Commentary

COMMENTARY: Meharry’s Juul grant is good news

FLORIDA COURIER — Should Meharry Medical College, a Historically Black College (HBCU) established in 1876 in Nashville, have accepted $7.5 million from Juul Labs, the controversial e-cigarette company that provides an alternative to smoking tobacco? Meharry says it will use the grant, the second-largest it has ever received, to study public health issues and African Americans, including the health effects of tobacco products. They will establish a Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health and according to its president, Dr. James Hildreth, “begin conducting fully-independent research into the health conditions and issues related to tobacco and nicotine-delivery products.”

Published

7 years ago

July 15, 2019

Vijayakumar B

Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Should Meharry Medical College, a Historically Black College (HBCU) established in 1876 in Nashville, have accepted $7.5 million from Juul Labs, the controversial e-cigarette company that provides an alternative to smoking tobacco?

Meharry says it will use the grant, the second-largest it has ever received, to study public health issues and African Americans, including the health effects of tobacco products. They will establish a Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health and according to its president, Dr. James Hildreth, “begin conducting fully-independent research into the health conditions and issues related to tobacco and nicotine-delivery products.”

Should have passed?

Critics say that Meharry has made a deal with the devil since African American people smoke more and have a higher death rate from tobacco-related illnesses than other racial and ethnic groups. They think Meharry should have passed on the Juul donation because they don’t believe that the historically Black Meharry can’t take Juul’s money and continue to make a difference in Black lives.

I say nonsense! Juul will not be dictating the topics or terms of research with Meharry. Dr. Hildreth, who has been determined to increase the amount of research that Meharry students are doing, says the college approached Juul, not the other way around – and they did it with their eyes wide open.

He says he is confident that the new research center Meharry will establish will be independent of Juul. They won’t have input to the research topics that Meharry tackles, nor will they determine the course or direction of research.

A pause

Most medical colleges, including Meharry, turn down contributions from tobacco companies. As Meharry and Juul were exploring the possibility of the donation, Altria, a tobacco company, acquired 35 percent of Juul. Should that have killed the deal?

It caused Meharry to pause. But eventually, they decided to accept the money because they believe they can use it for the greater good. I agree.

President Hildreth has been a biomedical researcher for more than 36 years. In a letter to the Meharry community, he reminded them that “The bodies of Black Americans have historically been the subject of scientific experimentation with no control on our part. If it takes an unorthodox partnership to change that dynamic, then let the research begin.”

Government approval

I can’t read that part of Hildreth’s letter without thinking of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, where the federal government-funded research on the effects of untreated syphilis on Black men. Medicine to cure syphilis was withheld from the men in the experiment. The federal government did this!

The commercial use of Black bodies included the harvesting (and reproduction) of the cells of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose DNA is still being used today for medical research. And, when we think of experiments on Black bodies, one must think of the odious J. Marion Sims, who was called the “father of modern gynecology.” He earned his fame by conducting painful experiments on enslaved women. Thank goodness New York City removed his statue from Central Park!

Meharry doesn’t aim to hurt the six million African Americans who are smokers or to profit from them. They aim to have a seat at the research table, a place from which Black researchers, and Black research institutions, have often been excluded.

Juul’s contribution allows Meharry to pull up a chair to the research table and participate in the scientific inquiry about the health effects of cigarettes and other tobacco products – critical investigation given the fact that African Americans are more likely to die from tobacco-related illnesses than others.

Some questions

Dr. Hildreth’s letter to the Meharry community outlines several research questions. What is the long-term impact of e-cigarettes? Does vaping cause developmental health issues? Are vaping devices effective as smoking reduction or cessation devices?

Will laws prohibiting tobacco sales for those under 21 improve health outcomes? San Francisco recently passed legislation outlawing the sale of vaping devices. How effective are such laws? These are questions worth answering through research.

From where I sit, Meharry should have negotiated for a much more substantial contribution from Juul, and perhaps they will. After all, according to Dr. Hildreth, the tobacco industry “has taken our money and delivered sickness and death in return.

“We at Meharry intend to advance the fight for better health and longer life by turning that insidious relationship on its head.”

