The safest way to cast a ballot will very likely be by mail. But with opposition from the president, limited funding and time running out, will that option be available? By Emily Bazelon, NYT — In March, as a wave of states began delaying their spring primaries because of the coronavirus, Wisconsin’s election, scheduled for April 7, loomed. The ballot for that day included the presidential primary, thousands of local…
By Dr. Julianne Malveaux — There were 4623 incarcerated people over 65 in federal prisons during the first week of May. Until May 12, Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s one-time campaign…
By Carey Baraka, Quartz Africa — In April 1721, a smallpox outbreak swept through Boston. This was the latest in a string of six epidemics that had, since, 1630, laid waste to the city. Cotton Mather, a local slave owner and preacher, claimed to be in possession of a way of preventing contraction of the disease. Mather, who had first come to public prominence as one of the thinkers behind…
Vantage Point Radio May 18, 2020 — On this WBAI fund drive edition of Vantage Point, host Dr. Ron Daniels aka The Professor talks with guest Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, Judge…
By Diane Goldstein, Filter — The brutal killing of Ahmaud Arbery, by a retired member of law enforcement and his son in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23, will be seared in…
By Tanu Henry, California Black Media — On May 11, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee voted yes on a bill that would mandate the state to set up an 8-member commission to examine how California engaged in — and benefited from — the enslavement of Black men, women and children. If the bill, AB 3121, passes, it would charge the commission with coming up with proposals for redressing the “negative…
But When Cortés’s Soldiers Arrived Carrying a Novel Virus, the Empire First Succumbed to Smallpox and Then Fell to Spain. By David Bowles, Zocalo Public Square — Every civilization eventually faces a crisis that forces it to adapt or be destroyed. Few adapt. On July 10, 1520, Aztec forces vanquished the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men, driving them from Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire. The Spanish soldiers…
The Republican Party is doing everything it can to suppress the vote in November. Why? They fear higher turnout, especially among people of color, will cost them the election. By…
By Jay Reeves, AP News — Many African Americans watching protests calling for easing restrictions meant to slow the spread of the new coronavirus see them as one more example of how their health, their safety and their rights just don’t seem to matter. To many, it seems that the people protesting — who have been predominantly white — are agitating for reopening because they won’t be the ones to suffer the consequences.
“Nothing about this movement is really black friendly.” By Nick Charles, NBC News — As protests erupt over stay-at-home orders and the clamor to reopen the economy becomes louder, the coalition of people storming state Capitols — some armed with semi-automatic weapons and most not wearing masks or observing social distancing guidelines — have had one thing in common: Almost all of them are white. African Americans, for the most…
By William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, Newsweek — The COVID-19 crisis only heightens the urgency of black reparations. Long overdue, they are now more essential than ever. Mounting statistics confirm disturbing evidence of racial disparities in reported coronavirus deaths. In Wisconsin, perhaps the state with the most extreme ratio of black morbidity, black people represent 6 percent of the population and 40 percent of the deaths. Those…
Vantage Point Radio May 11, 2020 — On this WBAI fund drive edition of Vantage Point, host Dr. Ron Daniels aka The Professor talks with guest Nana Gyamfi and callers….