I was 6 years old in 1967, when riots and protests spread throughout America and words like "justice" and "equality" and "civil rights" were part of the national dialogue. I was too young to truly comprehend and absorb the tension, anxiety and trauma that filled the air, but I grew up dealing with the consequences. Fifty years later--and following nearly a decade away from America--I came back just in time to have my heart broken again and again and again. I grew up in a town that was literally disfigured by racial hatred (Cairo, Illinois), and it took me years to recover from the vitriol and acrimony. Now it feels like I'm re-living it all over again, watching my whole country slide down that twisted, masochistic path. I'm fighting like hell to hold on to hope. #America #Charlottesville …see more