Category: OPINION

John R. Hawkins III As I reflect on Black History Month 2016 many things come to mind. Many, unfortunately get stuck on the fact that the official Black History month happens to be the shortest month of the year; implying some sort of national conspiracy. However, Negro History Week, as it was originally called, was […]

Elijah Cummings As we celebrate Black History Month and learn from our past, we cannot help but acknowledge the truth of Asa Phillip Randolph’s insight.  As the famous labor and civil rights organizer once observed, our struggles for civil rights and economic justice have always been inextricably linked. It was Mr. Randolph’s leadership, after all, […]

Dear Sheriff Jim DeWees, Dr. Natasha C. Pratt-Harris I sympathize with you and every member of the law enforcement community. It’s been one week since we lost two of Maryland’s heroes and Harford County Sheriffs – Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey and Senior Deputy Mark Logsdon. Their service to the people of Harford County and their […]

Every man has a place In his heart there’s a space And the world can’t erase his fantasies Take a ride in the sky On our ship, fantasize All your dreams will come true right away And we will live together Until the twelfth of never Our voices will ring forever, as one — “Fantasy,” […]

Marian Wright Edelman Transforming movements towards social justice depend on the work of a core group of committed and persistent and not always frontline soldiers – women and men who seize the moment and choose to stand up for what is right. My beloved friend and longtime Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) board member Winifred Green, […]

Lee A. Daniels With last week’s primary in New Hampshire, this year’s momentous presidential contest has now begun in earnest. At last, the political world has actual votes in actual ballot boxes to focus on. But looming behind all the critical issues of policy and process that are — and are not – going to […]

George E. Curry Now that we have gotten the first two political anomalies out of the way en route to electing a new president – mostly White Iowa and New Hampshire – the primaries and caucuses are moving to states that are more representative of a diverse America and the outcomes will be heavily influenced […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams TriceEdney—I listen to the news about the 2016 Presidential election religiously. What amazes me is that so many have just discovered that Blacks and Latinos will play such a decisive role in the 2016 election.  Didn’t we do that in 2008, 2012 and many other elections? Okay, so Blacks and Latinos […]

Troye Bullock I love this time of year. As things start fresh, I have the chance to think about the exciting things coming in the New Year, as well as reflect on the ways the people here in D.C. have shaped my path. As a D.C. native, I grew in the communities that I will […]

George E. Curry Despite Cam Newton leading the Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 record during the regular reason and two playoff victories en route to his being selected the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and six Black QBs playing in the Super Bowl, Black quarterbacks are still routinely subjected to a double-standard by fans and the […]

Elijah Cummings In the Congress, at the White House, and the state governments of our nation, we are seriously considering the best approaches to reforming a criminal justice system that most Americans –Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike—would agree imprisons too many Americans for too long at too great a cost. As I write, there are […]