Author Archives: Rev. William Lamar

History is a political enterprise. All who set out to chronicle the past are motivated by ends that some are honest enough to disclose, and others are deluded enough to deny. I prepared for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Feedom by reading serious works of history. David J. Garrow’s […]

My political consciousness was forged on an anvil not made of iron or steel, but books and music. My parents supplied me with the good stuff that prevented me from achieving bliss because ignorance was never an option. Let’s talk records. In 1988, during the golden age of hip-hop, I was given a copy of […]

Mr. President, you have been described as our most literary president since Mr. Lincoln. Your prose inspires and paints the possible. I know that you are preparing for your second inaugural address. I have read that you have excellent speechwriters with whom you partner to craft the messages for the nation. As you decide what […]

My vocation denies me the privilege of participating wholesale in death-denying American culture. Only those in the medical professions, law enforcement, and the funeral industry are as intimately acquainted with death as the clergy. I cannot pretend that people don’t die; nor can I pretend that people aren’t supposed to die. Our culture idolizes the […]

I played tee ball as a youngster. I recall vividly a teammate who crushed the ball off of the tee with the bases loaded. And this is where it all went downhill. As the ball sailed into the gap between the second baseman and the centerfielder my teammate ran from home plate to third base. […]