Published in Reclaiming Rural·Jun 23Talking Right About ChildrenSeneca Rogers wants to remind us that kids aren’t politics, they are kids. He was told he couldn’t learn. There wasn’t a lot of reason given to Seneca Rogers’ parents about why his teachers thought he wouldn’t be able to learn; it’s just what they were told. “I guess they based it off that I was a talkative kid– and I did talk…Schools8 min read
Published in Human Parts·Updated 5 days agoFloating, Drifting, SwimmingAn old story about addiction, recovery, and an old friend — “He always listened to you,” your mother says to me and I don’t have the heart to tell her that wasn’t so. She doesn’t know about the time we were 25 and you jumped off the moving train and I picked gravel out of your back for hours or the…Friendship5 min read
May 22Trolling Isn’t Politics: Working Class People Need Actual PolicyThe Dark MAGA Carnival Show that is Vowing to Get Nothing Done For Us — He’s big, he’s funny, and he’s gregarious. When Mark Robinson walked onto the stage at the Trump rally last month in Selma, North Carolina, the crowd went wild. Someone introduced him over the megaphone in a thundering voice as “the next governor of North Carolina” and he feigned bashfulness. Robinson…North Carolina5 min read
Apr 12The Company We KeepOur shared work this year is drawing a hard line to keep fascists out. A few years ago, a book caught my eye while I was browsing in a used book store. Flipping through the pages, I found that the author was asking why mocking rednecks was an acceptable form of prejudice and so central to mainstream American humor. …Extremism4 min read
Mar 27There are parents who won’t let their kids come to our kid’s neighborhood — And they are missing out.One of my favorite neighborhood kids is celebrating her birthday tonight and invited a few friends over for pizza. Her mother received a text saying that one of the friends can’t come. It wasn’t a simple polite decline, but instead a long text explaining that the family isn’t comfortable with…Poverty3 min read
Mar 25Inventory and Treasures: A love letter to our lives.A bowl of rice, a half burnt candle in a Mason jar, a bluebird feather as a book mark. A worn rug, threadbare, from children playing racecars and the shoes of a thousand visitors, a letter from an old friend. Tonight I am taking inventory, making lists of the things…Poetry2 min read
Mar 14Politics are for PowerMore than just being informed, we need to be involved. “Mom, have you seen the news?” my son asks between mouthfuls of cereal at the breakfast table. He is reading an article about the Ukrainian nuclear plant fire. He then turns to another article, this one about refugees pouring into…Politics4 min read
Published in Democracy Guardian·Feb 13Y’all being played.Far-right extremists don’t give two shits about your school or your kids. When the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in my home state of North Carolina, my family was thrown into chaos. We scrambled to reset our daily routines. I was worried about the health of my parents a full state away. I was concerned for my neighbor who leaving her…Extremism6 min read
Published in GEN·Jan 10Ten Years Since Occupy and the Need Is Higher Than EverOccupy Greensboro was packing up. Tents were taken down, cooking pots stacked, banners folded. I loaded a number of large white boards into the back of my hatchback. …Equality4 min read
Dec 20, 2021Between Bad ChoicesWomen and housing in the United States — When I was 18, I moved into a boarding house wedged between a cemetery and the train tracks. …Poverty4 min read