Four years ago, James Meredith, others from Mississippi and I were invited to take part in a series of college speaking engagements about progress our state had made in the area of civil rights. Most in the audience were amazed that Meredith, the civil rights legend, was still alive. I can attest that my friend is very much alive, spirited and has something to say.

Masks don’t conceal identities – they reveal them, identifying the wearers during this pandemic as caring, compassionate, intelligent folk.

The party with which I have self-identified for much of my adult life, the Republican Party, has failed to live up to its “big tent” credo of inclusiveness and belonging.