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The More Things Change, the More (Some) Things Stay the Same

The Editors — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:09:08 +0000

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The Cherokee Freedmen Descendants: Still Seeking Freedom

The Editors — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:35:17 +0000

By Kenneth J. Cooper
Enmeshed in a tangled, longstanding dispute over their citizenship rights, descendants of the Cherokee Freedmen, the former slaves of the Oklahoma-based Native American tribe, are pinning their hopes of healing a public rupture with the Cherokee Nation on a new election for chief.

Once Again

The Editors — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:13:00 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
Once again, we have seen that, when the whole world is watching, the power of the yearning for liberty and opportunity – propelled by fearless action – can upend a repressive regime.

What Is Truly ‘Exceptional’ About America

The Editors — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:09:15 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
Here’s a suggestion: Whenever you hear or read someone boasting of “American exceptionalism,” -- the notion that America has since its founding been uniquely ordained by God and its own moral character to lead the world – reach for your wallet. Because, intellectually speaking, someone is surely trying to pick your pocket.

Dream Act Hits Roadblock In The Senate; Passage Endangered

The Editors — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:48:55 +0000

By The Editors
The Senate Thursday tabled legislation that would provide a clear route to citizenship for high school and college students in the U.S. illegally, raising the possibility that the push to pass it has failed.

Stop the Traffic! New York Moves Ahead in Fight Against Human Trafficking

The Editors — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:55:11 +0000

By TaRessa Stovall Human trafficking, sometimes referred to as 21st Century Slavery, is a global human rights violation that has infiltrated the United States, with New York City a leading entry, transit and destination point for trafficking victims.

First US Human Rights Report to United Nations Draws Mixed Reactions

The Editors — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:01:43 +0000

By TaRessa Stovall
Human rights in the U.S. came under new scrutiny on August 20, when the Obama administration submitted the nation’s first-ever report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A Powerful Voice: Not Stilled, Still Heard

The Editors — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:17:21 +0000

By Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.
In New York State Thurgood Marshall Day --appropriately -- also marks the anniversary of a great American milestone.

Census Bureau Gives States New Option on Counting Inmates

The Editors — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:09:28 +0000

By The Editors This month the U.S. Census Bureau issued new guidelines that could significantly alter how inmates in state prisons are counted for the census. That, in turn, could affect whether voting districts across the country gain or lose population in advance of the 2011 Congressional and state legislative redistricting.

Reflections of a Black Pioneer: Two Cases of Integrative Leadership

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:53:17 +0000

By Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. The unprecedented election of President Barack Obama has provided a dramatic spotlight on the issues of race in America. One aspect of significance is that it represents an important step in the process of racial integration in our nation. His election was the result of the collective decisions by a multi racial and multi ethnic electorate. Both as a U.S. Senator from Illinois and as President, Obama has been what might be called an "Integrative Black Pioneer."

Critical Census Mistake: Mis-Counting Prisoners

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:46:53 +0000

By Ryan P. Haygood The 2010 Census affords a unique opportunity to harness the momentum of African-American civic engagement that was forged in the 2008 Presidential election — this time, to ensure complete African-American inclusion.

The (Missed) Opportunity of a Lifetime

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:38:35 +0000

By Leslie Proll When President Obama took office last January, hopes were high that the right wing’s long stronghold on the federal courts had come to an end. LDF and other civil rights advocates were eager for a new day when fair and impartial judges would once again be nominated and confirmed in large numbers.

Obama at Year One

The Editors — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:31:02 +0000

By John Payton
A year ago, we could barely contain our excitement as we contemplated a historic achievement. Barack Obama had won a decisive victory. There was widespread enthusiasm for his Presidency. Right after the election, Gallup reported that 68 percent of the public was proud that Obama was President. His choices of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, of Eric Holder to be Attorney General and of Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense were well received. His Inaugural speech was brilliant. We were looking forward to acknowledging and confronting fundamental problems that have plagued our society for decades.

Unequal Opportunity and Whitewashed Resumes

The Editors — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:06:38 +0000

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad "Education is the key to success. Knowledge is power." Wise words repeated countless times to young people at home and in school every single day. But what should we say to them if one day their hard work meets empty promises, if their dreams are deferred, or their first paycheck of material reward is marked insufficient funds.

Is Tiger Woods African American? Of course not.

The Editors — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:56:31 +0000

By Janet Singleton In my mind Tiger Woods is a multiethnic, polysyllabic, whatjamacallit, just as he said. “A Cablinasian.” He called himself that in a 1997 appearance on Oprah and disappointed some black people. But I have no problem with that, particularly now. It’s just that the controversial Vanity Fair magazine cover posing Tiger as “thuggish” and therefore presumably blacker, we are invited to consider that issue once again.

HAITI 90999/YELE 501501 or: How I Learned to Stop Fretting and Appreciate Social Networks

The Editors — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:25:38 +0000

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.

No Word for ‘Prison’

The Editors — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:05:14 +0000

By Eisa Nefertari Ulen
What does a woman do after coming-of -age in Birmingham in the 1950s, after losing two friends in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four little girls in the 1960s, after helping free her very high-profile sister from the clutches of the FBI’s Most Wanted List during the height of Black Power in the 1970s? What does she do after advocating for the end to Apartheid in the 1980s, after working as a Civil Rights trial lawyer through the 1990s?

What Would Martin Say?

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:59:08 +0000

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

Time to Give Haiti Its Due

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:26:24 +0000

By Karen Hunter Out of the tragedy and devastation in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake that struck Haiti this week, there is opportunity. There is a chance to make things right.

Helping Haiti in the Wake of the Quake

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:20:38 +0000

By The Editors The worst earthquake in more than 200 years hit the already devastated nation of Haiti the afternoon of January 12, leveling a hospital, damaging the United Nations mission and plunging the capital of Port-au-Prince into darkness as electricity and telephone service were wiped out. The quake hit just after 5 p.m., at an estimated magnitude of 7.0., with aftershocks of 5.9.

The Cornel West You Don’t Know

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:15:26 +0000

By George E. Curry I thought I knew Cornel West, the most public of public intellectuals. But it was not until I read his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud that I realized how much I didn’t know about my friend.

King’s Legacy Serves as a Call to Arms on Crisis in Haiti

The Editors — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:51:13 +0000

By John Payton Today provides a moment for reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born 81 years ago on this day. It is also a moment of intense anguish for the survivors and those continuing to suffer in the wake of the tragic earthquake in Haiti.

Invictus: Capturing the Unconquerable Soul of South Africa

The Editors — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:13:48 +0000

By Paula Woods In presenting the true story of the 1995 South African Springbok’s underdog run at the Rugby World Cup, director Eastwood and Morgan Freeman (who stars as Nelson Mandela and served as an executive producer) aim to not only honor the spirit and achievement of Nelson Mandela but also to humanize his drive to reconcile a country torn apart by apartheid and years of violent resistance.

Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book

The Editors — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:36 +0000

By Paula L. Woods
“Young people read comics,” Mandela said in a 2005 speech that launched the autobiographical series on his life. “The hope is that the elementary reading of comics will lead them to the joy of reading good books….If the comic reaches new readers, then the project will have been worthwhile.”

The Curious Case of Caster Semenya

The Editors — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:44:55 +0000

By Pamela Scully & Clifton Crais The decision by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) to investigate the gender of South African runner Caster Semenya has resulted in numerous editorials, blogs and discussions in which the IAAF’s examination of Caster Semenya’s body and sexuality have been compared to the sufferings endured by Sara Baartman, better known in Europe and the USA by her stage name the “Hottentot Venus".