Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography three times, but to protect the people who helped him run away from enslavement, he did not explain how he had managed to get away until the last version.
My gratitude to you, dear Prof. HCR, for having taken on so many extra students this past year. You have taught us, enriched us, made us dialogue and think again in ways that allowed us to experience the vim and vigor of youth, pride for our country and for an historical past that many of us had forgotten or were learning for the first time.
For all of the above, I thank you. But tonight, my thanks are even more profound. You validated the risk I took to leave my homeland on 24th December, 1979, and again, to pack everything, step on a plane, and say goodbye to my adopted European home in 1990. The years in-between, those spaces of unknowing and unknowns, have been fraught with joblessness, pennilessness, fear of failure, moving from abode to abode, losses of friends and the security of family -- worrying because I also put the lives of my two sons in jeopardy.
Tonight, I know that those gambles were were not for naught. Thank you!
Immigrants are what made this country what it is, and I hope they continue to do so. I spent my whole career (41 years) teaching ESL so that my immigrant adult students could negotiate life more easily with acquired language and job skills. My heart goes out to all who immigrate to this country. It isn’t easy, and I will continue to value those who step on the train.
It would be nice if we could continue to take in people like Rowshan, and people like Madeleine Albright, and so many others who have enriched our country in their millions.
But the US is severely overpopulated, and still there is far too much immigration. (If there weren't any immigration our population would be stabilizing.) During the last 30 years, the US has added 80 million people--equivalent to four New York States--and half of this is due to mass immigration. Over the next 40 years, our country is projected to add another 80 million, 90% of that from immigration.
Meanwhile, global warming is already reducing our country's--and Earth's--carrying capacity. And we are the major industrialized nation with the greatest per capita greenhouse emissions--the worst place on Earth to put more people, with the exception of a few tiny, fabulously wealthy countries like UAE.
Last summer's wildfires are part of that reduction in carrying capacity. People who study global warming project that most of our country will dry out due to global warming. The heating up and drying out will cause many Americans to flee their current homes--they will become refugees. The last thing we need in the face of that threat is to add the population equivalent of four New York States. Here's what we are facing:
That response to David is appropriate. We are one world and if we work together there will be enough of everything, but if we stay in our little fearful places of refuge imagining that there is not enough. We start away from solutions and head towards the need to get a bigger gun to protect what is ours. The likelihood of extinction as a species is high. We must start planning and working to make this world work for all of us.
I don’t hear David recommending that we lock our borders. Nor do I hear him being racist in any way. His point,IMO, was simply that we need to be mindful of overpopulation and learn to calculate how much or how many the land can support. This is true for all countries. David introduces another aspect of immigration. We must look at the global picture too.
It would be great if agriculture started adopting this sort of thing en masse. It would be huge. I think part of why we don't is that chemical farming is so much simpler than biological farming, and too much of agriculture is owned by big companies that don't want to think, except about how to make greater amounts of money.
In fact, I've been bemoaning lately how fruit doesn't taste as good as it did when I was a kid, back in the Kennedy, Johnson, and early Nixon Administrations. Watermelons are sweet with no particular taste, and the same is true of apples when compared to those of old.
And land that's farmed with chemicals is sterile, instead of being filled with a myriad of invertebrates, including my favorites--the dung beetles. (I had an article about them in Smithsonian in June 1997.) I was thrilled in 2017 to find dung beetles in my yard, feasting on dog poop! (I don't use any chemicals on my lawn. I also sometimes see frogs and snakes, and a couple of years ago I had a huge [two foot high] nest of bald faced hornets way up in a yew tree.)
But we're still way overpopulated (both in the US and in the world). 37% of Earth's land goes to agriculture. Humans and our livestock constitute 97% of mammalian biomass. Meanwhile, the numbers of elephants in the Africa plummeted from ~20 million in 1900 to probably several hundred thousand at present.
Anyway, thanks for posting that video. Food for thought.
And by the way Christine, I was one of the 197 who had hit the "like" button on Rowshan's post. I'm happy for him, and others like him, and I'm glad Madeleine Albright and Elon Musk are also citizens. But I am also educated on global warming, ecosystem services, and sustainability generally, and as demographer Joseph Chamie, a former Director of the UN Population Division wrote, we're not going to be able to reduce our global warming emissions--the highest per capita among the major industrialized nations, unless we stabilize our population.
Hello Christine. I love your passion and your principles, but remember that the people on this channel are not the enemy. The people on this channel are your and my allies. We are friends here, aligned in the same cause. David is learning, just like all of us are. Don’t be too harsh with him. 🙏
That doesn't change the fact that we're the major industrialized nation with the greatest per capita resource use and greenhouse emissions--the worst place on the planet to put more people.
ummmmm -- I have no idea what race Rowshan is, and I was absolutely not thinking of race when I made this comment. (Did you notice I included Madeleine Albright, who is white, in that comment?). I myself am mixed race Euro-Jewish and African. Shame on you for accusing me of racism when there was nothing in my comment to suggest it.
Hahahahahahahaha. So that comment is ok because MA is white? I quoted the exact comment of yours that belied racism. And nowhere did I suggest you are a racist. Your premise is.
I'm working on regenerative gardening. Of course, my 'cows' are flickers, hummingbirds,and various woodpeckers in addition to the LBBs (little brown birds). But the earthworms are up to the task, f'sure. There is also a program producing bio-char and I have a half yard of bio-char charging in a yard of soil.
The plants feeding on the bio-char mixture from last year are outrageous in size and number of blooms.
Also adding bio-char to the compost bins and all the veggies just go nuts.
Regenerative farming could put Dow, Monsanto, Bayer, etc., out of ag poison business. AND make farmers and people who eat really happy.
To pull another thread from today, Woody Harrelson is also an old hippie...
Hope is precious. Kiss the Ground offers up a good, clean scoop.
Lynell, I've seen a lot of these articles recently. First, if we were still only 2 billion on Earth, we'd be in a lot better shape as far as global warming. Instead, millions, probably even billions are likely to be starving come mid-century. Early in the teens I attended a symposium on "feeding the world in 2050" at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Three agricultural scientists each made a case that if the world did everything right, we ***could*** feed the ten billion expected to be alive on the planet in 2050. There wasn't room for mistakes.
During Q&A I asked the question, how does global warming affect your predictions. It was as if a dark cloud had suddenly descended on the room. The scientist taking questions shrugged his shoulders, looking crestfallen, and had no answer.
Also, Lynell, bear in mind that H. sapiens have coopted 37% of the surface area of the planet for agriculture. And much more for cities, roads, and all the other stuff we do.
There's a concept I learned in 1975 in a class taught by John Holdren, who later became Pres. O's Science Advisor. Ecosystem services are services provided by ecosystems that provide for a host of needs of humans and other animals--food, soil fertility, pollination, clean water, disease prevention.
These services are being degraded by everything we do. That's why the populations of insects and birds have plummeted by 75% over the last 50 years--further degrading ecosystem services. In the early 1600s, Captain John Smith described the richness of the waters off of the east coast of the US, saying that you could fill a rowboat with seafood in an hour. The sea is a desert compared to what it was back then. There are a mere 400 and something Right Whales left in the oceans. I could go on and on.
David, all you say. What do you suggest be done? Limit the number of offspring each family can have? Female infanticide? Male infanticide? Death camps to decrease the world's population? The immigrants who would be banned from entering this country will still populate the world somewhere.
(In deference to Christine, you can save your reply to tomorrow if you'd like.)
Oh David, all my kin have value. I am no better than the farm worker or cook or maid. This earth of ours will survive if we stop listening to the rich, heartless industrialists who fail to hear our planet crying out for compassion.
Stopping listening won't do the job. And at a time when our very Democracy is in danger, I have little confidence that we can do much to stop the plunder of the planet. Plus, the serious overpopulation of both our country and of Earth make it all the harder.
Today’s letter brought me to tears with its simple eloquent truth. How grateful I am to be one of Professor Richardson’s unofficial students and even more grateful to know her wisdom and kindness are guiding young lives.
And your words brought me to tears also Rowshan. Your courage, determination and your struggles are the very building blocks of all that is good in our country. That you’ve kept an open heart through it all is a triumph. Thank you.
Ahhhh Rowshan. You give an example of “stepping on the train”. My own maternal grandparents did the same. Thousands and thousands have taken the same step as you to emigrate to this country. I think most of us have someone in our past who did the same. To do what was right.
May our differences never be that which is played by politics to divide us.
I admire you. So many people like you are what has made this country. What faith! I come from an area of the country where many Eastern Europeans left their countries in the last century for life in America. I appreciate their bravery.
Rowshan, I'm assuming you are one of the fortunate graduate students who is passing into the next stage. And, your story is a wonderful one. Congratulations on the "steps" you took years ago to be here today.
Rowshan, my friend, I have never met you and probably will never see you in person, but I know your heart. And it is a big one. It gladdens me to see more of your story. It gladdens me that our country has room and space for people just like you and your sons. Thank you so much for sharing,
Dear Rowshan, I admire your bravery and perseverance! Most of us here have not experienced what you and so many others have (refugees, immigrants) to risk all in search of a better life, in a better place. What a hard journey. I’m glad you are here, with us! I hope you find all that you seek.
For every American who refuses to see that, despite our many deficiencies, this country is unique, because every one of us or our ancestors at one time came here as an immigrant. Even Native Americans migrated from an earlier home. Your story renews my faith that this country can still be a refuge and that we all must work to mitigate the efforts of some to close our doors to those who can only make us better. Thank you for believing in the promise.
David this is not just for you but for Nancy and anyone else who thinks we're that shining refuge, when we have so many of our own citizens who need help and aren't getting it. (Hopefully Biden will be able to change that)
We have our own citizens who are in as bad shape as many of the people from abroad who want to come here. Half of our people lack $400 for a car repair or a medical emergency--and many of them do work where they'll get fired if they can't get to work for a few days trying to deal with these problems. This is a lot of why there's an opioid epidemic, which for many of those afflicted, ends in suicide (I've written about that).
When we're taking in a million low/no-skilled immigrants annually, its not helping us deal with our own down and out. The underprivileged in our country have done much better at times of low immigration than in the last 40 years.
This long-ago Nicholas Kristof column expresses the problem well
I can't even begin to imagine. I'm feeling grateful that you kept stepping onto those trains that eventually brought you here to the US and especially led you to the role of teacher of our young people. I bow down to your courage and perseverance.
