Michael Cottman commentary

Maryland State Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti should resign immediately. No more empty apologies; no more foolish explanations, no more lies. Racist insults targeting African-Americans certainly should not be tolerated by elected officials. The Maryland House of Delegates voted 136-0 last week to censure Lisanti after she admitted to using the reprehensible N-word at a bar […]

Dana White, the Pentagon’s top spokeswoman, could be in trouble. White, one of the few high-ranking African-Americans in the Trump administration, works directly for Defense Secretary James Mattis. White is being investigated by the Defense Department Office of Inspector General for allegedly retaliating against staff members after she ordered them to run  personal errands for […]

  Frank Davis is an accomplished African American millionaire who hasn’t felt the sting of racism in years. Until now. Last week, Davis, and his son, Michael, entered their room at the luxurious Art Ovation Hotel in Sarasota, Florida, and their July 4 vacation was abruptly interrupted by a racist, three-word note: “You’re a N—-R.” […]

Has Rep. Maxine Waters gone too far? Waters, the fiery Democrat from California and one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal opponents, is calling for liberal Americans to heckle Trump administration officials in restaurants and stores to push back against Trump’s flawed immigration policy. “You think we’re rallying now? You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Waters […]

  Is there political power in a rap video? Days after former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s youngest son, Jonas Kilpatrick, produced an emotional music video, entitled “Too Much Time,” which calls for Kilpatrick’s discharge from prison, Kilpatrick was abruptly transferred to a low-security federal prison in New Jersey this week. Kilpatrick was transferred after more […]

It didn’t matter that star actress Roseanne Barr surged into full apology mode Tuesday after tweeting a bizarre racist rant saying Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, looks like a “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”   I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I […]

I didn’t know ‘Strolling While Black’ was an issue – until now. Donald Sherman, a lawyer and father, is confused and frustrated. Sherman, who is African-American, was pushing a stroller carrying his baby, Caleb, at Kingman and Heritage Islands Park near the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. last week when racism took hold. A white […]

Micheal Brown, a brilliant high school senior, is still waiting for a formal apology from Fox News – and he certainly deserves it. Brown has been offered a full ride in scholarships to 20 different colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford – but his celebration was somewhat dampened after Fox anchors in Washington, D.C. […]

This has been a particularly embarrassing and personally distressing month for President Donald Trump. Stormy Daniels, the porn star, appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and shared cringe-worthy details about her purported affair with President Donald Trump. Her revelations included Daniels claiming she once spanked Trump with a copy of Forbes magazine featuring Trump’s face on […]

Is there a pattern of racist behavior in public school classrooms across America? I’m not an alarmist, nor an expert in polling, and even though this may be a small sampling, it’s still worth considering these critical facts: Last week, a white Florida teacher was suspended after an investigation revealed that David Swinyar used the […]

Either President Donald Trump is tone-deaf to racial politics — or he doesn’t care. Trump recently signed a proclamation celebrating February’s Black History Month – then he Twitter-attacks one of Black America’s most beloved women: Oprah Winfrey. Last week, Winfrey convened a group of Michigan voters on CBS’ “60 Minutes” to discuss Trump’s legislative policies […]

“If you want to learn how to celebrate Black history and culture during this month you can ask the Black students at this school instead of patronizing us with Koolaid, watermelon and ribs.” –Nia Harris, a student at New York University. What were folks at New York University thinking when they decided to serve students […]