|
|
Right now, 36% of the American electorate is driving this country’s policy. And the Trump administration is working very hard at keeping that very small fraction happy. We’ll get to the efforts to cut legal immigration in half and the exchange between WH Advisor Stephen Miller and CNN’s Jim Acosta below. But first, healthcare. If Trump cuts off the payments to insurers for the ACA's cost-sharing reductions, Axios reports that the next step is sure to be a lawsuit by Democratic attorneys general. And we have an update on the other group Donald Trump appears to want to please. He tweeted this AM, “Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare!” This after finally signed legislation imposing more sanctions on Russia but said it included “clearly unconstitutional provisions,” leaving open the possibility that he might not enforce all of its measures. The WH opted to keep this signing off camera. But in January 2015, 45 was eager to be on camera. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Trump had signed on to play the president in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Is this true? Oh hell yes! The President of the United States was going to play the same role in a cheezy flick. Feels like we’re all supporting characters in one big dramedy some days. One more day until the weekend. Let’s get it started:- The Obamas plan to chill in Chilmark.
- About that litmus test -- DCCC’s Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) touts street cred on choice.
- CNN commentator Van Jones kicks off the “We Rise” tour.
- There are 1.3 million people of color with a net worth north of $1 million. Want to know how to tap into these valuable donors of color? Read on.
- New policy aims for huddled masses to speak English before coming to America.
- Advertising giant Grey Group names new African American CEO.
- Asian American journalists gets “Under Our Skin.”
- Nissan employees in Mississippi vote today on whether to unionize and race is a central issue.
- Facebook releases diversity numbers -- see how many faces in their book look like yours.
- Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) asks WH what’s up with that HBCU initiative?
- Latina Magazine falls deeper in the red.
- Teach Plus names Latino President & CEO
- The Harvard Business Review looks at diversity training.
- A Tennessee Titan shows the Obamas some love.
- Trevor Noah says Donald Trump is everything America thought the first Black president would be. Check it out below in blogs.
| |
|  |
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on Tuesday at a tour of the University of Washington I-Labs, where brain research is done. | |  |
BuzzFeed White House correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo with Ashley McCollum, BuzzFeed's Vice President of Business Development & Communications, on Monday in Puerto Rico. | |
| | |
The Obamas Return to the Vineyard
Former President Barack Obama and his family are going back to Martha’s Vineyard and, specifically, Chilmark, to vacation. “They’re coming in this weekend,” Ann Crook, general manager of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, said. “I can’t get any more specific than that.” An island source told The MV Times that rooms have been booked in Oak Bluffs for weeks for the former president’s Secret Service contingent. Reporters even tried to get details from Obama’s good friend, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. A request for comment from Mr. Patrick’s current employer, Bain Capital, on whether he would be going to the island for dinner with the Obamas was met with this response: “We totally appreciate your question but aren’t in a position to share Gov. Patrick’s travels,” a spokesman wrote. On Tuesday afternoon, Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio wrote in an email that troopers have been pulled in to help provide security for the vacation. “The Massachusetts State Police will be assisting the U.S. Secret Service with security operations for former President Obama and the former First Lady during their upcoming visit to Martha’s Vineyard,” he wrote. “Please note that we do not release specific details related to personnel numbers and tactics for security operations.” See you at Nancy’s for lunch and at the Inkwell for sunset. More here.
| |
Sanders Team Wants to Hit the Dirty South to Woo Black Voters
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has not ruled out making another run for the White House. The Hill reports that some of his advisors are recommending that he spend more time in the South to help secure the support of Black voters -- a bloc he failed to woo in the 2016 election. "There's a narrative that follows him from the campaign that he doesn't care about the South,” said his former campaign spokeswoman Symone Sanders. “He needs to physically show up so people feel differently." Last month, The Beat DC reported that he endorsed former NAACP chief Ben Jealous for governor of Maryland. Sanders says the move was “no accident.” A new GenForward survey obtained by The Hill shows that millennial voters are divided when it comes to who should lead the Democratic Party. African Americans and Asian Americans would like to see Obama lead the party, while white and Latino voters prefer Sanders. More here from The Hill.
