Thomas Ellis, a Tuskegee Airman, is dead at 97

Former Sgt. Maj. Thomas Ellis, one of six surviving Tuskegee Airmen in San Antonio, died Jan. 2 of a stroke in a local hospital. He was 97.

A draftee, he served as a top administrator with the first all-black Army Air Forces unit and was proud of the unit’s record — 15,533 sorties, 112 aerial kills, three Presidential Unit Citations and 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Known as approachable and easygoing, even with strangers, Ellis also chafed at the racism African Americans endured from white officers during the war and knew the importance of proving that the 332nd Fighter Group was up to the job.

“He was very opinionated, very outspoken,” said Rick Sinkfield, national spokesman for Tuskegee Airmen Inc., which has 1,400 members across the country, around 20 of them pilots from the legendary unit. "He realized he was in the segregated military at the time and so he was very aware all eyes were on those guys to do well.

Ellis will be buried with full military honors at 9 a.m. Friday in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Ellis entered the Army as two-thirds of all Americans did, as a draftee. His daughter, Janice Stallings, said he entered the service in 1942 and was transferred to the Army Air Forces.

Ordered to Tuskegee Army Airfield, Ellis was the only enlisted member in the newly activated in the 301st Fighter Squadron, rising to staff sergeant and becoming an integral member of the 332nd Fighter Group, serving under then-Col. Benjamin O. Davis, who eventually became an Air Force general.

They deployed to Italy, where Ellis earned seven battle stars and left the Army as a sergeant major.

[SOURCE: STARS AND STRIPES]

Cory Booker and Kamala Harris join Senate Judiciary Committee

Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California have been appointed to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They become just the second and third African-Americans to serve on the committee in its 200-plus-year history.

Democrats had to replace Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct. They also picked up a spot with Doug Jones' victory in last month's Alabama Senate race.

The Congressional Black Caucus had been urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to appoint one of its members to the committee.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, the group's chairman, says, "the experience and expertise they bring to the committee will be beneficial for all Americans, especially those disproportionately targeted by the criminal justice system."

[SOURCE: WSBTV]

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, ends her campaign for the Democratic nomination for Maryland governor

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) has been hospitalized for treatment of a bacterial infection, his office confirmed Friday hours after his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, ended her campaign for the Democratic nomination for Maryland governor.

Cummings was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Dec. 29 with a bacterial infection in his knee, according to a statement released by his office. Doctors drained the infection Friday during a “minor procedure,” according to the statement, and added that he is “resting comfortably and expects a full recovery.”

Rockeymoore Cummings, a policy consultant, cited “personal considerations” in dropping out of the race Friday.

Rockeymoore Cummings, the second woman and the last of eight candidates to enter the crowded race, launched her campaign three months ago.

“Making a positive and direct contribution to the state of Maryland and to our nation was my greatest motivating factor for stepping into the public arena,” Cummings said in a statement. “Unfortunately due to personal considerations, I am suspending my bid for governor of Maryland.”

“Making a positive and direct contribution to the state of Maryland and to our nation was my greatest motivating factor for stepping into the public arena,” Cummings said in a statement. “Unfortunately due to personal considerations, I am suspending my bid for governor of Maryland.”

Rockeymoore Cummings has worked in politics as a staffer on Capitol Hill and for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation but was not widely known in state politics. The bid for governor was her first run for public office. As a small-business owner, Rockeymoore focused her campaign on addressing economic inequality.

[SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST]

Tavis Smiley returning with new inspirational series

Less than a month after PBS dropped Tavis Smiley's talk show following reported inappropriate relationships with subordinates, Smiley on Monday announced a deal to go back to work with a new series about inspirational stories.

The program, The Upside With Tavis Smiley, will be streamed online and shown on The Word Network, a religious-oriented cable and satellite channel directed at black viewers.

By fashioning a new program focusing on inspirational stories instead of more general interest news and entertainment, Smiley will sidestep the issue of whether his downfall would make celebrities reluctant to be interviewed by him. By striking a digital distribution deal with the media company AerNow and a little-watched cable network, he also will be much less visible.

But Smiley said he believed that going digital positions him well for the future. He also said he will attract a younger audience than he was getting at PBS, and that he also has struck a deal for international distribution for The Upside and his production company's inventory of interviews that he conducted in the past.

[SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER]

Don’t be so quick to dismiss an Oprah Winfrey presidential run in 2020

After Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes speech conversation has reached a fever pitch of an Oprah run for presidency in 2020. While there are many reasons that a run would be tough there are also many reasons why Oprah could do it. I wouldn't dismiss a Oprah 2020 run so easily. Listen to my 2 minute explanation below:

Don’t be so quick to dismiss an Oprah Winfrey presidential run in 2020