Richard Sherman makes good on scholarship promise

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman told a Virginia high school student last year that he would give her a personally funded scholarship if she brought up her grades.

And now, he's making good on his promise.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sherman's initial conversation with Hershai James occurred last year at a charity event hosted by his former teammate Michael Robinson. Sherman challenged James to make the honor roll at Varina High School as a senior, and she did.

"It goes back to knowledge is power, and if you have knowledge, you're going to be as powerful as you ever want to be," Sherman told the newspaper. "Nobody stops anybody from reading and educating themselves. Mike is only trying to empower these kids to be everything that they can be, and if we can help with that with our presence, with our [autographed] jerseys [for an auction], with our words, we'll do everything we can."

The exact amount of the scholarship is being kept private. James plans to attend Norfolk State.

"When my senior year began, I definitely had the scholarship in my head as motivation," James told the newspaper. "With being a senior, the year is really stressful. Having something to look forward to helped. It's like saying my hard work and dedication had paid off."

ESPN.

Baltimore Mayor: City Will ‘Look To’ Remove Confederate Monuments

New Orleans recently took down its Confederate monuments. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she is considering doing the same thing in the city.

“The city does want to remove these,” Pugh told The Baltimore Sun. “We will take a closer look at how we go about following in the footsteps of New Orleans.”

Pugh said she’s been focused in her first months in office on implementing police reforms under the consent decree negotiated with the Department of Justice and finding more funds for the school system. She said she’s now turning her attention to other issues, such as the monuments.

“You name it, we’ve tackled it,” she said. “This is another one of those things that we will tackle as well.

“New Orleans has taken on this issue. It costs about $200,000 a statute to tear them down. … Maybe we can auction them?”

Read more: Pugh to explore removing Confederate monuments in Baltimore.

Congressman honors Lt. Richard Collins something Trump has yet to do

On May 24, Congressman Anthony Brown (Dem-MD) spoke on the House floor about the life and death of Lieutenant Richard Collins III. Collins' murder was a hate crime, and the latest in string of racist and hate-filled incidents across the country at college campuses. Trump has yet to honor this fallen American soldier.

Watch his comments below:

When is Pres. Trump going to honor Lt. Richard Collins

Rep. Cummings recovering after heart surgery

Per POLITICO:

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is in the hospital after undergoing “minimally invasive” heart surgery on Wednesday, his office said Thursday.

Cummings is expected to spend a few days in the hospital in Baltimore, where he underwent a procedure known as trans arterial aortic valve replacement to treat aortic stenosis.

He will then “return to his normal schedule thereafter,” according to a statement.

Black Female Democrats Pen Open Letter About Lack of DNC Support

Dozens of black, female Democratic activists and leaders have written an open letter to Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Tom Perez about the lack of support they receive from the party. Signatories include state and federal lawmakers like Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).


Read that letter below:

Dear Chairman Tom Perez:

Black women have consistently shown up for Democrats as a loyal voting bloc, demonstrating time and again that we are crucial to the protection of progressive policies such as economic security, affordable healthcare and criminal justice reform.

We have voted and organized our communities with little support or investment from the Democratic Party for voter mobilization efforts. We have shown how Black women lead, yet the Party's leadership from Washington to the state parties have few or no Black women in leadership. More and more, Black women are running for office and winning elections — with scant support from Democratic Party infrastructure.

Well, like civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, who testified at the 1964 Democratic convention demanding Blacks have a seat and voice within the Party, we are "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

The Democratic Party has a real problem. The data reveals that Black women voters are the very foundation to a winning coalition, yet most Black voters feel like the Democrats take them for granted. The Party's foundation has a growing crack and if it is not addressed quickly, the Party will fall even further behind and ultimately fail in its quest to strengthen its political prospects.

Investing in Black women's political leadership is a solid return on investment, one that is rooted in facts and data. In recent years, Black women have proven to be the most active voting demographic in the nation. In 2008 and 2012, 70 percent of eligible Black women cast ballots, accounting for the highest voter turnout of any racial or gender group, proving that our voting power can and has determined elections. A closer look at the data shows that in 2012 Barack Obama won re-election by 4.9 million votes.

