By Marc H. Morial – It is now apparent that President Obama was doing a lot more than eating shaved ice and playing golf during his Hawaiian holiday vacation. Almost immediately upon his return to the White House last week, the President announced the appointments of William M. Daley as Chief of Staff and Gene […]
Commentary
Arizona is America
By Kevin Powell – I say this because Arizona is not the problem. We the people are the problem. That is, we Americans who think it is cool to engage in rhetoric, political or otherwise, that encourages division, ugliness, hatred, and violence, directly or indirectly. Over the past several years, we’ve witnessed this madness via […]
Execute Vick?
By Lucius Gantt – A lot has been going on in the world since I’ve been house repairing. The President’s staff members are leaving the White House just like rats jump off of a sinking ship, sisters have been released from jail after one sister was ordered to donate a kidney to the other sister […]
Grammy Awards Manipulative or Not?
By H. Lewis Smith – The song “F— You”—which is clearly laced with expletives, as well as the n-word—has been nominated for the February 2011 Grammy’s “Record of the Year” Award. Rapper Jay Z and Alicia Keys have also been nominated to receive an award for their performance of “Empire State of Mind”, which is […]
An Urgent Movement for Justice
Benjamin Todd Jealous, Huffington Post – During the past two weeks, in response to successful grassroots campaigns, two governors have released black Americans who had been railroaded by our nation’s criminal justice system. Together, these cases speak to the urgent need for the work the NAACP and our allies are doing to encourage more Governors […]
Which Constitution?
By Julianne Malveaux – The incoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner (R-OH) seems to pride himself in his fealty to the United States Constitution, so much so that he plans to have the constitution read from the floor of Congress before he takes office. I am sure that Mr. Boehner thinks he […]
Surviving, Thriving, and Holiday Kwanzaa
By Julianne Malveaux – When I look at the data that define the reality for African Americans in the economy, I am often alarmed and discouraged. One in four African American lives in poverty. Nearly one in three is out of work, according to unofficial data (official data says one in six). African Americans have […]
Black Farmers Finally Get Justice
By Marc H. Morial – As many as 80,000 Black farmers received an early New Year’s present from President Obama on December 8th, when he signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 into law. This legislation, which has been debated in Congress for more than a decade, funds a $1.5 billion lawsuit against the U.S. […]
How Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott Should Cut the Corrections Budget
By Chuck Hobbs, Esquire – Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott recently has garnered praise from Florida Tax Watch and the Southern Poverty Law Center for his plan to cut the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice budget by ending incarceration for certain juvenile offenders. While I join in the applause, I go further and suggest that the […]