On the first night of the 2016 Democratic convention, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke as a mother, a wife, First Lady and an intelligent black woman. As an African American woman, her words resonated to me in ways far beyond her text. In her authenticity, Michelle Obama spoke truth to power, gave a history lesson, a lesson on motherhood and shared her hopes for the future of our country. And she left me and perhaps others feeling a little more hopeful than I’ve felt in a while. First Lady Michelle Obama spoke about how she has lived the past 8 years in the White House, a house built by slaves, where her two daughters play with the dog on the White House lawn. As a U.S. history major, I know most, if not all, of Washington was built by slaves. But the essence of her speech for me was an acknowledgment of how far this country has come in 151 years since slavery ended. For a black woman to be able to address the Democratic National convention and reference the history of slavery before … [Read more...] about What Michelle Obama’s Speech Means to Me
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton Owes a Debt to Shirley Chisholm
Hillary Clinton made history on June 7, 2016 in becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for President. Since the passage of the 19th amendment legally giving women the right to vote, we’ve seen the first woman run for democratic nomination as president of the U.S. No, it was not Hillary Clinton. It was Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (D. NY) in 1972. It has taken another 44 years for a woman to accomplish the goal that Shirley Chisholm set out to accomplish. History often erases the accomplishments of women and particularly African American and other minority women. And that's why I want Hillary Clinton to unequivocally and repeatedly acknowledge her debt owed to Shirley Chisholm. Congresswoman Chisholm (D. NY) was the first woman to run for the democratic nomination as President of the US. She was also the first African American woman elected to Congress. In 1972, Chisholm became the first African American candidate for president. In doing so, she blazed … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton Owes a Debt to Shirley Chisholm
Scandal Prone Hillary Clinton Needs Olivia Pope
Hillary Clinton’s email issues over her improper and perhaps illegal use of a private server in her house while serving as Secretary of State loom large over her presidential aspirations. And even though Bernie Sanders has repeatedly stated that he is not interested in Hillary Clinton’s emails, many folks and the FBI are interested. If you add the email legal issues to her likeability and trust issues which rank quite low, one might assume that she needs the help of Olivia Pope, the fictionalized character in the TV series Scandal. Coincidently, crisis management lawyer Judy Smith, the real life Olivia Pope, represented Monica Lewinsky during the Bill Clinton sex scandal. For that reason, I doubt if Clinton will be using Judy Smith. But Clinton needs a good crisis manager lawyer. As a lawyer, I often represent clients who experience legal issues involving criminal grand jury political investigations before they are charged with a crime. Clinton needs lawyers who are not in her inner … [Read more...] about Scandal Prone Hillary Clinton Needs Olivia Pope
5 Progressive Picks for Vice President
Bernie Sanders on Meet the Press on May 28 argued that if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination for president, she must pick a "hardline progressive" as her running mate in order to win over the growing progressive base. I agree and offer some choices from which to choose. The Democratic Party needs a vice presidential candidate who is likeable and trustworthy, can ignite passion within the Party, energize the Sanders base and minorities and out trump Donald Trump’s rhetoric. There are five good progressive choices who would meet these needs. Four of the five hold law degrees. Their backgrounds vary from a son of a Mexican immigrant, son of former sharecroppers, an African American woman and a former comedic actor and political activist. The five are not in any particular order. Congressman Xavier Becerra (D.CA), a Latino and former California Deputy Attorney General, has served in Congress since 1993. He is currently Chairman of the House … [Read more...] about 5 Progressive Picks for Vice President
Bill Clinton and His Black Lives Legacy
On April 7, 2016, Bill Clinton found himself in the unenviable position of being asked to address his criminal justice policies of the 1990’s to Black Lives Matters activists at a Philadelphia rally. The confrontation was not viewed favorably by many to Clinton. Black Lives Matter activists and Bill Clinton verbally clashed for almost 15 minutes when Clinton was asked about his 1994 crime bill and its effect on African Americans and the term “super predators” used by Hillary Clinton in 1996 in referring to troubled black youth. Clinton staunchly defended the crime bill, at times being condescending in his remarks to the black activists and rambling on at other times in discussing Hillary Clinton’s role. In the 1990’s charismatic President Bill Clinton was considered to be a friend and comrade to many in the African American community. He appointed a racially diverse cabinet and appointed many minority judges to the federal bench. He survived sex scandals involving Monica … [Read more...] about Bill Clinton and His Black Lives Legacy
Hillary Clinton is Qualified to be President but I Don’t Trust Her
Social media is all a buzz about Senator Bernie Sanders’ comments that Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president. Sanders put out a press release saying that Clinton is not qualified due to her positions on taking money from corporate America, her Iraq war vote and trade issues positions. It was as much a retort at her comments on Sanders not being prepared and not understanding how the legal and political process works. As much as I did not think I would be supporting Hillary Clinton on any issue, on this issue I disagree with Bernie Sanders and his comments. I will always suspect someone who states a highly qualified woman is not qualified for a position—for whatever the reasons. Hillary Clinton, as a former Senator and Secretary of State, is qualified to be President of the U.S.—probably more so today than her husband was in 1992. It is not her qualifications that concern me. And it is not her qualifications that should concern Sanders. And any reference to … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton is Qualified to be President but I Don’t Trust Her