The Fourteenth Amendment (Section 1): "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.

"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any persons within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

MCJ Editorial

Eventual bailout plan must be fair to all Americans, regardless of color

At the risk of sounding racist to some (which we are not), there’s an old saying: “When White America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia.” The saying holds especially true during the nation’s current financial crisis. White America’s cold worsened when House Representatives in Congress rejected Monday the $700 billion financial rescue plan for Wall Street. As a result, The Dow Jones plummeted 778 points (seven percent), the largest one-day point loss ever in the Dows industrial average. ... Read more

In the wake of potential thievery on Wall Street, should we be profiling rich White men?

by Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com

Maybe this racial profiling stuff isn’t a bad idea. Maybe we should take another look at it. And let’s get it right this time. Let’s get more races in the racial profiling mix. Or, as the old joke goes, let’s make sure everybody gets a turn in the barrel. For the past week, we’ve all heard the news about the greatest financial crisis to hit Wall Street in nearly 80 years. The economy is in near meltdown. Congress will have to pass legislation to bail out several industries and businesses faced with ruin. And who’s responsible? ... Read more

Contrary to the Right’s cries, Black people did not create this financial crisis

by Tonyaa Weathersbee, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The lies and code just keep getting thicker. By now, anyone witnessing the kneecapping of Wall Street through its own rampant greed ought to know how things came to this. Too many sub-prime mortgages were issued to people who couldn’t afford them. Too much speculation and too little regulation led those risky loans to be packaged into securities so that when the housing bubble burst, the nation’s economic safety net was shredded. Now we’re told that only a government bailout will save us from another Great Depression. That could be a very real possibility or a threat aimed at forcing lawmakers to act. ... Read more

Wondering why McCain couldn’t look Obama in the eye Friday night? He was ashamed!

by Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

It says something that Barack Obama was so well acquitted in the first presidential debate on Friday, that many a conservative commentator acknowledged his poise and presidential stature without hesitation. It says that Obama was so good that even those who normally champ at the bit to diminish him had to concede that he dispelled any lingering doubts about his readiness. It says Obama must have been twice as good as the pundits attest, because only such an utter triumph can bring the partisans to bow. ... Read more