As you're making your schedule and checking the presents off your list this year, I hope you'll take time to give your children a most important gift -- the gift of giving.
Depression doesn't give a f**k what you look like or how intelligent or creative you are. Or even if you're a young athletic black man, poised and well-spoken.
Both South Africa and the U.S. must honor the stories of apartheid and slavery told by their people. By acknowledging the wrong and committing to make it right, we help ensure that no race can ever again succeed in elevating itself at the expense of others.
When neighbors plant food together, or find jobs improving buildings on their own block -- when they create reliable, safe infrastructure and common green space -- they increase their odds of surviving all kinds of hardships, from storms, to divisive politics, to economic recession.
If America is the land of opportunity, then people -- all people -- must be given a second chance to pursue their dreams after they have served their sentence.
When the top 2 percent were enjoying tax breaks and stockpiling prosperity, there was no sharing. Now they have the audacity to ask seniors, minorities, folks whose children fought in our wars, the disenfranchised and the most vulnerable among us to sacrifice some more. Does that seem fair?
Dunn claims he acted in self-defense, and that he felt "threatened" before opening fire on the vehicle. His attorney argues that Dunn "acted responsibly." He is now calling on a legal hook for his view that his actions were warranted: Florida's deeply misguided "stand your ground" law.
Over the past two years we have witnessed the creation of some local and regional for-profit technology accelerators dedicated to supporting minority tech entrepreneurs. However, there are still no predominant official or unofficial regional or national groups comprised of minority angel investors.
It is a simple human truth that seeing a successful person who looks like you can provide even more powerful inspiration. Two young men reminded me of this lesson after The Huffington Post published its list of influential LGBT Asians. Visibility of LGBT racial minorities matters.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater hosts gorgeous and energetic galas at New York City Center every year.
Can I pay the rent or mortgage this month? Can Mom or Dad sign the kids up for that after-school program or buy that extra notebook for math class? Can the college graduate afford the studio apartment or have to live at home in the basement?
Earl Fowlkes serves as president and CEO of the Center for Black Equity, which he founded as a coalition of black Pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT Pride and community-based organizations.
Investing in a strong personal economy ultimately requires a holistic, integrated view of your professional and personal life choices. The returns you'll earn from these long-term investments are assets that will continue to serve you no matter what the future has in store for the national economy.
The Pipeline to Prison is a national crisis that deserves the attention of advocates, lawmakers and the media. It will be up to us to pressure policymakers to address this pipeline with the same urgency demonstrated during the debate over Keystone XL.
Pushing for access to a quality education is the next step up that our kids need and are entitled to. As mothers, fathers, and caregivers, it's also your obligation.
Susan Rice will continue to be a handy and cynical whipping person for the GOP to hector Obama. But the political reality is that the legislative business that Congress and the White House must do never has been shut down by any political squabble over a presidential appointee.
As a black man, one of the last places I thought I'd find some roots was in Puerto Rico. But I did.
A combination of swift tax hikes on lower- and middle-income earners and drastic cuts in social services would not only stunt economic growth, it would place an immediate burden on the most vulnerable. And unfortunately, a disproportionate number of the most vulnerable are African American.
The Walking Dead isn't the first show to have problematic black characters, but the light of disappointment shines so brightly here because I love the show so much. It hurts. It hurts like having a child who is a math whiz, but smokes crack sometimes.