"The failure of both Congress and state legislatures to respond to the murder of George Floyd with an..." — Chesa Boudin

I don't expect to ever put my family background to rest but I do expect to be taken seriously as a scholar, a writer and a Latin Americanist on my own terms, not defined through my parents and their history or politics.

Reconciliation and forgiveness can actually help all of us move on in a healthier, happier way.

The fact that more than 50 percent of Americans have an immediate family member either currently or formerly incarcerated tells you a lot about just how defining a feature of American culture incarceration has become.

I was in diapers when my parents left me with the babysitter to participate in an armored car robbery. They never came home.