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The Face of Voter Suppression How can you be charged with illegally voting when you did not vote? Further, how can you be incarcerated for making a “mistake” casting a vote? What is a provisional ballot? Does a provisional ballot constitute a vote? How did the term “intentionally voted illegally” become the elephant-in-the -room in […]
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
John S. Rock was born to free black parents in Salem, New Jersey in 1825. He attended public schools in New Jersey until he was 19 and then worked as a teacher between 1844 and 1848. During this period Rock began his medical studies with two white doctors. Although he was initially denied entry, Rock was finally accepted into the American Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1852 with a medical degree. While in medical school Rock practiced dentistry and taught classes at a night school for African Americans. In 1851 he received a silver medal for the creation of an improved variety of artificial teeth and another for a prize essay on temperance.
At the age of 27, Rock, a teacher, doctor and dentist, moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 to open a medical and dental office. He was commissioned by the Vigilance Committee, an organization of abolitionists, to treat fugitive slaves’ medical needs. During this period Dr. Rock increasingly identified with the abolitionist movement and soon became a prominent speaker for that cause. While he called on the United States government to end slavery, he also urged educated African Americans to use their talents and resources to assist their community.
Following his own advice, Rock studied law and in 1861 became one of the first African Americans to be admitted to the Massachusetts Bar before the Civil War. Soon afterwards Massachusetts Governor John Andrew appointed Rock Justice of the Peace for Boston and Suffolk County. In 1863 Rock helped assemble the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first officially-recognized African American unit in the Union Army during the Civil War. Rock would later campaign for equal pay for these and other black soldiers. In 1865, with support from Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, Rock became the first African American lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Previously, Rock’s health had deteriorated in the late 1850s. He underwent several surgeries and was forced to halt his
On September 13, 1886, Alexander Crummell preached a sermon at his church, St. Luke’s Church in Washington, D.C. where he challenged many of the prevailing ideas about the importance of classical education. His sermon is reprinted below.
That the soul should be without knowledge is not good.—Prov. 9: 12.
Tomorrow morning we shall witness the reopening of the public schools and the beginning of another years school session. As the training and instruction of our children is a matter of very great interest and importance, I am glad of the opportunity to say a few words upon the whole subject of Common School education.
I need not pause to explain the special significance of the text. It is so plain and apparent that even the youngest can readily take it in, and you, who are their elders, have years ago become familiar with its point and power.
It has had during the last few years a special and peculiar influence upon us as a people. Rarely in the history of man has any people, sitting in the region and shadow of death a people almost literally enveloped in darkness rarely, I say, has any such people risen up from their Egyptian darkness with such a craving for light as the black race in this country.
It has been almost the repetition of the Homeric incident:
Dispel this gloom—the light of heaven restore—
Give me to see, and Ajax asks no more.
Almost universal ignorance was the mental condition of the race previous to emancipation. Out of millions of people, not more than 30,000 were allowed an acquaintance with letters. To day, hundreds of schools are in existence, and over a million of our children are receiving the elements of common school education.
The point of interest in this grand fact is that this intellectual receptivity was no tardy and reluctant faculty. Albeit an ignorant people, yet we did not need either to be goaded or even stimulated to intellectual desire. There was no need of any compulsory laws to force our children into the schools. No; the mental appetite of the Negro was like
Other countries scheduled to hold elections are Egypt, Guinea, Seychelles and Tanzania.
For countries that do hold elections, there may be special voting arrangements that can allow polls to go ahead but reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
In South Korea's elections in mid-April, the electoral commission encouraged people to vote before election day at any of the 3,500 polling stations throughout the country.
This not only decongested polling stations on election day but contributed to the highest turnout in the country for nearly 30 years.
This means that countries planning to hold elections in 2020 or early-2021 need to start discussing these arrangements - across party lines and among multiple relevant agencies - as soon as possible.
Barbara Jordan, born and raised in a Houston, Texas, ghetto, became active in politics working for John F. Kennedys presidential campaign in 1960. She served in the Texas House of Representatives and in the Texas Senate. Barbara Jordan was the first black woman to be elected to the Texas Senate. She served as a U.S. Congresswoman from 1972-1978.
