Hard Truths

Hard Truths Josiah Henson: A New Look at 'Uncle Tom' On October 28, 1830 residents in an area of Canada now known as Henson Landing witnessed a strange sight. A boat had just let off a man, his wife and their four children on the sandy beach nearby. The man fell to the ground, rolled around in the dirt and grabbed and kissed handfuls of sand, all with loud whoops of emotion. This man is surely mad, the residents murmured, loudly enough that the man heard. "Oh no, don't you know?" he asked, jumping to his feet." I'm free!" Thus began the life and times of escaped  American slave Josiah Henson, his wife Charlotte and their four children, to Dresden, then the heartland of Black settlement in Ontario. By the time of his death Rev. Josiah Henson had helped build a 500-person settlement for freed slaves; returned to America dozens of times to rescue 118 enslaved Blacks; won a medal at the First World's Fair in London; and been personally enter...

Hard Truths "Next!" “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I am not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I am not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me .” These troubling words were spoken by Martin Neimoller, a Lutheran pastor and avowed opponent of Adolf Hitler. Neimoller spent 7 years in a concentration camp for his views. Fifty-two percent of LGBTs in the U.S. live in States that do not have laws prohibiting discrimination against them in the workplace. The Arizona Supreme Court in 2019 allowed a cake business to deny services to a same-sex couple.    (In Canada LGBTs have equal workplace protection under federal and provincial human rights laws).   “It’s alright/I don’t care/Serves them right” one says. “Hey, I’m not gay. Won’t affect me! “ ...