President Obama’s approval rating is at its highest level in more than five years, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday shows.
According to the results of the survey, conducted in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., two weeks ago, 56 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of his job as president, compared to 41 percent who disapprove.
The last time the president’s approval rating was this high was in May 2011 following the killing of Osama bin Laden in a nighttime raid led by U.S. Navy SEALS in Pakistan.
According to the Washington Post, Obama is more popular now than Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were at this point in their presidencies, though not quite as popular as Bill Clinton in 2000.
Police are looking for a missing woman, Allison Young whose car was located on the I-55 bridge across the Mississippi River between Memphis and Arkansas.
Police described Young as a 43-year-old black woman who is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 210 pounds. She has shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion and was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and white shorts.
If you have any information, call Memphis Police at 545-2677.
In 2006, Tavis Smiley—along with a team of esteemed contributors—laid out a national plan of action to address the ten most crucial issues facing African Americans. The Covenant, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller, ran the gamut from health care to criminal justice, affordable housing to education, voting rights to racial divides. But a decade later, Black men still fall to police bullets and brutality, Black women still die from preventable diseases, Black children still struggle to get a high quality education, the digital divide and environmental inequality persist, and American cities from Ferguson to Baltimore burn with frustration. In short, the last decade has seen the evaporation of Black wealth, with Black fellow citizens having lost ground in nearly every leading economic category.
And so in these pages Smiley calls for a renewal of The Covenant, presenting the original action plan alongside new data from the Indiana University School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) to underscore missed opportunities and the work that remains to be done. While life for far too many African Americans remains a struggle, the great freedom fighter Frederick Douglass was right: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Now is the time to finally convert the trials and tribulations of Black America into the progress that all of America yearns for.
In December 2015, Zaevion Dobson, a 15-year-old high school football star from Knoxville, Tennessee, was forced to make a split-second decision—run to safety or sacrifice himself to protect those around him. Instead of running, Dobson used his body to protect two girls from a barrage of bullets, ultimately giving his life to save theirs. To honor his incredible act of bravery, ESPN today announced that Dobson will be posthumously honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at The 2016 ESPYS Presented by Capital One. Presented annually to individuals whose contributions transcend sports, the award recognizes those individuals who embody the spirit of the trophy’s namesake, tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who dedicated his life to human rights advocacy.
Zaevion Dobson, a sophomore at Fulton High School in northern Knoxville, was considered one of the city’s great success stories as both a promising football player and mentor to his peers. Dobson’s selfless act of bravery made him a national hero. Zenobia Dobson, Zaevion’s mother, will accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on his behalf, accompanied by Zaevion’s brothers Zack Dobson and Markastin Taylor.
“The family of Zaevion William Dobson accepts with great appreciation the honorable Arthur Ashe Award on behalf of our beloved young man of valor, who sacrificed himself to save others,” Zenobia Dobson said on behalf of the Dobson family. “Arthur Ashe was a leading example of strength and courage for us as a family, and we feel truly blessed and honored that our Zaevion joins the ranks of honorees. Like Arthur Ashe, Zaevion faced obstacles, but he overcame them. With this award, we know that Zaevion’s name and example will never be forgotten.”
Zaevion was honored by the sports community in a special tribute before Super Bowl 50 and was recognized by President Obama during a speech in January. The President emphasized that Zaevion’s sacrifice should serve as inspiration for taking action, saying, “He gave his life to save theirs—an act of heroism a lot bigger than anything we should ever expect from a 15-year-old.”
Added ESPYS Executive Producer Maura Mandt, “Zaevion’s actions to risk his own life for others demonstrate the true meaning of the word courage, and his boundless bravery has inspired many. We are proud to honor him with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s ESPYS. By celebrating Zaevion’s legacy, we hope to bring more attention to this serious issue and continued focus on the tragic loss of lives to gun violence.”
The 2016 ESPYS, hosted by WWE Superstar John Cena, will air live on Wednesday, July 13, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets are available for public purchase at AXS.com. For additional ESPYS news and information, please follow the official Twitter handle: @ESPYS.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented each year to individuals whose contributions transcend sports. Past honorees include: Jim Valvano (1993); Steve Palermo (1994); Howard Cosell (1995); Loretta Claiborne (1996); Muhammad Ali (1997); Dean Smith (1998); Billie Jean King (1999); Dave Sanders (2000); Olympian Cathy Freeman (2001); Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick, four passengers who lost their lives September 11 on United Flight 93 (2002); Pat and Kevin Tillman (2003); Liberian-born soccer legend George Weah (2004); disabled athletes Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah and Jim MacLaren (2005); Afghan female athletes (2006); and Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen for their work with PeacePlayers (2007); U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos (2008); former president Nelson Mandela (2009); the Thomas family of Parkersburg, IA (2010); boxer Dewey Bozella (2011); women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt (2012); Robin Roberts (2013), Michael Sam (2014) and Caitlyn Jenner (2015).
The U.S. battle over bathrooms and wedding cakes is pushing many African-American leaders in the South to the forefront of the latest civil rights frontier, as the threat of discrimination overshadows long-held reservations on gay issues.
In Mississippi, black legislators have led calls to repeal their state's newly adopted law permitting those with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and impose dress and bathroom limits on transgender residents.
The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Mississippi is a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to block the measure from taking effect on July 1. A federal judge was to hear testimony in the case on Thursday.
In North Carolina, dozens have been arrested at statehouse rallies organized by a diverse coalition led by the state NAACP conference to protest a new law barring transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice.
"Here we are again, facing discrimination towards a group of people," said Sonya Williams Barnes, a Mississippi black lawmaker who opposed the measure and fears that her race could be the next target. "Who knows where that is going to lead to."
Just four years after President Barack Obama rocked the religious black community by supporting gay marriage, black leaders are becoming some of the most forceful allies in the fight against a recent wave of legislation seen as harmful to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people.
