Commentary
Statement by H.E. Mr. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, at the General Debate of the Seventy-Fourth Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “In the course of last year, the US government has been steadily and qualitatively increasing its hostile actions and blockade against Cuba. It has been putting up additional obstacles to foreign trade and increasing the persecution of the banking and financial relations that we have with the rest of the world. It has imposed extreme restrictions on traveling as well as on any sort of interaction between both peoples. It has also hindered the relations and contacts of Cubans living in the United States with their home country…”
September 28, 2019, New York — [Stenographic Version – Council of State]
Mr. President;
Mr. Secretary-General;
Heads of State and Government;
Distinguished delegates;
I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas for the loss of lives and the terrible destruction caused by hurricane Dorian. I call upon the international community to mobilize resources in order to provide assistance to that country.
Mr. President:
I want to denounce, before this General Assembly of the United Nations, that just a few months ago the US government has started to implement, criminal, non-conventional measures to prevent fuel shipments from arriving to our country from different markets, by resorting to threats and persecution against the companies that transport fuel, flag States, States of registration as well as shipping and insurance companies.
As a result of that, we have been facing severe difficulties to ensure the supply of the fuel that the everyday-life of the country demands; and we’ve been forced to adopt temporary emergency measures that could only be applied in a well-organized country, with a united and fraternal people that is ready to defend itself from foreign aggressions and preserve the social justice that has been achieved.
In the course of last year, the US government has been steadily and qualitatively increasing its hostile actions and blockade against Cuba. It has been putting up additional obstacles to foreign trade and increasing the persecution of the banking and financial relations that we have with the rest of the world. It has imposed extreme restrictions on traveling as well as on any sort of interaction between both peoples. It has also hindered the relations and contacts of Cubans living in the United States with their home country.
Up until today, the strategy of the imperialism against Cuba has been guided by the infamous Memorandum issued in 1960 by ex-Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lester Mallory, which I hereby quote: “… There is no effective political opposition (…) The only foreseeable means of alienating internal support (from the government) is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship (…) every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life (…) denying money and supplies to Cuba to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government”.
The illegal Helms Burton Act of 1996 guides the aggressive behavior of the United States against Cuba. Its essence is the stark attempt to question Cuba’s right to free determination and national independence.
It likewise envisages the imposition of the US legal authority and the jurisdiction of its courts on Cuba’s commercial and financial relations with any country, thus riding roughshod over International Law and the national jurisdiction of Cuba and third States, while establishing the alleged supremacy of the law and the political will of the US over them.
The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US continues to be the main obstacle to the development of our country and the advancement of the process to update the socialist economic and social development model that our country has designed for itself.
Every year the US government allocates tens of millions of dollars from the federal budget to political subversion, with the purpose of creating confusion and weakening the unity of our people, which articulates with a well-coordinated propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting the Revolution, its leaders and its glorious historical legacy; denigrating the economic and social policies that support development and justice and destroying the ideas of socialism.
On Thursday last, on the basis of gross slanders, the State Department announced that the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, will not be granted a visa to enter this country. This is an action that is void of any practical effect, aimed at offending Cuba’s dignity and the feelings of our people. This is nothing but vote-catching leftovers that are being tossed away to the Cuban-American extreme right. However, the open and offensive falsehoods that are being used in an attempt to justify them, which we strongly reject, are a reflection of the baseness and rottenness resorted to by this administration, which is drowning in a sea of corruption, lies and immorality.
All of these are actions and behaviors that infringe upon International Law and violate the UN Charter.
The most recent pretext, reiterated right here, last Tuesday, by the President of the United States Donald Trump was that Cuba is to blame for the failed plan to overthrow the Bolivarian government of Venezuela. With the purpose of ignoring the feat worked by the Venezuelan people, the Yankee spokespersons repeat, over and over again, the vulgar slander that our country has “from 20 to 25 thousand troops in Venezuela”, and that “the Cuban imperialism exercises control” over that country.
A few minutes earlier, the President of Brazil, at this same podium, read the script of false allegations drafted in Washington, which increased that shameless figure to “around 60 thousand Cuban troops” in Venezuela.
As part of its anti-Cuban obsession, the current US administration, echoed by Brazil, is attacking the international medical cooperation programs that Cuba shares with tens of developing countries, which are designed the assist the neediest communities, based on a feeling of solidarity and the free and voluntary will of hundreds of thousands of Cuban professionals, which are being implemented according to the cooperative agreements that have been signed with the governments of those countries. They have enjoyed, for many years now, the recognition of the international community, the UN and the World Health Organization for being the best example of South-South Cooperation.
As a result of that, many Brazilian communities were deprived from free and quality health care which, under the program “More Doctors”, was offered by thousands of Cuban professionals.
This period has not been exempted from the most shameless threats or blackmails, or immoral invitations so that our country betrays its principles and international commitments in exchange for oil under preferential conditions and questionable good friends.
In commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, when Cubans achieved the true and final independence, the First Secretary Raúl Castro said, and I quote: “…we Cubans are ready to resist a situation of confrontation, which we don’t wish; and we hope that the most lucid minds in the US government could avoid it”, end of quote.
We have reiterated that, even under the present circumstances, we will not renounce our determination to develop a civilized relation with the United States, based on mutual respect and the recognition of our profound differences. We know this is the desire of our people and the feelings shared by the majority of the US people and the Cubans who live in this country.
