Greater Commentary

Grenfell Tower Anniversary: How a Quilt in the Making Is a Symbol of the Community’s Love and Quest for Justice

Tuesday Greenidge is a multimedia artist based in North Kensington, London. When Grenfell tower caught alight on the night of June 14, 2017, her daughter was in the lift. She managed to escape. She came to her mother’s home to

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Vice President Kamala Harris Speaks to the Black Press of America

Vice President Kamala Harris provided a message of hope while striking an encouraging tone during an exclusive interview with the Black Press of America. The Vice President, who cut her teeth as a California prosecutor, State Attorney General, and later

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The New Year Offers America New Hope

Today we sit on the precipice of a new year. America has struggled through 2021 and looks with great anticipation toward a new year that holds the potential for outstanding accomplishments or dismal failure. It is a cliché, but nonetheless

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Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

TIME named nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump to the 2021 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, making him the only personal injury trial lawyer to make the list.

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The Third Reconstruction: Political Accountability

Many of you are quite familiar with “disparity studies” – creating more and better jobs and economic opportunities for black citizens and communities is essential for a successful reconstruction.

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Spiritually Speaking: The Fight Is Fixed, You Won

Hence, there is real meaning in the refrain, “The fight is fixed.” Practically speaking, take another look at your situation with the fundamental truth that you’ve already won and then go forward.

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Black Women Leadership – Power Rising Conference Featured the Best and Brightest

The future must always be greater than the present, or there has been no progress. And, in the words of Frederick Douglas, “progress concedes nothing without a demand.”

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New CFPB Report Finds a Worsening National Debt Problem

The ballooning and unsustainable debt of student loans is a key area in which the CFPB took strong enforcement actions during the Obama Administration, but the current administration pledged to curb CFPB’s actions …

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We Have Been Here Before: Did the FBI Just Declare War on Black People?

We’ve walked down this path before. We can start with Marcus Garvey, who dared to dream of Black independence and paid a horrible price for it. Fast forward to the Nation of Islam, the Black Panther Party …

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Financial Expert Quantifies the Cost of Anti-Black Discrimination in America

The Black Tax takes the reader through a complete paradigm shift that causes the reader to evaluate all forms of spending and investment in terms of the number of jobs created or businesses developed within the Black community.

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The American Flag Is Soaked in Black Blood

There are those who have a story to tell about so-called disrespect to the “American flag,” the same American flag that is drenched in blood.  Black men went to fight in World War I and came back to this country and were lynched … This protest is about police brutality.

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I Can’t Visit My Sons in Prison Because I Have Unpaid Traffic Tickets

It breaks you down mentally, emotionally. I think about my kids all the time, just all the time. They’ve been in there for years, and it never gets any better to not be able to see them.

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Don’t Let “45” Take Credit for President Obama’s Economy

The income, poverty and health insurance data released by the Census Bureau on September 13 confirms what many of us already knew. President Obama’s last year was one of economic improvement for many individuals. The median income rose from $57,230

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Arpaio Pardon Could Encourage More Civil Rights Violations

It’s true, Trump has the legal power to pardon pretty much anyone. But pardoning Arpaio may send the message that state and local officials can aggressively enforce federal immigration law, even if it risks racial profiling and violating the due process rights of citizens and noncitizens.

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CEOs Close to Trump Deciding When to Advise and When to Leave

“I didn’t leave the Republican Party. I felt that the Party left me.” –Ben Bernanke Bernanke’s comment came to mind with the serial departures of CEOs from President Trump’s business advisory groups. Robert Iger (CEO of Disney) and Elon Musk

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Over the Years, Americans Have Become Increasingly Exposed to Extremism

Extremism has always been with us, but the internet has allowed ideas that advocate hate and violence to reach more and more people. Whether it’s the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville or the 2015 Charleston church massacre, it’s

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Homegrown Terror on the Right Is on the Rise

The attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a man named James Alex Fields Jr. used his Dodge Challenger as a weapon against a crowd of protesters, underscores the growing violence of America’s far-right wing. According to reports, Fields was a active member

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Trump Administration Continues to Play Down the Threat of White Supremacist Violence

After the deadly clash between hundreds of white supremacists and counter-protesters today in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Trump called for Americans to “come together.” He used similar words in his victory speech in the wee hours of Nov. 9, even as

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Rev. Barber: Some Evangelicals Are Using Faith to Bring Us to the Brink of Nuclear War

There is a better gospel: one of justice, of inclusion, of love. When the Rev. Robert Jeffress declared this week that “God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un,” many who grew up in Sunday School struggled

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How a Job Acquires a Gender (and Less Authority if It’s Female)

“I’m not bossy, I’m the boss.” So proclaims Beyoncé in a video in support of the #banbossy campaign. The campaign highlights how when little boys take charge, they’re often praised for being a “leader.” But when little girls do, they’re

