Drick Boyd's Blog
Four Who Changed Their World … And Ours
Our first day of our trip was spent mostly on the bus but by afternoon we arrived in Greensboro, NC where we learned the stories of four college freshman at North Carolina A & T decided they would assert their human dignity by requesting to be served at the lunch...
Civil Rights Tour – Getting Ready
Starting tomorrow - June 8 - my wife and I will be joining approximately 35 other folks for a 9 day/8 night bus tour of some the most famous sites of Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 60's. We take off at 6 am from Beaver Falls, PA and by 4:30 pm we are due to...
The "New" Civil Rights Era
In 1954 the Supreme Court issued their decision on the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS, which outlawed school desegregation, effectively nullifying the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that allowed for “separate but equal” treatment of...
The Fight for Affordable Health Care Continues – A Letter to my Congressperson
Today I received a letter from my Congressperson, Rep. Patrick Meehan, a conservative Republican, in which he indicated that he was working for my interest by joining a bi-partisan group seeking to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In the letter he states that while he...
Corrections on Toomey-Manchin Bill
Bryan Miller, Executive Director of Heeding God's Call and a trusted friend responded to my blog with some important corrections about the proposed and defeated Toomey-Manchin bill. Apparently it was not as comprehensive as I indicated. What follows is the text of an...
Not So Fast Senator Toomey…
Conservative Republican Senator Pat Toomey (PA) went out on a political limb to co-sponsor a bill with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (WV) that would have mandated background checks on all sales of firearms in the United States. This was an issue brought to...
In the Presence of My Enemies
This past week as I remembered the sacrifice of Jesus, I was meditating on the familiar words from Psalm 23.5 which read: “You [speaking of God] prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” I memorized the entire 23rd psalm way back in Sunday...
White on "Being White on Philly"
Full disclosure. I am white and don’t live in Philly. In some people’s minds these two facts alone disqualify me from saying anything meaningful about race in Philadelphia. I very much would like to live in Philadelphia, but for various reasons my wife and I...
Hugo Chavez, Jimmy Carter and America’s Image in the World
On Tuesday, March 5 Hugo Chavez, the fiery and controversial president of Venezuela died of cancer at the age of 58. Since his death there have been numerous articles and commentaries seeking to evaluate the life and legacy of this charismatic...
Pulling the Gun Lobby Out of the Shadows
On Tuesday Pres. Barack Obama concluded his State of the Union speech with a powerful call for Congress to act on proposed gun violence prevention legislation such as strengthening the background check system and banning high powered military assault type...
Where will the Pro-Gun Folks Draw the Line?
Like many folks, I am watching closely as President Obama begins his campaign to reform the gun laws in this country. Because most laws regulating the sale and use of guns are legislated at the state level, there are only a limited number of things he can do;...
A Book All Christians Should Read
Over the Christmas holidays, my daughter lent me the book The Faitheist by Chris Stedman, the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. I hardly knew what a Humanist Chaplain was and I was intrigued by someone who would link both faith and atheism in his...
Talking Points in Response to the NRA
Last week Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, spoke out in response to the horrible shootings in Newtown, CT, and for the first time, the public has responded with a critical eye to some of the logic La Pierre and his ilk have used in his...
We Are Adam Lanza
The feedback to my earlier blog “Making Sense of the Senseless” has challenged me to say a word about the mental illness dimension of the horrible tragedy in Connecticut. While the citizens of Newtown mourn, many folks in the media and beyond are trying to make...
Making Sense of the Senseless
Today in Newtown, CT 28 people are dead, 20 of them children who attended the Sandy Hook Elementary School. If the murder rate in Philadelphia stays on pace, there will 3-4 more young people in Philadelphia dead before the end of the weekend due to gun violence....