If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
When we celebrate Black History Month, we often celebrate the successes of the Civil Rights Movement. But I never hear anyone speak of the many goals that the Movement did not achieve. One such goal is the goal of full employment for African Americans.
D.T. lived in hopeful expectation, but even today, it's stunning to think that the life of this one-time slave overlapped with that of his great-granddaughter, Marian, who now resides in the White House.
Black History Month provides everybody in the world with a window into the lives of African-American pioneers and pacemakers that had overcome adversity on all levels. That's why Black History Month is real!
The death of Whitney Houston was tragic. She was young. She was talented. She was beautiful. She brought us joy. Her death forces us to confront and consider the powerful lessons taught by loss and death.
As a lifelong swimmer, when I get a whiff of chlorine, I get excited. But when I saw hundreds of kids swimming in every lane at D.C.'s Takoma Aquatic Center on President's Day weekend, I was thrilled.
The world has expectations of you. Your mother has expectations of you. I have expectations of you but really, we don't matter -- it only matters what you expect from yourself.
It is not easy, nor simple for churches to "preach brotherhood and make it a reality within its own body." But the church is the place and our faith is the source with which we may be instruments of change.
The Rufus Buck gang were neither saints, nor victims. But they are part of our history -- the part we foolishly agree to ignore because it does not fit the normative view of who we ought to be.
Eight of our early presidents, beginning with George Washington, owned slaves during their tenure in the nation's highest office.
Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964) is not a household name, nor is she someone encountered in most U.S. history books. Yet throughout her life, she fervently pushed for progress, particularly for education and progress for African-American women
I am an unapologetic optimist, not because I see the world through rose-colored glasses or have Pollyannaish sensibilities, it's because I have been a student of DreamMakers all my life -- my parents.
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, it wasn't that we should fight -- that was clear -- it was how we should fight that Martin Luther King, Jr. most effectively communicated. But today the landscape has changed.
For Nick, surfing was a vehicle to improve his world. The ocean was his medium, which is fitting because the sea knows no prejudice; it's the ultimate equalizer.
There is one African American notable that is not often attributed to Black History, but in fact should be because of his deep contributions to jazz and American music as a whole. That individual is Cal Massey.
There was one student who sat pensively most of the morning, but his question ended up riveting me the most. It still haunts me to this day: "Do you think it is possible to be a success in life if you don't come from a successful family?"
It is so difficult to choose only ten books for Black History Month; my list should be immediately expanded to include any book by the authors I cite.
