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Editors’ Choice

African American slave family representing five generations all born on the plantation of J. J. Smith, Beaufort, South Carolina.

A Realistic Expectation of Reparations for Blacks

By Editors' Choice, Reparations

A direct cost of slavery is the cost of African-American life. How much is a life worth depends on a lot of personal factors. By Benny Williams, Ebony — Reparations owed to African-Americans in terms of dollars are insurmountable and nearly impossible for America to afford. No amount of money can repair the psychological damage African-Americans have experienced for centuries, and no amount of money can address the systemic racism that…

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Albert Woodfox was released from prison in 2016 after more than four decades.

After 40 years in solitary, activist Albert Woodfox tells his story of survival

By Editors' Choice

The former Black Panther and member of the Angola 3 reflects on how he turned his cell from a place of confinement to a space for personal growth. By Albert Woodfox, The Guardian — My wrists were handcuffed to my waist by a leather strap. These restraints would become standard for me for decades to come. They walked me to a car and I got in. A captain next to…

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Voters register at a polling station in Manhattan, New York, on November 6, 2018.

Flat Broke, Black Voters Want More Than Just Another Black President

By Editors' Choice

By Jon Jeter, Truthout — Sen. Cory Booker’s announcement on February 1 that he is entering the 2020 presidential race brings the number of African-American Democrats seeking their party’s nomination to two, making the crowded primary field the “most diverse in history,” according to The New York Times. But while The New York Times, cable news and other liberal pundits exult in the White House bids of Booker and California’s junior U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, African…

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Jay Speights, an interfaith leader who lives in Rockville, Md., made an accidental discovery last year: He is an African prince.

‘I’m a prince’: After years of searching for family history, a pastor discovers royal ties to Africa

By Editors' Choice

By Marissa J. Lang, The Washington Post — It was about 4 a.m. when his phone buzzed with a message from far away. He read it once, twice, three times before he woke his sleeping wife to tell her the news. “I’m a prince,” he whispered as she blinked herself awake. “A prince.” Jay Speights, an interfaith pastor from Rockville, Md., could hardly believe the words as he formed them…

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A new Urban Institute report shows that capital in Baltimore flows along the city's historic racial redlining patterns

Are Reparations Baltimore’s Fix for Redlining, Investment Deprivation?

By Editors' Choice

The solutions to Baltimore’s inequitable financing problems must be as radical as the policies that segregated the city in the first place, says Lawrence Brown. By Brentin Mock, City Lab — On December 19, 1910, the city of Baltimore passed an ordinance that a New York Times writer called “the most remarkable … ever entered upon the records of town or city of this country.” The ordinance made it illegal for any…

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