July 23, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Associated Press - Sixty years after President Truman desegregated the military, senior black officers are still rare, particularly among the highest ranks. Blacks make up about 17 percent of the total force, yet just 9 percent of all officers. That fraction falls to less than 6 percent for general officers with one to four stars, according to data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press. The rarity of blacks in the top ranks is apparent in one startling statistic: Only one of the 38 four-star generals or admirals... [Read the full story]
July 21, 2008 · 1 Comment
Jeffery C. Mays, Newark Star-Ledger - When Tanya Freeman went to vote in the presidential primary, she asked a West Orange poll worker where the Republican polling station was. The elderly woman leaned into Freeman, an African-American, and whispered: “My God. I just assumed all of your people were Democrats,” Freeman recalled. Harold Edwards is used to a blank stare when he tells people in Newark he’s a Republican. “They can’t believe it,” said Edwards, who will be one of a few black... [Read the full story]
July 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment
STEPHANIE SAUL, New York Times - Free cigarettes are no longer handed out at Congressional Black Caucus functions. And it has been years since anyone referred to Edolphus Towns, Democrat of Brooklyn, as the “Marlboro Man” for his campaign contributions from the tobacco industry. But the Congressional Black Caucus has not severed its financial ties to big tobacco. And that can complicate matters when the political discussion involves smoking’s impact on African-Americans. A rift has opened in the 43-member caucus over... [Read the full story]
July 23, 2008 · Leave a Comment
- Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent the following letter to Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in response to the recent proposal by FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein requiring Sirius-XM to lease 15 percent of their satellite capacity to diversity programming: July 23, 2008 The Honorable Kevin Martin Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street SW Washington, D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Martin: This letter... [Read the full story]
July 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment
ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press - Australia’s prime minister, who has won applause for apologizing to Aborigines for past wrongs, has revived plans for a constitutional revision to recognize the country’s indigenous people. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was visiting a remote Outback Aboriginal community Wednesday when he raised the issue of recognizing Aborigines in Australia’s 107-year-old constitution. “We will … give attention to detailed, sensitive consultation with indigenous communities about... [Read the full story]
July 13, 2008 · 2 Comments
Associated Press - Gov. David Paterson’s campaign committee says it has raised more than $3.2 million in just over two months. Paterson’s gubernatorial campaign committee was formed on April 14 — less than a month after he was sworn in as governor — and started fundraising on May 5. The Harlem Democrat rose from the lieutenant governor’s office on March 17 after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid allegations that he was a client of a high-priced prostitution ring. Paterson campaign spokesman Jonathan Rosen... [Read the full story]
Lea Radick, Medill Reports - Blacks are more likely to be hurt by global warming than other Americans, according to a report issued Thursday. The... [Read more]
STEPHANIE SAUL, New York Times - Free cigarettes are no longer handed out at Congressional Black Caucus functions. And it has been years since... [Read more]
AFP - A majority of Americans believe that Democratic candidate Barack Obama will win the presidential election against Republican hopeful John... [Read more]
Associated Press - Sen. Barack Obama scrapped plans to visit wounded members of the armed forces in Germany as part of his overseas trip, a decision... [Read more]
- Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming... [Read more]
ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press - Australia’s prime minister, who has won applause for apologizing to Aborigines for past wrongs, has revived... [Read more]
Chicago Defender - We present this as a public service announcement: Anyone who is seeking to speak to a “Black leader” should immediately... [Read more]
- “I never thought I’d live to get this old,” Bertha Adine Pitts Campbell remarked at her 91st birthday celebration. She would... [Read more]
- The CoverMe Foundation, a national non-profit organization, has announced it will offer a free comprehensive program that helps locate health... [Read more]
FOX News - A new poll shows John McCain made gains on Barack Obama in four key November battleground states — Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota... [Read more]
- Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, sent the following letter to Kevin Martin,... [Read more]
David B. Caruso, Associated Press - Federal prosecutors have disbanded their criminal investigation into the financial dealings of the Rev. Al... [Read more]
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press - As one notorious Atlantic City corruption case nears its end, with its former “Missing Mayor” due... [Read more]
- A diverse group of Illinois civil rights organizations today called on Governor Rod Blagojevich to bar the practices of “consent searches”... [Read more]
THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press - Hate crimes in Los Angeles County soared last year to their highest mark in five years even as overall crime... [Read more]
JIM THARPE, Atlanta Journal-Constitution - U.S. Senate candidate Vernon Jones has accused his Democratic opponent of failing to vote for Barack... [Read more]
Jessica Pupovac, AlterNet - Michael Tillman was 20, with a 3-year-old daughter and an infant son, when he was brought into the Area 2 police... [Read more]
JOE PAGAN and MEGAN DOWNS, Florida Today - Vandals spray-painted satanic symbols and racial slurs on two African-American churches and a Brevard... [Read more]
COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is now charged with exchanging romantic text messages with additional women... [Read more]
Richmond Times-Dispatch - A state once synonymous with flinty defiance of court-ordered school integration is celebrating the latest symbol of... [Read more]
JEFF MOSIER, Dallas Morning News - While Barack Obama makes history on the national stage, another black politico is breaking the color barrier... [Read more]
TOM DUBOCQ, Palm Beach Post - The Justice Department has swooped into this little north Palm Beach County town to investigate whether it systemically... [Read more]
Newsday - A report says Rudy Giuliani is about to announce the creation of a committee to raise money for Republican candidates in New York. The... [Read more]
JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press - The Confederate flag that flutters 30 feet above one of this city’s busiest streets still draws a mix... [Read more]