Opinion

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Aug 2 2012

Counting the Cost

The national support for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shootings is great.

However, if we believe in the equivalency of life, what about the lives of young men in Chicago, where there have been more deaths than in Afghanistan so far this year. While the hospitals in Aurora say they will cover hospital bills for those without insurance (one in three in Colorado), who will cover bills for those who are hospitalized after a drive-by? We mourn some deaths and ignore others, which suggests that some life is valued and some life is cheap.

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Aug 2 2012

Beyond the Rhetoric

We, as African Americans, must get more involved in making policy. If you are not at the table you will probably end up on the menu. In other words, we too often are left out of the benefit side of a law, rule or regulation. The pain side of such matters is usually where you will find us. As one of my mentors taught me, “You can be one of two things: A political activist or a political victim.” Don’t assume that our needs will be taken care of. They haven’t been yet, and it is our fault. We must get into the game and ensure our needs will be met.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Aug 2 2012

Practical Politics

On Thursday, July 27, 2012, in one of the very few programs the Obama administration has specifically targeted and titled for Black Americans, President Obama issued an executive order creating the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, which will be housed in the secretary of education’s office.

It creates a new executive director of Black education, a new President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans, and an interagency collaboration of staff from different departments.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 26 2012

Practical Politics

The president is the chief executive officer of the U.S. government. As such, the president heads the executive branch of national government, which currently consists of the president, the vice president (who also serves as president of the U.S.

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 26 2012

Counting the Cost

George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed African American teen Trayvon Martin, told Fox News personality Sean Hannity the events that occurred on Feb. 26 were “God’s will.”

What a cynical manipulation of our Creator, to suggest that the massacre of an African American teenager by a crazed vigilante is the will of God. Actually, if one wants to know about God’s will, one might simply go to the Ten Commandments, the sixth of which is quite explicit—“Thou shall not kill.”

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.