BBC Newsday

Jul 10, 2020

We All Want Schools To Reopen Fully. That Doesn't Mean They Should

I hate the idea of my kids’ education being paused. And yet, the idea of reopening schools with no national plan is bewildering, writes Karen Harris.

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2019, file photo National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump's efforts to tie U.S. aid for Ukraine to investigations of his political opponents. Vindman was escorted out of the White House complex on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, according to his lawyer. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Alexander Vindman Told The Truth. If Only More Republicans Were Willing To Do The Same

Jul 10, 2020

Robert Morris, the state's second Black lawyer, defended African American civil rights in legal cases on Boston school desegregation, slavery and citizenship. (Wikimedia Commons)

Robert Morris Was A Black Bostonian Who Fought For Freedom. Why Don't We Have A Statue Of Him?

Jul 9, 2020

Students walk in and out of the Widener Library in Harvard Yard. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A Student Visa Made My American Dream Possible. If Trump Gets His Way, Other International Students Could Be Shut Out

Jul 8, 2020

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'I Promise. I Promise.' You Can't Cheat A Pandemic

We All Want Schools To Reopen Fully. That Doesn't Mean They Should

It's Time To Retire The Offensive Design Of The Mass. Flag And Seal

Alexander Vindman Told The Truth. If Only More Republicans Were Willing To Do The Same

If Remote Work Is Our New Reality, Is Boston Still Worth The Trouble?

Robert Morris Was A Black Bostonian Who Fought For Freedom. Why Don't We Have A Statue Of Him?

In Case You Missed It

Orange County Sheriff deputies maintain a police block as a firecracker thrown by a protester explodes behind them during a protest against the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd during the coronavirus pandemic on May 30, 2020 in Santa Ana, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

July 4th Is Different This Year, And Also The Same. 'Independence' Day Is Complicated

05:18Jul 2, 2020

A protester confronts Boston Police with hands in the air in front of Forest Hills Station in Jamaica Plain. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

We Need To Talk About Boston's Police Budget

Jun 10, 2020

A United States Postal worker makes a delivery with gloves and a mask in Warren, Mich., Thursday, April 2, 2020. The U.S. Postal Service is keeping post offices open but ensuring customers stay at least 6 feet apart. The agency said it is following guidance from public health experts, although there is no indication that the new coronavirus COVID-19 is being spread through the mail. (Paul Sancya/AP)

The USPS Is Always There For Us. It's Time To Return The Favor

May 8, 2020

Thousands of Protesters March up Washington Street on their way to rally at the Massachusetts State House. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Boston Prides Itself On Its Progressive Image. Let Me Tell You What I Know

Jun 2, 2020

On Air Commentaries

My Wife Is Black. My Son Is Biracial. But White Supremacy Lives Inside Me

02:56Jun 22, 2020

A Dual Degree From Oxford. A Medical Degree From Harvard. Neither Protected Me From Racism

03:12Jun 18, 2020

Ted Flanagan is a firefighter/paramedic for the West Boylston Fire Department. (Courtesy)

What It's Like To Be A Paramedic During A Pandemic

03:26May 7, 2020

Thousands of Protesters March up Washington Street on their way to rally at the Massachusetts State House, Sunday, May 31, 2020. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

What Will You Do, White America? What Will You Do?

02:37Jun 1, 2020

Politics

The Massachusetts State House and flag. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Jul 8, 2020

It's Time To Retire The Offensive Design Of The Mass. Flag And Seal

Symbols matter as material, micro and not-so-micro aggressions, writes Rich Barlow. They’re mute transmitters that announce society’s values.

