By The Editors
The role mothers have in families and the meanings mothers have to individual human beings is almost beyond description. We feel no need to attempt a large self-consciously profound statement on motherhood. Instead, we simply present to you the words of several well-known writers who love their mamas. They include: Martha Southgate, Jill Nelson, Tananarive Due, Bernice McFadden, Errol Louis, William Jelani Cobb, Troy Johnson, and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

By TaRessa Stovall
“What do you think about black men with white women?”

By high school, I thought I’d pretty much grappled with most of the thornier questions that came with being both biracial and ethnically ambiguous-looking. But when my two high school running buddies asked how I felt about interracial couples, I found myself facing a whole ‘nother dilemma.

By Lee A. Daniels

I was in Houston attending a conference in late July of 1999, when my sister Lois called to tell me our mother was dying. I wasn’t surprised. I knew that was what my mother had planned. Six years earlier I had, literally, seen it in her face.

By Stacey Patton
The photo shown above, in some ways, belies the reality of my relationship with my mother. The truth is, she and I have never been captured in the same frame and images of us from that era are rare. For years, I’ve carried a tattered photograph of her in my wallet, pulling it out from time to finger its edges, gaze into her eyes, and plant a gentle kiss on her forehead before sliding it back into its place among credit cards, receipts and business cards.

By The Editors
The continued need for the Department of Justice or federal courts to approve new voting rules and procedures of certain states and jurisdictions before they are implemented – under the so-called pre-clearance clause of the Voting Rights Act – continues to spark sharp debate.

By The Editors
Jack Kemp, who gained fame as a star athlete in college and professional football, also made his lasting contribution to American society as a member of Congress, a candidate for the vice-presidency and a tireless public advocate, died May 2. In response, the National Fair Housing Alliance released the following tribute.

By TaRessa Stovall
Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez, who reportedly lives near a pig farm in LaGloria, Mexico, was identified on April 29 as “Patient Zero” in the current swine flu outbreak. Before and after Hernandez was identified, reports of the flu virus coming to the U.S. from Mexico inspired some right-wing talk radio hosts to start a viral spread of anti-Mexican rants in the guise of health warnings.

By Martha Southgate
On Wednesday April 29, Barack Obama’s 100th day as the 44th President of the United States, four black writers gathered at McNally Jackson Books, an independent bookstore in Manhattan, for a panel discussion titled “Black Writing in the Age of Obama.”

By John Payton
There is no dispute as to the effectiveness of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act on our democracy.

Nevertheless, some argue today that we should move “beyond” the need for Section 5 because of the election of President Obama. They could not be more wrong. Section 5 has been and remains a vital checkpoint against those who would deliberately or inadvertently deny access to the ballot for duly registered voters.

By Stacey Patton
Some years ago, I was a personal fitness trainer at the New York Sports Clubs Sheridan Square location at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 12th Street. One evening, a well-scrubbed young gay white guy named Alan meandered into the free weights section with bad posture, low eyes, and all kinds of insecurities shut up in his bones.