Baltimore courthouse to be named after late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings

The city of Baltimore will formally name a courthouse after the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings in the first half of 2020.

Democratic Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young unveiled renderings Friday of bronze plaques that will be affixed to the exterior of Courthouse East of the Baltimore Circuit Court. One includes an image and biography of the congressman, and the other reads “Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse.”

"Elijah was a son of Baltimore. He was proud of Baltimore," his widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, said during the unveiling ceremony. "His career as a legal professional started in this courthouse."

Young spokesman James Bentley said the plaques will be installed in the spring or early summer after the city receives approval from the U.S. Department of Interior because the courthouse is a federal building. It was originally a federal courthouse, and still contains a post office.

[SOURCE: Baltimore Sun]

Mike Bloomberg's Economic Justice for Plan Black America: The Greenwood Initative

Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg (Yes, the stop and frisk guy) has released a plan he claims will help African Americans achieve economic (but you notice not social) justice.

He calls that plan the Greenwood Initiative. The plan is named after the section of Tulsa Oklahoma once known as Black wall Street.

Read the plan here: THE GREENWOOD INITIATIVE: ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR BLACK AMERICA

Rutgers University will name its first black president

Rutgers University is set to name its first black president, Jonathan Holloway, provost of Northwestern University and a former Stanford football player, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Holloway will be named president on Tuesday, pending formal approval by the university’s Board of Governors, according to four sources who have knowledge of the selection but were not authorized to speak on the record.

According to his official Northwestern University biography, Holloway received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, where he played on the football team alongside Sen. Cory Booker. He received his Ph. D. in history from Yale University, whose faculty he joined in 1999. Before being named provost of Northwestern in August 2017, he served as the Dean of Yale College.

[Source: NJ.COM]

MLK Book: The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr

If you love the history and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King then the book, The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. must be in your library.

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Created as a living memorial to the philosophies and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this essential volume includes more than 120 quotations from the greatest civil rights leader’s speeches, sermons, and writings selected and introduced by Coretta Scott King.

BUY THE BOOK

Claressa Shields wins junior middleweight title

Claressa Shields, who has already unified two women's world titles at super middleweight and then collected all four major belts to become the undisputed middleweight champion, made history in a boxing match at the Ocean Casino Resort.

Shields, moving down in weight yet again, thoroughly dominated Ivana Habazin en route to a near-shutout decision to win a pair of vacant junior middleweight world title belts in the main event of a Showtime tripleheader.

Shields, who scored a knockdown in the sixth round, won 100-89, 100-90 and 99-89 and then placed a purple crown on her head. ESPN also scored it 100-89 for Shields.

Shields, who still holds the undisputed middleweight title, won a world title in a third weight class in just her 10th bout, setting the record for fewest number of fights needed to win belts in three divisions for a female or male boxer.

"This feels great -- I did it in 10 fights," Shields said. "Now I'm No. 1, the fastest boxer in history to become a three-division world champion. I was [trying to punish her]. I wanted victory."

[SOURCE: ESPN]