The right thing

Bravo, Dr. Hildreth. If Meharry’s research can help us learn more about addiction, and if the research can be used for tobacco use prevention, then Meharry is doing the right thing. I don’t see others lining up to fund Meharry’s research, and fundraising for HBCUs is extremely challenging.

I look forward to the work that the Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health will produce.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. Her latest book, “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy,” is available at www.juliannemalveaux.com. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

This article originally appeared in the Florida Courier.

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Black History

Oakland Protesters Rally to Defend Haitian Immigrants and TPS

The Haiti Action Committee traces its roots to the international movement that emerged following Haiti’s 1991 military coup, which overthrew the nation’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Political violence sent thousands of Haitians fleeing the country, while U.S. policies resulted in refugees being intercepted at sea, repatriated, or detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Published

1 day ago

August 20, 2026

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Activists Gerald Smith and Romaine Charite at 14th and Broadway in downtown Oakland near City Hall protest in support of Haitian immigrant rights. Photo by Carla Thomas

By Carla Thomas

Protesters gathered in downtown Oakland near City Hall at 14th Street and Broadway on Thursday, Aug. 13, calling for protections for Haitian immigrants and an end to deportation policies affecting Haitian communities across the United States.

Organized as a call to action by the Legalization for All Network and supported by the Haiti Action Committee and other community organizations, the demonstration carried a clear message: “Defend TPS! Legalization, Not Deportation!”

Participants focused attention on the termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haiti and immigration policies protesters described as continuing attacks on Haitian immigrants under the Trump administration.

Haitian Romaine Charite of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization urged demonstrators to stand with Haitian families and led chants:

“When Haitians are under attack, what do we do? We fight back.”

Injustice to one is an injustice to us all.”

“Dump Trump!”

Charite and other protesters condemned the federal government’s treatment of Haitian immigrants, describing the policies as an attack on a population already facing extraordinary hardship.

Haiti’s TPS designation was terminated effective July 27, 2026, removing temporary deportation protections and work authorization for hundreds of thousands of Haitian beneficiaries who lacked another legal basis to remain in the United States.

Gerald Smith, a protester and former member of the Black Panther Party during the 1970s, said Haitians were being unfairly targeted and warned that ending TPS would have a devastating impact on Haitian families and communities.

“These policies are racially motivated and unfair,” Smith said. “Everyone deserves the right to self-determination and protection from persecution.”

The Haiti Action Committee cited the continuing political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Haiti as evidence that returning large numbers of immigrants to the country could place already vulnerable people at greater risk.

The Oakland gathering, which drew about 20 participants, reflected a decades-long history of Bay Area activism surrounding Haitian democracy, refugee rights and U.S. immigration policy.

Those policies sparked protests involving Haitian communities, Black activists, artists, college students, churches, labor organizations and human rights advocates. Prominent figures, including dancer and activist Katherine Dunham, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and TransAfrica leader Randall Robinson, joined campaigns challenging the treatment of Haitian refugees.

In 1992, Haiti Action Committee joined other Bay Area organizations in a dramatic demonstration on San Francisco Bay. Boats carrying Haitian participants were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard while supporters gathered along the waterfront and reportedly chanted, “Let Them Land!”

More than three decades later, protesters have returned to the streets of Oakland, centering on protecting Haitian immigrants, opposing deportation and pressing for immigration policies that provide families with a pathway toward permanent legal residency.

For more information, visit Haitisolidarity.net.

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Commentary

From Palestine to Oakland: Seeds for Liberation Examines Shared Struggles for Freedom

The screening was hosted by the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America and the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. Following the film, director Matthew Solomon joined local community leaders for a discussion about solidarity, resistance, and the historical connections explored throughout the documentary.

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1 day ago

August 20, 2026

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Documentary film, "Seeds for Liberation," highlights the Palestinian struggle and the shared fight for freedom and liberation in the United States and abroad. Graphic courtesy of www.seedsforliberationmovie.com

By Carla Thomas

Community members gathered at the Black Panther Party Museum on Saturday, Aug. 15, in downtown Oakland for a screening of “Seeds for Liberation,” an award-winning documentary examining the Palestinian liberation movement and its connections to Black, Chicano and other movements for collective liberation.

