By Deborah Bailey
Contributing Editor
AFRO American Newspapers

More than 800 persons from the violence intervention community across the United States joined a White House briefing Oct.  23, to learn how states can access federal dollars provided by Medicaid for violence prevention services. 

The White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention fielded the call in response to an executive order signed by the Biden-Harris administration on Sept. 26 and its announcement of additional steps to reduce gun violence. 

During the signing ceremony, Biden called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CSS) to clarify the reimbursements currently available through CSS.

“One in five Americans know someone who has been shot or killed as a result of gun violence,” said Greg Jackson, deputy director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, on the call. 

“This is $805 billion put in place for the communities we are serving,” Jackson said. “We really are challenging you to step up and build the coalitions needed to access this funding; to work closely with your state leadership and to get these resources to every state.” 

Medicaid reimbursement has been available to states since 2021 for violence prevention services. However, only eight states currently provide reimbursement for community prevention violence strategies. 

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Oregan have passed legislation allocating Medicaid reimbursement for a range of violence prevention services based on needs in communities in their respective states. 

“Different states are doing it in very different ways. There is a lot of experimentation going on and we’re learning along the way,” said Dr. Kyle Fisher, who practices emergency room medicine and serves as clinical associate professor at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. 

For instance, Maryland and several other states are using Medicaid reimbursement to pay for violence prevention training and certification for front line violence prevention workers, while North Carolina has set up a 1115 Medicaid reimbursement plan covering basic life needs such as housing, food, and job placement by those directly impacted by community level violence. 

State violence prevention coalitions have the option to work with state Medicaid offices to request what is known as a 1115 waiver, allowing states to make experimental changes to their existing Medicaid programs to offer innovative supports like the North Carolina reimbursements. 

“We need you to work closely with your state leadership” to determine what services are critically needed in individual states, Jackson said to call participants.

Gun violence was responsible for 46,728 deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This figure represents a slight decrease from 2021, when the highest number of deaths by gun violence ever, 48,830, was recorded. 

Black people in America continue to face death by gun violence at a rate 13 times higher than their White counterparts, according to an analysis of CDC data by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For children and youth ages 1-17, Black deaths due to gun violence are 17 times the rate of Whites. 

The U.S. rate of death by gun violence far exceeds other high-income nations. Additionally, the U.S. is the only country in the world where civilian ownership of guns exceeds the population according to the World Population Review.

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By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

The American Cancer Society and the Los Angeles chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer hosted their annual walk on Oct. 19 in Cerritos, Calif. 

The noncompetitive 5k walk provided an open space for thousands of participants to gather and support each other. It was also a fundraiser to help the American Cancer Society fund cancer research, patient support and further efforts to end breast cancer. Survivors, caregivers, family members, supporters and the currently diagnosed came together during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which takes place in October. 

Taunya Tutt shared that bringing awareness to the community aspect is essential. “Some people go through this and think they’re alone, or their story is specific to them. But, if you have this community, you talk and can find out you are going through the same thing I’m going through,” she said.

According to the American Cancer Society, “breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers. It accounts for about 30 percent, or 1 in 3, of all new female cancers each year.”

There are massive disparities when it comes to race and breast cancer diagnosis due to inequalities in the social determinants of health (SDOH). Black women are the largest group to be affected by breast cancer and are more likely to die than any other group. 

The American Cancer Society stated that “Black women have the highest death rate from breast cancer.” The high rate is due to Black women having “a higher risk of triple-negative breast cancer, more than any other racial or ethnic group.”

Similarly, Hispanic women are highly impacted by breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation found that “Hispanic women and Latinas are more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and with more aggressive disease such as triple-negative breast cancer, which has fewer targeted treatments.” It is also reported that they are likely to be “diagnosed at more advanced stages.”

Triple-negative breast cancer is described by the American Cancer Society as “an aggressive type of invasive breast cancer.” It is different from other types of breast cancer because “it tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and tends to have a worse prognosis (outlook).” 

The name comes from the cancer cells not having “estrogen or progesterone receptors (ER or PR) and also don’t make any or too much of the protein called HER2. (The cells test ‘negative’ on all 3 tests.)”

Monique Crow, a two-time breast cancer survivor, shared that she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. The invasiveness led to her having a double mastectomy that year. The cancer returned in 2022 after she found a lump in her scar, and she has since had radiation and surgery.   

“I’m very transparent about what I’ve been through. I like to share with other women – not just survivors – because early detection is definitely key to surviving,” Crow told the AFRO. “I encourage women to make sure they do their annual mammogram and young women check their breasts monthly. I’ve met so many young women in their 20s, 30s and 40s that have gotten breast cancer–it’s not just a middle-aged woman’s thing.”

She shared that if something feels wrong during a monthly home breast exam, go to a professional and advocate for yourself and your body. 

“I also found out by going through this [that] you have to advocate for yourself because the doctors, a lot of the time, will downplay a lot of stuff, especially with African-American and Latina women. We have to fight harder,” Crow said. 

Kristina Martel, the strategic director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the California, Guam and Hawaii division of the American Cancer Society, shared the work that they are doing to fight breast cancer and how racism directly impacts women who are diagnosed. 

The American Cancer Society is conducting its first-ever lifestyle study, focusing on the lifestyle choices of African-American and Afro-Latina women, to investigate over the course of 30 years why the incidence and mortality numbers are higher in the Black community.

The goal is to “find out why it is that Black women have a higher risk of cancer than any other ethnic population,” said Martel. “We know that lifestyles have a lot to do with it because of the social determinants of health and racism. Those are the things that we’re really diving deep into for the next generation of Black women.”

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By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

Early voting is underway around the nation ahead of Election Day 2024, set for Nov. 5. 

In Georgia, more than 1.9 million residents have already cast their ballots, representing more than a quarter of all voters in the Peach State. Martin Luther King III, son of the late civil rights leader, held an in-person early voting event on Oct. 21 in partnership with the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.

Although North Carolinians are still recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Helene, over 1 million of them have made it to the voting booth. In Nevada, 144,575 residents had voted as of Oct. 22. 

The right to vote is one of the cornerstones of democracy, but Black Americans have been subjected to a long history of disenfranchisement. Tactics like literacy tests and poll taxes have given way to gerrymandering and restrictive voter identification laws. Modern attempts at voter suppression and intimidation make it even more important for individuals to know how to spot and fight unlawful practices. 

“As much as it’s important to know the voting laws in your state, it’s also critical that voters know what protections are in place to safeguard their right to cast a ballot. There are federal voter protections in laws like the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,” said Kiayna O’Neal, digital director at VoteRiders. “Each of these is meant to protect voters from things like discrimination and intimidation at the polls, being taken off of voter registration rolls, language difficulties and issues for overseas voters.”

Founded in 2012 as a direct response to the rise of stringent ID laws in the U.S., VoteRiders is a nonpartisan nonprofit that strives to ensure all citizens can exercise their right to vote. O’Neal warned that the existence of these federal protections does not mean that they are enforced and free from attack. 

In fact, the Voting Rights Act, enacted in 1965 after Martin Luther King Jr. led the Selma marches in Alabama, has been weakened in recent years. In 2013, the United States Supreme Court struck down a section in the legislation that required certain states with a history of discrimination to get approval from the federal government before changing their voting laws. The ruling set a precedent that’s made it more difficult to challenge discriminatory policies. 

“Intimidation and suppression examples can vary depending on the voter, the state and the situation,” said O’ Neal. “With all the misinformation and disinformation out there about voter fraud, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more instances of voter’s citizenship being questioned at the polls— that in itself is a form of intimidation.” 

Rebekah Caruthers, vice president of the Fair Election Center, has already observed attacks on the right to vote this election season.

In Georgia, 300,000 people showed out on Oct. 15, the first day of early voting. Caruthers believes one of the reasons behind the state’s record turnout for early voting is tied to a harmful law passed in 2021. 

“Georgia has now made it illegal for organizations to pass out water or snacks for those standing in line,” said Caruthers. “Georgia is notorious for 10 to 12 hour lines. That’s a clear example of voter suppression because the hope is that people will get too tired, too hungry or too thirsty, and they will leave.” 

She added that the lengthy wait times are more common in predominantly Black neighborhoods of the state.

“Mind you, those long lines tend to be in Black areas,” said Caruthers. “They’re not in the White suburbs.” 

Aside from Black communities, Latinx, young people, first-time voters and people with disabilities are more likely to experience voter disenfranchisement, according to Caruthers. 

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU), interrogating voters about their citizenship, criminal record or other qualifications; deceptively posing as an election official; disseminating false information about voter requirements and displaying misleading signs about voter fraud in relation to legal penalty are all forms of voter intimidation. 

Caruthers believes poll workers are one of the most important players in defending against voter suppression and intimidation. 

“Poll workers are the frontline workers in our democracy,” said Caruthers. “If it wasn’t for poll workers, election clerks and local election officials across the country who are trying to do their jobs, we wouldn’t be able to have elections.”

Voters are reminded that if they encounter voter suppression efforts or intimidation, they can contact the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE, or 866-687-8683. 

There are also language-specific numbers: Spanish 888-839-8682, Asian languages 888-274-8683 and Arabic 844-925-5287. 

Voters can also consult the Fair Election Center’s Know Your Rights Guide and VoteRider’s HelpLine at 866-432-8683 before heading to the polls to make sure they’re prepared.

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By Melissa Lavigne-Delville,
Jessica Yu C

With just a few weeks until a historic presidential election, political anxiety has reached fever pitch. Four months ago, Hers took the pulse on overall stress levels across the country and the results are eye-opening. 

Obviously, the political landscape has changed quite a bit in the last four months—it’s been an election season marked by a series of unprecedented events: not one but two assassination attempts, a major third party candidate dropping out and endorsing one of his rivals, and of course, the sitting president dropping out of the race and endorsing the vice president for his party’s nomination. 

Data from the Hers study fielded in May 2024 reveals how cities were feeling about the election prior to President Biden dropping out. 

Pre-Election Stress Levels Across the Country

According to the study, 11.5% of respondents named “the upcoming presidential election” as a top source of stress, which at first blush didn’t seem all that high. However, American cities swung in their stress levels from just 3% who were worried about the election (Birmingham, AL) to 20% (Austin, TX). 

Generally speaking, the cities most and least stressed about the upcoming election were also the ones most and least stressed about the state of the world. 

Austin was the fifth most anxious about the state of the world (26%, tied with Philadelphia), surpassed only by Atlanta (29%), Cleveland (29%), Detroit (27%), and New Haven (27%). Birmingham, AL, on the other hand, wasn’t as actively worried about the state of the world: Only 11% said it was a top source of stress, about half that of respondents overall (20%). 

On the other side of the spectrum, more than one-fifth (21%) of Birmingham residents named no sources of stress as compared to only 8% of the rest of the country who felt the same. 

Hers ranked cities from most stressed about the upcoming presidential election to least stressed. In May, Democratic-leaning cities topped the political stress test. Meanwhile, Republican-leaning cities fell near the bottom of the list (see Most to Least Politically Anxious Cities list below). 

DC Was Comparatively Calm, Cool, and Collected

Interestingly, the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., was among just two Democratic-leaning state cities that fell within the 10 least stressed major metropolitan areas in the U.S. at the time. The other was Washington D.C.’s neighbor, Baltimore, MD. 

While it’s difficult to explain why two cities at the epicenter of politics felt just fine, they may simply be used to all the hoopla. For them, political stress is business as usual. 

Most to Least Politically Anxious Cities (May 2024)
Percentage of survey respondents who indicated the upcoming presidential election as a top source of stress

Austin, TX – 20%
Minneapolis, MN – 18%
Philadelphia, PA – 17%
Atlanta, GA – 17%
Detroit, MI – 17%
Denver, CO – 16%
Sacramento, CA – 16%
Portland, OR – 16%
Charlotte, NC – 15%
Salt Lake City, UT – 15%
New Haven, CT – 14%
Nashville, TN – 14%
Greenville, SC – 14%
Houston, TX – 13%
Los Angeles, CA – 13%
Las Vegas, NV – 13%
Orlando, FL – 12%
Little Rock, AR – 12%
Honolulu, HI – 12%
St. Louis, MO – 12%
Omaha, NE – 12%
New York, NY – 11%
Tampa, FL – 11%
Oklahoma City, OK – 11%
San Francisco, CA – 11%
Seattle, WA – 11%
Des Moines, IA – 11%
Boston, MA – 10%
Pittsburgh, PA – 10%
Miami, FL – 10%
Raleigh, NC – 10%
San Antonio, TX – 10%
Norfolk, VA – 10%
San Diego, CA – 10%
Albuquerque, NM – 10%
Cleveland, OH – 10%
Providence, RI – 9%
Memphis, TN – 9%
Phoenix, AZ – 9%
Chicago, IL – 9%
Kansas City, KS – 9%
Milwaukee, WI – 9%
Baltimore, MD – 8%
New Orleans, LA – 8%
Columbus, OH – 8%
Dallas, TX – 7%
Washington, DC – 7%
Louisville, KY – 7%
Indianapolis, IN – 6%
Birmingham, AL – 3%

Get the data

Tips for Keeping Political Anxiety at Bay

While stress levels by city may have shifted since May, what Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all might agree on—other than their health, a story Hers reported on in July—is that this election cycle has been a rollercoaster. Here are some tips for keeping calm and carrying on through the fall.  

Practice mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind to help reduce stress. Recent research shows mindfulness meditation may be as effective at reducing anxiety as medication for some people.

Try stimulus control. Stimulus control is a behavioral psychology technique in which a stimulus that typically triggers a certain behavior is modified so that the behavior is less likely to occur. You might find that your political anxiety increases when reading the news, listening to the radio, or scrolling through social media. Try setting limits around content consumption to keep this anxiety at bay.

Talk it out. Research proves that simply naming your feelings can help calm you down. Saying “I’m anxious/agitated/restless” helps build insight into what you’re feeling and why you’re feeling it. And once you’re more aware of the distress you’re feeling, you’re more likely to do something to manage your anxiety and stress.

Head to the polls. If you’re feeling stressed about the election, make a plan to vote. No matter which candidate you support, being civically engaged may help you feel personally fulfilled and alleviate psychological distress. According to research, civic engagement can have a positive impact on mental health. Voting allows people to weigh in on processes and policies that are bound to affect the society they live in. And activism has been linked to happiness, personal fulfillment, and social well-being.

Remember radical acceptance. If you try all of the above and still find yourself in distress over the politics of our nation, it might be time to consider practicing a dialectical behavior therapy skill called radical acceptance. Radical acceptance means acknowledging and even embracing difficult circumstances—and

Data and Methodology

This study is based on a 5,504-person online survey, which included 5,000 18-to-65-year-old respondents in the top 50 metropolitan areas (100 respondents per city) and a nationally representative sample of 504 18-to-65-year-old respondents to contextualize results. The study was fielded in May 2024.

Findings were analyzed by more than 100 demographic and psychographic cuts, including city, region, gender (when Hers refers to “women” and “men,” this includes all people who self-identify as such), age, race and ethnicity, relationship status, parenting status, sexual orientation (heterosexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, asexual, queer, etc.), and political affiliation, among other areas of interest. 

Metropolitan populations were determined by 2022 Census data. In order to represent as many states as possible within the study, five cities that did not fall in the top 50 metropolitan locations were selected in place of cities in states already represented. Cities added to the study included New Orleans, LA (51), Providence, RI (53), Little Rock, AR (59), Honolulu, HI (68), and Omaha, NE (71). Cities replaced in the study included West Palm Beach, FL (39), Jacksonville, FL (41), Grand Rapids, MI (42), Harrisburg, PA (44), and Greensboro, NC (45).

Respondents were asked to rate their happiness on a one to five scale. To rank the happiest cities in America, Hers looked at the number of respondents who rated themselves as a four (happy describes me) or five (happy very much describes me) to create an average happiness score.

All data in this study are from this source, unless otherwise noted. Independent research firm Culture Co-op conducted and analyzed research and findings.

This story was produced by Hers and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.

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By Patricia Merritt
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Thelma Watershed Wair, one of the historical Little Rock Nine who integrated an Arkansas high school in 1957 amidst an angry mob of White separationists and who later graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), has died. She was 83.

Wair’s sister, Grace Davis, confirmed to The Associated Press that Wair died Saturday at a hospital in Little Rock from complications of multiple sclerosis.

Wair’s history-making story began in 1957 with the other eight students: Melba Pattillo Beals, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Terrence Roberts and Jefferson Thomas.

The students integrated Little Rock Central High School three years after the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 declared in the Brown vs. Board of Education case, that segregated classrooms were unconstitutional.

Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus deployed the National Guard for three weeks to prevent the Little Rock Nine from enrolling in the school. This led to President Dwight D. Eisenhower sending members of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division to escort the students into school on Sept. 25, 1957.

After graduating high school, Wair continued her education through the Southern Illinois University System. She earned a bachelor’s in home economics from SIU Carbondale in 1964. She achieved a master’s in guidance and counseling from SIUE in 1970 and completed an administrative certificate in education from the University in 1972.

Wair chose a career in education and was committed to community outreach, working as a home economics teacher and guidance counselor for East St. Louis School District #189, until her retirement in 1994. Her classroom efforts earned her the Outstanding Role Model Award, given by the East St. Louis Top Ladies of Distinction.

Wair went on to receive other awards and distinctions. One was an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from SIUE. The University bestowed Wair with the honor during its May 2016 commencement. 

Wair was also named as one of SIUE’s 2016 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductees. The Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes and honors SIUE alumni who, through leadership, character and hard work, have made exceptional contributions in their chosen field, in their communities and at SIUE.

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By Deborah Bailey
AFRO Contributing Editor

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on Oct. 17 announced 60,000 additional teachers, nurses, firefighters and government public administrators would have their loans canceled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. 

“I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” said President Biden in the announcement on Oct. 17, reminding the public of his original campaign promise to relieve student debt. 

“The 60,000 borrowers who have just been contacted brings the total number of persons whose debt has been canceled to more than 1 million,” said James Kvaal, under secretary of education, in an AFRO interview.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program provides debt cancellation to public service workers at the local, state and federal levels who have accumulated 10 years of repayment and 10 years of public service. 

For educators like Jamie Walker-Sallis, who entered the field of special education because there were not enough Black teachers, news that her remaining loan payments were canceled came as a godsend. 

“A letter came in the mail. I didn’t believe it,” said Walker-Sallis, who is now the equity and learning support administrator with Davenport Community School District in Iowa. “I looked in my account and it was zero.” 

DOE wants borrowers to know that loan forgiveness is ongoing and people who think they qualify for public service loan forgiveness should sign up now at StudentAid.gov. 

“We are continuing to process applications for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program,” said Kvaal. “I encourage all public service professionals to enroll in the Public Service Debt Forgiveness Program now, so we can ensure your payments and years of service are counted toward debt forgiveness.” 

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program began in 2007, yet only 7,000 persons had received loan forgiveness before the Biden-Harris administration restructured the program. During the current administration, $175 million in total debt impacting 5 million borrowers has been canceled. While less than the $400 billion in student loan relief Biden originally requested, it exceeds debt relief efforts by prior administrations. 

“We expect there will more than likely be another announcement regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program before Jan. 20,” Kvaal said.

“I encourage borrowers to contact us even if they believe errors were made in reviewing their information,” he added. “We will review your case. The Department of Education will be working to relieve student loan debt whenever we can for people who have dedicated a portion of their careers to public service.”

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire 

Bath & Body Works is facing backlash after releasing its holiday themed “Snowed In” candle, which bears a design some social media users claim resembles imagery associated with the Ku Klux Klan. The Columbus-based retailer swiftly apologized and announced it would be removing the candle from shelves.

The controversy erupted when a Reddit user posted an image of the candle featuring a close-up snowflake design set against a maroon background. Although intended as a winter motif, some users noted a striking resemblance to the pointed hoods associated with the KKK, leading to terms like “klandle” and “KKKandle” circulating online. 

“I know it’s one of those paper snowflakes, but I can’t be the only one who sees ‘it,’ right?” asked the Reddit user. The post quickly gained traction, with users on platforms like X questioning how the design passed quality checks. 

“Wait, how did nobody at Bath & Body Works clock the klandle?” one user exclaimed.

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Bath & Body Works stated, “We are committed to listening to our customers and to addressing mistakes, even those that are unintentional. We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are working to remove this item from our stores while evaluating our process going forward.”

While some criticized the oversight as insensitive, others dismissed the controversy, arguing that society is becoming overly sensitive.

“This isn’t just a branding mistake; it’s a reminder of how sensitive cultural symbols can be,” commented one user. Meanwhile, another argued, “People see ‘racism’ in everything nowadays.”

This incident is not Bath & Body Works’ first brush with controversy. In 2022, the company faced criticism for a Black History Month collection featuring kente-cloth-inspired packaging, which some considered cultural appropriation. 

Bath & Body Works, which became an independent public company in 2021 and operates over 1,850 locations across the U.S. and Canada, reported $7.4 billion in revenue last year.  

“Let’s hope they take this as a lesson in awareness and responsibility,” one online user noted.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire

Vice President Kamala Harris has unveiled an extensive agenda designed to dismantle systemic barriers and foster new opportunities for Black men across America. The agenda, announced on Oct. 14, spotlights wealth-building, health equity, criminal justice reform and expanded education and job training access. Her plan follows recent controversial remarks by former President Barack Obama, who addressed concerns about voter turnout among Black men and stressed the importance of participating in the election.

Obama’s comments in Pittsburgh were roundly criticized as scapegoating Black men, though he emphasized the high stakes of the 2024 election, noting that some African American males might hesitate to vote. He suggested that part of the reluctance could stem from discomfort with the idea of a woman president. Harris’s plan aims to address the specific needs of Black men, with initiatives focused on financial empowerment, healthcare and education.

Forgivable loans and wealth creation

Harris’s economic plan centers on wealth-building and supporting Black entrepreneurship. Her administration would provide one million forgivable loans, each up to $20,000, to help Black men and others who have faced significant barriers to starting a business. By partnering with community banks and mission-driven lenders, Harris aims to make capital accessible to Black entrepreneurs looking to launch or expand businesses in fields ranging from technology to landscaping and beyond.

Additionally, Harris has proposed a significant expansion of the Small Business Startup Tax Deduction, increasing it from $5,000 to $50,000, which would allow Black entrepreneurs to offset startup costs. She also plans to boost access to venture capital, low-interest loans and incubators specifically for Black-owned businesses. Recognizing that Black entrepreneurs are frequently denied credit, Harris’s plan includes reforms to expand affordable banking services and crack down on hidden fees that inhibit wealth accumulation in Black communities.

Pathways to high-demand jobs and expanded education access

Harris’s agenda promotes education, training and mentorship programs to equip Black men with the skills needed to succeed in high-demand fields. Her plan emphasizes registered apprenticeships and credentialing programs, which would provide hands-on training for jobs in sectors like cybersecurity, renewable energy and healthcare. She also seeks to eliminate unnecessary college degree requirements for 500,000 federal jobs, making these roles more accessible to Black men who may not have pursued higher education.

To increase the representation of Black male teachers—a crucial role model for young Black students—Harris said she plans to invest in teacher training programs through the Department of Education. By collaborating with HBCUs and MSIs, the Democratic presidential nominee hopes to build a pipeline for Black male educators, addressing the severe underrepresentation in this profession, where only 1 percent of teachers are Black men. Research has shown that Black students benefit academically and socially when they have Black male teachers, yet structural barriers have prevented many from entering the field. Harris also supports the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to attract and retain Black male teachers, ensuring they have a pathway to long-term careers in education.

Financial protections in the digital economy

Harris’s plan includes protections for Black men who invest in cryptocurrency and other digital assets, acknowledging that over 20 percent of Black Americans have owned these assets. Among her goals is establishing a regulatory framework to safeguard digital investments, ensuring that Black men are protected as they participate in the burgeoning digital economy. The framework would set standards to protect investors from fraud and provide educational resources on digital asset management.

Health equity and addressing medical debt

Health equity remains a cornerstone of Harris’s agenda. She has introduced a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black men, which would address high rates of chronic diseases like diabetes, prostate cancer and sickle cell disease. Harris proposes capping insulin costs at $35 per month and limiting out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs to $2,000 annually. Additionally, she said she would expand funding for sickle cell research and build a national database to improve prevention and treatment.

To tackle the burden of medical debt, which disproportionately affects Black men, Harris proposes removing medical debt from credit reports and working with states to relieve outstanding medical debt. The effort would help Black men access better credit, opening doors for homeownership and business financing.

Criminal justice reform and economic opportunities in legal cannabis

The vice president also has committed to legalizing recreational marijuana at the federal level, which she argues will reduce incarceration rates for Black men and create economic opportunities in the emerging cannabis industry. By working with Congress to ensure the safe cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana, Harris would remove long standing barriers that have disproportionately impacted Black men. Her plan would establish pathways for Black men to access licenses and jobs in the legal cannabis sector, providing a chance to build wealth in a market that has historically excluded them.

Affordable housing, homeownership, and financial literacy

Harris further proposes building three million affordable housing units during her first term to address the housing crisis. She would offer up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, aiming to triple the number of new Black homeowners annually by the end of her term. The initiative would specifically target those who have been unable to buy homes due to a lack of generational wealth, which disproportionately affects Black families.

Still, another facet of her plan would tackle racial bias in home appraisals, a pervasive issue that often results in undervalued properties in majority-Black neighborhoods. Her proposal would mandate training and accountability measures for appraisers to ensure that Black homeowners receive fair property valuations, helping to close the racial wealth gap.

Community events and outreach

As part of her outreach to Black men, the Harris-Walz campaign is launching several community-centered events. The “Black Men Huddle Up” initiative will feature NFL and NCAA watch parties in battleground states, where Black men can discuss the upcoming election and its implications for their communities. In addition, the campaign will host a series of Economic Freedom Talks, with notable Black entrepreneurs discussing strategies for business growth and financial independence. Harris’s team is ramping up its Shop Talk series, Brother to Brother canvass events, and launching new testimonial ads to reach Black voters in states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan.

In stark contrast to Trump’s agenda

Harris’s proposals directly counter Donald Trump’s Project 2025, which she argues would dismantle progress for Black communities. Trump’s plan includes:

• Reinstating stop-and-frisk practices.
• Cutting funding for urban education.
• Eliminating critical programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which many Black families rely on.
• Harris’s agenda seeks to offer Black men a comprehensive path to economic stability and success, positioning her as the candidate dedicated to addressing their unique challenges.

Harris’s detailed plan appears to offer Black men a vision of leadership, opportunity and economic empowerment, which she argues is essential for the future of Black communities. She believes investing in education, health and wealth-building would help address systemic inequities and build a path to prosperity for Black men nationwide.

“Donald Trump could care less about equipping hardworking Americans with the tools needed to get ahead,” campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond stated. “While Vice President Harris is promising to equip Black men with the tools needed to pursue our dreams and aspirations, Donald Trump is promising Black men in America a national nightmare.”

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By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com

As election day draws near, Black voters face a pivotal moment, as candidates at national, state and local levels take distinct approaches to addressing critical issues, like health disparities, wealth gaps, reproductive rights, voter suppression and education. 

With a polarizing presidential race, tight races in Congress and contentious ballot measures, it becomes even more important for voters to identify the policies that enable them to thrive. The AFRO sat down with three leading, nonpartisan voter organizations that seek to empower the Black community to determine which issues are the most pressing. Here’s what they said. 

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation 

Voting rights

Voter roll purging, or removing individuals from registered voter lists, has escalated in recent years. The practice is meant to preserve the integrity of the list, clearing out people who have died or moved, but a number of states have used it to remove people due to infrequent voting in recent elections.

“Most Black people, close to 60 percent, live in the South where you have a lot of voter purging taking place,” said Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP). “Voting rights is a big issue for us.” 

NCBCP has spearheaded a voter preparedness campaign to ensure people are registered to vote, know where their polling location is and understand the protections that exist.  

Economic security 

The economy has been a hot-button issue this election season. Campbell said Black women in particular are experiencing a great deal of concern over their finances. 

“We did a poll earlier in the year, and the number one issue for Black women had to do with economic security— issues around paychecks not making it all the way through the month and matching bills,” said Campbell. “There’s a high level of anxiety for Black women across generations.” 

Campbell also pointed out that the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which ravaged communities in the Southeast, would mean even more implications for the U.S. economy. 

Black Girls Vote

Economic security 

Leaders of Black Girls Vote (BGV) also touched on the economic plight of Black women. Founder Nykidra Robinson pointed out that they are the fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs in the U.S., but they need to be able to preserve the wealth they are creating. 

“We have a lot of Black women who are heads of households or the breadwinner, but it’s tough,” said Robinson. “Even though we’re going to school and getting educated, we have student loan debt payments that come with our salaries, which can be limited.” 

She also highlighted the steep cost of housing today. Homeownership has traditionally been identified as a way to create generational wealth. But, if home prices are out of reach, this avenue may be closed to Black families. 

“The cost of housing is now astronomical, and Black women want to purchase homes,” said Robinson. “For those who are able, we want to make sure that they can stay in their homes and not just buy them.” 

Health equity 

BGV advisory board member Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, a public health sociologist, raised health care affordability, quality and access as a major issue up and down ballots this year.

“Health disparities exist along lines of race but also along income and geography. We need to vote for candidates who prioritize health equity and ensure that those policies are designed to reduce disparities by addressing social drivers,” said Ramjohn. “Most of what contributes to your health happens outside of your doctor’s office.”

The Black community faces disparities in maternal health, cancer rates, mental health treatment,  heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. Social determinants of health, or the conditions in which a person lives, works and ages, significantly impact these disparities, according to Ramjohn. 

She warned that the next president will inherit multiple public health epidemics, including those related to Black maternal health, gun violence, 

“Black women are three times more likely to suffer from maternal morbidity and maternal mortality when compared to their White counterparts,” said Ramjohn “We also know that firearm violence, which is now a leading cause of death among children, is concentrated in marginalized, racial and ethnic communities.”

Addressing reproductive justice is also a major issue under health care. While many associate the term with abortion access, it encompasses much more than that. 

“When we hear about reproductive justice, there’s so much talk about abortion, but we’re not talking about in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments or surrogacy,” said Robinson. “We’re not talking about the mothers who desire to have a child and may not be able to conceive or have complications when trying to have a child.” 

Black Voters Matter Fund

Economic security 

Co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund LaTosha Brown explained that Black communities consider the health of the economy at an individual level rather than global. 

“We’re not thinking about the health of the economy based on how the GDP is doing or the unemployment rate being lower,” said Brown. “We’re looking at costs and the health and wellness of our communities.” 

As Black families, who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, continue to recover from the pandemic, she said they have become increasingly sensitive to the rising costs of goods.

Like BGV, Brown called attention to pricey housing costs, which have made it difficult and sometimes impossible for African Americans to attain homeownership. 

“The cost of homes has exploded and risen to the point where it’s been cost-preventative for people coming out of college and new families to get a new home,” said Brown. “We need people with strong housing policies so we can build wealth.”

Student loan forgiveness

Though millions of Americans have outstanding student loan debt, there is a stark gap in the amount owed by Black borrowers and their counterparts. According to the Education Data Initiative, African-American college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than White college graduates. 

Brown highlighted legal attacks, largely led by Red states, on President Joe Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which is designed to make payments more affordable, expand forgiveness and eliminate interest. 

“They’re willing to give corporate welfare to bail banks out and millions of dollars to wealthy business owners in Paycheck Protection Program loans, but then there’s been attacks on student loan forgiveness,” said Brown. “That impacts us economically.”

Education

In recent years, assaults on Black history in schools have increased. Brown noted that several states have sought to ban AP African American studies and critical race theory. 

“Why is our history less valuable than any other? It is American history,” said Brown. “We have to see that that’s not just an attack on African American history; that’s an attack on our identity.”

The post Navigating the ballot: Key issues facing voters in the 2024 general election appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

Hurricane Helene touched down in Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm that devastated communities across Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service deemed it among the most powerful storms to hit the United States with days of torrential rainfall and powerful winds. 

Then came Hurricane Milton. With winds of up to 120 miles an hour, the Category 3 storm slammed into popular cities in Florida, such as Tampa and Orlando. An estimated 500,000 people lost power and roads quickly flooded. 

More than 200 people died as a result of Hurricane Helene, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the country since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now, Florida is grappling with recovery from another catastrophic storm, Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Oct. 9. 

With homes washed away, persisting power outages and impassable roadways from consecutive hurricanes, organizations are racing to deploy help to those who were in the path of first, Helene, and then, Milton. 

“We know that people are generous and want to do everything they can to help after a disaster,” said Stephanie Fox, national media lead for the American Red Cross (Red Cross). “Our priority is to provide shelter and support to those affected. Financial donations are the quickest and best way to help those who need it most.” 

More than 2,000 Red Cross volunteers have assembled to provide shelter, food, water and other support to families affected by Helene. The humanitarian organization has set up shelters in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, where residents can get hot meals and emotional support. 

Emergency response vehicles have also been deployed to deliver meals, water and supplies to those in need. As the hurricanes led to the cancellation of blood drives across the Southeast, the Red Cross is working to restock blood products. 

“Donations of clothing and household items divert resources away from our mission, whereas financial donations can be used right away to directly help those affected, such as replacing lost items like prescription medications or reading glasses,” said Fox. 

Baltimore resident Deneen Penny-Rymes spoke with the AFRO about the dire situation experienced by her daughter, Dia Rymes, in late September following Helene. Dia Rymes, a teacher, lives in Hazlehurst, Ga. 

Deneen Penny-Rymes said she thinks her daughter concealed the gravity of the situation in the beginning to prevent her from worrying. Now, the severity has become clear. 

“She sent me a text and said, ‘Mom, I’m going to send you my CashApp because I need help.’ She’s 48. She’s never asked me for help,” said Deneen Penny-Rymes. “I burst into tears because I knew she was in trouble. She never, ever asked for any help. When she said that, I figured it was bad.” 

Fortunately, the main structure of her daughter’s home stayed intact. But, all of the windows have shattered, and the screens have blown out. Her house’s addition has been demolished, and her barn is sitting under the weight of a fallen tree. 

With no power or water, Dia Rymes’ and her significant other began traveling to towns, up to an hour away, to obtain necessities. But that was only possible while gas was available, and with no access to debit or credit cards, money to purchase gas ran low. Banks were forced to shut down and many other forms of payment were thrown offline due to power outages. Deneen Penny-Rymes recently discovered that pool water was a saving grace for her daughter in the immediate days after the storm, as it was the only source of water to bathe and flush toilets. 

As the need for relief in impacted communities continues, organizations have warned people to protect themselves from scams and disinformation. Fox cautioned that those seeking aid should avoid anyone who says they are a Red Cross volunteer and asks for money. The organization’s aid is always provided at no charge.

She also provided guidance for those looking to donate.

“Beware of visits, calls or emails from people claiming to offer financial assistance, asking for your social security number, bank account or other personally sensitive information. Giving out this type of information can lead to identity theft,” said Fox. “Research charities through Charity Navigator, Charity Watch Group, the Better Business Bureau and GuideStar before donating.”

The post A time to help: Red Cross weighs in on how to aid Southeastern communities recovering from back-to-back hurricanes appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

After two decades in the education system as a math teacher, principal and administrator, Atiyah Harmon noticed a problem: young Black girls in middle school were increasingly disinterested in mathematics. 

Their lack of interest wasn’t due to challenges in grasping the subject but because it wasn’t perceived as “cool.”  

“It wasn’t that they didn’t have the skills, it was just that it wasn’t cool to be a math person anymore,” said Harmon. “I was very frustrated about this because I saw the lack of growth in the field.” 

Harmon decided she wanted to stop this cycle. In 2020, she created Black Girls Love Math (BGLM), an organization based in Philadelphia that seeks to eradicate racial and gender inequality in mathematics. It partners with schools to provide curriculum, exposes girls to women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and holds competitions that challenge girls to solve social justice issues impacting their communities with math knowledge. 

According to a report from the American Association of University Women, many girls lose confidence in math by the time they reach the third grade. Teachers, who primarily are women, also tend to have math anxiety that they pass onto girls and grade girls harder than boys for the same work. 

“Educators are the major component of what can make or break a kid’s education,” said Harmon. “How educators feel about math and the way girls can succeed is something that you have to challenge at times.” 

Most recently, BGLM began providing culturally-responsive teacher development to ensure educators can affirm students’ identities and skills. 

Special education teacher Kezia Ellis enrolled her nine-year-old daughter, Chelsea, in the organization’s programming last January. She learned about the organization from a friend. After attending an open house, Chelsea asked Ellis if she would sign her up. 

“I just noticed from the pictures they showed us, there was a lot of smiling,” said Chelsea. “I could tell they had a lot of fun, and there was joy in their faces. I knew that this would be something I would enjoy.” 

Chelsea has never really enjoyed math, but she has always had a natural talent for it.

Recently, she took the New York state math test and earned a near perfect score. 

Chelsea praised her BGLM instructors, saying they are funny and kind. She said her friends in the program have become her “math sisters.” One of her favorite parts about BGLM has been reading the organization’s affirmational creed at the start and end of each session.

She offered a piece of advice to other girls who are interested in joining BGLM.

“Be yourself. Be the real you. You don’t have to act a different way in front of them,” said Chelsea. “When you’re around them, it’s like they’re family to you— but like a math family.” 

Ellis thinks BGLM has played a significant role in Chelsea’s confidence in math— something the educator believes is crucial. 

“A lot of our young people approach math with such anxiety because they’ve experienced a challenge with math and created the narrative that they’re not good at it. We need math in our everyday lives. It’s all around us,” said Ellis. “I’m all about breaking the stereotype that only men are good at math and other races are more proficient in math than Black people.” 

The post Black Girls Love Math: Challenging gender and racial stereotypes appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Reginald Williams
Special to the AFRO

Slow-moving showers hovered over Asheville, N.C., on Sept. 25. At the time, Hurricane Helene was a Category 1 hurricane, swelling on Cancun’s eastern Gulf of Mexico. By the evening of Sept. 26, that Category 1 hurricane dumped more than nine inches of rain on Asheville, and by noon Sept. 27, the city, perched 2,134 feet above sea level and 392 miles to the nearest coastal waters, began to feel the unimaginable devastation of being submerged by floodwaters. By the afternoon of Sept. 27, the Category 1 storm grew to a Category 4, causing residents in North Carolina to flee in search of safety.

The breath of Helene’s raging rivers stretched for more than 600 miles through ten states, with the most intense destruction in North Carolina. Meteorologists estimated that between four and five months of rain descended on Asheville in three days. 

“You have entire communities that are gone. They have just washed away,” Janice Royall Garland, who lives approximately 10 minutes outside the city limits of Asheville in Weaverville, told the AFRO. “It is phenomenal. This is scary.”

Janice Royall Garland, her husband Mike, and her mother were without power from Sept 26. to Sept 28. The power outage severed access to water. The Garlands use well water, which has a pump that requires a power source. They, too, had intermittent cell tower access, making it challenging to contact their families. 

“At first, it was disheartening because we didn’t see anything in the way of help coming for days,” Janice Royall Garland said. “Now we see the convoys of power companies from other states coming to help.” 

Mudslides and buried roadways left residents with sparse access to rescue crews. Several ambulances attempting to render aid instead ended up floating in the raging waters, along with the cars and houses of residents. 

The torrential rain floods robbed people of their homes and the memories stored in them. Lives were also lost. Fatalities in Asheville rose above 40 on Oct. 2. Nationwide, more than 160 people are reported dead, according to The Associated Press. Dead bodies were reported to be trapped in trees and floating in rivers of stormwater, resembling the sights and sounds of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 tropical cyclone that landed in New Orleans. That storm was responsible for 1,392 deaths and an estimated $125 billion in damages.  

In Tallahassee, Fla. residents like Perry Kalip and his mother, Martha Kale, sought shelter at a school in the area. In fear of falling victim to the storm’s rapidly changing conditions, the pair traveled to Fairview Middle School in search of a safe place to wait out the hurricane. 

Before Helene landed in Asheville, it traveled unexpectedly through Augusta, Ga., providing a destructive punch to the Georgians. 

“That storm sat on top of this area for three hours,” declared Mohra Hill-Smith. “We had those 80 mile per hour  high winds and two tornadoes in those three hours. The community has taken a hit.”

Hill-Smith feels blessed while needing a new roof and siding, stating that fallen trees have split a few of her neighbor’s homes in half. Like Asheville, Augusta experienced no power, irregular cellular service, and the inability to find gas. 

“When I left on Saturday, there was no food in the stores. The drug stores were closed. I couldn’t get my medication. Gas stations three hours, and longer waits,” explained Hill-Smith. “It was very dire straits.” 

In an attempt to reach safety, Hill, a cancer patient on oral medication, traveled on Sept. 28 with a friend to Conyers, Ga. While there, a new emergency confronted them. 

“On Sunday, we woke up to an emergency alert in Conyers stating there was a chemical fire in the area. We were put under a mandatory shelter-in-place for two days. So, we left one disaster and went to another disaster,” explained Hill.

Because of Asheville’s climate and its projected safety from severe weather, realtors tabbed the city as a prime living destination. However, the confluence of the Swannanoa River and the French Broad River, which sandwich the city of Asheville, is why the town and neighboring communities fell victim to flood waters. Subsequently, Asheville’s physical infrastructure will take years to rebuild, they’ll also have to repair its social infrastructure. 

There is never a good time to be devastated by a violent rainstorm, but this may be the worst time. Asheville, which rests in the foothills of North Carolina, is a tourist community primarily because of the region’s climate and environment set on the backdrop of the ethereal Blue Ridge Mountains. September through early November is the time of year when the city experiences its most significant economic impact. 

Janice Royall Garland said she found some deliverance despite the storm’s devastation. She says the storm washed away—at least momentarily—the political descent that fractured North Carolina residents before Helene.

“On our little road, we’re seeing a sense of community,” shares Janice Royall Garland. “You can Google people in the area and see how they will vote, but with things like this, those differences are set aside. You see people hauling water, and they ask, ‘Do you need drinking water, flushing water, or both? What do you need? Frankly, I’m over the whole election thing. Since last Thursday, nobody is talking about it. Instead, it’s do you have water? What do you need? Gas? What do you need?’ That’s the shift in thinking when these kinds of things happen.”

According to information released by the White House, “In total, FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts for this historic storm.” 

The Biden Administration also said that “FEMA assistance in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia can include a one-time $750 payment to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies.” 

“After registering for disaster assistance, individuals may also qualify to receive disaster-related financial assistance to repair storm-related damage to homes and replace personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay,” reported information released by White House officials. “Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for Hurricane Helene.” 

The post Residents attempt recovery efforts in devastation of Hurricane Helene appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Kemo Cham and Jessica Donati
The Associated Press

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world’s worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change.

The often African-owned companies operate in areas where the vast majority of people live disconnected from the electricity grid, and offer products ranging from solar-powered lamps that allow children to study at night to elaborate home systems that power kitchen appliances and plasma televisions. Prices range from less than $20 for a solar-powered lamp to thousands of dollars for home appliances and entertainment systems.

Central and West Africa have some of the world’s lowest electrification rates. In West Africa, where 220 million people live without power, this is as low as 8 percent, according to the World Bank. Many rely on expensive kerosene and other fuels that fill homes and businesses with fumes and risk causing fires.

At the last United Nations climate summit, the world agreed on the goal of tripling the capacity for renewable power generation by 2050. While the African continent is responsible for hardly any carbon emissions relative to its size, solar has become one relatively cost-effective way to provide electricity.

The International Energy Agency, in a report earlier this year, said small and medium-sized solar companies are making rapid progress reaching homes but more needs to be invested to reach all African homes and businesses by 2030.

About 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, it said, out of a population of more than 1.3 billion.

Among the companies that made the Financial Times’ annual ranking of Africa’s fastest growing companies of 2023 was Easy Solar, a locally owned firm that brings solar power to homes and businesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The ranking went by compound annual growth rate in revenue.

Co-founder Nthabiseng Mosia grew up in Ghana with frequent power cuts. She became interested in solving energy problems in Africa while at graduate school in the United States. Together with a U.S. classmate, she launched the company in Sierra Leone, whose electrification rates are among the lowest in West Africa.

“There wasn’t really anybody doing solar at scale. And so we thought it was a good opportunity,” Mosia said in an interview.

Since launching in 2016, Easy Solar has brought solar power to over a million people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have a combined population of more than 14 million. The company’s network includes agents and shops in all of Sierra Leone’s 16 districts and seven of nine counties in Liberia.

Many communities have been connected to a stable source of power for the first time. “We really want to go to the last mile deep into the rural areas,” Mosia said.

The company began with a pilot project in Songo, a community on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Uptake was slow at first, Mosia said. Villagers worried about the cost of solar-powered appliances, but once they began to see light in their neighbors’ homes at night, more signed on.

“We have long forgotten about kerosene,” said Haroun Patrick Samai, a Songo resident and land surveyor. “Before Easy Solar we lived in constant danger of a fire outbreak from the use of candles and kerosene.”

Altech, a solar power company based in Congo, also ranked as one of Africa’s fastest growing companies. Fewer than 20 percent of the population in Congo has access to electricity, according to the World Bank.

Co-founders Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao fled conflict in Congo’s South Kivu province as children and grew up in Tanzania. They decided to launch the company in 2013 to help solve the power problems they had experienced growing up in a refugee camp, relying on kerosene for power and competing with family members for light to study at night.

Altech now operates in 23 out of 26 provinces in Congo, and the company expects to reach the remaining ones by the end of the year. Its founders say they have sold over 1 million products in Congo in a range of solar-powered solutions for homes and businesses, including lighting, appliances, home systems and generators.

“For the majority of our customers, this is the first time they are connected to a power source,” Malango said.

Repayment rates are over 90 percent, Malango said, helped in part by a system that can turn off power to appliances remotely if people don’t pay.

___

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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By David Klepper
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The facts emerging from Hurricane Helene’s destruction are heartrending: Businesses and homes destroyed, whole communities nearly wiped out, hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of people missing.

Yet this devastation and despair is not enough for the extremist groups, disinformation agents, hucksters and politicians who are exploiting the disaster to spread false claims and conspiracy theories about it and the government’s response.

According to former President Donald Trump, the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. Far-right extremist groups warn on social media that officials plan to bulldoze affected communities and seize the land from residents. A tale straight from science fiction asserts that Washington used weather control technology to steer Helene toward Republican voters in order to tilt the presidential election toward Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

The claims, according to experts and local officials dealing with disaster response, say less about the reality of the widespread damage from Helene than they do about America’s fractured politics and the fear and distrust shadowing an election year marked by assassination attempts and escalating global tension.

Debunking conspiracy theories takes time away from recovery efforts

As rescue work continues and authorities try to separate fact from fiction, the conspiracy theories are not helping. 

Elected leaders from both parties have had to set the record straight and urge people not to give into fear and rumor.

“If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great,” posted Glenn Jacobs, the retired professional wrestler known as Kane, who is now the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Jacobs’ post was intended to rebut rumors that workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were seizing relief supplies from private citizens.

Many of the conspiracy theories focus on hard-hit North Carolina, a state key to winning the White House. Rumors circulated that FEMA was raiding storm donations and withholding body bags, forcing local hospitals to stack the bodies of victims. One claim suggested federal authorities would condemn the entire town of Chimney Rock and prohibit resettlement in order to commandeer a valuable lithium mine nearby.

False claims of blocked relief flights and aid withheld from Republicans

Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, X and SpaceX, posted that private relief flights to North Carolina were being blocked by the Federal Aviation Administration, a claim dismissed as false by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Despite the tradition of Democrats and Republicans putting aside politics for disaster response, many conspiracy theories suggest Democrats such as President Joe Biden or North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper are intentionally withholding aid from Republicans. Trump has pushed the claim, as has North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, the embattled GOP nominee for governor.

“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump told Fox News, ignoring reports and photo and video evidence of recovery efforts underway throughout the region. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones endorsed Trump’s fact-free allegation. Jones, the founder of InfoWars, popularized the idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut that killed 20 children in 2012 was faked. “Exclusive: Victims of Hurricane Helene Confirm The Federal Government is Purposely Blocking Rescuers and Stealing Aid In an Attempt to Keep Deep Red Areas From Voting,” Jones posted Ocr. 3 on X.

Disinformation campaigns by China and Russia amplify the misleading claims

State-run media and disinformation campaigns run by China and Russia have amplified false and misleading claims about the response to the storm. Both countries have used social media and state news stories to criticize responses to past U.S. natural disasters, part of a larger effort to stoke division and distrust among Americans.

State and local officials from both parties have condemned the conspiracy theories as rumors, saying the focus should be on recovery, not political division and hearsay. 

Responding to the hoaxes is taking up time that should go toward assisting victims, said North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican who urged his constituents not to give into hoaxes.

“Friends can I ask a small favor?” Corbin posted Oct. 3 on Facebook. “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet… Please don’t let these crazy stories consume you.”

After Robinson, the GOP candidate for North Carolina governor, posted that state officials had not prepared for the storm, a spokesman for the governor accused Robinson of mounting “an online disinformation campaign.” North Carolina officials say the response to Helene is the largest in state history, including thousands of members of the National Guard and other recovery workers, millions of meals, dozens of aircraft and more than 1,000 chainsaws.

Trump has tried to tie the hurricane’s aftermath to immigration, a leading issue of his campaign. He falsely claimed that FEMA had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for undocumented immigrants.

The agency’s funding for disaster aid is stretched, but that is because of the many parts of the country dealing with the effects of hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities. Disaster aid is funded separately from other Department of Homeland Security programs that support immigration-related spending.

Far-out tales of space lasers, fake snow and weather control technology

Bizarre stories proposing that the government used weather control technology to aim the hurricane at Republican voters quickly racked up millions of views on X and other platforms.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., endorsed the idea, posting Oct. 2 on X: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

Far-out tales of space lasers, fake snow and weather control technology — sometimes tinged with antisemitism — have spread after recent natural disasters, including a snowstorm in Texas and last year’s wildfire in Maui.

Experts who study conspiracy theories say big events like disasters — or the Sept. 11 attacks or the COVID-19 pandemic — create perfect conditions for conspiracy theories to spread because large numbers of anxious people are eager to find explanations for shocking events.

Responding to the volume of false claims about Helene, the Red Cross urged people to consult trustworthy sources of information and to think twice before reposting conspiracy theories.

“Sharing rumors online without first vetting the source and verifying facts ultimately hurts people — people who have just lost their homes, neighborhoods, and, in some cases, loved ones,” the organization wrote in a public plea.

The post After the deluge, the lies: Misinformation and hoaxes about Helene cloud the recovery appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

A Fulton County judge has overturned Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled on Sept. 30 that the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act was unconstitutional, permitting abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. 

McBurney declared that the ban violated citizens’ right to privacy under the state’s constitution. 

“For these women, the liberty of privacy means that they alone should choose whether they serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability,” said McBurney in the opinion. “It is not for a legislator, a judge or a commander from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ to tell these women what to do with their bodies during this period when the fetus cannot survive outside the womb anymore than society could—or should— force them to serve as a human tissue bank or to give up a kidney for the benefit of another.” 

Since the decision, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has filed an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court to reinstate the six-week ban. This is the second time McBurney has struck down the abortion law. The first took place in November 2022 but the state’s supreme court reversed his ruling. 

The LIFE Act has garnered considerable scrutiny in recent weeks after a September investigative report from ProPublica found that a 28-year-old Georgia woman died of septic shock after waiting 20 hours for doctors to administer abortion care.

Medical assistant Amber Thurman traveled to North Carolina to terminate her pregnancy due to her state’s ban. She missed her appointment, but the clinic gave her an abortion pill to take. Once home, Thurman experienced a complication—her body hadn’t purged all of the fetal tissue from her body. 

A standard dilation and curettage (D&C) could have saved her life, but Georgia’s law made performing the procedure illegal with minimal exceptions. The ProPublica report revealed that a state maternal mortality review committee deemed the death preventable. 

Thurman’s family spoke out on the tragedy for the first time during the Unite for America live stream event with Oprah Winfrey and presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Sept. 19. 

“Amber was not a statistic,” said her mother, Shanette Williams during the stream. “She was loved by a family, a strong family, and we would have done whatever to get our baby the help that she needed.” 

She continued, “You’re looking at a mother who is broken.” 

Thurman left behind a 6-year-old son. She had recently landed a new apartment and was thinking about attending nursing school when she discovered that she was pregnant. 

During the live stream, her family denounced the Georgia doctors who failed to care for her as well as the government officials responsible for the ban. 

“We trusted them to take care of her, and they just let her die because of some stupid abortion ban,” said her sister, CJ Williams during the stream. “They treated her like she was just another number. They didn’t care for her as if she was their daughter or their granddaughter. She’s not here, and she’ll never come back.”

Harris said Thurman’s story is one that is not an isolated case since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision gave states the power to regulate abortion. Today, 13 states have made it illegal, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. 

“The former president chose three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade,” said Harris during the stream. “They did as he intended, and in state after state, these abortion bans have been passed that criminalize healthcare providers.” 

