OpEd

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Aug 4 2011

Practical Politics

Africville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the original Eastern Atlantic settlement of the country, has been internationally famous since the Denise Allen speech at the Non-Governmental Organization portion of the World Conference Against Racism, Intolerance, Xenophobia and Other Forms of Discrimination in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. There, she introduced a large audience to the narrative of the broken promises and violent removal of people from land given to them by the British government back in 1781-82.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 28 2011

Between the Lines

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) will be voting on the final iteration of redistricting maps this week. These maps are supposed to reflect the demographic shifts in the state’s population following the 2010 Census.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 28 2011

Practical Political

OK, enough of this machismo bravado over money the United States of America already owes.

Here’s the skinny: if there is no miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue by or before Monday, Aug. 1, President Barack Obama will change the entire game by invoking the 14th amendment authority to always pay America’s debts. As commander-in-chief and the highest ranking elected official sworn to protect and defend this country, President Obama will cite this debt-ceiling crisis as a challenge to America’s national security interests, and take charge.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 21 2011

Between the Lines

Before I start this rant (and it’s gonna be a rant), I want to say one thing—Curt Flood deserves to be in Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. If you come away with nothing else in this commentary, I want you to come away with the man who challenged Major League Baseball’s reserve clause made the biggest contribution to the game of baseball in the 20th century since the addition of lights (night games). It is unconscionable that Flood, who died in 1997, is not in the hall of fame, and it begs us to ask why?

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 21 2011

Practical Politics

On July 18, Mr. Nelson Mandela-Madiba arrived at 93 years young. Such would not have been predicted, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa in June 1964.

As one of the 13 major national holidays, and the only one dedicated to a Black South African, the Republic of South Africa celebrated the continuing life and legacy of this great man all this week.

Across Black America

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

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”