Superstars and Tennis’ Rising Stars Back Black Lives Matter Movement
America’s superstars aren’t the only athletes condemning the deaths of blacks-while-breathing while in police custody and praising hundreds of thousands of protesters, who’ve spent more [...]
Racism: Problem of the 20th Century Moves On
As I slid my key into the front door of my parents’ Hampton, Va. apartment, I heard screeching car wheels slide to a halt about [...]
Les Payne: Consummate Journalist, Fearless Ally, Unswerving Friend – Part III
Part III While tennis great Arthur Ashe broke racial barriers in South Africa in 1973 by becoming the first black to compete in a pro [...]
Les Payne: Consummate Journalist, Fearless Ally, Unswerving Friend – Part II
Part II Les Payne proved to be a quick study as Newsday’s beat reporter, covering the town of Babylon, N.Y. He also drew high praise [...]
Les Payne: Consummate Journalist, Fearless Ally, Unswerving Friend – Part I
Part I In the summer of 1970, I landed my “dream” job just by being in the right place at the right time, with a [...]
Amid Chaos and Uncertainty Under Trump, America Totters on the Brink
I’m not super-hyped about casting my vote in the 2020 presidential elections. I know I should be; all freedom-loving Americans should be. Many of us, [...]
Hank Aaron stays in the box on issues of race
One of the more memorable moments of my career occurred more than 40 years ago when I, then a Newsday sports writer, interviewed Henry Aaron [...]
Resurrection of the N-word, Part II
For those determined to abolish the word, ‘nigger,’ from the National Football League (NFL) and, indeed, the vocabularies of humankind, consider the satisfaction you’ve brought [...]
Twelve Years A Slave Resurrects the ‘N’ Word
Producer Brad Pitt, director Steve McQueen and the cast of the epic film, Twelve Years a Slave, not only should take a bow for its [...]