In 1871, the US almost acquired the Dominican Republic. President Ulysses S. Grant hoped that 'the entire colored population of the United States' would move to the island.
Concerned about the future of newly-emancipated Black Americans, President Grant saw the Dominican Republic as a place where they could live freely.
news.yahoo.comNew this week: 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,' Kanye and 'From'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include a musical reunion of Leon Bridges and Khruangbin, the first take of a multi-part documentary on Kanye West and the return of โThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselโ for its pandemic-delayed fourth season.
Douglass Park neighbors divided over Riot Fest as some complain about damage and traffic while others say it brings in new vitality
Chicagoโs four-day rock, punk and hip-hop music festival, which moved to Douglass Park in 2015 after residents campaigned for its removal from Humboldt Park, is a source of disagreement within the neighborhood.
chicagotribune.comTime to reexamine Frederick Douglassโ โWhat to the Slave is the Fourth of July?โ
Delivered in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, on the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the preeminent abolitionist, statesman, writer and orator took the opportunity not to celebrate America, but to remind everyone that this nation is not a place where Black folks are free. Cutting like a knife nearly 170 years ago, Douglassโ words are just as relevant and resonating to what Black people are experiencing today.
news.yahoo.comForget the Fourth of JulyโItโs Time to Celebrate Juneteenth
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos via GettyWhen I think of Juneteenth, I canโt help but think about a famous speech by Frederick Douglassโand about the young Mexican American activist who told me a couple of years ago that he wanted to celebrate Juneteenth instead of the Fourth of July.On July 5, 1852, at an Independence Day celebration organized by the Rochester Ladiesโ Anti-Slavery Society, Frederick Douglass asked โWhat to the slave is the Fourth of July?โ And he answered that it i
news.yahoo.comBiden marks nation's Covid grief before inauguration pomp
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden look out at lights during a COVID-19 memorial, with lights placed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. โTo heal we must remember," the incoming president told the nation at a sunset ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. โBetween sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights into the darkness ... and remember all who we lost,โ Biden said. Biden at his Delaware farewell, held at the National Guard/Reserve Center named after his late son Beau Biden, paid tribute to his home state. ___This story has been corrected to show that flags on the National Mall represent people who couldn't come, not COVID deaths.
Voting history of Detroit woman, 103, dates back to FDR
Talu Massey speaks about voting from her home in Detroit, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. But this is far from the Detroit resident's first election. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying it's every citizen's "civic duty" to take part in the process. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying itโs every citizenโs โcivic dutyโ to take part in the process. Massey voted absentee in September, eight decades after she cast her first presidential ballot โ for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Naked with 'spit hoods' on, protesters decry Prude's death
ROCHESTER, N.Y. Naked except for spit hoods in a reference to the killing of Daniel Prude, several protesters sat outside Rochester's police headquarters Monday morning to push for police accountability, local news outlets reported. Seven police officers were suspended Thursday, and state Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday she would form a grand jury and conduct an "exhaustive investigation into Prude's death. Warren and Police Chief LaRon Singletary have faced calls for their resignations over the delay in releasing details of Prudes death. Protesters gathered in a Rochester park Monday evening before moving to the city's Public Safety Building by nightfall, for a sixth consecutive night of demonstrations. On Sunday, police said more than 1,000 protesters marched to the Public Safety Building on a night more peaceful than the rest, with community elders acting as a buffer between officers and protesters.
George Floyd? Donald Trump? Hero statue nominations are in
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Commissioner Amy Zanelli, suggested George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans whose killings by police sparked massive street protests. The administration also is leaving open the possibility of a statue of Trump himself in the Trump-created statue park after receiving what it said were multiple nominations" of the president. Trump ordered up the statue park during a Fourth of July speech at Mount Rushmore, and set up a task force on a 60-day deadline to get the idea going. They urged the task force to consider a statue to Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old high school senior shot to death last year while lunging at a gunman in his British literature class. Asked about what it said were many nominations for a statue of Trump, Goldey, the Interior spokesman, pointed to Commissioner Steve Smith of Custer County, Idaho.
