By Graham Hodges
In early September, 1838, the man who would become Frederick Douglass, the foremost black abolitionist of the nineteenth century, arrived in New York City, well aware that he still faced danger from the “slave catchers” who roamed the streets seeking to kidnap unwary blacks. Through fortuitous circumstance, Frederick Bailey, as he was then called, soon met David Ruggles, the city’s leading black abolitionist—and Frederick Douglass’ first and perhaps most influential professor of radical abolitionism.

By Lee A. Daniels
There can be no denying that cable TV talk-show host Chris Matthews’ intent Wednesday night was to compliment President Obama on the forcefulness of his demeanor and the effectiveness of his speech during The State of the Union address.

But neither can one deny that Matthews’ choice of words not only undermined his intent, they underscored just how wrong is the notion that America has reached—or is anywhere near—a “post-racial” status.

By Mark Lassiter
In the first year of the Obama Presidency, every commentator, contributors and blogger has an opinion on the very marketable leader since he gave his historic acceptance speech. This furious, non-stop output continues to shape the public dialogue in ways that will require years to understand.

By Jill Nelson
The Haitian earthquake crisis will be remembered as the moment in which the technology and platforms that enable social networking were used and transformed by ordinary citizens—the period when Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social networking sites became agents of change, and technology transcended commercialism, politics, personality, and trivia.

By Lee A. Daniels
This is the week America celebrates in special fashion the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

By The Editors
Eunice Johnson, who created the Ebony Fashion Fair in the mid-1950s and built it into a powerful social and financial success, was clairvoyant.

By The Editors
Eunice Johnson, who created the Ebony Fashion Fair in the mid-1950s and built it into a powerful social and financial success, was clairvoyant.

By Janet Singleton
Black-themed works and those featuring African-American actors in the lead comment intentionally and unintentionally about the state of race relations for their time. By Barack Obama’s 2008 election, 2009’s crop of releases had been conceived and made. Yet certain ones incidentally whisper a sense of a new dawn; others are more products of the past. Here we will spotlight the historical celluloid backdrop of a swath of last year’s landscape of releases.

By Lee A. Daniels
‘Tis the season for me to once again defend one of my fictional heroes—Ebenezer Scrooge, the central character of Charles Dickens’ classic morality tale, A Christmas Carol.

By Ralph Richardson
I am an NYC-based filmmaker, so I come to this Top 25 list with a wonderful joy and love for film, and since my mother took me to the movies every week since I was 3, I also have a pretty good knowledge of this grand art form