Politics

  • Detroit’s 1st White Mayor in 40 Years Takes Office

    Detroit’s new mayor took office Wednesday and got down to brass tacks, despite holding limited powers in a cash-strapped city whose finances are controlled by a state-appointed emergency manager, the Associated Press reports. Mike Duggan, who became the city’s first white mayor in 40 years, held his first staff meetings at City Hall after a…

  • Black Folks Are Key to Obamacare’s Success

    Over the holidays, first lady Michelle Obama took to the airways to promote the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, on the Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show, Joe Madison’s radio broadcast and in other outlets with a large black audience, as well as with a group of mothers who were invited to the White House. Before…

  • Obama’s Last Year Wasn’t as Bad as They Say

    Unless you opted for your own news blackout during the holiday season, by now you’ve probably read one of the many year-end recaps that described 2013 as President Barack Obama’s worst year. If not, just read here, here, here, here and here. Reviews were bad, with even Chris Matthews—of “thrill going up my leg when…

  • Chicago Homicides Plunge to Lowest Level Since 1965

    Chicago’s Police Department said Wednesday that after leading the nation in homicides in 2012, recording more than 500, the city last year listed the lowest number of killings since 1965, and saw its overall crime rate fall to a level not seen since 1972, the Associated Press reports. By the end of 2013, the city…

  • Bill de Blasio Sworn in as New York Mayor, Bible Goes Missing 

    Surrounded by his family and former President Bill Clinton, Bill de Blasio was formally sworn in as the 109th mayor of New York City, making him the first Democrat in two decades to hold the position of governing the nation’s largest city, the New York Post reports. De Blasio, a former City Council member, assumed…

  • President Obama’s New Year’s Resolutions

    Yesterday was the day most New Year’s resolutions began. And tomorrow is the day many of them will end, as that vow to shop less is done in by that once-in-a-lifetime after-Christmas sale. But what if your New Year’s resolutions could change the world? In the case of President Barack Obama, committing to solving a…

  • The 2014 Black Agenda: 5 Things to Focus On

    As we enter into a new year, the black community should remain focused on five key areas that are vital to the promotion of racial justice and economic equality in 2014. Reducing Violence in Black Communities Nationwide Chicago’s violence-plagued communities have received the most national attention, in part because of President Barack Obama’s ties to…

  • Believe It or Not, There Were Some Political Winners in 2013

    Though there were no major elections held this year, 2013 still turned out to be one of the more eventful years in recent political memory. Between the government shutdown and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act there was certainly no shortage of major political news. There were plenty of political losers. (Click here to…

  • Political Losers in 2013 Were Truly a Hot Mess

    Though there were no major elections held this year, 2013 still turned out to be one of the more eventful years in recent political memory. Between the government shutdown and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, there was certainly no shortage of major political news. There was also no shortage of political losers. (See…

  • Jobless-Benefits Cutoff: Happy New Year From Congress!

    When you’ve lost your unemployment benefits, like more than a million Americans this past weekend, there’s not much to look forward to in the current political environment. Members of Congress, convinced that they did enough to extinguish a do-nothing narrative, bounced quickly to enjoy their trees full of gifts and dining tables lined with gut-busting…