Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Barack Obama surprises Chicago food bank volunteers

Here's a reminder of how a real United States President carries themselves with dignity, humility, graciousness, and a genuine willingness to helps others.

Former President Barack Obama paid an unannounced visit Tuesday to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where he helped bag potatoes for Thanksgiving meals.

Wearing a Chicago White Sox hat, Obama arrived with bags of donated food and donned latex gloves to work side by side with volunteers at the nonprofit, which helps provide meals to more than 700 food pantries and shelters across Cook County, Illinois.

Rep. Hakeem Jefferies to challenge Rep. Barbara Lee for a democratic leadership position

Two members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in direct competition for a Democratic leadership position, including a young upstart who is bypassing the unwritten rule to wait his turn.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) late entrance into the race for House Democratic Caucus chair pits him against Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former CBC chairwoman who announced her candidacy in June.

The competition is a sign of the CBC’s growing power and the challenges it faces as it expands. But it’s also a symptom of the leadership bottleneck threatening to shake up the entire Democratic Caucus in January.

While relatively obscure, especially compared to the high-profile speaker role, the caucus chair is an important position. In addition to being a launchpad for the future, the job puts the chairperson in the room where decisions are made, giving that member a say in the strategy the Democrats will use as they figure out how to take on President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans in 2019.

Lee and Jeffries represent opposite sides of the country and different generations of the party. Lee, 72, has paid her dues, playing the waiting game before seeking a jump into leadership. But Jeffries, 48, a rising star in the Democratic Party, is already ready to soar. A number of Democrats point to him as a potential future speaker.

That two African-American colleagues are going head to head may be unusual, members say, but it shouldn’t be unexpected within an increasingly diverse Democratic Caucus.

“There’s never a problem when two whites run against each other or two Hispanics run against each other or two Asians run against each other,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said. “So don’t ask me about that.”

Read more: Dem chairman fight pits old guard vs. new generation of black leaders

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Rep. Mia Love loses to Democrat in Utah

Final vote counts Tuesday showed that Democrat Ben McAdams did not jump the gun when he declared victory a day earlier over two-term Republican Rep. Mia Love.

He won by 694 votes, or a margin of 50.129 percent to 49.871. That margin of 0.258 was just barely outside the 0.25 percent that would have allowed Love to request a recount.

Love, the only black female Republican in the House, was expected to issue a statement later about the race. Her staff said she is out of state for Thanksgiving, and would not give any interviews until after the holiday.

McAdams’ victory means House Democrats will hold at least 234 seats as the majority party in January when the new Congress is sworn in.

Marcia Fudge endorses Nancy Pelosi for Speaker

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) endorsed Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Speaker in the next Congress in a surprise move Tuesday, abandoning the idea of challenging her.

Fudge, who huddled with Pelosi in the Capitol on Friday, said Pelosi has offered to restore a defunct subcommittee on elections, and to make Fudge the chairwoman.

The issue of voting rights has been a top priority of members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), which Fudge used to lead, particularly since a 2013 Supreme Court decision scrapped key protections previously provided under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Fudge is vowing to use her new gavel to restore those protections.

"Leader Pelosi has granted me the opportunity to create the record necessary to satisfy the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, so that the protections of the Voting Rights Act will be reinstated and improved,” Fudge said in a statement.

“She has also assured me that the most loyal voting bloc in the Democratic party, Black women, will have a seat at the decision-making table," she added.

"I am now confident that we will move forward together and that the 116th Congress will be a Congress of which we can all be proud. I now join my colleagues in support of the leadership team of Pelosi, [Steny] Hoyer and [James] Clyburn."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Sunday, November 18, 2018

African American 2019 Rhodes Scholars

Elliot F. Gerson, American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust, today announced the names of the 32 Americans chosen as Rhodes Scholars representing the United States. Congratulations to all 32 scholars and here are four African American students who were selected to attend University of Oxford.

Anea B. Moore, Philadelphia, is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania concentrating in law and minoring in Africana Studies. A Truman Scholar, Anea is committed to the needs of low-income families, reflected in a variety of important roles in Philadelphia public schools, for City Council members, and at her university. She is co-president of a non-profit that serves first-generation, low-income (FGLI) college students and co-chaired the largest FGLI student conference in the world. Her sociology research has focused on issues related to gentrification, race, class, and family engagement and well-being. At Oxford, Anea intends to do masters degrees in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and in Comparative International Education.

Lia Petrose, Laurel, Maryland, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Economics with a minor in Chemistry. A Truman Scholar, she has a vision of improving how data is used to facilitate health care delivery. Lia wrote three firstauthored papers in leading medical journals and is currently a research assistant for Dr. Heidi Williams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an undergraduate, she was elected to the executive board of the student government and served as the student member of the Board of Trustees Committee on Academic Affairs. She was born and raised until adolescence in Ethiopia. Lia will read for a B.A. in Computer Science and Philosophy at Oxford.

Leah Crowder, Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona in 2018 with a B.A in Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Throughout her undergraduate career, she maintained a perfect GPA. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in the same program. Leah is researching how to end cyclical violence and move towards peace in areas divided by deep cultural and political differences. She has utilized big data to ascertain a causal relationship between militarized curfews and civilian casualties. Starting in her teenage years, she has worked on the ground in Turkey to advance a variety of peacekeeping efforts. Most recently, she interned at Art Anywhere Association, in Mardin, Turkey, to plan child protection activities in remote villages affected by regional violence. At Oxford, Leah will pursue a D.Phil. in International Relations.

Austin T. Hughes, San Antonio, Texas, is a senior at the University of Iowa triple majoring in English (Creative Writing), Theatre Arts, and Japanese Language and Literature. Austin was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. A Beinecke scholar, he has won numerous awards for his poetry and creative writing at both the university and national level. As Co-President of The English Society, Austin maintained a network of educators, writers, and authors to showcase student literature to campus and beyond. He is a cellist, a cross-country runner, and has written Twilight fanfiction. At Oxford, Austin will read for an M.Phil. in Japanese Studies.