Archive for August 2019

This Women’s Equality Day, stop romanticizing the 19th Amendment

Today is Women’s Equality Day, celebrating 99 years since the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, guaranteeing women the right to vote. This major milestone in the history of our democracy was achieved over decades, even beyond the lifetimes of some of its greatest champions. Passing an amendment to the Constitution is no small…

Read More

Descendants of iconic African American Chicago figures, like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Fred Hampton, often struggle to manage the stories of their famous relatives

Her name is now emblazoned on a major downtown thoroughfare, attached to a nationally recognized journalism training program and even used by a soul food restaurant in Baltimore. For decades, crusading journalist, civil rights activist and women’s rights pioneer Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s legacy and story lingered in the shadows of history. But in recent years,…

Read More

Vintage photos show the unsung heroes of the US suffrage movement

At Washington’s National Portrait Gallery, the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave men and women equal voting rights, is being marked by “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence,” a comprehensive exhibition that highlights the key figures and moments in the decades-long fight for women’s voting rights. Originally set to open on March 1 (it was…

Read More

Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning author of ‘Beloved,’ dead at 88

Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” “Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at 88. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced that Morrison died Monday night at Montefiore Medical Center…

Read More

‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’: The author’s inspiring story, as told by her friends and herself

Just beautiful. Toni Morrison is an absolutely beautiful wordsmith and a beautiful force on multiple fronts, and if this documentary is an unabashed love letter to her life and work, I say: Why. Not. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” is a conventional, traditionally structured bio-doc with only occasional forays into creative visuals…

Read More

As 2020 Campaigns Diversify Staff, Some Strategists Worry Firms Still Aren’t Doing Enough

The Democratic presidential campaigns this cycle are led by a historically diverse group at the senior level.  Among the Democratic presidential contenders that have managers in place, the Booker, Harris, Sanders, Warren, Williamson, Gabbard and Castro campaigns have hired people of color. The O’Rourke, Bullock, Inslee, Hickenlooper and Steyer campaigns have hired female managers. In fact,…

Read More

Will Hurd, only black Republican in House, retiring

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), the only African American Republican in the House of Representatives, announced Thursday night that he will not seek reelection in 2020.  “I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus…

Read More

The DCCC just saw a major staff shake-up after fielding complaints about diversity

As Democrats fight to hang on to their House majority, the party’s campaign arm is facing some pretty big conflicts of its own. Following uproar about the lack of diversity among senior staffers, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee conducted a massive shake-up of its top officials this week, according to Politico. DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos framed…

Read More