Sunday Smack: Rex Tillerson and His Trump Comment

“The President speaks for himself, Chris.” This week’s Sunday Smack focuses on US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remark today on Fox News about how President Donald Trump “speaks for himself” when sharing views of the recent racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia: https://youtu.be/fl7iZUTTrD0 Interviewer Chris Wallace appeared stunned to hear Tillerson’s comment. My questions to […]

Sunday Smack: What About This Race Conversation?

This Sunday Smack deals with a question I’ve indirectly brought up in previous posts: the conversation about race. Is a conversation necessary? Whose minds would you like to change as a result of a conversation? After what we’ve seen in America during the past two weeks, do you think a conversation would change anyone’s mind? […]

Rest in Love, Dick Gregory

I’m currently reflecting on the loss of Dick Gregory, who was 84. While much of the media will spend the day filling your ears with love-in stories about how much of a good comedian he was — a point I can definitely nod my head to — you likely won’t hear much about the context […]

Trump Makes a Valid Point About ‘Changing Culture’

My main point about yesterday’s memorable press conference with President Donald Trump has less to do with his full turn of opinion when he reestablished air cover for his Alt-Right peeps by reincarnating his “Many sides” theory as an explanation for the death and racial violence this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. But I should […]

Sunday Smack: What is the American Dream?

“The American Dream is back,” says President Donald Trump. But what does that mean? Back in January, Trump associated his desire to eliminate up to 75 percent of government regulations concerning businesses with the American Dream. In a series of moves that took place during the time of the White House-sponsored American Dream Week, Trump: […]

Charlottesville, White Terrorism and History — a Black Man’s Viewpoint

President Donald Trump’s difficulty with specifically denouncing the “Unite the Right” rally and White terrorist violence committed in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend confirms what many people of color already felt about the Trump regime: it’s Al-Qaeda or Islamic State in khakis and polo shirts, hiding behind perverse and ancient renderings of a noble religion […]

Whose Streets? Film and the New Black Leadership

Although I plan to see the Ferguson, Missouri uprising documentary Whose Streets? in a theater this week, I’ve declined to write about the film up to this point because mentalunrest’s editorial policy typically forbids me from writing about media I’ve neither seen nor experienced, but I have to share some thoughts about the recent and […]

Shifting Standards — 7 Ways

…. That tennis legend John McEnroe took time during his retirement to inexplicably mitigate Serena Williams’ standing as the top-rated women’s tennis player in the world — and possibly the best in history — by creating a new standard: comparing her to players from the men’s division … … That the insult appears to be a growing […]

Sunday Smack: Is Van Jones Correct About the Clinton Campaign and DNC Being Out of Touch?

This week’s Sunday Smack covers the Chicago People’s Summit this past Saturday, where CNN commentator Van Jones had strong words for the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic Party’s inability to connect with people of color and white working class voters. Quote and video are below. Number one, we’ve been tricked into fighting among ourselves over the wrong […]

The Decision to Murder Jordan Edwards

As the car carrying then-alive teenager Jordan Edwards departed a house party where everyone in the vehicle collectively felt was no longer safe to remain, Balch Springs, Texas police officer Roy Oliver’s calculations went from zero to I-need-to-kill-somebody within sub-seconds. Or perhaps Oliver was able to arrive at his deadly conclusion so quickly because he […]