Rep. Bobby Rush Statement on testing positive for COVID-19

U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) released the following statement after testing positive with a breakthrough case of COVID-19:

“Today, after being notified of a recent exposure, I tested positive with a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Fortunately, I am fully vaccinated and recently received my booster shot. I am feeling fine and currently have no symptoms. I will be quarantining and following the latest guidance from the CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health. As COVID-19 cases rise and the Omicron variant spreads throughout the nation, I encourage everyone who has not yet done so to get vaccinated and get boosted as soon as possible.”

Tuskegee Airmen Clifton Brooks Sr. dies at 99

Cliffton E. Brooks Sr., who served as a cryptologist with the famed all-Black Tuskegee Airmen, passed away Friday night at the age of 99.

He was the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen in the state of West Virginia.

Many who knew Brooks in his post-military years knew him as a community fixture - dedicating time to Washington Smith Post 152 American Legion, serving as a Mason in Potomac Lodge 41 and a member of Keyser Moose Lodge 662, and keeping active as a member of Janes United Methodist Church in Keyser.

Most recently, Brooks has been the recipient of several honors in his hometown, including Mineral County Day citations from the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, Black History Month honors from WVU Potomac State College, and having the South End Park - where his children often played when they were growing up - renamed the Clifton E. Brooks Sr. Park.

The barrier-breaking Tuskegee Airmen Squadron was formed in 1941 as a result of pressure by various civil rights groups, and included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and maintenance and support staff, including the cryptologists who coded and deciphered top secret messages.

Howard University delays spring semester due to COVID-19 surge

Howard University has made a statement via it's website that it is delaying the start of its spring classes until Jan. 18 as a result of an uptick in COVID-19 infections in the Washington region.

Read that statement below:

December 27, 2021

Dear Howard University Community,

We are continuing to monitor the surge in COVID-19 cases locally and throughout the region. The significant increase in cases is, in part, due to the spread of the omicron variant, which is more easily transmissible than the delta variant. So far, it has resulted mainly in mild to moderate symptoms among vaccinated individuals. Our public health team continually monitors COVID-19 transmission data and the changing local and federal public health guidance. We have also consulted with academic institutions in the D.C. consortium of universities. Further, the CDC predicts a potential peak in COVID-19 cases in January. 

As a result, we will delay the start of the Spring 2022 semester for undergraduate and graduate students until Tuesday, January 18, 2022. Face-to-face courses will begin on that date. University administrative operations will begin on January 3, 2022. Students in professional programs will receive specific guidance from their schools to accommodate accreditation and licensure requirements.

Vaccinations, mask usage and regular testing were integral to our successful operations during the Fall semester. We previously announced that all faculty, staff and students will be required to receive a COVID-19 booster by Monday, January 31, 2022, if you are already eligible for a booster, or within 30 days after becoming eligible. 
 
Approved medical and religious exemptions will continue to be granted. Booster vaccines are available on campus on the first floor of the Howard University Hospital, Freedmen’s Hall, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., with no appointment necessary. Students should continue to upload vaccine documentation in Med+Proctor, and employees should upload vaccine documentation in Workday. We will continue to require mask usage indoors and in group settings outdoors.
 
Breakthrough cases of COVID-19 will continue to occur. We know that individuals who have received a booster shot of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have significantly more antibodies in their system than individuals who have not yet received booster shots and even more than those who are unvaccinated. These increased antibody levels result in greater effectiveness of the vaccines, reducing severe illness or hospitalization. The bottom line is that you are more protected if you are vaccinated.

We are also requiring that everyone returning to campus from Winter Break for the Spring 2022 semester will be required to provide proof of a negative PCR test within four days prior to arrival.
 
Students in residential housing will return to campus beginning Friday, January 14, 2022 between 7:00am-9:00pm. While administrative operations will resume on January 3, 2022, meetings will be conducted virtually wherever possible, and units with approved telework authority may continue to implement that flexibility. Your cabinet officials will provide specific guidance to each unit.

A virtual town hall will be scheduled to discuss more details and answer any questions we receive prior to the start of classes. Updates will be communicated via email, and general updates will be shared on Howard’s Twitter page. 

Our highest priority is the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff. These steps will help us maintain as safe an environment as possible in order to provide the best educational experience to our students. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, we are leveraging our collective knowledge and experience to adapt our community to the many changes in the virus and the pandemic.

