Pearl Harbor and the Enduring Legacy of War

By Duke Omara Seventy-five years ago, on Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese strike force consisting of six aircraft carriers descended on the territory of Hawaii and unleashed a ferocious aerial raid on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island. Less than two hours after the first Japanese aircraft appeared over the horizon, […]

Hiding in plain sight: Chicago neighborhoods fight modern day slavery

By Duke Omara In the grand scheme of things, it was a small victory but for impoverished neighborhoods like Chicago’s Englewood, it was a triumph. After a protracted and sometimes acrimonious City Council battle in March, a bill to allow city strip clubs to sell liquor on their premises was shelved after its sponsor admitted […]

Hmong Community Struggles to Face Future Without Losing Sight of Past

Hmongs, PTSD, Refugees

By Duke Omara WASAU, Wis. – Fifteen-year old Dylan Yang had stabbed and killed 13-year-old Isaiah Powell after the two became involved in a Facebook feud. But what seemed like a teenage gang killing last February struck some as being symbolic of something much more malignant. Dylan belongs to the Hmong, a community of war […]

U.S. role on global stage bigger and stronger than ever, Kerry says in Chicago

By Duke Omara Secretary of State John Kerry, in what will likely be one of his last major speeches as the nation’s chief diplomat, has dismissed criticism that America’s global role is diminishing, and that the country was disengaging from the rest of the world. “The United States today is more deeply engaged, in more […]