Search Results

By Line search: By J.M. SORRELL

By J.M. SORRELL

International Women’s Day is March 8. While the UN did not adopt the day until 1977, its roots go back to the early part of the 20th century — a time when women in the U.S. and Europe were very active in both suffrage and labor movements. It was more...

By J.M. SORRELL

As we celebrate Black History Month, I am reminded of moments filled with grace and solidarity between allies who respond to particular tragedies and accomplices who walk the walk throughout long-term justice movements. Empathy and an internal ethical...

By J.M. SORRELL

Last month I wrote a column about fighting all forms of antisemitism. I have written a few columns about misogyny as an insidious and acceptable form of oppression in many societies including ours. Over the years, I have had this nagging feeling that...

By J.M. SORRELL

Now is the time to offer support and love for Jewish community members, colleagues, friends, neighbors and family members. It is time to stand firmly against all forms and sources of antisemitism without a “but” attached to it. Antisemitic acts have...

By J.M. SORRELL

Contemporary television commercials seem to range from inane to disturbing. If they accurately reflect American society, we are going down. Advertising was not perfect when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, but many of those commercials are...

By J.M. SORRELL

It can be exhausting to engage in critical thinking and to listen to and learn from others who challenge your world view or your plans for activist work; however, without it, growth is stunted and opportunities are lost. People in identity groups who...

By J.M. SORRELL

Honesty. The sin of telling the truth when no one wants to listen. When the brilliant and incomparable Sinéad O’Connor died on July 26, rapper and actor Ice-T summed it up perfectly: “Respect to Sinead. She stood for something. Unlike most people.”On...

By J.M. SORRELL

Astrid et Raphaelle is a French television series about an autistic woman who works in criminal records and a police commander who team up to solve complex homicide cases. In the United States, the show is called Astrid, and the first two seasons are...

By J.M. SORRELL

Emancipation from slavery came at different times in Southern states as the Civil War ended. In Texas, it came on June 19, 1865, and Black Americans began celebrating the date in 1866. During the Jim Crow era, such festivities were more subdued as...

By J.M. SORRELL

In 2019, I wrote a column suggesting that drag is to misogyny as blackface is to racism. I had read about feminists who questioned the preponderance of drag at annual pride events in other cities. At the time, I was called a TERF (trans exclusionary...

By J.M. SORRELL

For the sixth year in a row, Finland tops the list for the world’s happiest country. You can download the full report at worldhappiness.report/ed/2023. My own spiritual homeland, Iceland, is number three. In general, Nordic countries are high ranking...

By J.M. SORRELL

Over the last five weeks, I have been reflecting upon the results of the general election, and I have been grieving and feeling deep concern for the future of our country and the world at large.My integrity as a participant in society now must be more...