I likewise confirm that economic aggression, no matter how hard threats and blackmails might be, will not extract a single concession from us. Those who know the history of Cubans during their long struggle to achieve emancipation and their steadfast defense of the freedom and justice they have conquered, will understand, beyond any doubt, the significance, honesty and authority of these strong believes and ideas treasured by our people.
Mr. President:
Bilateral relations between Cuba and Venezuela are based on mutual respect and true solidarity. We support, without any hesitation, the legitimate government headed by comrade Nicolás Maduro Moros and the civic and military unity of the Bolivarian and Chavista people.
We condemn the behavior of the US government against Venezuela, focused on the encouragement of coup d’états, assassination of the country’s leaders, economic warfare and sabotage to power generation plants. We reject the implementation of unilateral and coercive measures and the plundering of the country’s assets, companies and export revenues. These actions are a serious threat to regional peace and security as well as a direct aggression to the Venezuelan people, despite the attempts to break it through the cruelest ways.
We call upon everyone to raise awareness on these facts and demand the ceasing of unilateral coercive measures, reject the use of force and encourage a respectful dialogue with the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela based on the principles of International Law and the constitutional order of that country.
A few days ago, the United States and a handful of countries decided to activate the obsolete Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR), which envisages the use of the military force. This is an absurd decision that jeopardizes regional peace and security while intending to justify, through a legal trick, an interference in the internal affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
It is also a gross violation of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace that the Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean signed in Havana in January of 2014. Of similar significance is the US decision to bring back to life the nefarious Monroe Doctrine, an instrument of domination of the imperialism, under which several military interventions and invasions, coups d’états, military dictatorships and the most atrocious crimes were perpetrated in Our America.
As we witnessed a few days ago in this Assembly, the US President usually attacks socialism in his public statements, with clearly electoral purposes, while promoting a McCarthyist intolerance against those who believe in the possibility of a better world and entertain the hope of living in peace in sustainable harmony with Nature and in solidarity with all others.
President Trump ignores or intends to overlook the fact that neoliberal capitalism is the one responsible for the increasing social and economic inequality affecting even the most developed societies and that, given its nature, it fosters corruption, social marginalization, the rise in crime, racial intolerance and xenophobia. He forgets, or does not know, that capitalism begot fascism, apartheid and imperialism.
The US government leads a gross persecution against political leaders and popular and social movements through disparagement campaigns and outrageously manipulated and politically motivated judicial processes to take back policies that, through a sovereign control over natural resources and the gradual elimination of social differences, made it possible to build more just and fraternal societies, thus becoming a way out to the economic and social crisis and a hope for the peoples of the Americas.
So, they did with former Brazilian president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, whose freedom we demand.
We reject Washington attempts to destabilize the government of Nicaragua and ratify our unswerving solidarity with President Daniel Ortega.
We express our solidarity with all Caribbean nations calling for the legitimate reparation of the horrendous sequels of slavery as well as the just, special and differentiated treatment they deserve.
We ratify our historical commitment with the free determination and independence of the brother people of Puerto Rico.
We support Argentina’s legitimate claim for its sovereignty rights over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.
Mr. President:
The behavior of the current US administration and its strategy of military and nuclear domination are a threat to international peace and security. It has almost 800 military bases around the world. It promotes projects to militarize outer space and cyberspace as well as the covert and illegal use of ICTs to attack other States. The US withdrawal from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Nuclear Missiles (INF) and the immediate commencement of intermediate range missiles tests are intended to launch a new arms race.
The President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, said last year, before this Assembly, and I quote: “…The exercise of multilateralism and the full respect for the principles and rules of International Law to advance towards a multipolar, democratic and equitable world are required to ensure peaceful coexistence, preserve international peace and security and find lasting solutions to systemic problems.”
We reiterate our unrestricted support to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, based on the creation of two States, so that the Palestinian people could exercise its right to free determination and have an independent and sovereign State based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. We reject the unilateral action of the United States to establish its diplomatic mission in the city of Jerusalem. We condemn the violence of the Israeli forces against civilians in Palestine and the threat of annexation of the occupied territories of the West Bank.
We reaffirm our unswerving solidarity with the Saharan people and our support to a solution to the question of Western Sahara so that it can exercise the right to self-determination and live in peace in its own territory.
We support the search for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the situation imposed on Syria, without any foreign interference, with full respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We reject any direct or indirect intervention without the consent of the legitimate authorities of that country.
We express our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the phase of the aggressive escalation of the US. We reject the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iran Nuclear Agreement. We call for dialogue and cooperation based on the principles of International Law.
We welcome the process of dialogue between the two Koreas. Only through dialogue, without pre-conditions, and negotiations, will it be possible to achieve a lasting political solution in the Korean peninsula. We strongly condemn the imposition of unilateral and unjust sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The continued expansion of NATO to the Russian borders creates grave dangers, which are further aggravated by the arbitrary sanctions that we reject.
Mr. President:
We support and admire the recent students and youth’s call for a march in New York. Climate change, some of whose effects are already irreversible, is a matter of survival, particularly for Small Developing Island States.
Capitalism is unsustainable. Its irrational and unsustainable production and consumption patterns and the growing and unjust concentration of wealth are the main threat against the ecological balance of the planet. There would be no sustainable development without social justice.
