Editorials

Black women leaders of national civil rights and voting rights organizations have gathered at the National Press Club in Washington DC to declare “America in Emergency,” at a time when conservative lawmakers continued to dismantle decades of Civil Rights gains.

Some recent polls surprisingly showed that if the presidential election was held today, 17% of Black voters say they would vote for Trump.

I listened to every word of the United States Supreme Court Hearing in the past few days. My mind went back to years ago when people seeking justice would say the words “We will take this to the Supreme Court” because we truly believed we would receive some measure of justice there.

Any nation, including Israel, has the right to defend themselves. But at what point does the oppressed become the oppressor? The human dignity of an innocent civilian should always be defended.

Toxic waste from coal and industrial plants has been a plague for many American communities like Waukegan. One of my mentors, a legendary community organizer in Pittsburgh, once showed me an uncovered coal ash pit there. I asked him where all that waste went when there was a heavy rain. I still remember his response: “nowhere good.” 

The initiative to combat poverty emphasizes a comprehensive strategy centered on increasing access and equity across several critical areas, recognizing poverty as a significant national issue that jeopardizes the future prosperity of the United States. 

The idea to create a new Buckhead City finally died in the Georgia state legislature. And rightfully so. Democratic members of Atlanta’s state delegation never favored allowing the affluent, majority-white neighborhood of Buckhead to secede from the city of Atlanta.

Arguably, had Marilyn Mosby not had the courage to indict officers in the death of Freddy Gray, there would have been no precedent in indicting Derek Chauvin and his gang of thugs for killing Freddy Gray. Mosby, in other words, is a trailblazer.

Life in Chicago comes with exposure to an extraordinary number of asthma’s causes and triggers. Like in other large cities, emissions from gas-powered vehicles contribute heavily to overall air pollution. 

Black people have always known about selective prosecution, but lately, it has been more blatant than any we’ve seen in recent years.  Many people think things have gotten better, but in many areas, nothing could be a longer way from the truth.