National News - Page 117

California Faces Pushback on Black Reparations Proposal

By Noah A. McGee California has been the most proactive state when it comes to organizing a reasonable plan to give Black people reparations for the harm that slavery has caused them for hundreds of years. The California Reparations Task Force has been extremely instrumental in doing the research into how chattel slavery affected generations of Black people in the state and led to disproportionately high levels of incarceration, policing, and housing discrimination. But despite their efforts and their detailed research that shows how the state was complicit in slavery, there are still those who do not think the state should be making amends

California Bill Fines Schools for Banning Inclusive Books

By Angela Johnson In an effort to protect schools from a complete conservative takeover, California Governor Gavin Newsom is preparing to sign a bill that hits school boards in the pockets for attempting to ban books and materials related to underserved communities. “California is the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them,” Governor Newsom said. “All students deserve the freedom to read and learn about the truth, the world, and themselves.” Assembly Bill 1078, which is sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman Corey Jackson, passed in the state’s senate

California Black Caucus Pushes Reparations Education

By Curtis Bunn The California Congressional Black Caucus is gearing up to launch a statewide campaign to educate its citizens on the critical nature of reparations for Black people — including cash payments — for the harms of slavery. This comes on the heels of a University of California, Berkeley, poll released this week that shows most Californians oppose Black residents receiving any financial compensation as part of reparation recommendations from the state Assembly. Among all of those who responded, 59% rejected the idea of cash payments to Black descendants of slavery in the state. Meanwhile, 76% of Black respondents were in favor

VP Harris Marks 9/11 Anniversary at Ground Zero Ceremony

By Candace McDuffie On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 by representing the administration at a ceremony located at ground zero. The event took place at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum, with politicians like Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attending as well. President Biden, on the other hand, will delivered remarks to more than 1,000 service members and first responders as well as their families at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Biden just finished trips to the G20 summit in India as well as Vietnam. He

Rep. Senfronia Thompson Fights New Wave of Voting Laws

Texas State Representative Senfronia Thompson remembers when her grandparents had to save pennies so they could pay a poll tax in order to vote. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, which outlawed Jim Crow restrictions like literacy tests and poll taxes designed to keep Black Americans from voting. But 56 years after President Lyndon Johnson signed that landmark legislation, Representative Thompson has found herself in the middle of another heated battle over voting rights. This year alone, after Donald Trump falsely claimed he lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud, Republicans in 18 states have passed at least

Mel Tucker Suspended Amid Misconduct Case, Future Uncertain

By Noah A. McGee Nearly two years ago, Mel Tucker signed a 10-year, $95 million contract to stay on as the head football coach at Michigan State University. He instantly became one of the highest-paid coaches in all of college sports and easily the highest-paid Black coach in college athletics. But two years later, in a sport where there is already a small number of Black coaches, they are set to lose another one. On Sunday, Michigan State announced that Tucker will be suspended without pay after he was accused of sexual harassment by a rape activist, according to USA Today. The woman

Court Rejects Alabama Map, Orders Fair Redistricting

By Summer Concepcion A panel of federal judges on Tuesday struck down a new congressional map created by Alabama Republicans that includes only one majority-Black district, defying a Supreme Court order. “We are disturbed by the evidence that the State delayed remedial proceedings but ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy,” the three judges of the U.S. District Court for Northern Alabama wrote in a 217-page order Tuesday. “And we are struck by the extraordinary circumstance we face.” “We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature — faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral

Fulton County RICO Trial May Last 4 Months, 150 Witnesses

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., say they expect that a trial in their election interference case would last four months – not including jury selection – and they’d expect to call more than 150 witnesses. The disclosures, made today in the case’s first televised hearing, underscore the complexity of the sweeping racketeering probe. Jury selection in another Georgia RICO case, prosecuting the rapper Young Thug and others, has taken months. Wednesday’s hearing, in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, is to consider certain defendants’ efforts to sever their case from other defendants. The hearing is being broadcast

Oprah & The Rock Launch $10M Maui Wildfire Relief Fund

By Drew Weisholtz Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have teamed up to help people whose lives have been shattered by the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii. The duo has launched the People’s Fund of Maui, in which cash will go directly to people whose lives have been affected by the blazes. Winfrey and Johnson kicked off the campaign by donating $10 million. “Collaborating closely with an esteemed advisory board and support from the local community and respected elders, this new fund will serve as a bridge to provide cash directly to the families and individuals affected so that they can personally

Bernice King Reflects on March Legacy, Urges Action

By Jessica Washington Sixty years after the original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, one could easily argue that the clock has begun to turn backward. The Supreme Court has successfully eroded decades of precedent protecting marginalized groups. And authoritarianism and white supremacy appear as deeply rooted as ever. But even in the midst of what feels to many like our darkest hour, Dr. Bernice King says we need to keep fighting. “My father spoke about it as a part of a multi-generational process,” Dr. King told The Root, referencing her late father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “The things that we are fighting for, in some form or

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