Politics
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Michelle Obama Honors Whitney Young's Memory
On Tuesday Michelle Obama honored the memory of Whitney Young, one of the speakers at the historic March on Washington in 1963, the Washington Post reports. It was an especially important moment for the first lady because she is a graduate of Chicago’s Whitney M. Young Magnet School. Obama spoke briefly to a group of…
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Michelle Obama, Now With Highlights
The cameras may not have stayed long enough on Michelle Obama at Wednesday’s March on Washington 50th-anniverary commemoration for anyone to notice, but she has sort of, kind of, gone blond. On Tuesday the first lady hosted a screening at the White House theater for a documentary called The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil…
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Nice Speech, Obama, but What About Policy?
(The Root) — President Barack Obama’s speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington forcefully articulated an expansive vision of economic justice and racial equality but stopped short of concrete policy proposals needed to turn words into deeds. “Five decades ago today, Americans came to this honored place to lay claim to a…
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The President's Speech: Full Transcript
Remarks by the President at the “Let Freedom Ring” Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Lincoln Memorial Aug. 28, 20133:07 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: To the King family, who have sacrificed and inspired so much; to President Clinton; President Carter; Vice President Biden and Jill; fellow Americans. Five decades ago today,…
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What Did Obama Think of 'The Butler'?
In a sit-down with Tom Joyner and his co-host Sybil Wilkes of The Tom Joyner Morning Show, President Barack Obama discussed at length his feelings about Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the Affordable Care Act. Black America Web reports that Joyner and Wilkes also took…
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A Good Week for Equality and Justice
(The Root) — While the nation’s attention was riveted on last Saturday’s massive March on Washington demonstration, the pursuit of racial justice quietly continued in two remarkable instances. The day before the NAACP-organized demonstration that featured 70 speakers and a keynote from MSNBC host and National Action Network leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, President Barack…
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NAACP Pushing for Zimmerman Civil Case
The Huffington Post reports that NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous announced that he plans to submit petitions with 1.7 million signatures to the Justice Department. The petitions call for the department to file charges against George Zimmerman for violating Trayvon Martin’s civil rights. The NAACP started its push to have civil charges filed against…
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Chicago Wants Kids to Get to School Safely
On the first day of school in Chicago this year, it wasn’t just parents escorting their kids. The city hired security workers to make sure kids got to school safely, part of a program called Safe Passage. According to the New York Times, the program is the centerpiece of an increased effort by city officials…
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Does the Obama Administration Have a Woman Problem?
As he decides who will be appointed to head the Federal Reserve, President Obama is once again hearing whispers of a spotty track record when it comes to appointing women. The loudest whisper can be found in the New York Times, which notes the strides Obama has taken toward gender balance in his Cabinet, but…
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Obama: Standing in the Shadow of MLK
(The Root) — In my grandmother’s Arkansas home hangs a portrait of President Barack Obama with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the portrait has written beneath the two men “We Have a Dream; the Dream Has Come True.” It was one of many paintings, posters, buttons, T-shirts and other products that came…