As Black Americans face rollbacks of DEI initiatives, attacks on voting rights, economic inequality and efforts to erase history, three activists reflect on what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. might say today. They see his message as a call to organize, resist and use every available tool—votes, voices and collective power—to confront systemic injustice.
Tag: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Local UNCF and MLK Holiday DC Committee prepare to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday
By D. Kevin McNeirSpecial to the AFRO Over the next week, Americans and others around the world will celebrate the birthday, life and legacy of “the drum major for peace,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Ga., the Baptist minister represents one of the greatest minds of the […]
Posted inWord In Black
Amid backsliding, a Michigan group keeps MLK’s fire burning
As the nation marks 40 years of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, the King Commission of Mid-Michigan—one of the oldest organizations devoted to King’s legacy—continues to adapt amid civil rights backsliding. With fewer living veterans of the movement, the Commission is shifting its focus toward educating and empowering younger generations, using its nationally prominent King Luncheon and year-round programming to keep Dr. King’s vision of justice and collective action alive.
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign foretold America’s affordability crisis
Rising costs and stagnant wages have pushed affordability to a crisis point for working families in 2026. Charlene Crowell, a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending, argues that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign foresaw these challenges and that its call for economic justice remains urgently relevant today.
Posted inOPINION
Storms, solidarity and selective aid: The U.S., Jamaica and the ‘s- -thole’ bias
Residents stand on the wreckage of a house destroyed by Hurricane Melissa in Santa Cruz, Jamaica. In this piece, Edmond W. Davis argues that America’s disaster aid and immigration responses reveal a persistent racial and political bias, showing more compassion toward European nations than to its Black Caribbean neighbors like Jamaica and Haiti.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C.’s ‘March On! Festival returns with focus on health of Black community
By D. Kevin McNeirSpecial to the AFRO kmcneir@afro.com D.C.’s annual Civil Rights Legacy Project, rebranded in 2024 as “March On!,” kicked off their film festival on Monday, Sept. 15 in the nation’s capital. For six days, film screenings will take place alongside an emerging and student filmmaker competition, various award ceremonies, performances of the arts, […]
Posted inEditorial
The endgame behind the MLK Files — erase the man, then erase the holiday
The sudden release of FBI files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a calculated attempt to tarnish his legacy and silence the symbols that inspire progress, and is part of a broader reactionary wave aimed at rewriting history.
Posted inUncategorized
Guardians of history: The enduring task of Black museums in America
As efforts to rewrite history persist, Black museums play a critical role in preserving and teaching the true stories of African-descendants—their experiences, the obstacles they’ve overcome and those that remain.
Posted inCommentary
Opinion: To my brothers in the struggle toward doctoral excellence– keep going!
Otis L. Eldridge Jr., a recent graduate of Morgan State University’s Urban Educational Leadership doctoral program, shares advice and encouragement for fellow Black men pursuing doctoral degrees—urging them to embrace opportunity, persevere through challenges and recognize the power of their voice and research. (Photo: Meta (Instagram)/ education_everyday)
Posted inOPINION
Wes Moore’s veto of the Maryland reparations commission bill is counter revolutionary
Dayvon Love is director of public policy for the Baltimore-based think tank, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. This week he speaks on Gov. Wes Moore’s veto of Maryland’s reparations study bill and what he thinks that says about the limits of mainstream Black political leadership when it is not rooted in militant, transformative struggle.
Posted inBlack History
100 years on, Malcolm X remembered as an icon, not outcast
As the 100th year of Malcolm X’s birth is recognized, journalist Mark Whitaker’s new book explores how the once-feared activist evolved into a revered cultural icon.
Posted inMaryland News
Larry Gibson’s opposition to Maryland reparations study bill provides cover for critics
Davyon Love, policy director for the Baltimore-based Black think tank, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, says prominent Baltimore lawyer Larry Gibsons’ criticism of a Maryland bill to study reparations, reflects a mainstream political approach that distances itself from the Black radical tradition. Love contends that his position may give cover to Gov. Wes Moore to veto the bill, undermining efforts to address systemic harm through transformative policy rooted in reparative justice.