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Rann Miller

I’m a freelance writer, published author and a former teacher. I have contributed to scholarly journals, text books, and many different platforms on the topics of race in higher education, urban schools, sports and the African American diaspora, and professional development for educational professionals. In addition to those things, I serve as an program director for a local school district, a professional development facilitator and also a public speaker.

NJ Urban News •

The Power Of Public Art On Display In Camden – NJ Urban News

Artists and community organizations are using murals, galleries and public spaces to challenge the narratives imposed on Camden and affirm the beauty and humanity of its residents.The city of Camden has always been a harbor of talent.

From legendary natives like Tasha Smith and Tye Tribbett to Lola Falana and Leon Huff, the tradition of cultivating talent has continued to today. As an educator in the city, I’ve had the privilege of working with talented students who have gone on to become...
Salon.com •

Colin Kaepernick knows what kneeling cost — and he'd do it again

The Merikins are the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who fought alongside the British during the War of 1812. At the war’s end, the British granted these fighters and their families land in Trinidad and Tobago as part of their freedom.

The third verse of the “Star-Spangled Banner” served as a threat to African Americans who sought liberation — particularly those fighting against the United States like the Merikins — from Francis Scott Key, an unabashed racist whose racism inf...
Front Runner New Jersey - Highlighting the People, •

Pressing Forward: Whether Sunny or Grey, Durags and Bonnets Away - Front Runner New Jersey

I’ve worn a durag before. I’ve owned multiple, and when in college, I’ve worn them to class. People may not have liked it, Black and white people alike. But a durag didn’t speak negatively on my character nor my intelligence. Sadly, some people believe that it does, including the Administration at Tuskegee University, which rolled out a new dress code policy earlier this summer. The only thing that makes sense about this Tuskegee dress code...
Inquirer.com •

Hannah Gann’s deceit makes the work of Black and brown justice activists harder | Opinion

A few months ago, I attended a Black history workshop in the city with educator-activists from around the country. That’s where I met Hannah Gann. At the workshop, she shared with some and reiterated to others that she was Palestinian. She also claimed to be Black.No one questioned her. Even if one had doubts — and I did — it never crossed my mind that someone would lie about that.We’ve since learned she did, and has been telling falsehoods about her identity to her friends, family, fellow activ...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Our Oppressors Study Our History; We Must Study Harder - Philly's 7th Ward

The start of the school year brings new beginnings. It is also a good time to look back on our past to chart our future. Black history should be taught throughout the year, not only in February. So we can start teaching Black history as we hit the ground running this September. 


We only have to go as far as last month. Last month, we celebrated Black August, the annual month-long observance honoring Black freedom fighters and political prisoners that recognizes the continuing global struggle...
NJ Urban News •

The Neo-Colonialism of a School District Pt. II – NJ Urban News

A hard truth is that conservatives and liberals aren’t as different as they claim to be. 

Both parties follow the same invisible laws of power, using their presumed ideological differences at home to distract from the harm they cause, both at home and abroad. Both parties engage in a foreign policy built on imperialism, war, and fascism that drains American tax dollars to fund harm abroad, while surveillance, policing, and censorship persist. 

Similarities between the parties can also be s...
Iansá Magazine •

Modern Black Politics 101: Discerning Black Political Candidates is Critical

Like many Black people in 2008, I was swept by the presidential candidacy of then Senator Barack Obama. When asked why I intended to vote for him, my answer was simple: 43 white men had their turn ruining the country; let a Black man have his turn. President Obama had his turn, to the tune of providing Israel with billions of taxpayer dollars, killing thousands of innocent people via drone strikes, and chastising Black people every chance he got. 


I was naive to think that hope and change wer...
Front Runner New Jersey - Highlighting the People, •

Pressing Forward: Camden City Is a Dumping Ground For a Different Reason - Front Runner New Jersey

Rann Miller says Environmental Racism Continues to Haunt City And it WouldTake Uncommon Political Courage to End It



OP-ED



BY RANN MILLER | Pressing Forward



Some consider Camden City a dump because of the crime and violence that have plagued the city.

