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California Attorney General Kamala Harris to Announce Bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2015
“She’s not testing the waters. She’s charting the course. She’s in with both feet,” said the source who requested anonymity while discussing Harris’ plans.
The move comes as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would not run for the seat, averting an ugly battle between two Democrats who share many of the same supporters, have national profiles, are both from the Bay Area and are popular with the liberal wing of the party.
Harris, 50, who is in her second term as attorney general, previously served as the district attorney of San Francisco. She is the first candidate to officially declare. Boxer announced last week that she would not seek reelection in 2016, setting off a scramble among Democrats who have not seen an open U.S. Senate seat since 1992.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are seriously considering bids, as are several members of Congress.
article by Seema Mehta via latimes.com

Congressional Black Caucus Swears In Largest Group Of Black Lawmakers

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2015

cbc swearing in
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Chairman participate in a ceremonial swearing-in, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. on Capitol Hill in Washington, as the 114th Congress began . (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Hundreds gathered in the nation’s capital Tuesday morning for the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) swearing-in ceremony for both newly elected and current members of the 114th Congress. Forty-six African-American men and women took oath during the ceremony, making it the largest group of representatives to be sworn in to the CBC. One of the 46 was Republican Rep. Mia Love, who became the first Black female Republican in Congress.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield will lead the CBC as chairman. He plans on tackling poverty and other issues that have plagued the African-American community. “As we stand here now on the dawn of a new Congress, the 114th Congress, we must tell the full story — for many Black Americans, they are not even close to realizing the American dream. Depending on where they live, an economic depression hangs over their head, and it is burdening their potential and the potential of their children.
Black America is in a state of emergency today as it was at the turn of the century,” he said during the ceremony. “There will be times when I will encourage the CBC to reach across the aisle and try to reach some bipartisan deals that will not make us feel good, but will move the needle in our communities and communities of color.”
To see video coverage of this event, click here.
article via newsone.com

Ferguson Protesters Stall Opening of Missouri Senate Session

By goodblacknews on January 8, 2015
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The start of Missouri’s legislative session was interrupted Wednesday by demonstrators who chanted and unfurled banners in the Senate while protesting the fatal Ferguson police shooting of Michael Brown.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who was presiding over the chamber, said demonstrators were violating Senate rules of decorum and ordered proceedings suspended while police cleared people from the visitors’ galleries. The Senate resumed after about 30 minutes, but no one was allowed to return to the visitors’ section.
Protest leaders and a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety said no one was arrested.
Demonstrators vowed to return to the Capitol throughout this year’s session as lawmakers consider numerous bills stemming from the Aug. 9 shooting of the black, unarmed 18-year-old by officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. A grand jury decided not to charge Wilson, who later resigned.
“Our hope is they take what we did seriously,” said one of the protest leaders, Kayla Reed, of the Organization for Black Struggle. “What people need to understand is that 152 days into this, we’re not stopping — we’re really just getting starting.”
Demonstrators distributed a 28-point plan for changes to police practices, including “anti-racism training,” greater citizen oversight of police agencies and an end to the police acquisition of military-grade equipment.
As the Senate convened, chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “No justice, no peace” echoed from the hallways into the chamber. Both chants have been common rallying cries at protests in Ferguson and across the nation by people who believe minorities are too often the targets of overzealous police.
Dozens of protesters intermingled among relatives and friends of newly elected Missouri senators who were seated in the visitors’ galleries to watch lawmakers take the oath of office. They unfurled several banners. One said, “Swear to protect the people.”
Kinder, a Republican, banged the gavel and declared that protesters had “rudely inserted yourself into the solemn proceeding.” But protesters continued with chants — “It is our duty to fight for our freedom” and “Black lives matter” — as they were escorted from the chamber.
article by David A. Lieb, AP via bet.com

