By Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON  (IPS) — The United States will begin developing a national action plan on responsible business practices, following on several years of related advocacy from civil society. The plan will detail how the United States will implement landmark U.N. guidelines outlining the responsibility of multinational businesses to respect human rights. While […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) —The Black-White income gap narrowed in 2013 with Black men who worked full-time, year-round experiencing the greatest gain in earnings among all adult workers, according to the current population reports on income and poverty released by the Census Bureau. The median income for Blacks rose $793, an […]

By Dr. J. A. Salaam, Special to the NNPA from The Final Call  BERKLEY, Mo. — Two days after a very heated City Council meeting in nearby Ferguson, Mo., more than 150 protestors gathered to shut down Highway 70 for a few minutes. The shutdown planned as part of efforts to pressure authorities to deliver […]

By Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA Columnist  Too often people who have experienced and endured long term oppression and suffering take for granted some of the socioeconomic and political indicators of progress. In other words, it is important periodically to assess both the setbacks and the gains that Black America has made during the past […]

By Jazelle Hunt, NNPA Washington Correspondent   WASHINGTON (NNPA) —Just before Labor Day 2005, the world was stunned as images of Gulf Coast citizens, trudged through chaos and stagnant floodwaters, strewn with the debris of wrecked buildings and storm-tossed earth. The sights seemed to replay just before Halloween 2012, as coastal New York and New […]

By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON (IPS) — U.S. President Barack Obama’s new strategy to “degrade, and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is being met with widespread skepticism among both hawks and doves, as well as regional specialists. While Congress is expected to acquiesce, if not formally authorize, the plans he outlined […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — In an effort to combat police brutality in the Black community, the National Bar Association (NBA) recently announced plans to file open records requests in 25 cities to study allegations of police misconduct. Pamela Meanes, president of the Black lawyers and judges group, said that the […]

By Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON(IPS) — A United Nations panel reviewing the U.S. record on racial discrimination has expressed unusually pointed concern over a new pattern of laws it warns is criminalizing homelessness. U.S. homelessness has increased substantially in the aftermath of the financial downturn, and with a disproportionate impact on minorities. Yet in many […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) —The unemployment rate for Blacks (11.4 percent) and Whites (5.3 percent) remained unchanged from July to August, but the fact that Black unemployment is 2.4 percent higher than when the recession began five years ago is an indication that Blacks have the farthest to go to get […]

By Marc H. Morial “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”  —Fannie Lou Hamer, legendary civil rights activist and co-founder of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party   The funeral is over. The protests have died down. The lax and listless wheels of justice in Ferguson, Mo. are beginning to turn. Last […]