On November 4, the Advancement Project, a multicultural civil rights organization, will team with pro bono legal counsel Arnold & Porter to challenge Wisconsin’s voter ID law for the first time in court since the controversial measure went into effect in 2011. Hearing the case will be U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, and looming heavily is the controversial Supreme Court decision in June that struck down the pre-clearance protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
“As the leading democracy of the world, the U.S. should work to keep our voting system free, fair, and accessible to all Americans,” said Advancement Project Co-Director Penda Hair. “Yet we are witnessing the greatest assault on voting rights in decades.” From Advancement Project’s press release regarding the impending court case, the group alleges that Wisconsin is blatantly disenfranchising voters.
According to figures provided by the Advancement Project, a staggering 28,000 African-Americans and 12,000 Hispanic voters nationwide do not possess a driver’s license or state-issued ID. Those numbers show 16 percent are African-Americans and 24.8 percent are Hispanics; the disparity is especially troubling when comparing those percentage numbers to just 9.5 percent Whites who lack identification.
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- Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, told a Senate panel Tuesday that states must clarify their ‘stand your ground’ self-defense laws after the man who fatally shot her son was acquitted of manslaughter. (Matt Rourke/AP)
WASHINGTON — The mother of Travyon Martin, the Florida teen killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, told a Senate panel today that stand your ground self-defense laws should be changed. Sybrina Fulton offered the tragic case of her son as Exhibit A of why she said such laws do not work. “He was simply going to the store to get snacks, nothing more, nothing less,” Fulton said of her son, who was shot dead by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., in early 2012.
“He was minding his own business, he was not looking for any kind of trouble, he was not committing any kind of crime.” She added, “The person who shot and killed my son is walking the streets today. … The Law is not working.” Martin’s killing ignited a national debate about stand your ground laws and racial profiling. The debate grew even louder after Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. More than two dozen states have some version of stand your ground laws, which let individuals use lethal force instead of retreating if they feel threatened with death or serious injury in public by another person.
Senate Democrats convened the hearing, which triggered a clash with Republicans on the Judiciary subcommittee who favor stand your ground laws. Sen. Dick Durban (D-Ill.) cited research that suggests about 600 homicides a year can be traced to such laws, with no apparent impact on overall crime deterrence. His view that such laws have done little else but accentuate a “shoot first” mentality among citizens was quickly disputed by the firebrand freshman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
WASHINGTON (AP) — With website woes ongoing, the Obama administration Monday granted a six-week extension until March 31 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president’s health care overhaul law. The move had been expected since White House spokesman Jay Carney promised quick action last week to resolve a “disconnect” in the implementation of the law. It comes as technical problems continue to trouble the website designed as the main enrollment portal for people who don’t get health care at work.
As a consequence, Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats as well, are calling for a one-year delay in the penalties most Americans will face starting next year if they remain uninsured. Monday’s action by the administration stops well short of that, and amounts only to a limited adjustment. Under the latest policy change, people who sign up by the end of open enrollment season March 31 will not face a penalty. That means procrastinators get a grace period.
Previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, guaranteeing that your coverage would take effect March 1, in order to avoid fines for being uninsured. The extension – granted for 2014 only – addresses confusion that was created when the administration set the first open enrollment period under the law from Oct. 1-March 31. The problem was that health insurance coverage typically starts on the first day of a given month, and it takes up to 15 days to process applications. So somebody signing up March 16 – well within the open enrollment period – wouldn’t get coverage until April 1, thereby risking a penalty for being uninsured part of the year.
California’s oldest university just named its first black homecoming king and queen. Seniors Daniel Harris-Lucas and Diana Busaka were crowned Thursday night at San Jose State University, beating out 22 other applicants who all submitted a nomination, two letters of recommendation, a personal statement, a resumé and news clips about them. “It’s a great accomplishment,” Harris-Lucas told NBC Bay Area. “But it’s probably overdue. I’m glad to be part of history. But this probably should have happened years ago.”
SJSU first caught national attention at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, when two of its students, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, placed in the 200 meter race and raised their black-gloved fists in the iconic black power salute. A statue of them stands on the SJSU campus today. While the homecoming judging panel noted that there has been an black queen before, this is the first year there has been a couple. Occupational therapy major Busaka was born in Kenya and public relations major Harris-Lucas grew up in foster care and has mentored youth in Oakland.
article by Lydia O’Connor via huffingtonpost.com
SJSU first caught national attention at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, when two of its students, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, placed in the 200 meter race and raised their black-gloved fists in the iconic black power salute. A statue of them stands on the SJSU campus today. While the homecoming judging panel noted that there has been an black queen before, this is the first year there has been a couple. Occupational therapy major Busaka was born in Kenya and public relations major Harris-Lucas grew up in foster care and has mentored youth in Oakland.
article by Lydia O’Connor via huffingtonpost.com
(CNN) — It’s one win for Darrell Wallace Jr., but what will it mean for other African-American race car drivers — present and future? The answer to that question might not come for years. Nonetheless, NASCAR wasted no time Saturday in hailing Wallace’s on-track success at Martinsville Speedway in southern Virginia.
“We congratulate Darrell Wallace Jr. on his first national series victory, one that will be remembered as a remarkable moment in our sport’s history,” said NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France. Wallace took the Kroger 200 on the racing circuit’s Camping World Truck Series, which is on NASCAR’s third tier.
Still, it is notable given that no African-American has won any NASCAR national series race since December 1, 1963, when Wendell Scott became the first ever to win a race at NASCAR’s top level, in a victory at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Scott, a Virginia native who served in the Army during World War II, raced in more than 500 races during his career — finishing in the top five 20 times, though that would be his only victory.
Plus, the 20-year-old Wallace isn’t just any driver. He’s a highly touted graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity, having been featured in numerous local and national publications. The Mobile, Alabama, native — who lives in Concord, North Carolina — won in his 19th start on Camping World Truck circuit. In 10 of his first 18 starts, he finished in the top 10. Shortly after the Martinsville race ended, Wallace — using his twitter handle @BubbaWallace — reveled in the victory.
He wrote: “We Came. We Saw. We Conquered.”
article by Greg Botelho via cnn.com
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.
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
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
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLJe0JGN4M&w=420&h=315]
During a speech this morning by President Barack Obama on Obamacare, a woman standing directly behind the president began to wobble back and forth as if she was about to faint. Luckily, Obama realized there was something going on behind him and immediately turned around to catch the woman, making sure she remained steady on her feet.
Good catch Mr. President! Apparently the woman was attending the speech as a guest who was a beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act.
“I got you. You’re OK,” the President said. “This is what happens when I talk too long,” the president said after helping her get escorted off the stage.
article by aattp.org
The 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
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
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.