Politics
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The American Sphinx
This week, President Obama delivered his long promised speech on outreach to the Muslim world. And then he turned into a tourist. Is this guy cool or what? Write your own captions in the comment space.
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First Lady Replaces Chief of Staff
The First Lady has replaced her chief of staff Jackie Norris with White House attorney Susan Sher. Obama met Norris during the Iowa caucuses—Norris having been in charge of arranging many of President Obama’s visits in the state—and got to know her in the course of their travels. The WASHINGTON POST is reporting that though…
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Journalist Thinks California Gays Need to Chill Out
Jasmyne Cannick of the LA. WATTS TIMES pretty much takes the white gay community in California to the woodshed in her latest piece titled “A White Gays Guide to Dealing with Black People.” Cannick, a lesbian herself, pretty much says the gay community needs to fall back while California deals with other issues—unemployment, health care,…
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No Hold(er)s Barred: AG Eric Holder Sits Down with Essence
Cynthia Gordy of ESSENCE sat down with Attorney General Eric Holder for an interview as the media-reluctant lawyer-in-chief discussed a few hot topics of the day. Regarding the criminal justice system and Black America’s expectation of a Black President and Attorney General, Holder recognized the need to manage expectations while remaining committed to making “substantive…
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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…