Trump's 'African American' leaves the Republican Party

Gregory Cheadle, the black man President Donald Trump once described at a rally as “my African American,” is fed up.

After two years of frustration with the president’s rhetoric on race and the lack of diversity in the administration, Cheadle told PBS NewsHour he has decided to leave the Republican party and run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representative as an independent in 2020.

Now, the 62-year-old real estate broker, who supported the Republican approach to the economy, said he sees the party as pursuing a “pro-white” agenda and using black people like him as “political pawns.” The final straw for Cheadle came when he watched many Republicans defend Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen of color, who are all American citizens, to go back to their countries, as well as defend the president’s attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and his comments that Cummings’ hometown of Baltimore is “infested.”

The White House and Trump have fiercely defended the president’s comments as fair criticism of the lawmakers’ liberal policies. But for Cheadle, the incidents were too much. A few weeks ago, he was scrolling through posts written by fellow Republicans, who are his Facebook friends, and reached a breaking point.

“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” said Cheadle, of Redding, Calif., who switched from being an independent to a Republican in 2001. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves.”

“They were sidestepping the people of color issue and saying that, ‘No, it’s not racist,’” he said. “They were saying these people were socialists and communists. That’s what they were saying. And I thought this is a classic case of whites not seeing racism because they want to put blinders on and make it about something else.”

Cheadle said he understands some will think he waited too long to leave the Republican party, even accepting those assertions as “correct.” He said he had held out hope that the Republican party would move to work on challenges specifically facing African Americans like healthcare disparities or black families having less wealth than white families. But, he no longer expects that.

Cheadle said he is especially unhappy with the racial makeup of the president’s judicial nominations. Trump often gets loud applause at campaign rallies for touting how many judges his administration has been able to get confirmed by the Senate. But an Associated Press analysis has found that 91 percent of Trump’s nominees are white, and 81 percent are male.

Cheadle said he wouldn’t use the term “racist” to describe the president but believes he has a “white superiority complex.”

When asked what he would say to critics who think he is leaving the Republican party for publicity, Cheadle said he understands the potential criticism, but that he believes running as an independent is even harder than as a Democrat or Republican because of the lack of party structure. In the end, his decision came down to being disgusted with the president’s words.

“We just haven’t had people called the names publicly that we have had with this administration,” he said. “To stay on this ship now, as a black Republican, I couldn’t do it.”

[SOURCE: PBS NEWSHOUR]

Congressman Payne, Jr. visits Two Newark Facilities to Help Distribute Bottled Water

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. handed out bottled water and discussed Newark’s water crisis with residents at two local facilities Sept. 6. The Congressman spent more than two hours at the Bo Porter Sports Complex and the Boylan Street Recreation Center, where he helped residents get the clean water they needed and talked with them about their water concerns. The visits were part of the Congressman’s commitment to do everything possible to help local communities survive the crisis.

Congressman Payne, Jr. said he understands their concerns because he is one of them.

“As a resident and representative of Newark, I am very concerned about the discovery of elevated levels of lead in Newark’s water supply,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “This is water my family and I drink regularly. Traditionally, Newark has been known for the quality of its water and had been known for some of the cleanest water in the country.”

He said the crisis in Newark is his top priority. He is working with local, state and national officials to solve it as quickly as possible. Congressman Payne, Jr. introduced the Test for Lead Act in Congress to establish stronger tests for lead in school drinking water across the country. Recently, he co-signed and sent letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture to make sure facilities and communities have enough bottled water to distribute until the city’s drinking water is considered safe.

But he wanted to see the situation and talk with affected residents personally. He said the urgency of the issue is one that requires physical as well as political action to get clean water to communities now and then make sure nothing like this tragedy happens in the future, especially when it comes to the safety of the district’s children.

“The greatest threat with this water issue is the health of our children,” said Congressman Payne, Jr. “We need to work tirelessly and immediately to guarantee what happened in Flint, MI. doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

Congressional Black Caucus honors 1619 anniversary

Led by African drummers, a parade of Congressional Black Caucus members, including civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, marched into Emancipation Hall on Tuesday to mark the 400th anniversary of the first Africans brought to the English colonies.

“All of our history is what makes this country a great country,’’ said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, noting the nation has been reluctant to embrace all of its history, including slavery.

The ceremony was held in Emancipation Hall, an ornate foyer in the Capitol Visitor Center, named after the slaves who helped build the U.S. Capitol. With a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass only a few feet away, Republican and Democratic leaders cited the work of civil rights activists like Douglass and the contributions of African Americans to the building of the country.

