Free Republic

Bill Cosby broke his silence Friday, albeit briefly, to lecture the media on remaining “neutral” and to say that his wife is standing by him. Reached at his Massachusetts home, the star declined to address the rape and sex abuse allegations from an ever-growing list of women that now includes supermodel Beverly Johnson. Instead, Cosby, 77, said that the African-American media — for which this reporter often writes — should be impartial. “Let me say this. I only expect the black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism and when you do that you have to go in...

High-ranking House Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to prop up minority-owned broadcasters suffering from a lack of capital and lost advertising revenue amid the economic slump. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is leading an effort to convince Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to take “decisive action” by extending credit to this sector of the broadcasting industry. Clyburn and other senior members, including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), argue that minority-owned broadcasters are sound businesses, but that the recession could undermine the government’s efforts to diversify the airwaves....

Senator Barack Obama tries to be all things to all people with his vague language of change and hope. But sometimes he makes the mistake of promising something, only to see it turn out to be an inconvenience when it comes time to actually perform.  Obama dazzled the crowd at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last August with a stirring speech followed by a question and answer session. The video of the event has been posted online and you can view it here.  Highlighted at the NABJ website post about the event is his call for the black...

Well, here it is the second Black History Month, and I'll bet you haven't heard one thing about George S. Schuyler (1895-1977). What's that, you say, there's only ONE Black History Month? Where have you been?Nowadays, New Year's Day signals the beginning of Black History Month I (or is it Martin Luther King Month?), and last summer in New York, for several weeks, some Harlem institutions held celebrations that certainly made it sound like we were in BHM. About 12 years ago, pc director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) said that every month should be Black History Month, and...

It was “a modern day lynching.” “He was unarmed.” “Skipper was just a good old, fat jolly fella. He wasn't violent.” “18 black men murdered …” “The police must be arrested.” The above statements from civilians, race organizations, and journalists alike, have resounded across the country, since the November 30 death of Nathaniel Jones in the “Queen City.” Once the junction of the best of Southern, Middle Western, and Northern culture, Cincinnati has in recent years been best known for its black supremacist subculture. Jones, a 5’6,” 41-year-old black man described as weighing 350-400 pounds, was high on the...

A Different Drummer [November, 2002] In an increasingly multicultural, urban environment, it becomes more and more difficult to achieve justice, as racial and ethnic activist groups seek not only to impede the prosecution of the apparently guilty, but to undo successful prosecutions, after the fact. The most striking example of this development, is the attempt underway to undo the convictions of five of the attackers in what came to be known as the Central Park Jogger Case. And so, five cold-blooded thugs: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Kharey Wise, Yusuf Salaam and Raymond Santana, have now been nominated for urban sainthood....