Category: OPINION

We may as well call it “Edu-pay-tion,” as far as many prospective students are concerned. The cost of a college degree has risen 1,120 percent since 1978, but wages have increased a mere 6 percent during that same period. The national collective college debt is more than $1 trillion. We have college grads mired in […]

This year, Americans of conscience celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, after a Senate filibuster that lasted 54 days. To mark that historic event, President Obama delivered a critically important address at a Civil Rights Summit held on April 10 […]

“Affluent Americans would do quite well. But for tens of millions of others, the Ryan plan is a path to more adversity.” Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities In the same week that we marked the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and learned that 7.1 […]

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify fact from fiction in your latest article, “Cheatham’s Campaign Slammed by Posters,” as well as give the readers of this historic publication a glimpse into the real Conaway campaign designed for the citizens of this great city. First and foremost, any indirect insinuation that I, or […]

Americans are now at the tail end of the most dreaded season of all – tax season. Unfortunately, many people may not be thinking properly about their taxes at all. I have a friend whose knowledge of tax policy is second to none. He’s also experienced the highs and lows of our current economic insecurity. […]

When John and Ann started working on January 1, 2013, John had an immediate advantage. Because women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn, it took Ann until April 11, 2014 to earn the same amount of money that John earned in the calendar year of 2013. The issue of unequal pay is so […]

Recently I was excited to recognize 82 young scholars from Friendship Collegiate Academy. These students have earned D.C. Achievers Scholarships, which assist D.C. students with strong academic potential from low-income families to secure the funds necessary for college. These prestigious and competitive scholarships are funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and administered by […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 11, 2014 – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) issued the statement below following yesterday’s introduction of the Democracy Restoration Act,S. 2235, by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). The bill is aimed at restoring voting rights in federal elections to individuals convicted of felonies after […]

Did you ever look into the eyes of a child who killed his parents or an adult who viciously stabbed a man to death? Have you spoken with hit men or former gang members who taking lives as nonchalantly as ordering food at a drive thru? The fictionalized protagonists you see on film are far […]

In my office, the barbershop, and on our street corners, the request I hear most often from my neighbors is: “Mr. Cummings, I need a job!” Jobs – good jobs that pay a living wage and offer benefits – remain the most important issue on people’s minds. That is why job creation continues to be […]

There has been a concerted effort by the State of Maryland and the University System of Maryland (USM) to portray Coppin State University as a dysfunctional institution of higher education. While the Judge (Blake) was still deliberating the current HBCU lawsuit, the University System hastily put together a review (Special) committee to ostensibly investigate the […]

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest numbers this week. Its preliminary number for people on payrolls, reported by private-sector establishments, is 116 million. That figure is higher than the last peak in January 2008, before President Barack Obama took office. This marks 49 straight months of job growth from the second year […]