CHANNEL: African American

An e-mail and other falsehoods circulating on the Internet are preying on Jewish fears to pit voters against Barack Obama. The Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korf, publisher of the Jewish Advocate, urges Jews to "carefully examine the legitimate record of Senator Obama."

For African Americans, the noose is a hostile symbol of racial oppression.

Boston's school-dropout crisis has adverse effects on the city, notably crime, prosperity and quality of life.  Dorchester residents should demand more accountability from elected officials and from a school system that graduates less than 60% of its enrolled students, says Mamadou Ndiaye.

The total dollar amount of loans to African American small business owners in Mass. has decreased. The proposed federal Office of Minority Small Business Development would create a 24/7 advocate for minority entrepreneurs, writes Sen. John Kerry for the Bay State Banner.

Mel King – longtime civil-rights activist, former Mass. state representative, and director of the South End Technology Center in Boston – shares his opinion on the significance of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is posted at the entrance of his tech center.

Has all the brouhaha over Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, been overblown? His style doesn't appeal to everyone, not even all African Americans.

Still, media took his much-publicized statement out of context – and once again were derelict in their duties, says publisher Melvin B. Miller of the Bay State Banner.

African American and Latino youth languish excessively in jails – not for crimes that they've been convicted of – but for the "absurdly long length of time...awaiting disposition" for charges made against them, says Earl Ofari Hutchinson in this commentary for the Bay State Banner.

Inequalities in criminal justice, employment and health are taking a toll on adults and children of color.  During the presidential campaign, public policies that are the right ones for communities of color must be debated, says Dr. Henrie M. Treadwell in this commentary for the Bay State Banner.

The Democratic nomination of Barack Obama is a "transformative moment," says the Rev. Jesse Jackson, recalling the near rejection of black delegates at the Democratic National Convention in 1964.  Still, he says in a commentary for the Bay State Banner, Martin Luther King Jr. would not want us to rest in pursuit of the Dream.

African American bank OneUnited is offering a 5.75% 30-year fixed mortgage. The bank's senior VP says it's "more important than ever that black banks...combat this crisis" of foreclosures in minority neighborhoods.