Henry Matthews unfolds a crumpled dollar bill, counts coins in his sweat-soaked palms -- 5 . . . 10 . . . 15 -- then rummages through his pockets for more as the J bus squeals to a halt.
READ FULL ARTICLEisabled student Oliver Lauredo is waiting to go back to school while his parents fight officials over his education plan.
READ FULL ARTICLEWhen Kweisi Mfume took the helm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.) in 1996, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization was in crisis. Mired in debt and stung by a sex scandal involving ousted executive director Benjamin Chavis, the group needed a leader who could restore its credibility.
READ FULL ARTICLEDr. Noel Ignatiev, a historian and professor at Massachusetts College of Art, has been called one of the 10 most dangerous minds in America--all because of his theories on race. Ignatiev's book, "How the Irish Became White," is a staple in most "white studies" classes, a relatively new course of studies that explores race and privilege in America. The co-publisher of the academic journal Race Traitor, Ignatiev spoke with NEWSWEEK's Peter Bailey:
READ FULL ARTICLECorpses have their own body language. Jean Vernet II's memories of Haiti under the dictatorial rule of Jean (Papa Doc) Duvalier are written in the patois of the murdered, and even today, decades later, the images of twisted limbs and fallen forms haunt him - and remind him of what can happen when ordinary people have no voice.
READ FULL ARTICLEDance-hall reggae may be one of the hottest things thrumming in the U.S. club scene, but the genre's current headline act Beenie Man is also taking heat from gay activists for his violently homophobic lyrics. His song Damn includes the lyrics, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." And the activism seems to be working. A campaign called Stop Murder Music, launched by London-based OutRage, forced MTV to cancel an Aug. 28 performance in Miami by the Grammy Award--winning reggae artist. With the help of OutRage, activists in New York City are protesting performances by Beenie Man and three other artists scheduled for Sept. 3. In all, 30 Beenie Man and other reggae artists' shows in the U.S. and Europe have been canceled. "We're talking about someone who is saying you should burn gay people alive," says OutRage president Peter Tatchell.
READ FULL ARTICLE"I grew up a around a lot of guns and drugs and I got caught up, but I gotta change this mess around", said Elvis, the Hialeah native. "I'm tired of being in a cage".
READ FULL ARTICLElma Knight kept the needle fixed on 55 mph, her white clogs steady on the gas pedal as she thought about the often breakneck pace of healthcare for the poor.
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