By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and Jim Winston The year 2022 thus far has been a time of multiple socioeconomic and political challenges for all Americans across the nation. Yet for African-Americans and other communities of color, this year represents both challenges and opportunities from a business ownership perspective. In particular, for Black-owned media […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inOpinion
Capitalism is killing America
By Patrick Washington Capitalism is killing America. The overreaching sentiment of “Wall Street” and Gordon Gekko is coming to a head. Greed is no longer good — if it ever was. Almost every issue facing America today can be linked to corporate greed. Climate change, inflation, homelessness, and even the political division of the two-party […]
Posted inOpinion
What is legitimate political discourse without legitimate political institutions?
By Rondez Green Unceasing racial violence and societal instability spotlight an imperative: we must establish commitments to a government that works for all of the people. From election officials to chiefs of staff — and all the way to the presidency, the American people are faced with countless developments of incendiary political discourse, calculated voter […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: The AFRO at 130: a look back at the legacy of Sam Lacy
By Ralph E. Moore, Jr., Special to the AFRO Starting way back in 1944, the great Sam Lacy was sports editor for the AFRO American Newspaper. Mr. Lacy not only wrote history, he was history. He was there to see greatness in sports– especially great African American feats– and he advocated for fair representation in […]
Posted inNational News
Congressman Kweisi Mfume reflects on the AFRO at 130
By U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume (MD-7), Special to the AFRO For 130 years, the AFRO-American Newspaper has been the eyes, ears, and voice of our community. On the anniversary of its founding, we celebrate the irreplaceable role this publication has played in documenting our history, telling our story, and speaking truth to power. The newspaper was […]
Posted inCommentary
Black women and the freedom of choice
By LaNail R. Plummer, Ed.D In 2004, I gave birth to my first child. I was 23 years old, a recent college graduate, an officer in the United States Army, and a graduate student earning my master’s degree from Howard University. I was common and uncommon. Where I come from, it’s normal to have a […]
Posted inCommentary
TBE#31 – Nichelle Nichols’ Legacy: “Out Of This Madness, Uhura Appeared”
By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League “Everybody, come quick, come quick; there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!” — Whoopi Goldberg Fed up with racist insults on set and longing to make her way as a Broadway musical star, Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols already had given […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s our right to know what’s going on
By Rev. N.P. Franklin When I consider the things happening that grab our attention in the national political arena, the social and religious arenas, it causes me to reflect on the similarities of circumstances decades ago. I came of age in the 1960s. The decade of the ‘60s was a tumultuous ten years wherein we […]
Posted inBaltimore News
#FaithWorks: The Moore Report: We’re saints too
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO The Social Justice Committee of St. Ann Catholic Church has been working on a letter writing campaign to Pope Francis for a year. Our initiative, which began on November 1, 2021 (All Saints Day and the first day of Black Catholic History Month) urged individuals to […]
Posted inCommentary
To Be Equal #30 – NBA Great Bill Russell Paved the Way for Two Generations of Social Activist Athletes
By Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League “Racism cannot just be shaken out of the fabric of society because, like dust from a rug, it dissipates into the air for a bit and then settles right back where it was, growing thicker with time. Police reform is a start, but it is […]
Posted inCommentary
The other pandemic: gun violence and the death of Black children
By Denise Rolak Barnes At 11:11 P.M. on July 16, Nyiah Courtney, a beautiful and smart 6-year-old girl, was struck by a gunman’s bullet in the course of a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Malcolm X Avenue, S.E., in D.C. Her mother and father were among the two […]
Posted inCommentary
OBAMANOMICS: A Tribute to President Barack Obama on His 61st Birthday
By Zekeh S. Gbotokuma, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Morgan State University THE 44TH POTUS BARACK OBAMA WAS BORN IN HONOLULU, HAWAII (USA) ON AUGUST 4TH, 1961. Today is his 61st birthday. In celebration of this day, I chose to pay a special tribute to him by sharing some of the things that I wrote about […]