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School desegregation and Whiteness in Brooklyn
An interview with Lisa Raymond-Tolan Lisa Raymond-Tolan is a parent in Brooklyn’s District 15 whose son was part of the district’s new desegregation plan. As a result, her son was assigned to a school that was not on their list, and at which he would be one of the only White students. Lisa’s son ended…
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What I Hear When Someone Says “I Don’t See Color”
“Making space for another viewpoint does not negate yours. Quite the opposite — it provides more context and framework for your own experience.” (Kiara Goodwin, The Everygirl) What I Hear When Someone Says “I Don’t See Color”
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Wearing A Uniform
A senior park ranger I worked with years ago told me that how you dress, especially in uniform, is a sign to visitors of your skills. “If you wear your uniform like a slob, chances are your skills are sloppy,” he said.
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Adventures in Mowing
I kick back in the seat of my mower and just cruise. I escape into another world for a few hours with half my brain lost somewhere in Owen Wister’s Wyoming and the other half harmonizing with the harnessed power of internal combustion, steel and the raw noise of a two cylinder engine.
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How to Become a Fossil
“What future race of ant people or anemones will dust you off and wonder what you are? You have to discard the question. You shouldn’t think too hard about the audience. Do your finest work for the sake of the art itself.” How to Become a Fossil
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Graduation: Welcome to Adulthood
“You’ll take more from speech, debate and acting with you into adulthood than you will from sports,” I told her. “Trust me. I did both and the only thing I learned from sports is no matter how hard you work or how talented you are, if you aren’t from the right part of town or…
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Burning Fields
The scent of grass smoke mixed with tinges of hot ammonia from the tractors parked beside a small stack of haybales has my adrenaline pumping Firefighters never die. They just wait their turn to make entry.
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Short-Leash Marriage
His comment awakened my curiosity. By no means was I ready to feel sorry for him. A man should be able to make his own decisions and deal with the consequences, but something in his tone told me Bud’s story contained more than the usual, “My woman doesn’t like me drinking.”
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Seasons Shifting
Years after finishing college, I still got a sense that I should pick up a few notebooks for school.
Tommie Wendall 