Black History Today 2024: Rashiid Coleman, visionary servant leader

Black History Today 2024: Rashiid Coleman, visionary servant leader

Black History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and recognizes the people like Rashiid Coleman who are boldly shaping the future. The 2024 installment marks the sixth Black History Today series published on Rise Up for Students since 2018.

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A middle school teacher finds hope and silver linings in his students: 'They are learning about themselves and what is important in life.'

A middle school teacher finds hope and silver linings in his students: 'They are learning about themselves and what is important in life.'

In the early weeks of online learning, a Portland middle-school teacher finds that his students’ personal growth is inspiring hope for the future and offering certainty during unsteady times. Through this necessary period of solitude, of living simply in shared sacrifice, people young and old “are learning about themselves and what is important in life.”

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Our Lives on this Earth: A Story of Soul Connecting with Spirit

Our Lives on this Earth: A Story of Soul Connecting with Spirit

By Ryan Flesch

It was Nov. 6, 2016. I had spent three months following the Water Protectors camping out in the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota on social media, and listening quietly to the intellect of my heart. My heart wanted me there, so I posted to social media: “I have spent too much time sitting in the comfort of my own home saying to myself that something I see is wrong. I'm getting up and I'm going to Standing Rock to show my support with my life, not the share button.”

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Paying tribute to Scott Hutchison, a man whose music has been a life preserver for me through some stormy seas, after learning his battle with depression ended this week

Paying tribute to Scott Hutchison, a man whose music has been a life preserver for me through some stormy seas, after learning his battle with depression ended this week

Back in 2010, I saw the band Frightened Rabbit play a beautiful show at a little venue in Portland called Berbati’s Pan.

I’d been listening to their album, The Midnight Organ Fight, almost non-stop for a long time at that point. It’s such a sad set of songs, but so earnest. So beautiful in their vulnerability and in lead singer/songwriter Scott Hutchison’s way of describing heartbreak, loss, depression and thoughts of suicide that is intimately relatable and also unlike I’ve ever heard it said before.

Scott went missing a couple days ago, with friends and family describing him as having been in a “fragile state.” Police in Scotland found his body today. A few days ago, he and I were both 36. Now he was 36, and I still am.

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