Congressional Black Caucus statement on the passing of Amelia Boynton Robinson

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Aug 26, 2015 — Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) said on the passing of 104-year-old civil rights icon Amelia Boynton Robinson, "Today we mourn the passing of a remarkable citizen, Mrs. Amelia Boynton Robinson, a civil rights activist and one of the leaders of the 1965 Bloody Sunday march of 1965. Often referred to as the matriarch of our country's Civil Rights Movement, Mrs. Boynton Robinson worked tirelessly on the behalf of those who were discriminated against and disenfranchised, and she stood courageously in the fight to ensure voting rights for every citizen in this nation. Mrs. Boynton Robinson was committed to equality until her death and was a champion for African Americans when our voices were not yet heard. Fifty years ago, Mrs. Boynton Robinson walked bravely across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to ensure that all African Americans had equal opportunity and the right to vote. Her walk was not in vain, and we remain forever grateful for her contributions and dedicated service to civil rights in America."

Napa Valley wine train ‘100 percent wrong’ in ejecting black women, says CEO

The chief executive of the Napa Valley wine train has apologized for his staff's 'insensitive' actions after their decision to eject 11 African American women for laughing too loud spurred a wave of criticism on social media.

‘The Napa Valley wine train was 100 percent wrong in its handling of this issue,’ said wine train chief executive Anthony ‘Tony’ Giaccio. The organisation hired crisis management pr consultant Sam Singer to handle the situation

‘We accept full responsibility for our failures and for the chain of events that led to this regrettable treatment of our guests,’ said Giacco, who said he apologised in person to Lisa Johnson, leader of the book club.

The wine train did not comment specifically on accusations of racism. But, Giacco promised that staff would receive diversity training.

Giacco said in a letter to book club members, ‘We were insensitive when we asked you to depart our train by marching you down the aisle past all the other passengers.

‘While that was the safest route for disembarking, it showed a lack of sensitivity on our part that I did not fully conceive of until you explained the humiliation of the experience.’

Read more at Napa Valley wine train ‘100 percent wrong’, says CEO

Scott Walker's policies 'tightening the noose' on black people, Gwen Moore says

[SOURCE] Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore says that Republican Gov. Scott Walker's policies are "tightening the noose, literally, around African-Americans."

Moore made the comment during a conference call Monday to discuss Walker's campaigning for president in South Carolina.

Moore is black and represents Milwaukee in Congress. She says Walker's opposition to raising the minimum wage, requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, and requiring drug testing for public aid recipients disproportionately hurt African-Americans.

Moore also said Walker's rejection of a high-speed train line between Milwaukee and Madison took away jobs from inner city Milwaukee.

She calls Walker a "stereotypical politician" who will say anything to get elected.

Walker's campaign spokeswoman AshLee Strong had no comment.

NABJ Expresses Disappointment with the Chicago Tribune over Hurricane Katrina Analogy

[SOURCE]The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is disappointed with the response by the Chicago Tribune editorial board to the public outcry over a column by editorial board member Kristen McQueary, who called for a Hurricane Katrina-like storm as a starting point for fixing Chicago's ills.

McQueary wrote on Aug. 13 that she was "praying for a storm" in reference to Hurricane Katrina. She then wrote a second column on Aug. 14 after negative comments online and on social media circulated, saying readers simply missed the point of the first op-ed.

The Hurricane Katrina analogy "lacks news judgment," said Sarah Glover, NABJ's 21st president. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

More than 1,800 people died after the 2005 Category 5 hurricane made landfall, its impact devastating on the African-American community in New Orleans. More than a million Louisiana residents were displaced, with about a third not returning, according to the American Community Survey.

In an Aug. 14 letter to the editorial board, the NABJ-Chicago Chapter requested a public apology and a two-week suspension for McQueary. That letter went unanswered by the editorial board.

"Kristen McQueary's column credits the resilience and ingenuity of the people of New Orleans and pleads for dramatic change in Chicago, which has not faced up to its financial crisis. That is her point. Her use of Hurricane Katrina as metaphor has unfortunately been misconstrued," editorial page editor Bruce Dold wrote on Aug. 14 in response to the backlash.

Glover followed up with an Aug. 18 email admonishing the column.

"Just because you have an opinion or can conjure up a seismic analogy to prove your point doesn't mean it's appropriate for publication by an esteemed newspaper such as the Chicago Tribune," Glover wrote.

Glover and NABJ-Chicago Chapter President Kathy Chaney met with McQueary and editorial board members at the Tribune for an off-the-record meeting about the column on Aug. 20.

"While the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, there's also an absolute need to exercise news judgment. Nearly 2,000 human beings died during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I can't imagine a similar metaphor evoking 9/11 would ever be used in the way that Hurricane Katrina was," Glover wrote to the editorial board.

The NABJ-Chicago Chapter requested another meeting on-the-record to include Dold, who was on vacation at the time of the Aug. 20 meeting.

An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide.

Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero 10 point plan to address police abuse

Black Lives Matter activists have released a 10 point plan to address abuses by US police forces after critics said that the group has lacked direction.

The plan, called "Campaign Zero", urges policy changes and proposes laws on federal, state and local levels.

The plans calls for:

Ending "broken windows" policing, which aggressively polices minor crimes in an attempt to stop larger ones

Using community oversight for misconduct rather than having police decide what consequences officers face

Making standards for reporting police use of deadly force

Independently investigating and prosecuting police misconduct

Having the racial makeup of police departments reflect the communities they serve

Requiring officers to wear body cameras

Providing more training for police officers

Ending for-profit policing practices

Ending the police use of military equipment

Implementing police union contracts that hold officers accountable for misconduct

• Learn more about Campaign Zero here: http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision