Trump ask black reporter to set up meeting with Congressional Black Caucus

This has been a strange week for American Urban Radio Network reporter April Ryan. Earlier this week Omarosa Manigault tried to physically intimidate her and threaten her with a dossier the Trump administration supposedly has on her. If that wasn't strange enough then Donald Trump while responding to a question from Ryan about the Congressional Black Caucus ask her is she knew them and if she could set up a meeting with the CBC. Watch that strange exchange below.

Keith Ellison: Why I want to be DNC Chair

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, a nominee for DNC Chair sent out an email explaining why he wants to be DNC Chair. Read that email below.

People have asked me why I want to be DNC Chair and spend my days warring with the Trump administration.

The answer is simple. I want to do it for every mom out there who can’t get paid time off to take care of a sick child.

For every dad looking at his bills, worried that if the ACA is repealed, his family won’t be able to pay for health insurance.

For every high school kid who dreams of going to college, and his parents who stay up nights trying to figure out how to pay for it.

For every worker with two or three minimum wage jobs who still can’t make ends meet.

For every immigrant worried about being torn from their family and forced back to a country where they are oppressed and in danger.

For every American who makes something, teaches something, takes care of someone else, works full-time and still lives paycheck-to-paycheck.

These are the people the Trump administration ignores. These are the people that the Democratic Party stands for. And these are the people that I want to fight for every single day as Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The election is happening one week from this Saturday, and as we roll down the home stretch we want to make a statement about our grassroots support.

I want to unite the Democratic Party, set forth a platform that proves to hard-working Americans of all backgrounds that we have their back, and stop the Trump administration from destroying the America we love.

I need you with me.

Thank you.

Keith

Authorized and Paid for by Ellison for Congress

Ellison for Congress
P.O. Box 6072
Minneapolis, MN 55406 

Lowe’s donates $500,000 in emergency financial aid to help HBCU students

Financial assistance helps HBCU students stay on track to graduate

Lowe’s donated $500,000 to UNCF’s 37 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to award emergency student aid to financially needy graduating seniors. UNCF’s Emergency Student Aid (ESA) is a lifeline for UNCF-supported HBCU students with unanticipated needs or special circumstances such as the loss of a parent’s job. More than 200 seniors received aid during the 2016-17 academic year, allowing them to stay in school and on track to graduate. 

“College is quite expensive, but it is an investment that is certainly worthwhile,” said Quentin Perkins, a senior majoring in computer science at Florida Memorial University. “My parents are not able to pay for tuition out of pocket, so receiving this scholarship will enable me to continue to make progress toward my degree and to prepare for a career as an information technologist.” 

Since 2009, Lowe’s has partnered with UNCF’s emergency student aid program to provide $4.2 million in just-in-time aid. Thanks to Lowe’s long-term commitment to increasing post-secondary success for students at UNCF member schools, more than 1,700 students have been able to graduate on time. A UNCF partner since 1985, Lowe’s has donated more than $4.5 million to UNCF over the past three decades. 

“For more than 30 years, Lowe’s has been a vital partner in UNCF’s continuing mission to increase post-secondary access and success for students attending its member schools who need critical funding to earn their degrees,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and CEO. “We commend Lowe’s for their investment in better futures for students across the country.” 

“More than ever, a college education is foundational to building bright futures, inspiring leaders and stronger communities,” said James Frison, Lowe’s community relations director. “Scholarships and financial aid often provide the assistance needed for students having trouble paying for a degree so they continue and stay on the course. Lowe’s is proud to help make a college education a reality for many of our future leaders.” 

UNCF, the nation’s largest and most effective minority education assistance organization, launched ESA in 2009 to help recession-impacted students at risk of having to interrupt their studies and delay their degrees due to unpaid tuition balances, textbooks and room and board fees. In supporting UNCF’s ESA, Lowe’s offered support in a major way again this academic year to help students walk across the finish line. This current round of support from Lowe’s includes a total award of nearly $64,000 to the five UNCF-supported HBCUs in North Carolina: Bennett College, Johnson C. Smith University, Livingstone College, St. Augustine’s University, and Shaw University. 

"Lowe’s is a visionary leader in its class,” said Shaw University President Dr. Tashni-Ann Dubroy. “The reverberating ramifications of their investment go well beyond a student's graduation. It provides financial strength by eliminating the need for a family to secure a loan or credit card payment toward the final year of college. It gives students confidence and peace of mind heading into the critical senior year, allowing them to focus on internships, jobs and graduate school applications instead of finding part-time employment." 

To donate to UNCF’s Emergency Student Aid, visit www.UNCF.org/CESA. 

White House reporter accuses Omarosa Manigault of bullying her

Conflict and controversy seem to follow Omarosa Manigault, who stirred up plenty of both as a reality-TV star and a longtime associate of President Trump.

Manigault, who is now a communications official in the Trump administration, got into a heated argument with a White House reporter just steps from the Oval Office last week, according to witnesses. The reporter, April Ryan, said Manigault “physically intimidated” her in a manner that could have warranted intervention by the Secret Service.

Ryan also said Manigault made verbal threats, including the assertion that Ryan was among several journalists on whom Trump officials had collected “dossiers” of negative information.

The encounter between Manigault and Ryan took place outside White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s West Wing office late Wednesday. Among the witnesses were White House press office staffers and a Washington Post reporter, Abby Phillip.

Phillip said she didn’t hear every word of the women’s exchange but said Ryan told her afterward that she felt Manigault’s behavior was so threatening that it was “Secret Serviceable,” meaning that it rose to the level of law enforcement intervention.

Ryan, a veteran White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks, used the same phrase repeatedly in an interview. “She stood right in my face like she was going to hit me,” Ryan said. “I said, ‘You better back up.’ . . . She thought I would be bullied. I won’t be.”

Read more: Journalist says Omarosa Manigault bullied her and mentioned a ‘dossier’ on her

Octavia Spencer to play millionaire Madam C.J. Walker in new biopic

Octavia Spencer has signed on to play America’s first black millionaire in a new movie.

The “Hidden Figures” star, who is up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar later this month, is heading back to the early 1900s to play Madam C. J. Walker.

“That’s another story that’s yet to be told and she’s an icon for the African-American community as well, definitely for women in the African-American community,” Octavia tells WENN. “I think it’s time that her story gets told in a manner that I think people will enjoy.

“She was the first African-American millionaire and she was self-made, and it was all through beauty products. She was also a philanthropist and an activist in the reconstruction era.”

The bio-pic will be a limited series and as of now has no network attached. The series will be directed by Kasi Lemmons (Black Nativity, Eve's Bayou) from a script penned by Nicole Asher.

Spencer is also producing along with Zero Gravity Management (“The Accountant”).

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