Commentary
Lessons From World War II
December 7th was the 80th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the official launch of the United States into World War II. The attack is top of mind for me this year because I toured the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, back in May, so some of the details are fresh. While the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II happened long ago, some of the tenets of the war and underlining messages during that time are relevant today. From Russia's current attempt to wheel their superiority to the insurrection of the Capitol to modern-day propaganda to the attempts to suppress voting rights, the events of World War II are full of messages and lessons for us to be aware of today.
Thinking About Voting Rights
On July 25th, 2021, we lost Robert Parris "Bob" Moses, a pioneer in the fight for voting and civil rights. I'm thinking about him today because of his work in my hometown, McComb, MS. In 1961, Bob Moses, a Harvard graduate teaching in New York, ventured to Mississippi to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's (SNCC) fight for Civil Rights. He arrived in my McComb in July of 1961, where he and the local NAACP President, CC Bryant, led efforts to get black people registered to vote in the tri-county area, Pike, Amite, and Walthall counties. These efforts led to violent responses from those like the local Ku Klux Klan (KKK), who did not want Black people voting.
Good Grief!!!
Someone recently asked me how it was going, and my first response was "GOOD GRIEF." Odd response, or at least that was my thought after I said it. Why did I say that? Did it come from the cartoon Charlie Brown? And, why did I feel like it was an appropriate answer at that time? So, I went digging.
Women Leading The Fight For Reparations
Reparations. There it is, I said it, and according to statistics, seven out of ten people have already moved on because they don't want to hear it. However, this is not a call for reparations but an acknowledgment of those who have made that call. On the heels of the Black Wealth Gap series and as a woman who is always mindful of women working in the trenches, I thought it essential to go back and talk about how women have worked to close the wealth gap by fighting for reparations. For example, even before the end of slavery, women like Belinda Sutton Royall (1713-178?), a slave for a wealthy British family in Massachusetts, fought for restitution for her services. Then after Civil War and the repeal of the offer of "40 acres and a mule", many other women have championed the call, like Callie House, Audley Moore, Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, and others. While the call for reparations might be debatable for some, my great appreciation for these brave women is not.
The Black Wealth Gap: From War on Drugs to the Obama Years
From the 100 years of Jim Crow to the War on Drugs in the 1970s to the eight years of President Obama, black wealth in America was reposed and reduced despite the calls for reparations, rectification, and rapport. Instead of growing wealth, Black communities overall were plagued with riots, resistance, and racism. And through all of this conflict, hope abounded when the first Black President was elected, yet black wealth languished despite Obama's election and reelection.
Roe V. Wade Suffers A Gop Knockdown, What's Next?
When a boxer is under a barrage of blows from an opponent and gets knocked down, there is concern in that boxer's corner. He was knocked down, but not out, but he is staggered by the blows never the less. That is the state of the federal law passed in January of 1973 making abortions legal in America, the law titled Roe v. Wade, is under attack by Republicans and Texas Republicans in particular, have succeeded in knocking Roe v. Wade out in their state! The Republican-led Texas legislature, passed the ban on abortions in May and it went into effect September 1st. That means a woman in Texas can't get an abortion anywhere in that state, she would have to go out of state for that service! And who do you think would be most affected the most by this GOP stunt? Minority and poor white women.
The Black Wealth Gap: Why We Struggle-- Intro to the Series
Have you ever wondered why it seems that black people suffer disproportionately more than other ethnicities? We seem to always be on the high end of everything negative and the low end of everything positive from birth to death. African Americans have high infant mortality rates, high illiteracy rates, high poverty rates, high incarceration rates, and high unemployment rates. We also tend to have lower incomes, lower homeownership, lower ages for death expectancy, and lower wealth. Are we cursed? Are we inherently doomed to struggle, suffer and have constant pain in life? I often ponder these questions, and to better understand our plight in life; I usually have to look back at our history.
Blue Lives Matter To GOP, Until They Don't!
Republicans for years have prided themselves as the party of law and order, the party that loves the Blue. Where was that love for the four law enforcement officers testifying before Congress and the nation? These brave men gave gut-wrenching accounts of the horrific encounters they endured at the hands of Trump supporters who were nothing more than domestic terrorists! These would-be insurrectionists, were on a mission to stop a legitimate constitutional process to validate Electoral College votes for a peaceful transfer of power, as is our custom. "Stop the Steal" was their rallying cry put in their heads by Trump and his cultists in and out of Congress!
Will There Be A Repeat Of The January 6 Insurrection?
On May 28, Republicans in the US Senate voted down the creation of an independent commission to try to get to the bottom of the why, who and what the unruly group of former President Trump's supporters were attempting to do when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6.
The Danger Of Surveillance Technology To Communities Of Color Needs To Be Closely Examined
The Biden Administration's recent initiative to address the rise in gun violence nationwide not only approves the use of the America Rescue Plan funds to hire more police officers, but to purchase and use technology as well. This creates a potentially dangerous situation for Black and Brown communities.
Impeachment Without Senate Removal May Cripple the Two-Party System
Can America's world - renowned and highly heralded two- party system survive all the turmoil following the 2020 presidential election?
We wait to see if Kentucky's senior Senator, Mitch McConnell, who is serving out his last week as Majority leader will encourage his fellow Republicans to vote to remove President Trump from office for the acts of sedition carried out by Trump's followers on our nation's capitol on January 6.
Are you thinking he was impeached and that removes him from office? Well, no. You see the Democratically controlled House of Representatives, under the leadership of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California, voted on Wednesday, January 13, one week after the Capitol invasion, to impeach President Trump or bring charges against him.
Individual Rights Mean More To Americans
Tell me if you've heard this one before, "I have rights!". Or perhaps this one, "You can't tell me what to do!" I bet you've heard one or both of these phrases shouted by some person who has felt he or she has had their "rights" infringed upon.
It doesn't matter if the so - called infringement is for the public good or even for that person's own safety, they don't want to be told they can't do something. And who is most likely to fit this characterization of the wrongly denied? White people, mainly white males.