The struggle for which Dr. King gave his life: Unity
April 7, 2023This week in 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated leading a bold effort to teach America an urgent lesson: Racism is not just the boot on the neck of people of color, it is also the great wedge that divides Americans. And everyone who gets divided loses. On Dec. 4, 1967, King […]
Milestones show us where we’ve come from, where we need to go
March 31, 2023Two things happened last week — one public, the other personal — that made me reflect on how far we’ve come as a nation, how we got here, and what it will take to keep that journey moving forward. Maryland, my home state, inaugurated its first Black governor, Wes Moore. It’s a description I thought […]
Still fighting for families
March 24, 2023If you want to change the world, you change the world of a child. – Rep. Patricia Schroeder When former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder passed away March 13, many people were quick to remember the Harvard-educated lawyer who became the first woman member of Congress from Colorado as a trailblazing feminist politician. As a founding member […]
The propaganda machine called Fox News
March 16, 2023In 2021, the bill to award gold medals to the U.S. Capitol Police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 insurrection passed, despite 21 GOP lawmakers voting against it. The Congressional Gold Medal is Congress’s highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished contributions made by individuals. Surprisingly, party members that pride themselves as supporters of […]
Women’s History Month Child Watch
March 9, 2023There is an African proverb that says “women hold up half the sky.” Women constitute half the world’s population, but still have not realized half of the world’s potential, received half of the world’s resources, or exercised half of the world’s power. But women have always been the invisible backbone—unseen but strong—of transforming social movements […]
An appeal for human rights
March 2, 2023As the Children’s Defense Fund proudly reinvigorates its Black Student Leadership Network for Children for a new generation, the close of Black History Month provided one more chance to look back at earlier waves of activism that helped bring us this far on the way. When my Spelman College classmate and fellow Merrill Scholar Roslyn […]
“You either care about protecting kids or you don’t”
February 23, 2023“As we sat at our desks working on our computers, we began to hear loud pops…I thought I was going to die. As I laid there, I begged God to please make it fast…My classmates pulled me behind a filing cabinet where I called my mom and my dad and said what I thought would […]
New dangerous assaults on teaching the truth
February 16, 2023When Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Florida’s Department of Education make headlines for banning the new Advanced Placement African American Studies course from being taught in the state’s schools, saying the class “significantly lacks educational value,” we need to pay very close attention. Florida’s move is the latest front in an ongoing war against teaching […]
Our challenge during Black History Month: Resistance to Ignorance
February 9, 2023Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History sets a theme for Black History Month. This year the theme is Black Resistance. It is appropriate for a time such as this because it reflects the work we must do in a climate where there has been active retrenchment of our […]
Teacher shortages in high-poverty schools
February 3, 2023There is no way one can put a price on the value of a child’s education. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” Dr. King’s words remind us that we must fix the root causes behind […]
Advertise With Us | Contact Us | Follow Us On Twitter