|
|
Unless you’ve made a concerted effort to avoid the echo chambers of the cable news outlets, we’re sure you know by now that Donald Trump had a private discussion with President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a dinner at the G20 summit. There is no official U.S. record of the conversation, as a Kremlin interpreter was the only other person involved. Trump derided news reports about the meeting as “sick.” Speaking of sick, now that efforts to repeal the ACA have collapsed, Donald Trump still has a plan to make America great again: Let Obamacare fail. The president could potentially cut off subsidy payments to insurers or stop enforcing the mandate that most Americans have health insurance. He has invited all 52 Republican senators to the WH today for lunch. We have no idea if he wants to make friends or make threats but we’ll be watching Twitter to see what happens. And though the procedural motion is expected to fail, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will hold a vote to open debate on healthcare next week. Also happening next week, the House will reportedly vote on a spending package that will include funding for Trump's proposed border wall. With an aggressive GOP agenda left unaccomplished, what’s the deal with recess? Is it still delayed? Hello?! Some of us have plane tickets and houses in the Vineyard hanging in the balance. Holla back, McConnell! Here’s what we’ve got today:- Dems are now targeting Ivanka Trump.
- Maya Rockeymoore weighs MD gubernatorial bid.
- DC is one of the most expensive cities in the country. We have no time for those overdraft fees. Ergo, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to the rescue!
- Uh-oh. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) is coming for your clearance, Kushner. You’ve been warned.
- Linda Johnson Rice joins Tesla’s Board.
- Former Baltimore and Philly mayors join the same law firm.
- Meet Invariant’s new Latina Republican strategist.
- The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has named their 2017 Hall of Fame inductees. Meet them below.
- Want to hang with former Secretary of Education John King tonight? RSVP below in FOMO.
- The Kremlin targeted a Black journalist in the 80s. Whaaaat?! See his story below.
- The Joint Center’s Don Bell talks diversity on the Hill.
- And right on time, the Senate Diversity Initiative’s Resume Bank is live!
- We’ll keep an eye on today’s inaugural Voter Integrity Commission meeting, even as House Dems call for Kobach’s dismissal (more below).
- Speaking of the commission, Vanita Gupta warns about their attempts to purge voter rolls.
- Did you guys know Monday was Killer Mike Day? Well, it was. Read on.
- The Hispanic Scholarship Fund teamed with Gates and they’re about to send thousands of students of color to college.
- Native American tribes bypass Trump on Paris Climate Accord.
- Derek Fordjour is known as the JAY-Z of the art world. Read about him in today's blogs. #ForTheCulture
| |
|  |
Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) speaking about the future of legal immigration at a press conference with UFWF on Tuesday. | |  |
Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) on Tuesday facetiously wearing a Trump-Putin hat in honor of Made in America Week. | |
| | |
Rockeymoore Weighing Bid for MD Governor
Looks like the scuttlebutt is true. Maya Rockeymoore, a policy consultant who heads Global Policy Solutions and is married to Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), is definitely weighing a run for Maryland governor in 2018. She would be the first woman to throw her hat in the ring. “I’m seriously looking at this race because I have a bold vision for a better, stronger Maryland,” she said in a statement provided to the WaPo. “I firmly believe that Maryland is ready for a different kind of leader.” No woman currently holds any of Maryland’s four statewide elected executive positions. And, for the first time in 44 years, the state has no women serving in its congressional delegation. What’s up with that MD?? She’s already got Holland and Knight’s Shawna Watley in her corner who said if Rockeymoore does decide to run, “she is running to win.” Maya previously served as Chief of Staff to former NY Congressman Charles Rangel and as VP of research and programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She would face Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III; former NAACP president Benjamin Jealous, who recently won an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT); State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr.; entrepreneur Alec Ross; and attorney James Shea. More here.
| |
Booker Tells Banks to Be Transparent
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to more than a dozen banks on Monday to inquire about their overdraft fee programs. An overdraft program offered by banks allows customers to make purchases with their debit card, even if they lack sufficient funds, but are still charged for the service. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, roughly half of account holders who overdrew their accounts paid a fee that they didn’t recall consenting to. Last year, banks made more than $11 billion in consumer overdraft fees and more than $2.78 billion in fees in the first quarter of this year. In a letter obtained by the WaPo, Booker stated his concern of banks striving to accumulate overdraft fees rather than “pursue a business model that serves their communities.” More here.
