Immigrant, Multicultural Brussels: Contradictions and Hope

Aging on the Run, PTSD and Historical Trauma, Racism, Social Movements, Sustainable Economies

  Brussels, like Paris, unfolded as a mash-up of old and new. While Paris was a hard 24 hours, Brussels was an inviting and fun three days. The difference was serendipity, not a true reflection of these two venerable places.  This is the problem with short...

Confessions of a Post-Impressionist in France

Aging on the Run, Nationalism, Racism, Social Movements, Sustainable Economies

                                           “The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.” 17th Century French Philosopher, Voltaire   In France, I acquired impressions. Impressions of Cormeilles, Normandie, France There are...

Dear Pastor Senator Warnock

PTSD and Historical Trauma, Racism, Sustainable Economies

  Dear Pastor Senator Warnock, I am glad you won your re-election!  I was in your hometown of Savannah on your election day, December 6, 2022. I walked by your old high school and the project housing where you grew up. I saw the economic/racial divide that was...

Daytona Notebook # 1. In search of Gordon Parks at the Halifax Historical Museum

Public History, Racism

A 2021 article  described local efforts to uncover Black history and revive historic African American neighborhoods in Daytona Beach.  In it was a photograph attributed to Gordon Parks, and originating from the Halifax Historical Museum.  I wanted to see the...

Social Emotional Learning Circa 1965: “Be Like Christopher”

Public History, Racism

  In Mrs. Macintosh’s second grade class at the Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline, Massachusetts, the October 1965 lessons focused on social emotional health. We were encouraged to believe in ourselves and our ideas, even if they were unpopular, to be...

My Grandparents’ Rent Control Apartment in Queens

PTSD and Historical Trauma, Racism, Sustainable Economies

At a recent community forum on rent stabilization in Minneapolis, my City Council member argued that rent control was not a good instrument for addressing poverty or racism because it also benefits well-off white renters, or people who are low income when they first...