According to the ACLU, whites and blacks use marijuana at the same rate. Yet, African Americans are nearly four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. And on a state-by-state basis, this disparity is even higher.
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.
When we view young people like Asean Johnson, shouting, crying out and having their voice heard in the name of opposition, it does two things. It encourages us all to remember that the next generation of black youth can speak for themselves, and it also reminds us that we as black people are all connected. […]
This past year, I have worked as a lead facilitator in a leadership program with Black male eighth graders on the South Side of Chicago. These are Black males who attend a school that is closing as a result of Rahm Emanuel’s upheaval of Chicago Public Schools. In addition to these woes, these Black males […]
This past January, while on a Fulbright Fellowship in Business Management in India, I took my only break and went to Israel. For 10 days, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. I participated in a new Israel program called Bizrael – a trip to Israel for business students and young professionals to […]
A new report calls for reform of New York City public school disciplinary policies that lead to young people being arrested for minor infractions.
As a Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action looms, a New York Times analysis shows that progress has stalled for African Americans in elite careers.
It broke my heart the other day when I saw a family of four buying their actual groceries at a gas station. The family consisted of a mother who clearly looked overworked and anxious, three little girls and a young boy. While the mother had a very average weight, all of her children were […]
Rhymes and Reasons interviews Chicago emcee Vic Spencer about the Hip Hop songs that changed his life: “Bloodshed & War” by Da Youngstas ft. Mobb Deep, “Tonight’s da Night” from Redman and Kane & Abel’s “Black Jesus.”
A program out of Minneapolis called Beats and Rhymes gives young people the training and equipment to make Hip Hop in exchange for keeping up with their schoolwork.
Non-profit organizations have impacted my life in so many ways. As I reflect about after school programs that helped me develop, scholarships I received for college, and what encouraged me to become an activist, the common denominator is the various non-profits organizations that I have impacted my life. At times I worry about how many […]
After losing their mother to cancer, Makia Underwood, 32, Zakia Clark, 29, and Tasha Clark, 27 began wearing shirts and hats with “F— Cancer” emblazoned on the front. A security guard at a Philly mall took issue w/ the language, and kicked them out.
