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GBN’s Daily Drop (bonus): Celebrating U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop (bonus): Celebrating U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 9, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast is a bonus episode about U.S Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, whose historic appointment this week can’t be celebrated enough.

To read about her, read on. To hear about her, press PLAY:

[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a bonus daily drop of Good Black News for Saturday, April 9th, 2022, based on the format of the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Just two short days ago, history that was a long time in coming was finally made when Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed by a Senate vote of 53 to 47 to become the 116th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and first African American woman ever to serve on the highest judicial body of the nation.

In a bit of poetry, the vote was called for and presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris, who herself is quite familiar with making U.S. history as a Black woman.

Nominated by President Joe Biden in February, Justice Jackson faced over a month of scrutiny in the Senate confirmation hearings as well as in the media, but navigated it all with intelligence, grace and candor.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Supreme Court Justice

By goodblacknews on April 7, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

History was made moments ago when the U.S. Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson 53-47 to become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Jackson is the first African American woman to serve on the court and the 116th Associate Justice overall.

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson over a month ago to take over the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom Jackson once clerked.

Associate Justice Jackson was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities.

Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System. When Justice Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school.

In a 2017 lecture, Justice Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework—reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning—while she undertook her preschool homework—coloring books.

Justice Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School.

But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Justice Jackson should not set her “sights so high.”

That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Jackson went on to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, serve as a public defender, become a U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia and then a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Justice Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.

Florida Law School to Open Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice in 2022

Florida Law School to Open Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice in 2022

By goodblacknews on December 3, 2021

The St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami Gardens, FL plans to open The Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice in 2022.

The center will support a program for law students interested in civil rights and social justice, offering need-based financial aid, a speakers series and pro bono service placements for new lawyers, school officials said.

In the past decade, attorney Crump has risen to prominence by representing the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and most recently, Ahmaud Arbery.

“Our country went through a national reckoning in the spring and summer of 2020,” said David. A. Armstrong, the president of St. Thomas University. “Ben Crump was at the center of that as the living civil rights attorney icon here in our country.”

Over the years, Crump has won financial settlements in close to 200 police brutality cases and has pushed cities to ban so-called no-knock warrants, in which police serve warrants at homes without warning.

“Lawyers can be the social engineers,” Crump said in a statement Thursday. “This Center will serve as a pipeline for historically marginalized students to get their law degrees and give back to society, following the legacy of my personal hero, Thurgood Marshall.”

To quote nbcnews.com:

Crump’s friendship with Tamara F. Lawson, the law school’s dean, who wrote the book Mainstreaming Civil Rights in the Law School Curriculum, meant the Florida campus was a natural site for the center.

The law school’s racial diversity also was a draw, school officials said. Black students were 7.57 percent of all incoming law students in the U.S. in 2019, according to the American Bar Association. At St. Thomas, 8.3 percent of students last year were Black and 64.9 percent were Latino, according to a report by PublicLegal, a research project founded by the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

While the law school encourages all students to take on social justice work, special efforts will focus on marginalized students who can bring more diversity to the legal profession, Armstrong said. Crump said he hopes the center will pave the way for students looking for new opportunities in the field of law.

“My mother was a hotel maid who cleaned the rooms for the likes of many people who may be seated in this auditorium,” Crump said Thursday at the new center that bears his name. “And I just remember her and my grandmother, these two Black women who believed with everything in their heart that the American dream was for their children, too.

“We need a whole army of warriors to go out into the community to give a voice to those who have no voice, to say things in the world that are not being said, to take on challenges that others are afraid of,” he said.

To read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/benjamin-crump-social-justice-center-open-florida-law-school-n1285254

Zaila Avant-garde Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee, Becomes 1st African American Champion

Zaila Avant-garde Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee, Becomes 1st African American Champion

By goodblacknews on July 8, 2021

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida today, becoming the first African American winner and only the second Black champion in the bee’s 96-year history.

Avant-garde, who hails from Harvey, Louisiana, describes spelling as her side hobby. Basketball is her main extra-curricular focus — she holds three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously.

https://twitter.com/BillyHeyen/status/1413316049655762944

Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, who won the bee in 1998, was the competition’s first Black champion.

This was the first Bee held since the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020.

Read more: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/31786472/louisiana-teen-zaila-avant-garde-correctly-spells-m-u-r-r-y-win-scripps-national-spelling-bee

School Board in Jacksonville, FL Votes to Rename Six Schools Honoring Confederates

School Board in Jacksonville, FL Votes to Rename Six Schools Honoring Confederates

By goodblacknews on June 7, 2021

After an almost year-long campaign and debates led by grassroots racial justice organizations (like the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville), the Duval County School Board in Jacksonville, Florida has voted to change the names of six schools currently named after figures prominent in the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.

Come August 3, Kirby-Smith Middle School will become Springfield Middle School, Joseph Finegan Elementary School will become Anchor Academy, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School will become Hidden Oaks Elementary, Jefferson Davis Middle School will become Charger Academy, J.E.B. Stuart Middle School will become Westside Middle School and Robert E. Lee High School will renamed Riverside High.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 103 public schools named for Confederate leaders in the U.S. The SPLC also points out that the years Jim Crow laws emerged and the Civil Rights movement took place were the years with the greatest increase in the dedication of Confederate monuments and symbols.

Whose Heritage map via SPLC.org

“At this point in time it’s important to start thinking about who we want to be,” said Duval County public schools board chair Elizabeth Andersen. “As a board, we were listening to our community members and wanting to move forward so that every student that walks in our building understands that they are respected, that they are capable of achieving their highest potential, and that all of their lives matter.”

One Day After CPR Training, Torri’ell Norwood, 17, Saves her Best Friend’s Life

One Day After CPR Training, Torri’ell Norwood, 17, Saves her Best Friend’s Life

By goodblacknews on March 31, 2021

[Torri’ell Norwood (in the back) poses for a selfie with A’zarria Simmons. Norwood performed CPR on Simmons after a car accident on February 20. Photo via CNN.com]

Torri’ell Norwood, 17, saved the life of her best friend A’zarria Simmons, 16, just one day after learning basic life support in class at her high school, Lakewood High, according to cnn.com.

Norwood was driving three friends home in St. Petersburg, Florida, on February 20 of this year when another driver slammed into her from her left and sent her car careening.

To quote cnn.com:

The impact jammed shut the driver’s side door, so Norwood climbed out the front window. Two of her friends managed to get out of the car unharmed, but the collision caused Simmons to hit her head on the backseat window.
“When I turned around, I didn’t see A’zarria running with us,” Norwood told CNN. “So, I had to run back to the car as fast as I can. She was just sitting there unresponsive.”

And that’s when the training Norwood had just learned kicked in. She pulled Simmons out of the back seat, avoiding broken glass from the window.

“That’s when I checked her pulse on her neck. I put my head against her chest, and I didn’t really hear nothing. So that’s when I just started doing CPR on her.”

After the 30 compressions and two rescue breaths, Simmons regained consciousness. Paramedics quickly arrived and rushed her to the hospital, where she received stitches for a gash in her forehead.

“I don’t remember the hit or anything about accident. But when I woke up, I was in the hospital. I was in shock. I was trying to figure out how I got there,” Simmons said.

Norwood participates in Lakewood’s Athletic Lifestyle Management Academy. The program exists to prepare students for varied careers in the health sciences.

Thanks to Norwood’s quick thinking,CPR lesson retention and heroic actions, Simmons is recovering well. Both friends plan to pursue careers in the medical field.

“I do want to be a nurse,” Norwood said. “I know that if somebody was in need of help, I’d go to the rescue.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/19/us/iyw-teen-saves-life-cpr-trnd/index.html

NFL Star Khalil Mack Pays Off $80K in Walmart Layaways in his Florida Hometown

By goodblacknews on December 11, 2019
NFL Star Khalil Mack (photo via commons.wikipedia.org)

NFL star Khalil Mack delivered holiday cheer for several customers at a Walmart in his Florida hometown over the weekend, according to KNX NewsRadio. The Chicago Bears linebacker reportedly paid off $80,000 worth of layaway accounts, leaving many families with less to worry about.

To quote the article:

The four-time Pro-Bowler took care of the debts at a Walmart in Fort Pierce through the Khalil Mack Foundation, which focuses on impacting lives of “inter-city and under-privileged youth and families.” The store announced the donation in a Facebook post and thanked him for the act of kindness.

“We have some wonderful News! If you have an active Holiday Layaway account at your local Ft. Pierce Wal-Mart, you account has been paid off!” the Walmart wrote. “We here at Walmart would like to thank the Khalil Mack Foundation for your generosity, and for making so many families happy for the holidays!”

