Nationally, one in three Black boys and one in six Latino boys born in 2001 are at risk of going to prison during their lifetimes. Although boys are more than five times as likely to be incarcerated as girls, the number of girls in the juvenile justice system is significant and growing. This shamefully high incarceration rate of Black youths is endangering our children at younger and younger ages and poses a huge threat to our nation's future.

This past June, a handful of wise and brave U.S. Representatives submitted legislation that would decriminalize "personal possession of up to 100 grams" of marijuana.
While The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act (H.B. 2943) has no chance of being reported out of committee, its chief sponsor; Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, believes the legislation's introduction will lead to a "rational discussion" of the issue, and perhaps ultimately a more sane federal marijuana policy.

The nation's overcrowded correctional facilities lack the resources, training or medicine to properly treat inmates needing mental health treatment.

NNPA Special Commentary

Jade is one of thousands of children from New Orleans and the surrounding areas for whom life is still not back to normal four years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Even though significant strides toward recovery have been made, for many residents there is still a long way to go ...

Senator Edward M. Kennedy was a voice for the voiceless. He was passionate about health care, about children, about education. He understood poverty and often spoke of it. It begs a cliché to say that he will be missed. More importantly, who in the Senate will give voice to the voiceless? 

There exists a word in the American English language that on its own incites such a reaction that it may as well be taboo. It isn't a curse word nor a derogatory term, but rather a simple four-letter concept that by and large encapsulates the crux of many of our problems as a nation ...

Speaking recently at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Conference, President Barack Obama reportedly said in regard to the war in Afghanistan: "…. This is not a war of choice, this is a war of necessity ". Wrong! It was a war of choice when former President George Bush launched it in 2001; it remains a war of choice for President Obama ....

During the campaign of President Obama, I was leery about his fierce intension to pursuit Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to the point that he would engage in a war against the Taliban. Yet, I felt, like most people, that it was a righteous objective, since it was aimed at atonement for the 3,000 people ruthlessly killed by Al Qaeda operatives at the New York World Trade Center bombing in 2001 ...

After years of heartbreak and disappointment, Troy Davis is finally getting a chance to have evidence heard in his case after being denied a fair trial since he was arrested almost two decades ago.  
It should never have taken the American justice system this long to act.  ...