Tuskegee Airman who went missing during World War II identified 73 years later

The Defense Department announced Friday that it has accounted for the first of more than two dozen black aviators known as Tuskegee Airman who went missing in action during World War II.

Capt. Lawrence Dickson, a fighter pilot who had trained at the Tuskegee Army Flying School, was 24 when he went down over Austria on Dec. 23, 1944, while on a mission.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had been investigating the possibility that human remains and other items found at a crash site in Austria this past summer were Dickson's.

On Friday morning, the DPAA informed his daughter, Marla Andrews, 76, of East Orange, New Jersey, that the remains were those of her father.

"I feel great!" she said in a telephone interview. "I really do feel a relief . . . I had a good crying jag."

Dickson is probably the first missing Tuskegee Airman found since the end of World War II, the DPAA has said.

The heroic pilot was among the more than 900 black pilots who were trained at the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during the war.

He was on his 68th mission and had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for meritorious service.

There were 27 Tuskegee Airmen missing from the war. Now there are 26.

Read more: Tuskegee Airman who went missing during World War II identified 73 years later

Will you be buying Omarosa's book on her time in the White House?

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

It was a foregone conclusion that ousted Assistant to the President, Omarosa Manigault would write a book about her brief time in the Trump White House. Well, that book, 'Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House' is set to be released August 14, 2018.

Here's the book's blurb from Amazon:

The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides a jaw-dropping look into the corruption and controversy of the current administration.

Few have been a member of Donald Trump’s inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned fifteen years—through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account.

A stunning tell-all and takedown from a strong, intelligent woman who took every name and number, Unhinged is a must-read for any concerned citizen.

Now, the book will probably sell very well, but I won't be one of those buying it. I can't in any way support this woman who would sell out the entire African American community and was only in the whole thing for a title, and the money that would come after she served in Trump's administration. I want to read the book, but I won't be paying for it and enriching Omarosa, maybe I'll get it at the local library, borrow someone else's copy, or wait for the Lifetime movie.

Will you buy the book?

All-black team makes history with D.C. Little League championship victory

The Mamie Johnson Little League team has made history. It just became the first all-African American team to win the D.C. Little League championship in the league's 31-year history, CBS Washington, D.C., affiliate WUSA reports.

The youth baseball team is now advancing to the regional tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, after beating Capitol Hill Little League 14-7 in the title game on Tuesday.

The Mamie Johnson Little League team is only the second all-African American team to compete in the championship game.

The team was created in 2015, and named after Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, a Washington, D.C., resident who was the first female pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

The team, made up of mostly 12- and 13-year-olds, celebrated their big win on the field after the game -- but not for long. By Wednesday, they were already back at their home base, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, practicing for next month's regional tournament.

Read more: All-black team makes history with D.C. Little League championship victory

Cullen Jones challenges ‘black people don’t swim’ stereotype

Olympic athlete Cullen Jones defied stereotypes in 2008 when he became the first African American to break a long-course record in swimming in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympic Games.

He's now working to teach more people of color how to swim, while also raising awareness about water safety.

Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair

The California congresswoman could become the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

Rep. Barbara Lee, one of the most outspoken progressive voices in Congress, formally launched her campaign Monday to chair the House Democratic Caucus — a post that would make her the first African-American woman to hold a leadership spot in either major political party.

“When you look at the history of the Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership, African-American women ... we’ve been the backbone of the Democratic Party — we should be in the face of leadership also,’’ Lee told POLITICO in an interview Sunday. Whether it comes to grass-roots issues, or voter mobilization and political activism, she said, black women have long proved they can “lead not only our communities, but lead our country, on the very tough issues facing us.”

Lee, first elected to Congress in 1998 in one of the nation’s most liberal bastions, Oakland and the East Bay’s 13th District, argues she has a long record as a coalition-builder who has dedicated her career to issues of concern to both poor urban and rural voters. As the party prepares for the 2020 election cycle, the California congresswoman said, “these are issues that we can all unify around, like jobs and economic growth,’’ poverty, education and health care.

“The strength of our caucus lies in our diversity of experiences and ideas,’’ Lee said in a letter released Monday to her congressional colleagues announcing her bid. “Whether it’s working across the aisle to enact HIV/AIDS laws, or bringing the Sanders and Clinton campaigns together behind a cohesive and progressive Democratic platform, my career has been dedicated to finding common ground and delivering results.”

Read more: Barbara Lee announces bid for Democratic Caucus chair