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Paint The Polls Black Launches Voter Education Series for Election Day Success – Essence

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As the country approaches one of the vital essential elections in recent history, Sundial Group of Companies—including ESSENCE, Global Black Economic Forum, Girls United, AfroPunk, BeautyCon, Refinery29, and New Voices Foundation—has announced an ambitious schedule of virtual events over the subsequent two months as a part of its Paint the Polls Black voter education series, an initiative designed to tell, mobilize, and protect the voting rights of Black communities across the country within the crucial weeks leading as much as Election Day on November 5.

“We believe our brands have a responsibility to thoroughly educate our audiences because exercising our power at the ballot box is one of our most precious rights. We don’t assume what level of awareness people have on local, regional, and national issues; we meet people where they are,” said Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum.

Starting from September twelfth “Paint the polls black” will host a series of virtual town halls, each designed to deal with specific problems with highest importance to the community and ensure voters understand key policy issues, how they impact on a regular basis life, and find out how to address disenfranchisement tactics. The events will feature voting and elections experts, public officials, and artists to debate issues that directly impact our communities and supply voters with the resources they need. These events will probably be streamed live to tell the tale multiple platforms, including Streamyard, the Global Black Economic Forum YouTube and social media accounts and ESSENCE YouTube.

The first edition of Paint the Polls 2024, held on August 2, attracted over 200,000 people and provided voters with useful information to assist them of their elections.

With issues like reproductive justice, gun violence, voter suppression, and the anti-diversity movement on the forefront, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Paint the Polls Black initiative goals to make sure black voters have the ability to guard their rights and shape their future.

The significance of this initiative is further underscored by the success of its 2024 inaugural event, which took place on August 2 and drew over 200,000 attendees. The event featured a gaggle of influential figures, including renowned DJ D-Nice, congresswomen Jasmine Crockett and Shontel Brown, political commentator Bakari Sellers, media personality Van Lathan, and NAACP-nominated content creator Lynae Vanee. Together, they provided invaluable insights on issues starting from access to healthcare for Black women to political attacks on Black women within the media, voter engagement strategies for Black men, and community mobilization efforts.

With lower than 70 days to go until Election Day, the Paint the Polls Black initiative will provide voters with essential resources and data to assist them navigate the customarily complex and intimidating election process. The goal just isn’t only to encourage people to vote, but in addition to empower them to make informed decisions.

You can find the total list of programs below.

  • September 12 – Analysis of political issues that directly concern you. Did you watch the conventions? Did you absorb all of the political issues? Well, we did, and we would like to share our thoughts with you. Join us as we discuss how the political issues on this election will directly impact you—from the economy to housing, health care to public safety.
  • September sixteenth – Youth Empowerment City Meeting. Young people aren’t only our future, but in addition they have a say in elections. Young voters from the Millennial and Gen Z generations have gotten the demographic power center in American politics. Join us for a town meeting to listen to from young people concerning the key issues that matter most to them, the solutions to those problems, and the way these elections and voting affect the longer term.
  • September 30 — Battleground States. We often hear that the election will probably be decided by key states, often 4 or 5 states. We go to those key states to listen to from our community how we’re mobilizing to guard the rights of marginalized people.
  • October seventh – Group Chat. Registering to vote is significant, after all, but what in the event you also committed to getting a minimum of five people you understand to do the identical? This is an extension of our community to take back our power. Join us in a campaign to encourage everyone you understand to register to vote. And there could be a surprise in it for you.
  • October 14th – Early voting. Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands offer in-person early voting for all voters. We’ll be hosting a town hall on what you must find out about early voting and the advantages of early voting.
  • October twenty first – Election Protection. If you show up on the polls and find you’re not registered or encounter other obstacles to voting, what are you able to do? This town hall will walk you thru the means of reporting irregularities, find out how to find all of the resources to aid you protect your right to vote, and find out how to turn into an election observer.
  • November 4th — get out and vote. In the lead-as much as Election Day, we are going to host a series of virtual events to supply voters with information and resources and listen to their feedback on their voting plans.

More information concerning the initiative could be found at https://www.essence.com/paintthepollsblack/ and www.gbef.com.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Politics and Current

Matt Gaetz withdraws from Trump’s nomination for attorney general

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Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is withdrawing from President-elect Donald Trump’s presidency nomination for attorney general after backlash.

In an announcement released Nov. 21 via X, Gaetz withdrew from the nomination, saying his confirmation was a “distraction.” “I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful opinions and the incredible support from so many people. While momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation unfairly distracted from the critical work of the Trump-Vance transition,” he wrote.

“There isn’t any time to waste on an unnecessarily prolonged fight in Washington. “I am therefore withdrawing my name from consideration for the position of Attorney General.”

