We tell people to go to college, but when they cross the stage, they cross the stage with a degree in one hand and debt in the other that stifles their ability to be able to live that good life.
Same way we have enough money to bail out Wall Street, we need to put a down payment on Main Street.
Does being practical mean we prop up a legal system that's unfair, that bears its weight down on black men and black women, and by extension if you are Hispanic or indigenous or poor? Does being practical mean you don't say to the American people you deserve better than you're getting? That's not the practical we want.
I'll never forget when I was running, when I was knocking on doors for my first office as I served as a Cleveland city councilwoman and to have older men say to me, 'Can you do this and be a wife and a mother?' Excuse me? Women make the world go round. We multitask... But to have that kind of condescending question asked of me in modern times.
There is no reason why the right Democratic nominee can't win Ohio. President Obama did it twice in 2008 and 2012.
More than my political affiliation, I consider myself a hellraising humanitarian. Hell raising in the sense that I don't just go along to get along.
I stand up for what is right even if it puts me in a political conundrum. Supporting Senator Sanders was one of those moments when the status quo said 'Uh uh, bad girl.'
It hasn't been for a lack of trying. But we really have to analyze in a deeper way why we have these problems - at least at the state level - electing an African-American.
People are human. People have failings. It's unfortunate people want to keep piling on people's failings.
If you care about potholes, you have to vote. If you care about pre-k education, you have to vote. If you care about women's health care, you have to vote.
I was director of governmental affairs at the Cleveland school district. I served in the administration of Mayor Michael R. White.
The best way to build a house is not from the top, but from the bottom. When you go to the polls, vote from the bottom up.
Strong communities start at the ballot box - where every eligible Ohioan has the opportunity to make their voice heard.
Never did I think I would live to see the day Jim Crow was resurrected, making repeat appearances in the South. And he has packed his bags, and he has moved North. Something is wrong.
I'm interested in running for an office that would allow me the opportunity to work harder and do a better job for the citizens of this state, and I will not rule out any office that gives me that ability.
As the quintessential swing state, Ohio has been on the front lines of battles to restrict access to the vote and make government less transparent. Conservatives know that they can't win without putting a thumb on the scale of electoral outcomes.
Often in America, access to the freedoms and privileges guaranteed under the Constitution are determined by ZIP code.
Whether it is access to voting rights, representation in government, or the outsized influence of money in our political system, the opportunity to interact with and participate in democracy is available to some, but blocked for many.
A major part of living in a representative form of government is giving citizens the right to choose and be treated equally.
You would think people who call themselves pro-life would want to make sure that our children are educated, that people could work and live a good life, that you can take a vacation every now and then.
The GOP will not be satisfied until women are barefoot, pregnant and back home by 5 o'clock P.M. to cook dinner.
Our Revolution has been the keeper of the flame doing the vital work of building a grassroots movement that leverages the people's agenda.
If someone were lying on the road dying would it matter to you who came to save you? If it was a Democrat or a Republican, would it matter?
It is un-American, it is unjust to target any group of folks whether they are African-American, Hispanic, poor or elderly when it comes to access to the vote.
We have a problem with our democracy when you have election officials deliberately trying to take away the fundamental right to vote in this country in the 21st century.
As a female candidate, you always expect that some people will think you are not as capable of being an executive, or that you may be 'too emotional' for office. As an African-American woman, the bar can be even higher.
My grandmother bought me a set of Encyclopedia Britannica's when I was little, and I remember sitting on the floor reading through these just dreaming of all the possibilities. My mind would always go toward me becoming a nurse or a teacher because, even back then, I knew I wanted to do my part to make the world a richer place.
A government reflects the views of those who select it, and if people are unable to cast their ballot because the voting hours aren't convenient for them or because other hurdles have been raised too high we get a less representative government as a result.
It is my hope that the establishment part of the Democratic Party will heed what the grass roots is saying.