Dr. Boyce on Black Planet's NewsOne.com

DR. BOYCE: Kentucky’s Five Superstars Should Go Get Paid

By Dr. Boyce Watkins April 8, 2010 1:35 pm

Read more about DR. BOYCE: Kentucky’s Five Superstars Should Go Get Paid

TAGS: black athletes, education, NCAA

DR. BOYCE: Why Aren’t Black Men Graduating From College?

By Dr. Boyce Watkins April 7, 2010 3:00 pm

Read more about DR. BOYCE: Why Aren’t Black Men Graduating From College?

TAGS: black men, education, HBCUs

 

DR. BOYCE: Obama Needs To Fix The Black Jobs Situation

By Dr. Boyce Watkins April 5, 2010 9:57 am

Read more about DR. BOYCE: Obama Needs To Fix The Black Jobs Situation

TAGS: economy, unemployment

 

DR. BOYCE: Slavery Was Never Completely Abolished – Seriously

By Dr. Boyce Watkins April 1, 2010 12:10 pm

Read more about DR. BOYCE: Slavery Was Never Completely Abolished – Seriously

TAGS: Prison System, slavery

DR. BOYCE: Barack Obama Is Not Buckwheat, Is He?

By Dr. Boyce Watkins March 26, 2010 11:55 am

Read more about DR. BOYCE: Barack Obama Is Not Buckwheat, Is He?

TAGS: Barack Obama

Black Men Aren't Graduating from College

 

Last week, the American Council on Education issued a report on the state of black males in the higher education system.  The report reveals some interesting and disturbing trends.  It turns out that black men are graduating from college at a rate which lags significantly behind other ethnic groups. When determining graduation probabilities over a six-year period, black males were found to have a graduation rate of 35 percent.   This compares with rates of 59 percent, 46 percent and 45 percent for white males, hispanic males and black women, respectively.  In other words, black men are a little more than half as likely to finish college when compared to their white male counterparts.

I have been a black man for my entire life now, and I’ve taught at the college level for the past 17 years.  So, perhaps I can shed some light on the nature of these problems and how we might work to solve them.  Some of the factors are institutional and some are cultural, so prepare to be offended by at least one of the things I have to say:

RELATED: Why Aren’t Minorities Graduating From College?

1) Most American universities refuse to hire or retain African American professors, including many HBCUs: If your professors look like you, you are more likely to relate to that individual and enjoy the class.  When I went to The University of Kentucky, Indiana University and The Ohio State University (where I earned my PhD), I didn’t see one single professor who looked like me (and I took A LOT of classes).  This made for an incredibly awkward and damn near traumatic educational experience.  When I first noticed institutions like Morehouse College presenting images of black males in the front of the classroom, I was envious after realizing what I’d been missing.  Rather than finding excuses for firing or not hiring black professors, most universities would be well-advised to stop lying to themselves and become serious about diversity.  Yes, black professors are out there to hire if you are looking for them, but many academic departments find a reason to believe that they are not qualified.  Just look at the experiences of myself, Cornell West and Michael Eric Dyson as cases in point.  Each of us has received significant resistance in our careers because our work is connected to the black community. Our stories are just the tip of the iceberg, since there are thousands of black professors who’ve gone through the exact same experience when dealing with the entrenched racism of academia.  Many HBCUs are not immune to this trend, as most of them don’t have very many African American professors (Don’t believe me?  Go to the Computer Science Department or Business School at any random HBCU and count the number of African American professors).

 

Click to read

Dr. Watkins Discusses Current Events In Black America with Rev. Al Sharpton

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Dr. Watkins Discusses Current Events In Black America with Rev. Al Sharpton

Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses Public Housing with Jane Valez Mitchell

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Dr. Boyce Watkins Discusses Public Housing with Jane Valez Mitchell

Black Leadership Forum Held in New York City on April 17

APRIL 14-17 SHERATON NEW YORK HOTEL & TOWERS, NYC

New York, New York – Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) will host its annual national conference from April 14^th - 17^th at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City. This four-day event will convene hundreds of delegates and prominent leaders in civil rights, business, politics, labor, entertainment and the religious community from around the country to address key issues impacting people of color. Among some of the confirmed notable participants are United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Housing Shawn Donovan, Michael Steele, Chairman of The Republican National Party, Dr. Bill Cosby, Mariah Carey, Wyclef Jean, Ben Jealous, President of the NAACP, Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, Tom Joyner, Roland Martin, Michael Eric Dyson, and many other high profile attendees.

