Baileyblog
Reparations 101 : Because there are Two Americas
This week I am thinking of both President Abraham Lincoln and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two of their most famous speeches. Both speeches at their very essence are, in my view, suggestive of the need for reparations for people of African descent though they do...
Remembering Black veterans in the public square
In the last few weeks, I have been asked to comment on the presence of Confederate statues in the public square. Many of these statues were erected in commemoration of Confederate generals or soldiers. I share some of my thoughts here in a recent interview with...
Those Confederate Statues Part 2
Dear Readers, Happy to share with you that my article about those Confederate statues got published today in USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/07/12/remove-confederate-statues-honor-abolitionists-end-racism-column/5406829002/ I want add...
American Society Masked and Unmasked: A Call for A National Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Last week, Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., gave a moving speech at the funeral of Rayshard Brooks who was shot by a police officer on June 12 in a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta. In a funeral which heeded COVID19 guidelines, she referenced...
Juneteenth finally getting its due and other news
Happy Juneteenth Baileyblog readers! As those of you who have been with us from the beginning know, we have been celebrating Juneteenth every year since our founding 3 and a half years ago. Everything about our mission has been to look at where history and memory...
The Day I met James Baldwin at Harvard
Did I ever tell you about the time I met the writer James Baldwin? I was a junior at Harvard, majoring in English and French with an Africana focus. I lived in one of the dormitories or houses as we called them on campus. These houses were vibrant places; not simply...