It's been 9 months since I became aware of you and your writing. Most of those were the dark months of the last administration. Your writing was a beacon in a howling wilderness. So I suppose I didn't think anything could beat that. Till you wrote this.
I think we who survived the last gruesome 15 months—and all the days since Jan. 20th, 2017—are going to be a long time processing what all that's done to us and how we proceed. As I've emerged from Covid isolation that's felt monumental and overwhelming. Then a post like this comes along. It's like the brush of a mother's hand on a cheek. It's going to be ok. Not easy; work to be done. But we'll get there.
Lori, I agree 100% about today's post from Dr. Richardson. It is the one that has resonated with me the most. Thank you for writing what I was feeling in my head and heart.
Interestingly enough, when I left this page just now, the following was one of the "you might like this" articles on my pocket.com splash page:
“You must change your life,” Rainer Maria Rilke exhorts readers in the final line of his poem “Archaic Torso of Apollo.” It’s a surprise-twist ending, meant to capture the sudden nature of epiphanies. Having spent the entire poem contemplating the beauty of an ancient Greek statue, Rilke practically reaches through the page to shake readers by the shoulders, urging us to transform ourselves—to use our rapidly-dwindling time on Earth as wisely as Apollo’s sculptor did.
But changing your life is a big deal. It takes a lot of work and emotional energy. And it’s often very difficult to predict if a dramatic turn will actually make us happier and more fulfilled, or if it will be the biggest mistake ever and we’ll shrivel up into little raisins of regret.
So we waffle over whether or not to quit a job, change careers, start a business, or go back to school, weighing endless pros and cons. In behavioral economics, this phenomenon is known as status quo bias. People are generally predisposed to favor sticking with their current circumstances, whatever they may be, instead of taking a risk and bushwhacking their way toward a different life.
That’s an instinct we should fight against, according to the findings of a new study by Steven Levitt, University of Chicago economist and Freakonomics co-author, published in Oxford University’s Review of Economic Studies.
The study asked people who were having a hard time making a decision to participate in a randomized digital coin toss on the website FreakonomicsExperiments.com. People asked questions ranging from “Should I quit my job?” to “Should I break up with my significant other?” and “Should I go back to school?” Heads meant they should take action. Tails, they stuck with the status quo.
Ultimately, 20,000 coins were flipped—and people who got heads and made a big change reported being significantly happier than they were before, both two months and six months later.
“The data from my experiment suggests we would all be better off if we did more quitting,” Levitt said in a press release. “A good rule of thumb in decision making is, whenever you cannot decide what you should do, choose the action that represents a change, rather than continuing the status quo.”
Ya know, I would call myself an Atheist except I have this vague belief in The Force which knocks me into the Agnostic realm of Spirituality. Hey, it is every bit as valid as following that Joe Smith cult in Utah.
Above statement just makes more sense, when said in a different way and applied to government and politics towards each as individuals.
"At the heart of that western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups, and states, exist for that person's benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any western society."-RFK
That whole section of "Empire Strikes Back" where Luke goes to study with Yoda is actually quite profound.
The moment whee Yoda tells Luke to bring the space ship out of the swamp and he says "Well, I'll Try," then Yoda replies with the line above, then Luke brings the ship out of the muck and it's hanging there and he says "I don't believe it!" and it falls back into the swamp, and Yoda says "And that is why you fail" - that scene never fails to get me.
That and the scene where Luke literally "travels into the underworld" where he confronts Darth Vader is out of "The Hero's Journey" (The Hero travels into the underworld where he confronts his own death, and in so doing discovers his own truth).
Too bad that other than the first two (Episodes 4 and 5 for those who weren't around the first time) the rest is "Star Bores." Corporate Commercial Crap.
And quitting is not what we’re taught to do. We’re taught to see things through and don’t be quitters. Had I been better at quitting and accepting the loss, no telling how my life would have turned out differently! People ask me why didn’t you guys call it quits earlier? I tell them because we were so bad at quitting!
TC some mornings, I just fall in love with you. Historian, poet, philosopher and raconteur. Sometimes profane, but, always purposeful. Keep writing, whatever else you decide to do. Please.
I really appreciate your post. I, too, have a story to tell, of change. In 1995 my husband and I retired and moved to our dream home where we were sure we would live out the rest of our lives. We bought a motorhome and for the next 15 years enjoyed living a life that we had dreamed of. Then in 2007 my husband was diagnosed with dementia. He had been diagnosed years before with a peripheral neuropathy that meant he had gradually had to use a cane and then a walker and then a scooter to get around. But he still got around! Then in 2010 as we were packing for a motorhome trip to see friends, I came out on our back deck and found my husband just sitting there. “I can’t do it.” So, I made the decision to sell the motorhome and put our lovely and loved retirement home on the market and move “down the hill” to a retirement community to be closer to doctors and family. Yes, I did discuss it with him, but the decision was mine. We had an estate sell and moved into a nice home in a nice area. Three years later I knew I needed more help than I was getting at the time and made the decision to move to Oregon to be closer to our younger daughter. We bought a home here in Beaverton and moved. Three years later we sold that home and moved into an assisted living facility. Two years ago we had to make the decision to put my husband into an adult foster care home. It is a beautiful home with only five residents and next door to our daughter. I moved into a condo in a retirement community only three miles from where my husband lives. It has been an emotional and at times physically exhausting train ride. BUT it has meant we each have been able to have a much better “quality of life together” than had we insisted on staying in the home we thought to be our last home, the one family would have to have carried us out feet first. It’s hard to step on a train that is taking you away from everything that you thought was the culmination of a dream. However, the beginning of that trip meant that one of us would be able to get the care he needed and I would know that my love to care for and protect meant more to me than the life-style we had enjoyed. I know I am patting myself on the back, but every time I go over to see my husband in his home I am given the gift of his love as he looks at me when I come in. His dementia has gotten worse; however, he still knows family and me. We celebrated 48 years of marriage this month. His caregiver gave us a party by bringing in Mexican food and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson all came and enjoyed. When my husband turned 92yo last month, my daughter hired an couple of musicians to come to his home and we had a birthday party with my daughter’s family and my sister and brother-in-law.
Yes, that first step on the train started a much longer journey than anticipated, with many more destinations than envisioned. On the other hand, that step has let to a longer and much more satisfying life than envisioned. Who knew?
Great story. Especially for those of us who care for someone who gets one of life's short straws. I don't know about you but I do know watching that decline, watching them lose their choices, is hard.
Life is certainly unpredictable, in spite of the plans we make. I'm glad you were able to make those important decisions, guided by love, which have led to "a longer and much more satisfying life than envisioned." Where would you be without the love of your husband, your family, friends and dedicated caregivers? Each day we hold Heaven or Hell in the palm of our hand by how we choose to think and act. You chose a life of love. True treasure for sure.
Kathleen, your story is one that most of us will face, if we haven’t already. I so appreciate the way in which you told it. Your admiration and love for one another is one of life’s precious gifts. Your train has taken you both to a place where you are cared for and about by loving family members. Bravo!
Having written my biografy & breaking it down to Relationships and a Work History, I have actually described my eclectic choices & changes as being blown about by whatever breeze came my way. However, I did make choices that affected the course of my life and now after ¾ of a century I can appreciate that I have experienced so much (and, with the help of my 2 long-term relationships who exerted their own push to whatever direction we took). I count my first “step” as dropping out in 1970.
I have been labeled a "start-up specialist" because of all the projects, organizations, and programs I have launched over the past 35 years. The problem with quitting for me was that folks didn't want me to go, so I overstayed my welcome. Kinda of like your architect/builder moving into your house with you when it's done. TC, I shall tack your quote from Steven Leavitt on my frig (next to the one cited by Cathy Leonard today!) as my future guidepost: "choose the action that represents change." Thank You.
This exceptional Letter should be a mantra for us all.
All of us in this Community are every bit as blessed to have you in our lives as your students. Those of us that make your Tuesday and Thursdays history chats and your daily Letters part of our lives truly appreciate the time you put forth to make it happen. Truth is, you don't have to invite us into your home for these invaluable lessons. The hand you have extended to us to board your train of knowledge will never be forgotten and always appreciated.
When the day comes that you have to choose between what is just good enough and what is right... find the courage to step on the train.
Exactly what I did 40 years ago this past May 1. Said good-bye to "safety" and "security" in a job that had arrived at the point where when I went in for my flight physical in February that year, the Aviation Medical Examiner told me "I don't know what you do for a living, but if you keep on doing it, you're going to have an ulcer in the next 18 months and a heart attack by your 40th birthday." That was a pretty good wakeup call. The last 40 years haven't been easy, but the worst day of them was better than the best day of the Time Before. I finally stopped making my decisions on what other people would think of what I did and started worrying about whether *I* liked what I was choosing to do. And in the process I came to be successful at the one job I can do well that makes everything feel better when I do it. Write.
This post should be required reading for every government official in America, especially those members of congress who refuse to vote in favor of an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the events of January 6 when rioters stormed the Capitol. The train Fredrick Douglas boarded in 1838 turned out to be a metaphorical train to freedom because it took him on his legendary journey toward a life dedicated to to truth and justice, the very virtues the bind all Americans together in the long train ride toward equality envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. Douglas's courageous act and his exemplary career should serve as a whistle blast from history for all who took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, a spiritual clarion call to stand up as true Americans, and support of efforts to reveal the truth about the events of January 6, to do what is right and "step on the train." Power to the People!
But when I was watching 60 Minutes last night, I was thinking of JANUARY 6 as well. Their segment was about what took place in Tulsa,Oklahoma 99 years ago, this Memorial Day. The Race Massacre of Black Wall Street!!!!! How Could THAT Have Happened???? AND IT DID!!!!!😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Same issue as Texas deciding not to teach about racism - if we don't talk about it, it will go away. Or so they hope. Maybe not this time, if we all raise our voices.
That effort is alive and well in NH-the now Republican majority legislature has been trying to pass a law forbidding teaching "Divisive Concepts". So far it hasn't passed but I believe they've hidden it in the State Budget (along w/ a bill to divert public school funds to private/religious schools and home schoolers; that was vehemently opposed by people testifying against it.)
I think they are not even sure of the names of all of the victims. Turpentine bombs from airplanes to set houses and businesses on fire......too awful to contemplate.
