Two hundred thirty-eight years ago today America was born. Under the shadow of the American Revolution a nation of promise and hope was created. Then it happened: the Second Continental Congress restricted the right to vote to white, free, male landowners, over the age of 21. That was the start of our nation’s still bumpy [...]

Posted on July 4th, 2014 by Debby
Filed under: Democrats, History, Independent movement, Politics and Political Issues, Republicans, Social Justice, Uncategorized, Vote suppression, Voter Suppression | No Comments »

Writing to overturn key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts declared, “Nearly 50 years later, things have changed dramatically. Largely because of the Voting Rights Act ‘[v]oter turnout and registration rates’ in covered jurisdictions ‘now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare.’…The tests and devices that [...]

Posted on August 30th, 2013 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Elections, Politics and Political Issues, Social Justice, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, Vote suppression, Voter Suppression | No Comments »

You want proof that his race was what got Trayvon Martin killed? Try this: a jury of six white women found his 29-year-old killer not guilty of second degree murder or even manslaughter because the 17-year-old black boy, wearing a hoodie in the rain and armed with a bag of candy and a can of [...]

Posted on July 15th, 2013 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Racism, Social Justice, Society and Culture, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The 15th annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival opens tomorrow in the singer-songwriter’s hometown of Okemah, Okla., and it will be a special one, running through the 100th anniversary of his birth on Saturday, July 14. The Woody Guthrie Centennial website says, “His songs have run around the world like a fast train on a well oiled track. [...]

Posted on July 10th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: History, Rural Life, Social Justice | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson In March, I told you about a well-known sports figure who was arrested hereabouts on charges of arguing while black. I didn’t give his name because I didn’t know how widely the story would be reported and didn’t want to contribute to his public humiliation. Well, the story was widely reported, [...]

Posted on June 2nd, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Racism, Social Justice, White privilege | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson I’m steaming here.  If you’re black, you already know about the subject of this post. If you’re not black, but have no interest in white racism and white privilege, go find something else to read. A while back, in a place not far from where I live, a man came out [...]

Posted on March 4th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Racism, Society and Culture | 2 Comments »

Posted by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson [This essay, reposted from Truthout, is such a brave piece of work that I wanted to bring it to you without even asking you to click on the link where the original is to be found.  Its author, Barry Wingard, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air National Guard [...]

Posted on January 19th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Politics and Political Issues, Social Justice | 1 Comment »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson It’s a pleasure to end the week with this inspiring post from the Egyptian English-language website Ahram Online. It’s reassuring to know that there are still large numbers of people unswayed by the efforts of some to make us live lives of fear and intolerance. Egypt’s Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, [...]

Posted on January 7th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Religion and Spirituality, Social Justice | No Comments »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Well, you’re not going to get a year end review from me. I’ve been thinking all week — talking to you in my mind, actually — trying to come up with something uplifting to say. Running along in my thoughts, as a kind of bass line to the rest of it, [...]

Posted on December 30th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Economic Justice, Social Justice | 1 Comment »

By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Most people are smart enough to resist the attempt of the radical right, and the Republican politicians who are courting them, to replace their brain cells with string cheese by clamoring for Barack Obama to come up with a valid birth certificate. But even some of these folks look askance at [...]

Posted on December 20th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Economic Justice, Senate, Social Justice | 2 Comments »