There’s a lot in the news right now about critical race theory (CRT). What is it and what is it not? And should it be taught in our schools?

As with many matters in our current media world, misinformation about CRT abounds on numerous platforms. In addition, organizations have sprouted up around the country…

A recent Pew Research poll on Americans’ beliefs about the death penalty shows that most Americans who are Christian are in favor of this form of punishment for people convicted of murder. The numbers in favor vary by religious affiliation, race, and age. The majority of atheists and agnostics are opposed to the death penalty.

“Mass shootings are now so frequent that it is hard to remember them all,” commentator Scott Pelley said on CBS’s “60 Minutes” earlier this month. Many of us can recall a time when we had never heard of a mass shooting, let alone a rash of them targeting people of all faiths and colors. Yet, here we are, facing a summer that many fear will bring a spike in senseless killings.

June marks LGBTQ Pride Month as well as Juneteenth, both celebrations of events and people notably absent from the history books of our 1960s and 1970s school years. Instead, we learned, by the omissions, that gay people did not live in our worlds and certainly did not contribute to our society in meaningful ways; and that the important people and achievements in history were all accomplished by white people, particularly men whose families came from northern Europe.

If passed, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, now before Congress, will combat the insidious voter suppression laws that are surging in many states and districts in our country, preventing citizens, particularly those of color and living in neighborhoods of poverty, from participating in the electoral process guaranteed by the US Constitution.

At last week’s kNOw MORE! Zoom discussion, climate scientist Dr. Tamara Ledley introduced us to the En-ROADS Climate Change Solutions Simulator which allows any user to manipulate the variables influencing climate and see what changes can yield significant results. Co-developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, and MIT Sloan, the simulator has been used by corporations, legislators, community groups, and individuals.

Let’s start with this staggering statistic: A couple working full time and earning $7.25 per hour cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country without spending more than the recommended 30 percent of their income, according to Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in Tightrope.

In more refreshing news from Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled a revamped website on Climate Change Indicators last Wednesday, calling it a “comprehensive resource.” The Associated Press heralded the update, saying the site now “presents clear and compelling evidence of changes to the climate.” As we all recall, no new information was allowed to be posted on the site during the former administration, and the effects of climate change were regularly disputed and downplayed.

Nearly a third of all food produced in the United States is wasted. While this number is startling, in light of the fact that one in six children goes to bed hungry, it is also significant because of the effect that food waste has on climate change. When zero waste is achieved, and no food is sent to landfills, methane emissions and our carbon footprint are significantly reduced.

When President Biden delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday night, he talked passionately about the importance of expanding educational opportunity by providing free preschool and postsecondary schooling. He pointed to research showing that two years of preschool and post-high school training expands a child’s lifelong learning and earning achievements…

Though the solutions to climate change require major disruptions in the current operations of large industry, our individual actions can still have positive effects on our personal and shared quality of life.

Pew Research released a study last week on the views of 5,109 Americans conducted April 5-11, 2021 regarding voting and election policies. While there were a few policies that both parties mostly agreed on, the majority of questions showed large partisan divisions. A few questions also displayed divisions within the party by race.

With May fast approaching, recent snowflakes notwithstanding, we look forward to spending more time outdoors enjoying the company of friends and family, all hopefully vaccinated. It has been a long hard winter – two long hard winters, in fact.

Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. She never knew her father. Her family was impoverished and when she was eight years old, Josephine began working as a live-in domestic maid for white families. By age twelve...

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere…

In a survey released on March 17, 2021, Pew Research provided an analysis of survey responses to questions about Americans' views and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What does the term 'cancel culture' mean to you? Does cancel culture hold people accountable or is it a form of censorship?

First, we have two quick reminders: Hungry to Learn

Please make time to watch Hungry to Learn, a documentary about food insecurity on college campuses and the subject of our next kNOw MORE! discussion on Monday, March 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST

James Armistead Lafayette's story would make a great movie. Born into slavery in New Kent, Virginia around 1760, James received permission from his master, William Armistead, who helped to supply the Continental Army, to enlist with General Marquis de Lafayette's French Allied units. James, a native Virginian, became a spy, posing as a runaway slave. He was hired by the British, and he worked in camps where generals and the British Commander-in-Chief, Lord Cornwallis, were located, giving James access to crucial information on strategy and troop movements.