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This weekend marks the first round of elections for 568 seats in the lower house of parliament.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), founded by Bryan Stevenson, released a new groundbreaking Report on the Era of Reconstruction and the violence that defined that period of time – an era from which our nation has yet to recover.
The report is about the legacy of racial violence during Reconstruction, the twelve years after slavery when after emancipation people were filled with hope for change.
It examines the horrific violence against Black people by white leaders and the rise of white supremacy destroying hopes for progress.
In decision after decision, the Court ceded control to the same white Southerners who used terror and violence to stop Black political participation, upheld laws and practices codifying racial hierarchy, and embraced a new constitutional order defined by “states’ rights.”
Violence, mass lynchings, and lawlessness enabled white Southerners to create a regime of white supremacy and Black disenfranchisement alongside a new economic order that continued to exploit Black labor.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Public pressure to restore a key HUD rule has united civil rights, public and private sector stakeholders ina swelling and nearly daily drumbeat of concern calling for fair housing to be supported and HUD’s replacement rule be rescinded. On July 23 the rule known asAffirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) HUD SecretaryBen Carsontermed the […]
Somalia joins the league of country’s that cannot hold elections – not because of the coronavirus as in the case of Ethiopia but because of preparatory challenges, the elections chief has disclosed.
She told lawmakers that the earliest an election could hold in the country was in March 2021.
In her address to the lower house of parliament, she presented two options – an election based on biometric registration which would be possible in August 2021 or a manual-based registration that can be held in March 2021.
The issue of upcoming elections has been a big issue in the Horn of Africa country with incumbent Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo certain to seek re-election.
The last poll was in February 2017 when after months of delays, some 275 MPs and 54 senators met in a fortified airport in the capital Mogadishu to choose between then incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for a second term, or one of his 21 other rivals.
PARLIAMENT of Zimbabwe yesterday challenged the urgent chamber application filed by Habakkuk Trust seeking an interdict to stop the august House from conducting public hearings on Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 2 Bill at a time the country is under COVID-19-induced lockdown.
Habakkuk Trust represented by Job Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on Thursday last week filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court seeking to stop the public hearings which began yesterday.
In its submissions, Habakkuk Trust indicated that the conduct of Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi was grossly unreasonable and holding public hearings during lockdown which restricted citizens’ movement would defeat the very noble purpose of inviting the input of the public to any proposed constitutional amendments.
“While the process of soliciting for input into the proposed constitutional amendments cannot be stopped, it must await normalisation of the situation in the country and no prejudice will be suffered by the respondents namely Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi,” the trust submitted.
If Parliament, Chokuda and Ziyambi intend to proceed with the public hearings in the midst of the current health pandemic, they must ensure that all precautions are taken to prevent and contain the disease at such public gatherings.”
Walmart will end its practice of locking up African-American beauty care products in glass cases, the retail giant said on Wednesday after a fresh round of criticism that the policy was a form of racial discrimination.
Hair care and beauty products sold predominantly to black people could be accessed at certain stores only by getting a Walmart employee to unlock the cases, some of which featured additional anti-theft measures.
“We’re sensitive to the issue and understand the concerns raised by our customers and members of the community and have made the decision to discontinue placing multicultural hair care and beauty products — a practice in place in about a dozen of our 4,700 stores nationwide — in locked cases,” Mr. Lopez wrote.
In 2018, a California woman sued Walmart in federal court for discrimination over the policy, saying she felt humiliated having to ask a store employee to unlock the beauty products case on three visits to the store, including to buy a comb that cost $0.48.
The woman, Essie Grundy, said she went to a Walmart in Perris, Calif., in Riverside County to buy body lotion by the beauty brand Cantu when she noticed that all of the products “targeted at African-Americans” were locked in a glass case, “from the middle of the aisle to the end.”
Common Ground held a voter registration drive-thru on July 11th modeled after the drive-up COVID-19 community testing sites. Common Ground helped those who needed to register, re-register or check their registration status in the Sherman Park neighborhood. Leaders and volunteers wore masks and gloves and followed doctor-approved safety precautions to protect themselves and those coming []
The post Common Ground Hosts Voter Registration Drive-Thru appeared first on Milwaukee Community Journal.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago Public Library (CPL), and the CPL Foundation have partnered to bring “Live from the Library” to the children of Chicago.
Every week, CPL enlists select librarians from the institution’s 81 branches, along with some notable Chicago public figures, to bring the communities together through the love of storytelling.
The virtual program features many of Chicago’s most beloved public figures, including President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who just recently read The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds on Thursday, May 14.
“Public libraries are essential institutions, and that’s why we’re bringing a new branch of the Chicago Public Library to the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side.