That's not a reason or case against Reparations. "We don't know who..." is akin to "We were just following orders". Democracy takes responsibility. Fascism projects, deflects, confuses in order to "dissolve concentration" in order to maintain the myth. Violence and myth ( big lie) work together.
Ted, I agree with you on reparations. Reparations for Greenwood can be a template to follow for other injustices that have been hidden for far too long.
An airstrike on Greenwood/Tusla, OK, a firebombing from airplanes on our own civilians. "White supremacy is terrorism"-Pres. Joe Biden in first address to Congress 2021. Waiting for Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson to say they were just seeding the clouds.
Ted, to whom and how much? We owe our lot in life to the indigenous whom we slaughtered and enslaved. We brought them from an estimated 20,000,000 people to 200,000. How do we begin to pay the debts our forefathers accumulated? Perhaps we make token offerings. Perhaps but we can’t seem to help people of color out without screams of reverse racism from the entitled wealthy who can’t get their kids into Havahd because of a quota. How in the world do we begin to make things right?
CBS This Morning did a piece last week about Germany paying reparations to the Holocaust victims. There was a 90+ year old woman featured who is still receiving a monthly check, I believe it was (they said) in the three figures. It. Can. Be. Done.
My mother received restitution from Germany until her death at the age of 89. It can and should be done for African Americans. Why? Because they were bought and sold like groceries. Then they were beaten and/or raped. Today, blacks are fighting for their lives as are Asians. It’s way past time.
Georgetown University has managed to address reparations for the enslaved people the university once owned and 'sold down the river' to raise funds for the university. Obviously, reparations for descendants of all enslaved Africans can't be as straightforward but that doesn't mean it's unsolvable.
Hire a forensic accounts and lawyers. Both of which I am not, so I don't know the cost. Damages for loss + Interest. Work it out. Right the wrong. Done.
Otherwise we live how? As what? Untruthers? Thieves of other peoples hard work? What does that mean to live that way as a country? What does it say about us as a people?
You have something here, I kind of was looking at it as where does one draw the line. Obviously there was a line in this instance, pre and post Tulsa massacre. Perhaps an obvious group to go after are the insurance companies who benefited from reneging on their contracts, then it probably falls on the Feds.
Has there ever been discussion of reparations for the study of various STDs on POC?
Thank you for posting the link. I didn't know it was going to be on. I saved it to my computer. I think Mr Franklin has the right idea- a tomb commemorating the unknowns who were lost.
I’ve been to OKC, and that memorial. Didn’t take nearly as long for that memorial to become reality. Says something that Tulsa doesn’t have one to Greenwood.
Thank you, Christine. I watched and hope everyone who missed it will watch it. Although I had learned of this horrific event awhile back from Smithsonian Mag., the 60 Minutes presentation made it all the more real bcz of the voices of Black Tulsans who descend from those who lived in Greenwood and others who were gobsmacked that they had never learned of the massacre and destruction in school. Worse, that's not the only such 'event' - can't think of the name but a Black community in Florida also suffered death & destruction at the hands of a white mob.
Thanks, Lynell. I remembered the town I was thinking of in Florida: Rosewood in 1923. I fear there are many other such 'events' in U.S. history that we never learn of. Once again, it was set off by a spurious claim by a white woman that she had been raped by a black man. And once again, 'economic jealousy' was a primary motivator for the mob. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood,_Florida
Reading historical records in GA it becomes clear that the Trail of Tears was also motivated at least partially by economic jealousy... poor whites were jealous of the high-quality farms and standard of living among the Cherokee.
There is a wonderful statue of Frederick Douglass at the University of Maryland. It gave me goosebumps when I saw it a couple of years ago.
When I was reading your account of how Douglass got his freedom, it reminded me of the circuitous routes my mother had to escape from Nazi Germany to the U.S.. That train is so symbolic of Douglass’s time, WWII, and now the present. You have left your students (and us) a gift and a nudge... to not just sit on our laurels but to speak out against what is wrong. To be in the mix of what is right and just is the only way to freedom.
And for Holocaust victims, that life-or-death moment of recognition often required similar high risk actions of getting forged documents and sometimes an instantaneous action: Lie about your vocational skill? Pass as a Christian? Hand over your baby to safety? Run into the woods? Pay the farmer a bribe to hide in the attic? Or literally, jump OFF the train?
A Chinese proverb defines luck as when skill meets opportunity. Skill includes an immense amount of courage. Bravo to courage!
I have that quote on my fridge. For quite a few years now. I thought it to be from Seneca, a Roman philosopher? And know it as “Luck is what happens at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” No matter who is credited, it is very useful in recognizing when the Universe is showing us we are ready for change.
Good morning everyone--and happy Monday. Thank you, HCR, for this letter: it presents the history of so many of us: descendants of enslaved people, of refugees, of immigrants, as well as people who have more recently "stepped on the train" in order to change their lives and their circumstances.
My ancestors (of recent vintage--grandparents on the paternal side, great-grandparents on the maternal) all had to "step on the train" in order to get to America: they got on the boat (my paternal grandmother disguised as a boy!); hid in the wagon guided by an ally in the midst of a typical Belarusian pogrom; arrived penniless to this country. They lived in the "neo-shtetls" of the Lower East Side and Newark, NJ. They worked hard, gained some measure of financial success, raised their children to eschew religio-political dictatorship, sent their sons off to war: the usual stories. For some "Americans", my Greek and Ashkenaz ancestry was a rationale for discrimination. It is amazing how financial success "whitens" Mediterranean and Eastern European people in the eyes of the WASPs who posted No Jews signs on their shop doors. It is amazing how two generations can change a family from being refugees to elites--but you have to be white to start with, even if not the "right" kind of Christian or Jewish.
One of the best books I have read in the last few years is Erica Armstrong Dunbar's Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave Ona Judge. This was a woman who "stepped on the train" a hundred years before Frederick Douglass. And it also gives the reader a very different perspective about the Washingtons, one that is important.
As I write this, I am also reminded of the fact that one of the most important voices in journalism today, Nikole Hannah-Jones, has been denied tenure by the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina. She was one of the creators of the 1619 Project. She had been offered an endowed chair position in the J school at UNC-Chapel Hill but the Board, confronted with a letter writing campaign of racist alums, decided to deny her tenure. I hope she sues the crap out of UNC, but I am also not surprised. I also hope that some other J School (University of Missouri, how about it?!) offers her a better gig.
Your accounting of Dr Hannah-Jones is perhaps the third time I’ve read or her of her plight; initially I believe my source was “All Things Considered.”
So, how far we have come, from the “step” of Frederick Douglas to the nationwide publicity of injustices. Earlier this morning, the WaPo featured the plight of a journalist from Belarus who was removed from a plane forced aground, by state officials So, today, Pres. Biden and other European leaders will strategize a more forceful approach to this leadership at their scheduled meeting ....
And I see countless acts of courage around me, as I recently passed by an African refugee holding her infant as they walked, in my “lily white” Maine village. My next act of courage will be to stop and greet my new neighbor, and ask if she and her family need any assistance, from my family and I.
Oh, Frederick, this last news choked me up. What a good, kind heart you have. Your village is so lucky to have you, and I am sure its refugee will appreciate your act of courage. Thanks for the inspiration.
Well MP, I appreciate your reply very much. I simply asked one lady to join us for lunch after the mass. She barely spoke a word of English. Now, all 6 of her surviving children have arrived in Maine, as well as her husband. She was a professional in the Congo, and attended a world wide gathering of women attended by Hillary Clinton. Then, dangers began for her. Another woman arrived without her only child; she heard cases in the Congo and decided whether the case ought be heard by The Hague. Her son has now joined her.
Our relationship developed as I helped her by donating, opening a checking account with her, bying a transit pass, and being a friend.
Being a friend is the most important ingredient, imho
💞 Frederick! You "simply asked"!That is a huge step! What this whole dIscussion is about today. Yes "being a friend is the most important ingredient", but how many of us take the time or have the courage? What if another Frederick (Douglass) had not had a friend to lend him the "free slave papers" he needed to take his first step? Wow, you have inspired me again - THE step may not need to be a big scary one. It could be something any of us can do. Because, as you say, being a friend is the most important thing you can do. Thanks.
MP ~ I feel you’re spot on with the key of “asking>’ I spent YEARS doing the work of Werner Erhardt, who basically packaged eastern philosophy into his EST. A key ingredient of his work was to recognize that people spend their lives waiting ... to be asked. “May I was home with you today?” The prom question. The ask for enrollment into a school, an application for a job, a first date request, and finally, “Will you marry me?”
EST! Wow. Dates me! I don't remember much from my hippie days (and no, not because I was stoned - because I'm old). But I suspect we could all use that peaceful watchfulness now. And, yes, still waiting...
Many of the people from the Congo have been through severe trauma in their long journey to get here. Our community in the Bath Brunswick area in Maine have been very welcoming to new arrivals. It is great you reached out.
UNC has suffered much more than any lawsuit could impose. It has lost honor, integrity, and sullied its reputation for seeking the truth and recognizing courage.
The Board of Governors of the UNC is SO politicized at this point, it’s horrendous. Denying Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure is just one of their dumb decisions. The Republican controlled gerrymandered legislature has been working to control the gem that the UNC system is. These are the same people who brought about the “bathroom bill”. It’s all about power.
I've just requested "Never Caught" from the library. It was published in 2019 for young adult readers. The library record blurb: ""In this incredible narrative, Erica Armstrong Dunbar reveals a fascinating and heartbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the Washingtons' when they were the First Family--and an in-depth look at their slave, Ona Judge, who dared to escape from one of the nation's Founding Fathers. Born into a life of slavery, Ona Judge eventually grew up to be George and Martha Washington's "favored" dower slave. When she was told that she was going to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's granddaughter, Ona made the bold and brave decision to flee to the north, where she would be a fugitive. From her childhood, to her time with the Washingtons and living in the slave quarters, to her escape to New Hampshire, Erica Armstrong Dunbar (along with Kathleen Van Cleve), shares an intimate glimpse into the life of a little-known, but powerful figure in history, and her brave journey as she fled the most powerful couple in the country."-- Provided by publisher. "
Yes: Dr. Dunbar wrote two versions: a more complete monograph and a version for "young adult" readers. It is turning into an interesting practice for a number of books, especially ones that focus on the history of BIPOC folks.
