Jan 7Into the Light: A Reckoningby Valerie Morales Three hours before the calamity there was a vicious hit that was deemed appropriate. It was the last seconds of the Cotton Bowl game and Tulane was driving down field when a violent collision left both Tulane receiver and USC defender dazed. There was a break in…NFL8 min readNFL8 min read
Jun 29, 2022Abortion. And Black Me.by Valerie Morales Imagine a 19-year-old rape victim living in a country with abortion restrictions. Imagine she was impregnated by the man who raped her. Imagine the anxiety of a belly that grows month after month. Imagine silence. Imagine tears. Imagine not being able to sleep. Imagine sociological art: housing…Abortion10 min readAbortion10 min read
May 26, 2022Republicans Care About Embryos when they Should Care About Childrenby Valerie Morales Hours after nineteen children and two adults lay in their own fetid blood, and hours after an 18-year-old perished, shot dead by a Border Patrol agent, night fell across Texas. For the unlucky, it was a quiet night of diminished capacity and broken hearts. Retraumatization grief and…Mass Shootings9 min readMass Shootings9 min read
May 17, 2022From Georgia to Buffalo and Everywhere In Between: Racism and Painby Valerie Morales When news broke of the Buffalo murders I remembered two months earlier when a mostly black lacrosse team was harassed by the police in Georgia. No one died in the racial profiling travesty on I-95 and the victims were decades younger than those in Buffalo, but trauma…Murder6 min readMurder6 min read
May 7, 2022The Abortion Pill Is 22 Years Old. Its Rebirth is Stunning.by Valerie Morales For economic reasons both my parents receive their medications through the mail. When the idea was first presented to them they were skeptical. They were used to hand holding by a pharmacist and didn’t quite believe there was a simpler way of pill delivery until month after…Abortion7 min readAbortion7 min read
Apr 25, 2022Melissa Lucio Has Died Eight Timesby Valerie Morales Melissa Lucio will not be executed on Wednesday the 27th of April. Her blood will not wound the world. The rocks will not cry out. Her death won’t demand urgency. Her children won’t mourn her even as they mourn her. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is still incarcerated. But…Death Penalty11 min readDeath Penalty11 min read
Apr 5, 2022My Mother Warned Me About Men Like Lindsay Grahamby Valerie Morales This happened in one of my favorite movies: a hunter of human cargo was creeping through 1873 Ohio. He was desperately looking for a woman named Sethe who had escaped slavery by boating across the Ohio River with her newborn daughter named Beloved. When the slave catcher…Ketanjibrownjackson7 min readKetanjibrownjackson7 min read
Sep 16, 2021When You Want Trump on the Ballot But Can’t Win With Trump On the Ballotby Valerie Morales California Governor Gavin Newsom escaped a political casualty by slithering through a keyhole in the GOP’s latest resurrection fantasy. Newsom will remain governor of the most populous state in the country, at least for one more year when his term ends in 2022. While Newsom tries to…California7 min readCalifornia7 min read
Jun 20, 2021My Juneteenth Isn’t Your Juneteenthby Valerie Morales Ignoring white supremacy while applauding black liberation doesn’t take much talent. Just privilege, denial, and an entitlement culture that normalizes racial angst. For many whites, even the woke set, black liberation is embraced only if its victims have obediently waited their turn. It perfectly illustrates the problematic…Juneteenth5 min readJuneteenth5 min read
Feb 3, 2021Bling Empire Has A Pandemic Problemby Valerie Morales A year before social distancing ruined us, audiences flocked to a Korean film named Parasite. It was a witty story with a moral question: what do the wealthy deserve? An affluent family and a scheming family provided more than enough wit and contemplation. Because what was slick…Asian American8 min readAsian American8 min read