'Do something:' Harris' rapid rise driven by call to action
She faced questions familiar to women in politics, particularly women of color, about her ambition. Harris faced both the scrutiny of her personal life and the resistance to her rise as she raced past rivals from more well-connected families. Years later, when she ran for California attorney general and needed support beyond her liberal home base, Harris tempered her stance on capital punishment. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women," Harris wrote of her mother. At Howard, Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nations oldest sorority for Black women.
'Do something:' Harris' rapid rise driven by call to action
She faced questions familiar to women in politics, particularly women of color, about her ambition. Harris faced both the scrutiny of her personal life and the resistance to her rise as she raced past rivals from more well-connected families. Years later, when she ran for California attorney general and needed support beyond her liberal home base, Harris tempered her stance on capital punishment. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women," Harris wrote of her mother. At Howard, Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nations oldest sorority for Black women.
Black soldiers monument faces scrutiny amid racial reckoning
Workers inspect the top cornice stone as it is lifted from the Shaw 54th Regiment memorial opposite the Statehouse, Friday, July 17, 2020, in Boston. Amid the national reckoning on racism, the memorial to the first Black regiment of the Union Army, the Civil War unit popularized in the movie "Glory, is facing scrutiny. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Black soldiers monument faces scrutiny amid racial reckoning
Amid the national reckoning on racism, the memorial to the first Black regiment of the Union Army, the Civil War unit popularized in the movie "Glory, is facing scrutiny. White commander out front; Black soldiers in the background. Itโs the first thing you see.โAmid the national reckoning on racism, the Shaw memorial is the latest and, perhaps, one of the more curious to receive scrutiny. Unlike other felled monuments, the work by American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens isnโt a paean to the Confederacy. Saint-Gaudens spent 14 years creating a richly detailed bas relief, using Black men of different ages as models for his realistic soldiers.
Frederick Douglass statue vandalized in Rochester park
This photo provided by WROC-TV shows the remnants of a Frederick Douglass statue ripped from its base at a park in Rochester, N.Y., Sunday, July 5, 2020. The statue of abolitionist Douglass was ripped on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, delivered in that city in 1852. (Ben Densieski/WROC-TV via AP)ROCHESTER, N.Y. A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, delivered in that city in 1852. Police said the statue of Douglass was taken on Sunday from Maplewood Park, a site along the Underground Railroad where Douglas and Harriet Tubman helped shuttle slaves to freedom. The statue was found at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet from its pedestal, police said.
Amid furor over monuments, Trump call for garden of statues
FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks in Washington. The president unveiled his plan Friday, July 3, 2020, during his speech at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, S.D. We will raise the next generation of American patriots, Trump said at Mount Rushmore. None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying, according to the order. The order includes language to make clear that non-U.S. citizens who played significant roles in American history also could be honored in the garden.
House moves to approve DC statehood; Senate GOP opposes
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., speaks at a news conference on District of Columbia statehood on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, in Washington. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md. will hold a vote on D.C. statehood on July 26. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
House adopts bill to make DC 51st state; Senate GOP opposes
Lawmakers approved the bill, 232-180, largely along party lines, marking the first time a chamber of Congress has passed a D.C. statehood bill. Or Congress can live up to this nationโs promise and ideals, end taxation without representation and passโ the statehood bill. In a Senate speech, he dismissed Washington, D.C., as a city with little more to offer than lobbyists and federal workers. โIn other words, Wyoming is a well-rounded working-class state.โCotton also criticized Democrats for prioritizing the D.C. statehood vote while there is โmob violenceโ in the streets. โThere shouldnโt be troops from other states in Washington, D.C.,โ said Bowser.
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband Delivers Remarks at Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act
These prosecutions are a key part of the Departments overall hate crimes prosecution program, which in the last 10 years has charged more than 330 defendants in more than 210 hate crimes cases. In August 2018, the Departments Hate Crimes Initiative convened the first-ever seminar on Investigating and Prosecuting Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism, bringing together 70 civil rights and domestic terrorism prosecutors and agents to discuss how to collaborate better when investigating and prosecuting hate crimes that also constitute acts of domestic terrorism. And, a year ago this month, in October 2018, the Departments Hate Crimes Initiative convened a law enforcement roundtable on hate crimes. The ultimate goal of the program is to further hate crimes prevention efforts, and improve the accuracy of hate crime statistics, as more people become willing to report hate crimes to law enforcement. As stated, hate crimes are message crimes.
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