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Not in My Backyard
Fifty years ago today, A Raisin in the Sun debuted, eventually becoming American theater’s seminal statement on racism and the human condition. Named after words from a Langston Hughes poem, the play was made into a critically acclaimed film in 1961 and was later translated into 35 languages. The play was “a breakthrough for white…
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Supreme Clarity on Handguns
During the 90s, Washington, D.C. was Murder Capital of America. And I had about a half dozen friends murdered. The killings were not odd actually, for the times; however, these young men were middle-class black boys, who did not grow up in housing projects or rough, violent neighborhoods. Guns became so real back then, carrying…
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Not a Chance, Scalia
In 1994, when Marion Barry was re-elected mayor of Washington D.C. following his troubles with crack cocaine, he famously challenged the many whites in the city to “get over” the results of the election by working with him. Barry, the first chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and very successful D.C. politician, was…
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This Old Housing Crisis
Recently, I was part of a group of public interest lawyers sponsoring a free housing seminar in Maryland, where we listened to dozens of homeowners who came out on a chilly, damp weeknight because they were almost all facing foreclosure. Most of the homeowners needing help that night were either African American or Latino. Almost…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
