Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Nov. 19, 2014. (Gary Wiepert/AP) article by Kristine Guerra via washingtonpost.com
Amid reports of harassment and threats directed at minorities and immigrants in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a Facebook post on Saturday that his state is a refuge for those who feel they are under attack.
“Whether you are gay or straight, Muslim or Christian, rich or poor, black or white or brown, we respect all people in the state of New York,” Cuomo (D) wrote. “It’s the very core of what we believe and who we are . . . We don’t allow a federal government that attacks immigrants to do so in our state.”
(photo via twitter.com) Natasha Nkhama, a Baylor University student, was attacked by a student and called the N-word while walking around campus earlier this week.
She described the incident in a video posted to Twitter by her friend, Jaileene Maite. “On my way to class, this guy went out of his way to bump into me and … shove me off the sidewalk,” she said. “He said ‘no n*ggers allowed on the sidewalk’.” “And I was just shocked,” she added. “Like, I had no words.”
Nkhama also said that when confronted by a nearby student, her attacker replied “Like what … I’m just trying to make America great again.”
“So if you voted for Donald Trump, I hope you realize what that means from someone else’s point of view,” Nkhama said.
As word of the incident spread throughout campus, students arranged a plan to escort Nkhama to her Friday morning class using the hashtag #IWalkWithNatasha.
Hundreds of people showed up — including some whose professors let them leave class early to help out.
https://twitter.com/SmithCassie/status/797108555014934529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw To read more, go to: #IWalkWithNatasha: 300 Students Escort a Girl to Class After She Reports Racial Harassment on Campus [Video] – B. Scott | lovebscott.com
Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto made history on Tuesday night when she became the first Latina to be elected to the Senate in U.S. history—and she’s already making it very clear she’s more than willing to go head-to-head with Donald Trump once she arrives in Washington, D.C.
“Our government is built on a system of checks and balances, and I will promise you this: I will be one hell of a check and balance on him,” she said during her victory speech on Wednesday. “Tonight we start our fight together…. The diversity here is our strength and we will continue to be strong.”
“It’s not my voice I’m taking to Washington, it’s all of yours,” she added.
Cortez Masto beat out Republican Rep. Joe Heck to become the first woman to represent Nevada in the Senate on Tuesday, ultimately winning 47 percent of votes. She is the proud granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant, and strongly supports “comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.”
After her victory on Tuesday, Cortez Masto took to Twitter to thank her supporters and voice her willingness to fight hard for the rights of all Americans.
L to R: Judges Javan Patton, Elisabeth French and Agnes Chappell (photos via huffingtonpost.com)
article by Rahel Gabreyes via huffingtonpost.com
In a great stride for representation Tuesday, nine black women were elected to become judges in majority Democratic Jefferson County, Alabama, The Birmingham Times reported.
The black women who came out on top in the district and circuit courts, Javan Patton, Debra Bennett Winston, Shera Craig Grant, Nakita “Niki” Perryman Blocton, Tamara Harris Johnson, Elisabeth French, Agnes Chappell, Brendette Brown Green and Annetta Verin, are to be sworn in next January. French, who was re-elected to Jefferson County’s Circuit Court, told The Birmingham Times that she believes her hard work and years of experience helped to propel her to elected office.
“I think the people don’t necessarily just support you just because of your race and gender. I think voters expect more than that. They look at our qualifications and make a decision about who they can trust with the leadership position,” she said.
Tuesday night was a big night for women of color across the states ― not just in local politics, but in federal positions, as well. Three women of color, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth and Kamala Harris, were elected to the Senate. Stephanie Murphy and Pramila Jayapal were also elected to the House. Next year, there will be 38 women of color serving in Congress. To read full article, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nine-black-women-judges-alabama_us_58261b26e4b060adb56e3f54?
Octavia Spencer (photo via Simon & Schuster) article by MaryAnn Yin via adweek.com Zero Gravity Management has optioned A’Lelia Bundles’ 2001 nonfiction book, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. Bundles is actually the great great granddaughter of Walker.
According to Deadline, Octavia Spencer intends to star and produce a limited series based on Bundles’ biography. Nicole Asher will write the script. Kasi Lemmons has agreed to serve as the director.