| |
|  | Former Education Secretary John King on Monday with several winners of the Fishman Prize, an award honoring the best public school teachers across the country. | |  | Somebody beat Sean Hannity in the ratings on Tuesday night. We see you, Joy-Ann Reid! She's joined by pollster Fernand Armandi. | |
| | |
Ben Ray Luján Addresses Abortion Rights Stance
When DCCC Chair Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) told The Hill that there will be no litmus tests for candidates and that Dems will not withhold financial support for candidates who oppose abortion rights, he received a lot of criticism. On Tuesday, he addressed some of those concerns in a Facebook post. “We will have to win in very tough, diverse, swing Republican held districts across the country. Ultimately, the people in districts across the country will determine who will take on the Republican incumbent,” the congressman wrote. “But let me be clear about my record, I am pro-women, pro-choice, and fully respect the connection between a woman's health, her economic future and the future of our country.” He shared a picture of his perfect voting record from Planned Parenthood Action Fund's scorecard in the post. See it here.
| |
Adams Wants to Know What’s Up with the WH HBCU Initiative
Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) and members of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus on Tuesday sent a letter to Donald Trump inquiring about the progress of moving the White House HBCU Initiative from the Department of Education to the Office of the President. He signed an executive order in February but, to date, this move has not taken place. The letter inquires about this move, as well as the progress being made to hire an Executive Director for the Initiative, and Trump’s proposed budget and statements he’s made that run counter to his executive order’s ideals. “This administration claimed that HBCUs would be a priority but their actions indicate otherwise and their promise rings hollow,” said Congresswoman Adams. “Since signing his Executive Order in February, President Trump has failed to hire an Executive Director for the Initiative, proposed a budget that cuts essential funding from HBCUs, appointed a Secretary of Education who doesn’t understand the rich history of HBCUs, and questioned the constitutionality of the Capital Financing Program.” Not to beat a dead horse here but seriously. What exactly is Omarosa doing? On Tuesday, she told HBCU presidents attending a conference she would have an announcement soon. Not sure what announcement would undo what has already been done. Read the letter here.
| |
|  Chief of Public Affairs Officer (NYC)
Everytown for Gun Safety is seeking a Chief of Public Affairs Officer with a nuanced understanding of political landscapes, strong relationships with a wide variety of influencers, and management and problem-solving skills.
| | Associate Regional Director, State Affairs (NYC)
Everytown for Gun Safety is seeking a motivated individual with issue advocacy/policy campaign experience and strong interpersonal skills to serve as Associate Regional Director.
| |
| | |
Grey Group Names CEO
Grey Group, a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in NYC and 432 offices in 96 countries, promoted Michael Houston to Worldwide Chief Executive Officer on Tuesday. A 10-year veteran of Grey, Houston has served since 2016 as Global President and becomes only the fifth person to hold the CEO position since Grey’s founding in 1917. He worked previously at Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners, and in the mid-’90s he spent five years at Young & Rubicam, and Landor Associates in NY and San Francisco. A graduate of the University of Kansas, where he studied advertising and marketing at the William Allen White School of Journalism, the 44-year-old Houston is the youngest and only African American CEO of a top ten U.S. agency. More here.
| |
Teach Plus Names Rodríguez President and CEO
Teach Plus announced yesterday that Roberto J. Rodríguez, who served in the Obama White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Education, has been selected by the board to assume the role of President and CEO. From 2009 to 2017, he developed and led President Obama’s “cradle-through-career” national education agenda to improve opportunities and outcomes for learners across the educational continuum. Prior to his service in the White House, Rodríguez spent eight years as principal education advisor to then-Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). "As the son of educators, I developed an early admiration and respect for the transformative effect that teachers have in the lives of their students. Empowering teacher voice and elevating the teaching profession have always been in my DNA,” said Rodríguez. The University of Michigan and Harvard School of Education graduate is married to Rocío Inclán, the National Education Association’s Senior Director of Social Justice. He begins his post at Teach Plus on September 5th. More here.
