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Black History Month: Select books 20% off, plus free gift with purchase

Browse our African American titles: General Interest | African American History | Fiction and Poetry | Black Women Writers

All month long, Beacon Press is offering 20% off and free shipping on all African American Studies titles purchased at Beacon.org. Use promo code FEB2013 at checkout. If you purchase two or more books, you'll also receive an attractive King Legacy Series tote bag. 

In addition, Beacon will donate 15% of all purchases made through this promotion to the Young People's Project, an organization that uses Math Literacy Work to develop the abilities of elementary through high school students to succeed in school and in life.

Browse books in the categories above, or check out these suggested recent titles. 

 

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Jeanne Theoharis
$27.95 / Hardcover
$22.36 using code FEB2013 at www.beacon.org

In The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis masterfully details the political depth of a national heroine who dedicated her life to fighting inequality and, in the process, resurrects an inspiring civil rights movement radical who has been hidden in plain sight far too long.

"In the first sweeping history of Parks's life, Theoharis shows us…[that] Parks not only sat down on the bus; she stood on the right side of justice for her entire life." —Julian Bond, chairman emeritus, NAACP

"The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks will undoubtedly be hailed as one of the most important scholarly contributions to civil rights history ever written." —Melissa Harris-Perry, Host, MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry Show

"A much-needed book on the woman who is, arguably, the most important person in the last half of the twentieth century." —Nikki Giovanni, poet

"Jeanne Theoharis brings all of her talents as a political scientist and historian of the civil rights movement to bear on this illuminating biography of the great Rosa Parks." —Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Read the introduction to The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

Q&A: The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks revisits the life of the civil rights icon and argues that the quiet, shy seamstress is a reductive stereotype. Biographile spoke with Jeanne Theoharis about the importance of changing the image of the tired lady on the bus.

Watch author Jeanne Theoharis on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

$15.00 / Paperback 
$12.00 using code FEB2013 at www.beacon.org

Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in "The Harlem Ghetto" to a sobering "Journey to Atlanta." 

Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright's work is pointed and unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise. 

Notes is the book that established Baldwin's voice as a social critic, and it remains one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin's own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American. 

Read the new introduction by Edward P. Jones for Baldwin's classic collection that creates a cohesive sketch of black America and reveals an intimate portrait of Baldwin's own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.

 

Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Sharon Leslie Morgan

$25.95 / Hardcover
$20.76 using code FEB2013 at www.beacon.org

 

"We embarked on this journey because we believe America must overcome the racial barriers that divide us, the barriers that drive us to strike out at one another out of ignorance and fear. To do nothing is unacceptable."

Sharon Leslie Morgan, a black woman from Chicago's South Side avoids white people; they scare her. Despite her trepidation, Morgan, a descendent of slaves on both sides of her family, began a journey toward racial reconciliation with Thomas Norman DeWolf, a white man from rural Oregon who descends from the largest slave-trading dynasty in US history. Over a three-year period, the pair traveled thousands of miles, both overseas and through twenty-seven states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations, antebellum mansions, and historic sites. They spent time with one another's families and friends and engaged in deep conversations about how the lingering trauma of slavery shaped their lives. 

Gather at the Table is the chronicle of DeWolf and Morgan's journey. Arduous and at times uncomfortable, it lays bare the unhealed wounds of slavery. As DeWolf and Morgan demonstrate, before we can overcome racism we must first acknowledge and understand the damage inherited from the past-which invariably involves confronting painful truths. The result is a revelatory testament to the possibilities that open up when people commit to truth, justice, and reconciliation. DeWolf and Morgan offer readers an inspiring vision and a powerful model for healing individuals and communities. 

 

Read the introduction to Gather at the Table, and journey with two people—a black woman and a white man—as they confront the legacy of slavery and racism head-on.

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The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Happy 100th Birthday to Rosa Parks

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Rosa Parks was about more than a bus, and a seat

Beacon Buzz: Gather at the Table, Faitheist, and more!

Jeanne Theoharis: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Rosa Parks

Beacon Buzz: Gather at the Table, Faitheist, and more!