“Live from the Library” was launched with a reading by CPL Commissioner Andrea Telli; other notable Chicagoans like former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije, actress Jane Lynch, and Mayor Lightfoot have participated since.
(Trinidad Guardian) The Law Association of TT is calling on Police Commissioner Gary Griffith to temporarily suspend the police officers who were involved in the deaths of three men from Morvant last weekend.
The article Trinidad law body calls for suspension of cops over Morvant killings appeared first on Stabroek News.
ST. PETERSBURG — The League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg Area (LWVSPA) had to stop doing in-person voter registration and education events in mid-March; their last outing was helping clients at Daystar Life Center on March 11.
Using publicly available data from the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections and working closely with community partners, LWVSPA developed a multi-part campaign with messaging that urges residents to think about voting by mail as “Your Voting Back-Up Plan.”
The voter turnout data and partner conversations also led to the decision by Grove and leaders of the Voter Services team to focus the campaign on low turnout precincts, particularly on the south side; speaking to female voters who like the tradition of voting in person as a way of engaging with their families and neighbors at their polling place.
Grove said while data shows that women in these precincts vote at higher rates than men, “there was agreement in many of our discussions with community partners that women are the decision-makers and influencers in their families and communities primarily in areas like voting.”
LWVSPA and Community Law Program are also hosting a voter registration event specifically for Returning Citizens this Sunday, June 28, from 12-3 p.m. at the parking lot of Rock of Jesus MB Church, 3940 18th Ave. S.
Pro bono attorneys will be available for those who are not able to register because of sentencing issues.
In the midst of the de facto administration’s attempt to steal an election by any means possible, and, on the eve of the public hearing at the International Court of Justice in the case concerning the 1899 Arbitral Award (Guyana vs Venezuela), de facto Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo took it upon himself to go public, firing as it were, on all cylinders on sensitive foreign policy matters not realizing that his casus belli would be a colossal error of judgement.
In defiance of any rational explanation, the lame duck Prime Minister, based on what he said, views every statement by the Western powers in respect to Guyana as a threat to be countered.
Mr. Nagamootoo fails to recognize that in the case of Guyana, the Western countries are not seeking to replace a democratically elected government and to install an authoritarian regime, it is the other way around.
Coming in the wake of a strong statement by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calling on Granger to “concede defeat and to begin the democratic transition of power,” and fully aware of the impending case of the Guyana vs Venezuela border controversy at the ICJ to which the US government has publicly declared its recognition of Essequibo as an integral part of Guyana’s national territory, Mr Granger engages in self-serving double talk to wriggle out of the messy situation in which he has found himself thanks to his Prime Minister and more recently, his Campaign Manager.
The de facto President pleaded saying: “The United States is a friend and has worked closely with Guyana over several decades…”
He went on to say that: “Guyana’s strategic interests in the Western Hemisphere were not in jeopardy…”
Mr. Granger’s effort at pacification and assuaging the Western countries must be viewed as too little, too late.
May 25: Congolese lawmakers exchange blows over leadership vote
\tThe Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Assembly was the scene of an open-for-all fight when lawmakers moved to remove the first deputy speaker of the house.
Lawmakers rushed to the front of the parliament engaging in violent exchanges over the intended vote as security detail were called in to restore calm.
The vote eventually took place with 289 out of 500 lawmakers voting in favour of the removal of Jean – Marc Kabund from his post as first vice-president of the National Assembly.
Protests over parliamentary sacking of president’s top ally
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November 22, 2018 – Zimbabwe joins Uganda, South Africa
\tPrior to Thursday November 22, 2018; the Ugandan and South African parliaments were on record as places that had ‘hosted’ violent confrontation between lawmakers and security agents.
READ MORE: Photos from Africa’s chaotic parliaments: Uganda and South Africa
\tPhotos shared on Twitter by the state-owned Zimpapers Images showed a very physical encounter between security detail and lawmakers of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Alliance.
(CALMATTERS) – This week, lawmakers will consider several measures that have taken on newfound significance amid widespread protests over racism and calls for criminal justice reform.
And two proposed amendments to the California Constitution will appear on the November ballot if approved by lawmakers this week.
As CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall and Adria Watson report, the parole measure is promoted by 31-year-old Esteban Núñez, son of a former Speaker of the California Assembly, who was convicted for his role in the 2008 killing of 22-year-old college student Luis Santos.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 reduced Núñez’s sentence from 16 years to seven, a decision that angered Santos’ parents and others who said Núñez’s political connections allowed him to circumvent justice.
Núñez now works for a criminal justice nonprofit, advocating for bills like ACA 6 to help give the incarcerated a second chance.
With Republican-led voter suppression efforts ramped up, one could make a legal argument of gross negligence about our election system. But can anyone prove it?
