Today marks the fiftieth year since Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In thinking about his death and juxtaposing it to the death of Stephon Clarke who was shot six times in the back by the police, I...
I considered writing about the incredible irony that a challenge to affirmative action is being brought by a presidential cabinet made up primarily of wholly incompetent white men whose rise to power was made possible because of their race,...
And that is the problem. As I watch the dash cam video, it is clear to me that Officer Yanez was afraid. However, what is not clear to me is the reason. Why was he so terrified? Was it...
America likes to think of race and racism in a very simplistic way. However, racism appears in various forms. Below are three types of racist I have encountered in my work as a civil rights lawyer and my life...
Yesterday was the first day in the trial against Officer Jeronimo Yanez, the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile. As you may recall, Castile’s death occurred last summer during a string of police involved shootings that seemed to...
I was tempted to title this post “Is The NAACP Still Relevant?” but that question is almost laughable. I cannot recall the last time the NAACP spearheaded a national campaign addressing a major issue impacting black people. They have...
When I first read the headline declaring that Bethune Cookman University, a historical black university, invited the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to be its commencement speaker, I thought it was a joke. There was no way I could...
Where do I begin? This last week has been filled with one epic blunder after the other. First there was the Pepsi commercial that was beyond insensitive, and quite frankly, ignorant. Not only did Pepsi trivialize the struggle of...
Let me be clear and unequivocal in stating that I support State Attorney Ayala and her position on the death penalty. While reasonable people can debate her approach, it is undeniable that her stance is bold and courageous. I...
“Stop being black!” This succinct advice from my father perhaps best summarizes how to protect oneself from hostile encounters with the police. If you can manage to shed your race, then you have already diffused the situation immensely. However,...