Overcoming our American differences begins with empathy. I found love in the locked Acute Unit of a State Hospital in 1990. Oh sure, it was the wrong time and place, but Richard was irresistible. He was a psychotic wisp! Bone-skinny and less than five feet tall but given to striking…

Words Fail. History echoes. This is a day when I would rather not write anything. This is a moment when words are clearly inadequate to the task. Yesterday was the most mournful Monday in America that I can personally remember. I was born in the 1960’s. Racial and social unrest…

Black and Brown District of Columbia residents are in the hazardous crosshairs of the Coronavirus crisis: they are both most greatly affected by its mortality and health impact and most deeply vulnerable to its economic impact. Consider this data point: 45% of DC’s population identify as Black/African American and 39%…

What I hadn’t done for racial justice. I went to bed the other night unsettled. I had just read my friend author and activist Tamara Lucas Copeland’s post entitled “White People: Step It Up.” It is a response to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery and in it she envisions a…

Turns out you’re responsible. Now what? A Fable in Three Parts A Teacher: LINDA I only met Linda once before she died. I was visiting the Medical Respite at Pat Handy Place Shelter for Women in Washington DC which is a part of N Street Village where I am the…