| |
The ride sharing company Uber hit a rocky road that sidelined its CEO and raised the stakes on changing its culture. Bernard Coleman, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Uber, talks with The Beat’s Jamal Simmons and Tiffany D. Cross about his plans to steer the company to a better place.
| |
Hirono and Colleagues Call for an Immediate Suspension of Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance
In a letter to the director of White House Management and Office of Administration, Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Al Franken (D-MN), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote that Jared Kushner’s clearance should be suspended while it is under review. “Such ongoing disclosures raise serious questions concerning Mr. Kushner’s suitability for continued access to classified information,” the senators wrote. We are also troubled by the revelation that Mr. Kushner sought to establish a secretive communications channel to the Russian government using Russian diplomatic facilities during the presidential transition. It is still unclear whether he notified background investigators about this.” This is the latest call by Congressional Democrats to remove or suspend Kushner’s clearance. More here.
| |
Members Want Kobach Gone
Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and Robert A. Brady (D-PA), on Tuesday sent a letter to VP Mike Pence requesting that he ask for the resignation of Kris Kobach from his position as the Vice Chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, and that he rescind Mr. Kobach’s unprecedented request for sensitive voter information. “Mr. Kobach has repeatedly claimed, falsely, that widespread voter fraud exists and advertises his work on the Commission to promote his own campaign for governor of Kansas,” they wrote. “These actions undermine the integrity of the Commission and raise significant concerns that the Commission will be used as a tool for voter suppression ... Mr. Kobach should step down as Vice-Chair and be replaced with an individual who can be trusted to ensure that the Commission operates in a bipartisan manner to protect voter information and to protect the right of Americans to vote.” Additionally, on Monday, a disciplinary office operated by the Kansas Supreme Court opened an investigation into Kobach after it received complaints about his conduct. See the full letter here.
| |
|  |
Princeton's Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. with the AP's Errin Whack in Philadelphia on Tuesday night discussing his book, Democracy in Black. | |  |
HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson speaking on Monday in DC at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. | |
| | |
Lee Amendment to Limit Presidential War Powers Stripped
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) tweeted that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) stripped her amendment to end the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the middle of the night. The amendment would reverse the AUMF and end the president's ability to approve anti-terror assaults without congressional approval. The amendment had passed the House Appropriations Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. Just before midnight, Lee tweeted that “Ryan should be ashamed of himself for forcing Republicans to strip out my bipartisan AUMF (amendment) in the dead of night. What is he afraid of.” More here.
| |
Harris and Booker Talk Women’s Incarceration
Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker(D-NJ) attended yesterday’s Women Unshackled event, coordinated by the Justice Action Network, the Brennan Center for Justice, and The Coalition for Public Safety. The event focused on the growing mass incarceration of women and how America is treating women before, during, and after incarceration. They both discussed the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, which they introduced in the Senate last week with colleagues Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). The legislation bans the shackling of pregnant women, requires the Bureau of Prisons to create better visitation policies for parents, provide parenting classes, and offer health products like tampons and pads free of charge, among other things. During yesterday’s event, Harris couldn’t help but slam AG Jeff Sessions for his tough-on-crime policies and said the United States should be smart on crime instead of being tough. “The answer is not to build more prisons and the answer is certainly not to privatize those prisons,” she said. “And the answer, Jeff Sessions, is not to return to relying on mandatory minimum sentences.” More here.
| |
|  |
No, it's not an outtake from a GQ photoshoot. That's former Congressman Steve Horsford with CBC Chair Cedric Richmond (D-LA) at an event last Thursday in DC. | |  |
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) meeting on Tuesday with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) about healthcare, college affordability, and building a progressive future. | |
| | |
Former Baltimore and Philly Mayors Join Law Firm
The global law firm Dentons added two senior advisors to its Local Government Solutions team. Politico reports that former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter both joined the firm's roster of former local government officials. Dentons' Local Government Solutions practice connects the public and private sectors, working with local governments, private businesses and organizations in the U.S. The team focuses on economic development and redevelopment projects, special tax districts, land use and zoning, tax increment financing, new markets tax credits, green cities and smart cities initiatives, downtown and neighborhood revitalization, public finance, pension reform, strategic asset disposition, procurement and government contracts, federal government advocacy, privatization and public private partnerships, infrastructure, and policy development. More here.
