Despite the devastating loss that has ripped apart his family, Lorenzo Jr., a Tufts University graduate, seeks to unite, not divide.

Please take a moment to read the editorial and share your thoughts in the comments.

Lorenzo Jr. invoked Lincoln at father’s vigil. We need his wisdom. | Editorial

By The Editorial Board, Opinions from the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

July 18, 2026

If you want to know what kind of man Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was, look at the three sons he raised with his wife. He did back-breaking work building homes. His children always knew “education was our path to something better.”

That’s what his eldest, Ronaldo, said at a vigil held July 11 in a union hall. He was the first in his family to attend college. Now, he teaches in the same neighborhood where he grew up. When he spoke publicly for the first time after his father was shot and killed by an ICE agent to a room crowded with news cameras, reporters and politicians, some of his students stood in the back to support their teacher.

Then there’s Lorenzo Jr., the Tufts University graduate and engineer. At the first press conference after their father’s death, he stood beside his older brother, holding a framed photograph of their family, while Ronaldo spoke. Days later, at the vigil, Lorenzo Jr. was finally ready to take the microphone.

There is so much we cannot see. Should not see. A family’s personal tragedy exploded into a public outrage and these young men have shouldered it all. When it was his turn to speak, Lorenzo Jr. did not yell. He did not divide.

He spoke of Abraham Lincoln, his favorite president.

“He saved the union when the United States was most divided,” he said.

This natural born citizen from an immigrant family who has every reason to doubt the covenant of this country, spoke instead of its promise. This young man who has lost his father at the hands of his own country, is still extending his own.

Nearly 163 years ago, Lincoln gave us what is perhaps the best speech this country has seen, following a brutal Union victory that halted the Confederacy’s northern assault. With the Gettysburg Address, the president not only moved a mourning nation but redefined it. In just 272 words, Lincoln completed nothing short of a revolution, argues historian Garry Wills.

Before Gettysburg, the United States were states. Plural. After, the United States was a union. Singular. Through rhetorical alchemy, Lincoln remade the nation, putting the still unfulfilled promise of equality at the heart of the thing. This is why so many men died, he said. This is why we must remain united. This is why the United States – “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” – was born “four score and seven years” earlier. To be tested.

We are tested now again. Who will we be?

Years before Gettysburg, speaking on the Fourth of July, Lincoln explained what it means to be an American. To hold as self-evident that all men are created equal. He spoke of immigrants. The new arrivals from Ireland and Germany and France. “If they look back through history to trace their connection” with the days of the Revolution, “they find they have none.” And yet, when they turn to the Declaration of Independence, that document that Lincoln put at the center of the American project, even more so than the Constitution, they find themselves. Right there in plain English. All men.

Then they feel, he continued, “as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh, of the men who wrote that Declaration, and so they are.”

And so they are.

Lincoln knew how far we were from fulfilling the promise of those words. Lorenzo Jr. knows how far we are. But he knows, too, that his father was blood of our blood, flesh of our flesh. So he mourns, graciously, with us, even allowing the public to pay their respects at a packed and somber viewing Thursday. We mourn with Lorenzo Jr and his brothers.

At Gettysburg, the dead numbered in the thousands. They left behind them, Lincoln said, a remaining task. One that only the living can yet complete. To realize, finally, that nation. Lincoln honored them, those “who gave their lives that that nation might live.”

Lincoln asked those at Gettysburg to honor the lives lost with an “increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.” There is no doubt that Lorenzo’s devotion – every measure of it – was for his children, for their futures, for their chance at an American Dream.

How easy it would be to call that dream a lie. To call that dream a fantasy. Harder to meet grief now, with an increased devotion as his children have.

“We the people will bring justice,” Lorenzo Jr. said that day. “We the people are Americans. We the people will stick together.”

There are so many ways that fellow Americans can, if they want, distance themselves from Lorenzo. They can say he was an immigrant. They can say he didn’t have legal status. They can say he did something wrong on that day with so many conflicting accounts that all end with his blood on Canal Street.

