Like you, I am entangled in institutions that perpetuate oppression. While there may be a spectrum in terms of the amount of harm caused by different institutions, there is no less responsibility for reform. Since 2011 my writing has been … Continue reading Xpress, Redress
As a writer and someone who is enamored with words and ideas, I have relied on my intellect to navigate the world. As a person committed to collective liberation, I have used analysis and information to challenge systems of oppression … Continue reading Getting out of our minds
Today I pause to reflect on these writings. As I hope my readers ascertain, my purpose is to use my voice to contribute to collective liberation. My essays often analyze how systems of oppression operate, while illuminating the work of … Continue reading Reflections and a request for responses
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a chemical compound from the cannabis plant that is used to treat physical pain and other ailments. Looking at the history of cannabis since it was outlawed in the U.S., our hearts can understand why resources … Continue reading CBD (cannabis) for curing cash bail and other ills
Being one myself, I often wonder about white women* and how we operate in community. While we are each unique, many of us follow similar patterns of behavior. Patterns shaped by being socialized in a society built on patriarchy and … Continue reading White women and the schools
Our economy was built on the genocide of Indigenous people and the violent extraction of labor from enslaved Africans. This cruelty was justified by white people’s created illusion that those we killed, stole from, and enslaved were inferior and that … Continue reading Reckoning with cultural extraction
We have an education emergency in Asheville. Our dismal 2019 Youth Justice Project “Racial Equity Report Card” shows extreme academic and disciplinary disparities in our schools. It documents a clear lack of justice for Black students. These disparities are the … Continue reading Answers for Asheville’s Black children
Today I add my voice to the chorus of people singing the true story of old-time and bluegrass music. It is a marvelously multicultural story, wrought with pain and possibility. We call for the repair of false and incomplete narratives … Continue reading Repairing narratives: old-time and bluegrass music
There are many Ashevilles. As I write this on Sunday morning, so far this weekend I have experienced beauty and power at Southside Rising’s Black Nativity: Liberation Holiday and Nuestro Centro‘s annual Posada. This afternoon I’ll attend the 2nd Annual My Sistah … Continue reading Many Ashevilles
Cars are not our future. Or they are our future, if we want to continue to be out of synch with the earth and to plunge deeper into environmental devastation. The NCDOT’s proposed plans for the I-26 Connector through Asheville … Continue reading Resist I-26
Ami Worthen 