Category: OPINION

In the early morning hours of Oct. 15, 2010, Ali Mohammed was chased from a U Street bar by an owner and four employees, allegedly because he threw a brick through a window – a window that had been punched in 90 minutes before by someone else. They caught Ali in the middle of a […]

This month, Jaime and Gladys Scott walked out of prison 16 years after they first entered. Their double-life sentences were criticized as indicative of the egregious sentencing in our criminal justice system, and their release by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was hailed as a long-overdue victory for justice, as well as an example of a […]

I was stirred deeply by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 when I, a 13-year-old Jewish boy in Brooklyn, saw his televised speech at the March on Washington, where he said: “…when we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we […]

Columbine High School. The Washington, D.C. sniper.  Northern Illinois University. Virginia Tech. Red Lake Indian Reservation. Chicago school children. And now, Tucson, Ariz. In dramatic ways, shooting deaths have horrified, mesmerized and confounded Americans. Yet, an increasing number of people say it is more important to protect the rights of citizens to own guns than […]

Last week, Americans watched as the new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives began a concerted effort to destroy one of President Obama’s signature initiatives – The Affordable Care Act. We need to be clear about all that is at stake. Every senator and representative has been educated about the mortal consequences of […]

“Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Milestones in our lives, such as birthdays and anniversaries, automatically propel us into a state of reflection. We look back and take inventory […]

You didn’t know me when you were here, But through your words I feel you are near. I was too young for the demonstration, But I learned about you in my education. You said we all were created equal, But maybe now we need a new sequel. Because I don’t know what happened to the […]

(TEWire) – While conducting a town hall meeting in Tucson, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot in the head Jan. 8. She struggles for her life in an Arizona hospital. Giffords was among 13 people wounded in the melee that killed six, including Arizona’s chief federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and an aide for the […]

On Jan. 17, our nation will pause to celebrate and honor the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of our most admired leaders whose vision, strength and courage helped bring about historic change to our country. Born 82 years ago, Dr. King showed a nation that nonviolence can bring about social […]

Until this week, the lies about death panels were some of the worst spread by Sarah Palin and the Republicans to scare seniors about health care reform and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Now there’s a real death panel, and John Boehner is in charge – it’s the Republican legislative campaign to undermine the ACA. […]

During the past two weeks, in response to successful grassroots campaigns, two governors have released Black Americans who had been railroaded by our nation’s criminal justice system. Together, these cases speak to the urgent need for the work the NAACP and our allies are doing to encourage more governors to use their clemency authority as […]