Category: OPINION

I found myself thinking about the notorious Dred Scott decision (1857) by the US Supreme Court while traveling the streets of Occupied Palestine this past January. I was there leading a small delegation of African Americans who were trying to better understand the nature of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. There are many ways that the conditions of Palestinians […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., Today’s groundbreaking launch of My Brother’s Keeper Initiative and My Brother’s Keeper Task Force is critical to providing equal access and opportunity for success for boys and young men of color. “The Lawyers’ Committee commends President Obama for following through on his commitment to take bold and necessary actions in addressing decades-long issues […]

by Dr. Carlton McLellan (Ph.D.), carlton@myinternational.org Black history studies are about celebrating, elevating, and even critiquing Black leadership in every field of human endeavor. However, other than Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the first two Black Secretaries of State, or Ralph Bunch, the first Black American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his […]

Six months after George Zimmerman was acquitted for shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a trial involving similar circumstances concluded. This time the defendant, Michael Dunn, was convicted on three counts of attempted murder for shooting into a car occupied by four Black teenagers. Jurors could not agree on the most serious charge of first-degree […]

The best way to recognize and celebrate African-American History Month is make more history. We need to look at our new generation of young, committed, and talented freedom fighters and usher them to their rightful place in African-American history. There are valid and urgent reasons why we need the Civil Rights Movement revitalized by a […]

No working American should be forced to survive in poverty. That is why I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of the proposed “Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013,” (H.R.1010) introduced by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif). Our bill would increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over three years, increase the […]

I am writing to express some observations. I believe President Obama is a true and deeply earnest patriot who is comparable to Nelson Mandela. But if their positions had been reversed, President Obama would have been revered in South Africa and the bigots in this country would have attempted to destroy “Madiba.” In this country, […]

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is at it again. Whenever he opens his mouth about race, he displays a surprising myopia for a 65-year-old African American man raised in the Deep South during a segregated era. During his confirmation hearing, Thomas excoriated his own family, speaking of his sister as someone (and I paraphrase) waiting […]

Republicans in the House of Representatives recently caved and allowed a simple vote on raising the debt limit of the United States. Their hand-wringing about the debt is disingenuous, but more importantly, it is part of a campaign to confuse America’s workers about the real deficit, which must be addressed urgently: the deficit in jobs, […]

African American History Month is an appropriate time to evaluate the relationship between the Civil Rights Movement and the evolution of Hip-Hop culture and activism. I am aware this may be a strange question to ask given the popular perception of a generation gap between the young and the elders. Yet the issues of consciousness, […]

As we approach the second anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s murder in Sanford, Fla., justice again has been shortchanged in the Sunshine State. It was incredulous that George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman and wannabe cop, was found not guilty of murder after killing the unarmed Black teenager who had visited a nearby convenience store to purchase […]

Coppin’s President Neufville gave a glowing report, Feb. 14, regarding the success of a 50-point plan to change the culture at Coppin. The 50-point plan came from a special committee that UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski chaired January 2013. Chancellor Kirwan of the University System of Maryland (USM) created this special committee. May 2013, it reported […]