Transcript of All Commentaries for January-February 2006**

COMMENTARY #1        LISTEN NOW!*

The first of January 143 years ago from this New Year 2006, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. He said at the time: “I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper.”   This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. –  the independent voice of freedom in the black community. Lincoln had been wrestling with the issue since July 1862, according to historian and biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin in her new book, “Team of Rivals,” about Lincoln and his Cabinet. But he needed a battle victory before issuing such a document.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #2        LISTEN NOW!*

When you hear former Vice President Al Gore bad-mouth President Bush  these days, you have to believe part of his pent up fury is a result of what looks like the collapse of Gore’s famous Kyoto, Japan, global warming treaty. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. –  the independent voice of freedom in the black community. The recent United Nations conference in Montreal to discuss how the European, Japanese and other signers are complying with the no-growth and setback requirements of the Kyoto agreement showed none of the treaty’s endorsers had kept their promises.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #3        LISTEN NOW!*

The last 25 years of America’s domestic economic success story have provided the greatest financial growth ride in any country’s history. And much of it is thanks to Ronald Reagan’s 1981 insistence we had to cut spending and taxes in rapid tandem. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. Reagan had so much confidence in the people as well as his own gut instincts that he also mount4ed a massive defense buildup that would bring the Soviet Union to its knees and the Cold War to an end by 1989.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #4        LISTEN NOW!*

Professor James J. Heckman, who won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for economics, thinks it’s time we helped children in less fortunate situations to learn the importance of standards of behavior, ethics and integrity before they are on their own in the modern world. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. The University of Chicago scholar says an understanding and acceptance of so-called non-cognitive qualities in our human society make-up will enable even the poorest or disadvantaged youth to increase his personal earning power by over 15 percent.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #5        LISTEN NOW!*

If they follow the news of the day, anyone intent on celebrating the January anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birthday should probably be a little upset, especially by people such as Hillary Clinton and Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. But then to read the detailed Wall Street Journal account of the King family feuding over the financially-stressed King Center in Atlanta and the eleven million dollars it will take just to repair and restore the buildings, may be even more upsetting.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #6        LISTEN NOW!*

When Marjorie Holloman Parker died at her home in mid-January from heart disease the entire structure of public education and three generations of students and teachers in and around the District of Columbia lost a tremendous benefactor. My wife Dolores and I lost one of our finest friends. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. Marjorie and her splendid husband Barrington D. Parker, Sr. - no relation to this broadcaster - who was a prominent federal judge in the Nation’s capital, played key roles in District civic and political affairs.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #7        LISTEN NOW!*

Lt. General William P. Yarborough, who passed away in early December at age 93, was one of the great innovators and foremost intelligence and Special Warfare experts over the years since the beginning of World War Two until the end of the Cold War in 1989. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. The General was also quite an authority regarding Africa and that’s how he and I became well acquainted in the American African Affairs Association through the 1970s and 1980s.  Complete Commentary

COMMENTARY #8        LISTEN NOW!*

Savannah born and raised Walter Evans is determined that his city, where culture was denied to black youths when he was growing up, must now cherish a large part of his collection of art by black artists so future generations will never again be so denied. This is Jay Parker with the Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C. the independent voice of freedom in the black community. Now a recently retired, highly successful doctor, Dr. Evans and his wife have pledged 63 pieces or one-third of his collection of great art by Americans and others of African origin to be displayed and never sold by the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Complete Commentary
 

Previous Commentaries

*The audio commentaries are MP3 files that require a player such as:
    

**This PDF file can be viewed using Adobe Reader, which is available for free: