Politics
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The Story Behind the 'I Have a Dream' Speech
Like most public figures, Martin Luther King Jr. had very little time to work on his speeches. Clarence B. Jones, who was King’s personal attorney, also helped write many of his speeches. In a book published recently, Jones gives the blow-by-blow account of how King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” delivered at the March…
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Herman Cain Readies for 2012 Presidential Campaign
Jack Kemp called Herman Cain the “Colin Powell of the restaurant industry.” In the ’80s he took over 450 underperforming Burger Kings and turned them around. He bought a chain of pizza restaurants, Godfather’s Pizza, and he took them from red to black just before he bought them out. Now Cain, 65, has entered the…
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Don't Let Politicians Take Advantage of Tucson
Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will be remembered in Washington for two notable quotes: One was a response to pressure put on President Obama by the Congressional Black Caucus. That quote was short and Anglo-Saxon, starting with the letter “f.” The other quote was simple yet eloquent in its political point: “Never…
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How's Obama Doing? Take Our Survey
As much as The Root’s readers love expressing their views about President Barack Obama and his administration through article comments, we love reading them. Now nearly two years into his presidency, we’d like to get those opinions “on the record” in a more formal way: The Root Survey: Your Opinion of President Barack Obama Are you ready…
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Sarah Palin: Graceless Under Pressure
Sarah Palin finally made a public statement about the Arizona shootings this week and the criticism directed at her role in creating an atmosphere of incivility and outright hostility in the American political discourse. It wasn’t her finest moment. She included an obscure anti-Semitic reference to “blood libel” in her meandering, nearly eight-minute video. “Vigorous…
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Obama's Lincolnesque Speech
One of the most challenging roles that American presidents must play is that of national healer in times of great tragedy. Barack Obama fulfilled that mission last night, perhaps as well as any U.S. president ever has, with a remarkably touching speech that echoed the redemptive tone of an earlier president from Illinois without quoting…
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Striving for Passionate, Not Poisonous, Dialogue in MLK's Honor
By Al Sharpton The senseless violence in Arizona this past weekend left all of us stunned, but this devastating act hit home for me more than most. I have been a victim of violence that could have cost my life, and I have been involved in controversies that led to violence in which my words…
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Carol Moseley Braun's Quixotic Bid for Mayor of Chicago
Getting the nod as the black consensus candidate for next month’s Chicago mayoral election worked like a charm for Carol Moseley Braun — the third time around. The first time the coalition of the Windy City’s self-appointed black power elites met to bless one of the half dozen or so African Americans vying to replace…
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Remember John Lewis' Warning About Violent Talk?
We were warned by Rep. John Lewis two years ago. He took John McCain and Sarah Palin to task during the 2008 presidential campaign for “sowing the seeds of hatred and division.” Lewis knew well the consequences of political violence; he was badly beaten during civil rights protests in the South a half century ago.…