Recent Stories
Civil wrongs
Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice were all unarmed Black males killed by the police or a neighborhood watch volunteer. And if the recent decisions in the Martin and Rice cases are any indication, the Justice Department will find it difficult to prosecute the officers for civil rights violations.
The intrepid Mary Fields
Fortunately, the “Classroom” column has a number of knowledgeable readers, and a few of them, from time to time, send in suggestions of historic figures who need wider recognition. Recently, one from B.J., requested a profile on Mary Fields, someone I had thought about several months ago. His prompting was enough. Here’s our take on this legendary woman of the West.
Netanyahu gives controversial speech before Congress
In this third speech before a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel made it abundantly clear where he stands—and “stand” is the operative word in this 40-minute address—on the deal now in process between the U.S. and Iran.
Civil rights legend Anne Moody dies at 74
As we move into the final week of Black History Month and African-Americans cheer the victory of “Glory” at the recent Academy Awards ceremony after many have commemorated the life and legacy of Malcolm X, we pause now for a moment of silence in memory of Anne Moody, who died Feb. 5.
Dr. Charles H. Wesley: The eminent historian on Black labor
A few weeks ago, we profiled Dorothy Porter Wesley, the premier librarian, and promised to do one on her scholarly husband, Dr. Charles H. Wesley.
HERB
Civil rights legend Anne Moody recently made her transition in Gloster, Miss., and that small town is again in the news with the Gloster Project, a new initiative led by Margaret Porter Troupe with the purpose of providing arts education and free summer camps and activities to the children of rural Mississippi, where she was born and raised.
Dori J. Maynard, a fighter for diversity in journalism, dead at 56
Maynard is a name almost synonymous with Black journalism, and a pall hangs over it at the moment with the death of Dori J. Maynard, the daughter of publisher Robert C. Maynard, who carved her own unique niche in the pursuit of journalistic excellence and diversity.
Sharpton the newsmaker
It may be a great disservice to mention the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rudy Giuliani in the same article, but they are two public figures with a long affair with the media—one longing for it to go away and the other courting it for coverage.
Elizabeth Keckley, Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidant
My daughter Maya arrived in town the other day to attend and possibly participate in the currency that vibrates with Fashion Week. An artist and fashion designer based in Miami, she often makes this annual pilgrimage, where women of her color and caliber are as a scarce as Black female directors in Hollywood.
Eric Garner lives!
Eric Garner has been dead since July of last year after police officers forcibly apprehended him on the streets of Staten Island for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes. He may be dead, but Garner is not gone.
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