| |
America Votes Names New Comms Director
America Votes has promoted Krishana Davis to be their National Communications Director based in the DC office. She was previously the Communications Manager. Krishana came to America Votes, the coordination hub of the progressive community with over 400 partner organizations, from Baltimore where she had previously served as the Communications Director for mayoral candidate David Warnock. The Morgan State University and University of Baltimore alumna had previously worked as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun and the BBC before she transitioned into the political arena. At America Votes, she will be responsible for leading a national political communications strategy to tackle gerrymandering and voter rights. Congrats, Krishana! More about her here.
| |
|  | Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) meeting in his DC office with homeless advocate Emily Martiniuk to discuss affordable housing. | |  | Congressman Mark Veasey (D-TX) with Erin Ayan Gaddis of Dallas, Founder and CEO of The Cultural Competency Consortium and winner of the NAACP ShortsTV Champions for Justice. | |
| | |
Trump Singles Out Nominee for Private Meeting
Donald Trump has nominated a slew of prospective federal prosecutors to fill top U.S. attorney seats across the nation. But in June, he personally met with one prior to her selection. CNN reports that Jessie Liu, the current Deputy General Counsel for the Treasury Department who Trump tapped to be the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, disclosed in her responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee that she met with the president as part of her interview process. "I attended formal interviews at the Department of Justice, including with the attorney general," Liu wrote in the Senate submission obtained by CNN. "I also interviewed with representatives of the White House Counsel's Office and then met the President with the White House counsel." Sources say this move sharply departs from past practice and more generally is at odds with the understood custom of insulating U.S. attorneys from political influence. The Senate Judiciary Committee takes up her nomination today. More here.
| |
Tennessee Titan Has a Leg Up on Obama Supporters
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews is super down for the Obamas. So down, the 27-year old receiver recently got former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama tattooed on his leg."The first president I voted for, first Black president, first Black first lady ... Myself being African American, they're obviously great role models and they let the Black community and minorities, in general, know that the sky is the limit if you put your mind to it," he said in an interview. The tattoo is located on his right leg, adjacent to a tattoo of his kids, Zayden and Penelope, who are depicted as Greek gods with the words "The World Is Yours" above their heads. More here.
| |
|  | Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-CA) meeting with labor leaders in her DC office. | |  | Cristóbal Alex, Alex Madrigal, América Ferrara, Julissa Arce, Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX), and Randy Bryce last week at Politicon. | |
| | |
We Rise with Van Jones
CNN commentator Van Jones kicked off his “We Rise” tour on Wednesday. Jones said he wants to push people -- progressives in particular -- to think beyond partisan divides in order to work on social justice issues, such as mass incarceration and the drug epidemic. The tour continues until Aug. 19th and is stopping at venues from LA to NYC as Jones hosts conversations with local government and community leaders and artists about politics and activism. Wednesday’s kickoff event in LA featured a panel with hip-hop mogul and producer Russell Simmons and actor and rapper Nick Cannon, as well as performances that included spoken word poetry. Proceeds from the tour’s ticket sales will benefit Jones’ nonprofit, The Dream Corps. In an interview with HuffPost, he talks more about his vision. More here.
| |
Majority of Harvard’s Incoming Class is Non-White, Asian American Students File Suit -- What This Means for DOJ Civil Rights Division
There’s a lawsuit accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions by imposing a penalty for their high achievement and giving preferences to other racial minorities, according to the NYT. The case, which is clearly aimed for the Supreme Court, puts Asian Americans front and center in the latest stage of the affirmative action debate. The issue is whether there has been discrimination against Asian Americans in the name of creating a diverse student body. The DOJ, which has signaled that it is looking to investigate “intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions,” may well focus on Harvard. The case asserts that the university’s admissions process amounts to an illegal quota system, in which roughly the same percentage of African Americans, Hispanics, whites, and Asian Americans have been admitted year after year, despite fluctuations in application rates and qualifications. For the first time in the university’s history, the majority of students accepted into the incoming freshman class are not white. Of the freshmen students admitted to Harvard this year, 50.8% are from communities of color. Harvard’s class of 2021 is 14.6% African American, 22.2% Asian American, 11.6% Hispanic and 2.5% Native American or Pacific Islander, according to data on the university’s website. More here.
