Greene County Democrat

Tag: Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)

  • Newswire : Undeterred, Black Democrats staunchly defend Biden amid calls for him to drop out of race

    President Biden meeting with Congressional Black Caucus in the Oval Office in February 2024

    Editors at NewsOne

    
Black voices are conspicuously missing among the growing voices of prominent House Democrats calling for President Joe Biden to drop out of the race following an unfortunate debate against Donald Trump nearly two weeks ago.
    In fact, Black Democrats are the ones who are most staunchly defending Biden, 81, and urging Party unity amid mainstream media reports amplifying that possibility more than the calls for Trump to also drop out of the race after being convicted of 34 felonies.
    On Monday, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) held a call with Biden to express their confidence as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. “None of the members who attended the virtual meeting expressed any doubts to the president about his electability or said he should step aside,” the New York Times reported. Also on Monday, CBC Chair and Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford said in a statement that “Biden is the nominee.”
    That came one day after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted a similar call with fellow House Democrats to help convince them to keep supporting Biden’s candidacy. Jeffries told the Times that he “has not changed” his opinion about Biden’s candidacy.
    “I made clear publicly, the day after the debate, that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket,” Jeffries said.
    Over the weekend, longtime California Congresswoman Maxine Waters displayed the type of loyalty to Biden and the Democratic Party that has become emblematic of Black voters for decades.
    “I don’t care what anybody says — it ain’t going to be no other Democratic candidate,” Waters told attendees at the Essence Fest in New Orleans this past weekend. “It’s going to be Biden.”
    South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, largely seen as Biden’s closest adviser who is Black, has also spoken in no uncertain terms about the president’s reelection bid.
    Beyond Congress, Black Democratic leaders like former President Barack Obama and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus have expressed their support for Biden to remain in the race.
    That same kind of ardent defense contrasts with at least nine House Democrats — all of whom are not Black — reportedly calling for Biden to step aside. Washington State Rep. Adam Smith said on Monday that Biden should drop out “as soon as possible” and that “there would be a huge sigh of relief amongst just about every Democrat in the House” if he did so.
    Biden, for his part, has been adamant about remaining in the race.
    The unwavering support from Black lawmakers for the president comes as a new poll found that Vice President Kamala Harris would fare better in an election against Trump than Biden. The poll also found that other politicians whose names have been floated as potential candidates replacing Biden on the Democratic ticket – Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom – would lose against Trump. Whitmer has said she wouldn’t run.
    On the flip side, calls have grown for Harris to be the Democratic nominee in the aftermath of the debate late last month.
    Reuters, citing “seven senior sources at the Biden campaign, the White House and the Democratic National Committee with knowledge of current discussions on the topic,” reported last week that Harris, 59, is the “top alternative” presidential candidate if Biden steps aside.
    Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Julián Castro, who served in President Barack Obama’s administration with Biden, also called on the president to allow a “stronger Democratic candidate” to run for the Party’s nomination.
    “Defeating Donald Trump is too important for Democrats to do nothing,” Castro posted last week in a thread on X, formerly Twitter. “With the understanding that the stakes are so high, President Biden should make the difficult decision to withdraw from the race.” Castro added that now is the time to act, noting that “Time is running out.”
    Castro floated Harris’ name as a possible replacement who he said has “a better chance of winning” against Donald Trump than Biden. That same sentiment was also expressed by Michael Arceneaux, whose new op-ed for NewsOne makes the case for Harris to be the nominee.
    “Biden can spend the next week pleading his case. But if he fails, he should reconsider being the bridge candidate he promised to be and step aside for his running mate,” Arceneaux wrote.
    Concerns remain about Biden’s candidacy regardless, with longtime Democratic strategist James Carville predicting that the president will drop out of the race “Whether he is ready to admit it or not.” Carville recommended in a New York Times op-ed for Democrats to have “a plan” in place when that happens.

