By Kisha Brown, Esq. There’s a reason prisons are built long before they’re filled. The decision to reopen Alcatraz, floated recently by President Donald Trump and amplified on social media, isn’t just another campaign soundbite—it’s a dog whistle. It’s a chilling signal to Black communities across America that the same old playbook of fear, incarceration […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: The Constitution was court-martialed: How the firing of America’s military lawyers signals the collapse of justice
The mass firing of top military legal officers and the rollback of civil rights protections mark a coordinated assault on constitutional checks to advance authoritarian control, with the greatest impact falling on marginalized communities.
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: Is America still a ‘Shining City’ on a hill?
By R.L. Byrd On the night of Jan. 11, 1989, near the end of a 21-minute farewell address, President Ronald Reagan asked the television audience, “How stands ‘The City’ on this winter night?” The City—a reimagined America based off highly controversial pioneer John Winthrop’s 1600’s America—refers to the country being a beacon of light. “A […]
Posted inOPINION
Why Bronny James made it — and Shadeur Sanders almost didn’t
Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders have both benefited from their fathers’ influence, but their paths to the NBA and NFL have been different, with Bronny being drafted by the Lakers and Shedeur being drafted by the Browns, despite his father’s claims of him being a first-round pick.
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: What is the state of our union after 47th president’s first 100 days?
James Jerome Hankins is an author, journalist, realtor, coach, veteran, former teacher, NAACP local president, caregiver and North Carolina A&T State University 1971 graduate. In this article he discusses the ways in which the 47th president is not making the grade.
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: Canary Mission and the new McCarthyism: How a digital blacklist is attempting to silence a generation
Canary Mission, a secretive online blacklist, targets predominantly marginalized students who advocate for Palestinian rights or otherwise criticize Israeli and U.S. government policies, leading to real-world consequences like job loss, immigration issues and online harassment. Critics argue it mirrors historical repression tactics, threatening free speech and democratic dissent on U.S. campuses under the guise of combating hate.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Baltimore heroes of Belair-Edison and Johnston Square
By Cory V. McCray What began as a modest project to celebrate Baltimore and uplift our young scholars blossomed into something far more powerful earlier this month. Who would have imagined portraits of Regina Hammond and her husband, Keith hanging just steps away from internationally acclaimed artwork in the Baltimore Museum of Art? Mrs. Hammond […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Cuts to Minority Business Development Agency leaves 3 staff
A recent executive order aimed at reducing government functions has significantly cut staffing and funding for key federal programs like the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, despite their proven success in fostering minority-owned businesses and revitalizing underserved communities. Critics, including bipartisan senators and Rep. Maxine Waters, argue these cuts undermine economic equity and squander public-private models that yield substantial returns and job creation.
Posted inOPINION
Every day must be Earth Day
Dear editor at the Baltimore AFRO American, Our Creator calls us to love others and care for them by caring for the Creation on which we all depend to live, move and have our being. We all have failed to do this in the past and the Creation now cries out in wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, […]
Posted inBaltimore Community
Is there room to lead in Black Baltimore? Absolutely.
Chrissy M. Thornton serves as president and CEO of Associated Black Charities. This week, she calls out the division and competition among individuals and organizations that advocate for Black Baltimore, saying such disunity undermines the mission.
Posted inBaltimore Community
Reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Baltimore uprising
A decade after the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore uprising, the city still spends nearly seven times more on policing than on recreation and youth development—despite hard-earned lessons about the dangers of disinvestment in young people. Baltimore’s comptroller calls for a shift in priorities, reminding us that a city’s budget is a reflection of its values.
Posted inCommentary
The war on birthright citizenship is a war on all of us
On May 15, 2025, the Supreme Court will hear a case challenging Oval Office Executive Order 14160, which seeks to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants—threatening a core protection enshrined in the 14th Amendment. If upheld, the order could dismantle over a century of settled law, redefine citizenship as a privilege, and grant future presidents dangerous new power to unilaterally rewrite constitutional rights.