Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

Deborah Mathis is a nationally syndicated columnist and former White House correspondent for the Gannett News Service. She is the author of two books, Yet A Stranger: Why Black Americans Still Don't Feel at Home and Sole Sister: The Joys and Pain of Single Black Women.

Past articles:

Beyonce Knowles, role model? You better believe it
Commentary: Richard Pryor’s Gift to Blacks? Making Us Laugh to Keep From Crying
Commentary: $40 Million Presidential Party Proves Them Thats Got Shall Get
Commentary: ‘Forgiving’ nation refuses to let released cons rest their heads
Commentary: ‘Gangster’ Creates an Entertaining Paradox
Commentary: 50 Cent’s ‘Get Rich’ Tells Black Kids They’ve Two Options -- Wealth or Death
Commentary: 50 Years Ago, There Was the Racist Madness of the Little Rock Nine; Now There’s the Jena Six
Commentary: A Quick Question, Mr. McCain, About Your Stance on the War -- Are You Out of Your Mind?
Commentary: A War-Weary Nation is Finally Realizing that the Emperor Has No Clothes
Commentary: After Gay Snub at MMM, Sharpton’s Promise of Inclusion is Welcome
Commentary: After His Low Blow, the Clintons Should Part Company with Bob Johnson - But They Won’t
Commentary: Allen May Be Innocent of Theft, but He’s Guilty of Failing This Country
Commentary: Along with New Year’s Resolve Comes a Hope – That Black America Defies the Odds and Rises High
Commentary: Along with the Broken Levees Lies the Illusion of Dubya’s Competence
Commentary: As Dubya Continues to Prove, He’s All Bully Pulpit-Talk and No Discernible Action
Commentary: Attack Kerry Ads on Black Radio Player-Hate, not inform
Commentary: Attempt by Muslim Candidate’s Opponent to Link Him to Terrorism a Reminder of the Ol’ Days
Commentary: Attorney Gen. Nominee is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Commentary: Before Everyone Turns on Michael Vick, Lets Remember He’s Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Commentary: Before Riling the World, the Pope – and Bush - Should Consider Choosing Words Wisely
Commentary: Before We Get All Jaded About Obama’s Chances, Can’t We Just Be Happy He Won Iowa?
Commentary: Bennett’s Pap Begs Wondering What’d Happen if All Fools Were Aborted
Commentary: Bill and Hillary Clinton Possess – Or Are Possessed By – an Almost Unnatural Need to Win
Commentary: Black America, Here’s a List of Communal Resolutions for the New Year
Commentary: Black Boys Needs to Be Validated, Not Cast Aside Before They Lose Hope
Commentary: Black Farmers Deserve Justice and Opportunity
Commentary: Blacks May Already Be Going Green, But We’ve Got to Step Up Our Save-The-Planet Efforts
Commentary: Bush Camp does not include Blacks in their great ‘We’
Commentary: Bush Foreign Policy: A Bully Boy In Man’s Clothing
Commentary: Bush Thinks His ‘No Apologies’ Swagger Shows Strength, But It Only Reveals His Weakness and Insecurity
Commentary: Bush, GOP Degrade People Who Fought for the Freedoms They Exploit
Commentary: Bush’s ‘Compassionate Conservatism’ in Play for Scooter Libby, an Illusion for Common Folk
Commentary: Bush’s Budget for 2009 – His Last, Thank God – is a $3 Trillion Insult to the American People
Commentary: Bush’s Overall Arrogance and Dismissiveness Have Rubbed Off on His Agencies
Commentary: Bush's Diversity Claim about Words, not Reality
Commentary: By Accepting Disrespect, We Make Our Offenders Believe We Aren’t Offended
Commentary: By Keeping Nagin in Office, Big Easy Blacks Were Making a Larger Statement
Commentary: Can All the Homophobes Like Hardaway Please Come Out of the Closet? They Need the Real Help
Commentary: Can the Passion Over Schiavo Be Applied to the Well Being of the Vitally Alive?
