AMERICA HAS A GUN PROBLEM. LET’S STOP HIDING IT BEHIND HEADLINES ::: Janice Off the Mic

2026-10-25 by OUR COMMON GROUND

AMERICA HAS A GUN PROBLEM. LET’S STOP HIDING IT BEHIND HEADLINES

RESPONSE TO REPORTING OF FAMU shooting incident on October 24, 2026 Tallahassee Democrat

Eleven people were shot, including children, near Florida A&M University’s homecoming celebration. Another person was injured while fleeing. Families traumatized, a community shaken, and another American gathering transformed into a scene of terror.

The Tallahassee Democrat calls this a *mass shooting*. By a commonly used numerical definition, it is. But according to the preliminary police account, the gunfire followed an altercation involving two or three individuals. That distinction deserves examination. A violent personal confrontation that erupts into gunfire in a crowded public space is not necessarily the same kind of event as a gunman deliberately targeting a gathering of strangers. I suspect something here, but rarely outside of spiritual discussion do I make a statement that I cannot prove. But history does hold that evidence on this.

Both are horrifying. Both can produce mass casualties. But they are not necessarily the same circumstances, and responsible journalism should explain the difference rather than allow a headline to substitute for understanding.

America has a GUN problem. We have allowed personal disputes, grievances, arguments, and confrontations to become potentially deadly encounters because firearms are so readily available. People behave as though they are fighting in Fallujah, while innocent bystanders, including children, pay the price.

And where is the accountability of Congress and our state legislatures? The FL governor? Where is the sustained political will to confront the availability of guns, their misuse, and the conditions that permit ordinary disagreements to escalate into public bloodshed?

Instead, we count the wounded, express our sorrow, applaud first responders, and wait for the next shooting.

The people injured in Tallahassee deserve more than a sensational headline. They deserve answers, accountability, and a government willing to confront the epidemic of gun violence that continues to endanger American communities. The question is not merely how many people were shot. It is why we continue to tolerate a country in which a personal confrontation can leave eleven people with gunshot wounds.

BOLD :: BRAVE :: BLACK

Transforming Truth to Power, One Broadcast At a Time

BLACK HISTORY IS EVIDENCE ::: Janice Off the Mic

2026-09-26 by OUR COMMON GROUND

BLACK HISTORY IS EVIDENCE

Erasure Is the Point: What America Loses When It Removes Black History from the National Story

IN RESPONSE

This commentary is written in response to The Guardian’s September 12 interview with Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and outgoing Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Secretary Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, who who shepherded the creation of the National Museum for African American History and Culture.

Smithsonian Secretary and founding Director of NMAAH, Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III

In the interview, Bunch discusses the extraordinary political pressure placed upon the Smithsonian as the Trump administration has sought to reshape how the nation’s museums present American history. The administration has accused the Smithsonian of advancing a divisive, race-centered interpretation of the country. It has demanded changes intended to emphasize American achievement and a more celebratory national narrative. Bunch rejects that characterization, arguing that confronting the country’s conflicts and contradictions is essential to understanding how America became what it is.

Most important for what follows, Bunch identifies the boundary he would not cross. The Guardian reports that he had one “fundamental red line”: erasing no one’s history, because he comes from a community whose histories have themselves been erased.

That is the point.

This is not simply about revising Black history. It is about erasing it. And we need to understand exactly what is being erased.

When the history of American chattel slavery is removed, softened, or pushed out of public view, that does not erase only Black history. It erases white American history as well. The transatlantic slave trade, the buying and selling of human beings, the plantations, the banks and businesses that profited from slavery, the laws that protected it, the governments that enforced it, and the political compromises that sustained it are part of white America’s history.

And the survival of that system is Black history. The resistance to it is Black history. The families created and sustained in spite of it are Black history. Emancipation, Reconstruction, the building of Black institutions, the fight against Jim Crow and the continuing struggle to force America to honor the citizenship it promised are Black history.

But together, all of it is American history.

That is why removing this history from museums, national parks and other public spaces is so consequential. A museum does more than preserve objects. It establishes public memory. It tells the generations walking through its doors: This happened. These people were here. These people did this. These people endured this. These people resisted. And these events helped create the country we now live in.

