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Kamala Harris (Left), Cory Booker (Right)

Black top and mid-level staffers are hard to find among Democratic Senators even in states with large black populations

By News & Current Affairs

By Frederick H. Lowe — U.S. Senators who represent states with significant black populations have people of color in top and mid-level positions but not many African Americans, according to a report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C. -based non-partisan public policy organization. Of the 147 top-level positions held by Democrats in the U.S. Senate, only three are held by blacks, representing 2 percent…

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William Lloyd’s Coffee House in London specialized in being the first in getting marine news, such as arrivals and shipwrecks. Merchants and traders profited from the transatlantic slave trade before abolition, not only in the buying and selling of slaves, but also in the whole marine business of ship insurance and mortgages to sea captains.

The Surprisingly Long History of Racial Oppression in Coffeehouses

By Editors' Choice, Reparations

Centuries before two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks, capitalists met at coffee shops to profit from the transatlantic slave trade. By Tasha Williams, Yes Magazine — An 18th-century ad tells us that a dozen or so men, women, and children of African heritage were scheduled for buyer’s inspection one Saturday, just outside the entrance of the London Coffee House in Philadelphia. The Stamp Act protests and other famous anti-British…

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"When we sent Japanese Americans to internment camps, families were often separated when fathers were sent hasty relocation orders and forced labor contracts." (Photo: Clem Albers/ US National and Records Administration)

America Was in the Business of Separating Families Long Before Trump

By Commentaries/Opinions

The true story is that the United States has a well-documented history of breaking up non-white families. By Jeffery Robinson, Common Dreams — Children are crying for their parents while being held in small cages. The attorney general tells us the Bible justifies what we see and the White House press secretary backs him up. Be horrified and angered, but not because this is a new Trump transgression against real…

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Mamie Till Mobley and her son, Emmett Till, whose lynching in 1955 became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. | Photo: Mamie Till Mobley Family

US Reopens 1955 Case on Black Teen Emmett Till’s Murder

By News & Current Affairs

In August 1955, Till was beaten, shot and mutilated in Mississippi, four days after it was alleged that the Black 14-year-old from Chicago had flirted with a white woman. By teleSUR — The U.S. government has reopened an investigation into the 1955 killing of Black teenager Emmett Till in Mississippi, saying it had discovered new information in the case, which helped spark the nation’s civil rights movement. The report, sent…

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York. ‘Everyone I spoke to remarked on her grace and stability, and how she calmly absorbed the dramas that surrounded her bid.’ Photograph: AP

America’s new revolutionaries show how the left can win

By Commentaries/Opinions

The little-known history of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory in a New York primary hints at the coming transformation By George Monbiot, The Guardian — Even at first sight it is exhilarating. The overthrow of one of the most mainstream and senior Democrats in Congress by a 28-year-old Democratic socialist with a radical programme and one tenth of his funding is, you might think, interesting enough. The moment 28-year-old socialist beats top-ranking Democrat in…

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In a city nearing full employment, Carl still struggles to find work. Photograph: Jason Dailey for the Guardian

The truth about black unemployment in America

By News & Current Affairs

As Trump highlights declining jobless figures, Kansas City offers a window into how the recovery has passed many African Americans by. By Caleb Gayle, The Guardian — Kansas City is booming. Employers and investors have poured into the midwestern city since the recession. At least $1bn has gone into its sparkling new downtown, revitalized arts district and shiny new condos. So why is Sly James, its highly regarded outgoing mayor, so…

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Donald Trump

Trump Can’t Reverse the Decline of White Christian America

By Commentaries/Opinions

Two-thirds of those who voted for the president felt his election was the “last chance to stop America’s decline.” But his victory won’t arrest the cultural and demographic trends they opposed. By Robert P. Jones, The Atlantic — Down the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign, one of Donald Trump’s most consistent talking points was a claim that America’s changing demographics and culture had brought the country to a…

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Sen. Kamala Harris

African-American Senators Introduce Anti-Lynching Bill

By News & Current Affairs

By Vanessa Romo, NPR — Congress’s three African-American senators introduced a bipartisan bill Friday to make lynching a federal crime. Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., drafted the bipartisan legislation, which defines the crime as “the willful act of murder by a collection of people assembled with the intention of committing an act of violence upon any person.” It also classifies lynching as a hate…

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