Hakeem Jeffries blasts Byron Donalds for his ignorant Jim Crow remarks

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) blasted Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for Donald's inflammatory comments Donalds made regarding Black families' quality of life during Jim Crow-era racial segregation.

Here is what Donalds said:

“One of the things that’s actually happening in our culture that you’re now starting to see in our politics is the reinvigoration of Black family with younger Black men and Black women, and that is also helping to breathe the revival of a Black middle class in America,” Donalds said. “You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together. During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively. And then H.E.W., Lyndon Johnson — you go down that road, and now we are where we are.”

Here is the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies said:

US appeals court blocks Fearless Fund a grant program for Black women-owned businesses

Venture capital fund Fearless Fund cannot resume making grants to Black women-owned businesses, a divided U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday, siding with an anti-affirmative action group that sued over the program.

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the group's discrimination lawsuit was likely to succeed, reversing, opens new tab a judge’s decision that the program should be allowed to continue while the case moves forward.

The 11th Circuit panel, led by Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, an appointee of former Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, concluded that Fearless Fund’s program did not warrant speech protections under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Another Trump appointee, Robert Luck, joined Newsom’s order. Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama-era appointee, dissented, accusing the plaintiffs of pretending to be harmed by the program. The grant initiative had been on hold following an earlier decision from the appeals court.

Fearless Fund had argued to the court in January that it had a constitutional right to express its belief in the importance of Black women to the economy through charity.

Attorneys for Fearless Fund in a statement said Monday's ruling contradicted more than 150 years of civil rights law. They said the decision "is not the final outcome in this case."

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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announces she has pancreatic cancer

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee issued the Following Statement on her having pancreatic cancer:

Ronald S. Rochon Appointed President of Cal State Fullerton

The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Ronald S. Rochon to serve as president of California State University, Fullerton. Rochon currently serves as president of the University of Southern Indiana.

“I am honored to join the Titan community and excited to work alongside the university’s talented faculty and staff to further support the success of its dynamic and diverse student body,” said Rochon. “I look forward to collaborating on strategies that will continue to strengthen Cal State Fullerton’s position as an intellectual and cultural catalyst in Southern California and advance its key role in workforce and economic development for the region.”

Rochon succeeds Interim President Sylvia A. Alva, who has served in the role since August 2023.

“Dr. Rochon is an innovative and student-centered leader who fosters a culture of collaboration and cultivates a community of care at the institutions he has served,” said Wenda Fong, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees. “With a career-long commitment to student success and data-driven decision making, Rochon is an exemplary fit to lead the university and set an ambitious trajectory for CSUF’s future.”

With over 30 years in higher education, Rochon’s academic and professional career has focused on advocating for educational excellence, access and equity. Under his presidency, the University of Southern Indiana (USI) experienced increased growth in the Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s performance funding metrics of overall degree completion, at-risk degree completion, STEM degree completion, student persistence and on-time graduation. He has intentionally guided the university to be a catalyst for change, creating a talented, educated citizenry that meets the leadership, entrepreneurial and workforce needs of today’s society. In 2021, Rochon implemented the university’s third strategic plan, “Accelerating Impact: 2021-2025,” with four overarching goals: improving student success; fostering impactful engagement; elevating visibility and reputation; and strengthening financial viability. This effort led to Rochon securing continued and significant state funding for USI, including the largest single capital appropriation for the university as of 2024.

Prior to his role as president, Rochon served as the university’s provost from 2010 to 2018, overseeing the revamping of USI’s University Core Curriculum and working with faculty to secure the approval of the university’s second doctoral program in educational leadership. In both his USI leadership roles Rochon has engaged in direct fundraising and solicitation of public funds and private gifts to advance institutional priorities.

Rochon came to USI from Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York, where he served as the inaugural dean of the School of Education and associate vice president for Teacher Education and professor. He was director and co-founder of the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, as well as interim director of the School of Education and associate dean of the university’s health and physical education college. His professional teaching career has included work at Texas A&M University, Washington State University and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Rochon’s leadership has fostered service and academic advancement among a multitude of international communities. Through this work, he has maintained a forum for communication and learning that has increased international awareness, acceptance and understanding of cultures from all corners of the globe.

Nationally, Rochon serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association for State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and chair of the Board of Directors for the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), and has served as board chair for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).

In 2021, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb appointed Rochon as commissioner of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and in 2020 he was appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet. He recently was named to Indiana Business Journal Media’s “Indiana 250” list for the third consecutive year. This recognition includes the state’s most influential leaders across many industries, such as education, healthcare and manufacturing. An active civic leader, Rochon serves on the boards of WNIN Public Broadcasting, Deaconess Health Systems and the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, among others.

A first-generation college graduate, Rochon earned a bachelor’s degree at Tuskegee University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His doctoral work was in educational policy studies, with an emphasis on educational history and policy analysis.

Rochon will assume the university presidency on July 22.

American Counseling Association CEO Shawn Boynes Testifies on Need for Improved Mental Health Care for Black Men and Boys

American Counseling Association (ACA) CEO Shawn Boynes, FASAE, CAE, testified at a congressional hearing about the role counselors can play in providing support for Black men and boys and dismantling stigma around mental health concerns amidst increasing rates of suicide and mental illness in this community.

Boynes — along with leaders of the American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Workers, National Alliance on Mental Illness and American Public Health Association — spoke to the Caucus on the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men & Boys, chaired by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). The hearing, “Mayday: Suicide and the Mental Health of Black Men and Boys,” also featured testimonies from former NFL linebacker Marcus Smith, who discussed his personal struggles with mental health, and Grammy-nominated recording artist Raheem Devaughn, who shared his experience as a caregiver for a relative diagnosed with a mental illness.

Suicide rates among Black men are on an alarming rise, but their access to mental health care remains limited. Boynes discussed ACA’s work to increase awareness of mental health among Black men and urged the representatives to support legislation that increases funding for mental health training programs, provides incentives for mental health professionals to work in underserved areas, and expands loan forgiveness programs for individuals pursuing mental health careers.

“Counselors and other mental health providers are stretched thin because the demand for their services has far outpaced their availability to provide care, so we need legislative and community-based solutions to impactfully tackle the problem,” Boynes said in his written testimony.

“Black men make up only 15% of the mental health counselor workforce, a number that needs to increase so people are able to work with a therapist who they can relate to culturally,” he added. “We must address lagging pay, student loan forgiveness and other avenues to open up the pipeline of Black men trained to provide the necessary care for their communities and peers.”

The Commission, created by an act of Congress in 2020, is a nonpartisan federal agency that leads a national discussion on the issues facing Black men and boys. It includes lawmakers, government executives, activists and other stakeholders who will issue policy recommendations to Congress, the White House and federal agencies. The Caucus, which Wilson founded, will explore legislation aimed at implementing those recommendations.