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

Editorial Board

The Reverend Irene Monroe

Oprah Hurts Obama - Inclusion By The Reverend Irene Monroe

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, The Reverend Irene Monroe is an ordained minister, motivational speaker and she speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. Rev. Monroe does a weekly Monday segment, “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), on Boston Public Radio and a weekly Friday segment “The Take” on New England Channel NEWS (NECN). She’s a Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist. Her columns appear in cities across the country and in the U.K, and Canada. Also she writes a column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows and Cambridge Chronicle. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Rev. Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate. She has received the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching several times while being the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard who is the author of the best seller, THE GOOD

396 pieces

Cover Story

Silencing Stigma With Awareness – Video of speech

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, The Reverend Irene Monroe is an ordained minister, motivational speaker and she speaks for a sector of society that is frequently invisible. Rev. Monroe does a weekly Monday segment, “All Revved Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM), on Boston Public Radio and a weekly Friday segment “The Take” on New…

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member and Columnist, The Reverend Irene Monroe is an ordained minister, motivational speaker and she speaks for a sector of society that is…

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Commentary

Who Will Celebrate Our Trans Service Members on This Memorial Day? – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

the military’s belief that service members who are transgender endanger “unit cohesion” only maintains a policy of segregation and fosters a climate of transphobia.

There will be parades all across the country this Memorial Day commemorating our U.S. service members who died while in the military. But not all service…

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Commentary

Immigrant Life in “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Black hairstyles are not criticized when they are appropriated by white culture.

"Jaja's African Hair Braiding" has come to Boston. It is a tragicomedy and once again, Jocelyn Bioh brings another thorny issue to the stage at a…

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Commentary

Women’s History Month – In Honor of Black Trans Women – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

We will not cower in the face of what’s to come. Instead, we will stand even more boldly on our promise to present liberating art by, for, and about Queer and Trans People of Color.”

Transgender rights have been on the chopping block since the Trump 2.0 administration took office. Pushback, however, has been equally fierce across the country in Trump’s…

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Cover Story

Black History Month – We Don’t Need Trump’s Permission To Celebrate Us – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Our history is a canon for survival and an archive for future generations to pass along because our lived experiences are sacred texts.

Frederick Douglass is dead. In 2017, President Donald J. Trump didn’t appear to know this fact. However, in 2025, he may still not know. In kicking…

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Commentary

The Strength and Endurance of Black Love – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

Black love has always existed despite obstacles to prevent it.

This Valentine’s Day my focus is on black love. African American life in the U.S. is primarily depicted as a struggle devoid of romantic love rather…

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Commentary

“Ain’t No Mo” Is a No-Holds-Barred Tragicomedy About Race – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

If we board Flight 1619, are we willing to leave behind the 400-plus years of building and contributing to the DNA of what makes this country the U.S.?

Numerous Back-to-Africa movements in the U.S. have sought to return enslaved Africans to the Motherland to resolve the problem of racism. Jordan E. Cooper’s tragicomedy “Ain’t…

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Cover Story

What It Takes To Embody MLK’s Dream Today – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

I know that the struggle against racism that King talked about is only legitimate if I am also fighting anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism, and classism - not only out in the world but also in myself.

MLK Day 2025 marks the 40th holiday observance. The theme, “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365,” is challenging in this…

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Cover Story

Jimmy Carter Was My First Presidential Vote – Inclusion

By The Reverend Irene Monroe Editorial Board

In 2005, an Advocate reporter asked him why he had no problem with gays and lesbians like many Christians. “I’m a worshipper of Jesus Christ, who never mentioned homosexuals in any way - certainly not in a deleterious fashion,” Carter replied.

Jimmy the Baptist Carter grew up as a Southern Baptist and was the first U. S. president to announce unabashedly he was a “born again” Christian.…

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