Category: OPINION

Dr. Gregory E. Thornton I am very pleased to report that our school opening on Aug. 25 went smoothly, and that our students started the new school year with enthusiasm and excitement. For me, the first day of school is pure joy. I visited families in their homes, walked children to school and greeted hundreds of students and their families – many of whom shared their […]

Across the country it’s back to school time. I hope it is a year full of promise and not disappointment and added stress for all children, especially those most vulnerable. I also hope this school year begins with a renewed commitment by all teachers and school administrators to help every child succeed. Every year too […]

When a North Carolina judge last week vacated the prison sentences of 50-year-old Henry Lee McCollum, who had spent nearly 30 years on the state’s death row, and his 46-year-old half-brother, Leon Brown, sentenced to life in prison, for a heinous rape and murder DNA evidence had finally proved they had not committed, the court […]

Dr. E. Faye Williams, National President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Washington, DC — Dr. E. Faye Williams, National President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. has said the following with respect to not only the Ray Rice incident, but about domestic violence in general: “Several times in recent weeks I have […]

Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. “Never did we think we would be planning a funeral, we were waiting on his first day of school. They robbed us of that.” Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown. “In too many communities around the country, a gulf of mistrust exists between local […]

What’s a firewall?  It’s an impenetrable barrier meant to stop an undesirable action. In politics, consider the example of the 1988 U.S. presidential race.  After several embarrassing defeats in early primaries, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush’s campaign manager announced to staff and supporters that South Carolina and its influential primary would be the firewall for […]

The powers of influence, including the United States, have undercut Iraq’s “democratic experiment” and emboldened the war-torn nation’s most violent-prone minority group, the elitist Sunnis. Americans can hope this is true: For now, the Iraqi-area terrorist combatants don’t possess the missiles, war ships or planes capable of cracking the U.S. protective shield. There’s also hope […]

Ramona Edelin, Executive Director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public School. Recently, the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, Eagle Academy Public Charter School and Washington Latin Public Charter School filed in court to require the District of Columbia government to end its practice of underfunding charter school students.  For the past eight years, […]

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson The number of senior citizens in our country is growing faster than at any other time in our history. They are living longer lives, and many are in need of physical and mental healthcare that will be provided, in many instances, by members of their families. Data from the 2010 U.S. […]

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson The shooting of a young African-American teenager, Michael Brown, by a White Ferguson, Missouri law enforcement officer has pushed that St. Louis suburban area to the boiling point.  It also contains many lessons for the rest of the country, and an opportunity for change. In the nights that followed the shooting, […]

On Aug. 9, police in Ferguson, Missouri shot Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, to death. The closed way in which the police responded to requests for information on the shooting, and their aggressive actions against peaceful protestors in the aftermath of the shooting have opened yet another sore spot in a nation that is […]

Chanting slogans, crying in despair, praying in anguish, running and screaming as sirens are blaring, tear gas drops clouding the air, and police yelling, pushing, handcuffing marchers. This is not a riot—but the start of a “Revolution”…and it’s about time. Shocking, isn’t it, to read someone has the nerve to write such a thought. I, […]