By Marc H. Morial “There is no more powerful force than a people steeped in their history. And there is no higher cause than honoring our struggle and ancestors by remembering.”—Lonnie Bunch,founding director, National Museum of African American History and Culture Ever since the 2009 election of Barack Obama as America’s first Black president and […]
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Advocacy groups split on Republican immigration guidelines
By Bryant Harris WASHINGTON (IPS) — Pro-immigration reform advocates here are seeking to capitalize on new federal momentum on the issue after conservative lawmakers ended months of dithering late last week and released an initial set of principles that they would be interested in pursuing in broader negotiations.FWD.us, an immigration reform advocacy group funded by […]
War on women harms children, too
By Julianne Malveaux In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union (SOU) address, he appealed to our nation’s employers to raise wages from the current minimum of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. He has already signed an executive order that requires federal contractors to be paid $10.10 an hour, an only appropriate move […]
Awakened from a dream
By Julianne Malveaux Mid-January is the time when Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is commemorated. Cities, towns, and colleges across the country lift their voices and rise up the language of Dr. King’s dream that people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. They cherry pick the […]
The life and legacy of Amiri Baraka
By Marc H. Morial “Art is a weapon in the struggle of ideas, the class struggle.” Amiri Baraka On January 9, with the passing of the prolific poet, playwright, essayist, and critic Amiri Baraka, one of the literary giants of the 20th century was called home. As we offer condolences to his wife, children and […]
Obama, Nobel Laureates urge rise in U.S. minimum wage
By Bryant Harris WASHINGTON (IPS) — Seventy-five economists, including seven Nobel Prize laureates, sent an open letter to President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, urging them to raise the federal minimum wage.The same day, the president formally endorsed legislation that would incrementally raise the minimum wage to 10.10 dollars by 2016."When you’re […]
Gates conceals real story of “gaming” Obama on Afghan War
By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON (IPS) — Criticism in the memoirs of former secretary of defense Robert M. Gates of President Barack Obama’s lack of commitment to the Afghan War strategy of his administration has generated a Washington debate about whether Obama was sufficiently supportive of the war.But the Gates account omits two crucial historical facts […]
Many more snakes than ladders for U.S. policy in 2014
By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON (IPS) — If U.S. President Barack Obama conceived his foreign policy prospects for 2014 as a popular child’s board game, the snakes he will have to jump over significantly outnumber the ladders that can propel him to success.As they have since he took office five years ago, the most dangerous “snakes” […]
Guantanamo transfers hint at momentum towards closure
By Ramy Srour WASHINGTON (IPS) — The U.S. government announced Monday it has repatriated two Saudi detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison, less than two weeks after two Algerian detainees were likewise sent back to their home country.A female soldier observes the first 20 captives at Guantanamo being processed on Jan. 11, 2002. Credit: […]
The U.S. revolution that supported Nelson Mandela
By Jazelle Hunt, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) —Nearly three decades ago, a handful of prominent Black activists began organizing a movement that would eventually help break the back of apartheid in South Africa and force the U.S. government and American companies to end their support of White minority rule on the continent.What was called the […]