By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com EMAIL
I'm upset about the death of Terence Crutcher, I'm tired of seeing innocent black men gunned down by police officers and I'm tired of saying that most cops are good cops before discussing a police shooting of an unarmed black man. I know they exist but where are they at? Listen to more of my thought's below.
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus announced Sept. 19, that the next ships of the next generation of fleet replenishment oilers will be named USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209) and USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210).
Both T-AO 209 and T-AO 210 are part of the John Lewis-class of ships named in honor of U.S. civil and human rights heroes.
"It is important to recognize and honor those who have strived to fulfill the promise laid out in our Constitution - 'to form a more perfect union," said Mabus, "those who fought--in a different way--for the ideals we cherish as a nation: justice, equality and freedom. Both Lucy Stone and Sojourner Truth fought relentlessly for all human rights."
Lucy Stone, a native of West Brookfield, Massachusetts, was a prominent 19th-century abolitionist, suffragist and a vocal advocate for women's rights.
Stone convened the first National Women's Rights Convention and assisted in establishing the Woman's National Loyal League to help pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery, after which she helped form the American Woman Suffrage Association, an organization dedicated to winning women the right to vote.
Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, she escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826.
Born Isabella Baumfree, she gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843.
Widely recognized as a great orator and advocate of civil rights and equality for all, Truth died in 1883 at the age of 86.
The future USNS Lucy Stone and USNS Sojourner Truth will be operated by Military Sealift Command and provide underway replenishment of fuel and stores to U.S. Navy ships at sea and jet fuel for aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. Construction is expected to begin on the Lucy Stone in 2021 and on the Sojourner Truth in 2022.
Black-owned teams and drivers say they’ve been blocked from competing.
NASCAR was hit with a $500 million lawsuit accusing the auto racing body of racial discrimination for preventing black-owned teams and drivers from competing, including in the Sprint Cup Series.
Terrance Cox and his company, Diversity Motorsports Racing, filed a lawsuit late on Friday in U.S. district court in Manhattan against NASCAR, its parent company, International Speedway Corp, and 18 teams, according to court records.
The plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction requiring the defendants to “fully integrate the African-American community.”
In a statement, NASCAR said the lawsuit has no merit.
“Diversity both on and off the track continues to be a top priority for NASCAR and its stakeholders,” the organization said. “We stand behind our actions, and will not let a publicity-seeking legal action deter us from our mission.”
Read more: Auto Racing's NASCAR Accused of Racial Discrimination in Lawsuit
During an interview on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton discussed her plan to help HBCU's. In response to a question from Roland Martin she made the following comments.
So what I’m focusing on is more good-paying jobs, I want to make college affordable and that is a plan that I’ve been talking about and working toward since I got into this campaign. I also want to help everybody with student debt and that’s a very high proportion of African-American young people with a B.A., that come out with student debt. We’re going to really help that get paid down and paid off so people can get on with their life.
I’m committed to helping historically Black colleges and universities – in fact, I have a specific fund of $25 billion dollars that will really upgrade and support and provide financial assistance for young people, because I think the HBCU’s are incredibly important in providing a pathway into the future.
African-American doctors are calling on President Barack Obama to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes, which government data show are heavily preferred among black smokers.
The African-American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, a nonprofit anti-smoking advocacy group, launched a public campaign this week asking Obama to direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove all so-called mentholated tobacco products from the marketplace.
The FDA found in 2013 that menthol cigarettes likely pose a greater public health risk than regular cigarettes, especially among African-Americans, but it stopped short of recommending a ban.
Read more: Black Doctors Call on Obama to Ban Menthol Tobacco Products
