Author: Jabari Simama

Jabari Simama writes a regular column under heading Jabari Simama Speaks. He currently is the government and education columnist for Governing. He is a former educator and elected and public official. He is author of Civil Rights to Cyber Rights (2009). He’s also been a columnist for Creative Loafing, Southwest Atlanta Magazine, and a feature writer for Atlanta Magazine. He was born in Columbia, Missouri and lives in Atlanta, GA. He received a B.S. from the University of Bridgeport, M.A. from Atlanta University in African American Studies, and a Ph.D. from Emory University in American Studies. Contact him: jsimama@mindspring.com

John Sweet (Like Sugar)

Legendary attorney mentored young officials

Betcha Biden Won’t Pick Sista for VP

The Black community resurrected Biden’s bid for president. What will it get in return?

Tear Stained-Face

Coronavirus makes us think about dying. It should make us think about living. “Day in day out my tear-stained facePressed against the window paneMy eyes search the skies desperately for rain‘Cause rain drops will hide my tear dropsAnd no one will ever know that I’m cryingCrying when I go outside” Wish it Would Rain Performed […]

Joe Biden’s Black Firewall

Understanding why Black People vote for Biden but like Bernie’s Programs requires a deep knowledge of the history, culture and psyche of African Americans. Poll after poll shows that African Americans support programs advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders like guaranteed public healthcare, free higher education, $15 per hour minimum wage, and criminal justice reform. Then […]

Searching for Billion Dollar “Massa”

Democratic moderates, liberal media fear Bernie & Elizabeth. Believe only white rich man can beat Trump Why do moderate Democrats and mainstream media outlets like CNN and MSNBC keep branding Senators Bernie Sanders’ and Elizabeth Warren’s ideas as dangerous, divisive, and extreme when the majority of Americans support them? They must be watching too much […]

KOBE

Black Mamba’s death reminds us we are not our own The tragic death this week of NBA legend Kobe Bryant hit many in this country, including me, extremely hard. From the millennium to the septuagenarian, we grieved in disbelief over what former Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called a “useless death.” Many of us did not even […]

It’s Time to “Shit or Get Off Pot”

What Dems Must Not Do to Beat 45 Political pundits are always talking about what Democrats must do to win the upcoming presidential election. This column will tell Dems what not to do to take back the White House. They must not insult black women by selecting a lesser quality white woman or man to […]

What do Meria Carstarphen, Jay-Z, Benedict College Have in Common?

Looking back at meaning of writing Jabari Simama Speaks I thought as we end another year, the year of 2019, you might find of interest how others reacted to Jabari Simama Speaks columns. First, this year over 4,000 individuals read at least one column. This is up from 3,316 in 2018, an increase of 17%. […]

Dancing with Angels

One Black Man Reacts to Impeachment of 45th President “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: ‘In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?’” Elijah Cummings My grandmother’s mother was a slave. My grandfather was a sharecropper who never received his 40 acres and a mule. My mother, Ida Scott […]

City Hall: Don’t Stereotype Black Atlanta

Why black community needs Complete Streets My wife and I are over 60-years-old and we are avid tennis players, bikers, golfers, walkers and we practice yoga at least twice a week. We live on the westside of Atlanta where we have resided for more than 40 years. We welcome the new Complete Streets (CS) renovations […]