Opinion - Page 9

UNCF Releases Landmark Wealth Building Report and Deploys

 UNCF released new findings from its HBCU Wealth Building Initiative and announced the launch of Phase II, supported by The Prudential Foundation. This next phase marks a shift from research to execution, including the deployment of $100,000 in catalytic grants to support three HBCUs

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: A statue of Joseph Wheeler (2nd R)), a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War and member of the House of Representatives, stands on a pedestal outside the office door of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) in Statuary Hall inside the U.S. Capitol June 18, 2020 in Washington, DC. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has requested that Congress remove this statue and 10 others of Confederate soldiers and officials from the U.S. Capitol "The statues in the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans, expressing who we are and who we aspire to be as a nation. Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. They must be removed," Pelosi wrote in the letter addressed to committee Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Vice Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Removing Confederate Statues From the US Capitol

 by Nicole Hemmer During the insurrection in January, a rioter hoisted a Confederate flag over his shoulder, letting it furl out behind him as he marched through the Capitol. It was an outrageous sight: not even during the Civil War had insurrectionists breached the halls of Congress with the battle flag. Yet there it was, flapping alongside

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Stokely Carmichael’s Enduring Legacy in Black Power Politics

Opinion by Peniel E. Joseph The man best known for popularizing the term “Black power” always answered the phone with the words, “ready for revolution.” Stokely Carmichael answered the phone this way to acknowledge his role in sacred efforts to build a new society in America and around the world. He defined revolution as transforming the status

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NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 19: Protester chant near the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. statue during a Juneteenth celebration on June 19, 2020 in New York City. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when a Union general read orders in Galveston, Texas stating all enslaved people in Texas were free according to federal law. (Photo by Michael Noble Jr./Getty Images)
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Juneteenth Becomes America’s Newest Federal Holiday

By Harmeet Kaur For much of US history, Juneteenth has been a date observed mostly by Black Americans commemorating the symbolic end of slavery. Since the reckoning reignited by the killing of George Floyd last year, though, the tide has changed enormously. All but one state, as well as the District of Columbia, recognize the milestone of

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America Nears Pandemic’s End: Hope, Challenges Ahead

Analysis by Stephen Collinson America has never been closer to the end of this pandemic, which has inflicted the most universally experienced crisis and assault on national morale since World War II. The near-miraculous vaccines have the virus — which has ravaged the nation — in retreat. Deserted cities that once echoed at night to

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LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 23: A student walks near Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA on April 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. According to reports, half of recent college graduates with bachelor's degrees are finding themselves underemployed or jobless. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Why Tuition-Free College and Student Debt Relief Matter

Opinion by Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez Nearly two decades ago, I was barely scraping by at community college, only able to afford it thanks to Pell Grants and my job as a server. Neither of my parents had graduated from college, and I had been rejected from my dream school, the University of Texas at Austin.

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Techno-Racism: How Biased Algorithms Harm People of Color

By Faith Karim As protesters take to the streets to fight for racial equality in the United States, experts in digital technology are quietly tackling a lesser known but related injustice. It’s called techno-racism. And while you may not have heard of it, it’s baked into some of the technology we encounter every day. Digital

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Demonstrators deploy a " Black Lives Matter" banner near the White House during a demonstration against racism and police brutality, in Washington, DC on June 6, 2020. - Demonstrations are being held across the US following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, while being arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Understanding Critical Race Theory: Origins and Debate

By Faith Karimi Critical race theory. You may be hearing those three words a lot these days. Lawmakers in Idaho are seeking to ban them from the state curriculum and parents in Texas are opposing a school district‘s efforts to combat racism with lessons in “cultural awareness” — seen by some as critical race theory.

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Why the U.S. Needs a Truth and Racial Healing Commission

Opinion by Mitch Landrieu Racism remains this nation’s Achilles’ heel. If we do not face it and fix it, we will continue to suffer. The news in the past few weeks, from the police shooting of Daunte Wright to the debate about voter suppression, underscores once again that we have a long way to go

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A Black Man’s Fear and Reality of Policing in America

Opinion by Issac Bailey I’m a Black man who has never personally had a nasty run-in with the police. I should have no trouble with them. But I fear them, and I know they fear me. Caron Nazario, an Army officer, was pepper-sprayed in the face during a traffic stop in Virginia; Daunte Wright was

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DMX’s Legacy: Hip-Hop Icon Who Turned Pain Into Power

Opinion by Peniel E. Joseph The death of hip-hop artist Earl “DMX” Simmons at the age of 50 represents not just an occasion for mourning, but one of celebration and commemoration for the iconic rapper who culled soaring artistry from personal trauma and grief. A Generation X impresario who burst onto the scene during the

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