Black to Black

By Barney Blakeney By the time this is published, the primary elections will be over. I usually vote early. For years, Tuesdays have been my most demanding workdays. Nowadays, I vote early every election. My parents were responsible citizens. I never heard them talk politics much. They were Black folks in the segregated south who…

By Barney Blakeney   The ink wasn’t dried on the column I’d just filed last week when I got the North Charleston police report of another shooting homicide. My column, in part, was about the city ranked among the nation’s most dangerous also being ranked fifth most prosperous. Talk about contrasts! Police spokesman Spencer Pryor…

By Barney Blakeney   I read with a giggle a recent news report of Charleston and North Charleston being among the nation’s most prosperous cities. A lot of folks here are enjoying ‘the good life’. I’m one of ‘em. For me, life is good. I ain’t got no money, but I’ve learned one can’t measure…

By Barney Blakeney I’ve never been good at remembering special dates – Memorial Day, my girl’s birthday –most dates besides Christmas, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving get past me. So when Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Noble’s press coordinator on May 17 called me about a press conference to discuss he and running mate Dr. Gloria…

By Barney Blakeney   Two phone calls over the past couple of weeks again got me thinking about Black folks taking the initiative to determine our own destiny. I’ve got a thing on my desk that says “Discipline, not desire, determines our destiny”. Wish I woulda, coulda, shoulda doesn’t get it done. We must exercise…

By Barney Blakeney The May 3 unveiling of the marker noting the birthplace of Septima Poinsette Clark was more powerful than I thought it would be. The College of Charleston coordinated the event that included a luncheon and portrait unveiling honoring a woman too few realize was responsible for contributing to much of what America…

By Barney Blakeney The Charleston Area Justice Ministry Monday night held its 2018 Nehemiah Action Assembly focusing on the ministry’s 2018 agenda of addressing affordable housing and gentrification. Last November members voted to address that agenda in 2018. About 2,000 people attended the sixth Nehemiah Action Assembly Monday night. CAJM’s had some success in the…

By Barney Blakeney   I like to get feedback from the stuff I write. Good, bad or indifferent – it lets me know somebody read the stuff. But as I tell young writers, you can’t take feedback too seriously. Especially the positive stuff! The positive stuff helps you to gauge whether you’re on the right…

By Barney Blakeney My Aunt Sarah used to say getting old is a blessing, but it’s sometimes inconvenient. For two weeks I had planned the late Friday afternoon meeting with the folks from the Charleston Rhizome Collective. The Charleston Rhizome Collective last year received a grant from ArtPlace America which will be used to provide…

By Barney Blakeney Ever had something that just sticks in your craw, a bad vibe that just won’t go away? For the past week I’ve been battling this bad feeling I got after a confrontation that’s left me re-evaluating a lot of stuff which has to do with civility, courtesy and tolerance. Last week I…