James Lawrence

Remembering JFK on this day 50 years ago

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — There's a powerful piece on today's New York Times op-ed page about a major speech that President John F. Kennedy delivered on this day 50 years ago. The topic: Civil Rights. The speech before a national television audience set the stage for the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which Kennedy didn't live to see adopted, amid a flurry of racial tension.

Texas Gov. Perry rustling New York businesses

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — Looks like Texas Gov. Rick Perry is gunning for New York. He is currently on a four-day tour of New York and Connecticut, where he hopes to lure gun manufacturers and other companies to his state. Perry is trying to cash in on the unhappiness of gun manufacturers in the Northeast who believe newly adopted gun control laws are unfair to their interests.

Forming new relationships for a stronger community

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — So how did the Editorial Board's Listening Tour stop in Chili go Thursday evening? By virtually all accounts it was a huge success. Nearly 40 elected leaders and school officials from across Monroe County- Republicans and Democrats, urbanites and suburbanites- gathered at Chili Town Hall for an unprecedented discussion of race and economic inequality in Monroe County.

Can rap moguls repair a culture they created? Column

usatoday.com — So after raking in untold millions over the past decade by helping create a culture that degrades women, and celebrates murder, mayhem and materialism, Dre and Iovine are now giving back. Whoopee! Jimmy Iovine, left, and Dr. Dre.

Speaking Out - Media/News/Publishing - Rochester

facebook.com — Democrat and Chronicle Opinion Section

Speaking Out - It's upsetting all over again to read...

facebook.com — It's upsetting all over again to read today's story about violence in one city neighborhood and know that a 62 year-old grandmother can't sit on the...

Recording industry giants cleaning up their image

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — I almost missed it: The full-page ad in today's New York Times under a red University of Southern California banner. My thought was, is that who I think that is? It was: Recording moguls Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. On the Editorial Board, we wrote about both extensively during our anti-gangsta rap campaign.

A disengaged public

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — So where is the public outrage about young people prowling the streets causing trouble at public events, an unusually high number of teachers not reporting to school or the shooting of innocent bystanders? Sifting through the letters to the editor this morning, I was taken aback how few letters there were on these topics.

Obama’s message to young black males

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — May be it was the fact that he was accused of ignoring the plight of African Americans in a recent op-ed published in a Philadelphia newspaper, but whatever it was, it was good to see and hear President Obama forcefully challenge young African American men in his commencement address yesterday at historically black and all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Obama’s message to young black males

blogs.democratandchronicle.com — May be it was the fact that he was accused of ignoring the plight of African Americans in a recent op-ed published in a Philadelphia newspaper, but whatever it was, it was good to see and hear President Obama forcefully challenge young African American men in his commencement address yesterday at historically black and all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta.