Serving Metropolitan Detroit Since 1944
Serving Metropolitan Detroit Since 1944
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Prayer breakfasts, marches, parades, and an uptick in volunteer efforts to support the annual Day of Service have remained staples of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But the late civil rights icon family has asked that observers strike a different tune in 2022. King's family has requested no celebration unless federal lawmakers pass voting rights legislation, a task that appears out of reach as President Joe Biden and several Democrats have faced stiff Republican opposition. Democrats have also been...
On the anniversary of the deadly January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden doubled down on his campaign slogan from the 2020 election. He declared the race against former President Donald Trump as a "battle for the soul of our nation." "Don't kid yourself. The pain and scars from that day run deep," the President said during a morning address from the U.S. Capitol. "We are in a battle for the soul of America. A battle that by the grace of God, the goodness and gracious,...
A jury in Minnesota has convicted former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter on multiple manslaughter counts for the killing of Daunte Wright. Potter, who said she mistakenly grabbed her service weapon instead of a stun gun, could face a minimum of 10 years in prison when she's sentenced. The maximum sentence for first-degree manslaughter is 15 years and a $30,000 fine, and for second-degree manslaughter, it's 10 years and a $20,000 fine. Potter and other Brooklyn Center officers pulled...
Black Press photojournalist and social media maven Anthony Tilman assessed the death of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better legislation this way: "[Fifty] Republicans in the Senate don't care about children in their own communities and want them to remain in poverty, and yet they still get re-elected. That's the sad truth." While Tilghman accurately assessed the GOP blocking popular and needed legislation, the most consequential "no vote" came from a Democrat. In an appearance, Sunday, Decem...
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd, would rather spend 25 years in federal prison than 15 in a state penitentiary. The disgraced cop who infamously kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes pleaded guilty on Wednesday, December 15, to federal charges of violating the late Floyd's civil rights. Federal prosecutors reached a deal with Chauvin, who agreed to serve 25 years in federal prison. The sentence will run concurrently with the 22-year...
In an announcement that has provided a jolt to the 2022 midterm elections, Stacey Abrams said she’s running for governor of the Peach State. The race, which could mean a second dual between Abrams and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, promises to catapult Democrats into the position of favorites. A Democrat and noted voting rights advocate, Abrams lost to Kemp by just over one percentage point in their controversial 2018 battle. Her activism helped Democrats claim the majority in the U.S. Senate when...
After nearly two years of pain, suffering, and wondering if the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery would pay for their heinous crime, the 25-year-old's family finally received justice. A Glynn County, Georgia, convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan of felony murder. "Guilty. Guilty. Guilty," civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump exclaimed. "Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never...
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have announced a set of reforms to the federal procurement process to help meet an ambitious target of increasing the share of federal contracts to small, disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) advance the President's Management Agenda and increase opportunity for all underserved businesses. The actions announced on Thursday, December 2, include for the first time, asking agencies to increase their goals so that governmentwide spending results in 11...
Kyle Rittenhouse escaped punishment in the shooting deaths of two men during the unrest that followed the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The jury deliberated for about four days, before issuing unanimous verdicts on all counts. The jury considered five charges against the now 18-year-old: First-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon – or that Rittenhouse recklessly caused the death of Rosenbaum under circumstances that showed utter disregard for human l...
It's been 13 years since Natalie Wilson and her sister-in-law Derrica Wilson founded the Black and Missing Foundation to help bring attention and closure to the ever-growing number of cases in minority communities. The estimated number of missing persons is simultaneously incomplete and cringeworthy. One count suggests that of the more than 600,000 individuals currently reported missing, more than 200,000 are individuals of color. Still, the Wilsons forge ahead....
TIME named nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump to the 2021 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, making him the only personal injury trial lawyer to make the list. Crump has established himself as one of the nation's foremost lawyers and advocates for social and racial justice. In addition to working on some of the most high-profile cases in the U.S., representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon...
A breezy and seasonally satisfying Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began with the promise that beat reporters crave – the knowledge that my story would appear on the front page. Riding high from the previous night attending Michael Jackson's 30th-anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden, my editor implored that I go straight to a school in Mount Vernon, NY. She knew how to spoil a great evening watching the greatest pop music entertainer ever reunite with his brothers for a spectacular n...