The special and differentiated treatment to the countries of the South in international economic relations can no longer be overlooked.
The emergency in the Amazon compels us to look for solutions through the cooperation of all, without any exclusion or politicization, with full respect for the sovereignty of States.
Mr. President:
There is a proliferation of corruption among political systems and electoral models, which are ever more distant from the willingness of peoples. Powerful and exclusive minorities, particularly corporate groups, decide the character and composition of governments, parliaments, justice systems and law enforcement entities.
The US government, after its failed attempt to submit the Human Rights Council, decided to withdraw from that body to hinder even more the dialogue and cooperation on this matter.
This is not a news that should surprise us. The US is a country where human rights are systematically -and many a time deliberately and flagrantly- violated:
- 36 383 persons -100 per day- died in this country in 2018 being shot by fire arms, while the government protects those who manufacture and market them at the expense of citizens’ security.
- 91 757 persons die every year of heart diseases because they lack appropriate treatment.
- Infant and maternal mortality rates among African-Americans are twice as much those of the white population.
- 28 million persons do not have medical insurance or real access to health services.
- 32 million citizens cannot read or write functionally.
- 2.2 million US citizens are in prison.
- -4.7 million are on probation and 10 million are arrested every year.
It is understandable why the President is concerned about attacking socialism.
We reject the politicization, selectivity, punitive approaches and double standards in addressing the human rights question. Cuba will remain committed to the realization of the rights of all persons and peoples to peace, life, free determination and development.
We should prevent the imposition of a totalitarian, unique and overpowering cultural model that turns into pieces the national cultures, identities, history, memory, symbols and individualities and silences the structural problems of capitalism that lead to an ever-growing and lacerating inequality.
The so-called “cognitive” capitalism offers the same. Digital capitalism crowns the world value chains; concentrates the property over digital data; exploits identity, information and knowledge and jeopardizes the already analogically diminished freedom and democracy. We need to develop new types of humanistic and counter-hegemonic thinking of our own, as well as a decisive political action to articulate popular mobilization in the networks, in the streets and in the ballots.
Independent States need to exercise their sovereignty in cyberspace, abandon the illusion of the so-called “network society” or “access era” and democratize internet governance.
Mr. President:
The universal and profound thoughts of the Apostle of Cuba’s independence, José Martí, continue to inspire and advise the new generations of Cubans. His words, written a few hours before he was killed in combat, are particularly relevant, and I quote: “Every day now I am in danger of giving my life for my country and duty, for I understand it and have the spirit to carry it out -in order to prevent, by the timely independence of Cuba, the United States from extending its hold across the Antilles and falling with greater force on the lands of our America. All that I have done up to now, and all I will do, is for that purpose.”
A similar strength had the words written by Antonio Maceo in 1888, and I quote: “Whoever tries to conquer Cuba will gather the dust of her blood-soaked soil, if he doesn’t perish in the fight.”
It’s been the same and only Cuban Revolution, commanded by Fidel Castro Ruz, which is now headed by First Secretary Raúl Castro and President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
And if at this point there is someone still attempting to force the Cuban Revolution to surrender, or hoping that the new generations of Cubans would betray their past and renounce their future, we will repeat, with Fidel’s same impetus:
Homeland or Death! We Shall Overcome!
Black History
COMMENTARY: BIG MAMA SAID: Don’t Throw Away the Gift Just Because It Came Wrapped Wrong
TEXAS METRO NEWS — Journalist and mentor Terry Allen reflects on the profound wisdom of his grandmother, Lucille “Big Mama” Allen, who believed that a person’s mistakes do not represent their total identity. Allen argues that many behavioral issues seen in young men are actually symptoms of undeveloped gifts that have been applied to the wrong environments.
Big Mama had a way of seeing something in you before you could see it in yourself.
My grandmother, Lucille “Big Mama” Allen, came from a generation that believed in correction. I grew up in a household where somebody might tell you, “Go get me a switch.” You knew what that meant.
But age has taught me something: correction without direction can stop behavior, but it doesn’t always develop the person.
Sometimes what we call a young man’s problem is really an undeveloped gift.
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I learned that through mentoring.
I once worked with a young man who was gambling and running numbers. Now, I wasn’t going to celebrate the behavior. Wrong is wrong. But I also refused to believe his mistakes represented the totality of who he was.
I looked underneath the behavior.
This young brother understood numbers. He understood money, calculation and risk. His gift wasn’t gambling. His gift was his mind. So I introduced him to another image: Mansa Musa, the legendary African ruler whose name became synonymous with extraordinary wealth, commerce and economic power. to The message was simple: You already have something inside you. Now what are you going to do with it? That young man redirected his abilities. What had been operating in the wrong environment found purpose through education, accounting and legitimate business. Today, he has built a leading Bookkeeping firm in California’s East Bay.
That is what mentoring can do. It is also why I created programs like City MenTor and why, for 25 years, City Men Cook has celebrated fathers, mentors and men who show up. Mentoring isn’t creating somebody in our image. It is helping somebody recognize what God already placed inside them. I thnaks GOd for allys ike Pastor Keith Lofton who helpe me keep the programs grunded in Faith.
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Scripture tells us to “fan into flame the gift of God.” — 2 Timothy 1:6.
