Molly Secours

[Molly’s back! And we’re so glad she is. –ed] Last week I stumbled upon a bizarre news story about a fatal epidemic referred to as the “dancing plague” of 1518 in Strasbourg Austria. According to historians, in early July a woman stepped into the street and began to dance uncontrollably. After several days she was…

The current issue is always free to everyone [Our dear Molly needs your help; once you read this, you’ll understand why. At the end of this commentary you will find the address for a fund that has been set up for her, along with other important information.] -ed Three months ago, I heard the most…

What is racism? How is it different from prejudice and discrimination? We could spend all of our time debating what racism really is or isn’t—and often that is exactly what we do. It’s another way of not addressing the realities that whatever racism is, is viewed and experienced differently by those who identify as white…

Phillip Workman is scheduled to be executed on May 9. Please watch this video, produced by Molly Secours and Dixie Gamble, so you can see that he is most likely innocent of the crime for which he is going to be murdered. Then call and/or email Governor Bredesen of Tennessee and ask him to view…

In the past 18 months, we have had several major opportunities to engage in a meaningful national dialogue on race. And each time it has taken exactly 5.3 seconds before the conversation is deflected and blame is laid elsewhere – usually on Black people themselves. If we look at the public outbursts of Kanye West,…

Although racism exists everywhere, the form in which we experience it in the U.S. requires us to examine the “illness” of the founding fathers to understand ourselves. In order to justify brutalizing and enslaving an entire race of people, our historical “heroes” collectively convinced themselves that the non-whites being “imported” from Africa and the Indigenous…

Whenever I engage in a conversation with another white person or speak to an audience about how white people tend to whisper around issues of systemic and institutional racism – and thereby participate in perpetuating it – I urge people to to challenge themselves. To dig underneath their resistance and become deeply curious about not…

Of all the news stories in February, none caught my attention as much as Tennessee governor, Phil Bredesen’s announcement that he was halting all executions in Tennessee for 90 days. Like a dog hearing a high-pitched whistle I tilted my head to one side to listen more closely. Knowing he’s an avid supporter of the…

Great news! Systemic and institutional racism is dead! And given it is the end of Black History month, this revelation is right on time. At least that’s what I gleaned from John Ridley’s recent article; The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American “N’“in Esquire Magazine. Apparently, it’s been over for a while but as…