Let’s trade. Millennials’ student loan debt for Baby Boomers’ social security

May 4, 2019 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

On the same day Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren announced her plan to eliminate student loan debt and make college free, the social security administration released its annual report announcing the high probability that social security will be insolvent by 2035, barring a rare and significant display of problem-solving by Congress. At first blush, these two … Continue reading Let’s trade. Millennials’ student loan debt for Baby Boomers’ social security

Young, Gifted, and Black? Prepare to Fight for Your Education

May 3, 2017June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ 3 Comments

When I moved from California to Texas at age four, I was reading full books and writing at a 1st- grade level. After being iced out of one upscale community that wasn’t keen on having a single black mother as a neighbor, my mom moved us into a different district, specifically for its public schools. … Continue reading Young, Gifted, and Black? Prepare to Fight for Your Education

Quit Fretting and Take Over

January 9, 2017February 3, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

If the year 2016 taught me anything, it is that our time has come. No amount of online petitions or Facebook posts will stand in for the work that needs to be done by all of us, everywhere. Right now we are in a fight for the heart of this country, and in 2017, I choose to believe that there are more of us on the side of peace and love than on the side of fear and hate.

Democrats can’t just “Go High,” they have to Go Long …and take a note from the GOP playbook

November 11, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ 4 Comments

Election 2016 has come and gone, and the Democrats were handed their most resounding defeat in almost a decade. There is a lot of hand ringing going on over what happened, how it happened, and why it happened, and the further into the elitist stratosphere the questioner, the more confused they seem to be. But … Continue reading Democrats can’t just “Go High,” they have to Go Long …and take a note from the GOP playbook

Front and Center at the Academy Awards

February 27, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, and while the show is expected to proceed mostly as usual, there will be a white cloud hanging overhead, as well as a few well-publicized absences. The Academy has acknowledged its need to diversify after a second year in a row of #OscarsSoWhite popularity on social media. … Continue reading Front and Center at the Academy Awards

American Storytime

January 25, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ 1 Comment

Storytelling can be a driver of equality, but in this country there is a small, unrepresentative group telling only small pieces of a much larger American story.

Reparations or Inheritance?

January 12, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

If I am a descendant of a wealthy slave owner, shouldn't I have the same amount of wealth as my kin?

Real Food For Kids

January 12, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

Feed the kids real food.

Medicine for Some, Illegal for Most?

October 22, 2015June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ Leave a comment

If marijuana interacts with the brain in such a way that it eases seizures, it is reasonable to expect serious research into whether it can positively effect the brain for non-life threatening, often debilitating, mental health issues.

Huffington Post Live: Discussion on Hyphenating Americans

January 16, 2015June 5, 2017 ~ Courtney McKinney ~ 1 Comment

This discussion was an extension of my piece about the disconnect I feel between being an American and being categorized as "African-American." My part of the segment begins at the 6:18 mark. Click the image to see the video.