The ghost of Carolyn Bryant and the racism of eating the dogs and cats

eerie, ghostly and slightly disjointed image of a body behind a screen or window, where only the head, outstretched palms and part of the torso are "visible" as black silhouettes againstg a white background

At last week’s presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Trump made a number of eyebrow-raising comments that induced eyerolls and chuckles for their sheer absurdity. The biggest one being, “In Springfield they’re eating dogs, they’re eating cats.” Trump was referencing the recent influx of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, along with a claim …

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Make America share reality

White woman with a thick black scarf and blue shirt or jacket whose face is mostly obscured behind a large sheet of ice she is holding in front of her with her left hand

Back when my organization offered anti-racism training and workshops, our approach with groups was to start the work by creating a shared vocabulary around anti-racism work, from which we would build toward creating a shared vision and understanding of racism and how it works. Over the years, it is an approach that I have adopted …

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Both/and—It’s the messiness of the political

Orange neon lighting spelling the word "Change" in cursive script in front or a mirrored background

I have spent the last several nights staying up way too late to watch the Democratic National Convention (DNC). After my brief stint in local politics and becoming friends with several Maine politicians, it made watching this year’s convention different than prior years—starting with the fact that several friends were delegates. I never could have …

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