“Despite denying enslaved people civil rights, slave states demanded that these men, women and children be included in population counts because it increased their political power. … This exploitation has resurfaced in recent redistricting efforts,” Jesse Kielman writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“No horror lurked here, bloodcurdling or otherwise. Nor did I feel abstracted peace. Limitless sorrow permeated, bound up with unyielding love,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
Tom Harper
“Navigating an uncertain and unfamiliar terrain, I noticed a flash of color on the floor. It was the only item that had life: a movie poster in the stairway among the debris,” Tom Harper writes in this column on exploring partially demolished Oldfather Studios.
“On that Saturday morning by the Kansas River, as soil was scooped into glass jars and carnations placed on top of each, a spirit moved among the crowd. They had gathered there, near Lawrence City Hall, to commemorate the victims of a lynching nearly 140 years ago,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
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Tardigrades “have inched their way into the public imagination in recent years. For one thing, they are cute as heck, especially for a microscopic creature that doesn’t really have a face,” Dan Coleman writes in this piece for the Lawrence Public Library.
Tom Harper / The Lawrence Times
The city has finished the nine-month-long rebuild of the fountain next to the historic Santa Fe/Amtrak depot in East Lawrence. Now that it’s finally completed, be sure to stop by to see it — before it is removed.
“Compelling figures apparently weren’t enough for (Sen. Richard) Hilderbrand to see systemic or institutional racism at work,” Clay Wirestone writes in this column for Kansas Reflector.
“Although separated by 140 years, the racial violence of 1882 is not disconnected from the systems of racial oppression and white supremacy that continue to flourish in our criminal justice, education, healthcare, housing — all of the systems that are foundational in this community,” Edith Guffey writes in this column.
Tom Harper / The Lawrence Times
Demolition is underway at Oldfather Studios at Ninth and Avalon in Lawrence. “This building was unique due to the number of people who spent hours in study, experimentation and work in their field, in addition to its interesting midcentury architectural design,” Tom Harper writes in this piece.
“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a chance to reflect on how domestic violence impacts our community and learn more about what you can do to help,” Will Averill writes in this column.
