Rapid City South Dakota unveils Barack & Sasha Obama statue

Rapid City, S.D., unveiled a life-size statue of former President Obama and his daughter Sasha on Saturday afternoon.

The bronze statue is the latest addition to the town's City of Presidents, which places life-size statues of past U.S. presidents along the streets and sidewalks of Rapid City.

The statue, was constructed by local artist James Van Nuys, and took roughly two years to complete.

Many different designs were pondered over before selecting the one of Pres. Obama and his daughter, Sasha.

The choice settled on an iconic photo of Obama with his younger daughter Sasha as he took the stage at his first inauguration as the country’s first black president.

“The idea of a man and his daughter was meaningful to me because my daughter was literally my best friend,” said artist James Van Nuys, who has designed three other presidential statues.

Rep. Hakeem Jefferies slams Trump for racist attack on 4 Congresswoman of color

Although House leadership and the four congresswomen known collectively as "The Squad," Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) are not seeing eye to eye right now, Rep. Hakeem Jefferies, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus (the fifth leadership spot)) took to Twitter to defend them against a vile and racist attack by Trump.

Trump Tweeted the following:

"So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run," Trump tweeted.

"Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came," the president continued. "Then come back and show us how it is done."

"These places need your help badly, you can't leave fast enough," said Trump. "I'm sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!"

Jefferies responded strongly on Twitter:

Racial arsonist strikes again.

Shut. Your. Reckless. Mouth.

Racist attack on four strongly progressive congresswomen of color will not weaken them.

IT ONLY MAKES US STRONGER.

✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) July 14, 2019

Delta Sigma Theta sorority donated 17,000 meals to Hurricane Barry victims

As Hurricane Barry approached Louisiana, Delta Sigma Theta sorority scrambled Friday to wrap up its national convention early to escape the storm's impacts in New Orleans.

But the service organization and its caterer, Centerplate, weren't about to let the meals that had been prepared for members go to waste. The group donated 17,000 meals to the Second Harvest Food Bank of South Louisiana, which will store them in a cooler through the storm, and then give them to residents who weather Barry, the food bank said Friday in a Facebook post.

"We are delighted that Centerplate donated the food we purchased making it available as a result of us terminating our convention early," the sorority's national president and CEO, Beverly Smith, said in a statement. "With 16,000 attendees and two food functions canceled -- our Sisterhood Luncheon and closing Soiree Celebration -- there was inordinate amounts of food that would have been wasted. Kudos to Centerplate."

Second Harvest Food Bank spokesman Jay Vise thanked the sorority for its donation.

"It's really heartwarming for these ladies ... when their major conference gets canceled, the first thing they thought of was to help other people," Vise said.

Founded in 1913, Delta Sigma Theta is a predominantly black sorority with more than 200,000 members nationwide.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Congressional Black Caucus member to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Primaries go both ways

Queens (NY) Democratic boss and 11-term congressman Greg Meeks took a thinly-veiled jab at fellow Big Apple Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday, urging her to back off her racially-tinged feud with party leaders or face a fight for her political life.

In an interview with the Daily News, Meeks fumed over Ocasio-Cortez’s recent racial beef with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and pushed back against her left-wing allies at Justice Democrats for openly backing insurgent candidates trying to unseat members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

He also said the CBC can play the same game.

In an interview with the Daily News, Meeks fumed over Ocasio-Cortez’s recent racial beef with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and pushed back against her left-wing allies at Justice Democrats for openly backing insurgent candidates trying to unseat members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

He also said the CBC can play the same game.

“Primaries go two ways," Meeks said when asked whether his wing of the party would consider challenging progressive members next year, including Ocasio-Cortez. “If someone picks a fight with somebody else, you fight back. That’s what my parents told me.”

Meeks stressed there weren’t any current plans to challenge Ocasio-Cortez, but left the door open: "If you get in the ring, expect that people are going to start throwing punches.”

The Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee that is closely aligned with Ocasio-Cortez and propelled her to victory in 2018, has already backed primary challenges against CBC members, including 10-term Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.).

Meeks said the Justice Democrats and left-leaning lawmakers may be shooting the party in the foot.

“I would hope that these individuals would realize who the opposition is here,” Meeks said, referring to Republicans. “The focus should be to keep the majority, grow the majority and win the presidency.”

[NY DAILY NEWS]

Black Mayors to Trump : Do Not Circumvent the Supreme Court on the Census Citizenship Question

The African American Mayors Association celebrates that the Supreme Court's decision requiring the Department of Commerce to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census will not be challenged by the Trump Administration.

African American mayors from across the country previously highlighted the danger of including a question like this in a letter to Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross; and director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Steven Dillingham. With the Trump Administration's attempts to circumvent the Court's ruling, AAMA cautions against any and all efforts to target vulnerable populations with citizenship data.

"We were happy to know that the highest Court in the land had struck down a flagrant attempt by the Trump Administration to undermine and undercount millions of people of color making their home in our country. The ruling reaffirmed the rule of law and the checks and balances that make our nation great," said AAMA President, Mayor Hardie Davis, of Augusta, Georgia. "Now is the time for the Trump Administration to comply with the letter and spirit of the ruling to prevent disenfranchisement for the communities we lead."

AAMA commends the advocates who are continuing to fight for a fair and accurate census. Latinos, Afro-Latinos, as well as those from the African and Asian Diasporas, deserve to have resources allocated fairly in their communities and have equitable representation in government. African American mayors will continue to fight to ensure we have an accurate census count and that citizenship data is not used to target vulnerable populations.

About AAMA

The African American Mayors Association (AAMA) is the only organization exclusively representing over 500 African-American mayors across the United States. AAMA seeks to empower local leaders for the benefit of their citizens. The role of the AAMA includes taking positions on public policies that impact the vitality and sustainability of cities; providing mayors with leadership and management tools; and creating a forum for member mayors to share best practices related to municipal management.

SOURCE African American Mayors Association