African American Staffers Departing Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee's Director of African American outreach is leaving the organization.

Kristal Quarker-Hartsfield is the highest ranking African American at the Republican National Committee and is responsible for strategy around the African American vote. NBCBLK has learned that Quarker-Hartsfield's official last day at the RNC will be April 1.

This marks the second big departure at the Republican National Committee in the last few weeks. NBCBLK first reported the departure of Orlando Watson, the Republican National Committee's Communications Director of Black Media, who left on March 4th.

That there has been a mass exodus of Black staff from the RNC is undeniable. Quarker-Hartsfield and Watson are two of four top African American staffers to leave the RNC over the past year. Raffi Williams, the former RNC Deputy Press Secretary and the son of FOX News political analyst Juan Williams left the RNC last year for a job in media. Another African American RNC staffer Tara Wall, who was a strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and worked for the RNC as a senior strategist for media and engagement, left in late 2015. The sole remaining top level African American staffer would appear to be Lucas Boyce. Boyce was hired to replace Wall and is listed as the RNC's Senior Strategist for Media and Engagement on their website.

Read more: Yet Another Top African American Staffer Departs RNC

Cornel West decries injustice and hypocrisy, backs Bernie Sanders

Touting his presidential candidate of choice, Bernie Sanders, and warning of rising fascist elements in American politics and society, academic and activist Cornel West challenged a large audience at Worcester State University Wednesday morning not to succumb to fear or indifference in the face of continuing injustices in the country.

“The whole nation is at a crossroads,” and its political parties have become fragile, said Mr. West, whose visit was part of the university's ongoing "Courageous Conversations" lecture series. “Which makes it more dangerous, but also creates opportunities. Will we push towards love and justice, or towards hate and revenge?”

Read more: At Worcester State, Cornel West decries injustice and hypocrisy, backs 'brother Bernie'

Philadelphia apologizes for 'virulent racism' directed at Jackie Robinson

The Philadelphia City Council on Thursday apologized for the "virulent racism" that Jackie Robinson faced in the city and from its hometown baseball team nearly 70 years ago.

Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, was viciously taunted by former Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman, as well as players, during his first season. In a scene captured in the film "42," Chapman led the bench in calling Robinson racial slurs and telling him to "go back to the cotton field."

Robinson was also refused a room at a local hotel when the Dodgers came to play in Philadelphia that year.

The city's governing body unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday declaring April 15, 2016, as a day "honoring the lifetime achievements and lasting influence" of Robinson and "apologizing for the racism he faced as a player while visiting Philadelphia."

The resolution, which will be sent to Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson.

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Northrop Grumman Gives $2 Million Grant to National Society of Black Engineers &HBCUs

National Society of Black Engineers announced a three-year, $2 million program funded by the Northrop Grumman Foundation designed to expand the nation's engineering workforce through a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Northrop Grumman Corporation/NSBE Integrated Pipeline Program will provide 72 engineering students with $8,000 scholarship grants, internships with Northrop Grumman and year-round academic and professional development support. The program's three HBCU partners - Florida A&M University, Howard University and North Carolina A&T State University - will receive grants, technical assistance and a package of programs researched and managed by NSBE.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide.

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Sean Combs launches Charter School In Harlem

Combs announced Monday that the Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School will open in the fall. Watch the story below.

U.S. states giving more ex-felons voting rights back

Baltimore community organizer Perry Hopkins, 55, is looking forward to stepping into a voting booth for the first time in his life this election season.

Hopkins lost his never-exercised right to vote when he was convicted for drug and other offenses. He gained it back last month when Maryland joined a growing list of U.S. states making it easier for ex-convicts to vote.

"To have the right to vote now is empowering. I'm stoked," said Hopkins, who spent a total of 19 years in prison for non-violent crimes, and was one of 40,000 in the state to regain his right to vote from a legislative action.

"I plan to vote in every election possible. I'm voting for mayor, I'm voting for city councilman in my district, and, yes, I'm voting for president," said Hopkins. He hopes to vote for former Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Nov. 8.

Hopkins is among some 800,000 Americans who have regained the right to vote in the last two decades as about two dozen states have eased restrictions on felons casting ballots, according to the Sentencing Project, a prison reform advocacy group.

The restoration of voting rights has drawn support from both Democrats and Republicans as a way to improve prisoners' reintegration into society.

Read more: U.S. states giving more ex-felons voting rights back

Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Threatening President Obama

A judge has sentenced a Wisconsin man to prison for making threats against President Barack Obama last summer.

U.S. District Judge William Conley sentenced Brian Dutcher on Friday to three years in prison and three years on supervised release.

The 55-year-old Tomah man was accused of writing a Facebook comment in June 2015 saying he would be in La Crosse to fulfill his constitutional duty of assassinating Obama during the president's July 2 visit to the western Wisconsin city. He also told a La Crosse Public Library security guard on July 1 that he was in town to shoot Obama the next day.

