Get to work, spread the word, and support Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s open seat in the U.S. Senate. The primary is May 14, 2024.
Commentary by Black Kos Editor, Denise Oliver Velez
You don’t have to live in Maryland to help focus attention on a key primary race for a U. S. Senate seat. The state of Maryland has a Democratic senatorial primary coming up, and the two top candidates at the moment are Angela Alsobrooks and her opponent, millionaire Congressman David Trone. The primary winner will probably face Republican former governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, who leads in current polling according to the Washington Post — since not enough voters know about Alsobrooks. We cannot afford to lose control of the Senate. You can help ensure that.
The U.S. Senate currently has one Black woman sitting in a Senate seat, Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to “fill-in” Dianne Feinstein’s seat by California Governor Gavin Newsom. We are all aware, or should be aware that Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and yet we have only had two Black women elected to the Senate in its long history. In 1993 Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois became the first, and the second was Kamala Harris, now our VP, who represented California in the Senate from 2017 to 2021.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee was running for the Senate in CA, but didn’t make it through their jungle primary. The good news is that Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware is running, and it looks like she has a good shot. However, I hope readers will pay attention to Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign — which make news recently due to a “verbal slip” (hmm) made by her Democratic opponent, Trone who used the word “jigaboo” in a House Budget Committee hearing. He says he meant to say “bugaboo” — which rings false to me and other Black listeners — but whatever.
Maggie Astor, reported for The NYTimes:
Angela Alsobrooks Picks Up Senate Endorsements After Opponent Uses Racial Slur (gift link)
Five Black Democrats in the House of Representatives have endorsed Angela Alsobrooks in the party’s Senate primary in Maryland after her main opponent, Representative David Trone, used a racial slur in a House hearing.
The five representatives, all members of the Congressional Black Caucus, did not mention Mr. Trone’s use of the slur in their endorsements of Ms. Alsobrooks. But their support for Ms. Alsobrooks, first reported by Axios, over one of their House colleagues is notable, particularly given that the Democrats’ House leaders — Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar — have endorsed Mr. Trone.
Mr. Trone, a third-term representative from western Maryland, apologized on Friday after saying, in a House Budget Committee hearing, “This Republican jigaboo that it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business.”
He said in his apology that he had meant to say “bugaboo,” and added: “As an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.”
Democrats are eager to hold the reliably blue seat against a threat from Republican Larry Hogan, the former governor
Michael Hanmer, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, said Raskin’s endorsement “could make a big difference” in a race with so many undecided voters — especially as his influence has grown and people have connected with how he handled difficult issues in his personal life, including a cancer diagnosis and the death of his only son by suicide.
“It allowed a lot of people to learn about him, connect with him,” Hanmer said.
Raskin also said that he picked Alsobrooks over Trone because, like Cardin’s, her “career really comes out of local and state politics from the Maryland soil.” Alsobrooks grew up in Maryland and was a state prosecutor before she was elected to lead Prince George’s.
*Warning*— strong language in the Tik Tok posted below in Tiff’s tweet:
So let’s introduce Angela Alsobrooks:
Some Alsobrooks background from Emily’s List
A Proven Leader Prepared to Serve
Angela Alsobrooks is a proven leader and lifelong Marylander running for an open U.S. Senate seat to bring her experience and leadership to a chamber where she will be a catalyst for change. Alsobrooks currently serves as County Executive for Prince George’s County. She is the first woman to hold the position and the first Black woman elected to the position of county executive in Maryland’s history. Previously, she served as the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, where she worked to reduce youth truancy and violent crime. Alsobrooks, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. graduated with her bachelor’s degree in public policy from Duke University, earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, and now lives in Upper Marlboro with her daughter, Alex.
A Champion for Women, Children, and Families
Early in her law career, Alsobrooks was hired as the first full-time domestic violence prosecutor in Prince George’s County. This experience deepened her passion for fighting for women, children, and families and ensuring that all people have access to the resources and care they need to be safe. “I loved it,” Alsobrooks says. “I loved counseling the survivors, being able to say, ‘This is not going to define the rest of your life.’” During her time as county executive, she has focused on increasing funding for education, upgrading technology to better serve residents, and working to improve services for the area’s 60,000 veterans. After the onset of the pandemic, Alsobrooks created programs that distribute meals to county residents and provide funding for restaurants and other small businesses, and she reallocated $20 million to support mental health and addiction recovery services. Under her guidance, Prince George’s County led the state in job growth for five years in a row and has remained a beacon of inspiration for the state of Maryland.