It’s a narrative I’ve heard my entire life. That narrative is responsible for the negative treatment the city receives, specifically by non-residents: those who leave trash behind after attending a concert, panhandlers who come to Ca...
NJ Urban News •

The Neo-Colonization of a School District Part 1: An Introduction – NJ Urban News

Emily Dickinson once wrote about hope. She said, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops… at all.” Her words were the beginning of a poem on how hope quietly sustains the human spirit during the worst of times.


Written in 1862, I allow myself to think that hope perched in the souls of Black folk… perched in the souls of the enslaved at the dawn of emancipation when many dropped hammer and hoe for a gun and bayonet. Perched...
Inquirer.com •

Colin Kaepernick, ‘Black August,’ and the legacy of Black athlete activism | Opinion

It’s been said that a social movement can start with the smallest gestures. Ten years ago this month, a simple act by Colin Kaepernick sparked a movement. He chose to protest the playing of the national anthem by sitting and later kneeling, breaking with the norm of showing respect and pride by standing. On Aug. 26, 2016, during a preseason game, Kaepernick was photographed sitting on the bench as the anthem was being played. When questioned by reporters, Kaepernick explained:“I am not going to...
Christianity Today •

Teaching Black History in the Trump Age - Christianity Today

A program modeled after the Freedom Schools of the 60s is helping kids at my church know their history.Since assuming power, the Trump administration has aimed to guard the myth of America’s history as uniformly inclusive, above critique, and unifying, and it has protected the sensibilities of its predominantly white political base along the way. As a result, we’ve seen commemorations of African American history revised to soften the moral failings of the US and its founders, or removed and then...
Front Runner New Jersey - Highlighting the People, •

The President’s House Isn’t Ours Anymore. So Let’s Build Something That Is - Front Runner New Jersey

Let Trump Have It.

Donald Trump wants the President’s House to whitewash history; let him. With apologies to the work of the activist groups who’ve worked to get the story of enslavement told at the site, including the respected Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, I think it’s time we reconcile the fact that this house that enslaved African people belongs to the state. The state refuses to be held accountable.

The federal appeals court that...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Teach Young People Reading as a Tool of Resistance - Philly's 7th Ward

I remember being a young student and always looking forward to the summer. What I didn’t look forward to was summer reading. The selections never felt like anything I could sink my teeth into. When I see some of the readings my own children are assigned for the summer, I realize that, sadly, little has changed in that way.


Schools should be creating strong readers. That doesn’t happen by simply teaching children how to read. It also happens by introducing texts to children. Much has been made...
Front Runner New Jersey - Highlighting the People, •

Calling on Black College Athletes To Boycott PWIs Is Grasping at Straws - Front Runner New Jersey

Black “leaders” have to stop calling on Black collegiate athletes to boycott playing sports whenever white people choose to be racist.

It’s weak to expect young people to bear the burden of sacrifice against anti-Black racism when we (the adults) haven’t.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the NAACP has called for a Black athlete boycott of PWIs (predominantly white [collegiate] institutions) in GOP-led sta...
NJ Urban News •

Sherrill's Mess: Delaney Hall and the Myth of the Good Democrat – NJ Urban News

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing column called Camden Front and Center, analyzing the city’s politics, development, and power structures. It reflects the author’s examination and perspective on how decisions by political, business, and civic leaders impact the city’s Black and Latino residents.To the “Blue No Matter Who” crowd of liberals who argue that a Republican in executive office will do (greater) harm to people than a Democrat in a similar position, what do you have to sa...
NJ Urban News •

Is It Too Late? Camden Revokes Recycling Facility's License – NJ Urban News

There’s a saying that goes, better late than never. In some cases, this is true. An example is trying a renowned restaurant after folks have raved over it. Another example is learning a new piece of information well after it became available. But over time, I’ve learned that better than late is being on time–if not being early. 


