This has never been about whether Commissioner Kernan has a constitutional right to his beliefs. Of course he does. Nor is it about whether people have a right to express opinions others find offensive. They obviously do. The real question here is much narrower and much more important. When someone accepts elected office, they also accept a responsibility that extends beyond their own beliefs or the people who voted for them. A county commissioner is entrusted with serving every resident...

Our only rules are, we do not allow commercial advertising or campaigning politicians. If you were to attend the parade, you would find floats that are patriotic, clever, humorous, or involve political satire. One such float from this year’s parade caught the attention of those on social media.

Enslaved African people were bought and sold by the gallon of rum Rhode Island rum was the currency of slavery. Enslaved People were purchased with rum that was distilled here in Rhode Island from molasses produced through their forced labor. That rum was shipped across the Atlantic and exchanged directly for human lives, placing this region at the center of that system. By the 18th century, Newport, Rhode Island, had become the “rum capital of the world,” and Rhode Island merchants sponsored...