The 115th Congress has 20 Black women—the largest number in history. The group includes Kamala Harris, who is the second Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, a body that has not had a Black woman's voice in 20 years. In addition, Lisa Blunt Rochester became the first woman and Black person to represent Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives.Black women cast a total of 11.4 million ballots, providing the margin he needed to win. This past November, even with a clear lack of voter mobilization investment and a decrease in overall Black voter turnout, 94 percent of Black women voted to keep this country moving forward by casting ballots for Hillary Clinton. In addition, on November 8th we saw important elected-office gains by Black women despite the otherwise dismal defeat of progressives during the general election.

Black women also made important progressive wins in Minnesota, where IIhan Omar became the first Somali-American Muslim elected to the state legislature; Kentucky, where Attica Scott became the first woman elected to the state legislature in 20 years; Cook County IL, where Kim Foxx was elected state's attorney; Orange County FL elected Aramis Ayala the first Black state's attorney in the Florida's history; the state of Texas elected its first woman Sheriff, Zena Stephens; and Jefferson County, AL elected nine Black women to the judicial branch.

This February, in the DNC elections, we saw an increase in overall diversity within the officer ranks, but no increase in leadership representation of Black women. Since taking office, you have met with and listened to key constituencies. But you have yet to host a Black women leaders convening.

Organizing without the engagement of Black women will prove to be a losing strategy, and there is much too much at stake for the Democratic Party to ignore Black women. Following your recent announcement of your top staff hire, we are left with significant concerns about how the Party is developing its strategies and allocating its resources. In the absence of our inclusion in discussions about the Party's forward movement, we question whether the Party values our loyalty and takes our commitment seriously.

In this termed "movement building moment," how will you lead the Democrats forward? Will Black women be among those at the helm, helping to design the strategies, craft the message, mobilize troops, and lead the way - as policymakers, political strategists, activists, and elected officials?

We respectfully request that you convene a meeting with Black women leaders and activists where you can hear not only our concerns, but also our thoughts on how the DNC can invest in Black women's engagement and leadership moving forward from hiring of key staff and consultants to investment in training and leadership opportunities.

The time is now for progressive power brokers and the very Party that we have carried on our back to the voting booth, year in and year out, to make a sustained and substantial investment in our leadership and priorities.

We have demonstrated our commitment to the Party. It is time for the Party to demonstrate its commitment to us. We stand ready to join you, your team, and Party leadership on the front lines — but not as silent partners.

In service,

Anita Estell

Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, Ph.D. - Founder, Exceptional Leadership Institute for Women

Carol McDonald

Christina M. Greer, PhD

Dana Vickers Shelley

Glynda Carr - Co-Founder, Higher Heights for America

Kimberly Peeler-Allen - Co-Founder, Higher Heights for America

Khalilah Brown-Dean, PhD

L. Joy Williams

Marcela E. Howell

Melanie L. Campbell

Nakisha M. Lewis - Co-Founder #SheWoke Committee

Roslyn M. Brock - Chairman Emeritus, NAACP

Star Jones

Sydney Kamlager-Dove - Vice President, Los Angeles Community College District

Tamika Mallory

Zina Pierre

Delegate Lashreces Aird - Virginia

Delegate Marcia Price - Virginia

Delegate Pam Queen - Maryland

State Senator Holly Mitchell- California

State Representative Kathy Sykes - Mississippi

State Representative Laura Hall - Alabama

State Representative Rena Moran - Minnesota

Honorable Marcia Fudge - (D-OH)

Honorable Joyce Beatty - (D-OH)

Honorable Bonnie Watson Coleman - (D-NJ)

Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson - (D-TX)

Honorable Barbara Lee - (D-CA)

Honorable Stacey Plaskett - (D-NY)

Honorable Yvette Clarke - (D-CA)

Alabama governor signs Confederate monuments preservation bill

Wow, some still don't want to acknowledge that a group of traitors to the United States lost the Civil War, and still want to fawn statues of losers who thought slavery was just fine. Against the objections of black law makers Alabama's Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill that protects most Civil War Monuments. George L. Cook III.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law sweeping protections for Confederate and other long-standing monuments, a move that comes as some Southern cities remove Confederate monuments from public grounds.