Cathy, it would require some real courage from our President, Mun Choi, who is also Chancellor of UM-Columbia. He is not likely to do so--he is very sensitive to the ultra-rightwingers in the legislature.
The risk that Frederick Douglass took to freedom was the seed of his greatness. Heather, thank you for the light you have brought today.
Another among us speaks to our meaning at this time and place.
'Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Americans who are hitting one obstacle after another: ‘That is why I persist’ in conversation with KK Ottesen, Washington Post Magazine
'In Elkhart, Indiana, this woman gives me a big hug and then, while she has her arms around me, she whispers that her teenage daughter had been raped by her coach. And that child had to suffer the double trauma, first of the rape, and then trying to get an abortion in a state that has put up every possible barrier'.
'How do you absorb that in that moment — that’s a lot.'
'It is. The selfie lines were so intimate. They were a place where people came to say policy is personal. They didn’t use those words, but that was the heart of it. And the fact that policy is so personal — that decisions made in far-off Washington, D.C., touch lives so deeply — that’s what keeps me in this fight.'
'Were you surprised that that sort of intimacy was shared with you, in front of a big group?
At first, yes. But, over time, I learned that those selfie lines were not about anyone else in the room. When somebody stood up on that stage next to me to have a picture, they have this brief moment that we were just there alone. And they could speak heart-to-heart and tell me what they wanted me to hear.'
'You also travel in rarefied circles and have access to people who have a lot of power, whether in Washington or with wealthy, influential individuals around the country. And when you share those stories with them, as I’m sure you do, do you see minds and hearts changed?'
'Sometimes. And sometimes not. But I want to make a slightly different point out of your question. Because I think there’s something else in here: how we finance campaigns and why that’s important. Much of the time, the conversation is the kind of, Well, if you take money from X, you’ll be influenced by their point of view, unwilling to vote against the things they want. And that’s how it is that rich people and corporate CEOs have outside influence in Washington. And that’s entirely true'.
'But let me offer another layer to it. Each of us faces the 24-hours-in-a-day problem. [Laughs.] That’s all there is. So how you spend that 24 hours matters a lot. And when running for the president of the United States, it matters even more. If I spent a big chunk of my time with the wealthy and well-connected who could write big checks for my campaign, I would see the problems they see. Taxes that they don’t like. Or regulations that they find cumbersome.
I made a decision when I ran for president that I would not sell access to my time. None. So I had a whole lot more time for selfie lines. And time to call $3 donors. And the consequence of that is that I was bombarded every single day with stories of people all across this country who are working their hearts out and just hitting one obstacle after another. They showed up, and they told their stories. And that is why I persist.'
Thank you Fern! Powerful. I will exerpt some of Elizabeth Warren's experience and wisdom you cite here to share, if that's okay. What an incredible woman, and what incredible citizens who quickly told her the crux of their stories in the brief moment of a selfie. Those whispered messages should be compiled in a book, and become our citizens' guide.
If there is a way to award one: a posthumous Nobel is in order. I have read him and his writing is erudite and sharp. I did not realize his history was that fraught with the potential of being another human, "sold down the river." Given the challenges to even be able to write, much less do it well; we should all be in awe of his writing(s).
Having read what he and MLK SAID, in retrospect, their prose was what presidents can only dream of saying much less creating. I'm constantly in awe of the fight, nee the hope, of these brave humans. Whatever we can do, politically or otherwise, seems inadequate when compared to not only their rhetoric or the time, but just the power that they gave to LANGUAGE: and they were masters of it.
If we want kids to read anything; I'd suggest 8th grade to be filled with their prose, not the simplistic north-south winner-loser trope. Lets let history literally speak for itself. Thank you, Heather, for a very thought-provoking missive. Many blessings.
I have always had the feeling that I was holding the end of a piece of luminescent string leading wherever into the future of my life and from time to time, but not often, new doors appear on the road that are partially open. You open them and step through or not...I have always gone through them. What I found on the way is that there is always an important, and often seemingly inocuous, chain of events that lead you to face each door. In that supporting chain of circumstances there is one or several "little helpers" that transit your life make it possible. My thoughts in Frederick Douglas' escape to freedom go also to the courage of the free, black, northern sailor that lent him his papers, thus putting his own life in danger, to help another fullfil his destiny.
I thought of him as well Stuart, wondering what happened to him. And yes “magical” things often happen when we step into the unknown. Helpers appear unexpectedly.
So true, so true. There is magic, and the sound of Cosmic wheels clicking together that we will never see or understand. But we know them when we see them, and especially when we experience them personally.
If you hadn’t accomplished one other thing in the hours you poured in to the Letters and all the history talks and politics talks, today’s message would have been worth it all But don’t worry all those hours have brought comfort and truth and context and so much more. They have not been in vain
Each of your letters is remarkable, but there are days like today when it feels like we have received a gift of shining gold light that one can cup in their hands and feel the warmth of its radiating wisdom. Well done and thank you for this edifying advice.
Little did I know, back when the truth began to break about The Former Guy’s pressuring of Ukraine that I would rely so heavily on these letters for my own sanity.
Roughly 100 years later, during the Great Migration, millions of Black men and women made the courageous decision to step on the train, some literally and others figuratively. If you have not yet read the stories of Ida Mae, George, and Robert in Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, I highly recommend it.
Both of Isabel Wilkersons books are required reading. She has important messages to give and she does so with eloquence. I imagine I will read both again within the next year or so.
Here is a quote by Frederick Buechner I recently came across. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. In my life there have been several cusp points when a decision changed the entire direction of my life -- and whether courageous or just naive of the risk I'm glad I took the paths I chose. And, yet, as old as I am now, I have a strong sense of destiny still yet unfulfilled. Makes me think of Churchill and his sense of destiny. I once toured Churchill's underground War Rooms in Whitehall. What impressed me the most were the maps full of pin holes from the push pins used to track the movement of troops through the war. It was history in real time.
Buechner had a personal friendship with someone that had great influence on my discerning my multiple vocations. That friend of his told me I needed to find my heart’s desire and follow it, which feels a lot like your intersection between one’s deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger. The trains that came my way took me to those places too. And now in retirement I feel there is more to do, more to be, before I cash in my chips. Thanks, Cathy, for writing what you did here.
My gratitude to you, dear Prof. HCR, for having taken on so many extra students this past year. You have taught us, enriched us, made us dialogue and think again in ways that allowed us to experience the vim and vigor of youth, pride for our country and for an historical past that many of us had forgotten or were learning for the first time.
For all of the above, I thank you. But tonight, my thanks are even more profound. You validated the risk I took to leave my homeland on 24th December, 1979, and again, to pack everything, step on a plane, and say goodbye to my adopted European home in 1990. The years in-between, those spaces of unknowing and unknowns, have been fraught with joblessness, pennilessness, fear of failure, moving from abode to abode, losses of friends and the security of family -- worrying because I also put the lives of my two sons in jeopardy.
Tonight, I know that those gambles were were not for naught. Thank you!
Immigrants are what made this country what it is, and I hope they continue to do so. I spent my whole career (41 years) teaching ESL so that my immigrant adult students could negotiate life more easily with acquired language and job skills. My heart goes out to all who immigrate to this country. It isn’t easy, and I will continue to value those who step on the train.
It would be nice if we could continue to take in people like Rowshan, and people like Madeleine Albright, and so many others who have enriched our country in their millions.
But the US is severely overpopulated, and still there is far too much immigration. (If there weren't any immigration our population would be stabilizing.) During the last 30 years, the US has added 80 million people--equivalent to four New York States--and half of this is due to mass immigration. Over the next 40 years, our country is projected to add another 80 million, 90% of that from immigration.
Meanwhile, global warming is already reducing our country's--and Earth's--carrying capacity. And we are the major industrialized nation with the greatest per capita greenhouse emissions--the worst place on Earth to put more people, with the exception of a few tiny, fabulously wealthy countries like UAE.
Last summer's wildfires are part of that reduction in carrying capacity. People who study global warming project that most of our country will dry out due to global warming. The heating up and drying out will cause many Americans to flee their current homes--they will become refugees. The last thing we need in the face of that threat is to add the population equivalent of four New York States. Here's what we are facing:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/15/magazine/climate-crisis-migration-america.html
Ummmmm
Excuse me, David, but you totally missed the point of this very valued post loved by 197 people so far.
“people, like Rowshan”??????
Look in the mirror. You’ll see the same. So cut out the racism.
That response to David is appropriate. We are one world and if we work together there will be enough of everything, but if we stay in our little fearful places of refuge imagining that there is not enough. We start away from solutions and head towards the need to get a bigger gun to protect what is ours. The likelihood of extinction as a species is high. We must start planning and working to make this world work for all of us.
Ban the overuse of plastics!! Seriously.
I don’t hear David recommending that we lock our borders. Nor do I hear him being racist in any way. His point,IMO, was simply that we need to be mindful of overpopulation and learn to calculate how much or how many the land can support. This is true for all countries. David introduces another aspect of immigration. We must look at the global picture too.
regenerative agriculture!
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kisstheground/448435223
costs $1.00
It would be great if agriculture started adopting this sort of thing en masse. It would be huge. I think part of why we don't is that chemical farming is so much simpler than biological farming, and too much of agriculture is owned by big companies that don't want to think, except about how to make greater amounts of money.
In fact, I've been bemoaning lately how fruit doesn't taste as good as it did when I was a kid, back in the Kennedy, Johnson, and early Nixon Administrations. Watermelons are sweet with no particular taste, and the same is true of apples when compared to those of old.
And land that's farmed with chemicals is sterile, instead of being filled with a myriad of invertebrates, including my favorites--the dung beetles. (I had an article about them in Smithsonian in June 1997.) I was thrilled in 2017 to find dung beetles in my yard, feasting on dog poop! (I don't use any chemicals on my lawn. I also sometimes see frogs and snakes, and a couple of years ago I had a huge [two foot high] nest of bald faced hornets way up in a yew tree.)
But we're still way overpopulated (both in the US and in the world). 37% of Earth's land goes to agriculture. Humans and our livestock constitute 97% of mammalian biomass. Meanwhile, the numbers of elephants in the Africa plummeted from ~20 million in 1900 to probably several hundred thousand at present.
Anyway, thanks for posting that video. Food for thought.
