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Commentary, Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels

Why the President Should Visit Haiti

By Vantage Point Articles

Recently much attention has been made of President Obama’s “bucket list,” those things he would like to accomplish before the end of his term. Among the items on his list is a visit to Cuba. This would be a dramatic event, climaxing one of the signature achievements of his presidency – breaking the decades- long diplomatic and economic isolation of Cuba to usher in a new era of normalized relations. The site of an American President, the first African American President, being welcomed in Cuba, an Afro-Hispanic nation, would be stunning and historic!

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Commentary, Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels

Reparations: Eradicating the “Badges and Incidents” of Slavery

By Vantage Point Articles

2015 marks the 150th Anniversary of the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. The Amendment officially abolished slavery, completing a process begun with the “partial” Emancipation Proclamation which only “freed” enslaved Africans in those states that were at war with the Union. It would be the first of three Reconstruction Amendments which would abolish slavery, establish citizenship and grant the right to vote to the formerly enslaved Africans. The 13th Amendment is also noteworthy because of the pledge to “eradicate the badges and indications of slavery.” President Obama and members of Congress hailed the Amendment as one of the great achievements of racial justice at a ceremony in the nation’s Capital.

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Commentary, Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels

Did Democrat’s “Panic” Lead to Mid-Term Debacle?

By Vantage Point Articles

Now that the political pundits, analysts and campaign consultants have had their say, I thought it was time to offer a perspective on the debacle suffered by the Democrats during the recent mid-term elections. Let’s get right to it. In the face of a calculated and relentless assault by Republicans on Barack Obama, a President with a dismal approval rating, Democratic candidates panicked and frantically ran away from the President and his/their “record” over the past six years.

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Celebrating the Haitian Revolution: Reflections on Cruising Into History

By Vantage Point Articles

January 1, 2014 marked the 210th Anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, one of the greatest events in human history. Never before had an enslaved people rebelled against their slave masters to declare their independence and establish a nation. Inspired by the exhortations and sacrifice of the spiritual priest Boukman and ably led by Toussaint Louverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion, this is precisely what the enslaved Africans of Haiti achieved. They crushed the military forces of Napoleon Bonaparte at the pinnacle of his power and established the world’s first Black Republic!

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Celebrating the Haitian Revolution: Reflections on Cruising Into History

By Vantage Point Articles

January 1, 2014 marked the 210th Anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, one of the greatest events in human history. Never before had an enslaved people rebelled against their slave masters to declare their independence and establish a nation. Inspired by the exhortations and sacrifice of the spiritual priest Boukman and ably led by Toussaint Louverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion, this is precisely what the enslaved Africans of Haiti achieved. They crushed the military forces of Napoleon Bonaparte at the pinnacle of his power and established the world’s first Black Republic!

Read More