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The Poverty Crisis 50 Years After King Assassination
April 4 will mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, shot down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.
The Burden of College Loan Debt
The reaction -- shock, joy, disbelief, euphoria -- revealed the importance of Robert F. Smith's stunning gift, when he announced, unexpectedly, that he would pay off all the college debts of Morehouse College students graduating this year. His gift literally changed the prospects and the lives of the vast majority of those 396 graduates.
Dr. King's Work Is Not Yet Done
Yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. It is an extraordinary national tribute to a leader who did not amass a fortune, nor command an army, nor hold elective office, and yet transformed America. In the U.S., we too often love martyrs and not marches. We honor those who sacrifice - after they are dead. Yet, Dr. King's example when he was alive holds lessons for us today.
Republican Chaos Fuels Threat of Government Shutdown
Unless warring factions of Republicans in the House of Representatives can come to their senses, the United States government will shut down next Sunday. Some may not notice – we tend to rely on government only when we are in need. But the impact – and the hurt – will be immediate – and will grow over time. Nearly a million federal employees will be furloughed and sent home without pay until there is a resolution.
The Sensible, the Mad and the Missing
The 2024 presidential race is taking shape. It looks like a choice between the sensible, the mad and the missing. Joe Biden seems intent on running on his record, a sensible route for the incumbent. His major challenger, the inescapable Donald Trump, is replaying his madcap candidacy – his program a mixture of resentment, racism, bluster and victimization. What’s missing are the big challenges that America can’t avoid and can’t seem to face.
The American Plutocracy Gets Its Immoral Tax Bill
"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever."
People of Color MUST Get Out and Vote!
Republicans are already gloating about the elections coming this fall. With Joe Biden lagging in the polls, Trump's Big Lie rousing the Republican base, inflation distracting from the remarkable jobs recovery, Democrats look to be in trouble. Much can change in the months left before the election -- and one central question is whether increased registration and voting among African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans will begin to turn more districts and more states blue, particularly those in the South.
The Growing Racial Wage Gap
President Donald Trump keeps boasting about the low black unemployment rate, although African-Americans still suffer nearly twice the unemployment rate as whites do.
Trump's Fake National Emergency
President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency in order to fund his border wall triggers a crisis for our Constitution and our democracy.
‘I Do Not Believe You Are a Racist’
At the Miami Democratic Presidential Debate, Kamala Harris questioned Joe Biden about his opposition to integrating the schools through court-ordered busing. Biden responded: “I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education.” After the debate, Biden spoke at the Rainbow Push Convention in Chicago. He said, “I want to be absolutely clear about my record and position on racial justice, including busing. I never, never, ever opposed voluntary busing.”
Trump Is Leading a Counterrevolution
As the House of Representatives moves toward impeaching Donald Trump this week -- by what all predict will be a vote divided largely by party, it is time for reflection. The House will indict the president for abuse of his office -- trying to enlist a foreign government to intervene in our election by announcing an investigation of his potential opponent in the upcoming presidential race and for obstruction of justice in his extreme efforts to block the congressional investigation of his abuses.
Remembering Brown v. Board of Education
Last Sunday marked the 66th anniversary of the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. the Board of Education. The Brown decision addressed consolidated issues from four different cases involving racial segregation. The issues emanated from Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware, and Virginia. The unanimous opinion of the court was written by Earl Warren, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower's newly appointed chief justice. The Court declared that forced segregation of public-school children violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional.
Will Trump Choose to Govern With Grace Or In Denial?
In his combative inaugural address, Donald Trump promised that his inauguration would be remembered "as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again." He celebrated "a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before." At its center, he said, was a "crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens."
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and Ginni Thomas
Last week, two events involving the U.S. Supreme Court occurred. First, four days of hearings surrounding the nomination and possible elevation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the nation's highest court.
Will the Ron DeSantis Bubble Burst?
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has made himself into the leading rival to Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He won a sweeping re-election victory as governor in 2022, even as Republicans generally were underperforming. Now, he’s used that position to pick purposeful fights on polarizing social issues, clearly seeking to cater to the fury of the MAGA Republican base. By assailing what he calls “wokeness,” including everything from vaccinations, Dr. Fauci, critical race theory, LGBTQ students, and how American history is taught, he apparently hopes to offer Republicans a new generation culture warrior who can rouse Trump’s base and have a broader appeal to suburban voters.
Georgia Voters Will Decide
On January 5, Georgia voters will decide the runoff for their two U.S. Senate seats. Their votes will determine whether Republicans retain control of the Senate or whether Democrats gain a 50-50 tie, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. The race is a microcosm of America's struggle to find a way forward and of Georgia and the South's struggle to build a new South.
Time for Biden to invoke the 14th amendment
So it has come to this. House Republicans are about to force the U.S. government to default on paying its debts – obligations that the Congress voted to make. They bluster that they will blow up the economy, tank the dollar, and destroy America’s good faith and credit unless they get their way – even as they are bitterly divided about what “their way” means. The stakes are unfathomable – and so it is worth being clear about what is happening.
Sessions Stands for Outmoded, Unjust Law-and-Order Policies
Attorney General Jeff Sessions gets it wrong. On core issue after core issue -- civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, police reform and particularly mass incarceration -- he is a destructive force.
Time for Democracy to Work
The right to vote is fundamental to a democracy. Today in America, however, that right is under partisan attack across the country. If it is to be defended, nonpartisan reforms must pass across a partisan divide. The question now is whether Democrats will join together to protect the right to vote from the assault it faces from Republicans at every level of government.
The Health Care Debate Is Long Overdue
Affordable health care for all is now at the center of the presidential debate. Two of the top three contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination -- Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- support Medicare for All. The third -- Joe Biden -- and those hoping to take his place as the leading centrist in the race -- Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar -- have attacked the plan to contrast their candidacies from Sanders and Warren. Donald Trump, who wants to eliminate the Affordable Care Act itself, and has already added some 10 million people to the ranks of the uninsured, scorns it as "socialism," just as earlier Republicans libeled Social Security and Medicare itself when they were under consideration.