Commentary: Casual Sex and Casual Fathering Do Not A Real Man Make
Commentary: Celebrating Our History for a Month Isn’t Ideal, But It’s Better Than Nothing
Commentary: Cheney and the Queen of England Remind Us That Supremacy Means Never Having to Apologize
Commentary: Cheney’s Anti-Civil Rights Record is Clear
Commentary: Coming Soon to a Book Store Near You – ‘Men, Come Home’
Commentary: Congressional Black Caucus and Fox News Partnering on Debates Makes for Ironic Bedfellows
Commentary: Court’s Rejection of No-Gun Law in D.C. Nothing to Celebrate in These All-Too-Violent Times
Commentary: Denials Aside, For Many of Our Girls, the HPV Vaccine May Be a Matter of Life and Death
Commentary: Despite the Forgiveness of Dim U.S. Senators, Vicente Fox Should Apologize
Commentary: Despite the Pains that Preceded it, Iraqi Elections Were Worth Beholding
Commentary: Do Our Young People Know It Doesn’t Mean A Thing If They Only Have Bling?
Commentary: Don’t repeat Clarence Thomas’ mistake, Condi Rice
Commentary: Even in a Northern City Like the Big Apple, Racism Rots at the Core
Commentary: Even with Black Officers as Shooters, Sean Bell’s Death Was Clearly a Case of Racism on Display
Commentary: Exemplars of black integrity and power in the finest sense
Commentary: Fear May Be Dangerous, but It’s the Bush Administration’s Best Friend
Commentary: First, Tuskegee; Now Foster Children – And They Wonder Why Blacks Mistrust Medical Studies?
Commentary: For Colin Powell’s Post-Secretary Days, Getting Even’s Better than Getting Mad
Commentary: From Emmett Till to Deep Throat, Truth for Truth’s Sake is Always Timely
Commentary: Gang Warfare Truce offers Hope at a time of Despair
Commentary: Getting the Short End of the Stick Something that Blacks – and HBCUs – are Familiar With
Commentary: Here’s Hoping Black Men Recognize Their Sisters’ Divinity in the New Year
Commentary: His Name’s Been Lost in the Sauce of the Election Wins, but Massachusetts’ Patrick is One to Watch
Commentary: Homeownership Pitch Sounds Great, but Talk is Cheap
Commentary: If a Runaway Bride Can Get National Attention, Why Can’t Tamika Huston's Disappearance?
Commentary: If Anti-Arab Racism’s at Play in Port Deal Outcry, Who’s to Blame? Bush
Commentary: If Black Folks Really Want Barack Obama to Be President, Here’s What We – and He - Must Do
Commentary: If Condi Rice is Incompetent as Secretary of State, It’s Not Why Most Folks Think
Commentary: If Congress Can Have Hearings on Steroids, Where’re the Hearings on Gangs?
Commentary: If Re-elected, Bush will begin moving toward a Draft
Commentary: If We Care About Living Wages and a Level Playing Field, We’d Join the Protesters
Commentary: In Its Skepticism Over the Iraq War Three Years Ago, the Black Press Had it Right
Commentary: In Push for War in Iraq, Bush Didn’t Play Us – Cheney Played Him
Commentary: In Texas, Destroying One Black Life Isn’t Worth Jailing Four White ‘Good Boys’
Commentary: In the Boot Camp Death, a So-Called ‘Witch Hunt’ Turned Up More than One Witch
Commentary: In the Fight Over Florida and Michigan, It’s Not Fair to Change the Rules Once the Game Starts
Commentary: Instead of Co-Opting the N-Word, Let's Give it Back to the Racists Who Value It
Commentary: IRS investigation of NAACP is outrageous
Commentary: Is America’s First Black President Going to Be the One Making the Nation’s Apology for Slavery?
Commentary: Is Bad Mothering Partially to Blame for Lionel Tate’s 30-Year Prison Sentence?
Commentary: James Seale May Have Been Kissed by the Devil for His Wicked Act, but the Devil Got His Due
Commentary: Jayson Blair’s Missteps Were Quaint Compared to Those of Judy Miller
Commentary: Keyes is Cast as Clown Instead of Contender for Senate
Commentary: Let’s Pray that John Paul II’s Successor Walks the Line Between What Is and What Can Be
Commentary: Like Bush, the GOP’s ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Policies Don’t Apply to Friends
Commentary: Mainstream News Has Become All Showbiz Flash - Standards are Secondary
Commentary: Mandela’s Honesty Honors his AIDS-Afflicted Son’s Life – and Death
Commentary: Mark Foley’s Resignation Underscores the Hypocrisy Germ Infecting Public Officials
Commentary: Meet George Tenet, the New Poster Boy for the Bush White House’s ‘Stop Snitching’ Policy
Commentary: Mr. Vick, Please Take Time to Reflect and Atone for What You’ve Done – and Not Just for Show
Commentary: Neither Speech Nor Sermon Could Explain the Complexity of the Black Experience in America
Commentary: New civil rights head’s insensitivity on race is breathtaking
Commentary: New Crop of Self-Loathing Black Conservatives Undercut the Black Agenda
Commentary: New Orleans Can Make a Way for Mardi Gras, but Not for its People?