But Lincoln and Lorenzo Jr. remind us of why we cannot tolerate the distance. The division.

We are tested again.

More so than almost any other conversation I’ve brought you in the last seven and half years, this one embodies the core mission of Our Voices Matter.

I ask that you give my guest permission to speak his truth, and that you have the courage to listen with an open mind.

In doing so, my bet is that by the end of our conversation, you will find at least one thing you have in common with him. That is my goal.

“How Could You Have”?

Terrence Keeley made his mark in the financial world as Managing Director & Global Head of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, for more than 12 years.

He was a senior financial advisor to the Vatican under Pope Francis; he now runs two financial services firms, Impact Evaluation Lab and 1Point Six; and he’s a devout Catholic with seven siblings.

Several of them are currently not speaking to him. “How could you have?” is the question now routinely making its way into the family group chat.

The estrangement from his sister, Michelle, is hitting him especially hard. Their respective views of the killing of Renée Good has torn them apart. It is one of the reasons Terry wanted to do this podcast interview.

To talk about how the political divisions in the country have permeated throughout his family — and so many other families across our nation.

To explore a nuanced conversation about a variety of hot button issues, including how to disagree without demonizing the other person.

To let his siblings know how much he loves them — and help us all remember and reconnect with our shared humanity.

Civil Dialogue Takes Practice

Truthfully, it would have been difficult for me to have this conversation a few years ago.

I still have lots of room for improvement, but through more than 150 conversations on this podcast, and my work as Co-founder of Civil Dialogues, I’m getting better at doing this.

Like anything else, it requires practice. Sometimes we stumble and fall short, but the more we do it, the better we get.

At times you will hear each of us struggling to choose our words. And just so you know, nothing has been edited out.

This is Terry and Linda wading into the muck and coming out on the other side in one piece.

From ICE and immigration to Trump and Pope Leo, no topic was off limits.

I urge you to watch or listen to the very end, especially if you are estranged from someone close to you.

Michelle, this one’s for you.

Renée Good.

Alex Pretti.

Who will be next?

I pray with every fiber of my being there will not be another human killed in the streets of America at the hands of our own government. And while I and millions of others hold that fervent prayer, that is simply not enough. And it hasn’t been enough for a very long time.

So rather than dwell on who might be next, I choose to focus on what comes next from We the People.

So many are asking that question on various forums in this beloved Substack community. “I am sickened. I don’t know what to do or how to help,” wrote @Rachel in a thread on ‘s Substack this morning.

A couple of days ago, my friend and author, , shared an article written by another Substack writer, that lays out some steps we can all take in this moment. I shared a few tips in my response to Rachel. Here’s the full article. It’s worth your time to read it.

’s comment in Terry Moran’s thread this morning really struck a chord. “I admit that, in return for their efforts, I want to dehumanize those ‘other’ people,” he wrote. “My feelings are complex. I want to hit back hard, hurt them, talk with them, reason with them, plead with them, curse them, punish them. All of it.”

I get it, Greg.

Your comment took me back to the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election. I sat on my sofa in tears and in terror as I began to contemplate what our country might look like under a Donald Trump presidency. It has turned out to be far worse than I could have ever imagined, but in that moment I decided that doing nothing was no longer an option.

So the question I asked myself is not “what can I do”, but what am I going to do?” What am I able to offer in this moment?

I considered running for office, but at the time I was caring for my elderly mother who had Alzheimer's. There had to be another way for me to contribute.

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the root of all the chaos and division in our world is that we no longer connect to other humans in the most basic of ways.

Because we don’t have to.

Technology and media have made it so.

One of my favorite quotes from Brené Brown is “it’s hard to hate up close.” It’s easy to hide behind the anonymity of an algorithm and never have to see how your hurtful words land on another human. It allows you to dehumanize them. To reduce them to “the other.”

Couple that with the ability to turn on the channel or read the newspaper that reinforces what you already believe, well — you get our current reality.

No shared truth. No shared humanity.

As I worked through this train of thought, I seized upon my skill set as a broadcast journalist who has cherished interviewing my fellow humans and telling their stories. I decided this was where to begin my activism, by trying to help us see each other’s common humanity, one conversation at a time. It was a small thing to do, but it was something. And to this day, it makes me feel like I’m doing my part to help move us in a positive direction.

I offer this thought process as a humble example of what each of us can do in this moment as we ask ourselves “what am I going to do?”

We all have something to offer. What are you able/willing to do to help turn your terror and tears into courage and action? No act is too small.

We are all part of a community. What do members of your community need? No outreach is too small.

There are many wonderful organizations on the national and local level that are doing incredible work to educate and mobilize Americans who want to find a path forward that emphasizes morality, dignity, and empathy for our fellow humans. Indivisible, Braver Angels, BridgeUSA, and Convergence are among my favorites, but there are many others. Find at least one and join them.

Being in community matters.

The outrage, anger, and hurt Greg talks about are real. But, so is the necessity, if not the desire, to keep talking, keep reasoning, keep appealing to, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the “better angels of our nature”.

It is so easy to feel helpless in this moment, but we are not. We The People have far more power than we give ourselves credit for.

It’s time to exercise it.

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Here’s another question for you: “What does it take to understand the behaviors that got us into this mess?”

Regular listeners of Our Voices Matter will likely conclude that the mess I’m referring to is the chaos, anxiety, and division in our country. And I am.

But that’s not necessarily what this week’s guest had in mind when she explored those same questions in her new book.

Being Smart Is Stupid

Tricia Brouk is an an award-winning director, producer, podcaster, and author, now releasing her third book, “Being Smart Is Stupid.”

The book’s intention is to help leaders in the workplace understand how an ego-driven approach leads to toxic cultures, burned-out teams, and unsustainable success.

Brouk nails it, sharing tools along the way to embrace an alternative leadership style that leads to better outcomes for everyone.

But the more I read, the more I realized how the nuggets of wisdom revealed in the book apply far beyond corporate boardrooms.

Toxic cultures can be found anywhere. A board room. A city council. A neighborhood association. A family. A country.

The root of the toxicity is often traced back to the leader.

Leadership, Wisdom & Your Buddha Nature

What if your leadership style swapped being smart for being wise?

Seeking connection rather than feeding your ego?

What if you tapped into your Buddha nature?

And before you react and say this is all woo-woo, take a beat.

That’s actually one of the tenets of Buddhism, as Brouk so aptly explains based on her lifelong practice of Buddhism, and her implementation of its principles to help leaders find a more thoughtful approach to sustained success.

I have to say this is one of my favorite episodes ever, partly because Tricia and I had so much fun talking about all the things we have in common.

But the main reason I love this episode is because I think it can truly be helpful to each and every one of us at this precise moment.

Whether you’re a leader navigating a challenging scenario in the workplace, a family member dreading the Thanksgiving dinner conversation, or an anxiety-ridden citizen, like me, trying to find joy in the midst of seismic chaos, this episode is for you.

Watch or listen, and then do yourself a favor and buy the book.

The tag line for Civil Dialogues, a democracy project I co-founded, was made for this moment.

Is political violence the path to solving our differences, or is civil dialogue the antidote to the sickness that ails our nation? 

The answer is as simple and as complicated as listening and talking to each other in a way that recognizes our common humanity.

The night before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that's what the Civil Dialogues community was doing in Kansas City. A few hundred of us gathered online across the nation and in person at the Kansas City Public Library to talk about immigration.

At one point, toward the end of the evening, the conversation got rather heated. A man was visibly upset at some of the opinions previously expressed and he stood up to speak his mind. No one shouted him down. We all listened. I, as moderator, asked him a follow up question. He answered, vigorously reiterating his point of view. The town hall continued with more questions, comments, and our panelists offering their perspectives. 

This is what democracy looks like. Or, at least, what it should look like. Concerned citizens using words, not guns, to get their points across. Agreeing to disagree. Perhaps, learning something in the process.

"I had no idea that the majority of Union soldiers during the Civil War were foreign-born, non-citizens," said one participant in our closing survey. That tidbit was shared by panelist, Dr. Jay Sexton, Director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, whose historical perspective always opens eyes, and sometimes hearts.

Our nation is at a crossroads.

We, the people, get to choose our path.

One leads toward utter destruction.

The other leads toward a hopeful future.

At Civil Dialogues, our choice is clear.

We will keep talking. And listening. And learning.

About topics that matter to us all.

About solutions to our nation's challenges.

About each other's perspectives, hopes, and dreams for a better life.

Face to face. Eye to eye. Human to human.

I do not agree with the man who stood up and said he does not support legal immigration of any kind if it means letting in migrants from third world countries.

But he is not my enemy.

Our common enemy is the vitriolic, hateful words we routinely spew at each other in the name of being right.

Our common enemy is the ever-widening chasmic division that threatens to destroy our democracy.

How about we fight that enemy — rather than each other.

Startling, to be sure.

But even more shocking is the number of Black women who have left the American workforce over the last three months. 300,000.

What is driving these numbers?

A Newsweek article on the overall problem points to the post-pandemic rollback of working from home, the broader childcare crisis, and the Trump administration’s push toward “traditional family values”, including the idea that men should be the primary breadwinners and women should stay home to raise children.

That argument makes sense.

Forbes contributor, Janice Gassam Asare, Ph.D., adds an additional perspective. “Black women’s mass exodus from the U.S. labor market is caused by several different factors. While some reasons, like the DEI rollbacks and federal job cuts, are more obvious, there are also issues that are more insidious at play. It’s important that we understand what the antecedents are and put measures in place to ensure that Black women are given the support that is needed to thrive.”

I urge you to read Asare’s article that explains the antecedents she refers to.

I recently became aware of an organization that is providing direct financial support to Black women facing sudden unemployment, layoffs, or economic crisis. Global State of Women offers one time grants of $500 - $1500 prioritizing single mothers, caregivers, and women in hard hit industries.

If you are able to contribute, I hope you will, as I have. No donation is too small.

With every minute of every day there’s a new headline that shocks us to our core.

300,000 Black women leaving the workforce in just three months.

And then next shock occurs. And the next…

It’s easy to become numb. Feel as though we can’t do anything to help.

But there is always something we can do.

A phone call. A kind gesture. A donation.

No matter how small or large, it will help in ways we might not imagine or be able to see.

But we will know we did something to help make it better…even a little bit.

And that is how we keep the numbness at bay…and our humanity front and center.

Guests Joshua Adams, General Manager of Houston Public Media, and Anne Marozas, Executive Director of Marfa Public Radio, discuss the financial challenges they face, the critical role of public media in emergency situations, and the importance of community support. They also address the implications of losing music licensing agreements and the overall morale of their staff during these challenging times. The discussion highlights the resilience and collaborative efforts of public media stations to adapt and continue serving their communities.

Here are links if you’d like to support these public media stations:

Marfa Public Radio

Houston Public Media

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Most Democrats who left the state two weeks ago have returned, giving Republicans the needed quorum to push the maps through.

But not Jones. Here’s the statement she posted on social media today.

And in case you missed it, here’s the link to my conversation with her.

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Every Wednesday I’m shedding light on issues unfolding here in Texas that often have national repercussions. This one certainly does, and that’s why All Eyes are On Texas. I hope you’ll click on the video above and learn more about why what happens here could happen in your state. Feel free to share with others who might be interested.

As always, thanks for being part of the Our Voices Matter community.

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Get more from Linda Lorelle in the Substack app

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He is also Co-founder of TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college scholarship provider to undocumented students.

When the state of Texas recently announced a requirement for all public colleges and universities to identify undocumented students, I figured Graham would have some thoughts on the subject.

I was right.

