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Recently, I’ve had the honor and the pleasure of being in the lives of 90-ish year-old Black women. We’re all related by blood. Three of the women are biologically related; the others share the ancient blood of an African people running through our veins. What I’m learning about their lives …

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Proposition R passed with nearly 70% of approval by St. Louis voters. Proposition B received 61% of county voters. Both reform measures could be heard as screams of voters being sick and tired of being sick and tired; sick and tired of the indifference, incompetence, and alleged corruption o…

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I have been intrigued at the interest and concern that Black people around me are expressing towards Ukraine. Not movement folks, the usual suspects. I’m talking about people waiting in the grocery line, at the gas pump, on class alumni calls. Intrigued, not because I think we don't care abo…

June is Pride Month. The 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York was a flashpoint when gay folks in this country got sick and tired of being harassed, humiliated and assaulted because of their sexual orientation and gender identities. The successful resistance was celebrated the following year a…

Mayor Tishaura Jones has asked citizens to help decide how best to use $500 million in federal stimulus funds. This is a variation of “participatory budgeting.” St. Louis could very well be placing a huge amount of money into the hands of city residents – and they will make some the most imp…

Days before the verdict of Derek Chauvin, I saw a meme on social media that basically said nothing had changed since the beating of Rodney King except the quality of the video. The poignant reference was about the flood of videos that have publicized the brutal assaults and cold-blooded murd…

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The Organization for Black Struggle worked the polls in the 22nd Ward on Election Day. An elderly voter approached the polling place entrance, taking  slow and cautious steps with her walker. She was greeted by an enthusiastic OBS member who understood the obvious hardship it was for the sen…

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The Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a bombshell for many. The way biracial Meghan was being treated by The Royals was no surprise to most of us. And some of us knew that sistah-girl was not likely to put up with it for long. A few thought out loud that Meghan …

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The threat is real. The vote is under attack. Two narratives are duking it out: voter fraud vs. voter protection. What’s becoming a tit for tat in a high stakes match must end in a resounding victory for voting rights. It should be more permanent than the Voting Rights of 1964.

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It’s election time. Some people equate elections with political power. I see elections as just one way political power shows up. The struggle for Black political power is not only about who we elect. It has also been about creating the conditions that guide people to stand up to social, econ…

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When I first saw the images of  three gaping openings at the City Justice Center, I saw them as possible escape routes. If I was one of the detainees who knocked out the windows on Feb. 6 in protest of conditions, I think I would’ve jumped for safety and supported the demands from an unknown…

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This past year has been a year to remember. The country endured the most openly corrupt and divisive administration in modern times. Our resilience and sanity was tested with the worst pandemic in 100 years. We discovered that our planet is deteriorating at a much faster rate than previously…

I can hardly believe this country refuses to take the pandemic seriously. The coronavirus is raging across this country with no slow-down in sight. With more than 14 million cases, and deaths barreling past the 300,000 mark, there’s still no national coordinated plan to contain the virus.

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The November election was a reset button for a country in racist free fall. When the curtain finally goes down on the presidential race, white supremacy can take its bow as second runner up. The gap between the Democratic and Republican tickets should’ve been a gulf instead of a sliver. Blac…

I have seen some clever memes on social media about the instant home-schooling situation created by the COVID-19 crises. A few of them got a good chuckle out of me. I could tell a number of the memes were concocted or circulated by educators who wondered out loud, “Now you see I wasn’t lying…

The world was first made aware of a coronavirus case in China last December. The U.S. was hit with its first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 20. Still, there is no comprehensive, coordinated national plan to stop the deadly virus, which I put squarely at the feet a president who is dismis…

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The situation with COVID-19 is worth watching for several reasons. The coronavirus has infected nearly 110,000 people and killed 3,800 people in 100 countries. Just recently, a case popped up in St. Louis County, so now our region is part of the growing global statistics.

A new year is supposed to usher in hope and new possibilities. Sadly, there is little in the St. Louis region’s history that exudes the promise of change. I am the eternal optimist only because I put my faith in everyday people, not the corrupt and incompetent people who thrive off power and…

All holidays in the U.S. are highly commercialized. Christmas is the most commercialized to the tune of $475 billion, according to National Retail Federation estimates. Lost in those billions is a big portion of the $1 trillion-plus spending power of black folks. Our consumerism rarely comes…

The fate of Coach Trey Porter has finally been determined. Some would say the determination had little to do with his violation of the social media policy. Others would say the decision had nothing to do with enriching the lives of the students at Roosevelt High School. I side with the latte…