Read the NYT mag article I posted to see what our country is facing. It's pretty horrific.
The solution is not to lock our borders to people emigrating to this country.
And by the way Christine, I was one of the 197 who had hit the "like" button on Rowshan's post. I'm happy for him, and others like him, and I'm glad Madeleine Albright and Elon Musk are also citizens. But I am also educated on global warming, ecosystem services, and sustainability generally, and as demographer Joseph Chamie, a former Director of the UN Population Division wrote, we're not going to be able to reduce our global warming emissions--the highest per capita among the major industrialized nations, unless we stabilize our population.
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/553003-climate-change-requires-population-stabilization-for-america
My point is you are him too. We are ALL immigrants, albeit through ancestry.
Hello Christine. I love your passion and your principles, but remember that the people on this channel are not the enemy. The people on this channel are your and my allies. We are friends here, aligned in the same cause. David is learning, just like all of us are. Don’t be too harsh with him. 🙏
That doesn't change the fact that we're the major industrialized nation with the greatest per capita resource use and greenhouse emissions--the worst place on the planet to put more people.
And see my reply to Lynell, directly below.
Please, dear, get the news:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/world/global-population-shrinking.html
ummmmm -- I have no idea what race Rowshan is, and I was absolutely not thinking of race when I made this comment. (Did you notice I included Madeleine Albright, who is white, in that comment?). I myself am mixed race Euro-Jewish and African. Shame on you for accusing me of racism when there was nothing in my comment to suggest it.
Hahahahahahahaha. So that comment is ok because MA is white? I quoted the exact comment of yours that belied racism. And nowhere did I suggest you are a racist. Your premise is.
You absolutely accused me of racism.
Seems there's a bit of disagreement among the brainiacs of the world (cheer up, this is an argument for pro-life): https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/05/14/pope-francis-declining-birthrate-family-immigration-policy-united
Last I heard, if'in we all cooperate, chip in, get eco-friendly, our earth could, ahem, weather the climate crisis.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/kisstheground/448435223
Hey, hey, Kim...I just love kiss the ground. It was the first video I'd ever seen that gave me hope.
I'm working on regenerative gardening. Of course, my 'cows' are flickers, hummingbirds,and various woodpeckers in addition to the LBBs (little brown birds). But the earthworms are up to the task, f'sure. There is also a program producing bio-char and I have a half yard of bio-char charging in a yard of soil.
The plants feeding on the bio-char mixture from last year are outrageous in size and number of blooms.
Also adding bio-char to the compost bins and all the veggies just go nuts.
Regenerative farming could put Dow, Monsanto, Bayer, etc., out of ag poison business. AND make farmers and people who eat really happy.
To pull another thread from today, Woody Harrelson is also an old hippie...
Hope is precious. Kiss the Ground offers up a good, clean scoop.
Exclamation point on the entire convo. Thanks Kim!
I think I saw this earlier plus had seen other information about the soil!! If only we all care enough to do our part.
<a href='https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/population-growth-rate'>U.S. Population Growth Rate 1950-2021</a>. www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
Lynell, I've seen a lot of these articles recently. First, if we were still only 2 billion on Earth, we'd be in a lot better shape as far as global warming. Instead, millions, probably even billions are likely to be starving come mid-century. Early in the teens I attended a symposium on "feeding the world in 2050" at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Three agricultural scientists each made a case that if the world did everything right, we ***could*** feed the ten billion expected to be alive on the planet in 2050. There wasn't room for mistakes.
During Q&A I asked the question, how does global warming affect your predictions. It was as if a dark cloud had suddenly descended on the room. The scientist taking questions shrugged his shoulders, looking crestfallen, and had no answer.
Also, Lynell, bear in mind that H. sapiens have coopted 37% of the surface area of the planet for agriculture. And much more for cities, roads, and all the other stuff we do.
There's a concept I learned in 1975 in a class taught by John Holdren, who later became Pres. O's Science Advisor. Ecosystem services are services provided by ecosystems that provide for a host of needs of humans and other animals--food, soil fertility, pollination, clean water, disease prevention.
These services are being degraded by everything we do. That's why the populations of insects and birds have plummeted by 75% over the last 50 years--further degrading ecosystem services. In the early 1600s, Captain John Smith described the richness of the waters off of the east coast of the US, saying that you could fill a rowboat with seafood in an hour. The sea is a desert compared to what it was back then. There are a mere 400 and something Right Whales left in the oceans. I could go on and on.
Here's a primer on ecosystem services
https://earth.org/what-are-ecosystem-services/
How about this primer, David.....
Take up space about degrading ecosystems another day. Not the point on Frederick Douglas Day.
David, all you say. What do you suggest be done? Limit the number of offspring each family can have? Female infanticide? Male infanticide? Death camps to decrease the world's population? The immigrants who would be banned from entering this country will still populate the world somewhere.
(In deference to Christine, you can save your reply to tomorrow if you'd like.)
Oh David, all my kin have value. I am no better than the farm worker or cook or maid. This earth of ours will survive if we stop listening to the rich, heartless industrialists who fail to hear our planet crying out for compassion.
Stopping listening won't do the job. And at a time when our very Democracy is in danger, I have little confidence that we can do much to stop the plunder of the planet. Plus, the serious overpopulation of both our country and of Earth make it all the harder.
What a wonderful career! It must have been so rewarding to give them the gift of communication. Brava, Allegra❣️
Thank you for having dedicated a lifetime to my kin, Allegra!
Today’s letter brought me to tears with its simple eloquent truth. How grateful I am to be one of Professor Richardson’s unofficial students and even more grateful to know her wisdom and kindness are guiding young lives.
And your words brought me to tears also Rowshan. Your courage, determination and your struggles are the very building blocks of all that is good in our country. That you’ve kept an open heart through it all is a triumph. Thank you.
It also made me weep Diane.
Thank you so much, Diane. It's so kind of you to say so.
Ahhhh Rowshan. You give an example of “stepping on the train”. My own maternal grandparents did the same. Thousands and thousands have taken the same step as you to emigrate to this country. I think most of us have someone in our past who did the same. To do what was right.
May our differences never be that which is played by politics to divide us.
Your acknowledgement of these steppings means such a great deal.
Thank you, Christine!
So grateful for your courage, Rowshan. So grateful that you are here today with us!
Oh, Lynell! I am so grateful to be here with all of you! It's an honor.
I admire you. So many people like you are what has made this country. What faith! I come from an area of the country where many Eastern Europeans left their countries in the last century for life in America. I appreciate their bravery.
Thank you, Marcy! It means so much to read your kind words.
Bless you and thank you Rowshan.
Thank you, Jean-Pierre! You're too kind!
Rowshan, I'm assuming you are one of the fortunate graduate students who is passing into the next stage. And, your story is a wonderful one. Congratulations on the "steps" you took years ago to be here today.
Thank you, Pam! I hope that I will always be the eternal student!
I think that we are all lucky to be grateful students of Professor Richardson’s.
Rowshan, I so admire your courage. I am glad things worked out for you.
Many thanks, Sharon. It's just something you do -- the idea of courage is the farthest emotion in one's mind.
Rowshan, well said! I consider people who did what you did heroes. Way to make a dream happen
I think that fighting fear when you make that set of steps is the quintessential act of courage.
Rowshan, my friend, I have never met you and probably will never see you in person, but I know your heart. And it is a big one. It gladdens me to see more of your story. It gladdens me that our country has room and space for people just like you and your sons. Thank you so much for sharing,
Dear Rowshan, I admire your bravery and perseverance! Most of us here have not experienced what you and so many others have (refugees, immigrants) to risk all in search of a better life, in a better place. What a hard journey. I’m glad you are here, with us! I hope you find all that you seek.
For every American who refuses to see that, despite our many deficiencies, this country is unique, because every one of us or our ancestors at one time came here as an immigrant. Even Native Americans migrated from an earlier home. Your story renews my faith that this country can still be a refuge and that we all must work to mitigate the efforts of some to close our doors to those who can only make us better. Thank you for believing in the promise.
Yes, we are still able to be that refuge.
David this is not just for you but for Nancy and anyone else who thinks we're that shining refuge, when we have so many of our own citizens who need help and aren't getting it. (Hopefully Biden will be able to change that)
We have our own citizens who are in as bad shape as many of the people from abroad who want to come here. Half of our people lack $400 for a car repair or a medical emergency--and many of them do work where they'll get fired if they can't get to work for a few days trying to deal with these problems. This is a lot of why there's an opioid epidemic, which for many of those afflicted, ends in suicide (I've written about that).
When we're taking in a million low/no-skilled immigrants annually, its not helping us deal with our own down and out. The underprivileged in our country have done much better at times of low immigration than in the last 40 years.
This long-ago Nicholas Kristof column expresses the problem well
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/opinion/compassion-that-hurts.html
How brave you are Rowshan...you stepped on the train with your two young sons. May all your lives be blessed with prosperity, family and friends.
I can't even begin to imagine. I'm feeling grateful that you kept stepping onto those trains that eventually brought you here to the US and especially led you to the role of teacher of our young people. I bow down to your courage and perseverance.
Rowshan so good to hear your voice again.
Thank you so much, Liz!
so glad you are here.
It's been 9 months since I became aware of you and your writing. Most of those were the dark months of the last administration. Your writing was a beacon in a howling wilderness. So I suppose I didn't think anything could beat that. Till you wrote this.
I think we who survived the last gruesome 15 months—and all the days since Jan. 20th, 2017—are going to be a long time processing what all that's done to us and how we proceed. As I've emerged from Covid isolation that's felt monumental and overwhelming. Then a post like this comes along. It's like the brush of a mother's hand on a cheek. It's going to be ok. Not easy; work to be done. But we'll get there.
Yes we will Lori with the courage to step on the train.
Lori, I agree 100% about today's post from Dr. Richardson. It is the one that has resonated with me the most. Thank you for writing what I was feeling in my head and heart.
Interestingly enough, when I left this page just now, the following was one of the "you might like this" articles on my pocket.com splash page:
“You must change your life,” Rainer Maria Rilke exhorts readers in the final line of his poem “Archaic Torso of Apollo.” It’s a surprise-twist ending, meant to capture the sudden nature of epiphanies. Having spent the entire poem contemplating the beauty of an ancient Greek statue, Rilke practically reaches through the page to shake readers by the shoulders, urging us to transform ourselves—to use our rapidly-dwindling time on Earth as wisely as Apollo’s sculptor did.