| |
Linda Johnson Rice Joins Tesla Board
In an effort to answer criticism about their board and its lack of diversity, Tesla has named Linda Johnson Rice, the African American executive who leads the Johnson Publishing Company -- publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines -- to serve as an independent director on its board. She becomes the second woman on Tesla’s board. “Linda has extensive corporate board experience, having previously served on the boards of a number of companies across a variety of industries, including Bausch & Lomb, Continental Bank, Quaker Oats, Dial Corporation, MoneyGram and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and currently serving on the boards of Omnicom Group and Grubhub,” Tesla said in a statement on Monday. She also works with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Public Library Board of Directors, and The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Tesla also announced James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox, will serve on their board as well. More here.
| |
|  |
Actress Regina Hall discussing her new film Girls Trip at the Comcast-hosted screening Tuesday night at Gallery Place in DC. | |  |
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky(D-IL) introducing Wisconsin congressional candidate Randy Bryce aka the Iron Stache at a fundraiser on Tuesday night. | |
| | |
Martínez Joins Invariant
Republican strategist Larissa Martínez has joined Heather Podesta’s lobbying firm, Invariant. Martínez’ served on Donald Trump’s transition team advancing communications and third-party outreach in support of the President’s Cabinet nominations. Martínez previously served as Executive Director and Senior Advisor to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) where she managed the Senator’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee portfolio, along with judiciary, health care, and labor issues. In addition, Martínez served as the Senator’s political director after her time as deputy campaign manager in 2012. She also worked for then-Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), focusing on immigration, labor, and homeland security issues, as well as for Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Congressman Nathan Deal (R-GA). She was no stranger on the 2016 campaign trail either. She served as Director of Operations for Carly Fiorina for President 2016. She also worked on the Meg Whitman for Governor 2010 and Mike Johanns for Senate 2008 campaigns. Martínez serves as the Co-Founder/Executive Director of RightNOW, a national network that engages women in center-right politics. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and graduated from the University of Georgia. More about her here.
| |
Feminist Press Names New Executive Director
The Feminist Press at City University of NY, an educational nonprofit organization founded to advance women's rights and amplify feminist perspectives, announced that Jamia Wilson has been appointed executive director and publisher. The youngest director in the Press’s 47-year history, Jamia is also the first woman of color to head the organization. Most recently, WIlson was the ED at Women, Action, and Media. She graduated from American University and then attended Howard University briefly before eventually earning her MA from NYU. Wilson has served as a TED Prize Storyteller and VP of Programs at the Women’s Media Center. She has contributed to New York Magazine, the NYT, The Today Show, and the Guardian. “As I join this historic institution on the week of the 155th anniversary of Ida B. Wells’s birth, I’m guided by her wisdom that ‘the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.’ It is with that spirit that I’ll continue to build on FP’s commitment to creating space for and representing a myriad of feminisms through books of all genres and beyond,” Wilson said. More here.
| |
|  |
Congresman Darren Soto (D-FL) last week with Vichal Kumar, the former President of SABA, and Rishi Bagga, the recently elected President of SABA, at the opening reception for the South Asian Bar Association Convention in DC. | |  |
Congressman Marc Veasey (D-TX) encouraging kids at Tuesday’s DC expo to get involved for better health and more self confidence. | |
| | |
National Association of Hispanic Journalists Names Hall of Famers
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has named their 2017 Hall of Fame inductees. Dino Chiecchi, who has worked at the El Paso Times, San Antonio Express-News, Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, Tucson Citizen, South China Morning Post, and El Paso Herald-Post, is a multimedia professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. He is also a former president of the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors and of NAHJ. Federico Subervi, a retired journalism professor at Kent State University, is described as a trailblazer of diversity. Andrés Cediel is a journalist and documentary producer at the University of California at Berkeley. Jodi Hernández (pictured) is an NBC Bay Area reporter in California. Nancy Rivera Brooks is an Assistant Business Editor at the LA Times. “The board unanimously approved five candidates that I look forward to celebrating this September at the national convention in Anaheim, California,” said NAHJ President Brandon Benavides. “With diverse backgrounds, these individuals have made contributions that continue to impact and benefit our colleagues and industry for the better.” Learn more about the honorees here.