| |
Facebook’s Diversity Numbers
On Wednesday, Facebook released its diversity data. In the U.S., the social media company has increased the representation of Hispanics from 4% to 5%, and Black employees from 2% to 3%. “We aren’t where we’d like to be, but we’re encouraged that over the past year, representation for people from underrepresented groups at Facebook has increased,” the company said in a statement. Facebook highlighted three initiatives that they say will help address some of their diversity challenges. Their Diverse Slate Approach is a program designed to have hiring managers interview people who don’t look like them. Managing Inclusion, which trains managers to understand the issues that affect marginalized communities, and Be The Ally, which gives everyone the common language, tools, and space to practice supporting others. Additionally, Facebook University gives underrepresented students extra training and mentorship earlier in their college education. More here.
| |
ICYMI: We're throwing it back to a podcast from a few weeks ago. Uber hit a rocky road that sidelined its CEO and raised the stakes on changing its culture. On the heels of Facebook releasing their diversity numbers, we're sharing our conversation with Uber's Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Bernard Coleman, who spoke with The Beat DC’s Jamal Simmons and Tiffany D. Cross about his plans to steer the company to a better place. Listen here.
| |
Asian American Journalists Association Awards Under Our Skin
The Seattle Times newsroom won the Asian American Journalists Association’s Leadership in Diversity Award last weekend for "Under Our Skin," an interactive video project on race that sprung from conversations among newsroom women and people of color. The award was presented at the AAJA conference in Philadelphia. “We represent a grassroots movement at the Seattle Times,” web developer Audrey Carlsen said in accepting the award. “Anyone can be a leader when it comes to this sort of thing. You don’t have to have editor in your title, but you do have to have allies.” The editorial team added in a statement, “Our newsroom’s recent diversity efforts grew out of conversations about how we were covering race at a time when local and national events – the furor over police shootings, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests on college campuses – dominated headlines. We spent hours building trust with some interviewees who didn’t think our paper – or the media in general – accurately portrays their lives.” More here.
| |
Latina Media Ventures in the Red
The NY Post reports that Latina Media Ventures had its bank account at Citibank frozen, prompting employees’ and freelancers’ checks to bounce again -- and its top executives to stop returning calls to press and employees. Its money woes have also apparently forced the company to cancel the July/August issue of Latina, its flagship title, marking the second month in a row it has skipped an issue. In July, the company laid off 30 employees. “We are committed to our employees, and people will get paid,” Robyn Moreno, the newly installed co-president of LMV -- owned by the private equity firm Solera Capital -- told Media Ink last month. But since then, representatives for the outlet have gone silent. More here.
| |
|  | Congressman Jimmy Gómez (D-CA) back home in the district celebrating National Night Out. | |  | Congresman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in his district on National Night Out. | |
| | |
Give Us Your Huddled Masses ... But Only If They Speak English
Yesterday’s press conference on immigration. Where to even begin? First, Trump advisor Stephen Miller was rolled out to help sell the administration’s new skills-based immigration plan (which Miller had helped craft). Expressing such concern for the African American men who Miller claims are unemployed because of the country’s immigration policies, he went as far as calling it a travesty. Who knew anyone in the Trump administration was so concerned with the plight of Black people? Then, Miller got into an exchange with CNN’s Jim Acosta who challenged the merits of the policy, which requires that immigrants speak English upon arrival. "Aren't you trying to change what it means to be an immigrant coming into this country if you're telling them, you have to speak English? Can’t people learn how to speak English when they get here,” Acosta asked. Earlier Wednesday, Trump joined Senators Tom Cotton (R-AK) and David Perdue (R-GA) to champion legislation overhauling legal immigration in the United States, calling for a merit-based system that would significantly cut green cards over the next decade. The bill also favors immigrants who are financially self-sufficient and have high-paying job offers. More here.
| |
After Pushback from Mexico, WH Concedes Peña Nieto No Le Habló a Trump
Earlier this week, Donald Trump implied that Mexico's president had praised the White House on a phone call over policies that lowered levels of undocumented immigration on Mexico's southern border. “Even the president of Mexico called me," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. "They said their southern border, very few people are coming because they know they’re not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment.” Hold up, said Mexico's government. President Enrique Peña Nieto “has not had any recent telephone communication with President Donald Trump," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement reported by AP. They said that the two had discussed migration but that, while Trump said he received a compliment on a call from Peña Nieto, the Mexican leader and his aides said it was not praise and just a statement of facts. And oh yeah -- the convo took place at the G-20 summit. WH Press Sec Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced to backtrack and admit that there was no phone call. However, she stated that the president had not lied. Read the story for yourself and decide what you would call the alternative account. Get more here.
