Approval of the president, Congress, and the media is dropping rapidly amidst widespread partisanship and opinion journalism that masquerades as news. With an electorate clamoring for change, it would seem that reforming the nation's rapidly-consolidating
Iwas sitting and chatting with Bud Billiken the other day. He's pretty busy this time of year, getting ready for the Aug. 9 Bud Billiken Parade, the largest parade of its kind in the world. But we had the occasion to talk about the reason he exists, and t
It’s interesting that, for some time, there was this expectation that “something” would come out that would cause a major controversy and cause Americans (particularly white Americans) to re-think their support (or justify their lack of
On July 26, 161 years ago, a colony in West Africa founded by freed American slaves declared its independence. It would take the name Liberia, meaning “Land of the Free.” But after decades of bloody coups and civil wars, the Republic of Liberi
Almost a century ago our grandfathers and grandmothers left the rural South and came North to Chicago in pursuit of their dreams. The Great Migration, as this mass movement will always be known, forever changed the equation of Black political and economic
It was billed as UNITY, and during this time of cutbacks, buyouts and downsizing, the only unity seemed to be unity in despair for the future of newspapers. Since I work at a newspaper, I know about that despair. Few newspapers are hiring and this year ha
Nothing cracks me up like politics. What I just said could be taken in a couple different ways, but cracking up laughing is actually what I meant. I don't know about you, but after months of listening to pundits, analysts and poll watchers dissect every r
Back in April 1968, I lived through the deployment of National Guard troops in my neighborhood. The troops were called in during the riots following the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parts of the city were in flames and looting and shooting were th
On November 26, 2006 at a press conference in Los Angeles, guess who said this: “We will challenge and urge all artists and comics to stop using this (N-) word. What other group is subjected to such a degrading terminology?”
In an effort to show that, if elected, he would be president of “all the people,’’ John McCain has visited the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., the scene of one of the bloodiest civil rights marches in history. He’s also travel
