The neighborhood where I grew up in Boston and where I was born and raised, was plagued with violence. I witnessed my first homicide when I was five years old and, on my way, to tee ball practice. In the absence of my father, my mother, a nurse who came to the United States legally…
There’s a growing trend in America catching the attention of astute political observers and candidates alike: Hispanic voters are leaving the Democratic Party in droves. It’s a voting bloc many Democrats have relied on to win elections, so why is this change happening? There are no doubt many reasons, but it’s clear that education is…
Is it somehow possible Randi Weingarten – or, far more likely, whoever has the unenviable task of cleaning up the carnage left in her wake – has finally realized less than a week before the 2022 midterm election just how toxic she’s become? Less than a year ago Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers’ bumptious,…
It’s an open secret within Asian American communities that our children have been disadvantaged when they apply for elite colleges because of their race. Parents have swapped too many anecdotes of Asian kids with perfect SAT scores and impressive extracurricular activities who were rejected by top colleges such as Harvard. But for a long time,…
Friends of mine are planning to take their children to Honolulu. They’ll visit the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, the commemorative site of the attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Since I’ve interviewed veterans and written about World War II, they asked me what they might teach their kids about the difficult topic of war. These are the…
With the midterm elections just days away, voters are preparing to choose who will control Congress, as well as state and local offices across the country. Read below the closing arguments from candidates running for Senate, Congress, governor and mayor. Katie Hobbs, gubernatorial candidate in Arizona (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) Katie Hobbs, candidate for…
When people ask me how confident I am that Republicans are going to win this November, I tell them I’m very confident. In fact, I’m certain of it. Some may say that’s too ambitious or too aggressive, but I’m an optimist, and I’ve spent countless hours over the last two years talking to voters and…
Chicago was an amazing, exciting city when my family relocated to the area in the mid-1980’s. “Da Bears” were Super Bowl champions, the Bulls had drafted a player out of North Carolina named Michael Jordan, who showed some real promise, the economy was relatively strong, and Ferris Bueller showed the nation how much fun could…
A century ago, my grandparents boarded an ocean liner in eastern Europe. They took only what they could carry with them, and left behind everything they had known. I can only wonder what they thought as they took one last look at the only place they called home. There was no telling what they would…
As the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, I’ve always believed my service doesn’t stop at the church’s doors. I am not a senator who used to be a pastor – I’m a pastor that serves in the U.S. Senate. And I bring that lens of returning to my congregation each week and spending time…