Most states that have banned abortion, including Georgia, allow exceptions when the mother’s life is at mortal risk. But, some, including Harris, believe these exemptions are ambiguous and can cause medical professionals to hesitate in performing life-saving procedures due to legal ramifications. 

Although the Dobbs decision enabled states, like Georgia, to reverse and eliminate abortion protections, many contend access was limited well before the ruling. 

“Even before the actual Dobbs case that ultimately took out Roe V. Wade was decided upon, it could have been argued that Roe V. Wade did not exist in this country before then,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. “There were states, like Mississippi, that only had one abortion clinic. We know that access is not always granted even when a federal right has been put into place.” 

Simpson’s southern-based nonprofit led the lawsuit against the state of Georgia, which resulted in the recent reversal of the LIFE Act. The organization fights for reproductive justice by boosting the voices of indigenous women and women of color—groups who are heavily impacted by anti-abortion laws. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women accounted for the highest percentage, 41.5 percent, of all abortions in 2021. 

They also face the worst maternal health outcomes. The CDC reported that the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.6 times more than White women. 

“If you think about the picture of maternal health in this country, it’s a pretty bleak one in what is considered to be one of the most industrialized countries in the world,” said Simpson. 

Apart from racism, a lack of comprehensive sex education in public school systems, reduced access to the health care system and lower maternity coverage have contributed to the dire state of Black maternal health, according to Simpson. 

She said the now lawful abortion bans and restrictions across the country will only exacerbate adverse maternal health outcomes for Black women. 

“Access is constantly being restricted across this country and, particularly, in the South. That means the region where there’s the most limited access to abortion is also where Black women are living the most,” said Simpson. “We’re more likely to live in a state where there is an abortion ban, and, now, we’re basically being forced to potentially hold a pregnancy to term that could be detrimental to our lives.” 

Regina Davis Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, said barriers to accessing abortions can also impact a person’s financial situation. 

“Black women are having to travel over long distances for multiple days sometimes. There’s transportation costs, hotels, meals, child care and missed time off from work,” said Moss. “When you think about some of the reasons that people decide not to continue a pregnancy, largely it’s because of the economics, so it further becomes insurmountable.” 

Six weeks has become the threshold for several abortion bans across the country. Moss said this cutoff often takes place before women discover they are pregnant. 

“This notion that that’s plenty of time is a myth,” said Moss. “Plenty of time for whom? Not usually the average woman.” 

She also explained that some opponents of abortion believe the decision to terminate a pregnancy to be a flippant one. They think it’s taken lightly and neglect to consider the serious health and economic implications an unplanned pregnancy can have, according to Moss. She said this is a misconception. 

“We are forgetting that these are people, and these are real lives,” said Moss. “These decisions are very difficult and personal.” 

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By Bruce Schreiner
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Ocr. 5 as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.

Helene came ashore Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and carved a wide swath of destruction as it moved northward from Florida, washing away homes, destroying roads and knocking out electricity and cellphone service for millions.

The number of deaths stood at 225 on Oct. 4; two more were recorded in South Carolina the following day. It was still unclear how many people were unaccounted for or missing, and the toll could rise even higher.

Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. About half the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more were killed in Georgia and South Carolina.

The city of Asheville, in the western mountains of North Carolina, was particularly battered. A week later workers used brooms and heavy machinery to clean mud and dirt outside of New Belgium Brewing Company, which lies next to the French Broad River and is among thousands of city businesses and households affected.

So far North Carolinians have received more than $27 million in individual assistance approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said MaryAnn Tierney, a regional administrator for the agency. More than 83,000 people have registered for individual assistance, according to the office of Gov. Roy Cooper.

In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, FEMA-approved assistance has surpassed $12 million for survivors, Tierney said Oct. 5 during a news briefing.

“This is critical assistance that will help people with their immediate needs, as well as displacement assistance that helps them if they can’t stay in their home,” she said.

She encouraged residents impacted by the storm to register for disaster assistance.

“It is the first step in the recovery process,” she said. “We can provide immediate relief in terms of serious needs assistance to replace food, water, medicines, other life safety, critical items, as well as displacement assistance if you cannot stay in your home.”

Helene’s raging floodwaters shocked mountain towns hundreds of miles inland and far from where the storm made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, including in the Tennessee mountains that Dolly Parton calls home.

The country music star has announced a $1 million donation to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims.

In addition, her East Tennessee businesses as well as the Dollywood Foundation are combining efforts, pledging to match her donation to Mountain Ways with a $1 million contribution.

Parton said she feels a close connection to the storm victims because so many of them “grew up in the mountains just like I did.”

“I can’t stand to see anyone hurting, so I wanted to do what I could to help after these terrible floods,” she said. “I hope we can all be a little bit of light in the world for our friends, our neighbors — even strangers — during this dark time they are experiencing.”

Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner said the company, including Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation, would increase its commitment and donate a total of $10 million to hurricane relief efforts.

In Newport, an eastern Tennessee town of about 7,000, residents continued cleaning up Ocr. 5 from the destruction caused by Helene’s floodwaters.

Mud still clung to the basement walls of one Main Street funeral home. The ground-floor chapel of another nearby was being dried out, a painting of Jesus still hanging on the wall in an otherwise barren room.

Newport City Hall and its police department also took on water from the swollen Pigeon River. Some of the modest, one-story homes along its banks were destroyed, their walls crumbled and rooms exposed.

Farther east in unincorporated Del Rio, along a bend in the French Broad River, residents and volunteers toiled to clean up. The smell of wood hung in the air as people used chainsaws to cut through downed trees, and Bobcats beeped as they moved mangled sheet metal and other debris. Many homes sustained damage, including one that slid off its foundation.

___

Associated Press journalists Jeff Roberson in Newport, Tennessee; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, contributed.

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(Black PR Wire) Memphis, Tenn. – The National Civil Rights Museum is proud to announce the distinguished honorees for the 33rd Freedom Award, recognizing their exceptional contributions to civil and human rights. The Freedom Award, the Museum’s signature event, pays tribute to individuals who have shown unwavering commitment to promoting equity and justice.

The esteemed honorees for the 33rd Freedom Award are:

XERNONA CLAYTON, civil and human rights activist and producer who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the SCLC, has been a trailblazing leader in civil rights and broadcasting for 60 years. Clayton is renowned as the Founder and President of the Trumpet Awards Foundation. Her pioneering spirit in broadcasting continues to inspire generations.

SHERRILYN IFILL, President and Director-Counsel Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), has left an indelible mark on civil rights advocacy. Her tenure as Director-Counsel saw LDF’s increased engagement in civil rights issues, particularly in combatting voter suppression and racial discrimination.

SPIKE LEE, Academy Award-winning filmmaker whose groundbreaking work has reshaped filmmaking and cinema, has inspired national conversations around race, representation and culture. Lee is also a dedicated educator, serving as a tenured professor committed to nurturing the next generation of filmmakers.

The prestigious Freedom Award ceremony will be held October 17, 2024, at 7:00 pm Central at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN. It will be preceded by the Pre-Award Gala and Red Carpet at 5:30 pm at the adjacent Halloran Centre.

This year’s Freedom Award host is MC Lyte, a legend in music and entertainment. She is a pioneering artist and a formidable actress in television and film. The evening of captivating performances also includes Grammy-nominated recording artist, Deborah Cox, whose talent spans music, Broadway, television, film, and fashion.

The celebration extends beyond the evening festivities, as the Museum will hold a hybrid Student Forum on October 17 at 10:30 am Central at FedEx Forum. This inspiring educational forum aims to empower middle and high school students to take action and create positive change in their communities.

The National Civil Rights Museum has a rich legacy of honoring distinguished civil and human rights leaders, including Coretta Scott King, Nelson Mandela, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, Kerry Kennedy, and many more. The Freedom Award signature sponsors are FedEx and Hyde Family Foundation.

Tickets for the evening event are available via Ticketmaster.  Event sponsorships are available. To sponsor, or for further information and updates, visit www.freedomaward.org.

About the National Civil Rights Museum:

Located at the historic Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was tragically assassinated, the National Civil Rights Museum provides an in-depth overview of the American Civil Rights Movement. Since its establishment in 1991, the Museum has attracted millions of visitors from around the world, with a profound mission to preserve the legacy of Dr. King and advocate for ongoing human rights struggles. As a Smithsonian Affiliate and a recipient of the prestigious 2019 National Medal Award, the Museum continues to inspire action and foster positive social change.

Source: National Civil Rights Museum

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By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO

Early voting began on Friday, Sept. 20 in Virginia – the first state in the nation to allow in-person voting in the 2024 presidential election. Voters can continue to vote through Nov. 2, the Saturday before Election Day, which will arrive on Nov. 5.

Officials advise checking your registration status online or by calling before visiting your local registrar’s office to vote. According to the Virginia Department of Elections, you do not have to have a reason or fill out an application to vote early. However, voters must provide their name, address and show an acceptable form of ID or sign an ID Confirmation Statement at the registrar’s office before voting. Virginia residents who desire to vote must register by Oct. 15, but even after that deadline they may register. According to information released by the Virginia Department of Elections, “same day registration refers to the ability to register to vote in-person and immediately vote a provisional ballot after the deadline to register and vote a non-provisional ballot has passed.” This is available due to a law passed not long ago.

“Beginning with the 2022 General Election, the General Assembly approved legislation that provides the ability to register at any time, up to and including Election Day,”  according to the Virginia Department of Elections. “Previously, registration was closed for the 21 days before an election; there was no ability to register to vote after this deadline. The new law allows registration, with limitations, during the 21-day period before an election.”

Other states where early voting has started include Minnesota and South Dakota. 

In Washington, D.C., the deadline to register to vote online or by mail is Oct. 15. Those who wish to vote early may do so between Monday, Oct. 28 and Sunday, Nov. 3. Qualified non-citizen residents of D.C. can vote in D.C. elections for local offices. However, non-citizens cannot vote for federal offices. Check the D.C. Board of Elections website for more information and details on how to register to vote.

In Maryland, early voting will be held from Thursday, Oct. 24 through Thursday, October 31, with early voting centers open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone who is registered to vote or who is eligible to register to vote can vote during early voting. 

While laws differ from state to state, in Maryland, people convicted of a felony can vote if the felony convictions are not for the crime of buying or selling votes and if they have completed their imprisonment. You can vote while on probation unless you were convicted of buying or selling votes. In Virginia, those convicted of a felony permanently lose the right to vote. And in the District, as of July 2020, those who are incarcerated have the right to vote.

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By Dr. Frances ‘Toni’ Draper
Word In Black

The lyrics of an old Negro Spiritual poignantly declare, “Everybody talkin’ ’bout Heaven ain’t goin’ there.” Unfortunately, in 2024, despite all the discussion and debate about the presidential election, everybody talking about voting ain’t going there, either.  

It’s one thing to talk about the importance of this year’s presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris poised to become the first woman of color to hold the highest office in the land. It’s one thing to talk about the need to register and vote, but it’s another thing to actually register and then go to the polls on Nov. 5, Election Day. 

With all of the chaos, chatter, and confusion surrounding our democracy and our right as Black people to vote, it is more important than ever this election cycle that we not just talk about it but that we “be about it” — be about registering as many people as possible, be about helping people get to the polls, and be about understanding Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint that former President Donald Trump will almost certainly unroll if he wins the election.

We have to “be about” sending money not only to the Harris/Walz campaign but to down-ballot candidates running for the Senate and the House of Representatives whose policies and platforms align with your beliefs. That includes supporting Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County, Md., official who is running to become just the third Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

We must “be about” making a voting plan, and sticking to it — a plan that says, “If it rains, I vote; if it snows, I vote.” And if we don’t want to take a chance on something unforeseen happening on Nov. 5, we must “be about” requesting, filling out and submitting a mail-in ballot or voting early, if your state allows it. 

Most importantly, we must “be about” knowing our voter registration status today and making certain we are still eligible to vote.  

According to the Pew Research Center, “Black voters could play an important role in determining the outcome of key 2024 elections,” including the race between Harris and Trump. In Georgia, a closely-watched swing state, Black voters account for a third of all eligible voters in the state. 

The Black college student vote

Another group that plays a pivotal role in the voting landscape is the newly eligible young adult college student voter. 

A 2021 report from the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education said that “the voter turnout among college students jumped to a record high of 66 percent in the 2020 presidential election. And the student “yield” — the percentage at which students who are registered voters actually cast ballots — hit 80 percent. The report called it “an important milestone and signal that they are vested in their own futures and the health of democracy.”

Still, the report did not differentiate between Black and White students, so I decided to do a very informal, albeit extremely limited, poll of my own. I asked a few of our family’s college students who are first-time voters three questions: 

1. What excites you the most about voting in this upcoming presidential election?  

2. What scares you the most about voting in this upcoming election?

3. What’s your voting plan?   

Eva Lee, 19

Freshman, Georgia Southern University 

“I am excited to be a part of history and voting for the first Black woman in the election. I look forward to seeing how positive and hopeful Kamala Harris’ campaign is. I can’t wait to see new voters exercise their right to vote, especially Black teens. We all have a voice, and this is our chance to use it. 

Something that scares me is the hateful side of politics. I feel like it’s normalized to throw insults and spew misinformation and for our country, that is most bothersome. I hope the side that genuinely cares about us, the citizens, is chosen, where our rights will be respected and there’s less hate and more love for improving our livelihoods. I’m registering to vote here in Savannah!”  

Collin McLain, 18,

Freshman, Tuskegee University

“I’m most excited about finally having the chance to vote and to be able to assist towards making a change in this country. With such high stakes, the outcome of this election could significantly shape the future. 

What scares me the most about voting is feeling like my single vote is just one amongst millions and might not make much of a difference on its own. I plan to request and mail in an absentee ballot.”

Lyric Hamilton, 18

Freshman, Louisiana State University

“I am most excited for the experience to be able to vote: walking into the building, waiting in line, actually getting in the booth to vote. It’s a very surreal feeling knowing I can impact all of the U.S., from my singular vote on who helps run the government.  It is such an honor and a privilege to be a part of something that African Americans weren’t always allowed to have — especially at my age. 

What scares me the most is which candidate to choose. Each has their own flaws, and those flaws worry me sometimes. I’m not 100 percent settled on one person because neither of them lives Godly lives. I do know that whatever candidate seems closest to God is the one that I’ll be more than happy to support in this upcoming election. I hope whoever I choose doesn’t let us down, if they win, of course and strengthens America more than ever before. I plan to drive home on Election Day to vote, after my class ends at noon.” 

Blake Evans, 18

Freshman, Baylor University 

What excites me about voting in the upcoming election is voting with my family. As African Americans, it is an honor to be able to vote. Our ancestors fought for this right, and therefore, I will be going to the polls with my parents and my brother! 

I wouldn’t say I’m scared about voting in the upcoming election, but I am worried about my lack of preparation. They don’t talk much about the voting process in schools, nor do they talk about everything we’ll be voting on.  As I mentioned already, I will be going home on Election Day to vote with my family.” 

David Lee, Jr., 22

Senior, Georgia Institute of Technology

“I am excited to drive voter registration and education efforts on campus this election cycle. I am concerned about the level of misinformation that surrounds this election and worried about the long-term repercussions of this intentional falsification of reality within my community.  I go to school in my hometown, so I plan to vote in person on Nov. 5.”

Make a plan to “be about it”

Clearly, these young people have a plan to “be about it” as voters in their first presidential election. They are excited and anxious at the same time. But mostly they are full of optimism about going to the polls or mailing in their ballots.

Still, they also need to be prepared for those who don’t want them — or us — to exercise our right to vote: those who are spreading misinformation, interfering with a free and fair election, name-calling, lie-telling and plotting to overturn the election results. 

There are those who revel in what my cousin Laura Murphy calls “shenanigans.”

A seasoned civil rights and civil liberties lawyer, she reached out to her network for a toolkit of resources and election protection organizations, handy information for voters of any age:

1. Find out if you are registered, how to register and make an election-day plan by checking the Legal Defense Fund website.
2. Keep this number handy: 866-OUR-VOTE. Share it broadly. Use it If you encounter problems or interference at the polls. 
3. Join Win With Black Women to help in this election cycle

All our Word in Black publications have posted voter information on their sites; some even have links to other sites where you can check your voter registration. That includes:

• The Atlanta Voice, Voice Your Vote
• AFRO News, AFRO Votes
• The New York Amsterdam News, Election 2024
• The Seattle Medium, 2024 Elections Center
• The Washington Informer, Vote Your Future 

Let us all “be about it” during this and every election cycle. Check your voter registration status, make an Election Day plan and follow it. Encourage others to vote, utilize the suggested resources and prepare for a grand celebration in November!  

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By Keith Boykin
Word In Black

Here we go again. A handful of rappers, celebrities and instigators out here are discouraging Black people from voting or trying to convince us that our vote doesn’t matter because both candidates are the same. Don’t believe them. 

Every four years, a few vocal people — who rarely, if ever, use their voices to mobilize their followers to engage in specific political action — suddenly crawl out of the woodwork to spread misinformation about the next presidential election.

This year is no different. I thought about posting weekly rebuttals, but rather than spending the next two months debunking these voices over and over again, I want to ask two questions. 

First, what’s their strategy to achieve their goals? Assuming you agree with everything they want to do, how do they propose to get it passed through our divided Congress, signed by the President into law and upheld by a Republican-dominated Supreme Court that now considers any race-specific remedy to be illegal or unconstitutional? 

And second, if they had some genius strategy, where were they the last four years when Republican lawmakers and judges:

•Blocked the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

•Blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

• Ended affirmative action

• Halted Black farmers’ relief

• Restricted a venture capital fund for Black women

• Outlawed minority business grants

• Erased Black congressional districts

• Banned Black books

• Banned Black history classes

• Closed DEI offices 

• Refused to indict the officers who killed Breonna Taylor

• Ousted Black lawmakers in Tennessee 

• Arrested Black people for voting in Florida 

• Banned civil rights groups in Georgia from providing food and water to people standing in long voting lines

Many of us have been playing defense without a full bench the last three quarters, and we could have used some help from all the new celebrity players showing up in the fourth quarter who want to change the playbook.

As Malcolm X said, “Show me in the White community where a singer is a White leader.” Yes, celebrities have a valuable supporting role to play, but they don’t get to show up two months before an election, ignore the work of Black thought leaders and demand a meeting with a presidential candidate like they’re some official spokesman for Black America.

So, instead of spending the next eight weeks responding to every lie about Kamala Harris, I propose 10 constructive things we can do to help advance our political agenda well into the future. 

Ten things we can do

1-Get informed. Follow the news. Take a class. Become a critical thinker and more sophisticated consumer of information. I read dozens of news sources every day. You don’t have to read that many, but don’t rely on one source for all your news. Review multiple, credible sources. 

2-Verify the information you share. Learn to spot misinformation. And try not to forward fake news. Fact-checkers like Daniel Dale, Snopes.com, Factcheck.org and Politifact try to debunk misinformation, but sometimes they make mistakes or can’t keep up. That’s why you need to know your sources. Media outlets like Fox News, the New York Post, Newsmax, TownHall, the National Review and the Wall Street Journal editorial page have a distinct right-wing political bias that favors Trump and the Republicans. Also, rappers, athletes and celebrities have every right to share their opinions, but they’re not always the most reliable sources for information about government and politics.

3-Vote. Election Day is November 5, but some states require you to register weeks before then. Go to Vote.org today to find the voter registration deadline in your state. If you think you’re already registered, know that Republicans are trying to challenge and purge inactive voters. So check to make sure your name has not been removed from the rolls.

4-Attend local government meetings. Many of the decisions that affect us, including where liquor stores and pollution sites are built and which books are banned in schools, are made at local public meetings that very few people bother to attend. Go there and speak up.

5-Volunteer. Campaigns are always looking for people to make phone calls and knock on doors. Drop by the local campaign office, sign up to host an event, put up yard signs, or become a poll watcher. This is especially important if you live in one of the seven battleground states that will determine the election: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.

6-Donate. If you’re not invested in the presidential election, find a candidate you do support and contribute to their campaign. This year, we have 435 House members, 34 Senators, 11 governors’ races, nine lieutenant governor seats, 10 attorneys general, seven secretaries of state and thousands of lower-level offices up for election in November. Unlike the presidential campaign, many of these candidates never get the attention and resources they need to win. Your money could make all the difference.

7-Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Support organizations that are already doing the work. Groups like Color of Change and the NAACP are developing important policy goals and working to implement them. 

8-Lobby your elected officials. The president can make some critical unilateral decisions for the country, but most government decisions that affect your day-to-day life are made by Congress, your state legislature, your county commissioners, your city council, your zoning board and your school board. Do you know these officials? Visit their offices. Call them up. Write them letters. Let them know what issues you care about. The phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. 

9-Run for office. If you’re not satisfied with the people in government, show them how it’s done. Run for school board, town council, state representative or even Congress. Don’t expect somebody else to do it for you. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

10-Start a PAC. This is one of the most difficult tasks on the list, but it can be done. If none of the other steps work for you, you can start your own political action committee to fight for the causes you believe in. You can even create a legislative scorecard to give ratings to members of Congress based on the issues you care about. 

There are dozens of other constructive things you can do, so don’t be limited by this list. But remember this guiding principle. Cynicism is not a strategy, and apathy is not a solution.

This article was originally published by Word in Black.

The post Top 10 ways to be a better Black voter appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Bill Barrow, Zeke Miller and Nicholas Riccardi
The Associated Press

Vice presidential hopefuls Tim Walz and JD Vance focused their criticism on the top of the ticket on Oct 1, as they engaged in a policy-heavy discussion that may be the last debate of the 2024 presidential campaign.

It was the first encounter between Minnesota’s Democratic governor and Ohio’s Republican senator, following last month’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. It comes just five weeks before Election Day and as millions of voters are now able to cast early ballots.

The Oct. 1 confrontation played out as the stakes of the contest rose again after Iran fired missiles into Israel, while a devastating hurricane and potentially debilitating port strike roiled the country at home. Over and again, Walz and Vance outlined the policy and character differences between their running mates, while trying to introduce themselves to the country.

Here are some takeaways from the debate.

With Mideast in turmoil, Walz promises ‘steady leadership’ and Vance offers ’peace through strength’

Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on Oct 1, elicited a contrast between the Democratic and Republican tickets on foreign policy: Walz promised “steady leadership” under Harris while Vance pledged a return to “peace through strength” if Trump is returned to the White House.

The differing visions of what American leadership should look like overshadowed the sharp policy differences between the two tickets.

The Iranian threat to the region and U.S. interests around the world opened the debate, with Walz pivoting the topic to criticism of Trump.

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” Walz said, then referenced the “nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes” and responding to global crises by tweet.

Vance, for his part, promised a return to “effective deterrence” under Trump against Iran, brushing back on Walz’s criticism of Trump by attacking Harris and her role in the Biden administration.

“Who has been the vice president for the last three and a half years and the answer is your running mate, not mine,” he said. He pointedly noted that the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, happened “during the administration of Kamala Harris.”

Vance and Walz punch up rather than at each other

Vance and Walz trained the bulk of their attacks not on their onstage rivals, but on the running mates who weren’t in the room.

Both vice presidential nominees sought to convey a genial mien as they lobbed criticism at Harris and Trump, respectively.

It was a reflection of the fact that most voters don’t cast a ballot based on the vice president, and on a vice presidential nominee’s historic role in serving as the attack dog for their running mates.

Walz pointedly attacked Trump for failing to meet his pledge of building a physical barrier across the entire U.S.-Mexico border at the country’s southern neighbor’s expense.

“Less than 2 percent of that wall got built and Mexico didn’t pay a dime,” Walz said.

Underscoring the focus on the top of the ticket, during a back-and-forth about immigration, Vance said to his opponent, “I think that you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”

It was a wonky policy debate, with talk of risk pools, housing regulations and energy policy

In an age of world-class disses optimized for social media, the debate was a detour into substance. Both candidates took a low-key approach and both enthusiastically delved into the minutiae.

Walz dug into the drafting of the Affordable Care Act when he was in the House in 2009, and pushed Vance on the senator’s claim that Trump, who tried to eliminate the law, actually helped preserve it. Vance, defending his claim that illegal immigration pushes up housing prices, cited a Federal Reserve study to back himself up. Walz talked about how Minneapolis tinkered with local regulations to boost the housing supply. Both men talked about the overlap between energy policy, trade and climate change.

It was a very different style than often seen in presidential debates over the past several election cycles.

Vance stays on the defensive on abortion

Walz pounced on Vance repeatedly over abortion access and reproductive rights as the Ohio senator tried to argue that a state-by-state matrix of abortion laws is the ideal approach for the United States. Walz countered that a “basic right” for a woman should not be determined “by geography.”

“This is a very simple proposition: These are women’s decisions,” Walz said. “We trust women. We trust doctors.”

Walz sought to personalize the issue by referencing the death of Amber Thurman, who waited more than 20 hours at the hospital for a routine medical procedure known as a D&C to clear out remaining tissue after taking abortion pills. She developed sepsis and died.

Rather than sidestep the reference, Vance at one point agreed with Walz that “Amber Thurman should still be alive.”

Vance steered the conversation to the GOP ticket’s proposals he said would help women and children economically, thus avoiding the need for terminating pregnancies. But Walz retorted that such policies — tax credits, expanded childcare aid, a more even economy — can be pursued while still allowing women to make their own decisions about abortion.

Both candidates put a domestic spin on climate change

In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Vance took a question about climate change and gave an answer about jobs and manufacturing, taking a detour around Trump’s past claims that global warming is a “hoax.”

Vance contended that the best way to fight climate change was to move more manufacturing to the United States, because the country has the world’s cleanest energy economy. It was a distinctly domestic spin on a global crisis, especially after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international Paris climate accords during his administration.

Walz also kept the climate change focus domestic, touting the Biden administration’s renewable energy investments as well as record levels of oil and natural gas production.

It was a decidedly optimistic take on a pervasive and grim global problem.

Walz, Vance each blame opposing presidential candidate for immigration stalemate

The two running mates agreed that the number of migrants in the U.S. illegally is a problem. But each laid the blame on the opposing presidential nominee.

Vance echoed Trump by repeatedly calling Harris the “border czar” and suggested that she, as vice president, single-handedly rolled back the immigration restrictions Trump had imposed as president. The result, in Vance’s telling, is an unchecked flow of fentanyl, strain on state and local resources and increased housing prices around the country.

In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Vance took a question about climate change and gave an answer about jobs and manufacturing, taking a detour around Trump’s past claims that global warming is a “hoax.”

Harris was never asked to be the “border czar” and she was never specifically given the responsibility for security on the border. She was tasked by Biden in March 2021 with tackling the “root causes” of migration from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and pushing leaders there and in Mexico to enforce immigration laws. Harris was not empowered to set U.S. immigration policy — only the president can sign executive orders and Harris was not empowered as Biden’s proxy in negotiations with Congress on immigration law.

Walz advanced Democrats’ arguments that Trump single-handedly killed a bipartisan Senate deal to tighten border security and boost the processing system for immigrants and asylum seekers. Republicans backed off the deal, Walz noted, only after Trump said it wasn’t good enough.

Both candidates leaned on tried-and-true debate tactics — including not answering tough questions

Asked directly whether Trump’s promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants would remove parents of U.S.-born children, Vance never answered the question. Instead, the senator tried to put his best spin on Trump’s plan to use the military to help with deportations and pivot to attacking Harris for a porous border. Asked to respond to Trump’s having called climate change a “hoax,” Vance also avoided a response.

The debate kicked off with Walz being asked if he’d support a preemptive strike by Israel against Iran. Walz praised Harris’ foreign policy leadership but never answered that question, either.

And at the end of the debate, Vance would not answer Walz’s direct question of whether Trump indeed lost the 2020 election.

Walz has stumbles and lands punches in uneven night

Walz had several verbal stumbles on a night in which he admitted to “misspeaking” often. In the debate’s opening moments, he confused Iran and Israel when discussing the Middle East.

At one point he said he had “become friends with school shooters,” and he stumbled through an explanation of inaccurate remarks about whether he was in Hong Kong during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. (He was not.)

But the governor noticeably put Vance on the defensive over abortion and, near the end of the debate, with a pointed question about whether Trump won the 2020 election.

Vance stays on a limb on Jan. 6 insurrection

The candidates went out of their way to be polite to each other until the very end, when Vance refused to back down from his statements that he wouldn’t have certified Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Vance tried to turn the issue to claims that the “much bigger threat to democracy” was Democrats trying to censor people on social media. But Walz wouldn’t let go.

“This one is troubling to me,” said Walz, noting that he’d just been praising some of Vance’s answers. He rattled off the ways Trump tried to overturn his 2020 loss and noted that the candidate still insists he won that contest. Then Walz asked Vance if Trump actually lost the election.

Vance responded by asking if Harris censored people.

“That is a damning non-answer,” said Walz, noting that Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, wasn’t on the debate stage because he stood up to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, and presided over Congress’ certification of the former president’s loss.

“America,” Walz concluded, “I think you’ve got a really clear choice on this election of who’s going to honor that democracy and who’s going to honor Donald Trump.”

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

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By Emily Parks
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) has received nearly $10 million in federal funding to work in partnership — both with other schools at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) including the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and the University of Maryland School of Social Work, as well as external community organizations — to improve health equity in Baltimore and beyond. 

Through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) program, the PATIENTS Program has been awarded $9.4 million to serve as a health equity research hub. 

The Hub, using the extensive expertise at and resources from UMB, will provide technical assistance and scientific support to several NIH-funded Community-Led, Health Equity Structural Interventions (CHESIs) nationwide. The grant is led by C. Daniel Mullins, Ph. D, executive director of the PATIENTS Program and a professor of practice in sciences and health outcomes research at UMSOP.  

The goal of the Health Equity Research Hub at UMB is to provide resources and expertise to help the CHESIs achieve the goals of their ComPASS funded awards. The Hub also will guide the evaluation and reporting of community-led health equity research. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity to support CHESIs while modeling our longstanding community-academic partnership approaches,” says Mullins. “We can simultaneously achieve the overarching goal to serve as a catalyst for CHESIs to complete their ComPASS projects in a rigorously scientific manner, while supporting community-led health equity research. All CHESI projects address social determinants of health to advance health equity.” 

Rev. Franklin Lance, DMin, senior pastor at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and community co-lead for the award, added, “We are the right team at the right place because we do this work already. We believe in this work and know how to let communities take the lead. We believe in equity and the shifting of power that needs to take place, and how, with authentic collaboration, research is better.”

The hub structure consists of three units. Each of these units is co-led and supported by a community partner and a UMB expert:

• Research Capacity Building and Training Unit
  • Community Co-Lead: Dwyan Monroe, BA, Training Manager, Institute for Public Health Innovation
  • UMB Co-Lead: Hillary Edwards, Ph. D, Director of Methodological Research and Evaluation, the PATIENTS Program, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
  • Support team members: Dan Frye, JD, Director of Employment and Professional Development and Patient Advocate, National Federation of the Blind and Jay Unick, MSW, Ph. D, Assistant Professor, Institute for Innovation and Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work 
• Research Methods and Data Management Unit
  • Community Co-Lead: Randal Pinkett, Ph. D, Founder, Chairman, CEO, and Managing Partner, BCT Partners
  • UMB Co-Lead: Brad Maron, MD, Executive Co-Director, University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing and professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • Support team members: DeJuan Patterson, CEO, Bridge Advisory Group, LLC and Timothy O’Connor, Ph. D, Co-Director, The Program in Health Equity and Population Health (HEPH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine  
• Community Engagement and Health Equity Practice Unit
  • Community Co-Lead: Frances “Toni” Draper, MBA, MEd, DMin, CEO, and Publisher, The AFRO American Newspapers
  • UMB Co-Lead: Claudia Baquet, MD, MPH, Affiliate Professor of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
  • Support team members: Joy Bramble, Owner and Publisher, The Baltimore Times, and Esa Davis, MD, Ph. D, Associate Vice President for Community Health and Lead Strategist for Health Equity, UM Institute of Health Computing at UMSOM 

All three units work with the co-leads in the Administrative and Coordinating Unit:

• Community Co-Lead: Rev. Franklin Lance, DMin, Senior Pastor, Mount Lebanon Baptist Church
• UMB Co-Lead: C. Daniel Mullins, Ph. D, Executive Director, The PATIENTS Program, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

The CHESIs served by UMB’s Health Equity Research Hub will be named this fall.

About the PATIENTS Program

The Patient-Centered Involvement in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Treatments (PATIENTS) Program is an interdisciplinary research team of community partners and researchers housed at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy that works to change the way we think about research by creating a path for health equity. We engage people from all communities, especially those from underserved and minority populations, in every step of the patient and community-engaged research process. Through our collective efforts and expertise in continuous engagement science, we create an effective learning health care community. The ComPASS Health Equity Research Hub at UMB Award 1UC2CA293782-01 is funded by the NIH Common Fund.

About the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Established in 1841, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy is ranked 15th out of more than 140 schools of pharmacy by U.S. News & World Report. The School is a thriving center for professional and graduate education, pharmaceutical care, research, and community service. Its faculty create the future of pharmacy by pioneering new roles for pharmacists in advanced clinical practice and conducting cutting-edge research in drug discovery and development, comparative effectiveness and patient-centered outcomes, and disease management. A contemporary curriculum, innovative educational experiences, and strategic professional relationships help to inspire excellence in the School’s more than 1,000 students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows. The School offers 10 academic programs: Doctor of Pharmacy; PhD programs in Palliative Care, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and MS programs in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics, Palliative Care, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacometrics, and Regulatory Science. With a research portfolio of more than $38.5 million in grants and contracts, the School is ranked 9th by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy amongst schools of pharmacy. In 2017, the School launched its exclusive Pharmapreneurship program, which describes the School’s commitment to supporting and best positioning both faculty and students to achieve their career aspirations and address our nation’s health care challenges.

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By Mae Anderson and Anne D’innocenzio
The Associated Press

U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Oct.1 when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.

Workers began walking picket lines early Oct. 1, picketing near ports all along the East Coast. Workers outside the Port of Philadelphia walked in a circle and chanted, “No work without a fair contract.”

A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.

What are the issues in the dockworkers strike?

The International Longshoremen’s Association is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships.

The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday. Some progress was reported in talks late Monday, but the union went on strike anyway.

The union’s opening offer was for a 77 percent pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

Monday evening, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50 percent raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.

Which ports are affected?

While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports are specialized to handle goods for a particular industry. The ports affected by the shutdown include Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia, the top two busiest auto ports; Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables; and New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products such as plywood from Asia and South America.

Other major ports affected include Boston; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Tampa, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; and Houston.

Can the government intervene?

If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.

But Biden, during an exchange with reporters on Sept 29, said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene to plan a potential work stoppage impacting East Coast ports.

“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said.

How will this affect consumers?

The strike could last weeks — or months. If the strike is resolved within a few weeks, consumers probably wouldn’t notice any major shortages of retail goods. But a strike that persists for more than a month would likely cause a shortage of some consumer products, although most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas. Shoppers could see higher prices on a vast array of goods, from fruit and vegetables to cars.

Businesses are making contingency plans

Since the major supply chain disruption in 2021 caused by pandemic bottlenecks, retailers have adapted to supply chain disrupters being “the new norm,” said Rick Haase, owner of a mini-chain of Patina gift shops in and around the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

“The best approach for Patina has been to secure orders early and have the goods in our warehouse and back rooms to ensure we are in stock on key goods,” Haase said.

Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Florida-based maker of such toys as Care Bears and Lincoln Logs, has been monitoring the port situation for months and planned for it by shifting all of its container shipments to the West Coast ports, primarily Los Angeles and Long Beach, away from ports in New York and Newark, New Jersey. But he said the shift added anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent extra costs that his company will have to absorb. He noted that Basic Fun’s prices for the next 10 months are locked in with retailers, but he could see raising prices during the second half of 2025 if the strike is prolonged.

Daniel Vasquez, who owns Dynamic Auto Movers in Miami, which specializes in importing and exporting vehicles, increased inventory, specifically for vehicles that take longer to ship, in anticipation of a strike.

He has also stopped relying on one port or shipping partner and has expanded his relationship with smaller ports and shipping companies that can bypass congested areas.

How will a strike affect holiday shopping?

Jonathan Gold, vice president of the supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said the strike arrives with the supply network continuing to face challenges from Houthi attacks on commercial shipping that have essentially shut down the use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal.

The uncertainty over the supply chain is taking place at the peak of the holiday shipping season for retailers, which traditionally runs from July through early November. Many big retailers, anticipating a strike, started shipping their goods to U.S. distribution centers in June, and Gold said that the majority of products ordered are already in the U.S.

But retailers will have a hard time replenishing items and are incurring extra warehouse costs to store goods longer. Gold also noted that carriers are already announcing surcharges on containers to address potential disruptions.

Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, the nation’s leading toy trade group, noted that a strike would happen at an extremely critical time for toy sellers and makers — up to 60 percent of a toy company’s annual sales come during the fourth quarter.

The holiday shipping window for the toy industry is anywhere from six to eight weeks and started in July, though some toy companies tried to ship earlier or add more toys to shipments, Ahearn said.

“It hits many ways,” he said. “From a consumer perspective, it starts with delays in availability and then starts to surface as product shortages within toys. At retail for the toy industry, it results in potentially higher prices based on scarcity and increased costs.”

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

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By Tom Krisher and Wyatte Grantham-Philips
Associated Press

The union representing U.S. dockworkers has signaled that 45,000 of its members will walk off the job at midnight, kicking off a strike likely to shut down ports across the East and Gulf coasts.

The coming work stoppage threatens to significantly snarl the nation’s supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses if it drags on for weeks. That’s because the strike by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association could cause 36 ports — which handle roughly half of the goods shipped into and out of the U.S. — to shutter operations.

ILA confirmed over the weekend that its members would hit the picket lines at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Oct 1. In a Monday, Sept. 30, update, the union blamed the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, for continuing to “to block the path” toward an agreement before the contract deadline.

“The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject,” ILA said in a prepared statement. “ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing.”

ILA also accused the shippers of “gouging their customers” with sizeable price increases for containers over recent weeks. The union said that this will result in increased costs for American consumers.

The Associated Press reached out to a USMX spokesperson for comment.

If drawn out, the strike would force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season — potentially impacting delivery of anything from toys or artificial Christmas trees, to cars, coffee and fruit.

A strike could have an almost immediate impact on supplies of perishable imports like bananas, for example. The ports that could be affected by the strike handle 3.8 million metric tons of bananas each year, or 75 percent of the nation’s supply, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Americans could also face higher prices as retailers feel the supply squeeze.

“If the strikes go ahead, they will cause enormous delays across the supply chain, a ripple effect which will no doubt roll into 2025 and cause chaos across the industry,” noted Jay Dhokia, founder of supply chain management and logistics firm Pro3PL.

Dhokia added that East Coast ports aren’t the only ones at risk for disruption, as concern leading up to the strike has already diverted many shipments out West, adding to route congestion and more pressure on demand. Impacts will also be felt internationally — particularly in places like the United Kingdom, he said, where the U.S. is its largest trading partner.

ILA members are demanding higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks used in the loading or unloading of freight.

The coming strike by the ILA workers — set to impact ports from Maine to Texas — will be the first by the union since 1977. West Coast dockworkers belong to a different union and aren’t involved in the strike.

If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. That would suspend the strike.

All eyes are on what, if any, action the administration might take — particularly just weeks ahead of a tight presidential election. But Biden has signaled that he will not exercise this power.

During an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.

“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” he said.

At a briefing Monday, Sept 29, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that the administration had never invoked Taft-Hartley “to break a strike and are not considering doing so now.” She added that top officials were still urging both parties to return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.

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WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today (Sept. 27) that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State to challenge a systematic State program aimed at removing voters from its election rolls too close to the Nov. 5 general election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

“The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights in our democracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As Election Day approaches, it is critical that Alabama redress voter confusion resulting from its list maintenance mailings sent in violation of federal law. Officials across the country should take heed of the National Voter Registration Act’s clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election. The Quiet Period Provision of federal law exists to prevent eligible voters from being removed from the rolls as a result of last-minute, error-prone efforts. The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools it has available to ensure that the voting rights of every eligible voter are protected.”

Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, also known as the Quiet Period Provision, requires states to complete systematic programs aimed at removing the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists by no later than 90 days before federal elections. The Quiet Period Provision applies to certain systematic programs carried out by states that are aimed at striking names from voter registration lists based on a perceived failure to meet initial eligibility requirements — including citizenship — at the time of registration. The Quiet Period is an important protection for voters, because systematic removal programs may be error-ridden, cause voter confusion and remove eligible voters days or weeks before Election Day who may be unable to correct the state’s errors in time to vote or may be dissuaded from voting at all. States may remove names from official lists of voters in various ways and for various reasons, but they may not carry-on this kind of systematic removal program so close to a federal election.

On Aug. 13, the Secretary of State announced the launch of a “process to remove noncitizens registered to vote in Alabama.” This was 84 days before the Nov. 5 general election. The Justice Department’s review found that both native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens have received letters stating that their voter record has been made inactive and that they have been placed on a path for removal from Alabama’s statewide voter registration list. The letter directs recipients who are in fact U.S. citizens and eligible to vote to complete and submit an attached State of Alabama Voter Registration Form. In turn, that form instructs that people may not register to vote in the 14 days before an election. This systematic voter removal program, which the State is conducting within 90 days of the upcoming federal election, violates the Quiet Period Provision. 

The Justice Department seeks injunctive relief that would restore the ability of impacted eligible voters to vote unimpeded on Election Day and would prohibit future Quiet Period violations. The department also seeks remedial mailings to educate eligible voters concerning the restoration of their rights and adequate training of local officials and poll workers to address confusion and distrust among eligible voters accused of being noncitizens.

More information about voting and elections is available at www.justice.gov/voting. More information about the NVRA and other federal voting laws is available at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. The department recently announced a new guidance document addressing limits on when and how jurisdictions may remove voters from their voter lists. Complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section through the internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931. 

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By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO

On Sept. 24, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.-8), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.-5), Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.-33) and members of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a discussion about Project 2025 at the U.S. Capitol to warn voters of what is at stake if former President Donald Trump is reelected.

During the discussion, representatives touched on several key issues that Project 2025 proposes, which includes criminalizing abortion nationwide, increasing the cost of living and slashing Social Security and Medicare programs.

Clark told reporters that Project 2025 is “devastating.”

“Less freedom for you, more control for them. Less money in your pocket, more tax breaks for their rich friends,” said Clark.

“They have done us one favor: they’ve warned us,” added the Democratic lawmaker. “So when they tell us that Donald Trump’s second term will be even worse than his first, we need to believe them.”

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas-30) attended the hearing and told the AFRO that the most vulnerable will be impacted if Project 2025 is implemented.

“It’s about getting rid of the Department of Education and the Department of Justice. It’s meant to destroy us and democracy and also looks at consolidating power at the hands of the president,” said Crockett. “When we look at what the U.S. Supreme Court did when they decided they were going to crown him king Trump and give him immunity, that has never been warranted in this country.”

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.-7) told reporters that matters will worsen under a Trump presidency.

“Republicans will not stop until abortion is criminalized nationwide,” said Pressley. “After all, just six pages into the more than 900 pages of Trump’s Project 2025 it says, ‘The Dobbs decision is just the beginning,’ and we just saw how they celebrated the Dobbs decision.”

Jeffries told reporters that House Democrats have vowed to work with House Republicans on “any issue…in order to make life better for the American people.”

“At the same time, we’ve also made clear that we will push back against Republican extremism whenever necessary and we have repeatedly been called upon to do just that,” said Jeffries.

The House minority leader told the AFRO that “Project 2025 will end American life as we know it.”

The hearing also featured testimony from U.S. citizens working in health care, including Gracie Ladd, a nurse located in Milwaukee, Wisc.; Suki O., an ultrasound technician who works at an abortion clinic in Georgia and Vicki Gonzalez, a nurse stationed at a local hospital in Miami, Fla. During each testimony, the witnesses discussed how they all felt the impacts of Trump-enacted policies and urged voters to cast their ballots in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to avoid the implementation of Project 2025.

In recent months, Trump has denied that he has any ties to Project 2025 and some House Republicans have come to his defense.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.-14) told the AFRO that Project 2025 is simply a talking point for Democrats.

“I think the biggest concern if [Democrats] stay in office, they’re going to keep our borders open, inflation will continue to be high,” said Greene, “senior citizens in my district are having to choose between paying rent and being able to afford their medications.”

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.-19) told the AFRO voters should not be concerned with Project 2025.

“This is the typical political gaslighting that happens when you start getting close to the elections,” said Donalds. “The RNC released their plan, that’s the overall framework that President Trump is going to move his agenda through.”

Despite Trump and House Republicans’ efforts to distance the former president from Project 2025, Jeffries told reporters and voters that, “Republicans don’t simply have concepts, they have a plan.”

“It’s a detailed plan. It’s a 922-page plan,” said Jeffries. “It’s a dangerous, diabolical and dastardly plan that if implemented would destroy our democracy as we know it.”

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By Reginald Williams
Special to the AFRO

Barbering was one of the first professions that provided a means for Black men to purchase their freedom from slavery. Historically, the Black barber shop has served as the pillar of the community. It was one of two spaces—the church being the other—where Black men gathered to socialize and strategize for community events, including hosting voter registration drives. 

On the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, Stan Dorsey, owner of Ultimate DeZigns Barber & Beauty Salon in southeast Raleigh, N.C.., hosted “Black Men, Black Voices, Black Votes, & Black Victors.” In the way Black men gathered at the barber shop in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, men from neighboring communities gathered to discuss the importance of having their voices and votes counted. 

“My vote makes me accountable, not just to myself, but to my family, to my community. It also allows me to hold elected officials accountable because I have that voice,” said Richard Redding, higher education coordinator of the Minority Male Program at Wake Technical Community College. 

As in days of the past, Black barber shops like Ultimate DeZigns are resurging as places that offer more than haircuts. Vibrant political conversations on topics like Project 25 often accompany the haircuts. 

“Last Saturday, I had a young lady here who has three kids. She knew nothing about Project 25,” explained Dorsey. “We (men in the shop) got to talking to her about it. I told her to read just the first paragraph. When she did, she broke out crying.”

Project 2025 is the Republican Presidential Transition Project proposed to uproot the tenets and fabric of democracy.

The ominous political chatter regarding Black men either choosing against voting in the forthcoming presidential election or deciding to vote for the Republican nominee aroused David Baker’s curiosity. Baker, a district judge for Juvenile Court in Raleigh, called his longtime friend Tim Grubbs and engaged in what he thought was a personal conversation between friends. Grubbs listened and allowed his buddy the space to air his thoughts. About two weeks later, Grubbs called Baker and inquired what he planned to do regarding his concerns. With the Republican presidential candidate campaigning on the promise to give “police immunity so that they can do their jobs,” and promising Christians, “If they vote this one last time, they’ll never have to worry about voting again,” Baker wanted to coordinate a bipartisan, multi-generational group of men to discuss today’s political landscape, and what it means for democracy.

Before starting the discussion, the men grabbed their folding chairs and connected them to four barber chairs to make a circle. “What is a vote? What is it supposed to do? What is it that we think it’s supposed to do,” was the question placed on the debate floor by the moderator to unlock the evening’s conversation. 

Antoine Marshall, a former candidate for the N.C. House of Representatives’s District 33, eloquently provided the historical content and context for the vote. 

“The government is run by a democracy. We choose our leaders to represent us on our issue. This country is a big place. It has a very complicated system. It’s a large system—$4 trillion every year. We can’t vote on all of the issues that we all individually have; we would get nothing done. So, we elect people to speak for our interests. When you go to the ballot box, you vote on the various offices and what they represent. You’re saying this is the person I want to serve in that position to represent my values,” explained Marshall.

On the heels of Marshall’s definition, the men began intimately describing what the vote meant specifically to them. 

“From my perspective, a vote is my capital. It’s my way of first acknowledging that someone did something for me to even have the right to participate in the process,” said Brandon Alexander, a real estate developer and community advocate. “If I don’t use my vote, then in my mind, I’m doing something to disgrace those people who sacrificed whatever those things were. It’s more of my way of first, acknowledging, but secondly, thanking them for the sacrifice they gave for me. So, for me, there’s no way that I’m never not going to vote.” 

Frankie McInnis, a member of Men of Southeast Raleigh, an organization that supports families and community agencies in achieving their missions, echoed Alexander’s sentiment that he would never stop voting even if his candidate fails to win.  

“There’s something that keeps you wanting to vote,” said McInnis, who believes people should not have their voices marginalized. “We tell ourselves that we have a voice. I think one of the worst things you can do to anybody is to ignore them. That’s one of the worst insults. My vote is saying to the whole world, ‘I’m not being ignored.’ Voting keeps me going to the ballot box because of the way it makes me feel. I may never get the candidate that I want, but I’m going to keep pulling the lever because of how it makes me feel.” 

Redding said his vote kept him accountable. However, he had another reason for voting, which brought laughter to the circle. 

“Another part of me is I never wanted to be that person who didn’t vote, and the candidate lost by one. In the back of my mind, I’m always thinking, ‘What if that candidate lost by one and I didn’t vote?’” said Redding. 

As Grubbs and Baker intended, the age diversity (from 18 to 70-plus) represented a bridging of generations. 

“I loved the diversity of age in the room,” said Redding, 57. “I believe everyone felt heard and affirmed. I felt connected and safe and excited that this place was created. It is needed.”

Javon Bell, 24, who arrived in tow with his dad, Jamie Bell, and cousin DeCota Butler, 22, agreed with Redding. 

Various individuals from different generations “provided critical pieces of knowledge that can help everyone grow,” Javon Bell said. “The voice of the room was very strong and powerful. It impacted me because of the variety of opinions.” 

The energy and spirit in the room were so palpable that the men decided to have a second discussion on Sept. 16. That made Dorsey happy, since he earlier expressed his hope that they could make the conversations a “big thing.”

“The evening affirmed my belief that when we come together with the intention to listen to one another, along with a willingness to share from our lived experiences, together we can solve any problem and transform our communities,” Baker said.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty Sept. 27 to charges of bribery, wire fraud, soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals and conspiracy.  The charges mark a pivotal moment in Adams’ tumultuous tenure, which high-level resignations and a series of federal investigations have plagued, NBC News reported. 

“I am not guilty, your honor,” Adams told 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker.

Federal prosecutors announced the 57-page criminal indictment late Sept. 26, marking the first time a sitting mayor in the city’s history has faced such charges.

Adams allegedly sought and accepted illegal “nominee” or “straw” contributions. By “smuggling their contributions” to Adams’ campaign through the straw donors and actors from overseas, Adams “defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on U.S. elections,” according to the indictment.

In 2018, when Adams had announced his plans to run for New York City mayor, he allegedly accepted and sought illegal campaign contributions to his upcoming mayoral campaign, the indictment says.

Businesses also circumvented the city’s ban on corporate contributions “by funneling their donations through multiple employees,” according to the indictment.

In a video statement posted online, Adams fiercely denied the allegations, calling the charges “entirely false” and “based on lies.” He asserted that federal authorities had targeted him because of his commitment to standing up for New Yorkers. Adams vowed to fight the charges in court. He made it clear he had no plans to resign.

The indictment follows months of escalating federal scrutiny. Earlier this month, federal agents searched the homes of several of Adams’s top officials and seized phones, including that of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who resigned on Sept. 12. Authorities also confiscated the phone of Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former police officer who now runs a nightclub security business. Investigators reportedly are looking into whether bars and clubs in Manhattan and Queens paid James Caban to act as a police liaison and if those establishments received special treatment from local precincts.

The indictment adds to a series of ongoing federal probes into Adams’ administration, which has already seen numerous high-ranking officials come under investigation. These probes began last year when federal agents seized the mayor’s electronic devices after searching the home of his chief fundraiser.

Calls for Adams to step down have intensified after the charges. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who have launched campaigns for next year’s mayoral race, have publicly called for the mayor to resign.

“The hardworking people of New York City deserve a government and leadership they can trust. Right now, they don’t have it,” Lander posted on X.

The New York Working Families Party, a major progressive group, also demanded Adams’ resignation, stating that “he has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve.”

Adams, a former NYPD captain, was elected in 2021 on promises to restore public safety and reinvigorate the city post-COVID-19. His administration, however, has been criticized for the handling of issues like the migrant crisis and subway safety, as well as for his late-night socializing and disputes over city spending, particularly on education. Despite these challenges, Adams has maintained a defiant stance, denying all wrongdoing.

In his video statement, Adams remained resolute: “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers, I would be a target—and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”

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By Stephen Smith, Kate Payne and Heather Hollingsworth
The Associated Press

PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the southeastern U.S. on Sept. 27, killing at least 44 people, snapping towering oaks like twigs and tearing apart homes as rescue crews launched desperate missions to save people from floodwaters.

Among those killed were three firefighters, a woman and her 1-month-old twins, and an 89-year-old woman whose house was struck by a falling tree. According to an Associated Press tally, the deaths occurred in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The Category 4 hurricane knocked out power to some hospitals in southern Georgia, and Gov. Brian Kemp said authorities had to use chainsaws to clear debris and open up roads. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) when it made landfall late Sept. 26 in a sparsely populated region in Florida’s rural Big Bend area, home to fishing villages and vacation hideaways where the state’s panhandle and peninsula meet.

Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.

The wreckage extended hundreds of miles northward to northeast Tennessee, where a “dangerous rescue situation” by helicopter unfolded after 54 people were moved to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital as water rapidly flooded the facility. Everyone was rescued and no one was left at the hospital as of late Sept. 27, Ballad Health said.

In North Carolina, a lake featured in the movie “Dirty Dancing” overtopped a dam and surrounding neighborhoods were evacuated, although there were no immediate concerns it would fail. People also were evacuated from Newport, Tennessee, a city of about 7,000 people, amid concerns about a dam near there, although officials later said the structure had not failed.

Tornadoes hit some areas, including one in Nash County, North Carolina, that critically injured four people.

Atlanta received a record 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain in 48 hours, the most the city has seen in a two-day period since record keeping began in 1878, Georgia’s Office of the State Climatologist said on the social platform X. The previous mark of 9.59 inches (24.36 cm) was set in 1886. Some neighborhoods were so badly flooded that only car roofs could be seen poking above the water.

Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes in a matter of hours.

When Laurie Lilliott pulled onto her street in Dekle Beach, Florida, after Helene plowed through, she couldn’t see the roofline of her home beyond the palm trees. It had collapsed, torn apart by the pounding storm surge, one corner still precariously propped up by a piling.

“It took me a long time to breathe,” Lilliott said.

As she surveyed the damage, her name and phone number were still inked on her arm in permanent marker, an admonition by Taylor County officials to help identify recovered bodies in the storm’s aftermath. The community has taken direct hits from three hurricanes since August 2023.

All five who died in one Florida county were in neighborhoods where residents were told to evacuate, said Bob Gualtieri, the sheriff in Pinellas County in the St. Petersburg area. Some who stayed ended up having to hide in their attics to escape the rising water. He said the death toll could rise as crews go door-to-door in flooded areas.

More deaths were reported in Georgia and the Carolinas, including two South Carolina firefighters and a Georgia firefighter who died when trees struck their trucks.

Video on social media showed sheets of rain and siding coming off buildings in Perry, Florida, near where the storm hit land. A news station showed a home that was overturned, and many communities established curfews.

Also in Perry, the hurricane peeled off the new roof of a church that was replaced after Hurricane Idalia last year.

When the water hit knee-level in Kera O’Neil’s home in Hudson, Florida, she knew it was time to escape.

“There’s a moment where you are thinking, ‘If this water rises above the level of the stove, we are not going to have not much room to breathe,'” she said, recalling how she and her sister waded through chest-deep water with one cat in a plastic carrier and another in a cardboard box.

President Joe Biden said he was praying for survivors, and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency headed to the area. The agency deployed more than 1,500 workers, and they helped with 400 rescues by late morning.

In Tampa, some areas could be reached only by boat.

Officials urged people who were trapped to call for rescuers and not tread floodwaters, warning they can be dangerous due to live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.

More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as of late Sept. 27, according to poweroutage.us. The site also showed outages as far north as Ohio and Indiana due to Helene’s rapid northward movement throughout the day.

In Georgia, an electrical utility group warned of “catastrophic” damage to utility infrastructure, with more than 100 high voltage transmission lines damaged. And officials in South Carolina, where more than 40 percent of customers were without power, said crews had to cut their way through debris just to determine what was still standing in some places.

The hurricane came ashore near the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of where Idalia hit last year at nearly the same ferocity. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the damage from Helene appears to be greater than the combined effects of Idalia and Hurricane Debby in August.

“It’s tough, and we understand that. We also understand that this is a resilient state,” DeSantis said at a news conference in storm-damaged St. Pete Beach.

Soon after it crossed over land, Helene weakened to a tropical storm and later a post-tropical cyclone. Forecasters said it continued to produce catastrophic flooding, and some areas received more than a foot of rain.

A mudslide in the Appalachian Mountains washed out part of an interstate highway at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line.

Another slide hit homes in North Carolina and occupants had to wait more than four hours to be rescued, said Ryan Cole, the emergency services assistant director in Buncombe County. His 911 center received more than 3,300 calls in eight hours Sept. 27.

“This is something that we’re going to be dealing with for many days and weeks to come,” Cole said.

Forecasters warned of flooding in North Carolina that could be worse than anything seen in the past century. Evacuations were underway and around 300 roads were closed statewide. The Connecticut Army National Guard sent a helicopter to help.

School districts and universities canceled classes. Florida airports that closed due to the storm reopened Sept. 27. Inspectors were examining bridges and causeways along the Gulf Coast, the state’s transportation secretary said.

Helene was the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average season this year because of record-warm ocean temperatures.

___

Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press journalists Seth Borenstein in New York; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Valdosta, Georgia; Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Andrea Rodríguez in Havana; Mark Stevenson and María Verza in Mexico City; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed.

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By Nicky Forster
The Associated Press

At the site of a race massacre that reduced neighborhoods to ashes a century ago, where murals memorialize a once-thriving “ Black Wall Street,” one African-American mother strives to keep others from dying as they try to bring new life into the world.

Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth as White women in Oklahoma, which consistently ranks among the worst states in the nation for maternal mortality.

“Tulsa is suffering,” said Corrina Jackson, who heads up a local version of the federal Healthy Start program, coordinating needed care and helping women through their pregnancies. “We’re talking about lives here.”

Across the nation, programs at all levels of government — federal, state and local — have the same goals to reduce maternal mortality and erase the race gap. None has all the answers, but many are making headway in their communities and paving the way for other places.

Jackson’s project is one of more than 100 funded through Healthy Start, which gave out $105 million nationally in grants this year. Officials call Healthy Start an essential part of the Biden administration’s plan for addressing maternal health.

Other approaches to the crisis include California halving its maternal mortality rate through an organization that shares the best ways to treat common causes of maternal death and New York City expanding access to midwives and doulas two years ago. Several states passed laws this year aiming to improve maternal health, including a sweeping measure in Massachusetts. And last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced more than $568 million in funding to improve maternal health through efforts such as home visiting services and better identifying and preventing pregnancy-related deaths.

“We need to really identify the birthing people who are at potentially the greatest risk,” New York City health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said, “and then wrap our arms around them throughout their pregnancies.”

A healthy start in Tulsa

Besides coordinating prenatal and postpartum care — which experts say is crucial for keeping moms alive — local Healthy Start projects provide pregnancy and parenting education and referrals to services for things like depression or domestic violence. The local efforts also involve women’s partners and kids up to 18 months. And they focus on issues that influence health, such as getting transportation to appointments.

“You try to get them in their first trimester and then work with them to delivery day, and then we also work with the babies to make sure that they reach their milestones,” Jackson said.

Jackson got help from the local Urban League as a single mom, and felt called to give back to her community. She’s been with Healthy Start for more than 25 years, first through Tulsa’s health department and recently through a nonprofit she started that received about $1 million in federal funds this fiscal year.

“I’m just like a mom to this program,” Jackson said.

Oklahoma overall has a maternal mortality rate of about 30 per 100,000 live births, significantly higher than the national average of about 23. But in Jackson’s quarter-century tenure, she said, there have been no maternal deaths among clients.

Pivotal to Healthy Start’s success are care coordinators like Krystal Keener, a social worker based at Oklahoma State University’s obstetrics and gynecology clinic, where clients get prenatal care. One of her responsibilities is to educate clients about health issues, like how to spot the signs of preeclampsia or how much bleeding is too much after delivery.

She also helps with practical matters: Many clients don’t have cars, so they call Keener when they need a ride to a prenatal visit, and she assists in scheduling one.

With doctors, Keener serves as a patient advocate. On a recent afternoon, Keener sat in on a prenatal appointment for Areana Coles. A single mom, Coles was joined by her 5-year-old daughter, who was born prematurely and spent time in intensive care.

With Coles’ due date approaching, Keener talked about what to watch for around delivery and shortly after, like blood clots and postpartum depression. She advised Coles to take care of herself and “give yourself credit for small things you do.”

During an ultrasound a few minutes later, Coles watched Dr. Jacob Lenz point to her unborn baby’s eyes, mouth, hand and heart. He printed an image of the scan, which Coles immediately showed her daughter.

Keener said she’s gratified that Coles would not be giving birth prematurely this time.

“You made it to term – yay!” she told her client.

Coles smiled. “My body can do it!”

Improving medical care

While programs like Healthy Start focus on individual patient needs, other efforts manage the overall quality of medical care.

California has the lowest maternal mortality in the nation — 10.5 per 100,000 live births, less than half the national rate. But that wasn’t the case before it created a “maternal quality care collaborative” in 2006.

Founded at Stanford University’s medical school in partnership with the state, it brings together people from every hospital with a maternity unit to share best practices on how to deal with issues that could lead to maternal injury or death, like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and sepsis.

“When you look at the rate of maternal death in the United States compared to California, they basically ran neck-and-neck until it was established,” said Dr. Amanda Williams, clinical innovation adviser for the collaborative. “At that time they totally separated and California started going down. The rest of the country started going up.”

In the collaborative, hospitals get toolkits full of materials such as care guidelines in multiple formats, articles on best practices and slide sets that spell out what to do in medical emergencies, how to set up medical teams and what supplies to keep on the unit. The collaborative also tackles issues such as improving obstetric care by integrating midwives and doulas – whose services are covered by the state’s Medicaid program.

At first, some doctors resisted the effort, figuring they knew best, Williams said, but there’s much less pushback now that the collaborative has proven its value.

MemorialCare Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach started participating around 2010. The collaborative helps “vet through all the research that’s out there,” said Shari Kelly, executive director of perinatal services. “It’s just so important to really understand how we as health care providers can make a difference.”

For example, if a woman loses a certain amount of blood after a vaginal delivery, “we know to activate what we call here a ‘code crimson,’ which brings blood to the bedside,” Kelly said. “We can act fast and stop any potential hemorrhage.”

She said the collaborative has also helped reduce racial inequities — bringing down the rate of cesarean sections among Black moms, for example.

In July, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a similar initiative to California’s, focused on the quality of maternal care nationwide: the first baseline health and safety requirements for maternal emergency and obstetric services in hospitals.

A community perspective

Experts said getting maternal mortality under control at a national level requires tailoring solutions to individual communities, which is easier when programs are locally run.

New York City has a goal of reducing maternal mortality overall — and specifically achieving a 10 percent drop in Black maternal mortality by 2030. Statewide, Black residents are about four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than White residents.

The city is starting with, among others, low-income residents and those living in public housing. The New Family Home Visits Initiative gives pregnant people and those who’ve given birth visits from professionals such as nurses, midwives, doulas and lactation consultants. Vasan said more than 12,000 families have gotten visits since 2022.

Nurse Shinda Cover-Bowen works for the initiative’s Nurse Family Partnership, which has her visiting some families for 2 1/2 years, well beyond the pregnancy and birth. She said “that consistency of someone being there for you and listening to you and guiding you on your mother’s journey is priceless.”

Being grounded in the local community — and its history — is also crucial for Healthy Start projects. The lingering effects of racism are evident in Tulsa, where in 1921, White residents are estimated to have killed 100-300 Black people and destroyed homes, churches, schools and businesses in the Greenwood section. That’s where Jackson lives now, and where health disparities persist.

Being relatable is valuable for Black women, who may distrust the health care system, Jackson said. Plus, knowing the community makes it possible to work closely with other local agencies to meet people’s needs.

Denise Jones, who enrolled in Healthy Start in February, has struggled with anxiety, depression and drug addiction, but has been sober since April.

In mid-July, baby items filled her room — a crib, a bassinet, tiny clothes hanging neatly in a closet — in anticipation of her child’s arrival. Jones, 32, flipped through a baby book, pointing to a sonogram of her son Levi, who would be born within a couple of weeks.

She said she feels healthy and blessed by the help she’s gotten from Healthy Start and Madonna House, a transitional living program run by Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma.

“I have professionals that are working with me and give me support. I didn’t have that with my other pregnancies,” she said. “I’m at one with my baby and I’m able to focus.”

This is the second story in a two-part series examining how the United States could curb deaths from pregnancy and childbirth.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.

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By Sharon Johnson
The Associated Press

The third-grade students at Roberta T. Smith Elementary School had only a few days until summer vacation, and an hour until lunch, but there was no struggle to focus as they filed into the classroom. They were ready for one of their favorite parts of the day.

The children closed their eyes and traced their thumbs from their foreheads to their hearts as a pre-recorded voice led them through an exercise called the shark fin, part of the classroom’s regular meditation routine.

“Listen to the chimes,” said the teacher, Kim Franklin. “Remember to breathe.”

Schools across the U.S. have been introducing yoga, meditation and mindfulness exercises to help students manage stress and emotions. As the depths of student struggles with mental health became clear in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year endorsed schools’ use of the practices.

Research has found school-based mindfulness programs can help, especially in low-income communities where students face high levels of stress or trauma.

The mindfulness program reached Smith Elementary through a contract with the school system, Clayton County Public Schools, where two-thirds of the students are Black.

GreenLight Fund Atlanta, a network that matches communities with local nonprofits, helps Georgia school systems pay for the mindfulness program provided by Inner Explorer, an audio platform.

Joli Cooper, GreenLight Fund Atlanta’s executive director, said it was important to the group to support an organization that is accessible and relevant for communities of color in the Greater Atlanta area.

Children nationwide struggled with the effects of isolation and remote learning as they returned from the pandemic school closures. The CDC in 2023 reported more than a third of students were affected by feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness. The agency recommended schools use mindfulness practices to help students manage emotions.

“We know that our teenagers and adolescents have really strained in their mental health,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen told The Associated Press. “There are real skills that we can give our teens to make sure that they are coping with some big emotions.”

Approaches to mindfulness represent a form of social-emotional learning, which has become a political flashpoint with many conservatives who say schools use it to promote progressive ideas about race, gender and sexuality.

But advocates say the programming brings much-needed attention to students’ well-being.

“When you look at the numbers, unfortunately, in Georgia, the number of children of color with suicidal thoughts and success is quite high,” Cooper said. “When you look at the number of psychologists available for these children, there are not enough psychologists of color.”

Black youth have the fastest-growing suicide rate among racial groups, according to CDC statistics. Between 2007 and 2020, the suicide rate among Black children and teens ages 10 to 17 increased by 144 percent.

“It’s a stigma with being able to say you’re not OK and needing help, and having the ability to ask for help,” said Tolana Griggs, Smith Elementary’s assistant principal. “With our diverse school community and wanting to be more aware of our students, how different cultures feel and how different cultures react to things, it’s important to be all-inclusive with everything we do.”

Nationwide, children in schools that serve mostly students of color have less access to psychologists and counselors than those in schools serving mostly white students.

The Inner Explorer program guides students and teachers through five-to-10-minute sessions of breathing, meditating and reflecting several times a day. The program also is used at Atlanta Public Schools and over 100 other districts across the country.

Teachers and administrators say they have noticed a difference in their students since they’ve incorporated mindfulness into their routine. For Aniyah Woods, 9, the program has helped her “calm down” and “not stress anymore.”

“I love myself how I am, but Inner Explorer just helps me feel more like myself,” Aniyah said.

Malachi Smith, 9, has used his exercises at home, with his father helping to guide him through meditation.

“You can relax yourself with the shark fin, and when I calm myself down, I realize I am an excellent scholar,” Malachi said.

After Franklin’s class finished their meditation, they shared how they were feeling.

“Relaxed,” one student said.

Aniyah raised her hand.

“It made me feel peaceful,” she said.

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

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By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Self-care and wellness have become top of mind for people all around the world. Self-care can look like therapy to time alone with a book.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote their own health, prevent disease, maintain health and to cope with illness.”

Many can benefit from self-care and veterans are no exception.

“I’ve learned over the years from several different other veterans the importance behind taking care of myself,” said Terrence Hayes, deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. “They taught me that if I take an interest in self care that I would be the best version of myself professionally, personally.”

Hayes shared that mental health is one of the most important ways he practices self-care.

Hayes said he uses “yoga, meditation and exercise” to improve and maintain his mental health.

Eli Williamson, co-founder of Leave No Veterans Behind, told the AFRO that he uses swimming to better his health.

“It’s a place that forces you to breathe,” said Williamson. “You can’t swim being tight, rigid.”

Williamson also views swimming as beneficial in teaching “balance and about relaxation.” 

Disconnecting from technology

Hayes said making sure he takes time away from his phone, laptop and the internet helps him enjoy the life in front of him.

“I find that when I tend to disconnect from those items, I’m able to reset my mind,” said Hayes. “I’m able to put things in better perspective and my stress level tends to go down.”

Hayes recognized that in a technological world this can be challenging, but it’s worth it.

“To be able to disconnect from them at least an hour before you lay down for bed is critical,” said Hayes. “You’re allowing your body to truly rest. You have to know when to turn it off so you can actually get that rest time.”

Connecting with others

Though taking a break from technology is encouraged, Williamson said connecting with others is an important aspect of self-care.

“People are very disconnected,” said Williamson. “Right now everyone is connected through phones, but very disconnected interpersonally. They don’t have proximity to one another.”

According to the Army Resilience Directorate, feeling connected with others can help prevent suicide and increase quality of life.

On the flipside of connecting with others, Hayes said making sure he has alone time to journal is important to him because it can be “humbling and restful.”

“Journaling allows me the opportunity to write my thoughts down. Put down things like goals and aspirations,” said Hayes. “I’m able to go back in my journal and see the things that I’ve written and see some of the things I’ve been able to accomplish.”

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By Jacquelyn Clemmons-Muhammed

When exploring the nourishment and nurturing of America’s foundation, you will inevitably find it was built upon Black mothers. From caregiving to wet nursing, our foremothers nourished this soil and it is countrymen. The ability to focus on healing themselves after birth was eclipsed by their primary task to nourish those around them. Sadly, the aftermath of this burden has resulted in generations of Black mothers who haven’t focused on allowing themselves to heal and rest postpartum.

The immediate postpartum period can be a challenging time, both physically and emotionally for new mothers. It is important to prioritize your mental and emotional well-being as you navigate the transition into motherhood. Here are three crucial steps that you can take to nurture your mind and spirit after giving birth.

Give yourself grace

The first and most crucial step in caring for your mental and emotional well-being after birth is to give yourself grace. Understand that it is normal to experience a wide range of emotions during this time, including joy, sadness and anxiety. The pressure to conform to societal expectations of motherhood can be overwhelming, but it is important to remember that there is no “right” way to be a mother. Embrace the journey and allow yourself the space to make mistakes and learn from them.

It is essential to be kind to yourself, particularly in moments when you feel overwhelmed or inadequate. Practicing self-compassion can help alleviate the pressure of new motherhood and help foster a positive mental state. It may be tempting to compare yourself to other family or community members, but be reminded that it is ok to take time to figure out what works best for you.

No matter how small they seem, take the time to acknowledge your accomplishments, and celebrate them. Remember that it is okay to ask for help and take breaks when needed. By giving yourself grace, you are nurturing and giving yourself an opportunity to lay a strong foundation for your motherhood journey.

Create healthy boundaries

Another vital aspect of caring for your mind and spirit after giving birth is to create healthy boundaries. Motherhood often comes with a myriad of responsibilities and expectations, and it is easy to feel pressured to meet everyone’s needs while neglecting your own. Setting boundaries is essential for preserving your mental and emotional energy and preventing burnout.

Establishing boundaries can involve communicating your needs to your support system, including your spouse, partner, family and friends. Clearly articulating your boundaries regarding visitors, responsibilities and personal time will help create a supportive and nurturing environment for both you, your baby and immediate family. It’s okay to prioritize your well-being and establish limits on what you can handle, without feeling guilty about it. By creating healthy boundaries, you are fostering a space that allows you to prioritize healing and self-care while maintaining a sense of balance and control in your home.

Plan and accept support

Lastly, it is so important for Black mothers to plan and accept support during the postpartum period. Being a new mother, no matter how many children you have, can be overwhelming. It is crucial to have a strong support system in place to help you navigate the challenges that come with motherhood. This support can come from a variety of sources, including local postpartum doulas, your spouse or partner, family, friends and healthcare providers.

When considering the type of support you will need, assess the existing needs of your family. Some families may need more hands-on support with older sibling care, others meal planning and preparation, while newborn care support may provide much needed rest and respite in other family dynamics.

Plan for support by reaching out to your loved ones or a professional and discuss specific ways in which they can assist you during this time. Whether it is through help with household chores, caring for the baby, or simply providing emotional support, it is important to communicate your needs and accept help when it’s offered, rather than trying to handle everything on your own.

Additionally, seeking professional support, such as therapy or counseling, can provide invaluable guidance and emotional support as you adjust to motherhood. There are mental health providers with specific training and tools to support postpartum families and their unique challenges. 

It is important to recognize that it is okay to prioritize your mental health and seek help when needed. When mothers are doing well mentally, physically and emotionally, their families thrive. By planning and accepting support, you are creating a strong network of care and habits that will uplift and sustain you during the transformative journey of motherhood.

What fathers can do

Fathers play a crucial role in supporting their partners’ healing after childbirth. During the immediate postpartum period they become the gatekeepers of the health and well-being of mom and baby. By ensuring you receive adequate rest, food and emotional support they can help guard the rhythm of the household.

Listening attentively, offering words of encouragement and showing empathy are important ways new fathers can contribute to their partner’s wellbeing. Taking on practical tasks such as preparing nutritious meals, managing visitors and organizing appointments can alleviate the burden on the new mother. By being actively involved in the postpartum recovery process, he can establish and deepen a healthy bond with both mom and his baby. How a couple navigates pregnancy, birth, and postpartum has strong implications to the longevity and health of their relationship. Mindful support in this season is a father’s investment in a strong foundation for his family.

You’re worth it

Prioritizing mental and emotional well-being after giving birth is essential for Black mothers and their families. By giving yourself grace, creating healthy boundaries and planning and accepting support, you can nurture your mind and spirit during this vulnerable and transformative time. Ultimately, investing in your well-being and seeking supportive care will empower you to thrive and embrace the joys and challenges of motherhood while building a resilient and nurturing foundation for yourself and your family.

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder that affects over 100,000 people in the United States, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, of that number, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that “90 percent are non-Hispanic Black or African American, and an estimated 3–9 percent are Hispanic or Latino.” 

Although there is no way of preventing the disease, being educated about your chances of carrying the sickle trait is extremely important– especially for people who are planning families. 

Dr. Regina Crawford, a hematologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently spoke with the AFRO to explain how the disease works, how to get tested for it and why it affects the Black community at such a high rate.

AFRO: What is sickle cell disease and how does it affect the body ?

RC: Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder. It’s not one that you acquire later in life or due to any other reason. You get one affected gene from each parent and that’s why there are folks who are carriers that have this disorder. It affects the body because of the mutation that happens at the genetic level. The red blood cells that carry oxygen in the body become very sticky where they normally are flexible– like a jelly bean. And while the normal red blood cells carry oxygen to different tissues, the sickle cell can get trapped in very small vessels like in the lungs, kidneys and the eyes. And because of them being trapped it can cut off the blood supply, causing damage to the surrounding tissues in that organ. Particular areas like the back, the pelvis, the arms and shoulders can deal with a cut off of blood supply, causing a lot of pain.

AFRO: Why does this disease affect Black people at such a disproportionate rate, as opposed to their White counterparts ? 

RC: Sickle cell came about as a defense against malaria and the highest regions and concentrations of this are in Mediterranean and African areas, along with areas in the Middle East where malaria is still pretty rampant. It was nature’s way of adapting to it in an attempt to not die off as easily. However, as people migrate to different areas of the world that genetic condition goes with them and if two people who are carriers happen to marry or meet up, their children can have the disease.

AFRO: Can you explain the genetic biology of sickle cell disease ? If my partner and I were to both carry the gene, but neither of us have sickle cell disease, how does our child end up with it ?

RC: If both parents are carriers of genes, there is a certain percentage chance that with each pregnancy the child has a chance of not having the disease, being a carrier or ending up with the disease. And that’s with each child and that’s why one person can be affected with sickle cell disease in the family, but everybody else is okay; or everyone can have the disease and it’s one person that doesn’t have it, or is a carrier. 

The chances are there with each pregnancy and so that’s how the parents don’t have the symptoms of the disease, because they’re carriers. 

AFRO: How vital is blood testing when trying to make yourself more aware of you or your child’s likelihood of having sickle cell ?
RC: Blood testing is very vital. Here in the U.S., most states do newborn screenings of all infants and that’s how it’s usually picked up. Either that or shortly after birth. Some are done in the prenatal testing panel and that’s how it’s picked up in early childhood or newborn periods. If you’ve come from overseas or don’t remember testing as an adult, the ideal test to get when you’re older is a hemoglobin electrophoresis. It’s a type of test that separates out the different blood hemoglobins and that can tell you if you’re normal, have the sickle cell trait or have one of the variants. Some of the tests can pick up other variant hemoglobin at that time. There are other blood tests as well that are helpful in picking up just sickle cell, but it doesn’t tell you what variant you have. And that’s why it’s actually very important that hemoglobin electrophoresis is done– they’ll tell you exactly what you have.

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By Black PR Wire

(Black PR Wire) – Recently, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (NV-04) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus released its new corporate accountability report, “What Good Looks Like”: A Corporate Accountability Report on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – a first-of-its-kind report to hold Fortune 500 companies — across all sectors — accountable to their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments and racial equity investments post-George Floyd.

The new report commissioned by the CBC finds that the majority of Fortune 500 companies that responded to a survey by the CBC remain committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace despite right wing attacks in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action in the landmark Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in June 2023. Since the ruling, diversity initiatives have come under attack in corporate America, on college campuses in nearly 30 states, and in federal programs and venture capital firms for Black and minority businesses, despite research from institutions such as the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, which proves that 78 percent of Americans agree that corporate America should reflect the racial diversity of the American population, and McKinsey & Company showing that companies with racially diverse executive teams outperform their peers in profitability by 39 percent.

The report analyzes corporate diversity practices based on data shared with the CBC aggregated by industry according to the Global Industry Classification Standard  (GICS) and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Of the Fortune 500 companies reflected in the GICS data, a majority have made progress to their commitments to workplace diversity and racial equity.

The report further outlines 12 Best Practices and innovative approaches (or “What Good Looks Like”), taken by companies across various industries to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplaces and beyond, which the CBC hopes corporations will use as a standardized tool to strengthen, magnify, and expand diversity, equity, and inclusion practices across industries

The report comes nearly 10 months after the CBC issued its corporate accountability letter in December 2023 in response to the ongoing attacks on diversity initiatives in the private sector. The letter urged corporate America, particularly those in the Fortune 500 who made public pledges to diversity and racial equity post-George Floyd, to stand firm in their commitments and to update congressional members on the progress of their commitments.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford offered the following quote:

“The CBC commends corporate leaders who have overwhelmingly reaffirmed their company’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in their business practices and operations, and those who believe, like most Americans, that diversity is a business and talent imperative. We cannot allow a handful of right-wing agitators to bully corporations, and this report offers corporate America a guide to strengthening their diversity practices. This report is the initial step in a strategic effort to ensure the tools of economic opportunity are protected as we work to advance our Black wealth and economic prosperity agenda in the next Congress to close the Black-white wealth gap in America.”

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By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO

Despite the lofty ideas and goals that the founding fathers and their colleagues espoused after the 13 colonies declared their independence from England and created both an alternative form of government and a new country, Americans have always wrestled with the paradox of claiming to be “the land of the free” while only guaranteeing its rights and privileges to a limited few. In its early years, that meant White, property-owning men. As time evolved and perspectives changed, others would gain access to similar rights, regardless of race, religion, economic status or gender. However, while numerous ceilings have been shattered, either resolved within the U.S. judicial system or in the court of public opinion, one “ceiling” has remained intact: America has never had a woman serve as president. 

In contrast, many of the world’s leading countries, including Argentina, Iceland, the United Kingdom, India, Israel and the Philippines, have elected a woman to lead their nation in the role of president or prime minister. 

Meanwhile, America has held fast to its centuries-old tradition in which only White men have occupied the White House. That is, until voters – Blacks in particular – showed up at the polls in record numbers, securing Barack Obama’s bid to become America’s first Black president. 

Now, with fewer than 50 days remaining until the General Election, and with early voting already occurring in some states, Americans are faced with the possibility of a woman, Vice President Kamala Harris, being elected as commander in chief. 

Harris, who has rarely commented on the historic first she would achieve with a victory in November, unquestionably stands on the shoulders of women who have chipped away at America’s political glass ceilings, including Jill Stein, Carol Moseley Braun, Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin, to name a few. 

Two women, in particular, stand out as having paved the way for Harris as she continues to shock the naysayers in her bid for the White House: Shirley Chisholm, the first woman in Congress (1968) as well as the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president from one of the two major political parties, (1972) and Hillary Clinton, who in 2016, became the first woman major-party presidential nominee. 

But have Americans overcome long-standing views based on racial, ethnic and gender prejudices, biases and stereotypes to such an extent that one can realistically imagine America choosing a woman of color to ascend to the office of president? 

The AFRO asked Black voters in Washington, D.C., Maryland and two battleground states, Michigan and Georgia, what issues are among their greatest concerns and if they believe America is ready to vote for a woman of color for president. 

Cyril Mayes, 64, an information systems solutions architect who lives just outside of Atlanta in Snellville, Georgia, said he’s worried about the fragile state of the union – a fear which has solidified Harris as his choice for president.

“It seems that Trump has his Supreme Court appointees, most of the Republicans in Congress and a number of state governors who endorse his policies and views that, while often in his best interests, are not in step with those voiced by many Americans – they’re Donald Trump’s lackeys,” said Mayes, who, as a man of faith and a leader in both the AME church and his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, said he has long been committed to political activism. 

“I’m a husband, father and grandfather and for the sake of future generations, we cannot allow a candidate who has pledged to gut the Department of Education and to overhaul the Department of Justice, presumably to his benefit. I believe Trump would destroy our country’s democratic process so that the voice and vote of everyday Americans no longer matter. If we don’t vote for Harris, that’s what the future holds with Trump.” 

Melanie L. Campbell, president/CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, led a press conference on Sept. 11 to announce the release of NCBCP’s 11^th Annual Black Women’s Roundtable Report and to highlight both disparities and recommended solutions for the issues which many Black women face. She spoke to the AFRO following the press conference to further illuminate her concerns. 

“Some of the most intellectually powerful Black women in the country are represented in this year’s annual report and we all agree that our theme for the report is one which all Americans should claim: ‘Owning Our Power in 2024: Now is the Time to Participate, Protect, Preserve and Promote,’” Campbell said. 

“From a political standpoint, we are witnessing an historical moment that we cannot ignore with Black women stepping forward as nominees for U.S. Senate in three states: California (Rep. Barbara Lee), Maryland (Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks) and Delaware (Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester). We must leverage that power in this new political era as we continue to highlight the most pressing issues facing women of color: the economy and the high cost of living, the right to maintain control over our own bodies including reproduction and our freedom and right to vote. 

“As for the two presidential candidates, we find it grossly unfair that within many circles of the media, Harris is expected to almost walk on water while all Donald Trump has to do is show up. Throughout the current election cycle, we have seen women candidates facing bias at alarming rates by the press, including Harris. This is the reality they face which we must vigorously denounce,” Campbell said. 

Only 12 Blacks have served in the U.S. Senate since it was established in 1789. Three have been Black women (including Harris in 2017), none of whom served together. 

For Loretta Myers, 61, a caregiver for the sick and elderly who lives in Olney, Maryland, Harris stands as the only candidate “qualified for the job.” 

“With Harris, we will be okay,” she said, adding that her major concern is improving America’s health care system. 

“There are too many roadblocks that people must face when they’re in need of medical attention, particularly when the issues are long term. Too many Americans must choose between eating and paying their rent or getting the medical care they require. We can and must do better.” 

Husband and wife Lamar and Iris Davis, both 64, from Houston, agreed that women’s rights, including reproductive rights, top their list of concerns as they go to the polls. 

“The government needs to protect the rights of its citizens and stop trying to take away or limit those rights,” Lamar Davis said. 

“It should be a woman’s decision whether she wants to have an abortion or not. It should also be a gay couple’s right to enter into marriage, if they chose and all citizens should be able to vote without the suppressive tactics we’re seeing in many states. At first, I doubted whether America was ready for a woman to be elected president. But given the kind of support she’s received, even from some of the nation’s most influential Republicans, and with the assault on our democracy from the right, it’s clear to me. While one may differ with Harris on certain policies, there’s just no way we can allow Trump to return to office,” he continued. 

“America’s been ready for a woman president – we were ready 10 years ago,” Iris Davis said. “There’s no logical reason to justify why America lags behind other leading nations in putting their support and votes behind a woman. Just as Trump asked Blacks during his 2016 campaign, ‘What do you have to lose?’ Harris can reasonably pose the same question.

“Harris is far and away the superior candidate, the right person for right now and if people stop swallowing false narrative and conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and his cronies, they will realize that,” she concluded. 

Roy Daggs III, 64, who lives in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan, said he’s worried that with corporations providing so much money in support of candidates who favor their policies, the voices of ordinary people, and the importance of their vote, have been sidelined by corporate donors who operate more like people than businesses.  

“People feel like their vote doesn’t matter anymore, that’s why a lot of youth don’t vote. And in truth, I often cannot blame them,” Daggs said. “We’ve been asking for improvements in America’s health care system for decades but only Barack Obama put any real effort into addressing that concern. Since then, there have been nothing but efforts by Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Trump says he wants to get rid of it but he still doesn’t have a plan to replace and improve it. 

“I am excited because I believe the state of America today resembles what we faced when Obama ran for president and won and when Clinton, despite a valiant effort, fell short. Given the emphasis on women’s reproductive rights and the obvious differences between Harris and Trump on abortion and in vitro fertilization, I give the edge to Harris. Yes, she could win,” Daggs said.  

The economy tops the list for Frederick Ingram, 50, who lives in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and serves as secretary/treasurer for the Washington, D.C.-based American Federation of Teachers. However, he adds that there are a lot of other issues which could easily be added, most notably the need for more affordable housing, the job market and the need to provide more training for Blacks who chose to secure skills as laborers rather than to invest in college degrees. 

Like Daggs, he believes America needs a person like Obama – “the last president we’ve had who was committed to dealing with the many challenges and concerns which Americans faced in a holistic manner,” Ingram said.

“Before Obama, Blacks, especially those with pre-existing conditions, were forced to rely on emergency rooms as their primary source of healthcare,” Ingram said. “Even with the Affordable Care Act, Blacks remain far too familiar with the reality that we’re only one sickness away from financial ruin. So, the economy remains our No. 1 concern. 

“Is America ready for a woman president? I guess we’ll find out in less than two months. But for the record, over the past few decades, Black women have saved America from itself. Black women have been the foundation of America’s moral fiber. And Black women, since the days of slavery, have been on the right side of history,” he continued. 

“Blacks have always been aware that we must be 10 times better than Whites just to be considered regular or average – perhaps even competent. Harris faces enormous pressure as a woman, as a woman of color and as the first candidate to rightfully check all those boxes and be elected as president. The story of Blacks in America illustrates our ability to persevere no matter what the odds. So, I have no doubt that Kamala Harris will win.” 

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By Kim Chandler
The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A mass shooting killed four people and wounded 18 others in a popular nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama, with many of the victims caught in the crossfire, police said early Sept. 22. Authorities asked the public for tips as they searched for the shooters.

The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Sept. 21 in Five Points South, a district filled with entertainment venues, restaurants and bars that is often crowded on weekend nights.

Multiple suspects pulled up in a vehicle, got out, fired shots, got back in the vehicle and fled, Police Chief Scott Thurmond said at a news conference early Sept. 22. He described the shooting as possibly “a hit” conducted in exchange for payment.

Officers found two men and a woman on a sidewalk with gunshot wounds, and they were pronounced dead there. An additional male gunshot victim was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

Authorities believe the intended target was among the dead, Thurmond said at the news conference, where he was joined by Mayor Randall Woodfin and officials from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators believe other victims were caught in the crossfire.

By early Sept. 22, after victims began showing up at hospitals, police had identified 18 people with injuries, some of them life-threatening, Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in an email.

There were no immediate arrests. Anyone with information was asked to contact authorities.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation into Rankin County, Mississippi, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD). The probe will determine whether the RCSD engages in unconstitutional practices, including excessive force, unlawful stops and racially discriminatory policing. Rankin County, which has a population of about 160,000, is located 30 minutes east of Jackson, the state capital.

The investigation follows the highly publicized case involving the so-called “Goon Squad,” a group of five former Rankin County deputies convicted for the brutal assault of two Black men, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, in January 2023. Those deputies were sentenced to federal prison, but the Justice Department is now examining whether the issues within the department are more widespread.

“We are launching this investigation to examine serious allegations that the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department systematically violates people’s constitutional rights through excessive use of force, unlawful stops and arrests, and discriminatory policing,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

The investigation will scrutinize the RCSD’s use of force, including deadly force, and evaluate whether officers have engaged in unlawful searches, stops, and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Justice Department will also assess claims of discriminatory policing practices that could violate the 14th Amendment, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Safe Streets Act.

Rankin County officials have pledged their cooperation with the investigation. The DOJ said it would review the sheriff department’s policies, training, and oversight systems. Investigators will gather information by meeting with community members, law enforcement officers and department leadership.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division referenced the Goon Squad case in remarks about the investigation, stating, “Although the Goon Squad deputies are now serving time, we have received numerous reports that their actions were part of a broader pattern of misconduct that persists within the sheriff’s department.”

Officials said the investigation is being conducted under the authority of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which allows the Justice Department to address law enforcement misconduct through civil litigation. This marks the 12th such investigation into law enforcement practices opened by the Justice Department during the Biden administration. Recent investigations into departments in Phoenix and Louisville have led to significant reforms.

“The pursuit of justice is not just about punishing individual officers; it’s about ensuring that the culture of policing reflects the values of our Constitution,” Garland said. “No community should live in fear of those sworn to protect them.”

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By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
Word in Black

It’s no secret Black people in the United States disproportionately occupy Death Row — making up about 14 percent of the populace but 40.05 percent of people awaiting execution. And given that men are nearly 98 percent of the people facing capital punishment, incarcerated Black men are more likely to face death by the state than any other group.

Marcellus Williams, 55, is one of those men, and he’s scheduled to be executed Sept. 24 in Missouri. The prosecutor in his case filed a motion to vacate his conviction due to “overwhelming evidence that Marcellus Williams’ trial was constitutionally unfair, including revelations that the State contaminated the most critical evidence in the case—the murder weapon,” said Williams’ attorney, Tricia Rojo Bushnell. The courts, however, denied the motion.

As such, the case has reignited heated debates about racial injustice and the death penalty — and now faith leaders in the state are joining the fight to get clemency for Williams.

Life instead of death

On Sept. 19, in a letter to Missouri Gov. Michael Parson, 69 faith leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds asked for mercy for Williams.

“We are advocating for life without parole and that Marcellus will remain in prison, with the message that his life can remain open to redemption, mercy, and the healing power of God and that he will continue to serve the Muslim community,” the faith leaders wrote.

The group pointed out that Williams himself is a faith leader at Potosi Correctional Center, where he is incarcerated. Now known as Khalirfah ibn Rayford Daniels, Williams became an imam and serves his fellow Muslim prisoners at the facility.

“With lifetime imprisonment, Marcellus will have a chance to continue his service to the religious community that he leads as an Imam,” wrote the faith leaders. 

They pointed out that Williams works with “a group of men, many of whom have been abandoned by society and in desperate need of guidance and strength,” and provides “a vital network of support for the prisoners.” 

Members of the Mid Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation (Mid-MO FOR) a nonprofit organization for “people from many faiths, and no particular faith — all coming together to support nonviolence and justice,” have also advocated for clemency for Williams.

On Sept. 18, they hosted a gathering at the University of Missouri School of Law to discuss the Williams case. One of the speakers was Michelle Smith, co-director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, who said, “Killing someone is final. We should make sure, as a state, as a community, as a government, that there are no questions.” 

The NAACP is also calling on Parson to halt Williams’ execution, noting that the death penalty has been “historically applied in a racially disparate manner,” particularly in Missouri. 

“Killing Mr. Williams, a Black man who was wrongfully convicted of killing a White woman, would amount to a horrible miscarriage of justice and a perpetuation of the worst of Missouri’s past,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and Missouri State Conference President Nimrod Chapel Jr. wrote in an open letter to Parson.

“Put simply, Mr. Williams did not commit the murder for which he was convicted. The prosecutor knows it, and the citizens of Missouri know it,” they wrote.

Accusations of corruption

In 2001, Williams was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. 

The prosecution’s case hinged on witness testimonies and circumstantial evidence. However, DNA found on the murder weapon did not match Williams — a fact that has cast significant doubt on his conviction.

Despite these findings, Missouri courts have repeatedly upheld his conviction and death sentence.

According to the Innocence Project, “The State destroyed or corrupted the evidence that could conclusively prove his innocence and the available DNA and other forensic crime-scene evidence does not match him.” The organization notes, “There is far too much uncertainty in this case to allow Mr. Williams to be executed, particularly when the victim’s family believes life without parole is the appropriate sentence.” 

In January 2024, after an independent review of Williams’ case, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell moved to vacate his conviction. However, the circuit court denied the motion, stating there was insufficient evidence of innocence and that claims of racial bias in jury selection and ineffective assistance of counsel had been previously adjudicated. Bell is now appealing the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court, according to Williams’ filing for a stay of execution in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We will continue pursuing every possible option to prevent Mr. Williams’ wrongful execution,” Bushnell, his lawyer, said. “There is still time for the courts or Governor Parson to ensure that Missouri does not commit the irreparable injustice of executing an innocent person.” 

This article was originally published on WordinBlack.com.

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By Reginald Williams
Special to the AFRO

On Sept. 7, the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice opened to the public in Durham, North Carolina’s West End. The center has been under renovation for some time, according to local news reports. Billed as “A Celebration of Homecoming,” the event drew diverse visitors, all looking to honor and remember the civil rights leader’s work. 

“It has been a decade-long journey,” said Angela Thorpe Mason, the center’s executive director, to The Living Church, a religious publication. “The house was slated for demolition in the early 2000s, and was in extremely bad shape. A group of local advocates rallied to save it. The Pauli Murray Center was established in 2012, but the rehabilitation wasn’t complete until this April.

Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray was a pioneer and a person of many firsts. Born in 1910, the trailblazing civil rights attorney, a 1944 graduate of Howard University Law School, was the only woman in her law class, where she ranked first. She was also the first African American to earn a Doctor of Jurisprudential Science from Yale Law School in 1965. 

Murray was also a changemaker in the religious realm. The Episcopal Church at the Washington National Cathedral ordained Murray into the priesthood on January 8, 1977. The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina specifies that she was “the first Black person perceived as a woman ordained.” Murray is noted as an Episcopal saint.

Her activism was bold.

Four years before Irene Morgan refused to unseat herself in 1944 while riding on a segregated bus in Virginia, and 11 years before a 15-year-old Claudette Colvin set the stage for Rosa Parks’ civil disobedience by refusing to move from her seat on a Montgomery, Ala. bus— “Pauli,” as she preferred to be called, was arrested for disorderly conduct.

The year was 1940 when Murray, while traveling from New York to North Carolina, refused to move from the designated White-only section. Law officials arrested her for violating Virginia’s state segregation laws. 

The mission of the Pauli Murray Center is to continue addressing the injustices and inequalities for all people that Murray fought for. Their vision is “To realize a world in which wholeness is a human right for all and not the privilege of a few.”

The preservation of the center, which is the activist’s childhood home, is “supported in part by an African American Civil Rights Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service (NPS), Department of the Interior.” The NPS designated Murray’s home as a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1910, Murray was said to be ahead of her time. 

“She championed the cause of human rights through her work as an author, educator, lawyer, feminist, poet and priest,” states information released by the Pauli Murray Center. 

Murray’s work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Philip Randolph was rooted in her discontentment with inequalities related to Black women and their lack of decision-making power when in grassroot struggles of Black people. Murray is credited with partnering with Bayard Rustin and James Farmer to establish CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) while attending law school. She also co-founded the organization, NOW (National Origination of Women), fighting for the presence of Black women. 

“Her legal work laid the foundation for major civil rights advances. Her 1950 book, “States’ Laws on Race and Color,” was hailed by Thurgood Marshall as the “bible” of the civil rights movement,” says Carl Kenney, assistant professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Her legal arguments, particularly on the unconstitutionality of segregation, were influential in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended legal racial segregation in U.S. schools.”

According to information available at the Pauli Murray Center, the ardent activist “fought to lift up women in the civil rights movement, and women of color in the women’s rights movement. She believed that leaving anyone behind on the road to full equality would neglect a part of herself.”

A few years after being appointed by Eleanor Roosevelt to serve as the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, Murray wrote “Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII,” an article that exposed the gender discriminatory practices and laws that outright oppressed women. The impact of that article inspired Atty. Ruth Bader Ginsberg to include Murray’s name on the brief cover written for Reed v. Reed 404 US 71. The 1971 landmark Supreme Court case struck down laws that discriminated against women by using the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which says no state can deny equal protection of the laws to anyone within its jurisdiction.

“Murray was a key figure in the second wave of feminism…advocating for gender equality and helping to shape the feminist movement’s focus on equal rights and dismantling systemic sexism,” says Kenney.

During an era when the use of nonbinary, non-gender pronouns was non-existent, Murray pushed the boundaries of gender and sexual identity. At 18, Murray shortened Pauline to Paulie to embrace a more androgynous identity. Many published reports maintain that Murray believed she was born a man in a woman’s body. 

Rosalind Rosenberg, author of  “Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray,” notes that Murray identified “as a female who believed she was a male, before the term transgender existed. 

Kenney, a passionate promoter of women’s rights and the LBGTQ movement, says Murray was private about more sensitive topics. Still, many today recognize Renee Barlow as a long-time romantic partner of Murray. 

“Although she never publicly acknowledged her sexual orientation, in private writings, Murray expressed feeling like a man trapped in a woman’s body, making her an early figure in the conversation around gender identity,” says Kenney.

 She died on July 1, 1985, at the age of 74. 

Murray’s impact can still be felt in Durham, where she was raised by her aunt Pauline Fitzgerald Dame, after her parent’s death. The Durham Public School Board of Education recently voted unanimously to name their newest elementary school, Murray-Massenburg Elementary School, after Murray and Betty Doretha Massenburg, the first Black women principal in Durham. 

Today, five Murray murals exist throughout Bull City: 1101 West Chapel Hill Street, 2520 Vesson Avenue, 313 Foster Street, 117 S. Buchanan Boulevard, and 2009 Chapel Hill Road, keeping the activist’s memory alive. 

The Pauli Murray Center is just one more jewel added to the area, in honor of Murray’s work. According to information released by the center, Murray’s childhood home “was built by her grandparents in 1898 at 906 Carroll Street in Durham, North Carolina.” Today and every day moving forward, the center will keep the name of Pauli Murray alive “by connecting history to contemporary human rights issues” and encouraging people “of all ages to stand up for peace, equity and justice.”

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By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

Book Banned Week, recognized each September, was founded by library activist Judith Krug in 1982 as a protest to the increase in censorship of literature. Krug believed that bans on books massively violated the First Amendment, freedom of speech. 

Books are typically banned from schools and libraries for including content that contains “graphic violence, expresses disrespect for parents and family, is sexually explicit, exalts evil, lacks literary merit, is unsuitable for a particular age group, or includes offensive language,” according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Books are also often removed due to sexual orientation and race related topics.

The American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) reported that “the number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023, compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by OIF in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries.”

This month, in honor of Banned Book Week, to be celebrated Sept. 22-28, the AFRO spoke with an African-American book publisher on the issue.

Robert Curry, CEO of Curry Brothers Publishing, expressed that it is essential for Black stories to be told.

“The legacy of our history is important,” Curry told the AFRO. “Our motto is educating the world one book at a time – so we cannot allow that, we cannot stand for that, we cannot let that happen.”

Freedom to Read, an incentive with PEN America, fights against book bans across public schools in the United States. In 2021 they started tracking and collecting data on book bans in public schools by each school year to help fight against literature censorship. 

“For me, and for many people, having access to books and literature is such an essential learning tool,” Kasey Meehan, program director for Freedom to Read at PEN America, told the AFRO. “The idea that we would prohibit students from accessing books – these are books that have been historically underrepresented in public schools to begin with.”

“We can celebrate all of the marvelous pieces of literature that are being caught up in these efforts of censorship – and one easy way to do that is to read a banned book,” said Meehan. 

The list of thousands of books that have faced censorship challenges or outright bans include “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas, censored for sharing an anti-police message; “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, banned for claims that it has  “selective storytelling incidents;” “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison, for explicit content and a story line that addresses childhood sexual abuse; “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie, for having profanity, derogatory terms and sexually explicit content. 

The post Black stories crucial as Banned Book Week approaches appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

Vice President Kamala Harris joined members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for an interview in Philadelphia at the studios of WHYY on Sept. 17.

The convening came after Trump made an appearance at the annual NABJ convention in Chicago on July 31. Harris says she was unable to attend the July discussion due to schedule conflicts. 

Before the discussion began, Ken Lemon, president of NABJ, explained that NABJ is a nonpartisan organization that is happy to provide a platform for candidates to address various  topics. 

“Every four years, we ask the presidential nominees to meet with us and answer questions about important issues,” said Lemon. “I am proud to say that for the first time in 24 years both the Republican and Democratic nominees have accepted our invitation.” 

Dianna S. Jones, a 80-year-old New Jersey native who has relocated to Philadelphia, doted on her past opportunities to witness history makers make change in real time.

“I had the honor of seeing President Obama, Mayor Wilson Goode, the first Black mayor of Philadelphia, and our new 100th mayor, Sheree Parker, ” Jones told the AFRO, adding that she believes Harris “deserves a chance.” 

“She can’t do worse than anyone else, she has to do better – I like what she stands for,” said Jones. 

The intimate panel discussion was reserved for NABJ professional and student members and 100 students enrolled in journalism and communications classes at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

“I think that it’s very important that the vice president and NABJ have Black students from local HBCUs come to this event,” Hal Willard, a junior communications major at Pennsylvania’s Cheyney University, told the AFRO.  “Not only does it show the various opportunities for students that are preparing to graduate, but also it amplifies Black voices and Black opinions,” said Willard. 

Before starting the discussion, Vice President Harris told the NABJ members present why it was important to discuss the issues with them.

“It is very important that we ensure that this organization and your members always have the resources and the platforms to deliver the voices that must be heard,” she said. 

Economy 

Harris was asked if the economy is better now than it was four years ago. She noted that the Biden Administration inherited an unstable economy. 

“Four years ago, when we came in, we came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. We came in during the worst public health epidemic in centuries – we came in after the worst attack on our democracies since the Civil War,” said Harris. “And a lot of it is due in large part to the mismanagement by the former president as it relates to COVID and obviously Jan. 6th.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the unemployment rate in April 2020 increased by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7 percent – the highest rate and the largest over-the-month increase in the history of the data (available back to January 1948).”

Harris explained that they had to “clean up a mess,” but work has been done in the past four years. She stated that the Biden-Harris administration has created “16 million new jobs, over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs” and there has been an historic decline in Black unemployment rates. 

She shared some of the plans she would like to implement under her proposed “opportunity economy,” including more assistance to first-time home buyers by providing $25,000 down payment assistance “so they can just get their foot in the door.” 

They have also been working on providing more stability in health care by capping the cost for insulin for seniors at $35 and the cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000. 

“Is the price of groceries still too high? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes,” Harris said. 

The Black male vote 

Harris was asked about Black men and the notion that they will not show up for her at the polls, but rather her opponent instead. 

“I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket – Black men are like any other voting group,” said Harris. “You gotta earn their vote. So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black.”

She explained that under her opportunity economy she wants to provide more economic resources for the Black male population, especially those interested in entrepreneurship.

“Small businesses only get a tax deduction of $5,000. Nobody can start a small business with $5,000, so I’m expanding that to $50,000,” Harris said.

According to Pew Research Center in a recent poll, “about three-quarters of Black voters (77 percent) say they would vote for or lean toward Harris if the 2024 presidential election were held today. Another 13 percent say they would back or lean toward Trump.”

Gun Rights 

Gun rights became a hot topic once again in the wake of the Sept. 4 school shooting at Georgia’s Apalachee High School.

While Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are gun owners and have said they are “not trying to take anybody’s guns away from them,” on Sept. 17 Harris did express the need for an assault weapons ban and universal background checks. 

Gaza 

On the topic of the Israel-Hamas War, raging since terrorists attacked and kidnapped thousands of innocent Israeli people on Oct. 7, Harris explained that she believes the war needs to end and there needs to be a ceasefire. 

 “I absolutely believe that this war has to end, and it has to end as soon as possible,” said Harris. “The way that will be achieved is by getting a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done – we are working around the clock to achieve that.”

