Category: OPINION

The recent Federal District Court ruling blames the State of Maryland for the difficulty Historically Black Institutions have in competing with Traditionally White Institutions. State officials contend, however, that any difficulties at the HBIs are of the HBIs’ own making and they are proposing to conduct another one of their predetermined studies to prove it. […]

Public education reform is under attack in a new book from Diane Ravitch. Her book, Reign of Error, is hitting bookstores nationwide. Ravitch attacks chartered public schools, which are run independently of the traditional public school system and educate 44 percent of all public school children here in the nation’s capital, as part of a […]

During the recent government shutdown many numbers were thrown around. But there is one number that stands out and it has nothing to do with the debate over the federal budget. More than one a day. That is how many members of our active-duty military, National Guard and Reserve forces have committed suicide over the […]

The strike of football players at the legendary Grambling State University received attention across the world. GSU President Frank Pogue praised the players for providing the “creative tension” needed to bring attention to the plight of Grambling and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in general. The strike of football players at the legendary Grambling […]

(reprinted with permission and originally appears at TheGrio.com) With so many of the civil rights battles behind us, and the satisfaction that comes from the success of African-Americans in business, politics, sports and entertainment, it is no surprise that the assault upon the integrity and historic purpose of our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities […]

Over the past seven years, even as other states have cut higher education budgets, Maryland has led the way in ensuring the strength and diversity of our public colleges and universities. We believed – and continue to believe – that college should be accessible to every Marylander who wants to get an education and prepare […]

Last week, after House Republicans had held the country hostage for 16 days in support of their Tea Party faction’s ideological crusade against “Obamacare,” reason and patriotism prevailed on Capitol Hill. Presidential resolve, congressional Democratic leadership and bipartisan support from more moderate Republicans managed to avoid default on America’s full faith and credit and returned […]

Maryland’s higher education system has a long and interesting history with racial issues. Although it is true that much of the nation has toiled in the vineyard of achieving equal opportunity in education, Maryland has a special place in controversies over such matters. The most recent dispute that has landed in Federal court involves The […]

The recent ruling by Federal District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake declaring the Maryland practice of unnecessary academic program duplication between Historical Black Institutions (HBIs) and Traditionally White Institutions (TWIs) to be unconstitutional is a true vindication of Baltimore State Senator Joan Carter Conway and Eastern Shore Delegate Rudolf Cane in their efforts to protect […]

It’s hard to know whether to feel pity or disgust for you as we watch you whine, bellow, threaten and renege your way through a government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis that you easily could end by behaving like the Speaker of the House, not the spokesman for the Tea Party Caucus. Your inability and/or […]

During a recent call-in radio talk show about the funding challenges facing Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an irritated listener demanded to know why HBCUs receive a disproportionately larger share of higher education dollars than other colleges and universities. Aside from the factual inaccuracy of his statement- public HBCUs, in some cases, receive only […]

It’s been more than two weeks since the official rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. And despite the toxic politics swirling around its implementation and well-publicized cyber issues bogging down registration on the government’s website, traditionally underserved communities stand to benefit significantly from national healthcare reform. “A child born in Upton […]