By Dr. Ramona Edelin Special to the AFRO As the District of Columbia begins the hard work of repairing the damage wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic, the D.C. Council faces severe budgetary challenges. The recessionary lockdown it prompted, shuttered schools that have been disrupted and the set back of students’ education must all be mended. […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Blood On The Leaves and Blood At The Roots
By Dr. Kaye Whitehead Special to the AFRO Southern trees, Billie Holiday once sang, bear strange fruit, and when this happens, blood is on the leaves and blood is at the roots. Everything should close when an unarmed Black person gets killed in this country. All movements, in all communities, should come to a standstill […]
Posted inBaltimore News, Commentary, NEWS, OPINION
The Well: Mending Our Hearts
By Andi Pyatt “The Well” is a recurring column to remind us of the power we possess in mind, body and spirit. The leading cause of death for black women is a broken heart. You heard me, a broken heart. According to the American Heart Association, the leading cause of death for all women is […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Letter To The Editor: Sheriff Wrong To Justify Backshooter
Dear Afro.com Editor, Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams believes the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks is being politicized. What sounds political is a sheriff, without having all the facts, emphatically saying the shooting by an Atlanta police officer was completely justified. Why would a Black sheriff publicly defend a white police officer who fatally shoots […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
My Tulsa Hometown: A Personal Essay by Julia Wilson
A Personal Essay by Julia A. Wilson When I left my mother’s home, and ventured out on my own at age 16, I thought I was all grown up. I may not have known exactly what I would do next, but I knew that I had to leave Tulsa, Okla. In the 1960s, Tulsa was […]
Posted inCommentary, HBCU, OPINION
Juneteenth and Freedom in the Post Floyd’s Murder World
By Dr. Zekeh Gbotokuma Last year (2019), the free world joined the United States in commemorating the 400th anniversary of the “Landing Negroes at Jamestown from Dutch Man-of-War” (1619-2019) while dealing with persistent demands for reparations. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and Juneteenth of June 19, 1865 have been the USA’s most meaningful Mea Culpa […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, Commentary, OPINION
OpEd – Juneteenth: Then and Now
By Marnita Coleman For more than 150 years, Juneteenth is commemorated in the annals of history because it represents the last brick of slavery to fall. On June 19, 1865, our forefathers were given the good news by Union Army General Gordon Granger, acting on behalf of the President of the United States, that slaves […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
‘My Daddy Changed the World’
By Rosa Perdue George Floyd is a name that will stay with us for many days to come… One day, while feeling the effects of isolation due to the pandemic, I watched the video of Floyd being murdered. The country reacted in shock and turmoil. Then I saw the video of the pathological liar, twittering, […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
America is My Home
By Angela Sailor Do you consider America to be your home or just the place you happen to live? Sept. 22 has long been a meaningful date for me and my family. That’s the day, in 1862, when Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This year, as that date approached, I was listening to […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
I Am Tired…The Pandemic Of Racism
By Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. Over the past few days, civil unrest has gripped our entire nation due to the unwarranted and senseless murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A police officer placed his knee on the neck of Floyd for nine minutes as he begged for his life, while three other officers charged to […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Op Ed Submission: “Why We Must Resist Our Hatred of Candace Owens: An open letter to Dave Chappelle…and every anti-racist”
By Anuli Phillips Candace Owens reveals the most violent truth about the nature of racism in America: It becomes internalized and reproduced by those it seeks to destroy. It is so prevalent, so putrid, so comprehensive that when left to its own mechanism, and gone unchecked, it rots the very souls of its victims. The […]
Posted inBaltimore News, Commentary, NEWS, OPINION
Letter to the Editor: Vacant Lot
We as voters and tax payers in the city of Baltimore, should not be made to beg for services that should come regularly just as they do in upscale neighborhoods. I drive the city daily and I see the practice of selective distribution of resources and services. If the city wasn’t under staffed for the […]