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☆ How the federal death penalty could change under a Donald Trump presidency
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Dakin Andone | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The president-elect voiced support for imposing the death penalty on convicted human traffickers and drug dealers, while also saying he would seek to have prosecutors pursue the death penalty for migrants who kill American citizens or anyone who kills a law enforcement officer. It also wants the federal death penalty broadened to include people convicted of sexually abusing children, an application found by the US Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. “We saw what he’s capable of,” Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of the abolitionist Death Penalty Action, said of Trump. The organization does not take a position for or against the death penalty but has been critical of its administration. Federal executions were rare – before TrumpThe federal government and the US military both retain the death penalty, as do 27 states – though executions are paused in six of those states by executive action, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump’s, –, Joe Biden, Trump, “, ” Abraham Bonowitz, Biden –, ”, Robin Maher, Vance, Karoline Leavitt, ” Robyn Patterson, Biden, ” Patterson, William Barr, Donald Trump, Evan Vucci, Yasmin Cader, Lisa Montgomery, Bryan Woolston, Montgomery, Kelley Henry, Henry said, Gallup, General Merrick Garland, Andy Clark, Bonowitz, ” Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Sharon Risher, Emanuel Organizations: CNN, White, Trump, US, Biden White, “, Republican, Democratic, Department of Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, Trone Center for Justice, Boston Marathon, Capital Habeas Unit, US Department of Justice, Reuters, Catholic, Methodist Episcopal Church, ACLU Foundation, Amnesty, USA Locations: Terre Haute , Indiana, Charleston , South Carolina, Nashville, Terre Haute, United States

☆ Site of deadliest church shooting in U.S. history torn down despite objections
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Crews on Monday tore down a Texas church where a gunman killed more than two dozen worshippers in 2017, using heavy machinery to raze the small building even after some families sought to preserve the scene of the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history. A new church was completed for the congregation about a year and a half after the shooting. Workers continue demolition of the First Baptist Church, in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Monday, on Aug. 12, 2024. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that some church members were wrongfully removed from the church roster before the vote was taken. After the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, it was torn down and replaced.

Persons: SUTHERLAND SPRINGS , Texas — Crews, John Riley, ” Riley, “, ”, Terrie Smith, Smith — Joann Ward —, Smith, Eric Gay, Amber Holder, Annabelle Pomeroy, Holder, ” Holder, Devin Patrick Kelley, Kelley, Marjory Stoneman, Robb Organizations: First Baptist, Authorities, Sutherland, Sutherland Springs Community Association, Workers, Baptist Church, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Columbine High Locations: SUTHERLAND SPRINGS , Texas, Texas, Sutherland, Sutherland Springs, Sutherland Springs , Texas, Parkland , Florida, Connecticut, Buffalo , New York, Charleston , South Carolina, Colorado, Uvalde

☆ Trump Prosecutor in Georgia Rebukes Critics in Speech to Black Church Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Richard Fausset | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With her prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump bottled up in a state appeals court fight, the Georgia district attorney who brought the case pushed back at her conservative critics on Thursday, appearing to single out recent remarks made about her by Mr. Trump’s co-defendant Rudolph W. Giuliani. At a recent stop on the ReAwaken America tour, a right-wing Christian event, Mr. Giuliani referred to the district attorney, Fani T. Willis, as a “ho,” using a stylized version of the word “whore” borrowed from the African American vernacular. He also said he chose to deliberately mispronounce Ms. Willis’s first name as “Fanny,” as opposed to the proper pronunciation, “FAHN-ee.”Ms. Willis spoke on Thursday to leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who were meeting at a church in Marietta, Ga.“I’ve lived the experience of a Black woman who is attacked and over-sexualized,” she said. “See, I’m so tired of hearing these idiots call my name as ‘Fanny,’ in a way to attempt to humiliate me. Because, like silly schoolboys, the name reminds them of a woman’s rear, of her behind.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Fani, Willis, ”, Willis’s, Fanny, Ms, I’ve, ’ Organizations: America, African Methodist Episcopal Church Locations: Georgia, Marietta , Ga

☆ Rev. Cecil Murray, Leader Amid Los Angeles Riots, Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Cecil Murray, a minister who turned a struggling church in Los Angeles into one of the country’s largest congregations, then made it a base to combat the many ills facing the city’s Black population — most notably during and after the 1992 riots — died on Friday at his home in the View Park-Windsor Hills section of Los Angeles. The death was announced by the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, where he had taught after retiring from the church. When Mr. Murray arrived at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1977, it was both storied and troubled: It was the oldest Black church west of the Mississippi, but it was loaded in debt and attracted just a few hundred congregants. Mr. Murray, known as Chip, brought new life to the church. Within a decade he had retired the church’s debt and brought attendance up to about 7,000.

Persons: Cecil Murray, —, Murray Organizations: Center for Religion, University of Southern, First African Methodist Episcopal Church Locations: Los Angeles, Windsor, University of Southern California, Mississippi

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Haley and her family walk back into the South Carolina State House after her inauguration in 2011. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Haley waves to the crowd during the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013. Alex Wong/Getty Images Haley hugs her husband after his Army National Guard unit returned in 2013. Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg/Getty Images Haley takes the stage at her election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2024. Haley “won’t just go away,” said Katon Dawson, a longtime Haley ally and former chair of the South Carolina Republican Party.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Haley, Trump, eked, “, ” Haley, Travis Dove, Michael, Nalin, Rena, Twitter Haley, Gerry Melendez, AP Haley, Chip Somodevilla, Tim Dominick, Getty Images Haley, Mitt Romney, Justin Sullivan, Alex Wong, Michael Haley, Rainier Ehrhardt, Jaswinder Singh, Narinder Nanu, Bobby Jindal, Jindal, Win McNamee, Sean Rayford, Saul Loeb, Mike Pence, Drew Angerer, State Rex Tillerson, Matthew Rycroft, Boris Johnson, Bryan R, Smith, Raad Adayleh, Brendan Smialowski, Spencer Platt, Evan Vucci, Kevin Lamarque, Don Bolduc, Brian Snyder, Jonathan Ernst, Jake Tapper, Will Lanzoni, Demetrius Freeman, Rachel Mummey, Jonathan Newton, Haiyun Jiang, Nicole Craine, Anna Moneymaker, Kimberly Rice, ”, Haley’s, Ron DeSantis, Charles Koch, ‘ Won’t, “ I’m, Koch, Haley “ won’t, Katon Dawson, Ebony Davis, David Wright, Jennifer Agiesta Organizations: CNN, New, GOP, Trump, Republican Party, State House, New York Times, Twitter, South, AP, Capitol, South Carolina State House, Getty Images, Conservative Political, Conference, Army National Guard, Getty, Louisiana Gov, National Governors Association, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, United Nations, United Nations Security Council, UN, State, British, Norwegian Refugee Council, Gali Tibbon, UN Security, West Bank, The United States, Anadolu Agency, Republican National Convention, Republican, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Former South Carolina Gov, Granite State, Super, Florida Gov, Prosperity, New Hampshire, South Carolina, SFA Fund, South Carolina Republican Party Locations: New Hampshire, South Carolina, California, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Columbia , South Carolina, Afghanistan, Amritsar, India, AFP, Charleston , South Carolina, Columbia, State, New York, Syrian, United States, Jerusalem, Gali, Kuwait, Gaza, Londonderry , New Hampshire, Des Moines , Iowa, Iowa, Grand Mound , Iowa, Miami, Concord , New Hampshire, Granite, MAGA, Utah, Super, Costa Mesa , California, Texas , Massachusetts, North Carolina , Virginia , Texas

☆ Prominent Black Church Leaders Call for End of U.S. Aid to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Audra D. S. Burch | Maya King | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Black churches and other faith groups have pushed for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war for months in advertisements, open letters and social media campaigns. Black faith leaders across denominations have amplified their calls as the number of dead rises. More than 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to health officials there, many of them women and children. But the A.M.E. council’s statement goes further than a cease-fire demand, insisting that the United States immediately stop its financial support of Israel. It came as Israeli forces pushed into southern Gaza and prepared for a ground assault on Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are trapped.