On Tour

Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Sharon Leslie Morgan

An interview with authors DeWolf and Morgan on NPR’s Tell Me More aired Christmas Day.

The authors begin the West Coast leg of their tour this weekend. The entire month of January, they’ll be making appearances in Washington, Oregon, California, and Colorado. Check out their website for more info.

SEATTLE, WA: January 6, 2013, 2:00pm: Northwest African American Museum.
2300 South Massachusetts St., Seattle, WA; sponsored by New Legacy Puget Sound. Book sales by Elliott Bay Book Company. 

ELLENSBERG, WA: January 8, 2013, 7:00pm: Central Washington University. 

PULLMAN, WA: January 10, 2013, 7:00pm: Washington State University.

REDMOND, OR: January 11, 2013, 6:30pm: Paulina Springs Books.

SISTERS, OR: January 12, 2013, 6:30pm: Paulina Springs Books.

PORTLAND, OR: January 13, 2013, 7:30pm: Powell’s Books.

PORTLAND, OR: January 14, 2013, 12:00 noon: The Portland Building. Sponsored by DEEP (Diverse and Empowered Employees of Portland)

BEND, OR: January 15, 2013, 6:30pm: Bend’s Community Center 1036 NE 5th Street.

BERKELY, CA: January 18, 2013, 4:00pm: University of California at Berkeley.
Chevron Auditorium, International House. Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion.

WALNUT CREEK, CA: January 19, 2013, 2:00pm: Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church. Co-sponsored by the Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: January 20, 2013, 2:00pm: Museum of the African Diaspora.

PASADENA, CA: January 23, 2013, 5:00pm: La Pintoresca Library.

SANTA MONICA, CA: January 25, 2013, 7:00pm: location in Santa Monica TBA: sponsored by CARE/Multicultural Healing.

POMONA, CA: January 26, 2013: 2:00pm: Pomona First Christian Church.

DENVER, CO: January 29, 2013: 7:00pm: University of Denver.

DENVER, CO: January 30, 2013: 6:30, meet the authors; 7:00 program begins: Park Hill United Methodist Church. The evening program will open with a performance by Sankofa, an ensemble of the Spirituals Project Choir.

 

Notable Appearances & Mentions

Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious by Chris Stedman

These are just the highlights. Faitheist has been everywhere recently! Check out his website or follow him on Twitter to keep up to date.

The Melissa Harris-Perry Show/MSNBC (MSNBC also published a piece by Chris on their website. “In the Wake of Newtown, Why Blame Atheists?”

Utne Reader review in January/February issue.

Interview with Amy Goetzman at Minnpost.com books: “As I read your book, at several places I was struck by how brave you are.”

A playlist on Largeheartedboy from Chris about music that relates the book.

A post by Chris on Patheos about reactions to Faitheist.

 

 

Best of 2012

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

PW’s year end round up included this article by Robert Atwan on the 10 best essays written since 1950. “Notes of a Native Son” is #1.

Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012: 

Let the Students Speak!: A History of the Fight for Free Expression in American Schools by David L. Hudson 

Prophetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition by Dan McKanan 

 

The Land Grabbers: The New Fight over Who Owns the Earth by Fred Pearce

Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek best books of 2012

 

A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today by Kate Bornstein

Washington Blade’s roundup of 2012’s best LGBT books

 

Coming Soon

Into Great Silence by Eva Saulitis (Jan. 15)

Booklist review, Jan 01: “Saulitis’ stunning and sorrowful ‘book of contemplation’ elucidates the discipline, tedium, danger, and bliss of whale studies… Candid, transfixing, and cautionary, Saulitis celebrates and mourns for a wondrous and imperiled species.” 

 

Intensive Care: A Doctor’s Journey by Danielle Ofri (March 05)

New York Times op-ed: "Labs, Washed Away"

 

 

Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East by Rashid Khalidi (March 12)

Kirkus Reviews in print (Jan. 15) and online (Jan. 01): “in sharp, take-no-prisoners prose, Khalidi maintains that the U.S. and Israel… have conspired to deny Palestinians any semblance of self-determination.  A stinging indictment of one-sided policymaking destined, if undisturbed, to result in even greater violence.”

