-Defensive Tackle Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati) aka “The Godfather”: Movie and book fans will instantly understand the nickname of Cincinnati’s former defensive lineman. The famous book and movie “The Godfather” featured the Corleone family with a strong background for various moves and large-scale decisions. Corleone was the most important part of Cincinnati’s defense in recent seasons mirroring the importance of the Corleone family in “The Godfather”.

-Kicker Kansei Matsuzawa (Hawai?i) aka “The Tokyo Toe”: One of the most unique stories and coolest nicknames, “The Tokyo Toe”, in the 2026 NFL Draft belongs to a kicker, Kansei Matsuzawa. He self-trained himself into becoming a junior college kicker using mostly YouTube videos after being completely foreign to the game of American football after leaving his native Japan to come to the U.S. He eventually transferred to the University of Hawai?i and became the team’s starting kicker and now has a chance of playing in the NFL.

-Defensive Tackle Domonique Orange (Iowa State) aka “Big Citrus”: Defensive lineman who clog up the run are valuable and Domonique Orange has the ability to do that. His nickname is self-explanatory when you see him and his last name. The origin of his nickname is not completely known but Orange’s nutritionist deserves some credit of bringing the nickname to the attention of the large defensive lineman himself. It’s hard not to smile when you realize that Domonique Orange already has one of the best nicknames in sports.

-Offensive Tackle Kadyn Proctor (Alabama) aka “Krispy”: Football fields are full of large men battling against each other for hours but few are ever as enormous as former Alabama star Kadyn Proctor. The 6’7, 359-pound offensive lineman gained the nickname “Krispy” due to his enjoyment of Krispy Kreme donuts. Don’t let his massive frame fool you into thinking he isn’t athletic as Alabama added a couple plays in its offensive playbook called the “Krispy package” for giving Proctor a couple of chances carrying the ball. When a man that size is carrying the football, he will definitely “Kreme” opposing tacklers!

-Wide Receiver Elijah Sarratt (Indiana) aka “Waffle House”: While Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza received a ton of attention during Indiana football’s history making season in 2025, his star wide receiver Elijah Sarratt had Mendoza beat when it comes to nicknames. Sarratt’s “Waffle House” nickname is a great one for any receiver because he describes him being open 24/7, like the famous breakfast restaurant.

Staff Writer; Mark Hines

Financial indicators also demonstrate a significant level of activity. The monthly trading volume exceeds 5 billion US dollars, indicating high liquidity and strong demand for the offered instruments. Clients have access to more than 2,000 trading instruments, including currency pairs, stocks, indices, and commodities. Such a wide selection enables the creation of diversified investment strategies and adaptation to various market conditions.

SMH Markets’ technological infrastructure is focused on speed and stability. The average order execution time is about 0.01 seconds, which is a critically important parameter for active traders, especially when operating in volatile markets. The platform’s uptime reaches 99.9%, minimizing risks associated with technical failures and system downtime. Customer support operates 24/7, ensuring prompt resolution of issues regardless of the user’s time zone.

The presence of more than 15 industry awards complements the overall picture, reflecting recognition from the professional community. Such achievements typically take into account a combination of factors, including service quality, technological solutions, and trading conditions. For potential clients, this serves as an additional reference point when choosing a broker.

Special attention should be given to the set of reasons why traders choose SMH Markets as a partner. First and foremost is the security of trading operations. The company uses banking-level protection standards, reducing the likelihood of unauthorized access to client funds and data. In the digital economy, this aspect becomes a key factor of trust.

Recognition in the form of industry awards strengthens the company’s positioning as a reliable and competitive broker. Awards act as indicators of quality and stability, especially for new users evaluating the company’s reputation before starting cooperation.

Round-the-clock support is another important advantage. A multilingual service format allows effective interaction with clients from different regions, providing prompt assistance with both technical and trading-related issues. This is particularly relevant in a market that operates almost continuously.

Advanced trading tools and analytical capabilities form the basis for a professional approach to trading. The availability of modern indicators and analytical tools enables users to more accurately assess market trends and make informed decisions. This makes the platform attractive to both beginners and experienced traders.

