The questioning of Kwanzaa comes with each season of its celebration as a kind of background noise and verbal nonsense, noted for its racialized rancor and irrationality rather than its relevance and for its strange preoccupation with Kwanzaa’s value and durability while annually announcing its imminent death.
On New Year’s Eve, African Americans from around the country gathered in Black churches for “Watch Night” Services, the tradition of reenacting the watch of enslaved Africans December 31, 1862, as our ancestors eagerly awaited the day that the Emancipation Proclamation would officially become law…
Now, at the beginning of this the year of our people 6252, let us again, in the tradition of our ancestors, wish for African people everywhere, as well as all the peoples of the world: blessings without number and all good things without end.
The savage and senseless massacre of 26 people, 20 children and 6 adults, at an elementary school in Connecticut has once again forced the country to face a random rage and murderous rampage…
The pressure is growing in the face-off over the so-called “fiscal cliff” in Washington. The president put his plan on the table. Repu…
How will African American people improve our situation in 2013? Right now, we have higher unemployment than any other population in our nation, less wealth, higher school dropout rates, and more crime in our communities. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that African American communities had twice the number of negatives and half the […]
By Dr. Kwa David Whitaker — I saw Django last night and I have intentionally given myself one day to digest the film’s scenes, messages and implications. I consider this…
Africans in America should be aware that 2013 is a year of great significance. It will mark the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of Medgar Evers and the 50th Anniversary of the historic March on Washington.
In Cook County jails, prisoners are charged as much as $15 a call to be in touch with their relatives. The exploitive rates can force fami…
As January 1, 2013, approaches, Blacks in New York, New Jersey, and across the region are gearing up for various celebrations and commemorations in light of the 150-year anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln.
Why do imaginary phantoms terrify, while real-life horrors seem normal? Why do our elected representatives act in ways that trample the va…