Via Twitter Former President Obama commended MLB for pulling its All-Star Game from Georgia in protest of the state’s new voting restrictions.
Congratulations to @MLB for taking a stand on behalf of voting rights for all citizens. There’s no better way for America’s pastime to honor the great Hank Aaron, who always led by example.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 3, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris released the following statement after an attack at the U.S. Capitol Friday that killed one police officer, William Evans and wounded another.
In an inexplicable act of violence, a brave US Capitol Police Officer, William Evans, was killed in the line of duty while another officer fights for his life. Officer Evans made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Capitol. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones.
Doug and I are grateful for the Capitol Police, the National Guard Immediate Response Force, and all who responded swiftly to the attack. We continue to be proud of the courageous men and women who defend the Capitol, especially during this challenging period.
Major League Baseball announced on Friday that it will relocate the 2021 All-Star Game and MLB Draft, originally scheduled to take place in Atlanta, to a to-be-determined location.
The decision comes a little more than a week after the passage of S.B. 202, a Georgia law that President Joe Biden criticized earlier this week, saying that it will restrict voting access for residents of the state.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement that the decision to move the All-Star Game was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport” and was made after consultation with teams, former and current players, the MLB Players Association and The Players Alliance, among others.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” Manfred said. “In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”
“We are finalizing a new host city, and details about these events will be announced shortly,” Manfred said.
AME Bishop Reginald T. Jackson and other faith and community leaders announced a national boycott of Georgia-based corporations Coca-Cola, Delta and Home Depot over the passage of the state’s new voting law.
The boycott is not expected to take effect until April 7.
The boycott is not something they want to do, but have to do, Jackson said during the press conference that included interfaith leaders, elected officials, civil rights groups and labor union representatives. ”... We cannot and will not support the companies that do not support us in our struggle to cast our ballots and exercise our freedom.”
Jackson said companies can avoid the April 7 boycott by taking several steps, including publicly stating their opposition to the Georgia voting legislation, Senate Bill 202, and calling for legislatures in other states to rescind their actions in introducing elections bills Jackson said would greatly restrict voting. Corporate leaders should also state their opposition to similar legislation in other states and withhold financial support to candidates and parties that vote for and support such legislation, Jackson said.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and Senator Raphael Warnock (GA) introduced H.R. 2198 / S. 1032, a bill previously introduced in the 116th Congress by then-Senator Kamala Harris and Congresswoman Clarke, to direct the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain a statue of Shirley Chisholm for placement in the United States Capitol.
In 1968, Shirley Chisholm was elected to represent New York’s 12th District, the heart of Brooklyn, in the United States House of Representatives. In doing so, she became the first Black woman to serve in Congress.
“Shirley Chisholm fought tirelessly from her first day in the New York assembly to her last in the United States House of Representatives and beyond to deliver justice and equality to all Americans. Next year will mark 50 years since her historic campaign for the American presidency began. Today, our country has a Black woman serving in our Executive Branch. We need to show young people this is not something that happened by accident. It took passion and dedication. It took someone who was unbought and unbossed,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “Honoring Shirley Chisholm with a statue in the halls of the Capitol does more than memorialize her life. It proves to the millions of Black girls and women in this country that if they achieve, if they strive for greatness, if they better their country and this world, they too may be honored eternally in the United States Capitol. Chisholm was not just the first Black woman to hold a seat in Congress, she was the first Black woman and the first Caribbean American woman to hold my seat in Congress. She showed millions of Black children what was possible. She showed me what was possible. For this and countless other reasons, Congress should honor Chisholm’s life and living legacy and her contribution to advancing civil and human rights by among other defining figures in our nation’s history.”
“As the first Black women ever elected to Congress and one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Shirley Chisholm wasn’t just a trailblazer, she was an architect of the progress our nation has made toward justice and equality. Always speaking truth to power, Congresswoman Chisholm pushed our nation to secure the blessings of liberty for all of its citizens, and the rich legacy of her work and influence is imbedded across our country, all the way up to the White House. It is only fitting for a statue of Shirley Chisholm to reside in the halls of Congress, the institution she changed forever with her wit, passion, vision, and determined leadership,” said Senator Raphael Warnock.
Today, the United States Capitol houses one full-length statue of a Black woman, that of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Within the year, it is expected to honor Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council for Negro Women, with her own full-length statue. Beyond these two statues, there are no current plans to memorialize Black women in this manner in the Capitol.
