Between 1910 and 1970, it is estimated that more than five million African Americans migrated from the rural American South to northern cities. Perhaps, not so surprisingly, I didn’t learn about The Great Migration, until I took Black American History 200 during my sophomore year in college in 1982. Ironically, it was this same year … Continue reading
Tagged with History …
Pain Without a Name
After the shockingly horrendous outcome of the 2024 United States’ Presidential election, my husband and I made the decision to relocate to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. While there are many challenges associated with beginning life anew in a country that is not our own, I have found that, so far, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences. … Continue reading
Things That Make You Go “Hmmm?”
As I write this essay in February 2025, I am shocked to discover that the year 1991 is now thirty-four years in the past! How is that even possible? Now, you might be wondering why it is that I’m thinking specifically about the year 1991. As a Gen-Xer, I was a young working mother in … Continue reading
Opting Out – Is It Doing Our Children More Harm Than Good?
I’ve never been an “outdoorsy” sort of person, especially when the weather is hot (and in North Carolina, where I currently live, it’s hot from late April through early November.) So, one of my hot weather guilty pleasures is to watch YouTube videos of the often out-of-control school board meetings, where parents, students, and sometimes … Continue reading
Trapped in the Twilight Zone
When I was a kid, one of my favorite late Saturday night past times was to watch reruns of Rod Serling’s anthology series known as The Twilight Zone. I loved the show because the stories usually weren’t exceptionally scary (except for an episode called Living Doll, which featured actor Telly Savalas, who I knew more … Continue reading
Do I Really Hate America?
Ever since the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, I have found it increasingly curious to understand why the Make America Great Again (MAGA) crowd, who largely condone the skirmish at the U.S. Capitol, accuses those on the left of being anti-American. Politically, I would label myself as a Progressive Democrat, and although … Continue reading
Will I Ever Use This in Real Life?
Although many things in society have changed between the time when I was a middle school and high school student from 1975 to 1981 and today, I suspect there is one area in which older Gen Xers like me and today’s Gen Zs. For generations, students in required history courses have often questioned the need … Continue reading
Always Define Your Terms
Always Define Your TermsI’m sure that anyone out there who has studied Algebra is familiar with the maddening nature of word problems. You know the ones: “The PTA Bake Sale raised a total of $177.50. Cookies were sold for 50 cents each and frosted cupcakes were $1.50 each. If the combined total of cookies and … Continue reading
Forgive Us Our Sins
Back in 1995, actors Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt starred together in the crime thriller, Se7en, about a serial killer whose crimes fashioned to represent the seven deadly sins: sloth, gluttony, lust, wrath, envy, greed, and pride. The order of the sins is important; they traditionally begin with sloth, which is considered as the least … Continue reading
A Kinder Gentler Place
The nation said goodbye to former President Jimmy Carter last week, and as all of the living former Presidents and many of the former Vice-Presidents gathered to pay their respects it was impossible, for those of us old enough to have lived through each of their administrations to make comparisons among them. I was only … Continue reading
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