We thank you for your patience and flexibility. We will continue to get through this most recent challenge together as a Bison family. Thank you.

Excellence in Truth and Service,

Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph.                     
Provost & Chief Academic Officer    

Categories

Bison S.A.F.E.

True Story #1 streaming series on the Nielsen Top 10 Chart

Netflix’s True Story landed atop Nielsen’s latest U.S. ranking of streaming original series.

The limited series starring Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes amassed 943 million minutes viewed across its seven episodes, which for the week of Nov. 22 was good for No. 1.

Nielsen notes that the audience for True Story was predominantly African American, with 53 percent of its viewership from Black households.

TRUE STORY SYNOPSIS:

In True Story, Kevin plays Philadelphia-based actor and comedian, The Kid, a successful stand-up comic who goes on tour but takes a stop in his hometown, meeting up with his older brother Carlton (Wesley Snipes).

The pair go on a heavy night out but it ends in disaster when they wake up with a woman in their room who overdoses. The brothers then decide what to do, and The Kid is forced to decide how far he'll go to protect what he has.

Here’s Nielsen’s Top 10 SVOD Programs chart for the frame:

1. Red Notice (Netflix), 1 episode, 954 million minutes viewed

2. True Story (Netflix), 7 episodes, 943M

3. Hawkeye (Disney+), 2 episodes, 853M

4. CoComelon (Netflix), 15 episodes, 797M

5. NCIS (Netflix), 353 episodes, 666M

6. Wheel of Time (Amazon), 4 episodes, 663M

7. Bruised (Netflix), 1 episode, 654M

8. Cowboy Bebop/2021 (Netflix), 10 episodes, 629M

9. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Disney+), 1 episode, 613M

10. Jungle Cruise (Disney+), 1 episode, 611M

Barack Obama statement on the passing of Desmond Tutu

Former United States President, Barack Obama released the following statement via Twitter on the Passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass for me and so many others. A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere.

He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries, and Michelle and I will miss him dearly.

Statement by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on the Passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released the following statement on the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

On this morning after Christmas, we are heartbroken to learn of the passing of a true servant of God and of the people, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

We were blessed to spend time with him on several occasions over the past many years. His courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa. We felt his warmth and joy when we visited him during the 2010 World Cup that celebrated the diversity and beauty of his beloved nation. And, just a few months ago, we joined the world in celebrating his 90th birthday and reflecting on the power of his message of justice, equality, truth, and reconciliation as we confront racism and extremism in our time today.

Born to a school teacher and a laundress and into poverty and entrenched racial segregation, Desmond Tutu followed his spiritual calling to create a better, freer, and more equal world. His legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages.

On behalf of the Biden family, we send our deepest condolences to his wife Leah and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And on behalf of the people of the United States, we send our deepest condolences to the people of South Africa who are mourning the loss of one of their most important founding fathers.

May God bless Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Desmond Tutu dies at 90

Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice and LGBT rights and retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, has died, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Sunday. He was 90.

An uncompromising foe of apartheid — South Africa’s brutal regime of oppression against the Black majority — Tutu worked tirelessly, though non-violently, for its downfall.

The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town as well as frequent public demonstrations to galvanize public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally.

Tutu’s death on Sunday “is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.

“From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights.”

Tutu died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Center in Cape Town, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Trust said in a statement Sunday.

[SOURCE: AP]

Annual Founder’s Kwanzaa Message From Maulana Karenga

The following is the 2021 Annual Founder’s Kwanzaa Message From Maulana Karenga:

“Practicing Kwanzaa and the Seven Principles: Ensuring the Well-Being of the World”

Heri za Kwanzaa.

Happy Kwanzaa to African people everywhere throughout the world African community. We bring and send you Kwanzaa greetings of celebration, solidarity and continued struggle for a shared good in the world. And in the words and way of our ancestors, we wish for you all things good, pure and beautiful, all the good that heaven grants, the earth produces and the waters bring forth from their depths. Hotep. Ashe. Heri.

