EDITORIAL
Emergence of powerFor decades, African Americans have understood that a major strategy for achieving equality in this country was the development of political power. According to a report by the Pew Research Center released on April 30, blacks demonstrated their commitment to this strategy in last November's presidential election. More » |
A crack in the justice systemUnder federal law, the sentence for possession of 1 ounce of crack cocaine is the same as it is for possession of 100 ounces of the powder variety. During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama pledged to eliminate the disparity. In testimony delivered last week, Lanny A. Breuer, chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, called on Congress to eliminate this injustice. More » |
OPINION
GOP chief Steele yet to showcase "magic" touchMichael Steele must have been struck by terminal amnesia. The Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman yukked at and agreed with the swipe that a radio caller took at President Barack Obama. The caller referred to Obama as "the magic Negro," the goofy, tired, worn parodic ditty that tags the president as a black man with a supposedly impregnable Teflon shield, rendering him immune to any and all criticism, adversity or political bad luck. A while back, a GOP big shot lambasted former RNC chairman Chip Saltzman for releasing the CD containing the song that parodied Obama as the "magic Negro." More » |
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Setting the record straight on a mayoral appointmentI would like to correct an incorrect fact in the Banner editorial entitled "Change is coming" in the April 16, 2009, issue. The Banner erroneously stated that Mayor Thomas M. Menino has never appointed a black man to a major role in his administration. More » |