The SMH Markets security system includes multiple layers of protection. One of the key elements is the segregation of client funds, where they are held in separate accounts and are not used in the company’s operational activities. This reduces financial risks and provides additional protection for investments.

SSL encryption technology is used to secure all transactions and data transfers. The use of banking-grade encryption standards minimizes the risk of data interception and ensures the confidentiality of operations. In addition, client data is stored in secure data centers, guaranteeing its safety and resilience against external threats.

Transparency remains an important element of SMH Markets’ operating model. The company declares openness in all aspects of its activities, including trading conditions, fees, and order processing. This approach contributes to building long-term relationships with clients and reduces uncertainty when operating in financial markets.

Taken together, these indicators and characteristics form a comprehensive view of SMH Markets as a broker focused on scale, technological advancement, and a high level of service.

Staff Writer; George Jackson

But it’s the other malady that in Elkins case also deserves a hard look. That’s the mental health crisis in America. Reports are that Elkins sought help. He spent ten days at a Veterans Affairs hospital for psychiatric evaluation. However, he was discharged. And this is where the horror for him and millions of Americans begins.

There are tens of millions of Americans that fall into the serious mental health challenge category. The numbers tell the tale of the magnitude of the mental health crisis in America. A 2024 poll by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that nearly sixty million Americans reported a mental health affliction. That was one in five adult Americans.

However, that tells only a small part of the tragedy. Blacks, Native Americans, and LGBTQ persons suffered vastly disproportionate incidents of mental illness. Overall, one in five Black adults, and Native Americans reported one or more mental illness disorders in 2024. They ranged from chronic depression to Reiner’s reported affliction– schizophrenia.

That’s one part of the sordid story of the mental health peril. The other is who receives treatment and who has access to treatment. That inevitably points the finger at racial bias in relation to cost and accessibility. A Department of Health and Human Services survey in 2024 found that only one in three Blacks and Hispanics received treatment. Similar treatment disparities were found for Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Meanwhile, nearly one out of two whites received treatment.

The multiple reasons for the wide gap in treatment have been oft cited. One is the absence of access to treatment centers in minority and lower income neighborhoods. Poverty, lack of health insurance, underinsurance, or part of the economic barrier to treatment for many.

Another is the prevalent stigma of seeking treatment for a mental health issue. For many this is still viewed as a sign of weakness or personal failure. Thankfully, that fear and notion is breaking down as the crisis within minorities communities deepens. Elkins again is an example. At least he had enough presence of mind to seek help.

Still, a 2023 Rand Corporation study found a widespread pattern of deliberate closing of the mental health treatment center door to aid even when Blacks and Hispanics seek help. The impediments included shorter hours, lack of available services, untrained staff, little time, or effort spent on outreach programs and information on services, and lack of Spanish speaking aid workers.

A major university research study in 2000 on the impact of racial bias on mental health diagnosis and treatment, Racism and Mental Health: the African American Experience, noted, “The stigma of racial inferiority may also adversely affect the treatment of black patients in the mental health system. Black clinicians have long argued that popular misconceptions, inaccuracies, and stereotypes of the psychology of African Americans could lead to the misdiagnosis of Black patients.”

The study went further and observed that African Americans are more likely to be misdiagnosed. It specifically cited schizophrenia. Blacks were more likely to be diagnosed with the malady of paranoid schizophrenia. And at the same underdiagnosed with other affective disorders. The researchers chalked this up to “conscious or unconscious acceptance of negative stereotypes of Blacks.” The inaccurate diagnosis clinicians seemingly routinely made over time of many Blacks with a mental health affliction had grave consequences in terms of tailoring the correct and most effective treatment to the patient.

The KFF Policy Research Foundation further underscored the crisis in mental health treatment disparities in a comprehensive report in 2024 Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health Care: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination and Health. It checked off the number of areas where the mental health care system failed Blacks, and people of color and the poor.

That includes the absence of treatment facilities in lower income, underserved neighborhoods, the types of treatment and care offered in the paltry number of centers in these neighborhoods. In almost every instance, the report noted widespread differences in how whites reported the level of and accessibility to the treatment they received versus the dismal to non-existent treatment Blacks received.

