ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS SELECTED AS FIRST WOMAN NEW YORK STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER

New York State Senate Democrats announced they have voted Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D–Yonkers) as the new Senate majority leader, making her the first woman to lead a majority conference in the state legislature.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday issued a statement congratulating Stewart-Cousins on her election.

“Since the beginning of her career in public service, [State Senate Majority] Leader Stewart-Cousins has always been a trailblazer. From being the first African-American woman to serve as director of community affairs in the City of Yonkers, to authoring and passing landmark legislation in the Westchester County Legislature to strengthen gun laws and protect human rights, to taking on local property taxes and fighting for our communities in the State Senate, she is a proven leader and a skilled legislator,” Cuomo said in the statement.

Her colleagues elected Stewart-Cousins to serve as leader of the Senate Democratic Conference in December 2012, which was in the minority at the time, becoming the first female leader of a legislative conference in New York, per the New York State Senate website. She was first elected to the state Senate in 2006 and currently represents Greenburgh, a portion of White Plains, part of New Rochelle, and parts of Yonkers and Scarsdale, the website says.

[SOURCE: CNYBJ]

Cory Booker: I will consider running for president

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker just visited 24 -- count 'em, 24 -- states stumping for Democrats in the midterm elections.

He contributed $686,000 to House and Senate candidates across the nation.

And along the way, New Jersey's dynamic Democrat stopped in all those early presidential primary states, plus a few that look to be big battlegrounds.

A dry run for a potential 2020 bid?

Even Booker wouldn't quarrel with that.

"I will consider running for president," Booker told NJ Advance Media.

"That's something that I will do. There's people in New Jersey who are talking to me about it, across the country that are talking to me about it, so I will consider that."

Booker said he spent the year focused on the midterms, which saw the Democrats win back the House, including capturing four of New Jersey's five Republican-held congressional districts.

Next on his agenda is trying to push legislation across the finish line during the lame-duck congressional session, including a bill to overhaul the criminal justice system that has President Donald Trump's support.

Then, he told NJ Advance Media, he will look at 2020, where he already has banked $4.1 million for his Senate re-election campaign. He figures that will come in earnest during the December holiday season.

Read more: Cory Booker says 'I will consider running for president' after just campaigning for Democrats in 24 states

Marvin Gaye, Gregory Hines honored with 2019 USPS stamps

CHECK OUT THE 2021 BLACK HERITAGE STAMP HONORING AUGUST WILSON HERE: https://www.africanamericanreports.com/2021/07/2021-black-heritage-stamps-honor-august.html

Entertainment icons Marvin Gaye and Gregory Hines will soon be honored with Forever stamps, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced this week.

The late legends will be featured among new commemorative stamps issued in 2019, continuing a USPS tradition started in 1847 of celebrating people, events, and cultural milestones that are unique to U.S. history. Exact release dates for the stamps have yet to be announced.

“The miniature works of art illustrated in the 2019 stamp program offer something for everyone’s interest about American history and culture,” said U.S. Postal Service Stamp Services Executive Director Mary-Anne Penner.

“From legendary poet Walt Whitman to the entertainment genius of Gregory Hines to the majestic beauty of our Wild and Scenic Rivers, this program is diverse and wide-ranging and tells America’s story on stamps.”

The 42nd stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Hines (1946–2003), whose unique style of tap dancing injected new artistry and excitement into a traditional American form.

A versatile performer who danced, acted and sang on Broadway, on television, and in movies like Tap, Waiting to Exhale and White Knights, Hines developed the entertainment traditions of tap into an art form for a younger generation. He is credited with renewing interest in tap during the 1990s. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp, which features a 1988 photograph by Jack Mitchell.

Gaye’s stamp is featured in the Music Icons series. The R&B crooner — best known for songs “What’s Going On,” “Let’s Get It On,” “Sexual Healing” and a slew of early Motown songs like “Heard It Through the Grapevine” — is one of the most influential singers of his generation. The stamp design features a portrait of Gaye inspired by historic photographs.

The stamp pane is designed to resemble a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the pane includes the stamps, brief text about Gaye’s legacy, and the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out the top of the sleeve. Another portrait of Gaye, also inspired by historic photographs, appears on the reverse along with the Music Icons series logo. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp pane with original art by Kadir Nelson.

Customers may purchase stamps through the Postal Store at usps.com/shop, by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), by mail through USA Philatelic, or at a local post office.

Can Stacey Abrams, Beto O'Rourke, or Andrew Gillum win a presidential race in 2020

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Stacey Abrams, Beto O'Rourke, and Andrew Gillum have many things in common. All ran great campaigns in their bids for elected office, all made a footprint on the national political stage, they got people out to vote who usually don't vote on mid-term elections, and they all lost their elections.

Despite that last point there are many Democrats are clamoring for their favorite of the three to run for the office of President of the United States in 2020.

Don't dismiss their potential run for the highest office in the land. There is room and support for them in a Democratic primary as Democrats both old and young are clamoring for something fresh and new. They all have bright political futures as Governors or U.S. Senators if they choose to run for those offices again. There is room and support for them in a Democratic primary as Democrats both old and young are clamoring for something fresh and new.

In my opinion, all three have great strengths:

Abrams has the most inspiring life story and has 10 plus years experience as an elected official. O'Rourke is by far the best fundraiser and has an "Obama" like appeal that younger voters seem to gravitate to. Gillum has the most charisma, has the most experience in elected office, has executive office experience, and is the best natural politician of the three.

But does any of that translate in a winning nationwide campaign? I don't know to be honest with you.

Of the three who do you think could most likely win a primary and then go on to become President of the United States?

survey software

Obama: I 'don't buy' idea that a woman or minority can’t beat Trump in 2020

Former President Obama says he doesn’t believe that Democrats would be making a mistake by selecting another woman or person of color for their presidential nominee in 2020.

“That kind of stuff, I don’t buy," Obama said during a podcast interview with David Axelrod, a CNN political commentator and his former top strategist, when asked if Democrats need a candidate of a certain gender or race to defeat President Trump.

“With respect to going forward, the idea that there’s some demographic or profile of a particular candidate that is the optimal one or the ideal one, that’s just not how I’ve seen politics work,” Obama continued.

“I think people respond to candidates who speak to the moment in some fashion."

His remarks come a month after lawyer Michael Avenatti said in an interview with Time magazine that he believes the 2020 Democratic nominee "better be a white male," though he also added at the time that he wishes it weren't so.

“When you have a white male making the arguments, they carry more weight,” he said. “Should they carry more weight? Absolutely not. But do they? Yes.”

Obama’s remarks also follow comments made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) earlier this month when he said there are “a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American.”

[SOURCE: THE HILL]