Drick Boyd's Blog
Shirking the Safety of Our Whiteness
When I awoke on the morning of January 1, a huge cloud seemed to lift. I am sure I was not alone in being glad to put 2020 in the rearview mirror. Even so, the challenges and problems of 2020 have carried into 2021. The pandemic still rages, and thousands of people...
Howard Thurman’s Christmas Reflections
Howard Thurman was a prolific writer on many areas both in terms of social and political concerns, as well as the spiritual life in relationship to those more “secular realms.” He was also the writer of several collections of short reflections and prayers. One of...
What Would My Father Think?
My father, who was a lifelong Republican died in May 2016. He loved Ronald Reagan when he was a president; his home was sprinkled with books and other Reagan paraphernalia. He also donated a significant amount of money to the Young America Foundation, a conservative...
A Restorative Approach to Addressing Violence in Our Cities
A Grim Statistic As of this past Sunday( December 13) more than 370 people, mostly young Black men, have died due to gun violence in Philadelphia. Since 2015 there have been 8500 shootings in the city, not all fatal, but all traumatic and a sign of deep hopelessness...
Gratitude and Remorse At Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Always in the days before it, I take time to make a list of all the people, events and other things from the previous year that I am thankful for. I have been doing this personal ritual since my college days. And I am...
Gratitude, Grief and Remorse at Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Every year in the days leading up to it, I take time to make a list of all the people, events and other things from the previous year that I am thankful for. I have been doing this personal ritual since my college days. And...
A Call to Be Better Than We Are
Like the pandemic which has brought to the surface the racial and economic inequities in our nation, so too this election has revealed just how deeply embedded white supremacy is in American culture.
The Lie and Promise of America
Lowering the Floor of Political Decency I write this only five days before November 3, America’s election day. Like many people, I recognize that the outcome of our elections may not be known for several days or weeks after that date. I also am quite anxious as to the...
In Response to the Police Shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.
As I write this there is the second night of protests in response to the police killing of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr. in West Philadelphia. If ever there was an argument for defunding the police and redistributing those funds to mental health services, this is it....
Indigenous People’s Day – A Reflection
Today (October 11) is Indigenous People’s Day. Formerly called Columbus Day, this day has gained increasing recognition as we have become aware of the atrocities against indigenous people by Columbus and later the American colonists. Today seven states recognize...
Donald Trump and Institutional Racism
Donald Trump’s Confusion Donald Trump is confused. Just before Labor Day he criticized programs dealing with white privilege and critical race theory and said he didn’t think that institutional racism exists in his government. Months earlier had admitted to Bob...
What is Critical Race Theory?
The Memo On Friday, September 4, 2020 President Trump had a memo sent out from the White House Office of Management and Budget directing all Federal agencies to cancel any and all antiracism trainings. He referred to these trainings as un-American, divisive...
Denying Something Doesn’t Exist Doesn’t Make it Go Away
He denied the Russians interfered in the 2016 elections; Robert Mueller proved they did. He denied that there was such a thing as climate change, and yet during his years in office there have more and stronger storms and wildfires than ever before, proving it does...
Why I Ride for MS… and Why You Should Consider Supporting Me
Every year for the past 6-7 years I have taken part in the MS Ride either in New Jersey of Delaware. When I started I joined a team called Ansley Photo founded by a man named Kevin Ansley. Kevin was the owner of the photo store, an avid biker, and a man living with...
Pursuing Restorative Justice
This past spring (2020) I had the opportunity to teach a course on Restorative Justice to undergraduate students. In preparation for the course, I read The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice by Fania Davis. In the book Davis reports on her work in Oakland,...