Whether Elkins would and definitely should have gotten prolonged treatment would have saved the lives of eight babies, we’ll never know. What we do know though is that Elkins is a monster, and a callous system did its part to help create that monster.

Written By Earl Ofari Hutchinson

One can find more info about Mr. Hutchinson over at the following site; TheHutchinson Report.

Also feel free to connect with him through twitter; http://twitter.com/earlhutchins

He is also an associate editor of New America Media. His forthcoming book is From King to Obama: Witness to a Turbulent History (Middle Passage Press).

The latest employment report shows the economy adding 178,000 jobs in March, with unemployment holding at about 4.3 percent. Economists look at those numbers and pronounce the labor market strong. But statistics do not pay rent or buy groceries. Economists love numbers. Workers live with consequences. Talk to workers and you hear something different: a growing sense that the rules of work are changing, and not necessarily for the better.  And the surface numbers don’t tell the whole story.  With several measures of labor underutilization, the unemployment rate looks more like 8 percent, and as high as 13 percent for African Americans.

For decades Americans believed that education, hard work, and loyalty to an employer would lead to stability. A job was supposed to provide more than wages. It was supposed to offer a path—a way to build a life, raise a family, and eventually retire with dignity.

That bargain is quietly disappearing.

Many of the fastest-growing occupations in the American economy are in what economists politely call the care sector: home health aides, childcare workers, nursing assistants, and elder care providers. These workers do the labor that allows the rest of the economy to function. They care for children, support people with disabilities, and help aging Americans live with dignity.

Yet the economy rewards that labor with wages that barely sustain the people doing it. The median pay for home health and personal care aides is about $16 an hour, roughly $32,000 a year for full-time work. Try paying rent, transportation, and groceries on that in most American cities. An economy that pays caregivers poverty wages is telling you exactly what it values.

More than four million Americans now work in these jobs, making caregiving one of the largest occupations in the country. Demand will only grow as the population ages. Within the next decade, Americans over the age of 65 will outnumber children for the first time in our history.

That demographic reality reveals something uncomfortable about the American economy. The work that sustains human life—caring for children, tending to the sick, supporting the elderly—is treated as low-value labor. Meanwhile, sectors far removed from those everyday needs capture extraordinary wealth.

At the same time, the middle-class professional job that once symbolized stability is showing signs of fragility. Workers in media, technology, universities, and nonprofits increasingly face layoffs with little warning. Contract work replaces permanent employment. People who once relied on one job now patch together two or three to stay afloat. Roughly five percent of American workers now hold multiple jobs, often because one paycheck no longer stretches far enough.

Artificial intelligence may accelerate these trends, but technology alone is not the story. The deeper issue is how our economy values work. In the emerging labor market, the jobs that generate the greatest social value often generate the least financial reward.

Black women understand this reality better than most. For generations they have participated in the labor force at high rates, sustaining families and communities while navigating an economy that rarely rewarded their labor with equal pay or equal opportunity. What many Americans are discovering today about instability and undervalued labor is something Black women have been managing for decades.

The future of work is not being shaped by technology alone. It is being shaped by power.

So when we talk about the future of work, we should be clear about what is really at stake. The question is not whether machines will replace humans. The question is whether work in America will continue to drift toward instability while the most essential labor remains the least rewarded.

The future of work is already here. And unless we rethink what work should provide—stability, dignity, and the ability to build a life—we may discover that the economy we are building works very well for profits, but not nearly as well for the people whose labor sustains it.

Written by Julianne Malveaux

Official website; https://www.juliannemalveaux.com

The left-wing media treats liberal Democrat candidates different from how it treats conservative Republican candidates, but the media are not the problem if one’s candidacy starts to resonate. The heat comes from the same-party campaign rivals.

When I decided to run for governor of California, I sought the advice of several experienced strategists, politicians, pundits and some professors. They all said the same thing, only worded differently: “Is there anything in your background that would be a problem?”

