This is the third post in a series about Martin Luther King, Jr., leading up to his birthday celebration in January, 2015. If you haven’t heard John Coltrane’s 1966 composition “Reverend King,” you owe it to yourself to hear it. This is “free jazz” Coltrane, late Coltrane, and magnificent Coltrane. It was released as part […]
This is the second post in a series leading up to Dr. King’s Birthday, January, 2015 Most of my students didn’t know Dr. King had a strong Washington, D.C. history. As we discussed the places here in our city which mattered in Dr. King’s life, some were intrigued. So we started to talk about this […]
Basic wisdom says a problem can’t be solved before it’s admitted and understood. This is where we start. America is not working for most of its people. We are frequently divided, angry, and ignorant to how others experience life here. But we can do better. Much better. I wonder about this question: How much more […]
I noticed the questions. Then I noticed the pleading. High school students often write poetry that challenges and consoles us at the same time. At least that’s how it lands on me. Over the last two days, I visited three schools as Poet-in-Residence for the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society, in Howard County, Maryland, […]
I thought I discovered something. On further exploration, I found quite another. I discovered, once again, the power of artists to remember, lament, and protest, all at the same time. It was December 13, 2014. I was on the Red Line Metro in Washington, D.C., heading to the National March Against Police Violence, gathering at […]