TweetThe following roundtable discussion was published in Option magazine 25 years ago. The points made in this discussion by members of the L.A. community and […]
U.S. Police Departments Promote Cops Who Kill People of Color
TweetCops who kill blacks and Latinos are not just getting off scot-free — they’re getting promotions and pay raises. Earlier this week, Erick Gelhaus, the […]
When the ‘SF Chronicle’ Sends Its Wine Critic to a Music Festival
TweetMy friend and colleague Gina Arnold, a top veteran music critic who wrote for me when I was editor of Option magazine in the 1990s, […]
God Bless the Black American National Anthem
Tweet The paradox of the Obama presidency, CNN recently pointed out, is that it has exposed a more deeply ingrained and widespread racism in America […]
Welcome to Fez, Morocco: The Sacred Music Capital of the World
Tweet“The city of Fez lies below, very slowly disengaging itself from the morning mist and smoke, while a million cocks crow at once.” — Paul Bowles in Morocco […]
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘Dreams’ Deferred
TweetI first wrote the following commentary in January 2011 for the now-defunct Option-Magazine.com. At the time, America had a Black president. We were cautiously optimistic. […]
High school senior promotes free speech in Randolph County with a “Banned book read-off”
TweetI’ve spent the past two days in my hometown of Asheboro, North Carolina, talking to residents in the small Randolph County community about books — […]
Critical Race Theory: School board reverses ‘Invisible Man’ ban, but education still threatened
TweetIf you don’t think race played a role in the banning of Invisible Man from a rural county school system in the Piedmont area of […]
Open Letter to the Randolph County Board of “Education”
TweetEarlier this morning, I sent the following letter to the Randolph County Board of “Education.” For those who haven’t read the news, this board voted to ban […]
“Civil rights freed the white southerner… It gave us grace”
TweetThose words come from the late Phil Walden, one-time manager of the southern soul singer Otis Redding and southern blues-rock band The Allman Brothers. It […]