John Greenleaf Whittier: Forgiveness
My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong…
Abby Zimet: Slipping Free of the Shame To Say His Name, Now More Than Ever
If he’d been allowed to live his “one wild and precious life,” Sunday July 25 would have been the 80th birthday of Emmett Till, who at 14 was kidnapped, whipped, … Continue reading
Donna M. Cox: The power of a song in a strange land
“they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains.” — Frederick Douglass
Video: How do you raise a black child? A poem by Cortney Lamar Charleston
A poem by Cortney Lamar Charleston — presented as a film directed by Seyi Peter Thomas of Station Film. HOW DO YOU RAISE A BLACK CHILD? From the dead. With pallbearers … Continue reading
Video: Alone
What would it mean to marry someone behind bars? Directed by Garrett Bradley Running time: 12:19 Email subscribers may click on the title of this post to watch the video. … Continue reading
Charles Davidson: The Slaves of my Ancestors
Slaves Waiting for Sale by Eyre Crowe – Richmond, Virginia, 1853. . DICK, STEPHEN, CHARITY, AND LUCY were their given names — these beloved “Negroes.” They were the propertied slaves owned … Continue reading
Mary Swander: Hunger Among the Amber Fields of Grain
“Over 80 percent of our school children here in Storm Lake, Iowa, are in danger of going hungry,” the director of a Food Insecurity Summit tells me. “They eat breakfast … Continue reading
Frederick Douglass: If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress (1857)
On August 3, 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a “West India Emancipation” speech at Canandaigua, New York, on the twenty-third anniversary of the event. Most of the address was a history … Continue reading
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