Top 10 Grants Available to Black, Minority Business Owners

(BLack PR Wire) Every year billions of dollars are awarded in the form of free money and other types of funding. Most people know this money exists, but just don’t know where to apply, how much they qualify for, or even where to get an application. Contrary to popular belief, free money is available to entrepreneurs. Real business grants do exist. In fact, hundreds of black and minority-owned businesses each year receive such grant funding from various government agencies and nonprofit organizations, reports BlackNews.com. Such funds do not have to be repaid, but must be used to either start a new business or enhance an existing one. Others can be used for innovation research.

Whether needed for growth or startup business funding, here are the top 10 grants available to black, minority business owners

 1. The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest is a nationwide competition that will award $50,000 in total to six deserving U.S-based entrepreneurs and business owners. Go to www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/fedex_small_business_grant_contest.html

2. The National Association for the Self Employed (NASE) Growth Grants Program allows business owners to apply for financing a particular small business need. Past recipients used funds to purchase computers, hire part-time help, and create marketing materials. Visit www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/national_association_self_employed_nase_business_grants.html

3. The Dare to Dream Grant Program encourages students to move through the business creation process by offering business development seminars and up to $10,000 in funding. Learn more at www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/dare_to_dream_grant_program.html

4. The Miller Lite Tap the Future Business Plan Competition (formerly known as the MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur Series) is an annual competition for minority business owners sponsored by Miller Lite. Designed to economically empower minority businesses, the program continues to invest in entrepreneurial dreams to empower urban communities. Learn more at MLTaptheFuture.com

RELATED: MBDA Announces Grant to Launch Business Centers

5. The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several competitive business grant programs, ensuring that the nation’s small, high-tech, innovative businesses are a significant part of the federal government’s research and development efforts. Check out www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/sbir_small_business_research_innovation_grants.html

6. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) organizes various angel investors with the primary objective of supporting minority businesses with mezzanine and second round financing. Learn more at www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/minority_business_development_agency_mbda_business_grants.html

7. The Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) Program provides grants to finance the development of small and emerging businesses in rural areas. The funds can be used for land acquisition, construction, renovation, technical assistance, project planning, and more. Visit www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/rural_business_enterprise_grants_rbeg_program.html

8. The Huggies MomInspired Grant Program awards grants and business resources to moms to further the development of original product ideas and startup businesses. Learn more at www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/huggies_mom_inspired_grant_program.html

9. The DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is intended to ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of DOT-assisted contracts in the Department’s highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance programs. Learn more at www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/dot_disadvantaged_business_enterprise_program.html

10. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provides grant funding to small businesses to engage in biomedical or behavioral research/development that leads to a potential for commercialization. Go to www.businessgrants.org/opportunities/sbir_small_business_research_innovation_grants.html

Lisa Myers: First African American to become Howard County, Maryland Police Chief

A 27-year veteran of the Howard County Police Department has been named its new leader. Lisa Myers will officially become the county's new police chief on Feb. 1.

County Executive Calvin Ball announced that Myers would lead the department after Police Chief Gary Gardner retired Dec. 31, 2018. She will be the first female police chief in the department's history and its first African-American chief.

“I have dedicated my career to the Howard County Police Department and I look forward to leading the agency with transparency and accountability,” said incoming Chief Myers in a statement on Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Myers has worked as a civilian staffer and as a sworn officer in the Howard County Police Department. She started in 1990 as a crime lab technician and entered the police academy in 1994, holding roles including chief of staff, watch commander, public information officer and youth services supervisor.

To head up the police department as its 13th chief, she is returning to the force after retiring in January 2018 as the commander of the human resources bureau. In that position, she oversaw employment services and education and training, according to Howard County government.

[SOURCE: YAHOO]

Kamala Harris's new book 'The Truths We Hold'

From one of America's most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country.

Senator Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents--an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India--met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California's working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California's thorniest issues, always eschewing stale "tough on crime" rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither "tough" nor "soft" but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as the top law enforcement official in California, and it is guiding her now as a transformational United States Senator, grappling with an array of complex issues that affect her state, our country, and the world, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality.

By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in THE TRUTHS WE HOLD a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.

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R. Kelly facing possible investigations In Georgia and Illinois

R. Kelly could be facing an investigation in Georgia after the airing of a Lifetime documentary series that chronicled allegations of abuse, predatory behavior and pedophilia against the singer.

Gerald Griggs, an attorney for the family of Joycelyn Savage, one of the women featured in "Surviving R. Kelly," said the Fulton County District Attorney reached out to Griggs a few days ago, after the show aired.

Griggs said the Fulton County DA is conducting an investigation into Kelly.

Chris Hopper, the public information officer for the Fulton County DA, said he had "no comment" after being asked if there was an open investigation of Kelly in Georgia.

Griggs said he was asked to provide a list of witnesses in regards to events that allegedly took place in Kelly's house in the northern Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek in 2017.

A Chicago prosecutor said on Tuesday that her office has been in touch with two families related to allegations against Kelly since the series aired.

Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx urged potential victims or witnesses to speak to police.

"Please come forward. There is nothing that can be done to investigate these allegations without the cooperation of victims and witnesses," Foxx said in a news conference. "We cannot seek justice without you."

[SOURCE: CNN]

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley: Trump brought dishonor to his office with shutdown

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D)called out President Trump on the floor of the House Tuesday over the partial government shutdown. The freshman congresswoman accused the president of bringing "dishonor" to the Oval Office. Watch that video below:

SHUDDER ANNOUNCES HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR, PREMIERING FEBRUARY 7

NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 7, 2019 – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural, today announced the upcoming premiere of its first original documentary feature, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Dr. Robin R.  Means  Coleman,  Horror Noire takes  a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences.

The film features in-depth interviews with noted directors, writers, and actors, including Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (Us), Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), Tony Todd (Candyman), Paula Jai Parker (Tales from the Hood), Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman. Horror Noire will premiere exclusively on Shudder on Thursday, February 7, after special screening events in New York and Los Angeles earlier in the month.

“After I saw Oscar winner Jordan Peele’s Get Out, I created a UCLA class around Black Horror called The Sunken Place,” said executive producer Tananarive Due. “The text I recommended   was Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to the Present. So I was so thrilled to help bring this story to life on the screen. Horror Noire is about the history of black horror films, but it’s also a testament to the power of representation and how horror is such a visceral way to fight racial trauma: our real pain and   fear, but from a safer distance – while we get stronger.”

“The horror genre is daring, unflinching pedagogy. It is like a syllabus of our social, political,        and racial world,” said executive producer Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman. “The horror film is fascinating if for no other reason than that it prides itself on snuggling up next to the taboo,     while confounding our sense of good and evil, the monstrous and divine, and the sacred and profane. It is one of the most intrepid of entertainment forms in its scrutiny of our humanity and our foibles. It is my sincere hope that Horror Noire will spark fierce debate and trigger even    more exacting, nuanced explorations into the power of horror.”

Beginning with the silent film era, Horror Noire explores the often overlooked and downplayed history of Black Americans in Hollywood: the emergence of black leading men in genre cinema       in the late ‘60s with Night of the Living Dead and into the ‘70s with Blacula and films of the blaxploitation era; Candyman and the growing popularity of urban horror in the 1990s; up to the genre’s recent resurgence with movies like the Oscar-winning, critical and commercial hit Get Out.

“There are messages of humanity and  survival  that  Black  storytellers  and  performers  have been expressing in horror since the genre’s beginning,” said Ashlee Blackwell, a producer and co-writer of Horror Noire as well as the founder and managing editor of Graveyard Shift Sisters, a website dedicated to the topic of Black women in horror. “It’s been an exciting journey to      work with a team to bring this once hidden history to life and out of the shadows.”

Horror Noire is adapted from Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s landmark influential 2011 book, Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, a comprehensive chronological survey of the genre. Both book and film provide a unique social history of blacks in America as seen through their changing images in horror films.

Horror Noire features interviews with filmmakers and scholars, showcasing a who’s who of black horror cinema, from those who survived the genre’s past trends to those shaping its future.

The complete list of Horror Noire interviewees:

Ashlee Blackwell                          Creator, GraveyardShiftSisters.com

Ernest Dickerson                          Director, Bones, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

Jordan Peele                                Writer/ Director, Get Out, Us

Keith David                                  Actor, The Thing

Kelly Jo Minter                             Actor, The People Under the Stairs

Ken Foree                                     Actor, Dawn of the Dead

Ken Sagoes                                   Actor, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Loretta Devine                             Actor, Urban Legend

Mark H. Harris                              Creator, BlackHorrorMovies.com

Meosha Bean                               Filmmaker

Miguel A. Nuñez                          Actor, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Monica Suriyage                          Filmmaker

Paula Jai Parker                           Actor, Tales from the Hood

Rachel True                                  Actor, The Craft

Richard Lawson                           Actor, Scream Blacula Scream

Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD   Author/ Educator

Rusty Cundieff                             Co-Writer/ Director, Tales from the Hood

Tananarive Due                           Author/ Educator

Tina Mabry                                   Writer/ Director, Mississippi Damned

Tony Todd                                    Actor, Candyman

William Crain                               Director, Blacula

Horror Noire is directed by Xavier Burgin, executive produced by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, Tananarive Due, Fangoria Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr and Kelly Ryan of Stage 3 Productions, and is produced and co-written by Ashlee Blackwell and Danielle Burrows.

“Horror Noire is an important and timely documentary that explores an overlooked part of the horror genre that’s only just beginning to get the attention it deserves,” said Shudder’s general manager, Craig Engler. “We’re honored and thrilled to help bring this project to life and share it with the world.”

Ahead of its Shudder debut on February 7, Horror Noire will have its world premiere Friday, February 1, in collaboration with Beyond Fest and the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, CA, headlining two days of screenings with special guests in celebration of black horror. More information and tickets will be available soon at americancinemathequecalendar.com.

Then on Monday, February 4, Horror Noire will have its east coast premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, followed by a panel conversation featuring executive producer Tananarive Due, writer/producer Ashlee Blackwell, filmmaker R. Shanea Williams, and comics writer Greg Anderson Elysee. The film will screen on a double bill with Rusty Cundieff’s 1995 classic, Tales from the Hood. Tickets for this special event will be on sale Monday, January 7 at BAM.org.

WATCH THE TRAILER

ABOUT SHUDDER

AMC Networks’ SHUDDER is a premium streaming video service, super-serving fans of all degrees with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering thrillers, suspense, and horror. SHUDDER’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available in the US, Canada,  UK, Ireland, and Germany on most streaming devices for 4.99/month or 49.99/year. To experience SHUDDER commitment-free for 7 days, visit www.shudder.com.

Ferguson school district must change board election method

A Missouri school district that includes students from Ferguson must change its board member election method after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal.

The Supreme Court let stand a July ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals panel sided with a federal judge who in 2017 ordered the Ferguson-Florissant School District to adopt cumulative voting, saying the district's at-large election method violated the federal Voting Rights Act.

A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the NAACP and black parents and residents of the suburban St. Louis school district alleged that the at-large system, in which people vote only once for a candidate, was racially biased against black candidates.

Cumulative voting allows people to cast as many votes as there are candidates and to use all of their votes on one candidate if they choose.

ACLU attorneys said they are eager to work with the district to implement a new system for use in the April school board election.

"With a new electoral system in place, all residents' voices will be heard and their votes will be given equal weight," Julie Ebenstein, an attorney with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said in a statement.

A statement from the school district said that while it was disappointed, it has been working with the ACLU and county election officials "to implement the court-mandated election procedures" in time for the April 3 election.

The lawsuit against the school district was filed in 2014, when six of the seven board members were white, even though about four-fifths of the district's 11,000 students were black.

The current racial makeup of the board is four white and three black members. Two of the board members — one white and one black — have terms that expire in April.

[SOURCE: YAHOO]

Help All Women HBCU Bennett College must raise 5 million to maintain accreditation

Bennett College is in danger of losing it's accreditation. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges had voted to remove its accreditation due to failure to comply with the commission’s financial standards.  The all women's HBCU needs to raise $5 million by February , 2019 to maintain it's accreditation.

So far, the college has raised more than $1 million. They need your help!

Stand with Bennett

50 days. Friends, we have 50 days to raise funds to help Bennett College maintain its accreditation with SACSCOC. February 1, 2019, is our target date for accomplishing this goal.

Over the past two years, Bennett has made significant gains in addressing our financial stability. Some of the significant strides made to achieve sustainability include:

• Bennett generated a surplus of $461,038 and had no audit findings.
• Bennett was approved for a capital loan deferment over a six-year period with a financial benefit of nearly $9 million.
• Bennett has steadily increased its fundraising from $3.47 million to $4.25 million over a 3-year period.
• Bennett’s enrollment has been trending upward for 2 years from 409 in 2017 to 471 in 2018.
• Our retention rate is also significantly up from 44% in Fall 2017 to 53% in Fall 2018.
• The average GPA of new freshwomen increased from 2.8 in 2017 to 3.2 in 2018.
• Bennett continues to support mission activities, and academic and student programs.

Despite all of these accomplishments, SACSCOC felt that we fell short.  We are appealing their decision and working hard to demonstrate that we are fiscally stable. This requires us to raise additional money to reduce our debt and improve our cash position.

When you #StandWithBennett, you are preserving the legacy and excellence of black women in the U.S.  Since 1873, @BennettCollege has created a place for black women's voices and brilliance to be developed and cultivated.

We need your help. #StandWithBennett Give to Bennett. Or you may text the word Belles to 444999 and follow the instructions.

If you would like to donate, click here: http://www.bennett.edu/standwithbennett/

50TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS TO AIR LIVE ON TV ONE MARCH 30, 2019

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 3, 2019) – The 50th NAACP Image Awards will air LIVE on TV One, a division of Urban One, Inc., on March 30, 2019. For the first time ever, the telecast will take place from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. The announcement was made today by NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Leon W. Russell, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Urban One, Inc. & Chairman/CEO, TV One Alfred Liggins and TV One General Manager Michelle Rice.

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishment of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature, and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. The upcoming telecast, the 50th Anniversary of the NAACP Image Awards, will also spotlight the significant contributions of the NAACP and the impact the organization has had on our community and country.

In addition to the live telecast, TV One will also air special programming honoring this year’s nominees and spotlighting significant moments. The network will provide promotional support for both programs on TV One, Radio One and Reach Media, Interactive One, and via a multi-platform marketing campaign.

“The 50th Anniversary of the Image Awards represents a major milestone in bringing visibility to the outstanding achievements of African Americans in entertainment, literature, and arts, as well as the NAACP’s ongoing advocacy for equality of opportunity in our society without regard for race,” said the NAACP’s Derrick Johnson. “We are sincerely grateful for our continued partnership with TV One and look forward to working with them on the 50th anniversary show, added Johnson.

“We are honored to continue our partnership with the NAACP to remain the television home for the Image Awards,” said Liggins of TV One. “The NAACP 50th Anniversary Image Awards is an important milestone for the African American community and we couldn’t be more thrilled to offer this special programming once again to our viewers. As we prepare to celebrate the network’s 15th anniversary next year, we look forward to this very special night.”

“African Americans have had a tremendous impact on society and culture, a fact that we’re excited to celebrate with the telecast of the 50th NAACP Image Awards on TV One,” said Michelle Rice, General Manager. “As we honor this year’s biggest achievements and the incredible 50 year legacy of the NAACP Image Awards, we’re proud to continue the network’s mission to represent the richness of the Black experience.”

The multi-cultural show is one of the most respected events of its kind and is well attended by many of the top names in the entertainment industry. Airing on MLK day last year, the 49th NAACP Image Awards posted strong year-over-year growth across most demos: Households (+15%), P25-54 (+21%), P18-49 (+44%), W18-49 (+20%), and Total Viewers 2+ (+10%). And, for the night, the special was a Top 5 Cable Telecast among African Americans (Households, AA W25-54, and AA P2+). Additionally, the show has reached 2.4 Million Total Unique Viewers 2+ since airing in January 2018.

TV One also delivered a strong performance on its social platforms during last year’s awards telecast, with #ImageAwards trending #2 nationally beginning at 9 p.m. ET and continuing in the Top 5 until 3 a.m. ET. The network generated more than 305 million impressions on Twitter using #ImageAwards and #RepresentTheDream, while traffic to the network’s website tvone.tv increased by +59% in page views. The site saw an increase of +25% for all NAACP Image Awards related content and delivered 183,000 page views (from 10/1/2017 – 1/17/2018 vs. 10/1/2016 – 2/14/2017) over 2017.

Previous telecasts included stellar talent such as Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington, Anthony Anderson, Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore, Halle Berry, Common, Dwayne Johnson, Steve Harvey, Audra Day, John Legend, Tracee Ellis Ross, David Oyelowo, Laverne Cox, Octavia Spencer, Issa Rae, Chadwick Boseman, Terry Crews, Yara Shahidi, Danai Gurira, Isaiah Washington, Jacob Latimore, Jay Pharoah, Jemele Hill, Josh Gad, Loretta Devine, Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Jurnee Smollett, Meta Golding, Michael Smith, Tyler James Williams, Ava DuVernay, Chadwick Boseman, and many more.

The production team will be returning including Executive Producers Reginald Hudlin and Phil Gurin, Tony McCuin as Director, Byron Phillips as Co-Executive Producer, and Robin Reinhardt as Talent Producer.

For all information and latest news, please visit the official NAACP Image Awards website at www.naacpimageawards.net.

Nominations for the “50th NAACP Image Awards” will be announced February.

FB: /naacpimageaward | Twitter: @naacpimageaward (#ImageAwards)

Nahendra Faye Davis is missing!

A woman from Baker, Louisiana is missing after she was last seen dropping off her two children at her mother’s home, according to the Baker Police Department.

Nahendra Faye Davis, 35, of Baker, was last seen on Thursday, December 27, 2018 at about 4:45 p.m. Police say she dropped off her children at her mother’s home in the Glen Oaks area of Baton Rouge. Davis left the home in her white Dodge Challenger. Her family does not know where she was heading after she left.

Davis’ unoccupied vehicle was found around Scenic Hwy. and 72nd Ave.

The Baker woman is about 5 feet 3 to 5 feet 5 inches and weighs around 150 pounds.

The Baker Police Department urges anyone with information on Davis' whereabouts to call detectives at 225-775-6000 ext. 1.

[SOURCE: WAFB]

Sen. Kamala Harris statement on Torrance California bowling alley shooting

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (CA) released the following statement via Twitter on the shooting at a bowling alley in Torrance California that left three dead and four injured.

My heart breaks for the victims of the shooting in Torrance and their loved ones. Thank you to the law enforcement & first responders on the scene. We must do more to address gun violence. Americans should be able to go to a bowling alley and be safe.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) January 5, 2019

Houston Texans player will donate $29,000 for Jazmine Barnes funeral

Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has dedicated Saturday's game to Jazmine Barnes, a 7-year-old girl who was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Houston.

The girl was killed when a man in a pickup truck pulled up next to Barnes' mother's car and started firing. Jazmine's mother and three sisters were injured in the seemingly random attack.

"On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine," the three-time Pro Bowler tweeted Thursday.

Hopkins said he will donate his $29,000 playoff check to help pay for funeral costs and said he would join in the effort to bring Barnes' killer to justice.

When I see Jazmine Barnes' face, I see my own daughter. I'm pledging my playoff check this week to help her family with funeral costs and to support @shaunking @SherriffED_HCSO @SylvesterTurner in bringing this man to justice. On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine pic.twitter.com/oCRYSgfGO9

— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) January 3, 2019

[SOURCE: ESPN]

Congressional Black Caucus Swears In Largest Member Group In History

On Thursday, the day of the official swearing-in of the 116th Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus swore in its own group of members, a total of 55 ― its largest number in history.

This year’s CBC surpasses its previous record of 49 House and Senate members in the 115th Congress.

“With the largest caucus in history... the CBC is poised to play a leading role in standing up to the Trump Administration and pressing forward on key issues like protecting voting rights and the Affordable Care Act,” executive director Kevin Harris said by email.

Established in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus states as its mission “to ensure African Americans... have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.” Its legislative priorities include reforming the criminal justice system and combating voter suppression.

[SOUCE: HUFFPOST]

First African American District Attorney in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is sworn in

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina has a new District Attorney.

Spencer Merriweather was sworn in Wednesday along with about 80 Assistant District Attorneys. Merriweather is Mecklenburg County’s first elected African American District Attorney. He won the election in November.

The Democratic ran unopposed. In this historic election Merriweather wants to have impact on a judicial system that some often find hard to trust.

"You cannot come from the type of legacy that I come from," Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said. "You cannot live the type of life I believe I lived in this world and not take issue of justice and fairness and safety extremely seriously."

Merriweather shared his priorities after getting sworn in. He wants to take a look at the bail system.

He doesn’t want violent suspects to be released from jail because they have money in their account.

The DA also wants to help create a Family Justice Center. The hope is the center would be a one stop shop for victims of sexual or domestic violence.

Merriweather says the center would provide all the resources a victim needs. City and county leaders are discussing how to make the Center a reality. The DA says safety and fairness cannot be an afterthought.

[SOURCE: WBTV]

Kimberly Mutcherson Named Co-Dean of Rutgers Law School

Rutgers University–Camden Chancellor Phoebe A. Haddon announces the appointment of Kimberly Mutcherson, a noted bioethics and health law scholar and higher education leader, as co-dean of the Rutgers Law School in Camden.

When her appointment took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, Mutcherson became the first woman, the first African American, and the first LGBT law dean at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

She currently is vice dean and a professor of law at Rutgers Law School in Camden. Her scholarship addresses issues related to reproductive justice, with a particular focus on assisted reproduction and its relationship to how the law understands and constructs the meaning of family, maternal-fetal decision-making, and healthcare decisions for minors.

Haddon lauds Mutcherson as a proven and capable administrator with an energetic vision of the role of the law in building careers, advancing research, and serving communities.

“Kim Mutcherson is a collaborative leader who is positioned to build upon the momentum and energy of Rutgers Law,” says Haddon, chancellor of Rutgers University–Camden. “She is passionate about the value of a legal education that prepares creative thinkers who are ready to be leaders in virtually every aspect of our society. She sees with clarity the role of the law in protecting individual rights.

“Under Co-Dean Mutcherson’s leadership, Rutgers Law in Camden will expand its focus on providing equal access to opportunity for our students and for the citizens of New Jersey, the Delaware Valley, and the nation.”

As one of the largest law schools in the nation, Rutgers Law School is committed to scholarly distinction and engagement with the major legal issues and concerns facing our region, country, and world. With locations in Camden and Newark, Rutgers Law has a geographic presence in the Philadelphia and New York metropolitan regions, two of the largest legal markets in the United States and a supportive alumni network of more than 20,000 nationwide.

Mutcherson will serve as Rutgers Law co-dean in Camden and will work collaboratively with Co-Dean David Lopez at Rutgers in Newark.

“I am thrilled to be able to continue my service to Rutgers Law as co-dean. Working with David Lopez, I know that our institution has a very bright future and will continue to provide a high-quality legal education and produce lawyers who change the profession and the world for the better,” says Mutcherson.

A Collingswood resident, Mutcherson joined Rutgers University–Camden as an assistant professor in 2002. She was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and to professor in 2013. She has served as vice dean since 2015.

At Rutgers Law, she teaches Bioethics, Babies and Babymaking, Family Law, South African Constitutional Law, and Torts, among other courses. She spearheaded an effort to increase the availability of academic support for Rutgers Law students and has served as a member of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program Advisory Board and as faculty advisor for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender student organization (OUTLaws) and Black Law Students Association.

A noted scholar on issues related to reproductive justice, assisted reproduction, and abortion, she is the author of numerous articles on the topics in publications including the Columbia Journal of Gender And Law, the Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy, Indiana Law Journal, the Hastings Center Report, and the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book Assisted Reproductive Justice (University of California Press) and the editor of the book Rewriting Reproductive Justice: Feminist Judgments and Reproductive Justice (Cambridge University Press).