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Indiana has some incredibly restrictive voter laws, and currently we only have one early voting site in all of Indianapolis,” stated Robert Shegog, CEO at the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper and Indiana Minority Business Magazine. “A few more will open Oct. 24, but significantly more are needed given the size of the city. However, it is very refreshing to see so many people voting early. This has been a trend in Indianapolis for over ten years now, and the numbers keep increasing,” Shegog noted.
LOS ANGELES (June 19, 2020)- Participant, the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change, today announced the “Good Trouble” impact campaign to coincide with the release of the new documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble and in commemoration of Juneteenth, the annual celebration of the emancipation from slavery.
John Lewis: Good Trouble, which Magnolia Pictures and Participant will release in select theaters and on demand on July 3, tells the story of Congressman John Lewis, an American hero and inspirational symbol of civil rights.
“We’re proud to celebrate the iconic legacy of Congressman John Lewis in partnership with some of the leading voices in the fight for all our democratic principles,” said David Linde, CEO of Participant.
In partnership with Congressman John Lewis, the filmmakers, Participant, Magnolia Pictures, Color Farm Media, When We All Vote, Fair Fight, BET, NAACP, Color of Change, Black Voters Matter, VoteRiders, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Rock the Vote, HBCU Heroes, and locally led community groups, the campaign will provide opportunities to support voting rights, participate in civic engagement actions and support local efforts that empower disenfranchised communities to fully participate in our democracy.
“John Lewis serves as a reminder of the importance of grassroots efforts and active engagement to advance civil rights, voter protections and so many of the causes at the forefront of our national dialogue right now,” said Allison Riggs, Chief Voting Rights Counsel and Interim Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.
Former President Barack Obama released a statement on Monday, June 1 encouraging protesters of the George Floyd murder to further their activism once they leave the streets.
Released via online publishing platform Medium, Obama touched on the ways that activists can create real change in their communities when the protesting ends.
“… the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels,” he explained.
Obama went on to say that activists need to get specific about their demands for criminal justice and police reform, as well as find the best ways to educate their community members about what needs to be done.
Obama ended his public posting on Monday by sharing a video of George Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, encouraging protesters to be nonviolent and vote.
He’s using his most marketable skill to save democracy.
Target announced that it will be implementing a new digital badge to help shoppers identify Black-owned brands.
Savannah Jazz will live-stream a free online concert with pianist Eric Jones and vocalist Claire Frazier from their YouTube page from 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wX0BbkgVz-E&- feature=youtu.be&mc_ cid= 3206315039& mc_ eid= 773e6fa94b. The concert is free for ALL to watch, including Savannah Jazz members. Claire Frazier holds a storied musical career, having lived and toured through Europe, … Continue reading \"Savannah Jazz Holds August 16 Live Stream Concert With Eric Jones & Claire Frazier\"
Today (Sept. 17), Foot Locker, Inc. announced that it is partnering with Rock The Vote. If you can work a sneaker app, you can certainly figure out if you're registered to vote, right?
Dear Editor,
Once again we are witnessing the abuse of power by two public figures, Ruel Johnson and Glen Lall, who appear to think that the laws of Guyana do not relate to them.
The article Ruel Johnson’s unctuous ‘apologies’ ring shallow, self-serving appeared first on Stabroek News.
Mulatu Lemma, Ph.D., a mathematics professor at Savannah State University (SSU), is among 12 recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). The PAESMEM recognizes those who have made significant contributions to mentoring and thereby support the future productivity of the U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. The program was created to … Continue reading \"Savannah State’s Mulatu Lemma Receives Presidential Award for Excellence\"
Kenyan police killed three people when they fired at a crowd of motorcycle taxi drivers protesting against the arrest of a colleague for flouting coronavirus restrictions.
Two more people were shot dead after the crowd followed the officers back to their police station, it said.
ALSO READ: Fury in Kenya over police brutality amid coronavirus curfew
Earlier this week, a Kenyan policeman was charged with the murder of a 13-year-old boy while enforcing the Covid-19 curfew order.
Rights activists claim that including Moyo, 19 people, all from low-income areas, have died from police enforcement of the coronavirus curfew.
In April, Human Rights Watch accused Kenyan police of imposing curfews \"in a chaotic and violent manner, from the beginning\", sometimes whipping, beating or using tear gas to force people off the streets.
However, democrats believe that this effort is less about fighting voter fraud and more about enabling voter suppression and making the voting process especially difficult for black voters and other minorities.
Republicans are able to do this in part because of a 2018 federal court ruling that allows the national republican party to start campaigns against alleged voter fraud without court approval.
There was previously a ban on republican party voter-fraud operations after courts found instances of republicans intimidating or prioritizing the exclusion of minority voters, with the most recent account taking place in 2004.
