Two views of prickly pear cactus flowers

Steve Schwartzman

May 10

From April 28th in my part of Austin come outer and inner flower views from a prickly pear cactus, Opuntia engelmannii. I'm happy to report that as of today these cacti are still putting out flowers.

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As someone who has worked in the field of race relations for twenty-five years, I am utterly amazed that advocacy for "race essentialism" has come to the forefront over the last decade. Race essentialism is the practice of ascribing character traits and experiences to individuals based on the color of their skin. Advocates justify this approach by highlighting how skin color has been used to oppress people in the past as well as in the present, and argue that recognizing one's "race" is necessary in order to correct for racism and build a more equitable future.

So begins an article by Quay Hanna entitled "How talking to strangers on the bus changed my views on race." The author had grown up as a white supremacist but came to realize how mistaken that ideology is.