Uncategorized

The Democratic Party’s primary race has reached a dangerous stage for black people. It has come to this: Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns are apparently willing to sacrifice black citizenship rights in order to win the Democratic nomination for president. On one hand, we have Sen. Clinton’s supporters being charged with intentionally trying to…

When I first moved to the U.S. in August 1992 at age 11, I had no idea what hip-hop was other than the caricature playing on the TV set in my grandparents’ living room in Kyiv, Ukraine. Come to think of it, what I knew probably amounted to neither hip nor hop, much less hip-hop.…

Last year, when “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts found a lump in her breast during a self-exam, her first thought was: This can’t be; I’m too young! Yes, at 46, Roberts was younger than age 55, when two out of three invasive breast cancers are diagnosed. But she’s also black. Though African-Americans are less…

We’ve all been touched by breast cancer, whether we’ve personally experienced the disease or have a relative, good girlfriend or co-worker who has faced this challenge. We react with a range of emotions and responses to the news that a loved one has breast cancer. Many women hear the news and are spurred to action.…

My cousin Stephanie gave me a picture of Tammi and me at about ages 4 and 5. In this tiny, black-and-white photo, our hands are clasped as we stand on the sidewalk in front of our home, smiling. We are two sisters in matching denim overalls; we look very “country” because we were! In the…

Like actor Laurence Fishburne, I was in elementary school when the Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court. Today, the Tony Award-winning actor is breathing new life into the late Justice’s words and his struggles in “Thurgood,” an inspirational one-man play in that has begun a limited 16-week run on Broadway. July will mark…

I recently came across the Web page for Black Cruise Week. The site serves as a kind of clearinghouse for African-American-themed cruises, including everything from Black Gay and Lesbian trips to Tom Joyner’s annual Fantastic Voyage. Thirteen event cruises are scheduled for the rest of this year, with ports of call in Hawaii, the Caribbean…

I first saw pro basketball at the end of the Bill Russell era. Every year it seemed that some team, usually the Knicks, Lakers or 76ers, were better over the course of the regular season; but the Celtics would pull it all together and have just enough mettle and savvy to eek by everyone else…