Persons: Bishop Stafford J Organizations: African Methodist Episcopal Church, church’s, of Bishops Locations: United States, Israel, Gaza, Rafah

☆ Black Churches in Georgia Unite to Mobilize Voters in a Key Battleground
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | Maya King | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two of the largest Black church groups in Georgia are formally uniting for the first time to mobilize Black voters in the battleground state ahead of the November presidential election. The two congregations, the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, plan to combine their resources and their more than 140,000 parishioners in the state for the get-out-the-vote program, which they are set to announce on Monday at the Georgia Capitol. Their efforts, which for now will be concentrated only in Georgia, are meant to reinvigorate the Black church as a powerful driver of voter turnout at a time when national polls point to lagging political energy among Black Americans — and slipping enthusiasm for President Biden, who owes his 2020 rise to the White House to their support. The two churches have long broadly pushed to expand and protect civil rights and voting rights across the country, but they have generally not coordinated their messages or shared resources.

Persons: —, Biden Organizations: Black, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Georgia Capitol Locations: Georgia

☆ Nikki Haley goes after Trump and Biden as ‘grumpy old men’ even as she courts older voters in South Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Aaron Pellish | Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

But the Haley campaign is also courting the support of South Carolina retirees, a growing portion of the Republican primary voter pool. She said on Twitter that this was her first Christmas card when she announced she would be running for the South Carolina state legislature. Nikki Haley/Twitter Haley celebrates with her family after being elected governor of South Carolina in November 2010. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Haley and her family walk back into the South Carolina State House after her inauguration in 2011. Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty Images Haley visits a farm during a campaign stop in Grand Mound, Iowa, in September 2023.

Persons: Hilton, Nikki Haley, ” Haley, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Joe Biden, Haley, Maureen Bulger, intently, ” Bulger, “, ”, Biden, NBC’s, Ron DeSantis, Anna Memmo, it’s, ” Memmo, Ray Makalous, he’s, ” Makalous, Laura Holtzman, “ Trump, ” Holtzman, ” ‘, ’ Haley, aren’t, Larry Greenwold, ” Greenwold, Greenwold, he’d, Travis Dove, Michael, Nalin, Rena, Twitter Haley, Gerry Melendez, AP Haley, Chip Somodevilla, Tim Dominick, Getty Images Haley, Mitt Romney, Justin Sullivan, Alex Wong, Michael Haley, Rainier Ehrhardt, Jaswinder Singh, Narinder Nanu, Bobby Jindal, Jindal, Win McNamee, Sean Rayford, Saul Loeb, Mike Pence, Drew Angerer, State Rex Tillerson, Matthew Rycroft, Boris Johnson, Bryan R, Smith, Raad Adayleh, Brendan Smialowski, Spencer Platt, Evan Vucci, Kevin Lamarque, Don Bolduc, Brian Snyder, Jonathan Ernst, Jake Tapper, Will Lanzoni, Demetrius Freeman, Rachel Mummey, Jonathan Newton, Ed Spears, Spears, ” Spears, Carol Carty, ” Carty, “ It’s, that’s, “ I’ve, Trumper Organizations: , South Carolina CNN, South, Republican, Census Bureau, Biden, Hilton Head, New, Democratic, Republican Party, Trump, Florida Gov, Washington Post, Monmouth University, United Nations, CNN, State House, New York Times, Twitter, AP, Capitol, South Carolina State House, Getty Images, Conservative Political, Conference, Army National Guard, Getty, Louisiana Gov, National Governors Association, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, United Nations Security Council, UN, State, British, Norwegian Refugee Council, Gali Tibbon, UN Security, West Bank, The United States, Anadolu Agency, Republican National Convention Locations: , South Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, United States, New Hampshire, Trump, Iowa, Virginia, Hilton Head, Kansas, New York, CNN’s New Hampshire, Columbia , South Carolina, Afghanistan, Amritsar, India, AFP, Charleston , South Carolina, Columbia, State, Syrian, Jerusalem, Gali, Kuwait, Gaza, Londonderry , New Hampshire, Des Moines , Iowa, Grand Mound , Iowa, Miami

