Focus Point

Attorney General Eric Holder came under fire for saying that “we are a nation of cowards”. But in the wake of recent racially charge events in the country, contributor Avis Jones-DeWeever examines race relations in America by encouraging the citizens to face the truth about race in order to obtain reconciliation.

The discussion about heart disease, the number one killer in women, is the focal point of Avis Jones-Deweever’s topic. The guest informs listeners about what can be done about the uphill battle that the medical community faces as it attempts to educate everyone on heart-healthy ways to improve their way of living.

Whether one thinks that the Voting Rights Act was a sign of improving racial conditions, or a threat to wide access to the ballad box, you’ll be intrigued by Avis Jones-DeWeever’s take on one of the most significant victories of the Civil Rights Movement, and hear from her guest how it is still relevant today.

Avis Jones-DeWeever is joined by Kim Gandy, the President and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, for discussions on sensible gun laws, logic, politics, domestic violence and the accessibility of guns due to private sellers and online vendors. New laws that prevent buyers from bypassing background checks are among the proposed reforms to ensure that people are safe.

It’s popular these days to debate the merits of Black History Month, but, says contributor Avis Jones-DeWeever, though African-American history is inching its way into the mainstream with movies like 12 Years a Slave and The Butler, this time provides a space to engage in sustained study and reflection on the contributions of a people. Instead of stirring controversy over whether or not to celebrate it, she says, use the time to discover something new about a history that for so long has been diminished.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty, it seems Congress is looking to the past to come up with policy ideas to help the poor, says contributor Avis Jones-DeWeever, including holding up marriage as a possible solution. But for many, especially for Black women, she says, the solution is not that simple. Jones-DeWeever explains why more work needs to be done to find real answers to address poverty.

Most of us have heard of the war on women, but says contributor Avis Jones-DeWeever, there is an unspoken war being waged against black children in America. Zero-tolerance policies, the school-to-prison pipeline, the assault on public education, and cuts to poverty programs have hurts that group most, she says, and it’s time for the war to end.

America's Real Crisis

According a recent report by the National Institute on Retirement Security, most Blacks and Latinos had nothing saved for their retirement. With fights gearing up to trim Social Security benefits and more public pensions hitting the chopping block, this is tough news. Contributor Avis Jones-DeWeever looks into the reasons for the discrepancy and wonders if the idea of retirement for communities of color has become an impossible dream.

As we pause to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of workers on this national observance of Labor Day, it’s worth pondering: What would the American labor force look like if not for the contributions of women? The short answer: It would be a shell of itself, says Jones-DeWeever. She explains why, despite the progress women have made in the workplace, the American labor market in tailored to a “Leave it to Beaver” sense of family structure that, for the most part, no longer exists.