The teachers never checked the area between the gym and the cafeteria — the perfect place for high stakes penny pitching. Fifth grade boys lined up during recess and threw pennies at a brick wall. Whoever’s penny stayed closest to…

We have to understand that justice depends on people telling the truth. Lies are matches that destroy forests that have been growing for decades. Lies turn harmony into hatred. Lies makes us forget how good honesty is.

The alarm goes off long before you want it to. The snooze button is not worth it, but it is tempting. You have to get to work. Or you have to get to work at home. Or you have learned…

As we drive to my parents’ house, we see that the neighbors have a big sign in the yard. A normal yard sign in Mississippi is Congratulations Class of 2017 or Bitter Divorce Sale. I am suddenly self-conscious about our…

The New York Times has too many pages. I download more podcasts than I can play. I cannot read half of what my friends post on Facebook — particularly one recipe-happy friend. I cannot hear, read, or notice a significant…

Try to imagine the church business meetings that made this happen. During the early 1800s, the network of churches and individuals helping those escaping slavery was known as the Underground Railroad. My congregation, Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., was “the…

Dear President Trump: I am sure you are getting letters from groups that feel like they are being mistreated. Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans, women, Jews, the poor, and the LGBTQ community have legitimate concerns, but have you thought about how you…

Two years ago, Carol and I started attending a nearby African Methodist Episcopal Church. One other white person came from time to time. I liked it more when she was not there, because I enjoyed saying, “We were the only…