Perspectives
Freedom is not free
By Ron Walters-Guest Columnist- During the Thanksgiving holidays, I listened to an interview of Bruce Gordon, the new head of the NAACP, with Brian Lamb on C-SPAN's “Questions and Answers” programs. It was an interesting and mostly about Mr. Gordon's life and his perspective on the work of the NAACP. One thing struck me: The budget of the organization is...
The veil is lifted in France as Black and Arab youth rebel
(FinalCall.com) - In the 1960s and '70s, the cities of America were burning under the weight of Black rebellion. The American media called these rebellions riots, but it was Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) and other progressive leaders who preached to the Black community that what was happening in the streets of America were not riots but,...
News Analysis: Farrakhan and the press
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's presence in Washington for the Millions More Movement provided the national press corps with rare access to the Nation of Islam leader. Although the Nation of Islam has rented the ballroom at the National Press Club (NPC) frequently during the last several years, it's been almost a decade since he was...
Katrina: The hurricane of righteous Black anger
By Ron Walters-Guest Columnist- Iraq war delayed Katrina relief effort, inquiry finds (Independent, 10-02-2005) (FinalCall.com) - The Black community has a right to be angry about the slow response of its government to the human crisis in New Orleans created by Hurricane Katrina. In a recent Gallup/CNN poll, 76 percent (compared to 60 percent of Whites) said they were angry...
Declaration of independence
Minister Farrakhan was the featured speaker at a rally in the "cradle of liberty," Philadelphia, on July 4th, 1996. For the past 66 years, this date has taken on a dual importance in the study of our history here in the Western Hemisphere. The American colonists declared their independence from Britain on July 4, 1776, and...
You are what you eat – you cannibal!
It seems flesh-eaters have lost another round in the fight for survival. Usually, long after having given up the eating of animals which tread the same ground and breathe the same air as we do, many so-called "vegetarians" continue to nibble on those species of fish considered "safer" and "cleaner" than all the rest. Probably, none...
Laura Bush in Africa cites poor example of ‘take it slow’
The statement of First Lady Laura Bush in Cairo, Egypt, North Africa, about the U.S. Constitution and slavery was comparable to one of President George W. Bush's slip of the lip (a failure to engage the brain before he engages his mouth). In reference to democracy in Egypt, Mrs. Bush stated that she agrees with the “go slow...
The scourge of Black poverty
By Ron Walters-Guest Columnist- (FinalCall.com) - Until recently, I had never heard of the latest disease now ravaging Angola in West Africa, called “Marburg.” Something like the dreaded Ebola virus or HIV/AIDS, it spreads through the transmission of body fluids and has killed 235 people in that country. That is why international health officials have raced into Angola to...
‘Hell no, we won’t go!’
By George CurryGuest Columnist "Hell no, we won't go!" That was a popular chant of protesters during the Vietnam War. Although there were scattered anti-war protests to mark the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 16, military-age Blacks have been protesting over the past five years in a quieter, more profound way–fewer are enlisting in the...
Atlanta murders: Guilt by association
By George Curry-Guest Columnist- When news broke that a prisoner awaiting trial on rape charges in Atlanta had overpowered a sheriff's deputy, taken her gun, and entered a courtroom where he fatally shot the judge presiding over his case, the court stenographer and, later, two others, many Black people thought: I hope it's not a Brother. It's untenable to accept the...