Erase the evidence, and eventually you can erase the accountability.

There was an extraordinary irony on the National Mall this Fourth of July. When severe thunderstorms struck during the Freedom 250 celebration, the National Mall was evacuated, and attendees were directed to emergency shelters. Among those shelters was the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thousands of people attending the celebration, including Trump supporters, sought refuge there from the storm.

Think about that.

People gathered for a celebration of America took physical refuge inside a building dedicated to preserving a history that some in power are trying to recast, diminish or remove from the national story.

They took shelter beneath the roof of Black memory.

That museum exists because Black history could not safely be left to the benevolence of national memory. Too much had already been omitted, distorted, romanticized, or simply forgotten. And now the battle is not merely over what interpretation will appear beside an artifact. The larger battle is over what America will be permitted to remember about itself. Just yesterday, inside the very museum he fought to create, Bunch returned to precisely this question.

Secretary Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, who shepherded the creation of the National Museum for African American History and Culture.

Speaking at the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s 10th anniversary celebration on Friday, September 25, he rejected the notion that confronting the darkest portions of American history is somehow an act against the country. He called slavery “foundational” to understanding the United States and argued that the responsibility of museums is to illuminate the whole history, not simply those portions that make the nation comfortable.

“You cannot understand the greatness of a country without understanding the totality of a country,” Bunch said. “You cannot understand all without illuminating the dark corners. Curating means let’s shine the light. Let’s tell the truth.”

And therein lies the problem with erasure.

You cannot erase the enslaved without also erasing the enslaver. You cannot erase the slave auction without erasing the buyer. You cannot erase the plantation without erasing the people who owned it and the economic system that profited from it. You cannot erase Jim Crow without erasing the legislatures that enacted it, the courts that upheld it, and the institutions that administered it. And you cannot erase Black resistance without erasing the forces against which Black people were required to resist.

So this is not simply an assault on “Black history.” It is an assault on the historical record itself.

Black history does not sit alongside American history as an elective chapter that can be removed when it makes somebody uncomfortable.

Black history is evidence. And perhaps that is precisely why its erasure matters so much.

SOURCES

The Guardian, September 12, 2026: “Don’t I deserve a little grace?” Lonnie Bunch on pressure from Trump and leaving the Smithsonian on his own terms.

The Guardian, September 26, 2026: “Let’s tell the truth”: Smithsonian head given standing ovation as he hits back at Trump attacks.

CBS News, July 4, 2026: Coverage of the National Mall evacuation and emergency shelter locations during the Freedom 250 celebration.

TheGrio, July 5, 2026: Coverage of Freedom 250 attendees taking shelter inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

Transforming Truth to Power

A Note from OCG

2018-07-10 by OUR COMMON GROUND

We will now have an alt-right #SCOTUS There is little that we of goodwill can do about it now. It is too late for those who would, who could have to claim their government. We all know something is wrong – it has been for a very long time. When the horse is out of the barn, it is too late to put up a reminder sign to close the door.

#Trump and his GOP puppets are the biggest and most pressing problem, but not the only ones. We are cornered on all sides. A ruthless sheriff is in town and his deputies are everywhere. Poor people have been targeted among the unwanted. Public spaces and tax-rolled law enforcement are now weaponized to dispose of and make invisible, instill fear and isolation to “otherize” those deemed unworthy. Blatant acts of violations of fundamental human rights have become normalized forms of public policy enforcement and oversight.

Protest marches and protestations of any kind will not turn the time. While we idled in our fear of the Muslims, Al-Qaeda and Iranian powers. Wall Street and Washington’s swamp creatures were sucking the very oxygen from the air. Even your vote has been stolen and put up for sale. The GOP stands behind a corrupt and vile President because they know that their fate is controlled entirely by him – manipulation is expensive. The lifetime of emissaries can be fleeting at best.

As we enter the last era of my broadcast career, our message is profoundly fundamental:

1. Exposing wrongs is not the same as righting them.

2. What we knew as America has been forever changed. What we understood about it, remains the same.

3. Governments are not moved by shame. In this era, neither are politicians.

4. If the House is not turned in November, there will be a seismic permanent shift in the infrastructure of the republic. One where there is no undoing.