Ollie Tyler, 69, Becomes 1st Black Woman to be Elected Mayor of Shreveport

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2015
(Image: Twitter)
Mayor Ollie Tyler (Image: Twitter)
Shreveport, Louisiana made history over the weekend as the city swore in Ollie Tyler, their first-ever black female mayor. Tyler, 69, won with 65% of the city’s votes. “Your vote was your voice and you sent a message to the next generations that we are vested in our city and will use the challenges we face as opportunities to create unity around a vision that will move us to build a stronger, better Shreveport,” Tyler wrote in a letter to the citizens of Shreveport. “I will work with a sense of urgency to bring pride, excitement, and economic growth to our city.”
Ollie Tyler was elected the 48th Mayor of the City of Shreveport. Council members-elect are Willie Bradford, Jeff Everson, Oliver Jenkins, Michael Corbin, James Flurry, Stephanie Lynch and Jerry Bowman. Mayor Tyler was formerly an education administrator, according to USA Today, and this is her first time serving as an elected official. She revealed several of her aims at the Inauguration, which included enhancing police force in high-crime areas, calculating a budget to balance the city’s finances, improving sewers and streets, attracting Fortune 500 companies, and cleaning up Shreveport’s major gateways.
During Tyler’s political race, a piece of her past resurfaced and it was revealed that the now mayor fatally shot her abusive husband in 1968. USA Today reported that “Tyler said she was never indicted and said the killing was ruled an ‘accidental and justifiable homicide.’” After the incident, Tyler proved that you really can overcome anything by becoming a teacher, Parish of Caddo’s Director of Middle Schools, New Orleans city schools’ Deputy Superintendent, Superintendent of Caddo Parish Public Schools, Louisiana’s Deputy Superintendent of Education and Acting State Superintendent of Education. Her latest victory as Shreveport’s first black mayor involved her defeating a white woman lawyer who’s 15 years younger.
Mayor Tyler was born in Caddo Parish. She obtained her Bachelor of Science from Grambling State University, and a Master of Education from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge.
article by Essence Gant via blackenterprise.com

Carl Jones' Animated Musical "The Wizard Of Watts" Airs Saturday on Cartoon Network, Takes on Police Brutality

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2015
“The Wizard of Watts,” an animated musical coming to Adult Swim on Saturday, tackles police brutality during a charged time. (Credit: Adult Swim) 

LOS ANGELES — “The Wizard of Watts,” a coming animated television musical, was conceived two years ago as a big, fat gob of raucous entertainment wrapped around a nugget of racial commentary.

Then, with the musical’s animation already far underway, Ferguson, Mo., became a flash point, starting a national debate about race, overzealous policing and the need for officers to wear body cameras. Then came the phrase “I Can’t Breathe” and the broader protest against police brutality.

Suddenly, “The Wizard of Watts,” with its devastated black neighborhoods and army of pigs, took on greater weight. How the musical will be received by viewers at a racially charged cultural moment is anyone’s guess. But when it arrives on Cartoon Network’s after-hours Adult Swim block on Saturday, “The Wizard of Watts” will at the very least become one of those eerie instances of art accidentally mirroring life.

The primary villain in the Magical Land of Oz-Watts, where the story takes place, is a vicious pig clad in riot gear. Water does not neutralize this Oz villain; instead this baddie gets melted with a camcorder. “Oh, no! Not an irrefutable visual record of my illegal actions!” the anthropomorphized pig wails as he turns to mush at the musical’s climax.

Even Carl Jones, the director of “The Wizard of Watts” and one of its writers, was surprised at hitting such a cultural bull’s-eye.

“I take pride in tackling things with my gloves off, but animation takes such a long time to produce that you usually don’t end up being all that current,” he said.

Mr. Jones had noticed on social media how African-Americans were increasingly using cellphone cameras as “protection from police, like as a weapon,” he said.

“Nobody was talking about it and so I decided we had to take it on,” he said.

President Obama Signs Law That Increases Opportunities for Women's Businesses

By goodblacknews on January 4, 2015
(Image: Thinkstock)
(Image: Thinkstock)

President Obama has signed a law that seeks to level the playing field for women-owned businesses seeking federal contracts.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2015, Section 825, authorizes federal agencies to award sole-source contracts to women-owned small businesses eligible for the Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program, giving women the same level of access to the federal contracting marketplace as other disadvantaged groups.

