Banned Books: Resources and Reflections
Reflections on censorship and the banning of books.
What is Really in the 2023 Florida Social Studies Standards?
This post gives an original analysis of the Florida 2023 Social Studies Standards that have attracted so much attention and criticism.
The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis
Lynn White got one big thing right. The environmental mess is Christianity’s fault. We can blame religion, yes Christianity, for allowing us to plunder the land, seas, air, and animals. Our religion has fostered in us a mindset that makes an ecological crisis, notably climate change, unavoidable. And importantly, if religion is at the heart …
Should School Students be Taught the History of Slavery?
Article read by the author There’s a lively debate going on right now as to whether school students should be taught the history of slavery in the United States. Parents are making a reasonable case for refraining from getting into slavery with their kids. It seems reasonable to spare students from learning about whippings, the …
The Man Who Brought Nonviolence to the Civil Rights Movement
This article tells the inspiring story of the spiritual crisis that drove Howard Thurman to write Jesus and the Disinherited, and how that book influenced the character of the American Civil Rights Movement.
Gems from Maya Angelou’s LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER
This post is a collection of pithy sayings found in Maya Angelou’s Letter to My Daughter
Should 5th Graders be Reading GHOST BOYS?
Students who read Ghost Boys will already be conditioned by overheated media that either paints police as demons or Black men as criminals. They will have seen video of police shooting unarmed Black children who are age peers. What Jewell Parker Rhodes describes in her book is hardly new for kids. Students will have heard extreme opinions from family and friends. To read Ghost Boys and hopefully to discuss with classmates, holds much promise to be a retreat from the propaganda saturated social media and lurid images and opinions.
Have We Come All that Far in Defeating Racism?
This post reflects on the question whether America has really made significant progress in racial justice. It uses Carol Anderson’s book, White Rage. It also includes three infographics which illustrate forces that have pushed back against the progress and empowerment of African Americans.
