Cleveland’s RNC Was the Whitest Convention I’ve Ever Attended
As I boarded my return flight to D.C. from last week’s Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, I began to reflect on what I saw and I began to ponder how I could put to paper my experiences in this column. Out of nowhere, the words of Charles Dickens from his novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” popped into my head: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredul
SCLC Announces Program to End ‘Black-on-Black and Blue-on-Black Crime
ATLANTA – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the venerated civil rights organization co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is launching a two-prong Neighborhood Patrol Initiative aimed at ending “Black-on-Black and Blue-on-Black crime,” President Charles Steele, Jr. announced at the group’s annual convention that concluded here Sunday. “Protesters are complaining about the police and the police is complaining about protesters, but very few people have o
We Need To Move Forward
— WNBA President Lisa Borders says she hopes that rescinding the fines the league imposed over black warmup shirts worn in solidarity for shooting victims will lead to a fresh start on social activism for the players and their union. "I would tell you in reflection, recognizing that we were at an impasse, we needed to move forward in the future," she said Monday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "In order to do that, stop what you're doing currently, take a brea
BLACK LIVES MATTER...Starts at home.
Dear Black Men, If you do not pay your child support, nurture your children and work every day to get your family to higher ground...stop talking about how BLACK LIVES MATTER. We are where we are mostly because of OUR inability to be Men in this society. Stop making excuses. These women and children are watching you and waiting on you to lead them. A REAL Black Woman can see you for who you are. Even when your money is low or you are out of work...do not drink or get high to
A Transformative Experience: South Africa and the Atlanta Olympics
The Summer Olympics took place 20 years ago in Atlanta. This was two years after the 1994 triumphant first democratic elections in South Africa when Nelson Mandela was elected as President. I was fortunate to serve as an international observer in the elections (along with many others from Atlanta) and to stay for Mandela's spectacular inaugurationone month later in Pretoria. Given my long involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle, during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics I opted to
New York Times Failed to Capture Problems Facing Black Press
WASHINGTON – Sunday’s front-page story on the Black Press failed to accurately portray the accomplishments of and the depth of the problems facing Black-owned media, according to scholars, Black media owners and editors. The Times story was published under the headline, “Pillars of Black Media, Once Vibrant, Now Fighting for Survival.” Linn Washington, Jr., a professor of journalism at Temple University, said one of the most glaring shortcomings of the article was that of app
