“I don’t want to go to school with no niggers.” October 18, 2014 That was what my new neighbor, little preschool Donna Beth Wylie, told the slightly older, about-to-be-in second grade me back in 1958 when I… Continue Reading
Remember Harry. You are not the little Dutch boy… October 13, 2014 …and your blog is not a Holy Dam. [pun intended] Blog posts born of an overactive mind are a pain. I got Rosebud started… Continue Reading
Piano Quintet in A major, B.155 (Op. 81)(once listed as 77) October 5, 2014 It took me quite a while to type up that title. The last notes of the piece are fading away as I type this…. Continue Reading
People of Color – 3 October 3, 2014 Oh, a couple more things. Henry did not know that I was from Topeka, Kansas. Infamous Topeka. He was intrigued. I’ve made no secret… Continue Reading
People of Color – 2 October 3, 2014 I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Henry Banks radio interview. Henry let me run off the mouth over and over. I always apologized for it… Continue Reading
People of Color September 30, 2014 Henry Banks, who ran for the school board last fall, left a message on my phone yesterday inviting me to be interviewed on his… Continue Reading
Me, the fourth black school board member in Duluth History. September 27, 2014 The glorious week of mild autumnal weather continues. I put another eight hours on the ladder yesterday painting under my eves. Today I’ll put… Continue Reading
Axe me no questions….shame on me September 25, 2014 Tuesday was beautiful. I planned on going to Myers-Wilkins Elementary in the late afternoon but I just kept scraping old paint and priming woodwork… Continue Reading
Axe me no questions again, again, September 23, 2014 I woke up a week ago thinking about the DWB posts (here’s the first) and the learning gap in Duluth Schools and six years… Continue Reading
Axe me no questions….again September 20, 2014 When I wrote the first post by this title it was after an hour of waking in bed planning a dozen related posts about… Continue Reading
Axe me no questions … September 13, 2014 Nudged by a sleeping but heat seeking grandson in a hotel bed this morning I woke to an hour’s restless thinking. I left the… Continue Reading
The condition of African Americans in Duluth September 8, 2014 Its not great. First there is this in the Trib today. On the reading test, black students, who make up 8.5 percent of the… Continue Reading
How to still Fergusson and ISD 709 – Abracadabra August 20, 2014 Visitors to this blog know I opine about all sorts of stuff. The list on the right confirms that. But sometimes I switch to… Continue Reading
Over two years on the New York Times Bestseller List July 8, 2014 I finished reading the Color of Water to Claudia over the weekend. Actually I didn’t finish it. I got to the epilogue and Claudia… Continue Reading
Nugget 5 – 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board May 18, 2014 I was three years old and living in Topeka, Kansas when the US Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education that… Continue Reading
Happy sesquicentennial birthday to the Gettysburg Address November 19, 2013 Four score (4 x 20) and seven years ago I was a quarter century from being born (87 – 62). So I can’t very… Continue Reading
Why I blog at night – to get back to sleep October 12, 2013 In my “weepy” interview with Jana Hollingsworth she asked me why I get up at night to write. She did not say write my… Continue Reading
An old friend and ally challenges my claims September 16, 2013 In an email titled “Honest Abe” a good friend asks me a fair question. Harry, I know you are citing 50 students in a… Continue Reading
Civil Rights and Equitable Education in Duluth September 16, 2013 I was recently sent a request for information regarding my attitude about some ticklish issues facing the Duluth Schools. I relished a chance to… Continue Reading
Civil Rights and the nuisance of journalistic fairness September 14, 2013 I’ll have a busy day tomorrow with over 100 addresses to stick lawnsigns up in. Maybe that’s why I tossed and turned in bed… Continue Reading
