the sun descended in the west, a restless crowd gathered before a cedar tree. There was a chill in the December air, and it was thick with the tangy smell of sweat, fear and anticipation for what was about to happen. Boxed in by cars, a young 20 year old man named Cordie Cheek stood before a ladder with a rope around his neck. A teeming mass of men, women, and children threw epithets at him, and shared a palpable sense that justice was […]
“I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.”
Let me cut to the chase-this book is a must read. Usually when you hear about a book hyped as much as Ta-Nehishi Coates’ Between the World and Me, you’re going to be disappointed. This is the rare exception. Before I even finished the 152 page book, I knew it was the type of work that will outlive all of us, a permanent fixture on bookstore shelves and college syllabi. This book-written in the aftermath of the Ferguson protests and published ahead of schedule after […]
More than any other I’ve reviewed, I recommend this.
I can’t imagine that I’ll read a more important book this year. The heightened tensions throughout the country following the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and so many others (just so many) has made race perhaps the defining issue of our times. But it’s impossible to say this is surprising or new for anyone who’s been paying attention. What is going on now has been a continual flashpoint in our nation’s history; at times it’s been relegated to […]
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