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

Editorial Board

Jamala Rogers

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, Jamala Rogers, founder and Chair Emeritus of the Organization for Black Struggle in St. Louis. She is an organizer, trainer and speaker. She is the author of The Best of the Way I See It – A Chronicle of Struggle. Other writings by Ms. Rogers can be found on her blog jamalarogers.com. Contact Ms. Rogers and BC.

272 pieces

View from the Battlefield

Political Prisoners in the Shadows

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

It’s not just a new generation that needs schooling on political prisoners. The larger social justice movement also needs to be reminded of those whose political views and activities captured the attention of the FBI and who were caught in its net of deception and lawlessness.

When young protesters started chanting a quote by Tass Shakur during the Ferguson Uprising, several veteran activists from around the country reached out to me. They…

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View from the Battlefield

The Democrat’s Platform Comes Up Way Short

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

We have this Democratic president to thank for not only for mandatory life sentences but for doing nothing about the racial disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine. This racist policy helped to explode both the state and federal prison populations by sucking up non-violent drug offenders.

The touted so-called progressive platform of the Democrats came out just as all hell was breaking loose. Police in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights killed two…

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View from the Battlefield

Brexit: Reading between the Votes

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

Globalism has created discontent and uprisings all over the world. The vast majority of the world’s people is experiencing corporate greed and suffering under the austere policies passed by politicians to maintain the obscene profits of the rich.

Brexit, the shortened slang for British exit of the European Union, was a referendum to determine whether the United Kingdom would stay or leave the Union.…

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View from the Battlefield

Picking and choosing who gets justice – Corruption in the prosecutor’s office

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

While there have been several cases of wrongful conviction that have come to light over the years, I believe there are hundreds of people who languished in prison for years or who are still incarcerated due to prosecutorial misconduct.

The African American community has little faith in St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office. So it came as no surprise, it would be outraged when Circuit Attorney…

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View from the Battlefield

A Different Kind of Club – Grieving Fathers Bond for Justice

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

What has evolved over the last few years is the creation of these exclusive clubs—formations of families who have lost children, mainly to police terrorism.

“If you want to hear the truth, you must let the suffering speak.” This was the quote by Cornel West that Cephus Johnson led off with…

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View from the Battlefield

Ferguson Now Has a Majority Black City Council

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

A unanimous vote against the DOJ’s consent decree doesn’t exactly shout racial change.

It was no surprise that protests ripped through the first meeting of the Ferguson City Council since the Council voted down the consent decree offered by…

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View from the Battlefield

Genocide in Flint – The water disaster will impact generations to come

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

The Flint water crises was born out of government/corporate decisions that believe black and poor people are collateral damage in the financial strategy to make the state of Michigan solvent. African Americans are about 60 per cent of the population; nearly 42 per cent of Flint residents are below the poverty line.

In spite of his poignant and insightful documentaries, I never saw independent filmmaker Michael Moore as a radical or revolutionary. I saw a progressive with a…

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View from the Battlefield

The Congress of African People – Understanding its importance from a personal narrative

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

"The Congress of African People was one of few revolutionary nationalist organizations that saw the electoral arena as part of a legitimate strategy for building black political power."

December 17, 2015 - Issue 634 var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; The Congress of African People Understanding its importance from a personal narrative "The Congress of African…

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View from the Battlefield

Always a Foreigner: The continuing struggle for first class citizenship

By Jamala Rogers Editorial Board

Those of us who are so-called U.S. citizens have double duty. We must fight for equity and equality for all the people in this country as well as keeping this government from invading, controlling or destroying the land, resources and people in other lands. Those who live in European countries have the same obligation.

Sometimes I'm challenged to help my readers make connections between local, national and international issues. The U.S. Government is usually at the center of global controversy…

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