Harvard President Resigns Amid Plagiarism Charges, Conservative Attacks
After fierce criticism of Harvard University’s response to the Hamas attack on Israel and backlash from her congressional testimony spiraled into allegations of plagiarism and doubts about her personal academic integrity, Claudine Gay resigned as Harvard’s president on January 2nd. Gay’s tenure — of just six months and two days — is the shortest in Harvard’s history. She was Harvard’s first Black president and former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Black Leaders, Political Orgs, Sound Alarm About Project 2025
Black organizations and leaders, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), are sounding the alarm about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “policy bible.” The four-pillar initiative includes a detailed blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration – making way for a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.
Waters has been outspoken in her opposition of the 900-page policy. Before the U.S. Presidential election, she shared “The People’s Guide to Project 2025” with the Inglewood Area Ministers Association. Written by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is organized around four pillars: Policy, Personnel, Training, and the 180 Day Playbook. The proposals in the document aim to revamp every aspect of the U.S. government.
Attorney Ben Crump’s Equal Justice Now Honors Justice and Equality Advocates
The non-partisan, nonprofit, social welfare organization Equal Justice, led by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, presented the Equal Justice Now Awards to recognize the trailblazers who have propelled the movement for justice and equality in the United States throughout the past year. This year’s honorees included music icon Al B Sure for Excellence in Healthcare Advocacy; TV producer Mona Scott-Young for the Game Changer Award; and son and father boxing duo Devin and Bill Haney with the Sportsmanship Courage Award
Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Gifted New Home
This year, Juneteenth was even more meaningful for Opal Lee, affectionately known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.” The 97-year-old received the keys to her new house, built where her family’s Fort Worth, Texas, home was burned down by a racist mob 85 years ago.Courtesy of various local Texas organizations including Trinity Habitat for Humanity and Texas Capital, Lee was given the property for $10. The house was built by History Maker Homes and furnished by retailer JCPenney. Lee tried for years to buy the land and rebuild her family home before discovering it had been purchased by Trinity Habitat for Humanity, according to the Associated Press. Until Lee called him, Yager wasn’t aware of the history. On June 19, 1939, White rioters set fire to the Lee’s family home. Now as a retired educator, Lee makes a symbolic two-and-a-half mile walk each year on Juneteenth, a distance that honors the two-and-a-half years it took for news of freedom to reach all enslaved people in the United States.
Civil rights icon Malcolm X gets a day of recognition in Nebraska, where he was born in 1925
In March, the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill to recognize the civil rights icon every May 19, the day Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. The legislation was introduced in a bill by Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney — one of two Black members of the Nebraska Legislature. McKinney added an amendment to a bill that declares Oct. 17 as Missing Persons Day. The amendment recognizes May 19 as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X Day, to allow Nebraska schools to hold exercises to recognize the civil rights icon.
Ed Dwight, America’s First Black Astronaut Trainee, Reaches Space at 90
Ed Dwight, a Black Air Force captain selected in the ’60s for the U.S.’s astronaut trainee program, but who never made it to space because of racism, finally reached space this week at the age of 90.
Dwight was aboard a Blue Origin flight that successfully launched and returned to Earth in Mau, ending a long-awaited journey that began during the Civil Rights Movement. The road to get Black astronauts into space in the U.S. began under President Kennedy. His brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, pressured an Air Force program to make sure its astronaut project had a person of color. After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Dwight was inexplicably stonewalled. It wouldn’t be until 20 years later that the country saw its first Black astronaut.
No Black person has ever made it to the Moon.
Biden Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Kamala Harris for President
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, July 21, ending his bid for reelection after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent’s fitness for office with the election just four months away. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump, and encouraged his party to unite behind her as
Historic Victory for Black Farmers: $2 Billion in Relief Payments Announced
In July, the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) championed a major victory for Black American farmers and their families in the United States. After years of protests, lawsuits, and failed bills, the organization, led by President John Boyd, successfully secured a $2.2 billion payout for discrimination in farm lending from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This historic payout comes as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Section 22007, signed into law by President Biden nearly two years ago. Approximately 43,000 farmers will each receive payouts of up to $500,000, with the average award being $82,000. These funds are meant to provide financial assistance to farmers who have experienced racial and other forms of discrimination from the USDA prior to 2021. This victory marks a significant step towards justice for Black farmers, who have long been fighting against systematic discrimination in the farming industry. The NBFA, founded by John Boyd 40 years ago, has been at the forefront of this fight and has led the way in advocating for change.
Historic Celebration of Black Excellence at the White House
In September, the White House South Lawn transformed into a historic celebration of Black excellence, bringing together actors, authors, television personalities, journalists, writers, activists, and artists.
The Black Excellence Brunch on Friday marked the first celebration exclusively dedicated to honoring the achievements of African Americans that took place on the White House grounds, outside the context of Black History Month, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or Juneteenth.
Guests at the event included inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant, actor Anthony Anderson, rapper David Banner, and actresses Marsai Martin, Kyla Pratt and Erika Alexander. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries were also present.
2024 General Election: Black Women Make History as California and U.S. Senators
For the first time, the U.S. Senate will have two Black women as Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware will join the small but growing sisterhood of Black women who have served in the upper chamber of Congress. Two years ago, the U.S. Senate did not have a single Black woman. Their victories double the number of Black women ever elected to the U.S. Senate, from two to four.
California Sen. Laphonza Butler is the third Black woman to serve in the chamber, but she was not elected — she was appointed in October 2023 to finish out the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term, which ends in January. She did not seek reelection.
