By Tracey L. Rogers When Republican President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, he called on Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans.” He also acknowledged that Black Americans had shown “courage and perseverance” when our country had failed to live up to its own […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inCommentary
FDA’s overhaul of cosmetics regulation comes with a loophole allowing cancerous hair relaxers on shelves
By Jonathan Sharp In December 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act bolstered the FDA’s regulatory abilities to address vital safety issues in the widely-unregulated cosmetics industry. The bill’s subtitle, known as the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), represents the first significant reform targeting cosmetic products since 1938. While MoCRA is regarded as a belated, yet […]
Posted inOPINION
Amplifying voices in education: ‘Parents can change their children’s academic trajectory’
By Kisha Clark If you’re like me, you gasped when you first saw D.C.’s PARCC, or the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, scores this past fall. You may have even cried or became upset. I experienced all those emotions in less than five minutes. Then, I quickly shifted to thinking about […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: Community Invited to Engage with Researchers to Overcome Disparities in Kidney Disease and Transplantation
By Krista Lentine and Deryl Cunningham Long overdue, the medical community increasingly is turning its attention toward understanding and addressing racial and ethnic health disparities. We – a physician and a patient – write to shed light on kidney disease, an area where racially based health disparities are stark and where more research is needed […]
Posted inOpinion
Letter to the Editor: All Lives Matter
Submitted by Wayne E. Williams Dear Editor: My good friend of social media who resides in Chicago refers to himself as: Just Another BLUES MAN. Dig this, he is not from Memphis either. Memphis is considered to be an historic southern American city. Traditionally it is the home of American Blues and BBQ. It is […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: FRANCISCONOMICS: Reflections on Pope Francis’ ‘Hands Off Africa’ Speech in the Democratic Republic of Congo
By Dr. Zekeh S. Gbotokuma AS WE CELEBRATE THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH (BHM) 2023 WITH A FOCUS ON THE THEME OF “BLACK RESISTANCE,” it is imperative to reiterate our expression of gratitude to African American heroes and sheroes who have exemplified the theories and practices of resistance. These s/heroes include but are not limited to […]
Posted inNational News
TBE# 5 – Nine Decades After NFL Banned Black Players, Super Bowl LVII is the First to Feature Two Black Starting Quarterbacks
By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League “The NFL has a long and racist history with Black QBs. There was a time when people questioned if Black quarterbacks had the intellectual capability to play the most mentally challenging position in American team sports. Often praised for their athletic ability, they’ve been criticized […]
Posted inCommentary
Tyre Nichols: we can no longer allow inappropriate or illegal actions of law enforcement to go unpunished
By Lieut. Charles P. Wilson (Ret.) As a Black man and retired police officer, I have been crying quite a bit lately. Crying from a deep sense of outrage, grief, shame and fear. Outrage because, again, yet another unarmed Black man has been brutally killed by police officers. In communities of color throughout the United […]
Posted inCommentary
Dear AI, Black youth are beautiful, too
By Junior Bernadin As technology advances and artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in our daily lives, it is crucial that the creators and developers of these technologies accurately represent and include all diverse groups. For example, on Jan. 3, I generated a series of about one hundred images using the word “beautiful” in conjunction […]
Posted inHealth
Commentary: Anatomy of a miscarriage
By Kendra Lee, Black Health Matters Why is loss of pregnancy still such a taboo subject? Midway through my appointment, my gynecologist went silent. Her face screwed up a little, and she announced, “I don’t hear a heartbeat.” My own heartbeat stopped, too, for a second, maybe two. “What?” I managed to croak. She was […]
Posted inBaltimore News
The Moore Report: Legal marijuana in Maryland: what will it mean for convicted users, sellers and future consumers?
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Change has been coming to Maryland for some time now. Voters in Maryland approved legalizing marijuana in the fall election last year. The results: 1,302,161 “yes” votes to 635,572 “no” votes. It was a landslide win, with 67.20 percent in favor of joining the many states […]
Posted inCommentary
Black History Month 2023: The Power of Black Resistance
By Karsonya Wise Whitehead In 1644, as our nation was still in the very early stages of growth and development, the first documented moment of Black protest and resistance happened in America. Eleven enslaved men and women living in the Black community of New Amsterdam, the principal port city and capital, petitioned for and won […]