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Now what do I get out of this?
April 17, 2013
The Supreme Court is expected to make decisions concerning gay marriage in June 2013. After the decision is made and the gay marriage issue fades away, I wonder if the nation will once again, as Frederick Douglass wrote, “look upon the Negro [...] as an alien.”
Martin, money and movies: ‘Django’ and ‘Lincoln’ remind us reparations should not be ‘Gone With the Wind’
January 21, 2013
On the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it comes to mind that from day one our society and culture have been heavily influenced by film. The recent slavery-related films, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg, and “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino, will have a social, economic and psychological impact.
Mr. President, three wishes of a Black American
November 7, 2012
First, be more forceful about appointing federal judges. As a former constitutional law professor, you know better than most the importance of the federal bench. Second, please listen to Paul Krugman on economic policy. He was right early on in the economic crisis when he was adamant about the need to create jobs. Finally, do not abandon the needs of Black people because you will be seen as playing favorites. Black folks are out here on our own. We need you to stand up for us and to advance policies that will help us move upward, “lifting as we climb.”
We twisted King’s dream, so we live with his nightmare
January 17, 2011
King’s commitment to non-violence had a purpose larger than non-violence itself. Non-violence was, for King and the movement, a means to a larger end – a tactic meant to topple racism and economic exploitation and lead the world away from cataclysmic warfare.
Union PLAs block Blacks from construction
November 8, 2010
Construction unions have historically fought affirmative action and excluded Black hiring, and they are still getting away with it. They huddle up to the good unions and pay off our elected officials with campaign donations.
Students protest fee hikes: an interview wit’ journalist Dave Id of Indy Bay Media
December 29, 2009
Universities all over the state of California have erupted into protest over the raising of student fees. In the Bay Area, rebellions have been going down at UC Berkeley and at San Francisco State University regularly; students actually have brought their feelings right to the front door of the chancellor’s house.
Reverse images: The acrimonious debate on race in Cuba
December 15, 2009
Recently the cold war against Cuba was ratcheted up when an acrimonious debate broke out over the issue of racism in Cuba and for the first time the issue of Brazil was thrown into the mix. The brouhaha began when scores of prominent African Americans, many of whom should have known better, put their names to a petition calling upon the Cuban government to release a dissident from prison.
WBOK purchased by Danny Bakewell, champion of Black economic self-determination
June 4, 2009
WBOK has come back strong from the severe damage inflicted on its studio, offices, transmitter site and broadcast tower by the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now broadcasting over a powerful signal, the station adopted a Black talk format – “Real Talk for Real Times” – on Nov. 1, 2007, after it was purchased and upgraded by Danny Bakewell Sr. on behalf of the Bakewell family.
If you want peace, fight for justice
March 31, 2009
A time bomb is ticking, waiting to explode in communities of color across the nation. Law enforcement officers have become an occupation force. If we are to have peace, we first must place economic justice at the top of our agenda. The day Lovelle Mixon died, those close to him mentioned two explanations: He dreaded being sent back to prison yet he couldn’t find a job.
Notes from the occupied territories: Black America and the police
March 24, 2009
When the full story is finally told and, though not likely freely admitted by many, deep within the spiritual thinking of numerous African Americans, an emotional candle will be lit in memory of Lovelle Mixon.
‘Change … comes through continuous struggle’ – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 1, 2009
My call last month for an end to the lockout of Blacks from construction is catching fire. This month, let’s get some work! Everyone who wants to work construction, pack the BART board meeting Thursday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m., Kaiser Center, Third Floor, 344 20th St., Oakland. Dr. King taught us, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.”
A great opportunity to integrate the construction unions
December 28, 2008
This is a great time to make a long overdue change. Construction unions are the most racist organizations in the nation. Let’s make them integrate.