These questions, they advised, include but are not limited to: Skeletons in your closet? What about your friends, associates and family members? Taxes? Sexual harassment or misconduct or assaults? Any present or past behavior that could be deemed scandalous? Dating history, marriage or divorce? Outstanding warrants? Traffic tickets? Unpaid traffic tickets? DUIs? Automobile accidents you caused or were involved in? Arrests? Misdemeanors? Felonies? Unpaid bills? Credit card debt? Lawsuits filed by or lawsuits against you? Drug use and drug abuse? Alcoholism? Abuse of prescription drugs? Sketchy business dealings? Bankruptcy? Inappropriate internet activity, including adult sites, other illicit sites or sending “compromising pictures”? Social media posts that could come back to haunt you? 911 calls from your home? Your work history? To what church do you belong? Who is your pastor? Ever been fired? If so, why? Is your campaign biography accurate, with no exaggerations or embellishments? Do your neighbors like you?

And, for good measure, I was advised to hire a private detective to investigate myself. My experienced campaign manager took me on only after I addressed all those questions — and others — and obtained a report from a well-regarded private investigator. My campaign manager cautioned, “If you are accused of picking your feet in Poughkeepsie — especially if you DID pick your feet in Poughkeepsie — it will come out.”

This brings us to Swalwell, who, according to a University of California, Berkeley poll conducted in March, was the leading Democrat in the primary. He was endorsed by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who, like Swalwell, served as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial against President Donald Trump.

According to Reuters, “… a fifth woman came forward to accuse Swalwell of unwanted sexual contact, saying the Democratic lawmaker drugged and raped her during an encounter in 2018.” Swalwell first denied the accusations. He then dropped out of the race for governor, followed by his resignation from Congress.

Former House Speaker and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) claimed she knew nothing about the rumors against Swalwell. But Willie Brown, once a mentor to former Vice President Kamala Harris and a former mayor of San Francisco, and who for 15 years served as speaker of the California Assembly, said: “No, I’m not surprised frankly because there have been rumors after rumors after rumors, his colleagues in Washington pretty much said that. That’s what Adam Schiff said, that’s what Nancy Pelosi said.”

But Swalwell’s problems are just beginning. The sheriff of Los Angeles County has launched a criminal probe, as has the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Civil lawsuits may follow.

Then there are Swalwell’s financial issues. Despite a combined income with his wife of over $400,000, he is deeply in debt. He owes $100,000 in student loans, borrowed against his retirement account to help fund his campaign and deferred paying income taxes to conserve cash flow. This is not exactly a good look for someone vying to be the chief executive of a state with a budget deficit and massive unfunded pension liabilities.

On top of everything, these scandals could cost the father of three children his marriage. After all, Swalwell set the standard. During the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Swalwell considered Kavanaugh unfit due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell tweeted: “Support survivors. Believe survivors. We are with you.”

All of this raises a question. When Swalwell decided to run for governor, “What was he thinking?”

Columnist; Larry Elder

Official website; http://www.larryelder.com

Lebron also recently set the record for most games played in NBA history. Both Close and James have made recently headlines for their work on the court but also through their words they show they struggle to understand “regular people”.

Over the past half-decade, Name, Image, and Likeness, aka NIL, and the transfer portal has changed college sports in a major way. Those changes have made the responsibilities of coaches like Cori Close increased. During her team’s road to the NCAA women’s basketball national championship, Close discussed the challenges saying, “I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years, and it’s made me think how much longer I can do this. And I’m just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder, and we keep losing incredible people on the men’s and the women’s side.” Close has been the head coach of the UCLA women’s team for 15 years so she has seen the changes in not only women’s college basketball but college sports as well. It is also worth noting that she also made reportedly close to $900,000 in salary in her position which is lower than her fellow Final Four peers as head coaches but certainly a livable wage even in Los Angeles.

