Recent Stories
The politics of building legacies and sleeping in peace
Practical Politics
On Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the Xhosa son of South Africa, rested his head one final time. His personal struggles and his championing of those agitations of his countrymen for dignity and justice came to a close. Certainly the symbol and longevity of his well-lived life spent so lavishly on the quest to raise the best in mankind to an honored place in human engagement had not ended.
The politics of a new Pan African Congress
Practical Politics
On Jan. 14-16, the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, will be the site at which a group of Pan Africanists will meet at the eighth installment of the Pan African Congress Movement begun in 1900 with the gathering of Africanists at the first Pan African Conference in Trinidad.
The politics of real social change
Practical Politics
There are some of us who worry that President Barack Obama’s positive legacy is being tarnished right before our eyes—that this fumbling of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will devastate the significance and accomplishments of his presidency.
The politics of student and youth activism . . . finally
Practical Politics
In February 1960, four students, after a few days of planning and discussing the issue, took a mighty risk. They sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., and asked for service. They knew the law would not protect their rights to do just that, and that there was a significant chance that all, or some of them, would be seriously hurt by the White occupants already at the lunch counter that day.
Black politics and Veteran’s Day
Practical Politics
Veteran’s Day 2013, was more than merely a few more hours away from money-related work. The U.S.A., collectively, paid a proper tribute this past Monday to its military men and women who have continued to defend the country and to keep many of us safe from foreign harm. The day was also very important to the African American community. It was a day to reflect once again on the consistently significant role Blacks have played in the development of this country, in spite of the too-frequent underappreciation of that fact.
The politics of history
Practical Politics
Last years’ smash film hit, “Lincoln,” was a great piece of cinematic work. It deserved all of the accolades it received. However, based as it was on the intensive research and documentation that director Spielberg said was done in preparation for shooting the film, it was rather amazing that some very fundamental aspects of President Lincoln’s character and signature executive order were not included anywhere in the film.
The politics of delusion
Sen. Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz, (R-Texas) will not go away. Unlike a House Republican who only has a two-year term and has to constantly rerun for office, the good Senator Mr. Cruz, who was one of the primary architects of the recent government shutdown and the attempt to irreversibly damage the ‘full faith and credit’ of the U.S. government, was elected to a six-year term in November 2012.
The Politics of Street Lit
Practical Politics
Since the creation of Black American (African American) culture, every generation of Black folks in the U.S. has produced its own creative literature, music, dance, etc. That is because part of the consistent core and character of Black culture is its continuing liveliness, quest to “tell the truth about what it is” and its ability to “snatch whatever good got left in the shadows and corners of life.”
A gilded gift
Practical Politics
Giving further compelling evidence that Black culture is waning steadily and speedily into oblivion, ushered there by this generation of Black folk, recently Dr. Dre (Andre Young), in collaboration with Interscope Records mogul Jimmy Lovine, announced a $70 million donation to the University of Southern California, a school Dr. Dre could not have gained admission to ‘straight outta Compton.’ He went to Centennial High and transferred to Fremont, before attending Chester Adult School.
What’s up with African American literacy rates?
In the world of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other quick strike information processes, why is there a definite lack of evidence of a steady upward progression of reading and writing skills among African American contributors?