Sen. Gerald Allen, the Republican bill sponsor, praised Ivey's decision.

"Contrary to what its detractors say, the Memorial Preservation Act is intended to preserve all of Alabama's history -- the good and the bad -- so our children and grandchildren can learn from the past to create a better future," Allen said.

The new Alabama law prohibits the removal and alteration of monuments more than 40 years old. It also prohibits renaming schools that have carried a person's name for more than 40 years. A new commission would have to approve changes to those between 20 and 40 years old.

African-American lawmakers opposed the bill at every step of the legislative process. They argued that the monuments pay tribute to the shameful legacy of slavery.

"You say we are protecting history. We are not protecting history. We are protecting monuments that represent oppression to a large part of the people in the state of Alabama," Sen. Hank Sanders, an African-American Democrat from Selma, said during the debate.

Read more: Alabama governor signs Confederate monuments preservation bill

Ben Carson refers to poverty as a ‘state of mind’

Looks like Uncle Ruckus is up to his old tricks again. Housing Secretary Ben Carson added to his list of stupid comments during a town hall by saying that poverty is, and I quote "A state of mind". George L. Cook III African American Reports.

In an interview released Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said that a "certain mindset" contributes to people living in poverty, pointing to habits and a "state of mind" that children take from their parents at a young age.

"I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they'll be right back up there," he said during an interview on SiriusXM Radio with Armstrong Williams, a longtime friend.

"And you take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world, they'll work their way right back down to the bottom," Carson said.

Looks like Uncle Ruckus is up to his old tricks again. Today Housing Secretary Ben Carson added to his growing list of dumb statements by saying that poverty is a state of mind.

Carson said during the interview that "the wrong mindset" is the product of negative parenting habits and exposure.

"There's also a poverty of spirit. You develop a certain mindset," he said.

Carson made the comments during a town hall recorded Tuesday which will air in full on SiriusXM Wednesday night. Sirius released clips of the interview to news organizations to promote the show.

The secretary said that he believes that government can provide a "helping hand" to people looking to climb out of poverty. But he warned against programs that are "sustaining them in a position of poverty. That's not helpful."

"I think the majority of people don’t have that defeatist attitude, but they sometimes just don’t see the way, and that’s where government can come in and be very helpful," he said. "It can provide the ladder of opportunity, it can provide the mechanism that will demonstrate to them what can be done."

Read more about Carson's foolishness here: Ben Carson calls poverty ‘a state of mind’ during interview

Lawsuit: Mississippi fails to educate black children equally

Mississippi is denying good schools to African American students in violation of the federal law that enabled the state to rejoin the union after the Civil War, a legal group alleged Tuesday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center wants a federal judge to force state leaders to comply with the 1870 law, which says Mississippi must never deprive any citizen of the "school rights and privileges" described in the state's first post-Civil War constitution.

That law still obligates Mississippi to provide a "uniform system of free public schools" for all children, but the state has instead watered down education protections in a white supremacist effort to prevent the education of blacks, the group said.

"From 1890 until the present day, Mississippi repeatedly has amended its education clause and has used those amendments to systematically and deliberately deprive African-Americans of the education rights guaranteed to all Mississippi schoolchildren by the 1868 Constitution," the suit states.

The named defendants include Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, House Speaker Philip Gunn and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, all Republican elected officials. It also names state school Superintendent Carey Wright and the nine appointed members of the state Board of Education.

Mississippi's public schools have stubbornly ranked at or near the bottom of national measures of academic achievement and progress. But Bryant and Reeves said Mississippi's education system is improving under their leadership.

