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Duane Buck: Sentenced to Die Because He Is Black
In a cogent piece at the New York Times, Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. explores racial disparities in how the death penalty is meted out. He examines the case of Duane Buck, who is facing execution in Houston’s Harris County. His sentence is the clear result of racial discrimination, Ogletree says. Nearly 50…
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Election 2012: Two Visions on Education
(Special to The Root) — In the day-to-day pre-election grind, it’s so easy to get bogged down in the 24-hour news cycle that we start to lose sight of what’s actually at stake in this presidential election. We simply can’t afford to do that this year, especially when two such different visions and plans for…
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'Whom Shall I Send? Send Me!'
Dear John, I’m sitting at my computer, with tears falling from my eyes, writing this letter to you. These are tears of pain in losing you because you were like a big brother to me. They are also tears of joy, celebrating and remembering the nearly 37 years I’ve known you since we met at…
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Derrick Bell: Losing a Champion for Equality
It was with great sadness that I received the news that my mentor, teacher and dear friend professor Derrick A. Bell Jr. passed away in New York on Oct. 5 after a long illness. He was 80 years old. I had the honor and privilege of being one of Bell’s students when he taught at…
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How Should Barack Obama Confront Racial Injustice?
One of the most remarkable ironies to contend with is the fact that as we think about Professor [Henry Louis] Gates’ [Jr., editor-in-chief of The Root] arrest, President Obama’s intervention, the public reaction, and the broader issues of race, class, and crime, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in history. We must rejoice in…
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Your Take: Why Elena Kagan is a Good Choice for the Supreme Court
I am writing to follow up on some of the concerns I am hearing about my colleague Elena Kagan’s civil rights record and whether she would be a fit candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. While it is certainly up to the President to find the ideal person and to look at a number of…
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We Still Need the Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the monumental achievements of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, was designed to not only eliminate voting barriers for African Americans, but also to monitor attempts to restrict their access to the ballot box. The act is perhaps the most important civil rights legislation of the 20th century,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
