
On July 4th, imagine an America that never has been, but must be
The dream is not yet dead; together we the people will realize our vision of a country where all are free.
Black lives matter. In this moment, with cellphone cameras, surveillance cameras and even police cameras recording events, Black men, like Rayshard Brooks, on June 12; George Floyd, on May 25, and too many others, continue to be killed – no, murdered – in cold blood.
Consequences of maltreatment at the border are immediate, severe and long-lasting I woke up about 3 o’clock Sunday morning. I just could not stop thinking about what our government is doing to immigrant children at the southern U.S. border. According to a recent interview with Jack Shonkoff, professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard...
What does it mean to celebrate July 4th? Across America, thousands of communities will celebrate today in big and small ways, with local and larger events, holiday fare, parades, music and readings of the Declaration of Independence. Some people may not get past the hot dogs and watermelon, but I hope that many will think,...
Fifty years may seem like an eternity to many readers whose parents hadn’t even been born then. It was a time when homosexuality was illegal, and discrimination was an inherent part of social structures. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people were subjected to slurs, intimidation and violence. It makes me sick just to think about it.
Six months to the day after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and on the last day of Passover, a horrific shooting at Chabad of Poway synagogue in San Diego on Saturday has us again grieving the senseless loss of precious life, terrible injuries and untold trauma. We condemn the anti-Semitism at the root of this unspeakable...
On two of the past three weekends, members of pro-Confederacy groups have visited our campus to continue to protest the toppling and removal of the Confederate soldier monument. I did not write after the first incident because one event, although deplorable, could be an anomaly. When the second event occurred, I felt compelled to respond. Two events could be the beginning of a trend.
I have been moved to tears reading parts of Michelle Obama’s autobiographical book, Becoming. It is uplifting and validating to read the unfolding of her and Barack Obama’s intertwined stories. As she tells it, while much was different about their upbringing and childhoods, they shared a devotion to learning, introspection about their missions in life,...
Human rights are a public health issue I was reminded recently that today, December 10, is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The person bringing it to my attention was Benjamin Meier, JD, LLM, PhD, adjunct professor of health policy and management in the Gillings School and past chair of the APHA...