Opinions & Editorials
Now Is A Good Time For Effective Black Leadership
By Barney Blakeney SOS. Okay, I’ve got a bad case of SOS – stuck on stupid. Everywhere I turn there’s something to remind me that our community needs quality leadership. I’ve been stuck on that for a while now. A couple of weeks ago my friend former Charleston County School District media specialist Jason Sakron…
Read More“Big Dogs Don’t Take No Stuff”
By Beverly Gadson-Birch The first dog I bought my son was a Doberman. He grew into a beautiful red dog with red eyes. He had a big appetite and didn’t take “no stuff” from outsiders. Y’all, keep on reading and follow my drift! At its meeting last week, Charleston County School Board voted on a…
Read MoreUnderstanding “Reality” and a Few Vibes about Nipsey Hussle
By Hakim Abdul-Ali I was stopped recently on a local city street by a loyal reader of this newspaper who said she recognized me as one of its longtime writers. This lady wondered if she could ask me a question that’s been on her mind for quite a while, and that was why do I…
Read MoreGroovin’ With The Swings
By Barney Blakeney Last week the sisters of Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship, Inc. celebrated their 50th anniversary. Two of my sisters are Swings – Donna Singleton Pinder and Deborah McPherson Crawford. They bleed black and white. My fling with the Swings goes back to my time as a freshman at Barber-Scotia College in Concord,…
Read MoreNever Forget This
By Hakim Abdul-Ali My rap today is based upon a need to address an issue that afflicts a lot of “hue-mans,” including Afrikan-Americans, in particular, and many other disillusioned folk of color. That issue, simply stated, is one of lacking self-acceptance and self-respect. I’m on that topic because I came in contact with a person…
Read MoreSupporting Charter Schools
By Barney Blakeney I’m not really a supporter of charter schools. I subscribe to the KISS theory – Keep It Simple, Stupid. If we insure all public schools are quality schools that provide the highest quality education possible to students, I don’t really see a need for charter schools. Specialty schools that are accessible to…
Read MoreIn Memory of RaNiya: Tidbits for Students
By Beverly Gadson-Birch In light of the untimely death of RaNiya Wright, a 5th grader at Forest Hills Elementary School in Walterboro, SC, it is time legislators implement stiffer penalties for bullying. Across the nation, children are fearful of going to school. They go to bed thinking how to avoid the bully the next day at school. Children…
Read MoreForever Seeking Peaceful Flavorings
By Hakim Abdul-Ali Peace be unto you in name of God Alone. I sincerely offer that most austere greeting to you in the Creator Alone’s cause because it’s where my mind is now, and my present trend of thinking is one where it also tells me that I should extend to you and others, who…
Read MoreDiscussion About Reparations
By Barney Blakeney I’ve got a lot of respect for Fred Lincoln, president of the Wando-Huger Community Development Corporation. The retired Mount Pleasant fireman was one of the main guys who pulled the troops together to fight the SPA Wando port expansion back in the ‘90s. Since that encounter I’ve learned a little about the…
Read MoreNAN: Do You Hear Me Now?
By Beverly Gadson-Birch A whole lot of discussion is swirling around town and on Facebook following National Action Network’s (NAN) civil disobedience protest at last Monday school board meeting. Parents, community leaders, clergies and other stakeholders have been appearing before the board for years addressing inequities in education. And, for years, their concerns have ignored. In…
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