Blog Archive » Civil & Human Rights

Only history will be able to tell us if Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an important figure in the 2008 presidential election or a footnote to a very strange primary season. What we know right now is that he has managed to darken the once-golden air around Barack Obama with the most painful shrapnel of accusations and denunciations over race and patriotism and divergent views of the world. Were Pastor Wright some bigoted, stereotypical right-wing white radio commentator, we'd probably chalk it up to the zaniness of our media age. But Pastor Wright is a voice from the Black church, a powerful center of African American life. He speaks for himself, not for the group, and yet his words have impact beyond his individual point of view. Full Article

Last Friday, I had the privilege of sitting in on a focus group conducted by students in Dr. Shelley Tomkin's seminar on public opinion polling. What a great affirmation of Trinity's mission in women's leadership development! The students organized a highly disciplined and effective session in which other students, faculty and staff answered a series of questions about current politics. I will not go into the details here since the actual report will come from the class and I don't want to pre-empt their fine work. But I do want to share a few observations. Full Article

So, it's come to this. Pink baseball mitts for the female T-ball set. No dirty-boy-rawhide for these delicate creatures. My shopping cart screeched to a halt at Target this morning as I was prowling for detergent. The screaming display of pink baseball mitts and pink bats and pink balls and pink lacrosse sticks and other pink sports items gave new meaning to "Playing Like A Girl."

So, of course, I had to have one! I immediately purchased my own pink mitt. I've spent the rest of the morning pondering this very strange gender-bending item that now sits on my desk.

What does a pink baseball glove mean in this increasingly ridiculous pop culture? Full Article

Hard to believe that 40 years have passed. 40 years — longer than the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was only 39 when he was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. His assassin, James Earl Ray, died ten years ago; many people still believe that Ray was acting as part of a larger conspiracy but, as with the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the conspiracy theories remain unproven. Full Article

Trinity Alumna Jonetta Rose Barras had the lead article in the Washington Post Outlook section on Sunday. "He's Preaching to a Choir I've Left" is her take on Barack Obama's speech, Pastor Jeremiah Wright, and the incendiary issues of race and politics in America.

Jonetta will make history herself on Sunday, May 18 when she becomes the first alumna of Trinity's Weekend College to speak at Commencement. Weekend College was the precursor to our School of Professional Studies. A graduate of the Class of 1996 and an English major, Jonetta has had a remarkable career in journalism and public commentary in the Washington region. She currently can be heard on "The D.C. Politics Hour" with Kojo Namdi on WAMU, and she writes frequently for the Washington Examiner and City Paper. Full Article