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By D. Kevin McNeir The Supreme Court justices, in striking down affirmative action in higher education and voting along ideological grounds – the conservatives members in the majority – recently determined that race-conscious admissions programs violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. In the words of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., “the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race.” But for those who have not yielded to the alluring nature of baseless assertions that proliferate social media and “fake news” and are willing to take a realistic look at the current state of race relations in America, […]

Organizers see upcoming August 26th event as ‘not just a commemoration but a continuation’ By D. Kevin McNeir On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 descended on the National Mall to participate in one of the largest political rallies for human rights in U.S. history. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, organized by Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph with the goal of garnering nationwide support for civil and economic rights for African Americans, will forever be remembered because of its leader and final speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech in which […]

By D. Kevin McNeir Will Biden Administration’s Promise to Provide 804,000 Borrowers with $39 Billion in Automatic Loan Forgiveness Be Met with Further Challenges? Tens of thousands of borrowers with federal student loans have been wondering for many long and agonizing months when their debt load would get a little lighter, given President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to cancel $50,000 in student debt. But with the numerous challenges to and anger over Biden’s continued efforts to reduce, if not cancel student debt, it appears doubtful that many borrowers, especially Blacks who are disproportionately burdened, will ever be provided a path toward a more secure state of financial stability and economic […]

Freddie Jackson, R&B icon, now 66, ‘counts the moments not the numbers’  By D. Kevin McNeir In 1979, President Jimmy Carter declared that June would be Black Music Month – setting aside a month to recognize the incredible influence that Black music has had on the U.S. and the world. Now more than four decades later, the annual observation continues for at least three reasons: 1) It’s a celebration of history as a lot of African American music is also linked to important historical events in America including the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement; 2) It’s a celebration of diversity, reminding us that not only is there unity […]

By D. Kevin McNeir Just over a year ago (April 2022), The Washington Informer, in a news report written in collaboration with Word in Black, an initiative of 10 of the nation’s leading Black publishers that frames narrative and fosters solutions for racial inequities in America, examined how D.C. Public School (DCPS) librarians were responding to the growing push for book bans across the U.S. One librarian, as the reporter, Sam P.K. Collins noted, described the controversial issue of banning books from the perspective of her Ward 6 school – a perspective which stood in stark contrast to the experiences of her colleagues in more conservative strongholds like South Carolina […]

Thurgood Marshall’s Hard Work Led to the End of Legalized Racial Segregation in Schools But Standardized Tests Have Surreptitiously Succeeded in Keeping Black Students Back By D. Kevin McNeir @mcneirdk On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall, a brilliant lawyer, and jurist who later broke the color barrier as the Supreme Court’s first African-American justice, served as the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. This historic decision marked the end of the “separate but equal” […]

WASHINGTON, DC (July 19, 2020) – Today, Thomasina W. Yearwood, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc. (TMCT), offers her thoughts regarding the death of civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis.    “As condolences continue to pour in, I, too, confess that my heart remains heavy as our community, nation and the world acknowledge the loss of the final member of the Civil Rights Movement’s ‘Big Six’ – Congressman John Lewis –  the last living soldier to speak to the cause for true equality and justice for all during the historic March on Washington.”  “True to his God-given calling, John Robert Lewis, illustrated the importance of opening […]

WASHINGTON, DC (July 19, 2020) – Today, Thomasina W. Yearwood, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc. (TMCT), offers her thoughts regarding the death of civil rights warrior, the Rev. C.T. Vivian.   “Today, I join millions of others from across the nation and the world in mourning the loss of an ardent soldier and leader in the Civil Rights and Human Rights Movements – the Rev. C.T. Vivian. In his decades of service in the quest for justice for all, he inspired us all while putting his very life on the line to register African Americans to vote in Selma, Alabama and across the South, participating […]

Film Screening, Panel Focus on Music and Activism of Mavis Staples By Sam P.K. Collins Founder and Host of AllEyesOnDC.com @SamPKCollinsmensclub24 Photo: Mavis Staples (Courtesy)  “You can’t have a movement without music!” Isisara Bey, executive producer of the annual March on Washington Film Festival told an audience of more than 100 music aficionados who gathered in the lobby of NPR headquarters in Northwest during the festival’s “Black Radio and Civil Rights” event earlier this week. What transpired later that Tuesday evening would speak to the spirit of Bey’s words. After enjoying the musical stylings of Victoria Purcell, Byron Nichols, Robert Ellis, and the NEWorks House Band, guests followed Bey and other […]