But changing your life is a big deal. It takes a lot of work and emotional energy. And it’s often very difficult to predict if a dramatic turn will actually make us happier and more fulfilled, or if it will be the biggest mistake ever and we’ll shrivel up into little raisins of regret.
So we waffle over whether or not to quit a job, change careers, start a business, or go back to school, weighing endless pros and cons. In behavioral economics, this phenomenon is known as status quo bias. People are generally predisposed to favor sticking with their current circumstances, whatever they may be, instead of taking a risk and bushwhacking their way toward a different life.
That’s an instinct we should fight against, according to the findings of a new study by Steven Levitt, University of Chicago economist and Freakonomics co-author, published in Oxford University’s Review of Economic Studies.
The study asked people who were having a hard time making a decision to participate in a randomized digital coin toss on the website FreakonomicsExperiments.com. People asked questions ranging from “Should I quit my job?” to “Should I break up with my significant other?” and “Should I go back to school?” Heads meant they should take action. Tails, they stuck with the status quo.
Ultimately, 20,000 coins were flipped—and people who got heads and made a big change reported being significantly happier than they were before, both two months and six months later.
“The data from my experiment suggests we would all be better off if we did more quitting,” Levitt said in a press release. “A good rule of thumb in decision making is, whenever you cannot decide what you should do, choose the action that represents a change, rather than continuing the status quo.”
A shorter way of saying this is what Yoda said to Luke in the second Star Wars movie (the other good one): "No. Do or do not. There is no 'try.'"
Ya know, I would call myself an Atheist except I have this vague belief in The Force which knocks me into the Agnostic realm of Spirituality. Hey, it is every bit as valid as following that Joe Smith cult in Utah.
May The Force be with us all!
So say we all.
I certainly do! 😉
We are all connected. All life is connected. When we acknowledge that simple fact, respect grows.
Above statement just makes more sense, when said in a different way and applied to government and politics towards each as individuals.
"At the heart of that western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups, and states, exist for that person's benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any western society."-RFK
@ 3:55 in his own voice https://youtu.be/yp81OYCjXtU
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/robert-f-kennedy/robert-f-kennedy-speeches/day-of-affirmation-address-university-of-capetown-capetown-south-africa-june-6-1966
That whole section of "Empire Strikes Back" where Luke goes to study with Yoda is actually quite profound.
The moment whee Yoda tells Luke to bring the space ship out of the swamp and he says "Well, I'll Try," then Yoda replies with the line above, then Luke brings the ship out of the muck and it's hanging there and he says "I don't believe it!" and it falls back into the swamp, and Yoda says "And that is why you fail" - that scene never fails to get me.
That and the scene where Luke literally "travels into the underworld" where he confronts Darth Vader is out of "The Hero's Journey" (The Hero travels into the underworld where he confronts his own death, and in so doing discovers his own truth).
Too bad that other than the first two (Episodes 4 and 5 for those who weren't around the first time) the rest is "Star Bores." Corporate Commercial Crap.
Personally I like Episode 6 too, but I agree everything after that is junk. Here’s what I currently wake up to when my alarm clock goes off:
https://youtu.be/soNidwqk1U4
Love that music ❣️
Agnostics “let the mystery be” Iris DeMent
Rob, maybe the Force is a bit more valid than that of the mainstreamer’s even.
With all due apologies to our LDS friends, that got a laugh out of me. Thanks Rob.
But... REAL change may involve no APPARENT change.
The Buddha sat under the tree.
Christ suffered at Gethsemane.
Nobel Peace Prizewinner Andrei Sakharov said, when you have no choice, make a moral choice.
Or as the great Yogi from baseball, Lawrence Peter Berra, said some years ago, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
And quitting is not what we’re taught to do. We’re taught to see things through and don’t be quitters. Had I been better at quitting and accepting the loss, no telling how my life would have turned out differently! People ask me why didn’t you guys call it quits earlier? I tell them because we were so bad at quitting!
TC some mornings, I just fall in love with you. Historian, poet, philosopher and raconteur. Sometimes profane, but, always purposeful. Keep writing, whatever else you decide to do. Please.
I really appreciate your post. I, too, have a story to tell, of change. In 1995 my husband and I retired and moved to our dream home where we were sure we would live out the rest of our lives. We bought a motorhome and for the next 15 years enjoyed living a life that we had dreamed of. Then in 2007 my husband was diagnosed with dementia. He had been diagnosed years before with a peripheral neuropathy that meant he had gradually had to use a cane and then a walker and then a scooter to get around. But he still got around! Then in 2010 as we were packing for a motorhome trip to see friends, I came out on our back deck and found my husband just sitting there. “I can’t do it.” So, I made the decision to sell the motorhome and put our lovely and loved retirement home on the market and move “down the hill” to a retirement community to be closer to doctors and family. Yes, I did discuss it with him, but the decision was mine. We had an estate sell and moved into a nice home in a nice area. Three years later I knew I needed more help than I was getting at the time and made the decision to move to Oregon to be closer to our younger daughter. We bought a home here in Beaverton and moved. Three years later we sold that home and moved into an assisted living facility. Two years ago we had to make the decision to put my husband into an adult foster care home. It is a beautiful home with only five residents and next door to our daughter. I moved into a condo in a retirement community only three miles from where my husband lives. It has been an emotional and at times physically exhausting train ride. BUT it has meant we each have been able to have a much better “quality of life together” than had we insisted on staying in the home we thought to be our last home, the one family would have to have carried us out feet first. It’s hard to step on a train that is taking you away from everything that you thought was the culmination of a dream. However, the beginning of that trip meant that one of us would be able to get the care he needed and I would know that my love to care for and protect meant more to me than the life-style we had enjoyed. I know I am patting myself on the back, but every time I go over to see my husband in his home I am given the gift of his love as he looks at me when I come in. His dementia has gotten worse; however, he still knows family and me. We celebrated 48 years of marriage this month. His caregiver gave us a party by bringing in Mexican food and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson all came and enjoyed. When my husband turned 92yo last month, my daughter hired an couple of musicians to come to his home and we had a birthday party with my daughter’s family and my sister and brother-in-law.
Yes, that first step on the train started a much longer journey than anticipated, with many more destinations than envisioned. On the other hand, that step has let to a longer and much more satisfying life than envisioned. Who knew?
Great story. Especially for those of us who care for someone who gets one of life's short straws. I don't know about you but I do know watching that decline, watching them lose their choices, is hard.
Kathleen, your journey and the choices you made along the way are the definition of love. May the rest of your journey bring you joy and peace.
What a beautiful love story Kathleen. Loss comes to us all, you’ve made courageous choices along the way.
Life is certainly unpredictable, in spite of the plans we make. I'm glad you were able to make those important decisions, guided by love, which have led to "a longer and much more satisfying life than envisioned." Where would you be without the love of your husband, your family, friends and dedicated caregivers? Each day we hold Heaven or Hell in the palm of our hand by how we choose to think and act. You chose a life of love. True treasure for sure.
Kathleen you deserve many pats on the back.
Kathleen, your story is one that most of us will face, if we haven’t already. I so appreciate the way in which you told it. Your admiration and love for one another is one of life’s precious gifts. Your train has taken you both to a place where you are cared for and about by loving family members. Bravo!
Guided by Wisdom.
Having written my biografy & breaking it down to Relationships and a Work History, I have actually described my eclectic choices & changes as being blown about by whatever breeze came my way. However, I did make choices that affected the course of my life and now after ¾ of a century I can appreciate that I have experienced so much (and, with the help of my 2 long-term relationships who exerted their own push to whatever direction we took). I count my first “step” as dropping out in 1970.
Rob, I always admire your independence of spirit. 3/4 of a century of adventure!
Sizzling to start the week, TC! Thank you.
I have been labeled a "start-up specialist" because of all the projects, organizations, and programs I have launched over the past 35 years. The problem with quitting for me was that folks didn't want me to go, so I overstayed my welcome. Kinda of like your architect/builder moving into your house with you when it's done. TC, I shall tack your quote from Steven Leavitt on my frig (next to the one cited by Cathy Leonard today!) as my future guidepost: "choose the action that represents change." Thank You.
TC, this discussion you initiated as one of the better ones I’ve seen in quite a while. Nice work pal 🏆🏆
Now *that* is the best outcome possible from having put this thread in action. Hurrah!
Thank you Heather.
This exceptional Letter should be a mantra for us all.
All of us in this Community are every bit as blessed to have you in our lives as your students. Those of us that make your Tuesday and Thursdays history chats and your daily Letters part of our lives truly appreciate the time you put forth to make it happen. Truth is, you don't have to invite us into your home for these invaluable lessons. The hand you have extended to us to board your train of knowledge will never be forgotten and always appreciated.
For that, I am so glad I stepped on board.
Be safe, be well.
Hear-Hear, Linda.
Hear here at LFaA! All Aboard!
When the day comes that you have to choose between what is just good enough and what is right... find the courage to step on the train.
Exactly what I did 40 years ago this past May 1. Said good-bye to "safety" and "security" in a job that had arrived at the point where when I went in for my flight physical in February that year, the Aviation Medical Examiner told me "I don't know what you do for a living, but if you keep on doing it, you're going to have an ulcer in the next 18 months and a heart attack by your 40th birthday." That was a pretty good wakeup call. The last 40 years haven't been easy, but the worst day of them was better than the best day of the Time Before. I finally stopped making my decisions on what other people would think of what I did and started worrying about whether *I* liked what I was choosing to do. And in the process I came to be successful at the one job I can do well that makes everything feel better when I do it. Write.
Funny that the answer to what is “the one job I can do well that makes everything feel better when I do it” is often a one word verb.
For me it’s “teach”.
Would love to hear from others on this stream what it is. My bet is that many have “stepped on the train”.
When I started teaching was when I stepped on the train and when I started writing.
Another 'teacher' here. Stepped on that train 20 years ago and have not looked back down the tracks.
For me it was "nurse". I did it from 1972 to 2015 and nearly all in geriatrics.
Good choice, TC to "step on the train."
And you are such an excellent writer TC
Flattery wil get you *everywhere*! :-)
Hmmm...I’ll remember that tip!
