By Denisha Allen In mainstream media, school choice is often framed as taking money away from public schools or being elite, White, and only a conservative policy issue. Yet Black school founders’ very existence directly debunks these common myths. My own experience does, too. That’s why I founded Black Minds Matter, a national movement to […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inCommentary
Advancing insurance benefit parity for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders
By Lisa M. Gomez In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring health plans and insurance companies to treat individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders fairly. The law — called the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, or MHPAEA — doesn’t require plans to offer any specific mental health or substance use […]
Posted inCommentary
To feel less heat we need more trees
By Ben Jealous All of us suffered the week of July 2-8. Day after day, we saw the hottest average temperatures ever recorded on Earth. Now imagine if it had been 10 percent hotter where you live. That wasn’t hard to do for residents in urban neighborhoods where pavement, concrete and glass far surpass leafy […]
Posted inOPINION
Bread for the City attorney criticizes the debt ceiling deal and its impact on the D.C. community
By Molly Prothero As a public benefits attorney at Bread for the City, a multi-service non-profit in Washington, DC, I work with people who qualify for public benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps). I advocate that they receive what they are entitled to when something goes wrong. Though the maximum […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Will I ever have my dream wedding? The Supreme Court just made it harder to believe
By Juan Benn Jr., Special to the AFRO I remember where I was, who I was with, and how hopeful I felt on June 26, 2015– the day the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is protected under the 14th Amendment. I was a young teen, not old enough to get married, and lived in […]
Posted inCommentary
COMMENTARY: Portrait of Black School Founders: A survey of Black education entrepreneurs and how they are demystifying education freedom
By Denisha Allen In mainstream media, school choice is often framed as taking money away from public schools or being elite, white, and only a conservative policy issue. Yet Black school founders’ very existence directly debunks these common myths. My own experience does, too. That’s why I founded Black Minds Matter, a national movement to […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: Are long hot summers driving mass shootings? Seeking real time understanding of a complex issue
By Dr. Natasha C. Pratt-Harris and Dr. Johnny Rice II Here we are. It’s the height of Summer 2023 and for some there’s this prevailing notion that with the heat comes the increased potential for crime, and for devastating violence. “The warm temperatures are the explanation for increased violence,” some say, and historic data trends […]
Posted inCommentary
New cannabis expungement rules address systemic injustice
By Chris Sweeney Last November, Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to legalize cannabis use by adults. Those votes triggered new rules and legal processes that will affect use and possession of the drug, recreational sales and the ability to expunge criminal charges. Perhaps lost in the excitement of these major changes is the significant […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Christine King Farris a unique member of a revolutionary family
By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a middle child in the birth order of children from the union of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King, Jr.’s older sister, Christine King Farris, died on June 29, 2023, in the city of their birth, Atlanta, Georgia. In some ways she […]
Posted inCommentary
The 16th annual “Rich States, Poor States” report: a look at the policies that could create opportunity for all
By Dr. Alveda King and Jonathan Williams While discussing his motivation for lowering state income taxes, Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn explained, “There is just no downside to putting money back into the pockets of people.” It’s hard to argue with that. Despite the gridlock in our nation’s capital, there is hope across […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Honoring our past and looking toward the future: the importance of the International African American Museum
By Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6) In 2019, my daughter Jennifer and I took part in a Congressional Delegation to Ghana that included my good friend, the late Congressman John Lewis. Our visit was to commemorate the 400 years since Black people were forcibly taken from the continent of Africa and enslaved in […]
Posted inCommentary
Breaking barriers, saving lives: Black Family Cancer Awareness Week’s call to action
By Dr. Shanique Palmer “You have cancer.” These are three words that we all dread hearing. If you are a Black person, you are more likely to hear these words and are often less likely to survive the disease than people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds. To put this into perspective – consider that […]