Aspiring Socio-Political Commentator As a non-specialist, I thought it was important to immerse myself in reading works by experts that go into greater detail than a tweet, a FB status, or a blog post. This is especially of urgency seeing that I am not currently taking courses and my day job as a behavior specialist assistant does not allow me to spend long periods going through detailed material. Activities of that nature can best be done when one is away from work and (if you want to be honest) friends. As an aspiring writer and one who loves to read, it was important for me to understand t ..read more

    Introducing the One and Only Sha’Carri Richardson is the talk of the town, again. No, it’s not for her “10.72 seconds to win the 100 meters at the 2021 Miramar Invitational.” It’s not about missing the Olympics due to failing a drug test. Nor is it about the passing of her mother. No, this time it’s about her ninth-place finish at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic. This event was hyped up as being the ultimate showdown between Richardson and the Jamaican Olympic sprinting group led by Elaine Thompson-Herah. In fact, I initially set out to write about Thompson-Herah. I wanted to say a ..read more

The week of August 1 - 7, a few friends and I had a chat about the Cuomo allegations. We concluded that his term was over and that he was done. We saw no possible political future given the climate. Last week, while talking to other New Yorkers, I’ve come to realize that the idea of Cuomo’s political demise wasn’t universal. In fact, some are opposed to his stepping down from the governor’s chair. “Cuomo has done a lot for the state”, some said. Others remarked on his leadership during the pandemic (standing up to Trump) and don’t see further than harmless displays of affection. Still, others ..read more

Editorial Note: This is an updated version of an article I published on another website on June 10, 2014. For those that don't know, I've been involved in congregational worship as a musician since I was about 12-13 years of age. This year makes me 41. So that's about 29 years of ecclesiastical worship setting experience. This doesn't make everything I say dogma. In fact, I don’t consider myself to be a high-ranking musician. My perspective is simply one of many with flaws and all. Take it with a grain of salt. There will have been, and will always be, differences of opinion on how to do worsh ..read more

Reflections Before the interview section, let me share some reflections. November will mark the start of my tenth year working in the intellectually & developmentally disabled field. I spent my 30s, in various shapes and forms, caring for those that are recognized in the general public as the mentally retarded. In fact, using the developmentally disabled to refer to those that I serve, generally results in confusion. It requires a longer conversation. Outside of the field, most people don’t know of whom I am referring to with that usage. I don’t blame them. Prior to my entry into the field ..read more

In the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse's brutal assassination, speculations have run amok concerning possible culprits. One of the names that seem to be dominating conspiratorial spaces is that of Claude Joseph, Haiti's (now former) Interim Prime Minister. Joseph took up the function of acting president for the period until elections are held in the fall. Joseph earned a PhD in public and urban policy from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School in 2018. His dissertation was entitled Three Essays on Foreign Aid, Institutions, and Developm ..read more

(Kevin C Downs/For New York Daily News) It is no secret that there is a disconnect between the North American Haitian Seventh-day Adventist church (NAHSDAC) and social justice. I’m specifically speaking of the NAHSDAC in the northeast of the United States since that’s the one I’m familiar with. The reasons as to why aren’t all the same as is with Adventist churches of other nationalities and social-ethnic groups. To be fair, members of the church have participated in protests to support Haitian concerns in the country. For instance, “In 1990, the FDA recommended a policy of banning blood dona ..read more

Image Source: Post Gazette Ibram X. Kendi (Ph.d., Temple University) is Professor at the School of International Service and Director at the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University. He’s 2016 book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (STP), is ground breaking. It is a winner of the National Book Award and is a New York Times Bestseller. I concur with the accolades. Readers from all ethnic or racial groups will be challenged by STP’s new perspective. This is a must buy. Dr. Kendi identifies the objective of this work as narrating ..read more

Note: This article was originally published on another website on June 24, 2018. INTRODUCTION An article published on June 19 in the New York Times reports that the Trump administration ordered the withdrawal of the United States from the UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The author, Gardiner Harris, states that the withdrawal was due to UNHRC’s, and I quote, “frequent criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.” The UNHRC, which birthed in 2006, doesn’t include Russia, who was booted in 2016 for crimes in Syria, nor does it include Israel, who call the council, according to the Times of ..read more