A recent study from a group of researchers at the Urban Institute, the University of Maryland, and UCLA found that giving families access to greater opportunity in stable housing and high-quality neighborhoods wasn’t enough to help them escape the grip of poverty. Interestingly, one of the challenges these families faced was the lack of a […]
Category: OPINION
Controlling the Money
“Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.” – Mayer Amschel Rothschild I often wonder if most Black people in America really understand the across-the-board impact economics has on our daily lives. Or, have we just been beaten down so badly that we have fallen into a […]
Dishonoring our Vets
The last Monday in May, Memorial Day, is for honoring those who died in service to our country. It is tragically ironic that around the same time we are honoring and remembering the dead, we are learning about deficiencies in the Department of Veteran’s Affairs that negatively affects the quality of life for those who […]
Morgan President Wrong; University Board Absolutely Right
Morgan State University President David Wilson was wrong in attempting to preempt or otherwise influence the final judgment of the Maryland Federal District Court by proposing several joint programs with Towson University. However, the Morgan State University Board of Regents was absolutely right in realizing that proposing those programs under current state policies, practices and […]
Bowie Response
I write to correct erroneous information published in your article of May 16, “Move of Bowie State Commencement to U of Md. Sparks Outrage, Protest.” Bowie State University celebrated the graduation of nearly 650 students on May 19 in a ceremony that welcomed more than 9,000 family members and friends to witness the occasion of […]
Tribute to Acie Byrd Jr.
Acie was a tough old bird! He took no prisoners and suffered very few fools. An atomic veteran, the skipper of John Kennedy’s PT 109, and a founding member of Stand Up! For Democracy in DC, he was one you wanted on your side. I first met Acie in 1997 at what happened to be […]
Affordable Health Care Is Our Right
On May 5, I joined Dr. Claudia Baquet and other notables to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Journal of Health for the Poor and Underserved. We came together to share our practical and moral assessments of the Affordable Care Act (more widely known as “ObamaCare”). For those of us who were strong advocates for […]
New Generation of Wealthy Hip Hop Artist
Whenever someone is the first to reach a historic milestone in the world of finance and wealth, notable homage is usually paid to that achievement. Such is the case with Dr. Dre, hip-hop icon and entertainment industry mogul. Dr. Dre has emerged as the first hip-hop billionaire. Apple recently announced it is in the process […]
Go Live on a Farm?
Last week’s Baltimore City Council’s vote giving preliminary approval of council bill 13-0261 Minors – Curfew Reform, a beefed up version of a decades old piece of legislation, is outrageously unfair to our youth and their families. Every June for the past four years, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has released a press advisory announcing the opening […]
The Difficult Math of Inequality
Thousands of fast food workers took to the streets this week, staging strikes in protest over their low pay. In states where the minimum wage has not been raised above the federal level, if a worker could put together a full-time, full-year schedule, she would earn just $15,080 a year. Some people scoff at raising […]
Almost 60 Years Later and Losing Ground in the Battle to Integrate
May 17 is 60 years after 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case was decided noting “separate but equal” as an oxymoron. A recent Farm Bill passed by Congress established that Ohio’s Central State University along with the 80 Hispanic Colleges were Land Grant Colleges. Have we forgotten that the 1890 […]
Tired of Predatory Student Loans? Speak Up by May 27
Are you tired of complaining to family and friends about things you feel powerless to change? Or, as college costs continue to climb and student loan debts increase, do you or someone you know feel helpless that your opinion could make a positive change? If you answered yes, know that the federal government is giving […]