This season and celebration of Kwanzaa on its 55^th anniversary comes at a time when humanity and the world are in crisis: the pandemic of Covid-19 with all its destructive and deadly variants; erosion of the concept and practice of democracy; failed economies; continuing conflict and war and resultant massive displacement of peoples, famine and increased suffering. And there is continuing environmental degradation, climate change, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, destruction of species and species habitats, increased pollution, disappearance of the arctic ice, and the threatened loss of  island nations.

As a pan-African holiday with ancient agricultural origins, Kwanzaa celebrates the good of the earth and carries within it a commitment to protect, preserve and share this good. And Kwanzaa’s modern origins in the Black Freedom Movement commits it to the achievement of liberation and social justice. Thus, in Kawaida philosophy, out of which Kwanzaa and the Nguzo Saba were created, environmental justice and social justice are inseparably linked in the moral imperative to achieve and ensure African and human good and the well-being of the world.

Dr. Wangari Maathai gave her life to the practice of joining the struggle for social justice with the struggle for environmental justice. She also understood that we need not sacrifice the good of human beings for the well-being of the world nor sacrifice the well-being of the world for the good of human beings. What is called for is a complementary justice; where justice for one is conceived and practiced with and through justice for both. She speaks of how in the uncritical acceptance of colonialism’s views and values about the earth “hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as the people became insensitive to the destruction, accepting it as progress.” Thus, she calls for an expansion of “democratic space” in which the people make decisions in their own interests, rediscover their voices and values, and rebuild their social and natural world in rightful, effective and mutually beneficial ways.

Long before the concept and call of environmentalism emerged, the brilliant scientist and chemurgist, Nana Dr. George Washington Carver, was an environmentalist concerned about both social justice and the well-being of the world. He taught that we should respect ourselves and others and he asked us to “neither look up to the rich nor down on the poor.” Rather we are to aid “the little and lowly people” in their struggles to overcome poverty and oppression and live lives of dignity and decency. Moreover, he taught us to love nature, listen to its speech, and learn its language and lessons for the good of humans and the world. And he asks us not to hoard, monopolize or be greedy in relation to the good of the world, but to be those “who take (their) share of the world and let other people have theirs.”

The concept and practice of saving and sustaining the world is unavoidably linked to humans equitably sharing the world and doing what ensures the well-being of the world. And the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, offers us a clear foundation and way forward for this. And thus, we are urged to relate rightfully, act justly and walk gently and humbly on the earth. The principle and practice of Umoja (Unity), teaches an ever-expanding sense of self through our sense of oneness with others and the world. With others we are fellow human beings (watu) with obligations of mutual respect, reciprocal solidarity and cooperation for common good. And in our relationship with the world, we are world beings (walimwengu), deeply embedded in the natural as well as social world, interrelated, interdependent and unavoidably responsible for the health, wholeness and well-being of both. Thus, we understand that damage to the world is damage to us and ecocide is a form of genocide, the end of all.

The principle and practice of Kujichagulia (Self-determination), as Nana Haji Malcolm teaches us, is “to see for yourself and listen for yourself and think for yourself.” And this is to be done, not in isolation, but in community and in the midst of struggle for justice, freedom and good in the world. It means not being satisfied with prevailing established order thought, but doing deep thinking about the current conditions and future of the world, and as the ancestors taught: think deep about what is good for the people and for the future of the world.

The principle and practice of Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) urges acceptance of the shared responsibility to work together for good in the world, the good of freedom, justice, equity, peace, mutual caring and cooperation and building the good world we all want and deserve and leave as a legacy worthy of the name African and human. It is a work and struggle that require a genuine and sustained moral sensitivity to others, their aspirations for the good as well as an ethical commitment to the well-being of the world and to the struggle to achieve both.

Upholding the principle and practice of Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) teaches us the essential value of shared work and shared wealth and the right of everyone to a life of dignity and decency. It urges us to cultivate a kinship in and with the world, to reject artificially created conflicts between a robust economy and a rightful relationship with the environment. And it teaches respect of the earth as shared sacred space and common good, not to be plundered, polluted and depleted by corporation greed and aggression and consumerist consumption without consideration of consequences to the world.

In embracing the principle and practice of Nia (Purpose), we foreground and foster the ancient moral teaching of the Odu Ifa that we should do things with joy “for surely humans have been divinely chosen to bring good into the world.” And this is the fundamental mission and meaning of human life. And it reminds us that even as we are chosen by history and heaven to bring good into the world, we must also choose to do it. It means audaciously choosing the good for the world and acting accordingly. This means choosing in thought and practice love over hate, peace over war, freedom over unfreedom, justice over injustice, sharing over hoarding, and liberation from oppressions of all kinds, forms and fashions.