Among the highlights will include the annual Keepers of the Dream Awards on Wednesday, April 15^th honoring those who are committed to furthering the ideals and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The event will be hosted by Tamron Hall, MSNBC and honorees include Wyclef Jean, humanitarian and world-renown musical artist, Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal, Mariah Carey, Award-Winning Actress and internationally acclaimed Singer, Dr. Robert M. Franklin, President of Morehouse College, Kimberly Davis, President of JPMorgan Chase Foundation and more. There will be a special keynote address by Dr. Bill Cosby.

The National Action Network convention will include discussions about health care policy in the wake of the historic passage of the President’s Health Care Reform Bill, Media and whether the press is covering issues fairly that involve people of color, education as a civil rights issue and combating the racial achievement gap, labor and employment, the state of the Black Church and assessment of the public response to African-American achievement, issues crucial to young professionals, and much more.

A major convention highlight will be leadership forum entitled: Measuring the Movement: Black Leadership’s 12-Month Action Plan featuring Black leaders of constituencies across the country who will assess where we are and what they and their respective organizations will pledge to do over a 12-month time-frame to further critical issues impacting people of color including, but not limited to, education reform, unemployment, health care and more. The event will air on TV One, MSNBC, C-Span and other forums, and the collective will discuss the real problems and how we will not only hold the President and Administration of the United States accountable, but how we will hold ourselves accountable and tangibly measure our movement over a 12-month period to enact change. The event will be hosted by Tom Joyner and Roland Martin and will be co- hosted by Boyce Watkins, Assistant Professor of Finance, Syracuse University and Warren Ballentine from "The Warren Ballentine Show." Among the featured panelists will be Reverend Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network, Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League, Congressman James Clyburn, Dr. Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School professor, Dr. Elsie Scott, President and CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), Jeff Johnson, BET Personality, Ben Jealous, President & CEO, NAACP, Michael Eric Dyson, recording artist Chuck D, Angela Sailor, Coalitions Director for the Republican National Committee, and others.

A complete schedule of NAN’s annual national convention is below and updates will be posted regularly on NAN’s website www.Nationalactionnetwork.net. For press credentials please contact Rachel Noerdlinger, President of Noerdlinger Media (646) 981-5903 or rachel@noerdlingermedia.com.

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Dr. Boyce on AOL Black Voices - 4/4/10

Tiger Woods Will Have 90 Bodyguards Protecting Him from Mistresses

• Tiger Woods is coming back to the Masters, but he won't be coming alone. London's Daily Mail has ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Apr 4th 2010 11:21PM | Comments (0)

Kobe Bryant Signs 3-Year, $90 million dollar Contract Extension

• Kobe Bryant is already filthy rich. Now, he's filthy-stinking rich. Friday, Bryant signed a 3-year, ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Apr 4th 2010 7:30PM | Comments (1)

US Prisons More Racist than South Africa During Apartheid

• Many people throughout the world believe that South Africa during apartheid was one of the most ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Apr 4th 2010 6:12PM | Comments (8)

Dr. Boyce Watkins: US Prison Racism has got to Stop

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

Many people throughout the world believe that South Africa during apartheid was one of the most racist regimes in the history of the world. In that society, black people were clearly considered to be inferior to whites, and were denied equal access to education, medical care and basic public services. Even having sex with a person of another race was considered to be a criminal offense. Apartheid came to an end in 1994 under mounting international opposition, as the world argued that black peoplein South Africa were being subjected to an inhumane system that should not be tolerated by decent people everywhere. The United States was one of the countries that took the lead on the initiative to disband apartheid, passing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, leading to sanctions against South Africa and demanding the release of political prisoner, Nelson Mandela.

It turns out that when it comes to our prison systems, the United States cannot claim the moral high ground that it once seemed to possess. According to data from the Prison Initiative, America incarcerates 5.8 times more black men per capita than South Africa did during apartheid. To add insult to injury, African Americans are roughly 6 times more likely to go to prison than whites, and black males are nearly 7 times more likely. These numbers are atrocious and an international embarrassment. It is about time that we did something about it.

 

Click to read

Prisons More Segregated than Apartheid

This data was gathered from the prison initiative and shows that there is more racism in the US prison system than there was in South Africa During Apartheid:

 

Incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment

by Peter Wagner
Updated June 28, 2005

On June 30, 2004, there were 2,131,180 people in U.S. prisons and jails. That's a rise of 2.3% during the 12 previous months. Federal prisons are growing almost 5 times faster than state prison populations.

