Archive

Honoring Dr. King by Fighting for Jobs

“This really means making the movement powerful enough, dramatic enough, morally appealing enough, so that people of goodwill, the churches, labor, liberals, intellectuals, students, poor people themselves begin to put pressure on congressmen to the point that they can no

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Most Black Americans Sitting Out ‘Occupy’

When Ray Leeds saw a crowd gathering in front of the California Museum of Photography, in Riverside’s downtown pedestrian mall last week, the photography buff and out-of work union pipefitter left nothing to chance. “I grabbed my camera and just started

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Trying Juveniles as Adults: Doesn’t Reduce Juvenile Crime

NNPA — Only eight states publicly report the race and ethnicity of juveniles transferred to adult courts for criminal prosecution, the Justice Department has found, and it’s no wonder that more states do not. Those that do are sending disproportionate

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Widespread ‘Skills Gap’ Leaves Jobs on the Table

As President Obama turns up the heat on Congress to pass his $447 billion dollar job bill, a growing number of employers, unions, educators and employment experts are grappling with a related and urgent imperative: A widespread “skills gap,” which

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To The Occupy Movement

The Occupy Wall Street movement is now one month old.   The protests have spilled over from their initial Wall Street site to Washington, D.C., Miami, and, according to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) website, around 1500 cities around the

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President Obama Visits the Triad Job Creation Plan Discussed

On a bus tour covering parts of North Carolina and Virginia, President Barack Obama paid a visit to Jamestown after spending the previous night in Greensboro. The purpose of these appearances is to discuss The American Jobs Act with local

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One in Three

The first Friday of the month is a day when economists like me are riveted to the news.   We want to know what’s up with the unemployment rate, and with the changes that have taken place in the last month.   Last week,

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HistoryMakers Make Lasting Impression in Schools Across the Nation

CHICAGO – More than 500 African-American living legends nationwide participated in the 2nd Annual Back to School With the HistoryMakers program on Friday, Sept. 23.

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The Disparity in Teacher Pay: A Civil Rights Issue

New federal research shows that African American and Hispanic students are being shortchanged, literally, when it comes to school budgets, in most districts with diverse enrollments. The U.S. Education Department study found that teachers in schools with more Latino and African

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Harry E. Johnson, Sr.: From CBC to MLK

On October 16, many will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the dedication ceremony of his memorial. Harry E. Johnson Sr., who has led the Washington,

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Are Blacks Seen as Brainwashed? History points to reasons why ethnic group is loyal to liberal candidates

In 1932 there was a sharp realignment in the way people voted in this country, when most African Americans voted the Republican ticket. 

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Afro Latinos: Everywhere, Yet Invisible

Struggles with self-image, assimilation mirror Black American experience – Last year, during a discussion on increasing the number of African Americans in Major League Baseball, Angel’s centerfielder Torii Hunter in a USA Today interview called the dark-skinned Latino baseball players “imposters”

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Tea Partiers to Counter Wall Street Protesters

A coalition of local Tea Party groups – under the umbrella of the Independence Tea Party Association – is “monitoring” Occupy Philadelphia protestors camped out at city hall. “Occupy Philadelphia has threatened to block traffic and set up tents – all

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Black Voters and the Black (and White) Conservative Shuffle

You can depend on it: if it’s the presidential-election season, then it’s time for conservatives to retrieve from the political cesspoolthe tawdry claim that Black voters, seduced by the political bells and whistles of “Black leaders,” unthinkingly vote Democratic.

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Multiculturalism in America: The Struggle for Acceptance Continues

In 1966 boxing legend Muhammad Ali, just 24 years old, took a memorable stand against the Vietnam War.  He’d been drafted by the government, but refused the call famously saying, “I ain’t got no quarrel with the VietCong…No VietCong ever called

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Darn Right It’s “Too Incendiary”

The New York Times reported yesterday that Mark Melvin, a prison inmate in Alabama, is suing the state department of corrections because they won’t let him have a book his attorney sent him. His lawsuit charges that prison officials characterized the

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Georgia Remains Center of Death Penalty Controversy

Ray Charles sings about Georgia being on his mind. But, as Troy Davis was laid to rest Saturday in Savannah, Georgia was also on the minds of distraught death penalty opponents who saw him executed on the basis of questionable evidence

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