by jpitney | Jan 17, 2022 | civic virtue, Civil Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Patriotism, Religion
The “I Have a Dream” speech contains many references and allusions to key ideas, sites, and documents of American civic culture. The text below contains relevant links in red. Many passages in the speech refer or allude to Bible verses, spiritual songs,...
by jpitney | Jan 17, 2022 | Civil Rights
Letter from a Birmingham Jail: Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But...
by jpitney | Oct 21, 2021 | Civil Rights, Debate, Free Speech, Higher Education
Michael Powell at NYT: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invited the geophysicist Dorian Abbot to give a prestigious public lecture this autumn. He seemed a natural choice, a scientific star who studies climate change and whether planets in distant solar...
by jpitney | Aug 28, 2021 | Civil Rights, Claremont McKenna College
My great uncle, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, helped organize the March on Washington with John Lewis and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and marched with them that day. RIP John Lewis, an inspiration for anyone interested in social justice and peace....
by jpitney | Jun 30, 2021 | Civil Rights, Uncategorized
By Hannah R. Pitney I have always believed that America needs more civility. During the Trump Administration especially, I thought there was a general lack of decency. I remember a moment during the first 2020 presidential debate when I thought to myself, “How is it...
by jpitney | Apr 24, 2021 | Civil Rights, Crime, Public Opinion
Michael Javen Fortner at City Journal: In a 2019 Pew survey, 44 percent of blacks reported being “unfairly stopped by police” because of their race; 54 percent said, “No, has not happened to me.” In a Monmouth poll taken after Floyd’s death, 44 percent of...