Somebody reading this has a gift that survived mistakes, disappointment, rejection, bad decisions and maybe even your own attempts to bury it.
But it survived.Now comes the question Big Mama might ask
Baby, if God restored your gift, who are you using it to restore?
Don’t just celebrate your comeback. Reach back. Find somebody whose gift came wrapped wrong—and help them unwrap it.
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Big Mama said: Don’t throw away the gift. Redirect it. Develop it. Then give it away.
Terry Allen is an NABJ award-winning Journalist, DEI expert, PR professional, and – Vice President at FocusPR, founder of the charity City Men Cook, and Dallas Chapter President of NBPRS.org
Based on reporting by Texas Metro News.
Black History
OP-ED: The Black Church Writes AI’s Next Chapter
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — I implore my fellow faith leaders to use these tools. Start now and use them with wisdom. We count on each and every one of you to make sure our communities help write the next chapter of this story. This rapid change is not as unfamiliar as it may sound. My first understanding of AI came from using a calculator for the first time in grade school. We did not call it AI, but it was a tool that helped me work through mathematical equations hours more efficiently.
For generations, the Black church has stood strong in our communities through every historical change this country has experienced. During the civil rights movement and in recent times, faith leaders have helped uplift Black sanctuaries to register voters, keep food pantries open for people in need, and sit with families in hospital rooms in their most desperate moments. When our people faced new trials, they could always look to our faith leaders and the church to lean in to help us be included in these transformative changes.
Artificial intelligence is the latest revolutionary change to impact our society, and much like other transformations before us, underserved communities often get left behind.
I was recently featured in a report entitled “Faith, Community & AI” and it found that people send ChatGPT more than 70 million messages a week about religion. Nearly 22 million involve studying sacred texts, and 16 million ask about religious practices and holy days. Our members make up part of those numbers. They bring questions of faith to these tools every day.
Pastors have noticed, and according to a September 2025 Lifeway Research survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors, 42 percent said they use or experiment with AI in ministry. I count myself among them.
I write my sermons by hand, through prayer and study. When I finish a draft, I ask ChatGPT this question: “Where might this sermon become unclear or difficult to follow for someone early in their walk of faith?” It shows me gaps in my preparation, like where I incorrectly assumed everyone would know the context of who the Pharisees were. Then, change comes from my own pen, not the robot. The tool helps me reach the person in the back pew while the message still comes from me.
If I could have my wish, our whole community would take a similar posture. We must use these tools, understand them, and most importantly be present to help shape them if we want to be included in the coming change.
I implore my fellow faith leaders to use these tools. Start now and use them with wisdom. We count on each and every one of you to make sure our communities help write the next chapter of this story. This rapid change is not as unfamiliar as it may sound. My first understanding of AI came from using a calculator for the first time in grade school. We did not call it AI, but it was a tool that helped me work through mathematical equations hours more efficiently.
It starts with training; there is no involvement without understanding. Free AI trainings have begun in our churches and community centers across the nation. Every faith leader should sign up and, when possible, encourage members of your congregations to join you. By learning how to use AI, we can better understand what it can do, make up our own minds about its impact, and have a say in how it shapes our communities.”
Next, we must be at the tables where the builders of these tools make decisions. Presence is the first step toward understanding, and that gap is only bridged through a coordinated effort. How can any tool serve a community well if that community is not part of the conversation? Our traditions, needs, and concerns must be accounted for, and Black faith leaders are already making that happen. OpenAI’s recent Faith report states plainly that AI should never become an arbiter of religious truth. I fully intend to hold the company to its word, and the most effective way I can do that is from inside.
I will close with this––we must diligently protect what only the church can give. A believer in Seoul, Korea quoted in the report warned, “if you pour every struggle into a private chat, your pastor and your friends may never learn you need help.” A chatbot will not sit with a grieving family or pray with you at two in the morning. As we adopt this technology, it is up to us to ensure it keeps people connected to each other and to their church.
Rev. Dr. Adolphus Lacey is senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York.
Art
Comedy and Loss Collide in Kevonstage’s ‘Grief Sucks’ at the Pageant
ST. LOUIS AMERICAN — Comedian KevOnStage brought his one-man show “Grief Sucks” to The Pageant, offering an experience that blended humor with the raw realities of loss. The show, rooted in his personal journey after the sudden death of his brother, manager, and business partner Jason Fredericks four years ago, gave the audience permission to laugh and cry, often at the same time.
When KevOnStage took the stage at The Pageant Sunday night, his house rules let everyone know what they were in for with his one-man show “Grief Sucks.”
“Do not judge yourself. Do not judge the jokes. Just laugh,” he said.
Even within his directions, were jokes.
He gave the audience permission to cry, but quietly – because Black people have a tendency to do things at full volume.
The hour that followed provided plenty of laughter. But underneath the humor were truths that anyone who has ever lost someone could feel deep in their chest.
The show was based on his experience of losing his brother, best friend, manager and business partner Jason Fredericks. He died suddenly of a heart attack four years ago at the age of 42.
Kev warned the audience to be mindful of their social media — both the wild posts that could end up being someone’s last and the intrusive ones people make after a loved one dies. And he gave people permission to laugh at the moments that feel too outrageous to say out loud — the ones that become inside jokes for families trying to survive the worst days of their lives.
