On the 58th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, marchers focused on voting rights. Voting rights have reemerged as a somewhat unexpected political battlefield as Republicans across the country pass new laws placing barriers in front of the ballot box.
While about 37,000 workers were laid off or furloughed at media companies like the Los Angeles Times, Condé Nast, The Dallas Morning News, Gannett, McClatchy, National Public Radio, and VOX, the NNPA added staff and expanded services to NNPA member publishers across the nation.
Lawmakers are seeking to honor Officer Goodman for his actions that may have saved the lives of many people, including members of Congress, during the deadly insurrectionist attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. “He’s a hero. The United States Capitol was under attack by armed, violent extremists, and Officer Eugene Goodman was the only thing standing between the mob and the United States Senate,” Florida Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist declared.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Chair of the House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee, recently introduced a bill (H.R. 8595) to invalidate Executive Order 13950 and preserve diversity and inclusion training programs at federal departments and agencies as well as in the private sector.
According to the Census Bureau post-enumeration survey, 800,000 African Americans went uncounted. What does this mean? It means once again, the voice of African Americans was denied. Many programs that impact African Americans are based in whole or part on data derived from the Census. History proves the disenfranchisement of Black people socially, politically and financially. Another ten years cannot pass before we realize how vital the United States Census is to the United States democracy.
In 1965, Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led what was planned as a peaceful 54-mile march through Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. The march, a protest of the discriminatory practices and Jim Crow laws that prevented African Americans from voting, would be remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday,” one of the most dramatic and violent incidents of the American Civil Rights Movement.
“It breaks my heart to know that 5-year-old children are contemplating life and death, I just…I’m sorry. That one is tough for me. So, I’m here to appeal to you, because this is a national crisis. When I hear of kids going into bathrooms, cutting themselves, you’re supposed to feel safe in school,” Henson told the members of Congress and those in the audience in a hearing room on Capitol Hill in Washington.