| Oct 29, 2014 | Food / FarmingI got back from the airport just in time for the last half hour of Cider Fest, one of the Bloomington Community Orchard’s large public events. This publicly owned and volunteer-run organic orchard occupies a single acre. Entering its fifth year, it has become an...
| Aug 27, 2014 | Rights / DemocracyMichael Brown. Jordan Davis. Sean Bell. Trayvon Martin. The list of African-American boys and men gunned down at the hands of police officers and vigilantes just gets longer and longer. It makes me numb. I don’t want to feel the full weight of grief and turmoil...
| Jun 5, 2014 | Rights / DemocracyI was traveling when Dr. Maya Angelou died, away from my poetry community in Washington, D.C. But my Facebook feed was crowded with tributes and powerful remembrances, as writers, survivors, and truth tellers chronicled the impact of Dr. Angelou’s life and words...
| Feb 19, 2014 | Peace / SecurityMy 15-year-old son is a hulking 6’6″. He wears a hoodie and listens to hip hop. But I’ve never had to explain to him that his neighbors might find him threatening. I’ve never told him that police officers might assume that if he’s hanging...
| Jan 8, 2014 | Rights / DemocracyIf you visit the website of Nottoway Plantation, a resort hotel, you’ll see a photo of a half-dozen people dressed in antebellum finery. It’s a plug for Nottoway’s new mystery theater evening: The actors play members of the Randolph family who built...