This is a critical move that will now allow women-owned small businesses to earn their fair share of the federal marketplace and gain economic opportunities, notes Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet.  “Women entrepreneurs are growing at an unprecedented rate.  More than one in four U.S. companies is owned or led by a woman, and these firms employ more than 7.8 million Americans. Passage of the women’s small business provision in NDAA is a win for women entrepreneurs and a win for America. This will help women-owned small businesses gain equal access to federal contracting as they add jobs to the U.S. economy. A big thank you to the leaders of the Senate and House Small Business and Armed Services Committees for helping make this a reality,” said Contreras-Sweet in a statement.
In July, Administrator Contreras-Sweet testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that federal agencies needed this tool to level the playing field for women-owned businesses. Many of the committee members shared the sentiment, and the SBA worked with Congress and key small business stakeholders to include this provision.
Currently, women entrepreneurs are receiving less than five percent of federal contracts. While Congress established the WOSB Federal Contract program in legislation passed in 2000, it was not implemented. From President Obama’s first day in office, providing economic opportunity to women has been a top priority and the steps to enact the program were put in motion, which was implemented in April 2011.
This new provision will give the SBA a new tool to continue to open doors for more women entrepreneurs in the federal and commercial contract space. SBA’s efforts include aggressively promoting the Women-Owned Small Business Contract Program, which aims to expand federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses.
article by Carolyn M. Brown via blackenterprise.com

R.I.P. Edward Brooke, 1st Black Senator Elected by Popular Vote

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2015
Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote and the first Republican senator to call for the resignation of President Nixon over the Watergate scandal, died Saturday at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 95.
He died from natural causes, said his former legislative aid, Ralph Neas.
In 1966, Brooke ran for the Senate from Massachusetts and became the first black elected to serve in the upper chamber by popular vote, and the first to be sworn in as a senator since Hiram Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce were sent to Washington during the post Civil War Reconstruction-era by a “carpetbag” Mississippi Legislature.
Upon his arrival in Washington, Brooke automatically achieved a number of social firsts, according to his memoirs, integrating both the Senate swimming pool and the Senate barber shop.
In winning election, Brooke joined a small band of liberal Republicans in the Senate during an era of moderation, when centrist voices like Jacob Javits of New York, Charles Percy of Illinois and Mark Hatfield of Oregon influenced political debate. Brooke supported housing and other anti-poverty programs, advocated for a stronger Social Security system and for an increased minimum wage, and promoted commuter rail and mass transit systems.
He also bedeviled the Nixon White House – criticizing the administration for adopting a cynical “Southern strategy” of wooing Southern whites by not enforcing civil rights laws, sponsoring a resolution calling for an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam and opposing three of the president’s conservative nominees to the Supreme Court.
article by Johanna Neuman via latimes.com

Samuel L. Jackson Calls For The #ICantBreatheChallenge (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2014

Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. Jackson has challenged us all to the #ICantBreatheChallenge in honor of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Ferguson and the current fight against police brutality:
http://youtu.be/YtrsWbzOs7c
Will you follow Jackson’s lead and help make this movement viral?
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Editor-in-Chief

"Selma" Cast, Director Ava DuVernay Wear "I Can’t Breathe" Shirts at N.Y. Premiere

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2014
Eric Garner Selma premiere protest I
(RAY TAMARRA/GC IMAGES)

