Category: OPINION

Elijah Cummings As legal proceedings move forward in the wake of the death of Mr. Freddie Gray, we must also seize this moment in our history to better understand and respond to the underlying social and economic conditions that contributed to the unrest and violence that have endangered the future of our community. In recent […]

E. R. Shipp (Courtesy Photo) Legalization of same-sex marriages by the United States Supreme Court has rattled a whole lot of people, especially Black folks whose faith has been rooted in an Old Testament worldview of homosexuality as a sin committed with alacrity by flawed humans. Everything is moving too fast, they say.  The end […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Updated 5/26/2015) TriceEdney – The morning of June 25, 2015 brought us another civil rights milestone.  On that morning the Supreme Court affirmed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and gave it a new lease-on-life.  Likeminded friends and I shared the news on the telephone, texting and with emails.  For us […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (Courtesy Photo) TriceEdney – Many have given their opinions.  Now it’s my turn to weigh in on the subject of race and the right of self-identification.  My central question is, “With events occurring in the world that require serious attention, why is there so much interest in a white woman, […]

Marian Lee Lewis “White privilege” is a term that makes most white people uncomfortable.  They want to believe that whatever success they have in society has been earned by discipline and hard work.  The idea that they may be favored to succeed is not something that they want to think about.  Understandable. Wikipedia defines white […]

Dr. Ken Morgan Welcome to Coppin State University and Baltimore Dr. Thompson. The community is so proud that the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents (BOR) chose to select you to be the first woman, and the first woman of color to serve as Coppin’s president. Fanny Jackson Coppin is smiling from above […]

Ben Jealous How can we effectively combat police brutality if we cannot know the details of that brutality? Last month, amid the fallout from Freddie Gray’s killing, a news story appeared that may not have garnered much attention, but that had significant implications for how activists can challenge police violence in the city of Baltimore. The […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., President, National Congress of Black Women TriceEdney–I come from a family that includes a Texas State Trooper, a Louisiana Deputy Sherriff, several Houston police officer and lawyers. I believe in following just laws, but, I will picket, protest, write about and speak out against unjust laws and treatment.  I know racism […]

Josh Parker The summer after my first year of teaching was a relief. And a surprise. Upon receiving the results of my students’ language arts tests at the state, district and local levels, I found that my good intentions as a teacher did not equal student success. I Went Searching for Answers I looked for […]

Raynard Jackson Am I the only one who is thoroughly offended by ESPN giving Bruce Jenner “The Arthur Ashe Courage Award” during next month’s ESPYS award ceremony? + ESPN claims to be the global TV leader in sports coverage and is owned by The Walt Disney Company.  Disney is also the parent company of ABC Television (which […]

Glory Aganze Barongozi For the past two years, I have been counting down the days until I am free. Ever since my brother had a gun pointed at his face while sitting at a bus stop, I have tried to picture a place where I will feel safe. I have dreamed about what that place […]