By Ben Jealous, Special to the AFRO Recently, I traveled from Baltimore, the city where my mother grew up, to Portland, Maine, where my dad did. It’s easy for many to see differences between one of the Blackest cities in America and the largest city in one of America’s whitest states. What always hits me […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Will new federal cigarette policy breed the next Eric Garner?
By Lieutenant Diane Goldstein (Ret.), Special to the AFRO The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced it would finalize a rule to criminalize menthol cigarettes by fall. If the agency follows through with this promise, it will have significant ramifications for the future of the policing profession. The last decade has highlighted just how substantial the racial […]
Posted inCommentary
Federal agency’s equity push will backfire on the Black community
By David J. Byrd One of the most iconic photographs in recent sports history is one of basketball legend Michael Jordan celebrating his fourth NBA championship by holding up three fingers in celebration with a cigar in his mouth. Like millions of other Black Americans, Jordan enjoys the occasional simple pleasure of smoking a celebratory […]
Posted inOpinion
Temporary protected status could save Congolese lives
By Nils Kinuani For decades, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have faced horrific violence and humanitarian crises as a result of one of the deadliest armed conflicts in modern history. The tragedy has taken more than 5.4 million lives. While I am fortunate to have found safety in the United […]
Posted inOpinion
Portrait of Black school founders: a survey of Black education entrepreneurs and how they are demystifying education freedom
By Denisha Allen In mainstream media, school choice is often framed as taking money away from public schools or being elite, White, and only a conservative policy issue. Yet Black school founders’ very existence directly debunks these common myths. My own experience does, too. That’s why I founded Black Minds Matter, a national movement to […]
Posted inCommentary
Advancing insurance benefit parity for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders
By Lisa M. Gomez In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring health plans and insurance companies to treat individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders fairly. The law — called the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, or MHPAEA — doesn’t require plans to offer any specific mental health or substance use […]
Posted inCommentary
To feel less heat we need more trees
By Ben Jealous All of us suffered the week of July 2-8. Day after day, we saw the hottest average temperatures ever recorded on Earth. Now imagine if it had been 10 percent hotter where you live. That wasn’t hard to do for residents in urban neighborhoods where pavement, concrete and glass far surpass leafy […]
Posted inOPINION
Bread for the City attorney criticizes the debt ceiling deal and its impact on the D.C. community
By Molly Prothero As a public benefits attorney at Bread for the City, a multi-service non-profit in Washington, DC, I work with people who qualify for public benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). I advocate that they receive what they are entitled to when something goes wrong. Though the maximum […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Will I ever have my dream wedding? The Supreme Court just made it harder to believe
By Juan Benn Jr., Special to the AFRO I remember where I was, who I was with, and how hopeful I felt on June 26, 2015– the day the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is protected under the 14th Amendment. I was a young teen, not old enough to get married, and lived in […]
Posted inCommentary
COMMENTARY: Portrait of Black School Founders: A survey of Black education entrepreneurs and how they are demystifying education freedom
By Denisha Allen In mainstream media, school choice is often framed as taking money away from public schools or being elite, white, and only a conservative policy issue. Yet Black school founders’ very existence directly debunks these common myths. My own experience does, too. That’s why I founded Black Minds Matter, a national movement to […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: Are long hot summers driving mass shootings? Seeking real time understanding of a complex issue
By Dr. Natasha C. Pratt-Harris and Dr. Johnny Rice II Here we are. It’s the height of Summer 2023 and for some there’s this prevailing notion that with the heat comes the increased potential for crime, and for devastating violence. “The warm temperatures are the explanation for increased violence,” some say, and historic data trends […]
Posted inCommentary
New cannabis expungement rules address systemic injustice
By Chris Sweeney Last November, Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to legalize cannabis use by adults. Those votes triggered new rules and legal processes that will affect use and possession of the drug, recreational sales and the ability to expunge criminal charges. Perhaps lost in the excitement of these major changes is the significant […]