Historically the black church has been a place for creating individual, systemic, and political change within the black community. From its emergence in the late 18th century to its present day relevance, the black church has and will always serve as a safe haven for African Americans, a place to worship God together, and a place where we are motivated to rebuild our communities. You can guarantee that on Sunday between the hours of 7 a.m. (early morning service) to 4 p.m. (afternoon service) there will be a large population of blacks attending church.
Category Archives: Voting Rights and Civic Engagement
50 Shades of Politics: Vote your Conscious or Your Color?
For the last 12 years, New York City or “Gotham City” as I love to call it, has been colored by streaks of yellow, red and white. That would be cowardice yellow, an unrighteous red, cloaked in a very pale white. I refer to NYC this way for its similarities with the fictional city of “Batman” by DC Comics. A city primarily known because of the sinister areas around the base of “Metropolis”, and the rampant and recurring corruption within the city’s civil authorities and infrastructure. Alone, the above colors are beautiful and stunning contributions to the diverse color spectrum. However, when they are overshadowed by a mishandling, misappropriation and misrepresentation of justice, civil and public service they immediately become ugly, useless and even offensive to the human eye.
Crime and Punishment in America
This past Thursday through Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend my first Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in its 43rd iteration. This was truly an informative, formative and transformational experience. I learned so much and got to meet others committed to positively impacting American society. Some of the sessions and hearings I attended included: “National Town Hall From Poverty to Prosperity: Confronting Violence, Restoring Opportunity and Investing in Our Youth”, “How to Engage and Build International Response to Local Issues: Human Trafficking, HIV/AIDS and Economic Empowerment”, “Criminal Justice Issues Forum Mandatory Minimums: Rethinking Failed Sentencing Policies and Targeting Money Laundering and Major Drug Traffickers” and “The Youth PROMISE Act: An Evidence Based Approach to Juvenile Crime Prevention”. The common theme was desperately needed criminal justice reform and its potential to positively impact the nation’s black population.
The “Dream” in Action: Power Through Youth Activism
Revius O. Ortique, Jr.
On Nov. 28, 2012, Dillard University, my home institution, held their 3rd annual Revius Ortique Lecture Series which honors Justice Revius O. Ortique, Jr, a pioneering civil rights activist for more than 60 years, and the first African American elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Brothers, We Need To Talk…
I am tired of us killing each other…just tired.
I am tired of us being killed by the other…just tired.
After the outrage over Trayvon Martin ceases, we are still left with “Chiraq”. We are still left with “Bucktown” and multiple other cities where we are offing each other in record numbers. We are left with the vestiges of our imposed ignorance and we owe it to ourselves to be accountable – we have to own up and do better. We have to.
Take a Seat at the Table
In 2011, I had an opportunity to attend my first ever National Urban League Legislative Policy Conference and what a defining moment that experience was for me. The National Urban League, the nation’s oldest and largest direct services civil rights organization, provides their affiliates and their volunteer auxiliary, the National Urban League Young Professionals a platform to take a seat at the table with members of congress and petition the National Urban League’s agenda. There we were, 5 Urban League affiliates from around the State of Florida with their Young Professionals Chapter Presidents and members sitting at a table with Sen. William “Bill” Nelson and his staff pleading out our concerns about voter suppression, economic disparities in our communities, the decrease of funding for critical social programs and so forth.