In 1976 Barbara Jordan became the first African American to give a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention.
After retiring from Congress, she taught at the University of Texas at Austin. The passenger terminal at Austins international airport is named in honor of Barbara Jordan.
• The American dream is not dead. It is gasping for breath, but it is not dead.
• I never intended to become a run-of-the-mill person.
• A spirit of harmony can only survive if each of us remembers, when bitterness and self-interest seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.
• One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.
• If youre going to play the game properly youd better know every rule.
• If you are politically inclined, you may be President of the United States. All my growth and development led me to believe that if you really do the right thing, and if you play by the rules, and if you’ve got good enough, solid judgment and common sense, that you’re going to be able to do whatever you want to do with your life.
• We the people -- it is a very eloquent beginning. But when the Constitution of the United States was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that We the people. I felt for many years that somehow George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake.
But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in We the People.
• We cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the founders of the Republic, but we can find new ways to implement that system and realize our
Following emancipation in 1865, former slaves across the South detached themselves from white-controlled congregations and established independent churches. In Fort Worth, Texas, historic Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was one of those new congregations. Over time it would serve the spiritual and cultural needs of African Americans in the city.
Mt. Gilead Baptist Church is the oldest continuously operating African-American Baptist Church in Fort Worth. It was organized in September 1875 by twelve former slaves who later built a modest structure in a black settlement called “Baptist Hill” near present-day 15th and Crump Streets. Considered the “mother church of Fort Worth black Baptists,” it soon became a symbol of African American self-determination. Once classified a megachurch in the 1920s because of its huge congregation and local influence, today the church sits as a reminder of what was once a vibrant black business district in downtown Fort Worth.
Scholarly pastors promoted progress and taught self-reliance from the pulpit, and these messages resonated with the congregation. Notably, Rev. S.H. Smith (1881-1887) built a second structure at 13th Avenue and Jones Streets in 1882-1883; Rev. A.L. Boone (1916-1923) installed stained glass windows and the dome visible today in existing structure at 5th and Grove Streets; and Rev. Cedric Britt (1979-2009) at age 26 was the youngest to be called pastor and the longest-tenured with 30 years of service at his time of death in 2009.
Rev. Lacy Kirk Williams, prominent leader in national black Baptist circles at the time, led the church congregation from 1907 to 1916. A graduate of Bishop College, he envisioned Mt. Gilead serving the entire black community throughout Fort Worth every day of the week while providing a respite from segregation. In 1911 Williams garnered support from the congregation composed of professional and working-class members to launch the construction of the 4,800-square-foot modified-gothic building that is home to the church today. Widely celebrated
Much has been said about blacks and conservatism. Those on the Left smugly assume blacks are monolithic and will by force of circumstances always huddle to the left of the political spectrum. The political Right watches this herd mentality in action, concedes that blacks are monolithic, picks up a few dissidents, and wistfully shrugs at the seemingly unbreakable hold of the liberal Left on black Americans. But even in the face of this, a few dissidents like Tom Sowell and J.A. Parker stand steadfast, refusing to give in to the cult mentality and childish obedience that hypnotize black Americans into a mindless political trance. I admire them, and only wish I could have a fraction of their courage and strength.
Many pundits have come along in recent years, who claim an understanding of why so many blacks think right and vote left. They offer the answer to the problem of blacks failing to respond favorably to conservatism. 1, for one, am not certain there is such a thing as the answer. And, even if there is, I assure you I do not have it.
