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OP-ED: Check your watch: it’s time to lead

ROLLINGOUT.COM — Some people rang in the new year with fireworks, singing and dancing, while others promised to improve themselves, resolving to be more decisive, more focused and more inspiring.

Published

7 years ago

January 7, 2019

Rashad Richey

By Rashad Richey

Some people rang in the new year with fireworks, singing and dancing, while others promised to improve themselves, resolving to be more decisive, more focused and more inspiring.

And let’s not forget the inauguration of newly elected officials in our cities, counties, states and the federal government. As enthusiastic politicians assume the mantle of leadership, the collective, once again, vowed to hold them accountable to promises made during the campaign. We wonder out loud how these new leaders will meet our collective societal needs. If you are like me, you will likely observe how each elected official performs in their new role. Will their leadership be a surface commitment to their constituents? Will they affect substantial change for the underserved and forgotten? Will they simply choose to ride out their terms until the next election and hope they have offended no one? Or, will their leadership show promise of transformational qualities and inspire the masses?

It is easy to stand on the outside and be critical of those who are active participants. Anyone who dares to lead must accept a few realities. Criticism is the price you pay for leadership, and the day you are unwilling to pay that price is the day you are unfit to lead. Accept it, embrace it, allow it to make you better.

I would argue that we all lead. Whether we serve in politics, business, religion, our communities or our homes, the effectiveness of our service is measured through the lens of leadership. What is leadership? In its simplest contextualization, leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. However, this definition lacks the implied ethical and moral standards we commonly attribute to this art.

Understanding leadership as an art implies there is a set of skills that can be developed, nurtured and honed. Yet, even this illustration does not explain whether that leadership is transformational, transactional, situational or autocratic

As a professor, I question whether students are following my leadership and making the most of their learning opportunities. As a television and radio broadcaster, I wonder if my content moves others to action. As an editor-at-large, I ask whether I am driving creativity and productivity while improving the bottom line. And, as a father, uncle and mentor, I inquire whether my leadership properly guides those who are impressionable. In each role, I ask myself these questions and commit to learning as I journey through the avenues of leadership.

Good leaders can guide you, but great leaders inspire you.

As you begin this new year, I encourage you to take a moment and identify your leadership style. Increase your technical, cultural and geopolitical awareness and use that awareness to create a vision of what you aspire to be. Go forth confidently in the world, knowing that you are becoming uniquely qualified to lead.

Rashad Richey, Ph.D., is a radio personality, television news commentator, university professor, national speaker and editor-at-large for rolling out.

Twitter: @Rashad1380

IG: Rashad_Richey

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

4 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

5 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

7 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke