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This Is What Happens When 2 Generations of Black Female Activists Come Together
Two powerful black women, representing two generations of social activism, delivered dynamic speeches on racial justice, human rights and black radicalism Wednesday evening at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Sonia Sanchez, the legendary Black Arts Movement poet and activist, reminded the more than 100 audience members—most of them young—that the Black Lives Matter movement is…
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How Do We Fix a System That Thrives on Racial Oppression?
The killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old black man fleeing the police after a traffic stop, is the latest example of what appears to be a national assault on black bodies. We are living a national nightmare. The names and faces may change, but the bad dream remains the same. An unarmed black man,…
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MLK’s Radicalism Speaks to Contemporary Protests
The 47th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination should inspire us all to reimagine this political revolutionary’s final act as a statesman and civil rights leader. In the afterglow of the March on Washington and the Selma-to-Montgomery march, King became a pillar of fire, rejecting the course of political moderation and social…
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Obama in Selma: The Passion of a President
On the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., President Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech before an estimated crowd of 40,000 on the Edmund Pettus Bridge that placed honoring Selma’s legacy at the cornerstone of his remaining presidency. Obama’s strong speech came on a day of commemoration, which featured a host of visiting political…
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We Can’t Ignore the Link Between Ferguson and Those Attica Prison Guards’ Brutality
On Monday President Barack Obama, surrounded by members of his President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing—created in the wake of last year’s grand jury decisions in the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner—announced policy recommendations to local law enforcement as a response to the outrage generated by a nationwide epidemic of police…
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In Their Moment of ‘Glory,’ Common and John Legend Showed the World Why the Selma Struggle Truly Is ‘Now’
Despite being nominated in only two categories, Selma stole the Oscars Sunday night by virtue of a best original song victory that was preceded by an electrifying performance of the song, “Glory,” by John Legend and Common. The musical performance added heart and soul to what was an otherwise pedestrian Academy Awards telecast. Accompanied by…
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50 Years After His Assassination, Malcolm X’s Message Still Calls Us to Seek Justice
Saturday will mark a half-century since the untimely death of one of the most important intellectuals, organizers and revolutionaries that black America has ever produced. And on the 50th anniversary of his assassination, Malcolm X remains as relevant to our times as he was in his. We still don’t know all the details surrounding Malcolm’s…
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If You Think Selma’s Snubbing Is a Fluke, Think Again. The Oscars Have Stiffed Lots of Black Films
Social media is abuzz with news that Ava DuVernay’s towering film Selma received only two Academy Award nominations, for best picture and best song. The best film ever made about the civil rights movement, Selma was shut out of nominations for best director and actor that seemed inevitable just weeks ago. And the popular Twitter hashtag #OscarSoWhite,…
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Time for #BlackLivesMatter to Turn Protest Into Policy
This year, 2015—the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the 150th anniversary of emancipation and the end of the Civil War—is the time to turn nationwide #BlackLivesMatter protests into tangible public policy. The Success-Oriented Funding proposal from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University offers activists a tangible framework for criminal-justice reform.…
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Selma Documents Black History That Still Lives Today
The Dec. 25 release of the movie Selma showcases not only one of the key chapters in the civil rights movement but also one of the most important episodes in American history, one that paved the way for more recent social-justice struggles. Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr.,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
