I saw the news yesterday when my wife sent over a link via email to the website Deadline Hollywood. The headline was very specific, unlike those wedged into small newspaper spaces: "Sidney Kimmel to finance & produce Jessica-Sanders-directed 'Picking Cotton.'" The names of the people involved didn't immediately mean much to me. But the title, … Continue reading Picking Cotton: A story that endures
Race, bias and privilege
Silencing Sam (updated to reflect UNC response)
Update: on Nov. 3, 2018 the UNC Board of Trustees took this action concerning the Silent Sam statue. Citing the state law mentioned in the post below, the board said its hands were tied concerning moving the statue to a museum or memorial park. In order to keep it on campus and relatively safe, the … Continue reading Silencing Sam (updated to reflect UNC response)
The case of the Alamance 12
Do a quick search on Google under the keywords Alamance 12. You'll find a few stories right away about what has become a notorious and politically charged (what isn't these days) case involving illegal voting in the county I call home. Most of the stories are from the local newspaper, the Burlington Times-News, where I … Continue reading The case of the Alamance 12
Playing referee for the ‘national psychosis’
A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation by phone with my 86-year-old mother. At some point, and I'm not exactly sure how we got there, I told her bluntly, "Mom, people just aren't worth talking to anymore." I was only joking -- in part. She was probably appalled, even though she's known … Continue reading Playing referee for the ‘national psychosis’
Shame on display (Updated with more details)
My longtime friend Lisa Ashmore messaged me Sunday night with a question. She noted the recent opening of the new Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Incarceration as well as the National Memorial for Peace and Justice both in Montgomery, Alabama. While exploring the website for these two joined projects -- one marking the horrifying legacy … Continue reading Shame on display (Updated with more details)
Words and ideas from elected leaders really do matter
Friday morning as I prepared to leave for work I checked my Facebook newsfeed. I usually gaze for a few minutes at it and the Twitter feed to see what might have happened overnight. Could be news, sports, commentary or mainly just plain everyday human crap disguised as thought. Lately there is way too much … Continue reading Words and ideas from elected leaders really do matter
History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
Nearly everyone who knows much about the history of Olympic sports in the United States has heard of Jesse Owens. Many of them are aware he won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Most of those understand that as an African-American he did so under the glare of Adolf Hitler and … Continue reading History, irony and ‘Olympic Pride, American Prejudice’
Living the words of Dr. King in the worst of times
UPDATE FOR 2021: If the past 12 months tell us anything it's that our nation is now closer to Abraham Lincoln's worst nightmare than the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's hopeful dream. It was an exhausting year of racial strife, unrest and protests amid the ongoing problem of inequity and justice unequally applied to Black … Continue reading Living the words of Dr. King in the worst of times
Big Blue: Kenny Dennard was always different
I wrote this three years ago and posted it on the night they retired the number of the best player ever produced at my high school -- South Stokes. The time when we were in high school seems impossibly long ago, 1973-77. I just saw Ken Dennard at our 40th high school reunion in September. … Continue reading Big Blue: Kenny Dennard was always different
‘Black Coach’ revisited: Before ‘Remember the Titans’
“Black Coach”; by Pat Jordan; 1971; The Cornwall Press, Inc.; 248 pages. Late summer was dissolving into early fall the first time I walked into Burlington Memorial Stadium to watch a high school football game involving Walter Williams High School. The year was 1985. I began working as a sports writer for the Burlington Times-News … Continue reading ‘Black Coach’ revisited: Before ‘Remember the Titans’
Madison's Avenue 