State-led “reforms” in Camden are threatening the survival of public education in the city—and stripping residents of democratic control over their schools.On October 28, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Education, Kevin Dehmer, announced the department’s undertaking to assess how resources should be allocated to city schools moving forward. The district, through the state (Camden’s school district is under state control), has retained the services of FLO Analytics, a national data analysis firm, to...

As a teenager, I had a few jobs—under-the-table jobs, stipend jobs, and regular jobs. But when I turned 16, I got my first real summer job. I participated in a career exploration program with Respond Inc. in Camden. Respond was a social service agency known for early childhood development, but they also worked with school-aged students. Their program placed Camden students at various businesses around the city—accounting firms, law firms, architects, restaurants—we were placed all over. As for my three other colleagues and me, we were assigned to what was considered the top work site: the Campbell Soup Company.

In my younger days, I enjoyed sports talk radio.A favorite of mine was ESPN’s Mike and Mike. I remember during the height of the Colin Kaepernick protest, Mike Golic commended Kaepernick for his attention-grabbing display and the reasons behind it.But Golic turned the tables on Kaepernick and asked what the quarterback planned to do to achieve the goals he sought through his protest.I would love to ask white people who were part of the “No Kings” rally recently the same question, but I am unsure...

New Jersey is widely considered a solidly blue state, but there’s real fear of it becoming red. Since 1992, New Jersey has elected the Democratic candidate for president and, since 2002, elected three Democratic governors to one Republican. Both houses of the state legislature have been under Democratic control since 2004. Democrats have a firm hold of political power in the state, and yet, many people are worried that the Republican, Jack Ciattarelli, will win the gubernatorial election in November and begin New Jersey’s turn to a red state. It’s easy to blame Mikie Sherrill’s campaign for its milquetoast approach to this election season, which follows the playbook of Democrats...

Earlier this year, Malcolm Jamal Warner became an ancestor. While we’ll miss his brilliance and brightness, his art remains, particularly that of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show.  One of my favorite episodes was when he had the Huxtable brownstone to himself for a weekend; he and his friends had the bright idea to host a colloquy of six individuals for the evening. That colloquy turned into a full-blown party. Theo made allowances for people to stop by, and it snowballed into folks all over the...

Opening night at Lincoln Financial Field was a moment in time for celebration. It started with the unfurling of a championship banner commemorating the Eagles’ victory in Super Bowl LIX in February, and the Birds went on to beat the hated Dallas Cowboys. However, some of the more memorable moments of the evening were cringeworthy.Just about everyone at the game was talking about how Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott — and how the Bi...

In March, the Trump administration issued an executive order that prohibited the “expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.” The order targeted numerous museums of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.The result of this targeting is the planned or executed removal of artifacts. In other words, the erasure of history.

Who is the Black leader? This is not a question Black people ask among themselves. Rather, it’s a national question that the white power structure wrestles to answer when seeking votes in elections or seeking to quell periods of resistance to racial injustice. It’s also a local question that the white power structure asks when attempting to steal Black-owned property for a financial venture, or to connive their way into taking governance of schools, law enforcement, or any municipal functions...

On the night before he died, April 3, 1968, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had traveled to Memphis to support striking sanitation workers, called the labor negotiations a matter of justice.“The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers,” he said. “Now the other thing we’ll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal … As Jesse Jackson has said...

As America prepares to celebrate Juneteenth this month, — this nation’s truest Independence Day — recent protests in Los Angeles against mass deportations have triggered the use of the National Guard to defend ICE agents as they pursue foreign-born residents. These aren’t members of MS-13 or drug cartel members. These law-abiding families simply wish to make a better life for themselves. The Trump administration’s actions are a reminder that law enforcement is an arm of the state, they have no d...

The Trump Administration has declared war on Black history. By way of executive orders, the administration has taken aim at not only DEI initiatives, but Black history taught in classrooms across the country and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. These executive orders, along with the threat of withholding federal funding, garner compliance from the education community, which is a disservice to Americans of all ethnic groups. Thankfully, our society has teachers of a different kind—those whose unique talent bring Black history to life on film, teachers like Ryan Coogler.

It has become a frequent occurrence in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration — voters in majority Republican districts voicing their displeasure with the administration’s policy decisions at sometimes tense town hall meetings around the country.The gatherings — at which some lawmakers have been widely jeered and angry attendees removed — have become so charged that GOP officials have discouraged members of Congress from hosting them.While Democrats, too, have felt the wrath of th...

Teachers are under attack. Not teachers who choose to be apolitical, but teachers who actively choose to teach the truth to children. The truth is that the U.S. has a history of sins that include genocide and enslavement, both of which have played a role in the country’s successes. The truth is that families in the U.S. are often defined by societal constructs designed to foster control, compliance, and complicity. In President Donald Trump’s America, educators are at great risk if they teach...

Lloyd Austin, the former defense secretary and a four-star general with 40 years of military experience, was nonetheless labeled a DEI hire of the Biden administration. Pete Hegseth, the current secretary of defense, lacks adequate expertise and experience, on top of the fact that he’s had allegations of sexual assault and is known as an excessive drinker. A former National Security Council member and a Senate member deemed Hegseth unqualified for the position. However, according to Donald Trump, Hegseth had a tremendous track record that qualified him for the position.

As we near the seventh anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, I am reflecting on my role as a parent and educator and how I cannot ignore the possibility that a school shooting could happen where I work or where my children attend school. It is a tragedy that so many children, parents, and educators live with the daily fear of gun violence in American schools. While it’s easy to blame policymakers for our current state, we, th...

Federal agencies under the Trump administration have started banning Black History Month, and now it’s more essential than ever to take the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments and struggles of African Americans throughout history. As an educator, I find it particularly important to acknowledge and honor the father of Black history: Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, who founded Black History Month’s precursor, Negro History Week, at the behest of Black students. Now is also the time to examine...

A teaching colleague recently asked my opinion on whether she should take the lead on coordinating Black History Month activities at her school. To answer, I needed some context.I knew she was only one of three Black teachers in a school with several dozen total instructors, most of them white. (That’s a problem by itself, but I digress.) I asked if she was likely to get support from colleagues. She answered yes, but only if programming didn’t veer from the previous years of teaching sunny, wate...

This week, Mike Tyson returns to the ring after a 19-year layoff. His opponent is Jake Paul, the YouTube sensation turned professional boxer who some claim is bad for boxing. But boxing isn’t bad for Paul’s wallet. He may make up to $40 million from this fight, although neither Paul nor Tyson confirmed their payday. On the surface, the appeal is finding out if the 58-year-old Tyson can defeat Paul, who’s less than half Tyson’s age. There’s also this: learning if Paul can continue to build his resume as a boxer, defeating real boxers. However, at the lowest common dominator, the intrigue surrounds whether Jake Paul is the next great white heavyweight.

The nation abandoned any hope for a multiracial democracy on Nov. 5 in favor of reelecting Donald Trump for president. For me, this election is a mirror of 1877. The Union victory over the Confederates in the Civil War birthed the nation’s first attempt at a multiracial democracy. Black men throughout the South were elected to state houses and even Congress. However, the progress was short-lived. In 1877, the white power structure abandoned the multiracial democracy, choosing to violen...