Editorials
The Farrakhan Question and the Problem with White America
By Richard B. Muhammad, editor There are some things that White America simply did not understand about the funeral service and memorials for the late, great Aretha Franklin: the wardrobe changes as she lie in state at the Wright Museum of African-American History, at New Bethel Baptist Church and during her funeral at Greater Grace Temple; singer Fantasia taking off...
Resistance, solidarity and the ‘Harriet’ movie
By THE FINAL CALL Before its release, the movie “Harriet” faced controversy and challenge. Some complained they were tired of slave movies. Others condemned having a Black British woman play the lead character. Later critics blasted what they called using a fictitious Black brute of a slave catcher as the villain and a White slave master as Harriet's saviour. Some of...
Hope for change isn’t change: Don’t be confused
FINALCALL.COM While thousands have been in the streets with protests in all 50 states and some 18 countries, declarations that the United States is on the cusp of major change are premature. That might not be the popular thing to say, but it's true. White demonstrators in the streets don't guarantee change has arrived nor the beginning of a new...
The unraveling of soulless America
Despite calls from Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden to take the country back and restore its soul, the soul of America died long ago. If she ever had one.Thousands of people in the streets don’t signal an awakening in America, it is another sign of the failures of this nation. The only thing that seems to move the powerful and...
Performers, producers, paternalism and Black-Jewish relations
There is a new Black-Jewish coalition in town and it’s composed of 170 entertainment leaders who purport to oppose racism and anti-Semitism in the industry. The goal of the Black Jewish Alliance would be a worthy one, if the purpose was to right wrongs done to Blacks and Jews in Hollywood, notwithstanding the self-admitted influence the Jewish community wields...
Heartbreak And Carnage In America
By Final Call News The killing of 74-year-old Robert Godwin, Sr. On Easter Sunday in Cleveland was beyond disturbing as the elderly Black man was shot to death and his alleged killer later uploaded the heinous act on Facebook. Steve Stephens, identified from videos and statements from family and an ex-girlfriend, plainly states his desire and decision to kill and to...
‘Just Obey:’ Predatory policing isn’t just going away
By Final Call News In case after case, from a sophomore girl slammed to the floor in a South Carolina high school, to a bikini-clad teenager kneed in the back in Texas, to an unarmed 18-year-old shot to death in Ferguson, Mo., attempts to dismiss possible police wrongdoing are couched in a single two-word phrase: “Just obey.” “Just obey.” The false argument...
Leadership You Can Disbelieve In
By Final Call News The presidential election for 2016 is unlike any in modern U.S. history and perhaps in the history of the United States as two widely unpopular, distrusted and polarizing candidates seek to lead the country. Neither seems particularly outfitted to handle such a role in a way that will bring America together and neither seems to have...
Surviving a shutdown is the least of America’s problems
By FinalCall.com News After a week long government shutdown, the democratic process and America's leaders were still stalled, bickering and unable to fully attend to the needs of the country. Almost 900,000 federal workers were unable to go to work as Congress was unable to pass a funding bill and a small group hijacked the process, helped by Republican fears...
A sign of troubling times?
By FinalCall.com News Just a couple weeks into the New Year comes an incident that raises concerns, questions and fears about what Black folks can expect in 2014 and the climate in the country. Not surprisingly it involves a Black male driver and an encounter with law enforcement. The circumstances reported by the man's family and the images posted on his...