I have only my experiences and modest observations to offer. First, I may be somewhat of an oddity. I grew up under state-enforced segregation, which is as close to totalitarianism as I would like to get. My household, notwithstanding the myth fabricated by experts, was strong, stable, and conservative. In fact, it was far more conservative than many who fashion themselves conservatives today. God was central. School, discipline, hard work, and knowing right from wrong were of the highest priority. Crime, welfare, slothfulness, and alcohol were enemies. But these were not issues to be debated by keen intellectuals, bellowed about by rousing orators, or dissected by pollsters and researchers. They were a way of life; they marked the path of survival and the escape route from squalor. Family Policy, Not Social Policy. Unlike today, we debated no one about our way of life--we lived it. I must add that my grandparents enforced the no-debate rule. There were a number of
New Findings Reveal Stark Racial Disparities and Barriers to the Ballot
WASHINGTON, DC –Leading civil rights organizations today released a new analysis that reveals stark racial disparities and troubling patterns in voter turnout during Wisconsin’s April 7, 2020 primary, held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The analysis, “COVID-19 Silence Voters of Color in Wisconsin,” was conducted by data experts from Demos and All Voting Is Local, a project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Reviewing voter data from last month’s Wisconsin primary, the groups found significant gaps in voter participation across the state – exposing existing flaws in our election system and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and brown voters who already face significant structural barriers at the ballot box.
“Our analysis shows how COVID-19 has exaggerated problems in our election system,” said Dr. Megan A. Gall, All Voting is Local’s national data director, “We know African Americans and Latinos have long faced barriers to the ballot.
The analysis further highlights that for wards with higher Black and Hispanic populations in Milwaukee, average voter turnout was 30 percent lower than the average voter turnout in white wards.
… campaign to spur African-American residents to register … board to oversee the African-American voter registration campaign.
… enlighten and motivate the African-American community on the importance … get involved. The African-American community is diversified …
The California Department of Public Health today announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19.
As testing capacity continues to increase across the state, the California Department of Public Health is working to expand access to COVID-19 testing.
Testing should be used for medical evaluation of persons with symptoms of COVID-19 as well as for efforts by public health agencies and essential employers to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.
Individuals prioritized for testing include:
· Symptomatic and asymptomatic healthcare workers, first responders, and other social service employees
· Symptomatic individuals age 65 and older or symptomatic individuals of any age with chronic medical conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness
· Individuals who are tested as part of disease control efforts in high-risk settings
· Asymptomatic residents and employees of congregate living facilities when needed to prevent disease transmission
· Symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in essential occupations such as grocery store and food supply workers, utility workers and public employees
· Other individuals with symptoms consistent with COVID-19
As of May 24, 1,644,102 tests have been conducted in California and reported to the California Department of Public Health.
Racial Demographics – A More Complete Picture
The California Department of Public Health is committed to health equity and collecting more detailed racial and ethnic data that will provide additional understanding for determining future action.
On May 8, 2009, Ronald Cordell Sims became the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sims now second-in-command of the federal agency will oversee day-to-day operations of the Department which has an annual budget of $39 billion and some 8,500 employees. A long time champion of environmental stewardship and mass transit, he will now confront the national foreclosure crisis among other housing issues.
Ronald C. Sims, a twin, was born on July 5, 1948, in Spokane, Washington, to James M. Sims and Lydia T. Ramsey Sims. During World War II his parents had moved from Newark, New Jersey, to Spokane’s Geiger Air Field, where his father served in Army Air Force.
After graduating from Lewis and Clark High School in 1966, Sims attended Central Washington State College (now Central Washington University). While in college he became politically engaged as a columnist for the student newspaper. He wrote articles that challenged many of the policies of school officials. His activism contributed to his election as vice president of the student body in his junior year, and in his final year of college, the student body president.
Sims graduated from college in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and then moved to Seattle. He held a series of local, state, and federal government positions. His first position was as an investigator with the consumer-protection division of the Washington State Attorney’s office. Later he held a similar post with the Federal Trade Commission. In 1979 he became the manager of youth services for the City of Seattle’s Department of Human Resources. Sims later became the director of the South East Effective Development (SEED), a community based organization that advocated economic development and social justice in southeast Seattle.
Ron Sims began his political career in 1985 when he became the first African American elected to the King County Council. While on the Council, Sims promoted civil rights issues including lobbying for the
Schoolteacher, dentist, physician, lawyer, graduate of the American Medical College in Philadelphia, member of the Massachusetts bar, proficient in Greek and Latin, Dr. John S. Rock was unequivocally one of the most distinguished African American leaders to emerge in the United States during the antebellum era. On March 5, 1858, Dr. Rock delivered a speech at Boston’s Fanueil Hall as part of the annual Crispus Attucks Day observance organized by Bostons black abolitionists in response to the Dred Scott decision.