  • Newswire : Hundreds attend Airman Roger Fortson’s funeral

    Airman Roger Fortson with his little sister
    (TriceEdneyWire.com/BlackMansStreet.Today) – Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues joined Roger Fortson‘s family, friends, and others at a suburban Atlanta megachurch on Friday to pay their final respects to the Black senior airman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home earlier this month by a sheriff’s deputy.
    People lined up well before the start of the service at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest to file past the open coffin and say their goodbyes to Fortson, who was shot six times by a deputy responding to a May 3 call about a possible domestic violence situation at Fortson’s apartment complex in the Florida Panhandle. He was 23.
    Fortson’s face and upper body were visible in his Air Force uniform, with an American flag draped over the lower part of the coffin. After viewing the body, many mourners paused to hug one another.
    “As you can see from the sea of Air Force blue in front of me, I am not alone in my admiration of Senior Airman Fortson,” Col. Patrick Dierig told mourners.
    “We would like to take credit for making him great, but the truth is that he was great before he came to us,” said Dierig, who commands the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Florida, where Fortson was stationed.
    Fortson grew up in the Atlanta area before he joined the Air Force. He was a senior airman who served in overseas combat zones and was stationed at Hurlburt when the deputy killed him.
    The funeral came a day after Fortson’s mother vowed to get justice for her son.
    At a news conference held by the family and their lawyer, Ben Crump, Chantemekki Fortson spoke glowingly about how her son had always stayed on a positive path and had never been in trouble or shown signs of violence.
    The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office was responding to a reported disturbance between a man and woman in the apartment building, and a responding deputy shot Fortson, who was Black, multiple times in the chest, according to police radio communications. When the deputy arrived, Fortson was seated at a table in his home; he was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend, discussing Cinco de Mayo.
    The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Thursday called on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to release its findings on the police shooting of Fortson. 
    “Senior Airman Fortson was a son, brother, friend, and patriot who should still be with his family today,” the CBC said in a statement. “He was an Air Medal recipient who served our nation honorably, and we are forever grateful for his heroism and service

  • Newswire: Joint Economic Committee and Congressional Black Caucus release new analysis highlighting economic progress and socioeconomic barriers facing Black Americans

     
    Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty

    Washington, D.C. — In recognition of Black History Month and in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) and the CBC released a new analysis of the impact of economic trends and barriers on Black Americans.

    State and national data spanning the last 50 years highlight significant areas of economic progress among Black Americans. However, the data also make clear the persistence of structural and economic barriers facing Black workers and families that result in disparities across broad socioeconomic indicators and outcomes.
    According to the analysis:
    • Black child poverty rates have been cut by nearly half since the 1980s, and the share of Black Americans living below the poverty line reached the lowest level since federal data collection began in 1959.
    • High school completion rates have risen significantly, and notably, the Black-white racial gap in high school graduation has nearly disappeared: In 2019, less than 6 percent of Black high school students dropped out of high school.
    • The share of Black adults with college degrees has more than doubled since 1990.

    However, despite this progress:
    • White households have eight times the wealth of Black households, a result of historical disparities in asset ownership, unemployment, wages and intergenerational wealth transfers.
    • Black households earn just 62 cents for every dollar earned by white households.
    • Black Americans have consistently experienced unemployment rates that are nearly twice that of white Americans.
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    Additionally, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have disproportionately impacted Black workers and families, exacerbating existing gaps and threatening decades of progress.
    Investments to improve job quality and raise wages, lower household costs and remove barriers to wealth-building are key to addressing racial inequality and advancing shared prosperity.
    “We recognize the contributions of Black Americans and work to confront structural barriers throughout the year, and Black History Month presents a specific opportunity to shine a light on both the progress to address racial disparities and the systemic racism that remains entrenched in our society and in our economy,” said JEC Chairman Don Beyer.

    “I am pleased to partner with Chairwoman Beatty and the Congressional Black Caucus on this important work, which makes clear the progress that has been made and the imperative that we in Congress do more to promote racial equality. In addition to directly harming Black workers and families, the effects of discrimination and inequities in income, wealth, health and education restrict the pathways to stronger and broad-based economic growth. We have before us a blueprint of the work we must do to build a more inclusive economy that values and honors the work of Black Americans.”
    Added Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty, “As Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, a member of the Joint Economic Committee, and the first Chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, I applaud the efforts made to compile this critical report.
    “The gaps identified throughout this report do not lend themselves to quick fixes. Hundreds of years of structural exclusion and systemic oppression cannot be simply erased. However, the status quo is not tenable for Black Americans or for the US economy as a whole.”
    Chair Beatty continued: “This report aims to identify multiple entry points for action—and underscore the urgency of getting started. As a nation we must embrace the transformational powers of diversity and inclusion, and by harnessing the unique skills, tools, and talents of all people, at all levels in the private and public sectors, we can create a stronger economy and brighter futures for everyone.”
    The JEC recently held hearings examining the racial wealth gap and the gender pay gap, with a particular focus on the “double gap” faced by Black women, who experience the effects of both the gender and racial wage gap.
    The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to advancing Black families in the 21st Century through addressing the economic disparities that have plagued our communities for generations, creating opportunities that combat poverty, and closing the worsening racial wage and wealth gaps in America.
    The CBC supports policies that strengthen protections for workers and expand Black entrepreneurship, business development, partnerships and reports such as this one. The CBC will continue to champion economic justice for Black families throughout the nation, until true equity is achieved.

