Category: Blog

Over the past several weeks, I’ve attended about ten evenings of the protests in Rochester following the death of Daniel Prude at the hands of Rochester police, and the ensuing 6-month cover-up.  Suddenly, Rochester had all the potential to become Ferguson or Kenosha – nightly violence, people hurt or killed, burning and looting included.  I… Continue reading The Protests – and Signs of Hope

For these past ten days I’ve been grappling with violence as a form of protest.  Grapple with me. The impetus for this post comes from a reflection on our own history and current practice as a white-dominated nation.  Let’s revisit our revered Revolution: In the 1700’s, the colonists, our predecessors, were under British rule.  They… Continue reading Violence: A Perspective

This is a post that I drafted nearly a week ago, before the public disclosure of the death of Daniel Prude, literally at the hands of Rochester police officers.  His death was officially ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner.  I’ve added a postscript with current thoughts. Emotions run high and hot when police reform… Continue reading “Defund the Police” vs. “Re-Allocate”

My editor, Mary Heveron-Smith, encountered some racist push-back recently.  She published a response in the Webster Online News and Opinions Blog, and I am reprinting that here with her permission: Dear Woman Who Drove by the “Black Lives Matter” Webster, NY Rally This Summer and Yelled at Us: Here’s what you missed by not stopping… Continue reading A Wise Response to an Ignorant Person

Late May, I posted "Beyond the Pandemic:  Charity vs. Justice (Part I)". Then:  George Floyd, protests, public outcry.  So many minds suddenly tweaked, seeing as if for the first time that “This shit is real!”  and in turn, blowing the minds of the people who have been trying to tell us this for - well,… Continue reading Charity Vs. Justice Part II: Toxic Charity