This is the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death, and soon it will be George Floyd’s one-year anniversary. The traumas American Blacks experienced from the 2020 events continue to ripple through Black houses this year. Young Black girls and women see Taylor in the mirror every day, and the Black men, including myself, see Floyd, […]
Through My Lens
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Through My Lens: Immigrants need more access to winter sports
Winter is so much fun in Maine. That is, only if you enjoy Maine winter sports. But these sports are not shared by Maine’s newest citizens or to-be citizens. It is an expensive sports season. If you’ve ever visited Portland’s Back Cove on summer afternoons, you may remember the crowd of diverse communities playing soccer […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Through My Lens: Biden should step up efforts to end war in Yemen
Think about this number: 400,000 children under age 5 in Yemen could die of starvation this year, according to the United Nations. The entwining of wars and COVID-19 has multiplied the magnitude of death. President Biden earlier this month announced an end to U.S. support for an offensive in Yemen, but what does this mean? […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Assimilation can incorporate other cultures, races
In his Feb. 5 column, Abdi Nor Iftin, supporting Maine’s increasingly diverse student population, said, “The schools should encourage multiculturalism and not assimilation.” He said assimilation involves expecting students to “abandon their cultural institutions and values and replace them with that of the majority.” That happened, forcibly, to many Native American children many years ago. […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Through My Lens: Maine schools need diverse teachers
Teachers across Maine are still predominantly white, even though the number of students from minority and immigrant backgrounds has increased in the last two decades. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 96.5% of students across the nation were white in 2000. In 2017, 89.3% were white and 3.6% were Black. Maine students are […]