Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Every time I hear the voice of Russell Simmons, I hear a cool, clean, clear meditative voice, especially on Twitter where he drops his yoga knowledge in a reflective way. I guess he wasn’t folding his legs and saying a centered “Om” when he decided to ridicule an African woman. How did his voice distort […]

BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX Last week workers at fast food restaurants demonstrated outside their places of work, highlighting the low wages they receive and demanding more.  They say twice as much, or $15 an hour, will provide them with a living wage.   In Washington, DC, the City Council has sent legislation to Mayor Vincent Gray, requiring […]

The United States Senate finally stepped up to ensure that student loan rates would not double, as might have happened. There have been weeks of back and forth, but now the Senate says they will tie student loan rates to the federal funds rate, which means that in the short run the lowest student loan rates will be […]

   Trayvon Martin might not be dead except for the fact that George Zimmerman carried a gun around and acted as a wanna-be policeman.  Rev. Al Sharpton and others deserve props for rallying people and insisting that Zimmerman be brought to trial.  Anytime a gun goes off, I think somebody has to go to trial, simply to ensure […]

** Author’s Note: In my column “IF YOU DON’T LIKE DISPARITIES, TRY EQUALITY” I erroneously restated a comment I heard during a “think tank” at Rodham Institute. I was extremely remiss in not fact checking this statement. In communicating with Howard University, the facts are that of the 120 students admitted in Howard University’s School […]

BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX When George Orwell wrote the novel 1984, he envisioned a character, a real or imagined “Big Brother” who was a know-all, see-all, omnipotent and elusive presence that intruded into lives because he could.  Those who knew about “him” were told that they did not exist, but in many ways, Big Brother may not have existed […]

Although the overall unemployment rate still exceeds 7 percent, and the official Black unemployment rate is greater than 13 percent, there are some who insist that there is a robust economic recovery in progress.  Indeed, we were declared “post recession” in 2011 based on the definition of recovery as GDP growth for three quarters in […]

FEDERAL CONTRACTING PROMOTES INEQUALITY! BY JULIANNE MALVEAUX On May 21, I had the opportunity to testify before a Congressional Progressive Caucus, meeting on the fact that federal dollars drive inequality by paying contractors who pay too many of their workers very little.  The hearing was driven by a study from Amy Traub and her colleagues at […]

When Beyonce Knowles sang the Etta James song “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, the song could have had several meanings.  At last we have an African American President?  At last, the muscle of the Black vote has been flexed?  At last, there is some hope for our country to come together with […]

The Senate’s Gang of Eight have put together an 844 page monstrosity known as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, legislation that President Obama says he “basically approves” of. The crafters of this essentially unreadable bill was put together by Senators Dick Durbin (Illinois), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Michael Bennett […]

African American students achieve at a different level than white students.  Test scores are lower, as are high school and college completion rates, and the number of African Americans attending four-year institutions is falling.

Anna Brown, a St. Louis based homeless woman needed treatment for a sprained ankle. She went to three emergency rooms seeking such treatment. In the third hospital, St. Mary’s Health Center, Ms. Brown was emphatic about needing care.