I was back in Cook County Jail after a two-year pandemic hiatus. Liz—my GA—and I were sitting in the mini-auditorium-turned-classroom waiting for the eleven incarcerated men to be brought to us. We had arranged the chairs in a tight circle—thirteen this week. Next week it would be twenty-three when the DePaul students joined us. This day, Liz and I were there to introduce ourselves and prepare the men for my Inside-Out university course, “Deconstructing the School to Prison Pipeline.” For...

A couple of weeks ago I rolled out Kid America’s cover for everyone to see. Well, it’s changed a bit. Take a look and guess how it has changed. Below is the first reveal. At the top is the latest and final one.

Yep, the difference is obvious. Aimé, KA’s Production Director, and I discussed the cover quite a bit after the first reveal. She pushed for a color scheme that would better represent the novel’s themes. I tend to let things be, but she wanted to make sure it captured...

In 2016, I couldn’t fathom a Trump presidency. When it happened, I found relief in Clinton winning the popular vote by two million. The outcome, I thought, was more a product of an archaic electoral system than a reflection of national disposition. That changed on November 5, 2024. Trump won the popular vote, drawing votes from demographic groups across the board and picking up support in nearly every part of the country. All this was done as he stumbled, fumbled, fumed, blustered, and...