The ongoing global pandemic is also having an impact on the voting process, with several democrats calling for the expansion of voting by mail and some republicans saying that doing so would invite voter fraud.
Fair Fight also believes that republican spending on alleged voter suppression will far exceed $20 million.
Another Confederate monument has fallen — this time in a city where such memorials were understandably rare to begin with: the nation's capital.
Protesters on Friday night toppled a statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike, the only outdoor Confederate memorial in the city.
The anger directed at Confederate statues has not been unique to Washington, D.C.
Protesters on Friday also partly dismantled a Confederate monument in Raleigh, N.C., pulling down a couple of small statues incorporated into its design.
Both monuments are just the latest items on a growing list of controversial statues and other symbols of the slaveholding Confederacy that have been removed from public spaces recently — despite the president's objections.
City officials authorized the removal of Confederate monuments in Birmingham, Ala., and Decatur, Ga., while a statue of controversial explorer Christopher Columbus came down by formal decree in Columbus, Ohio.
by Najee El-Amin - In 2016, Mississippi’s voter turnout rate took a nosedive as 70,000 eligible citizens did not show up to cast a ballot. Activists have been trying to figure out why this happened and how to get African Americans, a powerful voting bloc, energized and back to the polls. Their efforts are coming […]
Volusia County races will include county chair; council district seats 2, 3 and 4; sheriff; property appraiser; county clerk; and supervisor of elections.
Our officers and committee members always have voter registration material on hand,” said Cynthia Slater, local NAACP president.
The local Democratic Party also is encouraging absentee ballot voting during the pandemic.
The Minority Elected Officials of Volusia County also is encouraging voters to register and hit the polls, especially African Americans and other minorities.
The Minority Elected Officials, like the NAACP, is concerned with voter turnout.
First in the World
Russia has registered the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine claiming that it has been proven to offer lasting immunity from the coronavirus for up to two years. Russia registered the first COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday and is now the first nation in the world to lay claim to such a feat which brings it closer to asserting its image as a global power. Many have praised the accomplishment in the media without failing to mention the prestige that comes with being the first - before all other nations, such as the U.S., Britain and Canada who accused Russia of using hackers to steal vaccine research from Western labs, interestingly enough.
Putin's Daughter Took the Vaccine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a government meeting that same day, stated that the vaccine is safe, has undergone proper testing and has proven efficient in offering lasting immunity from the coronavirus. “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity, and I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests. We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world,” he proclaimed.
Putin also added that one of his two adult daughters received two shots of the experiment during the trials. He explained that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius on the day of the first vaccine injection which then dropped to just over 37 degrees on the following day. Only for her temperature to slightly increase again after the second shot was administered and then go back to normal afterwards. “She's feeling well and has a high number of antibodies,'' the president assured.
2-Year Immunity
According to the Health Ministry, the vaccine is expected to provide immunity from the virus for up to two years. Putin emphasized that vaccination will be voluntary. Russian authorities have said that medical workers, teachers and other risk groups will be the first to be inoculated. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova shared that the vaccination of doctors could start as early as this month. Professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine, said that vaccination will start while the Phase 3 trials continue. He explained that initially there will be only enough doses to conduct vaccination in 10-15 of Russia's 85 regions, as sourced by the Interfax news agency). Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October. Many are Doubtful
Many scientists in the country and abroad have been sceptical, however, questioning the decision to register the vaccine before Phase 3 trials that normally last for months and involve thousands of people. Human studies started June 17 among 76 volunteers. Half were injected with a vaccine in liquid form and the other half with a vaccine that came as soluble powder. Some in the first half were recruited from the military, which raised concerns that servicemen may have been pressured to partic
America in Black and Blue 2020, a new PBS NewsHour Weekend special, offers context for and insight into the widespread protests currently engulfing the nation after the latest display of police brutality against Black citizens.
Premiering tonight, Monday, June 15 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local the PBS Video app, America in Black and Blue 2020 reports from across the country to explore the struggle for racial justice, accountability, equity and police reform efforts.
In 2016, we worked with PBS and our producing partners to create America in Black and Blue, a special report about the alarming number of Black lives ended by police officers.
Hosted by Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning journalist Alison Stewart, America in Black and Blue 2020 features new interviews with author and cultural critic Roxane Gay; long-time Minnesota police reform advocate and lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former candidate for mayor and former head of the Minneapolis NAACP; and Rep. Val Demings (D-Florida), former Chief of the Orlando Police Department.
The special also includes an interview with Kevin Young, poet and Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, as well as an excerpt from the upcoming PBS Independent Lens documentary Women in Blue that features the work of an African American Minneapolis police sergeant.