| |
The Kremlin Targeted a Journalist of Color
Gary Lee worked as a journalist for the WaPo in Moscow for four years during the Gorbachev-era Soviet Union of the 1980s. In a Facebook post, he says he too was targeted by the Kremlin. “As a journalist who worked for several years in Moscow at the peak of the Cold War, I witnessed several ‘fishing expeditions’ -- attempts by Kremlin officials to feel out Westerners to see if they could be ensnarled by blackmail, coercion, or other means to collaborate in Kremlin campaigns of propaganda or espionage,” Lee wrote. “I was the object of one such fishing expedition,” Lee continued, adding parenthetically that readers would have to wait for the details. Journal-isms reports that Lee is among only a handful of African Americans who have covered Russia for mainstream U.S. outlets. Others have included William Worthy in 1955, Homer Smith, who lived there from 1932 to 1946, and Ann M. Simmons, now with the LA Times, who covered Russia for Time magazine from 1991 to 1994. Currently, Lee is co-owner and GM of Las Canteras, a Peruvian restaurant in DC. See the post here.
| |
|  |
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) at My Redemption Church in Greenville, SC last weekend. | |  |
Raben Group Principal and HLA's Larry González with fiancée Laura Rubalcava celebrating their soon-to-be addition to the family, little Lorenzo, at the BOLDPAC weekend retreat on the Chesapeake Bay. | |
| | |
Bell Tolls for More Diversity Data from Congress
In an op-ed for The Hill, Don Bell, director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, calls on Congress to provide more diversity data -- from the top down. He also calls on members to provide data not just from their Washington offices but also from their district offices, since they are the faces and representatives of the members that constituents see. “Many more elected members need to act, and more Americans need to demand transparency and thoughtfulness on a subject that affects us all. The march toward making the most democratic branch of our government truly representative has begun. Change is happening. There is no turning back,” Bell writes. Read his full op-ed here.
| |
Dismal Showing of Asian Americans in Legal Leadership Positions
A new study by Yale Law School and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association finds that while Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority group in the law profession and are overrepresented in the top law school and law firms, they lag behind among other groups in legal leadership roles, including judgeships. Asian Americans comprise 10% of the graduates at the nation’s top law schools, but just 3% of federal judgeships, and just 2% are state judges. Of the 94 U.S. attorneys, just three are Asian American and only four of the 2,437 elected prosecutors are Asian American. The numbers are pretty dismal in law academia, with Asian Americans representing just three out of 202 law school deans and 18 out of 709 associate or vice deans. More here from the WaPo.
| |
Flake Defends Democratic Opponent
A Muslim Senate candidate in Arizona is being bombarded on her Facebook page by attacks on her faith, and she’s getting support from an unlikely place: her opponent, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Lawyer and community activist Deedra Abboud, the first Muslim statewide candidate in state history, has been attacked online since announcing her candidacy. A campaign video Abboud posted on Facebook has been the target of dozens of hateful comments ranging from “No terrorists in the senate” and “Send her back” to “Thanks to Obama and his BS integrationist policies.” Earlier this week Flake posted on Twitter, “Hang in there @deedra2018. Sorry you have to put up with this. Lots of wonderful people across AZ. You’ll find them.” Abboud is so far the only Democrat in the race. More here.
| |
|  |
Chuck Rocha speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday with Madalene Mielke, Albert Morales, and Carol McDonald as they launch the National Association of Diverse Consultants. | |  |
Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) meeting on Monday with the Housing Alliance of Delaware to discuss affordable housing and homelessness. | |
| | |
A Bank, an Attorney General, a Scandal, and Auntie Maxine
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, is demanding that AG Jeff Sessions recuse himself from the DOJ’s investigation of Deutsche Bank. In a letter sent to Sessions on Tuesday, she accused him of being "unwilling to stand up to the president on matters in which he has a vested interest." The DOJ is investigating the German bank for involvement in a possible Russian money-laundering scheme for which U.S. regulators fined the bank $629 million in January. The scheme led to more than $10 billion secretly being transported out of the country. Trump reportedly owed the bank $300 million before taking office. More here.
| |
Can Luján Shepherd Dems to Victory in 2018?
