I’ve been thinking a lot about Burning Man and Black Rock City lately, not just because of the recent news about financial challenges and debates about the event’s management and future, but mainly because this year marks 30 years since I first attended Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert. When I made my first …
Author: Chefjuke
The Road Not Raged: A Reflection on Civility
I went to run an errand at lunchtime a few days ago and had an interesting encounter. I was going to the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore to drop off some donations. It’s about a 10-minute drive. About three blocks from my house, I noticed a brand new purple Subaru ahead of me stopped in …
Hoodies and Potential: From Trayvon to Josh
Sixty-Two and the Cycles of Time (Or, How I’m Still Figuring Things Out) This week marks my 62nd birthday, a milestone that feels both surreal and somehow inevitable. It’s hard to reconcile the number with how I feel—mostly, my knees remind me of the passage of time! But I also recognize that I’ve lived long …
The Double-Edged Sword of Legacy: My Father’s Work and Its Unintended Impact
A Wake-Up Call Recently, I have been confronted with some troubling developments that have compelled me to reflect deeply on my father’s legacy and how his work has been interpreted—and at times, misinterpreted. My father, William Henry Mackey, Jr., was a scholar and teacher of Black history—though to him, it was simply history. He believed …
Father’s Day…
I wrote on Father’s Day way back in the last century. It was an interesting time….
A Woman Dentist? Who’da Thunk it?
An article about my Tante Rachel and her visit to U.S. from Norway in 1950 The following article is from the March 26, 1950 edition of the Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle A D.D.S. From Toensberg, NorwayA woman dentist from Norway and a youngster from the U. S. are not an unusual combination at the …
Life During the Occupation
A letter from my Aunt Rachel Jullum in Norway, to my Grandmother Tordis Jullum Bornholdt in the United States after World War II Translated from the original Norwegian Tonsberg, Norway1945 Dear Tordis, At last, I can write to you again after these awful years. You have no idea of how things have been and what …
Favorite I-5 Pit Stops between SF and Eugene
Below is my list of pit stops and other such places between the Bay Area and Eugene, Oregon. Note that most of the places are Espresso-centric mainly because decent coffee has been traditionally hard to find along the route (but it’s getting better). Also, my fam are fairly hardcore road trippers, so they are used …
The Strange Tale of “Ethnic Artist” Sarah Jenkins
RACE? This story started when a friend of mine, I’ll call them C.B., shared the above image with a group of friends. It is a painting by an artist friend of theirs, Scott Siedman, which C.B. thought had a valuable message about race, and C.B. suggested it be shared. The painting sparked a discussion among …
A remembrance of being young, Black, and almost getting shot.
Originally posted to Facebook March 23, 2012 The story of Trayvon Martin that has been in the headlines the last few weeks has brought back one of the vivid memories of my youth. It reminded me of the day I was almost shot by a Police officer in Berkeley, California. Before I relate the story …