Herschel Walker files paperwork to run for Senate in Georgia

Herschel Walker filed paperwork on Tuesday to run for Senate as a Republican in Georgia, delivering a clear sign that former NFL star is seeking to challenge Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) next year.

Walker has floated a potential Senate bid for months, prodded on by former President Trump, a friend of Walker's who has indicated that he is all but certain to endorse the football star in the race.

An official campaign announcement could come within days, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Walker’s highly anticipated entrance into the race makes him the most prominent challenger yet to Warnock, who narrowly won a runoff election earlier this year against former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.).

Even before he filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, there were signs that Walker was likely to run. Despite living in Texas for years, Walker registered to vote in Georgia earlier this month using an Atlanta address.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

House approves John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

The House approved the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Tuesday in a party-line vote, kicking the legislation to the Senate — where it faces longer odds of passage.

The bill was approved 219-212, with zero Republicans voting for it.

“Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote.” Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), a main sponsor of the bill, said from the floor during debate on the legislation.

“It was in my district that ordinary Americans peacefully protested for the equal right to vote for all Americans,” Sewell noted, referring to the struggle of the late Lewis and other civil rights activists on the Edmund Pettus Bridge 56 years ago.

The bill approved Tuesday centers around restoring the federal preclearance originally instituted by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was eroded by a 2013 Supreme Court decision.

The preclearance required states and jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination — largely the Jim Crow South — to gain approval from the Department of Justice before implementing any change to voting procedure.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Camp Lejeune plans Montford Point Marine Day ceremony to honor first African American marines

Gen. David Berger, 38th commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, will provide remarks on the legacy and historical impact of the Montford Point Marines, the first African Americans to serve in the Marine Corps, during a ceremony Thursday at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

The 12th annual Montford Point Marine Day Ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. at the Montford Point Marines Memorial in Lejeune Memorial Gardens. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be limited to invited guests only. The public is encouraged to watch the ceremony live online at the Camp Lejeune Facebook Page

According to a release from Camp Lejeune officials, the Montford Point Marines were a group of nearly 20,000 African Americans who served from 1942 to 1949. Prior to 1942, African Americans were barred from enlisting in the Marine Corps.

The first African American Marines were trained at Montford Point Camp, located in Jacksonville as a satellite camp of Camp Lejeune. In 1949, President Harry Truman ordered the racial integration of the military and Montford Point was renamed.

On July 22, 2010, the U.S. Congress passed Senate Resolution 587, which designated Aug. 26 as Montford Point Marine Day. Today, the Montford Point Marine Memorial includes features to honor those who trained at Montford Point Camp.

This year’s ceremony will include a presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to Marine veterans Cpl. Clarence L. Clark, Cpl. Clarence Powell and Pfc. Othelma Shell. There will also be a performance by the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team.

[SOURCE: Carolina Coastal]

Smithsonian acquires rare images by early African American photographers

The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, has purchased a groundbreaking collection of images by some of history's earliest Black photographers.

Pictures from the first African American-owned studios were among more than 280 objects acquired from New York collector Larry J. West, the institution announced Tuesday.

Smithsonian curator John Jacob said in a press statement that spotlighting early African American photographers will help the museum show "an inclusive history of photography, with African Americans among its earliest practitioners, conveying to viewers their contributions as innovators and entrepreneurs."

[SOURCE: CNN]

Barbara Lee documentary 'Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power' now streaming on Amazon Prime and iTunes

Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power, a feature length documentary, tells the complex story of Representative Barbara Lee, a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and economic and racial justice in the US Congress who cut her teeth as a volunteer for the Black Panther Party and was the lone vote in opposition to the broad authorization of military force following the September 11th attacks. In 2001, she issued a strident warning in the House of Representatives: "Let us not become the evil we deplore," and today she continues that clarion call, demanding that Congress stand up to a president who has escalated tensions with numerous foreign governments, while seeding division within his own country.

Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power reveals how many of the challenges faced by Barbara Lee early in her life provided her with the motivation and commitment to improve the lives of others throughout her tenure as an elected representative. With unique access to a sitting member of Congress, this film not only introduces the public to Barbara Lee but to many others such as Senator Cory Booker, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, CNN commentator Van Jones, actor Danny Glover and author Alice Walker who all share insights about what makes Barbara Lee unique as a public servant and as a truth-telling African American woman.

The documentary features interviews with Barbara Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cory Booker, Van Jones, John Lewis, Alice Walke, Ayanna Pressley, Danny Glover.

The movie is directed and produced by Abby Ginzberg (Waging Change, Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa)

'Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power" is now streaming on both Amazon Prime and iTunes.

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