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The Passing of the British Empire
Queen Elizabeth II's death at 96 has occasioned an outpouring of tributes and grieving across the world. Heads of state, including Joe Biden, mourn her passing. Common citizens have built mountains of flowers at her gate. The British football league even postponed its games for a weekend in her honor.
White Supremacist Violence Is Once More On the Rise
Every right we have fought for and won since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his monumental "I Have a Dream" speech 56 years ago this Wednesday is under unrelenting attack and in grave peril -- from the right to drink fresh water and to breathe clear air, to the right of workers to organize for better wages and safer conditions to the right to vote without interference from "enemies foreign and domestic" to the rights of women, children, the LGBTQ community and immigrants.
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."
Biden's Inauguration Offers New Hope and New Energy
On Monday, we marked Dr. Martin Luther King's 91st birthday; on Wednesday, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as president, promising change after a dark period of division. Dr. King's relationship with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson offers instructive lessons for today's movement for justice.
Face the Truth to Move Toward Reconciliation
If we don't know the whereas, the therefore doesn't make sense. Witness the ovens in Auschwitz and Treblinka, and then you can understand the creation of Israel.
Racial Violence: Memory and Truth
Donald Trump's use of the term "lynching" to describe the ongoing impeachment inquiry in the House naturally sparked bipartisan outrage.
The Right to Vote Again Under Siege
The fundamental right in a democracy -- the right to vote -- is once more under siege. In state after state, across the country, Republican legislators have introduced literally hundreds of bills designed to suppress voting.
The Case for 'DC' Statehood Is Clear
Last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 51, a bill that would make Washington, D. C., the 51st state of the union. It would finally end the denial of voting representation to its more than 700,000 residents, the majority of whom are black or brown.
We Can't Afford to Let Hate and Lies Win Again
When Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white teenager opened fire on shoppers in the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday, he knew exactly who he was aiming at - African Americans. Ten were murdered and three wounded in the attack, 11 of the victims were Black.
Donald Trump's Symbols and The Substance of Division
Symbols are important. Donald Trump, whose fortune is built upon a brand, and whose presidential campaign brandished symbols far more than reform ideas, knows that well.
As World Burns, Trump Adds Fuel to Fire
North Carolina has been hit with a storm of biblical ferocity. Florence has left at least 17 dead there, 500,000 without power, with flash flooding across the state from the coast to the western mountains. Landslides and infectious diseases are predicted to follow. North Carolina is not alone, of course.
Obama vs. Trump: A Story of Decline and Hope for Renewal
Donald Trump began his presidency with an inaugural address that denounced the "carnage" that had preceded him. He vowed to Make America Great Again, and set about systematically trying to deep-six virtually everything that his predecessor Barack Obama had accomplished.
Water crisis in Jackson reflects vicious neglect
In sweltering heat, 150,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi, the state's capital and its largest city, now have no running water, after suffering under a "boil only" order for weeks. The last catastrophe came after extreme rainfall in Jackson swelled the Pearl River and swamped the city's outmoded water treatment plant.
Juneteenth Celebrates the Continuing Struggle for Equality Under the Law
"Great nations don't ignore the most painful moments. ... They embrace them," said President Biden as he signed the Juneteenth National Independent Day Act - passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate - to make Juneteenth - June 19th - a federal holiday.
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.
Sessions Will Be a Disaster If Confirmed As Attorney General
Confirmation hearings for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, named by Donald Trump to be attorney general of the United States, will begin on Jan. 10, before Trump is even inaugurated. The rush and insistence on only two days of hearings reflect Republican efforts to cram the nomination through before Americans understand what is at stake.
Time for a New 'Good Neighbor Policy'
“America is back,” President Biden announced repeatedly in meeting with allies in Europe. The question, of course, is back for what? Biden has sensibly insisted that we must “build back better” at home and abroad. Our neighbors to the south in Latin America offer a clear opportunity to show that is true. Now more than ever, it is time for a new Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America.
Right to register and vote is not a partisan issue
The right to vote, Dr. Martin Luther King taught in his famous “Give Us the Ballot” address, is one of the “highest mandates of our democratic tradition.” Democracy is founded on the right of citizens to decide via popular, free and fair elections who should represent them. Across the world, the U.S. champions democracy. Yet at home the right to vote is embattled.
A Question of Justice
In 1838, in a shameful chapter of American history, U.S. forces under Gen. Winfield Scott forced tens of thousands of Cherokee Indians - one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" that had embraced the customs and language of white settlers - to march 1,200 miles to what was designated "Indian Territory" across the Mississippi (centered in what is now Oklahoma). Their lands were confiscated; their homes looted. Along what became known as the Trail of Tears, whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, and starvation took a deadly toll, with an estimated one-quarter of the Cherokee people perishing along the way.
Freedom and equal justice under the law requires constant struggle
Last week, on Juneteenth, the nation enjoyed the new national holiday celebrating the freedom of the slaves at the end of the Civil War. This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Shelby v. Holder and the impending decision of the Supreme Court on affirmative action in college admissions. The juxtaposition is a stark reminder that the struggle for equal justice for all is ongoing. Each step forward is met with furious reaction; each reconstruction with concerted efforts to roll back the progress. And today, we are once more in the midst of that reaction.
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