  • Newswire : Congress moves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act measure forward

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent

    U. S. Capitol


    The House Judiciary Committee has introduced the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, end racial profiling, change the law enforcement culture, empower communities, and build trust between law enforcement and minority communities by addressing systemic racism and bias.
    In a conference call with the Black Press of America just before voting on the measure, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) said the bill should help save lives.
    “This is a real historic day here in the capital as last week we introduced the Justice in Policing Act, and today we amend the bill,” CBC Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said during the conference call.
    “We call it the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and I call it historic because this is the first time in many years that Congress has taken up a bill dealing with policing and I’m sure it is the first time that Congress has introduced such a bold transformative piece of legislation,” Bass stated.
    The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would establish a national standard for the operation of police departments and mandate data collection on police encounters.
    If it becomes law, the bill would reprogram existing funds to invest in transformative community-based policing programs and streamline federal law to prosecute excessive force and establish independent prosecutors for police investigations. It would also eliminate no-knock warrants and ban chokeholds.
    “The idea that a chokehold is legal in one city and not the other, the idea that no-knock warrants are okay in one jurisdiction and not in another is very important. That must end,” Bass proclaimed.
    A bill crafted by Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, ask only for studies to be done on matters like no-knock warrants and chokehold bans, and have little bite, Bass and her CBC colleagues noted.
    “In essence, their bills take the teeth out of this bill. This is not the time for superficial action,” Bass warned. “This is the time for us to demonstrate our ability to address the people who are peacefully in the street every day with comprehensive legislation.”
    The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020:
    • Prohibits federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling.
    • Mandates training on racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling for all law enforcement.
    • Requires law enforcement to collect data on all investigatory activities. saves lives by banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants.
    • Bans chokeholds and carotid holds at the federal level and conditions law enforcement funding for state and local governments banning chokeholds.
    • Bans no-knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level and conditions law enforcement funding for state and local governments banning no-knock warrants at the local and state level.
    • Requires that deadly force be used only as a last resort and requires officers to employ de-escalation techniques first.
    • Changes the standard to evaluate whether law enforcement use of force was justified from whether the force was “reasonable” to whether the force was “necessary.”
    • Condition grants on state and local law enforcement agencies’ establishing the same use of force standard.
    • Limits military equipment on American streets, requires body cameras.
    • Limits the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement.
    • Requires federal uniformed police officers to wear body cameras and requires state and local law enforcement to use existing federal funds to ensure the use of police body cameras.
    • Requires marked federal police vehicles to have dashboard cameras.
    • Hold Police Accountable in Court.
    • Makes it easier to prosecute offending officers by amending the federal criminal statute to prosecute police misconduct. The mens rea requirement in 18 U.S.C. Section 242 will be amended from “willfulness” to a “recklessness” standard.
    • Enables individuals to recover damages in civil court when law enforcement officers violate their constitutional rights by eliminating qualified immunity for law enforcement.
    • Improves the use of pattern and practice investigations at the federal level by granting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division subpoena power and creates a grant program for state attorneys general to develop authority to conduct independent investigations into problematic police departments.
    Empower Our Communities to re-imagine Public Safety in an Equitable and Just Way.
    This bill reinvests in our communities by supporting critical community-based programs to change the culture of law enforcement and empower our communities to reimagine public safety in an equitable and just way.
    It establishes public safety innovation grants for community-based organizations to create local commissions and task forces to help communities to re-imagine and develop concrete, just, and equitable public safety approaches. These local commissions would operate similar to President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
    • Changes the Culture of Law Enforcement with Training to Build Integrity and Trust.
    • Requires the creation of law enforcement accreditation standard recommendations based on President Obama’s Taskforce on 21st Century policing.
    • Creates law enforcement development and training programs to develop best practices.
    • Studies the impact of laws or rules that allow a law enforcement officer to delay answers to questions posed by investigators of law enforcement misconduct.
    • Enhances funding for pattern and practice discrimination investigations and programs managed by the DOJ Community Relations Service.
    •Requires the Attorney General to collect data on investigatory actions and detentions by federal law enforcement agencies; the racial distribution of drug charges; the use of deadly force by and against law enforcement officers; as well as traffic and pedestrian stops and detentions.
    •Establishes a DOJ task force to coordinate the investigation, prosecution and enforcement efforts of federal, state, and local governments in cases related to law enforcement misconduct.
    Improve Transparency by Collecting Data on Police Misconduct and Use-of-Force.
    • Creates a nationwide police misconduct registry to prevent problematic officers who are fired or leave one agency, from moving to another jurisdiction without any accountability.
    Mandates state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force data, disaggregated by race, sex, disability, religion, age.
    • Make Lynching a Federal Crime.
    • Makes it a federal crime to conspire to violate existing federal hate crimes laws.