As of June 30, 2004, the U.S. incarceration rate was 726 per 100,000 residents. But when you break down the statistics you see that incarceration is not an equal opportunity punishment.

U.S. incarceration rates by race, June 30, 2004

Gender is an important "filter" on the who goes to prison or jail:

Look at just the males by race, and the incarceration rates become even more frightening

If you look at males aged 25-29 and by race, you can see what is going on even clearer

Or you can make some international comparisons

South Africa under Apartheid was internationally condemned as a racist society. What does it mean that the leader of the "free world" locks up its Black men at a rate 5.8 times higher than the most openly racist country in the world?

Statistics as of June 30, 2004 from Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004, Tables 14; except for the race rate statistics which are calculated from Table 13 and Census Bureau population estimates. South Africa figures from Marc Mauer, Americans Behind Bars: The International Use of Incarceration. All references to Blacks and Whites are for what the Bureau of Justice Statistics and U.S. Census refer to as "non-Hispanic Blacks" and "non-Hispanic Whites".)

Letter from Dr. Boyce Watkins - Let Felons Start Voting

Hello my friends,

I hope you'll try to join us for the Black Leadership Forum being held by the National Action Network in New York City from April 14 - 17 at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers.  I'll be on a panel with Rev. Al Sharpton, Judge Greg Mathis, Tom Joyner, Roland Martin, Ben Jealous, Charles Ogletree, Marc Morial and a few other very in­teresting people.  If you can't make it, then I'll try to get video for you.  In my new video podcast for AOL Black Voices (Called The Dr. Boyce Watkins Show), we'll cover some of the most intriguing events that take place at the forum and discuss the serious issues that affect our community.

One thing many of us have forgotten is that slavery and involuntary servitude were never fully abolished in the United States. Section 1 of the 13th amendment states that:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

In other words, we have a world in which it's OK to treat someone however we wish, as long as we've labeled them as a criminal.  This labeling can be arbitrary, since many have decided that African Americans deserve that label far more than others:  We are more likely to be arrested and convicted, even when we commit the same crimes, and we get longer sentences than whites.  Finally, once the inmate has paid their debt to society, they are kept out of society by being denied basic rights such as the right to vote or find a job.  I don't know about you, but I think this is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.  No one in their right mind endorses criminal behav­ior, but I would argue that the punishment must fit the crime.  The data imply quite clearly that this is not the case, and that black families pay a disproportionate price for America's commitment to mass incarceration.

An important issue on which I'd love to have your support is the Democracy Restoration Act, a bill introduced by Russ Feingold and John Conyers.  The bill would give ex-convicts the right to vote.  As many of us know, the disenfranchisement of felons undermines the strength of the African American family, since many of these citi­zens are no longer able to vote, find jobs or re-integrate in a productive way.  This has got to end NOW.  I am asking that every person in our coalition spend 10 minutes or more writing, calling and/or emailing your con­gressman and asking them to support this bill.  If you send a letter, make sure you sign it.  If you send an email, include your name and address so they can be sure that you live in their district.  Follow-up your correspon­dence with a phone call.  I hope you will also consider forwarding this message to other concerned citi­zens.  You can find the contact information for your Congressman by clicking on this link.   Here is a link to find out more about the bill.  Finally, if you don't like to write, you can get a form letter by clicking here.
I spoke with Rev. Sharpton about the bill this week; he supports it and plans to make it part of the agenda at our Black Leadership Forum in New York on April 17.  I then spoke with the Chairwoman of the National Black Law Students Association, Ms. Melinda Hightower - I feel it is critical that young black attorneys become part of the struggle for equality in the justice system.  Finally, my recent conversation with Mary Washington, the National Executive Director of the Coffee Party Movement (a very strong counter to the Tea Party) was one in which I clearly predicated my involvement on their showing genuine support for issues that affect the black commu­nity.  We would really like your support and hope that you understand the importance of ensuring that ex-convicts have the right to become members of our society once they've paid their debt.  It is hard to maintain the integrity of the black family if the daddies and mamas who make mistakes are not able to make themselves into better Americans. In the American Revolution, they often cried, "No taxation without representation."  Well, there are millions of felons who pay taxes like the rest of us, so I would argue that they deserve the right to be represented in Congress and the White House.  Millions of African Americans are denied access to the Ameri­can dream because they've been convicted of a crime, and their children often pay the price.

