Music has always been a mirror. It tells us who we are, what we value, and, sometimes, what we’re too afraid to face. But if music is supposed to reflect the world around us, then what does it say that so much of today’s mainstream music says… nothing at all? Richmond...
It is not our failures that make us human, but rather our convictions to yet succeed. The accelerating collapse of corporate and governmental accountability has led to widespread civic abandonment. Mass layoffs at social safety net agencies, executive rollbacks on identity rights, the erosion of science-based policymaking, and the...
How the Rise of an Oligarchy Threatens America's Future and What We Can Do About It The 2024 election marked a personal breaking point for me. The return of a felon, rapist, and racist (among many other labels) assuming the highest office in the world again – someone who incited a violent attack on our democracy – has forced me to...
UPDATE! January 19th at 2:35pm: After a brief shutdown, TikTok has begun restoring its services in the United Statesfollowing a pledge by former President Trump to facilitate its return. The shutdown, triggered by federal action under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), resulted in TikTok’s...
Mayor Danny Avula is at a defining moment. The same for the 2004 Elected Mayor law. Here’s why. Then a win-win-win. The 16-year era of the race-baiting politics of former Mayors Dwight Jones and Levar Stoney needs to come to an end. They and their cronies have used race to enrich too many, for far too long, with contracts they don’t deserve,...
Reflections on America’s new reality and the long road ahead Like many, I had high hopes for this year’s presidential election. When Kamala Harris stepped into the race as the Democratic candidate, I felt a sense of renewed joy, hope and optimism for America. Led by our first female president, I envisioned a nation turning the page...
For more reasons than I can count, this year I will most certainly vote for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. That will be true if it's President Joe Biden. It will also be true if it is Vice President Kamala Harris. Should the Democratic Party's convention pick Gov. Gavin Newsom or Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, they would also have my...
Immediately after the first presidential debate, journalists wasted no time amplifying Biden’s poor performance. And so the narrative begins. Or rather, continues. Over the last few years, news outlets have been reporting on the advanced ages of both presidential candidates as the primary concern rather than the fact that one is a...
“If President Biden wants to truly celebrate the spirit of Juneteenth, he needs to take bolder action instead of well-intended half-measures that don’t come close to solving the problem.” Juneteenth is a day of joy when we celebrate the end of slavery in the United States, but for too many Black Americans, the harms of slavery never fully went...
There has been a lot of activity across the region recently about bond ratings and localities issuing bonds. It is a timely comparison of priorities of local leaders, a glimpse of a possible future, and what happens if you have people in charge who worry more about getting the big, shiny project than the people that end up paying for it. ...
