Posts by Ben Dawson

  • A Definition of Greatness

    As we celebrate the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which coincides with Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., this year, it is an opportune moment to return to Dr. King’s definition of greatness.

    | National

  • Character and Service

    President Carter once called justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, and love “the guiding lights of a life,” and those principles were the threads woven through the long lists of his own accomplishments.

    | National

  • Immigration

    Vote NO on HR 29, Laken Riley Act

    Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and Children’s Defense Fund-Texas (CDF-Texas) urges you to vote NO on HR 29, the Laken Riley Act. This is not a border security bill. HR 29 is a discriminatory, anti-immigrant bill that violates the U.S. Constitution by rolling back basic due process protections that protect those who are wrongfully arrested from losing their immigration status.

    | Texas

  • Looking to the New Year

    The end of the holiday season and the start of the new year are always a time to prepare for new beginnings.

  • Nikki Giovanni

    When poet, essayist, scholar, and activist Nikki Giovanni passed away on December 9, the world lost a singular voice.

    | National

  • Education

    Giving the Gift of Books

    As parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and adults everywhere are busy choosing holiday gifts for the children they love, books should always be at the top of the list.

    | National

  • A Litany of Thanksgiving

    On this Thanksgiving, I share once again the beautiful prayer of great Black theologian Howard Thurman, A Litany of Thanksgiving. For many years I always made Thanksgiving dinner for our whole family and for friends away from their homes.

    | National