National News - Page 137

Buffalo Leaders Fight Food Apartheid in East Side

By Claretta Bellamy The historic Fruit Belt neighborhood on Buffalo’s East Side, with its Grape, Peach and Lemon streets, was once thriving. Yet now, in place of the orchards that once gave the area its name, there are abandoned homes with broken steps and “no trespassing” signs, overgrown empty plots of land and a troubling lack of grocery stores. The only supermarket on the East Side is Tops, where a white gunman killed 10 Black residents in May. While the tragedy brought national attention to this neighborhood and its status as a food desert, access to grocery stores with fresh produce remains

DOJ Acts to Fix Jackson, MS Drinking Water Crisis

By Bilal G. Morris On Tuesday, the Department Of Justice filed a proposal in federal court that, if approved, would appoint an Interim Third Party Manager to stabilize the city of Jackson, Mississippi’s public drinking water system. The move was made by DOJ to build confidence in the system’s ability to supply safe drinking water to the system’s customers. The city and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) have both signed the order and have agreed to all its terms.  The Justice Department also filed a complaint against the city alleging that the city has failed to provide drinking water that is

Lawsuit Alleges VA Racial Bias in Denying Black Veterans

By Victoria Ebner Obtaining benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs has been disproportionately more difficult for Black Americans for decades, a federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges. “The results of VA’s racial discrimination has been to deny countless meritorious applications by Black veterans, depriving them and their families of care and support that their faithful service has earned,” the lawsuit reads. Filed in federal court by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of Conley Monk Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, the suit claims Monk was repeatedly denied home loan, education and medical benefits because he is Black. Monk is

Black Voters Mobilize for Georgia Senate Runoff Election

By Curtis Bunn  Grassroots organizers working to turn out Black voters on behalf of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in next month’s runoff election expected to encounter an exhausted electorate as voters prepare to head to the polls for the second time in as many months. They underscore the importance of educating Black voters about the significance of the Dec. 6 runoff between Warnock and Republican contender Herschel Walker. Yet voting rights organizations supporting Warnock say Black voters they’ve spoken with remain energized because expanding Democrats’ majority in the Senate even by a single seat would have a significant impact. It would allow

Karen Bass Becomes First Woman Mayor of Los Angeles

By Bruce C.T. Wright Following more than a week of counting ballots and tabulating votes, U.S. Rep Karen Bass was finally projected to win the Los Angeles mayor race and become the first Black woman to ever serve in that role. In fact, Bass is also now the first woman period to ever be elected mayor of Los Angeles. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday night with more than 70% of the votes counted as it became apparent that the electoral math wasn’t in the favor of Bass’ billionaire opponent, Caruso. Mayor-elect Bass “amassed an insurmountable lead of nearly 47,000

Justice Jackson Issues First Opinion in Death Row Case

By Lawrence Hurley Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her first opinion since taking office over the summer, objected Monday to the Supreme Court’s decision not side with an Ohio death row inmate’s claim. Jackson, joined by fellow liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said the court should have ruled for Davel Chinn, who was convicted of a 1989 murder in Dayton during a robbery. Instead, the court rejected Chinn’s appeal. Chinn’s lawyers argued that prosecutors had withheld evidence that a key witness, Marvin Washington, was severely mentally disabled, with an IQ of 48. Washington had identified Chinn as the shooter. Jackson wrote in an

HBCUs Defend Affirmative Action, Stress Academic Excellence

By Char Adams Historically Black colleges and universities are just as prestigious as Ivy League schools, and they’re diverse. That is why, leaders say, HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions will be even more important to students of color should the Supreme Court end affirmative action in college admissions. As conservative Supreme Court justices seem poised to end the explicit consideration of race in college admissions, HBCU leaders say doing away with race-conscious admissions would have a dire impact on racial equity in the country. They believe it would create “racially isolated” colleges and universities, making HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, or MSIs,

6 Key Midterm Takeaways: GOP Stumbles, Senate Uncertain

By Dimenico Montanoro This is why it’s always important to remember never to assume you know exactly what’s going to happen in an election — and to keep an open mind for potential surprises. We’ve been saying for months these elections were expected to be close, that many of these elections would take a while to be decided, asked whether things had settled into a typical midterm, where the president’s party would suffer major losses, and said to not believe anyone who told you they knew exactly what would happen. There’s still a lot we don’t know, but one thing we

MLK Jr. Paid Julia Roberts’ Birth Hospital Bill in 1967

By Rachel Treisman The world is finally learning a thrilling fact about Julia Roberts’ birth, exactly 55 years later: It was paid for by Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. The connection between the two families wasn’t necessarily a secret, but it resurfaced in a big way just before Roberts’ Oct. 28 birthday, thanks to a recent interview and a viral tweet. Late last month an account called @turnandstomp retweeted a fan video of young Roberts, adding: “Martin Luther King Jr paying for her birth is still a little known fact that sends me” — and later clarified that Scott King

Wes Moore Elected Maryland’s First Black Governor

By Ava Joye-Burnett Wes Moore is set to make history after he was projected winner in Maryland’s gubernatorial race Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Moore the minute polls closed in Maryland at 8 p.m. He would be the state’s first Black governor. Moore’s running-mate Aruna Miller is also set to make history as the first immigrant and woman of color to be elected to the state-wide office of lieutenant governor. In the opening remarks of his victory speech, Moore thanked the security and wait staff first, then he thanked his wife Dawn, and his

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