Sandra Mattavour-Frye, Esq, Office of the People’s Counsel District of Columbia. (Twitter Photo) The massive, hotly-debated $6.8 billion Pepco/Exelon merger is now in the hands of the DC Public Service Commission, (PSC) with exclusive power to approve or reject the merger in July. Supporters and opponents of the merger, among them Pepco customers, consumer advocates, […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inCommentary
An Historic Opportunity to Denounce International Racism
An Open Letter to President Obama: Jesse Jackson, Sr. (Courtesy Photo) There are high expectations, both in continental Africa and the African Diaspora, that your visits in Kenya and Ethiopia will be historic and transformative. I write on behalf of the civil rights community to urge you to use your speech at the African Union […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
Finally Addressing Some of the Injustices in the American Criminal Justice System
One of the big topics at the NAACP’s annual convention in Philadelphia in July was the Criminal Justice system. The field, which has been under ongoing scrutiny amongst Blacks, was not only addressed by President Barack Obama, citing a need for crucial reform, but also by former President Bill Clinton. Both men agreed the current […]
Posted inCommentary
QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED
Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., President of the National Congress of Black Women (Courtesy Photo) TriceEdney – I won’t dispute the assertion by Democratic presidential candidate, Martin O’Malley, that all lives matter. I will, however, challenge his understanding and the sensitivity of any other observer who won’t acknowledge the execution of Black people occurring all too frequently. […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Justice Tech: Making Jails and Prisons Work
Ben Jealous President Obama’s impassioned call for criminal justice reform at last week’s NAACP national convention was the latest sign that bipartisan criminal justice reform is on the way. In the midst of this movement is another, untold story about an army of entrepreneurs that is changing the way jails and prison work for the better. When it comes to criminal justice reform, […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
AFRO Prayers Go Out to Congressman Stokes
Congressman Louis Stokes (Courtesy Photo) Congressman Louis Stokes is a political giant in Washington and across the Nation. He has made several contributions to Black causes and to the people of Ohio. Prayers go up for him, during this time, as he battles for his life.
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
Welcome Back, Mr. President
Charles L. Chavis The radical Christian theology of Rev. Jeremiah Wright is the same theology that shaped President Obama’s identity as a social justice organizer and this is the same identity that we are witnessing resurface in the last days of his presidency. This reawakening became clearly evident in February of 2014 when President Obama […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
The Batts Removal – Will Baltimore Now be Safer?
Former Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has been removed. The question is will this make Baltimore safer and eliminate the violent crime spree we are now enduring? Murders, not to mention regular shootings, have skyrocketed since the uprisings following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody in late April. Businesses damaged by the […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
Fake Pot: Beware the Unknown Danger
The District recently set its sights on addressing the distribution of synthetic marijuana that is apparently beginning to plague the streets. This fake pot mimics in various ways the effect of marijuana and due to its unpredictable effects on their users, is considered dangerous. According to the White House, synthetic drugs, which are sold under […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
Are Conservative Republicans = to Racist?
In this undated photo, flags, including a Confederate flag, hang at the government center in Hillsborough County, Fla. Commissioners voted to remove the Confederate flag and it will be taken down at noon on Thursday, July 16, 2015, and placed at the Tampa Bay History Center. (Skip O’Rourke/The Tampa Bay Times via AP) From re-districting […]
Posted inCommentary, Editorial, OPINION
Bill Cosby: The Sad Declining Imagery of Dr. Cliff Huxtable
Comedian Bill Cosby When Bill Cosby answered the question, “When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?”, he answered it with a one word reply: “Yes”. That response appears to have precipitated an apparent change […]
Posted inCommentary, OPINION
A Bowser Ally Responds To AFRO Article
Antawan Holmes I want to provide a perspective that was missing from James Wright’s June 24th article on Mayor Bowser and her first six months in office. I live in Deanwood, located in Ward 7, and have seen and interacted with her, in my community, in the last 6 months more than I did with […]