5. Comrades and allies must be willing to make all kinds of serious sacrifice. If not, our children and grandchildren will be the sacrifice.

We look forward to being back with you in the Fall of 2018. Do we have what it takes to igniting the rights and dismantling the wrongs, to rescue those who don’t know they need rescuing ? I don’t know. We will see.

“Transforming Truth to Power, One Broadcast At a Time”

Scribbling Race on COMMON GROUND Weekly News RoundUP

2017-11-10 by OUR COMMON GROUND

The OUR COMMON GROUND Media and Communications round-up of news and events around the globe that impacts and reflects living Black in America.

This week stories and features from @HonoreeJeffers @KyleGriffin @AntheaButler @BlkLibraryGirl @AmbitDiva #wellnesswed

Join us on Twitter: @JaniceOCG

Published weekly each Friday.

Get it here

Remembering “Dr. Ben” ll In Conversation with Sirius/XM Host, Dr. Wilmer Leon,

2015-03-21 by OUR COMMON GROUND

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

This Week

Tribute to Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan In Conversation with Dr. Wilmer Leon
HOST, “Inside the Issues with Dr. Wilmer Leon
Sirius/XM Radio
March 21, 2015 10 pm ET LIVE

Join the broadcast Here: http://bit.ly/1bkVIxc

ABOUT Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan

He was one of the most courageous and inspiring scholars of our time would live for nearly a century, paying personal witness to dramatic transformations in the lives of Black people across the globe. Now a Beloved Ancestor.

ABOUT Dr. WilmerLeon Dr. Leon’s Prescription

Wilmer Leon is the Nationally Broadcast Talk Show Host of “Inside The Issues with Wilmer Leon” Saturday’s from 11:00 am to 2:00pm on Sirius XM (126).

Wilmer_Leon_2011-02-17_18-12-03_web Wilmer J. Leon III, Ph.D. is a Political Scientist whose primary areas of expertise are Black Politics and Public Policy. Wilmer has a BS degree in Political Science from Hampton Institute, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Howard University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Howard University.Dr. Leon is also the host of XM Satellite Radio’s, “Inside The Issues”, a three-hour, call-in, talk radio program airing live nationally on XM Satellite Radio channel 126.”

Dr. Leon was a featured commentator on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight and is also a regular contributor to The Grio.com, The Root.com, TruthOut.org, The Maynard Institute.com and PoliticsInColor.com. He is an OUR COMMON GROUND Voice for more than 5 years.

We will discuss with Dr. Leon about today’s urgent and pressing issues and events before African-Americans.

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OUR COMMON GROUND Kwanzaa 2013 -14

2013-12-31 by OUR COMMON GROUND

KWANZAA

Kwanzaa (kwahn-ZAH) is an annual cultural observance, which is recognized by Black people from December 26 thru January 1, each year:

Kwanzaa is non-political.
Kwanzaa is non-religious.
Kwanzaa is not related to Christmas.*

* Annual Kwanzaa observances begin on December 26th, each year]

This year’s OUR COMMON GROUND KWANZAA message comes from our Brother, Friend and Comrade,OUR COMMON GROUND Voice, Dr. Ron Daniels.

The Nguzo Saba contains the core concepts and values of Kawaida and the foundation for Kwanzaa. In a recent article, First Call for State of the Black World Conference III, I suggested that a spiritual and cultural revival is essential to combat and overcome the devastating State of Emergency afflicting the “dark ghettos” in Black America. As we begin the celebration of Kwanzaa, it might be useful to restate the N’guzo Saba and discuss its relevance to healing our families and communities in a time of crisis. So, I offer these reflections.

