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Perception becomes reality when people labeled

DR. WILLIE J. KIMMONS READER COMMENTARY This is in response to an hour interview I had with Mr. Andrew Gant, a 28 year-old, White male staff writer at the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The interview was centered on voters’ absentee ballots and the matching of individuals’ signatures. Mr. Gant’s perception of me was simply that I [...]

September 20, 2012No CommentRead More

Time to pull back from ‘fiscal cliff’

Ignorance is not bliss. However, there are too many of us who are ignoring the discussion about a legislative maneuver known as “sequestration.” This is also known by a more descriptive term – “fiscal cliff.” Unless this is updated, all financial rules and budgeting will come to a halt on December 31, 2012. Let me [...]

September 20, 2012No CommentRead More

Taking a broader worldview

Every four years in the U.S., we have our presidential elections. I have worked on three such campaigns and the one thing that is certain is uncertainty. Presidential campaigns are planned down to the most minute detail. In most cases, the winner will be the person who can best respond to the uncertainties of a [...]

September 20, 20121 CommentRead More

Conventional political wisdom

Now that both national party conventions have ended, it’s time to reflect. Most of the analysis you have seen or heard has been pretty much what was expected. Most of the political pundits live in an echo chamber—they all talk with each other and travel in similar social circles. I found very little fresh, insightful analysis. [...]

September 13, 2012No CommentRead More

Memorable quotes from the Democratic Convention

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.): “Congress is unable to do the work of the American people because too many politicians believe that compromise means capitulation. This must change, because just as bees cannot sting and make honey at the same time members of Congress cannot simultaneously make passionate enemies and expect political progress.” Newark Mayor Cory [...]

September 13, 20123 CommentsRead More

Holding on at the Center of Hope

Every 29 seconds, a child is born into poverty in America. Every 29 seconds; 124 children every hour. Children such as 10-year-old Tyler, 5-year-old Keiris, and 4-year-old Jerimiah, who live with their mother, Christina Wyatt, 24, in Middletown, Ohio. In the summer of 2011, the family moved into the Center of Hope for Women and [...]

September 13, 2012No CommentRead More

Glossing over the truth about our history

When Khalil Muhammad speaks, people listen. He is a scholar, historian, and the director of the New York Public Library’s renowned Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Muhammad knows a lot about the importance of being mindful of learning from history. When he spoke about equality of opportunity to 1,800 young leaders at a [...]

September 6, 2012No CommentRead More

Who built what?

The Republican National Convention’s theme was, “We Built This.” One of the speakers was Sher Valenzuela, a Delaware businesswoman who happens to be Latina. She touted the success of her upholstery business and implied it thrived because of her hard work. That’s only partly true. She also thrived because she started out with $2 million [...]

September 6, 2012No CommentRead More

White racism in a green jacket

Condoleezza Rice has a book titled: “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington.’’ The question is “how high an honor” does the former secretary of state consider her invitation for membership in the Augusta National Golf Club? Racism has always been a major issue in the United States. Formal racial discrimination was largely [...]

September 6, 20122 CommentsRead More

Obama needs to project more than ‘Hope’

The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. this week is to highlight the sharp contrast between the policies of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, his Republican opponent. Republicans concluded their national convention in Tampa and for the first time in 60 years, the GOP nominee didn’t make the argument that [...]

September 6, 2012No CommentRead More