Archive for November 2019
Three who eulogized Rep. Elijah Cummings at funeral in Baltimore now running against each other for his seat
Less than a month ago, Rep. Elijah Cummings’ friend, staffer and wife each took the stage during his funeral at New Psalmist Baptist Church to eulogize the venerated congressman they loved and respected. Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said his friend “defied the limits of others’ expectations.” Harry Spikes said his boss taught him a…
Read MoreRonald Reagan’s Long-Hidden Racist Conversation With Richard Nixon
The day after the United Nations voted to recognize the People’s Republic of China, then–California Governor Ronald Reagan phoned President Richard Nixon at the White House and vented his frustration at the delegates who had sided against the United States. “Last night, I tell you, to watch that thing on television as I did,” Reagan said.…
Read MoreBlack News Channel (BNC) TV Launches in America
In a joint teleconference broadcast live from the Four Season’s Hotel in New York’s Financial District, the Black News Channel (BNC) and the National Newspaper Publishers Association announced the official launch date and time for the nation’s first 24-hour, 7-days a week all-news TV channel that will focus on African American news. The new channel…
Read MoreIda B. Wells’ Lasting Impact On Chicago Politics And Power
When Ida B. Wells moved to Chicago at the age of 32, she was already a world-renowned anti-lynching crusader, civil rights activist and investigative journalist. Born into slavery during the Civil War, she later risked her life investigating and exposing violence against black people in the South, and became a co-owner of The Memphis Free Speech so that she…
Read MoreWhat took so long to make a movie about Harriet Tubman?
It seems strange that the new movie “Harriet,” opening Friday, is the first and only major film about Harriet Tubman. By now, multiple generations have read about the Underground Railroad engineer in school. Tubman, played in the movie by Cynthia Ervio, is part of black history’s official pantheon, her name as recognizable as Martin Luther…
Read More‘You Promised You Wouldn’t Kill Me
DALLAS — On Thursday, I went to the funeral of Atatiana Jefferson, 28, who was shot to death by a police officer from outside her bedroom window this month. My companion there was Rhanda Dormeus, whose daughter Korryn Gaines was also killed by the police in her home. As we watched people file by the coffin, we…
Read More