Knowing that the appointed attorney general should be able to serve on the primary day of the brand new Trump-Vance administration, waiting for legal proceedings would make it harder for Gaetz to meet that commitment. A former lawmaker is under federal investigation for allegedly paying two women to have sex and watch him appear on Fox News. Both women claim that in 2019, Gaetz also paid them to accompany him to a Broadway show. During testimony before the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, the ladies alleged that Gaetz paid them to travel across state lines to have sex almost twice.

The women were between 19 and 21 years old on the time of the alleged encounters. They testified that the disgraced congressman paid them to travel to the Bahamas with other young women – including one who alleged that she had had sex. with Gaetz when she was a minor.

After Trump announced his nomination to move the Department of Justice (DOJ), attention focused on outdated allegations, prompting the discharge of an Ethics Committee investigation report.

As committee members failed to determine whether to release the report’s findings, Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) characterised Gaetz’s potential confirmation as “Kavanaugh on steroids” in reference to the 2018 racial and sexual misconduct hearings. – Judge Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. “He’s a smart guy, I’m sure he realizes that,” Cornyn said, in line with .

A senior member of the Judiciary Committee warned that each one details of the FBI’s investigation and committee report – each good and bad – will eventually develop into public. “It will reach us a technique or one other. There are not any secrets here,” Cornyn said.

Before withdrawing, Gaetz met with Cornynand in addition Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) .). Vice President-elect J.D. VAnka also took part within the meetings. He encouraged lawmakers to present their former colleague a likelihood to present his vision for reforming the Justice Department and to carry off on making judgments about his fitness to serve.

At the time of Gaetz’s withdrawal, Trump had not yet issued an announcement.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Missouri police officer fatally shot 2-month-old baby and her mother after relative called police for help, family says

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A Missouri family and community are mourning the tragic death of a 34-year-old woman and her infant daughter who were killed in an officer-involved shooting earlier this month.

Family members say Maria Pike and her 2-month-old daughter, Destinii Hope, were shot to death on November 7 after police were called to an apartment in Independence, Missouri, in response to a domestic disturbance.

Two-month-old Destinii Hope died together with her mother in an officer-involved shooting in Independence, Missouri on November 7, 2024. (Photo: Facebook/Talisa Coombs)

In the weeks for the reason that shooting, local law enforcement has released few details, but eyewitnesses have provided local media with their accounts of what happened.

said Talisa Coombs, the baby’s grandmother Kansas City Star that she was the one who called the police after a physical altercation with the kid’s mother. Family members say Maria Pike has had mental health issues, anger issues and most recently suffered from postpartum depression.

Coombs said that when she called the police, she thought authorities would arrive, arrest Pike and get her the assistance she needed. She told her son and Destinia’s father, Mitchell Holder, that she desired to press charges against Pike for assault.

When police arrived, Holder initially refused to allow them to inside, however the apartment constructing’s assistant manager persuaded him to let two officers inside.

Assistant manager Gavin Delaney told The Star that when police entered the apartment, Pike was sitting within the bedroom closet, holding Destinia, not doing or saying anything.

Destinia’s father, who witnessed the shooting, recounted the moments leading as much as the shooting to his sister, Ashley Greenfield.

Greenfield told The Star that when officers entered the apartment, she and Holder tried to take the baby from Pike as she moved from the closet to the bed. Greenfield stated that when Pike reached for an object on the nightstand, the officer shot the baby in the top while he was still in his mother’s arms.

Holder later recalled his horrified response to the shooting of “The Kansas City Defender.”

“They shot my baby,” Holder said outlet. “It looked like her head had exploded. Her blood splattered throughout my glasses and throughout me. All I could do was scream. I just kept repeating three words – the identical three words – “You killed her!” I screamed it. Time and time again.”

He added that Pike jumped after the primary shot and the officer opened fire on her.

Accounts vary as as to if Pike had a gun when officers entered the apartment.

Local news outlets reported that among the many few details police have released up to now concerning the shooting is that Pike was armed with a knife.

“When we arrived, officers encountered a woman who was ultimately armed with a knife,” said Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman. “As a result of this encounter, two people died, one was an armed woman and the other was a child.”

However, family members say otherwise. Before calling the police, Destinia’s grandmother stated that there have been no weapons in the home. Holder also said he never saw Pike holding a knife in the course of the encounter with police.

“Yes, I was in the room when it all happened,” Holder he said. “From what I saw, I never once saw Maria armed with anything. Honestly, I do not even know where that got here from. I heard crazy things like she held a baby hostage in a closet, that she had a knife, and all this crazy stuff that is not true. I mean, all I can say is that it’s possible she had a knife and I didn’t see it, but all I do know is that I never saw her holding anything – and I used to be there within the room.