Mack covered more than 300 accounts, which cost about $80,000 total, according to the Chicago Tribune. “His foundation came to us and said he wanted to be a secret Santa,” store manager Mathias Libardi told TCPalm.com.

Mack is known for giving back to his hometown. In June, he donated 100 pairs of cleats to the Fort Pierce Westwood football team.

To read more: https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/cbs-news/nfl-star-pays-off-walmart-layaways-in-his-hometown

University of North Florida Offers Full Scholarships to Address Shortage of Teachers From Underrepresented Groups

By goodblacknews on July 16, 2019

via jbhe.com

The University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL has introduced the Holmes Scholarship program with the aim to increase the number of teachers from underrepresented groups.

Nine students have accepted full tuition scholarships. In return they agree to teach in schools in northeast Florida once they graduate.

Jarred Jackson, one of the nine students who received a Holmes Scholarship stated that “it’s exciting to me that I can give back to my community as a positive role model. Knowing that I can go in the school system and affect a child’s life is very exciting.”

The University of North Florida enrolls just over 14,000 undergraduate students and more than 2,000 graduate students, according to the latest data supplied by the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 9 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s Mother, to Run for Office in Florida

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s Mother, to Run for Office in Florida

By goodblacknews on May 21, 2019

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old whose shooting death by a neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman set off a national conversation on racial profiling and the inequities in the criminal justice system, formally announced yesterday she is running for local office in Florida.

Fulton became an activist after the death of her son in Sanford, Fla., in 2012 by making speeches around the country as she worked to curb gun violence. She now she aims to do so from inside the government as a policy maker. She will contest the mayor of Miami Gardens Oliver G. Gilbert III for a seat on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.

“At first I didn’t want to be the voice for Trayvon after he died, but I decided I have no choice,” Ms. Fulton said in an Instagram video announcing her campaign. “Now I am called to act and called to serve,” she said. She joins other mothers such as Lezley McSpadden and U.S. Congress member Lucy McBath, who also senselessly lost their unarmed sons to gun violence, in running for office.

Fulton is a former housing agency employee who believes a new chapter of serving the public is in order for her. “My time as a public servant began 30 years ago at Miami-Dade County. Since 2012, I have advocated tirelessly to empower our communities and make them safer,” she relayed in an Instagram post. “But the work is not done. I am proud to announce that I will run to represent District 1 on the county commission.”

Read more:

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum Shocks Rivals, Wins Democratic Nomination for Florida Governor

By goodblacknews on August 28, 2018
Andrew Gillum supporters Damara Holness, center, and Herdyne Mercier, right, lift their campaign signs along with others as arrival of gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum took the stage after Democratic candidates for governor, judgeship, local offices, and for the U.S. Congress and supporters marched over one mile towards Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park during the “Souls to the Polls” event to encourage voter participation and early voting on Sunday, August 26, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale. CARL JUSTE CJUSTE@MIAMIHERALD.COM

by Steve Bousquet via miamiherald.com

Andrew Gillum rode a late surge of African-American voters to an upset victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday and an historic opportunity to become the first black governor in Florida history.

The Associated Press called the race for Gillum shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday with Gillum holding a two-point lead over Gwen Graham that amounted to about 25,000 votes. Gillum was beating Graham by about a 2-to-1 margin in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The outcome delighted a raucous crowd that gathered in Tallahassee to celebrate Gillum’s victory.

Despite being vastly outspent by his rivals, the charismatic and unabashedly liberal Gillum built a devoted following of progressives, many of them young and African-American, with his campaign message of social justice and lifting up poor people and appealing to Florida’s growing diversity.

His victory gives Florida voters a striking contrast in both style and substance with his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, who has the enthusiastic support of Donald Trump.

Gillum languished in the polls for most of the campaign but gained momentum in the final two weeks in a “Bring it Home” tour across the state. He was helped by a show of support from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of several national celebrities who endorsed him, along with actress Jane Fonda, TV producer Norman Lear and former NBA star Grant Hill.

A Miami native and former student government leader at Florida A&M University, Gillum was named one of “14 young Democrats to watch” by The New York Times two years ago.

At 39, Gillum was by far the youngest candidate in the crowded field, but the most experienced in public office. He was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission at age 23 and became mayor four years ago.

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article217456845.html#storylink=cpy