And you are such an excellent writer TC
This post should be required reading for every government official in America, especially those members of congress who refuse to vote in favor of an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the events of January 6 when rioters stormed the Capitol. The train Fredrick Douglas boarded in 1838 turned out to be a metaphorical train to freedom because it took him on his legendary journey toward a life dedicated to to truth and justice, the very virtues the bind all Americans together in the long train ride toward equality envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. Douglas's courageous act and his exemplary career should serve as a whistle blast from history for all who took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, a spiritual clarion call to stand up as true Americans, and support of efforts to reveal the truth about the events of January 6, to do what is right and "step on the train." Power to the People!
Thank you Stuart for this😊
But when I was watching 60 Minutes last night, I was thinking of JANUARY 6 as well. Their segment was about what took place in Tulsa,Oklahoma 99 years ago, this Memorial Day. The Race Massacre of Black Wall Street!!!!! How Could THAT Have Happened???? AND IT DID!!!!!😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Even more, how could the fact that it happened be hidden for so long?
Fascism’s mythic past vs History.
Dispicable!!!!!!!
Same issue as Texas deciding not to teach about racism - if we don't talk about it, it will go away. Or so they hope. Maybe not this time, if we all raise our voices.
That effort is alive and well in NH-the now Republican majority legislature has been trying to pass a law forbidding teaching "Divisive Concepts". So far it hasn't passed but I believe they've hidden it in the State Budget (along w/ a bill to divert public school funds to private/religious schools and home schoolers; that was vehemently opposed by people testifying against it.)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tulsa-race-massacre-60-minutes-2021-05-23/
Reparations.
I think they are not even sure of the names of all of the victims. Turpentine bombs from airplanes to set houses and businesses on fire......too awful to contemplate.
That's not a reason or case against Reparations. "We don't know who..." is akin to "We were just following orders". Democracy takes responsibility. Fascism projects, deflects, confuses in order to "dissolve concentration" in order to maintain the myth. Violence and myth ( big lie) work together.
Ted, I agree with you on reparations. Reparations for Greenwood can be a template to follow for other injustices that have been hidden for far too long.
An airstrike on Greenwood/Tusla, OK, a firebombing from airplanes on our own civilians. "White supremacy is terrorism"-Pres. Joe Biden in first address to Congress 2021. Waiting for Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson to say they were just seeding the clouds.
Grotesque!
Ted, to whom and how much? We owe our lot in life to the indigenous whom we slaughtered and enslaved. We brought them from an estimated 20,000,000 people to 200,000. How do we begin to pay the debts our forefathers accumulated? Perhaps we make token offerings. Perhaps but we can’t seem to help people of color out without screams of reverse racism from the entitled wealthy who can’t get their kids into Havahd because of a quota. How in the world do we begin to make things right?
CBS This Morning did a piece last week about Germany paying reparations to the Holocaust victims. There was a 90+ year old woman featured who is still receiving a monthly check, I believe it was (they said) in the three figures. It. Can. Be. Done.
My mother received restitution from Germany until her death at the age of 89. It can and should be done for African Americans. Why? Because they were bought and sold like groceries. Then they were beaten and/or raped. Today, blacks are fighting for their lives as are Asians. It’s way past time.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/german-holocaust-reparations
Agree 1000%.
Georgetown University has managed to address reparations for the enslaved people the university once owned and 'sold down the river' to raise funds for the university. Obviously, reparations for descendants of all enslaved Africans can't be as straightforward but that doesn't mean it's unsolvable.
Hire a forensic accounts and lawyers. Both of which I am not, so I don't know the cost. Damages for loss + Interest. Work it out. Right the wrong. Done.
Otherwise we live how? As what? Untruthers? Thieves of other peoples hard work? What does that mean to live that way as a country? What does it say about us as a people?
You have something here, I kind of was looking at it as where does one draw the line. Obviously there was a line in this instance, pre and post Tulsa massacre. Perhaps an obvious group to go after are the insurance companies who benefited from reneging on their contracts, then it probably falls on the Feds.
Has there ever been discussion of reparations for the study of various STDs on POC?
Reparations.
Agree Ted. 1000%
Thank you for posting the link. I didn't know it was going to be on. I saved it to my computer. I think Mr Franklin has the right idea- a tomb commemorating the unknowns who were lost.
My 8 year old son is in Tulsa at this moment, attending a wedding. I just sent his mom a message asking if she saw any observances of the Genocide.
I’ve been to OKC, and that memorial. Didn’t take nearly as long for that memorial to become reality. Says something that Tulsa doesn’t have one to Greenwood.
LouAnn....I posted the segment for those that want to watch.
Thank you, Christine. I watched and hope everyone who missed it will watch it. Although I had learned of this horrific event awhile back from Smithsonian Mag., the 60 Minutes presentation made it all the more real bcz of the voices of Black Tulsans who descend from those who lived in Greenwood and others who were gobsmacked that they had never learned of the massacre and destruction in school. Worse, that's not the only such 'event' - can't think of the name but a Black community in Florida also suffered death & destruction at the hands of a white mob.
Rosewood, FL. Jan 1923.
Didn't know about THIS either😡😡😡😡
White mans Cover-up!
Here's one: https://www.history.com/news/wilmington-massacre-1898-coup
Thanks, Lynell. I remembered the town I was thinking of in Florida: Rosewood in 1923. I fear there are many other such 'events' in U.S. history that we never learn of. Once again, it was set off by a spurious claim by a white woman that she had been raped by a black man. And once again, 'economic jealousy' was a primary motivator for the mob. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood,_Florida
Reading historical records in GA it becomes clear that the Trail of Tears was also motivated at least partially by economic jealousy... poor whites were jealous of the high-quality farms and standard of living among the Cherokee.
Hear! Hear!
There is a wonderful statue of Frederick Douglass at the University of Maryland. It gave me goosebumps when I saw it a couple of years ago.
When I was reading your account of how Douglass got his freedom, it reminded me of the circuitous routes my mother had to escape from Nazi Germany to the U.S.. That train is so symbolic of Douglass’s time, WWII, and now the present. You have left your students (and us) a gift and a nudge... to not just sit on our laurels but to speak out against what is wrong. To be in the mix of what is right and just is the only way to freedom.
And for Holocaust victims, that life-or-death moment of recognition often required similar high risk actions of getting forged documents and sometimes an instantaneous action: Lie about your vocational skill? Pass as a Christian? Hand over your baby to safety? Run into the woods? Pay the farmer a bribe to hide in the attic? Or literally, jump OFF the train?
A Chinese proverb defines luck as when skill meets opportunity. Skill includes an immense amount of courage. Bravo to courage!
I have that quote on my fridge. For quite a few years now. I thought it to be from Seneca, a Roman philosopher? And know it as “Luck is what happens at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.” No matter who is credited, it is very useful in recognizing when the Universe is showing us we are ready for change.
Thank you. I quote this so often, I ought to get the source correct!
These images touch my heart, Ellie. So much courage.
Amen, Ellie!
Okay, that's going on the refrigerator today, too.
We readers are lucky to be your 'students' as well. What a gem.
Good morning everyone--and happy Monday. Thank you, HCR, for this letter: it presents the history of so many of us: descendants of enslaved people, of refugees, of immigrants, as well as people who have more recently "stepped on the train" in order to change their lives and their circumstances.
My ancestors (of recent vintage--grandparents on the paternal side, great-grandparents on the maternal) all had to "step on the train" in order to get to America: they got on the boat (my paternal grandmother disguised as a boy!); hid in the wagon guided by an ally in the midst of a typical Belarusian pogrom; arrived penniless to this country. They lived in the "neo-shtetls" of the Lower East Side and Newark, NJ. They worked hard, gained some measure of financial success, raised their children to eschew religio-political dictatorship, sent their sons off to war: the usual stories. For some "Americans", my Greek and Ashkenaz ancestry was a rationale for discrimination. It is amazing how financial success "whitens" Mediterranean and Eastern European people in the eyes of the WASPs who posted No Jews signs on their shop doors. It is amazing how two generations can change a family from being refugees to elites--but you have to be white to start with, even if not the "right" kind of Christian or Jewish.
One of the best books I have read in the last few years is Erica Armstrong Dunbar's Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave Ona Judge. This was a woman who "stepped on the train" a hundred years before Frederick Douglass. And it also gives the reader a very different perspective about the Washingtons, one that is important.
As I write this, I am also reminded of the fact that one of the most important voices in journalism today, Nikole Hannah-Jones, has been denied tenure by the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina. She was one of the creators of the 1619 Project. She had been offered an endowed chair position in the J school at UNC-Chapel Hill but the Board, confronted with a letter writing campaign of racist alums, decided to deny her tenure. I hope she sues the crap out of UNC, but I am also not surprised. I also hope that some other J School (University of Missouri, how about it?!) offers her a better gig.
And so it continues.
Your accounting of Dr Hannah-Jones is perhaps the third time I’ve read or her of her plight; initially I believe my source was “All Things Considered.”
So, how far we have come, from the “step” of Frederick Douglas to the nationwide publicity of injustices. Earlier this morning, the WaPo featured the plight of a journalist from Belarus who was removed from a plane forced aground, by state officials So, today, Pres. Biden and other European leaders will strategize a more forceful approach to this leadership at their scheduled meeting ....
And I see countless acts of courage around me, as I recently passed by an African refugee holding her infant as they walked, in my “lily white” Maine village. My next act of courage will be to stop and greet my new neighbor, and ask if she and her family need any assistance, from my family and I.
Maine may be lily white but many hearts are open to enriching us all by welcoming folks from afar. ❤️ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/us/portland-maine-african-migrants.html
Oh, Frederick, this last news choked me up. What a good, kind heart you have. Your village is so lucky to have you, and I am sure its refugee will appreciate your act of courage. Thanks for the inspiration.
Well MP, I appreciate your reply very much. I simply asked one lady to join us for lunch after the mass. She barely spoke a word of English. Now, all 6 of her surviving children have arrived in Maine, as well as her husband. She was a professional in the Congo, and attended a world wide gathering of women attended by Hillary Clinton. Then, dangers began for her. Another woman arrived without her only child; she heard cases in the Congo and decided whether the case ought be heard by The Hague. Her son has now joined her.
Our relationship developed as I helped her by donating, opening a checking account with her, bying a transit pass, and being a friend.
