Chicago teen and Rockford College student Dionte Maxwell was shot and killed outside of a family birthday party after strangers were asked to leave the premises. Rather than leave peacefully, they shot Dionte in the chest.
It is my earnest hope that our black leaders would pause in their pursuit of personal ambition and legacy to stop and look into the eyes of the child of potential that stands before them. A child that – regardless of circumstance and waywardness – can become an agent of change that can dramatically impact the world in which we live.
Two requests: 1. Forgive me for writing about basketball two weeks in a row, and 2. Allow me to wonder aloud for a bit. Last week, one of the most disappointing articles I read was about the rise and fall of Allen Iverson, the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft (to the Philadelphia 76ers) […]
Interviewed by Rashad J. Smith VH-1’s Master of the Mixes judges believed that by letting go an irreplaceable component to the show, they are that much closer to choosing their Master of the Mix. I believe that they have clearly made a mistake! Previously referred to as the “Diddy of DJ’s” … HOLLYWOOD’S CHAMPION OF NEW […]
This past week I was asked by a group of middle school students “what do you believe in”? Even though the question was light hearted and blameless, I think as a black male twenty-two year old constantly challenged by the power and privilege dynamics of this society, it is important to rigorously interrogate my own […]
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced the appointment of David J. Johns as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
Often when I tell people I am from Detroit (particularly white people), I am often met with a look of either bewilderment or amazement. This shock is often magnified when I tell people that I attended Detroit Public Schools all my life. I suppose people begin to short circuit when I tell them my birthplace […]
Brother. I wish I had known. When we were little black boys. Putting posters of blue dodge vipers and red Michael Jordan Jerseys on white walls of apartment rooms that we shared throughout our childhood. Back when Pokémon cards were stolen in after school programs. Back when Mom’s smile was still bright enough to make […]
According to a recent report, Black students display significant learning gaps by the 2nd grade, and they only grow larger with age. If these trends persist, only 1 in 20 black kindergartners will go on to graduate from a 4-year university. What needs to be done to close this gap?
A federal report released by 27 education experts calls America’s education inequities a “dire” situation; called for equal access to quality teachers, school finance reform, and an expansion of early childhood education.
Below is an original poem I wrote after my childhood friend, Naomi Clyburn, was murdered in my hometown.
“Who will cry for the little boy, the boy inside a man / Who will cry for the little boy, who knew well, hurt and pain / Who will cry for the little boy, who died and died again / Who will cry for the little boy, a good boy he tried to be / […]