Read more: Lawsuit: Mississippi fails to educate black children equally

Black Lives Matter Wins 2017 Sydney Peace Prize

SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE CITATION FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER

For building a powerful movement for racial equality, courageously reigniting a global conversation around state violence and racism. And for harnessing the potential of new platforms and power of people to inspire a bold movement for change at a time when peace is threatened by growing inequality and injustice.

THE 2017 SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED ON THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER AT THE CITY OF SYDNEY LECTURE AND AWARD CEREMONY AT SYDNEY TOWN HALL. A CELEBRATORY DINNER, THE FOUNDATION’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR THE PRIZE, IS ON FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER.

In 2014, Black Lives Matter emerged as a global phenomenon when the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter turned into a rallying cry for a new generation of civil rights activists and organisers. A movement swept across the United States, affirming black humanity in the face of relentless police brutality, mass incarceration and racial disparity.

Built and sustained by many, the Black Lives Matter Global Network (BLM) has played a vital role in growing the Movement for Black Lives, and its loud calls for justice, dignity and equality have resonated around the world.

Not a moment, but a movement

Since creating the social media hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in 2012, BLM’s Co-Founders, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi steadily and strategically built the scaffolding of a nationwide on-the-ground political network that now has 39 chapters worldwide.

Encouraging a broader and deeper conversation about what justice for black people looks like — and how people can join forces to achieve it — the Black Lives Matter Network nurtures an inclusive, decentralised and leaderful movement from the bottom-up. The Founders want the faces of this movement to reflect the change they strive towards in their own communities, which is that all black lives matter, regardless of their gender, class, sexual orientation, or age.

An intervention

For the Founders, Black Lives Matter Network is not ‘just’ about extrajudicial killings and police reform. Rather, it is an intervention: Black Lives Matter demands that American society reconsider how it values black lives by identifying where and how black life is cut short by the state, whether in viral videos of police brutality, the self-fulfilling prophecy of the criminal justice system, or in areas where black communities disproportionally face homelessness, poverty and economic disparity.

Black Lives Matter is our call to action. It is about replacing narratives of black criminality with black humanity. It is a tool to reimagine a world where black people are free to exist, free to live, and a tool for our allies to show up for us.

Patrisse Cullors, Co-Founder

Black Lives Matter is about changing the conversation: If it is true that black lives matter, then what does that mean for police reform, for our justice systems, for schools, for jobs, for infrastructure, and for economic development? If black lives matter, then what needs to change in politics and in the media?

In only a few years, it has rapidly evolved well beyond a hashtag, into a social movement that is healing and organising communities across the USA, and has both political aims as well as visionary policy demands.

Vision, leadership, heart and courage

Without justice, peace is hollow and fragile. As societies and human beings, we cannot be at peace when people around us are suffering. Or when rules, institutions and behaviours that shape our daily lives – visible or invisible – tell us that the lives of people around us matter less, or don’t matter at all.

The committee noted that the conversation about Black Lives Matter is an age-old conversation, but commended today’s movement for creating a unique opportunity to change the course of history:

Black Lives Matter offers bold and visionary solutions to build societies where black people, and by extension all people, are free to live safe and dignified lives. This vision of love, hope, resistance and dissent resonates around the globe and particularly in Australia where the struggle with racism towards our First Peoples, asylum seekers and other excluded and marginalised communities scars our country and tarnishes our international reputation.

To turn a radically inclusive message into a rallying cry for millions of people requires vision, leadership, heart and courage. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi and the many other Black Lives Matter leaders challenge us all to rethink, reimagine and reconstruct the societies we live in. This is an urgent and vital challenge, not least here in Australia, a country that struggles to come to terms with its past and fails to right ongoing wrongs.

This is the first time that a movement and not a person has been awarded the Peace Prize – a timely choice. Climate change is escalating fast, increasing inequality and racism are feeding divisiveness, and we are in the middle of the worst refugee crisis since World War II. Yet many establishment leaders across the world stick their heads in the sand or turn their backs on justice, fairness and equality.

