I’ve been focusing a lot on social justice these past few years, because the rhetoric/composition course I teach at one of my universities (ah, the joys of rootless adjuncting!) has integrated social justice and care for others as part of its Jesuit curriculum. This year, my theme is Art and Protest. I’ve read Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and other related books to expand my knowledge base, as well as that of my students’. Goodreads recommended The South Side to me when it saw […]
“I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.”
Let me cut to the chase-this book is a must read. Usually when you hear about a book hyped as much as Ta-Nehishi Coates’ Between the World and Me, you’re going to be disappointed. This is the rare exception. Before I even finished the 152 page book, I knew it was the type of work that will outlive all of us, a permanent fixture on bookstore shelves and college syllabi. This book-written in the aftermath of the Ferguson protests and published ahead of schedule after […]
You’ll never fail like common people, you’ll never watch your life slide out of view
“Here is how I have felt, as me: as a relatively young person who is perceived as white, who is naturally sociable, who is intelligent and well-spoken, who was taught well and as a result loves learning things, who is able to lift objects up to fifty pounds repeatedly. And many times, with all that going for me, I still saw no hope. I cannot begin to imagine how much harder it is for someone who faces more discrimination than I have or grew up […]