By Sarahia Benn “Maryland artists just saved the arts budget, and yet somehow, we still can’t get a grant. It’s like showing up to your own party and being told the punch bowl is for everyone else.” – Sarahia Benn For decades, I’ve worked as an artist, educator and advocate for public arts funding in […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inCommentary
Legally Written: The missing voice in America’s access to justice PART 1
By Kisha Brown “Access to justice” is a term of art and action in legal and policy circles — a call for better inclusion and participation in our legal system. That system of course is not relegated to just the courts; it includes nearly every facet of life from healthcare to education to housing to […]
Posted inWord In Black
Compassion has left the building
By Dr. Frances Murphy DraperAFRO CEO and Publisher As Americans worry whether they’ll get their next paycheck, keep the lights on, or afford dinner tonight, an internal email dated October 31, 2025, from the halls of the U.S. Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) lands — addressed to “Policy Colleagues,” wishing them a […]
Posted inCommentary
The power of giving: Proof that generosity can’t be confined
An incarcerated man at North Branch Correctional Institution in Maryland began making monthly donations to Associated Black Charities (ABC), inspiring two others to join him. Their small but consistent gifts highlight that generosity transcends privilege and circumstance, reminding us that philanthropy belongs to anyone with a heart to give and that even behind bars, humanity and hope endure.
Posted inOPINION
‘We won’t be jimcrowed’: The prehistory of Round Bay, Maryland’s first African-American resort
Round Bay, Maryland, served as the state’s first African-American resort from 1887 to 1910, offering Black Marylanders a rare space for recreation, entertainment, and community before the full force of Jim Crow segregation. The resort ultimately closed after segregation laws and shifting social dynamics pushed patrons to alternative Black-owned leisure destinations.
Posted inWord In Black
Editorial: The right to vote is on trial… again
AFRO CEO and Publisher Frances “Toni” Draper warns that the right to vote is once again under threat as the Supreme Court reviews a case that could weaken the Voting Rights Act. She calls on all Americans to stay vigilant, reminding readers that protecting democracy demands courage, participation, and collective responsibility.
Posted inOPINION
Why should Black radicals care about the Louisiana Supreme Court case regarding voting rights?
By Dayvon Love Mainstream political discussions that urge Black participation in electoral politics are promoted most vehemently by a neoliberal, establishment Black political class. This network of Black spokespeople has been grifting off of the suffering of the masses of our people by proclaiming to the consultant class of the Democratic Party that they can […]
Posted inOPINION
Debate or deception? A look at the art of stump exchanges
By Edmond Davis Let me be clear from the start: what follows is not an attempt to defend Charlie Kirk, nor to sanitize the asinine theatrics that have surrounded his campus appearances. This is a critique of a false narrative—one orchestrated not only by Kirk’s team but also by traditional media outlets, AI-altered news feeds, […]
Posted inCommentary
Coppin State University: Rewriting the narrative on male enrollment and retention
By Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins I believe the continuing decline of male enrollment in higher education is one of the greatest crises of this century. Their declining absence from higher education has significant political, innovative, medical, social equality and civil rights implications. The correlation is undeniable: a decline in Black and Brown male enrollment in […]
Posted inCommentary
From prison to tenure: Baltimore roots, Baltimore resilience
Stanley Andrisse, MBA, Ph.D, is a tenured associate professor at Howard University College of Medicine and executive director of From Prison Cells to PhD. This week, he speaks on the importance of investing in second chances.
Posted inOPINION
Hot, humid, and getting worse: Why Maryland must step up on climate
Critics question why Maryland has not joined other states suing to preserve stronger clean car standards and why costs of climate damage remain unmeasured. Maryland records 30 heat-related deaths through mid-August, the second-highest number in modern history, along with record ER visits in July.
Posted inOpinion
Rediscovering Elsbeth
By Dr. Frances “Toni” DraperAFRO Publisher and CEO When my sixth-grade teacher, Pauline Paysour, mailed me an envelope in July 1994, I nearly dismissed it as a kind gesture from the past. Inside were two treasures: her beautifully handwritten letter and a single story I’d written years earlier, titled “Elsbeth, An English Peasant Girl – […]