All around Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles stepped forward Monday to allege she also was abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Biles joins 140 other women who have accused Nassar of abuse in his roles at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State. Read her statement below:
Former, and the last real President of the United States Barack Obama released the following statement via Twitter celebrating the Martin Luther King Holiday:
Dr. King was 26 when the Montgomery bus boycott began. He started small, rallying others who believed their efforts mattered, pressing on through challenges and doubts to change our world for the better. A permanent inspiration for the rest of us to keep pushing towards justice.
The Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02), released the following statement in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“While it’s impossible to fill Dr. King’s shoes, the CBC continues to honor his legacy. The policies we promote and the tactics we use are proof. We legislate, debate and convene. We also boycott, sit-in and kneel. “The CBC is because Dr. King was – quite literally. If he hadn’t fought and won so many important battles during the civil rights movement, we wouldn’t be a historic 48 members strong today. “This is why the CBC fought to honor him with a federal holiday, and why we honor his legacy by fighting for equality, justice and the eradication of poverty.”
Rep. John Lewis said he will not attend President Trump's first State of the Union after he referred to poorer nations, made up of primarily black and brown people, as "shithole countries."
The congressman, a noted 1960s civil rights leader cited Trump's derogatory comments about immigration from Haiti and African counties as his reason for not attending the address later this month.
"I think he is a racist," Lewis said.
Lewis pointed to the example of Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday is celebrated Monday.
"He would be speaking the idea that we are one people, one family … we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, if not, we will perish as fools," Lewis said.
LOS ANGELES – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s comments on immigrants from what he referred to as “shithole countries” during an Oval Office meeting:
“Donald Trump is a racist and indecent man with no good values who is woefully unfit and undeserving of the office in which he serves. That this president, a deeply flawed human being with no understanding of public policy, would make such ill-informed and deplorable comments about Haitians, Salvadorans, and immigrants from African countries, merely underscores everything we already know about him: he is a hopeless and ignorant bigot.
“Donald Trump dog-whistled his way into the White House, running a campaign based on hate, bigotry, and fear. Upon taking his oath of office, he surrounded himself with alt-right white nationalists, such as Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka, and nominated a well-known racist, Jeff Sessions, to lead his Department of Justice. One of his first actions as president was to institute a prejudicial and potentially unconstitutional ‘Muslim ban’, and since then, his administration has significantly increased its efforts to target minority communities and increase deportations. Furthermore, when the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white nationalist groups rallied and ultimately murdered an innocent woman in Charlottesville, he refused to rebuke them. While he won’t denounce white nationalists from our nation’s highest office, he has leveled attacks on journalists, athletes, private citizens, and even Members of Congress – many of whom, not coincidentally, are people of color.
“Donald Trump is crumbling under pressure from the ultra-right-wing conservatives. These radical conservatives elected Trump expecting him to use his presidential authority to deport thousands of innocent young people, many of whom were brought to this country as children and have since made positive contributions to our society. In true Trump-fashion, to compensate for his deficiencies and failure to grasp immigration policy, he has resorted to using an ignorant racial slur to denigrate people and countries about whom he knows nothing and for whom he has no care. Perhaps if these countries had white majorities, he might actually care about them. But they do not, and therefore he does not.
“What's even worse than his racist comment and divisive tactics, he is a hopeless liar who believes that he can make these comments in the presence of others -- as he has done in this recent meeting with Members of Congress involved in negotiations about DACA – and then deny them, which only adds to the 2,000 lies that he has already told since taking office that have been documented by the media.
“Donald Trump is an embarrassment and a national disgrace. Members of Congress have a responsibility to the American people and our democracy to impeach him.
“Justification for impeachment of this president includes the obvious obstruction of justice; continuing revelations about his associates and members of his family who have questionable contacts and connections to Russia; the alienation of our allies abroad; the attacks on the media and the 1st Amendment of the Constitution; the name-calling and attacks on his political opponents; the disrespect of women, including a U.S. Senator who he implied would do anything for a political contribution; and all of the disgraceful, untruthful, and disturbing actions by this president that continue to prove that he has no respect for our country’s most sacred values and traditions.
“No longer can Members of Congress, particularly Republicans, stand with such a dangerous, disturbed, and deceitful man who is a threat to everything for which America, the greatest democracy on earth, stands. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to impeach him without delay.”
I was fortunate enough to attend an event for NJ Gov-Elect Phil Murphy today and get this video. During a speech at the Newark Museum at an Inaugural Weekend kickoff event Democrat Phil Murphy called out Trump over his racist remarks. Watch those remarks below:
The African Union released the following statement after President Trump referred to African countries as shitholes:
"Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behaviour and practice," AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said.
"This is particularly surprising as the United States of America remains a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on strong values of diversity and opportunity."
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of all 54 countries on the African continent, extending slightly into Asia via the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa,[6] with the aim of replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.
Read her statement below:
The President’ comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values. This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation. My parents came from one of those countries, took an oath of allegiance to it, and took on the responsibilities of everything that being a citizen comes with. They never took a thing from our federal government. They worked hard, paid taxes, and rose from nothing to take care of and provide opportunities for their children. They taught their children to do the same. That’s the American Dream. The President must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned.”
New York City resident Fredrick Joseph believes so much that children of color need to see themselves represented positively on the big screen. He believes in that so much that he has started a GoFundMe campaign so kids in Harlem, New York, can go see the Black Panther movie when it comes out in February.
On that GoFundMe page Joseph writes:
The release of Marvel's film the "Black Panther" is a rare opportunity for young students (primarily of color) to see a black major cinematic and comic book character come to life. This representation is truly fundamental for young people, especially those who are often underserved, unprivileged, and marginalized both nationally and globally.
I want these children to be able to see that people who look like them can be superheroes, royalty, and more.
All proceeds will go to paying for the private screening tickets for children and chaperones, as well as refreshments. The release of the film is February 16th, 2018, and the screenings will take place the following week between February 19th and 22nd.
Cost breakdown:
*The remaining balance of donations after the movie Experience is paid for will go to the organization*
*All organization donations and movie/refreshment purchase receipts will be sent to campaign donors after the campaign is finished.*
I appreciate you joining me in supporting our children, who need us now more than ever.
For more information please contact: FrederickT.Joseph@gmail.com
Maryland U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings had a medical procedure on his knee Friday to drain a bacterial infection, his office said, hours after his wife announced she was dropping out of the Democratic primary for governor because of "personal considerations."
The congressman's office said doctors drained the infection in a minor procedure. He was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital Dec. 29.
"He is resting comfortably and expects a full recovery," his office said in a news release.
Former Sgt. Maj. Thomas Ellis, one of six surviving Tuskegee Airmen in San Antonio, died Jan. 2 of a stroke in a local hospital. He was 97.
A draftee, he served as a top administrator with the first all-black Army Air Forces unit and was proud of the unit’s record — 15,533 sorties, 112 aerial kills, three Presidential Unit Citations and 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Known as approachable and easygoing, even with strangers, Ellis also chafed at the racism African Americans endured from white officers during the war and knew the importance of proving that the 332nd Fighter Group was up to the job.
“He was very opinionated, very outspoken,” said Rick Sinkfield, national spokesman for Tuskegee Airmen Inc., which has 1,400 members across the country, around 20 of them pilots from the legendary unit. "He realized he was in the segregated military at the time and so he was very aware all eyes were on those guys to do well.
Ellis will be buried with full military honors at 9 a.m. Friday in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
Ellis entered the Army as two-thirds of all Americans did, as a draftee. His daughter, Janice Stallings, said he entered the service in 1942 and was transferred to the Army Air Forces.
Ordered to Tuskegee Army Airfield, Ellis was the only enlisted member in the newly activated in the 301st Fighter Squadron, rising to staff sergeant and becoming an integral member of the 332nd Fighter Group, serving under then-Col. Benjamin O. Davis, who eventually became an Air Force general.
They deployed to Italy, where Ellis earned seven battle stars and left the Army as a sergeant major.
Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California have been appointed to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
They become just the second and third African-Americans to serve on the committee in its 200-plus-year history.
Democrats had to replace Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct. They also picked up a spot with Doug Jones' victory in last month's Alabama Senate race.
The Congressional Black Caucus had been urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to appoint one of its members to the committee.
Rep. Cedric Richmond, the group's chairman, says, "the experience and expertise they bring to the committee will be beneficial for all Americans, especially those disproportionately targeted by the criminal justice system."
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) has been hospitalized for treatment of a bacterial infection, his office confirmed Friday hours after his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, ended her campaign for the Democratic nomination for Maryland governor.
Cummings was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Dec. 29 with a bacterial infection in his knee, according to a statement released by his office. Doctors drained the infection Friday during a “minor procedure,” according to the statement, and added that he is “resting comfortably and expects a full recovery.”
Rockeymoore Cummings, a policy consultant, cited “personal considerations” in dropping out of the race Friday.
Rockeymoore Cummings, the second woman and the last of eight candidates to enter the crowded race, launched her campaign three months ago.
“Making a positive and direct contribution to the state of Maryland and to our nation was my greatest motivating factor for stepping into the public arena,” Cummings said in a statement. “Unfortunately due to personal considerations, I am suspending my bid for governor of Maryland.”
“Making a positive and direct contribution to the state of Maryland and to our nation was my greatest motivating factor for stepping into the public arena,” Cummings said in a statement. “Unfortunately due to personal considerations, I am suspending my bid for governor of Maryland.”
Rockeymoore Cummings has worked in politics as a staffer on Capitol Hill and for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation but was not widely known in state politics. The bid for governor was her first run for public office. As a small-business owner, Rockeymoore focused her campaign on addressing economic inequality.
Less than a month after PBS dropped Tavis Smiley's talk show following reported inappropriate relationships with subordinates, Smiley on Monday announced a deal to go back to work with a new series about inspirational stories.
The program, The Upside With Tavis Smiley, will be streamed online and shown on The Word Network, a religious-oriented cable and satellite channel directed at black viewers.
By fashioning a new program focusing on inspirational stories instead of more general interest news and entertainment, Smiley will sidestep the issue of whether his downfall would make celebrities reluctant to be interviewed by him. By striking a digital distribution deal with the media company AerNow and a little-watched cable network, he also will be much less visible.
But Smiley said he believed that going digital positions him well for the future. He also said he will attract a younger audience than he was getting at PBS, and that he also has struck a deal for international distribution for The Upside and his production company's inventory of interviews that he conducted in the past.
[SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER]
After Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes speech conversation has reached a fever pitch of an Oprah run for presidency in 2020. While there are many reasons that a run would be tough there are also many reasons why Oprah could do it. I wouldn't dismiss a Oprah 2020 run so easily. Listen to my 2 minute explanation below:
One of New Jersey's proudest basketball programs got new life when St. Patrick's High School reopened in 2012 as Patrick School — but the new building didn't include a gym.
The team practiced in random gyms and warehouses around the state and country, even once resorting to working out in a gym in Virginia with peach baskets instead of backboards and rims.
The program finally got a gym when it moved to a new building in Hillside in 2016, but it still needed serious work. Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving, one of the program's most prominent graduates, made sure the work got done.
Irving paid to have Patrick School's gym renovated and build the team a new locker room, lounge and weight room. The new facilities were unveiled to the team during a ceremony on Saturday.
Along new rims backboards, padding, paint and signage featuring Irving's new slogan, "Once a Celtic, always a Celtic," the new gym features banners with the names and numbers of famous Celtics. Irving is obviously featured along with legends like Shaheen Holloway, Samuel Dalembert, Al Harrington and DeAndre' Bembry along with players from last year's Tournament of Champions-winning team like Nick Richards, Marcus McClary and Jamir Harris. Legendary coach Kevin Boyle's name is on the wall as well.
“A lot of great players have played here,” Patrick School coach Chris Chavannes said. “They’re not even aware of the fact that they’re names are raised up there. The person who started this all was Kevin Boyle and he’s not even aware of the fact that his banner’s up there. So I’ll always be forever grateful, not just to Kyrie and all the alumni and kids who played here, but to Kevin Boyle who started the program. We will never, ever forget that. If it wasn’t for him, this wouldn’t be here now.”
Irving has had a presence with the program since getting to the NBA. He sent gifts to the staff and students during the holidays last winter, and came back to the school to play pick-up games this past summer. He made sure every Patrick School player was there during that open gym, and that they all got time on the court with him. During these sessions, he noticed specific things that needed to be improved in the gym, including protective padding.
"When Kyrie played here in the summertime, as he was walking out he turned to one of his guys and said, 'We're going to improve the place,'" Chavannes said. "For him to remember and actually get it done for Christmastime, it was amazing."
Jordan Greenway, a junior forward at Boston University, became the first African-American named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team when the final roster was announced last week.
Greenway is set to break a 98-year-old color barrier that lasted 23 Olympic cycles.
“It’s special. There’s not a ton of African-Americans who play this game. I think you see more white people playing the game,” Greenway told ESPN at the Winter Classic on Monday. “So this gives me a chance to influence kids who have my skin color. To have them try out different things. To have them not stick to the stereotypes of what sports they’re supposed to play.”
Greenway was a second-round pick (No. 50 overall) by Minnesota in 2015 and could have signed with the Wild in the offseason. Instead, he returned to Boston University with hopes of making the Olympic team.
The 20-year-old from Canton, New York, is the second-youngest player on the U.S. team, which is comprised primarily of players from the American Hockey League and European leagues. Greenway is one of four college players.
The 6-foot-6-inch, 227-pound Greenway has seven goals and 17 points in 19 games this season with Boston University.
He finished with eight points (three goals, five assists) and helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at last year’s World Junior Championship.
Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who has led the fight against the Trump voter fraud commission in the Senate issued the following statement after President Trump dissolved the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity:
“Trump's Voter Fraud Commission was an offense, based on a lie, blatantly seeking to suppress votes. I introduced a bill to disband the commission. I am so glad it is no longer necessary. Now that this step backwards was stopped, let's restore the Voting Rights Act.”
In July, Booker introduced bicameral legislation with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) that would repeal the executive order establishing the commission. The Anti-Voter Suppression Act was cosponsored by more than 90 lawmakers, including every Democratic Senator of color.
Additionally, the Government Accountability Office announced in October that it would investigate the commission after Booker and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) urged the GAO to do so in a letter.
Booker also urged the state of New Jersey to reject Trump administration efforts to obtain sensitive voter information in a letter to state officials in July.
But her actual job description appears not to have been clearly defined. In interviews with the Trice Edney News Wire Black Republicans blame her for blocking Black job applicants from the Trump administration – including Republican stalwart Kay Coles James, who was appointed Dec. 19 as the first African-American and first woman president of the conservative Heritage Foundation.
“I was blocked personally. Essentially, my file was pulled and I wasn’t deemed pro-Trump enough,” says Eugene Craig. “The official excuse was that I wasn’t pro-Trump enough although I was the sitting chair of the Maryland Republican Party.”
Sources said because of President Trump’s need for loyalty, that attribute – loyalty – was among the top considerations for key White House positions. Craig admits that he was a “never Trumper all the way”, but that was during the campaign. Craig says he noticed that when the time came for consideration for jobs and the broad banner of Republicanism, White never-Trumpers were given consideration where African Americans were not.
“The flood gates were opened, but Omarosa held all of us to a different standard. She had say over a lot of the Black resumes. I know for a fact from promises that she made us directly.”
Craig says a January conference call with the Republican National Committee and Trump transition team was held “specifically for African American activists and party loyalists.” He said, “During the middle of the call, she jumped on and bogarted on. And she came in and she made us these promises that this would be the most diverse administration in history. And she’ll help us with whatever we need and wherever we wanted to go into government and to shoot our resumes over to her and she gave us her official transition email. She said this administration has a goal of having 25 percent minority hiring. They wanted 25 percent of the work force to be Black and Hispanic…So she positioned herself as the end all be all for Black things; for Black people in the administration,” Craig said.
Ayshia Connors, a former deputy director of African American engagement at the Republican National Committee, now a senior advisor to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), agrees. She describes an initiative by The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and Insight America, an organization headed by former Republican Congressman J. C. Watts:
“There were hundreds, probably thousands of resumes of qualified individuals in the Black community that were ready and prepared to go into any administration no matter who won the election. And when President Trump got elected, all of those names were submitted and Omarosa literally trashed those names. Nobody got a call back. Nobody got an interview. Nobody was every heard about again. People tried to go in. People were eager and willing to serve the President, willing to serve our country. But Omarosa, she didn’t want other Black Republicans there. She wanted to be the big shot. She wanted to be the only one. And so, everybody kind of just decided it wasn’t worth our times to keep dealing with it. And so, by February, people had just moved on from Omarosa and dealing with the White House and decided to start working with Congress and dealing some other policy matters.”
Connors added that Kay Coles James, former Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources under Virginia Republican Gov. George Allen and director for the United States Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush, received the same treatment.
“She was willing and prepared to go back into the government and to help the administration. But Omarosa was such a distraction and created so much drama and confusion that Ms. James just decided not to engage it anymore. So that’s what ended up happening. That’s why you only saw Omarosa as a senior Black Republican in the White House.”
In a brief interview with James upon her appointment as president of the Heritage Foundation, James was clear about why she did not go to work in the Trump White House.
“When Donald Trump said that he wanted to improve the urban areas and that he wanted to make the lives of minorities in this country better, I said, wow, if he wants to do that, I genuinely want to be a part of that and I was excited and hopeful the opportunity to come in,” she said. “But that opportunity never really afforded itself. I am told that I was blocked…I don’t have specifics about how that happened, but I was extremely disappointed that I didn’t have the opportunity to serve there.”
Connors said the clearest evidence that Omarosa was not going to work with other Black Republicans came in February when Omarosa was in charge of pulling together the Black History Month program for President Trump.
“During Black History Month, these credible Republicans such as Kay Coles James and J. C. Watts and Elroy Sailor, they tried to engage Omarosa.” Instead, Omarosa put an event together that included her personal picks of African-Americans, including Black Democrats, Connors said.
“She didn’t invite any of the prominent Black Republicans. In fact, we had folks calling us from the White House calling and saying, ‘Why aren’t your names on the list for this event?’ It was very evident from the beginning that she wasn’t going to work with us and that she was just going to do her own thing.”
Connors cited another event for Vice President Pence that was planned by Black Republicans to be held at West Point. “That was another example of Omarosa using her position in the White House to block that event as well. And that was actually the turning point for Black Republicans. We decided she was just too distracting too disruptive and we decided to focus our efforts elsewhere.”
On the record sources willing to speak in defense of Omarosa were difficult to find. But, high placed Republican sources say it is not possible that Omarosa could have made such powerful decisions without oversight in the White House – most likely the President himself. Other high Republican sources said James was offered positions, but Omarosa fought against any Black staff appointment that would be above her own.
Yet another rationale for why some Black Republicans seeking employment were rejected may have been because they had left the Republican National Committee Headquarters in protest against treatment by then RNC Chairman Reince Priebus nearing the end of the presidential campaign. Priebus then became President Trump’s first chief of staff and was likely adverse to hiring the same staffers who had left the RNC, one source said.
Christopher Metzler, an active member of the Black GOP Coalition, who has long worked Republican policy and strategy, had one answer when asked why there were no long time Black Republicans hired as White House staff. “It’s very simple. Omarosa,” he said.
“Somebody like Kay [Coles James] who could serve as a whisperer in the President’s ear like a Condoleezza Rice; like a Valerie Jarrett, was never given that opportunity. There was a lot of back and forth pertaining to that. And Kay said, “Well, it is not going to serve the President well for me to try to cut through this thicket. And as a result of that, she did not push it any further.”
Metzler concluded, “All of these things were blocked by Omarosa. At the end of the day, Omarosa is first and foremost a Democrat. She is not a conservative. She is not a Republican. She never has been. She is simply an opportunist. And that’s where we ended up.”
[Omarosa’s Final Days at White House Full of Controversy, Accusations]
