The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog » The Obama Presidency

Ronald Reagan: A Better Friend of Blacks than Obama?

The Editors — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:10:19 +0000

By George E. Curry
There they go again. First, conservatives ranging from anti-affirmative action foe Ward Connerly, to combative talk show host Glenn Beck, claimed to be acting in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as they sought to dismantle everything he fought for. Now, one of Reagan’s sons has made the outlandish assertion that Reagan was a better friend of African-Americans than the nation’s first black president.

Déjà vu All Over Again

The Editors — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:38:04 +0000

By The Editors
Amid the surprising display last month of productive bipartisan cooperation between the Obama administration and the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, there was one glaring failure: The Senate rejected the DREAM Act, legislation which proposed to grant citizenship at the end of a ten-year period to children of undocumented immigrants who successfully earned post-secondary degrees or entered military service.

Obama to Face a ‘Beast’ of a Problem in 2011

The Editors — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:13:14 +0000

By George E. Curry
Republicans in the House and Senate, borrowing a page from Ronald Reagan, plan to stifle President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda by using recently-enacted tax cuts as an excuse to reduce federal spending.

There is even a name for it – Starve the Beast.

What President Obama Should Do Next

The Editors — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:24:46 +0000

By George E. Curry
Welcome to the 2012 slug fest. And with more than twice as many Democrats than Republican senators up for Senate re-election in two years, emboldened Republicans have their sights set on controlling the House, the Senate and the White House.

In order to stay in the White House, the president should adopt my 12-step recovery program.

Election 2010: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

The Editors — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:21:45 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
If it’s national-election time, it must be time for the media to again acknowledge the importance of the black vote.

And, sure enough, with the mid-terms just a fortnight away, the idiotic pronouncements that blacks just reflexively vote Democratic have been largely banished for the moment from the news and opinion columns as the nuts and bolts consideration of the playing-out of the political game take precedence.

Reality and Poll Reporting are Poles Apart

The Editors — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:50:15 +0000

By George E. Curry Almost every day, the public is bombarded with news reports that President Obama’s standing in the polls is at the lowest level of his presidency.

Obama Renews Pledge to Help New Orleans Rebuild

The Editors — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:03:20 +0000

By The Editors On the fifth anniversary of the great hurricane that submerged most of New Orleans, President Obama traveled to the Big Easy to assure its residents that “all of America, not just people here, not just folks in the White House, but all of America remains concerned and remains committed to their rebuilding.”

Kagan Confirmed As The Nation’s Fourth Female Supreme Court Justice

The Editors — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 04:35:42 +0000

By The Editors Elena Kagan, the United States Solicitor General and former Dean of Harvard Law School, was confirmed by the Senate Thursday as the nation’s newest Justice of the Supreme Court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Kagan Nomination

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:37:35 +0000

By The Editors Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama’s second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, moved a step closer to confirmation Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send her nomination to the full Senate.

Senate Approves, Finally, Unemployment Extension Benefits

The Editors — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:36:48 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels Breaking a two-months-long partisan deadlock, the Senate Tuesday voted to restore unemployment benefits to the more than 2 million jobless workers who have been out of work for at least six months.

Obama Plans to Cut Infections by 25 Percent in 5 Years

The Editors — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:56:01 +0000

By George E. Curry On Tuesday, President Obama issued a report outlining the federal government’s first national HIV/AIDS strategy plan. But AIDS activists worry that the alarming infection rates among African Americans will not be reduced without additional federal spending, better federal coordination and a willingness of people to avoid risky sexual behavior.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Supports the Nomination of Elena Kagan to Supreme Court

The Editors — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:51:54 +0000

With only days until Senate confirmation hearings begin on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) has released a report examining the nominee’s civil rights record.

Justice Denied: Still No Money for Black Farmers Settlement

The Editors — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:35:58 +0000

By The Editors Black farmers’ years of litigation and political lobbying to try to right an egregious wrong endured another frustrating setback Thursday when the Senate once again refused to appropriate the funds necessary to settle their long-decided discrimination lawsuit against the federal government.

Cartoon: June 25, 2010

The Editors — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:28:26 +0000

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.

Dear Glenn Beck: Apology Not Accepted

The Editors — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 03:07:12 +0000

By The Editors
Is anyone surprised anymore at the depths Glenn Beck will sink to?

Almost immediately the vicious, mocking tirade he unleashed last week against Malia Obama provoked such a fierce reaction that Beck, no doubt carefully gauging how far beyond the bounds of decency he could venture for long, issued a carefully worded statement that the more credulous have taken for an apology.

Cartoon: May 21, 2010

The Editors — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:07:45 +0000

The GOP’s Racial Gaffes: A “Congenital” Virus?

The Editors — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:33:35 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels Is it congenital? Is the Republican Party so institutionally infected with anti-black and anti-Latino hostility that it can’t help doing things which make a mockery of its glib rhetoric about appealing to people of color?

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Statement on Nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court

The Editors — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:05:06 +0000

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund congratulates Ms. Kagan on her nomination and calls upon the Senate to consider the nomination expeditiously.

Cartoon: May 4, 2010

The Editors — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:35:37 +0000

Ascent to the White House: ‘Dark Days, Bright Nights’

The Editors — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:51:22 +0000

By Eisa Nefertari Ulen In Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, historian Peniel E. Joseph examines President Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House, an almost unbelievable achievement that is still startling in its historic significance.

Down the Black Memory Hole: Where have you gone, Franklin and Eleanor?

The Editors — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:17:11 +0000

By Annette Dumbach For some time it's been a mystery to me why the greatest couple in the 20th century -- as a couple and as individuals -- have virtually gone down the black hole of memory in the United States.

On to the Next: African-Americans and the need for Health Care Reform Part II

The Editors — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:36:33 +0000

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.

Cartoon: April 13, 2010

The Editors — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:24:45 +0000

The Ballot or the Bullet?

The Editors — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:15:13 +0000

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?

Obama Proved Them Wrong: Historical Speculation on the Prospects of a Black President

The Editors — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:31:32 +0000

A half century ago a very large percentage of African Americans were not permitted to vote. Southern whites used a wide variety of tactics such as the poll tax, literacy tests, and other means to restrict black voting. When all else failed, whites resorted to violence to intimidate blacks and keep them from voting. Jump ahead to 2008 and an African American, with considerable support from whites, is elected President of the United States.