In the saga of EMR’s lithium battery fires in Camden, councilman Arthur Barclay announced Monday evening that the city would be revoking EMR’s business license, as re...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Our Kids Need Us to Fight For Black History In Schools - Philly's 7th Ward

As a student, Black history gave me a sense of pride and belonging in my community, even though my knowledge was nowhere near as expansive as it is today. I knew enough to realize that my future–the person I would become and the life I would lead–was bigger than just me. I knew that my life was part of a lineage, even though I couldn’t quite understand what that meant. It explained why my parents, my grandparents, and my community were so invested in my academic success.
Inquirer.com •

The NAACP is out of bounds | Opinion

The NAACP’s “Out of Bounds” campaign, calling for Black college athletes to boycott playing at universities within GOP-led states engaging in voting rights suppression, comes from a genuine place to fight against Black voter disenfranchisement. However, the campaign’s architects failed to consider the undeniable realities that require a more strategic approach to multifaceted circumstances.One circumstance concerns the landscape of college sports, particularly regarding labor compensation. Years...
Front Runner New Jersey - Highlighting the People, •

Pressing Forward: Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil - Front Runner New Jersey

There’s a saying that actions speak louder than words. However, doing the right thing starts by saying the right thing. Because while actions are important, speaking truth to power is an important action. It’s advocacy for those whose voices are ignored or silenced. That was the work of the most powerful orators and truth-tellers America has ever seen. I believe that many of us wish for the ability to inspire change in the hearts of men a...
NJ Urban News •

Camden School Closures: Follow the Money, Not the Rhetoric – NJ Urban News

When Camden tried to close three magnet schools amid a $91M deficit, students protested — and won. But the deeper fight over who controls Camden’s schools isn’t over.Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing column called Camden Front and Center, analyzing the city’s politics, development, and power structures. It reflects the author’s examination and perspective on how decisions by political, business, and civic leaders impact the city’s Black and Latino residents.
Philly's 7th Ward •

Black History Debunks American Propaganda and Mythology

In chapter 17 of his seminal work Black Reconstruction in America, titled “The Propaganda of History,” W.E.B. DuBois details the lessons American school children and college students are learning about the Reconstruction Era in the 1930s, according to the textbooks and “historians” of the time. He mentions three dominant theses: (1) all Black people were ignorant; ignorant of the way things are done in all manner of business e.g. politics, finance, actual business, etc., (2) all Black people were lazy, dishonest and extravagant; like children, Black people’s only discipline was to their selfish desire, oblivious to any higher cause than self, and (3) Black people were the reason for bad government established during the Reconstruction Era. This is propaganda; the sort of propaganda Black historians and educators sought to debunk. And they did in many cases. The work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black history, and the sociologist and historian W.E.B. DuBois worked to debunk and did debunk the irreverent propaganda of white folks against Black people. But it did not come without backlash.
Progressive.org •

Who’s Thinking of the Children, Since Trump Isn’t?

When President Donald Trump laid off nearly 1,400 workers from the Department of Education last year, he knew that his actions would make it much harder for the department to carry out its core tasks to protect students. The layoffs were part of a larger strategy: Trump’s ultimate goal is to shut down the Department of Education for good, and he has since shifted many of the department’s primary functions to other cabinet departments, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Labor, and the Department of State. Before Trump’s second administration, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) protected the rights of students from marginalized groups in schools receiving federal funding by enforcing anti-discrimination laws in areas such as admissions, athletics, and discipline. Those marginalized groups include students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, and students of color, including African American students.
Front Runner New Jersey •

Two Truths and a Warning

After a spirited campaign and an equally spirited election night, Jasmine Crockett lost the Democratic primary to James Talarico for a Texas Senate seat. The Associated Press called the race in the wee hours of the morning. Crockett has since conceded and endorsed her primary opponent in the general election. There will be plenty of time to assess where the Crockett campaign and Crockett herself went wrong. Blame for her loss will be tossed around as well. Black men may be blamed, mistakenly, as they were when Kamala Harris lost the presidency in 2024. Black voters in general may get blamed. The Texas Republican Party will be blamed first for redistricting Crockett’s House Seat and for their 11th-hour stunt on election night. CBS may be blamed for unintentionally giving Talarico an audience after not airing his interview with Stephen Colbert. Crockett and the campaign will catch some blame for their approach. The good news, however, is that there’s enough blame to go around… because two or more things can be true at the same time.
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