Politics
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Possible Funding for Police Body Cameras Moves Forward in Congress, Thanks to Sen. Tim Scott
In the wake of seemingly endless national stories about police brutality, an effort to fund and support police body cameras is making its way through a Republican-controlled Congress. And a Republican senator, Tim Scott of South Carolina, is leading the charge. On Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on…
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Post-Baltimore, Most Americans Believe Unrest Was Just One Big Criminal Act
The results are in: A majority of Americans think the Baltimore unrest was just another mad, black riot. The Pew Research Center surveyed the top five reasons an anxious public considered for the unrest, including anger over Freddie Gray’s death, frustration with police-community relations and the socioeconomic challenges. The poverty narrative didn’t stick, with 61…
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Baltimore Just Became a Political Epicenter for 2016
Baltimore may be a much calmer city this week than last, but don’t let the placid fog of cleanup and obligatory Loretta Lynch visit fool you. Long stretches of ghetto still remain. The lack of jobs is something Charm City’s leadership has yet to aggressively address (Where’s the campaign on that?). And Maryland’s shattered urban…
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Obama’s Powerful Words on Racial Injustice Should Be Matched by Bold Policy Measures
President Barack Obama’s announcement Monday of the nonprofit group My Brother’s Keeper’s Alliance, during a speech at Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y., reflects the power of the racial protests and uprisings that have gripped the nation, most recently in Baltimore. With national polls in the wake of urban rebellions indicating Americans are more pessimistic…
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Why Should Ben Carson Care About Black Voters? They Don’t Vote Republican
Black people have an awful lot to say about Ben Carson, even if President Ben Carson is pure fantasy. No reason to think otherwise: The legendary neurosurgeon’s bizarre quest for No. 1 gives us little confidence he’s pulling this one off. His Monday announcement in Detroit (you have got to watch it), including an offbeat circus…
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I Heart Hillary
“President Hillary Rodham Clinton” has a nice ring to it. No matter what’s going on in the ongoing debate over whether or not America is ready for a “third” Clinton term, Clinton fatigue has never been among my afflictions. I’m beyond a Hillary supporter; I’m a fan. And when I think of Hillary Clinton, I…
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Baltimore’s Slow Burn of Poverty and Hopelessness
Among the more annoying habits of a society appalled by social unrest is its casual dis of the poverty that causes it. Discussing, dissecting and debating police violence and the angry reaction to it (now a weekly exercise) is the easy part. But the harder conversation means grappling with the devil in the socioeconomic details.…
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Black Men Are Missing: Tell Us Something We Don’t Know
The tragic and spiraling plight of black men in American society has reached such epic proportions that the national paper of record, the New York Times, is discussing the “disappearance” of African-American men from civil society. “The stigmatization of blackness presents an enormous obstacle,” it notes, “even to small boys.” The editorial, “Forcing Black Men…
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Eric Holder in Pictures
Called the “people’s attorney” by President Barack Obama, Eric Holder has made a lasting legacy in Washington, D.C., and not just by being the first African-American attorney general. As he prepares to step down, here’s a look back at some of his career highlights during his time as attorney general. A Historic First Eric H.…