Millions of Americans are deeply worried about their economic futures. The signs of the economic crisis ahead are literally everywhere, if one bothers to look at the statistical evidence.

The first, and most important indicator, is the unprecedented concentration of wealth within American society. According to USA Today columnist Yolanda Young, in 1970 the bottom one-third of all U.S. households (today, about 96 million people) "earned 10 times that of the top 1 percent" of all households. By 2004, the upper 1 percent "made as much as the bottom third of Americans."

The first step pyramid was designed by Imhotep. He was a brilliant architect and physician who enriched Egyptian culture and, as a Black innovative intellectual, shared great knowledge with Egypt during the time of Pharaoh Djoser (2687-2668 B.C.). His contributions and influence in Egypt have lasted into modern times and will be visible for future generations.
Imhotep is germane to this dialogue because he is a perfect example of how far back Black intellectualism goes. It is unfortunate indeed that there are people that believe that Black intellectualism started with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or Frederick Douglass. Nothing could be further from the truth — Black intellectualism is a gift that has been passed down through the ages.

"If I could sit down for justice, you can stand up for children." These words of support, sent by Rosa Parks, thrilled and inspired the more than 250,000 people who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on June 1, 1996, for the first Stand for Children Day.

The crowd included adults and children from across the country and all walks of life, but we all shared one thing in common: a vision of a nation that puts children's needs first.

My wife has corrupted our children! She took our boys to a local fried chicken restaurant where they were served a gooey, processed version of macaroni and cheese. They loved it and now they ask for this processed dish in place of my homemade version.

I can't help but feel that something more than my ego is at stake. I am concerned that by consuming this powdered, orange goop, my boys are not only missing out on one of life's truly wonderful gastronomic pleasures, but I also fear they will miss out on the stories that food contains.

The masters of the Enron universe — Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling — heard the voice of justice last week. After a four-year investigation and a four-month trial, a jury of eight women and four men found them guilty of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading in the collapse of Enron Corp. The CEOs who once ruled an empire now face time in a prison cell.

The disjointed assembly of Black academics, civil rights activists and conservatives that gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in late May had only one goal in mind: to stop passage of the Senate's immigration reform bill.

They formed what they called the "Choose Black America Coalition." The Federation for Immigration Reform, which has been a loud and relentless voice in opposing any concessions to immigration rights groups, sponsored their news conference.

So there I was. It was 1967 and I was eyeball-to-eyeball with my black-and-white TV. As I watched, a group of very distressed Africans stared back at me. It was the start of civil war in Nigeria.

The nation of Biafra had been born, and all hell was about to break loose as members of the Igbo tribe waged a doomed war for independence. Each year things got worse.

"In countries where there truly is no backup, you just have to hang in there and wait for the next flood to pass, wait for the next drought to pass.

"But what is disturbing here is that we are in a country with major back-up . … It takes just 30 days to mobilize for war, so when you've got a war within your own country, it is amazing that we were so dumbfounded, like deer in the headlights."

There they go again. The Republican National Committee, the right-wing noise machine and their spear-carriers in the mainstream media have been in attack mode over the last few weeks. This time their target is Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the distinguished senior Democrat who will become chair of the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats win the House back this fall.

The instant the news broke that FBI agents raided the office of Black U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. — and announced that they had a videotape of him allegedly stuffing bribe money into a freezer — some Blacks loudly grumbled that Jefferson was the victim of a racial double standard.