As we enter Black History Month, I will make note of an exceptional African American I met six years ago. Charles Harrison, a retired industrial designer, was brought to Virginia Tech in observance of Black History Month by the Colleges of Engineering and Architecture and Design. He did workshops for students and offered a public … [Read more…]
We lost a real sports hero last week. I tend not to call sports figures heroes; however, Hank Aaron deserves this accolade. Consequently, I am moved to reflect on his life and career. Hank Aaron was one of the greatest sports heroes of all times, one of the greatest players in baseball history. He was … [Read more…]
In this season of turning over a new leaf, e.g., starting a new year, in a significant surprise to me, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is again trying to shed some of its racist past. The SBC is the world’s largest Baptist denomination, the largest Protestant denomination, and the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. With over 14 million … [Read more…]
Monday, January 18, is Martin Luther King Day. When school kids are asked about this man and what he did, a typical answer is that King was a civil rights leader who tried to bring peace between the races. Nothing could be further from the truth. On his birthday, King is often hailed as a … [Read more…]
On January 6th, in the act of sedition, a mob took over the U.S. Capitol, and the police arrested only a few of the group. White supremacy in America is a principal reason that few of these rioters were arrested. These rioters were white. Black Lives Matter protesters are not. But there is more to … [Read more…]
A Trump mob carried out a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol this afternoon. They broke windows and doors as they illegally and unlawfully invaded the Senate, which was in a joint session with the House of Representatives. They disrupted the business of the Congress and hung around all afternoon, and very few were arrested. … [Read more…]
There is a long and sordid history of mistreatment of African Americans by medicine in the United States. Consequently, many African Americans are duly skeptical about medicine and medical practice. Of course, there is the infamous Tuskegee syllabus experiment—and many other documented cases of abuse. I will not try to detail these atrocities here as … [Read more…]