Margaret Kimberley

The President is correct about one thing. He is very lucky. He is lucky to have been born into a family that has shrewdly mastered the art of making money and positioning itself politically. He is lucky that being a well connected, old-money WASP protected his grandfather, Prescott Bush, after he was fined by the…

Paranoia is usually the reserve of conspiracy theorists of every political stripe, fans of science fiction, and Black people. We are given a pass because of the horrific treatment meted out to us throughout American history. Slavery, lynching, the Tuskegee experiment and COINTELPRO give us paranoia rights while others are mocked and dismissed for expressing…

American politicians, of all races, do not know how to address the concerns and needs of black voters without making a mad dash to the church pulpit. The tradition of candidates for county sheriff or President of the United States visiting black churches has become a parody, an insult to the intelligence of black voters,…

The quickest way to bring anger, tears, and vitriol to any conversation among Black people is to discuss the state of Black male and female relationships. If it is true that men are from Mars and women are from Venus it must follow that healthy relationships are difficult to maintain. Add racism, the economic marginalization…

The recent revelation of sex abuse at the world renowned Boys Choir of Harlem is reminiscent of the scandals in the Catholic Church. In both cases leaders placed the desire to protect their institutions ahead of the need to protect children victimized by a terrible crime. Instead of being protected, the institutions in question are…

On January 6, 2004 the state of Arkansas executed 44-year old Charles Singleton, who was convicted of stabbing a grocery store clerk to death in 1979. He was on death row longer than any other Arkansas inmate. The Singleton case was not unusual in and of itself. Singleton was Black and his victim, Mary Lou…

The retailing giant Wal-Mart must be nirvana for Black people. Its commercials, full of sentimental background music, soft focus photography, and earnest looking real people give the impression that it is just short of heaven on earth. I have seen commercials showing a Black mother exhorting her daughter to pursue a career at Wal-Mart. In…

These are the words of Smedley Butler. Butler retired from the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Major General. He fought for American interests in Haiti, Mexico and China. He also described himself as a “gangster for capitalism.” Butler wrote about wars in other parts of the world but his statements ring true…

Is religion the opiate of the people? As a bible toting Baptist I take umbrage at efforts to equate religious belief with stupidity. But sometimes my fellow believers make it difficult to rise to their defense. Rev. Henry Lyons is the poster child for the specious argument that religious belief is synonymous with ignorance. In…