College head coaches who complain about NIL and transfer portal are certainly inadvertently complaining about the power that the newfound power that the collegiate athletes have in this new era. Today’s college athletes have more power than any generation and that ranks a lot of college coaches that had all the leverage as it relates to retaining players and making decisions on the careers of collegiate athletes. It is notable that Close’s words about being a college basketball head coach were not shared by some of her colleagues such as Louisville’s Jeff Walz, who stated, “My favorite line, I would tell her, if you don’t like your job, find a new job. I mean, I’m listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don’t like it, find a new profession.” Also, fellow competitor South Carolina’s Dawn Staley said, “I welcome change. I like challenges. I like to figure out things and still find a way to be successful. I think when that leaves me, then I know it’s time for me to move on.”

LeBron James famously was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the “savior” of the team closest to his hometown of Akron. He apparently would not have wanted to be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies when he entered the NBA in 2023. In the interview with Bob Does Sports, James joked that a star athlete his age would not be staying at the Hyatt in Memphis and he feels that the Memphis Grizzlies team should relocate to Nashville. James’s issues as an NBA player playing in Memphis are a true example of an “out of touch” professional athlete complaining about situations that the average person doesn’t have to encounter. It is noteworthy that James’s comments were made on the golf course and are an example that he has been a multi-millionaire longer in his life than he hasn’t been even though he grew up in humble financial circumstances as the son of a single mother. Sports figures like Cori Close and LeBron James need to have some humility when they complain about aspects of their jobs to better understand the challenges that everyday people face.

Staff Writer; Mark Hines

Later in his remarks, Trump said, “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.”

What Trump Calls “Day Care”

The “day care” that Trump was complaining about is Project Head Start—the early childhood federal program in the U.S. that promotes school readiness for children from low-income families from birth to age 5. Project Head Start was created in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” to break the cycle of poverty by providing comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and social services to low-income preschool children, while engaging parents as partners. It aimed to prepare disadvantaged children for school and support families. The program serves over a million children annually across the nation. For fiscal year 2026, Head Start and Early Head Start are funded at $12.36 billion.

Trump calls it “day care.”   Reducing Head Start to “day care” is not just inaccurate—it diminishes its purpose.  Dr. Mary Palmer, retired director of the child care centers at Southwest Community College in Memphis, with 40 years of experience in childcare, states that programs caring for children, “it is not ‘day care’ but ‘child care’. We don’t take care of the ‘day’, we take care of the ‘child’.

The Cost of War vs. The Cost of Children

Based on estimates from early March 2026, the United States is spending approximately $1 billion a day on military operations against Iran. And the first six days of the war (beginning around Feb 28, 2026) were estimated to have cost over $11.3 billion in munitions and direct costs. In other words, one week of the war with Iran can pay for an entire year of Head Start. This contrast raises a stark question: what does the federal government consider essential?

Project 2025 and the Push to Eliminate Head Start

Perhaps Trump’s got the idea to eliminate “day care” from Project 2025.  Project 2025 has emerged as the guidebook, or the bible of Trump’s second term. The recommendation to eliminate the Head Start program is found in Chapter 14 of the Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership document, specifically on page 482. The text explicitly calls to “Eliminate the Head Start program” along with the entire Office of Head Start (OHS). The rationale given in Project 2025 for the elimination of Head Start is that it has “little or no long-term academic value for children.”  This statement is false.

According to research done by Economists Dr. Martha J Bailey of the University of California-Los Angeles, and Dr. Brenden Timpe of the University of Nebraska, “Project Head Start provides significant long-term academic and life benefits, particularly for disadvantaged children, by increasing high school graduation rates, boosting college enrollment and completion (up to 39% more likely), and increasing the likelihood of earning post-secondary degrees or certifications. It reduces grade retention and improves adult economic self-sufficiency, including higher employment rates and lower poverty.”

Bombs or Babies?

During the first day of the war, the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, was bombed by the United States Armed Forces using a Tomahawk missile.  Over 150 people were killed, including at least 120 schoolgirls aged between 7 and 12, along with teachers and parents.

On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social that he will destroy the entire Iranian civilization. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to ?happen, but it probably will.”  There are approximately 6 million children aged birth to 5 in Iran who are the age of children served by Head Start in the U.S. Trump threaten to kill all 6 million of them.

