Why We Can’t Wait: Pass HR-40 Now! Vantage Point Articles & Essays By Dr. Ron Daniels Madame Speaker, with a Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives and one of the most consequential elections in the history of this nation slated to occur in a few weeks, it’s time to send a powerful sign to Black voters that Black Lives Matter by passing HR-40 now! 2020 marks thirty-one years since the…
By Rodney A. Brooks — When it came to getting healthcare during the 1918 influenza epidemic, America’s Black communities, hobbled by poverty, Jim Crow segregation and rampant discrimination, were mostly forced to fend for themselves. Opportunities for hospital care proved scarce, leaving many relying on family care and, where available, the small but burgeoning ranks of Black nurses. When the 1918 influenza epidemic began, African Americans were already beset by a barrage of social, medical…
The black codes effectively continued enslavement for African Americans by restricting their rights and exploiting their labor. By Nadra Kareem Nittle — When slavery ended in the United States, freedom still eluded African Americans who were contending with the repressive set of laws known as the black codes. Widely enacted throughout the South following the Civil War—a period called Reconstruction—these laws both limited the rights of Black people and exploited them as a…
African Americans born during the 20th-century Jim Crow era were promised all the freedoms and rights of the white Americans, but instead languished in the torture chamber of racism and state-sponsored bigotry. By Robert Vane — One of the most meaningful and impactful initiatives in our country is the Honor Flight program. It flies veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials and brings tears to all who witness it.
88th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors Resolution In Support of the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act (H.R 40/S. 1083) WHEREAS, Congress finds that four million Africans and their descendants were brought to this land and enslaved in the American colonies beginning in 1619, and slavery was an institution that was statutorily upheld by the federal government of the United States…
By Don Rojas — Today America is at a crossroads, a turning point…at an intersection of the old imperial order at home and abroad with the birthing of a new order, “a new normal” if you will. For millions of people in America, the unprecedented street uprisings of the past 10 days offer a glimmer of hope that after 350 years of oppression, meaningful change may actually be on the…
By Alan J. Singer, HNN — The video-recorded murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man killed by two white vigilantes while jogging near Brunswick, Georgia, has focused attention on Georgia’s Civil War era Citizen’s Arrest law. The current version of Georgia Citizen’s Arrest Law, 17-4-60 (2010), states: “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a…
By Liz Theoharis — My mom contracted polio when she was 14. She survived and learned to walk again, but my life was deeply affected by that virus. Today, as our larger society attempts to self-distance and self-isolate, my family has texted about the polio quarantine my mom was put under: how my grandma fearfully checked my aunt’s temperature every night because she shared a bedroom with my mom; how they…
By Guy Lancaster, HNN — Note: this essay quotes a sign attached to the body of a man lynched in 1919, which uses a racial slur. HBO’s recent release of a prestige adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2004 novel The Plot Against America makes it worthwhile to examine whether fascism is really so alien to the United States as many wish to believe. In Roth’s novel, a Jewish extended family in Newark experiences fascism’s arrival…
By Alan Singer, HNN — Author’s note: “Represent NYC” is a weekly program produced by Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). The show’s guests usually discuss topics like affordable housing, education policy and domestic violence. I was invited to discuss the New York Times’ 1619 Project and the long-term impact of slavery on New York and American society for a Black History Month broadcast. This post includes the questions I prepared to answer and notes…
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