Janet Jackson’s discography spans from 1982. But for most Janet Jackson fans, her run of albums begins in 1986. It’s not because her first two albums weren’t any good. But her third album, and every album since, was markedly different. The difference: she took control of her artistry and the music it produced...She aptly titled her 1986 album, Control. Last month, Camden parents made their public declaration for control. Camden City parents, frustrated with the current situation in the school district, have urged the state board of education to restore control of the district’s schools to residents.

I’ve been called an old soul. It’s likely due to my musical tastes. I love R&B, Funk, Jazz, and Fusion. That music was in my spirit and began to flourish as a teenager. But make no mistake, I am a child of hip hop. I am an ’80s baby, but most certainly a ’90s kid. The 90s were when I came of age. At the turn of the millennium, my Hip Hop consumption was defined to a tee. I loved extravagant, complex, and soulful beats. I loved beats fueled by samples, with clever, insightful lyrical content. As a result, one of my favorites was the Diplomats, aka Dipset. Cam’ron, Jim Jones, and Juelz Santana.

Popular culture mainstays like television commercials or your favorite advertising jingles never made it around to rendering the label of “patriot” to African Americans. The same is true for grade-school textbooks, small-town Independence Day celebrations, and propaganda seeking America’s “best and brightest.” When I was growing up, the terms “patriot” and “patriotic” were hardly, if ever, used to name or describe Black people. My children and my students likely share this experience. As a student and teacher of history, I’m saddened by this because Black people are indeed patriots. Acclaimed artist Amy Sherald believes this, too. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, she explained why: “I don’t think there’s anybody more patriotic than a Black person,” she said. “We’ve been here since the inception of this idea of what ‘American’ is. We are deeply ingrained in the fabric of this country. This country would not be if it was not for us . . . . I’m the definition of an American.”

As a teenager, I had a few jobs—under-the-table jobs, stipend jobs, and regular jobs. But when I turned 16, I got my first real summer job. I participated in a career exploration program with Respond Inc. in Camden. Respond was a social service agency known for early childhood development, but they also worked with school-aged students. Their program placed Camden students at various businesses around the city—accounting firms, law firms, architects, restaurants—we were placed all over. As for my three other colleagues and me, we were assigned to what was considered the top work site: the Campbell Soup Company.

In my younger days, I enjoyed sports talk radio.A favorite of mine was ESPN’s Mike and Mike. I remember during the height of the Colin Kaepernick protest, Mike Golic commended Kaepernick for his attention-grabbing display and the reasons behind it.But Golic turned the tables on Kaepernick and asked what the quarterback planned to do to achieve the goals he sought through his protest.I would love to ask white people who were part of the “No Kings” rally recently the same question, but I am unsure...

2025 marks the anniversaries of some of our most empowering moments as a people. It is the 160th anniversary of the passage of the 13th Amendment, which only partially abolished enslavement. Freedom fighters today continue to work to abolish prisons so that enslavement can truly be eradicated. 2025 also marks the 65th anniversary of the Greensboro, NC, student sit-ins and Ruby Bridges’ attendance at an all-white elementary school, and the 70th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 2025 also marks the anniversaries of some of the most challenging moments in our history. 70 years since the murder of Emmitt Till, and 60 years since the assassination of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and Bloody Sunday. There’s another difficult moment in our collective history that “celebrates” an anniversary that we often fail to consider. That is the Berlin Conference held on November 11, 1884, better known as the “Scramble for Africa.”

What lessons has Election Night taught us? First, it should teach us that New Jersey is redder than we believed it to be. As I have said previously, New Jersey is actually a red state, no matter what establishment Democrats would have you believe. The color of the election map should make that clear. Nevertheless, Mikie Sherrill came out on top Tuesday night, relatively easily in fact. So, what did we learn? Quite a few things.

Schools are more than just a place where students go to learn. They’re community anchors. Of course, their primary functions revolve around educational activities. Still, school buildings also house community gatherings of various sorts, community-wide celebrations, food pantries, after-school programs, community fundraisers, and open-gym nights to keep young people out of trouble.

