Commentary

Economic Ignorance 101

Monday, 30 March 2009 16:40 Ron Walters, NNPA Columnist

In the discussions about what to do to fix up the economic mess left by George Bush, I have come to understand why it happened when I hear the ignorant proposals put forth by many Republicans.
I wonder what planet someone could come from who says, for example, “just let the auto companies go into bankruptcy and work themselves out of their financial problems without government assistance.”

It is time for these lenders to be held accountable

Monday, 30 March 2009 16:36 Ben Jealous, NNPA Guest Columnist

(NNPA) - Mrs. Amara Weaver is a dedicated mother and grandmother living in Milwaukee, WI. She worked hard all her life and bought a home for her family.

True change is never easy

Thursday, 19 March 2009 14:34 Dr. Dorothy Height, NNPA Special Commentary

Over the course of his first few weeks in office, President Obama has made brilliant strides to correcting the trajectory of this nation.

He has made a whole stroke toward women’s equality in the workplace through signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He has begun the march toward expanding health care coverage to all in need by extending the State Children’s Health Improvement Program (SCHIP) to millions of children who would have otherwise gone without.

Getting our economy back on track

Thursday, 19 March 2009 14:33 U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), NNPA Guest Commentary

Many African-American families are bearing the brunt of our nation’s current economic challenges as seen by high rates of foreclosure and unemployment within the African- American community.
Last month, Congress boldly and swiftly acted on President Obama’s promise to deliver new jobs, new hope, and a new direction for the American people by approving the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

D.C. is the Nation’s HIV/AIDS Capital

Thursday, 19 March 2009 14:27 George E Curry, NNPA Columnist

The disclosure that more than 4 percent of Blacks in the District of Columbia have HIV, matching San Francisco’s city-wide rate at the height of the epidemic in 1992, is but one example of how the disease is devastating the Black community. D.C. health officials made public a report Monday that showed the overall HIV/AIDS city rate of 3 percent is three times the level considered a “generalized and severe” epidemic.

The Congressional Black Caucus – A powerful majority of one

Thursday, 19 March 2009 13:57 Marc H. Morial, NNPA Columnist

Last month, a small but influential group of African Americans was invited to the White House to discuss its priorities with President Barack Obama.

A look at race, incarceration, and American values

Monday, 16 March 2009 14:18 Marian Wright Edelman, NNPA Columnist

Glenn Loury, a professor in the Department of Economics at Brown University, has long been one of the nation’s most outspoken Black intellectuals.

For many years he was a leading conservative voice on topics like affirmative action, and whenever he focuses on a policy issue affecting the Black community, people pay attention. In his title essay in the recent book, Race, Incarceration, and American Values, Professor Loury sounds the alarm on some of the same concerns the Children's Defense Fund has been raising when we talk about the pipeline to prison crisis.