Historian Carter G. Woodson announced in 1926 that the second week of February, which includes the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, should be celebrated as Negro History Week. One of…
During my career as an educator, I usually ate lunch alone. I never really enjoyed spending time in the teacher’s lounge. A principal once asked me about this and wondered whether or…
About thirty years ago, I served on a jury in a case regarding the government’s power of eminent domain. In this case, the government had claimed private land in order to build…
When the English began populating North America in the early seventeenth century, the colonists inevitably drew some conclusions regarding the continent’s indigenous population. Perhaps most significant is that these “noble savages”—to use…
I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that most people settle into a certain way of thinking and never let go. In my quest to not be “most people,” I…
“The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to…
During my career in the classroom, I displayed a large poster expressing the wisdom of Mark Twain: “Never let your schooling interfere with your education.” It was my way of telling students…
Two people witnessing an automobile accident often come away with conflicting accounts, even within moments of the event. Ask them six months later to recall the same accident, and their stories will have been transformed by…
When I first wrote about the ghetto as I began the research for my Master’s thesis, it was pointed out by Dr. C., my committee chair, that the use of the word…
“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” —Benjamin Franklin, 1789 With…