Harris was pushed on the topic to give more details on policy regarding this issue, aside from pausing 2,000 pound bombs. She expressed that the most important thing right now is to have a successful two-state deal complete.

“I support Israel’s ability to defend itself, and I support the need for Palestinians to have dignity, self-determination and security as we move forward and get a two-state deal done,” said Harris. “But right now, the thing we need to get done is this hostage deal and the ceasefire deal.”

Haitian Immigrants

During the Sept. 10 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating  pet dogs and cats. Since that time, the community has reported harassment.

“I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio – and it’s got to stop,” said Harris. “We’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country.”

Weaponized Joy 

One of the last questions Harris received regarded how she is often seen smiling and laughing in campaign ads, and how the content is being weaponized.

“There are some times when your adversaries will try and turn your strength into a weakness. Don’t you let them,” Harris responded. “I think we should all find joy and have a sense of optimism about who we are as Americans and what we mean to each other and what we can do to lift each other up.”

After the debate some students said they felt more confident in their vote after hearing directly from Harris. 

“Today was definitely more affirming,” said Gelen St. Fluer Simeon, a sophomore mass communications major at Lincoln University. “I feel as though I’m definitely more comfortable with my decision and who I want to see in office.” 

“I feel a little bit safer knowing that there’s someone who’s looking out for us,” Simeon continued. “And by us, I mean Black people, queer people, Black students, Black workers [and] mothers, which is very important.”

The post Harris discusses economy, gun rights and Black vote with NABJ in Philadelphia appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

“Black Vote, Black Power,” a collaboration between Keith Boykin and Word In Black, examines the issues, the candidates, and what’s at stake for Black America in the 2024 presidential election.

To understand what Kamala Harris said to the National Association of Black Journalists on Tuesday, you gotta understand the Republicans’ cynical race strategy.

Anytime Kamala Harris says something pro-Black, Trump and the Republicans will use it against her to convince white people that she can’t be trusted. And anytime she says something that isn’t pro-Black, they will still use it against her by getting Black people to criticize her for not doing enough.

A month ago, Donald Trump lied to NABJ that Kamala Harris only recently turned Black, so when she sat down with the group in Philadelphia to take questions from Black journalists, she didn’t say everything that some Black people wanted her to say — but she said almost everything she could.

RELATED: Kamala Harris, for the Black People

She forcefully condemned recent lies about Haitian immigrants promoted by Trump and JD Vance: “I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio. And it’s gotta stop. And we gotta say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the President of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric.” She described Trump’s rhetoric as “a crying shame,” a response based more on empathy than anger.

But, she did not specifically endorse a policy of reparations for slavery. Although she supported legislation to study reparations when she was a senator in California, she spoke in broader terms today as the Democratic presidential nominee.

“We need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history,” she said, mentioning slavery, redlining, and Jim Crow laws. She spoke about student loan debt, medical debt, bias in home appraisals, and Black maternal mortality, but she put the onus to fix these issues more on Congress than executive action.

I support reparations, and I’ve written about it in my two most recent books. But believe it or not, Kamala Harris gave the right answer.

Here’s why.

Her job is to get elected in a country where most Americans oppose reparations. Although 77% of Black Americans support reparations, only 18% of white Americans do. Even in liberal California, nearly two-thirds of white voters oppose reparations. In a country that is 75% white, that’s a non-starter.

We can’t expect a Black woman running for office to explain and sell to white America the complex and unpopular idea of paying reparations to Black people in a three-month campaign while she’s still introducing herself and her policies. To do so is to make her a sacrificial lamb for a movement that we haven’t even built the momentum for on the ground.

To win the presidency, Harris needs at least 42 to 43% of the white vote, which means she has to convince a sufficient number of white Americans that she can represent them —while still holding onto Black and Brown voters. It’s a juggling act. How do you maintain your street cred with Black and Brown voters without alienating sensitive white voters?

RELATED: 10 Ways to Be a Better Black Voter

Some critics point to an out-of-context quote from an interview Harris did in 2019 when she said, “So, I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m going to do something that’s only going to benefit Black people.” What they don’t quote to you is the rest of the answer, where she explains that “any policy that will benefit Black people will benefit all of society.”

Clearly, she supports race-specific policies that benefit Black people, including HBCU funding, affirmative action, and debt relief for Black farmers. But as a Black politician in a predominantly white country, she still has to remind white Americans that those policies benefit them, too, by creating a more equitable society.

A Black Democratic candidate for president faces a frustrating double standard that does not apply to a white Republican like Trump. Trump is not expected to do anything to help Black people, so all he does is show up with a wayward rapper or pastor every four years, and people grade him on a curve because the bar is so low.

But here’s the other part of the equation. Kamala Harris also needs a Democratic Congress to enact her agenda. Republicans now control the House, and Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 seat majority in the U.S. Senate. Republicans are expected to pick up the Senate seat in West Virginia with the retirement of Joe Manchin, and they’re hoping to defeat Democrat Jon Tester in conservative North Dakota. If they win those two seats, Republicans will take control of the Senate and block any progressive legislation, and possibly Supreme Court Justices, for at least the next two years.

If you think Democratic senators are going to win North Dakota and West Virginia with a Democrat at the top of the ticket calling for reparations, you haven’t been paying attention to race issues in America.

There’s a method to the madness from Republicans. They continue to launch racist attacks against Harris because they’re desperately trying to get her to fight on controversial race and culture issues. Trump wants Kamala Harris to attack him for being racist instead of focusing on her broader agenda for America. He knows that if he can get her to engage, they can mislabel her with the “angry Black woman” trope.

That’s why he continues to lie about The Congo releasing inmates from insane asylums into the United States. That’s why Trump and Vance are promoting racist rhetoric about the White House smelling like curry and fried chicken if Kamala Harris gets elected. They’re not just motivating their base. They want Harris to say something to turn off white voters.

She was wise not to take the bait. It may not be the truth we want to hear, but she understood the assignment.

Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show My Two Cents, and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award-winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.

The post How Kamala Harris Talks About Race Issues appeared first on Word In Black.

The post How Kamala Harris Talks About Race Issues appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

Meharry Medical College is collaborating with local middle and high schools to provide workshops, summits and events for students to engage in science.

The Tennessee-based HBCU was founded in 1876 by Samuel Meharry along with four of his brothers. The institution now serves as the nation’s largest private, independent, historically Black academic health training center.

Understanding the importance of stimulating and inspiring young minds, the college has created several programs to give K-12 students the opportunity to have hands-on experiences with science. 

“We go and speak to students at every age level and our students love to volunteer. They really take Meharry’s motto ‘worship of God through service to mankind’ to heart,” said Majornette Jefferson, the director of community outreach at Meharry. “And it’s great because whenever we have requests for volunteers, our students are eager to assist in so many ways. From our physical assistant students to our medical students to our dental students, they always find a way to go and show up in the community.” 

At the middle school level, the college partners with the Ascension Foundation to host a science day field trip called #GOALS, which stands for “Go Out And Love Science.” 

Each year the volunteers work directly with Haynes Middle School to give the students hands-on experiences, listen to panels and have the opportunity to see some of what happens in a medical school classroom. 

For the past two years, they also have participated in the Black History Month observance of Isaiah T. Creswell Middle Magnet School of the Visual & Performing Arts, the only middle school arts magnet school in Nashville. Meharry students have had the opportunity to go and speak with the students and provide insight into how science can be incorporated into things the teenagers love and are passionate about such as the arts. 

“Meharry students were able to show the range of a dental student, letting them know if you’re good at art you can take that love for arts and bring it into dentistry. If you’re really good with your hands and sculpting, you may be great at dentistry,” Jefferson told the AFRO. “We just find ways to connect their current interests, wherever they are, and plug it into the future for them, because sometimes they don’t see a path.”

The medical school has also partnered with the mayor’s office, the Urban League of Middle Tennessee and the state of Tennessee to offer paid internships for high schoolers and young adults during the summer. 

“Through the mayor’s office, the Power Youth Initiative, we work with upcoming juniors, seniors and incoming college freshmen to go through a lot of hands-on activities such as job shadowing several offices across the campus,” Jefferson shared with the AFRO.  They can also earn experiences in offices such as institutional advancement, marketing, student affairs, community engagement and outreach and pediatric medicine.

The school also hosts a Black Male STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) summit to provide the opportunity for students to hear from people in the medical field and partake in activities such as a stimulation lab where participants can perform medical procedures on mannequins. This year, Meharry is working with Tennessee State University’s SMART Center to provide virtual reality headsets and robots to show how gaming and robotics relate to STEAM. Coding will also be incorporated into break-out sessions to give students practical experiences to take away. 

The summit serves as a learning opportunity not only for students but for parents as well. There are different panel discussions for parents to gain understanding and resources to learn about the opportunities in the field. 

Similarly, Meharry hosts a Black Girls in STEAM summit during the spring. 

The programs are beneficial for the students as well as the school, Jefferson said, because it helps students build a connection with the school for future opportunities, and  ultimately creates a talent and employee pipeline for the school. 

To find out more about the upcoming programs that Meharry Medical College will be curating for youth, visit them at www.MMC.edu.

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By Catherine Pugh
Special to the AFRO

The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, with the support of the Maryland Black Caucus Foundation, hosted one of the largest state gatherings during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference from Sept. 11 through Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C.

The weekend’s Friday night is reserved for states throughout the country to host their congressional, state and local constituents, civic and business leaders and guests.  

Maryland has the largest Black state legislative body in the country with 66 members.

The event titled, “Maryland Black Excellence,” showcased Gov. Wes Moore who reminded the audience: “We have to elect Angela Alsobrooks to the United States Senate to maintain control of the country’s future agenda.” 

Alsobrooks, county executive for Prince George’s County, is the Democratic nominee for the Maryland Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. Alsobrooks appeared on the stage with a number of Maryland elected officials, including Moore, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, who represents Maryland’s 7th congressional district, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. The diverse group also included U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th district), Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Democratic candidate for Congress state Sen. Sara Elfreth (D-Dist. 30), who is running to replace Congressman John Sarbanes, who did not seek re-election. Congressman Glen Ivey (4th District) was also in attendance but had to leave for another event.  

The waiting list to attend the Maryland celebration exceeded 3,000 with over a thousand people in the room of the Salamander Hotel, which is owned by a Black entrepreneur Sheila Johnson and Henderson Park.

“The excitement and interest in the event with attendees from across Maryland reflects the energy and progress we are making in the state under the leadership of Governor Wes Moore and Speaker Adrienne Jones,” said Chairwoman of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus Jheanelle Wilkins, who has represented District 20 in the House of Delegates since 2017.

“With the only Black governor in the country, and the first Black and female speaker of the House, Maryland stands as a model for Black political leadership with deep impact, “ continued Del. Wilkins.

“This was a night of celebration,” said the Rev. Dr. Zina Pierre, president of the Maryland Black Caucus Foundation. “We put in a lot of work to showcase our Black leadership at the federal level and to showcase the excellence of Maryland and its delegation. In Maryland we all work together. That is why you saw the chair of the (national) Democratic Party, Ken Ulman, along with congressional leader Steny Hoyer in attendance. Maryland is a state that is truly moving forward.”

Pierre said 34 members of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus will head to the White House and Capitol Hill on Sept. 18 to lobby on behalf of the state of Maryland.

“We were so proud to come together during the nation’s foremost Black political week,” said Wilkins.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 53rd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) on Sept. 14 culminated in an influential Phoenix Awards gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington, D.C. This year’s theme, “From Vision to Victory: Amplifying Black Voices,” was not just a celebration of Black culture and heritage but also a call to action to defend and expand fundamental freedoms in an increasingly challenging political climate.

The Phoenix Awards, always the pinnacle of the conference, honored individuals who have made significant contributions to the progress of Black Americans.

President Joe Biden received the Congressional Black Caucus Lifetime Achievement Award. He praised the CBC for its integral role in bolstering his administration’s efforts. 

“With the CBC, we went big, and we went bold, and we are better off today than we were four years ago,” Biden said. 

He also stressed the importance of continued vigilance to ensure a future where freedom, justice and equality prevail. “We must show up; we must look to the future. I’m looking to you to help lead the way,” he told the audience.

And Democrats are looking to another CBC alum to lead the way. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, also addressed the gathering, calling on the CBC to leverage its history as “the conscience of the Congress” to shape the nation’s future. 

“The CBC has always had a vision for the future of our nation; a future where we can see what is possible unburdened by what has been;” Harris said, “a future where we fulfill the promise of America; a promise of freedom opportunity and justice, not just for some but for all.”

Another Black leader in whom Democrats see a bright future is Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference Honorary Co-Chairs’ Award. 

“I am standing before you as probably the most improbable governor in America… It’s an exciting time for our country, and I’m so grateful to be your partner in the work,” Moore said.

Other honorees included the late Sheila Jackson-Lee, former U.S. representative for Texas’s 18th congressional district; the 14th Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden; and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. 

An “in memoriam” tribute was displayed on the large screen above the stage and featured influential African Americans who died this year, like singer Frankie Beverly, actor James Earl Jones, hip-hop artists Fatman Scoop and Rich Homie Quan, actress Erica Ash, Rev. James Lawson and baseball superstar Willie Mays.

Throughout the week, the ALC tackled pressing issues impacting the Black community. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., led a session on Supreme Court reform, highlighting the challenges posed by the Court’s “6-3 MAGA supermajority” and its recent rollbacks on voting rights, reproductive rights and affirmative action. Johnson advocated for court reforms, including adopting a code of conduct, term limits and court expansion, arguing these changes are necessary to protect democracy and restore balance to the judicial system.

Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., moderated a panel on Black maternal health, focusing on the critical need for research and programs such as the NIH IMPROVE Initiative. The discussion underscored the alarming disparities in health care for Black women and the importance of ongoing efforts to address this crisis.

A significant highlight was the 16th Annual Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) Public Policy Forum Series, in partnership with the CBCF. The forum spotlighted Black women’s leadership, power and influence in shaping a new movement and political era, particularly as the nation heads into the 2024 presidential election cycle. Contributors to the 11th Annual Black Women’s Roundtable Report shared insights on Black women’s roles in various movements, from civil rights to social justice.

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, led the “Mothers of the Movement” workshop at the conference. The session brought together African-American mothers who have lost loved ones to police violence. These mothers shared their stories and discussed their efforts in advocating for criminal justice reform and stricter gun laws to prevent future tragedies.

Congressman Glenn Ivey’s session on the challenges facing Black-owned businesses amidst conservative attacks on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs emphasized the need for legislative advocacy. The push for the Black Wealth Agenda Resolution, H.R. 1101, seeks to enshrine DEI commitments into law.

CBCF President and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery emphasized the critical moment in history that the conference represents. “We are at a defining moment in history. Just weeks ago, we saw the first African American woman nominated to run for president by a major party,” she said. 

Austin-Hillery said the ALC’s mission remains to empower the global Black community by creating real opportunities and ensuring true equity. Reflecting on the conference’s essence, she added, “Each and every voice adds to our collective strength; every collective action emphasizes our unity and our determination. And all of those things are necessary to move us from vision to victory.” 

The sentiment was echoed throughout the conference, driving home the imperative to protect progress and work toward a future where equality and justice are not just ideals but realities. Vice President Harris summarized it this way during her remarks at the Phoenix Awards:

“Each of us has a job to do, and the bottom line is we know what we stand for and that’s why we know what we fight for. And when the CBC fights, we win.”

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By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

The expanding role of artificial intelligence in modern life has been the subject of much discussion and some controversy in recent months. Therefore, it was no surprise the topic was featured on the first day of the 2024 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, which kicked off Sept. 11 in Washington, D.C. 

A group of panelists, including Tracy Owens, director of U.S. public affairs at Sage; Aaron Harris, chief technology officer at Sage; Dona Franklin, owner of Turnkey Solutions; and Georgia State Sen. Jason Esteves (D-Dist. 6), discussed how small businesses can maximize the use of AI.

The conversation featured Sage, a software company that provides human resources services to small and medium businesses,  and how it has incorporated AI into its business. The company is particularly aiming to use AI in ways that can serve their clients.

“With the help of AI, we can capture all business activity in real time and account for that business activity,” said Harris. “We pair continuous assurance for continuous accounting to create trust in that data. Small business leaders and owners need to move very fast to compete, and our objective is to give them technology that enables them to [do just that].”

Franklin described how she has used ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, in her business to save time on everyday tasks.

“AI has literally revolutionized our business in the past couple of years,” she said. “I looked at ChatGPT as a fun thing when I first discovered it. But what has happened over the past two years is we found that it can make mundane, everyday tasks so much easier, and it provides such tremendous productivity.”

Franklin said she has used ChatGPT to create documents based on presentation slides and develop training videos.

“An activity that might have taken me an hour and a half [to] two hours literally took 10 minutes,” she said. “If you think about the time you spend doing those things, it translates directly into money.”

With the plethora of issues Black small businesses already face such as high interest rates, AI could provide that much-needed relief.

“Just this morning, I gave a speech to an association not too far from here, and prior to finalizing that speech, I ran the text through ChatGPT,” said Esteves. “I said ‘Give me your thoughts on the speech. How long is it? How long will it take me, and do you have any recommendations on what I had?’”

“It did a lot for me in [those] 30 seconds that it took to spit out the information,” he continued. “I was able to add more to my speech.”

Though only 3.8 percent of American businesses were using AI in 2023, Owens insists that it will continue to expand rapidly and urged small business owners to take part in the conversation.

“Small businesses, medium-sized businesses are going to be in the mix for all of this,” said Owens.

He said small business owners should ensure “investments are being made” and have conversations with government officials and larger businesses about how they can best assist small business owners’ AI endeavors.

“There’s room for all of us,” said Owens.

In a related event, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) led a discussion about ways African Americans can use AI to empower the Black community.

Butler emphasized the importance of this conversation and briefly discussed legislation she was planning to introduce. 

“This is legislation that is directed towards traditionally marginalized communities,” she said. 

Butler said it would set aside $250 million to invest in upskilling students, educators and employers in industries that will potentially be impacted by artificial intelligence.

The post A time to change: How small businesses can leverage AI for success appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

Reginald Williams
Special to the AFRO

Javion Magee, of Chicago, was found dead in Henderson, N.C., on Sept. 11 with a rope around his neck. He was 21.

Magee, a trucker, was reported to have delivered a load to the Walmart distribution center, located at 453 Martin Creek Rd., just before the discovery of his lifeless body. Magee’s body was found at 285 Vanco Mill Rd, approximately 0.8 miles in an adjacent lot from the distribution center. 

Police officials report that he had no identification on him, suggesting that he had no wallet. Still, law enforcement says he allegedly purchased the rope that caused his death from Walmart. 

“There was an investigation on Vanco Mill Rd by the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. Since this morning, our agency has been mentioned in some Facebook posts about the investigation,” read a statement on the Henderson Police Department Facebook. “This incident did not occur in the City of Henderson, nor have we had any involvement with the investigation.”

The location where the death occurred is just outside of Henderson’s city limits in a region of Vance County governed by the Sheriff’s Department. The demographic for Henderson is 63 percent African-American and  27.9 percent White. 

Sheriff Curtis R. Brame, a 30-year African-American veteran of the police department, confirms that the City of Henderson has no jurisdiction in Magee’s death. Brame leads the sheriff’s office and said the incident is being treated as a death, having no signs of foul play or implications of someone else being involved. 

“I understand their loss,” explained Brame. “Condolence goes out to the family, to the mother, and to the loved ones. I never lost a child. I never walked in their shoes– but I ask them to slow down, to pump their brakes—slow that train down that’s left the station about the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. And I definitely want to be clear that the Henderson Police Department has nothing to do with this investigation whatsoever.” 

While the national media has largely remained mute on this suspicious death, social media—especially TikTok– has been set ablaze, calling for the Sheriff’s office to be more transparent and vigilant in finding who killed Magee. 

Responding to the accusations, Brame maintains his team is working with the local district attorney and the State Bureau of Investigation to uncover the details of Magee’s death. But he is adamant that his death isn’t a hanging. 

“There is not a lynching in Vance County,” Brame said. “The young man was not dangling from a tree. He was not swinging from a tree. The rope was wrapped around his neck. It was not a noose. It was not a knot. Therefore, there was not a lynching here in Vance County.”

Magee’s family isn’t convinced that Brame is being transparent. Family members declined to give comment to the AFRO, but did confirm that the family is being represented by Attorney Ben Crump and Candice Matthews. The AFRO will follow the case as the investigation continues.

——–

This article originally misspelled Javion Magee’s last name. The AFRO deeply regrets this error.

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By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer

On day one of its Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) took on Black maternal health, Black infertility, family building and reproductive justice. 

Experts from across the country weighed in on challenges, opportunities and policies regarding reproductive health for Black women, who disproportionately experience maternal mortality, infertility and miscarriages. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White Women. The public health agency also reports that they are more likely to encounter infertility compared to their White counterparts. 

“Across the board, Black women and Black birthing people have worse maternal health outcomes than our White counterparts,” said Nicole M. Cooper, executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer at United Way Worldwide. “From preterm births, to lack of access, to equitable care, to insufficient prenatal care and poor postpartum recovery supports and services, the U.S. health system is failing Black women and their families during a time that should be full of joy and hope.” 

Examining infertility and maternal mortality in the Black community

Dr. Lasha Clarke is the assistant director of research and translation at Morehouse School of Medicine’s Center for Maternal Health Equity. Since 2021, the center has been conducting a Fertility Equity Study. 

Clarke shared that the study has concluded that Black women face infertility twice as much as White women. They are also half as likely to seek fertility care. Clarke stressed the importance of destigmatizing infertility.

“Infertility is a medical condition–not a social condition,” said Clarke. “It’s not something that we need to feel a sense of shame or blame around.”

The center also found that in certain segments of the country, Black women are five times more likely to die during childbirth. Even when controlling for socioeconomic factors, they are more likely to experience maternal mortality than their counterparts. Clarke said this is also reflected in infertility. 

“In our study and even in the broader literature, Black women who are of high socioeconomic resources are reporting the same thing,” said Clarke. “They are experiencing infertility, but there are barriers to seeking care that are not strictly the finances of it.”

These barriers include racial biases and discrimination from providers and limited access to education about maternal health and fertility. 

The role of doulas and midwives 

Considering the poor state of Black maternal health in the U.S., many women turn to non-traditional care providers, like birthing centers, doulas and midwives. 

Baltimore County Delegate Jennifer White Holland (D-10) pointed out that Maryland does not have any free-standing birthing centers. 

“That limits the options that birthing people have in finding other alternatives to receive their care,” said Holland. 

She noted that the state has made progress on supporting doulas. In 2022, Maryland started the Medicaid Doula Services Program, which provides reimbursement to these professionals. But, the compensation is not yet enough.

“Unfortunately, the reimbursement rates are so low that there isn’t really an incentive for doulas to participate, which makes it very cost-prohibitive for many birthing people to access doula services,” said Holland. 

Leah Jones, director of maternal health and birth equity initiatives for SisterSong, said her organization is aiming to mitigate certification issues for community midwives in Georgia. 

“They’re literally people who can teach physicians how to do their work. They’re reflecting our communities, our issues and our stories. However, they have licensing issues in Georgia,” said Jones. “We have been on a continuous fight to make sure their legitimization gets pushed through legislation and that communities can reach into midwives, doulas and birth workers who look like them, talk like them and live in their neighborhoods.”

Black men as allies in the fight for reproductive rights

Historically, a dangerous and unfounded stereotype has been propagated about Black fathers being absent parents. Data from the CDC refutes this generalization. It found that Black fathers were more likely to feed and eat meals with their children; bathe and dress them; and take them to activities compared to other racial groups. 

“The best piece of advice that I ever received as an expectant father was that everything she feels, the baby feels,” said Charles Johnson IV, founder of 4 Kira 4 Moms. “It’s your job fundamentally to make sure that she feels safe, protected and happy at all times, as much as humanly possible.”

He started his organization after his wife, Kira Johnson, died during a routine C-section in 2016. Johnson said it’s critical for Black men to be informed about the spectrum of labor options and how to advocate for their partners even before they become pregnant. 

Sheehan Fisher is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University. He also serves as associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion for the institution. Fisher acknowledged that for a lot of Black women, pregnancy can be an isolating experience. This is only compounded by their heightened risk factors for poor maternal health outcomes. Fisher said he believes Black men should eliminate the isolation their partners may feel while on their maternity journey. 

“She needs a partner who can be an advocate throughout the whole experience,” said Fisher. “Fathers are not clinicians or doctors, but they can be trained to know what to look out for.”

Charles Daniels Jr., CEO of Father’s Uplift, explained that Black men must first address their mental health in order to be good partners through pregnancy. 

“We need to go to therapy,” said Daniels. “We need to get the necessary help to be able to be present.” 

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) kicked off their 53rd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. on Sept. 11. Attendees from across the country and beyond have traveled to the nation’s capital to partake in the panel sessions, networking opportunities and social events planned Sept.11 to Sept. 15. 

The opening ceremony featured several leaders and elected officials, including CBCF CEO and President, Nicole Austin-Hillery. The CBCF leader spoke on empowering the global Black community and taking action aligned with this year’s theme of “Vision to Victory: Amplifying Black Voices.”

“We are carrying on with our mission of empowering the global Black community and we know that empowering the global Black community means creating opportunities, creating spaces and ensuring equity for all,” she said. “We refuse, as a community, to go backwards…we will achieve all of the visions for success that we have for our community in front of us.”

Attendees spoke with the AFRO about why they decided to attend the legislative conference. 

“I’m a sponsor. I’m also Black and in government to a very large degree,” said Kwame Canty, managing director of external affairs for Edison Electric Institute.

“People from all over the world– from parliaments and governments from other countries– come here to learn and to hear some of the policy discussions. The diaspora isn’t just in the Americas–it’s all over the world and Black culture is all over the world,” Canty said. “It’s good to hear policy descriptions that germinate from different places.” 

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7) spoke on the organization’s commitment to empowering and advancing the Black community.

“We on the CBCF Board take seriously our mission to uplift, empower and advance the Black community. That’s exactly what #ALC53 is all about– it’s more than just a conference it’s a catalyst for change,” said Sewell. “In less than two months, we will have the opportunity to enter into a new chapter in America’s history in electing the first Black woman president of these United States.”

The ALC has always been a breeding ground for innovation and change. Many use the conference to encourage young women and men alike to get involved in politics. 

“Within legislation we need a lot more young people that can be the voice for the future,” said Taylor Robinson, 29-year-old former CBCF fellow from Houston, Texas. “It’s important for people our age to be active within this space, to really talk about what’s happening in our communities, nationally and worldwide.” 

Vendors at the event range from Black authors and designers to members of service organizations and researchers, such as David Asiamah, Ph.D. The research and content developer manager for the Black Wealth Data Center said Black data is imperative in creating policy for wealth equity.

“Until now, the data needed to fully understand racial wealth equity has been out-of-date, inaccessible, and difficult to find in a single location. This has made it difficult for policymakers and practitioners to leverage data to make decisions that affect Black communities,” said Asiamah. “That’s why Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative launched the Black Wealth Data Center to better inform research, investment decisions, and policies that support Black communities.”

Sessions that took place on day one of the event included a panel addressing an equitable approach to Black infertility and family building;  a session titled, “AI and How It Can Be Leveraged by Small Businesses”; a discussion on DEI and children and a forum on how Project 2025 could impact Black women if implemented after the next presidential election.

In addition to the workshops, forums and panel discussions, a variety of both professional and social events will be held throughout the length of the conference, providing attendees with plenty of opportunity to brainstorm, empower one another and network. 

“Through the CBCF I’ve met a plethora of people and I’m glad that I was able to expand myself and connect with a couple of people,” said Janelle Edge, a former CBCF fellow from Orlando, Fla. “The fellowship was great, I was able to learn how policy is actually implemented and know the logistics of different stakeholders. I learned how essential partnership is.”

This year the CBCF is partnering with Amazon to help make the conference possible. Several people from the retail conglomerate spoke about the importance of their company supporting the CBCF and all of their initiatives.

“Growing up in D.C. I had the privilege of attending CBC programs and it was in those spaces that I saw first hand how policy makers, community activists and corporations come together to address critical community challenges,” said Terreta Rodgers. “Much like the CBCF, Amazon believes that solving our complex issues requires collaboration, innovation and deep commitment to community. Whether it’s advancing social equity, supporting education, helping small businesses thrive or fostering social justice, we are proud to partner with organizations like the CBC to drive impactful solutions.”

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer

With heavy hearts and a saddened soul, friends and family of Frankie Beverly, are mourning the  music icon’s Sept. 10 death. 

Best known as front man of the soul and funk group, “Maze featuring Frankie Beverly,” the crooner’s voice is easily recognized and often considered a staple at gatherings in the Black community. 

News of the rhythm and blues performer’s death at age 77 was announced via a heartfelt post on Instagram, shared by his family. 

“He lived his life with pure soul as one would say, and for us, no one did it better,” read the statement. “He lived for his music, family and friends.” 

Additionally, the family asked for privacy, understanding and respect as they come to terms with the loss of their beloved family member. 

Beverly had a career that spanned over 50 years. He announced his retirement and farewell tour earlier this year. The I Wanna Thank You tour kicked off in Atlanta in March of this year and concluded in July in Beverly’s hometown of Philadelphia, at the Dell Music Center. 

The “Happy Feelings” singer was born Howard Beverly on Dec. 6, 1946 and first started singing in church as a child. Though he was baptized in gospel culture, he would later exchange the church hymnals for a more secular sound. Beverly founded his first group “Frankie Beverly and the Butlers.” The group eventually broke up, and Beverly later founded “Raw Soul” in 1970.

After relocating to California, the group grew popular amongst local venues and eventually caught the attention of Marvin Gaye, who later had them as an opening act. It was Gaye who convinced the group to rename themselves to “Maze featuring Frankie Beverly,” and in 1977 the group dropped their self-titled debut album. 

For the last five decades Beverly and his band have become known for their sound that combines soul, funk and rhythm and blues, creating a music style that is uniquely theirs. Throughout the years artists like Beyoncé have honored Beverly with remixes of his more popular hits, such as “Before I Let Go.”

Always suited in his signature white linen garb and a baseball cap, Beverly’s legacy is reflected in both his music and style. 

Before his passing, Maze announced that they would be renaming the group to “Maze honoring Frankie Beverly,” as Tony Lindsay steps into the role of the band’s lead singer. 

The music the world received from Beverly is timeless and will continue to be a defining part of Black culture. Although he is gone he will never be forgotten.

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By D. Kevin McNeir

Millions of voters tuned in to the first and perhaps only debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump on Sept. 10. 

ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis served as the moderators of the 90-minute debate, held at National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The two maintained moderate control of the flow of the debate, and at multiple points either refuted or clarified statements made by the candidates in real time – something that was not done in the earlier debate between President Joe Biden and Trump. 

As one would expect, the two candidates were given questions on all of the major issues facing Americans – some issues being of even greater importance to African Americans: the economy, healthcare, education, immigration, women’s reproductive rights and the separate wars raging between both Hamas and Israel, since Oct. 7 of last year, and Russia and Ukraine in 2022. 

Both candidates hoped to win over viewers with their distinct views of how the economy currently stands and what they would do to improve it.  Seven swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania) could potentially decide the 2024 election. 

The debate kicked off with a question about the economy. Harris said she would invest in small business owners, to the tune of $50,000. Trump spoke on how he would build the economy using  tariffs on foreign goods shipped into the country. At that point, Muir noted that economists say tariffs on some foreign products will undoubtedly raise costs on American consumers.

Time and time again, Trump was given a chance to explain the plans he would like to put in place, but instead chose to change the subject, spew incorrect facts or downtalk the formidable opponent before him.

“She doesn’t have a plan,” said Trump, in reference to Harris. “She has four sentences like ‘Run, Spot, run.’ She’s a Marxist like her father who was a professor who taught Marxism.” 

There were other highpoints–or low points– during the debate, depending on your perspective. 

One interesting moment was Trump’s refusal to respond if he would veto a bill to reinstate Roe v. Wade. Instead, he decided to speak about immigrants and the “millions of criminals that Biden and Harris have allowed to enter the United States.” 

He also made a statement that one moderator immediately corrected, saying that in Springfield, Ohio, immigrants were “eating their dogs for dinner.” Muir told the president that he interviewed the City Manager of Springfield, who said there were no reports of immigrants engaging in the act.

The debate was rather tame, compared to Trump’s previous debates, even though both teams haggled over rules for the meet.

In the weeks leading up to the debate, Harris and Trump went back and forth with host network ABC regarding the muting of microphones. Harris preferred to keep the mics on, a contrast to President Joe Biden’s request for mics to be muted while the other candidate spoke. Ultimately, the decision was made to move forward with muted mics for the majority of the debate,  allowing for only one candidate to speak at a time. 

For the most part, viewers saw two very different candidates. 

Harris provided the salient answers and some plans when asked to describe what she would do if she were elected to the highest office in the land. During the debate she mentioned a $6,000 stipend to help families with a new child during the baby’s first year of life, and plans to give $25,000 to new homeowners looking to make a downpayment on a property.

On the other hand, Trump appeared unable, or in some cases unwilling, to say exactly what he would do with a second term in office, but promised it would be “best for Americans.” At one point, he noted that his inability or unwillingness to share a planned course of action on some issues was due to the fact that he has not been elected to a second term in office.

The former president was backed into a corner all together when the time arrived for him to explain his plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare.” In 2024, after nine years and one term in office to develop a program to replace the Obamacare he has repeatedly claimed is awful, Trump stood on the debate stage on Sept. 10 and could only declare that “something” should replace the act that provides healthcare coverage to millions of Americans– regardless of preexisting conditions like asthma. Harris was adamant that the lifesaving act remain the law of the land. 

At one point, Trump taunted Harris for not being able to get relief for borrowers with student loan debt. He failed to mention that Republican judges and elected officials have fought the plan to help millions of Americans crushed by student loan debt at every turn. 

In their closing comments, Harris said she is focused on looking to the future while Trump is focused on looking at the past. The former prosecutor used the debate stage to remind the audience that Trump is a convicted felon, who many allege kicked off the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building in 2021.

“For everyone watching, who remembers what Jan. 6th was, I say, we don’t have to go back. Let’s not go back. We’re not going back.  It’s time to turn the page,” said Harris. “And if that was a bridge too far for you, well, there is a place in our campaign for you to stand for country, to stand for our democracy, to stand for rule of law and to end the chaos and to end the approach that is about attacking the foundations of our democracy because you don’t like the outcome.”

Trump used his final moments to further attack Biden and Harris. 

“We’re a failing nation. We’re a nation that’s in serious decline. We’re being laughed at all over the world…I know the leaders very well – they’re coming to see me, they call me,” he said. “We’re laughed at all over the world, they don’t understand what happened to us as a nation.”

Trump claimed in his closing statements that he “rebuilt” the “entire military,” in America while Harris “gave a lot of it away to the Taliban” and Afghanistan.

“What these people have done to our country and maybe toughest of all is allowing millions of people to come into our country, many of them are criminals,” he continued on. “They’re destroying our country. The worst president, the worst vice president in the history of our country.”

To help make sense of the information – or in some cases the disinformation – Word In Black, a collaborative news media company developed and supported by 10 Black publishers, put on “Debate Night in Black America: A Virtual Conversation.” 

The event, designed to engage the Black American community on debate night and hosted by Word in Black Managing Director Liz Courquet-Lesaulnier and Deputy Managing Director Joseph Williams, was streamed both before and after the debate. Special guests from across the country were invited to provide commentary and perspectives that resonate with the unique experiences and concerns of the Black community.

Before the debate began, Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq., president and founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition, shared her expectations and hopes for the evening with Courquet-Lesaulnier and Williams. 

“I expect a strong focus on economic justice, voting rights, the protection of our democracy and women’s issues including maternal health. We all know the third person on that debate stage will be Project 2025. But if we hear those issues, then we will have a real debate. This is Harris’ time to be heard and she needs to speak directly to the American audience.” 

Chrissy M. Thornton, president and CEO of Associated Black Charities in Baltimore, said it was important to get to the truth. 

“We have to push back against the false narratives including that Harris is an enemy of the Black community. I’m not sure what it will take to effectively counter these false narratives except to rally so that we do not vote against our best interest,” said Thornton. “Our charge is to continue to communicate and focus on what’s best for Blacks. There’s a lot at stake in this election that people are not talking about . . . We need to understand what we have to lose if Donald Trump wins.”  

AFRO Managing Editor Alexis Taylor gave her thoughts on the debate during the Word in Black post-debate show. 

“I was glad that they started off with the economy,” said Taylor. “There are so many issues at stake here in this election– climate change, healthcare and immigration being some of the big ticket items.” 

“It’s important to think about where the candidates stand on those issues- and take action with your vote,” she continued. “But it’s hard to think if you’re hungry. It’s hard to think about climate change and why storms are becoming stronger and more frequent… It’s hard to question why it’s raining when you don’t have shelter from the rain.”

After the debate, several statements were shared with the AFRO regarding the debate.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Ken Ulman released the following statement after tonight’s presidential debate:

“Kamala Harris offered a fresh vision for moving our country forward by protecting our fundamental freedoms, safeguarding our democracy, and creating an economy where every person has the opportunity to succeed. Now, it’s on Maryland to deliver Vice President Harris the Democratic Senate majority she needs to get the job done. That means rejecting Mitch McConnell’s handpicked U.S. Senate candidate and proud, self-described ‘lifelong Republican’ Larry Hogan and keeping the Senate in Democratic hands by electing Democrat Angela Alsobrooks.”

Angela Alsobrooks also commented on the event via statement:

“I am so proud of my friend and mentor Vice President Kamala Harris. Tonight, she spoke to us about the issues we care deeply about – fighting for our freedoms including the freedom to access reproductive health care. She talked about the Supreme Court and appointing fair justices who recognize our Constitutional freedoms. She discussed investing in our climate, and lowering costs for hard-working Americans.”

“But make no mistake: The vision Kamala Harris painted for us tonight, a vision for a future that strengthens our democracy and where our freedoms are protected and our families can thrive, is a vision that we know is only possible with a Democratic majority in the Senate.”

“A Republican Senate will stand in the way of Kamala Harris’ agenda – cutting her off with every chance they can get, just as we saw their leader do in tonight’s debate. We must do everything we can over these next 55 days to elect Kamala Harris and give her a Democratic majority in the Senate.” 

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By Jennifer Porter Gore
Word in Black

Before he was old enough to start kindergarten, Heman Bekele began using dishwashing liquid and other household chemicals to see what concoctions he could whip up. 

At age seven, Heman’s parents gave him a chemistry set for his birthday — and things got a bit more serious. He’d already started learning about chemical reactions online, so he got inventive and mixed the kit’s sodium hydroxide with aluminum to produce heat.

“I thought that this could be a solution to energy, to making an unlimited supply,” he told TIME magazine. 

His curiosity and desire to make the world a better place through chemistry resulted in a first-place finish in the 3M Company’s 2023 Young Scientist Challenge — and made him the winner of TIME magazine’s 2024 Kid of the Year. The rising 10th grader created a compound-based soap to treat skin cancer. 

The magazine said Heman’s “ambition” and “selflessness”earned him the recognition.

“I’m really passionate about skin-cancer research,” Heman told TIME. “It’s absolutely incredible to think that one day my bar of soap will be able to make a direct impact on somebody else’s life.”

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Heman and his family emigrated to the U.S. when he was four years old. Even at that young age, the budding scientist remembers seeing laborers working in the hot African sun without skin protection. 

In the U.S., Heman began hearing about the dangers of the sun’s ultraviolet rays and the damage it can cause — including skin cancer. It is the most common cancer in the United States, but the disease is treatable, especially if it’s caught early.  

A few years ago, Heman read about imiquimod — a multi-use drug approved to treat one type of skin cancer — and wondered if it could be an effective, simple treatment for early-stage patients. His logic was simple: “Almost everyone uses soap and water.”  

So, he got to work, developing an imiquimod soap, winning the 3M Young Scientist Challenge (and a $25,000 prize) in the process.

This summer Heman worked part-time in a lab at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore to refine the product.  Over the next five years, he hopes to create a nonprofit organization that can distribute the soap to communities in need.

Deboarh Isabelle, a 3M engineer and Heman’s mentor during the Young Scientist Challenge competition, said the TIME Kid of the Year honor was well deserved.

“Heman is an incredibly charismatic, curious, intelligent, articulate young man,” Isabelle said. “But more than that, he’s compassionate and has a heart for people. He’s created an invention that has the potential to make the world better for so many people.”

This article was originally published by Word in Black.

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By Willy Blackmore

A federal judge in Louisiana has blocked the federal government from investigating whether race should be considered as a factor in the enforcement of environmental laws, including the issuing of pollution permits. 

The ruling from the U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana, issued late last month, makes permanent a hold on disparate impact assessments that was put in place back in January.

The decision by Judge James Cain, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, effectively bars the Environmental Protection Agency from using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the agency’s best — and arguably only — enforcement mechanism for environmental justice issues.

At issue is the EPA’s action taken on a claim that Earthjustice, an environmental law organization, filed with the agency in 2022 on behalf of residents in St. John the Baptist parish — a community located in the heart of the state’s infamous Cancer Alley. Earthjustice wanted the EPA to investigate whether petrochemical corporations deliberately located a vast network of industrial facilities in a predominantly Black community, disparately harming the residents. 

The landscape for the claim looked much more favorable then: the Biden administration and the EPA had taken a much more aggressive approach with environmental justice issues. A draft plan negotiated between the EPA and the state of Louisiana showed that there was the possibility of overhauling the pollution permitting process, so that the cumulative effect of an industry on a given area would be considered. 

Things changed when then-state Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the EPA over its use of the disparate impact framework. He argued that Title VI should come into play only if an investigation found clear proof of overt racial discrimination. 

In Landry’s argument, the federal government essentially would need to find indisputable evidence that a Louisiana official pushed the chemical companies to build in St. John’s Parish with the explicit intent of harming its Black residents. 

After the lawsuit, the EPA dropped its investigation, as well as similar Title VI investigations in Republican-controlled states across the country. An April letter from 23 Republican state attorneys general called disparate impact “racial engineering,” and made it clear that Louisiana is not alone in its desire to quash Title XI investigations. 

While the new ruling only applies to Louisiana, other states will likely try to get similar protections from EPA investigations. 

“Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations, only to now have one court give it a permanent free pass to abandon its responsibilities,” Patrice Simms, Earthjustice’s vice president for healthy communities, said about the August ruling in a statement. “Louisiana’s residents, its environmental justice communities, deserve the same Title VI protections as the rest of the nation.”

Now, it seems more a question of whether environmental justice communities outside of Louisiana will be able to keep their Title VI protections too.

This article was originally published by Word In Black.

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By Renata Sago
Word in Black

As students at four colleges in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania head back to campus this fall, they will have access to a new resource where they can learn how to dismantle false beliefs about racial hierarchies. 

Seven years after launching its Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation program in colleges, the American Association of Colleges and Universities has expanded the program, opening centers at Antioch University and Bard College, Cuyahoga Community College and Elizabethtown College.

The new centers give professors, administrators, faculty members and students a dedicated space to learn and guide discussions around race, gender, age, class and spiritual beliefs. It’s part of a concerted effort to bring healing dialogues throughout the United States within higher education institutions. 

“We don’t dictate to any institution how they are implementing, how they will implement and realize the goals of TRHT or how they would implement the TRHT areas within their institutional context,” says Tia McNair, senior consultant with the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “They look at their strategic priorities, their student population, their community relationships, and partnerships to develop what we call an action plan. So each institution does it differently.”

The campus centers began in 2017 as a concept that was part strategic, part organic. The ten initial host institutions — a mix of public and private schools — introduced various approaches for dismantling racial bias on campus, including racial healing circles and special dinners intended to create safe spaces for sensitive dialogue. 

Since then, schools have continued to embrace virtual and in-person conversations that provide gentle reassurance — and sometimes uncomfortable exposure — to past and present-day events that have shaped views on race in society. 

The host institutions range from liberal arts colleges and historically black colleges and universities to faith-based institutions and community colleges. The selection process for colleges includes training on how to speak the language of racial healing within the Institute on Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation’s framework. 

The former executive director for the TRHT Campus Centers, McNair says the TRHT program is essential now more than ever. 

“There are attacks happening on the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and our institutions within our communities, within our states, across the board,” says McNair. “I think that knowing that the growing majority of undergraduate students in this country are from racially minoritized groups…is critical for us to maintain and expand resources to help the success of all students.”

In its tracking of 196 campuses in 29 states, The Chronicle of Higher Education found that colleges throughout the United States have eliminated their DEI programs due to political pressure, establishing an “inconsistent and confusing landscape.” 

The effects of these changes are unclear, which is why McNair, who is also a partner at SOVA, a higher education consulting firm in Washington, D.C., would like for campus centers to create some opportunities for personal and professional development for marginalized students. 

“Whether you are the student who is coming into the environment that may not be fully prepared — not at a fault of your own, but just because of circumstances – not fully prepared to succeed in the same way as others, then how do we help you? How do we make sure that we actually live our commitment? That we fulfill our commitment to you as being part of this educational journey so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive?” said McNeir. 

When education reform takes place at the federal, state, or local level, it can have predictable consequences, undoing decades of important work. This is why McNair is hoping that the campus centers will serve as a springboard for repairing old wounds and sustaining supportive principles for community building beyond campus. 

The vision is to encourage ways of thinking that transcend the present political uncertainty, inviting ongoing dialogue and action.

“I think we as educators within higher education play a critical role in preparing the next generation of leaders to build more just and equitable communities,” says McNair. “This work is not about trying to get anyone to think in the same way we think, but to actually value each and every person’s human dignity, their contributions, their lived experiences in a way where we can transcend what has been causing division and conflict within our communities.”

This article was originally published by Word in Black. 

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By Deborah Bailey
AFRO Contributing Editor
dbailey@afro.com

Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals has announced a significant price reduction for the lowest dose of Zepbound, one of its high demand medications approved for weight loss. The announcement came Aug. 29, as the rate of obesity is skyrocketing in America. Most insurance companies still refuse to cover obesity medications 

Under Lilly’s discounted price plan, patients who pay for Zepbound out of pocket can now obtain a four-week supply of the 2.5 mg single-dose vial for $399 ($99.75 per vial). A four-week supply of the 5 mg dose has been reduced to $549 ($137.25 per vial). The monthly list price for Zepbound was previously $1059, regardless of the dose. 

“This is a welcome first step for American families struggling to access these drugs,” said President Joseph Biden in a statement responding to the price reduction. “But it is critical that drug companies lower their prices across the board,” Biden added. 

Health advocates and physicians’ groups warn patients that the price reduction for Zepbound only applies to the two “starter” doses of the drug. Patients must pay for the drug out of pocket and persons opting for the lower cost drugs, will need to opt out of Eli Lilly’s coupon program available to lower the cost for other weight loss medications. 

To receive the discounted price, patients must have a prescription and use LillyDirect, the pharmaceutical firm’s telehealth platform. The medications will come packaged in single dose vials that must be used with a syringe. Vials with the auto-injector pen are also available for a higher price. 

Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Co., said the price reduction gives patients living with obesity options. In a statement announcing the Zepbound price reduction, Jonsson said the new program gives patients options. 

“Despite obesity being recognized as a serious chronic illness with long-term consequences, it’s often misclassified as a lifestyle choice, resulting in many employers and the federal government excluding medications like Zepbound from insurance coverage,” said Jonsson.

U.S. Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FLA) is a sponsor of congressional legislation to expand Medicare coverage for obesity treatments. Cherfilus-McCormick and Karry Buchson, M.D. (R-IN) are bi-partisan co-sponsors of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (T.R.O.A.) H.R. 4818 & D. 2407. If passed, T.R.O.A. would potentially extend obesity treatment access to more than 67.2 million recipients nationwide, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

“Every person living with obesity deserves access to comprehensive care to improve their health and wellbeing, just as they would receive for any other chronic disease,” Cherfilus-McCormick stated at a Congressional Briefing on Obesity held last month. 

Forty percent of Americans are now classified as obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control with half of all Black Americans meeting obesity guidelines. Obesity is related to many chronic diseases and conditions including type II diabetes, heart diseases and certain cancers, including breast cancer according to the World Health Organization. 

Obesity has been classified as a chronic disease for more than a decade. The American Medical Association voted to classify obesity as a disease in 2013 to focus on prevention and treatment and to end a history of bias and discrimination both from the public as well as the medical profession itself. 
Reporting on this story is through the support of a journalism fellowship from the Gerontology Society of America, The Journalists’ Network on Generations and the Commonwealth Fund.

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By Ericka Alston Buck
Special to the AFRO

James Earl Jones, an iconic figure whose voice and presence transcended generations, passed away Sept. 9 at the age of 93. 

Jones, celebrated for his unparalleled contributions to theater, film and television, left behind a legacy that will resonate for years to come. His representative, Barry McPherson, confirmed his passing, stating that Jones died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.

“James Earl Jones was and will remain legendary,” said Janice Short, coordinator of theater arts at Morgan State University. “From 1969, when he recited the alphabet on ‘Sesame Street’…Roop, in the film, ‘Claudine,’ to ‘The Gin Game,’ he was the king of stage and screen. His ability to overcome impediments was as inspiring as his career. His voice will keep him immortal to so many. I am so happy to have been alive while he created.”

Jones and his unique sound traveled the globe time and time again, in unforgettable roles such as Darth Vader in “Star Wars,” and the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King.” However, his journey to stardom wasn’t an easy one. As a child, he suffered from a severe stutter that led him to remain nearly mute for years. 

Regarding this transformative time, the AFRO recorded Jones in 2014 saying, “I once did not speak. I was mute. When I finally did speak, though, I spoke as an adult.” 

It was the support of a dedicated teacher that helped him overcome this challenge, setting the stage for a career that would define generations.

Jones was known for his impact on the stage, and his death saddened the theater community worldwide, as they remembered the veteran actor’s role in classic productions, such as Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man,” and Tennesse Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” 

Jones’ stage performances earned him three Tony Awards, including one for his role in “The Great White Hope.” He also earned two Emmy Awards, a Grammy and received an honorary Academy Award, solidifying his status as one of the most accomplished actors of his generation.

Despite his many accolades, Jones remained humble, calling himself a “journeyman” in a 2014 interview. His journey, however, was anything but ordinary. From his early days overcoming a stutter in rural Mississippi to becoming one of the most revered voices in entertainment, Jones’ career exemplified resilience, talent, and dedication.

His passing leaves a significant void in the world of entertainment, but his legacy lives on in the countless performances he brought to life and the voices he inspired. As his iconic characters continue to inspire new generations, James Earl Jones’ contributions will forever echo through time.

Grant Harvey, a stage actor and local adjunct theater in Baltimore, reflected on Jones’ influence. 

“We’ve lost a giant,” said Harvey. “James Earl Jones was such a captivating figure; from screen to stage, to television and voiceovers, he transcended generations with his talent. From movies like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Lion King’ to stage plays like ‘Fences’ and ‘The Great White Hope,’ he created a beautiful repertoire of work for generations to come to look back on. Forever in your debt, Mr. Jones.”

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By Quintessa Williams
Word In Black

When Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, she became the first woman of color with a realistic shot at the presidency and an instant inspiration to Black women — some of whom raised $1.3 million on her behalf in just a few hours. 

Harris’s groundbreaking campaign has now spearheaded another phenomenon: young Black women are currently leading the recent surge in voter registrations.

According to data from TargetSmart, the voter registration rate for young Black women in 13 key battleground states has skyrocketed to 175 percent — nearly triple the rate from the last presidential election four years ago. The registration rate for Black women in general, experienced similar growth — increasing by 98 percent, while the overall Black voter rate also rose by 85 percent, according to TargetSmart data.

Since Harris’ nomination, Democrats have significantly out-registered Republicans, highlighting the effectiveness of the Democratic National Committee’s targeted efforts to engage young Black voters.

The civic origins of young Black women

Public education has long been critical to nurturing the civic identities of Black students. After the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, centered on Linda Brown, a Black girl — the ruling enabled Black students to attend better-funded, previously all-White schools. 

Black girls and young women were integral in organizing and participating in civil rights protests during the Civil Rights movement, such as the Birmingham Children’s Crusade in 1963. Black girls like Ruby Bridges, who became the first African American child to attend a formerly Whites-only school, risked physical and psychological harm to move the United States closer to its democratic principles. 

However, the quality of civic education in these integrated schools often varied, with Black students receiving less emphasis in the classroom on African American history and political engagement. 

Civic education as a pathway to national political participation

A 2022 report from Child Trends found that Black students were more likely than their peers to report an interest in civic engagement and activities. Drawing on this history and experiences with racism, Black students continue to spearhead civic efforts to promote racial and social justice in the United States. Today, Black children are more likely to use pathways such as social media to engage in activism and promote political awareness and participation among their peers. 

Programs like Black Girls Lead and Girls Who Vote have been instrumental in increasing political engagement among Black girls and fostering civic responsibility. These programs provide mentorship and civic education, which are essential in preparing Black girls to become active voters and community leaders.

