Mia Love leading in polls in her re-election campaign

A Utah Debate Commission poll shows Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mia Love with a surprising 19-point advantage in her re-match with Democratic challenger Doug Owens. Owens lost to Love by 5 percentage points two years ago, and since then, national Democrats and political handicappers have listed the race as one of the top targets for a Democratic pickup in November.

The most recent poll of the race, conducted for UtahPolicy.com last month, showed Love with a 13-point advantage. Love had previously released internal polling that showed similar results.

If the race has swung that heavily to Love's advantage, it is likely that national Democrats could abandon Owens' campaign in favor of more competitive targets.

[SOURCE]

Appeals Court blocks Kansas, Alabama, Georgia voter ID laws

It's been a tough few weeks for Republican attempts at voter suppression. When forced to defend their blatant attempts to keep minority voters from the polls in court Republicans are failing miserably. Recently we have seen voter ID laws struck down in Wisconsin and North Carolina, and now you can add Kansas, Alabama, and Georgia to that list. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

A U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday blocked an effort by Alabama, Georgia and Kansas for voters to furnish proof of citizenship when registering at the polls, which opponents say disenfranchises voters, especially minorities.

The decision effectively strikes down a rule that requires voters in the three states to provide proof they are United States citizens. Elsewhere, voters only need swear that they are citizens in order to cast a ballot.

"With just weeks to go before a critical presidential election, we are grateful to the court of appeals for stopping this thinly veiled discrimination in its tracks," Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, which had sued to block the new requirements, said in a statement.

The Appeals Court of the District of Columbia said the League of Women Voters had shown there would be irreparable harm if the rule was permitted, and had also shown it was likely to win the case on its merits.

It ordered any voter applications filed since Jan. 29, 2016, to be treated as if they did not contain the proof of citizenship instructions.

Alabama and Georgia, which passed provisions several years ago, have not implemented their laws while at least 20,000 voters in Kansas, where the law took effect in 2013, have been blocked from registering to vote, the League's lawyers say.

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More than $300,000 Raised at 2016 UNCF “A Mind Is…” Hamptons Summer Benefit

(Black PR Wire) More than $300,000 was raised at the recent United Negro College Fund (UNCF) “A Mind Is…” Hamptons Summer Benefit, hosted by UNCF New York. Derek Jones, managing director, GMC Grosvenor Private Markets; Cathy Hughes, founder and chairperson, Radio One; and Reginald Hudlin, president, Hudlin Entertainment, were honored with the “Keepers of the Flame” award for being champions of diversity and education.

More than 300 guests attended the Aug. 6-7 benefit weekend events, held at the private residences of Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of Archie Comics, and Bill and Diane Plummer. Karen Hunter, SiriusXM radio talk show host, was mistress of ceremonies. Mayor Lovely Warren of Rochester also attended. Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and CEO, delivered remarks on UNCF’s impact in the state of New York and the importance of community support.

“Where else can you come together to help send kids to college in such elegant surroundings,” said Lomax. “With the generosity of all of you—our community—UNCF has invested almost $2 million in college scholarships for New York students and millions of dollars in cash support and assistance for our 37 member HBCUs and the almost 1,300 New York students who attend them.”

In its 72-year history, UNCF has raised more than $4.5 billion to support minority students’ quest for better futures. Events such as these are made possible by the admirable support of community and corporate partners such as this year’s “A Mind Is…” Hamptons Summer Benefit platinum sponsors, Siris Capital Group, LLC, and Frank Baker, Peter Berger and Jeff Hendren. Additional sponsors included The Lincoln Motor Company, GCM Grosvenor, Grain Management, LLC, Robert Smith, Investors Bank, Derek Jones, Advent Capital Management, LLC, Combs Enterprises, Palladium Equity Partners and Wellness Interactive.

SiriusXM, World Bride Magazine, The Independent and WEAA 88.9 FM served as the media partners for this prestigious event.

“The status and the money that I have been blessed with in this life…is so I can reach back and help some other black children who are just like me,” said Hughes. “That’s the story of UNCF—you reach back.”

The electrifying weekend included a VIP brunch with an exclusive Resort 2017 fashion preview by designer Carlton Jones, silent auction, entertainment by Yotoco and student testimonials from UNCF scholars Ahmaad Dent (Morehouse College, 2018) and Syndi Falconer (Clark Atlanta University, 2016).

All the Difference: A story of young black men in college

All the Difference is a documentary about two young black men in college. The film premieres on PBS Sept. 12, 2016. Learn more about the documentary and watch the trailer below.

Film Synopsis: The largely invisible and often crushing struggles of young African-American men come vividly — and heroically — to life in All the Difference, which traces the paths of two teens from the South Side of Chicago who dared to dream a seemingly impossible dream: to graduate from college. As this intimate film shows, Robert Henderson and Krishaun Branch’s determination started them on the road to success, but it was the support from people in their lives—parents, grandparents, teachers and mentors— that brought them to their destination.

A co-production of American Documentary | POV; Part of American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Filmmaker(s): Tod Lending, Joy Thomas Moore, and Wes Moore

Film website: http://www.pbs.org/pov/allthedifference/

ALL THE DIFFERENCE TRAILER

Airbnb makes changes to halt racist, discriminatory practices

Airbnb announced potentially far-reaching anti-discrimination policies Thursday in response to complaints about hosts' racism against black and other Airbnb guests that came to the fore in the spring, crystalizing around the hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack.

One change automatically blocks out a host’s reservation calendar for dates they have told a would-be guest are not available. This is to deal with a problem African-Americans and others have described: after requesting a booking, they're told the listing is no longer available, only to find the booking is still available when someone with a profile photo that shows them to be white, or obscures their race, inquires about it.

The new features will be implemented in the first half of 2017, Airbnb said.

Read more: Airbnb makes changes to halt racist, discriminatory practices