Quote: All mortals are equal…

Les mortels sont égaux; ce n'est pas la naissance, C'est la seule vertu qui fait la différence. All mortals are equal; it is not their birth, But virtue itself that makes the difference. Voltaire, Eriphile, act II, scene I (1732); these lines were also used in Mahomet, act I, scene IV (1741)

Paul Finkelman on 19th Century Slave Trade

Paul Finkelman on 19th Century Slave Trade  April 21, 2012 Albany Law School professor Paul Finkelman spoke about the practice of kidnapping freemen from the North and sending them South during the 19th century. He also discussed the wide-spread practice of renting slaves and how this tied non-slave owners to the slave system. Paul Finkelman has taughtContinue reading "Paul Finkelman on 19th Century Slave Trade"

We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief From a Crime of The United States Government Against the Negro People (1951)

Introduction Out of the inhuman black ghettos of American cities, out of the cotton plantations of the South, comes this record of mass slayings on the basis of race, of lives deliberately warped and distorted by the willful creation of conditions making for premature death, poverty and disease.,  It is a record that calls aloudContinue reading "We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief From a Crime of The United States Government Against the Negro People (1951)"

Mom, you are enough.

Mother's Day Message: You are enough. In about three months time, my mom will have been deceased for twenty years - effectively half my lifetime. Having to navigate the world my whole adult life without a mother's love, guidance, and support has been extremely difficult and lonely. It has also been the impetus propelling meContinue reading "Mom, you are enough."

Cheap Words

Well, they’re native, so…. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had half a dozen or so conversations where some version of the phrase above was used to “explain” or set the table for an explanation of some undesirable situation or turn of events. Often, the conversations have been with Christians. Always, the comment was presented […]Continue reading "Cheap Words"