Commentary

Promising models for reforming Juvenile Justice Systems

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 17:00 Marian Wright Edelman

Nationally, one in three Black boys and one in six Latino boys born in 2001 are at risk of going to prison during their lifetimes. Although boys are more than five times as likely to be incarcerated as girls, the number of girls in the juvenile justice system is significant and growing. This shamefully high incarceration rate of Black youths is endangering our children at younger and younger ages and poses a huge threat to our nation's future.

Gates case: Teachable moment for U.S.

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 15:05 Rolland Robinson

We all saw what happened: facts of the case. Fact. Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is photographed being led by police out of his own house in handcuffs. Fact. Policeman James Crowley in the line of duty encounters a belligerent man who is resisting arrest and considered a potential threat as more police are called for assistance. Mistaken fact. Breaking and entering was not the case, though a neighbor reported someone breaking in to Gates house. She did not know it was Gates, who had forgotten his key and a his driver who were trying to get into the house. Fact. Charges dropped.

End childhood obesity

Friday, 04 September 2009 14:39 Judge Greg Mathis

To put it simply, Black kids are, on average, more obese than their white or Latino peers. As they age, these kids usually don’t outgrow their obesity: they usually become overweight adults. A recent study found that nearly 80 percent of children who were obese between the ages of 10 and 15 were also obese once they reached 25. Overweight children and teens are at risk for developing high blood pressure and diabetes and are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke in adulthood than their thinner counterparts. Childhood obesity is a growing problem, one that must be put in check. This isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about health.

Revolution anyone?

Thursday, 03 September 2009 23:00 Joseph C. Phillips

Barack Obama hired Anthony “Van” Jones as a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Jones is an admitted “rowdy Black nationalist” and “communist” who was also a co-founder of the communist revolutionary organization STORM: Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement.

Has Obama lost his mojo?

Wednesday, 02 September 2009 14:54 Dr. Ron Daniels

Among the attributes that first caught my attention about Senator Barack Obama were his vision and oratory, the capacity to appeal to our better angels and call us to a higher purpose. I admit, I am a believer in that "vision thing," the notion that human beings can be moved, encouraged, inspired to achieve great things when called upon to do so.

Prisons lack adequate mental health treatment for inmates

Wednesday, 02 September 2009 14:49 Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell

The goal of America's correctional facilities is supposed to be punishing criminals for wrongdoing, and preparing them to reenter our society. But the successful transition of inmates back to their communities is severely hampered by many factors, including the poor quality of mental health treatment in jails and prisons and the inability of ex-convicts to obtain mental health counseling and medication once they are released.

The Experience of a Life Time: Reflections on cruising into history 2004

Wednesday, 02 September 2009 14:47 Dr. Ron Daniels

Five years ago, August 14-21, more than 500 African Americans, Haitian Americans and Friends of Haiti set sail from the Port of Miami on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Navigator of the Seas for an extraordinary journey -- Cruising Into History, a Caribbean Pilgrimage to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, which produced the first Black Republic in this hemisphere. The vision and mission of this remarkable Pilgrimage was to lift the veil of ignorance and misconceptions surrounding Haiti by exposing the participants to the rich history, culture and heritage of a much maligned people and nation.