A note about the wounds of a friend. — I want to have friends, but friends hurt. You start relationships you say are worth keeping because there’s value. You get close to people. People who know you but don’t understand. People that hear you but don’t listen. People you grip up but don’t feel the pain you want to…

When Mother Calls Us Home — There are no requirements that a birthday wish be realistic, so I tested the terms and conditions by asking for something I thought to cross the northern borders of absurdity into the land of impossibility. I wished that all suffering end. My wish floated away on the cigar smoke I…

How History Links Jefferson to Trump in the Black Lives Matter Era — In the west, capitalism and chattel slavery have been entangled since their respective beginnings, and the question of race and class has endured since those times. As far as those two institutions in the US, I figured we should explore the words of one of the leading philosophers of the…

Observations on the necessity of rebellions — The phrase Law and Order is manipulative. A device that commands our commitment for fear of social decay. We must challenge this concept of Law and Order to build a society that is both equitable and responsive. It is helpful for us to first have a broader view of power…

A Selected Journal Entry — “Should I symbolically #RunWithMaud?” I am glad today is not my first day. With a forecast of sure rain and surely a heavy heart, I didn’t know if I should continue or break my streak. As I laced my shoes, I contemplated the purpose…

What is he running from? It’s the Red Queen’s Race At a faster pace. Or is he running with Ahmaud Are we all being chased? Maybe he’s running in place. Maybe he’s just exercising. Or maybe he’s running from a snake. Poem ©️ 2020 J.E. McCoy

A Parable Amidst a Pandemic — Jerome is a Millennial. Like most Millennials, he left school with a lot of debt and few job prospects paying well enough for him to live well while paying off that debt. Still, he hopped in the pool. Learning to swim, he practiced his form and gained the confidence that…

How the humanity of Kobe Bryant inspired the hero in me — I could never pick up a ball and be Lebron James. I could never pick up a mic and be Jay Z. I had never even dreamed I’d run for office and become POTUS like Barack. These icons represent historical plateaus I could not fathom. Kobe Bryant was no less…

You get to grieve: How I’ve dealt with loss this Holiday season. By the way… If I told you I would call you back or send you a message… I lied… Right now, I’ve got extreme social anxiety, and I have no interest in doing so. It’s not you. It’s me. No, I…