The principle and practice of Kuumba (Creativity) invites and urges us to work and struggle mightily for communities, societies and a world more beautiful and beneficial than the ones we inherited. It raises up the ancient African ethical imperative of the Husia to practice serudj ta, i.e.,  to constantly repair, renew and remake the world. We are to see this repair, renewal and remaking as both a social initiative and an environmental one. For again, the issues, impact and outcomes are interrelated and interdependent. Thus, we must, in our relations with each other, other humans, and the natural world: raise up what is ruins; repair what is damaged; rejoin what is separated; replenish what is depleted, strengthen what is weakened; set right what is wrong; and make firm and flourish that which is fragile, insecure and underdeveloped.

Finally, the principle and practice of Imani (Faith) teaches us and urges us to believe in our people, in the good we seek, strive and struggle for and in our capacity to achieve and share it. And we must believe in the righteousness and victory of our struggle to bring and sustain good in the world. It also urges us to believe in the coming good of the future and our young peoples’ will, consciousness, capacity and commitment to forge it and to share it equitably and caringly. For we and they and what we do during this crisis and long after are actually the future unfolding through the transformative power of righteous and relentless struggle, “to bring good in the world and not let any good be lost,” as our honored ancestors taught us.

Missing 3-year-old girl safely returned home in time for Christmas

At the beginning of November, Atlanta police were alerted to a toddler being taken by her father who does not have custody over her.

Harmony Hill’s family has spent six weeks trying to find her, but now officers have and 3-year-old Harmony was able to make it home in time for Christmas.

Earlier this week, investigators found Harmony and her father, Nickien Collins, in Mississippi. Collins was arrested and Harmony was returned to her family in Atlanta.

“My family is eternally grateful that our nightmare is over and everything turned out well in the end,” the family wrote in a Facebook post.

The family also took the opportunity to compliment Atlanta police and Investigator D. Scott’s hard work to bring their loved one home. They say that after weeks of searching, Investigator Scott was reassigned to Harmony’s case and was able to locate the girl in just a matter of weeks.

“[Atlanta police] have a true GEM in [Investigator] Scott!” the family went on to say. “[She] found her in less than half a week!!! And before Christmas like she said she would!”

Thoughts of a Colored Man ends run on Broadway due to Covid-19

Thoughts of a Colored Man — the acclaimed play written by Keenan Scott II and produced on Broadway by a slew of stars including Grammy winner Kandi Burruss and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph — has officially ended its Broadway run due to the Covid surge.

Producers made the announcement in a post on Instagram, alongside a photo from the show of the play's seven stars facing the back of the stage.

"We are heartbroken to announce that performances have ended for Thoughts of a Colored Man as of Wednesday, Dec. 22," the caption read.

"We have tried our hardest to safely navigate the current, unfortunate health crisis, but ultimately we are unable to continue under the unfortunate conditions of COVID exposure in the city and country," it continued.

Starring Dyllón Burnside, Bryan Terrell Clark, Da'Vinchi, Luke James, Forrest McClendon, Tristan Mack Wilds, and Esau Pritchett, Thoughts of a Colored Man was the first Broadway show to be written by, directed by, played by, and lead-produced by Black men.

Biden to nominate South Carolina Judge Michelle Childs to U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

President Joe Biden will nominate South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge Michelle Childs to fill the pending vacancy on the prestigious and influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the White House said Thursday.

A U.S. District Court judge for more than a decade, Childs’ resume includes work as a South Carolina state trial court judge on the circuit court from 2006 to 2010 and as a commissioner from 2002 to 2006 on South Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Commission, a panel that hears injured workers’ claims.

Childs’ elevation to the court would put her at the forefront for consideration if a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court opens up. Supreme Court justices are often plucked from the D.C. Circuit. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by former President Donald Trump, and Merrick Garland, nominated by former President Barack Obama, both served on the D.C. Circuit. Garland’s nomination was ultimately scuttled, but he is now the U.S. attorney general.

