By Lee A. Daniels
Fourteen months into the Obama Presidency, it’s become more and more obvious that the spectacular example of the First Family sketches only a partial portrait of the present and possible future of Black America. The rest of the portrait—better to call it a mosaic—is far more complex and, in some areas, far less sunny.

By TaRessa Stovall
Each step I took across the Brooklyn Bridge on a sunny Monday, March 8, brought me closer to survivors whose strength and resilience are as miraculous as they are uplifting. With hundreds of women and men of all colors and ages, we crossed this landmark in unison to pay tribute to women who have survived every atrocity of war and whose lives and stories invite each of us to stand and walk and work for peace.

By Desiree Cooper
At a Detroit conference in March, 20-year-old Marvin Ligon had the status of a rock star. Why? Because he was a troubled kid who got a summer job—and kept it. Shuttled between media interviews and flocks of young people seeking his advice, Ligon paused to participate in a panel entitled “Employing Youth in Detroit: Prospects and Challenges.”

By George Alexander
I say we start celebrating Black History every day. If there’s ever a good time to feed your mind a little Black History every single day of the week, it’s now.

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 Doug Miller
Two subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. (AIG), the “ too big to fail” insurer that received one of the biggest slices of the federal financial services bailout, will pay more than $6 million to settle allegations that they discriminated against African Americans by charging them higher fees for mortgages transacted during a period from 2003 to 2006.

By Jackie Jones
Gay and lesbian couples are now able to marry legally in the nation’s capital. A large part of making that happen came from a direct campaign to win the support of the city’s African-American residents, long believed to be opposed to such a law.

By Stacey Patton
First, I’d like to thank members of the Academy for not awarding a slew of Oscars to what New York Press film critic Armond White called “the biggest con job of the year” –Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Although James Waller was paroled in 1993, he continued fighting to prove his innocence for the rape conviction for which he had served a decade in prison. Waller was found guilty based mainly on a single eyewitness identification from the child victim, despite having a strong alibi. After saving money for DNA testing, he was excluded as a match for hairs found at the crime scene, but it took almost five more years for further DNA tests, obtained with the assistance of the Innocence Project, to fully clear him. Waller was pardoned three years ago this week.

By The Editors
Friday, March 5, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) marked the 45th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma in the spirit the marchers of that day would have appreciated—by working with the citizens of Selma and other communities to ensure the voting rights won that day remain secure.