New Jersey is widely considered a solidly blue state, but there’s real fear of it becoming red. Since 1992, New Jersey has elected the Democratic candidate for president and, since 2002, elected three Democratic governors to one Republican. Both houses of the state legislature have been under Democratic control since 2004. Democrats have a firm hold of political power in the state, and yet, many people are worried that the Republican, Jack Ciattarelli, will win the gubernatorial election in November and begin New Jersey’s turn to a red state. It’s easy to blame Mikie Sherrill’s campaign for its milquetoast approach to this election season, which follows the playbook of Democrats...

Are we not allowed to speak the truth? Not our truth as we see the world, but rather, the truth. Are we no longer allowed to speak honestly about public figures because it offends white people? Whether it is Charlie Kirk or Martin Luther King Jr., are we not allowed to speak honestly of their message to the masses of people, because the truth makes white people — particularly white nationalists — uncomfortable? Are we not allowed to speak the truth about genocide in Gaza, because people are uncomfortable with the irony of it all, or because politicians are paid too much by AIPAC to allow the truth to be spoken? Does never again only apply to the Jewish community? Are we not allowed to criticize the President in places where the world can hear it, or is it something we must do in the privacy of our own homes? How about white supremacy, white nationalism, or white privilege? Are those words we can no longer utter, explain their origins, and speak out against? Are we no longer allowed to speak the truth?

Earlier this year, Malcolm Jamal Warner became an ancestor. While we’ll miss his brilliance and brightness, his art remains, particularly that of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show.  One of my favorite episodes was when he had the Huxtable brownstone to himself for a weekend; he and his friends had the bright idea to host a colloquy of six individuals for the evening. That colloquy turned into a full-blown party. Theo made allowances for people to stop by, and it snowballed into folks all over the...

Another fire broke out on the premises of EMR in Camden late Monday night to early Tuesday morning, likely due to the combustion of lithium-ion batteries. This incident follows a massive fire in February on the company’s premises, also caused by the same issue. The Camden City Council met on Tuesday evening to approve the $6.7 million agreement, precipitated by the February fire, much to the dismay of protesting residents and community allies throughout the region, who cite a lack of community voice and government transparency regarding the deal. Of the $6.7 million in the deal only $3,250,000 is going to city residents. The decision on how the money is spent will be determined by a committee, per the MOU between EMR and Camden City made up of two (2) city government representatives, two (2) city residents selected by the mayor, and four (4) representatives of EMR.

Opening night at Lincoln Financial Field was a moment in time for celebration. It started with the unfurling of a championship banner commemorating the Eagles’ victory in Super Bowl LIX in February, and the Birds went on to beat the hated Dallas Cowboys. However, some of the more memorable moments of the evening were cringeworthy.Just about everyone at the game was talking about how Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott — and how the Bi...

In The Progressive, I’ve documented the importance of teaching Black history, whether it involves learning about the origins of our nation, Juneteenth, the Reconstruction era, or the history that informs critical race theory. A result of the discomfort that can come from learning history and experiences that run counter to popular American mythology is backlash, and there has been backlash: the crescendo being an Executive Order meant to restore “truth and sanity to American history.”

A year before his assassination, Dr. King said that he “was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such,” because he witnessed the evaporation of President Johnson’s priority on the war on poverty for the war in Vietnam. The 21st century has seen a repeat of history. A few years ago, the war on COVID resulted in a program aimed at meeting the needs of all Americans, particularly children from poor, underserved, and oppressed...

In March, the Trump administration issued an executive order that prohibited the “expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.” The order targeted numerous museums of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.The result of this targeting is the planned or executed removal of artifacts. In other words, the erasure of history.

Who is the Black leader? This is not a question Black people ask among themselves. Rather, it’s a national question that the white power structure wrestles to answer when seeking votes in elections or seeking to quell periods of resistance to racial injustice. It’s also a local question that the white power structure asks when attempting to steal Black-owned property for a financial venture, or to connive their way into taking governance of schools, law enforcement, or any municipal functions...

On the night before he died, April 3, 1968, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had traveled to Memphis to support striking sanitation workers, called the labor negotiations a matter of justice.“The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers,” he said. “Now the other thing we’ll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal … As Jesse Jackson has said...

June 10 marked the Democratic primary in New Jersey. One key race on primary day was the race for Camden City mayor. In a city with a majority Democratic population, the primary serves as the de facto election, as whoever wins in June is likely to win in November. The winner was the current incumbent, Victor Carstarphen, over challenger Theo Spencer.