The 53rd Grammy Awards has given me new-found faith in humankind. The selection of musical jazz artist Esperanza Spalding as the Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist was a weighty aversion from human indecency and a strong score for human decency. In the past, I’ve been an out-spoken critic of the Grammy Awards and […]
Commentary
Deep Enough, Far Enough or Just Too Much?
By Julianne Malveaux – President Barack Obama has proposed a 2012-2013 budget that is, at best, politically pragmatic. Responding to the Republican sway in congress, he has decided to impose a set of his own cuts, anticipating those his opponents might offer. Their response is predictable. The Obama cuts are not deep enough; they do […]
Race and Absent Black Fathers—Twin Roots of Crime and Punishment
By Chuck Hobbs, Esq. – Across America, there is a movement gaining momentum that would ease the overcrowding in prisons and local jails that are filled overwhelmingly by black men. In 2003, the United States Justice Department issued a report based upon the 2000 Census that noted that 10.4 percent of the black male population […]
Politics is Like Crack Cocaine
By Lucius Gantt (The Gantt Report) – Politics is like crack cocaine. Being elected one time is too much for some politicians and for others getting reelected ten times is not enough! You can know the finest woman, very respectable, very concerned, loyal and monogamous. Give her some crack and her figure becomes hideous, her […]
Why the GOP Declared Open Season on Michelle
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson – Former Arkansas Governor and almost certain 2012 presidential contender Mike Huckabee recently told reporters that attacks from Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and an armada of others in the GOP on Michelle Obama were silly, foolish, and counter-productive. Huckabee’s push-back at the Michelle bashers was as noble as it was futile. […]
Jobs Rebuild America Plan Goes to Indiana
Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal#9) – “The hardest work in the world is being out of work” former National Urban League President, Whitney M. Young Last week, we took the National Urban League’s 12-point jobs plan on the road with a visit to four cities in Indiana – Indianapolis, Gary, Anderson and Fort Wayne. […]
Hobbs’ Hump-Day Hot Points
Posted on Tallahassee.com By Chuck Hobbs, Esquire I. Decline of the Dictators Two weeks after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak decided to step down from what was appearing to be a self styled “president for life” role (dictator) here we have Muammar Gadhaffi resurfacing from the shadows after years of being relatively quiet on the world […]
The Growth of Black-Owned Businesses: Entrepreneurship by Necessity
By Marc H. Morial (To Be Equal #8) – “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!” Madam C.J. Walker, trailblazing African American businesswoman. There is a silver lining in the dark cloud […]
Adequate and Affordable Housing Remains a Problem in New Orleans
Charles “Chaz” Hobbs – It is hard to believe that it has been almost six years since the uneventful date of August 29, 2005 in which Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. In the aftermath of this natural/man-made disaster we all have waited patiently for the past five years for […]