Nobody chooses to live in poverty. Being poor is not the result of bad decisions, a lack of hard work or moral failing. Unfortunately, the stubborn myth that poverty is some sort of a personal failure endures in too many corners of our society.We’re marking the 60th anniversary of the War on Poverty this year,…

During a recent conversation with a close friend who is a global climate arts activist and scholar, we were grieving over the endangered state of critical thinking in the U.S.In her “progressive” circles, she started hearing: “I’m not voting for Kamala; she colludes with Israel.” “I want to send the Democrats a message.” “I won’t…

Over 250 years ago, in the home of John Ashley in the western Massachusetts village of Sheffield, the woman of the house committed violence against a slave named Mum Bett. Having learned of freedom from what became known as the Sheffield Declaration, Mum Bett walked out of the house and into the courthouse to sue…

Since the article by my eldest son, Justin Jr. (affectionately known as Lj) for the Father’s Day issue of POV, our family has had numerous encounters with community members who have shared warm and positive remarks about his article. So much so that his younger brother, Jackson, asked me one day after hearing one of…