Dr. Ron Daniels, Founder and Director, IBW 21

The first Principle in the Nguzo Saba is Umoja/Unity. That Africans in America should be unified or act in concert to confront the State of Emergency should be self evident. However, achieving Black unity can be challenging and illusive. In the name of pursuing the interests of Black people, what we have in the Black community is a myriad of leaders and organizations that all too often compete rather than cooperate with each other. Moreover, various leaders and organizations have different ideologies and strategies for achieving full freedom/liberation. There is also a “class divide” between the more affluent sisters and brothers who have benefited from the “movement” and moved up in the world and the dispossessed left behind in abandoned and devastated “dark ghettos,” the “hood.” Overcoming disunity requires a conscious effort to create “united front” structures which bring people together despite their differences in philosophy and approach. Dr. Karenga has advocated “operational unity” as a concept to enable leaders and organizations with differing philosophies and approaches to work together. Operational unity means focusing on issues and areas where there is agreement among organizations and leaders rather than disagreement. Dr. Karenga calls this “unity without uniformity.” With so many problems/issues affecting the Black community, the goal of operational unity is to have leaders and organizations collaborate/act collectively around specific issues, projects and initiatives they agree on.

Unity in the Black community requires bridging the class divide. Brothers and sisters who have seized on a pathway to the middle and upper class paved by the blood and sacrifice of heroes and sheroes of the Black freedom struggle have an obligation to spiritually and/or physically return to “Tobacco Road,” the urban inner-city neighborhoods of this country, to give back, to reinvest their time, talent and resources to reconstruct/revive the “dark ghettos” from which they escaped.

The second Principle is Kujichagulia/Self-Determination. There has been much talk about a “post-racial society” in the aftermath of the election of Barack Obama as America’s first African American president. And, there have always been some within the race who wanted to escape the “burden” of their Blackness. The State of Emergency in Black America clearly suggests that “race still matters” as a determinant of one’s life chances in this country. Dr. Karenga has said that to chart a course toward full freedom, a theory/ideology of liberation must provide an “identity, purpose and direction.” I believe that if we are to permanently rise above the crises plaguing our families and communities, we must name and claim our identity, proudly embrace ourselves and be resolutely committed to being “of the race and for the race.” As descendants from the African motherland, “we are an African people.” And, part of our mission in life should be to unapologetically work for the advancement of people of African descent in the U.S. and the Pan African world. This does not mean disrespecting, disregarding or disdaining other racial/ethnic groups; it simply means “charity begins at home and spreads abroad,” and “love thy neighbor as thyself.” We cannot, must not abandon the race, especially our sisters and brothers in the “hood,” in an ill conceived effort to become absorbed in a “colorblind” or “post racial society.” We have a right to define who we are and determine our own destiny as people!

The third Principle is Ujima/Collective Work and Responsibility. As noted earlier, the Doctrine of Kawaida as conceived by Dr. Karenga is grounded in the traditional worldview and way of life of African people. As such it emphasizes “we, us and our” in terms of the values that are important to building and sustaining wholesome families and communities. This is diametrically opposed to the “me, myself and I” values of “individualism” and “competition” stressed as central to the “cherished” American/western way of life. The concept of the “collective” is frowned upon in America as “socialist” or communist.” And yet, the idea of extended families working together for a common purpose within communities with a sense of mutual obligation and responsibility is deeply ingrained in African societies – and our own experience as Africans in America, particularly in the South. We certainly will not permit class or status to divide us if we see ourselves as one people committed to promoting the common good of the race. This is a clear example of the need to retain the values/principles of our forebears as opposed to adopting a value orientation which has proven to be destructive to Black families and communities.

The fourth Principle is Ujamaa/Cooperative Economics. This principle is closely linked to Ujima in that it encourages people of African descent to share resources and engage in joint efforts to build and sustain an economic foundation for our families and communities. Cooperatives, credit unions, investment clubs and community development corporations are examples of economic structures based on pooling and sharing resources for the common good. Ujamaa does not preclude for-profit corporations or individual entrepreneurship. But, the value/principle of Ujamaa dictates that entrepreneurs and businesses explore ways of collaborating/cooperating, exchanging ideas and pooling resources where appropriate to enhance the collective economic empowerment of the Black community. This is what Dr. Claud Anderson has promoted through the concept of Powernomics and George Fraser through Power Networking. In the spirit of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, it is imperative that people of African descent persistently work to build an economic infrastructure to undergird our social and political institutions.

