(NNPA)—At the invitation of Michael McMillan, I traveled to St. Louis last week to address the annual Salute to Women Leadership awards luncheon. For seven years, McMillan has been sponsoring this extravagant event. The fact that a man would sponsor it and have the temerity to invite another man to serve as the event’s keynote speaker makes a significant public statement: It’s fine for women to honor one another, but it’s equally important that males honor and respect women.

(NNPA)—For my money the debate over immigration reform is far too narrow. Our civil rights leaders have followed the predictable dynamic created by Hispanics who have justly mobilized to normalize their status in America. We should support them because the stakes of strengthening our coalition at this moment in history will bear substantial fruit as both groups become a larger part of American society, its political system and its economy. So, it is a civil rights struggle to oppose the racist law passed by the Arizona legislature to profile Hispanics and relate any illegal acts to their immigration status.

Last week, Americans of all nationalities celebrated Cinco de Mayo; some, like me, acknowledged the day by enjoying margaritas and carne asada.

Others, like the Mexican students at Live Oak High School in Northern California, observe the day by wearing the Mexican colors of red, white and green. In a gesture meant to display American pride, five Live Oak students—Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel, and Clayton Howard—decided to wear American flag T-shirts and bandannas. After receiving complaints from some Mexican students, Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked the boys to turn their shirts inside out. The boys refused, were threatened with suspension, and asked to leave the campus.

(NNPA)—If you ever attended a National Council of Negro Women event, you ended up singing “This Little Light of Mine” at the end of the event. It was Dr. Dorothy Irene Height’s favorite song, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

The civil rights pioneer, Fannie Lou Hamer, also loved to sing “This Little Light of Mine,” and it is easy to see why. The song encompasses humility and empowerment, the recognition that each light is little, but that in choosing to allow it to shine, to amplify, it can be great.