Why we remember Emmett Till
Fifty years ago today, 14 year old Emmett Till was savagely lynched by racist whites in Mississippi. He was Mamie Till’s only son. When Mamie heard about her son’s vicious murder, she made an incredulous decision. Instead of grieving privately or “giving it to God” she allowed the battered and beaten body of Emmett to […]
Towards a New Civil Rights Movement
St. Louis American, August 22, 2013 When I talk to young people, they sometimes raise the failure of my generation and beyond in making this a better country – one that protects the rights of all regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and age. Our circular progress (or rollback of progress) can land […]
We can’t win if we don’t fight for our kids
This excerpt is from a St. Louis Post Dispatch article: “When Superintendent Kelvin Adams last winter proposed closing Cleveland NJROTC High School — a magnet school with a Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps — parents and students spoke for hours in opposition at public forums. When the he proposed phasing out Beaumont in 2011, […]