The fifth Principle is Nia/Purpose. When we survey the incredible fratricide/carnage occurring in Black communities, largely committed by young Black males, one has the feeling that it may be because many of our young people lack a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives. And, this may be related to a lack of collective purpose in the Black community as a whole. Gone are the days of the civil rights/human rights and Black Power movements when there was a pervasive spirit of purpose in the air. There was a dynamic movement and a feeling that Black people were on the move! In the face of a daunting State of Emergency, we urgently need to restore a sense of purpose in Black America. And, that purpose should be a commitment to reclaim and rebuild our communities, a fervent determination that America’s desolate dark ghettos will become new communities that are bright beacons of hope and possibility. The collective conviction/purpose and the struggle required to rebuild our communities will be contagious; it will capture the hearts and minds of our youth/young people by restoring a sense of mission to their lives as part of a people fighting to liberate themselves from an oppressive value system and society.

The Sixth Principle is Kuumba/Creativity. People of African descent gave the world its first multi-genius in the person of Imhotep, the Egyptian physician, architect and engineer who mastered the science of building in stone that led to the erection of the pyramids as one of the greatest wonders of the world! One might say that creativity is in our DNA. Africans from the Caribbean took old barrels and transformed them into “steel drums” that produce amazing music. Those of us who came up on the “rough side of the mountain” in America (most of us) bear witness to the fact that our mothers and fathers were masters of “making something out of nothing.” They had to in order to survive. Overcoming the State of Emergency to rebuild our families and communities is a formidable undertaking. It will not be easy, but we should act with the absolute confidence that we possess the creativity, the knowledge, skill and will to meet the challenge.

The Seventh and final Principle is Imani/Faith. Given the obstacles our forebears faced, they had to have an abiding faith that survival was possible, that beyond the brutality, hardships, suffering and sacrifice of the moment, “joy would come in the morning,” that someday, a generation that sprang from their loins – sons, daughters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren … would be able to proclaim “free at last.” For millions it was the belief that “we’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.” For others it was a spiritual force deep down inside that could be tapped to carry forth for another day and another day … the faith that a better day was coming for the sons and daughters of Africa in America. In this current crisis, we too must have faith, a belief that enables us to scale heights, not normally possible, because we believe and act on our beliefs. Similar to the Principle of Kuumba/Creativity, we must have faith that there are no odds too great for a people to overcome if we act with Umoja/Unity, Kujichagulia/Self-Determination, Ujima/Collective Work and Responsibility, Ujamaa/Cooperative Economics, Nia/Purpose, Kuumba/Creativity, and Imani/Faith. “Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day!”

– See more at: http://ibw21.org/vantage-point/the-nguzo-saba-and-kwanzaa-in-a-time-of-crisis/#sthash.gap6irva.dpuf

OUR COMMON GROUND “In Conversation with George Curry”

2013-10-25 by OUR COMMON GROUND

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

“Transforming Truth to Power, One Broadcast At a Time”

“In Conversation with George Curry”

October 26, 2013
10 pm ET LIVE and Call -IN

About our Guest George Curry

George E. Curry is the editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service. The former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, Curry also writes a weekly syndicated column for NNPA, a federation of more than 200 African American newspapers.

Curry, who served as editor-in-chief of the NNPA News Service from 2001 until 2007, returned to lead the news service for a second time on April 2, 2012. His work at the NNPA has ranged from being inside the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases to traveling to Doha, Qatar, to report on America’s war with Iraq.
As editor-in-chief of Emerge, Curry led the magazine to win more than 40 national journalism awards. He is most proud of his four-year campaign to win the release of Kemba Smith, a 22-year-old woman who was given a mandatory sentence of 24 1/2 years in prison for her minor role in a drug ring. In May 1996, Emerge published a cover story titled “Kemba’s Nightmare.” President Clinton pardoned Smith in December 2000, marking the end of her nightmare.

Curry is the author of Jake Gaither: America’s Most Famous Black Coach and editor of The Affirmative Action Debate and The Best of Emerge Magazine. He was editor of the National Urban League’s 2006 State of Black America report.

His work in journalism has taken him to Egypt, England, France, Italy, China, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, Cuba, Brazil, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Mexico, Canada, and Austria. In August 2012, he was part of the official US delegation and a presenter at the US-Brazil seminar on educational equity in Brasilia, Brazil.
George Curry is a member of the National Speakers Association and the International Federation for Professional Speakers. His speeches have been televised on C-SPAN and reprinted in Vital Speeches of the Day magazine. In his presentations, he addresses such topics as diversity, current events, education, and the media.

