It’s mid-1942. You’re a crew member on an oiler in the US Navy. You’re standing on the deck of your ship, leaning against the railing, a cigarette burning between your lips. Late evening has set in, and the sprawling waters of the Pacific look steely grey in the low light. Over the whistle of the …
“What’s resulted in the decades since is supposed to be an opportunity for White people and their institutions to redress their perpetual erasure of the roles of Black folks in building this country on our backs… What we’ve been given, however, is a rote acknowledgment of the same five people — Rosa Parks, Martin Luther …
Imagine that your house is on fire. You see it, but instead of calling the fire department, you turn your back and pretend that it’s not happening. And then you look again, grimace, and sign a compromise with the house saying you’ll get to dealing with it in a little bit. Hopefully, the house can …
Near the banks of the river, mosquitoes swarm, flying about your head, threatening to plunge into your skin. Standing where the slow slope of your eight-acre farm meets the Allegheny River, your eyes pass over the buildings your neighbors call home, searching. Your view of town — which, in the next few years, will be …
Benjamin Alsop breathed in the thick, wet, South Carolinian air. It was so heavy he could almost reach out and grab it. His body was covered in sweat, and it made the scratchy wool of his uniform rub angrily against his skin. Everything was sticky. Each step forward on the march was more difficult than …
It’s September 3rd, 1939. The late summer sun is making one of its final descents, but the air remains heavy and warm. You’re sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Sunday Times. Your wife, Caroline, is in the kitchen, preparing the Sunday meal. Your three sons are on the street below, playing. There was a …