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Issue: 615

July 16, 2015

Cover Story

Tragic Death Becomes Xenophobic Assault on Immigrant Rights

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

This tragedy has become a soap box for Trump and his supporters to promote an anti-immigrant agenda, lumping all immigrants as criminals; and, attacking sanctuary city policies like San Francisco’s, which prevents local police from automatically detaining people on the basis of being undocumented.

On Friday, July 1, 2015 Kate Steinle was taking a casual stroll on Pier on San Francisco’s Pier 14 with her father, when the unthinkable happened,…

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Commentary

Tear Down the Walls of Economic Racism

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux Columnist

If we want to remove vestiges of racial subjugation, we ought to pay attention to unemployment rate differentials and work as hard to eradicate them as we did to take down that Confederate flag in South Carolina.

After lengthy hours of debate, the citizens of South Carolina joined their Senate in voting to remove their state flag – a version of the Confederate…

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Guest Commentary

After Charleston – What’s the Meaning of Black Life in America?

By Dr. Stephanie Jones-Rogers PhD, The Berkeley Blog Guest Commentator

What are we, as a nation, prepared to do in order to make America safe for African-Americans? What are we willing to change in order to make true freedom and full citizenship possible for African-Americans in this country?

“Was already weary. Was already heavy hearted. Was already tired. Where can we be safe? Where can we be free?” I excerpted these words from a…

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Commentary

The Atticus Finch We Don’t Want to Know

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Atticus is a eugenicist who reads racist tracts like “The Black Plague;” attends Maycomb County White Citizens’ Council in order to organize and resist federal government edicts to desegregate; views the NAACP as opportunists and troublemakers, joined America’s most horrific domestic terrorists group, the Klu Klux Klan, in his youth, and I surmise would resist the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Alabama’s State House.

The literary world rejoiced when news disclosed that reclusive author Harper Lee was soon to release her second book “Go Set A Watchman,” after fifty-five years…

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Color of Law

For the First Time, Number of Black Children in Poverty Overtakes Number of White Kids

By David A. Love, JD Executive Editor

while childhood poverty fell from 22 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2013, it has remained constant for African Americans. At 38.3 percent, Black children have the highest rate of poverty among all racial and ethnic groups.

The good news is the U.S. poverty rate has fallen slightly in recent years. The bad news is that poverty remains high, particularly for Black children,…

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Nesting

Cartoon

Nesting

By Eric Garcia Cartoonist/Artist

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Guest Commentary

Father’s Day When A Dad Is Incarcerate

By Melody Webb, JD Guest Commentator

When a criminal record bars a parent from housing, it keeps his child from living with him and, possibly, bonding with him. When it bars the parent from gainful employment because he has a poor credit history related to child support arrears, the child will suffer financially.

With 1.5 million adults incarcerated in America, many children celebrated Father's Day with one or both parents in prison - 2.7 million children under age 18,…

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Commentary

Full Frontal GOP Assualt Against Workers Continues – Solidarity America

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

The government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor and others, are either incapable of protecting the working class or are under instruction (however it’s done) of the major parties’ representatives in Congress not to give workers too much of a boost in their personal lives.

Jeb Bush, Republican candidate for his party’s nomination for president, recently said that Americans must work longer hours, to be more productive and to gain for…

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