Native Americans

Outlook: Homage to California’s Indigenous People

Last week, the world celebrated Indigenous People’s Day.  In 1994, the United Nations designated Aug. 9, as an annual commemoration of the world’s indigenous people as a way to heighten awareness about challenges faced by Native communities worldwide and to inspire global leaders to protect their rights.

Thanksgiving, a Day to Celebrate or to Mourn?

Thanksgiving is known as a traditional American holiday where families and friends come together in harmony, gratitude, and thankfulness in sharing love and the traditional foods Americans have come to love, all in reference to the historical feast between the Native Americans and the early settlers from Europe. The holiday is so popular that it’s considered one of the heaviest travel days in the country, sending people from around the world to family and feasts of turkey, dressing and all the fixings.  But did you know that many Native Americans call Thanksgiving a Day of mourning? And for many of

Environmental Racism is Real, Destructive and Deadly

While the study takes a somewhat different approach in examining disparities in air pollution exposure by examining consumption of goods and services, “its findings once again reveal blacks and Hispanics bear a disproportionate ‘pollution burden’ or costs, while Whites experience ‘pollution advantage’ or benefits,” Dr. Bullard said. 

Biden Administration in Push to Put Harriet Tubman on $20 Bill

In April 2016, then-President Barack Obama announced that Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Obama wanted the release of the new bill to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment in 2020 that gave women the right to vote. However, Trump had expressed an affinity toward Confederate figures and sang the praises of Andrew Jackson, claiming that he had led the U.S. to great success during his two-terms in office from 1829 to 1837.

Being Ella Baker Even After the Election: Valuing Our Victory, Continuing Our Struggle

In our rightful celebration and valuing of our victory in saving ourselves and America from its Trumpian self, we must remember and recommit ourselves to continuing our larger struggle. For although we removed Trump, the monster side of America from office, the millions of people who support, enable and voted for him for a second term offer ample evidence the system itself is deeply flawed and in need of radical reconception and reconstruction. And so, at the outset, we must not harbor any Americana illusions of “we’re better than this or that,” as if “we” was all of us, doing wrong.

My Plan to Lift Every Voice in Black America

President Trump wants to paper over the living wound of racism. He’s issued Executive Orders and established a new national commission designed to whitewash our history—and deny the daily reality of being Black in America. He actively appeals to white supremacists and fans the flames of hatred and division in our country, because he thinks it benefits him politically. He ignores the most basic job of every president: the duty to care for all of us, not just those who voted for him.

150 Years After Ratification of the 15th Amendment, Black Votes Are Still Contested: The Black fight for the franchise

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” So reads the 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, the third of what came to be known as the Reconstruction amendments.