Lament is truthful speech that names the fact that some of us are losing our sons and some of us are losing our souls and none of us can be whole until we change.
The gift that is missing in our talk about affordable housing
In my city, Charlotte, N.C., we have reached a general consensus concerning housing and affordability: we all agree that there is not nearly enough of affordable housing, and we would all like for someone else to do something about it.
Being irresponsible in a world which doesn’t understand being responsible
“Because I’m irresponsibly mad …” — Sammy Cahn Some friends are reporting recently that they have been “adulting.” Emblematic of this is one woman’s recent decision to purchase tires rather than more shoes. These are the sorts of decisions that…
Daniel Berrigan and the seeds of peace
Six weeks ago I planted a whole bed of collard green seeds and not a single one came up. For a Southern boy, this is the sort of thing that raises existential questions. I’m not interested in the why, which…
North Carolina: Seeming rather than being
I like calling North Carolina home. It has always been home for me, and I have all of my North Carolina native bona fides to prove it. State bird: cardinal. State shell: Scotch bonnet. State tree: longleaf pine. State mammal:…
Eggs, solidarity and imagination
On Monday morning, we have eggs with our breakfast. But on Tuesday — Martes Gordo, Fat Tuesday — we do not have eggs to add to our morning meal of bread and butter, juice, and coffee. I strive to connect…
It’s time to abandon reason
By Greg Jarrell On Monday, Dec. 28, Timothy McGinty, district attorney of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, announced what everyone suspected, and many hoped would not be true — that there will be no charges in the slaying of 12-year old Tamir…
Sore afraid: the impediment to transformation
By Greg Jarrell And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. — Luke 2:9 A hand reaches into the gut. It squeezes the…
Stop talking about gentrification
My beloved neighborhood in west Charlotte is on the brink of big changes. Neighbors are trying to figure out what those changes will be and how to have a voice in them, and we keep coming back to one term…