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“Speaking Truth to Power and Ourselves”

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“Witnesses On the Bridge l Florence L. Tate, ” FBI’s Most Wanted Press Secretary” l March 2, 2013

2013-02-24 by OUR COMMON GROUND

MARCH 2, 2013

“Witnesses On the Bridge – Lessons Learned”

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

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OUR COMMON GROUND kicks off “Witnesses On the Bridge – Lessons Learned”

March, 2013 Series

Florence L. Tate, ” FBI’s Most Wanted Press Secretary”

LIVE 10 pm ET

ABOUT Florence Tate
Many would think becoming an octogenarian reserves one the right to rest on her laurels — but Florence L. Tate, 81, says, “There’s still work to be done.”

The former Civil Rights activist, Dayton Daily News reporter, and press secretary for the historic 1984 Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign has lived through seven decades of American epochs – and now she’s writing about her impressive experiences and achievements in a new memoir – tentatively titled, The FBI’s Most Wanted Press Secretary Opens Her Files on Civil Rights, the Black Power Movement, and Black Partisan Politics.

At a time when our country should be experiencing a sense of accomplishment at realizing the fruits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work — evidenced by the election of the first African American President –Tate feels instead that the racial unease and tension revealed by events like the current drama surrounding the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case signify America still has a long way to go in race relations.

“The country has gone backwards from the time of Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech; we have regressed. There’s been an attempt to take things back to the pre-Civil Rights days,” says Tate.

In her memoir, Tate draws upon her extensive experience integrating major companies like Bell Telephone, and Globe Industries, working with seminal civil rights groups including SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and CORE (Congress for Racial Equality).

As the first African American female journalist at the Dayton Daily News, she also covered current events — including the Dayton riots that occurred during the “summer of ‘68” race riots that swept across the country.

The work that brought her into close confidence with key activist figures — such as Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown — also eventually brought Tate, a middle class Dayton housewife and mother of three children, under the surveillance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – evidenced by the giant file she received from the FBI when she petitioned for them decades after her civil rights and Pan Africanist work.

Tate wasn’t all that surprised by her voluminous FBI file. “We suspected we were under surveillance because, for example, we would pick up the phone, to try to use the phone, and there would be a silence there… we didn’t know, but we suspected… We suspected there would be people in the meetings, sometimes people who gave off vibes that they were not there to work with us… they were there to spy on us. And figures like Stokely Carmichael were always being followed by the FBI; they didn’t even try to hide it. They would sit outside in cars – for example, if he were at a meeting at my house, or wherever he was, they would be sitting outside my house. When I got my FBI file, then I knew exactly when they had been watching, spying…or infiltrating.”

Tate’s memoir chronicles her journey — from growing up under segregation in the South from the 30s through the mid-50s — to moving north in the late 50s…to finally become an influential figure in the small but dedicated civil rights movement ground work happening in Mid Western cities like Dayton.

“The civil rights activists were working in parts of the country other than the south – where the ground work was well publicized. Little or no publicity was given to the work being done in Mid Western cities like Dayton, Ohio,” she shares.

Related experiences — as Communications Director of the National Urban Coalition, and National Information Coordinator for ’72 African Liberation Day Coordinating Committee — landed Tate the role of Press Secretary in Marion Barry’s first campaign in his successful bid for Mayor of Washington D.C. in 1978, and Press Secretary during his first two years in office. Later she would repeat that role for Jesse Jackson’s 1984 Presidential campaign — during which time she traveled with him to Damascus, Syria during his historic rescue mission to free downed U.S. Air Force pilotLt. Robert Goodman.

Tate also writes of another major life-defining segment of her journey: her experiences with mental and physical health issues. These include battling breast cancer, suffering a major stroke after the birth of her third child — and the subsequent 50-year-long battle with clinical depression triggered by that stroke.

Tate says she hopes her memoir will encourage young people – and especially young women – to understand and act on their power to impact the world around them. But like a true mother, grandmother – and now, great-grandmother — she admits her main reason for penning her memoir is for her children.

