Martin Luther King Jr.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Apr 16 2009

Dr. King and Black economic development

 This month’s dramatizations and reflections on the April assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King emphasizes his continuing image. Certainly, our new president, Barack Obama, reminds us of Dr. King’s importance as one of the ancestral shoulders upon which he stands, and Rev. Joseph Lowery’s brilliant benedictory during the presidential inauguration brought back to mind tons of emotional facts connected with Dr. King.

Jan 29 2009

Los Angeles County Supervisor, Second District

On the second full day of his presidency, President Obama signed executive orders requiring all interrogations to follow the non-coercive methods of the Army Field Manual consistent with international conventions, making good on a campaign promise that attracted the support of civil libertarians and constitutional scholars alike. The orders also ended the Central Intelligence Agency’s program of operating secret prisons in foreign countries and ordered the closure of the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, within a year.

Karen Bass  |   OW Guest Columnist
Jan 22 2009

Reclaiming the past, moving into the future

 As Speaker of the California Assembly, I often am invited to events that focus on California’s youth and their future. I frequently tell the young people about the principle of Sankofa. That’s the African principle that says we must go back to reclaim our past so we can move into the future. The symbol of Sankofa is a bird looking backward while it continues to walk ahead.

If ever there were a time that represented what Sankofa is all about, this week is it.

Karen Bass  |   OW Guest Columnist
Jan 22 2009

Reclaiming the past, moving into the future

 As Speaker of the California Assembly, I often am invited to events that focus on California’s youth and their future. I frequently tell the young people about the principle of Sankofa. That’s the African principle that says we must go back to reclaim our past so we can move into the future. The symbol of Sankofa is a bird looking backward while it continues to walk ahead.

If ever there were a time that represented what Sankofa is all about, this week is it.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jan 22 2009

Remember Fannie Lou Hamer for Obama’s triumph

 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not the only person President Barack Obama owes a profound debt of gratitude to. He also owes a debt to Fannie Lou Hamer. King put the moral and political face to the modern civil rights movement. Hamer put the moral and political face to the voting rights and equality movement. The movement transformed the Democratic Party and American politics. It made Obama’s presidential triumph possible.

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.