The power of ordinary people is a phenomenal force for change – now more than ever, popular movements and political resistance is crucial.

OPINION: Why the NAACP is letting Cornell Williams Brooks go.

Hi, this is George Cook of African American Reports. In case you didn't know the NAACP has decided not to renew it's President/CEO, Cornell William Brooks when his term expires on June 30. Here is my humble opinion on why the NAACP is letting a hard working man of integrity go.

Congressman Al Green receives death / lynching threats after calling for Trump impeachment

Congressman Al Green gained national attention as the first representative to call for President Donald Trump's impeachment on the house floor, but he told town hall attendees in Houston that move has also brought threats of lynchings and death threats to his congressional offices.

OPINION: George cook African American Reports, You can't make death threats

Sheriff David Clarke plagiarized portions of his master's thesis on homeland security

Controversial Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who this week announced he will be joining Donald Trump's administration as assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, plagiarized sections of his 2013 master's thesis on US security, a CNN KFile review has found.

Clarke, a visible surrogate for Trump during the campaign known for his incendiary rhetoric, earned a master's degree in security studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. In his thesis, "Making U.S. security and privacy rights compatible," Clarke failed to properly attribute his sources at least 47 times.

In all instances reviewed by CNN's KFile, Clarke lifts language from sources and credits them with a footnote, but does not indicate with quotation marks that he is taking the words verbatim.

According to guidelines on plagiarism posted on the Naval Postgraduate School's website, "If a passage is quoted verbatim, it must be set off with quotation marks (or, if it is a longer passage, presented as indented text), and followed by a properly formulated citation. The length of the phrase does not matter. If someone else's words are sufficiently significant to be worth quoting, then accurate quotation followed by a correct citation is essential, even if only a few words are involved."

The school's honor code defines plagiarism as "submitting material that in part or whole is not one's own work without proper attribution. Plagiarism is further defined as the use, without giving reasonable and appropriate credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of another person's original work, whether such work is made up of code, formulas, ideas, language, research, strategies, writing or other form(s)."

Sources Clarke plagiarized include a 2002 ACLU report about "The Government's Demand for New and Unnecessary Powers After September 11," a 2003 ACLU report critical of the FBI's records-collection practices, a 2007 ACLU report on "fusion centers," and a 2011 ACLU report on the need to overhaul secrecy laws.

Other sources Clarke lifted words from include: the 9/11 Commission Report, a 2011 article in the Homeland Security Affairs journal, the Pew Research Center, a 2012 report by the Constitution Project, a 2003 report by the US General Accounting Office, a 2011 Brennan Center report, a 2013 Washington Post article about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Comparative Homeland Security: Global Lessons, a textbook by Nadav Morag, and Safe Cities Project, a research paper published by the Manhattan Institute.

Read more: Sheriff David Clarke plagiarized portions of his master's thesis on homeland security

Cornell Williams Brooks out as president as NAACP heads in a new direction

The NAACP was founded more than a century ago in response to the rampant and violent lynching of black Americans. Over the past 100 years, the black community and communities of color as a whole have experienced tremendous advancements. Yet, as we continue to march towards the arc of justice, additional barriers have been placed in our way in the forms of voter suppression: increased police brutality, over criminalization of black bodies, income inequality and inadequate health care as well as anti-immigrant sentiments.

The NAACP intends to aggressively and nimbly respond to the current climate of political unrest, as well as the assaults upon human and civil rights that threaten our very democracy, as only it can. To do so demands that the Board of the NAACP ensure that organization has the right plan and the right leadership to address these 21st-century challenges.

In keeping with its longstanding history, and legacy, the NAACP Board announced today a transformational, system-wide refresh and strategic re-envisioning. The objective is to best position the respected national organization to confront the realities of today’s volatile political, media and social climates.

Board Chairman Leon W. Russell and Vice Chair Derrick Johnson, who were elected to their current positions in February 2017, will manage the organization on an interim basis until a new leader is named. Current CEO and President Cornell Brooks, will remain at the organization until June 30th, the end of his current term.