He readily agreed to an interview which was conducted August 6th on Substack Live. This podcast is a recording of that interview.

It’s part of a weekly segment called “All Eyes on Texas”, highlighting issues at the forefront in the Lone Star state that often have national repercussions.

With the non-stop news generated by the Trump administration 2.0, it’s easy for important topics to get lost in the shuffle.

This one is too important to overlook, and after listening to this conversation, I think you’ll understand why.

And then she said she was going to a Cubs game.

That elicited a full on shriek of delight about the singular beauty of the Friendly Confines, followed by a bunch of stories about how even though I grew up in the shadow of Comiskey Park and could hear the scoreboard erupt every time the White Sox hit a home run, I grew up a Cubs fan. (Lookin’ at you, !)

Pure blasphemy for a South Sider to root for the North Side team. But I had a good reason.

I happened to go to elementary school with the children of Mr. Cub himself, “let’s play two today!”Ernie Banks.

Sometimes I still can’t believe it, but it really is true.

Our families even vacationed together a couple of times in Wisconsin.

So, before my daughter headed to the Windy City, I made sure she knew all the stories so she could regale her new client — yes, the Chicago Cubs.

Here she is at the game.

Who is that with Lindsey, you ask?

That’s the little girl to whom Lindsey gave the foul ball Lindsey caught.

It was the girl’s first baseball game EVER. But Lindsey didn’t know that when she caught the ball and then offered it to her.

The little girl was reluctant at first to accept the offer of kindness, but Lindsey could see by the look on her face how much it would mean to have such an awesome souvenir.

So, Lindsey insisted and the little girl broke out into the biggest smile (see photo), upon which her grateful parents asked if Lindsey would mind posing for a photo with their daughter.

After the moment was immortalized, the girl then turned to Lindsey and asked if she would autograph the ball.

Sure!! Although it might actually decrease the value of the ball some day!

But, obviously, that’s not the point.

One day, this little girl will look back on that day and remember two things: how much fun she had at her very first baseball game, and the kindness of a stranger.

That’s my girl! And I couldn’t be more proud.

Sharing this with you brought some light into my world today.

I hope it helps brighten your day, too.

Here’s to the light, and spreading it wherever we go.

And if you were looking for the livestream, sorry about that. The tech gremlins were hard at work, so here’s the recording.

For real.

In the very first season of the iconic show about the lovable Huxtables, yours truly had a teeny, tiny part, thanks to Malcom, aka Theo.

His tragic passing this week brought back this wonderful memory in the midst of the sadness so many of us feel.

As the story goes, Malcom, for some unknown reason, was given the opportunity to select Extras for this particular episode from a stack of headshots.

One of those he selected was mine.

At the time, I was an aspiring dancer, actress, singer (in order of competence), living in New York City and auditioning for pretty much everything.

I had an agent who submitted my photo for The Cosby Show gig, and when he called to tell me I got it, I couldn’t believe it.

Cue the call to my parents in Chicago and instructions on when to set the VCR (Google it, GenZ).

Off I went to Brooklyn, spending an entire, very long day on the set where the name of the game was sit around and wait.

But, jeez, who cares?!? I could now put The Cosby Show as a credit on my resumé!

We taped in front of a live studio audience, very late into the night. At one point backstage, I recall coming face to face with Bill Cosby for a brief moment.

I never could have imagined that years later I would interview him several times in my new career as a broadcast journalist. That’s a story for another day.

Back to Theo and the taping in Brooklyn.

The episode is the one when Cliff Huxtable wins an award as doctor of the year.

I was one of the guests at the awards dinner, and if you look very closely, you can see — wait for it — the back of my head! 😂🤣

Picture me on my next trip home, pausing the tape so my parents could see that, in fact, it was me.

Now, stop laughing.

I remember how much I wanted to find a moment backstage to thank Malcom/Theo for picking me to be on the show, but I never had the chance.

So, I’ll do it now.

Thank you, Malcolm, for that awesome opportunity to be a small (very small) part of television history.

