House Democrats elect Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as leader, the first Black person to lead a congressional caucus
By Scott Wong and Ali Vitali House Democrats elected their new leadership team Wednesday, ushering in a younger generation of leaders after Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer decided to step aside after Democrats narrowly lost the majority this month. Pelosi, 82, of California, the first female speaker of the House, will pass the torch to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., 52, who ran unopposed for minority leader and will make history as the first Black lawmaker to lead a political party’s caucus in either chamber. “Today, with immense pride, I stood in front of the House Democratic Caucus as a candidate for Democratic Leader,
Black voters in Louisiana ‘embarrassed’ by state’s failure to pass anti-slavery amendment
By Curtis Bunn Black voters in Louisiana are confused. Many are embarrassed. Some are angry. All seem to be concerned about how their state is being perceived after a constitutional amendment to eliminate slavery and forced indentured servitude failed to pass in the November election. That may be, in part, because the lawmaker who authored the bill to allow the vote switched direction and worked to kill it. Four other states — Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont — passed similar legislation, effectively ending “slave labor” in prisons. Louisiana, however, did not vote for the constitutional amendment, which had been introduced by Rep.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries announces bid to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader
By Scott Wong New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, said Friday that he will run to replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the party’s leader after Republicans took back control of the chamber in last week’s midterm elections. His announcement in a letter to colleagues came a day after Pelosi said in a powerful floor speech that she is stepping down after a two-decade reign as the top leader of House Democrats. If Jeffries is successful, it would represent a historic passing of the torch: Pelosi made history as the first female speaker of the House, while Jeffries, the current Democratic Caucus chairman,
Here are the Black candidates who made history on election night
By Char Adams A record number of Black candidates from major parties ran for high office in this year’s midterm elections. While it’s still too soon to determine which party will control the House and the Senate, some states are already celebrating Black historic wins for jobs from governor to secretary of state. “There’s an electorate, Black people are the center of it, who are understanding our political power,” said DaMareo Cooper, a co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy group. “People are thinking about how their voice, and people who come from our community, should be the
Young Black voters are dominating the Georgia midterms one student at a time
By Char Adams Clark Atlanta University students shuffling through the campus promenade Sept. 20, going to and from their classes, were met by a group of their peers delivering a single directive: vote. “We wanted to make sure we were in students’ faces,” said Janiah Henry, a Clark Atlanta University senior and the chair of its civic engagement initiative CAU Votes. “We had interactive tables. We had food trucks.” The group partnered with Greek fraternities and sororities and local nonprofit organizations for the voter registration event on National Voter Registration Day. Clark Atlanta University is one of several historically Black
Federal judge rules against Stacey Abrams group in voting rights lawsuit
A federal judge on Friday found that Georgia election practices challenged by a group associated with Democrat Stacey Abrams do not violate the constitutional rights of voters, ruling in favor of the state on all remaining issues in a lawsuit filed nearly four years ago. “Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the VRA,” U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in Atlanta wrote, referring to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He detailed his reasoning in a 288-page order. The lawsuit was filed in November 2018, just weeks after Abrams narrowly lost the governor’s race to Republican Brian Kemp. Throughout
Xavier CEJHS Director asked to prepare mental health modules to help Ukrainian psychologists
By Xavier University of Louisiana Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji, Director of Xavier’s Center for Equity Justice and Human Spirit (CEJHS), was asked to create mental health modules to train Ukrainian psychologists. These modules will help psychologists assist Ukraine refugees during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Dr. West-Olatunji is a professor in Xavier’s counseling education program and the Director and founder of Xavier’s Center for Traumatic Stress Research (CTSR). She has initiated several clinical research projects focusing on culture-centered community collaborations designed to address issues rooted in systemic oppression, such as transgenerational trauma and traumatic stress. Dr. West-Olatunji is aware that the emotional
Unity Support Helps Spelman Expand Gaming+ Programs
Courtesy of Spelman College Spelman College plans to send more women of color into the gaming industry. The nation’s premier liberal arts college for African American women just got a helping hand with a $300,000 three year grant from the Unity Charitable Fund, administered by Tides Foundation, to develop a gaming curriculum supported by Unity Technologies. Unity was an early funder for Spelman’s Innovation Lab, a campus-wide source for creative inquiry, unconventional research, experimental pedagogy and exploratory play. The new grant will allow the lab to extend gaming efforts to students at other Atlanta University Center institutions, including Clark Atlanta
Keep Black Love Alive – Spelman Women’s Research and Resource Center and chromatic black™ Sponsor Well-Being Advocacy Forum –
Courtesy of Spelman College Keep Black Love Alive: Black Women Defining a Healthy 21st Century is a national well-being advocacy call to action to address the health and wellness of communities of color across the country. The first hybrid (in-person and virtual) forum will take place on from noon – 2:30 p.m., Thursday, June 23, 2022 at The Woodruff Arts Center located at 1280 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30309. Admission is free. “We are seeding the future, bringing the genius of our community together to dream a world of optimal well-being for people, community, and planet,” says Abeni Bloodworth,
Howard University Offers Screenings for Prostate, Colon, Breast Cancer
By Sholnn Z. Freeman The Howard University Cancer Center closes out National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week (June 16-22) and Cancer Survivors Month in June with “More Than Conquerors: Stories of Survivorship, Hope and Courage.” National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week is an initiative of the Food and Drug Administration Oncology Center of Excellence. The goal is to marshal community-based stakeholders to build knowledge surrounding cancer clinical trial participation and minority population specimen donations to national genomic databases for cancer research. On Wednesday, June 22, from 6-8 p.m., the Cancer Center will host “More Than Conquerors.” This storytelling event will feature cancer survivors at various stages in