Rann Miller

I’m a freelance writer, published author and a former teacher. I have contributed to scholarly journals, text books, and many different platforms on the topics of race in higher education, urban schools, sports and the African American diaspora, and professional development for educational professionals. In addition to those things, I serve as an program director for a local school district, a professional development facilitator and also a public speaker.

Inquirer.com •

The NAACP is out of bounds | Opinion

The NAACP’s “Out of Bounds” campaign, calling for Black college athletes to boycott playing at universities within GOP-led states engaging in voting rights suppression, comes from a genuine place to fight against Black voter disenfranchisement. However, the campaign’s architects failed to consider the undeniable realities that require a more strategic approach to multifaceted circumstances.One circumstance concerns the landscape of college sports, particularly regarding labor compensation. Years...
Word In Black •

Teaching Black History Shouldn't Start with Teaching 'Black Firsts'

Growing up, much of the Black history I was taught focused on the people and events surrounding so-called “Black Firsts”: Jackie Robinson was the first to play Major League Baseball; Sidney Poitier was the first to win an Oscar; and W.E.B. Du Bois was the first to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Lately, though, I’ve shared with anyone who would listen that teaching Black history shouldn’t start with teaching about Black Firsts. In my opinion, being the first Black person to do something...
Word In Black •

Stop Co-opting #SayHerName. It Was Made for Black Women

Let’s set the record straight: “Say her name” shouldn’t be used for everyone who is unjustly killed at the hands of the state.

To be more specific, it ain’t for white folks. And yes, I meant to say “ain’t.”

The hashtag, #SayHerName, isn’t simply a one-off catchphrase. It is a social justice visibility movement that Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor at UCLA Law School and Columbia University Law School, created to highlight law enforcement violence against Black women and girls within an anti-...
ChristianityToday.com •

Seeing Black History Through Scripture

Memorials and remembrances are important. We remember the past not just to remind us of where we’ve been but also to help us move forward in the right direction. And every February, Black History Month gives us a chance to do just that. Commemorations of Black history dates to “Negro History Week,” which was created by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926—100 years ago this year. Woodson chose February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Black communities were already celebrating both men, and Woodson thought the weeklong event could be a way for teachers to review all the Black history they had taught students within the previous year.
Inquirer.com •

How Black History Month endures | Opinion

I am not a huge fan of comic books and superheroes, but I appreciate the storytelling. In comics, the origin story is just as important as the hero saving the day. The same is true for Black History Month, which originated as Negro History Week.Negro History Week was created by Carter G. Woodson, the child of two formerly enslaved parents. According to Harvard historian Jarvis R. Givens, Woodson was taught by his two uncles, John and James Riddle, his mother Anne Riddle’s brothers, who had also...
Word In Black •

Why Venezuela’s Crisis Matters to Black America

It’s widely assumed there is a segment of Black America that is either ignorant or chooses to ignore foreign affairs. The common argument is that Black people have enough problems of their own in the U.S. without being preoccupied with global issues that have nothing to do with them. The ongoing crisis in Venezuela — in which President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to sweep in, seize President Nicholas Maduro and send him to stand trial in New York — would seem to qualify.
Word In Black •

D.E.Irony: Fewer White Men in College Keeps MAGA in Power

Maybe Donald Trump wants to make it harder for white men to get into college. Perhaps it is not an accident that affirmative action has come to an end in higher education institutions. Maybe none of this is the irony some people think it is. The Trump Administration’s rollback of DEI policies has an unintended consequence: white men, the Trump Administration’s core demographic, are being excluded from college admissions.
Inquirer.com •

The ‘No Kings’ rallies were a start. Now what? | Opinion

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...
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

Some moments of the opening night at the Linc were cringeworthy | Opinion

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...
Inquirer.com •

Under Trump’s assault, Black educators must preserve history | Opinion

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.
Prism •

Negro Election Day Remains as Prescient as Ever

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...
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

What it means that LL Cool J chose to stand in solidarity with District Council 33 | Opinion

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...
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

Here’s why what’s happening in Los Angeles should be chilling both to immigrant communities and their allies | Opinion

As America prepares to celebrate Juneteenth this month, — this nation’s truest Independence Day — recent protests in Los Angeles against mass deportations have triggered the use of the National Guard to defend ICE agents as they pursue foreign-born residents. These aren’t members of MS-13 or drug cartel members. These law-abiding families simply wish to make a better life for themselves. The Trump administration’s actions are a reminder that law enforcement is an arm of the state, they have no d...
Salon •

Ryan Coogler’s "Sinners" is Black history written with lightning

The Trump Administration has declared war on Black history. By way of executive orders, the administration has taken aim at not only DEI initiatives, but Black history taught in classrooms across the country and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. These executive orders, along with the threat of withholding federal funding, garner compliance from the education community, which is a disservice to Americans of all ethnic groups. Thankfully, our society has teachers of a different kind—those whose unique talent bring Black history to life on film, teachers like Ryan Coogler.
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

For some Trump voters, a realization dawns: We’ve had our pockets picked | Opinion

It has become a frequent occurrence in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration — voters in majority Republican districts voicing their displeasure with the administration’s policy decisions at sometimes tense town hall meetings around the country.The gatherings — at which some lawmakers have been widely jeered and angry attendees removed — have become so charged that GOP officials have discouraged members of Congress from hosting them.While Democrats, too, have felt the wrath of th...
Prism •

Teaching truth in the 21st century: Q&A with educator, activist, and author Jesse Hagopian

Teachers are under attack.

