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Carolyn House Stewart Installed As International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Carolyn House Stewart of Tampa, Florida was installed as the 28th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The swearing-in ceremony was marked by a compelling mix of pageantry, pomp and ritual and was witnessed by an overflow crowd of members. It marked the climax of the Sorority's weeklong conference that took place July 9-16 at St. Louis' Convention Center. Read more at BlackNews.com.
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Arizona immigration law: State to appeal injunction
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's office said late Wednesday that the state will file an expedited appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, asking the panel to lift the preliminary injunction preventing several sections of Arizona's new immigration law from going into effect.
The appeal will ask the court to lift the injunctions put in place by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton earlier Wednesday and allow those provisions to go into effect until a decision is made on the merits of the law, Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said. Read more at Arizona Republic.
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Bill Reducing Sentencing Disparities Is On It's Way To The President
On Wednesday, July 28, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a unanimous voice vote, S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009 which would reduce the mandatory minimum sentence for a federal conviction of crack cocaine possession from 100 times that of people convicted of carrying the drug in powdered form to 18 times the sentence. This compromise legislation passed the United States Senate late in the evening of Wednesday, March 17, 2010, by unanimous consent (without a recorded vote); it will now go to President Obama for his signature. Read more at NAACP.
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Lawyers Ask Kwame Kilpatrick’s Girlfriend About Death Of Stripper
A deposition got under way this morning for Christine Beatty, the former chief of staff for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, in a lawsuit brought by the family of an exotic dancer said to have performed at a wild party at the Manoogian Mansion.
“She has been the arms and legs, the eyes and the ears, of Mayor Kilpatrick through his horrifying reign,” Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma said on his way into the seven-hour deposition. “I hope to learn about that today.” Read more at freep.com.
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Eric Holder’s New Job: Racial Piñata
For a few hours last week, Eric Holder could breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, it wasn’t the attorney general but another African American government official whom right-wingers were smearing with allegations of reverse racism.
But Andrew Breitbart and other conservative troublemakers’ efforts to turn Shirley Sherrod into Angela Davis proved so ludicrously unfair that they only wound up enhancing Sherrod’s reputation; even long-time conservative commentator Peggy Noonan is now holding up the once-obscure Department of Agriculture official as an icon of racial reconciliation. Read more at cbsnews.com.
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Congress moves on gap in cocaine sentences
Congress is significantly reducing sentencing differences between crack and powder cocaine convictions that over the past several decades have subjected a disproportionate number of blacks to long prison terms.
House passage of what is called the “fair sentencing act” would send it to President Barack Obama for his signature. Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Whitman Snubs African Americans and Black Media
Hope you were able to TiVo that campaign ad Meg Whitman ran during the primary with her endorsement from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Because if Whitman continues her strategy of avoiding African Americans, that may be probably the only time you'll see the former EBay CEO around many other African Americans between now and November election. Read more at beyondchron.org.
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Republicans Push For New Black Panther Hearing
The seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman, calling for a hearing on potential "widespread politicization and possible corruption" in the Justice Department, The Hill reports.
The call for a hearing is tied to allegations that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been politicized, as evidenced by a decision to drop most of a federal lawsuit against members of the New Black Panther Party,....Read more at cbsnews.com.
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Obama Feels the Heat for Meek
After the Shirley Sherrod debacle, President Barack Obama doesn't need to pick another fight with his African-American base. But Florida's Democratic Senate primary poses a new no-win situation.
Black lawmakers are urging -- even threatening -- the White House to elevate its support of Kendrick Meek, an African-American congressman locked in a tight fight with multimillionaire Jeff Greene. Read more at sunshinestatenews.com.
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Let's get out and VOTE!!!!!!
The Florida Division of Elections has posted a county-by-county directory of Early Voting sites for the August, 2010, Primary Election. The comprehensive list includes street addresses and hours of operation.
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/pdf/Early_Voting_Sites_Primary_2010.pdf
The Early Voting period runs from August 9 through August 21 or 22, depending on the county.
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Essence Hires White Fashion Director, Leaves Loyal Readers Asking Why
On Friday evening, cultural critic and writer Michaela angela Davis tweeted: “It is with a heavy heavy heart I have learned that Essence magazine has engaged a white fashion director, this hurts, literally, spiritually.” Michaela’s tweet erupted a series of reactions, re-tweets, and scores of Facebook comments. Responses ranged from shock, disappointment to utter confusion. Read more at clutchmagonline.com.
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NAACP SUPPORTED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS EXTENSION LEGISLATION IS SIGNED INTO LAW
On Thursday, July 22, 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill, which was strongly supported by the NAACP, which extends federal jobless benefits through the end of November, 2010 to those who had exhausted their normal six months of benefits. The legislation also makes the extension retroactive to June 2, 2010, when the benefits last expired. Read more at naacp.org.
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Media, Race and Obama’s First Year: A Study of African Americans in U.S. News Coverage
As a group, African Americans attracted relatively little attention in the U.S. mainstream news media during the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency — and what coverage there was tended to focus more on specific episodes than on examining how broader issues and trends affected the lives of blacks generally, according to a year-long study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and its Social and Demographic Trends Project. Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Standing out in crowded U.S. House has been the challenge for would-be Sen. Kendrick Meek
If for some wild reason you weren't glued to C-SPAN at 11 p.m. on July 19, 2006, here's the replay: A congressman stands alone on the floor of the House of Representatives, rows of empty tan leather seats behind him, slamming his fist into a giant rubber stamp.
"We're going to drop it in the garbage can and burn it because this is not what this country (slam) is about. Democracy is about discourse (slam) and balance (slam) and accountability (slam) to the American people." Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Fire guts Stewart-Isom Memorial C.M.E. Church in South St. Petersburg
A church congregation that has survived more than 100 years will have to rebuild its home after a devastating fire gutted its church sanctuary Friday morning.
Firefighters say people passing the Stewart-Isom Memorial C.M.E. Church as the sun came up over South St. Pete just before 6 a.m. saw smoke pouring from the building and called 911. Read more at WTSP.
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1000 NC protesters march over school busing decision
About 1,000 protesters marched Tuesday through North Carolina’s capital and prepared for an afternoon showdown with a school board they say will resegregate schools by eliminating a busing policy focused on diversity.
Led by the NAACP, the angry demonstrators held signs that recalled images of the 1960s as they got ready for a Wake County school board meeting. Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Surgeon general addresses black health
During a recent conference call with the black press, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin addressed black health issues and announced a new website designed to help Americans take control of their health care.
The newly launched government website, HealthCare.gov, provides detailed information about affordable health care plans, according to White House Office of New Media director, Macon Phillips. Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Online racial comments about Pinellas-Pasco judge prompt investigation, added security
Racially charged comments posted to an online forum about local judges has prompted an increase in security and investigation by law enforcement.
The anonymous comments criticize Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Michael Andrews for his handling of past cases. Many of the comments also contain threats, epithets and racially insensitive remarks about Andrews, who is African-American. Read more at tampabay.com.
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Professor at historically black college questions ‘black national anthem’
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is an uplifting spiritual, one that’s often heard in churches and popularly recognized as the black national anthem. Timothy Askew grew up with its rhythms, but now the song holds a contentious place in his mind.
“I love the song,” said Askew, an associate professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college. “But it’s not the song that is the problem. It’s the label of the song as a ‘black national anthem’ that creates a lot of confusion and tension.” Read more at blackpoliticsontheweb.com.
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Legislature puts politics above its duty
It came as no surprise that the Republicans who rule the Florida Legislature quickly adjourned a special session Tuesday without considering a constitutional amendment to ban drilling in state waters. Their arrogance, their contempt for Gov. Charlie Crist and their willingness to place petty politics above pragmatic policy have been evident for months. Read more at tampabay.com.
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