“There is no American History without Black American History.” Lonnie Bunch, Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)
If it is true that there can be no American history without Black American history, then it is also true that there can be no history of science in America without recognition of the contributions that Africans, African Americans and Hispanics have made to the development of science, technology, engineering and math. Yet these c...

Continue reading ...

Two score and ten years ago, a prophet named Dr. Martin Luther King stood before thousands of people—poor people, rich people, Black people, White people, people of different cultures,  gay people, straight people, but mostly hopeful people—He stood before all of them at the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capital. This prophet, this “drum major for peace,” this “drum major for justice”, this “drum major for righteousness” as he sometimes referred to himself.
 He presented A...
Continue reading ...

Dr. Irma McClaurin by fellmanstudio.com    Dr. Kesho Scott (Grinnell College) by De Dudley
 
The recent racist incident at Washburn High School of Minneapolis, in which a black doll was hung (lynched), is disturbing. We are living in the 21st century. And yet, not too long ago in 2003 Duluth, MN built a memorial to commemorate the unlawful and unjustified lynching of three young Black men in 1920. Despite this example of racial reconciliation, in 2008 an effigy of Presidential candidate Barrack...
Continue reading ...

Pictured: Malik of African & Caribbean Culture Centre, McClaurin, Centre visitor
 Sweet Dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world and the seven seas.
Everybody's lookin' for somethin'.
Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams are Made of This

People often ask me why I travel. And it's only after I return home that I can truthfully answer that question. Perhaps, like the Eurythmics' lyrics suggest, I am looking for something. And that is true, then what?

Travel, for me, is an adventure. It...

Continue reading ...

 
Science permeates our lives.  Yet for most of us, it is still something “out there.”  The opening of a new 80,000 square feet addition to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh changes the game and takes museums and science to a new level.  It is the size of the Science Museum of Minnesota’s entire exhibition space (70,000 sf) and temporary exhibition space (10,000 sf) combined.  This newly opened Nature Resource Center (NRC) situates Raleigh, a bio-tech and te...
Continue reading ...

For the last few months, we have been inundated by scandals at universities that range
from allegations of child abuse and molestation to deadly hazing rituals.  In each case,
the president of the institution has come under tremendous criticism and fire for failing
to act, even when it’s not clear that they were aware of the incidents.  In two instances,
the president has been terminated (Penn State) or asked to resign or “step aside” (FAMU).
And while it is true that the buck litera...
Continue reading ...

Drs. Marilyn Thomas-Houston, Irma McClaurin, Sybil Rosado, Faye V. Harrison

The recent 96th Annual Meeting of ASALH (the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) held October 6-10, 2011 in Richmond, VA provided a rich opportunity to reflect on the status and history of Black people in America, and in the world.  It also spoke to my idea of “legacymaking”—something in which I have a strong interest, as its ongoing presence reflects the vision and intellectual...
Continue reading ...

Shaw University introduces Irma McClaurin as the new president.

She will be the first female president at the historically black college in Raleigh.

Before accepting the position at Shaw, McClaurin was associate vice president for system academic administration at the University of Minnesota, and executive director of the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center in Minneapolis.

McClaurin was introduced during a grand ceremony on Shaw's campus that included singers, dancers and even a ...

Continue reading ...

Suicides, divorce, anxiety attacks, depression, and displacement of children from homes and schools are not what we associate with the mortgage foreclosure crisis. But we should.  Instead of following the money, we should pay attention to the human side of the crisis.  

In this third year of the mortgage tsunami, while we debate about who profited and which federal agencies should have better monitoring, we ignore how people now choose between buying medicine for chronic illnesses and ...
Continue reading ...