Nevada Army and Air Guard gets 1st African American leader

A 32-year Nevada Air Guardsman has been appointed to lead the Nevada Army and Air Guard, becoming the first African American to hold the position in the state’s 154-year history.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed Brig. Gen. Ondra Berry as the state’s highest-ranking military officer on Saturday at the Nevada Air National Guard Base in Reno.

The 60-year-old Berry is a longtime Reno police officer and, most recently, a senior vice president in MGM Resorts International human resources.

Berry, who grew up in Sparks, said he wants to strengthen connections between service members, schools, civilians, nonprofits and local businesses.

Berry replaces Brig. Gen. William Burks who served under three governors.

Trump's 'African American' leaves the Republican Party

Gregory Cheadle, the black man President Donald Trump once described at a rally as “my African American,” is fed up.

After two years of frustration with the president’s rhetoric on race and the lack of diversity in the administration, Cheadle told PBS NewsHour he has decided to leave the Republican party and run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representative as an independent in 2020.

Now, the 62-year-old real estate broker, who supported the Republican approach to the economy, said he sees the party as pursuing a “pro-white” agenda and using black people like him as “political pawns.” The final straw for Cheadle came when he watched many Republicans defend Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen of color, who are all American citizens, to go back to their countries, as well as defend the president’s attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and his comments that Cummings’ hometown of Baltimore is “infested.”

The White House and Trump have fiercely defended the president’s comments as fair criticism of the lawmakers’ liberal policies. But for Cheadle, the incidents were too much. A few weeks ago, he was scrolling through posts written by fellow Republicans, who are his Facebook friends, and reached a breaking point.

“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” said Cheadle, of Redding, Calif., who switched from being an independent to a Republican in 2001. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves.”

“They were sidestepping the people of color issue and saying that, ‘No, it’s not racist,’” he said. “They were saying these people were socialists and communists. That’s what they were saying. And I thought this is a classic case of whites not seeing racism because they want to put blinders on and make it about something else.”

Cheadle said he understands some will think he waited too long to leave the Republican party, even accepting those assertions as “correct.” He said he had held out hope that the Republican party would move to work on challenges specifically facing African Americans like healthcare disparities or black families having less wealth than white families. But, he no longer expects that.

Cheadle said he is especially unhappy with the racial makeup of the president’s judicial nominations. Trump often gets loud applause at campaign rallies for touting how many judges his administration has been able to get confirmed by the Senate. But an Associated Press analysis has found that 91 percent of Trump’s nominees are white, and 81 percent are male.

Cheadle said he wouldn’t use the term “racist” to describe the president but believes he has a “white superiority complex.”

When asked what he would say to critics who think he is leaving the Republican party for publicity, Cheadle said he understands the potential criticism, but that he believes running as an independent is even harder than as a Democrat or Republican because of the lack of party structure. In the end, his decision came down to being disgusted with the president’s words.

“We just haven’t had people called the names publicly that we have had with this administration,” he said. “To stay on this ship now, as a black Republican, I couldn’t do it.”

[SOURCE: PBS NEWSHOUR]

Congressman Payne, Jr. visits Two Newark Facilities to Help Distribute Bottled Water

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. handed out bottled water and discussed Newark’s water crisis with residents at two local facilities Sept. 6. The Congressman spent more than two hours at the Bo Porter Sports Complex and the Boylan Street Recreation Center, where he helped residents get the clean water they needed and talked with them about their water concerns. The visits were part of the Congressman’s commitment to do everything possible to help local communities survive the crisis.

Congressman Payne, Jr. said he understands their concerns because he is one of them.

“As a resident and representative of Newark, I am very concerned about the discovery of elevated levels of lead in Newark’s water supply,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “This is water my family and I drink regularly. Traditionally, Newark has been known for the quality of its water and had been known for some of the cleanest water in the country.”

He said the crisis in Newark is his top priority. He is working with local, state and national officials to solve it as quickly as possible. Congressman Payne, Jr. introduced the Test for Lead Act in Congress to establish stronger tests for lead in school drinking water across the country. Recently, he co-signed and sent letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture to make sure facilities and communities have enough bottled water to distribute until the city’s drinking water is considered safe.

But he wanted to see the situation and talk with affected residents personally. He said the urgency of the issue is one that requires physical as well as political action to get clean water to communities now and then make sure nothing like this tragedy happens in the future, especially when it comes to the safety of the district’s children.

“The greatest threat with this water issue is the health of our children,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “We need to work tirelessly and immediately to guarantee what happened in Flint, MI. doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

Congressional Black Caucus honors 1619 anniversary

Led by African drummers, a parade of Congressional Black Caucus members, including civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, marched into Emancipation Hall on Tuesday to mark the 400th anniversary of the first Africans brought to the English colonies.

“All of our history is what makes this country a great country,’’ said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, noting the nation has been reluctant to embrace all of its history, including slavery.

The ceremony was held in Emancipation Hall, an ornate foyer in the Capitol Visitor Center, named after the slaves who helped build the U.S. Capitol. With a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass only a few feet away, Republican and Democratic leaders cited the work of civil rights activists like Douglass and the contributions of African Americans to the building of the country.

This summer marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of a ship from Angola carrying the first Africans to the English colonies. Across the country, lawmakers, civil rights activists, national park service officials and descendants of enslaved Africans have held ceremonies to remember the country's "original sin" and the impact of chattel slavery.

Later this week, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. will host its annual legislative conference, which will also include programs to recognize the year 1619.

[SOURCE: USA TODAY]

As we remember and honor the 400th Anniversary of all of the enslaved Africans arrival in America, we must never forget the tragedies, successes, and contributions of all of them and all of their progeny. #400YearsLater pic.twitter.com/RlCBiYSviH

— The Black Caucus (@TheBlackCaucus) September 10, 2019

Three children's books for African American children

Many of my readers here at AfricanAmericanReports.com are always on the lookout for children's books featuring characters that look like their children, so I have listed three such books in this post. I hope you, and more importantly, your children enjoy and learn from these books.

Dad, Who Will I Be?

Dad, Who Will I Be? is written by G.Todd Taylor, a former educator and child mental health expert with over 20 years of experience. This book inspires, encourages and educates young readers to be great by introducing to them heroes of color from a number of different professions on an elementary level. Some real-life heroes in the book include Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammed Ali, Mansa Musa, Guion Bluford and Garrett Morgan, W.E.B. Dubois, Tiger Woods and many more. Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu says "This is a fantastic book for children! Children need to have goals and a purpose in life. They need to have their career range expanded. Children need to hear it from their fathers. Garrett truly needs to be commended."

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I Love My Hair!

In this imaginative, evocative story, a girl named Keyana discovers the beauty and magic of her special hair, encouraging black children to be proud of their heritage and enhancing self-confidence.

I Love My Hair! has been a staple in African-American picture books for 20 years, and now has a fresh, updated cover that shines on the shelves!

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CHAMP: Building Character In The City

In this bike-riding adventure, Champ goes on a quest thru his community and learns building blocks of character from everyday heroes. Along the way, Champ meets three heroes that teach him character traits he can begin to use right away.

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