Commentary: New Revelations on Black Men Aren’t a Wake-Up Call – They’re a Get-Up Call
Commentary: News on Black Athletes’ Graduation Rates Underscores How Sports’ Lessons Have Value
Commentary: No, You’re Wrong, Andrew Young -- Bill Clinton is Not ‘Every Bit as Black as Barack’
Commentary: Not Only is Michael Jackson Not Like Us, He’s Not Like Anybody
Commentary: Not Only is the American Electorate in for a Political ‘Silly Season,’ but Mean Times as Well
Commentary: Note to Mrs. Obama – Humbling Your Husband is One Thing, But Humiliating Him is Another
Commentary: Now That Don Imus is Off the Air, What Next – Another ‘National Dialogue’ on Race in America?
Commentary: Oh, the Irony – Why Are So Many Old-Guard Leaders Choosing Clinton Over Barack Obama?
Commentary: Olympian Shani Davis Did the Right Thing by Doing his Own Thing
Commentary: On Jefferson, Why Are the Democrats Playing Croquet on a Football Field?
Commentary: Oprah Shouldn’t Be Judged for Her Choices, Nor Should the Kids Who Need Miracle Schools Here
Commentary: Oprah’s Not Going to Let Hermes Wiggle Out of its Blatant Racism
Commentary: Parents Must Hammer Home the Old ‘Sticks and Stones’ Adage
Commentary: Philly Schools’ Requiring Black History a Boon to Students of Every Race
Commentary: Please Keep Your Dignity, Mr. Obama, and Don’t Turn Into Another Typical Stepford Candidate
Commentary: Post-Katrina Priorities Prove That Outrage is One of the Many Casualties of the Bush Years
Commentary: President Bush Has Kept His Word and United the Country – But Not in the Way He Intended
Commentary: President Bush’s Refusal to Consider Public Opinion on War More Madness Than Hubris
Commentary: R.I.P., Luther – The Man Who Made Us Believe in the Power of Love
Commentary: Racial Profiling Reminds Us That Our Blackness is All the Probable Cause Some Cops Need
Commentary: Remembering Sept. 11, 2001 – A Day of Infamy That Changed Us for Better, for Worse
Commentary: Remembering the Old School Cool of Ed Bradley, a Stand-Tall-and-Proud Kind of Brother
Commentary: Reopened Racial Murder Cases a Reminder of How Justice Deferred is Justice Denied
Commentary: Republicans and Democrats, Take Note – Want Blacks to Join You? Tell Us Why We Should
Commentary: Republicans Would Rather Be Called Cruel and Callous Than Tax Increasers
Commentary: Rogers Brown is Not Only Indifferent to Black Sensibilities, but Hostile
Commentary: Run, Barack Obama, Run! The Wave is Building, and the Cries are Getting Louder
Commentary: SAT shouldn’t be the only measure of qualified students
Commentary: Selfishness must be driving some Blacks to Bush
Commentary: Since Richards Claims His Slurs ‘Came Out of Nowhere,’ It’d Behoove Him to Find Their Source
Commentary: Society’s Lighter-the-Better Beauty Ideal Isn’t Just Demoralizing Here – It Damages Worldwide
Commentary: Sure, Condoleezza Rice is Sharp, But Can-Do Sisters Are a Dime a Dozen
Commentary: Sure, Ray Nagin Should Look Before He Leaps – But He’s Not the Only One
Commentary: Swooning for Hillary and Wondering if Obama’s Black Enough? Black Enough for What?
Commentary: That Boomerang of Justice Keeps Coming ‘Round to Take Racists Down
Commentary: The Bush White House Isn’t the Enemy of the Terrorists – It’s Aiding Them
Commentary: The Deaths of Young Black Men is an Ongoing National Crisis, Yet is Met with a Giant Shrug
Commentary: The Diversity in Dubya’s Administration is Great for Photo Ops, But Hasn’t Served Us Well
Commentary: The Feds - So Proud of Their Hurricane Dean Preparation - Still Have to Answer for Katrina
Commentary: The Good News on Public Schools’ Progress is Bad News for Bush’s Agenda
Commentary: The GOP’s Anti-Ford Ad Eschews All Their Grand Talk About ‘Family Values’
Commentary: The News Out of Morehouse Underscores the Irony of the Black Experience
Commentary: The Poor May Be Victims, But That’s Certainly Not All They Are
Commentary: The Powers-That-Be Don’t Care About Gulf Residents - or They Want ‘Em Gone
Commentary: The Saddest Part of Nailah Franklin’s Death? It Probably Came at the Hand of a Man She Knew
Commentary: The Star Jones-Barbara Walters Debacle a Classic Case of ‘Controlling the Storyline’
Commentary: The Supreme Court That Bush Built is Turning its Back on Equal Education for All
Commentary: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on Bias Just Confirms Why Affirmative Action is Still Necessary
Commentary: The Uneasy Question - Why Are So Many Young Blacks So Quick to Kill and Die?