Parties and protests don’t typically overlap, but the “Selma” cast made an exception and a statement on Sunday night following the film’s Manhattan premiere. At one point during the otherwise splashy festivities, director Ava DuVernay took to the steps of the New York Public Library with actors David Oyelowo, E. Roger Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Omar Dorsey, John Lavelle, Stephan James, Kent Faulcon, Lorraine Toussaint, Andre Holland, Tessa Thompson and Colman Domingo, donning “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts over their partywear and raising their arms in the “don’t shoot” pose.
It was not just an unusually sobering photo op, but also a direct acknowledgment of the eerie timing of Paramount’s civil rights drama, with its scenes of organized protest and its urgent plea for justice and reform. The premiere was held the same weekend that more than 25,000 men and women marched through Manhattan, in the largest protest the city has seen since a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner.
The picture’s timeliness is undeniable, said Toussaint, who plays the civil rights activist Amelia Boynton. “There are no accidents,” she said. “I’m so proud to be a part of this film, and I’m so proud of Ava’s accomplishment. To bear witness to the fact that this voice is being heard at this moment … it speaks to the times and the needs of this time, too.”
Introducing the screening, along with Oyelowo and producers Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, DuVernay noted that the last time she had set foot in the historic Ziegfeld Theater, it was in her capacity as a publicist. That was back in 2006, at the New York premiere of “Dreamgirls.”
“I was on that film for a year,” DuVernay recalled at the afterparty. “I remember what Jennifer Hudson wore. I remember what Beyoncé wore. It was a madhouse of A-list celebrities, and I walked that same carpet.” Is it better walking it as a filmmaker rather than a flack? “A little better, a little better. I’ve got better gear on than that black suit.”
Fortunately for actor Alessandro Nivola, the premiere was held on his one night off from “The Elephant Man,” the Broadway play in which he’s currently starring alongside Bradley Cooper. Nivola had to dash over to the Ziegfeld from the matinee, just in time for the film’s 6 p.m. screening.
“I would’ve walked offstage a little early to get to the red carpet if it had meant that I was going to miss it (otherwise),” Nivola said.
He noted that it was a treat to work again with Oyelowo, with whom he also appeared in “Who Do You Love” and the upcoming “A Most Violent Year.” “He was particularly inspired in this particular role by his faith. Whether or not you believe in God, when you see somebody who feels that drive in him in a performance, it’s a pretty powerful thing.”
Also in attendance were Paramount chairman-CEO Brad Grey, Viacom president-CEO Philippe Dauman, James Schamus and Harvey Weinstein, as well as “Selma” actors Carmen Ejogo, Common, Tim Roth and Tom Wilkinson. Paramount will roll the film out on Christmas Day in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., followed by a wide release on Jan. 9.
article by Justin Chang via Variety.com

Tens Of Thousands March On NYPD Headquarters To Protest Police Killings

By goodblacknews on December 14, 2014

slide_389314_4705522_free
Tens of thousands of protesters streamed out of New York City’s Washington Square Park on Saturday to protest the killings of unarmed black people by police officers, as part of the “Millions March NYC.”
The crowd began to wind its way through Manhattan. A large labor union contingent was present, including members of the Communications Workers of America wearing red shirts and AFL-CIO supporters waving blue signs.
In contrast to other marches over the past weeks, this large, orderly demonstration took place during the day. A number of families with children took part, and demonstrators followed a pre-planned route. The march made its way uptown to Herald Square, then looped back downtown, with thunderous chants of “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and “Justice! Now!” echoing down Broadway. The demonstration culminated at One Police Plaza, the New York City Police Department’s Lower Manhattan headquarters.
Organizers estimated that 30,000 demonstrators participated in the march. The NYPD told The Huffington Post that, as of the official end of the march, no arrests had been made.
Protesters held up 8 panels depicting Eric Garner’s eyes, created by an artist known as JR. “The eyes were chosen as the most important part of the face,” said Tony Herbas of Bushwick, an assistant to the artist.
garner eyes
Ron Davis, whose son Jordan was shot dead by a man in Florida after an argument over loud music, was at the head of the march.
“We have to make everybody accountable,” Davis told HuffPost. “You can’t continue to see videos of chokeholds, videos of kids getting shot in the back, and say it’s all right. We have to make sure we have an independent investigator investigate these crimes that police carry out.”
Michael Dunn, the man who killed Jordan, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in October. Davis said Saturday that Dunn’s conviction proves it’s possible that justice can be served in racially charged cases.
“We ended up getting a historic movement in Jacksonville,” Davis said. “We had an almost all-white jury, with seven white men, convict a white man for shooting down an unarmed boy of color.”
black lives matter
Also at the front of the march were New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and New York state Assemblyman-elect Charles Barron.
Matthew Brown, a 19-year-old who is African-American and Hispanic, marched down Broadway with his mother, aunt and other family members.
“I’m trying to support a movement that really needs young people like myself,” said Brown. “I’m here to speak for Mike Brown.”
The teenager said part of his motivation for making the trek from West Orange, New Jersey, with his family was his own personal experience. He’s encountered racist verbal abuse from police in Jersey City, he said, who have called him “spic” and monkey.”
Citing the cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, Brown said part of the reason he wanted to speak out was because of the way police represent encounters with African-Americans. “I just see so many lies after lies.”
He also attended the People’s Climate March in September. But this march felt more intense to him. “This is one that’s really affecting people on a deep, emotional level,” Brown said.