If you wish to become actively involved as an organizer or have special skills, interest or resources that might be helpful to this cause, please reply to this message and I can have it forwarded to our Chief Organizer, Jazelle Reed.  We welcome anyone who'd like to help us to achieve this important objective and encourage everyone to get involved.  I take this issue personally because I've seen up close the devastation that incar­ceration has had on my own family (my father and older brother figure both went to prison), and I want this madness to stop.

Be well, stay strong, and be educated,

Dr. Boyce
BoyceWatkins.com

Dr. Boyce on MSNBC's TheGrio - 4/1/10

• 

  Does Palin have a black people problem?

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  8:50 AM on 04/01/2010

  OPINION - It's not as if Sarah Palin has very many fans who look like LL Cool J. Her appeal in urban America is almost non-existent...

  > READ MORE

• 

  'Hood rich' reputation may sink Michael Steele

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  8:15 AM on 03/30/2010

  OPINION - The tale of the financially irresponsible black man is an easy sell to the American people...

  > READ MORE

• 

  What we can learn from ACORN's fall

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  8:59 AM on 03/24/2010

  OPINION - By choosing to represent the interests of poor people and minorities in a capitalist democracy, the forces of eco-political nature were sure to guarantee its destruction...

  > READ MORE

• 

  Bring it on! The financial reform fight begins

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  8:21 AM on 03/23/2010

  OPINION - Reforming the financial system is not going to be nearly as difficult as health care reform...

  > READ MORE

• 

  Tavis Smiley can't win with anti-Obama talk

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  3:03 PM on 03/20/2010

  OPINION - While Obama-mania is bad for African-Americans, consistently attacking him in black America is like telling a child that their absentee daddy is a horrible person...

  > READ MORE

• 

  11-year-old caught in the middle of health reform mudslinging

  By Dr. Boyce Watkins

  3:00 PM on 03/19/2010

  OPINION - Marcelas Owens' story can bring realism and relevance to a debate that has been about posturing, bickering and mid-term elections...

  > READ MORE

Support the Democracy Restoration Act: Felons Should Be Allowed to Vote

Here is a form letter you can use to write your Congressman about the Democracy Restoration Act, an act sponsored by Russ Feingold and John Conyers.  The act would restore voting rights to ex-convicts in federal elections.  In case you are unaware, slavery in the United States was never fully abolished.  Actually, it was only abolished for those who were not convicted of a crime.  Therefore, many hundreds of thousands of African Americans are still victims of slavery and involuntary servitude.  This has got to stop now.  To read more on this issue, please click here.

 

Here is the sample letter you can cut and paste to send to your representative.

 

To whom it may concern,

I am a member of the Your Black World Coalition, as well as a concerned American.  I would like to write to express my support for HR3335 - The Democracy Restoration Act, sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI).

I strongly believe that when felons have paid their debt to society, they deserve an opportunity and incentive to become a part of that society again.  Voting and participating in federal elections is an important part of being an American, and would serve to reduce recidivism, which hurts us all.  Additionally, it would ensure that these men and women receive the representation they deserve from elected officials, since most of us would agree that taxation without representation is fundamentally unfair and unAmerican.

We will continue to campaign on this matter, and hold our officials accountable.  Please do the right thing and vote "yes" on the Democracy Restoration Act.

Dr. Boyce Watkins and others gather for Sharpton's Black Leadership Forum in NYC

The event is set to take place in New York at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers from April 14 - 17.  The list of panelists is as follows:

Host: Tom Joyner- Host, "Tom Joyner Morning Show"
Moderator: Roland Martin, CNN/TV One analyst
Rev. Al Sharpton- President, National Action Network
Marc Morial- CEO, National Urban League
Ben Jealous- President & CEO, NAACP
Dr. Elsie Scott- President and CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) in Washington, D.C.
Angela Sailor- Coalitions Director, Republican National Committee
Lezli Baskerville- - President & CEO, NAFEO- America's Black Colleges and Universities
Warren Ballentine- Host, "The Warren Ballentine Show"
Dr. Boyce Watkins- Assistant Professor, Finance- Syracuse University
Dr. Charles Ogletree- Professor, Harvard Law School
Jeff Johnson- BET Personality
Judge Greg Mathis - Television Show host
Chuck D - Recording artist

Dr. Boyce on AOL Black Voices - 3/23/10

Tea Partiers Deny The Use of Racial Slurs

• There are conflicting claims emerging from the allegations last week that members of the Tea Party ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 23rd 2010 11:54AM | Comments (2)

