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George Curry, a Fierce Journalist Who Never Backed Down From a Fight
They’re taking George Curry back to Alabama for burial. I assume that’s what he wanted. He died suddenly of a heart attack the other day in suburban Washington, D.C. Alabama—where we were both born, that made us the butt of many jokes because we always regarded “Sweet Home Alabama” with mixed emotions, as do many…
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The GOP Won the South, but It Will Lose the White House
Watch carefully, folks. We may be witnessing an astonishing historical phenomenon: the death of a major American political party. In real time, the GOP is devouring itself—or, rather, Donald Trump is generating a feeding frenzy; and whether by suicide, murder, fratricide or whatever, the party of Lincoln is on track to implode by Election Day,…
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How Race Shaped American Party Politics
President Lyndon B. Johnson was on target when he said in 1965 that with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the Democrats had lost Southern white voters for a generation. He was off a bit and too optimistic. The loss has lasted longer than a generation, and the reason for it goes deep into…
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The Disappearing Black News Professional
I was deeply saddened by the recent departure of Steven Gray from Time magazine. He is an extremely sharp young journalist with great promise in the profession, qualities that ensure a bright future for him. My lament is not over Gray but about the fact that he leaves a deep void at the popular newsweekly…
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Blacks to Herman Cain: You're on Your Own
For quite a long spell in African-American history, each of us has had to bear the burden of the race on our shoulders. Custom and tradition — and intense desire for equality — dictated that we mind our manners and avoid personal acts and activity that would make the entire race look bad. Thus, we…
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What Happens When 'the Man' Is Us?
The Man nowadays can be female — even a minority woman — or a black police chief or black mayor, and cops will always be cops: “I was only following orders.” It’s true about cops; that’s what they do and have done since time immemorial. All of that and more has been on display since…
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Why Can't Obama Have a Vacation?
Who can blame anyone for wanting to get away from the stormy, humid clime that is the norm in the nation’s capital in August and repair to the quiet beaches, charming towns, delicious seafood and intimate parties that are mainstays of this island outpost off the Massachusetts coast? Well, anyone except for Barack Obama. The…
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Is Chocolate City Over?
In a who-woulda-thunk-it scenario, about half of Washington, D.C.’s elected city officials are under one kind of cloud or another, a situation that has left residents angry, embarrassed, racially divided and fearful for the political future of their shaky and shaken local government. The controversies include the two top leaders of the district government —…
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Why a White Woman and a Black Man Will Lead the USA's Top Paper
When I heard the historic announcement from Times Square the other day, that America’s top newspaper had named a woman as executive editor, my thoughts drifted back to the 1972-1981 decade at the paper, and the words of Dickens — almost cliché nowadays — seemed apt: “It was the best of times, it was the…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
