I ask you, fans across America and around the world, to root for Memphis -- both the Grizzlies team and the city. Maybe a Grizzlies championship can provide just the "grits" this Southern city needs.
Barack Obama visited Morehouse College on Sunday to give a refrain on the responsibility of Morehouse Men and black America to find dignity and progress in self-reliance, a refrain that has simultaneously proven exciting and excruciating for African Americans over the last four years.
there's the almost ritual expectation by the public that second term presidents will be dogged by some scandal. This was the case with Eisenhower, Nixon, of course, Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. This shouldn't surprise.
The loneliness of that realization, that my daughter might have to shoulder the consequences of these stigmas, made me heartsick. I'd made myself believe she would only be challenged by her race and gender, not the basic ability to speak her mind.
On this 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Children's Crusade it is a time to remember, honor, and follow the example of the children who were frontline soldiers and transforming catalysts in America's greatest moral movement of the 20th century.
There is no way to make up for decades of discrimination that crippled the proud history of black farm ownership in this country. But we can do our best to move forward.
The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have one. In order to rid oneself of addiction, one must declare it. My name is Fire Burgess and I am a diehard fan of misogynistic Rap music.
How do we expect our communities and economies to thrive when our young boys and girls are not receiving the education and training that is needed to enter the workforce?
The bill -- passed by the Florida legislature and now awaiting the signature of Governor Rick Scott -- would expedite the death penalty process in the Sunshine state.
We watch the stories of hoarders on television and feel sorry for them and we feel proud to not be one of them. But perhaps we have more in common than we realize.
Anti-choice activists are exploiting the Gosnell trial to push for laws that close abortion clinics and otherwise limit access to choice. But that is exactly the wrong reaction. The horrific conditions at Gosnell's clinic show just how important it is to have real reproductive choice.
In the ongoing "Mommy Wars of 2013", there is still a backlash against mothers who hire individuals (mostly women) to help with childcare. Is this a class issue or just another cafeteria fight?
What happened to the party of Lincoln? To the party that abolished slavery and championed a woman's right to vote? To the party of Reagan who ended the Cold War and revitalized a moribund economy?
The right-wing is screaming at Eric Holder to investigate potential civil rights' violations by IRS officials. He should take them up on their entreaties, and raise the ante by investigating all the voter suppression and intimidation during the 2012 election.
I entered the hospitality industry in 2010. It took me all of one week to realize what I did not want to believe. My housekeeping sisters, mostly Latina, were treated different than me.
Sequestration threatens more than flight schedules. For many people around the world, sequestration is literally a life-or-death issue. Its impact may be most deeply felt by those living in developing nations.
We know children are influenced by everything from family income and dynamics to what happens in the classroom. Helping students uncover their strengths, rather than their weaknesses, and develop their potential should be the paramount focus for education.
If addressing societal inequality and disenfranchisement motivates you, social entrepreneurship or working for a business with a corporate responsibility focus are worth exploring!
Incidents of rape always need to be called out, as Joyner did, and addressed immediately, but it shouldn't be brought to attention while denigrating a member of another minority group within the same population, as Joyner also did.
Jarrett L. Carter, 2013.19.05
Benjamin Todd Jealous, 2013.17.05

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
Comments: (34)
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By: BillSchrier on 6/09/2010 9:47PM
From the CNN article "Why Obama doesn't dare become the 'angry black man'":
"In his 1995 memoir, "Dreams of My Father," Obama explained why he thought such negotiation was necessary when he met white people as a young man growing up in Hawaii.
"People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. Such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry." "
In other words, Obama is what you blacks would call an "Uncle Tom", who has spent his whole life being pleasant to white people!! That's how he managed to get what white votes he did, by appearing non-threatening and polite to whites! Something you all despise! lol!
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/06/08/rage.obama/index.html?hpt=C1
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By: Tanya PK on 6/09/2010 10:21PM
Being an Uncle Tom is not about being "pleasant to white people". It's about NOT being black, not identifying with being black, and doing whatever you need to do to resemble anything BUT black (ie. Michael Steele). Barack Obama's actions are what most black professionals have to do everyday to get ahead in a world where (unfounded) preconceived notions (based on the 6 o'clock news) about blacks dominate the non-black psyche: act in a way that isn't OVERTLY black, but isn't so white that your kids will think you've been replaced by something that was grown in the garden last night.
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By: Pedro on 6/10/2010 4:34AM
BillSchrier, there are many things you wrote that are not pleasant to anyone and have not sense. You seem happy with race separation in your community. Why don't you find the reasons why blacks hate whites (if they do)? From history point of view, you will have many reasons to convince you on that point. I hope you are educated person, and that you can make a proper judgment based on facts. Being Black is nothing wrong; America is tired with this unpleasant argument which drives you to no where. Chinese are going to overtake Americans as the happiest people in the world, and you are there arguing about who is Black who is White, shame on you.
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By: bed5d0e on 6/10/2010 8:56AM
@ Tanya PK Your are so correct!!!!!!!!! But I'll tell you from my heart, I'd rather be the poorest person on earth then to sell-out to "the man"!
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By: smittyt on 6/10/2010 11:06AM
@bed5d0e,I feel the same way.
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By: BillSchrier on 6/09/2010 9:52PM
What do you want Obama to call himself? Do you expect him to be honest and call himself a "mulatto"?
If so, the same honesty should be expected of the vast majority of "blacks" in American, who are also mulattoes. They hate to admit they are mongrels, preferring to say they are "African", but it's true just the same.
Blacks in America are mongrel mutts, nearly all containing some of the white blood they hate so much. This is why blacks are so conflicted about white people, hating them and yet wanting to be just like them, all at the same time.
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By: Willie A on 6/09/2010 10:15PM
@Bill No black person would never want to be like you or any OTHER WHITE PERSON. Ya heard me!
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By: BillSchrier on 6/09/2010 10:40PM
Oh really? Is that why black women where weaves made of the straight hair of other races? Is it why blacks have their own caste system where the light skinned (more white blood) look down upon the darker skinned (less white blood)? Is it why Sammy Sosa and Michael Jackson bleached their skin to be lighter? Is it why skin whitener and hair relaxer are big products for blacks? Is it why black males, who can afford it, prefer to get a white girl?
You are just another conflicted black person, who hasn't come to terms with your own self-hatred and envy of whites.
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By: Willie A on 6/09/2010 10:47PM
First African American, black only describes my outward appearence Second I WILL NEVER WANT A WHITE WOMAN Third as light to brown skinned man myself I DON'T LOOK DOWN ON DARK SKINNED BLACKs, INSTEAD I CHERISH THEM LIKE I CHERISH ALL PEOPLE I JUST DATE AND MARRIED MY OWN!
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By: Tanya PK on 6/09/2010 11:47PM
Bill - you are obviously trying to illicit a certain response by coming to BLACKVOICES and spouting off what you assume to be black self-hatred methods about wearing weaves and bleaching skin. Those same weaves are sold in the same mass quantities to white women and last time I looked, the tan white girl is the one that most white men go for. And why you chose to "hang out" on blogs geared toward African-American's attempting to take cheap shots at 2 people - one who isn't even African-American - who chose to do something as ridiculous as bleach their skin, is just plain...er, what's the word...DUMB. Get a life dude. The vast majority of black folks don't give a damn WHAT you think. People who think like you are off our radar.
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