Demonstrator Elisha Ewing raises a fist as she stands during a protest Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

We Can't Wait Until November To Fix Our Democracy. Here's What You Can Do Now

Jul 3, 2020

Anti-abortion protesters hug goodbye outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, June 29, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Think Abortion Rights Are Safe Now? Maybe Not

Jul 1, 2020

An anti-abortion protester stands outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, June 29, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The Supreme Court Decision On Abortion Was A Victory. But We Can't Stop Fighting

Jun 30, 2020

Marchers at the Pride Parade, Sunday, June 25, 1989 in New York, New York, carry signs '9 years of AIDS, One drug approved for HIV.' (Mariette Pathy Allen/Getty Images)

What We Can Learn From The AIDS Crisis In The Race For A COVID-19 Vaccine

Jun 30, 2020

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More From Cog

The BU Mascot Rhett on February 3, 2015 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. (Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Don't Think Racism Is Baked Into Our Culture? Just Look At BU's Beloved Mascot, Rhett The Terrier

How did a progressive-thinking northern university end up with a mascot named for a character from one of the most successful pro-Confederate, and racist, romances in American culture?

Jul 7, 2020

A woman wheels a carriage past the Make Way For Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

If Remote Work Is Our New Reality, Is Boston Still Worth The Trouble?

State and local leaders need to start thinking of Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, as a product they need to sell, not only a location they need to govern, writes...

Jul 7, 2020

Please Unsave The Date. The Pandemic Has Cancelled Our Wedding

The things that felt so important before fell away, writes E.B. Bartels. Now, we hope by June 2021, we can all just be in a room together.

Jul 6, 2020

Black Lives Matters activists and criminal justice reform advocates hold a protest rally calling for the abolishment of all jails and prisons outside the Tombs, the Manhattan jail renamed the Manhattan Detention Complex, on June 20, 2020 in New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Prisoners Are Brutalized In Many Ways. Don’t Leave Them Behind

We're beginning to recognize the need to reduce the footprint of policing in our communities and invest in systems of care to address harm and violence, writes Bonita Tenneriello. We...

Jul 1, 2020

Hundrreds of protesters march up Washington Street past the Old South Meeting House en route to Boston City Hall during the F.T.P. March to Defund Police and Fund Our Communities. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

The People Protesting Police Brutality And Pandemic Lockdowns Have One Thing In Common

The majority of Americans may have gone into the 2016 election distrusting government, but this distrust drove racially unequal voting patterns, writes political scientist Aaron Rosenthal.

Jun 29, 2020

In this June 1, 2020, file photo police begin to clear demonstrators gathered as they protest the death of George Floyd near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (Alex Brandon/AP)

After 9/11, Policing Underwent Radical Change. It’s Time To Course Correct

We must demilitarize the police, writes former Marine Jake Auchincloss. To do this, we must shift the paradigm of public safety, at home and abroad.

Jun 26, 2020

A family sits shiva remotely on Zoom for an elderly relative who died of heart failure, April 11, 2020 in New Canaan, Conn.(Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

It’s Hard To Grieve The Dead From Afar And Hold The Living Close

We were together, but alone, unable to reach each other’s sadness, Gail Spector writes about her husband. Instead of crying into his arms, I hugged my body, trying to make...

Jun 26, 2020

Activists from BAMN (Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary) protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump's Proposed Changes Would Effectively Abolish Asylum

Humanitarianism and objectivity have been lost, writes Sarah Sherman-Stokes. The proposed regulatory changes to U.S. asylum law are the latest assault on the fundamental right of non-citizens to seek refuge...

Jun 25, 2020

President Donald Trump supporters cheer as Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center, Saturday, June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Okla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

TikTok Grandma Had An Idea For The Trump Rally. The Kids Took It From There

The best youth activism happens where the adults aren’t looking, writes Joanna Weiss.

Jun 24, 2020

I Don't Wear A Mask Because I'm Scared. I Wear It Because I Respect You

The face mask is not only protection, writes Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious disease specialist. It's a symbol.

Jun 23, 2020

Members of the parade perform during the 48th Annual Juneteenth Day Festival on June 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

It’s Time To Make Juneteenth A National Holiday

It is time we declare -- once and for all -- that the emancipation of Black people is worthy of celebration and recognition in every corner of our country, writes...