Corralling llamas -- it’s a unique skill that the chairman of the DCCC, Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), brought with him from the farm and one that has proven useful as he attempts to lead House Democrats to significant gains in the 2018 midterms. A new piece in the LA Times not only profiles Luján, but it lays out the challenge that falls to him: to “shepherd the campaign arm of the fracturing party, united mainly by opposition to Trump and by a desire to win back the House majority. Luján must help recruit dozens of candidates and persuade deep-pocketed donors to shell out more than $200 million for the midterm election.” Luján is the first Latino to run the DCCC -- and the first Westerner in years -- and he’s got quite the challenge ahead of him. Democrats “need to do a better job in understanding that we’re talking about real people,’’ Luján said. “And be able to connect with those people all across the country, like the ones I represent and the family I grew up in.” Read more here.
| |
Hurd Defends District Ahead of Racial Gerrymandering Case
This year, federal judges in Texas invalidated district lines drawn in 2011 finding that three congressional districts violated the Voting Rights Act. The decision had no effect, however, because the state adopted a new interim map in 2013. Civil rights groups and individuals argue that the new map is also discriminatory as it includes some of the original boundaries. Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) said more districts should be drawn like his, defending Texas’ 23rd Congressional District ahead of another federal court decision on alleged racial gerrymandering that could impact the 2018 midterm elections. “My district is competitive, and that’s a good thing...because it forces people to talk to a broader sense of the community,” Hurd said Saturday as the closing witness in a trial over whether the district lines should be redrawn. The Texas Republican said the 23rd District, which spans the U.S.-Mexican border, was one of the few “swing” districts in the nation. More here from Roll Call.
| |
|  |
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) protesting against the DHS appropriations bill on Tuesday, saying the bill wastes money on an unnecessary border wall. | |  |
Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) meeting with fellows from the Young African Leaders Institute last week. | |
| | |
The Purge
Ahead of today's voter commission meeting, The Leadership Conference's Vanita Gupta has an op-ed in the NYT bringing attention to a little-covered letter sent by the commission to the 44 states that refused to turn over all or part of their data. The commission forced 44 states to provide extensive information on how they keep their voter rolls, citing the Motor Voter Act. “The letter doesn’t ask whether states are complying with the parts of the law that expand opportunities to register. Instead it focuses on the sections related to maintaining the lists. That’s a prelude to voter purging,” Gupta writes. She calls on civil rights leaders, law firms, voting experts, and others to continue to push back against the claims of voter fraud. Read the full piece here.
| |
28 Mile
Nope, it’s not a new Eminem track. It’s how many new miles of Donald Trump’s border wall will be built under the Homeland Security bill, which passed the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. While the bill has $1.57 billion in border infrastructure funds, it allots $498 million for 28 miles of a new levee wall in the Rio Grande Valley. Do the math -- that’s $17.8 million per mile. The rest of the funding is to repair or replace existing structures, for border fencing, or surveillance purposes. More here.
| |
Killer Mike Day
Some people may have first heard about Killer Mike when he was a surrogate for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election. However, aside from being a well-known rapper, he has been a trained organizer for years. On Monday, he was honored by the city of Atlanta for, among other things, informally being an ambassador for Atlanta by frequently appearing on CNN and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. The city council proclaimed the day “Killer Mike Day.” More here.
| |
|  |
HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Lydia Polgreen on Tuesday showing off her new headshot. | |  |
Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) on Monday with her interns from Alabama’s 7th District. | |
| | |
NAACP LDF Sues Trump Over Voting Commission
We can now add the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to those who are combating Donald Trump’s voting commission. On Tuesday, the organization filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the commission “was formed with the intent to discriminate against voters of color in violation of the Constitution.” The suit goes on to say, “Statements by President Trump, his spokespersons and surrogates ... as well as the work of the Commission as described by its co-chairs, are grounded on the false premise that Black and Latino voters are more likely to perpetrate voter fraud.” The NAACP Legal Defense Fund complaint is at least the seventh federal lawsuit filed against the voting commission this month. See the other lawsuits here.