| |
|  | Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) with a group of interns last week. | |  | Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) at a jobs fair event in her district over the weekend. | |
| | |
Racially Charged Vote to Unionize Happens Today
More than 3,500 Nissan employees in Mississippi will be voting today and tomorrow on whether to unionize. The NYT cites that one question these workers must ask is, how much they can expect from their employer in a world of diminishing prospects for blue-collar workers -- not just in pay and benefits, but also in status and respect? A vast majority of the nearly 6,500 workers in total at the Nissan plant are African American. As the NYT reports, one does not have to search hard for racial overtones. Some workers claim that white supervisors rewarded white workers who were their friends with cushier assignments. The United Auto Workers union has taken pains to highlight the campaign’s racial dimension. In its news release announcing the impending vote, it quoted a worker who accused Nissan of violating African Americans’ labor rights even while marketing cars to them. Get more of this story here.
| |
High Donors of Color
The Vaid Group is working to understand and engage wealthy donors of color as part of a multi-year initiative in partnership with a number of experienced philanthropic and nonprofit advocates. They are calling themselves the People of Color (POC) Donor Collaborative. Their landscape analysis looks at the giving patterns and priorities of high net worth (HNW) people of color. It summarizes information from interviews, shares insights gathered from their research, and outlines a set of recommendations. Despite the structures that work against the accumulation of wealth in communities of color, their report found that the term “high net worth people of color” is not an oxymoron. Their data projects there are 1.3 million African American, Asian Americans, and Latino individuals across the country with a net worth of more than $1 million. Check out the data here.
| |
|  | Senator Bob Menéndez (D-NJ) meeting with servicemembers at the McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Joint Base in New Jersey over the weekend. | |  | Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) in the Florida Keys thanking law enforcement officers for the work they do. | |
| | |
HBR Looks at Diversity Training
Many of us have sat through diversity trainings before. And, sadly, many have not. However, despite this being one of the most common ways that companies attempt to address organizational diversity, research on the effectiveness of such programs has yielded mixed results: Some studies show that diversity training is effective, others show it’s ineffective, and still others show that it may actually lead to a backlash. This has led to pessimism regarding diversity training, with some claiming it simply doesn’t work. The Harvard Business Review examines ways to make diversity trainings more effective. Check it out here.
| |
|  |
Guess who? Here's a hint. His birthday is tomorrow. | |  |
Still don't know? Here's another hint -- his angry alter ego is "Luther". Happy Birthday, 44! | |
| | |
| FOMOFriday, 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: jph86@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. Monday, August 14th, 4P: The Center for American Progress sponsors a panel discussion, "The Power of Black Media and Journalists During the Trump Administration." Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, August 16th - 17th: The annual U.S.-Mexico Border Summit. El Paso, TX & Cuidad Juárez, Chihuahua. Featured guests include keynote speaker Ana Navarro, Republican strategist and CNN analyst. 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. Thursday, August 25th, 8P: The film Hidden Figures will be shown as the final movie of the season at the MLK Memorial. Free. Sponsored by The Memorial Foundation and MPAA. 1964 Independence Avenue, S.W. For more information, click here. Monday, August 28th, 9A: The Collective hosts the 2017 Black Power Summit to discuss possibilities, challenges, and plans to capitalize on historic political opportunities and also economic and civil rights challenges the Black community will likely face in the 2018 and 2020 political cycles. For more information, contact Quentin James at: 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. Friday, September 15th, 9A: Dialogue on Diversity holds its 2017 Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Conference. AT&T Forum, 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. Click here for more information and to register. Saturday, September 30th, 8P: Join Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) for Bruno Mars' 24K Magic Tour. The Verizon Center, 601 F Street, N.W. For more information or to RSVP, contact Sierra Kelley-Chung or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or email: Sierra@ABConsultingDC.com 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
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