But most important, thank you for the care and love you gave in creating a character who reflected a segment of the Black community that had never before been seen on television.

and many others have spoken beautifully about the impact of The Cosby Show and the Huxtables whose family looked like Van’s and mine.

While Theo lit the torch on the show, Malcom carried it forward as a man who enjoyed a successful career and always represented us with class and pride.

Here’s to you, Malcolm Jamal Warner. 🥂

And the next time you watch old reruns of The Cosby Show, be sure to look for the back of my head.

Paving the way, the Founder and CEO of Marble Collective, Kristin Thomas.

Her most recent LinkedIn post explains it all much more beautifully than I ever could.

Just know that I am 100% on board and I can’t wait for Marble to launch in another month or so.

The world needs us.

Let’s do this.

Whether you opt for a free or paid subscription, I appreciate you being here.🙏🏽

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” addressed several graduating classes this commencement season.

This is the excerpt that rejuvenated my waning desire to keep fighting the good fight:

“Why did all that we’re seeing have to happen on our watch? Why now? And why us? I would suggest that there is a reason why the things that we are witnessing are happening at our exact time on this planet. Because we are the ones made for this moment. We are not in this situation that we’re facing because we can’t handle it. We’re in this situation precisely because we can. For some reason that only the universe knows, we are exactly where we’re supposed to be in the flow of human existence. It is up to each of us to figure out what we each uniquely can bring to this moment when the planet and the species need us most.”

That’s the excerpt that got my juices flowing again. This is the one that brought me to my knees:

“Every single one of us in this gathering, every single one of us on this planet, is here because the ancestors of all of us found a way to somehow survive war, famine, drought, floods, depression, plagues and pestilence, upheavals of every kind imaginable.

Not one of us would be here if they had not found a way to survive. Every single one of us is a product of every single decision that every single ancestor throughout our lineage ever made.

We each have been given a code of instructions for survival deep in our marrow. How can we harness the wisdom of the ancients to survive and to transcend humanity’s current upheavals?”

The answers reside deep within the hearts of every one of us.”

The wisdom of the ancients.

I am writing this in my home office where the diploma of my great grandmother, Kate Clarice Jones, hangs on the wall. She graduated from Fisk University in 1894. A monumental achievement for a Black person, let alone a Black woman in America, less than 30 years after the end of slavery.

How I wish I could have met her; asked her how she dealt with and overcame the blatant racism and misogyny that ruled the day.

As a Black woman in today’s America, I am infinitely more fortunate than she, and I am grateful for the path she paved.

Now it’s my turn — to pave the way for my daughter, and your son, and all of our children yet to be born who will inherit the world we leave behind.

So, whether your ancestors came on immigrant ships or slave ships, as mine did, they all found a way to survive. Their “code of instructions for survival are deep in our marrow.”

It’s time to call on the wisdom of the ancients “because we are the ones made for this moment.”

Thanks for the reminder, Isabel Wilkerson.

I’m ready to get back to work. Are you?

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Our elected leaders putting “me” above “we.”

The word “compromise” now a dirty word.

Intentional cruelty being celebrated and codified into law.

One day after the budget bill passed, I find myself thinking of our 41st President.

I had the great fortune to know President George H.W. Bush.

I did not always agree with his politics; in fact, most often, I did not.

But he was a good man. A principled man. A man of character.

And I miss him. Especially now…

There’ve been numerous stories in recent weeks of migrants being snatched off our streets and taken to detention centers both here in the U.S. and in other countries. ICE agents are also arresting some migrants at immigration courts, in some instances after their deportation cases were dismissed — all of this leading to many outcries of “where’s the due process?”

In the clip above, one of my guests in the current episode of Our Voices Matter offers an alternative, thought-provoking perspective. Check out the entire conversation about immigration which begins at 41:25, then share your thoughts in the comments. What’s your take?

What’s the one thing you can’t stop thinking about?

Share in the comments today and every Friday so we can get to know each other better.

Staying in community is how we will get through this.

I appreciate you.