Category: Commentary

George E. Curry It was disturbing to listen to some people calling in Friday during my weekly radio segment on Keeping it Real with Rev. Al Sharpton who displayed only a passing interest in the issue of world terrorism or failed to realize how international violence should be a major concern to people of color, […]

Saschane M. Stephenson I couldn’t help chuckling a bit when I watched and listened to the responses elicited from housing residents.  One man said, “I mean, it’s an invasion of privacy!”  Smoker after smoker hissed out their frustration between puffs.  “Just who do think they are?  What are we supposed to do?  The Man just […]

George H. Lambert, Jr. Shawnice is a single mother of four children, one with asthma. When she was laid off from her job, she could not pay her electric bill, and the Greater Washington Urban League was able to help stabilize her financial situation. This small but crucial gesture was made possible by Pepco and […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Congress of Black Women, Inc. is concerned about the safety of our countries just as many others are.  We still believe it is our duty to assist Syrian refugees who are properly vetted before coming into the country. We support the President’s plan to bring the 10,000 refugees who are seeking […]

Richard Rowe The frustrations resulting from structural racism, poverty and increasing social and emotional inequities were ignited April 25, 2015 in response to the death of Freddie Gray while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department. This death seemed to be the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. What ensued were several days […]

Elijah Cummings As Americans pause in reflection during this season of our Thanksgiving, most of us would consider our families and health as the blessings that we most value.  This insight about our core values helps to crystalize why the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is fast becoming an accomplishment of historic proportions. Last year, nearly […]

Lawrence W. Rodgers Since the civil rights movement, there has been a major thrust within social justice movements to change the hearts of the dominant culture with the hope of those changed hearts changing the environment. It is time to let go of the language of changing hearts and, instead, embrace a language of organizing […]

Ivan Crump Forget rebuilding Baltimore. If rebuild just means repair or patch up, that’s not good enough. We shouldn’t be aiming to return to what we were but to be greater than anything we recognize. For that to happen, we have to do a better job of looking out for each other. We must adopt […]

Marian Wright Edelman “If you were to look down upon the world today, you would see a world divided by wars and natural disaster…you would think there is little hope…Even though there is a lot of bad in the world, we have to believe there is more good. We have to believe in tomorrow.” -Jonathan, […]

James Clingman On Dec. 3, 2015, the Collective Empowerment Group (CEG), formerly known as the Collective Banking Group (CBG) of Prince George’s County and Vicinity, will celebrate a milestone achievement: Its 20th anniversary. The CEG was established in 1995 by 21 churches in response to discrimination and mistreatment by banks, some of which had financed […]

Lee A. Daniels Ben Carson is in serious political trouble, as his wacky and right-wing views on numerous issues draw more scrutiny and critical pieces of the “inspirational” back story he’s been telling for years get exposed as “fabrications.”  A looming question now is what more of the political games of truth and consequences regarding […]

George E. Curry Writing under the headline, “Police lives matter too,” Chicago Tribune Columnist John Kass summed up the sentiment – and mass hysteria – surrounding the supposed Sept. 1 murder of a policeman in a bedroom community 50 miles north of Chicago: The killing of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz had nothing […]