Here’s a Forbe’s interview with Alsobrooks:
Here’s Alsobrooks ad posted to X:
Link to donate to her campaign
If you can’t afford to donate — you can help by spreading the word!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We should really look at these as the pushback against Black economic progress,” says Patrice Willoughby, senior vice president of global policy and impact at NAACP. The Grio: Black businesses face uphill battle after reverse racism ruling from Trump-appointed judge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier this month, a federal court delivered yet another blow to government efforts to close the racial equity gap and better serve Black and brown communities.
The latest set back came by a ruling from Judge Mark Pittman that ordered the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to no longer consider race or ethnicity when deploying its services to U.S. small businesses.
“This is not one attack, but it’s a series of attacks on the measures that the federal government has put in place to remedy,” Patrice Willoughby, senior vice president of global policy and impact at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), told the Grio.
Using the same constitutional argument the U.S. Supreme Court used to overturn race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions last year, Pittman, appointed to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas by former President Donald Trump, said MBDA’s qualification for “disadvantaged” business owners violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
In other words, the judge argued the agency violated the constitutional rights of white business owners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The law, signed by Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday, goes into effect Oct. 1. The Root: Alabama Governor Signs Another Law Aimed at Keeping Southern Blacks Down and Out
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Wednesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that forbids those programs in public colleges and offices.
The bill, SB 129, mandates that DEI offices and initiatives that are funded by public colleges or government agencies be dramatically changed or removed altogether. In addition, it aims to stifle academic lessons that center gender, race, or identity (the bill refers to them as “divisive concepts”).
Kansas is aiming to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on university campuses across the country. However, state lawmakers drafted their proposals to avoid having to agree on how to define DEI.
In a statement, Gov. Ivey said that her administration does appreciate diversity—but only on their terms. She explained:
“My Administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or wherever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe. We have already taken action to prevent this in our K-12 classrooms, and I am pleased to sign SB129 to protect our college campuses. Supporting academic freedom, embracing diversity of cultures and backgrounds and treating people fairly are all key components of what we believe in Alabama, and I am more than confident that will continue.”
Furthermore, these forbidden “concepts” are categorized as teachings that administer “fault, blame or bias” and imply that certain groups of people are “inherently responsible for actions committed in the past.” The bill also bans transgender people from using public bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In interview with CNN, Willis says she hadn’t done anything embarrassing in regards to her past relationship with a special prosecutor. The Grio: Fulton County DA Fani Willis says despite efforts to slow down Trump case, ‘the train is coming’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Saturday that the election interference prosecution against Donald Trump hasn’t been delayed by proceedings over her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired for the case.
“I don’t feel like we have been slowed down at all,” Willis told CNN in an interview. “I think there are efforts to slow down the train, but the train is coming.”
Her latest comments come as defense attorneys continue to press claims about her handling of a sprawling prosecution against the former president and current GOP presumptive nominee. Trump faces four felony indictments — including separate federal and state cases for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that he lost to President Joe Biden — but has fought to delay and dismiss the cases, arguing that political opponents are wrongly targeting him.
Willis spoke days after a Georgia judge allowed attorneys for Trump’s codefendants to appeal his ruling that she could stay on the case after the withdrawal of the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade. That may allow defense attorneys to amplify allegations of impropriety between Wade and Willis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Center aims to professionalize talent in west African country where almost half of young people cannot read. The Guardian: ‘It gave me a voice’: the Burkina Faso dance school opening doors for young talent
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 2019, the Burkinabé choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly opened the doors of his contemporary dance training and cultural production centre in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Its aim was to professionalise the talent of young people in Burkina Faso, a poor west African country beset by violence.
One of the first pupils on Coulibaly’s programme, called Ankata Next Generation, which comes from the dyula language word for “forward”, was Kadija Sanou, better known by her stage name Kadi Bobo. The 28-year-old recalled being dragged to the class by a friend from the market where she worked in Bobo-Dioulasso, and the impact Coulibaly’s teaching had on her.
“I used to be afraid and embarrassed to speak in front of people, but Ankata has given me a voice and words,” Sanou said in an interview in her home city.
Sanou completed the multidisciplinary training programme – which comprises dance, theatre, music, painting and artistic production – in 2021, and travelled to France to perform the next year. “My first time in France, I had a lot of problems because I knew the name of the metro stop but couldn’t read it,” she said. “I was afraid they would laugh at me for not knowing how to speak French; now I hope they correct me,” she said.
Coulibaly’s centre also acts as a sort of artistic laboratory, where an elderly woman, a child begging for money and an enthusiastic young person on the programme can converge.
“Bobo-Dioulasso is a breeding ground for talented dancers who cannot professionalise,” said Coulibaly, who was also born in city. “My goal is for them to be able to create their own paths because when the training ends, no one will give them jobs.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ras Baraka says the Garden State can be a liberal proving ground. Politico: This New Jersey mayor wants to be a governor like Ron DeSantis or Greg Abbott — but for the left
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ras Baraka couldn’t be less like Ron DeSantis or Greg Abbott. A Black Democrat raised by activist poets, he is the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, and proclaimed it a sanctuary city in the Trump era, ran a guaranteed income program and expanded opportunities to vote.
