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Providing an Oasis in a Food Desert
(The Root) — Tanya Fields is a single mother of four. So in 2006, when she found an affordable apartment in New York City’s South Bronx, she moved there, only to discover the real bargain she had made. In the South Bronx, a full-service grocery store is hard to find, and obesity is common. Today…
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The State of the Black Worker: A Primer
(The Root) — In 1935, when Congress passed the Social Security Act, supporters declared it one of the pivotal moments in the country’s history. The act, which created a guaranteed income source for most American workers during retirement, was a declaration of the country’s faith that the economy would not only rebound from the…
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March on Washington: What We Want
(The Root) — Listen to talk radio, peruse the front page of the nation’s major news sites and covers of the big magazines this week, and the 1963 March on Washington occupies a lot of real estate. There are the stories and images of a peaceful gathering of Americans committed to nothing beyond calling for social justice and legal equality.…
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No Recovery for the Black Worker
(The Root) — On a sweltering day in late July, the Rev. Martin Rafanan, a St. Louis, Mo., labor organizer, led hundreds of service-industry workers, most of them African American, on a legally protected 24-hour strike. The strike was not only a St. Louis first but also part of a precedent-setting effort across four Midwestern…
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Who's Coming to the March on Washington?
(The Root) — With just 11 days left on the calendar before the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Americans are busy readying themselves to converge on the nation’s capital. Kim Moore, 28, is a consultant who lives in the San Diego area.…
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Stop and Frisk Violated Rights, Judge Rules
(The Root) — In a pair of rulings announced Monday morning, a federal judge found that the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics violated the constitutional rights of the city’s minorities and must be dramatically overhauled and aggressively monitored. In the decision, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled that police officers have for years systematically…
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Where Voting Rights Are Under Attack
(The Root) — When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in August 1965, he described the law as a “triumph for freedom as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any battlefield.” The announcement came with plans to analyze voter-registration rolls, identify communities with the largest numbers…
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The Death Penalty: How Long Will It Survive?
(The Root) — On May 7, officials at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, better known as “ol’ Parchman,” planned to strap Willie Jerome Manning to a gurney and pump a lethal cocktail of drugs into his veins at precisely 7 p.m. But just five hours before he was set to die, the state’s Supreme Court halted…
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Why We Need to Pay Attention to Detroit
(The Root) — It’s easy to get lost in the sea of staggeringly disturbing numbers coming out of Detroit. The best estimates put Detroit’s debt around $18 billion. There isn’t enough money in city coffers to run buses in many neighborhoods after 8 p.m., according to city financial reports. A full 40 percent of the…
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Jordan Davis: Will Things Be Different?
(The Root) — Just two days after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman, Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer Cory Strolla stood in the Florida State Court hallway and spoke to a huddle of reporters. “I worry they’re going to say, ‘We lost Zimmerman, so let’s get Michael Dunn,’ ” Strolla said, referring to Florida State Attorney Angela Corey.…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
