Opinions & Editorials
Stomping With The GOP A Rousing Experience
By Barney Blakeney The only way the Charleston County Republican Party Second Annual Black History Banquet could have been any better is if all of Charleston could have been squeezed into The Citadel Holliday Alumni Center on Hagood Avenue in downtown Charleston February 8. That way, our entire community could have witnessed one of the…
Read MoreAfrikan “Our-Story” Month’s Missives
By Hakim Abdul-Ali Black History Month is in full swing across the United States of America. It’s a grand time to reflect upon the past and present ebony heroes and sheroes of the world for all that they accomplished and achieved in the throes of injustices and discriminations galore. I’m a humbly proud brother of…
Read MoreTrue Black History Will Set You Free
By Beverly Gadson-Birch Several months ago, during the Governor’s mandatory hurricane evacuation, I flew the coop and landed in Atlanta to hunker down out of harm’s way. I had the rare opportunity of running into one of my long-lost cousins who had relocated to the Atlanta area from Atlantic City, New Jersey. As we sat…
Read MoreBlack History Is Our Current History
By Barney Blakeney I recently had the distinct honor of participating in a panel discussion on racial disparities in Charleston County as part of a Black History Month program put on by the Town of Mount Pleasant Historical Commission at Friendship AME Church in Mount Pleasant. But the distinction was bittersweet. Being asked to participate…
Read MoreAfrikan Black “Our-Story” Facts
By Hakim Abdul-Ali Greetings of peace to you on this amazing day, and we know by now that it’s that time of the year again when the annual Black History Month begins in the United States of America. No doubt about it, it’s a continuing celebration of and about Black struggles, triumphs, achievements, endurances and,…
Read MoreAre We Coming Or Going?
By Beverly Gadson-Birch I recall writing an article about a decade ago entitled “Are We Coming Or Going?” and it got me thinking about the state of education in Charleston County. The more meetings I attend the more things remain the same. I find myself questioning whether we are coming or going because after 50…
Read MoreWhat’s All The Screaming About At Meeting Street Academy
By Barney Blakeney A few years ago I lived near the first location of the Meeting Street Academy School on King Street. The school was across the street from my house. Each weekday morning I was awakened by the sound of children playing before classes began. It was a joyful sound. Them lil sapsuckers would…
Read More“What’s Going On” Realities
By Hakim Abdul-Ali The tumultuous living experience of today’s modernity is a continual episode in maturation and developing. I refer to living in that way because we’re always evolving in one sense or the other in our relationships with each other and nature be they with family, friends, strangers, who we may have just met,…
Read MoreIt’s Not About Color; It’s About Survival
By Beverly Gadson-Birch Burrr! It’s cold outside. The Weather Channel issued a plant and pet warning with temperatures in the low teens. I decided I had too much invested in my porch plants to let the cold destroy them. I threw on a coat and grabbed a couple of covers to keep them warm. I…
Read MoreIt’s Still A Dream
By Barney Blakeney It’s the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and I’m just getting around to writing something about the celebration of that great man’s life and work. I’m not much for celebrating holidays anyway, but King’s day usually is a work day for me. I think he actually asked that people remember him not…
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