Being a friend is the most important ingredient, imho
💞 Frederick! You "simply asked"!That is a huge step! What this whole dIscussion is about today. Yes "being a friend is the most important ingredient", but how many of us take the time or have the courage? What if another Frederick (Douglass) had not had a friend to lend him the "free slave papers" he needed to take his first step? Wow, you have inspired me again - THE step may not need to be a big scary one. It could be something any of us can do. Because, as you say, being a friend is the most important thing you can do. Thanks.
MP ~ I feel you’re spot on with the key of “asking>’ I spent YEARS doing the work of Werner Erhardt, who basically packaged eastern philosophy into his EST. A key ingredient of his work was to recognize that people spend their lives waiting ... to be asked. “May I was home with you today?” The prom question. The ask for enrollment into a school, an application for a job, a first date request, and finally, “Will you marry me?”
Werner thought we spent our lives waiting ....
EST! Wow. Dates me! I don't remember much from my hippie days (and no, not because I was stoned - because I'm old). But I suspect we could all use that peaceful watchfulness now. And, yes, still waiting...
"Wait...Is this a date?" A cute ask.
McDonalds has a new cute commercial, "wait..."
Many of the people from the Congo have been through severe trauma in their long journey to get here. Our community in the Bath Brunswick area in Maine have been very welcoming to new arrivals. It is great you reached out.
UNC has suffered much more than any lawsuit could impose. It has lost honor, integrity, and sullied its reputation for seeking the truth and recognizing courage.
Fascists seek total control. Institutions of higher education are not except. “protect institutions”- On Tyranny, Tim Snyder
Exempt? Yes.
oops! I shouldn't try to use my phone to do anything by click. I'm too old to type with two thumbs! ha ha. Thank you MP :)
The Board of Governors of the UNC is SO politicized at this point, it’s horrendous. Denying Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure is just one of their dumb decisions. The Republican controlled gerrymandered legislature has been working to control the gem that the UNC system is. These are the same people who brought about the “bathroom bill”. It’s all about power.
And a measure of fear. Fear of losing power/status and relevance. Sad.
power, oppression, supremacy, may the universe forbid a Black woman tenure...
What horse manure! Dr. Hannah-Jones has more intellect, more class than any of those yahoos. Is there a word for anger/disgust?
I've just requested "Never Caught" from the library. It was published in 2019 for young adult readers. The library record blurb: ""In this incredible narrative, Erica Armstrong Dunbar reveals a fascinating and heartbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the Washingtons' when they were the First Family--and an in-depth look at their slave, Ona Judge, who dared to escape from one of the nation's Founding Fathers. Born into a life of slavery, Ona Judge eventually grew up to be George and Martha Washington's "favored" dower slave. When she was told that she was going to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington's granddaughter, Ona made the bold and brave decision to flee to the north, where she would be a fugitive. From her childhood, to her time with the Washingtons and living in the slave quarters, to her escape to New Hampshire, Erica Armstrong Dunbar (along with Kathleen Van Cleve), shares an intimate glimpse into the life of a little-known, but powerful figure in history, and her brave journey as she fled the most powerful couple in the country."-- Provided by publisher. "
Yes: Dr. Dunbar wrote two versions: a more complete monograph and a version for "young adult" readers. It is turning into an interesting practice for a number of books, especially ones that focus on the history of BIPOC folks.
I HOPE we could be lucky enough to have U of Missouri get her!
Cathy, it would require some real courage from our President, Mun Choi, who is also Chancellor of UM-Columbia. He is not likely to do so--he is very sensitive to the ultra-rightwingers in the legislature.
I had the same idea— maybe Harvard or Yale will step up and offer her a tenured position—
The risk that Frederick Douglass took to freedom was the seed of his greatness. Heather, thank you for the light you have brought today.
Another among us speaks to our meaning at this time and place.
'Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Americans who are hitting one obstacle after another: ‘That is why I persist’ in conversation with KK Ottesen, Washington Post Magazine
'In Elkhart, Indiana, this woman gives me a big hug and then, while she has her arms around me, she whispers that her teenage daughter had been raped by her coach. And that child had to suffer the double trauma, first of the rape, and then trying to get an abortion in a state that has put up every possible barrier'.
'How do you absorb that in that moment — that’s a lot.'
'It is. The selfie lines were so intimate. They were a place where people came to say policy is personal. They didn’t use those words, but that was the heart of it. And the fact that policy is so personal — that decisions made in far-off Washington, D.C., touch lives so deeply — that’s what keeps me in this fight.'
'Were you surprised that that sort of intimacy was shared with you, in front of a big group?
At first, yes. But, over time, I learned that those selfie lines were not about anyone else in the room. When somebody stood up on that stage next to me to have a picture, they have this brief moment that we were just there alone. And they could speak heart-to-heart and tell me what they wanted me to hear.'
'You also travel in rarefied circles and have access to people who have a lot of power, whether in Washington or with wealthy, influential individuals around the country. And when you share those stories with them, as I’m sure you do, do you see minds and hearts changed?'
'Sometimes. And sometimes not. But I want to make a slightly different point out of your question. Because I think there’s something else in here: how we finance campaigns and why that’s important. Much of the time, the conversation is the kind of, Well, if you take money from X, you’ll be influenced by their point of view, unwilling to vote against the things they want. And that’s how it is that rich people and corporate CEOs have outside influence in Washington. And that’s entirely true'.
'But let me offer another layer to it. Each of us faces the 24-hours-in-a-day problem. [Laughs.] That’s all there is. So how you spend that 24 hours matters a lot. And when running for the president of the United States, it matters even more. If I spent a big chunk of my time with the wealthy and well-connected who could write big checks for my campaign, I would see the problems they see. Taxes that they don’t like. Or regulations that they find cumbersome.
I made a decision when I ran for president that I would not sell access to my time. None. So I had a whole lot more time for selfie lines. And time to call $3 donors. And the consequence of that is that I was bombarded every single day with stories of people all across this country who are working their hearts out and just hitting one obstacle after another. They showed up, and they told their stories. And that is why I persist.'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/elizabeth-warren-interview-persist/2021/05/17/6d6df30a-b430-11eb-a980-a60af976ed44_story.html
Thank you Fern! Powerful. I will exerpt some of Elizabeth Warren's experience and wisdom you cite here to share, if that's okay. What an incredible woman, and what incredible citizens who quickly told her the crux of their stories in the brief moment of a selfie. Those whispered messages should be compiled in a book, and become our citizens' guide.
I share your thoughts and 'whispered messages' is America's song. Thank you, MaryPat.
Okay, now I'm crying. So many steps to go...
Love her (EW) and both of you for elevating her. ❤️🙏
If there is a way to award one: a posthumous Nobel is in order. I have read him and his writing is erudite and sharp. I did not realize his history was that fraught with the potential of being another human, "sold down the river." Given the challenges to even be able to write, much less do it well; we should all be in awe of his writing(s).
Having read what he and MLK SAID, in retrospect, their prose was what presidents can only dream of saying much less creating. I'm constantly in awe of the fight, nee the hope, of these brave humans. Whatever we can do, politically or otherwise, seems inadequate when compared to not only their rhetoric or the time, but just the power that they gave to LANGUAGE: and they were masters of it.
If we want kids to read anything; I'd suggest 8th grade to be filled with their prose, not the simplistic north-south winner-loser trope. Lets let history literally speak for itself. Thank you, Heather, for a very thought-provoking missive. Many blessings.
Yes.
Yes! 8th grade history be filled with the prose of Douglass and MLK!
I have always had the feeling that I was holding the end of a piece of luminescent string leading wherever into the future of my life and from time to time, but not often, new doors appear on the road that are partially open. You open them and step through or not...I have always gone through them. What I found on the way is that there is always an important, and often seemingly inocuous, chain of events that lead you to face each door. In that supporting chain of circumstances there is one or several "little helpers" that transit your life make it possible. My thoughts in Frederick Douglas' escape to freedom go also to the courage of the free, black, northern sailor that lent him his papers, thus putting his own life in danger, to help another fullfil his destiny.
I thought of him as well Stuart, wondering what happened to him. And yes “magical” things often happen when we step into the unknown. Helpers appear unexpectedly.
So true, so true. There is magic, and the sound of Cosmic wheels clicking together that we will never see or understand. But we know them when we see them, and especially when we experience them personally.
If you hadn’t accomplished one other thing in the hours you poured in to the Letters and all the history talks and politics talks, today’s message would have been worth it all But don’t worry all those hours have brought comfort and truth and context and so much more. They have not been in vain
Each of your letters is remarkable, but there are days like today when it feels like we have received a gift of shining gold light that one can cup in their hands and feel the warmth of its radiating wisdom. Well done and thank you for this edifying advice.
Little did I know, back when the truth began to break about The Former Guy’s pressuring of Ukraine that I would rely so heavily on these letters for my own sanity.
Roughly 100 years later, during the Great Migration, millions of Black men and women made the courageous decision to step on the train, some literally and others figuratively. If you have not yet read the stories of Ida Mae, George, and Robert in Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, I highly recommend it.
It’s a fabulous book, and follow it with ‘Caste’, also by Isabel Wilkerson.
Caste is a heartbreaking book, but must be read to understand what is happening today.
For me, it informed it my heart. One of the most influential books of my library.
1000% agree.
Both of Isabel Wilkersons books are required reading. She has important messages to give and she does so with eloquence. I imagine I will read both again within the next year or so.
Here is a quote by Frederick Buechner I recently came across. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. In my life there have been several cusp points when a decision changed the entire direction of my life -- and whether courageous or just naive of the risk I'm glad I took the paths I chose. And, yet, as old as I am now, I have a strong sense of destiny still yet unfulfilled. Makes me think of Churchill and his sense of destiny. I once toured Churchill's underground War Rooms in Whitehall. What impressed me the most were the maps full of pin holes from the push pins used to track the movement of troops through the war. It was history in real time.
Buechner had a personal friendship with someone that had great influence on my discerning my multiple vocations. That friend of his told me I needed to find my heart’s desire and follow it, which feels a lot like your intersection between one’s deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger. The trains that came my way took me to those places too. And now in retirement I feel there is more to do, more to be, before I cash in my chips. Thanks, Cathy, for writing what you did here.
Thank you for this Cathy! I copied Buechner's quote and put it on my frig for daily (okay, hourly) Inspiration!
I’d vote for you Cathy, if you ever ran for any office!😉