In addition, Black youth activism is expressed not only at the local level, such as when a group of girls at Pretoria High School for Girls held a protest earlier in July to highlight alleged racism they experienced, — but also in national movements such as those sparked by the murder of George Floyd when 17-year-old Daniella Fraizer took out her cell phone and recorded his murder in 2020. Such incidents speak to young Black children —particularly Black girls—civically advocating for social justice in their schools and communities.

Surging ahead

Black girls, who account for 7.8 percent of the overall K-12 student population in the United States, have led a trend of civic engagement, contributing to increased voter registration among young Black women. Additionally, experts say Harris’ groundbreaking run for the White House has captured the imagination of Black women and girls who see themselves in her. 

However, the surge is not an isolated incident but rather a culmination of years of civic education and empowerment initiatives that have prepared these young women to take their place as influential voters.

Hilary Wilson, a doctoral student studying education in Louisiana, believes that the historical cultivation of civic engagement will likely have a lasting impact on Black K-12 education and voter registration turnout moving forward.

“As these young girls and women continue to assert their political power, their influence could extend into shaping educational policies, like more civic education in the classroom, that will benefit predominantly Black schools and communities.”

This article was originally published by Word In Black.

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By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

Zero Waste Week, Sept. 4-8, serves as a time to bring awareness to pollution and waste that goes into the environment as well as provide resources for people to do their part in being more sustainable. 

According to the Zero Waste International Alliance, zero waste is defined as “the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”

However, over time, the definition has changed to include new solutions and ideas. The definition also may differ from state to state as it depends on the policies that the individual state upholds when it comes to the environment and sustainability. 

Below are five tips to utilize this week and beyond to practice zero waste. 

Buy in bulk 

Purchase food in bulk with the least amount of single use plastic when possible as this reduces the amount of waste from packaging. Also, keep an eye out for recyclable packaging. An example is purchasing a large bag of trail mix and transferring it to reusable containers to take to work instead of buying smaller individual bags of trail mix.  

Turn off water while brushing your teeth

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, by “turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and before bedtime, you can save up to eight (8) gallons of water.” This totals to more than 200 gallons of wasted water a month. 

Use What You Have 

Before going out and purchasing something new, try to use something you already have. There are also options to trade, thrift or repair, which is a sustainable way to obtain something new. 

Use Reusable Items

Reusable bags and water bottles have the potential to keep tons of single use plastic out of landfills and oceans each year. According to Plasticoceans.org, “annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. More than one million bags are used every minute.” They also share that “a plastic bag has an average ‘working life’ of 15 minutes.”

Look into Eco Friendly Swaps

Some simple swaps that can be made without disrupting day-to-day activities is swapping plastic out with bamboo. An example would be a bamboo toothbrush, making the toothbrush compostable once it is time to swap it out. There are also other options such as bamboo cutlery, dish scrubbers, hair brushes and more. 

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By Ed White
The Associated Press

Murder charges filed against the father of a 14-year-old boy accused of a Georgia school shooting follow the successful prosecution of two parents in Michigan who were held responsible for a similar tragedy at a school north of Detroit.

Is it a sign of a crackdown on parents accused of gross negligence when it comes to kids and guns? Could public outrage lead to more prosecutions or changes in law in other states, too?

“It’s a matter of looking at the relationship between what the child says and does and what the parent knows about what the child says and does,” said David Shapiro, a former prosecutor who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder related to the deaths of two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta. Nine more people were wounded.

Gray’s son, Colt Gray, is charged with murder. Investigators said he used a “semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle” in the attack.

The charges against Colin Gray “are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Milestone in Michigan

James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year for the deaths of four students at Oxford High School in 2021. It was the first time that parents were held criminally responsible for a U.S. mass school shooting. They’re serving 10-year prison terms while appeals are pending.

The Crumbleys didn’t know what son Ethan Crumbley was planning. But prosecutor Karen McDonald said their son’s actions were foreseeable. They were summoned to discuss the 15-year-old’s macabre drawings of a gun and blood on a math assignment and a message, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me. My life is useless.”

The Crumbleys declined to take him home but said they would seek counseling. On that same day, Ethan Crumbley removed a gun from his backpack and began shooting, using a weapon that James Crumbley had purchased as a gift just a few days earlier. No one — parents or school staff — had checked the backpack.

The parents’ “actions and inactions were inexorably intertwined” with what their son ultimately did at Oxford, the Michigan Court of Appeals said in 2023 when the groundbreaking case was allowed to move forward.

The Georgia case

Prosecutor Brad Smith declined to publicly disclose details that led him to charge Colin Gray in the Apalachee shooting. But in arrest warrants, authorities said he had provided a gun to his son “with knowledge that he was a threat to himself and others.”

Smith acknowledged the Michigan case during a news conference Sept. 6 and said his case was a first for Georgia.

“I’m not trying to send a message,” he said. “I’m just trying to use the tools in my arsenal to prosecute people for the crimes they commit.”

Colin Gray was interviewed last year when authorities were investigating his son about a menacing post on social media. The father said the teen “knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them,” according to a transcript. 

Nothing more was pursued.

McDonald, the prosecutor in Michigan, said the Georgia shooting and the father’s arrest was a “real punch in the stomach.”

“I can’t believe the facts that stood out as so egregious in our case seem to be so similar,” she told The Associated Press.

More scrutiny for parents?

McDonald said states have laws that carry consequences for gross negligence in various situations. She said it’s encouraging that police in Georgia immediately investigated how the gun was obtained.

“I have never felt it was a moment that would open the floodgates to charges against parents or sending a message to people,” McDonald said of the Crumbley case. “Most people don’t need that message. It’s heartbreaking to watch it play out.”

She said it takes only seconds to put a lock on a gun, which she demonstrated for a jury.

Shapiro, the former New Jersey prosecutor, said all states likely have laws that can be used to hold parents responsible, though much depends on the facts and a prosecutor’s views.

“You don’t want to be able to allow parents to overlook those kinds of signs [that] there is something seriously wrong or a serious risk,” he said.

Michigan has a new law this year that requires adults to keep guns locked up when minors are present. In Newaygo County, a grandfather pleaded no contest in August in the death of a 5-year-old grandson. Another boy had picked up and fired a loaded shotgun.

“If people simply locked up their firearms, we would not be putting parents behind bars for this reason,” said Kris Brown, the president of Brady, a gun violence prevention group. “And we would not be digging as many graves.”

___

AP reporters Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington contributed to this story.

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (Planned Parenthood) is focused on providing quality sexual and reproductive healthcare. From breast exams to cancer screenings, the organization does it all. 

For decades, Planned Parenthood has been a light at the end of the tunnel, providing medical services and support to far too many women with little or no access to health care.

While the organization has acknowledged its unsavory roots in the eugenics movement, today, people like Dr. Megan Freeland work diligently to provide care and education to millions of women on an annual basis- regardless of race. 

Freeland currently serves as the director of health communications for the non-profit organization and she’s making sure that marginalized communities are receiving the education and resources they deserve. The pharmacist turned communications specialist spoke with the AFRO about her goals in the role, challenges she’s faced and the Planned Parenthood initiatives aimed at increasing access to their services.

AFRO: How did you get involved with Planned Parenthood and how long have you been in this role?

Dr. Megan Freeland: I have been with Planned Parenthood for over three years and I have been in my current role for about two years. When I came to Planned Parenthood in 2021, I came in as the associate director of Black health media. I found myself in that position because I had been working independently as a freelancer focusing on health content writing and health content strategy. I was doing a lot of work with digital health and health tech companies. I was helping them develop content strategies that were going to be most impactful for Black communities and other communities of color. 

As a pharmacist by training and someone who has experience in medical and health communications, I know that a lot of published health information is done for default communities– which typically means White communities. When it comes to health care it’s important that information be tailored to specific audiences so that it’s relevant to their lives. When I saw that Planned Parenthood was looking for someone to help with the development of health information for Black communities and to engage with Black outlets to make sure that information was getting out to those folks I was really excited about the opportunity. When I was promoted to my current position, I went from only focusing on Black health media to leading the team that focuses on Black health media, as well as other other things  under that umbrella.

AFRO: What are some of the responsibilities that you have in this role ? 

MF: One part of my job is making sure that patients and families and everyday people know about the incredible work that Planned Parenthood is doing across the country to provide sexual reproductive health care and education. The internal partners that we work with are spending their time innovating in digital health and health technology.They’re innovating in education and in health care. Oftentimes, because they are being forced to innovate by the landscape of sexual and reproductive health care in the U.S. right now, they are innovating in arts and entertainment. 

It’s really exciting work. We collaborate with a lot of external partners to execute. We might engage with the media. We might work with conferences or people who are hosting in person events to make sure that Planned Parenthood experts are represented there, communicating about the work they’re doing. We might show up at cultural events like ESSENCE Fest to make sure that we’re meeting people where they are.

Those are my responsibilities from a Planned Parenthood perspective. However, on a personal level, what is most important to me is beyond “Here’s the great work that Planned Parenthood is doing.” The question is “How can I help my team find creative ways to inform people about critical health care topics?” 

Whether it’s abortion care, or cervical health, contraception, sex, education– any of those topics – what motivates me to do this work is my professional mission of fighting health misinformation.

AFRO: What are some of your goals for this position?

MF: What first comes to mind when I hear you ask that is stigma. Stigma related to sexual and reproductive health care is so pervasive across society. It’s not just something I come across in my work, it’s something that I see and hear every day whether I’m talking to loved ones in person or I’m scrolling through social media. Sometimes people think that stigma is just social in nature, like it doesn’t actually harm people. They think that it just sounds bad or makes people feel bad, but stigma has very concrete consequences. It keeps people from talking about issues that are really important to discuss with trusted individuals. It keeps people from getting care. 

It can be so easy to go to your local Planned Parenthood and get tested for sexually transmitted infections but there’s a stigma that often keeps people from doing that. For me, one of my goals in this work is to do everything we can to eliminate stigma in sexual and reproductive health care. Another goal of mine is making sure that sexual and reproductive health care isn’t being lost in the health equity movement. It has to be central to all of the work that we do because if we look at health outcomes across different racial and ethnic demographics, we consistently see minority communities getting the short end of the stick. We’re having health disparities that aren’t affecting White communities. The maternal health crisis is a perfect example of that. 

AFRO: What has been your greatest challenge in this role thus far ?

MF: A part of “meeting people where they are” is community and collaboration. We enjoy working with other entities, whether they are corporate brands or reporters, journalists, artists or celebrities. Those collaborations are really important to getting info in front of different audiences and making sure the messages are getting there as well. 

We’ve been very fortunate to have amazing collaborators that we’ve been able to work with. However, every now and then we’ll run into issues where an organization or entity is not able to collaborate because of preconceived notions or stigma about the types of care that Planned Parenthood provides. That’s always discouraging because you realize that the effects of stigma are still there. The other challenge that I run into is prioritization because there is so much work to be done. There’s never a shortage of work to be done. There’s never a shortage of communities that we want to do more outreach and engagement with. There’s never a shortage of misinformation that we need to correct in some way. Recognizing that we are people too and we have lives outside of work and we have families and priorities and loved ones.

AFRO: What is the communications team at Planned Parenthood being intentional about?

MF: You mentioned this word earlier: inclusiveness. I think that is something that our organization is being really intentional about. How do we make sure that we’re not overlooking communities or experiences that are commonly overlooked in the work that we do? Whether it’s communicating about sex education and not just in the context of standard heterosexual relationships, but also making sure LGBTQ plus communities are also reflected in our communications about sex education. That’s just one example, but it represents our approach to making sure that we’re not leaving people behind– especially people who live in the communities that are already facing the most barriers to care because of racism in the health care system. 

We’re being intentional about what kinds of spaces our experts are showing up in. We know that in the world we live in today, there are endless ways of engaging with organizations.

People still go places in person, so there’s the in person experience, there’s the social experience and there’s the event experience. Within all of those buckets there are multiple categories and ways that people engage. Twenty years ago, people were able to get news and information differently than how they do today. We’re really committed to continuously learning about how people are getting information, how people want to get information and where they’re going. We then, in turn, take that information and adjust our strategy to make sure that we are getting into these new places.

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

Josefina Catherine Cunningham was only 3 years old when her life was wrongfully taken. Remembered for her vibrant spirit and sweet demeanor, the story of how her precious life was cut short is being told by her older brother, Jy’Quan Stewart. 

Josefina was found dead on July 7, 2023 in her mother’s apartment in Rensselaer, N.Y., after being strangled, beaten and raped by her mother’s boyfriend, 34-year-old Robert Fisher. 

Stewart recalled seeing Josefina earlier in the evening on the night of the tragic event. 

“I went to my mom’s house to get my keys. I left and then my mom did as well,” the 22-year-old said. “Josefina was left in the care of Robert. When my mom came home, Josefina was sound asleep and breathing.” 

Stewart noted that his mother went to bed following her check on Josefina and it wasn’t until the next morning that she and the rest of their family would find the toddler bruised and unresponsive. While commuting to work, he received a call from his aunt about his little sister’s death. 

“I was on my way to work and I got a call from my aunt. She told me ‘Do you know that Josie died?’ And then I took a Lyft over to my mother’s house and I saw yellow tape outside and police standing in front of the house,” he said.

That morning as Josefina’s family mourned her death, her killer tried to clean up his mess. Stewart recalled Fisher sweeping, mopping and using excessive amounts of bleach in an attempt to clear any evidence of the horrific acts he committed. 

Fisher was arrested that day and has been in police custody under protective care for the last year. On July 27 of this year he pleaded guilty to his crimes and is now due to be sentenced on Sept. 10. 

Stewart noted that there’s been talk of sentencing Fisher to a bid of 20 years to life, however, he feels that isn’t severe enough of a punishment for the crime he committed. 

“He needs to be sentenced to the death penalty. In 2007 they did away with the death penalty in the state of New York but I want it to be reinstated,” he said. “If it happens I’m going to call it the ‘Josie Act.’”

Stewart explained that he’s hoping to have the death penalty reinstated in New York and if that were to happen, he would seek to reopen his sister’s case to have Fisher sentenced to death.  

The young man refuses to let his little sister’s story go untold, equating his actions to that of Mamie Till when she decided to have an open casket funeral for her son Emmett Till, who was lynched at the the of 14 by several White men.

“I believe my sister’s story can cause a great awakening and bring the country to its knees in prayer,” Stewart wrote in an editorial earlier this year.

With a plethora of news outlets having already reported on the tragic event, he’s determined to spread this story across the nation and hopefully onto the desks of local politicians. 

“I will not rest until I have achieved justice for Josie,” he concluded in the editorial. “This is just the beginning.”

As of Sept.10, Robert Fisher was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 20 years.

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By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO

The NAACP has sent a letter to Michael D. Amiridis, president of the University South Carolina, demanding that the school cancel an upcoming campus event, slated for Sept. 18, that will feature right-wing extremist and Proud Boys founder, Gavin McInnes, in a “roast” of Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The letter, sent Aug. 30 by NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, has since garnered more than 20,000 signatures, primarily from an online petition led by NAACP youth leaders. The petition reflects a surge in public outrage against the event and its leaders who have allegedly used racial tropes to boost attendance.

The NAACP also released a statement expressing disappointment at the university’s decision to host the event, stating that NAACP leadership remains “committed to ensuring the student and broader South Carolina community are protected from hateful rhetoric or actions.”

Johnson said he felt compelled to write the letter because of the “blatant sexist and racist nature of the event, the advertisement for it and the potential for violence on campus because of the proposed event.”

“Hate speech has long served as a weapon to undermine the progress of our nation,” Johnson said in the letter. “At a time where we are witnessing groundbreaking history, bad actors aim to cast a dark shadow on those very achievements. If South Carolina University’s leadership values their Black students, it’s only right they shut this event down. 

“Our nation’s schools must remain havens for learning, not platforms for hate. It is imperative that the university takes swift action in this matter and protects the campus community from patterns of divisiveness and degradation.”

A full copy of the letter sent to President Amiridis can be found here. 

While Amiridis did not respond to inquiries from The AFRO, a statement about campus speakers posted on the university’s website (dated Aug. 27), issued by the university president and Thad Westbrook, chair of the Board of Trustees, sheds some light on the university’s perspective. 

“We have received your messages and understand your concerns about an upcoming speakers’ event at our campus,” the statement said. “This event is organized by a registered student group and it is not endorsed by the university….

“Censoring even the most hateful individuals and groups does not solve the problems we face in our society and instead provides them with a platform to win more publicity and support because their message was silenced…,” the statement continued. “Democracy requires active engagement and participation in the face of views we oppose. Let your voices be heard through peaceful civil discourse that generates constructive debates even amid the most hateful words or images you can imagine.” 

Student group Uncensored America stands its ground 

Sponsors of the event, Uncensored America, stated on their website www.uncensoredamerica.us that “The Roast of Cumala Harris with Milo & Gavin” will go on as scheduled.

McInnes, who in addition to his connection with Proud Boys also co-founded VICE magazine in 1994, will serve as one roast master. He will be joined by Milo Yiannopoulos, former congressional aide to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and chief of staff for Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) fashion company Yeezy. 

According to its website, Uncensored America, founded in 2020, is a non-partisan, youth-driven, free speech organization dedicated to hosting honest and fun conversations with controversial figures to fight censorship and cancel culture. 

“We believe in freedom of speech as it’s defined by the First Amendment. There are the obvious exceptions such as defamation, inciting violence, child pornography, etc. But our country doesn’t abuse free speech. It’s the opposite: We don’t talk to each other enough. That’s what we’re trying to change. We want more conversations, not less,” Uncensored America spokesperson Sean Semanko told the AFRO. 

In response to objections from the NAACP and the online petition to cancel the event, Semanko said those critics lacked a sense of humor.

“The pearl clutching from the NAACP and others is beyond silly. They can’t take an obvious joke. They want to cancel comedy. 

“It’s a comedy show. We want people to have fun. We want to bring joy to campus,” he said.  “The only group people should be concerned about is Antifa (short for ‘anti-fascists’ – a term used to broadly define people whose political beliefs lean toward the left, often far left,  but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform). They are the only ones who come to our events to cause trouble. We always advocate for peace.” 

In October 2022, Fox News reported that Penn State University canceled an Uncensored America comedy show featuring comedian Alex Stein and McInnes, after a teenaged protester, during a campus wide protest, struck Stein with a projectile that was allegedly filled with bodily waste. 

NAACP says it will not back down 

Johnson, on behalf of the NAACP and those who continue to demand the cancellation of the roast, spoke with The AFRO on Sept. 4 and reiterated their concerns. 

“We welcome an open dialogue between NAACP and University of South Carolina leadership. Our position remains clear – hate speech is not free speech. The promotional materials used to advertise this event and accompanying rhetoric that has spread on campus are not protected by the university’s Freedom of Expression and Access to Campus policy or the First Amendment. It also runs counter to the university’s Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Misconduct,” Johnson said. 

He continued, “The NAACP does not speak for other institutions or elected officials. We advocate for Black America. Our youth leaders, who stand to be most directly impacted, have made their concerns clear in the drafted petition that has received over 20,000 signatures. We will continue to amplify their concerns and call attention to any attempts to endanger our young people and the broader South Carolina community.”

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By Michael Kunzelman
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — From jail, Shane Jenkins helped sell T-shirts, tote bags and other merchandise promoting the notion that he and other rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol are political prisoners unjustly held in pretrial detention.

That disturbed the judge who sentenced the Texas man to seven years in prison for storming the Capitol, trying to smash a widow with a metal tomahawk and hurling makeshift weapons at police officers guarding the building on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta assured Jenkins that he wasn’t getting punished for his political beliefs.

“And what bothers me about this notion of being (a) political prisoner is it continues to fuel the lie that somehow an election was stolen, that somehow people who are being charged because of their actions and not their beliefs are the victims. That is false,” the judge told Jenkins.

Mehta is among several judges presiding over the nearly 1,500 riot cases in Washington who have pushed back on false narratives being spread about the Jan. 6 attack and the idea that the rioters are being treated unfairly by the criminal justice system.

“Twelve people looked at the same evidence that people who are here today just saw,” Mehta told Jenkins at his sentencing. “And it’s hard for me to believe anybody could come to any other conclusion. It’s all on video.”

A jury convicted Jenkins last year of charges including obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress called to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory over Trump.

Prosecutors argued that Jenkins played a pivotal role in the attack. He struck a windowpane six times with the spike end of the tomahawk before another rioter stepped in to break the window.

“Are we going in or not?” he shouted at the crowd.

Destroying the window allowed rioters to enter a conference room, where they made improvised weapons from the broken parts of wooden furniture. Mob members used the furniture pieces to attack police officers guarding an entrance in a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace.

Jenkins told the judge he never would have been at the Capitol if he “had any inkling things were going to go the way they did” and regrets not doing more to “de-escalate the situation.”

“Things definitely got out of hand,” Jenkins said before the judge handed down his sentence. “I did get caught up in the heat of the moment, but I never had a malicious plan or intent. There was never any premeditated anything to January 6th for me.”

A website promotes Jenkins as the founder of a group that seeks to “shed light on the January 6th defendants and the treatment they have faced from the government.” The website hawked apparel with Jan. 6-themed slogans, including “Free the J6 political prisoners” and “Want my vote? Help the J6ers.”

Defense attorney Kyle Singhal told The Associated Press that he believes that Jenkins’ views on Jan. 6 have evolved, and his client wouldn’t consider himself a political prisoner or a hostage today.

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By Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton
AP Entertainment Writers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rich Homie Quan, the Atlanta rapper who gained mainstream fame through the trap singles “Type of Way” and “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh),” has died. He was 33.

Quan, whose legal name is Dequantes Devontay Lamar, died at an Atlanta hospital, the Fulton County Medical Examiner confirmed to The Associated Press. The medical examiner was informed of his death Sept. 5, said Jimmy Sadler, senior medical examiner investigator. The cause of death was not immediately available, with an autopsy scheduled for Sept. 6.

Quan was one of the biggest names in hip-hop in the mid-2010s. He released a slew of mixtapes before he broke through in 2013 with the infectious “Type of Way.” The song became such a success that several other rappers jumped on the remix, including Jeezy and Meek Mill. He maintained his momentum, appearing on a YG track with Jeezy and releasing the London on da Track-produced song “Lifestyle” through his Rich Gang rap collective that included Young Thug and Birdman.

Quan followed up with “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh),” a song produced by DJ Spinz and Nitti Beatz. It became his highest charting solo single at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He also featured on Lil Dicky’s viral “$ave Dat Money.”

In 2018, Quan debuted his first and only studio album “Rich as in Spirit,” which mostly went without any features — except for “Think About It,” a single with Rick Ross.

Quavo, Lil Boosie and Playboi Carti are some of the music artists who paid tribute to Quan on social media.

“Rest in Peace my brother Rich Homie Quan,” said singer Jacquees, who also called him a “legend” on X. “I love you for Life.”

Quan spoke with The Associated Press in 2022 about returning to music after an abrupt hiatus. At the time, the rapper said he was going through litigation with independent label T.I.G. (Think It’s a Game Record), but was prepared to make a comeback.

During that time, Quan ended up in a feud with his old collaborator Young Thug — who along with rapper Gunna were among a group indicted on charges of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO Act and also accused of participation in a criminal street gang.

Quan said there was no beef between him Young Thug and was open to having a conversation with him if the opportunity presented itself. He said he hated to see Young Thug locked up, adding that rappers were being targeted by law enforcement.

“I wouldn’t say unfairly targeted because at the same time, some of these rappers are putting guns in videos and, you know, it’s like social media — it goes back to the social media thing,” he said.

“I think we’re showing too much, I think they’re showing too much, you know what I mean. Like that’s the difference in my music, I’ma tell a story but I ain’t going to tell you how I did it,” he added. “It’s still Black art, but we’re definitely being targeted. So that’s why I’m mindful of what I say in my music.”

___

Landrum and Dalton reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Gary Gerard Hamilton contributed to this report from New York. ___

This story has been updated to correct Quan’s age to 33 based on information from the medical examiner.

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By Charlotte Kramon
The Associated Press

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — Colt Gray, a 14-year-old Georgia high school student, has been charged as an adult with using an assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers in the hallway outside his algebra classroom, according to authorities.

Colin Gray, the teen’s father was charged Sept. 5  in connection with the shooting, including with counts of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said.

The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta, was the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas.

Here’s what’s known about the victims of tje Sept. 4 shooting:

Christian Angulo, 14

Christian’s sister, Lisette, wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser seeking donations to help with funeral costs that they were heartbroken by the loss of her “baby brother.”

“He was a very good kid and very sweet and so caring. He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected,” she wrote. “He really didn’t deserve this.”

Mason Schermerhorn, 14

A neighbor described watching Mason grow into a first-year high school student from an inquisitive little boy of about 4 who would rush to the neighbor’s yard when his parents brought him outside.

“He’d come over and say, `What are you doing? What are you doing?’ It was so fun to see him like that, as a little kid,” Tommy Pickett said.

Mason’s death left Pickett shaken and his daughter, who’d seen Mason at the bus stop that morning, in tears.

“She actually saw him get on the bus that day and he ain’t coming back on the bus,” Pickett said. “That really bothered her.”

“I just can’t believe he’s gone like that. Why? Why him?” Pickett said. “He always was smiling. He always was funny, you know, he just laughed and stuff. When he talked to you, he smiled and stuff. I mean, why him? What did he do to deserve that?”

Louis Briscoe told The New York Times that when he learned of the shooting, he called the boy’s mother, a friend and co-worker. She told him “Mason’s gone,” and his heart dropped.

“Nobody should have to go through this type of pain,” Briscoe said.

Cristina Irimie, 53

Silvia Pasch told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she got to know Irimie, a math teacher, when they volunteered at Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Lilburn, which holds festivals to celebrate Romanian culture. She said Irimie’s practice with the children’s dance group this spring included a lesson for a student struggling with an algebra concept. Pasch said she listened in as she chopped vegetables in the kitchen “because I thought I might learn something.” Without Irimie, the next festival will be hard, Pasch said.

“I bet when we are cutting potatoes and vegetables we will talk about her,” she said.

Nicolae Clempus told the newspaper Irimie made him feel welcome when he moved to the United States in 2001. She was active in the expat community after immigrating from Romania a few years earlier. The priest at Saint Mary Romanian Orthodox Church in Dacula described Irimie as someone “you know you can count on” and who always volunteered at events by cooking or dancing.

Irimie, who was part of a traditional Romanian dance group from the Transylvania region when she was younger, later became an instructor and had a gift for working with young people, Clempus said.

Richard Aspinwall, 39

Apalachee High School football coach Mike Hancock told the Athens Banner-Herald the team’s defensive coordinator, who was also a math teacher, was a great man and father who loved his daughters and wife, loved football and was well-respected.

“He worked his tail off,” Hancock said. “He coached old-school ways, but he loved those kids.”

Junior and former football player Jay Garcia, attended a prayer vigil at a downtown Winder park Sept. 4 to remember the coach and teacher who helped him a lot, both in learning football and in life.

“You can’t bring back the dead,” Garcia said. “I understand some people won’t be here tomorrow and just never forget who they are and what they meant to you.”

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Cristina Irimie’s first name.

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By Quintessa Williams

During the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama’s stunning braids and Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson’s mighty afro were celebrated nationwide as symbols of Black pride, cultural identity and resistance. 

Given that the former First Lady once said America wasn’t ready to see a Black woman with anything but straight hair in the White House, their hairstyles symbolize a growing acceptance and recognition of natural hair in political spaces. 

However, while Black hairstyles are becoming more accepted in politics, a stark contrast exists in America’s public schools. Black hair may be embraced in some spaces, but it remains heavily policed and criminalized in classrooms. 

Hair dress code policies in schools disproportionately affect Black students, leading to higher rates of negative perceptions about their identity, severe psychological effects and students being shoved into the school-to-prison pipeline.

Just weeks before the DNC, a judge dismissed a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Darryl George, a Black student in Texas, after it was ruled that he was lawfully punished for wearing locs, a hairstyle rooted in African culture and spirituality. The school cited ‘”its dress code”’ as the reason for the suspension.

A national issue for Black students

Savannah Walker, an Andrew Jackson High School senior in Jacksonville, Fla., tells Word In Black that when schools enforce such policies, they are “not only policing hair but identity as well.”

“They’re basically telling us that we as our natural selves are unacceptable and that we must conform to White norms to be seen as respectable and worthy. This is hurtful, especially for young people like me who are still figuring out their sense of self and identity.”

 In 2017, 17-year-old Jenesis Johnson was sent to in-school suspension for wearing her natural afro to school. The school’s dress code mandated that hair be “kept neat and out of the face,” and administrators claimed her afro was a distraction. 

A year later in 2018, Faith Fennidy, an 11-year-old from Louisiana, was sent home because her braided hairstyle allegedly violated the school’s dress code. Fennidy’s case garnered national attention and sparked outrage over discriminatory hair policies in schools.

In 2019, Tyler House, a high school wrestler in Kentucky, was forced to cut his locs on the spot or forfeit his match. The referee insisted that his locs were not compliant with the sport’s regulations despite other athletes with similar hairstyles not being asked to make changes. 

These incidents, and many others like them, highlight the ongoing struggle Black students face in schools across the country.

According to a 2020 report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Black students, who make up only 15 percent of the U.S. public school student population, account for 45 percent of all school suspensions related to hair being cited as a dress code violation. In addition, 25 percent of Black students reported being penalized for wearing their natural hair, compared to just 5 percent of White students. 

Does the CROWN Act protect Black students?

As of 2024, 25 states have passed the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair), which protects against hair-based discrimination in workplaces and schools. 

The act first became law in California in 2019 and is designed to ban discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles, including locs, braids, twists, and afros. In March 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the federal version of the CROWN Act. The Biden Administration voiced its support for the legislation. However, the bill stalled in the Senate, leaving millions nationwide without protection against hair-based discrimination.

In states without the CROWN Act, 67 percent of Black students report experiencing discrimination or bias related to their natural hair in school. However, states with the CROWN Act have seen a 25 percent decrease in reported incidents of hair discrimination. 

Where do we go from here? 

In May 2024, Democrats reintroduced the CROWN Act at the federal level. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a leading voice in the fight for the CROWN Act, said, “This is not a partisan issue. The federal government would simply be following the lead of our states. This is an issue of justice. This is an issue of fairness. This isn’t just an issue of ending discrimination that has existed for too long. Enough is enough.”

Meanwhile, in Jacksonville, Savannah Walker’s father, Kadeem Walker, says he believes a potential federal ban on discrimination against Black hair will ensure all students are free to express their cultural hair identity without fear of punishment. 

“We must implement federal protections like the CROWN Act and hold schools accountable for discriminatory dress code policies,” he says. “It will be a giant step in ending these discriminatory practices on natural hair across the nation.”

This article was originally published by Word in Black.

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By Alexandra Olson
AP Business Writer

With up to 17 rooms to clean each shift, Fatima Amahmoud’s job at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston sometimes feels impossible.

There was the time she found three days worth of blond dog fur clinging to the curtains, the bedspread and the carpet. She knew she wouldn’t finish in the 30 minutes she is supposed to spend on each room. The dog owner had declined daily room cleaning, an option that many hotels have encouraged as environmentally friendly but is a way for them to cut labor costs and cope with worker shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unionized housekeepers, however, have waged a fierce fight to restore automatic daily room cleaning at major hotel chains, saying they have been saddled with unmanageable workloads, or in many cases, fewer hours and a decline in income.

The dispute has become emblematic of the frustration over working conditions among hotel workers, who were put out of their jobs for months during pandemic shutdowns and returned to an industry grappling with chronic staffing shortages and evolving travel trends.

Some 10,000 hotel workers represented by the UNITE HERE union walked off the job Sept. 1 at 25 hotels in eight cities, including Honolulu, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego and Seattle. Hotel workers in other cities could strike in the coming days, as contract talks stall over demands for higher wages and a reversal of service and staffing cuts. A total of 15,000 workers have voted to authorize strikes.

“We said many times to the manager that it is too much for us,” said Amahmoud, whose hotel was among those where workers have authorized a strike but have not yet walked out.

Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, said the company’s hotels have contingency plans to minimize the impact of the strikes. “We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” he said.

In a statement before the strikes began, Hilton said it was “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements.” Marriott and Omni did not return requests for comments.

The labor unrest serves as a reminder of the pandemic’s lingering toll on low-wage women, especially Black and Hispanic women who are overrepresented in front-facing service jobs. Although women have largely returned to the workforce since bearing the brunt of pandemic-era furloughs — or dropping out to take on caregiving responsibilities — that recovery has masked a gap in employment rates between women with college degrees and those without.

The U.S. hotel industry employs about 1.9 million people, some 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 90 percent of building housekeepers are women, according to federal statistics.

It’s a workforce that relies overwhelmingly on women of color, many of them immigrants, and which skews older, according to UNITE HERE.

Union President Gwen Mills characterizes the contract negotiations as part of a long-standing battle to secure family-sustaining compensation for service workers on par with more traditionally male-dominated industries.

“Hospitality work overall is undervalued, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s disproportionately women and people of color doing the work,” Mills said.

The union hopes to build on its recent success in southern California, where after repeated strikes it won significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees in a new contract with 34 hotels. Under the contract, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour by July 2027.

The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80 percent of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50 percent cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need.

Kevin Carey, the association’s interim president and CEO, says hotels are doing all they can to attract workers. According to the association’s surveys, 86 percent of hoteliers have increased wages over the past six months.

“Now is a fantastic time to be a hotel employee,” Carey said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Hotel workers say the reality on the ground is more complicated.

Maria Mata, 61, a housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, said she earns $2,190 every two weeks if she gets to work full time. But some weeks, she only gets called in one or two days, causing her to max out her credit card to pay for household expenses

“It’s hard to look for a new job at my age. I just have to keep the faith that we will work this out,” Mata said.

Guests at the Hilton Hawaiian Village often tell Nely Reinante they don’t need their rooms cleaned because they don’t want her to work too hard. She said she seizes every opportunity to explain that refusing her services creates more work for housekeepers.

Since the pandemic, UNITE HERE has won back automatic daily room cleans at some hotels in Honolulu and other cities, either through contract negotiations, grievance filings or local government ordinances.

But the issue is back on the table at many hotels where contracts are expiring. Mills said UNITE HERE is striving for language to make it difficult for hotels to quietly encourage guests to opt out of daily housekeeping.

The U.S. hotel industry has rebounded from the pandemic despite average occupancy rates that remain shy of 2019 levels, largely due to higher room rates and record guest spending per room. Average revenue per available room, a key metric, is expected to reach a record high of $101.84 in 2024, according to the hotel association.

David Sherwyn, the director of the Cornell University Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations, said UNITE HERE is a strong union but faces a tough fight over daily room cleaning because hotels consider reducing services part of a long-term budget and staffing strategy.

“The hotels are saying the guests don’t want it, I can’t find the people and it’s a huge expense,” Sherwyn said. “That’s the battle.”

Workers bristle at what they see as moves to squeeze more out of them as they cope with erratic schedules and low pay. While unionized housekeepers tend to make higher wages, pay varies widely between cities.

Chandra Anderson, 53, makes $16.20 an hour as a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor, where workers have not yet voted to strike. She is hoping for a contract that will raise her hourly pay to $20 but says the company came back with a counteroffer that “felt like a slap in the face.”

Anderson, who has been her household’s sole breadwinner since her husband went on dialysis, said they had to move to a smaller house a year ago in part because she wasn’t able to get enough hours at her job. Things have improved since the hotel reinstated daily room cleaning earlier this year, but she still struggles to afford basics like groceries.

Tracy Lingo, president of UNITE HERE Local 7, said the Baltimore members are seeking pensions for the first time but the biggest priority is bringing hourly wages closer to those in other cities.

“That’s how far behind we are,” Lingo said.

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Associated Press Writer Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this story.

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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By Jamie Stengle
The Associated Press

From barbecues to getaways to shopping the sales, many people across the U.S. mark Labor Day — the federal holiday celebrating the American worker — by finding ways to relax.

This year is the 130th anniversary of the holiday, which is celebrated on the first Monday of September. While actions by unions in recent years to advocate for workers are a reminder of the holiday’s activist roots, the three-day weekend it creates has become a touchstone in the lives of Americans marking the unofficial end of summer.

Here’s what to know about Labor Day:

How did Labor Day become a federal holiday?

Its origins date back to the late 19th century, when activists first sought to establish a day to pay tribute to workers.

The first Labor Day celebration in the U.S. took place in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882, when some 10,000 workers marched in a parade organized by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.

Workers were seeing their quality of life decline as they transitioned from artisan to factory jobs, even as the quality of life of factory owners was “just skyrocketing,” said Todd Vachon, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

In the years that followed, a handful of cities and states began to adopt laws recognizing Labor Day. President Grover Cleveland signed a congressional act in 1894 making it a federal holiday.

That was the same year that workers for the Pullman Palace Car Company went on strike after the railcar-maker cut wages without reducing rent in the company-owned town where workers lived near Chicago, Vachon said. Over 12 workers were killed after Cleveland sent federal troops to crush the strike, he said. 

Cleveland’s move to establish Labor Day as a federal holiday is seen by some historians as a way for him “to make peace” with the working class after that, Vachon said.

What do Americans do over Labor Day weekend?

For the three-day weekend created by Labor Day, travelers pack airports and highways for end-of-summer escapes, and backyard chefs prepare cookouts for family and friends.

Barbecuing has been a part of Labor Day celebrations from the start, said Robert F. Moss, food writer, culinary historian and author of “Barbecue: The History of an American Institution.” 

He said it was already such an entrenched tradition in the U.S. that when the labor movements developed in the late 19th century, it was natural to celebrate as large groups gathered. In the 20th century, the holiday’s barbecues moved more toward gatherings of friends and family in backyards, he said.

“It still has a lot of that same communal sense, gathering around the grill, eating together,” he said.

Vachon said that whether the origins of the labor movement are on one’s mind while celebrating depends on whether they live somewhere with a large union presence.

In Chicago, a parade and festival are held over Labor Day weekend in what is now the Pullman neighborhood, home of the holiday’s roots. Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said the parade and festival they host brings in union members and their families from all over the area.

How has the labor movement evolved over the decades?

When Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, unions in the U.S. were largely contested and courts would often rule strikes illegal, leading to violent disputes, Vachon said. It wasn’t until the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 that private sector employees were granted the right to join unions. 

Later into the 20th century, states also began passing legislation to allow unionization in the public sector. But even today, not all states allow collective bargaining for public workers.

In recent years, Vachon said, there’s been a resurgence in labor organizing, activism, interest and support. 

“A lot of the millennial and Gen Z folks are coming into the labor market in a period that’s not a lot different from that period in the 1880s where there was a lot of labor unrest,” Vachon said. “Jobs just don’t pay enough for people to achieve the American dream.”

What’s the connection between fashion and Labor Day?

The adage that one shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day is a “rule” that’s broken with very fashionable results, but where did it originate?

Fashion experts say it likely goes back to the Gilded Age — the same period in the late 1800s that spawned Labor Day. The cool, white frocks worn by wealthy New Yorkers during their summers in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, would be packed away on their end-of-summer return to the city with its dirt-packed streets. 

Christy Crutsinger, a professor in merchandising and digital retailing at University of North Texas, heard the adage from generations of women in her family. But “the fashion world’s not working that way anymore,” she added.

“People think it, say it, but don’t abide by it,” she said.

With back-to-school shopping and a switch by many business people from a more relaxed summer dress code, fashion is on the mind of many around Labor Day, said Daniel James Cole, adjunct assistant professor in fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology and co-author of “The History of Modern Fashion.”

The holiday, he said, “is kind of this hinge” between summertime dress and fun to going “back to more serious pursuits.”

___

Associated Press journalist Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed to this report.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – Newly unearthed research notes and letters from William Bradford Huie, the journalist whose reporting on the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till helped shape the public’s understanding of the crime, reveal that Huie deliberately concealed vital details that could have implicated additional participants in the murder. These documents, recently released by the descendants of one of the lawyers involved in the case, suggest that Huie prioritized his financial interests and the protection of his sources over the pursuit of truth and justice.

The cache of documents, now housed in the Florida State University Digital Repository, includes a 33-page set of Huie’s research notes and a series of letters exchanged between Huie and John Whitten, one of the defense attorneys for J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the two men acquitted of Till’s murder. The content of these letters and notes reveals a complex and troubling relationship between the journalist and the defense team, raising serious questions about the integrity of Huie’s reporting.

Huie’s notes indicate that he was aware of other individuals involved in the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till but chose not to report this information. In a letter dated December 10, 1955, Huie confessed his doubts about the story Milam and Bryant were telling him: “I began doubting myself… and one night I was on the point of coming back to Mississippi and ‘pistol-whipping’ Milam for telling me a fabric of lies.” 

Despite these doubts, Huie went ahead with his article in Look magazine, presenting Milam and Bryant’s version of events as the complete truth.

The letters between Huie and Whitten also reveal the extent to which Huie was willing to collaborate with the defense attorneys to craft a narrative that would serve their mutual interests. In a letter dated November 16, 1955, Huie assured Whitten that he was carefully considering the “most effective presentation” of the story, stating, “We have been sort of marking time… and in due time and with great care, I’ll be in touch with you.” This close coordination suggests that Huie’s reporting was influenced not only by his desire to protect his sources but also by a shared goal of controlling how the public would receive the story.

Huie’s financial motivations are laid bare in another letter from Whitten, dated November 22, 1955, in which the attorney thanked Huie for a gift—a fine Cavanaugh hat—and expressed confidence that the criminal case would not proceed further despite any additional publicity. “My wife was so complimentary of the hat… that I finally had to tell her something about where it came from,” Whitten wrote, before adding, “Nevertheless, I think that we should not throw caution to the winds.”

Beyond these troubling collaborations, Huie’s notes reveal that he was aware of a “third man” involved in the kidnapping of Emmett Till, identified by Elizabeth Wright, Till’s great-aunt, as Milam’s brother-in-law from Minter City, Melvin Campbell. However, this information was not included in Huie’s published article, which instead presented a version of events that Huie himself doubted.

The letters also highlight Huie’s strategic manipulation of the narrative to ensure the story’s maximum impact. In a December 20, 1955, letter, Huie boasted to Whitten about his ability to control the story, writing, “I dealt with a magazine with which I could exercise this control. You see, John, I’m very old in this propaganda business. I know how to fight smart… so smart that my ‘enemies’ don’t realize just what is being done to them at times.”

Huie’s cynical approach extended to his portrayal of Till, as revealed in the same letter, where he explained that including a detail about Till having a picture of a White girl in his wallet would “pinpoint the hypocrisy” of White liberals and make them “very uncomfortable.” These remarks starkly contrast Huie’s public reputation as a journalist sympathetic to the Civil Rights Movement.

Huie’s reporting had an immediate and profound impact when it was published. His article in Look magazine led to a backlash against Milam and Bryant, even among White Mississippians who had previously supported them. U.S. Rep. Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) read the story into the congressional record, and it was hailed as “spectacular” by Black newspapers. However, Huie’s decision to omit critical details effectively ended efforts by Black journalists and the FBI to pursue additional suspects in the case.

The release of these documents exposes the uncomfortable truth that Huie’s reporting, while instrumental in bringing the horror of Emmett Till’s murder to national attention, was deeply compromised. The documents suggest that his decisions to prioritize financial gain and protect his sources over full transparency contributed to a narrative that left justice incomplete and the full story untold.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – A new report from the Pew Research Center, as part of the Pew-Knight Initiative, has revealed how Americans perceive and consume local crime news, highlighting significant racial, ethnic, and political disparities. 

Based on a survey of 5,146 U.S. adults conducted in January and funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the study is the third in a series examining how Americans engage with local news.

One of the report’s key findings is that more Americans get news and information about local crime than any other local topic except the weather. The study found that 71 percent of U.S. adults often or sometimes receive news about local crime from friends, family, and neighbors, while a nearly identical share (70 percent) gets this news from local news outlets. This widespread consumption of crime news underscores its importance in the daily lives of Americans, shaping their perceptions of safety and community well-being.

However, the study also reveals that Americans still have not found a single go-to source for crime information. While 26 percent of U.S. adults first turn to local news outlets, others rely heavily on social media, search engines, or personal networks for updates on crime. 

These diverse sources influence how crime news is perceived, with notable differences based on where people get information. For example, those who consume crime news from social media or locally focused apps like Next-door and Ring are more likely to believe these sources exaggerate crime levels in their communities. In contrast, those who rely on official sources, such as local law enforcement or politicians, think these sources underplay the amount of crime.

The report also highlights that Black Americans are particularly likely to perceive local crime news as biased, especially in terms of racial and ethnic fairness. This perception aligns with previous Pew Research findings that have shown Black Americans to be more attuned to racial bias in both policing and news coverage. 

Black Americans are also more engaged with local crime news, with 45 percent reporting that they often get news about local crime—a higher rate than that of Hispanic, White, or Asian Americans. Additionally, nearly half of Black respondents (48 percent) reported seeing news about violent crime at least weekly, which is significantly higher than other racial and ethnic groups.

Researchers said the consumption of local crime news also is closely linked to concerns about personal safety. The study found that Americans who regularly consume local crime news are more likely to express concern about crime affecting them or their families. Among frequent crime news consumers, 65 percent report at least some concern, including 33 percent who are extremely or very concerned. 

This heightened concern is particularly evident among Black Americans, who are more likely to view crime as a pressing issue for the president and Congress to address.

Despite the strong interest in crime-related news, many Americans need help accessing high-quality information. While 85 percent  of respondents expressed interest in understanding what local officials are doing to address crime, only 22 percent said it is easy to obtain this information. This disconnect between public interest and information availability highlights a significant challenge in local news consumption.

The report also delves into the emotional impact of local crime news, noting that frequent consumers of such news are more likely to feel concerned, angry, or afraid about what is happening in their communities. However, these emotions only sometimes translate into community action. Only 52 percent of respondents said they feel motivated to change things in their community after consuming crime news, and just 48 percent feel confident that things will improve.

Political affiliation also plays a significant role in shaping how Americans perceive and react to crime news. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to view violent crime as an important national issue, though both groups consume local crime news at similar rates. Interestingly, while both parties rely on many of the same news sources, Democrats are more likely to believe that crime news exaggerates the problem and is biased against certain racial or ethnic groups. 

Moreover, older Americans, particularly those over 65, are more likely to consume local crime news and perceive the information as accurate than younger adults.

The report also addresses the gap between public perception and actual crime statistics. Despite FBI data showing that property crimes are more common than violent crimes, the public perceives these two types of crime as occurring at similar rates. This discrepancy between perception and reality is particularly pronounced among those who frequently consume crime news, possibly contributing to heightened concerns about personal safety.

Trust in crime news remains relatively high, particularly when the information comes from local law enforcement or news outlets. About 79 percent of respondents who get their news from local news outlets and 77 percent from local law enforcement consider the information at least somewhat accurate. 

However, only a quarter believe that any source provides very accurate information.

“Like we find with several local news topics, relatively few Americans are highly satisfied with the local crime news they get,” researchers concluded. “Among those who get local crime news, one-third say they are extremely or very satisfied with the quality of this news. About half (48%) say they are somewhat satisfied, and 18% say they are not too or not at all satisfied.”

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By PRNewswire

BALTIMORE, Aug. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The HBCU Research CorporationPRNewswire of America is excited to announce the upcoming HBCU RESEARCH AI – TECH Summit, set to take place from September 9th through 11th, 2024, at the Baltimore Hyatt Hotel, 300 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland. This highly anticipated event will serve as an HBCU AI and TECH Think Tank, assembling a distinguished group of leaders from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), major corporations, and the federal government for an essential dialogue on the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

Under the theme “HBCU Innovation for the AI Revolution,” the summit will explore the transformative power of AI and its potential to redefine the way we live, work, and interact. With the world on the brink of unparalleled technological advancements, this summit aims to underscore the critical role that HBCUs play in driving inclusive innovation and equipping the next generation of AI leaders.

“Artificial Intelligence presents one of the most profound technological advancements of our time,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. “It has the potential to revolutionize nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As we embrace this technology, we must also ensure that its benefits are shared by all, and that we address the challenges it presents with a sense of responsibility and equity.”

The summit will feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including:
-Over 40 leading HBCU Research faculty and leadership officials will speak and collaborate with other HBCUs, federal government and corporations about AI innovation and inclusion.
-Department of Defense (DoD): Senior officials from the DoD will discuss the strategic importance of AI in national security and defense.
-Economic Development Administration (EDA): EDA representatives will explore the role of AI in economic growth and development, particularly in underserved communities.

IBM: Industry leaders from IBM will share insights on cutting-edge AI technologies and the importance of diversity in tech innovation.

These speakers, along with other prominent voices from top HBCUs, corporate giants, and government agencies, will engage in a series of panels, workshops, and collaborative sessions to address the strategic partnerships needed to shape the future of AI.

Sandra Long, Publisher of HBCU Research Magazine and convener of the HBCU Research AI Summit, emphasized the importance of this gathering: “Bringing together these communities is about more than just collaboration; it’s about laying a strong foundation for AI innovation that is inclusive and far-reaching. As the former Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Maryland, Long says that historically, African Americans have often found themselves playing catch-up in the wake of major technological shifts. We are committed to being at the forefront of this next revolution. This summit is a critical step toward ensuring that our voices, our expertise, and our innovations are leading the way in AI.”

Participants will have the opportunity to forge partnerships, share knowledge, and develop strategies that leverage the collective strengths of HBCUs and their partners. These collaborations will be instrumental in shaping a future where AI serves all communities equitably.

The student component of the Summit entitled “Future-Ready: HBCU’s Crafting the AI Leaders of Tomorrow” will bring students from HBCUs together to meet with corporate and federal recruiters.

The HBCU Research AI Summit is open to industry professionals, academic scholars, students, and government officials.

Registration is now open at www.HBCUResearch.com.

For more information, please contact Enoila Akinkumni at (410) 801-6440 or slong@HBCUResearch.com.

About HBCU Research Corporation of America:
HBCU Research Corporation of America is committed to advancing the research, development, and deployment of cutting-edge technologies in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Through conferences, publications, and collaborative initiatives, we aim to foster innovation and create opportunities for underrepresented communities in the tech industry.

About HBCU Research Magazine:
HBCU Research Magazine is the premier publication dedicated to showcasing the groundbreaking research and innovation emerging from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The magazine highlights the achievements of HBCU scholars, promotes the institutions’ contributions to critical fields such as technology, science, and social impact, and fosters connections between academia, industry, and government. Through in-depth articles, expert commentary, and exclusive interviews, HBCU Research Magazine serves as a vital resource for those interested in the cutting-edge work being done at HBCUs across the nation.

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Reginald Williams
Special to the AFRO

This time of year is full of back to school events, including free back-to-school haircuts from neighborhood barbers and school supplies from churches, government agencies and community organizations. 

The return to school is intended to be a time for reacquaintance, where students arrive prepared to learn, and educators are ready to teach. However, in too many cases, students often return to school after summer break academically unprepared. 

Several studies suggest that summer separation from scholastic instruction contributes significantly to the academic disparity K-12 students face upon their return from vacation. 

Harvard research maintains that academic decay is more progressive depending on “ethnicity and socioeconomic status.”  The obstacles that negatively impact White students often have a more severe impact on Black students, says the research. The study also noted that “summer reading and math losses are sensitive to income status.” 

Poor and disadvantaged students experience more considerable summer reading losses than their middle-class counterparts, and all students experience similar losses in math. To explain this finding, scholars have relied on surveys of summer activities, which show that children in poverty have fewer opportunities to practice reading than middle-class children. As a result, socioeconomic gaps in reading are heightened during vacation, suggesting that differences in family background—not differences in school quality—create achievement inequalities. 

A time for change

The Center for American Progress, a public policy organization dedicated “to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas,” maintains that systemic racism colors education. The organization has said that wide-reaching changes to America’s education indoctrination must start with a change in the curriculum.

Coach Alfred Powell agrees that the public school curriculum is “adverse” and ineffective for Black children. Experts today use a behavior risk factor survey for adverse childhood experiences (ACE) to score the potentially traumatic impact of events before age 18. The survey asks about everything from instances of divorce to housing instability to gauge the trauma a person has experienced. Powell, a Western Ohio community educator and clinical professor,  instead looks at a different type of “ACE,” which he calls “adverse curriculum experiences.” 

“The word ‘curriculum’ connotes a course of study. Therefore, a Eurocentric curriculum is designed to take a person on a course of study that primarily highlights the accomplishments of Europeans, often excluding the achievements of other cultures,” Powell explained. “This narrow focus is detrimental to the imagination, self-esteem, and self-worth of BIPOC students, especially young Black boys. When the curriculum fails to reflect their history, culture, and contributions, it implicitly tells them that their experiences and identities are less valuable or irrelevant.”

