Only time will tell just how ‘big and bold’ Biden’s infrastructure plan is for Black Americans
Analysis by Brandon Tensley President Joe Biden’s newly unveiled $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which is designed to revive the US’s infrastructure and tackle the climate crisis over the next eight years, offers some Black Americans hope — balanced with caution. To understand why the plan elicits hope, consider that it does something at once small and very big: It pays explicit attention to the variety of racial disparities bound up with the country’s infrastructure. For instance, Biden would spend $20 billion on “a new program that will reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments and ensure new projects increase
Black power in the boardroom is leading the fight for justice
Opinion by Peniel E. Joseph Black business leaders’ efforts to stop voter suppression in the wake of Georgia’s recently enacted voting bill illustrate the vanishing separation between protest and politics in America today. They also embody the work of Georgia’s most famous civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Over 70 Black executives, led by former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, signed a letter released at the end of March that pressed corporate America to take a stand on voting rights, one of the central moral and political issues in the United States today. “The new law and those
One of America’s first Black CEOs slams ‘bone-headed’ Georgia law as blatant attempt to suppress Black vote
By Matt Egan Dick Parsons had to make countless difficult decisions during his storied corporate career. The decision to speak out on Georgia’s voting law was not one of them. “This was an easy one. There is simply no excuse for what the Georgia legislature has done,” Parsons told CNN Business in his first public comments on the controversial law. Parsons, who in the early 2000s became one of the first Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, is among the 72 Black corporate leaders who signed a letter calling on companies to fight Republican voting restrictions. In the interview,
City removes statue of slaveowner Captain John O’Donnell from Canton Square
By WJZ Staff The statue of Captain John O’Donnell no longer stands in Canton Square in Baltimore City as of Monday night. The statue, which depicted the slave-owning merchant, came down later in the evening, months after community members and leaders petitioned for its removal. Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott called it a “historical moment,” but said there are “countless” publicly named monuments and other things around the city that still need to be reassessed. “Tonight, the hostile vestige to the notorious enslaver Captain John O’Donnell no longer stands in Canton Square. This is a historical moment, however, countless publicly
Atlanta mayor issues order to ‘mitigate the impact’ of Georgia’s new voting law
By Dianne Gallagher and Paul LeBlanc Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order Tuesday that directs the city’s chief equity officer to implement “a series of actions to mitigate the impact” of Georgia’s new election law imposing a series of voting restrictions. The city of Atlanta does not have authority over state election law, so the administrative order cannot change any of the new requirements. Most of the actions focus on voter education and staff training to better assist Atlanta residents with information on the new law changes or how to obtain necessary identification. “This Administrative Order is
Black women delivered for Biden. Now it’s time for Congress to deliver on a $15 minimum wage
Opinion by Rebecca Dixon “Thank Black women” has become a familiar refrain from Democratic lawmakers, who are eager to pay lip service to their fiercest, most reliable voting bloc. Black women helped deliver the presidency and the Senate to the Democrats, who ran on the promise of a $15 an hour minimum wage, among other things. Now they must do what they can to deliver on that promise. Democrats tried to include a $15 minimum wage in the American Rescue Plan, but were forced to leave it out. They have another opportunity with the Raise the Wage Act, which would
Breaking News Exclusive: HBCU News reports Congressman Alcee Hastings dies at age 84
Congressman Alcee Hastings has passed away at the age of 84 after battling pancreatic cancer. A democrat, Hastings represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District, including areas around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. He announced in 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer but said he planned on remaining in Congress. The dean of the Florida congressional delegation, Hastings was the longest-serving member from the Sunshine State. A civil rights activist, Hastings became the first African American federal judge in Florida in 1979, but was impeached and convicted by the Senate in 1989. After running for Congress in 1992, he won a
VP Harris is the latest White House official to appear with California Gov. Newsom amid recall effort
By Maegan Vazquez Top members of the Biden White House have appeared with California’s embattled Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, twice over the last week — a signal of support for a politician who is likely to face a recall election. Newsom accompanied Vice President Kamala Harris on a tour of a water treatment plant in Oakland, California, on Monday, where Harris was tasked with promoting the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan. Newsom praised Harris’ efforts. “We talk a lot about infrastructure. We have the ability to deliver on it. And for the vice president to be here to be delivering not
The fight to define infrastructure could change America
Analysis by Stephen Collinson The meaning of the word “infrastructure” suddenly depends on your politics. President Joe Biden is using a sleight of hand by crafting a bill that might be traditionally associated with repairs to potholed highways to instead be his latest effort to reshape the US economy and social safety net. His move encapsulates the White House’s own sense of momentum and explains why Republicans are lining up to block his ambitions before they change the character of the country. In one example, the President has stretched the definition of infrastructure to insert $400 billion in the bill
HBCUs to receive $1.6 billion in debt relief, new funding
As part of pandemic relief the U.S. Department of Education discharged roughly $1.6 billion of HBCU debt. Only institutions participating in the HBCU Capital Financing Program qualify. 45 HBCUs in total will be relieved: 32 private institutions, 13 public. The HBCU Capital Finance Program has provided participants low-cost infrastructure loans since 1994. Shedding that debt is momentous, allowing HBCUs to redirect attention to student education and well-being. The latter is particularly crucial given the emotional toll Covid-19 has taken on isolated, often bereaved young people. Efforts spanned administrations. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) authorized the discharge of