Sometimes you have to leave home to find out where you’re from
For most of my life I never fully understood what it meant to be from New York. I knew New York City was special but not from personal experience. It had a mythical quality born from the stories…
An Analogy for Racial Inequality in America
The various forms of disadvantages faced by the African-American community today are the direct consequence of America’s past and present struggle with racism. When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I was given a simple analogy to explain these inequalities…
Reflections on the death throes of Trumpism
What exactly did we all see yesterday? Why did thousands of Trump supporters engage in a violent attack on the most sacred symbol of American democracy? Was their sacking of the US Capitol Building an expression of righteous indignation, patriotism, and duty to…
For a moment we were all Americans
It was my second week as a Ph.D. student. I had gotten over the initial jitters of being a new teaching assistant, meeting my professors, and engaging an entirely new level of work. Overcoming some significant struggles and hurdles, I was settling into…
Race relations in America have once again taken center stage in our social and political discussions. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have become the foundation of national calls for an end to racism, especially as it relates to police brutality. Unfortunately, the shouts for social and legal…
Why Things will get worse before they get better
I am on record admitting that I was one of those who got it very wrong in 2016. But given the stakes, I’m also on record stating that Donald Trump will lose for sure in 2020. The conviction stems from the…
Because he's worked harder to lose in 2020 than democrats did to win in 2016
I was one of those who was sure Donald Trump would lose in November 2016. For me, the idea of anyone voting for him after the infamous ‘bus video’ seemed so remote that it was…
A Juneteenth reminder that “Knowledge is Power”
This is both a somber and exciting moment in Black history as we mark the 155th anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States. It is a somber moment as we remember the generations of African-Americans who suffered for 200 years…
Sometimes sorry isn’t enough….
So, one of my many shortcomings is a tendency to hold a grudge. Having grown up mostly on my own I came to see the few friends I had as the most important things in my life. Conversely, I tend never to forget individuals who played…
