Viola Davis speaks up for women and girls of color at Women's March

Actress Viola Davis speaks up for all women, especially women of color and of her own experience of sexual abuse at the Women's March in Los Angeles. Watch her full speech below:

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: Local government will remain open during shutdown

Washington D.C. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called a news conference from the National Mall Friday morning to assure residents the District government would remain open and continue to provide uninterrupted service.

“Regardless of whether or not the federal government shuts down, D.C. government will be open for business,” Bowser said.

City officials reiterated Friday a potential shutdown would have no effect on city trash collection, traffic monitoring, first responders and public safety activities.

And Bowser said she has called on her agencies “where we are able, to step in for the federal government.”

D.C. Department of Public Works Director Chris Shorter said the District would be collecting trash on the National Mall and 126 other national parks throughout D.C. and servicing 372 litter cans on federal land throughout the city during a shutdown.

“While we are picking up the slack for the federal government, I want to assure all District residents that the city services that they count on, such as trash, recycling collections as well as parking enforcement will continue as normal,” Shorter said.

Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donohue said the extra work for trash collection on federal land would amount to about $100,000 per week in personnel costs. Bowser said the city will be tracking those costs and plans to seek reimbursement from the federal government.

[SOURCE: WTOP]

Former RNC chair: 'This shutdown rests at the feet of the GOP'

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele says that the GOP is to blame for the government shutdown after lawmakers missed the deadline to pass a funding bill late Friday.

"Despite the rhetorical effort to paste Democrats with 'Schumer's Shutdown' and to redefine what constitutes majority control of the Senate ('60'? Really?), the fact remains that this shutdown rests at the feet of the GOP and it appears a majority of Americans agree," Steele told Politico.

Steele, who chaired the RNC from 2009-2011, before former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, called the shutdown "pitiful" and said it "certainly could have been avoided."

The former Republican Party chief blamed President Trump for sinking a potential deal, saying Trump "wound up negotiating against himself by taking a potential agreement off the table."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Facebook appoints first African American to its Board of Directors

Facebook announced today the addition of Kenneth I. Chenault, CEO of American Express, to its board of directors. His appointment becomes effective Feb. 5, 2018.

“I’ve been trying to recruit Ken for years,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a press release. “He has unique expertise in areas I believe Facebook needs to learn and improve — customer service, direct commerce, and building a trusted brand. Ken also has a sense of social mission and integrity I admire and the perspective that comes from running an important public company for decades.”

Chenault, who joined American Express in 1981, has been chairman and CEO of the massive financial services company since 2001. In addition to serving on Facebook’s board, Chenault serves on the boards of IBM, Procter & Gamble, the Harvard Corporation and others.

Unlike Facebook’s other board members, Chenault is black. In fact, Chenault is the first black person to serve on Facebook’s board of directors.

“I’m delighted to join the board and look forward to working with Mark and the other directors as Facebook continues to build communities that help bring people closer to friends, family and the world around them,” Chenault said in a press release.

[SOURCE: TECHCRUNCH]

Congressional Black Caucus Introduces Resolution to Censure Trump for Racist Comments

Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the House Judiciary Committee – led by CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02) and Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10) respectively – introduced a resolution to censure President Trump for the racist “shithole” comments he made about Haiti and African countries during a bipartisan January 11, 2018, meeting on American immigration policy. The resolution currently has nearly 150 Democratic co-sponsors.

Specifically, the resolution censures President Trump for the following:

·         Questioning whether Haitians needed to be included in the compromise. “Haitians, why do we need more Haitians? Take them out,” President Trump said.

·         Referring to African countries as “shitholes” or “shithouses;” and

·         Suggesting that instead of accepting immigrants from predominately black Haiti and African countries, the United States should instead allow more immigration from predominately white countries like Norway.

Joint Statement from CBC Chairman Richmond and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Nadler:

“We were deeply disturbed and offended by President Trump’s remarks regarding Haiti and African countries. The countries he called ‘shitholes’ produce immigrants that are remarkable and make significant contributions to our country. A high percentage of those immigrants have college degrees and when they get here they create businesses and jobs.

“These remarks have compelled us to prepare a resolution of censure with our colleagues, to condemn President Trump for his racist statements. This censure resolution is important because America is a beacon of hope. We have to show the world that this president does not represent the real feelings of most of the American people which is part of the reason why he lost the popular vote.

“The President’s bigoted fearmongering is not acceptable and his remarks completely warrant total condemnation and censure from Congress. American immigration policy cannot and should not be guided in any way, shape or form by racism.  

“We will be asking Republican Leadership to bring our resolution of censure up for swift consideration and approval. Congress must speak with one voice in condemning these offensive and anti-American remarks. There is no excuse for it.”

In addition to Chairman Richmond and Ranking Member Nadler, co-sponsors include House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn, House Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

Constituents can become “community co-sponsors” of the resolution by clicking here.

In August, a majority of the CBC and House Judiciary Democrats co-sponsored a resolution to censure President Trump for his “both sides” response to the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. That resolution was led by Ranking Member Nadler, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), a House Judiciary Committee member, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), a CBC member.