Commentary, articles and essays from Dr. Julianne Malveaux
By Dr. Julianne Malveaux — Even as our legislators grapple with impeachment, they are also charged to pass a dozen budget bills, including a bill on “defense”. Recent elections suggest a paradigm shift in the way we view budget spending, what with Democrats taking charge in both Virginia and Kentucky (I’m not counting Mississippi, Dems aren’t likely to capture that one until lightening strikes). Some are suggesting that the government…
By Julianne Malveaux — I was returning from an errand when the skies opened up. The punishing rain came down with such vigor that despite an umbrella, the bottom inches of my pants were soaked. With my wash and wear hair, and just half a block more to walk, I shrugged the rain off, until I saw a woman sheltering herself from the rain in a narrow but covered side…
By Julianne Malveaux — Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), AFSCME President Lee Saunders, and Democratic activist and pastor Leah Daughtry took to the stage to have a conversation about politics, voting, and political courage. Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) was scheduled to attend the Spirit of Democracy awards dinner, hosted by the National Coalition for Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) on October 16; he died just a few hours after the dinner concluded….
By Julianne Malveaux — Twenty-one-year-old Deandre Sullivan overslept one morning. Selected to serve on a jury, he was supposed to report by 9 a.m. He didn’t awaken until 11 and figured he’d have to pay a fine for his no-show. But hours after he failed to appear, he was hauled into a West Palm Beach, Florida court. There, Judge John Kastrenakus sentenced him to 10 days of incarceration, a fine,…
By Julianne Malveaux — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the proliferation of pink ribbons is about to start. Predatory capitalists will make breast cancer their cause, producing pink t-shirts, pocketbooks, everything. It’s a mixed blessing, this awareness, because too many will make this both a marketing and a profit-making opportunity, while others will wonder how they can use their health insurance to afford a mammogram. Health equity is…
By Julianne Malveaux — Hurricane Dorian has drowned the Bahamas and devastated the coasts of North and South Carolina. There are trillions of dollars worth of damages, and communities that it will take years to rebuild. The fury of this hurricane, some say, is unprecedented, with winds measured at 130 miles per hour at their fiercest. Dozens of lives have been lost – at least 30, as of this writing,…
By Julianne Malveaux — The event promised to be one of those last-gasp of summer events that would raise a little money for a good cause. The young woman who called to tell me about it promised that I’d meet interesting people, enjoy excellent wines and that the cost of attending was modest. “We aren’t charging anything this year, ” she said rather breezily. “But please bring school supplies.” Her…
By Julianne Malveaux — I cannot overstate my tremendous admiration for Rev. William Barber. Our connection goes back to North Carolina when I was the President of Bennett College, and he led the state NAACP. His daughter, Sharrelle, graduated from Bennett in the spring before I assumed the Presidency and as student body president, she served on the search committee that selected me. So he’s a friend of long-standing. In…
By Julianne Malveaux — Have you ever been hungry? Not the missed-a-meal, wanna overeat hungry, but the stomach-churning, bout to steal a loaf of bread hungry. Not the luxury of choice, but the sheer desperation of not having eaten for so many hours that food is nothing more than a memory. A dictionary describes hunger as “an uneasy or painful sensation from lack of food.” Synonyms include starved and starving….
By Julianne Malveaux — The US House of Representatives passed the Securing America’s Fair Elections (SAFE) Act in June by a nearly totally partisan vote of 225-184 in late June. Only one Republican voted for legislation that would mandate paper ballots, increase election security, and create safeguards to prevent foreign interference in our elections. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) opposes the legislation and won’t even allow it to be…
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