Jim McKeever

GOP DELEGATION BLASTED FOR STOKING FEAR AND HATRED AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Migrants and asylum seekers wait at the border crossing between Tijuana and the United States, 2019. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) criticized the “rhetoric of fear and hatred” used Monday by Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and other GOP House members at a media event at the southern border in El Paso.  Rep. Escobar said during a virtual press conference that she had invited House minority leader…

‘Stony the Road’ is essential reading in the struggle for justice

A review of Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s examination of the ongoing African American struggle for justice.

Mob violence is here to stay — what weapons do we have to fight it?

These violent actors, mostly white men, see themselves as the embodiment of patriots, martyrs and aggrieved victims — a lethal combination. They feed off of each other.

Central New York artist puts dignified face on migrants in limbo

Insightful interview with an artist/photographer who took portraits with dignity in Tijuana, Mexico.

I saw a meme today, oh boy

What Can We Do?

The rewarding encounters of a U.S. Census enumerator

The calling cards of a U.S. Census Bureau enumerator.

Yesterday I ended my six-week stint as an enumerator with the U.S. Census Bureau, going door-to-door as part of the constitutionally mandated decennial effort to track our population.

Despite some frustrations with the technology and with ongoing uncertainty over the timetable of our work (as it’s yet another democratic institution…

Flying the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Flag in a White Neighborhood

‘Black Lives Matter’ protesters in Fayetteville, New York, June 6, 2020. Photo © Michelle Gabel.

In the two weeks since a white Minneapolis police officer — knowing he was being videotaped — took the life of African-American George Floyd, protests have erupted around the world and in my white town, my white neighborhood.

I wanted to share some of the more noteworthy reactions from people who look…

A view from Minneapolis: ‘If you’re not in it for the long haul, just stay home’

Jamal Johnson on the scene of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.

Jamal Johnson has been in Minneapolis, Minn. the past three days during protests over the death of George Floyd, an African-American who died Monday after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd’s hands were cuffed behind his back. Minneapolis police were investigating…

ICE detainee dies of COVID in Otay Mesa; Batavia has 49 cases

The front of the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, NY. Photo © Michelle Gabel.

After the first reported death from COVID-19 of a detainee in ICE custody in California, immigration advocates fear there will be many more.

Almost half of the detainees tested for COVID-19 in ICE detention centers in the U.S. have the potentially fatal virus — 705 positives out of 1,460 tests.

The…

Recalling Kent State, 50 years after

Thirty years ago today, The Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY, published a series of articles I wrote about a Syracuse native, Tom Grace, who was one of the nine students wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State University on May 4, 1970.

Four students were killed, of course, during the anti-war protest.

Now here we are, 50 years after that horrific day. Grace was a 20-year-old history major…

Questions and answers, in isolation

Public art, Imperial Beach, California.

While I’m lining up interviews with a few people I have in mind who can offer insights on this blog about the pandemic, I thought I would conduct a quick Q&A with myself.

If you have a recommendation for a potential interviewee whose perspective you’d like to hear, feel free to drop me a note. In the meantime, here are excerpts of Jim McKeever interviewing…

A mural in downtown Tijuana, Mexico. The eyes are mirrors; in his right eye is a reflection of me taking this photo.

The past week or so I’ve been scattered mentally, unable to concentrate, unable to sit down and write anything coherent.

It’s the cumulative effect, not of social distancing, but of the relentless onslaught of lies and corruption from the White House, and the blatant recklessness…