Politics
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What Sen. Evan Bayh and Joe the Plumber Have in Common
Being a U.S. senator is arguably the best political job in the country. It has most of the prestige and almost none of the accountability of being president of the United States. But Sen. Evan Bayh—age 54, with solid poll numbers and a helmet of hair straight out of central casting—is stepping down from his…
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Blacks and Income: What We Earn
Who Works? In 2008, employment among the major race and ethnicity groups, with the exception of Asians, was lower than a year earlier. The employment-population ratios (the proportion of the population that is employed): Blacks: 57.3 percent. This pattern of a relatively low employment-population ratio for blacks has persisted for decades. Asians: 64.3 percent. Hispanics:…
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New York Times Takes Black Caucus To Task
The New York Times focused a harsh light on the Congressional Black Caucus this Sunday. The article “In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse,” focuses on the caucus’ ability to raise money from large corporations and its support – and sometimes, change of position – after a large donation. The opening example reported how the organization,…
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Forgiving John Mayer
As John Mayer’s racially charged comments in a Playboy magazine interview ricocheted around the racketball court that is the Internet this week, I found myself exhausted by the sad reality that the national dialogue on race remains driven by the engine of celebrity gaffes and gotcha moments. Our voracious, ADHD-afflicted news cycle castigates, forgives and…
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Three of Color Dead in Alabama Campus Shooting
The three University of Alabama Huntsville faculty members who were killed Friday were all people of color. Gopi Bodila, the, the chairman of the biology department, was of Indian origin. Dr. Adriel Johnson, an associate professor, and Dr. Maria Ragland Davis, an assistant professor who specialized in plant sciences, were both African-American. Amy Bishop, a…
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Black National Anthem Disgraced At White House
The Black National Anthem, aka Lift Every Voice and Sing, should never suffer the indignity afflicted upon it Wednesday night at the White house. There was Smokey Robinson, one of America’s best singer-songwriters, smiling at the camera while drawing an absolute blank. There was Jennifer Hudson looking similarly perplexed, along with Morgan Freeman, Natalie Cole…
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Meeting Mandela
Twenty years ago, I was in Cape Town, South Africa covering the release of Nelson Mandela for TIME Magazine. It was one of the highlights of my journalistic career. Just hours after this great man walked out of Victor Verster Prison, I was sitting in the Cape Town City Hall just a few feet away…
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Nothing Special for the Black Jobless
President Barack Obama did something Wednesday he hasn’t done until now in his first year in office; he had an exclusive meeting with civil rights leaders. The first African-American president of the U.S. met with the Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network; Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, and Benjamin Jealous,…
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Somalia and Yemen: Al-Qaida's Next Hot Spots?
The Obama administration understands the strategic importance of the Gulf of Aden. The warm waters between Somalia, Yemen and Djibouti are the gateway to the Suez Canal, which carries the heaviest shipping between Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The administration does not need a terrorist attack on shipping through the gulf similar to…
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President Obama Meets With Black Leaders to Talk Black Jobs
NAACP president Ben Jealous, president of the National Urban League and former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, and National Action Network head Al Sharpton headed to a snowed-over White House to discuss the disappointing job situation for black Americans. In advance of the meeting, Jealous told The Root that he planned “to talk about jobs…