“American culture, even in its most rigidly segregated precincts, is patently and irrevocably composite. It is, regardless of all the hysterical protestations of those who would have it otherwise, incontestable mulatto . . .Indeed, for all their traditional antagonisms and obvious differences, the so-called black and so-called white people in the United States resemble nobody […]
Archives for August 2018
The Ordinary/Extraordinary May Stevens
May Stevens was born in 1924 and, at the age of 94, lives in New Mexico. She has been, for most of her life, an artist. For the last seven decades, she’s been a political artist. I don’t know if she still creates art for public viewing. I hope so but that may be an […]
Remembering David McReynolds
A friend who spent many years in the Catholic Worker-inspired anti-war movement sent me an email about the death of David McReynolds and a link to a collection of photos taken by McReynolds throughout his adult life. One set of photos is from Ocean Park, California in 1947. The photos are accompanied by what I […]
Beyond A Boundary
On a job in an upscale Baltimore assisted-living facility that I worked at for far too long, going to work meant dealing with a running quasi-racial tension where lines were sharply drawn and people adhered to either one side or the other with little middle ground. Only lines weren’t drawn between Black and white, but […]
Ghana vibes: first trip to Accra
My preparation began before even landing in Accra it would seem. It was interesting as I went via Namibia Air and stopped in Windhoek and Lagos before reaching my destination. In Johannesburg the Ghanaians on the flight were, as most black people in South Africa are, very respectful and almost unassuming, especially those designated as […]
Letter from Italy
Thanks for sending me the latest issue of “Hard Crackers.” It is an excellent issue. It has confirmed my view that we need a similar publication in Southern Europe and particularly in this country. TV news and newspapers here are unable to take the day-to-day discourse seriously, and to convey it to any public. Here […]