Childs, 55, is considered a contender for the U.S. Supreme Court. Her name has been part of a larger conversation about elevating a Black woman to the Supreme Court, pushed loudly in large part by U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C

“Judge Childs has served with distinction on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. She has distinguished herself with keen intellect, fundamental fairness, and exemplary temperament; and is a leader among her peers, currently serving as President of the Federal Judges Association,” Clyburn said Thursday after the White House made its official announcement.

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison statement after Kim Potter found guilty in death of Daunte Wright

Watch Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's statement after former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter was guilty found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright.

Rep. James Clyburn test positive for Covid-19

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) announced via Twitter on Wednesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19 in a breakthrough case of the virus.

Tonight, I received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. This is a breakthrough case, and I am asymptomatic.

America is in a new phase of this pandemic. No one is immune.

I urge anyone who has not done so to protect themselves by getting vaccinated and boosted.https://t.co/qWzFOT5BC6

— James E. Clyburn (@WhipClyburn) December 23, 2021

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka tests positive for COVID-19

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka tested positive for COVID-19, he said.

The mayor said he is asymptomatic, and so far his family has not tested positive for the virus/

I tested positive for COVID yesterday and thankfully my wife and son tested negative. By the grace of God I'm okay and have no symptoms at all. I'm going to retest on Friday and Monday as well, and I thank everyone for your well wishes. Please wear your masks and get vaccinated!

— Ras J. Baraka (@rasjbaraka) December 22, 2021

Writer Of Broadway’s ‘Thoughts Of A Colored Man’ Forced Into Action On Stage After COVID Sidelines Star

For some Broadway productions, even when the show goes on it does so without a full cast. That was particularly evident on Tuesday night, when Keenan Scott II, a playwright jumped in to take on a role of the play he wrote, ‘Thoughts Of A Colored Man’.

Alpha Phi Alpha partners with ESPN to raise money for cancer research

For the second year, Alpha Phi Alpha is teaming with ESPN and the V Foundation for Cancer Research to drive awareness and support for the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund.

Stuart Scott, an Alpha Phi Alpha brother, was committed to advancing cancer research and as his Alpha brothers, we are honored to be a part of his continuing legacy to help others.

Stuart was a champion for cancer research and he was especially driven to improve outcomes for minorities disproportionally affected by the disease.

Through the Stuart Scott Fund, the V Foundation has invested more than 12.7 million dollars in grants that are designed to support the work of minority scientists and research that is dedicated to finding therapeutic treatments and positive outcomes for African Americans and other minority populations. Today, Stuart's legacy lives on in this fund.

Visit v.org/aphia for more information.

Claudette Colvin's juvenile record has been expunged

The juvenile court records of Claudette Colvin, a civil rights pioneer who refused in 1955 to give up her seat to a White person on an Alabama bus, have been sealed, destroyed and expunged following a judge's ruling.

Colvin, now 82, was arrested when she was 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a White person on a bus in Montgomery. The incident came nine months before Rosa Parks' far more famous arrest for a similar act of civil disobedience in the Jim Crow era.

Colvin was charged with two counts of violating Montgomery's segregation ordinance and one felony count of assaulting a police officer. She was convicted on all counts in juvenile court, and the segregation convictions were overturned on appeal.

Placed on an "indefinite probation" after her conviction on the assault charge, Colvin was never informed her probation had ended, her legal team said.

An Alabama family court judge in November granted Colvin's petition the prior month to expunge her record. Montgomery County Juvenile Judge Calvin Williams on November 24 signed the order for the records to be destroyed, including all references to the arrest.

He granted Colvin's motion to seal for good cause and fairness for "what has since been recognized as a courageous act on her behalf and on behalf of a community of affected people," Williams said.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman: Joe Manchin is showing that he doesn't care about Black or poor people

During a CNN interview, member Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York ripped into West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin on Monday night, accusing Manchin of not caring about women, minorities or the poor.

When Joe Manchin showed us who he was, I believed him — and everyone else should have too. Gutting Build Back Better because special interests want it gutted is not an option. The people cannot be left behind. pic.twitter.com/D7GdHux7bf

— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) December 21, 2021

NYC Mayor-Elect Eric Adams Cancels Plans For Inaugural Ceremony Due To Omicron Concerns

Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced Tuesday he will forgo his planned inauguration ceremony at Kings Theater in Brooklyn.

