National News - Page 145

VP Harris Champions Black Maternal Health Equity

By Donna M. Owens In December, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the first federal Maternal Health Day of Action at the White House, where she issued a call to improve health outcomes for parents and infants in the U.S. Months later, she is still using the vice presidential bully pulpit to push for policy and structural changes aimed at saving lives. “In our nation, we are looking at the fact that more women are facing death because of childbirth than in any other developed nation,” Harris told journalists during a call on Thursday during Black Maternal Health Week. “We are looking

BLM Leaders Defend $6M Home Purchase Amid Fund Scrutiny

By Char Adams Patrisse Cullors and Melina Abdullah defended BLM’s decision to buy a $6 million home in California amid concerns about the organization’s finances. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement are dismissing  allegations that they mismanaged millions of dollars after a scathing New York Magazine report revealed that they had purchased a $6 million home in Southern California with donated funds. Patrisse Cullors, co-founder and former executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, and Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM Los Angeles and co-director of BLM Grassroots, spoke to reporters Monday during a closed roundtable discussion, dismissing recent

Urban League: Black Americans Face Deepening Inequality

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By The Associated Press The National Urban League released its annual report on the State of Black America on Tuesday, and its findings are grim. This year’s Equality Index shows Black people still get only 73.9 percent of the American pie white people enjoy. While Black people have made economic and health gains, they’ve slipped farther behind whites in education, social justice and civic engagement since this index was launched in 2005. A compendium of average outcomes by race in many aspects of life, it shows just how hard it is for people of color to overcome systemic racism, the

Black Appraisers Tackle Bias in Home Valuations

By Curtis Burn After 21 years as a residential appraiser, Sanedria Potter still gets incredulous looks when she shows up at a home to do her job. “You’re the appraiser?” she’s asked. Potter smiles to herself, understanding she’s an anomaly in her industry. Ninety-eight percent of home appraisers are white, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As far as Potter is concerned, the lack of people of color in the industry is at the very root of home appraisal bias, which a Brookings Institution report last year said created a 23 percent devaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods, adding up to $156 billion

Bernice King Claps Back at Senate Candidate Over MLK Ad

By Ashley Banks Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter had a fiery exchange with a far-right senate candidate who made false claims about the Civil Rights Leader on social media. Last week, Republican Josh Mandel who is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, stated that MLK inspired him to make his latest anti-critical race theory campaign ad. The 30-second advertisement used MLK imagery and at some point used a voiceover that said, “There’s nothing racist about stopping critical race theory and loving America.” Many people, including Bernice King were not happy that the senate candidate was insinuating that MLK was against critical

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson: A Historic Supreme Court Moment

Only the BLACK WOMAN can say “when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole. . . race enters with me.” – Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, 1892 Historically, African American women have stood at the crossroads of oppression and liberation. In her book, The Habit of Surviving, Kesho Yvonne Scott writes: “black women both shape the world and are shaped by it.” Today, Tougaloo College is proud to bear witness to this profound moment as Katanji Brown Jackson is

Alabama Advances Bill to Rename Historic Selma Bridge

By Associated Press Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation that would alter the name of Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor those who were beaten on the bridge as they marched for civil rights in 1965. The Alabama Senate voted 23-3 for legislation that would change the official name to the “Edmund W. Pettus-Foot Soldiers Bridge.” However, the lettering on the famous bridge would remain unaltered. The name “Foot Soldiers” would be on a separate sign that would include a silhouette of the marchers. The bill, dubbed the “Healing History Act,” now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives with

Heart of Mary School Saved by $450K Fundraiser, Community

By Angela Johnson A 120-year-old historically Black Catholic school in Mobile, AL, was on the verge of closing its doors for good until an online fundraiser and a pledge of support from the school community made it possible for the school to stay open. Heart of Mary Catholic School was facing the same budget challenges that many parochial schools around the country are grappling with. And the school faced the possibility of closing at the end of the 2022 school year. That is until an online fundraising campaign brought in more than $450,000 to help keep the doors open. According to

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed as First Black Woman Justice

By Sahil Kapur Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court when the Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick. The final vote was 53-47, with all 50 Democratic caucus members supporting Jackson, joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; and Mitt Romney of Utah. In a symbolic moment, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman elected to her job, presided over the vote. Jackson and Biden watched the vote together in the White House. The vote means Jackson will take office at the end of the court’s

Ketanji Brown Jackson: Breaking Barriers, Facing Bias

Written By Jennifer R. Farmer As Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson advances in this Supreme Court nomination and confirmation process, she will no doubt face disrespect and skepticism. Lovers of democracy should ardently stand beside her. When I wrote “First and Only: A Black Woman’s Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life,” I wanted to document the plight of Black women who were breaking barriers in their personal or professional lives. I wanted to note that Black women who are the only in their field, work or family face unique struggles requiring unique support. I wrote the book before Sen. Kamala Harris was

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