Author: Katrina Ray-Saulis
Katrina Ray-Saulis is a Maine writer and avid knitter. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. She and her wife live in a 200-year old house that was once owned by the local undertaker.
Like many, I spent Tuesday afternoon watching the conviction of Derek Chauvin in last year’s murder of George Floyd. Just as the verdict was handed down, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was shot by police. And just days before that, body cam footage was released showing the tragic death of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old child who was…
When I was nineteen years old I worked at Walmart. There was an older man who worked at the store every weekend handing out samples in the grocery department, and we all knew him really well. One day as I reached over a counter to get something he leaned over to me and whispered that…
If there is something we Democrats do well, it’s criticize ourselves. And on an intellectual level this is a really important thing. The ability to spot our flaws, to examine our imperfections and better ourselves is what we need to do to make progress, and I would never suggest we stop doing that. But when…
In her inaugural poem performed on Jan. 20 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman wrote: “We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace.” The poem is full of beautiful references and ideas about where the country needs to move next in our battle for equality, but this line in particular feels…
Maine School Administrative District 1 in Aroostook County put out a notice on Dec. 10 that they had a COVID-19 outbreak. Five individuals tested positive for the virus in a short period of time, and the administration announced that they would be moving to remote-learning until after Christmas. This is clearly necessary, and the safest…
COVID-19 has put America to the test. No other event in recent memory has tried our health care system or our social safety net so thoroughly. Our response as a country to COVID-19 has, like a mirror under fluorescent lights, shown us so many of America’s flaws. The 2020 pandemic has emphasized the shortcomings of…
It’s time for Democrats to embrace progressive policies in a real way. It’s time for Democratic candidates to unequivocally support policies like Medicare-for-All, a livable (or even thriving) minimum wage, and free college because the Democratic Party needs to energize and engage voters if it is to continue to gain momentum. Surveys show that the…
Every election presents new challenges and different ways that our right to vote is under threat. This year in particular. For white people like myself, it can be easy to feel that our ability to vote will always be there — a constitutional right we can take comfort in. The truth is, access to the…
If you take a left out of the Blaine House and turn down State Street, you’ll drive past the Superior Court, the Lithgow Library and right through some of Augusta’s lowest income neighborhoods, including my own. A mile or so beyond that there’s a baseball field, a few local restaurants and the Augusta Food Bank.…
One morning at 10am, my spouse signed online for a doctor’s appointment. A button popped up a few moments later asking for permission to use the camera and microphone. Once approved, she began a video call with a medical professional who was sitting in an office a few miles from our house. Over the next…