“Drawing on his own experience as a Palestinian negotiator and recently released documents, Rashid Khalidi mounts a frontal attack on the myths and misconceptions that have come to surround America’s role in the so-called “peace process” which is all process and no peace. The title is not too strong:  the book demonstrates conclusively that far from serving as an honest broker, the US continues to act as Israel’s lawyer – with dire consequences for its own interests, for the Palestinians, and for the entire region. Professor Khalidi deserves much credit for his superb exposition of the fatal gap between the rhetoric and reality of American diplomacy on this critically important issue.” —Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford and author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World.

 

Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods by Christine Byl (April 16)

"Every denizen of wild places from Laotse to St. Francis to Rachel Carson to black bears to field mice has depended upon trails. But rarely have we considered the people, tools, or toil that lay our favorite trails down. Dirt Work is a spectacular correction of this omission. Imbued with a tough-minded, ribald reverence for honest labor that brings to mind a female Gary Snyder or Wendell Berry (if you can imagine that!), Christine Byl does epic justice to the whole-bodied satisfactions that come of staying out in the weather, staying alert, and working one’s ass off for others with love, tenacity and skill."  --David James Duncan, author of The River Why and Sun House.

“Christine Byl has been summering on trail crews for more than a decade and a half. A first-rate storyteller, she details the techniques and tools, and the spirit of fellowship and feel of the woods. If you love getting into the back country, or even if you're an armchair backpacker as I am now at age eighty, you'll love Dirt Work.”    --William Kittredge, author of Hole in the Sky and The Nature of Generosity

“Byl’s is not a world of groomed nature, inert tools, or nostalgic rituals, but a vibrant landscape inhabited by people and animals and layered by idea and history. She means this book as a love song, she writes, and it is, not only from her to her fellow laborers, but from the mind to the body, the hand to the tool, the human to the wild.” —Sherry Simpson, author of The Accidental Explorer: Wayfinding in Alaska

 

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We Gather at the Table for Some Thanksgiving Favorites

Whether your Thanksgiving dinner is a small affair or a feast of epic proportions, you probably have a favorite dish or two (or eight) that you look forward to eating this Thursday. I asked around the offices of Beacon Press for cherished Thanskgiving recipes and got several tasty replies. The most intriguing came from Crystal Paul in editorial, who teased me with: "I’ve got a killer sweet potato pie that I am the only one in my family who knows the recipe to (my grandma passed it down to only one lucky kitchen devotee). So I’d share it, but clearly, it’s a secret…" Thankfully, others weren't so mysterious.

Sharon Leslie Morgan is the co-author, with Thomas Norman DeWolf of, Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade. Sharon is an inspiring speaker, an illuminating author and, from all accounts, a gifted cook. She sent us this recipe for Corn Pudding because, "There could be no 'Thanksgiving' without the gift of corn." 

Corn Pudding
(8 Servings)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar (white)
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup corn meal (yellow)
4 cups corn (whole kernel sweet, frozen)

SEASONING

1 tbs paprika

DIRECTIONS

CREAM butter and sugar together
ADD eggs slowly & MIX well
ADD creams & MIX well ADD corn meal & MIX well
ADD corn & MIX well
TURN batter into a buttered cooking casserole
SPRINKLE with paprika
BAKE @ 325F for about one hour, until custard is set

Kate Noe in Production sent a newspaper clipping of this Harvest Bake, which she has adapted to be vegan by subsituting Earth Balance spread for the butter. 

Harvest Bake
(6 servings)

INGREDIENTS

1 23-oz can sweet potatoes or yams, drained
8 TBSP unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP flour
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 TBSP chopped pecans
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced 

DIRECTIONS

In 1-quart round casserole, mash sweet potatoes until smooth. Melt 7 tablespoons butter and stir into sweet potatoes. 

Mix brown sugar, flour, and cardamom in small bowl. Cut 1 tablespoon cold butter into mixture. Stir in pecans and sprinkle 1/2 mixture over potatoes. Arrange apple slices on top. Sprinkle with remaining mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until apples are tender-crisp. 

