Category: OPINION

It was October 1996. I had finished a round of campaigning for an Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seat in the Pleasant Plains district of Washington, DC. That fall, I served as Volunteer Coordinator for the Howard University Student Association (HUSA) and helped to register over 3000 plus students to vote that year, 1,800 of them within the District […]

As the Congress returns to Washington from the Thanksgiving district work period, our most urgent responsibility is reaching the compromises on taxes, government programs and the national debt limit that will avoid pushing our nation off the “fiscal cliff.” If ever there was a time for common sense to prevail in Washington, that time is […]

The 2012 presidential election has raised a challenge for several different interest groups regarding the role of faith communities dominated by people of color. But none has been more publicly courted by policy and political initiatives than the Black Church. Evident is a continued recognition by those in the political community of that historical platform […]

Twenty one years ago, on Nov. 7, 1991, America was jolted with the news that basketball legend Magic Johnson had contracted HIV and would immediately retire from the sport. Almost immediately, Johnson began taking the antiretroviral drug AZT, and his health quickly improved. Just three months later, Johnson returned to basketball to play in the […]

Elie Wiesel once wrote “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Sadly, as we learned at Penn State University, silence among leaders empowered an alleged child abuser. The Baltimore Child Abuse Center sees more than 900 abused children annually. In 90 percent of […]

Will we jump from the cliff? Congress and the president will determine whether we fall, jump, or back away from the cliff. While I trust they will get together and make the right decision, I think we should be prepared for the worst case scenario. How do we prepare? First of all, learn what the […]

If you are like me, you shed a few tears of joy late Election Night. Despite America’s (justifiable) fears about what the future may bring, President Barack Obama will continue to lead us forward for a second term. Despite the rancor, deceit and suppression hurled against this very good man who has guided our nation […]

After savoring the feeling of sweet success of President Barack Obama’s re-election, there is work to do.  Most of us got the outcome that we worked and hoped for, but we have to resist the temptation to exhale and get on with our work.  Before the president takes the oath of office for a second […]

Leading up to Nov. 6, I found myself focused on the matter of voter suppression and electoral shenanigans committed by the Republicans. This concern was not for nothing. Prior to and on Election Day, there were myriad of attempts to subvert the vote, particularly the vote of people of color. On Election Day in Pennsylvania, […]

Barack Obama campaigned for president four years ago on a theme of change. Now, four years later, he has seen change in the way the media has covered him – change for the worse. That’s a major finding of an exhaustive study by the Pew Research Center titled, “Winning the Media Campaign 2012.” The report […]

I have vivid childhood memories of learning about life in Africa by reading National Geographic. As I’d leaf through the magazine seeing pictures of beautiful people, an amazing landscape and wild animals roaming the plains, I got a chance to learn about my ancestral homeland while escaping the harsh realities of urban life in the […]