Free Republic

The U.S. Army is coming under fire for changes to its appearance and grooming standards, which some say discriminates against black women who wear their hair natural...Within and outside of the Army, women of color have been calling the guidelines racially biased. A White House petition has amassed more than 3,000 signatures to date requesting that the Army reconsider...Unauthorized hairstyles now include twists, dreadlocks, Afros and braids that are more than a quarter-inch thick – styles commonly worn by many African-American women...Army veteran "Tonya" [name has been changed to protect identity], who has dreadlocks...

Abortions outnumber live births among African American women living in New York City, according to a new health report. Newly released Department of Health and Mental Hygiene figures show black women had 31,328 'crude induced terminations' in 2012, compared with 24,758 'live births'. The terminations comprised more than 42 percent of the Big Apple's total number. The second highest number of abortions were for Hispanic at 22,917, with this group's live births reaching 36,642. Both groups outnumbered abortions for whites and Asian and Pacific Islanders, which had 9,704 and 4,493 terminations respectively. Women aged 20-29 had the most abortions among...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- With lots of room for growth, the Jefferson County Republican Party is aiming to widen its appeal to people of different ethnic and economic backgrounds. The GOP's "Party for the Party" event on Friday, Feb. 21, not only brings together five-term incumbent Mitch McConnell with Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, but as WHAS11’s Political Editor Joe Arnold reports highlights Paul's outreach to black voters.

Barbie gets a lot of heat nowadays. People shout at her for her figure. They complain about her plastic perfectness and general lack of realism. But they forget just how pivotal Barbie has been in helping challenge barriers in society. For example, the first African American President Barbie was released in 1992 - 16 years before Barack Obama took office. In 1992 Barbie released the Barbie for President African American doll. It took the United States another 16 years to elect one... a male one. Yay, Barbie, setting out good messages everywhere! In 1988 Dr. Mae Jemison completed astronaut training,...

Frederick Douglas, a former slave, made an interesting but accurate statement in 1861, saying: “It is now pretty well established, that there are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down loyal troops, and do all that soldiers may to destroy the Federal Government and build up that of the traitors and rebels. There were such soldiers at Manassas, and they are probably there still.”

The biggest impediment to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, dream of a society in which color is not considered important is the continued used of the extremely racist term "African-American". The term implies the descendants of slaves are a separate race whose members belong in Africa rather than the United States even though many have ancestors who were living in North America long before the American Revolution. The term "African American" arbitrarily segregates people by skin color. The term treats people with dark complexions as if they only had African ancestors even if more of their ancestors came from somewhere...

Part of the Genius of the African American Spirituals is their ability to treat of serious themes, such as the final judgment, in a creatively compelling manner that steered a middle course between unproductive fear and prideful presumption.

The United States named a new Full Admiral in Washington, D.C. Friday--and it's an African American woman. She's will be the first ever female in Naval history to win a fourth star assuming the Senate approves President Obama's nomination. The Navy announced her nomination in an official release. Vice admiral Michelle Howard,53, is currently the deputy chief of naval operations, plans, and strategy.She will serve as the Navy's second ranking officer, vice chief of naval operations, just a single step below the Navy's top officer, the chief of naval operations.

In a March 2008 column, I criticized pundits' concerns about whether America was ready for Barack Obama, suggesting that the more important issue was whether black people could afford Obama. I proposed that we look at it in the context of a historical tidbit. In 1947, Jackie Robinson, after signing a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He encountered open racist taunts and slurs from fans, opposing team players and even some members of his own team. Despite that, his batting average was nearly .300 in his first year. He led the...

I’m more than willing to give credit to leftists who come up with clever political satire. This cartoon about Fox News, for instance, is rather amusing, and this imagery about the greed of the developed world is effective even though it’s misguided. I’ve even shared funny videos, cartoons, and images that mock libertarians. So when Sarah Silverman put together a pro-gun control video mocking the idea of a “black NRA,” I was prepared to laugh. Having watched it, you can put me in the underwhelmed category. My computer skills are deficient and I only know how to embed YouTube videos,...

One potential benefit that can come from last week’s March on Washington 2013, which commemorated the 1963 civil rights event, is the various data publicized about the current state of affairs of black America vis a vis the rest of the country. In particular, it has been an eye opener for many to see how little progress has been made over the last 50 years in closing the economic gap, on average, between blacks and whites. I call shining light on the data a “potential” benefit because there is no benefit if real remedial action is not taken to improve...

Looking over the program for the coming festivities in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march on Washington, and Dr. King’s famous August 28, 1963 “I have a dream” speech, it’s hard to not feel sober about the whole thing. I say sober because there is good news and bad news. What’s the good news? There has been monumental progress in the quality of life, on average, that black Americans lead today compared to 1963. The bad news? Fifty years is a long time, and the progress that has been achieved is not nearly what it...

The purging of Grammy Award winner Donnie McClurkin from performing at a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech should serve as yet another wakeup call to Christian black Americans. McClurkin, a black pastor and gospel music superstar, was asked to step down from his featured performance by Washington Mayor Vincent Gray as result of pressure from homosexual activists. McClurkin preaches against the homosexual lifestyle from his pulpit and says he himself departed and was saved from this lifestyle through God's mercy. Political...

Do you know what political party... Was initially created as anti-slavery leaders broke away to establish a new political group to abolish slavery? Allowed black Americans to participate in the political process subsequent to slavery; resulting in hundreds of black men who were former slaves, becoming congressmen and prominent political leaders? Spearheaded the Dred Scott decision of 1857, delivered by a party-specific Supreme Court declaring blacks were not persons or citizens, but instead property with no rights? Repealed all civil rights laws in 1876 and instituted "Jim Crow" laws to deprive blacks of their voting and civil rights? Did not...

Hip-Hop artist Akon posted this message to the black community: “Every African American in the United States need to move their money, family, knowledge back to Africa were u will be treated like the royalty you are. You don’t deserve this treatment. This is not your country!!” Really Akon? So where is Akon suggesting the blacks move to? Nigeria? Zimbabwe? Egypt?

Amid the dense fog and hot air blowing around the Republican Party, a new voice of clarity has emerged. It’s the voice of Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory, who announced several weeks ago his departure from the Democratic Party, which he calls “the party of disappointment,” to become a Republican. I wrote about Guillory a few weeks ago after I met him at the @Large conference in Baton Rouge, where he announced his change of party. Subsequently, Guillory explained why he, a black Democrat, would become a Republican in a video that went viral, and he continues to deliver his...

Lord, deliver us from evil. I was appalled hearing black University of Pennsylvania Professor Salamishah Tillet say during a panel discussion on MSNBC that pro-lifers' opposition to late-term abortion is really about white-power racism. Minority birth rates are up. Nutty professor Tillet believes those who oppose white women killing their babies are fearful of a decline of "whiteness, white supremacy, white privilege." It takes a pretty sick mind to find racism in desiring that women not kill their babies. By the way, Americans aborts 4,000 babies a day, of which a disproportionately high number are black. Planned Parenthood was founded...

Original title: 'As an African-American you have to work twice as hard': Obama tells Morehouse graduates he has a 'special obligation' to help less-fortunate black people ----------------------------------- President Barack Obama told graduates from the traditionally African-American Morehouse College yesterday that 'as a black man' he feels a 'special obligation' to help those less fortunate them him. In a personal commencement address to the college in Atlanta, Georgia, the president spoke about racism and how, given different opportunities, he could have ended up in prison or unemployed. President Obama also told graduates of the college, where Dr Martin Luther King Jr...

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2013 --/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Wednesday morning, April 24 at 9am, the African American Leadership Council will host a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to oppose the Senate Gang of Eight's 844-page plus, immigration bill. During the conference, the Council will call on the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), to protect black labor by opposing amnesty and halting efforts to double legal immigration levels, as required under the bill. Many black leaders have recognized the harm caused by large increases in immigration as the Senate bill entails. As the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights...

As recently as 1956, nearly 39 percent of blacks voted Republican in that year's presidential election. After the Civil War, Abe Lincoln's Republican Party easily carried the black vote -- where blacks were allowed to vote. Unwelcome in the Democratic Party, most blacks voted Republican and continued to do so through the early part of the 20th century. It wasn't until 1948, when 77 percent of the black vote went to Harry Truman, who had desegregated the military, that a majority of blacks identified themselves as Democrats. Yet, as a percentage of the party, more Republicans voted for the passage...