“Grief is dark humor,” he said as he walked through the story of his brother’s death — a story he jokingly blamed on Nia Long.
He found a way to give permission to laugh at the outlandish moments that often serve as inside jokes. Those who have lived through some of the worst moments of their lives and not only found a way to talk about it, but to steal a laugh in the midst.
“Grief is dark humor,” he said as he walked through the story of his brother’s death — a story he jokingly blamed on Nia Long.
“I know that sounds crazy,” he said. “It’s not her fault — but it is her responsibility.”
It was a jarring moment, but it let the audience know exactly what kind of honesty they were in for.
He said his brother’s death was “proof that she is drop‑dead gorgeous.”
“Sometimes things are funny — and sometimes things are funny because you should not be laughing,” he said.
The show moved through a series of points about grief, each one backed by a story that made the room nod in recognition. He talked about how grief can twist ordinary moments — how it can make you jealous of people with siblings or irritated by strangers having a good day.
He explained how grief can twist even the simplest moments, how it can make you jealous of people with siblings, or irritated by strangers having a good day. He brilliantly compared grief to a rock stuck in your shoe. Sometimes it’s small and manageable. Other times its jagged and unbearable – but always there.
He also talked about the unfairness of grief — how the world doesn’t stop when your loved one dies, how people still go to Raising Cane’s, still pick up their kids, still laugh. And he talked about the heartbreak of realizing his brother never got to see things he would have loved, from TV shows to cultural moments. And that he was robbed of the opportunity to engage with him about them.
“He would have loved Sinners,” Kev said. “But he never got to see it.”
At one point, he paused to show a video of his brother telling him how proud he was. The room went quiet. It wasn’t the polite kind of silence – but the kind where you can hear someone in the back sniff. The crowd assured him that it was okay for him to take a beat. His voice shook as he pushed through. Those pauses made the audience lean in even more.
Kev made grief feel communal. He made people laugh at things they didn’t think they were allowed to laugh at. And he reminded everyone in the room that grief doesn’t make sense, doesn’t follow rules, and doesn’t care about timing. And most importantly, he drove home the point that it also doesn’t have to be carried alone.
There were moments when his emotions got the best of him. There was the video he shared of his brother telling Kev how proud he was of him that compelled him to take a beat. His voice quivered as he powered through. Those pauses made the audience connect with the show all the more. Grief Sucks wasn’t just comedy. It was catharsis. It was storytelling. It was a room full of people realizing they weren’t the only ones trying to make sense of loss.
KevOnStage gave them permission to feel all of it — and to laugh anyway.
Internet personality and standup comedian KevOnStage used the sudden and unexpected loss of his brother as the foundation for a one-man show that was funny, honest and a little dark – often at the same time.
Sunday night, he brought “Grief Sucks” to The Pageant. His barometer check
KevOnStage walked onto The Pageant stage Sunday night with a promise: that the next hour would be funny, honest and a little dark. And he delivered all three — often at the same time.
His one‑man show, Grief Sucks, was as relatable as it was funny. It was the kind of performance where the audience laughed hard, then caught themselves nodding in recognition. Because beneath every punchline was a truth that anyone who has lost someone could feel in their chest.
He opened with the kind of humor that only comes from someone who has lived through the worst days of their life and somehow found a way to talk about it. He told the crowd they had permission to cry, laugh, sit still, or just breathe — but to “cry quietly,” because, as he joked, Black folks tend to do everything at full volume.
Then he went straight into the story of losing his brother — not with soft edges, but with the kind of raw honesty that made the room go still. He explained how grief can twist even the simplest moments, how it can make you jealous of people with siblings, or irritated by strangers having a good day. He compared grief to a rock stuck in your shoe: sometimes small and manageable, sometimes jagged and unbearable, but always there.
And he didn’t shy away from the intrusive thoughts that come with loss — the ones people rarely admit out loud. He shared the moment he realized he had lived longer than his older brother ever got to, and how that fact sits heavy no matter how much time passes.
Kev’s storytelling is built on the kind of humor that comes from real life — the funeral home upcharges, the family dynamics, the dark jokes that slip out at the worst possible moments. He told a story about previewing his brother’s body with his wife and grandmother, and how one unexpected comment turned into an inside joke that has carried them through four years of grief.
He also talked about the unfairness of grief — how the world doesn’t stop when your loved one dies, how people still go to Raising Cane’s, still pick up their kids, still laugh. And he talked about the heartbreak of realizing his brother never got to see things he would have loved, from TV shows to cultural moments.
The most emotional part of the night came when he recounted the day his brother died — the phone calls, the confusion, the hope, and finally the moment his nephew said, “He’s gone,” while Kev was sitting in a middle seat on a United flight. He told it plainly, without theatrics, and the room held its breath.
But even in that story, he found a way to make people laugh — not at the pain, but at the absurdity of life continuing around you when your world has just shattered.
By the end of the show, KevOnStage had done something rare: he made grief feel communal. He made people laugh at things they didn’t think they were allowed to laugh at. And he reminded everyone in the room that grief doesn’t make sense, doesn’t follow rules, and doesn’t care about timing — but it also doesn’t have to be carried alone.
Grief Sucks wasn’t just comedy. It was catharsis. It was storytelling. It was a room full of people realizing they weren’t the only ones trying to make sense of loss.
And on a Sunday night at The Pageant, KevOnStage gave them permission to feel all of it — and to laugh anyway.
