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Obama Calls for Immigration Law By End of 2013

By goodblacknews on October 25, 2013
Protesters opposed to Arizona's Immigration Law SB 1070 march through downtown Phoenix April 25, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)
Protesters opposed to Arizona’s Immigration Law SB 1070 march through downtown Phoenix April 25, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama called on Congress Thursday to finish work on an immigration overhaul by the end of the year, a lofty goal that will be difficult to meet given the staunch opposition of many House Republicans.  While immigration remains one of Obama’s top second-term priorities, the issue has been overshadowed for months, most recently by the 16-day partial government shutdown. The president’s shift to a greater focus on immigration came as the White House was seeking to shift the conversation away from the deeply problematic rollout of Obama’s health care law.
During remarks at the White House, Obama insisted that Congress has the necessary time to finish an immigration bill by the end of the year. The Democratic-controlled-Senate passed sweeping legislation this summer that would provide an eventual path to citizenship for some 11 million immigrants living here illegally and would tighten border security. But the measure has languished in the Republican-led House.
“It doesn’t get easier to put it off,” Obama said, during an event in the East Room.  The White House was buoyed by comments this week from Republican House Speaker John Boehner who said he was optimistic his chamber could act on immigration by year’s end. But Boehner has long had trouble rallying support from the conservative wing of his caucus and it’s unclear whether he can get their backing for the comprehensive bill Obama is seeking.

La June Montgomery Tabron Named President, CEO of the Kellogg Foundation

By goodblacknews on October 25, 2013
La June Montgomery Tabron Kellogg Foundation
A black woman has just been named as president and CEO of one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States.  According to a press release, La June Montgomery Tabron will take the helm at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as the president and CEO on January 1, making her the first African-American to lead the foundation in its 83-year history.  The rising executive will replace Sterling Sperin, who is stepping down as of December 31st after eight years.
The 51-year-old Detroit native has a long history with the company. Tabron started her career there at age 24. She began as a financial controller and rose within the company over the past 26 years into her current role of executive vice president of operations and treasurer.  “Growing up in a family of ten children in inner-city Detroit, I know first-hand the day-to-day challenges faced by the families we seek to help,” she explained in the press release. “In so many ways, my own journey illustrates the power and impact of what is possible with the right conditions.”
Tabron graduated with a business degree in business administration from the University of Michigan, and went on to acquire a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.  It goes without saying, black CEO’s are rare. If we take a look at the landscape of Fortune 500 companies, there are only six black CEO’s. Among those just one is a woman.
article by Rhonesha Byng via huffingtonpost.com

Chicago Bear Devin Hester Ties Deion Sanders' NFL Record for Return Touchdowns

By goodblacknews on October 20, 2013

Chicago Bears v Jacksonville JaguarsThe Redskins have been wary of Devin Hester hurting them in the return game.  Well, he did it anyways.  Hester’s 81-yard punt return score tied Sunday’s Chicago-Washington at 17 in the second quarter. The return touchdown was the 19th of Hester’s NFL career, which equals Deion Sanders’ league-record mark.

On the play, Hester caught the ball on the far sideline, then worked his way to the other side of the field, where he had a convoy of blockers. Hester got a couple more blocks — with Khaseem Greene’s knockdown of Logan Paulsen a highlight — and the legendary special-teamer was gone, en route to his 13th career punt return score.
Hester’s big play was another tough moment for Washington’s embattled special teams, which had all sorts of problems with the Cowboys’ Dwayne Harris in last week’s loss at Dallas.  Washington has stayed away from Hester on kickoffs, employing pooch kicks. Moreover, Sav Rocca’s punt on Hester’s touchdown wasn’t a bad effort, as it pinned the Bears’ returner near the sideline. But when Washington couldn’t stop Hester from reversing field, there was trouble ahead.
Hester’s touchdown was a highlight in a roller-coaster half for the Bears, who lost quarterback Jay Cutler to an injury in the second quarter.
article by Mike Wilkening via profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Maya Angelou Accepts Mailer Center Lifetime Achievement Award

By goodblacknews on October 18, 2013
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Maya Angelou poses for photographs during the fifth annual Norman Mailer Center benefit gala at the New York Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Maya Angelou poses for photographs during the fifth annual Norman Mailer Center benefit gala at the New York Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Her body weak, her voice rich and strong, Maya Angelou sang, lectured and reminisced as she accepted a lifetime achievement award Thursday night from the Norman Mailer Center.  The 85-year-old author, poet, dancer and actress was honored during a benefit gala at the New York Public Library, the annual gathering organized by the Mailer Center and writers colony . Seated in a wheelchair, she was a vivid presence in dark glasses and a sparkling black dress as she marveled that a girl from a segregated Arkansas village could grow up to become a literary star.