A federal jury convicted Dutcher of making threats against the president in January.

Dutcher's attorney, Stephen Meyer, didn't immediately return a voicemail seeking comment on the case.

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Black women who boosted Obama are sticking with Clinton

From the pulpit of an African-American church in Detroit not long ago, Bishop Corletta Vaughn offered a rousing endorsement of Hillary Clinton that went far beyond politics.

With a smiling Clinton sitting a few feet away in the purple-walled Holy Ghost Cathedral, Vaughn said she had seen Clinton "take a licking and keep on ticking." Alluding to Bill Clinton's past infidelity, she added: "I'm not talking about politically. I'm talking about as a wife and a mother. That's when I said: I love that woman. She taught so many of us as women how to stand in the face of adversity."

During a primary season in which she has faced surprisingly strong competition and been bombarded with criticism of her trustworthiness, Clinton has maintained a strong bond with one significant bloc of Democratic Party voters. Black women, part of President Barack Obama's winning coalition in 2008 and 2012, have locked arms behind Clinton, hailing her as a Democratic standard-bearer, survivor and friend.

Black women who boosted Obama are sticking with Clinton

House ethics panel opens probe into Fla. Rep. Corrine Brown

The House Ethics Committee has officially opened an investigation into Florida Democrat Corrine Brown over a number of allegations, including "fraudulent activity" with an unnamed organization.

The committee will defer to the Justice Department and not actively pursue the probe because of the federal investigation.

The panel also is aware of allegations that Brown may have improperly solicited charitable donations, used campaign money for personal use, and failed to comply with tax laws.

Read more: House ethics panel opens probe into Fla. Rep. Corrine Brown

Nate Parker Creates Film and Drama School at HBCU

On Sunday (March 20), Parker announced the Nate Parker School of Film and Drama, which will launch this fall at Wiley College, an historically Black college or university (HBCU).

“If I can create a pipeline toward filmmaking physically through developing the college, having filmmakers be nurtured and cultivated here, and then having somewhere for them to go with respect for them actually being able to engage in filmmaking here in East Texas, then it kind of serves multiple purposes,” Parker told local station KLTV. “You control the moving picture, you control the masses. So really getting them rallied around the idea of reclaiming the narrative of America, specifically through the eyes of people of color.”

Though classes won’t officially start until this fall, the school will host a nine-day summer institute with about 30 high school and college students. Parker has also joined the college’s board of trustees, and local station KLTV reports that he even used the Marshall, Texas, institution’s a capella choir on the soundtrack for his Sundance recordbreaking film “The Birth of a Nation.”

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DA recomends house arrest for Peter Liang in Akai Gurley death

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson is recommending no jail time and six months house arrest for former NYPD officer Peter Liang in the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley.

Task Force: Michigan state officials accountable in Flint water crisis

A task force appointed by Michigan’s governor said on Wednesday state officials showed stubbornness, lack of preparation, delay and inaction in failing to prevent a health crisis in the city of Flint caused by lead contamination in the drinking water.

There were failures on all levels of government, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a report from the task force said. However, the report highlighted failures of state agencies, especially the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and said the state was "fundamentally accountable" for what happened.

"It was a mixture of ignorance, incompetence and arrogance by many decision makers that created the toxic and tragic situation," Chris Kolb, task force co-chair and president of the Michigan Environmental Council, a coalition of non-profit groups, said at a press conference in Flint.

Read more: Michigan state officials accountable in Flint water crisis: inquiry

Black Congresswomen form Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls.

Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ)

Today, Congresswomen Robin Kelly (IL-02), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), announced the creation of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, the first caucus devoted to public policy that eliminates the significant barriers and disparities experienced by Black women.

Despite more than 430 registered congressional caucuses and Member organizations, no group on Capitol Hill has sought to make Black women and girls a priority in the policy debates that occur here. The Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls will fill that gap, and provide the same attention for women that President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative has given to Black men and boys.

Read more: Reps. Kelly, Watson Coleman, Clarke Announce Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls

Tips on Identifying Suicide Risk In Black Youth

Suicide is a serious mental health concern. It often occurs along with symptoms of depression which can be treated with therapy. However, many are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health issues, especially in the Black community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the third leading cause of death among Black youth. Therefore, it is important that we identify risk early to prevent actual suicide attempts.

Read more: Tips on Identifying Suicide Risk In Black Youth

Black artist, Norman Lewis and his work finally getting their due

35 years after his death the work of Norman Lewis, an African American artist is enjoying a critical reappraisal after racism cost him the recognition he should have received. His works which may have sold for $20,000 when he was alive are now going for anywhere between $250,000 and $800,000. Learn more about the man and his art below.

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