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As Black and Latinx families experience disproportionate food insecurity, experts warn of famine in dozens of countries. Beyond the questions surrounding the availability, effectiveness and safety of a vaccine, the COVID-19 pandemic has led us to question where our food is coming from and whether we will have enough. According to a United Nations World Food Program (WFP) report, COVID-19 might have left up to 265 million people with acute food shortages in 2020. The combined effect of the pandemic as well as the emerging global recession “could, without large-scale coordinated action, disrupt the functioning of food systems,” which...

President Biden campaigned on “restoring the soul” of America. His campaign slogan, “Build back better,” promised an end to deeply entrenched partisanship. Days before his monumental inauguration to the presidency, millions of Americans were praying that this toxicity plaguing our country will begin to dissipate under stable leadership, and that—with a new president — our political system will become functional. “We need to work together to give each other a chance to lower the temperature,” Biden said back in December. “We may come from different places, hold different beliefs, but we share in common a love for this country.”...

By Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of North Texas In her speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention Kamala Harris saluted seven women who “inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on.” All but two of them, one of whom was her mother, belonged to Black sororities. Harris also mentioned her own Black sorority, saying: “Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha.” Many Americans may have wondered why Harris would invoke sororities on such an occasion. But not me. Like her, I am a proud member of a Black sorority: Delta Sigma...

By Barry M. Mitnick, Professor of Business Administration and of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh The federal government’s core civilian workforce has long been known for its professionalism. About 2.1 million nonpartisan career officials provide essential public services in such diverse areas as agriculture, national parks, defense, homeland security, environmental protection and veterans affairs. To get the vast majority of these “competitive service” jobs – which are protected from easy firing – federal employees must demonstrate achievement in job-specific knowledge, skills and abilities superior to other applicants and, in some cases, pass an exam. In other words,...