My op-ed on monuments was recently published at the Gaston Gazette:
If you are white and you grew up in the South like me, it is quite possible that you have good friends whose skin is darker than yours. For me they are James, Brenda, Jay, Stacie, Kirsten, Mel, Stephanie, Michael, Ty, Bernard, Paulette, Oyobode, Brenda, and my faithful doctor, Shawnya. When we meet, we greet one other with a smile and a hug. We talk about family and friends, children and grandchildren, sports and business, military funerals, church and faith, and why I should be eating fewer cheeseburgers and more broccoli. Race is not a barrier between us. We are simply friends.
Read the rest: “Monuments Only Have the Power we Convey to Them” (PDF)