Reflections on Brown v Board

On the anniversary (May 27th) of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that struck down separate but equal and ushered in the era of integrated schools, I reflected on Chief Justice Warren's published words. On that day in 1954 he wrote, "In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."

As a native Memphian, attorney and Memphis school board member, I can see that segregation and integration have left indelible marks on our public school system. The 59 years that have passed since Warren's sage words have brought us diverse school settings where the benefits of education are more consistently experienced by a larger portion of our society – no question. The charge in the Brown decision was not simply to integrate races in school settings, but to provide consistently excellent education for all children. We are not there yet.

Julian Bond: My Tea Party ‘Taliban’ comment; The lesson?

I have always suspected that racists didn't like being called out for their racism. Now I have proof.

When I told MSNBC's Thomas Roberts on May 14th that the Tea Party was "the Taliban wing of American politics," a firestorm erupted.

Arguing the IRS was correct to target them for extra scrutiny, I also said, "Here are a group of people who are admittedly racist, who are overtly political" and therefore worthy of IRS concern.

Caretaker’s role requires sacrifice and a little empathy

It would take empathy, compassion, commitment and love to be the caretaker of someone who's gravely ill and incapable of taking care of one's self. Not everyone is suited for this role. There is no ovation at the end of the day and no Oscar for best performance.

Love is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship, personal ties, warm attachment, enthusiasm, devotion and unselfish and benevolent concerns for the good of others, according to Webster's Dictionary.

According to Mildred – a mother in Missouri – it's standard practice.

Don’t lower threshold on drunken driving

Celebrity mugshots are hilarious, aren't they?

The disheveled hair, the smeared makeup, the ridiculous attempt by some to still try to look "hot" despite the circumstances. The most iconic post-arrest shot is Nick Nolte circa 2002. He looks as if he went through a carwash riding on the hood. The mugshot even has its own Twitter handle.

Yeah, it's all fun and games until you read why these celebrities were arrested in the first place.

Nolte was brought in for suspicion of driving under the influence. Wynonna Judd was arrested in 2003, accused of the same thing. As was Nicole Richie in 2006 and Kiefer Sutherland in 2007.

Ask Demetria: Should I only date men at my income level?

"Is it wrong to seek out guys who are at my level, career – and salarywise, and have the same goals? I have tried dating guys who weren't, but their insecurities popped up, and it became frustrating telling them that those things don't matter. I'm wondering if I should save myself the hassle!" – Z.C.

No, it's not wrong to desire a partner whose accomplishments, income and goals are similar to your own (or bigger). Some might even say that on the surface, at least, that's an ideal partnership.

Although women out earn their husbands in almost one-fourth of U.S. households, according to the 2010 American Community Survey, researchers have found that marriage rates decline when a woman seems capable of out earning her husband. In a working paper, "Gender Identity and Relative Income Within Households", the same researchers also found that a married woman who earns more than her husband increases the probability of unhappiness in her union and could increase the likelihood of divorce by 50 percent.

What black women can learn from Angelina’s double mastectomy

Actress Angelina Jolie's decision on Tuesday to go public about her decision to undergo a double mastectomy after learning of her high risk of getting breast cancer has sparked widespread chatter throughout the media world.

"Angelina Jolie has done a real service for women around the world," Arthur Caplan, a New York University professor wrote in an opinion piece at CNN.

"Jolie's Disclosure Highlights a Breast Cancer Dilemma" was the headline in a New York Times article about her story.

Sallie Mae gets Woodshed ride

Reaching your 40th birthday is a huge milestone. Some may celebrate it with a quiet night with the family. Others may put on their good dancing shoes and hit the town with friends.

Loan company Sallie Mae decided to celebrate quietly with a couple of tweets commemorating its 40th year, and rather than smiley-faced emoticons, it was met with a tidal wave of angry, often hilarious tweets.

It turns out that not many people look favorably on the private loan giant, especially as student debt, tuition and the company's profits continue to soar. Sallie Mae's amicable tweet got angry reactions from Twitterers of all races, but a bevy of them seemed to come from black folks. The reason for this is likely that students of color borrow more money to pay for school than white students.

African-American empowerment – ‘At Last’ or just last?

When Beyoncé Knowles sang the Etta James song "At Last" at President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration, the song could have had several meanings. At last we have an African American president? At last, the muscle of the African-American vote has been flexed? At last, there is some hope for our country to come together with the mantra "Yes, We Can".

Watching the President and First Lady Michelle Obama slow dance to the romantic standard reminded us that African-American families have not often been positively depicted. This attractive image of an intact African-American family had come "At Last". Thus, the song was symbolic of what many folks, and especially African Americans, believed about the Obama presidency.

Some of us blindly believed that with an African-American president opportunity had come "At Last." Some believed it so fervently that the least criticism of President Obama, no matter how mild and how lovingly conveyed, could cause you to be run out of the race.

Cleveland’s Charles Ramsey: Hero or hood

When some of us saw the first video of Charles Ramsey, the colorful black dishwasher in Cleveland who is being celebrated as a hero for rescuing three white women captives from horrid conditions in a Cleveland house, we had a flashback to Antoine Dodson, who became a flamboyant Internet sensation after saving his sister from a would-be rapist in their Huntsville, Ala., housing apartment, and Sweet Brown, who barely escaped a fire in her Oklahoma City complex.

But more than any other famous "hilarious black neighbor" Internet sensation, the coverage of Ramsey – and his criminal past – raises serious questions about how we treat a hero with a troubled past and, yes, how blacks and whites look at the same event through different prisms of race.

First, as they say in TV news, let's go to the videotape.

Diabetes left untreated could send you to an early grave

Going to the doctor for a yearly physical is necessary if your goal is to achieve optimum health. But have you noticed that if there's an ache or pain that you're complaining about, it seems to suddenly disappear when you're trying to explain it to the doctor.

Even if you can't explain it or point to it, the ache and pain could be symptoms of an underlying problem that will continue to gnaw at you. But what if you're on the periphery of pre-diabetes? What if you've crossed the threshold into full-blown diabetes and didn't know it?

If your health were at stake, you'd need to get help immediately. Diabetes left untreated could send you over the edge into an early grave. Some people may actually believe they're immune to certain diseases, but let me tell you, they're so wrong. There is no shield to protect you against the onslaught of diabetes – unless that shield is a daily supply of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Consumer power has no age limit

I always talk about how this nation is becoming more and more multicultural. In eight years, there will be 170 million multicultural consumers in the United States. This nation is a huge melting pot already, but these forecasted numbers are promising for people of color – especially young people.

According to the most recent U.S. Census, African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians each make up 42 percent of the youngest demographic age groups: 12-17, 18-24 and 25-34. These same groups of young folks are going to be in our shoes as adults in a few decades and their numbers are on the rise. The 18- to 24-year-old demographic is growing faster than any other segment.

If Clarence Thomas isn’t ‘elite,’ who is?

Supreme Court justices are in the top 10 percent of earners in this country. They attended the best universities and have access to the best health care, a pension plan unaffected by the economy and oh, by the way, immense power.

There isn't a socioeconomic litmus test they could take that would result in them being in a class result other than elite.

And yet Justice Clarence Thomas, when asked during an interview at the Duquesne University School of Law in April whether he thought he would see a black president in his lifetime, made it seem as if he's on the outside looking in. He said he knew "it would have to be a black president who was approved by the elites and the media, because anybody that they didn't agree with, they would take apart."