In one sense, Benjamin L. Hooks, the former Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who died today at 85, was a spectacular example of successes of the twentieth-century African-American freedom struggle.

By Mark Lassiter
At least one component of America’s mass media industry is infected with a serious disease. National and local hosts on AM radio are encouraged to play the cards of fear, class warfare, race and exclusion for profits. Using the thinly-coded vocabulary of bias and exclusionary hiring practices to control the herd of “talent,” they are experts at how to manipulate vocabulary and attract casual listeners who seek cheap thrills.

By C. Nicole Mason
The new law will extend coverage to most of the 37 million uninsured, end discrimination for individuals with pre-existing conditions and tighten regulations for insurance companies. Missing from the legislation, however, is a clear plan to decrease health disparities and inequalities among African Americans.

By Janet Singleton
Throughout much of her childhood Deborah Lacks had no idea what became of her mother. Yet her mother even then, in the 50s and 60s, was famous. Random readers, undergrad science students, and ordinary lab technicians knew of HeLa: a still-growing cell line obtained from the cancerous cervical tumor of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who died from the malignancy in 1951.

By Kevin Eason
Kevin Eason is a freelance editorial cartoonist and Illustrator from NJ. His brand of satire covers news events in politics, entertainment, sports and much more. Kevin’s work features include: TVOne, NABJ, WBLS_107.5FM, EURweb and various newspapers & magazines throughout the country.

By Lee A. Daniels
He had worked on the White House household staff for 34 years – through the presidencies of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, before retiring as White House maitre d’, the top butler’s position, two-thirds of the way through the administration of Ronald Reagan.

By Olympia Duhart
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations are allowed to dip into their deep pockets to spend money to help elect or defeat candidates. In fact, they can spend all they want to support or oppose any candidate. The case effectively rolls back decades of restrictions on political campaign expenditures by corporations.

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad
As April 15 marks the second anniversary of the Tea Party movement, the burning question on the minds of many Americans is: Will anti-government activists use the ballot or the bullet to achieve their freedom dreams in the 2010 midterm elections?

By Seth Freed Wessler
After an afternoon of long-winded speeches from both sides of the aisle, the Senate voted to move forward with the extension of unemployment benefits.

By Stacey Patton
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this time of heightened awareness I want to challenge black communities everywhere to change the conversation on how we discipline our children.