Based on reporting by St. Louis American.
Black Press
OP-ED: If the ‘Cornell 7’ Were Black Men at an HBCU — America Wouldn’t Be This Sympathetic
ATLANTA DAILY WORLD — This article examines how the national conversation surrounding serious allegations against fraternity members might change if the incidents occurred at an HBCU involving Black men, rather than an Ivy League institution. It references recent high-profile cases at Cornell, Penn State, Baylor, and Stanford, prompting a re-evaluation of media scrutiny and public sympathy.
Instead of it taking place at an Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York, what would it look like if a national story concerning rape allegations from fraternity members took place on an HBCU campus in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., or Nashville?
Would President Donald Trump still feel “badly” for the alleged?
Do you think the Kappas, Sigmas, and Alphas would face the same scrutiny?
Might people use more compassionate language when discussing the case’s legalities?
We already know the answers to those questions.
Sunny Hostin from “The View” recounted a call she received from actress Cynthia Erivo, who said, ‘Sis, I know you, and I know your heart and your life’s work has been about protecting women and children. But the clip that I saw doesn’t reflect who you are.” Hostin’s initial remarks about the case focused on its legal aspects, lacking compassion for the alleged victims and other survivors who might have been affected. Hostin reflected, “Instead of leading with the law, I need to lead with empathy so that people can receive the message about the law. I was accused of defending these young men and victim-shaming, which is something I would never do since I spent the majority of my career prosecuting sex crimes.”
If you’re reading this, then you are already aware of the allegations against the “Cornell 7.” The news comes just weeks after 14 people were charged in connection with the alleged trafficking of kilos of cocaine on Penn State’s campus by members of white fraternities. A decade ago, the rape scandal at Baylor University dominated the news, which was around the same time as the Brock Turner case at Stanford.
I ask again: how would the news coverage, social media chatter, and podcast conversations differ if such incidents happened on HBCU campuses and included members of Black Greek-letter organizations?
Based on reporting by Atlanta Daily World.
Black History
Can Black Houston Create a Black Tech Corridor?
HOUSTON DEFENDER — Black professionals remain significantly underrepresented in the American technology sector, holding only 7.4% of high-tech jobs despite making up 12.7% of the U.S. workforce in 2025. This disparity is even wider for Black women, who constitute less than 3% of the tech workforce.
For years, technology has been one of America’s fastest-growing economic sectors—and one where Black professionals remain significantly underrepresented.
In 2025, Black workers made up 12.7% of the U.S. workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but only 7.4% of the high-tech workforce, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their share of high-tech employment had remained essentially stagnant since 2005. Black workers also represented just 5.7% of high-tech managers.
For Black women, the gap is even wider. A 2023 Kapor Foundation report found Black women represented less than 3% of the tech workforce, with even fewer in decision-making and ownership roles.
So, instead of waiting for the broader technology industry to solve its representation problem, could Black Houston build something of its own?
The answer: Yes—but not simply by drawing a line on a map.
Houston has the pieces
Dr. Reagan Flowers, founder of C-STEM and Education Consulting Services, believes Houston already possesses many of the building blocks needed for a Black Tech Corridor.
“What I have not seen is the intentionality to connect, capitalize, and organize assets into an ecosystem where Black Houstonians can create, own, and scale technology companies and participate meaningfully in the wealth those companies generate,” said Flowers.
She contends Houston already offers examples of what a technology ecosystem can look like.
The Texas Medical Center’s innovation infrastructure demonstrates the power of institutional partnerships, specialized facilities, and venture funding. The Ion District demonstrates how universities, corporations, entrepreneurs, real estate, and capital can converge. TXRX Labs shows the value of community-accessible maker and technical-skills infrastructure.
Flowers argues Black Houston can learn from all three without simply copying them. The goal, she said, should be a hybrid public-private-community ownership model.
Third Ward makes sense
If there is a geographic spine for such an ecosystem, Flowers points to Third Ward—particularly Emancipation Avenue. Its location is difficult to ignore.
Third Ward sits near Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, and Houston Community College, and connects to Midtown, the Ion District, and the Texas Medical Center.
UH already has a commercialization platform that takes innovations through invention, prototyping, licensing, venture creation, investor connections, and market expansion. Its Technology Bridge provides a large innovation park with laboratories, offices, and space for technology companies.
“To the west is Rice’s Ion District,” shared Flowers. “To the southwest is the Texas Medical Center and its health-tech commercialization engine.”
In other words, Black Houston would not have to build an ecosystem from scratch.
“The pieces are already on the board,” said Flowers. “They have not been organized around Black technology ownership and wealth creation.”
Is there already one?
Parts of a Black tech ecosystem clearly exist. Houston has Black technology professionals, Black-owned startups, STEM nonprofits, workforce development programs, minority business organizations, Black founders and investors, universities that produce diverse talent, and historically Black fraternities and sororities that support innovation.

But Kara Branch, founder and CEO of Black Girls Do Engineer, cautions against defining success by geography alone.
“I think the conversation needs to be bigger than creating a physical ‘corridor,’” said Branch. “A successful technology ecosystem should be measured by what it produces for the community—not simply where it is located or who occupies the space.”
Loretta Williams Gurnell, founder and CEO of SUPERGirls SHINE Foundation, agrees.
“I believe we have one, yet a successful Black tech corridor cannot simply be viewed as a geographic location. It must function as an ecosystem,” offered Gurnell.
That ecosystem would connect K-12 STEM education, colleges and universities, workforce development, entrepreneurs, startups, corporations, investors, innovation hubs, government, faith communities, and civic organizations.
The objective: Create a seamless pathway from classroom to career to entrepreneurship.
Ownership is the point
Why does Black Houston need a Black-centered technology ecosystem? Because access doesn’t automatically equal ownership.
“As AI, automation, cybersecurity, data analytics, robotics, and emerging technologies continue reshaping the economy, we must ask: Who is building the technology? Who owns the companies? Who owns the intellectual property? Who receives the investment capital? Who benefits economically?” pondered Gurnell.
Those questions matter because technology increasingly drives wealth creation.
Laolu Davies-Yemitan, founding principal of Five Woods Realty, similarly argues that participation alone is insufficient.

“If the Black community is going to capture a meaningful share of the wealth generated by the next generation of technological innovation, the pathway must increasingly include ownership—ownership of companies, intellectual property, real estate, investment capital, and the institutions that support entrepreneurial growth,”
– Laolu Davies-Yemitan, founding principal of Five Woods Realty
“If the Black community is going to capture a meaningful share of the wealth generated by the next generation of technological innovation, the pathway must increasingly include ownership—ownership of companies, intellectual property, real estate, investment capital, and the institutions that support entrepreneurial growth,” shared Davies-Yemitan.
Real barriers
Building the corridor—or innovation district—will not be easy. Capital is perhaps the biggest obstacle. Black founders receive a disproportionately small share of venture funding, making it harder to scale companies, hire workers, and conduct research.
Then there is fragmentation. Houston has organizations doing valuable work in STEM education, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation, but many operate independently rather than as parts of a coordinated ecosystem.

Talent pipelines also require attention. Young people in underserved communities can face limited exposure to STEM, limited access to technology resources, mentorship, and professional networks, and limited knowledge of technology careers. Gurnell’s philosophy is straightforward: Exposure creates aspiration; information drives preparation; preparation creates access.
Digital inequity remains another challenge, including disparities in broadband access, devices, digital literacy, and training in advanced technology. And then there’s social capital.
“Deals are made through trusted relationships,” Gurnell said. “Therefore, those relationships have to be exposed, nurtured, and strengthened.”
Branch adds another warning: Houston cannot confuse activity with impact.
“There can be a lot of panels, events, programs, announcements, and conversations,” she said. “But doing the work means consistently showing up after the spotlight is gone.”
Build talent before buildings
That may be the most important lesson.
“The conversation should not begin with buildings,” said Gurnell. “It should begin with talent.”
That means investing in early STEM exposure, workforce readiness, mentorship, entrepreneurship, capital access, and collaboration among nonprofits, corporations, universities, philanthropies, government, and industry.
Branch points to Black Girls Do Engineer’s STEMXUS EdTech infrastructure as an example of building rather than merely discussing solutions.
“We don’t want a young person to simply hear that engineering, technology, or innovation are possible careers,” Branch said. “We want them to build something, solve a problem, use the technology, meet professionals, develop skills, and understand what their next step can be.”
Branch’s litmus test asks, did someone gain a skill, get a job, launch a business, discover a career, or secure capital or customers? Did a family gain access to opportunity?
From corridor to economy
Flowers suggests thinking beyond a traditional corridor and toward a Black Innovation District; one that connects Third Ward, TSU, UH, and HCC with the Ion, TMC, and Houston’s manufacturing and maker infrastructure.
Rather than competing with Houston’s existing innovation centers, it could become connective tissue between those institutions and Black Houston.
“The pieces are already on the board. They have not been organized around Black technology ownership and wealth creation.”
Dr. Reagan Flowers
Gurnell envisions additional benefits.
“The greatest opportunity before us is not simply creating a Black tech corridor,” Gurnell said. “It is creating a Black innovation economy.”
The infrastructure for such a corridor/economy exists. The question is whether Black Houston can summon the intentionality, investment, collaboration, and ownership required to make it happen.
Based on reporting by Houston Defender.
Black History
OPINION: Black Capitalism Re-Analyzed: June 5, 1971 – Huey Newton
SF BAY VIEW — Huey P. Newton, writing on June 5, 1971, reaffirmed the Black Panther Party’s foundational stance against capitalist robbery within the Black community, a position held since October 1966. While acknowledging that many have proposed Black capitalism as a solution, Newton asserted that the community’s general acceptance of the concept does not stem from an affinity for capitalism itself.
“We want an end to the robbery by the CAPITALISTS of our Black community.” That was our position in October 1966 and it is still our position … However, many people have offered the community Black capitalism as a solution to our problems. We recognize that people in the Black community have no general dislike for the concept of Black capitalism, but this is not because they are in love with capitalism. Not at all.”
The Black Panther Party, as we begin to carry out the original vision of the Party. When we coined the expression “All Power to the People,” we had in mind emphasizing the word “Power,” for we recognize that the will to power is the basic drive of man. But it is incorrect to seek power over people. We have been subjected to the dehumanizing power of exploitation and racism for hundreds of years; and the Black community has its own will to power also. What we seek, however, is not power over people, but the power to control our own destiny. For us the true definition of power is not in terms of how many people you can control. To us power is, first of all, the ability to define phenomena, and secondly the ability to make these phenomena act in a desired manner.