“My children and grandchildren have repeatedly asked me to write my biography — so they will know who I am…so they can

Learn more about Florence. Listen in on March 2, 2013.
The FBI’s Most Wanted Press Secretary

“Restorative Justice, Slavery, and the American Soul” . . . The Question of Reparations” l This Week on Our Common Ground

2013-02-22 by OUR COMMON GROUND

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

“Restorative Justice, Slavery, and the American Soul”
. . . The Question of Reparations”

February 23, 2013 10 pm ET

OUR Guest: Michael BlevinsAuthor, Professor, Change and Justice Leader/Activist

Founding Executive Director, NE Iowa Peace & Justice Center

ABOUT Michael Blevins

Michael Blevins, JD, M.Div, LL.M (Intercultural Human Rights) works from Decorah, IA. He was a defense attorney for ten years in the state of Kansas and is an ordained pastor. He currently is a human rights advocate and activist who teaches Ethics and Philosophy at the college level and was recently the founding Executive Director of the NE Iowa Peace & Justice Center in Decorah, Iowa.

Mike is a Diversified Social Change and Non-Profit Professional with over twenty years experience in law, ministry, classroom teaching, community organizing, non-profit leadership, conflict resolution services, strategic planning, human rights advocacy and non-profit community development–including non-profit leadership, human rights education and advocacy.

He authored “Restorative Justice, Slavery, and the American Soul, A Policy-Oriented Approach to the Question of Reparations”, which was awarded the 2005 Institute of Policy Sciences Best Graduate Student Paper prize; the paper was presented by the author at the Annual Symposium of the Institute of Policy Sciences at Yale University Law School in October, 2005; Published by the Thurgood Marshall Law School Journal (Volume 31, No.2, pp. 253-322, Spring 2006.

Our discussion with Mike with focus on the following topics:

What is Restorative Justice and how might it apply to the evil of White Supremacy
Mass Incarceration and other aspects of the New Jim Crow
The Question of Reparations
Reparations Initiatives including HR 40 (Conyers) and other proposals for approaching reparations

HIS WORK
Blevins, Michael F. (2005). Restorative Justice, Slavery, and the American Soul, A Policy-Oriented Intercultural Human Rights Approach to the Question of Reparations. Thurgood Marshall Law Review. 31:253-322. Summary by Restorative Justice.Org:
“Blevins provides an overview of how past slavery has an effect on present society; reparations have not been paid to the African American community and injustice remains. Reparations, Blevins states, should come in the form of aid, not charity, and that the United States owes reparations to both Africa and African-Americans. The current theories and laws addressing slavery reparations are centered on a litigation approach. This approach is ineffective and inhibits justice from being served. Blevins then discusses the Restorative Justice approach, briefly mentioning the Truth and Reconciliation processes in Africa, the Truth Commission established in Peru, and other Restorative Justice initiatives around the world. The article states that if nothing is done in the United States to address the past and present problems with slavery and racism, these problems will continue. To be successful, the reparations movement must occur within the academic, professional, civic, and religious sectors. Blevins suggests that an African American Redress Commission should be established by the House and Senate. Additionally, a commission would then be established in each district, with the purpose of conducting investigations and research, holding hearings, and holding community forums. The most important aspect of these commissions being the forums because the community would have a chance to be heard and to come up with solutions for the present problem. Each district would then submit a plan to the executive Commission, complete with legislative recommendations, entitled “America’s 21st Century Contract with African Americans.” Blevins ties this whole process to the commencement of slavery in Jamestown Virginia, comes up with an outline of a possible payment plan from the United States government to both African Americans and Africans, and challenges individual States to take action.”OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

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OUR COMMON GROUND Opens 2013 Season with Political-Cultural-Social Commentator Playthell Benjamin

2013-02-01 by OUR COMMON GROUND

OUR COMMON GROUND with Janice Graham

2013 Season Opening

Playthell Benjamin

February 2, 2013 10pm ET

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2013 Season Opening

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GUEST: Playthell Benjamin, Author, Commentator, Scholar and Broadcaster