Powell maintains that children who have to navigate the storms of an adverse curriculum are also grappling with the invisible messaging, intentionally advanced by public education leaders. Powell contends that the current public education curriculum:

• Omits the accomplishments and contributions of Black people, especially before slavery
• Celebrates Whiteness
• Purposely manipulates cultural consciousness
• Minimizes slavery and racism 
• Profiles BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) as savages and career criminals

“By connecting the curriculum to their students’ lived experiences and cultural backgrounds, educators can motivate them to pursue excellence, exceptionalism, and determination,” said Powell. “This approach helps students overcome the many distractions and challenges surrounding them and fosters a sense of belonging and self-worth. When students see themselves reflected in their education, they are more likely to engage with the material and strive for success.”

J. Dwayne Garnett, a valued-based educator, also believes the curriculum has a more nuanced problem that fails to speak to the humanity of Black boys. 

“When you talk about education, there’s no curriculum set aside for them. Their minds can’t even think about a Black male being a human,” said Garnett, founder of Love Is A Parable, a nonprofit organization transforming lives through valued-based education.

El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, the minister formerly known as Malcolm X, said more than five decades ago, “Only a fool would allow his enemies to educate his children.”

As suggested by the late activist, there exist all kinds of red flags that suggest Black children have no valued place in America’s educational system. 

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights says Black students comprise 14.9 percent of public school students. However, they make up almost 40 percent of the students suspended annually. 

The American Institutes for Research found that missing significant time from school had counterproductive impacts on academic outcomes and future behaviors. One study revealed that Black adolescent males represented more than one-half of the 17,000 preschool students expelled or suspended. Many educators have proven that they honor policy above practicum.

The Yale Child Study Center conducted research entitled, “Do Early Educators’ Implicit Bias Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspension,” revealing that the suspension of Black boys was too often due to teacher bias. The study validates Garnett’s hypothesis regarding the dehumanization of Black boys, which is evident in how the world treats Black men. 

“We do live in a society where we are not prepared– nor have we even ventured to discuss– the intersectionality of Black men,” said Garnett. “Black boys aren’t thought of because Black men are not thought of. Black men are prepared for masculinity, every other demographic is prepared for humanity.”

Baruti Kafele, credited with elevating Newark Tech High School in Newark, NJ from the worst school in the state to the best, challenges educators and curriculum. He believes Black students must be seen and welcomed within the curriculum. 

“As long as we fail to properly educate Black children as to who that is in the mirror—historically, culturally, socially, economically, politically– we will continue to ask the same questions that we have been asking for decades: ‘How do we close the achievement gap of Black children?’ and ‘How do we inspire Black children to excel in the classroom?’”

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By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO

From 1999 to 2020, opioid overdose deaths claimed the lives of over half a million Americans, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with opioid-involved deaths increasing each year. Even more disturbing, 2021 marked the first time the U.S. surpassed 100,000 related deaths in a single year. 

Yet, while a majority of adults – 61 percent – consider the misuse of opioids in the U.S. to be a major public health emergency, based on results of a Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) poll conducted in May 2024, many Americans tend to believe that the opioid crisis is more of a national problem (68 percent), than one impacting their own state (53 percent) or their community (36 percent). 

Even in areas of the U.S. where drug overdose rates have increased, public concern about addiction is down, according to a Pew survey from May 2022. As for those who come from low-income or minority communities, the BPC poll indicates that they are less likely to say the opioid crisis is a major problem in their respective communities than adults who are not. However, as data from sources including the CDC indicate, they would be wrong – dead wrong. 

One major takeaway from the BPC poll illustrates a change in demographics over the past five years among those with the highest drug overdose mortality – from White Americans in the Northeast to other ethnic populations. Contrary to popular belief, mortality has increased by 81 percent among both Black Americans and Native Americans, and by 67 percent in the West since 2019. 

Further, even when Black and Native Americans recognize that they have a problem with opioid use, they often find it more difficult than Whites to secure affordable, effective and convenient treatment – not to mention the added burden of the stigma related to opioid addiction that’s particularly prevalent within minority communities. 

Prince William County, Va., takes the lead identifying, resolving gaps in services 

The Prince William Health District (PWHD), part of the Washington metropolitan area, whose county seat is the city of Manassas and is located in Northern Virginia, recently released the results of a 10-month community-based needs assessment which evaluated factors that contribute to opioid-use disorder. 

With funding from the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Community Engagement grant opportunity, the three-year award supports community engagement efforts among key stakeholders and community members who have a shared vision of preventing opioid-related deaths and injuries in the region. With goals rooted in a CDC-sponsored initiative, facilitators followed the CDC’s Public Health 3.0 model in efforts to ensure that appropriate information remains available to support individuals and their families struggling with mental and behavioral health challenges.

Kirstin Sievers, a community engagement specialist for PWHD who has served as an addiction advocate for 10 years, joined the district just over a year ago and said her commitment to her new role is due, in part, to “lived experience.”

“My sister is a longtime drug user so I am a staunch advocate for families and for securing more resources to support them,” Sievers said. “In many ways, the opioid crisis is a lot like the AIDS epidemic, and it’s not going anywhere fast.

“It’s this generation’s AIDS crisis,” she continued, “and it’s like a Boeing 357 fatally crashing every day. We’re losing about the same number of people, which we estimate at 350, as those aboard that jet to drug overdose deaths each day. However, the greatest contributor to those deaths is opioids because unlicensed chemists, particularly along the East Coast, are putting all kinds of things in pills, especially fentanyl.” 

Acting Prince William Health District Director Dr. Olugbenga Obasanjo noted that as part of the grant, the assessment gathered input from September 2023 to June 2024 from various populations, including Latino communities, adolescents, individuals in active drug use and those in recovery, through interviews and listening sessions. 

“By working across systems of care to understand the burden of addiction in our communities, we can begin to address disparities surrounding opioid use disorder in the Greater Prince William region,” he said in a press release. 

And given recent statistics, the challenges health officials face cannot be overstated. 

In the Greater Prince William Region, there were 454 OUD deaths (opioid use disorder) from 2018 to 2023. Nonfatal opioid-related overdoses have more than doubled since 2017. Meanwhile, overdoses continue to rise among the 20-24 age group, adolescent females and Black and Latino adults.

“We’re doing our best to tackle the increase in deaths but we know that nonfatal opioid overdoses are widely underreported,” Sievers said. “We believe that’s because a lot of people do not seek traditional means of care when they experience an overdose. We estimate that the number is probably two or three times greater because not everyone is captured or wants to be captured in the data often for fear of legal repercussion.”

Reflections from advocates working with communities of color

While November will mark his third year clean and sober, Jonathan Torres, 25, once struggled with opioid addiction and was even incarcerated for 3 ½ years. Today, the Mexican American, born in Fairfax, Virginia, serves as a certified peer recovery specialist who works primarily with Latino youth, 18-25 years old, in Prince William County. 

He said he became addicted to opioids soon after being prescribed pain medicine from a physician.  

“I was prescribed Percocet and when the prescription ran out, I turned to the streets – ‘M30’ blue pills laced with fentanyl because they were significantly stronger than Percocet and cost a lot less, sometimes as cheap as $5 a pill,” he said. “The danger lies in the different amounts of fentanyl that people put in the pills. You never know how strong they are and you never know what they’re laced with. Sometimes, they’re so potent that you can overdose just by touching or inhaling them.”

Torres’ road to recovery began because of his involvement with the county’s Drug Court. 

“The judge assigned me a great case worker who really cared about me and knew that I needed guidance – someone positive in my life,” he said. “I had to stay clean if I didn’t want to be sent back to jail, and eventually the things I was required to do became habits.”

The recovering addict said he heard that some of his peers had gone through training to become recovery specialists and he became interested in doing the same. 

“Mostly, I listen to other young people like me these days, share my story, educate them on the dangers they face and help them access resources. But you can only help those who want to be helped,” Torres said. 

Dr. Miranda M. Hill, 63, who in July took over as the director of drug information at Hampton University’s School of Pharmacy and also serves as an associate professor of pharmacy practice, was first exposed to the devastating effects of opioid addiction during her formative years in her hometown of Detroit. 

“In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, as Black men returned from Vietnam, many of them, because of the hell they experienced on the frontline, suffered from mental, physical and emotional pain and trauma,” said Dr. Hill, author of “Opioid Drug and Alcohol Abuse – Information Parents Must Know.” 

“There was no real help for them to deal with post-traumatic stress or the other problems they faced,” she said. “And there were no programs to help them overcome their addiction to opioids or other drugs.”

One of her neighbors, a veteran, died from an overdose when she was 9, Hill said. But then the epidemic hit even closer to home.

“My older brother, Gregory Jones, who also served in Vietnam, went through a vicious cycle of overdoses, detox, rehabilitation and relapses for 50 years. He died on Aug. 5, 2021, from an overdose of fentanyl. He was 68 years old,” she said.

“He received all kinds of medals, including the Purple Heart and he really tried but he just couldn’t beat it,” she added. “But the worst thing is, he had been dead for 10 days before we located his body in the city morgue. It had been really hot that summer and his body was so swollen and deformed that we had to have a closed casket funeral. I only have photos to remind me of how handsome he once was.” 

Death can be quick for opioid overdoses, Hill said, with signs that include labored breathing, foaming from the mouth and excessive sweating. The doctor advised that everyone keep Narcan, the brand name for Naloxone, which is used to treat narcotic overdoses, in their medicine cabinets, in their cars, even in the office, “just in case.” 

“Fentanyl is a drug that’s 800 to 900 times more potent than morphine,” she said. “Its impact on the body can be abrupt and deadly because when it’s mixed in the streets, one never knows how potent the drug they’re getting may be.”

Hill also addressed some of the specific sociological issues faced by African Americans that make them vulnerable to addiction and death.

“Blacks are often reluctant to seek help because of distrust of medical professionals, not only because there are so few Black physicians but because of tragedies like the Tuskegee Experiment when doctors purposely exposed Black men to syphilis,” she said. 

“Blacks also face disproportionate levels of depression, stress and anxiety while just trying to cope with life and our environment. And many Blacks, because we don’t have adequate health care, live with undiagnosed health conditions – we’re fighting demons every day,” she continued. “In some cases, there are those who only meant to ‘experiment’ with opioids one time but because of their biological makeup, they were more susceptible to addicted and quickly got hooked.”

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By Asia Matthews
Special to the AFRO

Minnesota governor and vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with a speech reflecting on his extensive background in public service and his vision for the future. His remarks emphasized his diverse experiences and the policy initiatives he has championed throughout his career.

“It’s the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States,” he said to a cheering crowd.

Walz, who grew up in Butte, Nebraska, a town with a population of about 400, began his career in education and military service. 

His father, a Korean War veteran, died from lung cancer shortly after Walz joined the Army National Guard. Walz served in the Guard for 24 years, a period that he cites as formative in his development as a public servant.

Before entering politics, Walz taught social studies and coached a state champion football team at a Minnesota public high school. 

Reflecting on his shift to public service, Walz recounted how his experiences with students and athletes inspired him to pursue a political career. 

“They saw in me what I had hoped to instill in them—a commitment to the common good, an understanding that we’re all in this together, and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors,” Walz said.

Walz served in Congress for 12 years, where he worked on such issues as rural economic development and veterans’ affairs. 

He credited his time in Congress with helping him learn how to work with both parties, which he believes has shaped his approach to governing.

During his speech, Walz made mention of several key policies he has sponsored during his time as governor. These initiatives reflect his administration’s focus on economic and social welfare.

“We cut taxes for the middle class. We passed paid family and medical leave. We invested in fighting crime and affordable housing, and we made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day,” Walz said. 

In his speech, the governor addressed personal freedom and criticized the current Republican agenda, particularly on issues such as the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare, and reproductive rights. 

“It’s an agenda that serves nobody but the rich and most extreme amongst us, and it’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need,” he said.

Walz also spoke positively about Vice President Kamala Harris, noting her work in various roles, including prosecutor, attorney general and U.S. senator. 

“She has never hesitated to reach across the aisle if it meant improving your lives, and she’s always done it with energy, with passion, and with joy,” Walz remarked.

He concluded his speech with a quote from Vice President Harris: “When we fight, we win.”

The post Tim Walz highlights service and policy goals at Democratic National Convention appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com

The Walter E. Washington Convention Center will host the 24th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m.

The free annual event serves as a way to uplift and gather over 90 bestselling authors, poets and illustrators with thousands of book enthusiasts for panel discussions, book talks, book signings and other engaging activities. This is not a ticketed event; seating for events will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

The day-long festival has established itself as one of the most anticipated literary events in the nation throughout its long history. In addition to the various programs, attendees also will have the opportunity to purchase books on site.

Some of the authors featured include two-time Emmy Award-winning television host Tamron Hall, poet Tony Keith Jr., and New York Times bestselling author James McBride, alongside many others. 

Some of the programs will be livestreamed online and videos of all the events will be available at www.loc.gov. Further information about the festival also can be found on the website.

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Vice President Kamala Harris stood on the stage of the Democratic National Convention and formally accepted the nomination for president on Aug. 22. If elected into the role of president with her running mate, current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris would be the first woman and the first person of Jamaican and Indian descent to lead the United States of America.

Walking out to thunderous applause and the sound of Beyonce Knowles’ 2016 hit song, “Freedom,” Harris thanked President Joe Biden, spoke to her humble beginnings and the future she sees for America under her leadership.

“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” said Harris, invoking the story of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris “My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist that would cure breast cancer.” 

The story of Harris’ mother was a recurring theme throughout the speech. 

“She taught us to never complain about injustice, but to do something about it. That was my mother– and she taught us to never do anything ‘half-assed–’ and that is a direct quote.”

Harris said that her father implored her to never be afraid or let anything stop her, teaching her to be fearless.

At a young age, Harris was exposed to the fight for equality through the work of her mother. And the abuse of a high school friend that influenced her decision to go into the criminal justice field. 

“I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity and to justice. As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people for a simple reason: in our system of justice, a harm against any one of us, is a harm against all of us,” said Harris. “No one should be made to fight alone- we are all in this together.” 

Though Harris received the Democratic nomination during a virtual roll call on Aug. 6, she accepted on Aug. 20 via video from a rally in Milwaukee. She reiterated her commitment to the country and formally accepted the nomination on the DNC stage Aug. 22.

“On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of the people who I grew up with– people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another– on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.” 

“This election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation,” she said.

Harris spoke on the Republican nominee for president and the implications if he is elected to a second term. 

“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider the chaos and calamity when he was in office but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the election,” said Harris, calling up images from Jan. 6, 2021.

Many of those responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building as lawmakers tried to certify election results in favor of Joe Biden– not Trump– are still free or have received light sentences, given the fact that lives were lost as a result of the insurrection.

Harris repeatedly told the crowd that it was time to move forward, together. 

“America, we are not going back,” she said, as the audience began to chant the phrase.

“We are charting a new ‘forward’…forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know that a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success. Building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.” 

For the entire length of Harris’ speech, Harris’ Republican opponent hit back via Truth Social, the platform he created when he was ousted from Twitter, now known as “X.”

“She’s talking about the Middle Class, but she’s the one who broke the Middle Class, and made it UNSAFE AND UNAFFORDABLE!,” said Trump, to his Truth Social followers. 

Harris promised to create an “opportunity economy” that featured the ability for all to succeed, regardless if the person lives “in a rural area, small town or big city.” 

“We will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans,” she promised. 

Still, the former hit back, by saying Harris’ platform included “No specific programs, ALL TALK, NO ACTION — Why didn’t she do it three and a half years ago?” 

Aside from the economy, Harris promised to address affordable housing and a woman’s right to choose when it comes to abortion. She also spoke on the war currently raging between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. 

“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to stand up for itself,” said Harris. “…At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.” 

Harris said that she believes she will be successful in getting a ceasefire agreement signed for the conflict that has continued non-stop since Hamas attacked innocent Israeli citizens in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2023.

The vice president said she “will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.”

“In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” said Harris, before imploring voters to the polls. 

“Let’s get out there- let’s vote for it and together let’s write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”

The final night of the DNC included a variety of speakers from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to D.L. Hughley and Eva Longoria. But day four concluded with more than just Democratic party members touting their nominee. An appearance by the former Republican U.S. Rep Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, was an interesting addition to the list of speakers.

“I am proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes awkward alliance that we have to defend truth, defend democracy and decency,” said Kinzinger, from the DNC stage. “I was just a kid when I was drawn to the party of Ronald Raagen, to his vision of a strong America, the shining ‘City on the Hill.’ I was a Republican for 12 years in Congress and I still hold on to the label.”

“I never thought I’d be here- but listen- you never thought you’d see me here, did you?” asked Kinzinger, getting a laugh from the crowd. 

Kinzinger spoke to his fellow Republicans in saying that Democratic Party members are just as patriotic and invested in protecting the country’s values as Republicans are. 

“I’ve learned something about my party too,’ he said. “The republican party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. Donald Trump is a weak man, pretending to be strong,” said Kinzinger. “He’s a small man, pretending to be big. He’s a faithless man, pretending to be righteous. He’s a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim.”

Kinzinger openly called out Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol Building in 2021, and told the audience that “Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.”

“How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election?”

Aside from elected officials and celebrities, members of Harris’ family came forward in support of her run for president. She was introduced by younger sister Maya Harris, who highlighted the crucial time ahead of the Nov. 5 election. 

“We are living in a time when some are trying to divide us, to separate us in ways that make it difficult for us to come together. My sister rejects that view. Where others push darkness Kamala sees promise.” 

“Kamala understands we have so much more in common than what separates us,” said the younger Harris sister. 

“She knows the measure of our success isn’t just about winning an election, it’s about who we bring along and lift up in the process,” said Maya Harris. 

She ended her speech on the verge of tears, as she imagined what her mother would have said if she were alive to see her eldest daughter run for president.

“She would tell all of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work; to elect a leader who sees the potential in each of us; a leader who cares for all of us; a leader who fights for every one of us- our Democratic nominee, my big sister, the next president of the United States– Kamala Harris.” 

For information on voting registration deadlines and other voter information, please visit the U.S. Vote Foundation’s page for election dates and guidelines, organized by state.

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By Christopher Rugaber
The Associated Press

With inflation and high grocery prices still frustrating many voters, Vice President Kamala Harris on Aug. 16 proposed a ban on “price gouging” by food suppliers and grocery stores, as part of a broader agenda aimed at lowering the cost of housing, medicine, and food. 

It’s an attempt to tackle a clear vulnerability of Harris’ head-on: Under the Biden-Harris administration, grocery prices have shot up 21 percent, part of an inflation surge that has raised overall costs by about 19 percent and soured many Americans on the economy, even as unemployment fell to historic lows. Wages have also risen sharply since the pandemic, and have outpaced prices for more than a year. Still, surveys find Americans continue to struggle with higher costs. 

“We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed,” Harris said Aug. 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. “But our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high.”

Will her proposals do much to lower prices? And what even is “price gouging”? The answers to those and other questions are below: 

What is price gouging?

There is no strict definition that economists would agree on, but it generally refers to spikes in prices that typically follow a disruption in supply, such as after a hurricane or other natural disaster. Consumer advocates charge that gouging occurs when retailers sharply increase prices, particularly for necessities, under such circumstances.

Is it already illegal? 

Several states already restrict price gouging, but there is no federal-level ban. 

There are federal restrictions on related but different practices, such as price-fixing laws that bar companies from agreeing to not compete against each other and set higher prices. 

Will Harris’ proposal lower grocery prices? 

Most economists would say no, though her plan could have an impact on future crises. For one thing, it’s unclear how much price gouging is going on right now. 

Grocery prices are still painfully high compared to four years ago, but they increased just 1.1 percent in July compared with a year earlier, according to the most recent inflation report. That is in line with pre-pandemic increases.

President Joe Biden said Aug. 14 that inflation has been defeated after Wednesday’s inflation report showed that it fell to 2.9 percent in July, the smallest increase in three years. 

“There’s some dissonance between claiming victory on the inflation front in one breath and then arguing that there’s all this price gouging happening that is leading consumers to face really high prices in another breath,” said Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. 

In general, after an inflationary spike, it’s very hard to return prices to where they were. Sustained price declines typically only happen in steep, protracted recessions. Instead, economists generally argue that the better approach is for wages to keep rising enough so that Americans can handle the higher costs. 

So why is Harris talking about this now? 

Probably because inflation remains a highly salient issue politically. And plenty of voters do blame grocery stores, fast food chains, and food and packaged goods makers for the surge of inflation in the past three years. Corporate profits soared in 2021 and 2022.

“It could be that they’re looking at opinion polls that show that the number one concern facing voters is inflation and that a large number of voters blame corporations for inflation,” Strain said.

At the same time, even if prices aren’t going up as much, as Harris noted, they remain high, even as supply chain kinks have been resolved. 

Elizabeth Pancotti, a policy analyst at Roosevelt Forward, a progressive advocacy group, points to the wood pulp used in diapers. The price of wood pulp has fallen by half from its post-pandemic peak, yet diaper prices haven’t. 

“So that just increases the [profit] margins for both the manufacturers and the retailers,” she said. 

Did price gouging cause inflation? 

Most economists would say no, that it was a more straightforward case of supply and demand. When the pandemic hit, meat processing plants were occasionally closed after COVID-19 outbreaks, among other disruptions to supply. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lifted the cost of wheat and other grains on global markets. Auto prices rose as carmakers were unable to get all the semiconductors they needed from Taiwan to manufacture cars, and many car plants shut down temporarily.

At the same time, several rounds of stimulus checks fattened Americans’ bank accounts, and after hunkering down during the early phase of the pandemic, so-called “revenge spending” took over. The combination of stronger demand and reduced supply was a recipe for rising prices.

Still, some economists have argued that large food and consumer goods companies took advantage of pandemic-era disruptions. Consumers saw empty store shelves and heard numerous stories about disrupted supply chains, and at least temporarily felt they had little choice but to accept the higher prices. 

Economist Isabella Weber at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, called it “seller’s inflation.” Others referred to it as “greedflation.”

“What a lot of corporations did was exploit consumers’ willingness” to accept the disruptions from the pandemic, Pancotti said. 

Is banning price gouging like instituting price controls? 

During the last spike of inflation in the 1970s, both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations at times imposed price controls, which specifically limited what companies could charge for goods and services. They were widely blamed for creating shortages and long lines for gas. 

Some economists say Harris’ proposal would have a similar impact.

“It’s a heavy-handed socialist policy that I don’t think any economist would support,” said Kevin Hassett, a former top economic adviser in the Trump White House. 

But Pancotti disagreed. She argued that it was closer to a consumer protection measure. Under Harris’ proposal, the government wouldn’t specify prices, but the Federal Trade Commission could investigate price spikes. 

“The proposal is really about protecting consumers from unscrupulous corporate actors that are trying to just rip the consumer off because they know they can,” she said. 

This article was originally published by The Associated Press.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire

On the second day of the Democratic National Convention, the Obamas took center stage and delivered electrifying speeches that reverberated through the United Center in Chicago. The convention, already energized by a capacity crowd in Milwaukee where Vice President Kamala Harris spoke during a rally, reached new heights as the former First Lady and former President rallied Democrats with their powerful words.

Harris, who spoke to a packed arena in Milwaukee, had her speech live streamed into the United Center, effectively connecting the two cities in a show of Democratic unity and strength. Her presence set the tone for the evening, with her words filling both venues.

Michelle Obama took the stage before her husband in Chicago, immediately captivating the audience. “Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it? I’m talking about the contagious power of hope,” she declared as the United Center enthusiastically rocked. “America, hope is making a comeback. Kamala Harris is one of the most qualified people to ever seek the office of president. And she is dignified.”

Obama didn’t shy away from addressing the twice-impeached and 34-times convicted felon and former President Donald Trump directly. “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” she remarked. “His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking and highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. Who wants to tell him that job he’s seeking just might be one of those Black jobs?” she asked, eliciting raucous applause from the crowd.

She continued to dismantle Trump’s rhetoric, particularly his attempts to question the blackness of Harris and other Democrats. “No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American, no one,” Obama declared, her words striking a chord with the audience.

Barack Obama then took the stage and immediately lifted the energy in the arena to a fever pitch. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling fired up,” he began, his voice booming across the United Center. “Even if I’m the only person stupid enough to speak right after Michelle Obama.”

Obama then turned his focus to Harris, praising her as a leader who embodies the best of what America stands for. “This country has a chance to elect someone who’s spent her whole life trying to give people the same chances America gave her,” Obama said. “Someone who sees you and hears you and will get up every single day and fight for you: the next president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.”

He also drew a sharp contrast between Harris’s vision for the country and the policies of Trump and his allies. “For them, one group’s gain is another group’s loss. For them, freedom means that the powerful can do what they please, whether its firing workers trying to organize a union, poisoning our rivers, or avoiding paying taxes like everyone else has to do,” he said, highlighting the fundamental differences in their approaches to leadership.

Throughout the night, other prominent Democrats joined the Obamas in rallying the crowd. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth delivered a searing critique of Trump’s attacks on reproductive rights. “I take it personally when a five-time draft-dodging coward like Donald Trump tries to take away my rights and freedoms in return—especially when it concerns my daughters,” Duckworth said.

Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks reflected on her close relationship with Harris, emphasizing the vice president’s dedication to justice and public safety. “Kamala Harris knows how to keep criminals off the streets,” Alsobrooks said. “And come November, with our help, she’ll keep one out of the Oval Office,” a line that drew loud cheers from the Chicago crowd.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham contrasted Harris’s healthcare policies with Trump’s, criticizing the former president’s attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. “Donald Trump and JD Vance want to dismantle our healthcare system, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and eliminate protections for preexisting conditions. Either these guys don’t get it, or they don’t care,” Grisham said.

Barack Obama left the crowd with a final, resonant message: “If we work like we’ve never worked before, we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president and Tim Walz as the next vice president. And together, we too will build a country that is more secure, more just, more equal, and free.”

This article was originally published by NNPA Newswire.

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By Joseph Williams
Word In Black

Project 2025, the far-reaching Republican Party plan to demolish and radically remake the federal government under a Trump presidency, has gotten a lot of attention lately, and not necessarily in a good way. 

President Joe Biden warns it’s a threat to democracy. Former President Donald Trump says he had nothing to do with it, even though members of his administration helped write it. Actress Taraji P. Henson sounded the alarm while hosting the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards last month, urging viewers to “look it up! Project 2025 is not a game!”

What’s been missing in the conversation so far about Project 2025 — which calls for eliminating the Department of Education, replacing career civil servants with political appointees, ending affirmative action in government hiring and virtually eliminating access to abortion, among other sweeping changes — is what it would mean for Black America. 

To answer that question, Word In Black took a look at Project 2025’s potential effect on five issues important to Black communities: education, healthcare, the environment, criminal justice and faith. 

While some proposals are explicit, others are unclear and likely would face significant, insurmountable barriers. But it’s likely that Trump would use much of it as a roadmap for his second term. 

Education

While the document contains dozens of controversial proposals, arguably the biggest one is to shut down the Department of Education (ED), an institution created in 1867, not long after the end of the Civil War. The theory, according to the blueprint, is to eliminate red tape so that families will be “free to choose from a diverse set of school options and learning environments.” 

But the plan also would wipe out the ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a sub-agency that enforces civil rights laws and investigates schools accused of engaging in discrimination. Although it’s been 70 years since the Supreme Court outlawed separate-but-equal education in public schools, OCR is not lacking for work: in 2023, it handled more than 19,000 complaints, roughly 1,000 more cases than in 2022. 

“The total number of complaints has almost tripled since fiscal year 2009, and during this same period OCR’s number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff has decreased from 629 to 556,” according to the ED’s annual report.  

Dismantling a cabinet-level agency that’s been around for 157 years and has more than 4,000 employees would probably be a very heavy lift for any administration. But other proposals in Project 2025 would be far easier to initiate: replacing Title I funds to struggling schools with block grants, allowing states to decide how to spend their share of federal tax dollars, expanding school-choice programs, using federal dollars to fund private schools, cutting “wasteful” school meal programs, swapping Pell grants for private loans while eliminating Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and curbing the teaching of race in schools. 

Ultimately, the plan essentially cripples the struggling public education system, which educates the bulk of Black students. It would make it harder to file a discrimination lawsuit. And fewer college-bound Black students — most of whom depend on the federal government to help pay tuition — would be able to pay for higher education. 

Health

One of the project’s core objectives is to reduce the federal government’s involvement in healthcare. This means the incoming president could take a battleax to the agencies that run Medicare and Medicaid as well as affiliated offices that research treatments for insidious diseases and approve prescriptions, medical devices and personal products like cosmetics. 

The main goal: fewer Black or low-income people will have healthcare. Black women, especially expectant mothers, will continue having the worst health outcomes, and the practice of medicine will become more politicized than ever.

Although the plan doesn’t explicitly call for a federal ban on abortion, it does list “abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights” as terms the incoming president must delete from every federal government document to make “institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors.” And it removes federal protections for members of the military and their families if they choose to terminate a pregnancy.

The guidebook argues that “the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) also pushes abortion as a form of ‘health care,’” and that the “US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) should…reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs because the politicized approval process was illegal from the start.”

The plan also proposes restrictions that effectively criminalize abortion: besides increasing the prospect that abortion providers would face criminal penalties, it calls for the government to track miscarriages, stillbirths and abortions. It would also restrict access to Plan B contraceptives — even if insurance covers the drugs.

The standard GOP goal of reducing regulations is frequently mentioned and would decrease oversight of healthcare providers and insurers, pharmaceutical companies and major wrongdoers like the tobacco industry. 

Project 2025 also proposes significant changes to Medicaid, including a work requirement, and making Medicare Advantage, currently the paid supplement to Medicare, the default option. 

Criminal justice

Since it began garnering attention, the criminal justice-related headlines from Project 2025 have focused on its proposed politicization of the Justice Department, allowing Trump to salt the department with political appointees and order investigations of his political enemies. But the blueprint also proposes a range of low-key reforms that would have a significant impact on Black communities.

It argues for the undoing of police reforms enacted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, absolves police departments under federal oversight because of racial discrimination, calls for more draconian sentencing guidelines and puts federal district court prosecutors on very short leashes.

The justification, according to the report, is that a left-wing approach to law enforcement — including progressive prosecutors, lenient judges and hamstrung police — has led to a “catastrophic” rise in violent crime. 

“In recent years, federal and state officials have succumbed to calls from anti-law enforcement advocates for so-called criminal justice reform,” according to Project 2025. “This campaign is not just ill-advised; it has had real-world consequences.”

In reality, crime has decreased substantially, nationwide, over the last four years. Police departments under federal supervision usually end up that way because an investigation has revealed long-standing patterns of misconduct. Unleashing those departments increases the likelihood that more Black people will end up like Floyd — dead at the hands of aggressive law enforcement with no federal consequences.

And harsher prison sentences for federal offenders are likely to increase the over-incarceration of Black men, a trend that not only harms Black families but also disrupts Black communities.

Faith

Like the priests who blew their horns in the Biblical battle of Jericho, Project 2025 is a clarion call for demolishing the Constitutional wall separating church and state. And it’s not good news for Black Americans. 

The plan integrates “Judeo-Christian tradition, stretching back to Genesis,” directly and indirectly, into official government policies, from using taxpayer money to fund parochial schools — which would further undermine public schools — to pushing businesses to close on Sunday, a move experts say would damage the economy. 

The project calls for dismantling same-sex marriage, erasing specialized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) healthcare programs, sharply curbing the sale of abortion pills by mail or in person and criminalizing pornography. While it doesn’t explicitly ban abortion — the top goal of far-right conservatives — it outlines policies to make the procedure as difficult as possible.

It allows churches to retain tax-exempt status, even if they engage in racial discrimination or partisan political activity. And it reinstates the ban on Muslims immigrating to the U.S. 

In short, Project 2025 reads like the fantasy wish list of Christian conservatives while dropping a nuclear bomb in the decades-long, left-vs-right culture wars. Critics say it eliminates individual rights and all but establishes Christianity as a state religion, but supporters say it simply restores traditional values to a nation founded on them. 

Leslie Tune-Copeland, senior associate general secretary of the National Council of Churches, says the faith-based portion of Project 2025 does “the absolute opposite” of Christ’s teachings about tolerance and love.

“It’s the absolute opposite in the Bible. Jesus doesn’t force his will on anybody, right?” Tune-Copeland says. “If we’re disciples of Christ, we can encourage people, we can support people, we can minister to people, but we don’t force people to do what we do or to think what we think. But there are people out there who are telling you that that’s exactly what you should be doing.”

Those people, she says, “unfortunately, have manipulated our faith in such a way that people have bought into it. They have bought into some of the lies that White Christian nationalism has told us.”

Climate justice

When it comes to the American government, there are few things conservatives fantasize about more than cutting programs related to climate change. So, it’s no real surprise that Project 2025  is full of ideas for slashing regulations, weakening government enforcement mechanisms and cutting federal investment in programs related to the environment. 

At this point in history, however, when the window for saving the climate is rapidly closing, those plans would be disastrous — and, like most extreme weather events, the consequences for Black and Brown Americans would surely be even worse.

Project 2025 proposes slicing up the Department of Energy (DOE), the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), to name a few. All have a role in either addressing or monitoring climate change. The plan also calls for using the Department of the Interior to expand oil and gas exploration on all public lands. The federal government would eliminate funding and programs for renewable energy, like wind and solar, and would fast-track fossil fuel production. 

At the same time, Project 2025 recommends moving climate-related decisions from the hands of actual climate scientists to political officials. 

Considering that Paul Dans, the architect of Project 2025, believes “the science is still out” on human-caused climate change, you can only guess what kind of political decisions would be made if this plan is put into action.

Heritage’s Paul Dans, director of Project 2025, told The New York Times that one of its aims is to “investigate whether the dimensions of climate change exist.” In terms of the role of fossil fuels in driving climate breakdown, he told the Times: “I think the science is still out on that, quite frankly.”

The plan also proposes eliminating multiple clean energy programs and offices within the Department of Energy — such as the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the DOE Loan Program, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and DOE’s Clean Energy Corps.

The agenda further says that NOAA should be “broken up and downsized,” claiming it has become “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.”

This article was originally published by Word In Black.

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By Mae Anderson
The Associated Press

In March, a federal judge ruled that the Minority Business Development Agency, an organization that has helped thousands of minority-owned businesses over the last 55 years, had to begin serving people regardless of race. The agency has since made adjustments to give help to all businesses owned by socially or economically disadvantaged people in obtaining financing and government contracts.

The Associated Press recently spoke to Eric Morrissette, acting undersecretary of commerce for minority business development and leader of the MBDA, about what comes next for the agency. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you come to be the Acting Under Secretary of commerce for minority business development?

A: My mom dedicated her life to public service. She worked in New York City public schools for around 20 years. Every Sunday, my sister and I would help her prepare meals for her students, many of whom didn’t have enough to eat at home. I was inspired by my mother’s selflessness and service, and it helped me recognize there were families that couldn’t put food on the table. For some of those kids, that was the only meal they were guaranteed each day.

Q: How have you seen the agency make a difference in minority communities and for minority businesses?

A: MBDA’s mission is to help create an economy that gives every American the opportunity to build a successful business. There remains a $6.3 trillion opportunity gap between minority and non-minority-owned firms. If we are to out-compete the rest of the world and have the strongest, most resilient economy, it is in our national interest to close that gap once and for all.

Last year, we helped businesses secure over $5.4 billion in capital and contracts. That is up from $2.9 billion in capital and contracts the year before — a nearly 90 percent increase — and it is in large part thanks to our expansion under the Biden-Harris Administration.

Q: Since the ruling came down, what changes have you had to make? What happens next for the agency?

A: MBDA’s doors are open for business and we will continue to serve businesses owned and operated by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals, and we get results.

We are working closely with lawyers at the Department of Justice to weigh all of our options, but in compliance with the court’s order, we have updated our website and client engagement form and established new guidance for our Business Center operators, all while working with them to implement necessary changes.

MBDA, the Department of Commerce, and the Biden-Harris Administration are committed to ensuring that all people in all communities have the resources, access and opportunities necessary to succeed. We are going to keep fighting to close the opportunity gap and keep pursuing the mission Congress gave us.

Q: Has the racial and ethnic makeup of who is applying for programs changed significantly, or is it too soon to tell?

A: MBDA Business Center operators have been very supportive of MBDA. They want to know how they can help, they are committed to supporting their communities, and will continue to do extensive outreach to make sure people know that MBDA is there to provide assistance. To me, that’s the main takeaway while we learn more about how potential clients and Business Centers adapt to any changes.

Something that has been really motivating to me has been the impact of our Business Centers. Our Missouri Business Center played a major role in helping Kingsway Development secure $62 million in financing to purchase a major residential development at the center of the historically redlined district north of the Delmar Divide in St. Louis. Along with helping to uplift the historically underserved neighborhood, the project is expected to create and retain over 300 jobs.

Q: Is there anything you feel like people misunderstand about the agency or the ruling?

A: Ensuring every American has the opportunity to build a successful business is critical to bridging the gap between what America is and what America can and should be.

MBDA was founded in 1969 by President Nixon and permanently reauthorized by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in 2021. It has historically enjoyed bipartisan support. Challenging the constitutionality of this organization questions the value of equal opportunity itself, which is incredibly frustrating and hurtful.

The work we do at MBDA benefits the entire country, not just the individual businesses we serve. When minority business enterprises succeed, our nation succeeds. Our work creating opportunities is not a zero-sum game. It is not about diminishing opportunities for some to give to others.

This work is about expansion. It is about creating a bigger pie with more slices. If the United States closes the opportunity gap between minority and non-minority firms, we would add an estimated $6.3 trillion and 20 million jobs to our economy. That benefits everybody, and it makes our country and our economy stronger.

Q: What do you want people that seek out services at the MBDA to know?

A: I want to make clear that MBDA is open for business. We are going to continue providing the services that have made MBDA a reliable business resource for business owners from all backgrounds for more than five decades. We help businesses overcome the greatest challenges minority business enterprises face, which is access, including access to capital, contracts, networks and markets.

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By Alexis Taylor
AFRO Managing Editor

When I think of the power of Black business ownership, I think of the first entrepreneur I met in life: one of my grandfathers, John Arthur “AB” Butts. 

Born to the late William and Courtney Butts on Nov. 28, 1943, my grandfather was a hard working man from Norfolk, Va. – a man’s man, with a big heart. Our paths first began to intertwine when he and his wife, a teacher, snatched one of her 14-year-old science students out of the Virginia foster care system. Together, they stood in the gap and created a family for not only the young lady who would later become my mother, but all of her children as well. 

As a father to three and grandfather to many, my “grandaddy” was the definition of grit and determination. And he never missed a beat. He made no excuses– even when the going got tough.

After studying at Norfolk State University and serving time in the U.S. Army, John Arthur Butts decided on a career. For 25 years of his life he clocked in at Lone Star Cement Corporation, working as an industrial mechanic. And after two decades of loyal service, they let him go.

“The company did like companies do,” my grandmother, Dr. Marionette Butts, said over the phone, in an impromptu interview. Whether the jobs went overseas or just disappeared, John Arthur Butts found himself in a bind.

“Here he was 50 years old, having to start again– start anew,” she said. Then came an idea. 

“He always loved the yard and people would always ask ‘Who did your yard?’” my grandmother recalled. The question then became why not make money doing what he loved- creative landscaping.

“He thought he would try,” she said. “He thought he would start it part time and have a regular job, but he hated it. He was so unhappy- really.”

“He so hated it, he came to me and said ‘I don’t want to do this,’ and I said ‘Either you’re going to walk by faith or walk by sight.” 

So, John Arthur Butts, like many smart men before him, listened to his wife and decided to do the former. By the time I came along, he was known throughout the Tidewater area in Virginia as a craftsman that could make magic with a bit of dirt, a selection of flower seeds and a lawn mower. He routinely received recognition and awards for the designs he created in his yard and the outdoor spaces he curated through his business, Nature’s Green. 

But the journey to successful entrepreneurship wasn’t all roses. Along the way there was a trash collection service, Stubb’s (Butts spelled backwards), and other business ventures with less than favorable results. 

“Before Stubb’s, he and three of his brothers had a canteen truck and an ice cream truck. That was the first entrepreneurial endeavor I knew from my father,” said my uncle, Sohn Butts. “It ran for about two or three years. I remember it was parked at the house because I used to beg them to let me onto the truck.”

Eventually, with consistency and quality customer service, my grandfather rose to become a successful business owner and passed down his landscaping skills down to my uncles. I’ve watched as they have used the landscaping and construction lessons my grandfather taught to survive and even thrive in adulthood. Both are entrepreneurs to this day, while also holding down careers related to education.

“There is always a way to put yourself to work–meaning, everyone has skills that can become a business,” said Sohn Butts, when asked what his father taught him about being an entrepreneur. “What can you do? And how do other people need it or benefit from it?” 

My grandfather died on Nov. 12, 2008. He lived a good life. Still, when I drive through Norfolk’s industrial area, I can’t help but think of him slaving in a cement plant for 25 years, stifling the God-given talent and creativity that lie within because it seemed more secure– until it wasn’t. Then I remember his words to my grandmother, spoken on the other side of his giant leap of faith: 

“If I knew I could make a living like this- a better living- I would have left that job 20 years ago.”

This National Black Business Month, I encourage aspiring Black business owners everywhere to create a plan, evaluate the risks and take the first step toward entrepreneurship. Maybe that means attending a networking event, a workshop for Black entrepreneurs or a seminar to learn the basics of business. If you are on the fence about striking out on your own, don’t let fear of the unknown hinder you! Study, prepare and see what opportunities are available today. The generations behind you are depending on it!

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By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@.com

With 78 days left before Election Day 2024, President Joe Biden (D) officially handed the reins to Vice President Kamala Harris (D) in his Aug. 19 speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Biden served as keynote speaker on day one of the conference, where Harris is expected to accept the party’s nomination on Aug. 22.

“Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for Democracy and America? Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?” asked Biden at the top of his speech in Chicago. “Our best days are not behind us, they’re before us.”

Harris became the official Democratic Party nominee for president on Aug. 6 via a virtual roll call. Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, will officially accept their nominations during the DNC.

As he took the stage, Biden fondly paused for lengthy applause from the DNC crowd. Those in attendance shouted “Thank you Joe,”as Biden reflected on his presidency and what’s at stake in November.

“America, I gave my best to you,” said Biden, quoting lyrics from “American Anthem” by Norah Jones.

Biden spoke on his economic successes during the address, touting “record small business growth.” He also noted that his administration has worked to ensure that “total prescription cost can be capped at $2,000 no matter how expensive the drug.”

The $2,000 out-of-pocket cap is for anyone with Medicare Part D. The cap will fully go into effect in 2025 through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022. 

Biden also acknowledged the results of his executive action earlier this year to tighten security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Border encounters have dropped over 50 percent,” said Biden.

The standing ovation Biden received at the convention was a stark contrast to how the Democratic Party treated him after a poor June 27 debate performance. In the days and weeks after, top Democrats called for Biden to step down. 

Biden officially withdrew from the 2024 presidential election on July 21, puting his support behind Harris.

Much of night one of the DNC was about pushing excitement for and confidence in a Harris-Walz ticket.

Hillary Clinton (D), a former presidential candidate, spoke during opening night about progress and highlighted Harris’ past as a lawyer.

Clinton pushed the need to fight to get Harris in office this November in hopes of accomplishing what Clinton was not able to in 2016.

“No matter what the polls say, we can’t let up. We have to fight for Kamala as she will fight for us,” said Clinton. “We’re opening the promise of America wide enough for everyone. Together, we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling.”

Clinton highlighted several women who have run for president or were nominated for the vice presidential role in the U.S. including Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro.

“We both got our start as young lawyers helping children who were abused or neglected,” said Clinton about Harris. “Kamala carries with her the hopes of every child she protected, every family she helped (and) every community she served. As president, she will always have our backs.”

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison shared what Americans can look forward to at this year’s DNC.

“In the coming days, the party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he said. “As we move forward to formally select our party’s nominee, our values as Democrats remain the same – lowering costs, restoring freedom, protecting the rights of all people and saving our democracy.”

U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07) acknowledged the historical aspect of this year’s convention.

“I am honored to support the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz team,” said Mfume, in a statement sent to the AFRO. “I have attended every Democratic convention since 1980, where I was a delegate for the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Without a doubt, this will be among one of the more historic ones.”

Democrats paid homage to Biden for his dedication to the party throughout the first night of the DNC.

“The American people owe President Biden an enormous debt of gratitude for the unparalleled progress he has delivered over the last four years,” said Harrison. “We will honor that legacy and the decision that he has made today, through a firm commitment to nominating and electing a Democratic president this November who will carry that torch into the next four years.”

Harris made a sudden and brief appearance on stage hours ahead of Biden, recognizing his leadership.

“This is going to be a great week,” said Harris, to much applause and cheers. “I want to kick us off by supporting our incredible President Joe Biden. Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime service to our nation and for all you will continue to do.”

Day one of the convention featured delegation breakfasts and caucus meetings.

It also included DemPalooza, a series of trainings and panels to ensure Democrats win up and down the ballot in November. Sessions included talks about the future of immigration reform, protecting the vote and talking to friends and family about Project 2025.

There’s much more to come at the DNC including a speech from former President Barack Obama. 

On day two, a youth council meeting will be held, along with a session to address Black voters. The rural council and disability caucus meeting will also be held in the afternoon. 

Day three of the conference, a variety of different caucuses will meet. The Black, Hispanic, AAPI Caucus and Native American Caucuses will each hold their sessions on the morning of Aug. 21. 

On the final day of the convention, there will be a session to address how women in politics can combat misinformation created via artificial intelligence and another on how to gain political ground in places that are considered “factory towns.” The day will also include a session titled “Crisis in the Court: It’s Time for Reforms to Restore Legitimacy and to Protect Our Constitution.”  The Women’s Caucus will also meet, along with the poverty and interfaith councils. 

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

It is with a heavy heart and great pride that the AFRO honors the life and legacies of Mrs. Gladys Blount and Mrs. Romay Johnson-Davis, two members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Following their courageous service during World War II (WWII) both ladies went on to live long and meaningful lives all the while never forgetting their time in the military. 

Romay Catherine Johnson-Davis was born on October 29,1919 in King George County, Va. She was the middle child of six and the only girl. With no Black high school in King George County, she was forced to attend numerous high schools in New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C., staying with different family members. 

Johnson-Davis graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. Following graduation she worked as an elevator operator in a hospital elevator and then served the Bureau of Engraving in Washington, D.C. 

During WWII, the United States decided to expand their military capacity and Johnson-Davis volunteered to join the Army. After enrolling in the Army she completed her basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa she was assigned to the motor pool at Camp Breckinridge in Morganfield, Ky. During her time there, Johnson-Davis worked as a mechanic and a driver. It was during her time at Camp Breckinridge that she volunteered to go overseas and was chosen to serve in the 6888th. 

In February of 1945, Johnson-Davis  joined the first group of women sent over to England to sort through months worth of undelivered mail. The women created a system that operated in three different shifts, seven days a week and allowed them to process approximately 195,000 pieces of mail a day. 

“In March of 2022– almost 80 years after the 6888th service in World War II–Ms. Romay came to me and told me that they are now going to award them the Congressional Gold Medal. When that announcement came, only six of the 855 women were alive,” said Col. Eries Mentzer, a member of the U.S. Air Force and a dear friend of Johnson-Davis .

“At that time Ms.Romay was the oldest living member of the 6888th at 102. It was the extended family of many members of the 6888th that accepted their honors because they were deceased. But for Ms.Romay we decided to make this as grand of a ceremony as possible because she waited far too long for this honor to happen.”

Mentzer recalled how Johnson-Davis reacted to the special celebration they held for her in downtown Montgomery. 

“When she came home from overseas she went to New York and attended the Traphagen Fashion School. When she parked her car for the first time in New York her footlocker was stolen and for almost 80 years she’s never had her military uniform,” said Mentzer. “We made it our mission to return her military uniform. We found a World War II footlocker just by kind of scouring the internet and then from the footlocker we were able to find every part of the uniform just by looking at pictures of her. We took all of this and made the footlocker into a shadow box.” 

“We presented that to her and you could just see her eyes well up. After that she never took her eyes off that footlocker. I went over to her house later that night and she was just staring at the footlocker and she said ‘I never thought I would see my uniform again. I never thought anybody would care this much about me,’”Mentzer recalls.

Johnson-Davis’ charismatic spirit and big personality stuck with her even as she grew older. Known for defying odds and marching to the beat of her own drum, the army vet went on to live a very full life following her service in the 6888th. When Mentzer met her, she was 101-years-old and working at the local Winn Dixie grocery store as a way of “keeping herself active and busy.” Prior to that she worked in the fashion industry, having earned degrees from the New York Fashion Institute and the Traphagen School of Fashion. 

Amidst her exciting career in fashion she met her husband, Jerry Davis at a party in 1957. They were married for 42 years until his passing in 1999. Throughout the years, Romay would go on to earn her master’s degree in education from New York University, in addition to picking up a series of hobbies and professional interests like taxidermy, real estate, painting and making furniture. 

Johnson-Davis was the oldest living veteran of the battalion until her passing on June 21. It was only a day later, on June 22,  that her fellow soldier, Gladys Blount would also pass.

Born on June 6, 1922 to John and Eva Debman in Newark, New Jersey, from 1944 to 1946, Blount proudly served in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Before joining the military, she worked as a beautician. In 1948 Blount married Anthony Blount Sr. and they had two children, Eva Davis and the late Kwame Blount.

“When she first went overseas she wasn’t frightened with the war going on. She was happy to be there and very excited about what laid ahead of her,” said Eva Davis, Blount’s daughter. “She went overseas and really enjoyed the assignment she was given.”

Following her service in WWII, she followed multiple career paths including one in the medical field as a nursing assistant and within the dietary department for Newark Public Schools.

Blout was the matriarch of her family with eight grandchildren: Kevin Blount Sr., Willie Davis IV, Joaquin Blount, Chaz Davis, Stephen Davis, Rakeem Blount, Amber Blount and Chole Blount. She also had 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Blount was known for her kind and joyful spirit. Her artistic spirit was often expressed through her hobbies which included scrapbooking, baking, reading and listening to classical music. 

She is survived by her daughter, Eva Davis, her 8 grandchildren, and a host of great-grandchildren. Blount is preceded in death by her parents, her son Kwame Blount, her siblings and son-in-law, Willie Davis III.

The legacy of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion is one the AFRO has treasured and upheld for years. Although many of the women who served in the unit are deceased, the few remaining members have continued to show up to receive the many honors bestowed upon the women of the battalion in the last six years.

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By Stacy Brown
NNPA Newswire

Chicago has transformed into one of the most fortified locations in the world this summer as the Windy City plays host to the Democratic National Convention (DNC). With the influx of thousands of delegates, media personnel and political dignitaries, the city has seen unprecedented security measures involving the Secret Service and state and local police, turning downtown Chicago into a near-impenetrable fortress.

Security preparations have been visible across the city, particularly in the downtown area. To stop any attempts to vandalize the courthouse, towering security gates with concrete pillars appeared overnight at the Dirksen Federal Building in the Loop. Similarly, residents and visitors along the Magnificent Mile and Gold Coast were met with unexpected road closures and additional security barriers, even miles away from the primary DNC venues. Roads near Chicago Avenue have been blocked, with police officers stationed on standby and large security gates restricting sidewalk access.

In the South Loop, manhole covers have been sealed with tamper-evident markers, a precautionary measure to detect any unauthorized access. The DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center, which includes local and federal law enforcement agencies, has warned of additional road closures throughout the convention. Some closures will last the entire duration of the DNC, while others will be more temporary.

The security measures extend to the city’s hotels, where 15,000 media members, thousands of delegates, and volunteers are staying. These hotels have become largely inaccessible by vehicle due to barriers that include city trucks and steel walls, forcing guests to walk several blocks with their luggage. In response to security concerns, congressional officials have advised House Democrats to exercise extra caution when planning their travel, including booking lodging under different names to avoid detection. Officials have also cautioned against visiting certain areas where violent encounters may be more likely to occur.

“The protesters aren’t staying in a designated protest site… and there are people who are going to go and really try to cause trouble,” one lawmaker warned, echoing concerns about potential disruptions.

While demonstrations from Trump supporters are anticipated, the primary concern for law enforcement is the potential for violence from tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators expected to protest U.S. funding for Israel’s war in Gaza. In a welcome packet sent to Democratic attendees, convention officials emphasized that the Secret Service has been working closely with various law enforcement agencies, including the Capitol Police and the Chicago Police Department, to ensure the safety of the event.

High-profile speakers like Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are set to deliver speeches at the convention, and numerous dignitaries, including President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, are expected to attend. The rumor mill is abuzz with speculation that celebrities like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift might make surprise appearances.

Monday marked the first of a week-long briefing at the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, where the Secret Service coordinates the efforts of federal, state and local agencies. The office is also responsible for disseminating information if any unplanned situations arise.

As the first wave of protests swept through downtown, Chicago Police responded with a robust presence, including shoulder-to-shoulder patrol officers and bike units along the protest routes. Federal dog teams screened vehicles at the United Center, and U.S. Coast Guard teams patrolled the lakefront. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling assured the public that the city is prepared to handle any situation.

“We want people to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Snelling stated. “We will protect them while they’re doing it, but we will not guarantee that we’re not going to make arrests if they start to act violently or commit crimes.”