The Trump administration is now seeking a record-breaking $1.5 trillion in defense spending for the 2027 fiscal year to fund military operations, including the conflict with Iran, representing a massive 40% increase in military spending. Reports indicate an additional $200 billion in supplemental funding was initially requested for the Iran war. $200 billion could fund the Head Start program for more than 15 years.

A Question of National Priorities

It seems that we have an administration that appears to be more concerned about bombs than it is about babies. The contrast is difficult to ignore. On one hand, a domestic program that nurtures the development, health, and future opportunity of vulnerable children faces elimination. On the other hand, military expenditures continue to expand at historic levels. The issue is not simply about budgets—it is about values. What does it mean for a nation to claim it “can’t afford” early childhood investment while committing vast resources to war? At what point does prioritizing military strength come at the expense of human development? In the end, the debate comes down to a fundamental choice: Should national power be measured primarily by the strength of its weapons—or by the well-being of its children?

Staff Writer; Dr. Robert J. Walker

Not quite. Wilmington, Ohio, is a very Republican region marked by modest incomes. Such demographics may have made the locals, and other rural Americans, look like an easy sale to the tech companies hunting for places to plop their massive data centers.

Amazon Web Services, which is proposing this nine-building data center on about 500 acres of a former farm, has its boosters hard at work. The project would create up to 100 full-time jobs, they say. It could also pay for up to $35 million in improving public infrastructure (much of which may not be needed in the absence of a massive data center).

The JobsOhio website crows that data centers “create positive economic momentum” by generating jobs and attracting talented people — people the locals may never have noticed were missing. Touting “100 jobs” could also be read as “only 100 jobs?”

The controversies in southwestern Ohio are being repeated in rural communities across the country. Their land is cheap, incomes are not great and their local officials seem not too picky about “economic development.” In addition, some states like Ohio are waving big tax incentives at Big Tech.

It seems that many rural Americans regard modest incomes as the “price” they willingly pay to live in “God’s country.” Some families have been there for generations, and many want to keep it peaceful for future generations.

No doubt artificial intelligence is taking over. Americans can’t stop it and shouldn’t want to. It will be essential for national security and economic survival. AI needs these data centers for power. But it does not follow that the human beings living in their path should have no say on how this all develops.

Wisconsin voters have been presented with four local ballot measures designed to rein in data center projects. One that already passed gives the public more control over incentives officials may offer developers. Maine is the first state to pass a law halting big data-center construction for over a year.

I’m not a fan of class warfare. BUT, there is something unfair about the superrich dumping things they don’t want to be near on economically struggling communities without giving a lot back.

Amazon zillionaire Jeff Bezos keeps his main mansion on Indian Creek Island, near Miami Beach. This exclusive paradise limits building heights to two stories, lot coverage to 25%. Residents may have only two accessory buildings for those essential cabanas, boat houses and such. A little bridge connects Indian Creek Island to Miami’s barrier island. People using that bridge are screened.

Bezos cleverly threw out a distraction from Amazon’s building plans by suggesting that data centers be put in outer space. That is in a far and, perhaps, never-gonna-happen future. For now, Ohio farm country is the plan.

As for Donald Trump, he’s all for building “colossal data centers” and fast. His administration has moved to speed permits for the centers themselves and the infrastructure they need.

As for quality-of-life concerns, Trump limits them to within his own environment. In pre-presidential days, Trump called for moving the Palm Beach airport because he didn’t like the jet noise over Mar-a-Lago.

Some data center foes make cost-of-living arguments against them. The centers’ ravenous energy needs could raise local electricity rates. However, that could be countered by the tax revenues the centers would generate. Decisions on placing them should be based on more than the locals’ cost of living. There are other values.

Thus, colorblindness is not only a medical problem; it is also a spiritual one. Why? God Himself created color diversity. You cannot believe that God is providential and also believe that color is accidental. (Note: In accordance with the Bible, I refer to God in masculine terms. I understand that not all faith traditions do so.)

