Marilyn Mosby found guilty in federal perjury trial

Former Baltimore County state attorney Marilyn Mosby was found guilty of perjury, leaving her to face a possible ten-year jail sentence.

Yusef Salaam wins New York City Council seat

Yusef Salaam, the author and activist, who was one wrongly imprisoned as a teenager as part of the infamous 1989 "Central Park Five" case, has won a seat on the New York City Council.

Cherelle Parker win's Philadelphia mayoral race

Philadelphia voters have elected Cherelle Parker as the city’s 100th mayor — making her the first woman and the first Black woman to hold the post.

Parker defeated Republican David Oh, another former City Council member, in the reliably Democratic city to become its 100th mayor, succeeding term-limited incumbent Mayor Jim Kenney (D). Parker will also become Philadelphia’s fourth Black mayor.

Gabe Amo wins Rhode Island congressional seat: first Black person to represent Rhode Island

Democrat Gabe Amo has won the special election for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District, holding the seat for his party and making history as the first Black person to represent the state in Congress.

Amo, a 35-year-old former White House staffer, defeated Republican Gerry Leonard, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and political newcomer. Amo is expected to be sworn in by the end of next week.

[SOURCE: WPRI

Stanford University to open Department of African and African American Studies

The Stanford Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Department of African and African American Studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) this week. The department – years in the making – officially opens in January.

The university has had a Program in African and African American Studies (AAAS) for more than 50 years, but long-standing efforts supporting AAAS departmentalization were galvanized by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. “Events since 2020 have made it increasingly apparent that the time has come for Stanford to put our work in AAAS on a permanent footing …” said R. Lanier Anderson, the J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities and professor of philosophy.

In 2021, a task force convened by former Provost Persis Drell and H&S Dean Debra Satz recommended the creation of a department.

Ato Quayson, the Jean G. and Morris M. Doyle Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies and professor of English, will serve as the AAAS department’s inaugural chair. The department will have tracks in African Studies, African American Studies, and Global Black Diaspora Studies. Also, it will provide opportunities for community-engaged learning, for students to study a language pertinent to Black Studies, and for creative expression in collaboration with the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, Quayson said in a presentation to the Committee of Student, Alumni, and External Affairs.

Shortly before the vote approving departmentalization, Quayson pulled out his well-worn original copy of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and gave a moving rendition of the character Baby Suggs’ sermon: “You got to love it. This is flesh I’m talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms I’m telling you.” Trustees enthusiastically applauded both Quayson’s reading and the vote approving creation of the AAAS department.

[SOURCE: STANFORD REPORT]