By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), who was formally targeted for defeat by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) won her primary challenge on April 23. Rep. Lee won easily over a primary candidate recruited by AIPAC, 61 percent to 31 percent. On the last weekend of the primary campaign, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned alongside Lee. Along with the NRA and Planned Parenthood, AIPAC is one of the most powerful and influential lobbying groups in U.S. politics. Back in September 2023, it was revealed that AIPAC was recruitin ..read more

Written by Stacy M. Brown Merchant said she initially joined the Coast Guard with the intention of financing her medical school education. By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant has made history as the first Black female admiral in the service’s 233-year history. Admiral Merchant, previously the commander of Sector New York, will now lead the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center in Washington, D.C., where she will oversee recruitment and scholarships. Merchant said she initially joined the Coast Guard with th ..read more

A deeply telling new book sheds light on the systemic injustice that has plagued Black Americans for generations. Authored by Andrew W. Kahrl, a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia, “The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America” unveils the insidious ways in which U.S. bureaucracies perpetuated the racial wealth gap through discriminatory tax policies. Per Bloomberg, the book reveals how the United States systematically siphoned $600 billion from the Black community through unfair taxes in the aftermath of slaver ..read more

Terra Morehead, a former prosecutor who helped frame an innocent Black man for a murder he didn’t commit, has agreed to surrender her law license and is set to be disbarred. According to KCUR, Morehead, who retired from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas in August 2023, surrendered her license as part of an agreement with the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys. At the center of Morehead’s alleged misconduct is the case of Lamonte McIntyre, who was convicted of a double homicide in 1994 when he was just 17. Morehead was accused of working with former Kansas City Police de ..read more

Earlier this week Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, amid protest from a number of school officials, signed into law a school voucher/scholarship bill which will provide up to $6,500 in assistance for academically challenged students in poor performing schools to attend charter and private schools for an improved learning experience. The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act provides a $6,500 voucher per year to parents to help cover the cost of enrolling their children in participating private schools. Students have to be enrolled for one year in schools ranked among the lowest performing in the state. A p ..read more

On a night where just 13 NFL prospects showed up to attend the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, the pre-show red carpet attend was a star-studded affair, as soon-to-be pro football players were dressed to the nines for thousands of fans and media members. Draft prospects were all decked out in diamonds and gold and tailored suits for the event. Check out the looks from 12 of the 13 prospective draftees as they strutted the red carpet with their parents, significant others, other family members, and friends at downtown Detroit’s Fox Theatre just hours before the beginning of the 2024 NFL Draft. Follo ..read more

APRIL 24 1867—The first national meeting of the Ku Klux Klan is held at the Maxwell House in Nashville, Tenn. The White supremacist organization and its various offshoots would go on to launch a wave of terror, which would result in death and injury to thousands of African Americans over the years. The Klan would remain the nation’s most powerful anti-Black terrorist organization for the next 70 years. The first chapter, however, was actually formed a year earlier in Pulaski, Tenn. Most of the early Klan mem­bers were former soldiers of the defeated Confederate Army from the Civil ..read more

Leading financial expert Gail Perry-Mason is the senior director of investments at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. But her storied 30-year career is the stuff Lifetime movies are made of. Perry-Mason began life in less than optimal – no meager conditions and she made her way up from an abandoned bi-racial to later become a receptionist at a brokerage firm where she would ultimately become the one of the most respected financial leaders in the nation. Imagine finally meeting your birth mother and asking the question that every adopted child asks — after “Why did you give me up?” — “What was I like a ..read more

Color Vision, the pioneering woman-led empowerment organization founded by Mia Davis in 2017, hosted their highly anticipated “The Creator’s Luncheon” at The Gathering Spot over the weekend. This exclusive event celebrated the remarkable achievements of four outstanding women who have made significant contributions to their respective industries. Reflecting on the inspiration behind the event, Davis said, “I started events like this in 2018 to create a safe space for women of color, specifically Black women. So many parts of society do not honor, recognize, or appreciate us. We have to do it o ..read more

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R) is comparing former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial to racial discrimination Black people face in court. During a Tuesday (April 16) interview with Breitbart News, Scott claimed Trump, who has been charged with 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying documents to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels weeks before the 2016 election, is facing a “prejudiced” trial. The GOP senator suggested the former president’s trial was on par with a Black person being judged by the color of their skin in court. “Imagine if this was not about the red pa ..read more