Opinion: The reason why Cornell Williams Brooks was let go.

Article continues below the video

“Our organization has been at the forefront of America, making tremendous strides over the last hundred years,” said Leon W. Russell, chairman of the Board of Directors. “However, modern day civil rights issues facing the NAACP, like education reform, voting rights and access to affordable health care, still persist and demand our continued action.”

“In the coming months, the NAACP will embark upon a historic national listening tour to ensure that we harness the energy and voices of our grassroots members, to help us achieve transformational change, and create an internal culture designed to push the needle forward on civil rights and social justice,” said Derrick Johnson, vice-chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors.

In their announcement today, the NAACP Board made it clear that everyone will have a place at the table, including its invaluable staff, the new movements for social change, local organizers helping to rebuild our neighborhoods, the faith leaders and other traditional and historic African-Americans organizations that provide much needed services to their communities, social justice advocates tackling income inequality, the millions of marchers who have taken to streets for women rights and immigrant rights, the activists who are fighting for equality for the LGBTQ Americans, business leaders and philanthropists lending private sector support, and the long-time civil rights guardians who have spilled blood so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

As part of that commitment, the NAACP Board also announced today that they will embark on a listening tour, for the first time in its history. As the organization reimagines ourselves, it is determined to be formed in the likeliness of the people whom it serves – and to do so, the Board will work to see, meet and listen to them.

“These changing times require us to be vigilant and agile, but we have never been more committed or ready for the challenges ahead. We know that our hundreds of thousands of members and supporters expect a strong and resilient NAACP moving forward, as our organization has been in the past, and it remains our mission to ensure the advancement of communities of color in this country,” said Russell.

ABOUT THE NAACP:

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting NAACP.org.

ABOUT LEON W. RUSSELL:

Leon W. Russell was elected as Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors in February 2017. Prior to assuming that role, Russell served as Vice Chair of the NAACP Board and has been a board member for over 27 years. He served as President of the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP from 1996-2000, after serving for fifteen years as the First Vice President. He is also the former assistant secretary of the Board and the former Director of the Office of Human Rights for Pinellas County Government, Clearwater, Florida from 1977-2012, where he was responsible for implementation of the county’s human rights and affirmation action ordinances. The recipient of numerous civic awards and citations, Russell was also elected for two terms as the President of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies. The IAOHRA represents civil rights agencies from the US and abroad responsible for enforcing state and local civil rights laws and the promotion of inter-group relations.

ABOUT DERRICK JOHNSON:

Derrick Johnson was elected as Vice-Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors in February 2017. Before taking this position, Johnson was the State President of the Mississippi NAACP and Executive Director of One Voice Inc. A former Mel King Community Fellow with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Johnson also serves on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, and as an adjunct professor at Tougaloo College.

Sheriff David Clarke says he's taking job in Department of Homeland Security

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said Wednesday he would leave office next month to accept a federal appointment as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He said he would work in the department's Office of Partnership and Engagement as a liaison with state, local and tribal law enforcement and governments.

"I'm looking forward to joining that team," Clarke said Wednesday on Vicki McKenna's radio talk show on WISN-AM (1130).

The fourth-term sheriff said he would start the job in June.

Shoe company accused of racism towards Serena Williams

Managers for the luxury shoe company Gianvito Rossi called tennis star Serena Williams "disgusting" and refused to give her the same discounts as white celebrities, a former employee claims in a stunning new racial discrimination lawsuit.

Whitney Wilburn, who is black, says she was recruited to work for Gianvito Rossi in 2015 from "another Madison Avenue fashion house" where she'd been for five years.

But once she was hired to run the Manhattan boutique, her boss, Grace Mazzilli, was immediately "hostile to Wilburn based upon her race and age," the suit alleges.

Wilburn, 46, claims in the Manhattan civil suit that her "experience with Mazzilli left no doubt about Mazzilli's racial animosity toward African-Americans."