Independence police said the investigation has been turned over to the Jackson County Police Involvement Investigative Team (PIIT), a team of detectives that investigates police shootings and use of force incidents.

Chief Dustman said just one officer, a “long-time law enforcement veteran,” fired in the course of the incident. The officer and two other people on the scene were placed on administrative leave.

Capt. Kyle Flowers, who heads the PIIT team investigating the shooting, said last week that investigators had reviewed body camera footage and planned to interview witnesses. According to KMBCthe team will turn over the findings of the investigation to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, but Flowers didn’t specify exactly when that will occur.

Family members have called on authorities to release the body camera footage, which is able to hopefully reveal once and for all whether Pike was armed with a knife on the time of the shooting. They also call for punishment of the officers involved within the shooting.

“Why hasn’t the body camera footage been released?” Amber Travis, cousin of the victims, he said at a community vigil for Pike and her daughter. “Give my family a break.”

“It means a lot that the community feels the same way we do,” Holder he said. “It means the world. It won’t bring her back, but no less than we all know now we have loads of support here.

AND GoFundMe page was created to assist pay for Destinia’s funeral. As of Wednesday afternoon, greater than $3,000 had been raised.

On November 22, Destinii would have turned 3 months old.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Jasmine Crockett blasts Republicans for so-called white “oppression” over anti-DEI bill

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Jasmine Crockett, theGrio.com

On Wednesday, during a passionate speech before the committee, Sen. Jasmine Crockett, R-Texas, chided her Republican colleagues for the content of an anti-DEI bill that calls for eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion programs and offices within the federal government.

Crockett, a 43-year-old congressional student who has change into a star within the Democratic Party because of her quite a few viral committee appearances, condemned the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024. The bill, H.R. 8706 – first introduced by Republican Vice President-elect J.D. Vance – essentially prohibit all DEI-related activities within the federal government, including all related positions, offices, training, and funding. Strikingly, the bill also prohibits federal employees working in DEI positions from transferring to a different federal position.

During a House Oversight Committee hearing wherein she responded to Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who repeatedly called DEI policies “oppression” — seemingly aimed toward white people, as many Republicans suggested — Crockett used the committee’s speaking time to criticize the suggestion that white individuals are oppressed in consequence of efforts to shut racial disparities in sectors resembling business, education, and health.

“You don’t understand the definition of oppression… I would ask you to just Google it,” said Crockett, who moments later read the dictionary definition of the word, adding: “Oppression is long-term cruel or unfair treatment or control, that’s the definition of oppression.” The congresswoman emphasized: “There was no oppression of the white man in this country.”

Referring to the history of chattel slavery and racial segregation within the US, the Texas lawmaker said: “Tell me which white men were dragged from their homes. Tell me which one was dragged across the ocean and that you will go to work. We will steal your wives. We will rape your wives. It didn’t happen. This is oppression.”

Attempting to further explain the importance of DEI, Crockett noted that she is barely the fifty fifth Black woman elected to Congress in its 235-year history, unlike the 1000’s of white men who’ve served on Capitol Hill.

“So if you want to talk about history and pretend it was that long ago, it wasn’t,” Crockett said, citing data showing that corporations perform higher and are more profitable after they are more diversified.

The anti-DEI movement, championed exclusively by Republicans, has led to several lawsuits invalidating federal programs, including debt forgiveness for Black farmers and business loans to Black and other disadvantaged businesses. Many states led by Republican governors have indicated that DEI – especially teaching about slavery and racism – is harmful to students, namely white students. In response, they banned such topics from public classrooms.

Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC, the political arm of the civil rights organization, said Congresswoman Crockett’s statements on DEI were “poignant and necessary.”

Jordan Brand amplifies Black storytelling with StoryCorps'

While the Dismantling DEI Act actually won’t be passed while Democrats control the Senate and President Joe Biden stays in office, it signals what may very well be a priority for Republicans next yr, as outlined within the pro-Trump “Project 2025” political manifesto “.

“According to Project 2025, diversity, equity and inclusion is synonymous with ‘White lives don’t matter,’” Brown noted. “Now more than ever, we at Color Of Change PAC, as well as advocates and activists across the country, must work to protect Black people and other people of color from harm resulting from anti-DEI attacks.”

Brown continued, “Civil rights protections have helped reduce mortgage discrimination, increase the number of Black physicians to counter problems such as Black maternal mortality, and provide financing for Black-owned businesses.”

He added: “Our country thrives and everyone benefits when diversity, equality and inclusion are valued rather than stifled.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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