The Mis-Education of the Negro

I oftentimes wonder how many of us have read the classic texts shaping the African American experience…and how many of us have just “heard about it.”  Have you read Carter G. Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro?  Fortunately many texts are now available in the public domain and available online.  blackgirlgrown will periodically post sections [...]

45th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

Statement by President Obama on the 45th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act Today we celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, one of the most historic and groundbreaking pieces of legislation in our nation’s history. For those who marched bravely; who worked tirelessly; who shed their blood and gave their lives [...]

Of Tea Partiers and New Black Panthers

Okay, it took me a minute to understand what this kerfuffle was all about.  Apparently, there is a New Black Panther Party and they intimidated black people into voting for President Obama in 2008, so says the Tea Party.  Of course, I didn’t know defending the voting rights of African Americans were their specialty.   And [...]

African American Columnists Roundup

Bob Herbert discusses depressing plight of the City of Detroit, once one of America’s great cities: The city of Detroit is using federal money to destroy thousands upon thousands of empty homes, giving in to a sense of desperation that says there is no way to rebuild the city so let’s do the opposite: let’s [...]

South Carolina on My Mind: Alvin Greene

South Carolina politics provide the richest commentary on the unthinkable. The June 8th South Carolina primary have left the Democrats in a conundrum. South Carolina Democrats have been quick to dump on Alvin Greene, a candidate that seemed to emerge from under a rock to become the Democratic Senate nominee to face Republican Senator Jim [...]

Two Young Females Are Crossing the Street..

By now, we’ve all seen or heard about the video showing a police officer punching a woman in the face. It is ugly all around. But these women are not blameless. A Belle in Brooklyn has captured my thoughts exactly. There is no defending the actions of this police officer. But the incredible gall of [...]

Reflecting on The Moynihan Report

Sometimes the truth ain’t pretty. And we can’t ignore it or dismiss it just because we don’t like the messenger. Such was the case with the infamous Moynihan Report several decades ago. The report detailed what would become of the black community should the traditional black American family life continue to deteriorate. Columnist Clarence Page [...]

Friday Reading: Black Women See Fewer Black Men at the Altar

The New York Times writes on new research indicating that black men are increasingly marrying women of other races.  Based on research from Pew Research Center, 1 out of every 5 black men married outside their race in 2008: It is a familiar lament of single African-American women: where are the “good” black men to [...]

Why Does Bill Maher Get A Pass?

I don’t care if you’re well-meaning, think you’re cool or hip, or are a flaming liberal.  This is unacceptable and the silence in the response to Bill Maher’s rhetoric is deafening!  I guess everyone would have been cool if Bill Maher said what Glenn Beck did about President Obama’s daughter too.  Someone explain to me why [...]

Complicated Relationship Between Blacks and Latinos

We’ve written in the past about the complicated relationship between the African Diaspora in Latin America and their lighter Hispanic brethren. Earl Ofari Hutchinson captures the signature uneasiness in our relationship through Univision’s portrayal of African World Cup teams and questions why Univision continues such rogue stereotypes when African American civil rights leaders are working [...]

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