Ignoring color runs counter to God’s self-evident intentions. He created humanity and allowed it to evolve into a wonderful spectrum of colors, shapes, sizes, and other attributes. Imagine someone saying, “I don’t see differences in people’s height.” Assuming that the person is sighted, you would wonder whether he or she was mentally stable.

Thus, when someone says, “I don’t see color,” they are (perhaps inadvertently) rebuking God for creating one of the defining characteristics of His divine design. Diversity is a key feature of all life, whether humans, animals, insects or plants. What if there were only one kind of vegetable?

Due to America’s legacy of racial segregation, I grew up in an essentially all-Black family, lived in an essentially all-Black neighborhood, attended essentially all-Black schools, and worshipped in a decidedly all-Black church. Then, when I was in sixth grade, a school desegregation order took effect in my area of town. Consequently, I was bused to the south side of Indianapolis.

That was a transformational experience. For the first time in my life, I was exposed to white people en masse. (Well, other than at the Indiana State Fair.) My life was richer for that experience, despite some extremely difficult racist incidents that my fellow Black students and I endured. I don’t recall a single person in those years saying, “I don’t see color.”

Further, unity in diversity is a central tenet of Christianity. To be genuinely Christ-Centered is to go beyond the lip service that often pervades the church. If Christ is at the center, diversity cannot be on the periphery. Acts 6 presents a biblical example of the spiritual importance of unity in diversity.

In seven verses Luke reveals a perfect example of embracing diversity that marries recognition and reconciliation. There was a religious/cultural dispute among early Christians who had converted from Judaism. The disciples intervened quickly to quell suspected discrimination. They acknowledged that not doing so would have hindered the preaching of the Gospel.

Thus, when people deride the “Social Gospel”, they’re deriding the clear message of Scripture. The truth is that there is no “Social” Gospel; there is only the Gospel. The Euangelion. The Good News.

Jesus admonishes us to love our neighbor in Matthew 22:39. The Greek word that Matthew uses for “neighbor” literally means “anybody other than you”. There is no way around that. This shouldn’t be surprising because of the circumstances surrounding His birth. Jesus was an undocumented immigrant who was born to an unwed teenaged mother. He understood, in the most personal way, what it meant to be an outsider.

And it’s not just Jesus. We often forget that God initiates this commandment in the Old Testament, telling us to love, to welcome, to take care of, and to protect immigrants and foreigners. God does so not once. Not three times. The Old Testament demands this of us more than 35 times!

Tragically, a large percentage of Americans disagree. That includes Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who has stated that our strength is not in our diversity; it is in our unity. In doing so, Hegseth is positing that unity and diversity are opposing concepts. They’re not.

Diversity is not the opposite of unity; the opposite of unity is disunity. Disunity breeds chaos, disorder and hatred. Being unified in purpose — as long as that purpose is right and moral — is a good thing.

The opposite of diversity is homogeneity. Sameness. Monolithism. Uniformity. How boring would our world be if everyone were just like me? (Well, not me; I’m pretty cool.) But how boring would the world be if everyone were exactly the same? What if there were just one kind of person?

Diversity divides us only when it is demonized. But embracing diversity brings us together. Thus, with all due respect to Secretary Hegseth, recognizing and celebrating diversity quite literally promotes unity. We will never become “one Nation, under God, indivisible” until there genuinely is “liberty and justice for all.”

If America is ever to be great fully, we cannot embrace diversity partially.

Written by Larry Smith

Surely, then, it is about something deeper, more ancient and indispensable, something our ancient sacred texts tell us is inherent in the conception, creation and functioning of the world – the complementary and species-compelling need for male and female love, presence and cooperative practice in the world. For the Husia and Odu Ifa speak to the need we have not only for each other in spiritual, natural and social ways, but also the need of our togetherness to create and sustain the good in family, society and the world. And it is within this ancient and ongoing African understanding that we must conceive, build, sustain and make flourish our relationships and teach our children likewise by the most careful instruction and self-conscious example.

