OKEECHOBEE, Florida — Aubee Billie couldn’t miss this occasion. Her father was celebrating another birthday, and she needed to be here for it. “Seventy-nine never looked so good,” she told the 125 or so well-wishers who joined her on this warm Saturday. They all knew what Aubee Billie knew, which was her father, Jim Billie, […]
Conservatives have long insisted that less government is better. They often talk about wanting Uncle Sam out of our private lives. They want Americans free to live life on their terms. Unless that American is a woman. Oh yes, conservatives want to control a woman’s womb. They argue that abortion isn’t a freedom; it’s a […]
I wish I didn’t have to pay a high price for living in an all-Black neighborhood. Walk through Glenville, and you will find not a single Starbuck or a Smoothie King. A sit-down restaurant like the Olive Garden or Applebee’s sounds like a winner, right? But not on the East Side of the city. I […]
I spent seven days in Vancouver, B.C., visiting Nick, my best friend. He’s an actor filming a TV series there; he’s also a young man who is less than half my age. But I think Nick nor I doubt the depth of our friendship — one as genuine as a friendship can get. I wish […]
Few things are worse than a white elephant, particularly when the elephant comes with a $6.3 million price on its backside.That is the initial money that went into League Park, a historic ballpark in the heart of a Black neighborhood.League Park spent almost 40 years in decline, and it might have collapsed altogether were it […]
Even amid the historic beauty of Rome, a Black man can run into ugliness. I’ve discovered that fact in international cities other than Rome, because as a Black man who travels, I know, sadly, that racism will follow me wherever I set my luggage down. In the past, I’ve recounted instances of where my Blackness […]
The characters stick in our minds today just as they did in January 1972 when “Sanford and Son” debuted on NBC. The sitcom, modeled on the British series “Steptoe and Son,” demonstrated that an all-Black cast could hold its own in a TV market crowded with comedies. None of the others, however, had a star […]
You get no reprieve from Death, who sneaks into people’s lives when they least expect him. Yet everybody knows Death awaits, and regardless of how fast you run from him, Death will catch you at some point.He caught Sydney Poitier on Friday.Poitier, 94 when he died, was one of the most gifted actors of his […]
October 27 is “National Mentoring Day,” one of those unofficial acknowledgements that fall on the calendar. While the day isn’t like Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving, Mentoring Day is, nonetheless, a significant occasion to reflect on. For who has not had someone play the mentor’s role in their lives? He (or she) might be a teacher, […]
I pay a high price for living in an all-Black neighborhood. Walk through it, and you will find no Starbuck or Jamba Juice. A sit-down restaurant like the Olive Garden sounds like a winner, but not on the East Side of Cleveland.I don’t have to reiterate the challenges of my getting high-speed internet or of […]