  • Newswire : Congressional Black Caucus plans protest of Trump at State of the Union

    By Lauren Victoria Burke (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
    During a lengthy, members-only meeting on Capitol Hill on January 19, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) discussed various options to protest the current President of the United States. Their protest plans centered around the annual State of the Union address.
    President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address is scheduled for January 30.
    The meeting the CBC held to talk over State of the Union protest plans occurred only hours after 66 members of the House voted to act on impeaching the President. That effort was led once again by Black Caucus member Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). Rep. Green’s second impeachment try failed 355-66. Three Democrats voted “present.”
    Weeks after Donald Trump reportedly called Haiti, El Salvador and the continent of Africa “shithole countries” during a meeting on immigration with members of Congress in the Oval Office, many members have had it.
    CBC members who attended the discussion confirmed that several options of protesting President Trump were discussed including walking out, wearing African themed garb and even not showing up to the State of the Union at all. The more vocal members included Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).
    During an interview with Buzzfeed on January 17, days before the meeting, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) mentioned the CBC might hold its own State of the Union.
    “We will…discuss how we want to respond to the president’s State of the Union. We could go, we could go and walk out, we could go and hold up fists…or we could not go, or we could hold our own ‘State of the Union,’” Richmond said.
    A few Black Caucus members have already stated that they will not attend the president’s State of the Union address. They include Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.).
    Some CBC members are concerned about Congress’ largest caucus not being unified in protest, whatever form the protest may take. Other members wanted to make sure serious issues are highlighted and expressed concerns about the protest taking attention away from serious policy discussion. But in the age of former reality TV star turned President Donald Trump, others say that the best response is to fight fire with fire.
    With protests in the air and in the streets around the first anniversary of the start of the Trump presidency, the timing of any protest the CBC may undertake on the night of the State of the Union is likely to receive serious media attention.

    Regarding Rep. Green’s impeachment attempts, which House leadership is in opposition of, Green pointed out that Trump, “has by his statements brought the high office of president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace and disrepute; has sown discord among the people of the United States; has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president; and has betrayed his trust as president of the United States to the manifest injury of the people of the United States and has committed a high misdemeanor in office.”
    Rep. Green’s form of protest was a legislative one. On the night of the State of the Union, we are likely to see a more theatrical display.
    Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist, political analyst and contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com. She can be reached by email at LBurke007@gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.

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  • Newswire : Congressional Black Caucus declines follow-up meeting with Trump

    By: Jacqueline Alemany, CBS News

    Black Cong. Caucus.jpgMeeting of President Donald Trump with members of the Black Congressional Caucus
    WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has rejected the invitation to meet with President Trump for a follow up meeting at the White House, according to a letter released by the chair of the committee, Cedric Richmond, on Wednesday.
    Citing actions by the Trump administration “that will affirmatively hurt black communities,” Richmond wrote that concerns discussed during a preliminary meeting with Mr. Trump on March 22 “fell on deaf ears.”
    · Trump asks black reporter to “set up the meeting” with Congressional Black Caucus
    “Given the lack of response to any of the many concerns we have raised with you and your administration, we decline your invitation for all 49 members of the Congressional Black Caucus to meet with you,” Richmond said.
    “I fail to see how a social gathering would benefit the policies we advocate for,” Richmond added.
    Mr. Trump’s extended an invitation to the 49 members of the CBC to return to the White House for a follow up meeting on June 9th, first reported by CBS News last week.
    Manigault, whose official title is Assistant to the President and Director of Communications of the Office of Public Liaison, was ridiculed on Twitter for signing the letter as “The Honorable Omarosa Manigault.”
    In response to one Twitter user who asked if she had received a promotion, Manigault tweeted out a screenshot of a guide for “departmental correspondence” that recommends addressing an assistant to the president as “Honorable” in a letter.
    However, an article by The Washington Post points to the Emily Post Institute of Etiquette which states that “the honorific is reserved for “the President, the Vice President, United States senators and congressmen, Cabinet members, all federal judges, ministers plenipotentiary, ambassadors, and governors,” who get to use the title for life.”
    The CBC has been skeptical of Manigault’s role as an advocate for the black community in the Trump White House and her self-publicized degree of influence. A CBC source told CBS News that the group was not interested in what they predicted would be another “photo-op.”
    Richmond specifically lists several efforts by the administration that would “devastate” the African American community, including
    Mr. Trump’s 2018 fiscal budget, Attorney General Jeff Sessions plan to “accelerate the failed war on drugs,” cuts to funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the “effort to dismantle our nation’s health care system.”
    Sources say that the CBC is not completely united in the decision to reject Mr. Trump’s invitation for a meeting.
    In March, the Vice Chair of the CBC Gwen Moore told CBS News that refusing to engage with the President was a “luxury” that she did not have.
    “We don’t have the luxury of saying we won’t meet with the president of the U.S.,” she said at the time. “We have 1,399 more days left in his presidency and I don’t think that our communities would be served well by our not engaging.”