Julianne Malveaux
OW Contributing Columnist

 Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., is president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.
Olympic gold an educational mediocrity: returns on Investment
Aug 16 2012

Counting the Cost

The Olympic games are a celebration of excellence and athleticism. Whether we are cheering the Williams sisters in their gold medal-winning doubles match, Serena with her gold, the graceful Gabby Douglas in flight, or some of the many others, we are cheering their excellence, their indomitable spirits, and their drive.

We are also acknowledging the tens of thousands of hours that they must have put into practice.

Even as we cheer, there are lessons for each of us, both individually and in a social policy context.

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Olympics: why not celebrate the victories rather than criticize Gabrielle?
Aug 9 2012

Counting the Cost

If you don’t follow Olympic gymnastics, you may not have heard about Gabrielle Douglas before this year. But the amazing grace of this 16-year-old African American propelled her to Olympic gold last week, and she is the first African American to win an individual medal in gymnastics.

Indeed, her performance toppled the Russians, who have portrayed themselves as unbeatable. So unbeatable, as a matter of fact that the winner of the silver medal, Viktoria Komova, “sobbed uncontrollably,” according to a news report, because she so expected to win.

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The equivalency of human life: who’s worth the mention?
Aug 2 2012

Counting the Cost

The national support for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shootings is great.

However, if we believe in the equivalency of life, what about the lives of young men in Chicago, where there have been more deaths than in Afghanistan so far this year. While the hospitals in Aurora say they will cover hospital bills for those without insurance (one in three in Colorado), who will cover bills for those who are hospitalized after a drive-by? We mourn some deaths and ignore others, which suggests that some life is valued and some life is cheap.

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Was it God’s plan to kill Trayvon?
Jul 26 2012

Counting the Cost

George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed African American teen Trayvon Martin, told Fox News personality Sean Hannity the events that occurred on Feb. 26 were “God’s will.”

What a cynical manipulation of our Creator, to suggest that the massacre of an African American teenager by a crazed vigilante is the will of God. Actually, if one wants to know about God’s will, one might simply go to the Ten Commandments, the sixth of which is quite explicit—“Thou shall not kill.”

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Rep. Jackson's plight should serve as a lesson
Jul 19 2012

Counting the cost

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has been away from Congress on medical leave for so long that his colleagues have been clamoring to know what’s wrong, and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported that the Congressman was receiving treatment for addiction.

The truth, according the Rep. Jackson’s staff, is that the Congressman is being treated in a residential facility for exhaustion and mood disorders.

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Gloating over the high number of unemployed
Jul 12 2012

Counting the Cost

The unemployment rate has hovered above 8 percent for several months, most recently holding ground at 8.2 percent; the same as last month.

Meanwhile the African American unemployment rate went up, technically to 14.4 percent, and we all know that means the real rate is even higher—in excess of 25 percent.

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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.

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This Week in LA

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