“Imagine it,” she said, “a town so prejudiced black people couldn’t even eat vanilla ice cream.” Angelou was introduced by her former editor at Random House, Robert Loomis, and she praised him for talking her into writing her breakthrough memoir, the million-selling I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The key was suggesting to her that the book might be too hard to write.

The people who knew her best, she explained, understood that “if you want to get Maya Angelou to do so something, tell her she can’t.”  Angelou, a longtime resident of North Carolina, will be back in Manhattan next month to collect an honorary National Book Award medal.

Obama Taps Jeh Johnson as Homeland Security Secretary

By goodblacknews on October 18, 2013

Homeland Security Secretary Nominee Jeh Johnson
Homeland Security Secretary Nominee Jeh Johnson

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is calling back a trusted counterterrorism adviser from his first term by nominating former top Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson as Secretary of Homeland Security.  Obama plans to announce Johnson’s nomination Friday. He must be confirmed by the Senate before taking over the post most recently held by Janet Napolitano, who stepped down in August to become president of the University of California system.
As general counsel at the Defense Department during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Johnson oversaw the escalation of the use of unmanned drone strikes, the revamping of military commissions to try terrorism suspects rather than using civilian courts and the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members.
A senior Obama administration official on Thursday confirmed Johnson’s selection, first reported by The Daily Beast. The official was not authorized to speak about the nomination on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.  The official said Obama chose Johnson because of his experience as a national security leader. The official noted that Johnson oversaw the work of more than 10,000 lawyers and was responsible for reviewing every military operation approved by the president and defense secretary.

Cory Booker Wins Senate Race in New Jersey

By goodblacknews on October 16, 2013

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Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark easily won New Jersey’s special Senate election on Wednesday, finally rising to an office that measures up to his national profile.  He will arrive in Washington already one of the country’s most prominent Democrats, and its best-known black politician other than President Obama, who backed him aggressively. Mr. Booker’s fund-raising prowess puts him on course to lead his party’s campaign efforts in the Senate, and he has been mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick for 2016.

With 55 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Booker had 55 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Steve Lonegan, a Republican former mayor of Bogota, N.J., and state director of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, according to The Associated Press. Still, the campaign gave a wider audience to certain facets of Mr. Booker that long ago began to prompt eye-rolling among his constituents.

With a Twitter following six times as large as the city he has led, Mr. Booker was known outside Newark largely for his appearances on late-night television and his heroics: rescuing a neighbor from a burning building, shoveling out snowbound cars, living on a food stamp diet.

LL Cool J, NWA, Chic Among 2014 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

By goodblacknews on October 16, 2013

ll-cool-jAccording to Variety.com, Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced an eclectic lineup of nominees for 2014 induction today, including rap acts LLCoolJ and N.W.A., disco band Chic and New Orleans funk group the Meters.
Other newly-anointed candidates include Chicago’s blues-rocking Paul Butterfield Blues Band, British hard rock act Deep Purple, U.K. singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates, costumed Detroit metal act KISS, Seattle grunge icons Nirvana, Minneapolis’ shambolic punks the Replacements, vocalist Linda Ronstadt, singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, pathfinding guitarist Link Wray, Brit prog-rock kings Yes, and ‘60s British Invasion group the Zombies.
nwaStevens, LL Cool J, Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, KISS, N.W.A. and the Meters are all repeat nominees; it is the first time in the running for the remainder of the field. Gabriel is already a member of the Rock Hall via his association with Genesis, inducted in 2010.  The induction ceremony is set for April in New York, and will be presented on HBO in May.
Inductees are select by a panel of 600 music biz authorities, including musicians, execs and writers. Beginning today through Dec. 10, fans can vote online at rockhall.com/vote; the top five vote recipients will constitute a “fan’s ballot” counting toward the final vote tally.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Inspired by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Investor Makes Huge Gift for Black Studies

By goodblacknews on October 14, 2013

Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard, left, and Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake. The two became friends after meeting 10 years ago.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard, left, and Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake. The two became friends after meeting 10 years ago. (Robert Caplin/New York Times)

Just over 10 years ago, the private equity mogul Glenn Hutchins was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. With his 25th Harvard College reunion near, he was thinking about how to put some of his wealth to good use.  One afternoon, clad in a T-shirt and board shorts, he stopped at an old whaling chapel, where Henry Louis Gates Jr., the prominent professor of African and African-American studies at Harvard, was leading a symposium.  That encounter gave Mr. Hutchins his cause.
Since then, Mr. Hutchins has strengthened his connection to Mr. Gates and the Harvard program. Their bond will become stronger on Wednesday, when Mr. Hutchins is expected to announce a gift of more than $15 million to create the Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research, solidifying Harvard’s program as one of the top in its field.  “It creates an infrastructure for the department and a solid foundation on which they can thrive,” Mr. Hutchins said in an interview this month.
The gift — part of a previously announced $30 million donation to the university whose uses had not all been specified — also bespeaks a friendship between two men unlike each other in many respects. One is a wealthy white financier whose firm, Silver Lake, is on the verge of taking over the computer maker Dell with its founder, Michael S. Dell; the other is a celebrated black professor who helped popularize African-American studies as an academic field and social phenomenon.

Kenya Native Dennis Kimetto Sets Course Record With Chicago Marathon Win

By goodblacknews on October 13, 2013

 

Dennis Kimetto sets Course Record in 2013 Chicago Marathon
Dennis Kimetto sets Course Record in 2013 Chicago Marathon

Dennis Kimetto of Kenya set a course record Sunday as he took first in the 2013 Chicago Marathon, his second marathon win of the year.  Kimetto beat the previous record of 2:04:23 with 2:03:45, according to unofficial times.  Kimetto and Emmanuel Mutai were neck-and-neck until the last half-mile when Kimetto broke out front.  “I am happy because I broke the course record,” Kimetto said. “The [race] conditions were very good.”
Kimetto came to Chicago with a 2013 marathon win already under his belt. He took first in this year’s Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:06:50, which set a course record for the race, just his second marathon to date.  During his first marathon, in Berlin last September, he crossed the finish just one second behind the winner.
Kimetto is known for long-distance road racing. The World Marathon Majors points out Kimetto would hold the world record for fastest marathon debut if the IAAF recognized that stat. He set his personal best in Berlin with a finish time of 2:04:16.
article by Lisa Balde via nbcchicago.com

Red Lobster Waitress Toni Christina Jenkins Gets $10,000 Tip After Racist Receipt

By goodblacknews on October 11, 2013

HT red lobster racist tip jtm 131010 16x9 608 Red Lobster Waitress Gets $10K Tip After Racist Receipt
(Image Credit: Toni Christina Jenkins)

A Red Lobster waitress, who said a customer left her a receipt with a racist slur, has received the tip of a lifetime, thanks to a fundraising from online supporters.
Toni Christina Jenkins of Franklin, Tenn., said she was shocked when she saw a receipt on the table with “none” on the “Tip” line and the N-word on the “Total” line.
“I was just stunned that it happened,” Jenkins, 19, said. “It’s not something that you think in our generation would actually take place, so I was just blown away by it.”
After posting a picture of the receipt to Facebook Sept. 10, her story sparked outrage online, prompting a California man to take action. Matthew Hanson, founder of AddictingInfo.org, heard Jenkins’ story and started an online fundraiser called “Tips for Toni” that collected $10,749 in place of Jenkins’ non-tip on the bill for $44.53.
“It was about sending a message to racists that Americans aren’t going to tolerate that,” Hanson said. “We raised $10,000 within seventy-two hours. It was really amazing.”  Hanson presented the check September 30th to Jenkins, who was unaware of the fundraiser.  “I literally screamed. I was so confused,” Jenkins said. “I was just so thankful. I felt so blessed and so honored that so many people came together on my behalf to give this to me.”