Rush Limbaugh Back Pedals on Pledge to Leave the Country

• Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh gave America reason for hope recently, when he made a ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 23rd 2010 9:44AM | Comments (223)

Michael Steele Looks Even Worse as a Black Man Defending Tea Partiers

• The Tea Party Protesters might need a little bit of brand management to overcome the growing ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 22nd 2010 5:43PM | Comments (74)

Police Officers Charged with Beating Celebrated with Free Beer

• Eight Philadelphia police officers were charged with kicking and beating three murder suspects. ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 22nd 2010 12:10PM | Comments (1)

Jesse Jackson Jr. Presides Over The Health Care Debate

• While standing in the hallway off the House floor Sunday night, Rev. Jesse Jackson was able to ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 22nd 2010 10:16AM | Comments (2)

Young Mom's Body Found in Bed Frame of a Hotel Room

• Sony Millbrook was a mother of five children. Her body was found stuffed in a hotel room bed frame, ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Mar 20th 2010 9:15AM | Comments (20)

Tiger Makes His First TV Appearance

Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

Tiger Woods chose ESPN and the Golf Channel as the venues for his first interviews, since his sex scandal began four months ago. He gave the interviews with the requirement that they be only five minutes long.
"If you limit it to five minutes, when you account for structure, there's not much time to get into anything, which is probably best," said Syracuse University professor and pop culture expert Robert Thompson.
Woods had to be careful to ensure that the interviews were done in a such a way that they did not overshadow the PGA event being played this weekend. Woods has been able to transcend the game of golf in ways that no player in history has been able to accomplish. His presence (or lack thereof) can make or break a golf tournament's financial outcome.
"We really had two main things that were most important," said an ESPN spokesman. "No. 1, no restrictions on questions, and No. 2, we chose the interviewer."

 

Click to Read

Michael Steele Bows to the Tea Baggers

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

The Tea Party Protesters might need a little bit of brand management to overcome the growing perception that they represent a racist, homophobic, extremist fringe of disgruntled voters. The most recent incident of very bad PR came this week, as a small group of Tea Party protesters gathered on Capitol Hill and yelled "n*gger" and "f*ggot" at members of Congress as they walked past the crowd. The group has taken heat for the actions of those who don't know how to be cordial in their discourse, and it's not good for the Republican Party.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was put in yet another awkward position, trying to defend that which is not defensible. A man who appears to be disrespected at every turn by his own party, Steel dismissed those using the n-word within the Tea Party group as "idiots out there saying stupid things." Of course, Steele was not in a position to dismiss the Tea Partiers themselves, likely because they would have put him in a pile with the other black people they hate the most.

Click to read

Tavis Smiley Can't Win with Anti-Obama Rhetoric

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

Tavis Smiley has a problem. The problem is one that is rooted in egregious miscalculation, poor target selection and mild delusions of self-righteous grandeur. As Tavis plans his symposium this week to define the black agenda in America, most of us are wondering if it's Smiley's agenda that will be highest on the priority list. While Smiley presents himself as a consistent political figure who has held all politicians equally accountable, many view his gathering this weekend in Chicago as a Barack Obama bashing festival.

 

Let's be clear: It's not easy to objectively criticize President Obama when his approval ratings in the black community remain above 90 percent. At least half of my articles about Obama have been critical, and I always have to make sure that I am not haunted by the ghostly spirit of Obama-mania, which is just as bad as Obama-haterology. Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Rev. Jesse Jackson have done a very good job of holding Obama accountable in a way that does not appear to be driven by personal motivations or latent hostility. Tavis Smiley, however, can't shake the perception that he has a personal vendetta against the president, for it is quite rare to see a prominent public figure so obsessed with the career of another person.

 

The Your Black World Coalition monitors the political mood of our supporters when it comes to issues that matter to African-Americans. With 60,000 African-American members nation-wide, we have the ability to put our fingers on the collective pulse of black America through various forms of statistical sampling. In our analysis, a few things remain abundantly clear: Most of our followers love Barack Obama (probably more than they should), and a large percentage of them, to be quite frank, can't stand Tavis Smiley. What makes matters worse for Smiley is that many of those who refuse to buy his books were once loyal fans - meaning that he has engineered the double loss of turning many of his friends into enemies. This is enough to make any publishing house or corporate sponsor run in the other direction, undermining the power of the Tavis Smiley brand. With such a terrible approval rating, Smiley wouldn't even be invited to sell predatory loans for Wells Fargo.

