The New York Times recently wrote a wonderful story about who Dr. Vincent Harding was from a historical perspective. This is who he was to me personally.
Read More
Maybe I should join the parade and lose myself in the jubilation of the popular mob dragging the corpse of an old man through the streets after his social execution. Instead, I feel a little like the ungrateful party pooper—the kid who can’t hide the disappointment on his face...
Read More“So, who’s next?” This was my first question after reading about Rick Raemisch’s courageous sleepover in solitary confinement and the reason I wrote this letter in response to “Colorado's Prison Director Spent 20 Hours in Solitary—but That's Not Enough” by Andrew Cohen.
Read MoreAs we remember the “dream” that roused a nation from its slumber, and the King who delivered it on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a common question is “What would Martin Luther King, Jr. say today?” The question—routinely asked on news networks, Facebook posts, and in barbershops—reveals something telling about Dr. King and about this nation.
Read MoreThere she is in front of you—a husky, black woman wearing a bandana, a cutoff t-shirt, and stained sweatpants. Four rowdy kids run circles around her at the Safeway checkout. She wreaks of marijuana. You see her name on the greasy food stamp card that she hands to the clerk. Her name is Shannon. No, actually, upon second glance you read that her name is Shanaynay.
Read More
One evening, a group of my friends were gathered around the dinner table, discussing Denver's homelessness issue, when one friend recalled how he did an experiment in college in which he pretended to be homeless for a week. He slept on the streets, ate from shelters, and even panhandled for money just to see what it was like to be homeless. In jest, I leaned over to my friend Ike and said that he should try it. “Why would I ever do that?”
Read More