Category: Blog

To my white friends:  In the past ten days or so, as my family and I see COVID-19 looming and disrupting our lives, I had set aside my "work" on race/racism.  That is a privilege I have as a white person.  No doubt you too are coping with this crisis.  Still, I invite you to… Continue reading The Virus + Black = Double Jeopardy

I’m grateful to present another excellent guest entry.  This post was penned by John Strazzabosco, author of Ninety Feet Under:  What Poverty Does to People.  An earlier version originally appeared in RochesterBeacon (2/14/20) with the title “Living Her Science” and is re-published here with his generous permission. When Dr. Amani Allen enters a room what… Continue reading Being Black: Dangerous for Your Health

Nanette Massey from Buffalo reported in her own blog about a meeting she attended at the Greece School District.  With her permission, here is a slightly modified version of that post: I undertook an hour’s drive to a suburb of Rochester, N.Y., the other day. The Greece School District was inviting all comers to a… Continue reading The N-word: To Be Or NOT to Be?

A few posts ago I focused on The City/Suburban Divide in Living Color.  I ended the post by challenging my suburban subscribers to engage with their community leaders – to call for action on the various facets of structural and institutional racism in these towns, to challenge the systems.  One subscriber, Bill Wynne of Fairport,… Continue reading What Action Looks Like: One Man’s Story

New York State’s Bail Reform law went into effect on January 1 this year.  Controversy preceded it - and continues.  I invite you to consider with me how race and poverty impact this issue, and also to read the story of an effort to bring sides together. Background:  The original intention of cash bail was… Continue reading Bail Reform: Needed and Controversial