Rock shared the platform with William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Theodore Parker. Three years before the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Rock correctly predicted that African Americans were destined to play an important role in the impending military conflict over slavery. His speech appears below.
Ladies and Gentlemen: You will not expect a lengthened speech from me to-night. My health is too poor to allow me to indulge much in speechmaking. But I have not been able to resist the temptation to unite with you in this demonstra-tion of respect for some of my noble but misguided ancestors.
White Americans have taken great pains to try to prove that we are cowards. We are often insulted with the assertion, that if we had had the courage of the Indians or the white man, we would never have submitted to be slaves. I ask if Indians and white men have never been slaves? The white man tested the Indians courage here when he had his organized armies, his battlegrounds, his places of retreat, with everything to hope for and everything to lose. The position of the African slave has been very different. Seized a prisoner of war, unarmed, bound hand and foot, and conveyed to a distant country among what to him were worse than cannibals; brutally beaten, halfstarved, closely watched by armed men, with no means of knowing their own strength or the strength of their enemies, with no weapons, and without a probability of success. But if the white man will take the trouble to fight the black man in Africa or
\"...These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,\" the 45th U.S. President wrote.
Subsequently, Twitter added a marker to the tweet saying it \"violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence.\"
In a statement obtained by Blavity, Perez didn't hold back in criticizing the president for making the already volatile situation even worse with his tweet.
“The killing of George Floyd is another tragic case of the violence Black men face in America every single day,\" he wrote.
\"No person of character and common sense can watch the video footage of what police did to George Floyd without being horrified.\"
Black women, in general, but Black trans women, in particular, live a precarious life.
“It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color – particularly Black transgender women – and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities,” the HRC said.
We often treat transgender women or gender-nonconforming people with disgust or derision — as if their purpose in life is to make us comfortable.
This person was out there protesting, possibly in harm’s way for the rights of Black people while other Black people who weren’t at the protest were making disparaging remarks.
You can agree or disagree, like or dislike, understand or not a trans person’s lifestyle — or gay person’s lifestyle — but it shouldn’t be unreasonable to ask that you treat all people, especially Black people, as people.
By TAMARA LUSH and EMILY SCHMALL, Associated Press
Arizona’s Republican governor shut down bars, movie theaters, gyms and water parks Monday and leaders in several states ordered residents to wear masks in public in a dramatic course reversal amid an alarming resurgence of coronavirus cases nationwide.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that he’s postponing the restarting of indoor dining because people have not been wearing face masks or complying with recommendations for social distancing.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she will issue an executive order mandating the use of masks in stores and shops, restaurants, and in any situation where social distancing of 6 feet (2 meters) cannot be maintained, including outside.
In Texas, a group of bar owners sued on Monday to try to overturn Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order closing their businesses.
One of Cuomo’s Republican counterparts, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, on a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House coronavirus task force, also asked Pence and Trump to issue a national call to wear masks.
By Tali Arbel Associated Press Several civil rights and other advocacy groups are calling on large advertisers to stop Facebook ad campaigns during July because they say the social network isn’t doing enough to curtail racist and violent content on its platform. The groups in the “#StopHateforProfit” campaign launch, include Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping []
LOS ANGELES — Following a weekend that saw the reopening of more recreational amenities and increased curbside access to retailers, Los Angeles County health officials said May 18 that hundreds of businesses reopened without adhering to health restrictions, and some beachgoers flouted rules mandating face coverings and social distancing.
Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, tried to strike a positive tone about the large numbers of residents and businesses that adhered to continuing health restrictions over the weekend, but said there were problems.
Both Ferrer and County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, however, lamented the weekend scene in places like Malibu, where hundreds of people flocked to beaches while disregarding face-mask and social-distancing requirements.
Ferrer thanked people who went to many other county beaches and abided by regulations, but said the health department did receive reports of issues in Malibu.
“But I want to remind folks that you don’t know when you’re in a public space or place who the people are that are around you who may have underlying health conditions and may in fact be the very person that is going to end up in the hospital because you didn’t make that extra effort to put on that face covering and to keep your distance,” Ferrer added.
