Tag Archives: African-American

On the Guilty Verdicts

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Callen Harty

The fact that a police officer murdering a man in broad daylight was found guilty tells us not that justice is served in this country, but that justice has been absent all along. The guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, Breonna Taylor, class, Daunte Wright, Derek Chauvin, Elijah McClain, guilty, justice, justice system, murder, Oscar Grant, police, race, structural racism, systemic racism, thin blue line | Leave a comment

Pride (and Prejudice)

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Callen Harty

So far, this year’s Pride Month has been a bizarre microcosm of living life as a queer person in the United States, and our experience is a microcosm of minority communities in general. This month, the queer community has … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abortion, African-American, allies, America, Black lives matter, black trans women, bombing, Capitol, Dallas, death, Detroit, Dignity, discrimination, Donald Trump, equal rights, Equal Rights Amendment, equality, gender, Governor Tony Evers, hate groups, hatred, homophobes, human being, immigrants, Israeli, Jew, LGBT community, life, love, marginalized communities, mass shooting, minority communities, mosque, Muslim, Nazis, politcal gains, politcal losses, prejudice, pride, pride month, privileged class, progress, queer, race, racist, rainbow flag, religion, right to vote, right-wingers, rights, same-sex couples, status quo, struggle, suicidal, trans, United States, Wisconsin, women | Leave a comment

The Boys at the Top

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Callen Harty

When we were kids in small-town Wisconsin there were always some of the popular kids who could get away with all sorts of things. They were athletes or their parents were rich or held important positions in the town, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged absolute power, African-American, ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Assembly, athletes, Attorney General, Badger, boilerplate laws, bullies, campaigns, Capitol, Christian, citizens, competition, conscience, conservative, county clerks, Democrat, divide and conquer strategy, election, government, Governor-elect, governorship, Green Bay Packers, hard work, heart, history, immature boys, karma, laws, leadership, legislators, Lieutenant Governor, life lessons, lobbying group, mid-term election, moral, newspaper editorials, power, Presidential primary, protesters, protests, public hearings, recount, Republican, rich, right-wing, rights, rules of the game, Scott Walker, Senate, sportsmanship, State Senate, State Treasurer, Supreme Court Justice, Tammy Baldwin, Tony Evers, union workers, veto power, Vince Lombardi, vote, winning, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Yes, This Is Who We Are

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Callen Harty

Aside from the ubiquitous thoughts and prayers, the refusal to consider any kind of gun control at all because it’s always too soon to talk about it, and the flags once again lowered to half-staff, there is another thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, American, anti-Semite, assassinations, Aurora, bombs, bridge, Christians, cisgender, Columbine, common ground, common sense gun laws, compassion, conscience, covert wars, death, disease, doctors, earth, empathy, enslaved, first responders, flags, forgiveness, Fort Hood, gays, genocide, gun control, half-staff, hate, history, Holocaust, Hondurans, immigrants, imprisonment, indigenous peoples, Ireland, Jews, Las Vegas, life savers, love, mass shooting, melting pot, men, Mexico, ministers, moral compass, murders, Muslims, nation, Native people, nurses, Oak Creek, pacifists, peacemakers, people of color, poor, potato famine, priests, privilege, promised land, Pulse Orlando, rabbis, random killings, republic, right-wing fanatic, Sandy Hook, shame, society, souls, starvation, Stoneman Douglas, straights, synagogue, The Tree of Life, thoughts and prayers, trans, Virginia Tech, volunteers, war, white people, white supremacist, women, worshippers | 2 Comments

Paths to Healing Keynote Speech

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Callen Harty

At this year’s Paths to Healing conference on male survivors of child sex assault I was the keynote speaker. This is the text of the speech I delivered today. Good morning. I’d like to start by thanking Chris Taylor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, African-American, alcoholism, allies, altar boy, American Family Insurance, angels, anger issues, articles, arts, becoming, black man, blog, books, brotherhood, Canopy Center, casual sex, child sex abuse, child sex assault, childhoiod, Chris Taylor, class, collective spirit, color, come out, compassion, control, courage, creed, Dane County Rape Crisis Center, DEnim Day, depression, disabled, domestic abuse, drug abuse, emotions, empathy, Empty Playground, equality, essays, faith, Family Sexual Abuse Treatment, forgive, forgiveness, Friends of the State Street Family, gay man, gender, gender identity, harassment, Harvey Milk, hatred, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, Hmong, Ho-Chunk Nation, honest, hope, horror, human, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, innocence, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jesus, Journalism, journey, joy, justice, keynote speech, Latino, LGBT, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, memoir, meningitis, minority, monologues, mumps, Native American, neighbors, orientation, OutReach, Paradise, Paths to Healing, peace, perpetrator, person of color, personhood, plays, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, post traumatic stress disorder, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, queer, race, recovering alcoholic, reocvery, rights, scarlet fever, secrets, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual abuse, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, siblings, silence, social drinking, Solidarity with Child Abuse Victims/Survivors, sorrow, spirituality, State Capitol, straight, suffering, suicidal ideation, teach, therapy, threats, trans, trigger warning, truth, underserved communities, UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, universal truths, Utopia, UW-EauClaire, victims, violence, Voices of Courage, Waylon Pahona, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment

On Statues, Flags, and Heritage

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Callen Harty

Statues that honor secessionists who rebelled against our country are coming down in cities around the country and it is well past time for it. The soldiers honored with these statues were men who fought to defend slavery. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Adolph Hitler, African-American, alligators, ancestors, Battle of Bad Axe, Black Hawk War, bluegrass, Cajun culture, California, Charlottesville, civil rights, civil war, collard greens, Confederacy, Confederate battle flag, country music, Dan White, Democratic national convention, Dixieland jazz, freedom, gold rush, great-great-grandfather, Harper Lee, Harry Truman, Indian, Irish heritage, Jew, Logan Strother, Michiganders, minority, Native American, Native Americans, Oliver Cromwell, oppressed, peanuts, pecan pie, pride, queer, racist, Republican party, Robert. E. Lee, secessionists, slavery, South, Southern heritage, Southern hospitality, Spanish moss, Spencer Piston, states' rights, statues, Stonewall Jackson, Strom Thurmond, sweet tea, symbols, Tennessee Williams, Thomas Ogorzale, Unite the Right, Washington Post, white, white power, William Faulkner, Wisconsin legislature, Wisconsinites | Leave a comment

A Day in the Life of My America

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Callen Harty

Most days, even on the weekends when I don’t have to, I tend to wake up by 6:30 or 7:00. Today I was able to sleep in until about 7:30 or so, and then I was able to lounge in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activists, Afghanistan, African-American, apathy, Arrests, Barbara With, bullying, Camp Randall, color, complacency, corporations, Cuco, Dane County, dog, domestic abuse, ecological genocide, effigy mounds, Facebook, fear, Freak Fest, gay, gender, gun violence, Halloween, heart, hike, Homeless, Hospice, Hudson Park, hungry, injustices, Lake Mendota, Lake Superior, LaPointe Wisconsin, Mifflin, minority, National Guard, Native American, natural world, Nebraska, North America, North Dakota, pastry, pasty, pipeline, police, power, private security, privilege, protester, public transportation, reality television, Rebecca Kemble, Sacred Stone Camp, sexual assault, Social Justice Center, solidarity, spirits, underemployed, unemployed, United States, Upper Peninsula, veteran, Waer Protectors, wars, water, Willy Street, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Capitol | Leave a comment

Some Thoughts on Tony Robinson

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Callen Harty

Last night I stood in the middle of a street and cried for a young man I never knew. The tears were for Tony Robinson, a 19-year old unarmed African-American who was shot and killed by police officer Matt Kenny … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abolition, African-American, Broom Street Theater, class, friend, Jim Crow laws, love, Madison Wisconsin, Matt Kenny, Milwaukee, officer-involved shooting, President, race, racism, retribution, slavery, Tony Robinson, vigil, Voting Rights Act, Williamson Street, Willy Street | 6 Comments

I Am White

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Callen Harty

I am white. It is the circumstance of my birth. It is who I am and who I have always been. It is what it is. But it brings certain advantages for no reason other than the fact that my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, authority figures, black man, Carolina, civil rights, color, community, dominant culture, Ferguson, Grant County Wisconsin, Homeless, human family, men in blue, Michael Brown, person of color, police, poor, racism, white, white man | 2 Comments

Bobby Lee and Me

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Callen Harty

Bobby Lee McClung has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been thinking about race and racism a lot lately. Bobby Lee came to visit my hometown in southwestern Wisconsin when I was a kid and an event … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged affordable housing, African-American, Allens, Asian, basketball, black, Bobby Lee McClung, Catholic, Chris Long, Christian, civil rights, color, colored, confederate, Craig Manor, cultural exchange, dominant culture, Eeny meeny miny moe, European, fear, Filipino, gay, German, Hanover Illinois, hatred, ignorance, Irish, Irish-Catholic, Itta Bena Mississippi, Jewish, love, Mexican, Native American, North, other, poor, prejudice, privilege, Protestant, race, racism, Savanna Army Depot, South, southwestern Wisconsin, straight, swimming pool, wealthy, white privilege, World War II | Leave a comment

Toward a More Queer World

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Callen Harty

Words are so important. A subtle shift in the way someone is described can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. In queer history, just as in other minority communities, we have evolved through many word choices to more clearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "F" word, "N" word, acceptance, African-American, bi, faggot, fagot, gay, gay community, hetero, homo, homophile, homophobic, homosexual, lesbian, lover, majority, minority, queer, Queer Nation, radical, rights, same sex, sexual act, sexual orientation, sodomites, straight, trans, witch, words | Leave a comment

Candlelight

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Callen Harty

When I arrived at the candlelight vigil for Trayvon Martin there was one other person there, a young African-American male who asked my name and then introduced himself as Ibraham, the Muslim variation of the Judeo-Christian prophet Abraham. Shortly two … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, bigots, black, blood, Bo Morrison, candlelight vigil, Derek Williams, drugs, Emmeett Till, gang, hatred, Hmong, hope, Ibraham, incarceration, James Byrd, Jim Crow, Jr., Judeo-Christian, Latino, love, lynch, Martin Luther King, masters, Medgar Evers, minorities, Muslim, oppression, prejudice, prison, privilege, queer, racism, Trayvon Martin, Troy Davis, voting, whites | 1 Comment