Tag: Detroit

Vote challenger chaos in Detroit was white privilege on steroids

Having lived in metro Detroit for more than two decades, I know what would happen if African American Detroit residents attempted to force their way into a room where votes were being counted in the predominantly white suburbs. It wouldn’t end well.The opposite scenario unfolded Wednesday in downtown Detroit. Shouting “Stop the count!” and “Let us

Three Days in a Detroit Funeral Home Ravaged by the Coronavirus

On April 29, Stephen Kemp arrived at his office just outside Detroit to a perplexing silence. Since COVID-19 hit the city, the phones at his funeral home had been ringing nonstop. Now, nothing. Kemp’s wife and colleague, Jacquie, soon popped into his office with an explanation: Comcast was down. No phones, no Internet. The outage…

Congressman John Conyers Jr First African American Dean of Congress

Spotlight on Congressman John Conyers Jr  First African American Dean of Congress In January 2015, Congressman John Conyers Jr, officially became the first African American Dean of Congress. The retirement of U.S. Rep. John Dingell means  that John Conyers Jr. became the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives after fending off a  primary challenge earlier

History of the Black Panther Party: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America (1994)

Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 — August 22, 1989) was an African-American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. Newton had a long series of confrontations with law enforcement, including several convictions, while he participated in political activism. He continued to pursue an education, eventually

African American Mayors Conference of Black Mayors

  African American Mayors The Conference of Black Mayors African American Mayors In 1967 Carl Stokes and Richard Hatcher were elected as mayors of Cleveland, Ohio, and Gary, Indiana, respectively. They are considered as the first African American mayors of major American cities. Together with Kenneth Gibson of Newark, New Jersey, Carl Stokes and Richard G. Hatcher, became

Malcolm X – Ballot or Bullet

  The Ballot or The Bullet was a speech by Malcolm X mostly about black nationalism delivered April 12, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. This speech is in the publ…

Remembering Chokwe Lumumba — Jackson Mayor and Global Freedom Fighter

Lumumba worked within the confines of the judicial and legislative branches of government to achieve self determination for the masses. First, as a civil rights trial lawyer, both in Jackson and in his hometown of Detroit, MI, then as a city councilman representing Ward 2 before taking the helm as mayor of the city of