Dear President Trump, Towards the end of the first day of the Undoing Racism workshop last Thursday the group was asked to define racism and after about 15 or 20 minutes of listing lots of different ideas, we were given the People’s Institute’s understanding of racism. Here’s their definition: “Racism = Racial Prejudice + Power” … Continue reading We need to cut the crap and get real about racism
Month: August 2019
Sitting with the fact of racism
Dear President Trump, How was it for you sitting overnight with the idea that all white Americans are racist? Ok, I know, you haven’t read a single word I’ve written you and even if you had, you wouldn’t have stuck with this run of letters for a nanosecond, and even if there was some rent … Continue reading Sitting with the fact of racism
Thoughts, prayers, and our collective failure of imagination and will
Dear President Trump, Thoughts and prayers. Prayers and thoughts. And thoughts prayers. And prayers thoughts. Thoughts prayers and. Prayers thoughts and. It really doesn’t matter how the words are arranged, does it? The words can even be heartfelt and as sincere as humanly possible and that doesn’t matter either, does it? The people who are … Continue reading Thoughts, prayers, and our collective failure of imagination and will
The most obvious proximal cause
Dear President Trump, Some days I can type the standard greeting to you pretty much on autopilot; today is not one of those days. I am not, however, seriously tempted to replace it with something nasty or accusatory since I’m doing my best to channel my inner Michelle Obama and thus working at going high … Continue reading The most obvious proximal cause
God’s boundless love hasn’t exactly reconciled race and clan
Dear President Trump, Yesterday in church the opening hymn was Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You (the real title is The Hymn of Joy). With an opening line of “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You, God of glory, God of love” it’s quite an awkward one to sub out the word “God” with “love” like I’ve been … Continue reading God’s boundless love hasn’t exactly reconciled race and clan
I hope Toni Morrison had a good death
Dear President Trump, Lately, when I learn of very old people’s deaths I have a muddle of thoughts and feelings in response; happiness for them that they’ve been released from our current mayhem right alongside sadness and frustration that they didn’t get to see us come through to the other side. I don’t know what … Continue reading I hope Toni Morrison had a good death
White people like a whole lot of things about being white
Dear President Trump, On this day when you will be an unwelcome visitor to the grieving cities of Dayton and El Paso I am going to return to reporting out more of what I learned at the People’s Institute’s Undoing Racism workshop last month. For someone like you it will seem like there is little … Continue reading White people like a whole lot of things about being white
This American context
Dear President Trump, How about those lists I sent you yesterday? You might have noticed that the lists of things people of color like about being part of their groups had lots of references to food, language, and culture, both generally and with regards to some specifics. Did you catch that the white people’s list … Continue reading This American context
Righting (or rather “lefting”) this American context
Dear President Trump, Today, in this American context we have dozens of families making funeral arrangements for loved ones killed by hateful young white men with twisted agendas and weapons of war. We have hundreds of children in Mississippi who don’t know where ICE took their parents. We have a biracial couple in Ohio looking … Continue reading Righting (or rather “lefting”) this American context
Mental health projects
Dear President Trump, A few days ago a very large, very heavy box was delivered to our door containing the makings of an 8-drawer wooden bureau that will hold my messiest art materials – the hundreds of dried leaves, flowers, crumpled paper, and random bits of cardboard that I use for printing. All this messy … Continue reading Mental health projects
Daily Trump Letters 