Here’s more from The New York Times: “Acutely aware of the lack of diversity in Hollywood on both sides of the camera, Ms. Spencer is determined to make a correction. She has begun optioning books, including one about Madam C. J. Walker, considered the first self-made African-American female millionaire.” (via Shadow and Act)
(photo via johnpavlovitz.com)
We Christians like to talk about Hell a lot, so let’s talk about Hell a little. Yesterday, in the very first few daylight hours after Donald Trump’s election victory it began:
Near San Francisco, a home in Noe Valley flew a nazi flag where kids walk by to get to school. A white middle school student brought a Trump sign to school and told a black classmate it was time for him to get “back in place”. A gay New York City man getting on a bus was told that he should “Enjoy the concentration camps, faggot!” The NYU Muslim Students Association found the word “Trump!”scrawled on the door of their prayer room. A female seminary student was stopped at a coffee shop with the words, “Smile sweetheart, we beat the cunt.” Parents of children of color spent the day picking up their children early from elementary, middle, and high schools across the country because they were inundated with slurs and harassment and unable to study. A group of Hispanic kids in Raleigh were taunted by white children, telling them they were “going back to Mexico.” This is the personal Hell we’ve unleashed upon our people this week. And if you’re a white Christian and you voted for Donald Trump: You need to fix this.Now.… To continue reading full article, go to: White Christians Who Voted for Donald Trump: Fix This. Now. | john pavlovitz
Dania Beach, Florida’s new mayor, Tamara James (CREDIT: Facebook) article by Camille Augustin via vibe.com
After a fruitful career on the hardwood, former Washington Mystics player, Tamara James, plans to take her talents back to her hometown.
The 32-year-old activist was recently named mayor of her old stomping grounds, Dania Beach, Fla., Broward County’s “oldest community” the Miami Herald reports.
In a statement issued to the SunSentinel, James thanked her supporters for furthering her dreams of enacting change in her community. “I plan on being a voice for our residents, promoting smart economic growth and unifying us as a city… I’m looking forward to winning championships for the oldest city in Broward County.” To read more, go to: http://www.vibe.com/2016/11/tamara-james-wnba-mayor-florida/
BALTIMORE, MD – NAACP National President and CEO Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement regarding the results of the 2016 presidential election:
“Even as we extend our congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump, the NAACP, as America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, must bluntly note that the 2016 campaign has regularized racism, standardized anti-Semitism, de-exceptionalized xenophobia and mainstreamed misogyny. Voter suppression, as the courts have declared, has too become rampant and routine.
From the day that General George Washington accepted the people’s charge to become their first commander-in-chief, to the day that we elected Barack Obama as our country’s first African-American president, America has come together to ensure a peaceful transition of power. This most recent presidential election must meet this distinctly American standard. President-Elect Trump’s victory speech avoided a divisive tone and thus invoked this standard.
During this critical period of transition, we are now calling upon the next president to speak and act with the moral clarity necessary to silence the dog-whistle racial politics that have characterized recent months and have left many of our fellow citizens snarling at one another in anger and even whimpering in fear. The more than 120 million Americans who cast ballots in this election – as well as the more than 100 million more eligible voters who declined to vote – deserve no less.
The NAACP stands ready to work with a new administration to realize the racial justice concerns that not only compelled millions of people to go to the polls on Election Day but also inspired millions to protest in the streets in the preceding days and months. Depending upon the new administration’s fidelity to America’s ideals of liberty and the NAACP’s agenda for justice, we will either be at its side or in its face. We will not let this election distract or dissuade us; the NAACP will continue to stand strong at the frontlines, advocating for voting rights, criminal justice reform and equality for all.
This election comes as a surprise to many, an affirmation to some and a rejection to others, and yet it is also a defining moment for the NAACP and the nation. Let us come together as a country – come together with the principled and practical unity that the needs of our nation and the need to govern demand.
Our beauty as a country shines brighter than the ugliness of this election. It is up to all of us to reveal the beauty of who we are as a people as we yet see the possibilities of the nation we can become.”
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and its six “Game Changer” issue areas here.
Newly-elected U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (photo via essence.com) article by Yolanda Sangweni via essence.com
California Attorney General Kamala Harris made history Tuesday night when she won the Senate race and became the second Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Harris, an Oakland native, will replace Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who intends to retire 23 years as a California senator. The last African-American woman elected to the senate was Carol Moseley Braun (D, Illinois) who served one term, from 1993-1999.
The Howard University graduate’s platforms included criminal justice, abortion rights and immigration reform. She beat out fellow Democrat, Rep. Loretta Sanchez for the hotly contested race.
A career prosecutor, Harris, whose mother is Indian and father is Jamaican, not only becomes the second Black woman in the senate, she’s also the first Indian woman in the position. For her run, Harris won endorsements from President Barack Obama and California Governor Jerry Brown.
In an interview with ESSENCE earlier this year, Harris, 52, pledged “to ensure our children have a fair shot in school and in life by passing universal prekindergarten legislation.”
“This issue is important to all, but for Black women, poor women, working women, it’s about economic empowerment,” she added.
Harris joins two African-American men in the 100-member Senate: Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey). “Kamala is one of the most exciting leaders in the country right now,” Booker told ESSENCE. “She brings an incredible combination of life experiences and skills that are sorely needed on issues like prison reform, empowering victims, addiction and violence. And she has actually run [and managed] something, and shown herself to be a creative problem solver.” With additional reporting by Donna Owens.
