I’m going to give Texas Republicans their props.

Thanks to the voters who elected President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, we now have a Department of Justice that actually cares about justice.

I just had the honor of delivering the commencement address at Tennessee State University.

In the St. Louis region, nearly one in five kids live in poverty, according to the United Way’s Community Needs Assessment released in 2020 – a staggering figure.

Two weeks have passed since Derek Chauvin’s conviction in the murder of George Floyd. But the images from that moment are seared in our memories forever: the murderer, led away in handcuffs; the Floyd family, Philonise Floyd, speaking through tears, at the microphones after the verdict; the …

Chauvin conviction marks a turning point on police accountability, but work remains if the nation is to achieve real justice

The conviction of George Floyd’s murderer is a small step toward accountability in a system that is not designed to safeguard the lives of Black people.  Progress toward racial equity will require that we push for accountability in all our systems, places of work, and places of worship. This…

In the long arc of the nation’s history of racially-motivated voter suppression, 2021 will stand as a clear and distinct moment that changed everything that came after.

“Whether you live in Penrose or Holly Hills, South Broadway or Natural Bridge...I will be a mayor for you and your family, whether you supported me or not.”~ Mayor Tishaura Jones 

People who care about equal justice under the law should be very happy about President Joe Biden’s first set of judicial nominees. 

Once again, we are witnessing an outbreak of gun violence in our region – both mass and individual shootings. We have seen too much of this in recent months, and it is only increasing.

Justice is on trial in the United States.  

As leaders of organizations that are committed to racial justice and whose work seeks to counteract myriad forms of neglect, abuse, and systemic oppression in St. Louis, we are keenly interested in any plan that promises jobs, economic investment, and inclusive growth for our region. We beli…

The Souls to the Polls movement encourages African American church attendees to get out and vote. The churches that promote this movement cannot, because of their 501-c-3 status, endorse candidates. They can, however, emphasize the gospel of social and economic justice and preach the gospel …

When I joined The Normandy Collaborative, less than a year ago, I worried that there wouldn’t be an appetite for true reform.  My question during the interview process was whether the Normandy Schools Collaborative Board had a commitment to bold change.  They assured me that they did and hav…

President Joe Biden has nominated extraordinary women of color to high-level jobs in the Biden-Harris administration. Many of them are being attacked and smeared by the far right. That’s why People For the American Way has launched the #HerFightOurFight campaign. 

Since 1987, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated Women’s History Month to recognize the role women entrepreneurs play in building and strengthening our local and national economies. Women have transformed the face of entrepreneurship across America in both urban and ru…

It is time for a maximum push for a new minimum wage.  

Ghana has always been dubbed the “Gateway to Africa,” and rightly so. From its geographical location on the West Coast to its warm greetings from the people, even down to the relatively low instances of civil wars, Ghana has always welcomed those who visit. For people of African descent in A…

The dust has almost settled from our first experience with approval voting, and we now know that St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones will face 20th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer on April 6th to determine the next Mayor of the City of St. Louis. Many people on social media have framed this race…

March is Women’s History Month, and this month is the perfect time to lift the Black women’s organizations that make such an essential difference in our lives. Last year, both the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women (NA…

My college education put me on the path to a career I love, one I had not imagined when I graduated from high school over 30 years ago.

Regarding the response letter from City Counselor Michael Garvin to the request for immediate access by local organizations to the City Justice Center, including my St. Louis City Public Defender office, language matters and informs. Mr. Garvin’s expression that the City “will indulge” those…

When the weight of systemic oppression becomes too much to bear: People rise up.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that “unity, does not mean uniformity.” Ever since the mayor created a Corrections Task Force to respond to the circumstances that led to the three protests, organized in a matter of a few weeks apart, and culminating on February 6 by detainees a…

After repeatedly having their requests for basic human decency ignored and being subjected to the hellish conditions that exist in the St. Louis City Justice Center, detainees justifiably said enough is enough. 

A month into a tumultuous start of a new year, a new year following the most chaotic year in America that any living person can remember, I am seeing signs that the work in the streets and in our hospitals and at our voting booths, are saying even in states no one thought we would have captu…

Nobody needs to tell Black Americans that progress toward an inclusive democracy is often met with brutal resistance. We’ve learned the hard way that we can’t “let nobody turn us ‘round.” And right now, we need to send that message to the people we put in power in the White House and Congress.

As we reflect on the 55th  NFL Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, amid the continued national spread of the coronavirus, I believe that the time has come for the close-knit group of team owners in the National Football League to take the necessary steps to open the door to African American busine…

Introducing Missouri senator to a predecessor who stood for justice

After being attacked at the Arlo Hotel, Keyon Harrold Sr. asked, “when can a black man just be,” 

Forty-eight years ago, the Supreme Court recognized the fundamental freedom to abortion. But the promise of the Roe v. Wade decision has yet to be fully realized for so many. Black people, Latinx people, Indigenous people, people who are incarcerated, people who have immigrated, young people…

We celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year at a time when our nation has come to a fork in the road and the fate of our democracy depends on the path we take. Just 12 days removed from the insurrectionists’ attack on the Capitol that left six dead, and two days prior to the inaugurat…

My friend Michael P. McMillan was a superb choice for The St. Louis American's 2020 Person of the Year. Though having Mike in St. Louis is like having Michael Jordan in the NBA – any year, he deserves the MVP Award. In 2020 Mike rose to our regional challenges as president and CEO of the Urb…

In recent days, we’ve seen the dying gasps of the Trump administration turn into tragic violence in Washington, D.C. There is much to say about that, and serious reckoning ahead when it comes to the causes and the solutions.

The current discussion on the proposed school closures hides the most fundamental truth we must address to build a school system that serves all children well: the St. Louis Public Schools are failing children, especially Black children. 

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, doctors, nurses and essential workers within the health care system have put their own lives at risk to care for others. Our collective gratitude goes out to each of them, and to all essential workers on the front lines of this global crisis.

As we prepare to begin the year 2021, let us reflect on what this past year has meant. I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul, in his letter of perseverance to the Galatians: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Missouri made the Death Penalty Information Center’s 2020 annual report, and not in a good way. Missouri was one of  five states — along with Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas — that performed executions in 2020. Missouri also was the first state to execute someone during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Support for the majority-vote plan reinforced the moderate segregationist position. It did not remove anyone's right to cast a ballot, but it was commonly regarded as hampering African Americans — the  stigmatized bloc voters — from making their votes count more effectively at the polls. In…

A recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial listed some conditions that contribute to the high crime rate in some areas of St. Louis. These conditions include concentrated poverty, low performing schools, lack of jobs, lack of adequate city services.

Few people love the Electoral College. For good reason: it is a relic of Union governance acquiescing to Confederate demands and originally designed to squash any hint of Black electoral influence.However, in this recent 2020 election, it was the Black vote that dominated the Electoral Colle…

Yes, that's right!  The 2020 Presidential election has not yet ended!Why do we say that?  Because the Georgia Senate runoff contest is still underway -- two seats are at stake and voters must make their voices heard!The runoff process can disenfranchise traditionally underrepresented communi…

In a local clinical pastoral education program, I experienced the director as racially insensitive. She talked about how if she were an African American mother and had an African American son, she wouldn’t know how to deal with what was happening today.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made a brilliant choice in opening her remarks at the Democratic presidential ticket’s victory celebration with a quote from civil rights icon and former Georgia congressman John Lewis: “Democracy is not a state. It is an act.”