By Elijah Cummings This year, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King amid a nationwide discussion about the work that remains to be done. Five decades after Selma and passage of the federal Voting Rights Act, many current challenges mirror those Dr. King confronted – economic inequality, disparities throughout the criminal justice […]
Category: OPINION
Posted inOPINION
AFRO Archives Jan. 21, 2012: We are still marching
By Elijah Cummings This month, as we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we also should be asking ourselves this question: “What message does Dr. King’s legacy have for the leaders of our time?” I suspect that he would be talking about the economy — and here is why. Nearly 50 years […]
Posted inNEWS
Conversations with Dr. Kaye: Justice is coming, but it ain’t here yet
By Dr. Kaye Whitehead In 1959, in a Commencement Address at Morehouse College, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told the graduating class that the great challenge facing them was to remain awake, alert and creative through this great revolution. The country, according to Dr. King, was moving toward change, and if they continued to apply […]
Posted inOPINION
From MLK’s Alma Mater and John Lewis’ district, reminders of the power of direct action
By Ben Jealous President Joe Biden could have delivered his recent voting rights message to U.S. senators from the White House just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol. Instead, he and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Atlanta a few days before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It was the perfect place for the president’s […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: NYC’s vaccine requirements keep Kyrie off the court, but let unvaxxed visiting team play
By Ricky Clemons The Brooklyn Nets superstar point guard Kyrie Irving embarked this week on one of the most quixotic and impractical playing schedules since former 76er and Net Eric Money played for the two teams during the same game in 1978. While Money’s quagmire was caused by a lot of technical fouls and some […]
Posted inOPINION
Commentary: Reason
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. (TriceEdneyWire.com)—When you read this, we will be in the year 2022. Belatedly, I wish you the blessings and joy of the holiday event you observe. I hope the New Year will hold the realization of your most cherished hopes and dreams. I wish you health and prosperity. I wish you life and blessings […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: POITIERISM or Sidney Poitier’s Ten Commandments
By Zekeh S. Gbotokuma, PhD As an international student in the 80s in Rome, Italy, I watched, for the first time “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a drama/comedy originally released in the USA on December 12, 1967 (Starring: Spencer Tracy; Sidney Poitier; Katharine Hepburn; Katharine Houghton. Directed by Stanley Kramer). After watching the film, I […]
Posted inOPINION
Op-ed: A Plea for Baltimore City Public Schools to keep Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary School Open – and Work with the Community
By Cory V. McCray and Nathaniel J. McFadden While just about each and everyone of us are reimagining what school reopening and closure, and virtual instruction may look like amidst the new Omicron variant, my mind is also on the routine school closures that happen each year in Baltimore. These closures typically occur due to […]
Posted inOPINION
Letter to the Editor: We need to protect our voting rights
By Lisa Hansel Dear Editor, One year ago, we witnessed an attack on our country: an insurrection by political extremists at the U.S. Capitol. A mob of violent rioters defaced the Capitol Building and threatened the lives of the elected officials and staff working there—the core of American democracy. This was a pivotal moment […]
Posted inOPINION
Best AFRO editorial cartoons of 2021
By AFRO Staff The year 2021 was eventful: a grueling additional twelve months and counting in a global pandemic; a terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol leading up to the transference of power to the Biden Administration; racial and social tension skyrocketed across the country as more incidents of police brutality and other injustices were […]
Posted inOPINION
Letter to the Editor: Our Democracy Is in Danger
By Sharon Williams It is time to get involved in our democracy because our democracy is in danger. On January 6, 2021, the day of the Insurrection, when the Electoral College votes were being certified by Congress, our democracy was almost destroyed by Republicans and far-right extremists when they violently tried to stop the process […]
Posted inOPINION
Let’s Do Truth in 2022
Submitted by Norman Franklin It’s 2022. I’m usually a little pensive at the start of a new year. I look over my shoulder at the past twelve months, assess my progress, and the progress and direction of the nation. I made some missteps. As a nation of Christians, we made a few as well. The […]