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African-American Businesses Need to Stay Focused on Profitability to Help the Community

I was invited to do a presentation on marketing strategy to a group of African-American entrepreneurs last month. As customary, each person was asked to stand and introduce themselves and describe their business. As they did so, I was struck

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Welcoming Immigrants Keeps America Great

President Donald Trump was elected on his pledge to make America great again. Yet, for all of his rhetoric, he seems to have forgotten the men and women, from every corner of the globe, who have worked so hard to

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‘Just Mercy’ – We Need to Talk About an Injustice | Bryan Stevenson

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer

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Climate Change Is Creating Climate Refugees

(NNPA) – Have you ever heard of the Marshall Islands? They are 1156 islands that constitute a republic in the South Pacific. Major battles during World War II were contested on those islands and, following the war, nuclear tests were

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Trump Administration Using Campaign of Disinformation and Secrecy to Target Immigrants

The Trump administration has yet to break ground for its promised border wall to keep the undocumented out of the United States, but by embarking on a campaign of misinformation and secrecy, it is rapidly moving forward with efforts to

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Un-Making a Contented Slave

(NNPA) – “I have observed this in my experience of slavery, — that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to

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‘Ain’t Our Children, Children?’

Right now, in North Carolina, there is a piece of legislation pending in the House of Representatives that would raise the juvenile age for jurisdiction to 18. What does that mean? It means that all 16 and 17-year-olds who get

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Black Doctors Earn Less Than Whites

African-American physicians earn 15 percent less than White physicians—an average of $262,000 compared to $303,000—according to Medscape’s 2017 Physicians Compensation Report. Approximately 19,200 physicians across 26 areas of medicine were asked questions about annual compensation, race, gender, geography and job

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Environmental Justice Must Be a National Priority

Too often missing in discussions on the challenges facing African Americans is any focus on environmental justice, the idea that all people should enjoy a clean, healthy environment while being treated equally with regard to environmental policies, regulations, and laws.

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Nepotism: Do Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Have Too Much Power?

Much attention has been focused recently on President Trump’s “new” foreign policy. This policy change is symbolized by the U.S. missile attack on Syria’s Shayrat airfield, which followed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged chemical weapon attack on rebels in that

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Sponsors of Hate Today Must Be Held Accountable

Over the next several days, across the United States, people will pause in solemn remembrance of the 49th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968. Back then, I

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It’s Time for Black Parents to Stand Up for the ‘Every Student Succeeds Act’

Today, across the United States in nearly every African American community, millions of parents are striving to do all that they can to ensure that their children receive the highest quality education possible. In many cities and towns, the public

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Paul Krugman Issues a Warning About What Is Coming

We’re only three weeks into the Trump administration, but it’s already clear that any hopes that Mr. Trump and those around him would be even slightly ennobled by the responsibilities of office were foolish. Every day brings further evidence that this is a man who completely conflates the national interest with his personal self-interest …

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I’m A Refugee From A Banned Country—This Is My Story

I was a rebellious teen. What set me apart from millions of other rebellious teenagers around the world was that my acts of rebellion could have gotten me executed. That’s because I was a 13-year-old in post-revolution Iran, where the laws deemed any sort of opposition as an act of treason.

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You Are the New Gatekeeper of the News

News consumers today face a flood of fake news and information. Distinguishing between fact and fiction

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How Planned Parenthood has helped millions of women, including me

Planned Parenthood has allowed generations of low-income women to survive childbirth, to combat sexually transmitted infections

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Stereotypes can hold boys back in school, too

By age six, girls are less likely than boys to view their own gender as brilliant

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Martin Luther King, institutions and power

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, he was in Memphis, supporting

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Orange Face: Meryl Streep impersonates for Donald Trump

Meryl Streep has channeled “the Donald” in her latest theatre performance on Monday night. In orange

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Power Narrative: Telling True Stories in Turbulent Times

What is this conference about? The Power of Narrative Conference has convened in several places under

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What shaped Martin Luther King’s prophetic vision?

A prophetic vision: The name Martin Luther King Jr. is iconic in the United States. The

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Spiritually Speaking: The Devil Is a Liar

I’m sure at one time or another, you’ve heard the phrase, “the devil is a liar.”

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Americans, Not Moscow, Are Sending Trump to The White House

Let’s distinguish fact from fiction and separate out whining from winning. Vladimir Putin did not elect

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Today’s Activists Can Learn from King’s “Creative Disruption” Tactics

When Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, he envisioned all kinds

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Enough Is Enough: A Call for the Economic Boycott of North Carolina

In recent years, since extremists took over the GOP in North Carolina, my home state has

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Fair Lending to be CFPB’s Top Priority in 2017

As a New Year approaches, fair lending will be the priority for the nation’s consumer financial

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