Category: OPINION

(NNPA) — President Obama showed positive leadership after the catastrophe in Haiti by pledging the resources of the United States government to our neighbor in need.  Yet, eight months after the quake, many of the country’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain without food, water, sanitation and shelter. Additionally, civil society and local non-governmental organizations in […]

I want to share a couple of thoughts surrounding Billy Murphy’s recent remarks published in the Sun regarding incumbent Pat Jessamy’s candidacy for state’s attorney. Frankly, it’s not Murphy’s “silence” that has been a “failure in leadership” as he suggests, but rather his vocal innuendos that fail and hinder the progress of the Black community […]

On Oct. 2, the National Urban League will join a coalition of more than 150 progressive organizations and tens of thousands of Americans at a national rally for jobs, education and social justice at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The goal of the One Nation Working Together (ONWT) rally is to galvanize Americans of […]

Election year 2010 is so important for Maryland’s African-American families that it is essential we remain engaged, register to vote and vote in large numbers this November. Fortunately, here in Maryland, we hold the future in our own hands. The congressional races this year will have a lasting impact on our community – and the […]

(NNPA) — Ronald Walters, the highly-respected political scientist who died last week of cancer at the age of 72, exemplified the true meaning of a public intellectual. To many, the term public intellectual regretfully has become synonymous with selfish private advancement, largely through the writing of books that lead to appearances on television that lead […]

Four days before Maryland’s primary election on Sept. 14, Baltimore State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy was out at the corner of Auchentoroly Terrace and Gwynns Falls Parkway, near the main entrance of Druid Hill Park in the heart of West Baltimore. Jessamy, waving vigorously and smiling broadly at passing motorists, was joined by a group of […]

Early voting began Aug. 30 in the District of Columbia. However, a recent survey showed that as much as a third of most likely voters are still undecided or open to changing their minds prior to Sept. 14. This basically means that District voters don’t like either one of the two candidates The Washington Post […]

When the planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, I was living in Seattle, on the other side of America. My brother and his wife were visiting me. We did not leave the house for two days because we were worried that Americans angry at Muslims would attack […]

Last week, the Schott Foundation released a startling report, which revealed that nearly 50 percent of African-American males in the nation’s public schools in 2008 didn’t graduate. Dr. John Jackson, president and CEO of the Foundation, concluded that “without targeted investments to provide the core, research-proven resources to help Black male students succeed in public […]

(NNPA) – Several weeks ago the Schott Foundation released “Yes We Can: The 2010 Schott 50 State Report on Black Males in Public Education.” The report revealed that the overall graduation rate (2007-2008) for Black males in the United States was only 47 percent. Taken alone this statistic is alarming. Coupled with the fact that two-thirds […]

The dueling events on the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom have ended, but astoundingly little is known about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that at several times threatened to derail the march where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Fortunately, a new […]

I should be happy right? My favorite sport is only a handshake away from expanding its regular season, so why am I donning the sad face? Sorry, it’s just hard for me to sign off on bad ideas. After NFL owners huddled at an Atlanta hotel last week around the proposal of an 18-game schedule, […]