The film reveals the face of conflict, struggle, and injustice today and yesterday. In one scene, a bleeding child pleads for help on a shell-shattered rooftop after a bombing in the Gaza Strip last year. In another scene, newly freed Nelson Mandela addresses thousands at the Oakland Coliseum in 1990, at the end of apartheid.

Directed by Solomon and executive-produced by Donna Hadjikhani and Alana Hadid, “Seeds for Liberation” situates Palestinian experiences within the broader history of anti-imperialist and decolonial movements.

Through interviews with historians, legal scholars, activists and organizers, the documentary examines Palestinian resistance. It also details the role of social media in shaping the public’s understanding of the impact of Palestine’s 77-year occupation by Israeli forces, events in Gaza and the West Bank, and relationships between liberation movements across generations and geographic boundaries.

The film includes perspectives of people connected to the Black Liberation Army, La Raza Unida and the Stop Cop City movement. Those featured talk about colonialism, U.S. foreign policy, policing, racial justice and their views of what solidarity with Palestinians has meant.

Solomon developed the documentary following his previous film, “Reimagining Safety,” which explored alternatives to traditional policing.

“I use film as a medium to connect personal testimony with larger social and political questions,” said Solomon, who is currently touring the film across the nation as well as Canada and other countries.

Executive producer Hadjikhani brought a personal connection to the project. An Iranian American designer and social justice advocate, she traveled to Gaza and the West Bank as a college student in 1993 during the First Intifada. Hadid has since focused on Palestinian stories and other underrepresented voices.

The Oakland screening carried added historical significance because it was held in the Black Panther Party Museum, where the history of Black resistance and community organizing provided a backdrop for the film’s examination of interconnected struggles.

Activist and artist Cat Brooks passionately spoke about the fight for the freedom of all people. “No one is free until everyone is free,” she said.

Brooks played a key role in the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, who was gunned down by a BART police officer in 2009 and is co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), whose mission is to rapidly respond to and ultimately eradicate state violence in communities of color.

Rather than treating liberation movements as isolated chapters, “Seeds for Liberation” asks audiences to consider how movements separated by time, race and geography have influenced one another and how solidarity has continued to evolve across generations.

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Black History

NABJ Convention Brings Black Journalists, Civic Leaders Together in Atlanta

Among the conference’s most closely watched sessions was Thursday’s Newsmaker Plenary, where House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed the national political climate with NABJ President Errin Haines. Journalist Joy-Ann Reid later led a fireside conversation with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of the term “intersectionality,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project.

Published

1 day ago

August 20, 2026

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Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump (left), House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (middle), Rev. Al Sharpton (right) stand at the NABJ conference in Atlanta on Aug. 13 with Elmore and Christine Wonsley, the parents of Nolan Wells, a Black 18-year-old who died July 4th weekend in Mississippi

By Brandon Patterson

ATLANTA—The 52nd National Association of Black Journalists conference brought thousands of journalists, students, media executives and civic leaders to Atlanta Aug. 12-16 for its 2026 Convention and Career Fair, a five-day gathering centered on the theme “Our Revolution: Truth, Power and Black Journalism.”

The plenary also turned toward grief, accountability and justice as the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, appeared with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Crump was also the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s, Michael Brown’s, and Tamir Rice’s families. Moderated by journalist Tiffany Cross, the Wells family’s appearance focused on unanswered questions surrounding Nolan’s July death in Mississippi and calls for a federal review.

Reid and journalist Don Lemon also joined a separate discussion with Cross, columnist Michael Harriot and journalist Chandra Whitfield about career disruption, resilience and building independent platforms as Black journalists face layoffs and wider media industry upheaval.

Across generations, attendees exchanged ideas about sustaining careers and serving Black communities.

The gathering reflected NABJ’s long-standing role as both professional home and public forum for Black journalists. For Black-owned legacy newspapers, including ours, the Atlanta convention reinforced a familiar mandate: defend truth, elevate Black voices and connect national debates over politics, justice and media power to the communities most affected.