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The Aftermath of Violence - Surviving a Gunshot is Less than Half the Battle
For many people whose lives are afflicted by gun violence, the experience is often footnoted in one of two ways: jail or death. However, there is another, often overlooked fate that has claimed thousands over the years: survival.
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Warning: Joining the Military is Hazardous - Know the Truth
Military recruiters tour the country selling a dangerous product with glamorous ads, just like tobacco companies or drug pushers. The ads promise opportunity and adventure -- but don't believe the hype. Know the facts.
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Are You a Hip-Hop Apologist?
Are you a hip-hop apologist? Do you defend hip-hop at all costs, even in the face of messages and imagery that are blatantly racist and demeaning? Do you make excuses for your favorites, even in the face of corporate manipulation of our art and culture? If so, this is for you.
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America's Greatest Hits
Truth often passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second it is violently opposed. Third it is accepted as being self-evident. The truth about America is that its violent history of aggression has adversely affected just about everyone on the planet.
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The Hard Truth about Black on Black Violence - Real Talk
What is it with us? Why do we kill each other at a rate that's disproportionately higher than that of other people? Sure, we've heard the excuses before - that we're prone to crime, violent by nature, and poor and oppressed - but what are the real causes?
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The Manmade Origin of A.I.D.S.
Yes, you read it correctly. AIDS is manmade. Here you will read, explicitly, that the US government funded the creation of the HIV virus with the specific intent to kill large numbers of "undesirables." Yes, there is most definitely a war going on, and it is much scarier than you probably ever imagined.
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The Bullet or the Bullet: Hard Truth About Police Brutality
It seems we are experiencing high-profile murders and beatings of unarmed black men by racist police with alarming frequency. Little seems to ever change, so it's time to ask hard questions. When will it stop? And what does our community do in response?
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Diabetes And Heart Disease: The Silent Killers
Diabetes. Heart disease. They're two of the biggest health hazards in our communities - and you can prevent them. With proper diet and exercise, you can greatly reduce your risk of getting either. Just a few minutes each day can lead to improved health. Life is all about choices - be sure you make the correct ones!
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Prisons And The Rise Of Corporate Slave Labor
Roughly one out of every 100 Americans is currently in prison or jail - the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. With the trend towards private prison facility management and corporate use of prison labor, has America's inmate population been converted into a slave labor force?
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The Cult Of The Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture
By celebrating amateurs over experts and popularity over reliability, is the new web reality delivering us democratization of information or just superficial observations and opinions in place of deep analysis and considered judgment?
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Fake TV News: Widespread And Undisclosed
In what can only be described as lazy and misleading journalism, television newscasts are increasingly airing 3rd-party content without disclosure to viewers, without conducting their own reporting, and without fact checking the claims made for accuracy. Know the signs.
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The Hard Truth About Immigration In America
America cannot have an honest discussion about immigration without revisiting its sordid past. Native Americans must be laughing as the descendants of their oppressors stay in a snit because newcomers arrive without permission.
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The Death Penalty: Racist And Unjust
Most of Western Europe, North and South America and more than 95 nations worldwide have abandoned capital punishment, and its administration in the United States is flawed. It is not applied fairly across racial, social and economic lines, is not a deterrent to homicide, and is far more expensive and inhumane than life in prison without the possibility of parole. Isn't there a better way?
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Occupy Movement Fails To Connect With Blacks
Many African Americans sympathize with the core premise of the Occupy movement - that the American dream is slipping away because of the nation's wealth inequality - but they don't plan to join it. For us, the response to the Occupy movement routinely is, "Where have you been all this time when we've been in crisis? You're hurting now, but we've been hurting. What does this mean for us?"
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Can A 'Black' Name Affect Job Prospects?
Can a black-sounding name hurt your career prospects? A recent study found that people with white-sounding names got 50 percent more callbacks for job interviews than applicants with similar résumés and black names.
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The Hard Truth About Ecstasy
You've heard about it in rap songs and from your friends - and maybe even used it yourself. But as with most things on the street, the end result can often easily become death or prison...and there's no greater buzz-kill than that.
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Critical Thinking: It's Not Just Important, It's Essential
Too often, people are uncritical receivers and accepters of information that, upon closer examination, is not only superficial and inaccurate, but also utterly lacking in common sense. Don't be one of them.
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Celebrating Genocide
It was once earnestly asked by Native Americans, "Why do you take by force what you can have by love?" On Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks. We give thanks for being the invader, the exploiter, the dominator, the greedy, the gluttonous, the colonizer, the thief, indeed the genocidaire. Know the hard truth about Thanksgiving.
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10 Rip-Off Warning Signs
It's not uncommon for people to become susceptible to frauds set up to look like bona fide businesses. Remember that a crucial part of money management is being a savvy consumer and knowing how to safeguard every penny of your hard earned cash before your can save it, spend it, or invest it.
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Preventing Identity Theft
Imagine being turned down for a job, denied a mortgage, or losing out on an education because someone else racked up charges in your name. Each year, millions of people suffer financial hardships because someone has taken their Social Security number, credit card account, medical record or other pertinent information without their permission to commit fraud or other crimes. Not cool. Here's how to protect yourself.
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The Martin Luther King You Don't See On TV
After passage of civil rights acts in 1964 and 1965, King began challenging the nation's fundamental priorities. He maintained that civil rights laws were empty without "human rights" -- including economic rights, and decried the huge income gaps between rich and poor, calling for "radical changes in the structure of our society" to redistribute wealth and power.
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Fast Cash Can Equal Costly Debt
Need money in a hurry? Why not get a payday loan, right? Wrong. These highly advertised, quick and convenient loans can end up being very costly cash indeed, and are another form of predatory lending. Payday lenders charge anywhere from 10 to 20% in interest every two weeks - and fees average roughly 400% annually. Some consumer advocates even call it "legal loan-sharking."
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Ways and Means: Bad Credit Blues?
Many job candidates are surprised to find that companies are requesting permission to check their credit report as part of an employee background check. In fact, in our society, companies are allowed to get the financial 411 on you whether you're applying for credit, insurance or a job, renting an apartment, or buying a home. Don't get caught slippin'.
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Hard Truth: All Diamonds Are Conflict Diamonds
Long revered as rare, benign gems symbolizing the ideals of beauty and everlasting love, diamonds are the desired gift for engagements, anniversaries, and graduations. But the racist history behind them, and the brutality and suffering endured by the people whose land and resources are continually plundered for the benefit of others, is too great to ignore.
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