Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.
OW Contributing Columnist

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the upcoming book, REAL EYEZ: Race, Reality and Politics in 21 Century Popular Culture. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com

Jan 22 2009

Barack H. Obama, 44th President of the United States: Has ‘The Dream’ been fulfilled

 The day of an African American President of the United States is no longer coming. That day is here. Witnessing Barack Obama take the oath of office, in the freezing cold with a million other people, is surely one of the seven highlights of my life (along with witnessing the birth of my four children, my second marriage and being present at the Million Man March in 1995). The chests and breasts of black people were bursting out with all “Americans” who shared in this celebration.

Jan 15 2009

LAPD never met a reform report it agreed with

The nation’s most abusive, and aggrieved, law enforcement agency, the Los Angeles Police Department, is still “doin’ what it do” as it presented its response this week to a racial profiling study released to its civilian Police Commission in October, 2008. The study entitled, “Racial Profiling & The LAPD,” document deep and pervasive racial profiling practices still exist in the police department, despite that fact the LAPD is still under a federal consent decree to reform its historical abuse and misconduct practices.

Jan 15 2009

LAPD never met a reform report it agreed with

 The nation’s most abusive, and aggrieved, law enforcement agency, the Los Angeles Police Department, is still “doin’ what it do” as it presented its response this week to a racial profiling study released to its civilian Police Commission in October, 2008. The study entitled, “Racial Profiling & The LAPD,” document deep and pervasive racial profiling practices still exist in the police department, despite that fact the LAPD is still under a federal consent decree to reform its historical abuse and misconduct practices.

Jan 8 2009

2009 Test for Change

 

Jan 8 2009

2009 as a litmus test for change

 The expectations of the New Year has us all awaiting change on some level. Change in the nation’s political direction; change in the global situation; change in the economy; change in the job markets; change in the schools; change in our local communities; change in our personal lives. Funny thing about change? It’s much like the expectations of a new relationship, the reality is always less than the expectation. What you project as the reason for you hooking up is not what’s delivered when the deal’s been done.

Oct 9 2008

Sarah ‘Six-Pack’ and all that goes with it: this presidential
campaign’s culture war has begun

 When Sarah Palin signaled to the “Bubba” vote that she was part of the “Joe six-pack” crowd—meaning she was just an average American seeking to represent the nation on the highest ticket in the land—during her debate with Joe Biden last week, it became obvious that this presidential campaign would no longer be about the issues. 

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.