Commentaries on The Times

“Praising Saints, Celebrating Heroes, Unmasking Charlatans, Defending the Defenseless and Chastising Scoundrel

“He characterized Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West as misdirected and Marvin X of Oakland, a recovering left coast crack head and shameless sophist with an alter-ego bearing the curious name of “Plato Negro;” a pompous wag who confuses mindless mumbo jumbo with profound wisdom, alas I have been dragged back into an ethnic kerfuffle of the sort they love to wallow in but I eschew.” He writes about all the great issues of our time, and he is interested in the whole world. From the issues of SandyHook to Syria, the White House and the UN, there is no argument that Playthell Benjamin is a learned scholar and street smart analyst.”

About Playthell Benjamin

Playthell George Benjamin is the producer of “Commentaries On the Times” which he writes and delivers on WBAI radio in New York City. He is a producer with The Midnight Ravers, a long running show exploring the world of art and politics which has won several radio awards for excellence in programming. He is an award winning journalist who has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in two different categories: Explanatory Journalism, Village Voice 1988, and Distinguished Commentary, New York Daily News 1995. As part of the production team for The Midnight Ravers, Mr. Benjamin won a 2011 award for excellence in radio programming, given for The Curtis Mayfield Special.

In addition to major political current events, he has extensively written about the differences in political approach within the Black community on issues related to the Obama presidency, administration policies and achievement. Playthell has been an OUR COMMON GROUND Voice since the late 1980s and we welcome his voice back to our microphone. Our discussion will focus on issues related to Obama administration achievements, the inter-community discourse on Obama, and class struggle in America. His provocative, well-informed commentary is hard-hitting and sure to invite serious consideration of our positions and direction.

He characterized Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West as misdirected and Marvin X of Oakland, a recovering left coast crack head and shameless sophist with an alter-ego bearing the curious name of “Plato Negro;” a pompous wag who confuses mindless mumbo jumbo with profound wisdom, alas I have been dragged back into an ethnic kerfuffle of the sort they love to wallow in but I eschew.” He writes about all the great issues of our time, and he is interested in the whole world. From the issues of SandyHook to Syria, the White House and the UN, there is no argument that Playthell Benjamin is a learned scholar and street smart analyst.

He writes that he has spent “a half century chronicling the triumphs and studying the problems of the black world. Indeed I was a co-founder of the first free standing, degree granting, Black Studies Department in history – the W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Mass, Amherst. I also spent quite a few years as an activist trying to solve those problems, beginning with the explosion of the black student movement in the south during the spring of 1960. Since then my life story would make a spectacular read even by the standards of a romance novel.”

Playthell has won several prizes ranging from The Unity Award presented by the School of communications at Lincoln University in Missouri for distinguished commentary on race relations; the Griot Prize for excellence in covering a story requiring an exploration of African American history and culture: “Who is Listening to Louis Farrakhan?” It was awarded by the New York chapter of the Association of Black Journalist in December 1989. In 1991 Mr. Benjamin won the NYABJ Magazine Awards for Feature Stories, and in 1996 he won the first Annual Tom Forcade Award “for honesty and accuracy in drug reporting” awarded by High Times magazine for his columns on drug use and abuse in the New York Daily News.
From 1991 – 1996 Playthell was a regular contributor to the Guardian Observer of London, where he wrote on politics, culture and sports. He also wrote for the Sunday Times of London, particularly in the prestigious magazine, The Culture, which addresses cultural matters high and low. In the London Guardian he wrote feature stories ranging from the television coverage of the Los Angeles race riot sparked by the Rodney King incident, to the courtroom genius of the great First Amendment Lawyer Martin Garbus, as well as the O.J. Simpson Trial, The Mike Tyson Rape Case, The Inauguration of Bill Clinton, Concerts at Lincoln Center, and the Sista Souljah vs. Bill Clinton incident. Mr. Clinton’s saxophone playing was also subjected to serious critical evaluation in an essay titled “He may be the Leader of the Western World…But will he ever be President of the Saxophone? For The Sunday Times he wrote about the Youth Jazz festivals convened by the peerless jazz vocalist Betty Carter, Michael Douglass’ movie on the desperation of displaced white workers, Gangsta Rap, Jazz, etc.