Much attention is paid to Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia yesterday that touched on the issue of unresolved racial tension in America.

Obama, who is currently the leading contender for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, has largely been hailed for the speech in which he explains his relationship with his pastor, the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

According [...]

Comments on the Eliot Spitzer debacle by Laura Schlessinger, the popular conservative radio talk show host known as “Dr. Laura,” ignited a firestorm of controversy today.

Her remarks this morning on TODAY on NBC have been widely interpreted as ascribing blame to Silda Wall Spitzer for her husband’s patronage of a high-priced prostitution ring.

But, [...]

The number of hate crimes is on the rise and is increasingly being fueled by anti-immigrant— particularly anti-Latino — sentiment, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The number of hate groups operating in America rose to 888 last year, up from 844 in 2006, and 602 in 2006, the Southern Poverty [...]

For those of you who love trivia, here’s a question. Do you know how Women’s History Month started? (Don’t worry. The answer will follow at the end, but first, here’s some information about what’s happening locally.)

Rockland Community College has announced its slate of Women’s History Month events, and the programs include discussions about female genital [...]

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I wrote a story about efforts that immigrants in Suffern are undertaking to oppose a proposed enforcement partnership between village police and federal immigration agents. The story appeared on Sunday, and as of today, 100 readers have posted comments, most of which are negative, on the story page on lohud.com.

For those who haven’t read the [...]

President George Bush wrapped up his five-nation tour of Africa today.

At stops in Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia, the president was showered with adulation, according to an Associated Press report.

He got a day named in his honor in Benin and a highway named for him in Ghana, and huge crowds of cheering, flag waving [...]

A Senate bill on Indian health care that is expected to pass by the end of this month could contain a formal apology from the U.S. government for mistreatment of American Indians.

The bill was initially introduced by Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback in 2004.

“For too much of our history, federal-tribal relations have been marked by broken [...]

The Ramapo Town Board will celebrate African heritage 8 p.m. Feb. 27 in an event that will promote harmony, the town said.

African heritage night will feature music by Ekklipse Steel band, a cultural show including music, poetry and a photo show of Ghana, and colors will be presented by students from the Ramapo High School [...]

Students at Chestnut Ridge Middle School participated Friday in the school’s eighth annual King for a Day Martin Luther King Jr. oratorical contest.

As Randi Weiner wrote in a story in Saturday’s publication of The Journal News, the students at the school make a point of celebrating Black History Month and the legacy of King.

The work [...]