She has served as a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. In 2013, she received the Center for Reproductive Rights Innovation in Scholarship Award.

Prior to joining Rutgers Law School, Mutcherson was a consulting attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights and a Fellow and then staff attorney with the HIV Law Project, both in New York.

She serves on the advisory boards of the Lawyering Project and the What We Know Project and has served on the Women’s Law Project board.

In 1997, Mutcherson earned her juris doctor from Columbia Law School, where she was a Stone Scholar and received the Rosemann Prize for her commitment to public interest law. She also earned the Kirkland & Ellis public interest fellowship and co-founded the Women of Color Coalition. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

She resides in Collingswood with her son Max (13) and her daughter Josephine (10). She grew up in Silver Spring, Md., where her father, James Mutcherson, still resides.

NJ Police looking for 16-year-old girl missing for 3 weeks

Authorities are trying to find a 16-year-old Perth Amboy NJ girl who has been missing for three weeks.

Sigrid Beltre was last seen at her home in the city on Dec. 12, Perth Amboy police said in a statement.

She is thought to be with her boyfriend in Camden, but police don’t know his name.

The 5-foot-7, 110-pound teen has black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white sweater with a hood, blue jeans and red sneakers. Police didn’t immediately provide a photo of Beltre.

Anyone with information about Beltre’s whereabouts is asked to call police at Perth Amboy police at 732-442-4400 or call 911.

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

17 African-American women sworn in as judges in Harris County Texas

A new year brought the swearing-in of newly elected officials in Harris County, Texas, and among them were 17 black female judges.

The group of women, who were part of a local democratic campaign called "Black Girl Magic Texas," first made history -- and headlines -- when they won their respective midterm elections in November. Together, they make up what is believed to be the largest group of black female judges to be elected at the same time in Harris County history.

Nineteen African-American women in total will be serving on the county's bench in 2019. The women have more than 200 years worth of experience between them all.

Harris County, which includes Houston, is the largest county in the state. According to the most recent census data, 43% of people in Harris County are Hispanic, and nearly 20% of the county's residents identify as African-American.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Seattle-Area Post Office Renamed to Honor Jimi Hendrix

Renton, Washington is honoring one of its late legends with one of the least rock-n-roll buildings: a post office. The Seattle suburb is naming a post office after Jimi Hendrix.

The post office in Renton is down the street from where Hendrix was raised and only a few blocks from where he was buried. The decision to rename the Renton Highlands Post Office to the James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix Post Office came after a bill to change the name passed unanimously.

"I am honored to join in paying tribute to rock and roll icon and Seattle native Jimi Hendrix with the renaming of the Renton Highlands Post Office as the James Marshall ‘Jimi Hendrix Post Office Building,” U.S. House of Representatives member Adam Smith said in a statement. “This designation will further celebrate Hendrix’s deep connection to the Puget Sound region and help ensure that his creative legacy will be remembered by our community and inspire future generations.”

The Seattle Times notes that the move to change the name of the post office was supported by the Northwest African American Museum's director LaNesha DeBardelaben.

“His legendary artistic genius chartered new territory within world music,” DeBardelaben said in a statement supporting the name-changing bill. “While his reach was international in scope, his roots trace back to Seattle and we are proud to richly celebrate his legacy as part of his hometown community.”

[SOURCE: YAHOO]

Letitia James sworn in as New York Attorney General

The state of New York has a new attorney general and she is, literally, like no one who has ever held the office before.

Democrat Letitia James was sworn in as New York's 67th Attorney General late Monday in a ceremony at the state capitol in Albany. James, 60, is the state's first black attorney general and the first woman ever elected to that state-wide office.

In a statement, James said it was the highest honor to officially begin her time as New York's attorney general and that she "will never waiver" on upholding the promise to "use the rule of law to protect the rights and advance the interest of all New Yorkers." She's slated to participate in an inauguration ceremony later in the day on Jan. 1, according to her office.

James, who is a long-time New York City politician, replaces Democrat Barbara Underwood, who was appointed to the post when former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned last year after multiple women came forward to accuse him of physical and verbal abuse.

[SOURCE: NPR]