An interview with Amy Goodman on MLK day

As many of us know despite the civil rights era more black men in prision or on the felon roles than any other ethnic or racial group. A_how_a_racist_criminal_justice_system_rolled_back_the_gains_of_the_civil_rights_era?

Pulling teeth

The last few days writing has felt like pulling teeth. I feel like I have run out of ideas or interesting things to say about the students. I know intellectually that this is not true at all, but emotionally it feels like it. I have two events this weekend, and I have made a promise to myself that I may not go out unless I write a minimum of two pages each day, and even that feels like a massive chore. I love this topic I love the research, but feel so enmeshed in it that all of what I have to say is obvious, which I don't think it is for people who don't think about the topic or about the issues it is addressing, perhaps it is for some race scholars, but one of the things I keep finding and banging my head up against is the persistent need to find a category for the students. And I know I have written about this on here before, but it will not go away. I even fall pray to this need. I think that is part of what is holding me up is this pressing need, which is required for the dissertation and for the academic world. But sometimes it is so limiting to feel like all we have are the prescribed categories and that is how we want to understand the world and the people around us. So if we like to categorize, then am I not falling into the same trap with my students? The other question that keeps echoing is "am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?" Spenser would say yes, and that I am just seeking to validate my portion of Tay's existence, since it can not be seen. Haha, he looks like dad and grandpa, so he is visibly like my family. He also has been raised in a white household, but not a mainstream one to say the least. It is hard to formulate ideas with everyone else's noises and thoughts horning in. I don't want to offend anyone, but I need to get past that I will never please all readers, I need to expect criticism and resistance.