MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) _ Tennessee’s largest county has settled a lawsuit alleging a minority business program led to discrimination against white-owned companies. The Commercial Appeal reported that a settlement approved Monday by the Shelby County Commission gives more than $330,000 to two groups of contractors in Memphis. Filed in January 2019, the lawsuit asked that the county be prohibited from implementing its program. The ordinance launching the program was passed after a 2016 study showed that about 88% of all prime contracts from the county went to white males, whereas only 5.8% went to businesses owned by African Americans and…
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Rocky Mount, NC -Marylin Thurman Newkirk age 56 of 2821 Jason Drive, died Friday, November 6, in Nashville, Tennessee. Marylin is survived by her Husband, Vann Newkirk, Sr. of the home; Children, Vann Newkirk, Jr. of Upper Marlboro, MD, Cassandra Newkirk of Charlotte, NC, and Richard Newkirk of Greensboro, NC; Her father, Sammie Thurman, Sr. of Fayetteville, NC; Her mother, Martha Watkins of Daytona Beach, FL; Brother, Sammie Thurman, Jr., Sisters, Parlyn Hatch of Daytona Beach, FL and Chenchutta Dubose of Huntsville, AL. Homegoing celebration will be held at 11:00 A.M. until 12:00 noon on Saturday, November 14 at…
ATLANTA (Reuters) – The pastor who now holds the pulpit where slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. once preached was thrust into the national spotlight this week when Georgia officials ruled his U.S. Senate campaign would be decided by a January runoff. The Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Black Democrat, faces an uphill battle in trying to unseat Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman who was appointed to the seat in the conservative-leaning state after its former occupant retired. The Jan. 5 contest is certain to attract a great amount of money and media interest as it has…
NASHVILLE, TN — During his victory speech on Saturday, November 7, President-Elect Joe Biden thanked African Americans for being the driving force that led to his victory in several blue-wall swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and in the state of Georgia. “Especially at those moments when this campaign was at its lowest, the African American community stood up again for me,” Biden said, “You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours.” Biden promised to have a diverse Cabinet that was representative of America. Several names have come into consideration for positions in his administration, including Judgeships, Ambassadors,…
By Peter White NASHVILLE, TN — Blacks, Latinos, and Asians overwhelmingly voted for the Biden-Harris ticket and sent Donald Trump an eviction notice last week. He’s got two months to vacate the White House. It was a fitting end to the regime of an unpleasant and jingoistic loudmouth who divided the electorate and diminished U.S. standing in the world more than any previous President. By the slimmest of margins, voters in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan picked Biden over Trump. Trump refused to admit defeat in those battleground states and vowed to take court action “to ensure election…
NASHVILLE, TN — In the wake of the United States historic election of Joe Biden as president and the impact African Americans had on his victory, Bishop Joseph Walker III discussed the implications of this watershed moment for Black Nashvillians and all Americans – particularly young people Sunday, November 8, 2020 – who turned the tide for Biden, including the 800,000 Georgia residents registered by Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action organization. “We must ask the question of ourselves that God asks of Abraham when calling on him to sacrifice his son: ‘Can you give me what you love most?’” says…
By Karen Grigsby Bates Code Switch When Kamala Harris stepped to the podium in Delaware on Saturday night to speak to supporters as vice president-elect, she made all kinds of history: She’ll become the first woman to serve as vice president. The first woman of African descent (on her father’s side) and also the first Asian American (on her late mother’s side). The first graduate of a historically Black college or university (Howard)—and the first member of a Black sorority to sit a heartbeat away from the presidency. Black Greek organizations turned up and turned out to support Harris. They…
NASHVILLE, TN — The Scarlett Family Foundation is now accepting applications for our Business and STEM College Scholarship! This year, many Middle Tennessee students are spending the fall semester learning remotely; and the challenge of reaching students has increased for community-supporting organizations like the Scarlett Family Foundation. It is more important than ever that the details of our scholarship are shared through our network of friends and followers. A link to the application can be found on our website. Deadline to apply is December 15, 2020. Since 2006, the Scarlett Family Foundation has awarded over 600 scholarships to college-goers. To…
By Andrea Cambron Cambron/@AndreaC_atWTOP Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Howard University have been in the spotlight during the 2020 presidential campaign, as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has often spoken fondly of the Black Greek organization. Some of her sorority sisters spoke with WTOP about the person they’ve known for almost 35 years. After announcing her candidacy in January, Harris said the university was central to her personal narrative and her political identity. Brenda Golden Mitchell, a member of the sorority who joined with Harris in 1986, agreed. “Howard is known for political activism,” Mitchell said, and her own foray into…
By Cato T. Laurencin and Joanne M. Walker Cell Systems George Floyd, a Black, 46-year-old male who was unarmed and handcuffed by a white Minneapolis police officer died after the police officer knelt on his neck making it impossible for him to breathe. Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black male, was jogging in a neighborhood in Georgia on February 23, 2020 when ex-police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis, both of whom are white, killed him in a shooting. These are just two examples of acts in our country indicative of the lasting and pervasive prominence and institutionalization of racism.…