Ask a Muslim about Discrimination
I hear the bells on Christmas morn. I see pigeons flying in a sun kissed sky around the tower of Boston’s mosque. I smell latkes and bagels toasting in the crisp air. The Channuak candles are lit at sundown. We live in a land with freedom of religion. I have known...
Looking for a Beauty Queen?
Did you come across Cambridge’s beauty queen this week? She is a regal site with a Guy Fawkes mask and leather feet. Strolling by the Charles River in December is feasible while balmy breezes punctuate the NE climate. From pre-dawn to sunset the river hums with hawks,...
Worthy Warriors Shout Out
At the end of October I learned that Eileen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, along with 2 other women, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman. Johnson Sirleaf is the first elected female African president and Gbowee from Liberia is...
US NV Movements & Courageous Leaders
Henry David Thoreau Civil Disobedience 1849 Abby Kelley Foster/Susan B. Anthony/Elizabeth Stanton Mock voting booth for women suffrage 1872 Alice Paul women suffrage 1920 Mahatma Gandhi started satyagraha in India 1910s Salt march 1940s Rosa Parks Civil Rights in...
Occupy “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Wall Street”
I love the idealism of this country. The Declaration of Independence is a creed as much as it is a manifesto. In 4th grade I studied the launching of this nation. We believe in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Americans proclaimed in its violent birthing...
Practicing Peace part II
I’ve been a student of nonviolence since before I cut my 12-year molars. Rather I, and you, have learned about violence since 1st grade. We get inculcated by violence when we state the Pledge of Allegiance and recite stories of pioneers conquering the American...
Her Peace was more than Trees
“Wangari’s concern for the planet was drawn from her deep concern for humanity. It was very clear to her that for humanity to thrive, our planet had to thrive! For our children to be healthy, our environment had to be healthy. She held the strong view that if we...
This Bloody, Holy Ground
Hello sisters and brothers in the Journey, I’m writing as I dream. I run within a dream. My work is misty. To stop hate, my eyes turned inward. I’m as somnolent as a street walker. Hurricane Irene urges us to think about what needs doing. I reach out every day and...
Quaker Worship despite Cluster Bombs
Once a month Cambridge Friends hold an hour worship close to the entrance of Textron Inc. in Wilmington MA. Textron is known for its unmanned aircraft systems, armored trucks, battlefield and surveillance systems, precision smart weapons, and advanced cluster...
Students Migrate to the State House MA
For eleven days and nights in June 2011 the Student Immigration Movement vigiling on the steps to the MA state house. They did not leave except to go to work and go to the bathroom. They had 2 boxes and 2 canteens. One box held apples and clementines and sandwiches....