National Library Week starts April 6, 2025, and this week, we celebrate how libraries help people find and use information and make sure everyone on campus has access to the resources they need. Libraries offer more than just books. They provide safe, judgment-free spaces for learning, access to technology, job search assistance, cultural enrichment programs, [...]
Game over. We knew from the beginning how this was going to end. To anyone growing up behind the Iron Curtain, it was crystal clear that Ukraine had no chance against Russia. Power projection is just one of the reasons. More importantly, how strong is the resolve of the belligerents? For Russia, the conflict is [...]
Memphis has long had legendary women pushing the city forward. Among those is Maxine Smith, who taught at Prairie View A&M University and Florida A&M University before teaching at LeMoyne College in Memphis. Her fire for justice was ignited when in 1957 she was denied admission to graduate school at Memphis State University because she [...]
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was fatally wounded. This step into immortality has been retold countless times over the past 60 years in movies, books, and documentaries. The controversies that persist surrounding Malcolm X’s death continue to cast a shadow of suspicion over the leadership of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and our federal [...]
With Inauguration Day and MLK Day coinciding this year, it is worth reflecting on what this means, how far we have come as a nation, and how far we have yet to go. In the circles I frequent, there is little to be optimistic about. After decades of struggle towards racial equality and the real [...]
The Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) National Holiday provides all Americans with an opportunity to reflect and refocus our energies on solving the issues profoundly impacting American society. Indeed, much uncertainty looms around American citizen’s social, economic, and political existences going into this new year. Although we are enduring global conflicts, plagues, and pestilence, we [...]
Very few Americans (of any demographic) would be able to draw many positive similarities between 2024 President-elect Donald J. Trump and the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Yet, on January 20, 2025, the legacy of the two notable historical figures will be entwined in American history. In August 2024, Trump compared supporters of then-President [...]
In my family, education is foundational. Howard University, University of the District of Columbia, South Carolina State University, Alabama A&M University, North Carolina Central University, and now Prairie View A&M University: HBCUs have always been at the forefront of how we pursue further education. From a young age, my parents have always instilled in me [...]
Photo credit: @Bailey.Photography_ My name is Akela Woodard-Mardis, and I am a proud alum of Prairie View A&M University. I earned my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2022, and on December 13, 2024, I will graduate from Prairie View A&M with my master’s degree in juvenile justice. My journey has not been [...]
As the 2024 election ushers in a new administration, libraries must advocate strongly for their role as independent, neutral spaces that foster free access to information for all people. In the 2024 legislative sessions, a record number of bills were introduced that threaten library protections and freedom of access. Those include proposals to remove legal [...]