We see then that power has a dual character and that we cannot simply identify and define phenomena without acting, for to do so is to become an armchair philosopher. And when Bobby and I left Merritt College to organize brothers on the block, we did so because the college students were too content to sit around and analyze without acting. On the other hand, power includes action, for it is making phenomena perform in the desired manner. But action without thinking and theory is also incorrect. If the social forces at work in the community have not been correctly analyzed and defined, how can you control them in such a way that they act in a desired manner? So the Black Panther Party has always merged theory and practice in such a way as to serve the true interests of the community.

In merging theory with practice, we recognized that it was necessary to develop a theory which was valid for more than one time and place. We wanted to develop a system of thinking which was good anywhere, thus it had to be rather abstract. Yet our theory would relate to a concrete analysis of concrete conditions so that our actions would always be relevant and profitable to the people. Yet, at the same time, it had to advance their thinking so that they would move toward a transformation of their situation of exploitation and oppression. We have always insisted on good theory and good practice, but we have not always been successful in carrying this through.
‘When the Black Panther Party defected from the Black community, we became, for a while, revolutionary cultists. One of the primary characteristics of a revolutionary cultist is that he despises everyone who has not reached his level of consciousness, or the level of consciousness that he thinks he has reached, instead of acting to bring the people to that level. In that way the revolutionary cultist becomes divided from the people; he defects from the community. Instead of serving the people as a vanguard, he becomes a hero. Heroes engage in very courageous actions sometimes, and they often make great sacrifices, including the supreme sacrifice, but they are still isolated from the people. Their courageous actions and sacrifices do not lead the people to a higher level of consciousness, nor do they produce fundamental changes in the exploitation and oppression of the people. A vanguard, however, will guide the people onto higher levels of consciousness and that way bring them to the point where they will take sterner actions in their own interests and against those who continue to oppress them. As I’ve said previously, revolution is a process, not a conclusion. A true revolutionist will not only take courageous actions, he will also try to advance the people in such a manner that they will transform their situation. That I, by delivering power to the people the true revolutionist will help them define the social phenomena in their community and lead them to the point where they will seize the time and make these phenomena act in a desired manner.
Therefore, as revolutionaries we must recognize the difference between what the people can do and what they will do. They can do anything they desire to do, but they will only take those actions which are consistent with their level of consciousness and their understanding of the situation. When we raise their consciousness, they will understand even more fully what they in fact can do, and they will move on the situation in a courageous manner. This is merging your theory with your practices. Point 3 of the original Ten-Point Program of the Black Panther Party is “We want an end to the robbery by the CAPITALISTS of our Black Community.”
That was our position in October 1966 and it is still our position. We recognize that capitalism is no solution to the problems we face in our communities. Capitalist exploitation is one of the basic causes of our problem. It is the goal of the Black Panther Party to negate capitalism in our communities and in the oppressed communities throughout the world.
However, many people have offered the community Black capitalism as a solution to our problems. We recognize that people in the Black community have no general dislike for the concept of Black capitalism, but this is not because they are in love with capitalism. Not at all. The idea of Black capitalism has come to mean to many people Black control of another one of the institutions in the community. We see within this characteristic the seeds of the negation of Black capitalism and all capitalism in general. What we must do then is increase the positive qualities until they dominate the negative and therefore transform the situation.
In the past the Black Panther Party took a counter revolutionary position with our blanket condemnation of Black capitalism. Our strategy should have been to analyze the positive and negative qualities of this phenomenon before making any condemnation. Even though we recognized, and correctly so, that capitalism is no solution or answer, we did not make a truly dialectical analysis of the situation. We recognized that in order to bring the people to the level of consciousness where they would seize the time, it would be necessary to serve their interests in survival by developing programs which would help them to meet their daily needs. For a long time we have had such programs not only for survival but for organizational purposes. Now we not only have a breakfast program for schoolchildren, we have clothing programs, we have health clinics which provide free medical and dental services, we have programs for prisoners and their families, and we are opening clothing and shoe factories to provide for more of the needs of the community.In a way our new position has the simplicity and completeness of a mathematical formula.
When the Black capitalist contributes to the survival programs and makes a contribution to the community, the community will give him their support and thus strengthen his business. If he does not make any contribution to the survival of the community, the people will not support him and his enterprise will wither away because of his own negligence. By supporting the community, however, he will be helping to build the political machine that will eventually negate his exploitation of the community, but also negate his being exploited and victimized by corporate capitalism.
So we will heighten the contradiction between the Black community and corporate capitalism, while at the same time reducing the contradiction between the Black capitalist and the Black community. In this way Black capitalism will be transformed from a relationship of exploitation of the community to a relationship of service to the community, which will contribute to the survival of everyone.
Original publication: Huey P. Newton, “Black Capitalism Re-Analyzed,” The Black Panther: Intercommunal News Service, June 5, 1971 (supplement). Archival scan: https:// cdn.filepicker.io/api/file/Mum1pt7RZ6jYSUs1kh2v?fit=max
The post BLACK CAPITALISM RE-ANALYZED I: JUNE 5, 1971- HUEY NEWTON appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.
Based on reporting by SF Bay View.
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