Not teachers who choose to be apolitical, but teachers who actively choose to teach the truth to children. The truth is that the U.S. has a history of sins that include genocide and enslavement, both of which have played a role in the country’s successes. The truth is that families in the U.S. are often defined by societal constructs designed to foster control, compliance, and complicity. In President Donald Trump’s America, educators are at great risk if they teach...
Salon •

Signalgate is a consequence of anti-DEI hysteria

Lloyd Austin, the former defense secretary and a four-star general with 40 years of military experience, was nonetheless labeled a DEI hire of the Biden administration. Pete Hegseth, the current secretary of defense, lacks adequate expertise and experience, on top of the fact that he’s had allegations of sexual assault and is known as an excessive drinker. A former National Security Council member and a Senate member deemed Hegseth unqualified for the position. However, according to Donald Trump, Hegseth had a tremendous track record that qualified him for the position.
Prism •

We Are Not Ready to Wrestle With Why the Right to Bear Arms Outweighs the Need to Protect Students from Gun Violence

As we near the seventh anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, I am reflecting on my role as a parent and educator and how I cannot ignore the possibility that a school shooting could happen where I work or where my children attend school. It is a tragedy that so many children, parents, and educators live with the daily fear of gun violence in American schools. While it’s easy to blame policymakers for our current state, we, th...
Prism •

Black History Tells us About Our Past, Present, and Future

Federal agencies under the Trump administration have started banning Black History Month, and now it’s more essential than ever to take the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments and struggles of African Americans throughout history. As an educator, I find it particularly important to acknowledge and honor the father of Black history: Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, who founded Black History Month’s precursor, Negro History Week, at the behest of Black students. Now is also the time to examine...
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

Teaching Black history shouldn’t fall solely on the shoulders of Black people | Opinion

A teaching colleague recently asked my opinion on whether she should take the lead on coordinating Black History Month activities at her school. To answer, I needed some context.I knew she was only one of three Black teachers in a school with several dozen total instructors, most of them white. (That’s a problem by itself, but I digress.) I asked if she was likely to get support from colleagues. She answered yes, but only if programming didn’t veer from the previous years of teaching sunny, wate...
Salon •

"Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson" Perpetuates the Long History of Profiting from Race Conflicts in The Ring

This week, Mike Tyson returns to the ring after a 19-year layoff. His opponent is Jake Paul, the YouTube sensation turned professional boxer who some claim is bad for boxing. But boxing isn’t bad for Paul’s wallet. He may make up to $40 million from this fight, although neither Paul nor Tyson confirmed their payday. On the surface, the appeal is finding out if the 58-year-old Tyson can defeat Paul, who’s less than half Tyson’s age. There’s also this: learning if Paul can continue to build his resume as a boxer, defeating real boxers. However, at the lowest common dominator, the intrigue surrounds whether Jake Paul is the next great white heavyweight.
Prism •

The Harris campaign owes Black men an apology

The nation abandoned any hope for a multiracial democracy on Nov. 5 in favor of reelecting Donald Trump for president. For me, this election is a mirror of 1877. The Union victory over the Confederates in the Civil War birthed the nation’s first attempt at a multiracial democracy. Black men throughout the South were elected to state houses and even Congress. However, the progress was short-lived. In 1877, the white power structure abandoned the multiracial democracy, choosing to violen...
Salon •

One year after October 7: A return to forever

Palestinians in Gaza began running, again, on October 8, 2023. “We Palestinians are always running,” Suheir Hammad writes in the poem Silence from her collection, "Born Palestinian, Born Black." “Where do we go?” One day after the deadly Hamas attack in Israel, the Israeli government warned and directed Palestinians in Gaza to leave targeted areas. Nowhere in Gaza was safe. One year after Hamas’ massacre, much of Gaza is reduced to rubble.
Current Affairs Magazine •

The Black Church is No Shield for Empire

The Black Church is a stalwart institution in the African American community, serving as a major hub of spiritual enlightenment, social activism, and economic empowerment for Black people. It’s hard to overstate the impact the Black Church has had on the United States, particularly its artistic culture and politics. It’s the institution that gave us the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as a rich musical tradition that was foundational to popular culture, impacting everything from “blu...
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