This article was originally published by NNPA Newswire.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – On the 116th anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Springfield, Illinois. The new monument will preserve 1.57 acres of federal land and highlight a significant but painful moment in American history, when a White mob attacked the Black community in Springfield, leading to the lynching of two Black men and widespread destruction of homes and businesses.

“Our history is not just about the past; it’s about our present and our future,” Biden said during the announcement. “The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument will help us remember an unspeakable attack on the Black community and honor the Americans who came together in its aftermath to help deliver on the promise of civil rights.”

The Springfield 1908 Race Riot was a violent response by a White mob to allegations against two Black men, Joe James and George Richardson, held in the Sangamon County Jail. The mob’s demands for their release escalated into widespread violence after the men were moved to another location for their safety. 

Throughout the weekend of Aug. 14-16, 1908, two Black men, Scott Burton and William Donnegan, were lynched, and dozens of Black-owned and Jewish-owned businesses were looted and destroyed.

The riot, which occurred just blocks away from President Abraham Lincoln’s home, shocked the nation and led to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Civil rights leaders such as Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois and Mary Church Terrell played pivotal roles in establishing the NAACP, an organization that has been instrumental in the fight for civil rights in the United States.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson attended the event at the White House on Aug. 16, where President Biden signed the proclamation. The president also hosted guests in the Oval Office, including the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of the Black Press of America.

The designation marks Biden’s 11th use of the Antiquities Act, following the establishment of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in 2023, created on the 82nd anniversary of Emmett Till’s birth. The White House announced that the National Park Service (NPS) will manage the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument and include the charred foundations of five homes never rebuilt after the riot.

“Establishing the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument is an important step in recognizing and remembering this painful but important moment in America’s history,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “The Springfield 1908 Race Riot was a horrific and significant part of our nation’s march toward equality and civil rights. As we work to tell America’s story—even when difficult—may this monument help us learn from the past in order to build a more just and equitable future.”

NPS Director Chuck Sams also applauded the new monument. “This national monument will provide current and future generations an opportunity to reflect on the tragic events but also to be inspired by the resilience of the Black community and national leaders that went on to fight for social change and civil rights in America,” Sams said.

The Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument joins an extensive network of sites dedicated to commemorating civil rights history across the United States, including the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and the Brown v. Board National Historic Park. The NPS plans to collaborate with local communities to prepare for interpretation, commemoration, and visitor experiences at the new site, which will eventually be part of the NPS’s African American Civil Rights Network.

White House officials said the new monument underscores the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to advancing civil rights and racial justice. Officials said it also builds on previous actions such as signing the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, and making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

With the president’s actions, the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument became part of the National Park System, which now includes 431 national park sites.

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LOS ANGELES, CA – The top two leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the nation’s leading public service union, were reelected Tuesday, Aug. 13, to four-year terms.

Delegates reelected President Lee Saunders and Secretary-Treasurer Elissa McBride by acclamation on the second day of the 46th AFSCME International Convention being held here.

“I am filled with gratitude that AFSCME members have placed their confidence in me to lead our great union for another term,” said Saunders, who was first elected president in June 2012.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the work we have done together — the dynamic organizing, the surge in member activism, the record-setting contracts, the grassroots lobbying, the bold political action and more,” added Saunders, who began working for AFSCME in 1978 as a labor economist.

Saunders said he is ready to lead AFSCME members, who are fired up to win the battles that lie ahead and write the next chapter in the union’s history.

“We are ready in the coming years to keep fighting and winning — starting this fall when we will make the difference in this high-stakes presidential election. I am excited to work with all 1.4 million AFSCME members — the strongest, most fearless people I know — to seize the promising opportunities before us and launch the next great era in AFSCME’s history,” he said.

McBride, who joined AFSCME as the director of education and leadership training in 2001 and began her service as secretary-treasurer in 2017, expressed her gratitude to members for believing in her.

“Thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve as your secretary-treasurer, for the confidence you’ve shown in me in this role, and for the solidarity we show with each other every day,” McBride said. “In partnership with President Saunders, I’m committed to leading our union with integrity, with passion, and with accountability to all of you. And I’ll do everything I can to continue to build strong local unions with all of you.”

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By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
Word in Black

As the national conversation around reparations gains momentum, communities across the United States are taking action to address the enduring legacy of slavery and systemic racism. And one Midwestern faith-based organization, the Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan, is turning talk into action by addressing the racial wealth gap.

Founded in 2021, the organization is all about repairing the deep wounds left by slavery and systemic racism. White members of area churches committed to healing their relationships with the Black community and making amends for racial harms. Because of that, the “reparations will be committed mainly from predominantly white Houses of Worship as part of their efforts to repair the breach caused by centuries of slavery, inequality of wealth accumulation, and the failure to live into God’s Plan,” according to the Justice League’s website.  

Indeed, the Justice League’s commitment to making things right resulted in them raising a reparations fund of more $400,000, built by payments from area churches and individuals who’ve taken a proactive approach to social justice. And so in early August, the Justice League handed out $5,000 scholarships to 10 college-bound high school grads. 

Recipients were selected based on their 500-word essays that examined the racial wealth gap or generational wealth in America and how that gap has affected their families. Academic grades counted for 25 percent of the total score and finalists were also interviewed.

“A common thread in their essays is that discrimination today has resulted from years of social injustices, and it continues to limit African-American families’ access to basic wealth builders–education, higher paying jobs and home ownership,” says Willye Bryan, founder and vice president of the Justice League. “This doesn’t allow for generational wealth building, nor does it allow for closing the racial wealth gap.”

When he thinks of generational wealth, scholarship winner Zachary Barker, who’s headed to Michigan State University, wrote that, “I think of families like the Rockefellers, Gateses, and Buffets. Recently, some famous Black people have achieved billionaire status like Michael Jordan, Jay Z, Lebron James and Oprah. But the rest of us are still struggling to get by.”

Olivia Burns, who will attend Michigan State University’s Honors College, is a Black transracial adoptee who was exposed first-hand to the racial wealth gap. She wrote about the relative wealth in her White parents’ household compared to her Black biological family’s household.

“Both my adoptive parents went to college paid for by their parents and received bachelor’s degrees,” Burns wrote.  “Neither of my biological parents nor siblings have had the opportunity to attend college, and most were barely able to finish high school because they had other responsibilities like working or providing childcare for my younger siblings. Today my adoptive family owns their homes and no one in my biological family owns their homes.”

Marvin Deh, another scholarship winner who’s also off to Michigan State, reminded us that legal racial segregation was only two generations ago ‚ and so the racial wealth is still very much ongoing.

“Most of our grandparents can describe what it was like to be African-American back then and the struggles they had to face,” Deh wrote. “They couldn’t build generational wealth when the world was actively pulling the rug from underneath them. There’s only been two generations to be given a ‘fair’ chance and enough time to build upon …. On paper the odds are ‘fair’ but in reality we still have to face racism, police brutality, injustice, systematic oppression, lack of influence, stereotypes, and societal pressure.”

“This is not charity and it’s not designed to make you feel better about giving a check,” Bryan said in an interview last year. Along with raising funds for the scholarships, the Justice League hopes to address other systemic barriers to wealth creation by supporting Black home ownership and entrepreneurship.

As J’Kyla Hobbs, who will be attending the University of Michigan, put it: “Investing in affordable housing, improving access to quality education and healthcare, and reforming the criminal justice system are critical steps toward building a more equitable society.”

This article was originally published on WordinBlack.com.

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By Black PR Wire

(Black PR Wire) Washington, D.C. — Climate Power is announcing the launch of its Black Engagement Program, dedicated to advancing conversations about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on Black communities nationwide. A key part of the campaign will be educating Black voters about the stark contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic climate record that holds Big Oil accountable and Trump’s dangerous pro-polluter Big Oil agenda.

For the past four years, Climate Power has worked to lead the climate narrative, protect climate progress, and build the political will for more climate action. This work has meant reaching key groups most impacted by the climate crisis, like Black and Latino voters. Through timely research, polling, earned and paid media campaigns, Climate Power has paved the way to make the connection between climate change and its impact on communities of color. 

With an investment of over $10 million, Climate Power’s Black Engagement Program is running a culturally competent and impactful earned and paid media political communications campaign that seeks to ensure climate change and clean energy issues become a key driver for Black voter mobilization in the upcoming 2024 election. 

“Climate change extends beyond the environment and touches nearly every part of Black life in America,” said Markeya Thomas, Climate Power’s Senior Advisor for Black Engagement. “Black communities have long been the bearers of environmental degradation and climate impacts, and we know that Vice President Kamala Harris has a history of delivering on climate progress, from creating environmental justice taskforces to taking on Big Oil for polluting our communities, and casting the deciding vote for the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy plan. 

“We want to set the record straight. The only way we can protect the climate progress that’s cleaning our air and water and fighting the climate crisis is by stepping up. Another four years of Trump would be a disaster for our climate, especially for communities like ours.”

According to recent data, 62% of Black voters across battleground states consider climate change and clean energy to be important factors when voting for the next president. Recognizing the urgency of addressing these concerns, Climate Power is committed to amplifying the voices of Black communities and ensuring their priorities are at the forefront of the national conversation.

In addition to the Black Engagement Program, Climate Power launched Climate Power En Acción in 2023, an expansion of its political communications operation tailored specifically to Latinos. These initiatives reflect Climate Power’s unwavering dedication to building public support for strong climate policies and holding climate deniers and their oil and gas lobby allies accountable.

Please visit this link to learn more about Vice President Harris’ climate record.

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By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Check your freezer. Perdue Foods is recalling more than 167,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets and tenders after some customers reported finding metal wire embedded in the products.

According to Perdue and the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the recall covers select lots of three products: Perdue Breaded Chicken Tenders, Butcher Box Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets and Perdue Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets.

FSIS and Perdue determined that some 167,171 pounds (75,827 kilograms) of these products may be contaminated with a foreign material after receiving an unspecified number of customer complaints. In an announcement Aug. 16, Maryland-based Perdue said that the material was “identified in a limited number of consumer packages.”

The company later “determined the material to be a very thin strand of metal wire that was inadvertently introduced into the manufacturing process,” Jeff Shaw, Perdue’s senior vice president of food safety and quality, said in a prepared statement. Shaw added that Perdue decided to recall all impacted packages “out of an abundance of caution.”

As of Aug. 16, there were no confirmed injuries or adverse reactions tied to eating these products, according to FSIS and Perdue. Still, FSIS is concerned that the products may be in consumers’ freezers.

The now-recalled tenders and nuggets can be identified by product codes listed on both Perdue and FSIS’s online notices. All three impacted products have a best buy date of March 23, 2025, and establishment number “P-33944” on the back of the package. They were sold at retailers nationwide.

Consumers who have the recalled chicken are urged to throw it away or return the product to its place of purchase. Perdue is offering full refunds to impacted consumers who can call the company at 866-866-3703.

Foreign object contamination is one of the the top reasons for food recalls in the U.S. today. Just last November, Tyson Foods recalled nearly 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) of chicken nuggets after consumers also found metal pieces in the dinosaur-shaped products. Beyond metal, plastic fragments, rocks, bits of insects and more “extraneous” materials have prompted recalls by making their way into packaged goods.

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By Curt Anderson
The Associated Press

A White Florida woman was convicted Aug. 16cof manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black neighbor after the jury rejected her claims that she fired through a metal door in self-defense amid an ongoing dispute over children playing outside her home.

The all-White jury in Ocala, Florida, found 60-year-old Susan Lorincz guilty after 2 1/2 hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. She had claimed self-defense when she fired a single shot with a .380-caliber handgun through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens.

The confrontation was the latest in a dispute between the two neighbors over Owens’ children playing in a grassy area near both of their houses. Prosecutors said Owens had come to Lorincz’s home after her children complained that she had allegedly thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them amid a long-running annoyance at their boisterous play outside.

Lorincz told detectives in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life as Owens yelled and pounded on her door.

“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she said.

Lorincz also said she had been harassed for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.

The victim’s family members broke down in tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with deputies. She showed no reaction or emotion when the verdict was announced.

Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges did not immediately set a sentencing date but ordered a background report to be done on Lorincz.

Anthony Thomas, an attorney for the Owens family, said they would push for the maximum 30-year prison term. Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said she took some solace from the guilty verdict.

“We’ve achieved some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,” Dias told reporters outside the courthouse. “This has been a long journey to get to this stage, to get to this verdict. I find some peace with that verdict.”

State’s Attorney William Gladson, whose office prosecuted the case, said it was “a tragic reminder” of the consequences of gun violence.

“The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,” Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict can’t bring A.J. back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

During closing arguments, prosecutor Rich Buxman had said there was no evidence that Owens posed an imminent physical threat to Lorincz.

“It’s not a crime to bang on somebody’s door. It’s not a crime to yell,” Buxman told jurors. “There was no imminent danger whatsoever when she fired that gun.”

A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens’ aggressive actions and was legally justified in firing her gun under Florida’s “stand your ground” law. An autopsy found Owens weighed about 290 pounds (130 kilograms), making her much larger as well as younger than Lorincz, and the two had previous confrontations.

“She can defend herself,” said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender. “She had a split second to make a decision whether or not to fire her weapon.”

Lorincz did not testify but said in an interview with detectives that was played for jurors that she never intended to harm Owens. Still, in one 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, “I’m just sick of these children.”

“She was not in fear. She was angry,” Buxman said.

Owens’ family has expressed surprise no Black jurors were selected for the trial given the racially sensitive nature of the case. There were protests in the Black community when prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser count than second-degree murder which carries a potential life prison sentence.

The county court clerk’s office said in an email that eight Black people were among the 70 in the initial jury pool. In contrast, 49 were White and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as “other,” the clerk’s office said, based on records provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Ocala is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando in central Florida. Marion County’s Black population is about 12 percent, according to census figures.

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By Deyane Moses,
Special to the AFRO

The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) has officially returned to Baltimore for its annual conference, taking place Aug. 13-16 at the Hilton Camden Yard.  The event gathers museum professionals, historians and community leaders to explore the profound impact of African-American history and culture on the nation.

Dr. Vedet Coleman-Robinson is a visionary leader dedicated to preserving and elevating African American history and culture. As president and CEO of AAAM, she continues the organization’s legacy as a powerful force for change. Her expertise in museum management, coupled with her unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion, has resulted in significant growth and impact for AAAM.

“Maybe in the last six months or so, our registration has skyrocketed to over 700 attendees for the conference! This is a huge milestone for us. Our membership since I’ve been hired has gone up by over 270 percent. So we’re on a trajectory that we’ve never seen before,” said Dr. Coleman-Robinson.

This year’s conference theme, “Acknowledging Legacy, Fostering Progress,” marks a dual celebration. It commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act while placing a spotlight on Maryland’s rich African American heritage.

“We couldn’t imagine hosting this conference anywhere else but Maryland,” says Dr. Coleman-Robinson. “The state is steeped in history, from the legacy of Thurgood Marshall and Brown v. Board of Education, to the pivotal role of Morgan State University in civil rights activism.”

Attendees can experience dynamic programming, including engaging sessions, workshops, and keynote addresses. One highlight will be a panel hosted by Afro Charities titled “Reimagining Historically Black Institutions in the 21st Century.” The panel, set for Aug.16 inside of Key Ballroom 10 at the Hilton at Camden Yards, will look at how these institutions have adapted to continue their missions of equality, justice and equity.

The discussion will include directors from the Afro Charities, The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, The Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Eubie Blake National Jazz and Cultural Center.

Dr. Coleman-Robinson is excited about the distinguished speakers that have arrived in Baltimore for the conference.

“We’re honored to welcome Dr. Carla Hayden, as she concludes her tenure as the Librarian of Congress, as our opening plenary speaker. She will receive the Dr. John E. Fleming Award. Additionally, we will present the John and Marjorie Kinard award to Robert G. Stanton, the first and only African-American director of the National Park Service. And to top it off, we’ll have the incredible musical talents of Sweet Honey in the Rock and Raheem DeVaughn.”

Beyond the inspiring speakers and thought-provoking sessions, the conference will also feature an exhibit hall showcasing the latest museum technology and resources.

Reflecting on the significance of the gathering, Dr. Coleman-Robinson shared, “This conference feels like a much-needed homecoming and family reunion for our members. We share common challenges and triumphs, and coming together creates a safe space to connect, recharge, and return to our work with renewed purpose.”

For more information on registration and the conference agenda, please visit the AAAM website at www.blackmuseums.org.

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By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com

As the newspaper looks to its next chapter, the crucial succession question looms: Who can build on its powerful legacy?

It all started in 1892 when John H. Murphy Sr., a formerly enslaved man, borrowed $200 from his wife, Martha Elizabeth Howard Murphy to purchase a printing press for what would become the legendary AFRO-American Newspapers. What began as a church circular quickly became a vehicle for advancing Black rights and economic empowerment.

After Murphy’s death in 1922, his five sons took over, tasked with providing wages for their five sisters. Carl Murphy became editor and publisher. The family business has endured ever since and is set to celebrate its 132nd  on Aug.13.

Today, the newspaper is a media company, also known as AFRO News, with offices in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, the great-granddaughter of Murphy Sr., sits at the helm as publisher and chairman of the board. Still, she said the crucial question of who will serve next is never too far in the distance.

“It’s an ongoing discussion,” Draper says. “There are a whole lot of people who have legal and stockholder interest in the company. But succession is always at the forefront, because we don’t want it to be left to happenstance or chance.” 

Honoring the vision 

One thing is clear to Draper: The next successor must uphold the newspaper’s original purpose, which John H. Murphy Sr. outlined in a letter to his five sons two years before his death. 

He wrote: “A newspaper succeeds because its management believes in itself, in God, and in the present generation. It must always ask itself: whether it has kept faith with the common people, whether it has no other goal except to see that their liberties are preserved and their future assured; whether it is fighting to get rid of slums to provide jobs for everybody; and whether it stays out of politics except to expose corruption and condemn injustice, race prejudice and the cowardice of compromise.” 

This charge has changed slightly over time, as readers have turned to the AFRO for endorsements of political candidates in addition to church and community happenings.

At present, the AFRO is a privately-traded C corporation. The vast majority of its nearly 100 shareholders and 17-member board are family members. Ownership has resided with the family since its inception in 1892.

Blending institutional knowledge with outside perspectives

Draper took over the AFRO in 2018 from John J. Oliver, who served as publisher and chairman of the board for 34 years. Oliver, great-grandson of John H. Murphy Sr., never intended to lead the AFRO, although he, like most family members, grew up working in the family business. 

The emergence of the personal computer led him back to the company. Oliver recognized that the AFRO would need to embrace the digital revolution in order to compete. Gone were the days of linotype and teletype machines.

When it came time for Oliver to step down, he says there wasn’t a formal blueprint for Draper to take over. 

“There wasn’t any real plan,” Oliver says. 

Adding that “the younger generations caught on to the importance of taking advantage of digital opportunities quickly,” while also “exploring new ways in which they could radically change what we, historically, expected to be the way a newspaper is run.” 

Kevin “MPECKABLE” Peck, vice president of marketing and technology for the AFRO, and Savannah Wood, executive director of the company’s philanthropic sister company, Afro Charities, are the great-great-grandchildren of John H. Murphy Sr. Several other fifth-generation members are involved via the AFRO board.  

Both Peck and Wood oversee operational areas that will be key to the future of the media company, according to Draper. 

Peck leads the company’s technology strategy, while Wood maintains the paper’s extensive archival collection, featuring nearly three million photographs, thousands of letters, rare audio recordings and other ephemera such as the program dispersed at the funeral of Shirley Parker, found dead in the fountain of the lake at Druid Hill Park Reservoir in 1968. 

“A strength that Savannah and Kevin have is they didn’t do their entire careers at the paper,” Draper says. “They bring other experiences and they have ideas around what may appeal to their generation and the next.” 

Draper, too, did not spend her entire career at the AFRO. She worked as an educator, stockbroker and preacher. She grew up working in the newspaper’s editorial department.  

Peck has years of experience in the music business, serving as the long-time manager of notable acts like Dru Hill. Peck came to the AFRO to support his mother, Draper, as she took over as publisher. He continues to work with musical artists today, but much of his focus for the publication centers on leveraging emerging technologies to streamline the AFRO’s operations and content delivery.  

Wood worked with various arts and humanities organizations in Chicago and Los Angeles before her arrival in 2019. She was initially the AFRO’s archives director. Shortly after becoming executive director of Afro Charities, management of the archives was transferred to the nonprofit partner. 

Wood and Draper underscored the importance of the next successor being committed to supporting the preservation of the archives. 

“The archives tell the story of the newspaper company, but also the broader story about world history through Black perspectives,” Wood says.

Peck said his mission at the AFRO has been taking it from the closet to the cloud, migrating elements of the company’s operations and data management to cloud-based platforms. He was instrumental in the company’s recent launch of the Digital Billboard Network (DBN). The AFRO’s DBN delivers original content to onsite screens at heavily trafficked community gathering spots like restaurants, barbershops, gyms and auto repair shops. 

“The mission and the history and the shoulders that I stand on cannot be ignored. I have to impact the business in a way that’s never been done before,” said Peck. “I have to use all of my entertainment and marketing knowledge to make sure there’s not a Black person that doesn’t know the name of the AFRO.” 

Peck acknowledged that he has considered how he would run the AFRO if he were chosen as the next successor. If he did get the call, he would take the position. 

“I would have to. It would be destiny,” Peck says. “It would feel like everything up to that point prepared me for that next level.”

The ideal next leader

The successor needs to be able to sustain the newspaper’s historical identity and integrity while generating a roadmap for the company’s future, according to Max Hughes, senior manager, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP, who specializes in privately-held and family-owned businesses. Picking the right person, he says, is important to keeping public trust and confidence in the legacy business.  

“The right successor has to be a really special person, especially in a business like a newspaper where it’s a more public leadership role,” Hughes says. “You have this foundation and reputation and all of these things you’ve sustained on, and you have a great obligation to match that expectation.”

Micaela Saviano, a partner at Deloitte Tax LLP who specializes in succession planning, said though expectations within a family business can be high, a successor can draw in help from other sources. 

“The next generation doesn’t need to fill the shoes of their predecessor fully. You can supplement with external advisors, other family members, non-family executives, and the board,” Saviano explains. “There are a lot of folks to rely on beyond that one individual.” 

Draper said when it comes to her successor, she has several parameters in mind:

“They either need to have knowledge of trends in the industry or the ability to access that knowledge. They must be able to successfully navigate relationships with readers, policymakers, leaders, advertisers and employees,” she says. “You need someone who understands business, and it doesn’t hurt to have someone who is either technologically savvy or has an appreciation for changing technologies.” 

This article was originally published by The Exchange.

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By B. M. Phillips IV
AFRO President

August 13 marks 132 consecutive years of publishing for the AFRO-American Newspapers, founded by John H. Murphy Sr. in 1892.

Determined to succeed, at the age of 51, Murphy, a father of 11, borrowed $200 from his wife, Martha Howard Murphy. With their children’s support, a historical journey began that continues today with fourth, fifth and sixth-generation family members.

Just one month before striking into the publishing business, Murphy’s youngest son, David Arnett Murphy, also known as “D. Arnett,” was born. On July 9, 1892, his birth completed what would become the second-generation owners of the AFRO.  Collectively, they set the standard of commitment, ensuring the company’s success and the pursuit of fairness and equality for Black Americans. They also supported other like-minded publishers.

When the founder died in 1922, his children embarked on an expansion that saw the company spread their offices north and south, growing to 13 editions. The AFRO became one of the largest Black publications in circulation, with over 200 employees —many of whom were unionized. Its printing press ran every day of the week except Sundays. 

The company dispatched seven correspondents (including the first Black woman) to the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II to report the news. Their accounts are documented in the book “This is Our War,” which was released in a special reprint last year to mark the 75th anniversary of the desegregation of the United States Armed Forces.

Dr. Frances Murphy Draper, CEO and publisher, states in the foreword of the book that “Today, as lawmakers across the United States attempt to minimize and rewrite Black history, it becomes even more important for us to document and share our own stories.

‘This is Our War’ does just that by highlighting the triumphs and challenges Black soldiers faced. In their own words, AFRO journalists provided intimate details, including names and addresses of servicemen they encountered. In some cases, messages to loved ones at home were included.”

The paper has always been on the front line, battling racial inequality and afflictions threatening our readers.  Shining a light and advocating for better conditions required that the company be financially independent to ensure its message could not be tainted or silenced.  It became apparent that advertising revenue was critical to funding these efforts, and the addition of a sales team allowed the AFRO to augment circulation dollars and achieve its goals.

D. Arnett Murphy’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy in these efforts. He began his career with the newspaper at the age of 13. He worked for the company for 66 years. 

His early roles included bookkeeper, pressman, linotype operator, makeup man and reporter.  At one point, he ran a sports event called AFRO Marathon, but ultimately, he discovered that advertising was his specialty.  

As director and vice president of advertising, his team fueled revenue growth during his tenure.  In support of AFRO offices throughout the eastern seaboard, he invested in his teams by holding sales meetings and conferences to share initiatives and train current and new employees to be successful. 

By partnering with similar publications across the country, a stronger pitch could be made to increase revenue.  In 1940, D. Arnette Murphy was elected vice president of the Eastern District during the initial formation of what is now the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). Today, NNPA represents more than 200 Black-owned newspapers, both in print and digital formats.

In 1944, he organized and served as president of the Associated Publishers, a national advertising agency representing 35 other weekly newspapers at the time.

A key figure in the company’s management, D. Arnett Murphy was also a stockholder, voting trustee and a member of the board of directors until his death in 1972. He retired from day-to-day operations in 1963.

As reported by his niece Elizabeth “Bettye” Moss, he was Dubbed “Chief,” “Mr. Arnett”or simply “D.A” by associates and friends. He was an avid reader and an interesting conversationalist, known for his love and concern for people.

His impact extended beyond his dedication to the company, and he was proud of his role in integrating Baltimore City’s public golf courses. Along with other members of the Monumental Golf Club and the Citizens’ Civil Rights Committee, the AFRO executive responded swiftly to being denied entry to one of the public courses and helped finance the court suit that opened the public links to all in 1948.

D. Arnett Murphy was a life member of the NAACP and served on the board of Advance Federal Savings and Loan whose mission was to help African Americans secure loans and build their credit.

Like his younger brother Carl J. Murphy, D. Arnett Murphy didn’t have any sons. He and his wife Sadie Clark Murphy had three daughters Mae E Dyson, Virginia Murphy and Arnetta Lottier who followed in the footsteps of his generation working at the paper and lending their talents as members of the Board of Directors.

As noted in the article announcing his death, he had a great love for Grace Presbyterian, where he served many years as trustee and had been a member for 50 years.   

So, as we blow out the candles for another year, let’s not forget those who got us here— people like, D. Arnett Murphy, the youngest member of my great-grandfather’s sons and daughters.  

B.M. Phillips IV is the current president of the AFRO and is great-grandson of the founder, John Henry Murphy Sr. 

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By Dana Peck
Special to the AFRO

In a spiritually charged gathering at The Carter Center, Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant, the visionary senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, spearheaded an empowering event on Aug. 5 aimed at mobilizing voter turnout and educating the community about Project 2025. 

Bryant, former senior pastor of Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple, has a history of galvanizing communities towards non-violent action, having previously served as the national youth and college director of the NAACP, where he guided 70,000 young people globally. 

Bryant’s newest 5-5-5 plan is a direct response to Project 2025. The campaign features four major events held on the fifth of each month leading up to Election Day in November. 

Bryant provided a historical context of democracy, emphasizing the challenges faced by Black communities. He critiqued Project 2025, underscoring its potential negative implications for Black communities. He called for a concrete plan and youth engagement, stressing the importance of voter registration, education, and turnout efforts. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, it is incumbent upon us not to just talk amongst ourselves, but to go to the barbershops, and to the basketball courts,” Bryant told the gathering. “I want to challenge those of you who are part of the D9 (Divine Nine, Black fraternities and sororities), those of you who are part of civic organizations, those of you who are part of grassroots organizations, and those of you who are connected to faith organizations. 

“I want to encourage you on Oct. 5 and Sept. 5 that this is an all-out [voter registration effort]. I want you to leave no door left unlocked. Let no phone number be left untexted.”

The event began with an opening prayer by Bishop William Murphy, bishop of worship at Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, who invoked the scripture from Nehemiah 4. His message resonated deeply with the attendees, reminding them not to be distracted by external conflicts while working towards their goals. This spiritual grounding set the tone for an evening dedicated to unity, purpose and action.

Bryant invited nine leaders to share his vision with attendees.

Rashad Richey, a strategist representing The Carter Center’s Georgia Democracy Resilience Network, delivered a powerful address on the significance of democracy and the critical role of informed voting. He highlighted the spiritual battle behind physical challenges, urging attendees to manifest change. He called for a coalition of responsibility among community members to safeguard democratic principles.  His emphasis on coalition-building underscored the necessity of collective action in the face of political challenges.

Virginia Harris, president of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, stressed the importance of electing leaders who genuinely care about the people. She introduced initiatives such as Mobilize Monday and public policy engagement kits, designed to keep the community informed and engaged. Harris’ call to action was clear: informed voting is essential for true representation and effective governance.

Attorney Mo Ivory, commissioner- elect for Fulton County Commission’s District 4, offered a detailed analysis of the legal implications of Project 2025. She emphasized the importance of local involvement and strategic planning beyond emotional victories. Ivory’s insights into the legal landscape provided attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the stakes involved in the upcoming elections.

Yatonya Oliver, president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Dekalb Alumni Chapter, focused on the critical role of youth engagement in the voting process. She stressed the importance of mobilizing apathetic voters through community engagement and innovative outreach strategies. Oliver’s passion for youth involvement was evident, inspiring many to take active steps toward fostering a culture of informed and enthusiastic voters.

Darrel Taylor, president of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity’s Decatur Alumni Chapter, emphasized the necessity of voter education, registration, and civic engagement. He highlighted unique opportunities for voter registration, particularly in high schools, aiming to instill the values of civic duty and participation in the next generation of voters.

Dr. Johni Cruse Craig, social action chair for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Stone Mountain – Lithonia Alumni Chapter,  discussed imperative strategies for Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts. She outlined a multifaceted approach: educate, register, mobilize and protect. Her comprehensive strategy underscored the importance of a holistic approach to voter mobilization, ensuring every eligible voter is informed, registered and motivated to cast their ballot.

Bernard Levett, president of the 100 Black Men of Dekalb, highlighted the chapter’s extensive involvement in civic engagement and the critical importance of youth education on voting. His message reinforced the idea that educating young people about their voting rights and responsibilities is fundamental to sustaining a vibrant democracy.

Mayor of Stonecrest Jazzmin Cobble shared her success in mobilizing voters through effective public policy. She stressed the importance of evaluating policies over emotional attachment to candidates, advocating for a more rational and informed approach to voting. Cobble’s practical perspective resonated with attendees, many of whom seemed to leave with a renewed sense of purpose.

Congressman Hank Johnson, U.S. representative for Georgia’s 4th congressional district, praised Pastor Bryant and the collective efforts of the community. He critiqued the previous Trump administration while celebrating the Biden-Harris administration, highlighting the urgency of protecting democracy. Johnson’s passionate speech served as a rallying cry for attendees to remain vigilant and proactive in their civic duties.

Bryant expressed a heartfelt thanks to the various contributors and organizations. He shared that launching at The Carter Center was a full circle moment for him.

“I went with my parents to play with Amy Carter at the White House at 7 years of age,” he recalled. “I was on the cover of newspapers all over the country because they hadn’t seen a Black kid playing with a White kid on the White House lawn. This was 1977 and so for me to be back in this place is overwhelmingly gratifying.”

Maisha Land, creator of the Stroll to the Polls Movement, said, “It was refreshing to finally hear a discussion with tangible outcomes in mind for civic engagement and accountability for before and after elections. Learning about Project 5-5-5 tonight really focused me.  I realize more than ever that fighting the plans put in for the demise of our communities is not enough, that ‘I have a dream’ is not enough…. We must have a plan. I am looking forward to Project 5-5-5 and helping with the lift.”

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By John Leicester
The Associated Press

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Paris is closing out two-and-a-half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion with a boisterous, star-studded show in France’s national stadium, handing over hosting duties for the Summer Games to the next city in line: Los Angeles in 2028.

Speculation was rife that Hollywood star Tom Cruise — seen around town during the final weekend — would feature in the closing ceremony that unlike the rain-drenched July 26 opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games, basked in hot weather.

Shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach had taken their seats, the ceremony opened with a singer belting out “Under the skies of Paris” — sung in the past by Edith Piaf and others.

The stadium crowd roared as French swimmer Léon Marchand, dressed in a suit and tie instead of the swim trunks he wore to win four golds, was shown on the giant screens collecting the Olympic flame from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. There, the Olympic cauldron — powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels — had lit up the French capital for the duration of the Games, thrilling crowds by rising into the skies on a balloon every night.

For Los Angeles, topping Paris could be mission impossible. The French capital made spectacular use of its cityscape for its first Games in 100 years. The Eiffel Tower and other iconic monuments became Olympic stars in their own right, serving as backdrops and in some cases venues for competitions.

But Los Angeles was bringing star power of its own: singer Billie Eilish, rapper and Paris Olympics mainstay Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are scheduled to perform Aug. 11 as part of the handover from the City of Light to the City of Angels.

Each of the music artists is a California native, including H.E.R., who is expected to sing the U.S. national anthem live at the Stade de France, which hosted Olympic track and field and rugby sevens. The audience was expected to top 70,000 people.

As night fell, athletes marched into the stadium waving the flags of their 205 countries and territories — a display of global unity in a world gripped by global tensions and conflicts, including in Ukraine and Gaza. The stadium screens carried the words, “Together, united for peace.” With the 329 medal events finished, the expected 9,000 athletes — many wearing their shiny medals — and team staffers who filled the arena danced and cheered to the thumping beats.

The stadium, France’s largest, was one of the targets of Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers who killed 130 people in and around Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. The joy and celebrations that swept Paris during the Games as Marchand and other French athletes racked up 64 medals — 16 of them gold — marked a major watershed in the city’s recovery from that night of terror.

The closing ceremony also will see the last medals — each embedded with a chunk of the Eiffel Tower — hung around athletes’ necks.
Fittingly for the first Olympics that aimed for gender parity, they’ll all be women — the gold, silver and bronze winners from the women’s marathon earlier Aug. 11.

The race — won by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands — took the spot of the men’s race that traditionally closed out previous Games. In Paris, the men were bumped to the final Aug. 10, with Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola taking gold.

The switch was part of efforts in Paris to make the Olympic spotlight shine more brightly on the sporting feats of women. Paris was also where women first made their Olympic debut, at the Games of 1900.

The U.S. team again topped the medal table, with 126 in all and 40 of them gold. Three were courtesy of gymnast Simone Biles, who made a resounding return to the top of the Olympic podium after prioritizing her mental health instead of competition in Tokyo in 2021.

Following controversy that enveloped the opening ceremony — assailed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, French bishops and others over segments they felt poked fun at Christianity — the closing ceremony was being closely watched to see whether artistic director Thomas Jolly had any more surprises in store.

Jolly and other members of his creative team filed police complaints over death threats and online vitriol targeting them and some of opening show’s performers.

Critics jumped to the conclusion that a segment featuring drag queens and a DJ who is also an LGBTQ+ icon had parodied “The Last Supper,” Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting showing Jesus Christ.

Jolly and his team repeatedly insisted that was never their intention and got backing from Macron, who described himself as “outraged and sad” by the backlash against them.

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By Tales Azzoni
AP Sports Writer

PARIS (AP) — There is the table tennis player who didn’t get enough financial support back home. The discus thrower who couldn’t make rent. The badminton player who needed help to continue her journey to Paris.

Several dozen athletes have used crowdfunding to help pay for their costs to prepare for the 2024 Olympics and compete in France, with GoFundMe saying more than $2 million was raised worldwide in the run-up to the Games.

American discus thrower Veronica Fraley raised more than $23,000 on GoFundMe, with most of the donations coming after she posted on X that she couldn’t pay her rent and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian and rapper Flavor Flav decided to help, attracting more attention — and more funds — to her cause.

Badminton player Jennie Gai got nearly $22,000 to help in the preparations for her mixed doubles participation in Paris.

“This absolutely wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s support,” Gai said on her GoFundMe page. “Your donations relieved a lot of financial burden in planning our tournaments and training, which allowed me to focus fully on the Olympic race. I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of your contributions.”

American table tennis player Kanak Jha raised more than $30,000 to help cover the costs for training, travel, accommodation and hiring a private coach.

“I started to GoFundMe just to participate in these Games. And I’m really grateful for everyone who supported,” Jha told The Associated Press. “Everything given there was spent solely on the preparation for here, so just really grateful to have that support.”

Jha, who trains and competes mostly in Germany because he said it’s “financially impossible” to be a professional table tennis player in the United States, secured the U.S. its best Olympic run in the men’s tournament by reaching the last 16 at the Paris Games.

“The idea came solely for the purpose of preparation for the Paris Olympics and then for the Games,” he said. “Table tennis is a very global sport. We’re traveling a lot. We’re going to many tournaments, many training camps. So financially it’s not so cheap at times.”

Among the international athletes who sought crowdfunding support was 16-year-old Australian break dancer Jeff Dunne, who raised more than $20,000 for his preparations, and Tonga’s first female Olympic boxer, Feofaaki Epenisa, who got more than $10,000 in the run-up to Paris.

Former U.S. hurdler Lashinda Demus raised $21,700 to bring her family to Paris to watch her receive a gold medal she was denied 12 years ago. Demus originally won the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles in London 2012, but she was upgraded to gold retroactively after the Russian hurdler who finished first was found guilty of doping.

“The thought of having my mom, Yolanda, by my side in Paris fills me with joy. She was my coach in London, and now she’ll be there to witness this momentous occasion. The same with my dad who has been with me every step of the way,” she said on her GoFundMe page. “Your kindness has turned a personal achievement into a family celebration. The idea of receiving my gold medal in Paris, surrounded by the people I love most, is becoming a beautiful reality.”

Among the family members trying to make it to Paris to watch their loved ones compete were the parents of U.S. hurdler Freddie Crittenden, who raised more than $20,000 to help with the costs of their trip. Some $6,000 was raised so the mom and younger sister of American wrestler Aaron Brooks, could make it to France. About the same amount was raised for the parents of U.S. swimmer Hunter Armstrong, who won silver in the 4×100-meter men’s relay.

“Help aunt Tiff make it to the Paris Olympics,” said the headline of the GoFundMe page set up by Tiffany Martin, who said she is the aunt of American swimmer Keaton Jones, the fifth-place finisher in the 200-meter backstroke final last week. Only $520 had been raised on the page ahead of the Games.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced significant policy changes to help veterans experiencing homelessness. The new regulations ensure that veterans receiving service-connected disability benefits are not ineligible for supportive housing projects aided by project-based rental assistance through the HUD-Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

Previously, VA benefits provided for injuries or illnesses acquired or worsened during military service were considered income when determining eligibility for housing assistance. The agency said this caused some veterans to exceed the income threshold for these programs. The updated policy will now exclude these benefits from income calculations, allowing more veterans to qualify for housing assistance. Alongside this change, HUD awarded $20 million to public housing agencies to further improve the HUD-VASH program.

“No veteran should ever have to experience homelessness, but when they do, they should not face barriers to getting help they deserve,” said Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “This policy change will ensure that veterans who are receiving the disability benefits they earned through service and sacrifice can access the housing assistance and supportive services they need to resolve their homelessness.”

The HUD-VASH program is a vital resource for housing veterans experiencing homelessness. It pairs rental assistance through housing vouchers from HUD with case management and other supportive services provided by the VA. The homeless program staff at local VA medical centers identify veterans experiencing homelessness and refer them to public housing agencies, which issue vouchers to eligible veterans and their families. Officials said VA staff provide case management and other supportive services to help veterans find and maintain housing, and connect them to health care, employment and other support services.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough emphasized the importance of the new policy, stating, “The days of a veteran having to choose between getting the VA benefits they deserve and the housing support they need are finally over. This is a critical step forward that will help veterans nationwide – and bring us one step closer to our ultimate goal of putting an end to veteran homelessness for good.”

To expand access to HUD-VASH for veterans, HUD is:

• Requiring public housing agencies (PHAs) that administer HUD-VASH to set the initial income eligibility for veterans at 80 percent of Area Median Income, rather than 50 percent. This higher initial income eligibility threshold was previously optional but is now mandatory.
• Adopting an alternative definition of annual income for applicants and participants of the HUD-VASH program that excludes veterans’ service-connected disability benefits when determining eligibility.

According to HUD officials, the agency has been collaborating with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assess the impact of the alternative income definition for HUD-VASH participants looking to receive Low Income Housing Credits-subsidized housing. Treasury officials said that the agency expects to issue guidance on this issue soon. HUD will also encourage state and local governments to make corresponding changes in their subsidy programs to ensure that all veterans experiencing homelessness have access to supportive housing.

“Every veteran deserves a roof over their head, and the Biden-Harris Administration is doing everything we possibly can to end veteran homelessness,” said White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden. “Today’s actions reflect President Biden and Vice President Harris’s commitment to breaking down barriers to housing so that every veteran gets the benefits they have earned.”

The revised HUD-VASH operating requirements also include additional policy changes that will improve the administration of the HUD-VASH program. This will allow PHAs to:

• Make non-competitive awards of project-based HUD-VASH contracts to housing projects or units on VA facilities that serve HUD-VASH families.
• Approve Exception Payment Standards as Reasonable Accommodations up to 140 percent of the Fair Market Rent.
• Set a separate minimum rent policy (including a zero minimum rent) for HUD-VASH participants.

Additionally, HUD awarded $20 million for additional administrative fee funding to 245 public housing agencies in 43 states currently administering HUD-VASH. With this funding, officials said they’re encouraging PHAs to expand their housing search assistance to support veterans, expand landlord recruitment for the program, offer incentives and retention payments, help veterans with security deposits, and provide landlord-tenant mediation activities.

Since the program’s inception, HUD-VASH has assisted more than 200,000 veterans in exiting homelessness to obtain permanent, affordable housing. The HUD-VASH program has been crucial in reducing the number of veterans experiencing homelessness by more than 50 percent since 2010.

For more details on the revised HUD-VASH operating requirements, visit HUD’s website.

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By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

After the U.S. Senate passed two major online safety bills for kids in a 91-3 vote, parents with Parents for Online Safe Spaces (ParentsSOS) are now pushing for members of the House to pass the legislation. House members will return on Sept. 9.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) were passed in a bipartisan vote on July 30.

“We intend to keep sharing our stories and express to our legislators that no family should have to bear the pain that we live with daily. No one expected this bill to advance out of the Senate but we did it,” said a spokesperson for ParentsSOS, an organization led by parents who lost their children due to the influences of social media. “When lawmakers in the House hear our personal stories and that there’s such a common-sense solution to addressing the wide range of harms young people face, we are confident they will support KOSA too.”

“We are determined to make KOSA a legislative priority in the House and get it signed into law before the end of the year,” said the spokesperson from ParentsSOS.

ParentsSOS members are currently meeting with their House representatives at home during the Congressional recess. Parents are also expected to meet with representatives one-on-one once House members return.

“We lost our 12-year-old son Matthew to an online viral challenge on TikTok and YouTube. This is after he was allowed access to the internet for just one hour,” said Todd Minor Sr., in a July 25 press conference on the bills. “The never-ending pain of his loss and never seeing is smiling face again coupled with the tragic memories of performing CPR on him to try and save his life stays with us every day.”

Minor said he’d heard from several of Matthew’s classmates and friends that they could not opt out of seeing online challenges when they were on social media. 

“They felt that there was no way out,” said Minor.

Other parents, through ParentsSOS, shared the stories of their children who have lost their lives due to cyberbullying and online drug dealing.

KOSA aims to force tech companies to take reasonable steps in changing their design of their products and services used by children to prevent harm. COPPA 2.0 is an enhanced version of the 1998 COPPA, which was created to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13. 

The original COPPA’s requirements include enforcing website operators to acquire parental consent before collecting personal information from youth and providing a reasonable way for parents to review the personal information collected.

COPPA 2.0 could increase protections by banning advertising to kids and teens under the age of 17.

“It is really just about empowering young people and parents to take back control over their lives online,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a bill sponsor, at the July 25 press conference. “To say to big tech, ‘we no longer trust you to make decisions for us.’”

According to the Pew Research Center, 16 percent of teens say they use social media almost continuously. 

In late 2023, a study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that social media platforms generate almost $11 billion in ad revenue from American youth. The authors of the study found that this emphasizes the need for increased transparency and regulations of the practices of tech companies to mitigate the potential impacts on youth mental health.

Though the future for the bill may be uncertain, Biden announced his support for the initiative highlighting his efforts on the issue and encouraging the House to pass the legislation.

“The Senate took a crucial bipartisan step forward to make our kids safer online. There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms contribute to our youth mental health crisis. It is past time to act,” said Biden. “The last time Congress took meaningful action to protect children and teenagers online was in 1998 – before the ubiquity of social media and smartphones. I encourage the House to send this bill to my desk for signature without delay.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, likely Democratic nominee for president, also announced her support of the effort.

“​​I applaud the Senate for passing the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act today. This bipartisan legislation will help protect children’s mental health, safety and privacy online,” said Harris, upon the bill’s passage. “I have spent my entire career fighting for the well-being of children, and I urge Congress to pass this bill as we continue to invest in our children and their health.”

Though there is much evidence as to why the push for child online safety is needed, it still faces some road blocks such as an often divided House and opposition from some national organizations such as the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

“We would definitely support the bills with changes,” said Ash Johnson, senior policy manager at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). 

One of those changes includes no ban on targeted advertising. Johnson emphasized the need for no large shifts in regulatory compliance burdens from the 1998 COPPA. 

“Making big changes like that is where you run into the biggest compliance hurdle for businesses,” said Johnson.

The House also has until the Sept. 30 deadline to pass the 2025 fiscal year budget to prevent a government shutdown, a process which dragged on last year.

Despite this, ParentsSOS believe this issue will rise as a top and urgent concern for all legislators.

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By Eddie Pells
AP National Writer

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 meters by .005 seconds Aug. 4, waiting some 30 seconds after the finish of an excruciatingly close sprint to find out he’d edged out Kishane Thompson of Jamaica.

The word “Photo” popped up on the scoreboard after Lyles and Thompson dashed to the line. Lyles paced the track with his hands draped over his head. Finally, the numbers came up. Lyles won in 9.784 seconds to edge out the Jamaican by five-thousandths of a tick of the clock.

America’s Fred Kerley came in third at 9.81 and defending champion Marcell Jacobs finished fifth.

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By Eddie Pells
AP National Writer

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — There were small signs for anyone willing to look that the sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson might not quite match the person she has become.

The wobbly starts. The little details. The meek exit from the Olympic trials earlier this summer after such a promising start.

All the hype aside, Richardson was never a sure thing to win an Olympic gold medal Aug. 3 in the 100 meters. On a rainy and odd evening at the Stade de France, 23-year-old Julien Alfred from St. Lucia showed there’s more than one inspirational story, and more than one great sprinter, at this Olympic track meet.

Alfred romped through the puddles and past Richardson and the rest of a largely depleted field, finishing in 10.72 seconds to throw a brick wall in front of what was supposed to be one of the best stories in Paris.

She beat Richardson by .15 seconds — the biggest margin in the Olympic 100 since 2008 — to bring home the first medal of any color to the small eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Alfred’s victory completed a journey that included her father’s death in 2013 and a move to Jamaica as a teenager, alone, in hopes of training to become a great sprinter.

“He believed I could do it,” Alfred said, crying as she talked about her dad. “He couldn’t get to see me on the biggest stage of my career.”

Richardson was left with silver — a nice color but certainly not the point of all this after what she’s been through the last three years. 

Her training partner, Melissa Jefferson, finished third in 10.92 seconds.

Richardson came in as the favorite even though she has hardly been flawless this summer. Her opening race on the road to Paris included a terrible start at Olympic trials in an event she won with an untied shoelace.

Those starts got marginally better, but after she won the U.S. title in the 100, it was a bit of a shock when she failed to qualify for the 200, thus denying herself a chance at double gold in Paris.

On the gold-medal day in the 100, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce abruptly withdrew from the event before the semifinal, leaving all three Jamaicans who swept the podium at the Tokyo Games on the sideline for what, at one point, had been billed as the marquee race of the Olympics.

All of which seemed to set up perfectly for Richardson — only when she lined up in the semifinal, she was right next to Alfred, the only other woman in the Olympic field to crack 10.8 this year.

Richardson lumbered out of the blocks and lost that race by .05 seconds. It was a harbinger of things to come, though Alfred said she barely noticed who was in the lane next to her — it was Richardson again — when the final rolled around 90 minutes later.

“Sometimes when I do, I tend to panic,” Alfred said. “So far this year (not paying attention) has been such a good strategy.”

Neither the specter of Richardson on her right again nor the downpour that started about 10 minutes before the race began could slow down Alfred in the final.

Alfred’s opening burst played big when she won the world indoor title earlier this year at 60 meters, and she started strong in this one, with two steps on the entire field at the 40-meter mark. Richardson, as has happened before this summer, labored to get to full speed.

The American, her arms pumping wide in Lane 7, looked to be making up a bit of ground when Alfred leaned into the finish line. But there was too big a gap between them, and the real contest was the one between Richardson and Jefferson for second.

“I’m a baby in this sport,” said the 23-year-old Jefferson, who won the 2022 U.S. title while Richardson was still fashioning her comeback. “I have a lot of learning and growth to do.”

A centerpiece of NBC’s pre-Games’ coverage and the star of a Netflix documentary about track, Richardson did not show up for interviews after her second-place finish. It was a rarely seen breach of Olympic protocol and a move destined to keep the world guessing about a star who has stayed very much on message since her luck started changing this time last year.

In the few interviews she did in the leadup to the Games, she leaned into personal growth, and how she had become a more thoughtful, mindful person since her lowest point in 2021, shortly after she learned of the death of her biological mother.

That triggered a bout with depression, which left her alone in her hotel room in 2021 at Olympic trials, which is where she said she used marijuana. That cost her the trip to Tokyo. It took two years for her to climb back to the pinnacle, and it turns out, the high point came last year at worlds in Hungary, when she won the 100-meter title.

Given where she was at the last Olympics, a silver medal at these ones, with a chance for more next week in the 4×100 relays, isn’t bad.

But hardly anyone had her playing second fiddle to the sprinter from St. Lucia.

Alfred said on race days, she usually wakes up early on to jot down thoughts in her journal.

On Aug. 3, she kept it simple. “I wrote down ‘Julien Alfred: Olympic champion,'” she said.

Short. Simple. And 100 percent on target, a lot like the race she ran to become one.

The post Sha’Carri Richardson’s comeback halted by Julien Alfred, who brings 1st Olympic medal to St. Lucia appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Willy Blackmore
Word in Black

There has been a wave of endorsements big and small for Vice President Kamala Harris since President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for reelection this year. 

Some were very quick in coming, like Biden’s own endorsement, while others that took a matter of days were still slow enough to create some degree of controversy, namely that of Barack and Michelle Obama. 

But on July 31, Harris got an endorsement that stands out because it’s one President Biden did not receive: The Green New Deal Coalition, which includes more left-leaning and youth-oriented environmental groups like the Sunrise Movement, is backing the vice president in the 2024 race against Donald Trump.

Harris — who served both in the Senate and as the state attorney general in California before becoming the first woman to serve as vice president — mostly shares President Biden’s climate record. But while the administration passed the largest climate bill ever, the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden has still been criticized by groups in the Green New Deal Coalition for not doing enough in the face of the climate crisis. The more left-leaning groups have also been highly critical of his approach to the war on Gaza. So any change at the top of the Democratic ticket is welcomed by the coalition.

“This has really lit a candle of hope for a lot of us that have been in the doldrums for the past year or so,” Kaniela Ing, the coalition’s national director, told Inside Climate News.

The one big material point of difference between Harris and Biden happened during the Obama administration. After plans were finalized to allow oil exploration off the California coast near Santa Barbara for new hydraulic-fracturing wells, then-attorney general Harris sued the federal government. Climate groups have not forgotten that she was willing to challenge Big Oil in such a manner (not to mention her own party), and they want to see more of that from the White House.

Harris was also a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal legislation in the Senate. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, she ran on increasing federal spending on climate issues by $10 trillion over a decade, and also advocated for a carbon tax.

There’s a bit of identity politics at play in the endorsement, too, as there likely will be throughout Harris’s historic campaign: The Green New Deal Coalition believes that, as a Black woman, Harris will be an effective advocate.

Willy Blackmore is a freelance writer and editor covering food, culture, and the environment. He lives in Brooklyn.

This article was originally published on WordinBlack.com.

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By Mike Schneider
The Associated Press

The income gap between White and Black young adults was narrower for millennials than for Generation X, according to a new study that also found the chasm between White people born to wealthy and poor parents widened between the generations.