While he and his wife remain hospitalized in a Chicago hospital after positive Covid tests, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told the Black Press that he remains vigilant in fighting for freedom, justice, and equality. In an exclusive telephone conversation from his hospital bed on Sunday, August 22, the renowned civil rights leader expressed his ongoing support for vaccinations while explaining why his wife, Jacqueline, had not received the vaccine. "I have had both my shots," Rev. Jackson said in the...
The NBA Foundation today announced 22 new grants totaling $6 million to help create employment opportunities, further career advancement and drive greater economic empowerment for Black youth. The grant recipients were named as part of the NBA Foundation's third grant round on the one-year anniversary of its incorporation on Aug. 6, 2020. In its first year, the NBA Foundation has awarded 40 grants, inclusive of those announced today, totaling $11 million to nonprofit organizations. The grants he...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken new measures to protect renters from evictions. Over the past two months, the new prohibition on evictions will apply to communities with high or substantial COVID-19 transmission. A formal announcement is expected on Wednesday, August 4. "My hope is it's going to be a new moratorium that in some way covers close to 90 percent of the American people or renters," President Joe Biden told news reporters on Tuesday. The President expressed...
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law and Bob Hilliard of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales announced today that they are reviewing a host of cases of racial profiling and discrimination in banking, suggesting a widespread pattern by multiple financial institutions. "We're uncovering unjustifiable, blatant discrimination against Black Americans by a number of major financial institutions," said attorney Ben Crump. "If this year has r...
The delta variant of the coronavirus now accounts for roughly 83 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced on Tuesday, July 20. "The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have," Dr. Walensky asserted during a U.S. Senate hearing. On July 3, the CDC noted that the delta variant accounted for about half of U.S. COVID cases....
NNPA NEWSWIRE - After spelling the word "Murraya," a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees, Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The contest has existed for nearly a century. "Now I get to get a nice trophy, which is the best part of any win," Zaila exclaimed in an ESPN interview right after her history-making victory. Zaila Avant-garde made history Thursday as the first African American student to win the Scripps National...
NNPA NEWSWIRE - The core of the President's plan is a partnership with cities and states, equipping local leaders with historic levels of federal funding and a range of tools to address the multifaceted challenge of gun violence. White House Memorandum In June, President Biden unveiled a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence. This strategy implements preventative measures that are proven to reduce violent crime and attacks the root causes – including by investing in effective c...
NNPA NEWSWIRE - The state Supreme Court ruled that Cosby's deal with former prosecutor Bruce Castor should have been honored. In a phone call with Cosby attorney Jennifer Bonjean, she states, "I am thrilled! I haven't made my way through the entire opinion yet, but it seems that the court agrees with what we knew all along, that Mr. Cosby never should have been prosecuted in the first place. If a prosecutor's word is not his bond, then we as a society - and the entire criminal justice system -...
Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green began recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday in his office last year, so when the Senate passed legislation this week to make the date that commemorates freedom a national holiday, the congressman was among the first to cheer. "What began as a grassroots movement to commemorate Texas history is now set to become our nation's 12th federal holiday," Congressman Green stated. "In honor of the late Al Edwards – the father of the Juneteenth holiday in Texas – a...
Dr. Anthony Fauci said he wholeheartedly supports President Joe Biden's initiative with Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons to get more African Americans vaccinated. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director and the nation's foremost authority on the coronavirus, Dr. Fauci, called the president's tactic solid. In a discussion with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Dr. Fauci added that medical and administration officials have a laser-like focus...
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are stepping up their efforts to narrow the racial wealth gap. Following the President's visit to Oklahoma, where he observed the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Administration announced it would reinvest in communities that failed policies have left behind. Specifically, the Administration is expanding access to two key wealth-creators – homeownership and small business ownership – in communities of color and disadvantaged com...
The Senate voted 51-48 on Tuesday, May 25, to confirm civil rights attorney Kristen Clarke to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The confirmation makes Clarke the first Black woman confirmed by the Senate to lead the division. The arm is responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, and sex. Republicans opposed the nomination, but Clarke won confirmation because Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) used the chamber's...
African American police officers made more than 15 fewer stops, about two fewer arrests on average than their White counterparts , ScienceNews.org found in a new study. The study revealed that throughout 100 shifts, African American officers used force 0.1 fewer times. The numbers correspond to a 29 percent reduction in stops, 21 percent reduction in arrests, and 32 percent reduction in force among Black officers than the average enforcement rates among their White peers. "When I got the paper,...
