Issue: 796
July 04, 2019
Color of Law
America Needs Justice Before Unity
Executive Editor
Trump mires himself in corruption, uses his department of justice to flaunt his disregard for the rule of law, shields himself and his minions from accountability and welcomes foreign interference in the next election, as the Republican-controlled Senate blocks any measures to promote election security. While this occurs, there can be no talk of "future cooperation" with Republicans or return to an imagined past civility.
Since the presidential vote of 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, there has been much talk about polarisation in American society.…
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Cover Story
“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” – Speech by Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852
Guest Commentator
Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?
Frederick Douglass gave this speech on July 5, 1852 at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Corinthian Hall in Rochester,…
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Commentary
Meharry’s Juul Grant Is Good News
Editorial Board
Most medical colleges, including Meharry, turn down contributions from tobacco companies. As Meharry and Juul were exploring the possibility of the donation, Altria, a tobacco company, acquired 35 percent of Juul. Should that have killed the deal? It caused Meharry to pause. But eventually, they decided to accept the money because they believe they can use it for the greater good. I agree.
Should Meharry Medical College, a Historically Black College (HBCU) established in 1876 in Nashville, have accepted $7.5 million from Juul Labs, the controversial e-cigarette company that…
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Guest Commentary
Sports and Revolution – Trust the N.Y. Knicks Black Braintrust
Guest Commentator
let's enjoy what we have, in life and in basketball— and support the Black Brain Trust. Don't any of us have real jobs that we are supposed to be doing? I know I do. How about focusing on our own work and life goals and let the Black Brain Trust do their job with our full support and appreciation.
Hey Knicks haters, Knicks doubters, Knicks fellow sufferers AKA fans. We have had plenty to feel bad about over the decades. But don't be a loser.…
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Commentary
Dehumanizing Children at the Border: What Does This Say about Ordinary Americans?
Editorial Board
Too many Americans, ordinary citizens, adults have given in to perpetuating violence against the little ones! The visibly deplorable conditions at Clint best represents not the children’s state of mind but rather how the process of dehumanizing ordinary Americans is what’s really going on at the detention center in Clint, Texas.
The assault on the system of women power requires the replacing of a peaceful, nonpunitive, nonauthoritian social system wherein women wield power by making social life…
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Commentary
Happy Independence Day? – Solidarity America
Columnist
The Palestinians have been living in refugee camps, living in other countries, and in what has been described as the biggest open-air prison in the world, the Gaza Strip. Often, on this day, you may read the words of Frederick Douglass about the condition of black Americans, slave or free, in the ‘land of the free.’ His words could stand today for those who remain unfree, at home and around the world.
“But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within…
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Sharp n’ Blunt
A Thin Veil to Cover-Up Crimes Which Would Disgrace a Nation of Savages
Columnist
Douglass said “America reigns without a rival ” in this type of savagery. He’s still right. What, maybe Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia are amongst their competition in the race for the deepest darkest dungeon? And please note; the big pimpin’ heads of these hell holes are Trump’s boys.
There are those moments in time when the proper words “fit” the moment, appear to be tailor-cut, if not “custom-designed” for the moment - beyond apropos:…
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Commentary
‘Stick a Fork’ in Joe Biden
Columnist
Even more disturbing is that the majority and minority Democratic leadership continues to give him a pass because they naively believe that he has the best chance to defeat Trump in 2020. They fail to realize that his increasingly observable decline will put them at risk of a blowout in 2020.
Booker was right when he said on last Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” referring to Biden, that “This is bad culture, where you can’t admit mistakes …admit…
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