"For instance, when the world famous athlete Serena Williams, via her staff, asked for a discount on her extensive purchases, Gianvito managers responded with racially disparaging comments about Ms.

Williams which made it clear that the company did not want African-American women to wear its shoes," the suit says.

The managers "referred to Ms. Williams as 'disgusting' and refused to offer any discount," according to court papers.

Read more: Tennis: Shoe company accused of racism towards Serena Williams

Congressman Al Green calls for Trump impeachment

Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump Wednesday morning, the first member of Congress to officially request leveling charges against the President from the House floor. Watch video of his request below:

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CLIP: @RepAlGreen: "I rise today...to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States of America for obstruction of justice." pic.twitter.com/k3OMGcZbEF

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 17, 2017

What it's like to be the target of racism on campus

Taylor Dumpson was elated. On May 1, she became student government president at American University -- the first African-American woman ever to hold the job.

But less then 24 hours after she officially took office, her joy turned to pain. Dumpson got a message from a friend as she was on her way to campus. Bananas had been found hanging from nooses at three different spots on campus, her friend said.

One had the words "Harambe bait" scrawled on it, after the gorilla that was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo for dragging a child who fell into his enclosure.

Another was marked with the initials of the historically black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, of which Dumpson is a member.

The discovery shook her to her core. The nooses were a clear reference to lynching, Dumpson said, the bananas a play on the racist trope that African-Americans are monkeys.

"I think the message that they were trying to send is, I shouldn't be in the position I am," she said.

At first, Dumpson said, being targeted left her feeling numb. "It's just overwhelming," she said. "I didn't see this coming. But now I am here. And I haven't had time to just stop ... I still have to lead."

What happened at American University isn't an isolated incident. So far over the course of the 2016-2017 school year, there have been at least 153 racist incidents on 108 campuses across 34 states, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Read more: What it's like to be the target of racism on campus

NAACP: NCCA should move softball tourney from Mississippi because of rebel flag

A civil rights group is asking the NCAA to move a regional softball tournament out of Mississippi because the state flag contains the Confederate battle emblem.

Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson calls the emblem a “racial hate symbol.”

The University of Mississippi in Oxford is hosting an NCAA regional tournament Friday through Sunday, based on the team’s performance.

Since 2001, the NCAA has not scheduled a “pre-selected championship,” such as a football bowl game, in a state where the rebel flag flies prominently. However, the NCAA allows schools in those states to host events in which the team earns a home field advantage.

The NCAA praised South Carolina in 2015 for removing a Confederate battle flag from the statehouse. The collegiate sports group called the flag a “symbol of racism.”

[SOURCE: WREG.COM]

Local NAACP President is missing.

Liz Smith, the president of the Eureka, California branch of the NAACP, was listed as a missing person Monday afternoon, according to Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Stacy Hanson.

The following is a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Monday, May 15, 2017 at about 1540 hours, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a concerned friend of Elizabeth Ana Smith stating that Elizabeth was missing. Her friend was concerned for Elizabeth’s welfare due to her making statements that she possibly wants to harm herself.

Elizabeth is descripted at a Black female, age 39, 5’3, 185 pounds with brown eyes and long brown hair. Elizabeth is associated with a 2007 black Lexus, Ca plate 5TYB663.

Anyone with information regarding Elizabeth’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

Cory Booker statement on Trump sharing classified information with Russians

NJ Senator Cory Booker released the following statement after news reports broke stating that Trump had shared classified information with the Russians:

These revelations are appalling and deeply disturbing. This sharing of extremely sensitive, classified intelligence information with Russia undermines our national security, breaks the trust of our allies, and puts lives at risk.

Patriotic Americans and our allies put their lives on the line every day to gather the intelligence that protects this country and keeps us safe. If literally anyone else did what President Trump is reported to have done, there would be an immediate criminal investigation because such actions are extraordinarily dangerous.

When will Congressional Republicans do their job and begin holding President Trump accountable for his actions?