Commentary: The West’s Sudden, Paternalistic Interest in Africa Is Cause for Worry
Commentary: The Wright Dust-Up Shows and Proves That Many Whites Don’t Know Black People at All
Commentary: There’s Still Time to Raise Hell About Congress’ Inaction on the Voting Rights Act
Commentary: Think Dr. King Could’ve Ever Imagined That He’d Become a Worldwide Icon for Non-Violence?
Commentary: To Have Your Life Taken By Someone You Trust is Betrayal Beyond Belief
Commentary: Tragic Killings Prove that Police Training Needs to Focus on More than Just Marksmanship
Commentary: Two Words of Advice for Graduates About to Enter to ‘the Real World’ – Brace Yourselves
Commentary: U.S. Parties, South Asia Resurrects Tourism While Somalia Suffers
Commentary: Vote! It May Be Inconvenient, But It’s the Only Way to Use What Power We Do Have
Commentary: Want to Have a Debate About Obama’s Candidacy? Fine, but Let’s Stipulate a Few Things First
Commentary: Want to Know Why Rev. Wright Gets Amens? Look No Further Than Men Like Pat Buchanan
Commentary: Warren Buffett, the World’s Third Wealthiest, a ‘Good Rich Man’ If Ever There Was One
Commentary: Welcome to the Looking Glass Presidency, Where Down is Up and Up is Down
Commentary: We're in the 'Great Blackslide,’ Where the Clock’s Turning Back and So is Our Progress
Commentary: What a Shame that Tragedy Averted Became an Actual Tragedy in the Case of David Morales
Commentary: What Do the Zealots on the Religious Right Want? Their Very Own American Taliban
Commentary: What Does Barack Obama Have to Do to Prove That He’s a ‘Mainstream’ American?
Commentary: What Has This War Cost America? Friendship and Esteem Lost, Lives and Freedoms Destroyed
Commentary: What’s the Cost of ‘Shame Fame?’ As Don Imus’ Episode – and Others – Prove, Apparently Nothing
Commentary: What’s Worse, Bush Fans – His Blatant Cronyism or Affirmative Action?
Commentary: When it Comes to Remorse over Slavery, Symbolism Falls Short
Commentary: When Talking Family Values, Let’s Not Forget Single Moms’ Very Real, Often Tragic Struggles
Commentary: While Gun Violence Continues to Destroy Our Communities, Where’s Our Resolve to End It?
Commentary: While We Women Rail Against Disrespect, Let’s Not Forgot the Many Good Men Out There
Commentary: While We’re Lost in the Sauce of the Presidential Contest, Ward Connerly is Back on the Prowl
Commentary: White House’s ‘Blame Game’ Spin Evidence of Our Manmade Disaster -- Bush
Commentary: Why Does Anderson Cooper Care More About Blacks Dying in Jails Than Dubya Does?
Commentary: Why Does Colin Powell Always Criticize Bush from Abroad, Not Here at Home?
Commentary: Why is It Always the Learned, ‘Intelligent’ Racists Who Spout Nonsense About Black Intellect?
Commentary: Will Little Rock’s Majority-Black School Board Have the Courage to Do What’s Right?
Commentary: With All The Reasons Teens Have for Abstaining from Sex, Possible Prison Shouldn’t Be Among Them
Commentary: With Trent Lott’s Vote Back into GOP Leadership, the Jig is Up On the Party’s ‘Inclusion’
Commentary: Without a Doubt, President Obama Will Take This Nation to School on the ‘Flava’ Factor
Commentary: Worried About Whether Barack Obama’s Got His Eyes on the Prize? His Candidacy is the Prize
Commentary: You’d Have to be in Denial to Want 4 More Years of Bush
FBI Investigation of Cold Civil Rights Cases May Be Tip of the Iceberg