National

When talk of social progress turns to such sentiments as standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, we are speaking of the likes of such giants as Julian Bond, who passed away on August 15 at age 75.

As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, civil rights groups and leaders, union representatives, elected officials, and citizens gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to address the threats to voting rights today.

It’s been one year since the murder of Michael Brown galvanized the Ferguson, Mo. community and forced the nation to face the horrors of police violence. And as the activist slogan asserts, the ensuing protests have become a movement, not just a moment.

It seems that Minnesota in recent years has become the nation’s worst leader in educating kids of color. As a result, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will hold an education town hall that will explore racial and ethnic disparities in K-12 public education as part of its 40th annual convention hosted for the first time in Minneapolis August 5-9.

A broad coalition of civil rights groups delivered more than 500,000 signed petitions to the Justice Department (DOJ), demanding that Attorney General Loretta Lynch launch a full investigation into the death of Sandra Bland and into the practices and policies of the Waller County, Texas police department and the prosecutor’s office immediately.

Last week, at the national convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) here, Chavis was participating on panel about reforming the criminal justice system with, among others, Mark V. Holden, the senior vice president and general counsel of Koch Industries, Inc.

In the last week of June, as the nation was still mourning and mulling over the massacre at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., seven other Black churches across the South went up in flames.

Solidarity came out of the ashes.

In the wake of the mass murder of nine Black church members in Charleston, South Carolina and the rash of unsolved fires at Black churches in the South, a coalition of Black groups are calling on President Barack Obama to issue an executive order to establish a “reparatory justice” commission.

For many outside the Black community, they had never seen anything like it. Though suffering and deep in pain from the loss of loved ones at the hands of Dylann Roof at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., they reflected the finest reflection of Christian values.

President Obama traveled to Charleston, South Carolina June 27 to honor the life of pastor and state senator Clementa Pinckney — one of the nine who lost their lives in last week’s shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

“We are here today to remember a man of God who lived by faith. A man who believed in things not seen. A man who believed there were better days ahead, off in the distance. A man of service who persevered, knowing full well he would not receive all those things he was promised, because he believed his efforts would deliver a better life for those who followed.”
— President Obama, on the late Rev. Clementa Pinckney

For many Black churches Wednesdays are usually designated as a day or evening for Bible studies and prayer services. But this Wednesday, June 24, will recognize and put into perspective the tragic events of a week ago at Charleston, South Carolina’s historic Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church. The community prayer vigil will be held at Wayman A.M.E. Church, 1221 7th Avenue in North Minneapolis at 7 pm.