On Dec. 11, thousands were set to demonstrate at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing to protest a frontal assault on working people. Republican majorities in the state House and Senate had vowed to jam through right-to-work legislation. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who originally said this wasn’t part of his agenda, has flip-flopped and said he would sign the legislation. To protect the legislation from a ...

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” This famous quote from Frederick Douglass brings to mind the predicament of Black folks in this country relative to those upon whom we depend to put forth our demands for political reciprocity. Are they really leading (demanding), or are they simply pleading? ...

Over the span of one week, two different sides of President Obama emerged in different yet unforgettable terms. The first was political, involving Susan Rice’s decision to withdraw her name as a candidate for secretary of state. The second was deeply personal in the wake of mass murders in a Newtown, Conn. elementary school. ...

We, as African Americans, simply could not remain silent when word broke of the Israeli bombings of Gaza. Along with Cornel West and others, we circulated a petition condemning the aggression and demanding an end to the occupation. While most of the mainstream media immediately jumped to the defense of Israel, the African American political establishment remained silent about the entire episode. ...

By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist More than 37 million American households were either unbanked or under-banked in 2011, according to a new report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). African American households represent 34 percent of all under-banked consumers, the highest percentage among demographics surveyed. When under-banked African American and Latino households are combined, these ...

By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist By now, it’s old news that Kasandra Perkins was murdered by Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher, who was her boyfriend and the father of her daughter. By now we’ve read about how great a teammate Belcher was, how dedicated to his girlfriend and daughter. We’ve read his hardscrabble story of moving from the University of Maine, hardly a football powerhouse, to ...

When Wall Street failed and was bailed out by the federal government to the tune of trillions of dollars, did anyone say “white people” don’t know how to run the super duper banks, or that white people like trillions of dollars of free stuff? How about when GM and Chrysler went through a managed bankruptcy for $80 billion? No, nobody said that white people are not ready to be in charge of transnational indu ...

There were many ballot proposals this past election season. None of them passed. However, in regards to Proposal 3, support underlying the idea was not reflected by the vote. Many factors went into Proposal 3 not passing, but the major reason was the nearly $30 million dollars spent by the utilities (DTE, Consumers Energy and “CARE “) to defeat the proposal. Many Michiganders, however, do not agree with cor ...

Okay, I’ll admit it. I am truly the Grinch who wanted to steal Christmas. It takes me until about Dec. 23 to get in the spirit, and I only feel obligated to find gifts for children and close family. I like to give, which is why I share with a few charities that are close to me. I like to connect, which is why I have a greeting card ritual. But all this crazy frenzy after Thanksgiving, before Christmas sale ...

In Cook County jails, prisoners are charged as much as $15 a call to be in touch with their relatives. The exploitive rates can force families — already struggling with the burdens of having a loved one locked up — to choose between supporting their loved one or paying for heat or food. An Illinois study found that the price of phone calls from prison was one of the two most significant barriers to family c ...