I grew up in a house where music was a form of nonviolent protest. My mom had been at Peekskill in 1949, when violent mobs attacked the integrated audience who had gone to hear the Black virtuoso, Paul Robeson. My parents took us down to Washington, D.C., to protest the Vietnam War, where we listened to We Shall Overcome by Pete Seeger, The Times They Are a-Changin ’ by Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary’s version of Blowin’ in … read more »
It’s all about the money, honey!
One of the biggest tension points I see with divorcing couples is about money. People come into relationships with vastly different views of both making money and spending it. One partner might want to save as much as possible, while the other uses “retail therapy” when they get stressed out. Or if one partner is earning a lot, it may make sense for the other partner to stay home with small kids. The earner may be happy to share income … read more »
Reimagining the Divorce Process
I was honored to be invited to a really cool meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last week called Family Law Evolved: A Non-Adversarial Model for Modern Families Convening. Sponsored by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), 21 of us gathered from all over the US to brainstorm the design of a non-adversarial legal system for family disputes. The group included family court judges, law school professors, court personnel, and mediators. We were in the foothills … read more »
Singing Resistance!
Speaking truth to power doesn’t always have to be angry and combative. It can be joyful and fun! Such was the case on February 28, when a friend and I joined the National Day of Singing Resistance in downtown Manhattan. Organized by Hands Off NYC and led off by the Resistance Revival Chorus, about 500 of us (or so) gathered in Foley Square and then marched around 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE detainees are being held, singing. Yes, SINGING. We … read more »
New Caps on Child Support and Alimony
Almost every time I go to a conference of my peers in New York State, someone comes up to me, looks at my name tag, and says, “You’re Joy Rosenthal? I can’t believe I get to meet you in person!” It makes me feel like a rock star for a second. In fact, once I was at a Continuing Legal Education class and introduced myself during the break to one of the matrimonial law judges who was teaching it. When … read more »
Just Up the River
“Bring only your identification and your car keys,” the email said. I couldn’t help but marvel at the contrast between the beautiful Westchester estates I’d passed on the way and the gorgeous views across the Hudson River on one hand, and the turreted guard towers and the expansive, hundred-year-old buildings that make up Sing Sing on the other. Copious amounts of barbed wire are meant to intimidate — and they do. A friend had invited me to go with her … read more »
The Only Thing More Powerful than Hate is Love
The first day we were at the ‘meditation for mediators’ retreat in Mexico a few weeks ago, masked men from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killed Alex Pretti, a nurse who was involved in a peaceful protest against ICE’s surge in Minneapolis. While we had gathered in this beautiful, simple place to look inward, it was impossible to ignore what was happening in Minnesota. We had come to develop our compassion, yet our government’s actions were getting more … read more »
Compassion by the Sea
“When we came in, we were all a little compassionate. But this week enlarged our compassion pipes from the size of a vein to an artery.” This is what I said last week at the close of a 6-day training on Self-reflection for Conflict Professionals, run by the Center for Understanding in Conflict (CUC). About 24 of us mediators gathered at a rustic beachside retreat center in a tiny fishing village on the Pacific coast of Mexico. We came from … read more »
What is Your Life’s Blueprint?
Last week, I sent out a video of Dr. Martin Luther King giving his famous speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” While I was doing the research for it, I came across this, a much less famous speech that Dr. King gave to a group of students at the Barratt Junior High School in South Philadelphia on October 27, 1967. I didn’t know about the speech – I was just a few years behind in the Philadelphia public schools at … read more »
I’ve Been to The Mountaintop
As you know, this week, we celebrated the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. I spent time listening to several of his speeches, but the one that stood out for me most was his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, given on April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated. He had gone to Memphis to support the sanitation workers in their struggle for better working conditions and higher pay. It was a time, like ours, when … read more »
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