| |
NC GOP Demands Apology from Rev. William Barber
Former NC NAACP State President Rev. William Barber appeared on MSNBC’s AM Joy on Saturday where he was asked about a photo of pastors praying with Trump. “It is a form of theological malpractice that borders on heresy,” Barber said. “When you can p-r-a-y for a president and others while they are p-r-e-y, preying on the most vulnerable, you’re violating the sacred principles of religion,” Barber said. Well, the North Carolina GOP was not happy about that. They issued a statement on Monday saying they condemned the actions of Barber and that he should apologize immediately. We’ll pray that Game Of Thrones commits to eight more seasons. You guys pray for the apology. Let’s see which happens first. More here.
| |
Broad Coalition Sides with Hawaii and Against Trump Admin in Muslim Ban
As The Beat reported last week, the Supreme Court had given Hawaii until noon on Tuesday to file a response to the Trump administration’s petition to block U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson’s ruling expanding the definition of “bona fide.” Hawaii did not mince words, calling the administration’s argument complete nonsense. “The District Court faithfully applied this Court’s opinion, holding that 'close relatives' like grandparents and nieces are permitted to enter, and recognizing that the charities, non-profits, and churches that have made a formal, contractual commitment to shelter and clothe refugees would suffer 'concrete hardship' if those refugees are excluded,” they wrote. And the state brought friends; joining Hawaii and filing amicus briefs against the administration were 43 former high-ranking national security officials, 15 states plus DC, 165 members of Congress, and others. SCOTUSblog breaks down where the issue stands here.
| |
|  |
Stacey Stewart, President of the March of Dimes Foundation talking on Monday with Roland Martin about maternity coverage and the healthcare bill. | |  |
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) last week with NIOSH discussing the impact of black lung disease on coal miners. | |
| | |
Hispanic Scholarship Fund Joins Gates Foundation to Send 3,000 Students of Color to College
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) has teamed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to administer full scholarships to 300 students in 2018. The support will include not just tuition, but also cover fees, housing, books and other costs. The program kicked off this month targeting high school seniors who are Hispanic, from low-income backgrounds and believe they have strong leadership credentials can apply for a private scholarship to cover virtually all college expenses. The Gates Scholarship will continue funding 300 students every year for a decade, for a total of 3,000 students over the life of the program. Fidel Vargas, the President and CEO of the HSF, said the 300 “will be selected from a diverse, competitive, and national applicant pool. We expect the demographic profile of each class to mirror the diversity of the targeted communities served by the program.’’ More here.
| |
Tribal Communities Committed to Climate Accord Despite What Trump Says
Trump’s backing out of the Paris climate agreement is not stopping Native American tribes. Many have publicly committed to upholding the accord. Native American communities, particularly in the West, are on the frontlines of climate change. Forty percent of the 567 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. are in Alaska, and climate change threatens many of them. Additionally, tribal nations in California and the Pacific Northwest are at an increased risk of rising sea levels and coastal erosion. In the Southwest, tribal communities are affected by rising temperatures and drought, and in other areas, primary food sources are dying off. “We came together with one another to raise the level of environmental awareness,” said Debra Lekanoff, governmental affairs director for the Swinomish Tribe. “We can’t just pick up and move the places where we live.” More here.
| |
| FOMO
Today, 10A: The DNC Commission to Protect American Democracy from the Trump Administration holds a press conference to discuss the presidential election commission. Jason Kander, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL), Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX), Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State, and DNC Vice Chair Michael Blake will be speaking. DNC Headquarters, 430 South Capitol Street, S.E. Click here to RSVP.
Today, 10:30A: A conference call with former Vice President Al Gore and faith leaders to discuss climate change. Click here for more information and to register.
