By Julianne Malveaux President Obama would like the national minimum wage to rise to $10.10 an hour. By executive order, he has already raised the minimum wage for federal contractors.  House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has threatened to sue President Obama for his use of executive order, which he says circumvents Congressional authority.Ikea said it […]

By Julianne Malveaux  Judging from its June 18-19 meeting, the Federal Reserve is hedging its bets.  It says the U.S. economy is on the mend, but more slowly than expected.  They’ve reduced their estimate for economic growth and say that it will take a year or more to get to where we were six years […]

By George E. Curry The 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer is being commemorated this week in Mississippi and it provides the perfect backdrop to reflect on the transformation of not only Mississippi, then the deadliest state in the nation, but the entire region..As I have written in the space before, there was a popular joke […]

By James Clingman, NNPA Columnist If you and your children were sitting at the dinner table, with no food and no prospects for getting any, what would you say to them and what would you do?  Would you tell them they have no food because you cannot get a job?  Would you tell them the […]

By Julianne Malveaux When the Koch Foundation gave the United Negro College Fund $25 million, it set off a maelstrom of comments in cyberspace and real time.  How dare the UNCF take money from the Koch brothers, some asked.  They ought to send it back, said others.  One woman told me she would never give […]

By George E. Curry The first detailed study of the relationship between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry has found that although diversity pays – literally –people of color and women are still woefully underrepresented throughout film and television.The study titled, “2014 Hollywood Diversity Report: Making Sense of the Disconnect,” was […]

By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA Columnist  As we approach Fathers’ Day across the United States and in some other nations throughout the world, it is important to lift up those Black American fathers who are doing what is right and good for their children, families and communities.  Too often when the issue of Black […]

By George E. Curry I disagree with President Obama’s decision to trade five Taliban leaders being  held at Guantanamo Bay for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, an apparent deserter who is believed to have been the only U.S. solider being held as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan.My opposition is based on the firm belief that such […]

By Julianne Malveaux Many people will remember Maya Angelou for her phenomenal career.  She was a true renaissance woman – an author, teacher,  dancer, performer,  radio personality and a producer.  I will remember her a sister friend, a wise “auntie” who didn’t mind pulling your coat. She was a generous spirit who made time for […]

By George E. Curry A new posting by MediaMatters.org, the media watchdog group, sums up the conservative strategy under the headline, “Don’t Litigate It, Don’t Ever Talk About It: Right-Wing Media’s Solution to Racial Discrimination.”The report recounts the media storm touched off by “The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates’ excellent cover story in the Atlantic […]