Category: National News

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) had some stinging words for the Tea Party at a recent forum in Inglewood, Calif. At the “Kitchen Table Summit” held at Inglewood High School Aug. 20, citizens voiced their frustrations to local leaders about the economy and the chronic unemployment, according to Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC. Waters, who represents […]

In spirit, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has taken his rightful place on America’s National Mall. Twenty-seven years in the making, the journey to the first national memorial honoring an African-American has been a test of the very perseverance Dr. King preached and lived in his 39 short years. Japanese Yoshino cherry blossom trees surround […]

A diverse crowd of concerned parents and residents from a cross section of Philadelphia gathered at the Vare Recreation Center, in South Philadelphia, to discuss possible solutions to the escalating problem of youth violence. The event was organized by Mothers in Charge, an organization consisting of mothers who lost children in acts of violence. According […]

Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia may be the first Black politician to address “flash mob” attacks that involve majority Black teens rummaging stores and attacking other races. “You have damaged your own race,” Nutter said to a group of Black teens, the Washington Times reported. “Take those God-darn hoodies down, especially in the summer. Pull […]

Although Princeton professor Cornel West supported President Barack Obama in 2008, his recent criticism of the nation’s first Black president may be trouble for 2012. Radio personality Tavis Smiley has also joined in the Black chorus of public dissatisfaction of Obama. It is unclear whether calling the president a “Black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs,” […]

“This started 26 years ago,” said Harry Johnson, president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation, with the vision of five members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. For years, he said, at each of the conventions, there would be a box, soliciting donations towards a national monument to one of the organization’s […]

As the highest ranking African-American lawmaker in Congress, South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn is no stranger to high pressure negotiations or controversy. Clyburn’s latest assignment, however, as the only Black panelist on the 12- member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, will call on his considerable political skills and his social insights, honed over decades […]

The recent riots in London were largely depicted by media as young Blacks rampaging through the northern section of the city, looting stores and vandalizing property as a stunned world looked on. And through the specific lens of the Black American perspective most believed the volatile situation was rooted solely in racism. But, many Black […]

A Black man killed by police. Mobs of looters. Cities charred and shaken. The riots in London mirror some of the worst uprisings in modern U.S. history. And there are more parallels: Stubborn poverty and high unemployment, services slashed due to recessionary budget cuts, a breakdown of social values, social media that bring people together […]

Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s former personal physician, is expected to stand trial on manslaughter charges beginning Sept. 26. According to reports, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor hopes to begin jury selection on Sept. 8 to make sure that there’s enough time to complete that process before the date he’s set for the […]

During her last round of picks for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Debt Supercommittee”) intended to help solve the nation’s debt crisis, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C) and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), adding diversity to the important panel. The Democrats are also represented by the only woman on […]

A fatal police shooting has sparked the most severe cases of civil disturbances Britain has experienced in 25 years. On the night of Aug. 11, Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four, was allegedly gunned down by police in Tottenham, a Black community in North London. Police report Duggan was shot and killed during an […]