By Zenitha Prince, AFRO.com, President Obama has commuted the sentences of 61 drug offenders, the White House announced March 30, underscoring his administration’s commitment to reforming unfair and overly-harsh sentencing laws. More than one-third of the 61 individuals who were granted clemency were serving life sentences, according to White House Counsel Neil Eggleston. To highlight […]
A Poll Shows Americans Like President Obama More Than His Predecessor, or Any of His Would-Be Successors
Washington, DC — As many in the United States hold their noses in the search for the next president, they’re increasingly warming to the one they already have. Buoyed by some good economic news and a surge of goodwill from his base, President Obama is seeing his approval rating rise. That puts Obama, who leaves […]
Statement on President Obama’s Selection of the Honorable Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court By Melanie L. Campbell, Convener of Black Women’s Roundtable
Washington, DC – We are pleased that President Obama has fulfilled his Constitutional responsibility by nominating The Honorable Merrick Brian Garland as his choice to fill vacancy left by the untimely passing of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. We believe that Judge Garland is eminently qualified and has served the judiciary with honor and distinction. […]
Proud of Obama’s Presidency, Blacks Are Sad to See Him Go
Yamiche Alcindor, New York Times – Chicago, IL — In his 30s and 40s, the Rev. C.T. Vivian rode with the Freedom Riders, organized sit-ins in Nashville and worked closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many years later, before the 2008 election, he traveled the country along with other civil rights leaders […]
Activists push Obama to nominate black woman to the Supreme Court
By Jerry Markon, Sari Horwitz and Mike DeBonis, Washington Post – Black civil rights groups and activists are pressing the nation’s first African American president to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court, calling it an overdue historic first at a time of growing ethnic diversity and an intense debate about racial justice issues. […]
President Obama Speaks After Meeting with African American Faith and Civil Rights Leaders
President Obama delivers remarks after a meeting with African American Faith and Civil Rights leaders from the Roosevelt Room during Black History Month, February 18, 2016.
NewsOne Now Host Roland Martin and Guests Discuss President Obama’s Remarks About HBCUs
NewsOne Now host Roland Martin and panel of experts discuss President Obama’s controversial response to a students question about HBCUs.
Black Women Vow to Be a Powerful Voting Force Again This Year
By Vanessa Williams, Washington Post – Jamia Wilson is supremely proud of this fact: In 2008 and 2012, black women voted at a higher rate than any other group. Four years ago, 74 percent of eligible black women went to the polls — and 96 percent voted for President Obama. Some pollsters and pundits are […]
Why Hillary Clinton Will do More for Black People than Obama – By Michael Eric Dyson
(The New Republic) – There is good reason to be skeptical about Hillary Clinton and race. It’s never been anything explicit, necessarily, but she has sinned in the realm of signification, the place where innuendo and plausible deniability live. Let us start with her first presidential campaign in 2008, and the infamous “3 a.m. phone […]