Rachael Marks in Editorial sends her recipe for Hummingbird Cake with this note: "The original recipe appeared in Southern Living in 1978 courtesy of a certain  Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, NC (my hometown… yes, I’m clearly biased). I’ve always been a fan of Southern Living’s updated (read: less artery-clogging) version. It can be either 3-layers or 2-layers but should *never* be made in bundt pan (that would be ridiculous and borderline offensive)." 

Hummingbird Cake

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas 
Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS 

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16-oz) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and cream cheese. Gradually add powdered sugar, beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

*I always double the frosting recipe because I simply won’t tolerate a lightly frosted cake.

Abby Mayer in Production sent us a link to this recipe for Apple Salad from Emeril Lagasse, about which she says, "I make this every year, and it is a HUGE hit. No one thinks salad on Thanksgiving… until you force them to with (gasp) blue cheese-encrusted croutons."

As for me, my responsibility at Thanksgiving is the stuffing, or really "dressing" since we never stuff the two Kosher turkeys my mother-in-law prepares for our two nights of feasting: Thanksgiving evening and Shabbat leftover night. Let us know if you try any of these recipes yourself, or share your favorites below. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving! --Jessie Bennett, Blog Editor

Challah Stuffing
(serves a bunch of people)

INGREDIENTS

1 large challah
2 TBSP olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried and crumbled)
½ tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup of apple cider 
2 or 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS

Rip or cut the challah into small pieces and set aside. You can do this a day or so ahead of time.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until slightly carmelized. This will take a while. When the onions are nicely browned, add bell peppers, celery, and herbs and saute until softened. 

Rub olive oil around the inside of a large baking pan. Add the challah pieces, sauteed vegetables, and apricots and mix. Mix the broth and the apple cider together and pour over the bread and vegetable mixture until all of the bread is completely saturated (use more than I indicate if you need it). Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is browned and crispy.  

Photo from Bigstock.

Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade

Two people—a black woman and a white man—confront the legacy of slavery and racism head-on.

Thomas DeWolf—a descendent of slaveholders—and Sharon Morgan—a descendent of slaves—come together to openly discuss how the legacy of slavery and racism has impacted their lives. Together, they disclose the various difficulties and rewards they experience as individuals striving to heal. Gather at the Table is a timely, candid, and deeply relevant book that offers an engaging model of restorative justice.

Visit the Gather at the Table website to learn more about the authors, their writing, and upcoming appearances.  

Follow Tom DeWolf on Twitter, or like Gather at the Table on Facebook. 

In the Media

Read an excerpt in the Harvard Kennedy School Magazine.

Read an excerpt of Gather at the Table that appeared in Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum.

 

Watch the Book Trailer on YouTube

 

Praise for Gather at the Table

“I could not put this book down.

Gather at the Tableis an extraordinary story of an honest, meaningful conversation across the racial divide. At times it hurts to read. And well it should. Centuries of injustice and trauma that face us every day in this country have no place for half-truths. Sharon and Tom took the harder road-searching for healing, they literally walked together into painful histories and found authentic friendship.”—John Paul Lederach, co-author of When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation

“Sharon and Tom take us on a heart-opening journey of awakening. As a nation, we owe them a deep bow of gratitude as they help us navigate the deep divides of race and otherness.”—Belvie Rooks, Co-Founder, Growing A Global Heart

“Gather at the Table is an honest exploration into the deep social wounds left by racism, violence and injustice, as the authors work through their own prejudices in search of reconciliation–and ultimately find friendship.” —Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

“What a courageous journey—communicated in an engaging, readable style, with candor, humor, and deep feeling. This book shed light on the thoughts, questions, and feelings I have about race, society, culture, historical, generational and structurally-induced trauma—and the human ability to transcend. In reading it, I realized there are questions I'm still afraid to ask about race, things I'm afraid to say, and yet I realized anew the power of acknowledgment, mercy, justice, and conflict transformation. I'm grateful to DeWolf and Morgan for not just taking the journey, but for sharing their story with us.”—Carolyn Yoder, Founding Director of STAR: Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience and author of The Little Book of Trauma Healing: When Violence Strikes and Community is Threatened

“The authors’ accomplishment stands on its own, but their book also serves as a great introduction to a shared past that ought to be better known.”—Kirkus Reviews

July 4th and "The Immeasurable Distance Between Us"

Independence Day celebrations began this past weekend, with picnics, parades, and fireworks displays all around the country. In honor of the holiday, we asked several of our authors to share their feelings about Independence Day and what it means to them-- good and bad. Three authors who grapple with the complex history associated with the holiday quoted Frederick Douglass from his speech, "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?" We've grouped their responses for today's post. 

