by Henry A. Giroux The Nobel Prize-winning author Ngugi wa Thiong’o has insisted rightfully that “Children are the future of any society,” adding, “If you want to maim the future of any society, you simply maim the children.”[1] If one … Continue reading Taking notes 50: Schools as punishing factories: the handcuffing of public education
by Henry A. Giroux “Let’s hope it isn’t too late to listen, listen intently, carefully, minds open, hearts full. Let’s hope.” – James Baldwin In 1963, James Baldwin published an essay entitled “The Negro Child – His Self-Image,” in The … Continue reading The fire this time: Black youth and the spectacle of postracial violence
by Henry A. Giroux A tragedy of errors: nobody knows any more who is who. The smoke of the explosions forms part of the much larger curtain of smoke that prevents all of us from seeing clearly. From revenge to revenge, terrorism obliges us to walk to our graves. I saw a photo, recently published, of graffiti on a wall in NYC: ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’. — Eduardo Galeano[1] The American public rightfully expressed a collective sigh of relief and a demonstration of prodigious gratitude towards law enforcement authorities when the unprecedented manhunt for … Continue reading Lockdown, USA: The Boston marathon manhunt
by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan In May 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the State of California to release 30,000 to 40,000 of its 140,000 inmates.[1] California’s prisons have become so overcrowded that the Supreme Court declared the situation … Continue reading Crime, punishment and the limits to power
Philosophers for Change 