Sunday, May 13, 2018

Kamala Harris says she'll back Booker's legislation to legalize marijuana

California Sen. Kamala Harris said in a tweet Thursday she plans to support her fellow Democratic colleague Cory Booker's legislation, the Marijuana Justice Act to legalize marijuana.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Bernice King Call for Boycott of Waffle House

Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Civil Rights icons Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, is calling for the boycott of Atlanta-based chain Waffle House after a video surfaced of an incident involving a police officer at a location in Warsaw, North Carolina. The video shows an officer choking, then pushing 22-year-old Anthony Wall to the ground. Wall was in formal attire and had just taken his 16-year-old sister to the prom.

King, the CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, took to Twitter Thursday asking people to “stay out of Waffle House until the corporate office” commits to employee training and discussions on racism.

[SOURCE: ATLANTA EATER]

Friday, May 11, 2018

Democrat Tamara Harris is Running for Congress

This is the third part of a series that will focus on African Americans running for office in the U.S. Senate or The House of Representatives on November 6, 2018. A post about any candidate on African American Reports is not an endorsement of anyone unless otherwise stated. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

Tamara Harris is the Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

Tamara Harris is a family advocate who helps families heal when facing challenging circumstances. A mother herself, she coaches and advises clients and their children in the U.S. and internationally on strategies to become better champions for themselves and children, both in their personal and professional lives. Navigating family difficulties is not new to Tamara. In fact, that is one of the reasons she is running for Congress today.

Tamara witnessed first-hand the importance and hardships of healthcare. Her father, who in his younger years worked as a train porter, passed away after a protracted battle in his later years. During the course of his illness, his medical insurance became insufficient and he had to rely upon Medicare and his only daughter to fund his care. Tamara understands that while she was blessed with the ability to care for her father and was supported by many in that care, this is not the case for many families in New Jersey.

She has sat with mothers and students in social service organizations to help them advocate for their mental health or the mental health of their children. Tamara has mentored students in her capacity as an adjunct lecturer at Montclair State University and New York University. She has served in leadership positions for education organizations that assist low-income and minority students. This includes the United Negro College Fund and the New Jersey Advocates for Education, where she raised more than $1 million to fund merit and need based collegiate scholarships for students residing in cities within Essex County. She has also served on the advisory board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson, and Union County in NJ.

Tamara is also an accomplished businesswoman who received her BA and MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She previously worked for the Prudential Asset Management Group and she would later go on to have a successful career in international finance in the Hong Kong offices of Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Her business career taught her the value of fostering innovation and creativity to solve problems.

Tamara has also been deeply involved in the democratic process supporting candidates and organizations at the county, state, and federal level. Now, after hearing from family, friends, colleagues and residents of New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District calling on her to serve, Tamara has decided to use her experience as a family advocate, philanthropist and problem solver to fix Washington.

After 22 years of ineffective representation, Tamara Harris will bring fresh and unique perspective to the way we approach important policy matters. She is running because the diverse peoples of NJ-11 need a representative that will be leader in Washington, not a follower. As she has done throughout her entire career, Tamara will fight to make sure that every New Jersey resident has an opportunity to thrive and will always put working and middle class families first.

Learn more about Tamara Harris' platform here: https://www.tamarafornj.com

CBC Introduces Jobs and Justice Act of 2018 Legislation to help Black Families, Help Ensure Equal Protection Under the Law




The Jobs and Justice Act of 2018 is the Legislative Version of the “We Have A Lot To Lose” Policy Document that the CBC Hand-Delivered to Trump.


Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) – led by CBC Chairman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02) – announced the introduction of the Jobs and Justice Act of 2018, 1,300-page omnibus legislation that would, if passed, increase the upward social mobility of Black families, and help ensure equal protection under the law. The CBC hopes the legislation will serve as a guiding light for any White House, major legislative caucus, or member of Congress who claims to care about the African-American community, other communities of color, and rural communities.
Chairman Richmond said:
“President Trump and the Republican Party he leads would have you believe that our community is doing well because African-American unemployment is at a historic low, which is the result of policies and programs implemented by the Obama Administration. But the African-American unemployment rate is not a good barometer of our community’s success. When African Americans were slaves and sharecroppers, African-American unemployment was 0 percent. But I don’t think anyone would say that our community was doing well then. As a result of racism and discrimination in our country, African Americans still face a number of economic and social barriers that the federal government can and should help our community address since it was and still is complicit in building them. Although we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go, and the Jobs and Justice Act of 2018 will help us get there.”
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald J. Trump asked the African-American community “What do you have to lose?” in reference to the possibilities of a Trump Administration. When the CBC met with President Trump in March 2017, the Caucus answered his question in the form of a 130-page policy document titled, “We Have A Lot to Lose: Solutions to Advance Black Families in the 21st Century.” President Trump and his Administration never responded to the document. In fact, he and his Administration haven’t responded to 99% of the letters that the CBC has sent them.
Since that time, President Trump has taken numerous actions that threaten the African-American community, from proposing massive cuts to programs that help families in need, to failing to do anything to rebuild the bonds between police and the communities they serve. Now, the CBC has turned the “We Have A Lot To Lose” policy document into omnibus legislation. In addition to including bills introduced by almost every member of the CBC, the legislation includes the National Urban League’s Main Street Marshall Plan to address economic and social inequities and injustices.
Highlights from the Bill
Jobs
  •  Invests $100 billion in public schools for physical and digital infrastructure improvements.
  •  Includes the 10-20-30 formula to direct additional resources to communities with a history of high poverty.
  •  Provides tax incentives for hiring young people, veterans, and the unemployed.
  •  Raises the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
  •   Expands access to the New Markets Tax Credit.
  •  Creates local incubators for small businesses and startups.
  •  Strengthens Pell Grant funding.
  •  Invests in emergency relief to address homelessness and increases access to mortgage financing.
  •  Modernizes the HBCU Capital Financing Program.
  •  Provides $7.5 billion dollars to upgrade water infrastructure systems.
Justice

  • Eliminates mandatory minimums for federal drug offenses.
  • Establishes a national commission on solitary confinement.
  •  Bans the box for ex-offenders.
  • Gives ex-offenders access to Pell Grants, TANF, and SNAP.
  • Abolishes the federal death penalty. 
  • Ends racial profiling.
  • Decriminalizes marijuana and establishes a reinvestment fund for communities negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.
  • Makes mid-term and presidential elections federal holidays.
  •  Restores the Voting Rights Act.
  • Provides $7.5 billion dollars to upgrade water infrastructure systems.
  • Clarifies the Dickey Amendment to allow federal research on the intersection of gun violence and mental health.




Wednesday, May 09, 2018

NJ burial site for African American Civil War veterans in disrepair

Dolly Marshall's great-great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran who was buried at Mount Peace Cemetery in Lawnside, New Jersey. The cemetery is one of several sites in the historically African American Camden County community, Mount Peace, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But what Dolly Marshall found on her visit was a far cry from the honor. Years of neglect have taken a toll on the grounds. Many graves have sunken into the earth, headstones toppled, overgrown by wild weeds. The cemetery is littered with trash and leaves.