Drick Boyd's Blog
The Politician, The Prophet and the The "Fiscal Cliff"
The news these days is filled with all the predictions and warnings about the so-called “fiscal cliff” that will befall the U.S. economy if the Democrats and Republicans in Washington cannot agree on a debt reduction package. Depending on what pundit you listen...
Now Thank We All Our God
Nearly 40 years ago when I was at college spending Thanksgiving away from home; as a result I was feeling alone and lost. To cheer myself up I began writing down the things in my life I had to be thankful for. Before I was done I had filled two whole sheets of...
Why Race is a Factor in This Year's Election
At the risk of stating the obvious to some and “playing the race card” to others, I believe race is a central issue in this year’s presidential contest. However, I say that not simply or even because Mitt Romney (a white guy) is running against Barack Obama (a mixed...
Elizabeth and Hazel and the Challenge of Racial Reconciliation
I recently completed David Margolick’s fascinating book, Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock, which caused me again to reflect on the difficulty and challenge of authentic racial reconciliation in our country. Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery were...
A Letter to My Doctor
A couple weeks ago I wrote the letter below to my primary care doctor, Dr. Jason Chen, thanking him for taking an approach that was much more humane and personable than most doctors I have known. Ironically, I read this article while waiting for over four hours for a...
Moses Walker Jr. and the Fallacy of Self-Defense
The recent shooting of off-duty Philadelphia Police officer Moses Walker, Jr. proves the point that possessing a gun and knowing how to use it does not prepare one to defend oneself when you are surprised at gun point. On the early morning of August 18...
President Obama – Return to “Hope and Change”
Like most of the folks who voted for then-Senator Obama to become president four years ago, I was sold on the promise of “hope and change.” While I have been politically aware and involved since my college days, I rarely had found a candidate who I could believe in...
The New Bottom Line
Now that Governor Romney has picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his VP running mate for November's election, the Republicans have made very clear that they are not on the side of restoring social services or redistributing wealth, but rather to serve the greed of the...
Colombian Reflections
I write this on my last night of two weeks (Aug 1-14) in Colombia with BuildaBridge and Eastern University Urban Studies students. While here in Bogota we have worked in collaboration with local community artists to run an arts camp for kids. Two of our members...
What About the Thieves?
This past week and next (Aug 1-14) I am in Bogota, Colombia with a group of Urban Studies students from Eastern University working with the arts organization BuildaBridge conducting training for community artists and running an arts camp for children alongside of some...
The Fallacy of the Gun Lobby Rhetoric – Again
After the shooting in the Aurora, CO movie theater I wrote all my state and national legislators urging them to pass laws to restrict the sale of military issue weapons, and to limit the number of weapons an individual could purchase. On the day I learned of the...
The Dark Night/Knight Rises: Aurora, Guns and American Culture
Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson, now Aurora. Add to this the dozens of school shootings in the last few years, and the shootings that take place almost daily in numerous urban communities. Have we lost our minds as a culture? What happened in Aurora is a...
A Lament for My Republican Friends
In recent weeks, I have had this recurring thought: “Boy, sometimes it must suck to be a Republican.” No one reading this blog on even a sporadic basis would mistake me for a Republican, but some of my friends and perhaps half of my family are. I grew up with parents...
Frederick Douglass: What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
On July 4, 1852, eleven years before the Emancipation Proclamation and 13 years before the abolition of slavery, Frederick Douglass, a former slave and leading abolitionist was invited to deliver an address in 1852. The ironic power of Douglass’ words still ring true,...
A Dream Come True
This picture was taken on Saturday, June 23, 2012 in the Cullin Hills, Isle of Skye in Western Scotland and represents the fulfillment of a dream. I am with my family on the Trail of the Fairy Pools, a gentle trail that follows a stream up the mountainside and then...