This summer marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of a ship from Angola carrying the first Africans to the English colonies. Across the country, lawmakers, civil rights activists, national park service officials and descendants of enslaved Africans have held ceremonies to remember the country's "original sin" and the impact of chattel slavery.

Later this week, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. will host its annual legislative conference, which will also include programs to recognize the year 1619.

[SOURCE: USA TODAY]

As we remember and honor the 400th Anniversary of all of the enslaved Africans arrival in America, we must never forget the tragedies, successes, and contributions of all of them and all of their progeny. #400YearsLater pic.twitter.com/RlCBiYSviH

— The Black Caucus (@TheBlackCaucus) September 10, 2019

Three children's books for African American children

Many of my readers here at AfricanAmericanReports.com are always on the lookout for children's books featuring characters that look like their children, so I have listed three such books in this post. I hope you, and more importantly, your children enjoy and learn from these books.

Dad, Who Will I Be?

Dad, Who Will I Be? is written by G.Todd Taylor, a former educator and child mental health expert with over 20 years of experience. This book inspires, encourages and educates young readers to be great by introducing to them heroes of color from a number of different professions on an elementary level. Some real-life heroes in the book include Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammed Ali, Mansa Musa, Guion Bluford and Garrett Morgan, W.E.B. Dubois, Tiger Woods and many more. Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu says "This is a fantastic book for children! Children need to have goals and a purpose in life. They need to have their career range expanded. Children need to hear it from their fathers. Garrett truly needs to be commended."

BUY THE BOOK

I Love My Hair!

In this imaginative, evocative story, a girl named Keyana discovers the beauty and magic of her special hair, encouraging black children to be proud of their heritage and enhancing self-confidence.

I Love My Hair! has been a staple in African-American picture books for 20 years, and now has a fresh, updated cover that shines on the shelves!

BUY THE BOOK

CHAMP: Building Character In The City

In this bike-riding adventure, Champ goes on a quest thru his community and learns building blocks of character from everyday heroes. Along the way, Champ meets three heroes that teach him character traits he can begin to use right away.

BUY THE BOOK

Thousands of Students are in College This Year Thanks to UNCF and its Donors

As the academic year launches in earnest for 2019-2020, UNCF (United Negro College Fund) has announced it is providing approximately $90 million in funding this year through more than 10,000 individual scholarship awards to both undergraduate and graduate students across almost 400 programs, internships and fellowships. Last year a similar level of support went to more than 7,200 students attending more than 1,100 colleges and universities, including most historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), throughout the U.S. UNCF is the largest provider of college scholarship funds and educational programs for students of color across the United States.

“None of our funding is provided by the government, and all is raised each year by our dedicated, hard-working fundraisers and UNCF volunteers,” said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF president and CEO. “We are able to touch the lives of so many talented and deserving students across the nation because we deliver on what we promise: a better future for all Americans by supporting HBCUs and their students.”

UNCF’s national impact—75 years of student and HBCU support and securing more than $5 billion in donations—is made possible through thousands of private donations, large and small, from individuals, corporations, foundations and other partners across the spectrum of philanthropy. Top corporations, foundations, such as Lilly Endowment, Charles Koch and Fund II, and well-known supporters including Kevin Hart and Janet Jackson all have underwritten UNCF scholarships. The scholarships donors create are then administered by a small UNCF team dedicated to providing start-to-finish support that delivers vital learning experiences and ensuring high college graduation rates.

That dedication pays off: UNCF African American scholarship recipients earn college degrees at substantially higher rates than their African American counterparts who don’t receive help from UNCF—70% to 41%.

“This is a story we need to tell, and often goes unnoticed. Our Scholarships and Programs department focuses on our scholarship recipients so that they receive the vital support they need to succeed as college students,” said Larry Griffith, senior vice president, programs and student services, UNCF. “Student success is the ultimate dividend paid to all the donors who make our work possible.”

Lomax added, “While we have such great support from our current scholarship donors, there is always a funding gap. For every 10 students who ask us for help, we are only able to fund one of them, leaving the other nine talented scholars looking for ways to finance their college education. UNCF always needs new donors and scholarship opportunities.”

For more information on UNCF’s scholarship unit, to fund a scholarship or learn more about student achievement, please visit UNCF.org/scholarships. Follow UNCF on social media @UNCF #UNCF.

About UNCF

UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.