By age 27, Black Americans born in 1978 to poor parents ended up earning almost $13,000 a year less than White Americans born to poor parents. That gap had narrowed to about $9,500 for those born in 1992, according to the study released last week by researchers at Harvard University and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The shrinking gap between races was due to greater income mobility for poor Black children and drops in mobility for low-income White children, said the study, which showed little change in earnings outcomes for other race and ethnicity groups during this time period.

A key factor was the employment rates of the communities that people lived in as children. Mobility improved for Black individuals where employment rates for Black parents increased. In communities where parental employment rates declined, mobility dropped for White individuals, the study said.

“Outcomes improve … for children who grow up in communities with increasing parental employment rates, with larger effects for children who move to such communities at younger ages,” said researchers, who used census figures and data from income tax returns to track the changes.

In contrast, the class gap widened for White people between the generations — Gen Xers born from 1965 to 1980 and millennials born from 1981 to 1996.

White Americans born to poor parents in 1978 earned about $10,300 less than than White Americans born to wealthy parents. For those born in 1992, that class gap increased to about $13,200 because of declining mobility for people born into low-income households and increasing mobility for those born into high-income households, the study said.

There was little change in the class gap between Black Americans born into both low-income and high-income households since they experienced similar improvements in earnings.

This shrinking gap between the races, and growing class gap among White people, also was documented in educational attainment, standardized test scores, marriage rates and mortality, the researchers said.

There also were regional differences.

Black people from low-income families saw the greatest economic mobility in the southeast and industrial Midwest. Economic mobility declined the most for White people from low-income families in the Great Plains and parts of the coasts.

The researchers suggested that policymakers could encourage mobility by investing in schools or youth mentorship programs when a community is hit with economic shocks such as a plant closure and by increasing connections between different racial and economic groups by changing zoning restrictions or school district boundaries.

“Importantly, social communities are shaped not just by where people live but by race and class within neighborhoods,” the researchers said. “One approach to increasing opportunity is therefore to increase connections between communities.”

___

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform X: @MikeSchneiderAP.

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By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Former President Donald J. Trump, Republican presidential nominee, fueled controversy during a question and answer session at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Annual Convention and Career Fair on July 31. 

Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, opened the conversation by asking Trump to explain why Black voters should vote for him, considering previous insulting comments he has made about Black elected officials and other people of color.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” said Trump, in response to the first question.

“Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network. I think it’s a very rude introduction,” he continued.

Trump evaded a response to the first question, instead taking several digs at Scott, the company she works for and NABJ itself for a late start due to technical difficulties. 

The conversation with the former president caused a stir once it was disclosed to the Black journalists that make up NABJ and the general public. NABJ leadership addressed the controversy around the invitation, emphasizing that they spent months in communication with both political parties about participating in the convention.

Trump said NABJ invited him “under false pretense,” claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris (D) would be in attendance for the session as well. Ultimately, she was not on the stage for the conversation at the convention.

“NABJ has been in talks with both the Democratic and Republican parties since January. NABJ was in contact with Vice President Kamala Harris’ team for an in-person panel before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July,” said NABJ President Ken Lemon in a statement. “We were advised by her campaign at the time that her schedule could not accommodate this request.”

Lemon said the last word they received from her campaign, earlier this week, was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during the convention. Less than an hour before the conversation, NABJ announced that they were in conversation with Harris’ campaign for a live or virtual Q and A in September.

“We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement,” continued Lemon. 

Throughout the session with Trump, moderators tried to move forward with the Q and A by asking questions on some of the most pressing issues for Black Americans, such as the economy and abortion.

On the topic of abortion, Trump said he is proud of the Supreme Court’s move to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the decision to each individual state.

“Right now, it’s an amazing thing. It’s out of the federal government, it’s [up to the] states and people are voting,” he said.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, at least 14 states have criminalized abortions.

During the session, Trump doubled down on criticism of Harris’ actions around the border and expressed concern about “Black jobs” being taken by people who enter the U.S. illegally.

“Coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs,” said Trump. 

When asked to finally answer the question of “What is a ‘Black job?’” Trump stated that “a Black job is anybody that has a job.”

Trump claimed Harris has allowed millions to flock to the border, referring to her as the “border czar” due to Biden assigning her to address the root causes of Central American migration as vice president.

“She’s done a horrible job,” criticized Trump.

Before the Q and A, NABJ convention co-chair Karen Attiah announced her resignation via X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I have decided to step down as co-chair from this year’s #NABJ24 convention in Chicago,” she said. “While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format.”

Lemon backed NABJ’s decision to move forward with Trump’s invitation stating that it was in line with their usual practices concerning political candidates

“It has always been our policy to ensure that candidates know that an invitation is not an endorsement,” said Lemon. “While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable.”

The convention included a live fact-checking option on the NABJ website, which attendees applauded at the event.

Ahead of the session, the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA) issued a strong statement against the invitation, demanding that it be rescinded. 

“I strongly oppose Trump’s participation in the NABJ annual convention and career fair,” declared NNPA National Chair Bobby Henry, via the NNPA Newswire. “The NNPA represents over 250 African American-owned newspapers and media companies and has been a pillar of the Black Press of America for 197 years.”

Henry said Trump’s “divisive rhetoric and actions have harmed marginalized communities, particularly the Black community.” 

“Allowing him a platform at this event undermines the NABJ’s values of inclusion and solidarity and risks normalizing his damaging behavior.”

NABJ was founded on Dec. 12, 1975 by a group of 44 individuals with a focus on providing “quality programs and services to and advocacy for Black journalists worldwide.”

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By Aria Brent
AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com

A recent study conducted by the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) found toxic metals in a variety of tampon brands currently being sold throughout the United States. The report, released by the university’s department of public health, noted lead, arsenic and cadmium in 14 of 30 tampon brands studied.

Few research studies related to chemicals in tampons, despite it being a public concern. 

According to the report, “metals have been found to increase the risk of dementia, infertility, diabetes and cancer. They can damage the liver, kidneys and brain, as well as the cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems. In addition, metals can harm maternal health and fetal development.”

Though the report raised concern, researchers noted that “for the moment, it’s unclear if the metals detected by this study are contributing to any negative health effects. Future research will test how much of these metals can leach out of the tampons and be absorbed by the body.”

During the study, 16 different types of metal were found in over 30 tampons from a total of 14 different brands. The amount of metal found in the tampons varied based on factors such as the country of origin. Name brand products were also compared to generic offerings. Researchers also looked at products labeled as “organic.” 

Overall, it was found that a multitude of metals are in several types of tampons and no specific kind had consistently lower amounts of all or most metals. 

Notably, the report does not mention any of the brands found to have the toxic metals, leaving consumers in the dark about which brands to avoid. 

Olivia Atley, a doula, specializing in care before, during and after pregnancy said that Black women should be vigilant about this report given the high rate of maternal morbidity and mortality in the Black community. 

“It’s a reminder that we need to be very vigilant about the things that we are using in and on our bodies,” she said, speaking of Black women. “The vagina is very absorbent and when you’re placing anything into it that’s a great way to help the body absorb things faster.”

“When you’re putting toxins in the body, they’re also going to be absorbed faster. This could lead to infections, ovarian cysts and I know some people have experienced polyps,” she added.

The report has many women rethinking the menstrual products they use. Some women have sworn off tampons, while others don’t seem to be too concerned with the information found in the report.

“If you read some of the labels on your tampon box– it has a warning about some of the dangers. Tampons have been dangerous, this is just another thing to add to the list of risks and side effects,” said Tonesty Burt, a student-athlete at Missouri Western State University. 

As an athlete, Burt said tampons are a necessity. She said other menstrual products either don’t appeal to her or aren’t conducive to her active lifestyle. 

“Pads are uncomfortable to wear in general but especially when running. They also aren’t very reliable when you’re constantly moving,” Burt said. 

With no desire to have children, Burt noted the risks posed to her maternal health don’t concern her. However, other women told the AFRO that the information presented in the UC Berkeley report has caused concern.

“I started using tampons when my cycle was heavier, but since switch[ing] birth controls my cycle is lighter and doesn’t last as long,” said Destaney Smith, a primary care assistant from Columbus, Ohio.  

“I don’t really need them, but I got used to using them,” she said, speaking of the tampons she used to rely on. “Knowing they have metals in them– that’s even more reason to stop using them.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified tampons in the Class II category reserved for medical devices with non-significant risk. Although manufacturers are required to submit detailed risk assessments of the product component, design and test results, there currently aren’t any regulations in place that require manufacturers to test their products for toxic metals. 
Kimberly Clark and Proctor and Gamble, well known tampon manufacturers, were contacted for comment, but the AFRO received no response.

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By Jennifer Porter Gore
Word in Black

Overview:

For years, Black Olympians dominated in sports like track and field and basketball. But a new generation is breaking through in so-called “country-club sports” that typically aren’t available to young Black athletes.

With the 2024 Olympic Games underway  in Paris, France, the powerful United States swimming team will be heavily favored — again — to win the lion’s share of medals in the pool. It holds the all-time record for gold medals with 257; second-place Australia has just 69.

While winning medals is old hat, however, the swim team will make history when it walks into the Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre in Saint-Denis. That’s because Anthony Nesty, a former Olympic swimmer, is Team USA’s first Black swimming head coach.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve done in my career, especially leading young men and women to perform at a very high level,” Nesty said in an interview with NBC 6, a local TV station in South Florida. “It’s a great honor, and with that comes a lot of pressure, too. I’m looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to representing the USA the best way I can.”

In fact, Nesty is one of several elite Black athletes from Team USA competing in events in which the competition is overwhelmingly White. Black athletes are competing in  fencing, volleyball and skateboarding, among other sports.

Besides Nesty — a U.S. resident born in Suriname who in 1988 was the first Black swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal — the U.S. swimming team includes Simone Manuel, a Black woman and gold medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

At the time, Manuel made sure she acknowledged other elite Black competitive swimmers who paved the way for her, like Cullen Jones and Maritza Correia. But she also said she carries a burden in the pool that White swimmers don’t.  

“The gold medal wasn’t just for me, it was for people who came before me and inspired me to stay in the sport,” she told Andscape Magazine just after the 2016 Games. 

“I’m super glad I can be an inspiration to others and hopefully diversify the sport,” she said. “But at the same time, I would like there to be a day where there are more of us, and it’s not ‘Simone the black swimmer.’ The title ‘black swimmer’ makes it seem like I’m not supposed to be able to win a gold medal, or I’m not supposed to be able to break records. And that’s not true.”

Lauren Scruggs, a star of the U.S. women’s fencing team, followed her brother into the sport; Nolen Scruggs is a member of Columbia University’s fencing team. “My brother did it, so I also gave it a try,” she said.  

A Harvard University junior, Lauren Scruggs is the 2022-2023 NCAA Women’s Foil Champion and before attending the university had become the youngest U.S. foil fencer to win a Junior World Championship. She also was one of just two Black Americans — male or female — to win an individual world title. 

The men’s U.S. fencing team will include returning Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson. Born in London and raised in the U.S., Chamley-Watson returned to the U.K. in 2012 to compete in the London Games. He also won a Bronze medal in Rio in 2016. 

“Tiger Woods was like my Michael Jordan. He made people want to watch golf, he made me want to watch golf, in a sport that was predominantly white,” he told the Anti-Blueprint Project website. “I could really relate to that.”

Woods’ journey “showed me that whatever your passion is, as long as you, like, put in the work and don’t care about how hard the journey is,” you can make it on your own terms, Chamley-Watson said. “What I’ve learned is, if I can get to the top, I can bring whoever the hell I want with me.”

The  U.S. women’s volleyball team has two Black members: Rachael Adams, a member of the 2016 bronze medal-winning team, and three-time Olympian Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson. 

The daughter of a former NBA player, Adams says being a Black woman in a White sport hasn’t been easy. Many of her teammates had never interacted with a Black person before.   

“Navigating my identity as a Black woman and athlete in a predominantly white sport has been difficult,” Adams told Darling magazine in a 2020 Q-and-A interview. “My (white) teammates have good intentions, but you don’t know what you don’t know. It has taken me growing up to figure out that my identity is not in people. No matter what I do, no matter what music I listen to or how I speak, I am Black.”

The Black competitors on the U.S. women’s boxing team are competing for just the fourth time in Olympic history. That’s because women weren’t allowed to box competitively at the Olympics until 2012. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will feature a total of 13 weight divisions, six for women and seven for men. 

This year’s team members include prior winners and first-timers: NaShay Bradford, Ravven Brown, Sa’Rai Brownell, Briana Che, Zhane Crockett, Rashida Ellis, Naomi Graham, Oshae Jones, Morelle McCane and Claressa Shields.

Champion skateboarder Nyjah Huston will attempt to win his first Olympic medals in Paris. He placed seventh in the 2020 Games in Tokyo when skateboarding was first introduced as an Olympic sport.  

Huston got into the sport at age 5 through his father, a strict Rastafarian and an avid skateboarder who incorporated it into his family’s lifestyle. He even purchased an old skatepark for easy access to a practice facility. 

“Skateboarding became a family business and I skated six days a week with my father and brothers at our indoor skatepark,” Huston said in an interview with NBC Sports. “Other than riding a bike and shooting hoops with my brothers at the neighborhood park, I never played any other sports as a kid. Skateboarding was our life, so I didn’t really have a choice.”

Jennifer Porter Gore is a writer living in the Washington, D.C., area.

This article was originally published on WordinBlack.com.

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By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

Hello Alice, a fintech platform serving over 1.5 million small business owners, is providing more opportunities for entrepreneurs across the country to scale their enterprises. The company announced July 23 that it would expand its small business accelerators and Boost Camp programs in 2024. 

The Boost Camps, created in 2023, were designed to empower entrepreneurs with training and skill development to expedite the growth of their businesses. They also supply owners with a network of entrepreneurial peers for ongoing support. 

“One of the greatest values that comes out of the Boost Camps is the connectivity to peers who are going through similar problems,” said Carolyn Rodz, co-founder and CEO of Hello Alice. “It’s one thing to learn from an expert that built a business 10 or 15 years ago. It’s another to hear from somebody who’s dealing with that issue right now in your industry and at your stage of growth.” 

Hello Alice collaborates with the Global Entrepreneurship Network and corporate partners to run the Boost Camps. In 2024, Progressive Insurance, Antares Capital, Wells Fargo and FedEx will lead the programs. 

The deadline for Antares Capital and Progressive Insurance’s Boost Camps has already passed. However, Wells Fargo will hold four virtual accelerator programs over the next 18 months. They will focus on business health and credit-building practices, and applications will be open until Aug. 16. 

FedEx will also run a Boost Camp coaching program to supply business owners with funding, resources and networks to streamline the success of their ventures. The application period will be announced this fall. 

“We are thrilled to witness the remarkable success and growth of the Boost Camp program initiated by Hello Alice,” said April Britt, director of global citizenship at FedEx, in a July 23 statement. “The impact it has had on small businesses nationwide is truly inspiring. Seeing the tangible improvements in business health and the increased optimism among participants underscores the value of providing tailored mentorship and resources.” 

John Griveas, owner of Fetch Gourmet Dog Treats, participated in FedEx’s Boost Camp last year. His business, based in Buffalo, N.Y., manufactures and distributes handcrafted, all-natural dog biscuits, cookies, cakes and treats. 

Griveas, and his wife and business partner, Jackie Lovern, discovered Hello Alice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair were looking for ways to keep their business going during the financially challenging time. 

He said the funding and resources he received after being selected for the Boost Camp kept them from closing Fetch Gourmet Dog Treats. 

“It quite literally saved our business. We were at a point where the facility we were manufacturing out of was getting ready to close, and they were kicking out all of their tenants,” said Griveas. “We had a very short period of time to find a new location. We found one but the issue was the place we were getting kicked out of was about half the cost of the new place.” 

The funding enabled the husband and wife to secure the new facility. Griveas said his biggest takeaway from the Boost Camp was that he is not alone. 

“The people who you meet and talk to have gone through what you’re struggling with right now,” said Griveas. “They’re able to help you navigate, and, in turn, you are able to do the same for them. You start building relationships that could make a difference in your brand.”

The post Hello Alice expands Boost Camps and accelerators for entrepreneurs appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com

President Joe Biden recently announced new efforts to reduce housing costs for Americans. The proposals include imposing rent caps on corporate landlords and building more affordable housing.

The move comes after the Biden-Harris administration revealed its Housing Supply Action Plan in May. It is designed to drive down housing expenses over time by increasing the supply of homes across the country. 

“Families deserve housing that’s affordable—it’s part of the American Dream,” said Biden in a  July 16 statement. “Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes. I’m determined to turn that around.”

According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, 49 percent of renters were cost-burdened in 2021, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

If passed by Congress, Biden’s proposal would deny federal tax credits to landlords who increase rent by more than 5 percent each year. The policy would start this year and continue for the next two years. Landlords who control more than 50 units would be subject to the cap, ultimately reaching more than 20 million renters in the U.S. 

“Rent’s too high and a home is out of reach for too many working and young Americans. After decades of failure to build enough homes, the president decided that it was time to take action to turn that around,” said Stephen K. Benjamin, senior adviser to the president and public engagement director at the White House. “We’ve seen this trend of corporate landlords, those on Wall Street primarily, buying hundreds and thousands of homes in one community and significantly increasing rents higher than normal inflation would dictate.” 

High rents often have a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown families. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that 58 percent of households led by Black adults are renters. This is compared to 27.9 percent for households led by White adults.

Benjamin highlighted that the president is also working to remove barriers to homeownership, a means of creating generational wealth for Black Americans. According to the adviser, nearly 250,000 Black adults have purchased a home with the help of a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan since 2021. 

He also said Biden’s foreclosure prevention measures have kept more than 160,000 African Americans in their homes.

“People just want a fair shot, an opportunity to do the great things that God has in store for them. They want a level playing field that realizes that oftentimes the system does not work for Black and Brown tenants across this country,” said Benjamin. “The civil rights challenge of the 21st century is, how do I build generational wealth? For many of us, it’ll be through housing.”

The post Biden targets housing costs with new proposals appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Tierra Stone
AFRO Intern
tierrastone@afro.com

Livingstone College is receiving a $10 million donation, the school’s president, Dr. Anthony Davis, recently announced during a conference of the AME Zion Church. The news came during a July 22 call from a sponsor who chooses to remain anonymous, he said. The same donor has given a total of seven million in donations in the past several months, bringing the current total to $17 million.

Livingstone College is a private, Christian and historically Black institution in Salisbury, N.C. which has obtained a series of donations primarily focused on amplifying student life and campus establishments. 

During the homecoming celebration of the Fall 2023 semester, the college received its very first contribution from the anonymous donor. The money came at an integral moment for the school, and will help fund campus restoration and educational programs. The second donation, showcased in February during the college’s 145th Founders Day event, also helped to strengthen the school’s capacity to train up the next generation of educated professionals.

Many of the contributions are solely used toward revamping the school and obtaining new materials to support the student body. Additionally, Livingstone has strived to use these funds to increase employment opportunities and amplify student enrollment, with the understanding that enhancing present-day facilities can attract future students and cultivate a beneficial learning environment. 

Livingstone College is currently in the process of a $30 million regeneration project that has gone through many stages. The first stage has already begun with the creation of new dormitories and a new cafeteria. Both of these developments are set to be completed by the end of 2024. 

Beyond these upgrades, the college has also worked towards launching a biomanufacturing training program. This enterprise is a part of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Initiative, which focuses on investing in underfunded communities. In North Carolina, this means more skills and training programs. One of the $1 million donations is being used for lab equipment to aid training programs. This will help the school prepare each student for jobs in growing career fields and enhance the economic upsurge within the region.  

Livingstone College was established in 1879 in Concord, N.C., as the Zion Wesley Institute. The school has had a rich history built on providing African-American students with access to a quality education. The institution moved to Salisbury, N.C. in 1887 after changing its name to honor the great missionary and philanthropist, David Livingstone. Still today, the school continues to oblige the needs of the surrounding community by living up to its mission of academic achievement and social conscience.

The post Livingstone receives $10M donation appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – A group of well-known Black Democratic leaders unveiled Project FREEDOM, a fresh strategy to combat Project 2025, a contentious 922-page plan to reform the federal government put forth by a conservative Washington think tank and other political allies.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly warned in campaign speeches that if Donald Trump wins a second term, he plans to use the conservative blueprint to exert unprecedented presidential power, eliminate the Department of Education and federal housing assistance, and significantly cut or restrict food stamps and other social welfare programs.

Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, calling some of the proposals “seriously extreme,” but its architects helped shape his Republican Party platform. 

Project FREEDOM, the organizers said in a virtual news conference, is designed to engage Black voters in four key battleground areas.

In the plan, the group says it aims to mobilize voters of color through town halls, community events, digital campaigns and phone banks in Michigan, North Carolina, Las Vegas, and the Pennsylvania/Tri-State area.

Project FREEDOM aims to provide voters with a substantial policy agenda for Democrats ahead of the November election, offering a clear and precise contrast to Project 2025. 

Organizers say Project FREEDOM is based on four pillars: Freedom to Live, Freedom to Learn, Freedom to Vote, and Freedom to Thrive.

“When people show you who they really are, you have a responsibility to speak your truth. Project FREEDOM is our opportunity to speak in one collective voice and say, ‘This will not stand,” said Rev. Michael McBride, co-founder of Black Church PAC and the National Black Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium, which work to center Black and Brown gun violence prevention practitioners and scale up life-saving interventions related to urban and communal violence.

They said Freedom to Live is born from the idea that the Black community should be able to “live freely and without fear.” Organizers are calling for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which Republicans in the U.S. Senate have stalled. 

“The way to really engage voters to go to the polls is to make sure they know we’re not just going for a celebratory vote. Instead, we’re going to the polls with our bag of demands with us,” said Tamika Mallory, co-founder of Until Freedom, an intersectional social justice organization.

Mallory emphasized the need to address income inequality, educational challenges and police violence. She referenced the case of Sonya Massey, an unarmed 36-year-old Black woman and mother of two, who was fatally shot by former deputy Sean Grayson in her Illinois home. Grayson’s troubled history in law enforcement, including prior disciplinary issues, highlights systemic problems in policing that Project FREEDOM aims to address.

Meanwhile, Freedom to Thrive calls for expanding the Child Tax Credit, increasing the federal minimum wage to match inflation, and a pilot program for universal basic income in low-income communities nationwide. 

Additionally, Freedom to Learn focuses on education, including canceling student debt and protecting Black American history in public schools. 

Freedom to Vote aims to strengthen voting rights, advocate for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act’s passage, and reshape the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michael Blake, founder of Project FREEDOM and CEO of KAIROS Democracy Project, emphasized the urgency of the initiative. 

“Our democracy is under siege by a man and political machine that put themselves above all those in whom they detect ‘otherness,’” said Blake, a former vice chair of the Democratic Party.

“We cannot afford to forget the pain inflicted on our people throughout Donald Trump’s administration, and we certainly cannot afford the destructiveness a second term would normalize,” Blake stated.

Project FREEDOM officials said, “Make no mistake: Communities of color are the frontline communities targeted by the poison that is Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist vision for the future, and Project FREEDOM is the antidote.”

The post Project FREEDOM unveiled to combat controversial project appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Christine Fernando
The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — ” Brats for Harris.” ” We need a Kamalanomenon. ” ” Gen Z feels the Kamalove.”

In the days since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Gen Z voters jumped to social media to share coconut tree and “brat summer” memes — reflecting a stark shift in tone for a generation that’s voiced feeling left behind by the Democratic Party.

Youth-led progressive organizations have warned for months that Biden had a problem with young voters, pleading with the president to work more closely with them to refocus on the issues most important to younger generations or risk losing their votes. With Biden out of the race, many of these young leaders are now hoping Harris can overcome his faltering support among Gen Z and harness a new explosion of energy among young voters.

Since July 21, statements have poured out from youth-led organizations across the country, including in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, as leaders thanked Biden for stepping aside and celebrated the opportunity to organize around a new candidate. On July 26, a coalition of 17 youth-led groups endorsed Harris.

“This changes everything,” said Zo Tobi, director of communication for the Movement Voter Project, a national progressive funding group focusing on youth-led organizations, when he heard the news that Biden was dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris. “The world as it is suddenly shifted into the world as it could be.”

As the campaign enters a new phase, both Harris and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, are expected to target messages aimed at younger voters who could prove decisive in some of the most hotly contested states. 

Trump spoke late July 26 at a Turning Point USA conference and Harris plans to deliver a virtual address July 27 to Voters of Tomorrow, an organization focused on young voters.

John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, who has worked with Biden, said the “white-hot energy” among young people is something he hasn’t seen since former President Barack Obama’s campaign. While there’s little reliable polling so far, he described the dynamic as “a combination of the hopefulness we saw with Obama and the urgency and fight we saw after the Parkland shooting.”

In many ways, it was the first time many young people felt heard and felt like their actions could have an impact on politics, he and several young leaders said.

“It’s reset this election in profound ways,” he said. “People, especially young people, for so long, for so many important reasons have been despondent about politics, despondent about the direction of the country. It’s weighed on them. And then they wake up the next morning, and it seems like everything’s changed.”

About 6 in 10 adults under 30 voted for Biden in 2020, according to AP VoteCast, but his ratings with the group have dipped substantially since then, with only about a quarter of the group saying they had a favorable opinion of him in the most recent AP-NORC poll, conducted before Biden withdrew from the race.

That poll, along with polls from The New York Times/Siena and from CNN that were conducted after Biden dropped out, suggest that Harris starts off with somewhat better favorable ratings than Biden among young adults.

Sunjay Muralitharan, vice president of College Democrats of America, said it felt like a weight was lifted off his chest when Harris entered the race.

Despite monthly coalition calls between youth-led groups and the Biden campaign, Muralitharan spent months worrying about how Biden would fare among young voters as he watched young people leave organizations such as the College Democrats and Young Democrats to join more leftist groups.

College Democrats issued statements and social media posts encouraging the party to prioritize young people and to change course on the war in Gaza and have “worked tirelessly to get College Dems programming” at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this summer. But they received limited outreach in return, Muralitharan said.

A Harris campaign represents an opportunity to move in a new direction, he said. The vice president has shown her vocal support for issues important to young voters such as climate change and reproductive rights, Muralitharan said, adding that she may also be able to change course and distance herself from Biden’s approach to the war in Gaza.

“The perpetual roadblock we’ve run into is that Biden is the lesser of two evils and his impact on the crisis in Gaza,” he said. “For months, we’ve been given this broken script that’s made it difficult for us to organize young voters. But that changes now.”

Santiago Mayer, executive director of the Gen Z voter engagement organization Voters of Tomorrow, said the Biden campaign “created an entirely new framework for operating with youth organizations” that can now be transitioned into supporting Harris’ campaign.

“Gen Z loves VP Harris, and VP Harris loves Gen Z,” he said. “So we’re ready to get to work for her.”

___

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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By John O’Connor and Rick Callahan
The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Autopsy findings released July 26 on Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman fatally shot in her Illinois home by a now-fired sheriff’s deputy charged in her death, confirm that she died from a gunshot wound to the head.

The report was released shortly before civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, denounced the killing by ex-sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson as senseless, unnecessary and excessive.

Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon had previously disclosed initial findings on Massey’s July 6 death in Springfield and the full autopsy report released July 26 confirmed those conclusions, including that her death was a homicide.

In addition to the bullet striking her just beneath her left eye, Massey had “minor blunt force injuries” to her right leg, the autopsy said.

Grayson, who is White, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct charges in Massey’s killing. He was fired last week by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and has been jailed without bond.

Crump, at his third news conference this week since the body camera video was released July 22, used an enlarged diagram from the autopsy that showed the bullet exited on her lower neck in a downward trajectory. That, he said, emphasizes the physical mismatch between Massey and the much larger Grayson, who fired on her because he said he felt threatened by a pan of hot water she was moving from her stove.

“When Sonya Massey was staring at the barrel of his gun, she stooped down, said, ‘Sorry, sir, Sorry,’ and the bullet was shot while she was in this stooped position, coming up,” Crump said. “The autopsy confirms what everybody already knows, that this was just a senseless, unnecessary, excessive use of force.”

Grayson is 6-foot-3 (191 centimeters) and 228 pounds (103 kilograms). The autopsy lists Massey at 5-foot-4 (163 centimeters) and 112 pounds (51 kilograms). Prosecutors have added that the distance between shooter and victim and a counter between them gave Grayson “distance and relative cover” from the hot water.

Authorities said Massey had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. Two deputies eventually showed up at her house in Springfield, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water, aiming his 9mm pistol at her and threatening to shoot her in the face. He fired three times.

The unidentified deputy with Grayson then said he would get his medical kit, but Grayson said, “She done. You can go get it, but that’s a head shot. There’s nothing you can do, man.”

He later relented while the second deputy held towels to Massey’s head to try to stem the bleeding, but by the time Grayson returned with his kit, emergency medical professionals had arrived and when they told Grayson his help wasn’t needed, he threw his kit on the floor and said, “I’m not even gonna waste my med stuff then.”

Massey struggled with mental illness, according to her family. Her son, 17-year-old Malachi Hill Massey, said July 26 that he and his 15-year-old sister had moved in with their fathers because Sonya Massey had admitted herself to a 30-day inpatient program in St. Louis sometime during the week before her death, but returned two days later without explanation.

Malachi Massey also said that on July 5, the day before the early morning shooting, law enforcement officers whom he thought were from Sangamon County were called to the house and were there when he arrived. By then, his mother had called him to say she was driving herself to a local hospital, apparently for mental health treatment. He said he doesn’t know who called police or what help she was seeking that day.

The Associated Press has asked local law enforcement agencies for records of the July 5 call.

___

Callahan reported from Indianapolis.

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By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO

Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus opted against attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint session address to Congress.

On July 24, the Israeli leader spoke to members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to discuss the longstanding relationship between the Middle Eastern nation and the United States.

Netanyahu also used the hour-long speech to declare that he would have “total victory” in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) did not attend Netanyahu’s speech and said Congress should not lend its “platform to a war criminal.” 

“I continue to grieve for nearly 40,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military,” said Pressley in a statement. “The violence and bloodshed we have seen over the last nine months is devastating.” 

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, (D-N.Y.) was also absent from the address and said Congressional leaders made a bad call by inviting Netanyahu to the Capitol grounds.

“I am disgusted and horrified by Netanyahu’s violent and bigoted speech to the joint session of Congress, but I am not surprised,” said Bowman in a statement. “It was completely predictable that he would use this as an opportunity to fearmonger and tell lies to try and win support and funding for his indiscriminate bombing campaign.”  

In total, more than 100 Democratic members on both the House and Senate side skipped the prime minister’s address.  

Lawmakers were not the only ones displeased with Netanyahu’s visit. While the Israeli leader was speaking to Congress, a large group of demonstrators gathered near Union Station to protest Netanyahu’s speech. During the demonstration, protestors removed three American flags and replaced them with Palestinian flags. While some protestors burned at least one of the American flags, others spray-painted words like “Hamas,” “Gaza,” “Genocide Joe,” and “Child Killers” on a monument just feet away from the station’s entrance.

On the evening of July 24, House Republicans were spotted replacing the Palestinian flags with American flags.

The very next morning, Washington, D.C. city workers were seen removing the graffiti from the monument.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) condemned the protests, saying “there is a difference between lawful expression and disorderly conduct.”

“Defacing public property, desecrating the American flag, threatening Jews with violence and promoting terrorist groups like Hamas is not acceptable under any circumstance,” said Jeffries in a statement.

The protest came a day after pro-Palestinian demonstrators participated in a sit-in at the U.S. Capitol ahead of Netanyahu’s visit. Nearly 400 demonstrators with Jewish Voice for Peace staged the protest. At least 200 were arrested for crowding, obstructing or incommoding in the Cannon House Office Building. 

The Israeli prime minister’s visit comes nearly 10 months after the Israel-Hamas conflict began. On Oct. 7, Hamas launched an attack against Israel, abducting 251 people and killing 1,200 Israelis. Since October, Israel has engaged in countless attacks against Palestinians, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children. 

Bowman said Congress should be focused on the safety of Palestinians and ensuring that they do not have to live in a constant state of fear.

“It’s our responsibility to uplift the shared humanity of all people and work together toward peace,” said the Democratic lawmaker.

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By Black PR Wire

(Black PR Wire) WASHINGTON – The National Park Service today (July 24) awarded $10,670,000 to 15 projects in eight states as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant program, which focuses on the repair of historic structures on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

“It’s vital for America’s HBCUs to preserve their vibrant history, ensuring that the places and the events that happened there are not forgotten,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “I’m proud that the National Park Service can support this locally-led stewardship.”

This year’s grants will support the preservation of sites like Simmons College’s Steward Hall, Delaware State University’s Hope House, and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania’s Melrose Cottage.

• Simmons College, the sole private HBCU in the state of Kentucky, will rehabilitate Steward Hall, one of two remaining buildings built during the college’s peak period in 1924. The architect and builder Samuel Plato is a celebrated Black architect who also graduated from Simmons College. The grant funds will be used to rehabilitate windows and doors as well as provide foundation repairs and tuckpointing.
• The Delaware State University (DSU) Downtown campus in Dover, Delaware, will rehabilitate a pre-1885, three-story frame building with Queen Anne architectural features including a mansard roof and an expansive porch. Originally owned by Wesley College, the building was acquired by DSU in 2021. The rehabilitation of the building will address the building envelope, interior water damage, and mold remediation. The rehabilitated building will be named the Hope House and provide social services for students and the community.
• Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, will rehabilitate Melrose Cottage, a cottage that dates to around 1785. The building served as the university president’s house from 1913 to 1951, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The rehabilitated building will become the admission team’s hub and a welcome center for campus tours. Funding will provide repairs to the electrical systems, a fire suppression system, and address accessibility issues. 

Congress appropriated funding for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program in FY2023 through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, assisting with a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars, with the intent to mitigate the loss of nonrenewable resources to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources. 

Established in 1977, the HPF was authorized at $150 million per year through 2024 and has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations.

Administered by the NPS, HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources. Other HPF grant programs managed by NPS fund preservation of America’s premier cultural resources and historic places in Underrepresented Communities, as well as sites key to the representation of Tribal Heritage, African American civil rights, and the History of Equal Rights in America.

For more information about NPS historic preservation programs and grants, please visit nps.gov/stlpg/

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 429 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

The post PRESS ROOM: National Park Service awards $10.6 million to preserve America’s historically Black colleges and universities appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Tierra Stone
AFRO Intern
tierrastone@afro.com

Protests across the country are increasing after the death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman from Sangamon, Ill. The mother of two was fatally shot by Sheriff Deputy Sean Grayson inside of her home on July 6. 

The disturbing footage sparked national outrage after its release on July 22. During a press conference on July 21 members of Massey’s family, attorney Ben Crump and president of the Illinois Chapter of the NAACP, Teresa Haley, shed light on the case.   

“This is a tragic event for us here in Springfield, we’ve had a lot of tragedies lately, but we’re used to it in the Black community—but we’re here to say enough is enough,” said Haley, during the conference that was broadcast by local news stations. 

Ben Crump pointed out that Massey also struggled with mental health issues.

“She was dealing with some issues and she needed a helping hand, she didn’t need a bullet to the face,’’ said Crump. 

Massey’s family and friends spoke about her life and how they hope legislation will come into effect to prevent these actions from happening.

According to the Center for Policing Equity, a research center, law enforcement officers often interact with people who are dealing with mental illness.

“It is estimated that 7 to 10 percent of all police encounters involve a person who has a mental illness. Most of these encounters do not involve any violence, and some don’t involve a crime at all,” according to information released by the organization. “People with mental illness are no more likely than anyone else to act violently. Despite this, police arrest, injure and kill people with mental illness at higher rates than people without mental illness.”  

Grayson has entered a plea of not guilty after being indicted on multiple charges, including first degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. 

Following his arrest, the Sangamon County Police Department released a statement via Facebook on behalf of Sheriff Jack Campbell.

“The body worn camera footage has now been released, and the public can see what we saw: Sonya Massey lost her life due to an unjustifiable and reckless decision by former Deputy Sean Grayson. Grayson had other options available that he should have used. His actions were inexcusable and do not reflect the values or actions of our training office. He will now face judgment by the criminal justice system and will never again work in law enforcement.” 

The body cam footage released on July 22 shows two Sangamon County Police Department deputies responding to a call for help at the residence of Sonya Massey in the early morning hours of July 6. 

Upon arriving, the deputies check the property for trespassers and, finding no one, proceed to make contact with the 911 caller. The two knock for several minutes with no answer, becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of response. The officers wonder out loud if she is dead or hiding drugs, before Massey finally opens the door praying to God that the officers don’t hurt her. 

She is obviously disoriented– and scared. 

While one officer continues to check out the property, Grayson enters the home. Massey calmly sits on the couch and tries to answer questions being lodged at her. Ultimately, while inside the home, a pot of water begins to boil, prompting officers to ask Massey to tend to the stove. 

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” says one of the deputies. 

A faucet can be heard and it appears that Massey is pouring the water down the sink. As she handles the pot, one officer backs up, prompting Massey to ask where he is going. 

The deputy responds from the living room area, telling Massey he’s moving “away from your hot, steaming water.”

To this, Massey says “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” 

What happens next in the video has shocked a nation. 

Grayson questions Massey’s phrase. “Huh?” he says. 

“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Massey repeats, unmoved from her spot in the kitchen. 

“You better f****** not or I swear to God I’ll f****** shoot you in the f****** face,” Grayson aggressively yells, drawing his gun to combat the soft rebuke.

Massey apologizes and immediately crouches by the sink in fear. As she tries to stand back up with the pot Grayson follows through with his threat and shoots Massey in the face, exactly as he said he would just seconds before. 

Grayson then proceeds to tell his partner not to render aid, leaving Massey to gurgle her own blood on her kitchen floor. Eventually, the second officer disregards Grayson’s suggestion and begins to apply pressure to the gunshot wound. 

He can also be heard telling other officers that he was in fear of  “taking boiling water to the face,” and admits there was no threat of a gun. As Massey bleeds to death, Grayson stands feet away and says he doesn’t want to “waste” his medical kit on her. 

He steps outside and can be heard describing her as a “crazy b****” to other officers.

Majority of the encounter was caught on the second officer’s body camera, as Grayson did not turn his body camera on until after Massey had been shot.

After the death of Geroge Floyd in 2022, many cities and states began to ramp up efforts to have officers wear body cameras. Subsequently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that same year, but it has since been halted by members of the U.S. Senate. 

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, shared his frustrations with the police and the U.S. Senate regarding their failure to address police brutality and weed out bad cops.

“In 2020 I had quadruple heart bypass surgery. I’ve wondered why God left me here in this world—and maybe it was so that I could tell this whole country that in order to honor my daughter we need to pass the George Floyd Policing Act,’’ said Wilburn. 

Wilburn said that he didn’t care if there weren’t enough votes to pass it, he wanted to make sure no one else has to experience what the Massey family is going through. 

President Joe Biden released a statement on White House website, sharing his condolences, but also urging Congress to pass the George Floyd Policing Act. 

“Sonya’s family deserves justice. I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss. Jill and I mourn with the rest of the country and our prayers are with Sonya’s family, loved ones and community during this devastating time. I commend the swift actions that were taken by the Springfield’s State’s Attorney’s office,” said Biden. “While we wait for the case to be prosecuted, let us pray to comfort the grieving. Congress must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now. Our fundamental commitment to justice is at stake.” 

The AFRO reached out to the offices of Illinois State’s Attorney John Milhiser and Springfield Defense Attorney Daniel Fultz, but they did not immediately respond to AFRO requests for comment.

The post Family speaks after release of police body cam footage in Sonya Massey killing appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Mackenzie Williams
AFRO Intern
Mwilliams@afro.com

On July 25, 2022, Resolution 718 was submitted to the senate of the United States declaring the week of July 19-25 as Black Maternal Mental Health Week. 

The reason? According to the document, “1 in 8 women and 1 in 6 Black women will suffer from a maternal mental health condition at some point during their lifetimes.” 

In 2024, the week is used to “raise public awareness and understanding around maternal mental health (MMH) conditions and their disproportionate impact on Black women and families.”

The Shades of Blue Project, founded in 2013 by Kay Matthews, holds a Black MMH summit on an annual basis in efforts to bring together “healthcare professionals, mental health experts, advocates and community members to foster discussions, share research, and promote strategies that specifically target the improvement of mental health outcomes for Black mothers.” 

The AFRO spoke with experts from the 2024 summit being held in Texas to further understand the importance of mental health when it comes to Black maternity.

“Nobody was listening to Black women, so I started listening to Black women,” Shayla Brown told the  AFRO. 

Brown is a mom, long term doula, panelist for the 2024 Shades of Blue Project Black Maternal Health Summit and a digital storyteller. Since 2014, she has been fighting to keep traditional birth practices alive for years– long before the conversation of  Black maternal health and mental health took hold. 

She told the AFRO Black women have always been on the scene when it comes to birthing babies.

“Black midwives were everyone’s midwives before we had this standardized medical system,” she said. “Black midwives were the ones who trained the first OBGYN Physicians.”

According to the National Library of Medicine,“By the early 1920s the terms “granny,” and “granny-midwife” were synonymous with Black midwives in the rural South. In Northeastern cities, midwives were largely displaced by physicians working in hospitals. Many women considered hospital births a “modern” and “advanced” form of delivery.”

Brown said, in her experience, most pregnancy issues begin with a lack of mental health support. This can stress the body or cause larger issues that are compounded by other traumas. 

“If we are afraid or holding onto trauma, then [the] body won’t perform like it is supposed to and it’s simply because you [are] sad,” said Brown. “It’s simply because you [are] lonely.”

Mindset is key. Brown said she ultimately wants to convey to Black women that pregnancy is an enjoyable experience –not a scary one.

“I want to get across ultimately that birth is innately beautiful, natural and it’s nothing to be afraid of.” 

Dr. Ana’Neicia Williams, DSW, LCSW, PMH-C, is a licensed clinical social worker with a specialty in prenatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is also an ambassador for the Shades of Blue Project this year. 

“One thing I center in my research is sister circles,” she stated, adding that the resource can serve as a means of creating cultural support for Black women. Williams said there is a lot of “shame” on the path of motherhood and “individuals believe they are the only ones going through something.”

Sister circles focus on “creating a space that is welcoming and safe but is also rooted in Afrocentric practices.”

Williams said that Black women face racialized stigmas, which can lead to negative experiences during pregnancy. 

“There are so many things that are interconnected for Black women and what they are facing, just to raise a child in America,” she said. 

According to a 2021 Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance Fact sheet, “the cumulative effect of systemic and interpersonal racism takes a toll on the physical and emotional health of Black people. Stress, anxiety and fear all increase the likelihood of developing MMH conditions.” 

The pressure of social stigma often encourages Black women to keep their problems a secret, to avoid being seen as weak and upholding the strong “Black women” trope. 

“I don’t want this to be a week or a month,” said Williams, speaking on the short time allotted to the issue each July. “We have to be intentional in providing the care– and the care doesn’t just have to be on the providers. Care can be in your community.”

To improve mental health during and after pregnancy, experts from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMMA), suggest the following: 

1. Implement a routine. According to the MMMA, “something that can help sustain or improve mood can be a simple, flexible routine that offers a bit of structure and reassurance.” There are a variety of ways to do this, including virtual apps that help track daily schedules when pen and paper don’t work. 

Mothers are encouraged to remember that they can make routines for themselves that work in tandem with routines being created for children. Routines can address mental health needs, such as journaling on a daily basis to relieve anxiety. However, the goals should be realistic and the MMMA asks mothers to remember “it is okay if your plans for an activity or even your whole day have to change or don’t work out. Try your best to be flexible and be kind to yourself.”

2. Don’t let negative thoughts win! The MMMA suggests identifying “specific thoughts that may be making you feel low. Look for what’s going through your mind while you are feeling anxious or upset. Check whether these thoughts are indeed accurate, healthy and compassionate for you. If not, try to replace these thoughts with more accurate, healthy and compassionate ones.”
3. Spend time with your child. While new mothers might be anxious about activities they should and shouldn’t do with their newborn, MMMA experts want to keep one thing at the forefront of the conversation: “Simply being with your baby and involving it in your daily activities is enough.”
4. Take time to unplug. Resources available on the internet and on social media platforms can certainly be helpful, however, mothers are reminded to take technology breaks to combat symptoms of anxiety and depression. “The constant flow of news and social media can make us all feel a little overwhelmed. This potential excess of information may be causing you additional worry and anxiety,” reports the MMMA. “If you feel overwhelmed try to only access the information you and your family need to stay informed. This could involve you setting specific times to go online to seek information, or only watching certain news programmes.”

For more information on Black Maternal Mental Health week and the Shades of Blue Project, please visit shadesofblueproject.org. 

The post Experts speak during Black Maternal Mental Health Week appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – The Apollo Theater, Harlem’s legendary cultural institution, has made history by earning a rare Kennedy Center Honors, one of the highest accolades in the arts. For 90 years, the Apollo has been the heart of American culture, nurturing emerging artists, launching legends, and serving as a center of innovation for Harlem, New York City, and the world. As the largest performing arts institution dedicated to Black culture and creativity, the Apollo has significantly influenced popular culture globally.

The Kennedy Center’s recognition marks the first time a venue, rather than an individual performer, has received this prestigious award.

“We are thrilled to be the first organization honored in the history of the Kennedy Center Awards, emphasizing The Apollo’s impact on the past, present, and future of American culture and the performing arts,” stated Michelle Ebanks, president and CEO of The Apollo.

The 47th Kennedy Center Honors will also celebrate the lifetime achievements of director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and the surviving members of the countercultural rock band the Grateful Dead.

“I am profoundly humbled and deeply honored to be selected as a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,” Sandoval said. “This recognition is an extraordinary milestone in my career.”

Raitt said she’s “deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year’s Center Honors. There is no higher level of esteem nor as delightful a celebration.”

Frances Ford Coppola reflected on his career and the honor, stating, “There’s no greater honor than to be included along with those who inspired me, who I looked up to, and who gave me encouragement when times were dim.”

The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation, stated the band’s Bob Weir. “We’ve always felt that the music we make embodies and imparts something beyond the notes and phrases being played—and that is something we are privileged to share with all who are drawn to what we do—so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us,” he continued. “This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.”

The Kennedy Center Honors, which raises funds for the Kennedy Center in Northwest Washington, D.C., will be held on Dec. 8 and aired on CBS on Dec. 23.

Meanwhile, for 90 years, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across various art forms and ushering in the emergence of musical genres, including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip hop. The countless legendary artists who launched their careers at The Apollo’s “Amateur Night,” the original, large-scale talent show and one of the longest-running continuous events in New York City, include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly and Miri Ben Ari. 

The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. During its 90th anniversary season, the organization opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the institution’s first-ever major expansion and renovation. It also began plans to restore and renovate its historic theater. Officials said this will allow The Apollo to increase performances and educational and community programs and expand its support for artists and other cultural organizations.

“From the longest-running talent show in America with, Amateur Night at The Apollo, which launched the careers of icons like Ella Fitzgerald and Lauryn Hill, to performances from beloved legends like Smokey Robinson and Lil’ Kim and today’s biggest stars like Drake, The Apollo has always been a home for artists to create and a home for audiences to see incredible music and art from legendary artists,” Ebanks said.

The post Apollo Theater makes history with Kennedy Center honor appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire

In an unprecedented display of unity and determination, over 50,000 Black men gathered on a July 22 Zoom call hosted by Roland Martin’s Black Star Network, raising over $1.3 million for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. This powerful show of support came just a day after 40,000 Black women joined in a similar Zoom call, generating about $2 million for Harris and sending a resounding message of solidarity and resolve.

The men’s call, led by Martin and co-hosted by Bakari Sellers and others, was a powerful statement against former President Donald Trump, who has been twice impeached and convicted of 34 felonies. Martin, visibly moved, tweeted, “I have no words. And not just because I’m tired. My @BlkStarNetwork just told me that 53,862 people registered for our #WinWithBlackMen video call. We raised $1.3 million and counting from 17,000 donors.”

Bakari Sellers shared a poignant story that underscored Harris’s compassion and unwavering support. He recounted a harrowing time in 2019 when one of his twin daughters was born with a rare liver condition. 

“The first person to call me was Kamala Harris. I am not sure people understand the pain and suffering that goes along with being a Black man in this country,” Sellers said. “I am not sure people understand what it means to stand strong in this country. To have your back against the wall. But I am going to stand with her because she stood with me during my darkest moment when I almost lost my daughter. When I had to protect my wife.”

The Zoom call resonated with the slogan, “We Rocking with Kamala Harris,” reflecting the participants’ unyielding support. This extraordinary event followed President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not seek the Democratic nomination, prompting the Win with Black Women network to organize a Zoom call showcasing their preparedness to back Harris.

The women’s call drew an astonishing 40,000 attendees and featured influential speakers such as Reps. Joyce Beatty, Maxine Waters, and Jasmine Crockett. These leaders passionately emphasized the vital role of Black women in the upcoming election and shared compelling stories about Harris that highlighted her qualifications and leadership qualities. Distinguished attendees included D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Maryland Senate hopeful Angela Alsobrooks, civil rights leader Bernice King, and Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown. “We have a plan. This is not arbitrary. We are ready,” asserted Holli Holiday, one of the call’s moderators.

The energy was electric, with attendees voicing their readiness to work tirelessly to elect Harris. “This is work. Roll up your sleeves; we got work to do,” one attendee urged. Another declared, “Fired up and ready for this moment led by an intergenerational legion of Black women. Let’s get to work. Let’s gather our sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. Let’s do what Black women do!”

In a less-publicized yet equally significant gathering, a large group of Black men and boys convened in Atlanta to discuss the state of America and the importance of Harris’s candidacy against Trump in the 2024 election. These weekly discussions are critical for spreading accurate information and countering misinformation.

“The reason that we’ve gathered tonight is that there is so much misinformation, disinformation, that is being put out. So, we wanted thought leaders from across the political spectrum to come in tonight and talk directly to Black men about what they know, what they experience, and what some of the real statistics and facts are,” said Attorney Mawuli Mel Davis, co-founder of the non-profit hosting these discussions. “That’s critically important because the sources of our information are important for us to make sure that we’re basing our decisions on good quality information.”

This article was originally published by NNPA Newswire.

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By AFRO Staff

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) announced his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on July 22 after President Joe Biden stepped down the day before and put his full support behind Harris. 

“The American people deserve a champion who will continue the progress of the Biden-Harris Administration, and that’s why I am proud to voice my full support and offer my full endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president,” said Moore. “I had lengthy conversations with both the president and the vice president yesterday, and I offered my full support for Kamala Harris’ candidacy to both of them directly.”

“Vice President Harris has the experience, record, vision and wisdom to unify the country. She will have the unique ability to energize the Democratic Party base and mobilize a unique coalition, and we must rally around her and elect her to serve as the next president of the United States,” continued Moore.

Harris has already filed with the Federal Election Committee (FEC) as a presidential candidate and changed the “Biden for President” campaign slogan to “Harris for President.” 

Many Democrats were quick to put their support behind Harris, including former President Bill Clinton and former candidate for president Hillary Clinton also put their full support behind Harris.

“We are honored to join the president in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” they said. “We’ve lived through many ups and downs, but nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term. Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it.”

Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman released a statement announcing that Maryland Democratic National Convention Delegates met virtually on July 22 and unanimously voted to endorse Harris.

“Vice President Kamala Harris possesses experience that uniquely qualifies her to serve as President of the United States, a strong track record of delivering for the American people on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration and the leadership to unite the party through this unprecedented time,” said Ulman. “The Maryland Democratic Delegation stands unanimously behind her candidacy, eager to cast our votes for her and campaign vigorously for a historic victory this November.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen also weighed in on the announcement with a statement sent to members of the press.

“Kamala Harris has fought tirelessly to advance the aspirations of every American and build an inclusive economy that supports working Americans, families and seniors,” said Van Hollen. “Having served with her in the senate, and worked closely together during her time as vice president, I’ve seen firsthand that she has what it takes to defeat Trump this November and to continue moving our nation forward. The stakes for our democracy could not be higher – and I’m committed to working alongside Vice President Harris to get the job done.”

Delegates will cast their votes for Harris during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19-22.

Word that Moore planned to endorse Harris came through Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore, who joined a late-night July 21 Zoom call hosted by Win With Black Women, a national network of Black women leaders. The meeting was closed to the press and off the record for those present. 

More than 40,000 Black women joined the call that concluded after midnight on July 22. While Zoom usually caps audience size at 1,000, a participant on the call reached out to leaders of the company and had the restriction lifted. Attendees described the occasion as “electrifying” and “encouraging.” As a result of the call, more than 1.5 million dollars were raised during the meeting. 

Dozens of prominent Black women, including elected officials and leaders of national organizations including the Divine Nine, spoke in support of Harris for president.  Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks gave comments, as well as CEO and President of the National Council of Negro Women President Shavon Arline-Bradley; Dr. Johnnetta Cole; Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif- 43); U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas-30); Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio-3); Bernice King, who said this is the first time she’s ever publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, and Bishop Vashti McKenzie.