By Rob Macon, KPFK Local Station Board Member The U.S Mint will roll out the first image of a Black woman on a quarter replacing George Washington. It depicts Maya Angelou, an American author, poet and civil rights activist. Born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, Angelou rose to international prominence in 1969 with her renowned publication of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” It illustrates how to overcome [...]
Juneteenth now a Federal Holiday by Rob Macon Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves, is now a federal holiday in the United States. Celebrating African-American culture annually in the U.S. since 1865, it originated in Galveston, Texas. President Joe Biden signs bill declaring June 19th as Juneteeth, marking the end of slavery. June 7, 1979, President Jimmy Carter decreed that June would be Black Music Month, an annual celebration for nearly [...]
KPFK LSB FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE Changing Directions Campaign By Rob Macon, KPFK Local Station Board Ron Macon, KPFK LSB Fund-raising Committee If you read last month’s Change Links, you should have a clear understanding of the financial conditions KPFK and Pacifica are experiencing. For a number of years the KPFK LSB Fundraising Committee hardly met. Leaving the station to struggle with over-the-air fundraising. That is about to change. The fundraising committee, for [...]
Police Killings Of Blacks and the Racial Wealth Gap Are By Design By Rob Macon, member KPFK Local Station Board Is racism institutionalized in this country? You bet it is! A lot of work needs to be done to train public servants to overcome bias in social services, police and health services, etc. Could it be that racism is a learned behavior, like fear or insecurity? One thing for sure, one can't [...]
RACISM - THE AMERICAN WAY! Part 1 By Rob Macon, KPFK LSB member Rob Macon What is it about the “N-Word” that is so hard to resist that a racist would take the chance to lose all of his or her accomplishments just to have an opportunity to express it? John “PAPA JOHN” Schnatter, CEO of Papa John pizza, a company he founded and named after himself, steps down for using the [...]
NEW CA LAW AIMS TO CUT POLICE KILLINGS By Rob Macon, KPFK Local Station Board member According to California lawmakers, 162 people in the state were fatally shot by police last year. Studies prove that Black people are killed by cops in CA far more often per capita than white people. Long Beach, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Bernardino and Stockton are 5 of the nation’s 15 police departments with the highest per [...]
THE PRESIDENT'S “LEFTOVERS” By Rob Macon As the election approaches, President Obama prepares to walk the Oval Office one final time. Many agree Obama has done an outstanding job concerning the nation’s economy. Then there are what we can identify as “leftovers.” Leftovers are conditions prevailing during the Obama Administration, as well as past presidents, that the administration was unable to finish, leaving the next administration to solve such problems as poverty, [...]
MESSAGE FROM A BLACK MAN by Rob Macon I remember when I was in the 3rd grade at Arlington Elementary Grade School in St. Louis. The year was 1965. I was walking through the schoolyard in the fall one day and I noticed white spray paint on the front wall of the school building with a message that read: "STOP WHITE POLICE FROM KILLING US!" I was afraid. It felt like that [...]
by Rob Macon Remember the saying, The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world? During this 2016 presidential election, concerns about the next elected president of the US being able to maintain a diplomatic relationship with two of the world's other great powers; Russia and China. As President Obama prepares to leave the White House here's where the US relationship between Russia and China lies: RUSSIA: The US and Russia have [...]
by Rob Macon Not again! First 2015 and now 2016. The 88th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, for yet another year has decided that whites only will celebrate being the best actors, rather than any other people of color. We Built This City,î as the song goes, which seems to be the mindset not only of the voting members of the Academy, but also, we're learning, of the Hollywood studio executives, [...]
