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

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The Black Commentator

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Cover Story

Black History Month – Shirley Chisholm Unbought & Unbossed

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

The Constitution they wrote was designed to protect the rights of white, male citizens. As there were no black Founding Fathers, there were no founding mothers -- a great pity, on both counts. It is not too late to complete the work they left undone. Today, here, we should start to do so.

On January 25, 1972 Shirley Chisholm, Member of Congress from New York's Twelfth District announced her candidacy for President of the United States. She became the…

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Commentary

Quote to Ponder: Iroquois Prayer of Thanksgiving

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

Thanksgiving Prayer from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Nation

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Commentary

Thanksgiving: The National Day of Mourning – Text of 1970 speech by Wampsutta An Aquinnah Wampanoag Elder

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

This is a time of celebration for you - celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People.

When Frank James (1923 - February 20, 2001), known to the Wampanoag people as Wampsutta, was invited to speak by the Commonwealth of Massachusettsat the 1970…

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Commentary

Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish; it’s how you keep going. Explore tips, tools, and resources to support your mental health. However you choose to engage, your actions matter. More good days are possible, and we can find them together. MHA’s online BIPOC Mental Health Resource Center offers a wealth of information and tools to…

Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish; it’s how you keep going. Explore tips, tools, and resources to support your mental health. However you choose to engage,…

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Commentary

Disability Pride Month

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

One of the defining moments in disability rights history was the San Francisco 504 Sit-In of 1977, when the federal government delayed implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, one of the first laws to prohibit disability-based discrimination. In response, activists with disabilities occupied federal buildings across the country. Image: George Bush signs the Americans…

One of the defining moments in disability rights history was the San Francisco 504 Sit-In of 1977, when the federal government delayed implementing Section 504 of…

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Commentary

Juneteenth: the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

Juneteenth is the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that…

Juneteenth is the oldest internationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that…

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Commentary

Pride Month 2025

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

Pride Month has always been about protest as much as celebration, but with the LGBTQ+ community under attack from the Trump administration and conservative politicians all over America, it is more important than ever for us to stand together, show our strength, and fight back against an oppressive government, celebrate our collective queer joy, and…

Pride Month has always been about protest as much as celebration, but with the LGBTQ+ community under attack from the Trump administration and conservative politicians all…

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Commentary

April 4, 2025 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered this speech in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 —…

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