Politics
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Koko Taylor, Blues Legend, Dead at 80
CNN is reporting that Koko Taylor, Chicago Blues legend, has died at age 80. Born Cora Walton in West Tennessee, Taylor left home at 24 with her future husband to pursue her Blues dreams in Chicago. By day, she worked as a cleaning woman and in the evening hours, she hopped from club to club,…
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Why We Need a Human Rights Commission
When political leaders face urgent problems and a polarized public, a commission that honestly gathers facts and encourages a consensus is needed. Yet at a time when Americans are struggling to address torture, hate crimes, marriage inequality, police misconduct and racial profiling, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is either silent or on the wrong side of…
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Black Silence and the Abortion Debate
During the 2008 presidential campaign, it seemed—for a whimsical, idealistic, brief moment in time—that abortion had become a non-issue. Among the most riveting exchanges on the topic came when Barack Obama responded coyly to mega-church pastor Rick Warren that it was above his “pay grade” to answer a question about when a fetus is entitled…
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Brooklyn Kids Lend a Hand in South Africa
CNN’s ‘Black in America: The Sequel’ has taken the time to cover the efforts of “Journey for Change,” a volunteer initiative spearheaded by Malaak Compton-Rock, wife of comedian Chris, which take at-risk teens from Bushwick, Brooklyn, pairs them with college-age mentors and sends them to South Africa to help AIDS orphans in South Africa. Compton-Rock…
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Obama’s Cairo Two-Step
In his autobiography, Malcolm X recounted how during his time in prison he came to the belief that “If you will take one step toward Allah, Allah will take two steps toward you.” He had something more personal in mind than American political outreach to the Muslim world, but the point stands. If only Americans…
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Nancy and Barry Share a Moment
Some have asked why the President did not mush the former First Lady on behalf of any Black folks who were on planet Earth during the 1980s, but they should take a bit of a chilly pill. Let us not forgot that as her husband’s health declined due to Alzheimer’s, Nancy Reagan broke rank to…
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Obama Has Tough Row to Hoe in Middle East
Abu Ghraib. Guantanamo. Haditha. As the Washington Post’s Anthony Shadid reports, President Obama was much to grapple with as he makes he tour of the Middle East beginning with a speech in Cairo on Thursday. While it is true that Obama’s relationship with the region is far better than his predecessors, old wounds heal slowly…
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Georgia DA in a bind over Death Row Case
Who shot Officer Mark MacPhail? Supporters of death row inmate say it was not Troy Davis, the man who was convicted for the slaying in 1989. As the LA Times reports, this circumstance has newly-elected DA Larry Chisolm in between a rock and a hard place. The first Black district attorney of Chatham County, Georgia…
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Obama Declares June LGBT Pride Month
Lorna Bracewell of The Political Whore is certainly moved by President Obama vocalizing support for the LGBT community, but something in the move has given her cause to pause. Why? Because the President seems more concerned with setting aside a month to honor the LGBT community and not as concerned about seeing that the individuals…
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The Bump Heard ‘Round the World
Where were you for the fist bump heard ‘round the world? The dap that changed America? The knuckles that knocked these United States into a new post-racial era? More formally, where were you when Barack Obama was crowned as the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States? Remember, this was pre-Palin and before…