There are so many things that block the road toward realization of the togetherness in love we long and live for. There is racism that degrades and devalues, sexism that teaches submission and domination, and materialism that makes things and money the measure and meaning of everything. There is also unemployment and vulgar individualism, Eurocentric drama, drugs and unrealizable dreams, the prison system and broken promises, the media and the mean and merciless streets, and a long history of Holocaust, horror and other forms of oppression at the hands of our oppressor. So, the wonder is not that we have problems, but that so many of us have survived and solved them and went on to build rock-strong, stable and loving relations worthy of the highest praise and promise. Indeed, the point is not that we have problems – for that’s only human; the issue is how we solve them in the most gentle, loving and effective ways.

Love is the heartbeat and hope of any real, reciprocal and enduring relationship, and we must understand it not simply as an emotion, but also as a practice. For at its best, love is ultimate appreciation, attentiveness and consideration that expresses itself in the mutual investment in each other’s happiness, well-being and development. It is ultimately a reciprocal, deeply rewarding and awesome giving of ourselves and receiving the same from another as a sacred exchange.

Here it is important to make a distinction between pleasure and happiness. For pleasure is satisfaction of the senses, but happiness is satisfaction of the heart and mind. Pleasure is a time and space limited satisfaction of desires by external events and experiences, but happiness is an enduring inner satisfaction. And love, as mutual giving, engenders such an enduring inner satisfaction, enhances our sense of well-being and enriches our development as persons and human beings.

At the heart of the practice of love is active commitment to an Afrocentric value system which teaches and reinforces our essential identity as bearers of divinity and dignity, and requires us to approach and treat each other and our relationships as sacred and worthy of the highest respect, care and consideration. Since the Sixties, I’ve taught that the Nguzo Saba is that African-centered value system and that we can use it to build our relationships and community and enrich our lives.

The first principle is Umoja (Unity) which stresses the good and need of togetherness in the most principled and purposeful ways. It teaches us to remove all thoughts, emotions, speech and conduct which undermine our togetherness and pull us apart. At one with each other, we will see ourselves in each other and sense our divinity, reaffirm our dignity and develop an identity meriting a high respect and place among men and women.

Kujichagulia (Self-determination) teaches the right and responsibility to choose, to choose who we will be and it requires that each of us be allowed and encouraged to be who we are in the most positive and progressive sense without crass criticism, hindrance or negative questioning, but always within the framework of the requirements of togetherness and common ground. And it teaches us that the ground of our choosing must always be from within the context of our own culture and its highest values. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) teaches us active working, building and struggling together to clear space for our love to grow, to transform ourselves so that we feel and fit right and rightfully together and to take collective responsibility for the good and bad, right and wrong, the beautiful and ugly that strengthen or undermine our relationships.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) teaches us the principle and practice of shared work and shared wealth, that we not make money the measure and central meaning of all things and to reject debilitating disputes and disagreements about it. And it requires us to avoid materialism and consumerism of the dominant society, value each other more and those qualities that reflect strength of character and depth of commitment.

The principle of Nia (Purpose) teaches us that we must live purposeful lives, share goals, aid each other in realizing our different yet interrelated goals and work toward things that strengthen each of us. At the heart of this practice must be the goal of building a friendship defined by our thinking good of each other, wanting and working for the good of each other, doing good to and for each other, and sharing good with each other as a fundamental principle and practice of love and life.

Kuumba (Creativity) urges us to pursue the positive, avoid the negative, to constantly reaffirm the dignity and worth of each other, and our need for each other and to avoid all conversation and acts that degrade and violate the sacredness of each person and the relationship itself. And it means that we, as the ancestors taught in the Husia, must strive always to quickly and eagerly to raise up what is in ruins, repair what is damaged, rejoin what is severed, replenish what is depleted, set right what is wrong, strengthen what is weakened, and make flourish what is insecure and undeveloped in our relationships.

Finally, Imani (Faith) urges us to trust and believe in the good, and in our capacity to create it and share it. It encourages us to produce a new paradigm and practice of Black love and live it as a conscious need and undeniable necessity of life. And this means bringing into being a new man and woman who truly live for and through each other and pass on this lesson and legacy to future generations.

Written by Dr. Maulana Karenga

Official website; https://www.maulanakarenga.org/