By Shea Howell Special to the Michigan Citizen As the election season intensifies, many people are thinking that representative democracy has become an empty idea. Pettiness, lies, distortions and drives for personal power overshadow meaningful public discussion of the problems we face or the potential we have to create something new. At almost every level, the only interests represented seem to be those of ...

Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ken Harris at MBCC announcement. ERIC HOBSON PHOTO ...

Southeastern High’s William Morgan needed only three quarters to make a full impact as the Detroit Public School League Proud Strong Learner of the Week. ...

Exhibit a commentary on beauty in media and culture DETROIT — How many women go to a plastic surgeon and order Angelina Jolie’s lips, Kate Moss’s eyes or Keira Knightley’s nose? What if you could simply pick and choose what you wanted? If you could have all three, would the result be beautiful? Those are the driving questions behind “Doll Face” by artist Ben Sharkey. “I first came up with the design in a sk ...

A woman was arrested Sept. 7 after a handgun was found in her purse at a checkpoint in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. The Detroit City Council holds sessions on the 13th floor of the building. Some Council members say they should have more protection when they attend community events. Do you think City Council members need more protection? ...

DETROIT — Occupy the Vote 2012 will hold a concert/voter registration drive Oct. 7 at the Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit. In The Black Media Group, in cooperation with KK Produxions and General Population, present some of the area’s foremost political champions combined with hip hop that challenges the images portrayed in the corporate media. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the show starting promptl ...

By Frankie Darcell Here’s a news flash: Nobody cares that you’re mad! Mostly, when people are angry with each other they pretty much have a short window to resolve an issue then move on. Some of us, however, want to “wallow” in our sorrow and stay in an emotional funk. I love to tell the story of the two sisters that argued over their mother’s pendant after her death. A judge settled the matter with a legal ...

The month-long violence in Kenya’s Tana River District has left a broad wake of destruction and need. Health facilities, inundated by people injured in the conflict, are struggling to cope with insufficient medical supplies, say officials and tens of thousands remain displaced. ...

By Julianne Malveaux Trice Edney News Wire We have learned that African American unemployment rates stayed level last month with an absurdly high official unemployment rate of 14.1 percent. Unemployment rates for African American men fell, while those for African American women rose. These rates are way too high and understate the extent of pain that exists in the African American community. The philosopher ...

By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Trice Edney News Wire Nearly 50 million Americans now are in poverty. One in four children will grow up in impoverished households. Redressing poverty is a national emergency and a moral imperative. In our money-drenched political debate, the poor receive little attention. Yet, they could be the key swing vote in this election. Mitt Romney invoked the poor as part of his attack on B ...