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1 week ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
For us Gen Xers, Ananda Lewis was one of the faces of our generation. An MTV VJ, she was a celebrity figure in the center of the 1980s and 90s media universe. She was later diagnosed with breast cancer, which is a diagnosis that too often proves fatal for Black women. Lewis, however, very publicly rejected mammograms and other actions associated with dealing with or preventing breast cancer.
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1 week ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
Super fans of the Netflix show Black Mirror who saw the Tesla Cybertruck (the ugly Elon Musk Mobile) for the first time said to themselves, "I've seen that before; it's Metalhead."Metalhead was the name of episode 5 of Black Mirror season 4. Metalhead was a machine with no conscience, no emotion, no empathy...
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1 week ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
After 23 years of silence, Carol Porter is on a mission to set the record straight about the demise of Kid Care, the nation's first meals-on-wheels program for children that was celebrated from North Houston to the White House and beyond. It's a story of both devastation and resilience.
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2 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
Tennis star Coco Gauff dedicated her victory in the French Open final last week to "people that look like me" in the U.S. and said she hopes it will bring "hope and light" to those who do not feel supported in the country. The 21-year-old won her second grand slam title as she battled from behind to win a dramatic three-set final against the World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. "It means a lot, and obviously there's a lot going on in our country right now with... like, everything," Gauff said.
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2 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
Working in the security department of Texas Children's Hospital (TCH), Christopher Flix sees children with various medical issues daily. But how many TCH visitors actually see him? Flix faithfully serves in one of those jobs that many people treat as invisible because it lacks the high profile of a career in sports or entertainment. But what those people are blind to is that Flix's on-the-job dedication doesn't see that he's a superstar father.
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3 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
If you haven't seen the 2006 movie Idiocracy, don't worry; you're living it. The movie shows a nation whose citizens are so dumbed down that they fall for any nonsense, challenge learned scholars with BS opinions and create a society that is literally killing itself with its own ignorance. We're seeing this Idiocracy in action as Texas has joined Florida and Ohio in seeking to give gubernatorially appointed boards the power to control university curriculum and eliminate degree programs.
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3 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
Are Blacks for or against gun ownership? Both. And it's complicated... or maybe it's not. To some, Hu Sani Sallah-Wilson doesn't fit the media image of the typical gun enthusiast, i.e., white, male, MAGA-leaning, outspoken and often anti-Black. Though definitely male, Sallah-Wilson is progressive in his worldview, humble and soft-spoken and unapologetically pro-Black. And he has no problem letting you know that he's a proud gun owner.
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3 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
There are two schools of thought regarding African Americans' concerns about international issues. One is that Black people are too focused on "domestic" issues to pay attention to events around the globe. Two, Black people in the U.S. today, like past giants (W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and others), are more aware of global issues than some social scientists think, and recognize how those issues impact their lives in America.
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3 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
The Texas House recently passed Senate Bill 10, a measure requiring all state public schools to display the 10 Commandments in every classroom. When Gov. Greg Abbott finally signs this bill into law, it will go into effect on Sept. 1. Surely, this course of events will provoke a court challenge as a potential violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You know, all that legal separation of church and state stuff.
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4 weeks ago | 
defendernetwork.com | Aswad Walker
Anyone who knows me knows my favorite progressive thought leader is author, activist, lawyer and Sirius XM Radio show host Lurie Daniel Favors. If you're familiar with Favors, you've probably heard her use the phrase WEI - on the regular. For those unaware, WEI stands for "white, entitled and inept," or "white, entitled and incompetent." Either works just fine. Favors coined the phrase out of disgust with the national framing and defaming of the acronym DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).