Adams said it was being canceled due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

“We don’t want to put people in a dangerous environment,” he told reporters.

The ceremony had been set to take place during the evening of Jan. 1. It had been expected to include the ceremonial swearing in of Adams, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller-elect Brad Lander.

Adams’ term actually begins at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, and he will be formally sworn in at midnight in a private ceremony.

Houston Law School & NAACP to Continue Fight for Clemency for Camp Logan Soldiers Unjustly Convicted, Punished in Houston in 1917

A large crowd of community leaders gathered at South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) Friday to officially commemorate the law school’s ongoing collaboration with the NAACP Houston Branch to fight for clemency for the 110 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment convicted by General Courts-Martial for their alleged role in the 1917 Camp Logan uprising.

“This incident was one of the first projects the NAACP Houston Branch ever investigated a century ago, and it continues to be important to us today,” said Dr. James Dixon, NAACP Houston Branch board president. “We must address this past injustice and educate people about the wrongs that occurred so they don’t happen again. We are determined to seek clemency for these soldiers because it is never too late to do the right thing.”

Geoffrey Corn, the Gary A. Kuiper Distinguished Professor of National Security Law at STCL Houston and retired U.S. Army JAG officer, explained the Camp Logan history leading to this work.

“On Aug. 23, 1917, members of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment — an all-African American Army unit with a distinguished history of combat service (often called the Buffalo Soldiers) — marched out of its encampment in Houston to confront what it believed was a white mob setting upon the soldiers,” Corn noted at the event.

The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 11 locals and six soldiers, was the culmination of weeks of racially charged confrontations between members of the unit and the local Houston police.

“The actual violence that night lasted approximately three hours, but the implications of the unjust convictions and punishments that occurred afterward have lasted a century,” Corn said. “These soldiers – regardless of the circumstances of the violence that occurred – did not receive due process and had no opportunity to appeal. The justice system failed them.”

“The NAACP Houston Branch and South Texas South Texas College of Law Houston share a common priority: a focus on justice,” said Michael F. Barry, STCL Houston president and dean. “We also have a shared interest in ensuring an accurate historical narrative of the events that transpired at Camp Logan and the stories of the soldiers involved. Finally, we have a common interest in restoring the proper honor and respect for the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Camp Logan – soldiers who were some of the bravest men in our nation.”

Professor Angela Holder — great-niece of Cpl. Jesse Moore, one of the soldiers convicted and executed in 1917 — gave a personal perspective during the event. “These 24th Infantry Regiment soldiers are not just names in history. They are real people. They are my Aunt Lovie’s brother. My Uncle Jesse. They sacrificed for our country, and now they deserve clemency.”

Because of their shared commitment to equal justice under the law, the NAACP Houston Branch and STCL Houston will continue collaborating to fulfill the mission of obtaining clemency for these Camp Logan soldiers, Barry said.

In the years following the 1917 incident, the NAACP led an effort to draw attention to this rush to judgment, which led to pressure on President Wilson to intervene and demand legal review of the two courts-martial that followed the first trial of 63 soldiers (the largest criminal trial in U.S. history). This review, and the public outrage over the first trial, led President Wilson to commute a number of death sentences to life in prison.

However, clemency remains the goal. The NAACP Houston Branch led an effort, initiated on the 100th anniversary of the incident in 2017, to seek a pardon for the 13 soldiers sentenced to death in the first trial. Unfortunately, that effort stalled without a successful outcome.

Professor Corn was asked to provide advice to the NAACP group working on this effort, and he continues to be actively involved. Professor Dru Brenner-Beck — also a retired U.S. Army JAG officer who will join the STCL faculty this summer — has led an effort along with historian John Haymond to conduct a comprehensive review of the records related to this incident and these military trials, based on extensive historical records here at the law school and other records throughout the country.

South Texas librarians and law students working in the Actual Innocence Clinic have contributed substantially to this effort by providing important research and narratives of the many soldiers convicted in the trials.

“We and the NAACP Houston Branch are committed to the Camp Logan soldiers in part to restore their honor; in that sense, this effort is about the past, about righting a historic wrong,” Barry said. “But this effort benefits us all tomorrow, as well, helping ensure that the violations of due process of a century ago will never be repeated.”