Politics

Issuing a strong condemnation of the practice of so-called “conversion therapy,” President Barack Obama has called for an end to the treatment, according to Politico. Although considered to be harmful by groups like the American Psychiatric Association, the “reparative” therapy is supposed to halt the desire for homosexuality or nontraditional gender identification and is usually offered […]

For such an interesting candidate, Sen. Rand Paul formally announced his bid for the presidency in the most banal of ways. Speaking before a cheering crowd at a Louisville, Kentucky hotel, the Republican senator spoke of himself as an outsider who can “beat the Washington machine.” Feel free to yawn here. After that, Paul followed […]

In a hard-fought runoff election, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was returned to office for a second term, despite concerns over gang violence that spiked during his first tenure and a tense relationship with labor unions. Emanuel, former chief of staff for President Obama and Illinois congressman, defeated Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia with 55.7 percent […]

The racial make up of Ferguson’s city council changed significantly on Tuesday, with two African Americans, Ella Jones and Wesley Bell, elected to office, confirms CNN. There are now three Black members on the #Ferguson City Council: Dwayne James, Ella Jones, and Wesley Bell. #FergusonElections — Charles Wade (@akacharleswade) April 8, 2015 Ferguson has about 21,000 […]

Gentrification will soon drop to the second most-powerful force in Brooklyn, NY, thanks to a big political move. According to MSNBC, Hillary Clinton has signed a new lease for her campaign headquarters and it happens to be in the birthplace of Biggie and, most recently, hipster beards. The One Pierrepont Plaza building, located in what Gothamist dubbed “the […]

Today President Barack Obama put his pen where his values are and commuted the sentences of 22 incarcerated Americans, more than doubling the number of commutations he has issued since he’s been in office—all of them for non-violent drug offenses, directly addressing the crack versus cocaine sentencing disparities that has especially devastated the African American community. […]

BET’s annual Black Girls Rock! featured some of the best representations of Black women in today’s culture, including First Lady Michelle Obama, who proved that Black girls do indeed rock. The award ceremony took place at the NJPAC –Prudential Hall in New Jersey Saturday evening. The First Lady didn’t receive an award, but was there to deliver […]

Everyone is familiar with the disaster that was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress earlier this month—which, coordinated with the Republican leadership and executed behind President Barack Obama’s back, strained relations between the United States and Israel. As reported in the latest issue of Newsweek in the article “Black Power In Washington,” members of the […]

Ben Carson is starting to make me appreciate the political genius of Herman Cain. Carson may be a brain surgeon, but unless you’re talking about neurosurgery, he has nothing to offer besides banality, sensationalism, and overall mindlessness. Naturally, this makes him a hot commodity amongst a noted sect (re: the craziest) of conservatives. In a […]

This is what dreams are made of. President Barack Obama, who isn’t shy about his love for “one of the greatest, not just television shows, but pieces of art in the last couple of decades,” finally got the chance to sit down with The Wire’s creator, David Simon, to talk the war on drugs, policing, […]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will not seek re-election next year, the New York Times reports. Reid, the 75-year-old who has led Senate Democrats since 2005, made his retirement announcement in a touching video message where he joked about the time he had left in office. “My friend Sen. [Mitch] McConnell, don’t be too elated. I’m […]

In what some would view as a major shot in the arm for voter suppression, the U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a major challenge to Wisconsin’s strict—some say discriminatory—voter ID laws, reports USA Today. The decision is seen as a resounding victory to Republicans who favor tougher election laws, including Wisconsin governor Scott […]