SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS
To the Accra Palace: An unexpected trip to London.
I have a different idea of a universal. It is of a universal rich with all that is particular. Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism My interest in pan-Africanism began 40 years ago when I was working at the Central American Resource Center in Minneapolis....
Aging on the Run: Activist World Travel blog, November 2023-Present
My life partner and I met in Minneapolis in 1982, when we were activists in solidarity with El Salvador. David became a Minneapolis Public School Social Worker, I earned a doctorate, and taught college history. We lived in South Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, where we...
Surprises in Belgrade, Serbia
Our plane from Rome to Belgrade, Serbia,, was three hours late. The Serbian government had shut down its airport to rehearse for its upcoming military parade. Despite the ominous delay, I enjoyed the flight. It was a cloudless day. We saw the contours of both Italian...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: “The Power Lies with the People.”
Multicultural Sarajevo A melodic chant drowned the raucous sounds of Old Town in Sarajevo. We sat in black wooden chairs facing the chancel in the Serbian Orthodox Museum. A couple crossed themselves in front of holy images. Two women—young,...
The Sound of Silence: Jeju Island, South Korea
White waves, green water, and black volcanic rock, stirred by high wind. The view was wild, but inside the Jeju coffee shop, all was calm. A Korean ballad played softly. I was alone. My partner in this Aging on the Run venture was grocery shopping, leaving me...
Order, Chaos and the Desire to be Free. Egypt, January 2025
For the ancient Egyptians, the universe was composed of dualities fertile and barren, life and death, order and chaos. (1) A new museum has been built to showcase Egypt's ancient artifacts yet no structure exists to honor our desire to be free (2) People on...
Letting Wounds Speak. Turkey.
November 2024, Istanbul. On the waterfront in Kadiköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, in the November afternoon sun, a musician with a man-bun and beard plays on an electrified acoustic guitar. Old men and young women sit with their phones on video, capturing...
People’s Living History of Northern Ireland
To understand the Troubles of Northern Ireland one must remove the veils of religion, ethnicity, and even nationalism, and begin with economy, which means learning about the unique properties of the flax plant and the geography of the North Channel. The Political...
Third International Conference on Environmental Peace Building, The Hague, The Netherlands, June, 2024
I attended the Third International Conference on Environmental Peace Building, in The Hague, The Netherlands, in June 2024. I will keep adding to this post until I finish making a narrative from my notes. My commentary in italics Session 7:...
To Theorize and Dance in Brussels
Brussels on eve of EU & parliamentary elections. Thoughts on organizing from Marx’s time to today during this right-wing ascendancy