But he sees a chance to be like the Republican governors of Florida and Texas in one way. If he’s elected governor next year, he says he’d push New Jersey further left and make it a liberal trend-setter in the same way the two red-state governors have held such influence on national issues like immigration and sex education.
“We could be a proving ground,” he said in an interview this month near Newark City Hall.
Baraka is one of the most progressive Democrats in New Jersey, and possibly the nation. He says he’d push New Jersey further to the left at a time of political upheaval, with Sen. Bob Menendez charged with corruption and the race to replace him fracturing Democrats because of the state’s unique endorsement process. Baraka is one of the few elected officials calling for an end to that, which effectively gives local leaders the power to anoint candidates in primaries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voices & Soul
and even when I took mine off, artificial bluebells
were braided into hair… “
— Thylias Moss
“Heads Wrapped in Flowers”
by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Editor
I was asked, as I’m sure we all were asked, if our lives are better now than four years ago? And I remember those four years ago quite clearly, because I remember hearing how we had to get our lives back to normal. But has the baseline for “normal” ever really been established? I kept hearing how the pandemic hit the Black community especially hard and I remember thinking, what else is new? I’m old enough to remember “sheltering in place” was when the kids were hid under the floorboards when the KKK paid a late night visit and no one knew who might breathe their last. I remember the deaths of the young and the old and the intelligent and the simple and the beautiful and the unknown taken too soon by an insidious disease and it had been around forever, like a magnolia hanging tree.
I remember hearing about mob bosses and piracy on the high seas near Barbados as Trump’s pirates literally stole ventilators meant for the island. I kept hearing about safe distances, safety behind a mask and the danger of a kiss. I remember thinking, how can we possibly return to normal when I cannot define “normal.”
I had an Easter dream once in my early 20’s I wrote a poem about when I still did those things. I had come upon a man in a vast, arid desert. He was holding a dead lamb tightly against his chest and he was crying. I somehow knew the crying man was Jesus. The dead lamb appeared to have been shot and blood trickled on the man’s bare chest and stomach.
“I feel it all!” the crying man suddenly shouted. “All of it! Nothing passes that does not pass through me!”
I stood nearby as the crying man continued to cry for a very long time. I could feel water rise to my ankles and then to my knees. When the water had reached our waists, the crying man let out a painful groan,
“I must go now,” he lamented, “if I stay in one place for very long, my tears will drown the earth.”
He blessed a blessing as he turned and waded away through the vast lake-filled desert. The dead lamb still clutched tightly to his chest.
I stood and wept a little longer. I turned in my own way and made for the distant shadows that undulated across the horizon. Those distant mountains that we all remember in some distant memory, reflected in Easter tears.
The Easter hats usually exploited gardens
and even when I took mine off, artificial bluebells
were braided into hair
just as they were (white lie)
when Deirdre’s son dropped petals
into his mother’s casket: one landed
as useless improvement of her mouth,
Years before, Deirdre and I ducked out of service
went to Little Italy’s Murray Hill and slurped
things marinara with our decaf to support her crush
on Hill Street Blues’ Ed Marinaro who played Coffey
who wasn’t quite the palest thing in her life
considering what breathed down our necks
the most inhospitable air they had
but we anticipated bad breath,
we had assumed a garlicky existence
because miracles we then believed in made vampirism
just as plausible. No flowers on the checked-top table
wilted because of atmosphere. From a distance
the beret we saw on a stranger was telling us
walking wounded
and images from former Persian and Ottoman empires
say the same thing, distance failing to be what it was.
We learned Tigris and Euphrates
to help us learn the flowering of existence.
We learned fertile crescent
and we are somehow still amazed
by the fertility of experience: fully-swaddled
babies shaken like perverse maracas to silence
instead of make the music of rupture persistent:
light bulbs bandaged then fractured under wraps
and again and again those instruments
for crude concerts that parents applauded
with crackle that amplified the filaments’ pitiful fizzle:
We didn’t have to go much further to love Batman,
Spiderman, Zorro, the Lone Ranger, all masked men
illicitly patronizing convenience
stores
as I do for the implication that merchandise
has been skewed for the expediency of customers:
heads shrunken
and wrapped in price tags, Styrofoam, satin,
and certificates of authenticity. Real
old-school prissy passengers
in ling-finned convertibles wore nets on their heads
that when wind-whipped became fully bagged
as nets changed position, flimsy umpires appeared
stricken, the net a prototype of shrink-wrap
on these Sunday drives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