Today, 5P: Birthday celebration honoring Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC). 430 First Street, S.E. RSVP to Randy Broz or Keonté Lee at 202.403.0606 or email: randy@abcconsultingdc.com
Today, 6P: The Washington Government Relations Group and the Embassy of Canada host the 8th Annual Tin Cup Awards. 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Click here for more information. Today - Saturday, July 22nd: The March on Washington Film Festival. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Today - Sunday, July 23rd: The Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. holds its 83rd Grand Chapter Meeting in Orlando, FL. Click here for more information and to register.
Thursday, July 20th, 9A: The Washington International Trade Association sponsors its NAFTA Series kickoff event. Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. Hill Staff: contact Diego Anez at 202.312.1600 or danez@wita.org to reserve your seat.
Thursday, July 20th, 6:30P: The March on Washington Film Festival hosts a special screening of Raising Bertie, an award-winning, six-year portrait of three young African American men coming-of-age in North Carolina’s rural Bertie County. This special screening will take place at the Public Welfare Foundation, 1200 U Street NW, followed by a panel with Former Secretary of Education and President and CEO of The Education Trust, Dr. John King; and Director of the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund at the Aspen Institute, Monique Miles. Click here for tickets.
Saturday, July 22nd - 26th: The NAACP holds its 108th annual convention in Baltimore, MD. Click here for more information and to register.
Tuesday, July 25th, 5:30P: The Raben Group hosts an evening of conversation with Paul Butler, author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men, and James Forman, author of Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America. 1341 G Street, N.W. Click here to register.
Wednesday, July 26th - 29th: The National Urban League holds its annual convention in St. Louis, MO. Click here for more information and to register.
Wednesday, July 26th - Friday, July 28th: ColorComm, Women of Color in Communications, holds its 2017 conference in Miami, FL, featuring keynote speaker Whoopi Goldberg. Click here to register.
Thursday, July 27th, 5P: Bridge PAC sponsors a reception honoring Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC). Diageo House, 310 6th Street, S.E. RSVP to Randy Broz or Ashley Helsing at 202.403.0606 or via email: randy@abcconsultingdc.com Friday, August 4th, 5:30P: Black 44 sponsors a happy hour to celebrate former President Barack Obama's birthday. Invite only.
Saturday, August 5th, 3P: The Congressional Hispanic Staff Association hosts a tailgate before the DC United v. Toronto FC game. For more info, email James Hauser at iph86@georgetown.edu
Wednesday, August 9th - 13th: The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) holds its annual convention and career fair in New Orleans. Click here for more information and to register. Thursday, August 10th - 13th: The Congressional Black Caucus Political Education & Leadership Institute sponsors the 2017 Mississippi Policy Conference in Tunica, MS. Click here for more information and to register.
Wednesday, August 16th - 20th: The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance holds its 14th biennial convention in Anaheim, CA. Click here for more information.
Friday, August 18th: The deadline to apply for the Poynter Institute and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) 2017 Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media, to be held Dec. 3rd - 8th in St. Petersburg, FL. The tuition-free program trains journalists of color to work in digital media. Click here for more information and to apply.
Friday, August 18th - 20th: A weekend on Martha's Vineyard with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and special guests Congressmen James Clyburn (D-SC), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), and Richard Neal (D-MA), and Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). For more information and to RSVP, contact Mariko Bennett: mariko@cocobproductions.com or call 301.741.3443.
Monday, August 28th, 9A: The 2017 Black Political Power Summit, to illustrate the possibilities, challenges and plans to capitalize on both the historic political opportunities and dire economic and civil rights challenges the Black community faces during the 2018 and 2020 political cycles. Hosted by The Collective. For more information, contact Quentin James: quentin@collectivepac.org
Thursday, September 7th - 9th: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Native American Journalists Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) sponsor the Excellence in Journalism 2017 conference in Anaheim, CA. Click here for more details and to register.
Sunday, September 10th: Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park. MN about her years in the White House. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Monday, September 11th - 13th: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute annual Hispanic Heritage Month conference and awards gala. Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center,1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, November 29th, 8P: Join Congressman André Carson (D-IN) for JAY-Z's 4:44 Tour. The Verizon Center, 601 F Street, N.W. For more information or to RSVP, contact Courtney Hodges or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or email: Courtney@ABConsultingDC.com
| |
| Powered by The Raben Group
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
