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Biden's Vision

We must keep marching toward Dr. King’s dream

By Joe Biden, president of the United States, published in The Washington Post, August 27, 2023. Sixty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and hundreds of thousands of fellow Americans marched on Washington for jobs and freedom. In describing his dream for us all, Dr. King spoke of redeeming the “promissory note to which every

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Analysis

The Florida Board of Education’s new standards for African American history

By HEATHER COX RICHARDSON, Letters from an American, July 22, 2023. The Florida Board of Education approved new state social studies standards on Wednesday (Jul 20, 2023),  including standards for African American history, civics and government, American history, and economics. Critics immediately called out the middle school instruction in African American history that includes “how

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Gun Violence

Defiant and determined, I’m ready to keep fighting for Tennessee

By Justin J. Pearson, Guest Columnist, The New York Times, April 12, 2023 Mr. Pearson is a community organizer in Memphis and was a Tennessee state representative before his expulsion on Thursday. On April 12, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate Justin J. Pearson to his seat in the Tennessee House. MEMPHIS — In

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Opinion

Transgender people should have rights too

The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 24, 2023. Submit your own letter to the editor by clicking HERE.  I am writing to express my opposition to Senate Bill 254, which would allow the state to take temporary custody of children who may be receiving gender-affirming care now

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Analysis

Who’s afraid of Black History?

By Henry Louis Gates Jr., The New York Times, Feb 17, 2023. Dr. Gates is the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard. He is the host of the PBS television series “Finding Your Roots.” Lurking behind the concerns of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, over the content of

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Racism

The NAACP will not tolerate Florida DOE’s reprehensible “whitesplaining” of Black Studies

By Dr. Ivory Toldson, Director of Education Innovation and Research Strategy, NAACP| Empowerment Programs The NAACP is outraged by the Florida Department of Education’s (DOE) recent “whitesplaining” of Black history and culture. The DOE’s pathetic attempt to defend the DeSantis administration from criticism after they rejected AP African-American Studies shows just how out-of-touch they are

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News

Proud Boys rally for Marco Rubio’s campaign after he defends white nationalist GOP staffer 

When Christopher Monzon, a GOP canvasser working with Marco Rubio’s campaign was revealed to have extensive ties to white nationalist groups and a well-documented history of racist and antisemitic comments, Rubio spent an entire week defending him and ignoring calls to denounce his bigotry. Just recently, members of the Proud Boys, including those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, rallied for Marco

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Opinion

Ending the war on marijuana is crucial for racial justice

By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Columnist, October 10, 2022. President Biden’s historic pardon of thousands of Americans convicted of a federal crime for simple marijuana possession is a long overdue correction in the overheated war on drugs — a failed effort that has disproportionately affected Black and Brown people and wreaked havoc in communities of color. It’s hard

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Opinion

An open letter to the purveyors of hate

The following editorial was published in our local newspaper,  The Daily Sun on July 3, 2022. OUR POSITION: There should be no appetite for, nor acceptance of, bigotry here or anywhere. People in Venice, Sarasota, Punta Gorda and elsewhere have been waking up to find a vile little package in their yards — a plastic

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People

AAPI Month: it remains important

By Jim Hussey, Charlotte County Dems contributing writer. Even the most decent person can often look out at the world and assume that life beyond their direct experience is probably close to what they’ve seen. If we – as residents of Charlotte County – were to make a similar judgment about the Asian American and

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Florida Legislation

In his fight against ‘woke’ schools, DeSantis tears at the seams of a diverse Florida

By Tim Craig and Lori Rozsa, The Washington Post, Feb 7, 2022. MIAMI — The school system in Florida’s most populous county includes students whose families moved here from 160 nations. Its expansive cultural mix is represented in the district’s curriculum, which includes not only American history, but also the stories of violent government upheavals, such as the revolution

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Analysis

It’s Black History Month in Florida!

Black history is American history, and Black history is Florida history. The following information is shared courtesy of Florida Watch. Each February, we celebrate Black History Month to honor the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who have helped shape our nation. Black History Month celebrates the rich cultural heritage and triumphs of the Black community

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Racism

Ron DeSantis is following Trump’s white supremacy playbook

By Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Columnist, February 1, 2022. The first rule of the MAGA movement: Never condemn white supremacists. In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump in an interview with Jake Tapper refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who had publicly endorsed his campaign. (Trump later improbably claimed his refusal to disavow Duke was due

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Analysis

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s history lessons

King understood the nation’s challenges as part of a continuous narrative. Today, a narrow view of America’s past could imperil its future. By Jelani Cobb,  The New Yorker, January 9, 2022. On March 25, 1965, at the conclusion of the brutally consequential march from Selma to Montgomery, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a speech titled “Our God Is

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