We’re Black and African-Americans. We’re Negroes. We are not, and have never been the “n” word. We are not better than any other race, nor is there any race better than us. It was that kind of deluded thinking that gave birth to the “n” word. One race created the belief that they were superior […]
Category: OPINION
USM Report on Coppin State: More Unkept Promises?
The recently released University System of Maryland report on Coppin State University has generated mixed reaction among Coppin supporters and other observers of Historically Black Colleges across the country. The most generous of individuals reacting to the report give the University System of Maryland and the state of Maryland the benefit of the doubt as […]
Obama Must See Africa in a New Light
When President Obama and the first lady travel to Africa at the end of this month, they will receive a rapturous greeting. The president’s deep roots in Kenya, the land of his father, resonate throughout the continent. His success in the United States evokes pride and joy in Africa. I write this from Nigeria, a […]
Supreme Court Must Keep Affirmative Action Alive
“The enduring hope is that race should not matter; the reality is that too often it does.” – Anthony Kennedy, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Soon, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Supreme Court may issue a ruling that could seriously limit or altogether eliminate the use of affirmative action […]
Access and Fairness in the Fisher Affirmative Action Case
Affirmative action raises difficult questions of access and fairness. Opponents argue that it discriminates against whites while proponents emphasize that it increases opportunities for underrepresented minorities. While concerns about fairness limit the scope and frequency of affirmative action, minority underrepresentation in highly selective colleges and universities continues to validate its use. For almost forty years […]
Recent Supreme Court Ruling Could Open the Way for Privacy Violations
Preeminent Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, said the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday legitimizing Maryland law enforcement’s use of an overreaching procedure of collecting genetic data in serious crimes will likely lead the way to more troubling privacy violations of the 4th Amendment’s protection against “unreasonable search and seizure.” ‘This opens up a Pandora’s Box on […]
A Prince of a Preacher
The Reverend Harold Alfonzo Carter was a divine, Godly prophet, whose life was sparkling and momentous in the pulpit. While the senior pastor at the New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore, he invited acclaimed giants in the ministry such as Gardner Taylor, E.V. Hill, E.K. Bailey, John Bryant, A.C.D.Vaughn and William Jones to share his […]
The Anatomy of the Modern Day Drum Major
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached a message that was strikingly applicable to the lives of modern day civil rights leaders and leaders of America’s future. In the pulpit of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta only five days before he was assassinated, Dr. King meticulously outlined the anatomy of what he called the “drum […]
My Confession to Obama’s Supporters
I drank the Kool-Aid, too, back in ’08. I fell in love with the symbolism of a black family in the White House. I believed in his campaign slogan of “Hope and Change” and his story of being a biracial, Harvard-educated community organizer in the ghettos of Chicago. I was the first on my D.C. […]
Challenging Those Who Would Profit From Tragedy
Despite gridlock in the House of Representatives, there are threats to public health and safety that are so compelling that basic humanity demands bipartisan action. One of those challenges is protecting our supply of essential medicines. According to drug shortage tracking conducted by the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, drug […]
Julian Dawkins: A Local “Trayvon Martin Case”
Many Black Alexandrians are calling it “our local Trayvon Martin case.” And, they won’t rest until they get “Justice for Julian.” The promising 22-year-old Julian Dawkins, a driver for PBS’ Newshour, was shot and killed May 22 in the 100 block of Lynhaven Drive, apparently after an argument with off-duty Arlington County Sherriff’s Deputy Craig […]
We are Dangerously Close to Regressing
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was there, at one of the largest rallies for human rights, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. King and all those gathered in Washington, D.C., […]