Jun 19, 2020

In this Thursday, May 14, 2020 photo, Chaplain David Anderson and student nurse Kadie Laycock help a patient communicate with his family that are unable to visit due to hospital visiting restrictions at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, in Blackburn, England. (Hannah McKay/AP)

What It's Like To Help Families Say Goodbye

As a hospital chaplain, I have the privilege of visiting patients in their rooms, writes Bridget Power. I hear the steady rhythm of the ventilators. I witness the care with...

Jun 19, 2020

A woman hangs a banner from her balcony with the number of a domestic violence hotline during a national lockdown aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 16, 2020. (Bilal Hussein/AP)

12 Million People A Year Are Abused By Their Partners. The Pandemic Is Making That Much Worse

Intimate partner violence is an enduring problem with a toxic twist added during the pandemic, writes Nancy Rappaport.

Jun 18, 2020

People gather at the historic Stonewall Inn to celebrate the LGBTQ victory, in Greenwich Village, a section of New York City, US on June 15, 2020. (John Lamparski/ NurPhoto via Getty Images)

5 Years Ago, John Roberts Voted Against LGBTQ Rights. This Week He Stood In Favor Of Them, And That Gives Me Hope

Perhaps the Chief Justice's decision to join the majority opinion is about something more than legal analysis, writes Bob Bordone. Perhaps it's about the capacity for a fundamental internal change,...

Jun 17, 2020

Families participate in a children's march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and national protests against police brutality on June 9, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Angela Weiss/ AFP/Getty Images)

Why I Decided Not To Bring My Black Child To The Protests

For young children who are still processing the world around them, writes Kristen L. Pope, a protest can be like putting them on the front lines of a battle they're...

Jun 17, 2020

The statue in the city's Park Square is a replica of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington and depicts Lincoln with one hand raised above a kneeling man with broken shackles on his wrists. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Black Bostonians Fought For Freedom From Slavery. Where Are The Statues That Tell Their Stories?

Contrary to the image of the kneeling slave, Black abolitionists did not wait passively for the "Day of Jubilee," writes Kevin M. Levin. They led the charge.

Jun 16, 2020

My Husband And I Are Doctors. To Keep Our Toddler Safe During The Pandemic, We Both Moved Out

After writer Najla Abdurrahman and her husband left their home in March, her mother cared for the couple's young son.

Jun 16, 2020

A woman demonstrates against police brutality and racism in Paris, France, Saturday, June 13, 2020, a march organized by supporters of Adama Traore, who died in police custody in 2016 in circumstances that remain unclear despite four years of back-and-forth autopsies. (Thibault Camus/AP)

Beyond The Obligatory Statement: Here Are 5 Things Organizations Can Do To Meaningfully Combat Racism

Stances against racism must transcend symbolism, writes Amber Spry. The real work is bringing reform to the systems that uphold systemic racism.

Jun 15, 2020

Virginia Bejar, the photographer's partner, strives to work at home while holding her 6-month-old daughter during the COVID-19 lockdown on May 11, 2020, in Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. (Miguel Pereira/Getty Images)

Work From Home Is Here To Stay. Get Used To It

Will our disease-forced seminar in videoconferencing permanently remake the homefront into the typical office for many workers? Let's hope so, writes Rich Barlow.

Jun 15, 2020

Hundreds of staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital participated in a kneel-in acknowledging the injustice of systemic and individual racism in America at the Bulfinch Lawn outside of the Wang Entrance of the hospital, June 5, 2020. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Racism In Medicine Isn't An Abstract Notion. It's Happening All Around Us, Every Day

The medical community is comfortable discussing negative outcomes for marginalized people in general. But we urgently need to talk about how we disenfranchise the patients in our care, writes Ayotomiwa...

Jun 12, 2020