Tag Archives: racism

How Literature Saved Richard Wright

By Robin Bates | Published: February 10, 2020

In his memoir, Richard Wright describes how literature gave him a framework and spurred him to action in the segregated south.

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Use Lit to Combat Racism

By Robin Bates | Published: January 1, 2020

My thoughts about a racial book burning at a southern college–and how literature can help.

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What Baldwin Would Make of Barr

By Robin Bates | Published: December 8, 2019

William Barr’s recent comments to police officers reveal an attitude toward people of color that James Baldwin would recognize instantly.

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Beowulf Transcends Tolkien’s Racism

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2019

“Beowulf” and “Lord of the Rings” have blind spots but they are transcendent works for all that.

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What Trump Means by Infestation

By Robin Bates | Published: July 29, 2019

Tuesday Following Donald Trump’s latest racist tirade, this one targeting Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings and his “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” of a Baltimore district, I’m reposting an essay I wrote a year ago May. At the time, commentators had begun noticing that Trump frequently opts for images of infestation when talking about brown […]

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A Dream of Black and White Together

By Robin Bates | Published: February 2, 2019

Spiritual Sunday My mother and I went to hear St. Olaf’s sublime choir at Sewanee’s All Saints Chapel Thursday night. (This in spite of the fact that we both attended St. Olaf’s archrival, Carleton College.) Amongst the program’s “peace on earth” offerings was an arrangement of Langston Hughes’s “I Dream a World.” I share it […]

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Light & Dark Wrestle for America’s Soul

By Robin Bates | Published: November 6, 2018

An image of darkness and light grappling for ascendency in Silko’s “Ceremony” sums up my view of America at the moment.

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Baldwin on Making Education Relevant

By Robin Bates | Published: September 13, 2018

Baldwin’s “Essays to Teachers” reminds them of what education should really be about.

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Many Ways To Stand Up to Racism

By Robin Bates | Published: August 10, 2018

I share a Nikki Giovanni poem in memory of Heather Heyer, along with those who were badly injured by angry white supremacists.

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