Earl Ofari Hutchinson
OW Contributing Columnist

 Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is, How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge (Middle Passage Press).

 

Oct 2 2008

Did Palin really say she wouldn’t hire blacks?

Sarah Palin admittedly hasn’t had much of a track record when it comes to acknowledging let alone promoting diversity during her short tenure as Alaska governor. She’s on record with a terse utterance on hate crimes legislation and another one on cultural diversity. 

Sep 25 2008

No race card this time for O.J.

O.J. Simpson and his attorney loudly complained that the jury in his Las Vegas robbery trial has no blacks on it. But there was never much doubt that it would. That’s the kind of jury that most minority defendants get in Clark County courts. He’s fortunate though that he did get two black juror alternates. Only 5% of the potential jurors among the 500 in the Simpson juror panel were blacks.

Sep 11 2008

Inglewood city officials get call to end deadly force use

Three things happened within the short space of a few days that could finally turn things around for Inglewood and its much embattled police department. The first thing was Inglewood city officials finally stepped in and said enough is enough.

Sep 4 2008

The South L.A. serial murders

 The first body was discovered in 1985 in a back alley in South L.A. In the years since then more bodies have been discovered. The victims had several things in common. They were mostly young. There were allegations that some of them engaged in prostitution and drug use. They were all poor or of marginal income. They were all black women.

Aug 28 2008

GOP banks that Biden’s civil rights record will be a liability for Obama

 The Georgia GOP committee wasted no time when it got word that Obama picked Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. It bluntly said that by picking him Obama had effectively killed any chances that he had to win the South. The issue for the committee is Biden’s liberal record. He was ranked as the third most liberal Senator in 2007 by the National Journal.

Aug 21 2008

One year later South L.A. needs King Hospital even more

 It’s been one year since the ill fated week that the feds gave Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital an “F” grade on its final test determining whether to continue to bankroll the hospital. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors grimly announced that the cut of federal funding would force them to downsize operations at the hospital even more.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.