Selected Writings

This piece looks at Jacoby Ellsbury’s career through the lens of Indigenous identity and visibility. It explores what it means for Native communities to see themselves reflected on the field and in the stories baseball tells about itself. The essay blends history, culture, and personal experience to show why representation matters and how it shapes the way communities understand their place in the game. 

A portrait of a small North Carolina town where baseball briefly stood at the center of community life. This article traces the rise and fall of a mill town’s team and the pride it inspired, offering a deeper look at how rural places use the game to tell their own stories. It is a study of memory, identity, and the way baseball can anchor a community.

A critique of efforts to hide or sanitize parts of American history related to slavery and systemic oppression. The piece argues that erasing the past weakens the nation’s ability to grow and confront its failures, and it connects historical truth‑telling to the health of democratic institutions. 

 A reflection on America’s 250th birthday and the country’s ongoing reluctance to confront its historical shortcomings. The piece examines how national myths shape public memory and why honest engagement with the past is essential for a healthier civic future. 

 This piece looks at how the concentration of law schools in cities contributes to the shortage of lawyers in rural America. It explains why geography matters in legal education, how rural students are often left out of the pipeline, and why placing law schools or meaningful legal training programs in rural communities could strengthen access to justice. The essay highlights the structural forces behind legal deserts and argues for a more intentional approach to preparing lawyers to serve rural places. 

This piece summarizes my graduate research project that examined the availability of lawyers in rural communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The study compared the number of rural attorneys to several factors, including the supply of physicians, median lawyer salaries, and county poverty rates. None of these variables showed any meaningful correlation, which suggests that the rural lawyer shortage is a structural issue rather than a simple economic one. The essay highlights the need for targeted policy solutions and a deeper understanding of why lawyers do not settle in rural areas even when traditional indicators appear favorable. 

This law review article examines the growing shortage of attorneys in Northern New England and the consequences for residents who struggle to secure even basic legal assistance. It outlines how demographic change, economic pressures, and the geographic concentration of law schools have contributed to the decline in rural practitioners. The piece also reviews state‑level efforts to address the problem, rural practice initiatives, and targeted recruitment strategies. It presents the rural lawyer shortage as a structural challenge that threatens access to justice and argues for more coordinated policy responses to ensure that rural communities are not left behind.