The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC • 10th August 2022

To recruit Black teachers, do the work

Pennsylvania has a teacher shortage problem. What else is new? So do other states. What else is new is that the state Department of Education has a plan to increase the number of teachers by thousands by the year 2025, which includes expanding teacher apprenticeships and easing teacher certification guidelines, as well as ramped up teacher recruiting. But to solve the teacher shortage problem, the state must address an equally troubling problem: the lack of Black teachers in Pennsylvania.

Blavity News & Politics • 4th August 2022

Were Lizzo And Beyoncé Afforded The Consideration Of Lyrical Context? - Blavity

First Lizzo and now Beyoncé have come under fire for their use of the word “spazz” in their songs. The word is an ableist slur, a discriminatory phrase against people with disabilities, characterizing them as inferior to the non-disabled. The term derives from the word “spastic,” referring to spastic cerebral palsy, a disability that affects a person’s ability to control their muscles. However, “spazz” is also a term used as a slang term in the Black community, meaning to “go crazy.” Admittedly

Moguldom • 29th July 2022

Opinion: Representation Can Only Go So Far Without Exercise Of Power For Black People

Sadly, I can I remember the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I also remember the news coverage in the immediate aftermath — the pundits declared 2020 the year of racial reckoning. Protests in the streets compelled mayors across the country — specifically Black mayors and other mayors of color — to action. They didn’t defund the police or even reduce police officer presence in their cities. What they did was paint the words “Black Lives Matter” on a designated street o

Moguldom • 26th July 2022

Opinion: Republican 'Patriots' Are No Heroes, Former Trump Staff Testifying On Jan. 6 Doesn't Change The Fact They Were Trump Staff

The congressional investigation into the January 6 insurrection is in full swing, and it seems there is no end in sight. That’s because of recent testimony unearthing new details from those inside the Trump White House with prior knowledge of the leadup to the insurrection. Prying the door open to more intimate information about the day and its leadup was Cassidy Hutchinson, an assistant to former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson was rushed to testify due to the intense pressure sh

Moguldom • 19th July 2022

Opinion: Texas Could Change Enslavement To 'Involuntary Relocation' But The Truth Remains The Same, It’s Still Enslavement

A working group of nine educators including a professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley have proposed to the Texas State Board of Education that enslavement should be taught as “involuntary relocation” during second-grade social studies instruction. The thing is that enslavement wasn’t involuntary relocation. Thankfully, the board unanimously directed the work group “to revisit that specific language” because enslavement wasn’t involuntary relocation. Enslavement on indigenous so

The BEnote • 18th July 2022

A Tyranny of the Minority

In light of recent Supreme Court decisions that include police being exempt from announcing Miranda rights upon arrest, the ability to conceal carry a firearm, the ability to challenge wrongful convictions stemming from poor legal counsel, and the overturning of the Roe decision, folks all over social media and television media—and also Democratic politicians including President Biden — have encouraged those in disagreement with those decisions to vote in November. And, they’re right, we should

Moguldom • 11th July 2022

Opinion: Conservatives Should Learn To Live With Their Chaos, Stop Complaining About Mistreatment

You shouldn’t expect to be the recipient of peace when you sow discord. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court leak to overturn Roe vs. Wade, protesters demonstrated outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh‘s home and they continue to do so now that the highest court has ruled abortion rights unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Chuck Grassley from Iowa slammed the protesters. A man was arrested for a possible attempt on the life of Kavanaugh. McConnell called

Washington Post • 10th July 2022

Perspective | The new threat to good schooling for minority Americans

The school shooting in Uvalde, Tex., generated international attention to the vulnerability of children, particularly children of color, in a state with few gun regulations. But gun violence is not the only threat students of color are facing in the classroom. Shortly after the May leak of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Tex.) wondered whether Plyler v. Doe — the landmark decision that

Moguldom • 5th July 2022

Opinion: Black Voters Must Be Mindful Of Who Has Their Political Interests At Heart

A lot of noise is being made about New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez supporting a candidate against Hudson Valley Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. But isn’t turnabout fair play? A political action committee is funneling money to support a challenge to progressive democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan. Funny enough, a Black former congressional candidate supports this PAC. Former South Carolina Democratic House member Bakari Sellers is supporting Urban Empowerment Action (UEA), a political ac

Moguldom • 24th June 2022

Opinion: Confronting Racism In Sports Media Out Of The Mouths Of Whites

Growing up, I hated Duke basketball. Although I couldn’t express it as masterfully as ESPN journalist Bomani Jones’ takedown of the program, at 8 years old I knew the program didn’t represent me — not like the Fab Five. As an adult, I’ve learned that these programs don’t represent Black people at all — only the money they generate from their labor, but I digress. JJ Redick was all a part of that Duke Blue Devils hate as a member of the team, and a very good member might I add, which fueled the

First And Pen • 24th June 2022

As Rick Brunson Leaves Camden, His Impact Will Never Be Questioned

Rick Brunson, the former NBA player and assistant coach, spent the last three years as the head basketball coach of the Camden High School Panthers. During his tenure, Brunson boasted a 73-4 record and ignited the Panthers’ resurgence on the national high school basketball scene. That time is now over. Brunson resigned and is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach with the New York Knicks. Regardless of his reasons for leaving, his departure is disappointing. Not because he left the

Soulmusic.com • 24th June 2022

Perspectives: A Black Music Month Commentary

Refocusing Our Anger In Our Lamenting the State of Soul Music, We Must Direct Our Anger Where It Belongs: The Music Industry by Rann Miller When I think of Black music, my mind takes me many places. I think of the spirituals of my enslaved ancestors, who sang to sustain their souls and forge their freedom. I think of the creators of rock and roll, whose creativity was appropriated for white profits and the consumption of white audiences. I think of jazz, one of the greatest gifts Africa ev

The BEnote • 20th June 2022

Beware The Commodification of Our Culture

One of my favorite songs is the Stylistics classic, People Make the World Go Round. I believe that’s true, yet so many more people believe another axiom that says “money makes the world go round.” Why? Capitalism, that’s why. Capitalism ruins everything. It ruined a perfectly good saying, song, and society by de-centering people and centering money instead. Capitalism is violent: it displaces people from their homes, instigates criminality of all sorts and it’s responsible for our cheers on ath

Progressive.org • 18th June 2022

On Juneteenth, Don’t Forget Black Texans

On July 19, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday—exactly one month and 156 years after Union troops entered Galveston, Texas, toppling the last Confederate stronghold. While memorializing Juneteenth as a national holiday was long overdue, we shouldn’t forget that the celebration’s roots are in Texas, where the largest population of Black people in the United States currently live. For Black Texans, Juneteenth holds a special significance that’s

Moguldom • 17th June 2022

Opinion: To Address Societal Ills In America, We Must Name It And Claim It, Call Out Whiteness

Prominent in Christian circles including the Black Church is the doctrine of “name it and claim it”, or the prosperity gospel, which says that if you name what you want and pray to God, you’ll receive or “manifest” it. I personally don’t think faith works like that, particularly in light of what the Christian scriptures say about suffering, but I digress. Where the idea of name it and claim it actually does work concerns identifying the ills within our society. For the last few weeks, we’ve se

Blavity • 17th June 2022

Why Juneteenth Deserves The Highest Respect, Reverence And Regard - Blavity

On July 19, 2021, President Biden signed legislation declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth, taking its name from combining the words ‘June’ and ‘nineteenth,’ marks the occasion of June 19, 1865, when Union troops entered Galveston, Texas, to announce all enslaved people were free upon the surrender of the last Confederate stronghold. While Juneteenth being celebrated as a national holiday is long overdue, Juneteenth has a very special meaning in Texas. Two and a half years before J

Blavity • 7th June 2022

From Constant Mass Shootings To Unbearable Inflation, Belief In Our Political System Is Quickly Fading - Blavity

In 1964, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, otherwise known as Malcolm X, delivered a speech titled, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” He argued that the federal government’s failure to honor the inherent rights of Black people, by virtue of their humanity, has the potential for facilitating an explosion of what he called a dangerous racial powder keg, with all peoples caught in the crosshairs. el-Shabazz said that the ballot or the bullet was a choice between, “liberty and death [a la Patrick Henry], freedom

Moguldom • 27th May 2022

Opinion: In Calls For Civility, Liberals Miss The Mark On How Protesters Actually Fight Back

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s neighbors protested in front of his house to compel him to uphold the Roe v. Wade decision in light of the leaked draft opinion on the upcoming abortion case. Good for them. But not so fast, said the now-former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. In a tweet, Psaki said that while protesting is a right, violence, threats and vandalism are not and judges shouldn’t have to fear for their personal safety. I would agree with Ms. Psaki, but two truths give

Moguldom • 20th May 2022

Opinion: Chief Justice John Roberts' Desire To Protect The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court Ignores Its Already Illegitimate Standing

I suppose that John Roberts, chief justice of the Supreme Court, is attempting to recapture a level of decorum and legitimacy—particularly legitimacy—by calling for an investigation into the leak of the draft opinion delivered by Justice Samuel Alito. However, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court is already compromised. Never mind that Roberts appears more upset about the leak of the opinion versus the opinion itself—that alone delegitimizes the moral standing the court. But the Court is illegit

Moguldom • 13th May 2022

Opinion: Liberals Must Resist The Urge To Blame The Overturning Of Roe v. Wade On Lack Of Black Voter Participation

The overturning of Roe v. Wade is an injustice, and everyone should scream it from the rooftops but a word of caution to those ready to activate: Don’t play the blame game with Black people. This isn’t on us. I’ve seen a few tweets pop up on my timeline placing blame for the Trump election squarely on those who chose not to vote for Hillary Clinton. It’s a passive-aggressive shot at Black voters who sat out the 2016 election. Certainly, the Black people weren’t the only ones who sat out 2016, b