Cosby gave it to us straight -- and it's a valuable lesson
When I returned to Chicago from vacation this week, the household was abuzz about Bill Cosby. Apparently the philanthropist and entertainer ran afoul of the soul patrol while making remarks at an NAACP event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Every thoughtful black person knows the big celebration held in Washington, D.C., was the perfect opportunity to remind white people how unjust they were. The last thing an audience attending the NAACP-sponsored event wanted to hear was Cosby criticizing black youth.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Senior citizen discount easy on wallet, hard on mind
I couldn't believe it. Carson Pirie Scott was offering customers a 10 percent senior citizen's discount. Any other time, I would have flipped right past the ad. But this time the number jumped out at me: 55.
Suspicion of lynching looms over black man's death
I can't understand how a black man could hang himself from a tree. It's too hard for families to believe a beloved husband, father, uncle, brother or cousin could end his life in such a grotesque manner.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Reopening Emmett Till case may not bring closure
I was 6 years old when Emmett Till was lynched in a Mississippi town. The 14-year-old Chicagoan was taken from his uncle's home on Aug. 28, 1955, by white men who wanted to warn black men to stay away from white women. Although Emmett was still a boy, after he allegedly "whistled" at a white woman who worked in a store, he was savagely brutalized and his body was thrown in the Tallahatchie River.
Sunday, May 9, 2004
School tells girl's prom date he's not welcome, but why?
Aaron Mercer ordered a tux. He made sure the vest, cummerbund and tie matched the color of the dress his girlfriend was wearing to the prom. He paid for the prom tickets and chipped in with others to rent a luxury car. But on prom night, Mercer, 19, had to make other plans.
Wild about Harry
