The big changes Ketanji Brown Jackson’s presence could bring to the Supreme Court
By Madiba Dennie, a counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice One Black woman won’t quickly right the ship of a 6-3 court unmoored from principle, but dissenting opinions have influenced the court and Congress to pursue changes to laws. The Supreme Court has made thousands of decisions over hundreds of years that have shaped the lives of millions of people. And, astonishingly, at no point in the court’s multicentury history has any Black woman had a say in making any of the decisions we have had to abide by. Until now. For the first time, a Black
Amazon Robotics, Hampton University team up to establish robotics program
Courtesy of Hampton University To help expand the diversity of the talent that will shape the future of robotics, Amazon has invested in a number of academic engagements with colleges and universities, including a new collaboration with Hampton University. At Hampton University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) based in Hampton, Virginia known for its cutting-edge STEM research, Amazon Robotics is funding the establishment of a robotics degree program. By investing in developing Hampton’s robotics program, Amazon supports building expansive learning opportunities for faculty and students by offering cloud-based robotics research, infrastructure improvements, and STEM-based activities to increase the
Jackson State University Joins FedEx Student Ambassador Program
By Jackson State University The world’s largest express transportation company, today announced the launch of the FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador Program with select Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Jackson State University (JSU) student Jay’La Manor, a junior business major from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Ezra Snell II, a sophomore sociology major from Clinton, Mississippi, will represent the institution in the inaugural cohort. FedEx leaders, school presidents, and select student program participants will participate in a special ceremonial presentation during the ringing of The Closing Bell® at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today at 4 p.m. ET commemorating the launch of the program and a nationwide celebration of Black
The ESG and Law Institute Partners With Howard University School of Law
Written by Howard University Newsroom Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s ESG and Law Institute, a forum of businesses and academic institutions dedicated to the independent study of issues relating to the intersection of ESG (environmental, social and governance), business and the law, today announced that it has signed on its second academic partner, Howard University School of Law. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Howard Law, one of the nation’s finest law schools and one that shares our mission to advocate for and defend the rights of all, to create a new hub for ESG legal research
Voters head to polls in Florida special election to fill late Alcee Hastings’ seat
By Steve Contorno, Two hundred and eighty days after Rep. Alcee Hastings died from pancreatic cancer, voters in the late lawmaker’s deeply Democratic South Florida congressional district will finally pick a replacement. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is the heavy favorite against Republican Jason Mariner in Tuesday’s special election for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, where President Joe Biden won 77% of the vote in 2020. As of Monday afternoon, about 37,000 Democrats had voted early or by mail, compared with 6,000 Republicans. One of two Black-majority seats in the state, the district has been vacant since Hastings’ death last April, much to the ire of
Pro-Trump Republicans try to rewrite state election laws as a voting rights showdown looms in Congress
By Fredreka Schouten, In Michigan, a group of Donald Trump’s supporters is working on a petition to mandate an outside audit of the 2020 election and establish a grand jury with the power to arrest election officials who refuse to cooperate. In Wisconsin, some GOP lawmakers are trying to sideline a bipartisan commission that oversees elections in the state. And Republican legislators from Arizona to Florida are planning to take up new voting restrictions in upcoming legislative sessions. As a likely showdown looms in Congress this week over federal voting legislation, Republicans aligned with the former President are pressing ahead
Biden confronts challenges to democracy at home and abroad this week
By Stephen Collinson, President Joe Biden’s fresh vow to save democracy faces an immediate test at home and abroad this week, with a long-shot voting rights push and the most critical US diplomacy with Russia since the Cold War. With his forceful speech on the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection last week, Biden appeared to engineer a political pivot, putting his credibility on the line to pass new laws rolling back Republican state voter suppression bills and restoring minority voting rights. He will travel to Atlanta, a city synonymous with the civil rights movement, on Tuesday, to try to dislodge the “dagger” he suggested ex-President Donald Trump and his Republican Party are
Supreme Court hears challenges to Biden vaccine and testing mandates
By Ariane de Vogue, The Supreme Court on Friday will take up challenges to President Joe Biden’s most aggressive attempts so far to combat the spread of Covid-19 — vaccine or testing requirements for large businesses and many health care workers — as the number of infections soar and 40 million adults in the US are still declining to get vaccinated. Although the justices have rejected past attempts by states or universities to mandate vaccines, the new disputes center on federal requirements that raise different legal questions. Two set of rules were issued in November. The first would impact some 80 million individuals and
Biden to deliver voting rights speech next week in Atlanta
By Jeff Zeleny and Maegan Vazquez, President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a speech on voting rights during a visit to Atlanta next Tuesday, traveling to the cradle of the civil rights movement to shine a brighter light on election reform in advance of Martin Luther King Day. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta “to speak to the American people about the urgent need to pass legislation to protect the constitutional right to vote and the integrity of our elections from corrupt attempts to strip law-abiding citizens of their fundamental freedoms and allow partisan state officials to undermine vote counting processes,”
Kamala Harris to name Jamal Simmons as communications director
By Jasmine Wright, Jamal Simmons, a Democratic communications aide and media contributor, has been tapped to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ new communications director, a White House official confirms. News of Simmons’ hire is the first of what is expected to be a communications overhaul of sorts for the vice president, who spent her first year in office in defense mode following a myriad of reports, including by CNN, of staff infighting and dysfunction. Simmons, according to various biographies, has worked in politics and media for more than two decades, helping elect former Democratic presidents like Bill Clinton and Barack