Category: martin luther king, jr

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“The critical moment is on us. Now is the time to deal with it.”: We Cannot be Moderate

As I was scrolling through social media a couple of weeks ago, a meme popped up that really caught my attention, and I have been thinking about it ever since. The meme shows Devarjaye “D.J.” Daniel, a 13-year-old from Texas who received a brain cancer diagnosis in 2018. Doctors gave him five months to live, and he has lived for seven years since that … Read More “The critical moment is on us. Now is the time to deal with it.”: We Cannot be Moderate

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How Do Individuals Descend Into Brutal Savagery? Part II

In Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz, József Debreczeni provides a detailed and graphic recounting of his time in Nazi concentration camps during 1944–1945. While in Eule, Debreczeni speaks with other individuals about the ease with which people fall into savagery, becoming part and parcel of the atrocities, violence, and murder enacted against their neighbors. Debreczeni contemplates how people who have given the … Read More How Do Individuals Descend Into Brutal Savagery? Part II

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We Must Never Stop Learning

Our existence, from our physical birth till our physical death, is finite. It has a beginning and an end. With this limited time, we constantly make decisions about what we choose to learn and remember. We may hear about, say, the Civil Rights Movement during our P-12 education, and remember a few words: “Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream.” Once we … Read More We Must Never Stop Learning

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Have We Experienced Progress? “I really WONDER”

Anne Moody ends Coming of Age in Mississippi on 1964 as she and a group of activists head to Washington D.C. to participate in a hearing about the Council of Federated Organization’s (COFO) work in Mississippi to register African Americans to vote. By this point, as Moody puts it, she had experienced both personal and national violence: “the Taplin burning, the Birmingham Church bombing, Medgar Evers’ murder, the … Read More Have We Experienced Progress? “I really WONDER”

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Banned Books Syllabus

Book bans and challenges are nothing new; however, over the past few years, with the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation and “anti-woke” rhetoric that has led to various bills against the teaching of “divisive concepts,” these bans and challenges have increased dramatically. Of course, as PEN American points out, “Black and LGBTQ+ authors and books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities have been disproportionately affected … Read More Banned Books Syllabus