Natashia L. Holmes, from Melbourne, Fla., is indeed a fresh face in Chicago politics, Mary Mitchell writes in her Chicago Sun-Times column, saying that the replacement for embattled Alderman Sandi Jackson represents a much needed departure from the way political power is too often passed down. The 37-year-old Holmes is a transplant from Melbourne, Fla.…

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell checks in on growing dissatisfaction in Jackson’s ward. Voters say they’re fed up with the level of crime and the fact that the alderman, the wife of Jesse Jackson Jr., spends most of her time in Washington, D.C. Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) has got to go. That’s the goal of…

The Chicago Sun-Times’ Mary Mitchell checks in on ESPN’s profile of Benjamin Wilson, the Simeon High School basketball star who was shot to death in 1984, sending shockwaves across the nation. Many of us know the story of how Wilson was gunned down on the street, a couple of blocks from the South Side high…

While holding gangbangers responsible for violence, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell places the blame squarely on the shoulders of parents when young lives are cut short. She says they are responsible for keeping children safe. After every youth homicide, the mayor renews his pledge to crack down on the shooters, and he gives the grieving…

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell praises first lady Michelle Obama for helping to change the lens through which black women are viewed and judged. She says that Obama examplifies a multifaceted black woman who has too often been ignored. It is a good time to be a black woman in America. Whether or not this…

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell praises Tyler Perry for his recent $98,000 donation to Project H.O.O.D., which will help construct a community center. She says the center will serve the audience that helped build Perry’s career. I love me some Tyler Perry. On Friday, Perry closed out Black History Month by donating $98,000 to Project…

If the white Chicago Public Schools teacher really wanted to have a healthy discussion about racism, he should not have used the n-word in his majority-black sixth-grade class, writes Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell.  In an exclusive interview with the Sun-Times, Brown said “he used the n-word in front of his majority African-American class at…

Whitney Houston’s untimely death serves as a reminder that achieving celebrity status isn’t always what it seems, writes Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell. … Houston’s music was unforgettable. So was her life. Because Houston’s problems received media attention, some of us got caught up in her personal drama like we really knew her. This phenomenon…

In her Chicago Sun-Times column, Mary Mitchell asks if an alleged drug dealer from Chicago’s West Side should be treated any differently than one from the suburbs. She says of course not, but that is what seems to be happening, and the disparity must stop. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I couldn’t…