Independent since 2002 Issue No. 1102 Week of November 7, 2026 Get the free email dispatch →

Category: Inclusion

Cover Story

What, to Black America, is the 4th of July in 2020?

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

The act of patriotism Patrick Henry expressed allowed for marginalized voices to participate in a thriving democracy. However, democracy can only begin to work when those relegated to the fringes of society can begin to sample what others take for granted as their inalienable right. We need more of the patriotism Kaeperneck exhibited at NFL games — now seen on the streets of America.

This Fourth of July, Americans are being forced to see the nation's celebration for independence differently. The combination of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected…

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Commentary

Boston Pride’s 50th Anniversary During a Crisis

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

LGBTQ+ civil rights and Black civil rights histories intersect on many issues, violence, and police brutality are among them.

June is Pride Month for LGBTQ+ communities across the country - and Boston’s turns 50. Despite COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines, a half-century of struggle and…

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Commentary

The Challenge of Reopening Churches

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

If you want confusion in this delicate balance between church and state, and First Amendment rights and the right to protect public health, simply add Trump to the mix. Trump made it emphatically clear that if governors did not follow his recommendations allowing in-person religious services to resume, he would "override" them.

All places of worship are now allowed to conduct religious services. However, how safe is it to reopen them versus the legal permission to do so…

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Commentary

Living Through this Moment Together

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

“Coronavirus is a socially transmitted disease, and we all have a social contract to stop it. What binds us is a microbe – but it also has the power to separate us. We’re a very small community, whether we acknowledge it or not, and this proves it. The time to act like a community is now.”

In a responsible response to the coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19 church and worship services across the globe are canceled. Traditional Bible study has gone…

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Commentary

Warren’s Disconnection to Her Black Cambridge Voters

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Warren never reached out to black churches, and I am glad she didn’t. The perception that all white politicians need to do are merely show up the Sunday before election day Tuesday we cast our ballots are not only a hackneyed campaign strategy, but it’s also a clear indication that these politicians have nary a clue nor a sincere concern for the parishioners they stand before.

On the morning of Super Tuesday, I was done talking with my spouse as to why she should cast her ballot for Senator Elizabeth Warren for…

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Commentary

If Joe Kennedy Wants to Win Against Ed Markey, He Must Be More Than a Younger Version

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Demographic diversity, along with a younger and more progressive generation of Democratic politicians, is essential for the life of the party. And in a race between similarly positioned candidates, race, gender and geographic diversity matter. Yes, so, too, age! But Kennedy must have more than that.

For Bay Staters hoping for the return of a Kennedy to the Senate like his grand uncle Ted or to the presidency like his grand uncle…

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Commentary

The Scramble for Black Votes

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

During the N.H. Democratic Presidential debate, the subject of race and racism was front and center, and there were no winners. Instead, the debate highlighted the work all the white candidates need to do to win over black voters.

Every Democratic presidential hopeful wants my vote. As an African American woman voter, I'm part of the powerful voting bloc the DNC chair, Tom Perez, calls…

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Commentary

Pressley Disrupts Eurocentric Aesthetic About Hair

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

African American women and girls endure some of the harshest punishments concerning our hair, thereby permitting racist workplaces, institutions and educators to discriminate against us without repercussion.

Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley revealed she has the autoimmune disorder “alopecia areata” that has rendered her hairless. Pressley revealing her bald head publicly opened the troubling…

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Commentary

Why Black Folks are the Most Forgiving

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

while Christianity is not a toxic religion, the form of Christianity taught to my ancestors was not to make us better Christians but rather better slaves.

Black Christians give away forgiveness like it’s confetti, and white Trump evangelicals give it away sparingly, if at all. As an African American, the act of…

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Commentary

Loving a Church That Doesn’t Love You

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

The schism in the UMC, sadly, mirrors today’s ongoing battle among religious conservatives. A movement for some time now has been afoot in state legislatures across the country to disenfranchise LGBTQ Americans.

Before the United Methodist Church (UMC) announced a proposal to split the denomination over “fundamental differences” regarding theological beliefs on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage, that…

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