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

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Guest Commentator

The Black Commentator

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Commentary

Reparations, Part One The True Value of Some Land and an Animal Today’s Blacks could have inherited powerful advantages over foreign-born whites, if only

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

“Out of the lands thus confiscated each liberated slave who is a male adult, or the head of a family, shall have assigned to him a homestead of forty acres of land, (with $100 to build a dwelling), which shall be held for them by trustees during their pupilage.” –Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, speaking to the…

"Out of the lands thus confiscated each liberated slave who is a male adult, or the head of a family, shall have assigned to him a…

Continue reading 12 min

Commentary

The Living Wage Movement: A New Beginning Bread, Power and Civil Rights in 19 Languages A force for change sweeps the nation

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

In the streets of the megalopolis that stretches from the Chesapeake Bay to New York Harbor, janitors chant, “Puedo si” (Yes, I can!), demanding decent wages to clean the office towers of the New Economy. On the West Coast, home care workers celebrate their hard fought victories in a score of languages. In majority Black…

In the streets of the megalopolis that stretches from the Chesapeake Bay to New York Harbor, janitors chant, “Puedo si” (Yes, I can!), demanding decent wages…

Continue reading 23 min

Commentary

Newark The First Domino? The Hard Right Tests Its National Black Strategy

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

In a few days the voters of overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic Newark, New Jersey, will either blunt the Hard Right’s first serious drive for urban political power, in blackface, or be overwhelmed by it. Cory Booker, the 32 year-old first term councilman whose short career embodies the betrayal of Black America’s historical sacrifices and dreams,…

In a few days the voters of overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic Newark, New Jersey, will either blunt the Hard Right’s first serious drive for urban political…

Continue reading 18 min

Commentary

How to Spot a Black Trojan Horse

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

Dr. Martin Kilson, Guest Commentator When Cory Booker emerged as a real contender for Mayor of majority Black Newark, New Jersey, some African American intellectuals sounded the alarm. Among them was Harvard’s Dr. Martin Kilson, a research professor of political science who was the first African American to be granted full tenure at the college,…

Dr. Martin Kilson, Guest Commentator When Cory Booker emerged as a real contender for Mayor of majority Black Newark, New Jersey, some African American intellectuals sounded…

Continue reading 6 min

Commentary

Reparations, Part One The True Value of Some Land and an Animal

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

“Out of the lands thus confiscated each liberated slave who is a male adult, or the head of a family, shall have assigned to him a homestead of forty acres of land, (with $100 to build a dwelling), which shall be held for them by trustees during their pupilage.” –Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, speaking to the…

"Out of the lands thus confiscated each liberated slave who is a male adult, or the head of a family, shall have assigned to him a…

Continue reading 12 min

Commentary

The Living Wage Movement: A New Beginning Bread, Power and Civil Rights in 19 Languages

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

In the streets of the megalopolis that stretches from the Chesapeake Bay to New York Harbor, janitors chant, “Puedo si” (Yes, I can!), demanding decent wages to clean the office towers of the New Economy. On the West Coast, home care workers celebrate their hard fought victories in a score of languages. In majority Black…

In the streets of the megalopolis that stretches from the Chesapeake Bay to New York Harbor, janitors chant, “Puedo si” (Yes, I can!), demanding decent wages…

Continue reading 23 min

Commentary

Condoleezza & Geraldo A Fine Pair The Role Model’s Burden

By The Black Commentator Guest Commentator

FROM: Co-Publisher Glen Ford TO: Our Readers Re: Condoleezza & Geraldo Dear Reader: It’s as good a time as any to gauge how Condoleezza Rice is measuring up to her Image Award. Ever since the televised presentation back in March, lots of us have wondered how NAACP executive director Kweisi Mfume had come to the…

FROM: Co-Publisher Glen Ford TO: Our Readers Re: Condoleezza & Geraldo Dear Reader: It’s as good a time as any to gauge how Condoleezza Rice is…

Continue reading 10 min

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