Category: Commentary

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term on Oct. 5 amidst intrigue and controversy. Voting rights, affirmative action, union dues, and criminal justice cases are on the 2015 docket which is also the 10th anniversary of the highly criticized Roberts Court. There may even be retirements as the Court positions itself […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams TriceEdney—After all of the senseless killings in schools, in churches, in workplaces, on streets by civilians and by those charged to protect and to serve us; I cannot help but wonder, “When will it end?” Our world has become increasingly mean and violent. Tempers are short.  People take what doesn’t belong […]

Raynard Jackson (Courtesy Photo) The political story of the year by far is the sudden resignation of House Speaker, John Boehner. His announcement on Sept. 25 sent shock waves throughout the body politic. Boehner’s resignation was a direct result of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy; not Trump the person, but rather what Trump represents. In many […]

Lorene Garrett-Browder The beauty of black women and girls is not seen in society’s myths and assumptions about what is desirable in terms of beauty, skin color, hair, body image, sexuality, sensuality, age, sexual orientation, language, class, religion, or gender. The myths and assumptions that society carries about us influence the lives of black women […]

There is no city in the nation that’s growing faster than the population of 70 million Americans with criminal records. Mike Green For employers, there exists a real opportunity to disrupt the continuous cycle of quarantining humans. And for the sake of society at large, sustainable employment may not only represent our best opportunity to […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TriceEdney—As much as I wanted to sleep on the morning Pope Francis spoke to Congress, I forced myself to get up to go to the National Mall to hear what he had to say.  What a treat!  He spoke on nearly all the issues of concern to me.  I’m so […]

Dr. Carla Williams Smoking-related illness is the number one cause of preventable death in the Black community, surpassing AIDS, homicide, diabetes and accidents. In the District of Columbia, access to resources to help Black smokers quit continues to be vitally important. Why the urgency? Because most Blacks who smoke want to quit. Blacks in the […]

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. Great strides are being made in the environmental space with political actions such as President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, and we expect more to come out of the UN Climate Talks in Paris later this year at the COP21. Every day we see studies being published on what our earth will […]

Congressman Elijah Cummings In Washington, one of the lessons of the recent events in Baltimore is beginning to gain traction.  Reforming the manner in which our law enforcement officers interact with our people is gaining bipartisan support. Yet, if we truly are to rebuild Baltimore and our other major cities in a sustainable way, we […]

Sheila Overton, M.D. Parents want the best for their children. They want them to grow up to achieve their full potential and to be free from physical and psychological harm. However, we know that sometimes, despite parents’ best efforts, children may be exposed to and even succumb to harmful life events and situations. For example, […]