People think that a high school drop out, drops out because they get pregnant, or they use drugs, or they lack intelligence, or they are lazy. The fact is, that kids drop out of high school for variou...Read More
The approach I took in writing this essay might be perceived by some as an ultimatum. I hope my decision to be utterly transparent and painfully honest will be seen as an opportunity for dialogue rath...Read More
On Thursday, February 23, 2012, I made the most difficult decision of my life: I formally withdrew from the candidacy process for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). At le...Read More
Why does our current prison system exist? Why do we continue to support a punitive approach that blames the individual rather than putting the bulk of our resources into rehabilitation and reform? Per...Read More
“Sir, my parents are very interested in your ideas. They want a picture of you.” With this, my student gave me a pair of sunglasses and asked me to pose. For the last three weeks, I have been teac...Read More
I think I was called a long time ago. When I was ten years old, I remember sitting in the car with my childhood friend Susan and her mom before Mass, and out of the blue I blurted, “I am afraid I am...Read More
Article first published as The Soul of Black Consumerism on Blogcritics. Jayne Dirt over at the Clutch Mag Online has raised a question worth pondering during these waning days of Black History Month:...Read More
My hands shake as I type this, less than an hour since I walked out of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception during Father So-and-so’s homily. I attend Mass once or twice a month, ...Read More
As I shook his hand, I thanked him for his work and was about to say more when he posed a gentle challenge. “I listened with interest to your presentation,” he said, “especially the part about c...Read More
After two months of India’s lush cacophony, I return to Minnesota in mid-February. It is unseasonably warm: the temperature hovers around freezing. Coming from the tropics, this is unbearably cold. ...Read More