Bill Fletcher Jr. is a long-time racial-justice, labor, and international activist, scholar, and author. He has served in leadership positions with many prominent union and labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union. Fletcher is currently the director of field services for the American Federation of Government Employees. He is the author of the forthcoming book "They're Bankrupting Us!" And Twenty Other Myths about Unions.

The 4th of July is always a complicated holiday for me. That is largely because it has a complicated historical significance. When I think of July 4th I immediately think about how my African ancestors were largely ignored-- except with regard to labor power and some soldiering--in the course of the events that were transpiring at that moment, and particularly ignored in the context of great minds thinking about the future of the new nation that they wished to create. I also think about how the War of Independence was in part ignited by the indignation of the settlers over restrictions imposed on them by the British regarding going further West-- into the lands of my Shawnee ancestors and other Native American nations.

As a result, I cannot uncritically celebrate July 4th. I consider, of course, the ideal that is contained in the Declaration of Independence, and am aware of those among the colonial settlers who may have had a more egalitarian vision of the future. I am equally aware of the ideal that July 4th is supposed to represent. But I am saddened each year that there is little historical examination of the contradictory nature of the War of Independence, and that for entire populations the War of Independence came to represent yet another stage on the road to their annihilation.

In the 19th century the great Frederick Douglass posed a question in a now famous speech "What to a slave is the fourth of July?" I would expand that and pose the question that today needs to be asked and answered: For those of us who believe in democracy, justice and equality, how do we disentangle the web of myth that surrounds the Fourth of July?"

Sharon Morgan is co-author of Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade. Morgan is a marketing communications consultant and a nationally recognized pioneer in multicultural marketing. An avid genealogist, she is the webmaster for OurBlackAncestry.com and is a founder of the Black Public Relations Society.

We live in fearful times. War, racism, social, economic, employment, environmental, energy, health and food security issues are on the long list of things to be worried about. And I do. Worry.

On July 4, 1776, the day America declared its independence, one fifth of the population was in a state of bondage. Seventy-six years later, in 1852, abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass, articulated, “There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.”

Although legal freedom came in 1865, when four million people were released from slavery, evidence of true emancipation did not come until 143 years later, when Barack Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States. In his inaugural July 4th address, he extolled, “That unyielding spirit [that] defines us as American... It is what has always led us, as a people, not to wilt or cower at a difficult moment, but to face down any trial and rise to any challenge, understanding that each of us has a hand in writing America’s destiny.”

This July 4th, I will be thinking about history and destiny... And celebrating my commitment to be an agent of change in the world independence has wrought.

Thomas Norman DeWolf is co-author of Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade and author of Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History. He is featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary film Traces of the Trade, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and on the acclaimed PBS series POV. DeWolf speaks regularly about healing from the legacy of slavery and racism at conferences and colleges throughout the United States.

Celebration of Independence Day ain’t what it used to be for me. What I’ve learned along the road I’ve traveled the past decade-- much of which is horrible, shameful and has been deeply buried or glossed over in America’s collective psyche-- has led me to reevaluate how I view myself and my country. On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass said, “Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.” The deep wound of racism-– the legacy of slavery-– about which Douglass spoke has never been fully acknowledged and healed. I no longer celebrate “independence” that resulted in the annihilation of millions of indigenous people and the enslavement of millions of Africans. I don’t celebrate drone strikes in the name of freedom. I celebrate truth-tellers and peacebuilders. I celebrate the progress we have made and continue to make in the face of strong resistance. Mostly, I celebrate hope – the hope that one day we will live up to the ideals upon which this great country was founded.