 

Click to read

Dr. Boyce Watkins on TheGrio.com - 3/19/10

11-year-old caught in the middle of health reform mudslinging

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

3:00 PM on 03/19/2010

OPINION - Marcelas Owens' story can bring realism and relevance to a debate that has been about posturing, bickering and mid-term elections...

> READ MORE

Presidential disrespect goes prime-time in Obama's Fox interview

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

11:22 AM on 03/18/2010

OPINION - Republicans should realize that when they disrespect the presidency, they are disrespecting themselves...

> READ MORE

Clarence Thomas' wife's Tea Party ties are supremely disturbing

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

9:20 AM on 03/16/2010

OPINION - When you sleep next to someone who openly states they want to undermine the president's "hard left agenda" you can hardly call yourself impartial...

> READ MORE

Democrats' crack-cocaine compromise is still 'racist'

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

9:00 AM on 03/15/2010

OPINION - While some might call this political pragmatism, others might describe this outcome as the modern-day version of the Three-Fifths Compromise...

> READ MORE

Black Social Commentary from TheGrio - 3/19/10

Dr. Boyce Watkins

Author and Finance Professor at Syracuse University

11-year-old caught in the middle of health reform mudslinging

3:00 PM on 03/19/2010

OPINION - Marcelas Owens' story can bring realism and relevance to a debate that has been about posturing, bickering and mid-term elections...

> MORE

Rani G Whitfield

The Hip Hop Doctor

Colorectal cancer doesn't discriminate

8:14 AM on 03/19/2010

OPINION - African-Americans are less likely to receive CRC screenings, especially if they are uninsured...

> MORE

Suzanne Rust

Book critic

An 'Immortal Life': How one woman's cells helped cure a generation

11:31 AM on 03/18/2010

REVIEW - The cells of a poor black woman from Clover, Virginia, a descendant of free slaves, led to major breakthroughs in everything from polio to Parkinson's...

> MORE

Dr. Boyce Watkins

Author and Finance Professor at Syracuse University

Presidential disrespect goes prime-time in Obama's Fox interview

11:22 AM on 03/18/2010

OPINION - Republicans should realize that when they disrespect the presidency, they are disrespecting themselves...

> MORE

Marcus Vanderberg

Sports and social commentator

Baller-in-chief: Obama's 'March Madness' bracket scores well

8:16 AM on 03/18/2010

OPINION - As much as I would have loved to see the president go out on a limb and pick the Baylor Bears to win it all, it's hard to argue against the Jayhawks...

> MORE

Karen Finney

Political analyst

Conservatives use abortion issue to court African-Americans

8:09 AM on 03/18/2010

OPINION - Conservative shock and awe tactics from anti-choice groups are a desperate attempt to win over voters and obscure the harsh realities that black women face...

> MORE

Rashod D. Ollison

Cultural Critic

Will Michael Jackson's new music be a thriller for fans?

9:00 AM on 03/17/2010

OPINION - Would he have done something different? Did he mean for that note to be there? Would he have approved this final mix?...

> MORE

Dr. Boyce: Are these McDonald's Ads Racist?

CNN just called me for an appearance on American Morning.  They wanted to know if I think that these McDonald's ads are racist.   Please watch them and tell me what you think:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YRcBTq6T4A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq7Ver15IA

Obama Attacked on Fox News

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

 

The Democrats must pass health care reform. If they pass the legislation, they are still going to get hammered in the mid-term elections. If they don't pass the bill, the hammering will only multiply in its intensity. Right now, our Congress finds itself in a terribly complex situation, with terms like "reconciliation" and "deem and pass" being thrown around like profanity against a growing backlash from a portion of the American public. If we could go back in time, President Obama would never have taken on this issue.

I watched President Obama's interview with Brett Baier on Fox News with intrigue. I wondered why Obama would want to appear on a network that has spent hundreds of millions of dollars undermining the White House. I then realized that Obama's appearance is likely in line with the White House strategy of taking on the Republicans face-to-face. Rather than appearing to be an elitist leader who hides from his adversaries (as George Bush might have done), Obama is walking into one lion's den after another, making his presidency even more interesting than it was when he arrived. Also unlike President Bush, Obama is savvy and intelligent enough to debate 100 Republicans in a single bound, the way Tiger Woods can dominate a golf course with scores of non-black competitors. Barack Obama is his own greatest asset.

 

Click to read