Throughout her career, the South Carolina-born daughter of Indian immigrants has generally called out acts of individual prejudice and the people responsible. But Haley, now a Republican presidential candidate, has avoided denouncing society or groups of people as racist. Haley, who was Trump's U.N. ambassador, has described facing prejudice in her upbringing in rural Bamberg. “My parents never wanted us to think we lived in a racist country,” Haley told reporters recently. When asked by reporters whether Trump's criticisms of her are racist, Haley has instead portrayed him as “desperate to stop our momentum," using any means necessary to attack his opponents.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Haley, Glenn Beck, Donald Trump's, ”, Emanuel, “, ” Haley, Trump, Trump's U.N, Hajar, “ Nikki Haley, ” Yazdiha, “ She’s, Terry Holyfield, Haley’s, Holyfield, ” Holyfield, Sen, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Scott, Ramaswamy, Haley “ Nimbra ”, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, “ Nikki, Trump's, Barack Obama, we’ve, Jake Tapper, ” Tapper, Holly Ramer, Noreen Nasir, ___ Meg Kinnard, Matt Brown Organizations: COLUMBIA, Washington Post, Republican, GOP, Methodist Episcopal Church, Southern, University of Southern, Confederate, ”, Trump, CNN, Associated Press Locations: South Carolina, Columbia, Charleston, Washington, United States, Bamberg, University of Southern California, North Charleston, U.S, Iowa, Mexico, New Hampshire, America, India, Indian, Hollis , New Hampshire, New York

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sunday extolled the existence of Black churches, saying the world would be a different place if they were not around to show people the “power of faith” during times of darkness. The Democratic president spoke at St. John Baptist Church on the final day of a two-day visit to South Carolina designed to rally Black voters before the party's primary on Feb. 3. Biden visited a predominantly Black barbershop and spoke at a state Democratic Party dinner after he flew in on Saturday. A practicing Roman Catholic who attends Mass every Sunday, Biden praised Black churches in his appearance before the Baptist congregation, saying the churches teach the “power of faith.”Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesHe asked the worshippers to imagine “what would have happened if there had been no Black church” to turn to in times of darkness. “Your prayers mean everything,” Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Black, ”, Martin Luther King Jr, ” Biden, Darlene Superville Organizations: COLUMBIA, Democratic, St, John Baptist Church, Democratic Party, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Associated Press Locations: South Carolina, Jordan, Syrian, Iran, Charleston, Washington

☆ Nikki Haley wants a two-person race. New Hampshire’s independents just might give her one
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Arit John | Jeff Zeleny | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Haley and her family walk back into the South Carolina State House after her inauguration in 2011. Tim Dominick/The State/MCT via Getty Images Haley campaigns for presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Haley waves to the crowd during the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013. Alex Wong/Getty Images Haley hugs her husband after his Army National Guard unit returned in 2013. Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty Images Haley visits a farm during a campaign stop in Grand Mound, Iowa, in September 2023.

Persons: Hollis, Hollis , New Hampshire CNN — Danielle Brown, John McCain, Barack Obama, Nikki Haley, ” Brown, Haley, “ Haley, Chris Sununu, Trump, Trump . Sen, Tim Scott of, ”, ” Haley, Sununu, “ Nikki Haley, ” Trump, Greg Moore, Charles Koch, Moore, “, ” Moore, Susan Rice, Trump . Rice, “ I’m, ” Rice, ” Michael Lewis, Donald Trump, ” Lewis, “ There’s, “ MAGA, GOP Sen, J.D, Vance of, Sylvia, ” Bill Jackson, “ She’s, She’s, we’ve, they’re, Trump –, Biden, Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis, Travis Dove, Michael, Nalin, Rena, Twitter Haley, Gerry Melendez, AP Haley, Chip Somodevilla, Tim Dominick, Getty Images Haley, Mitt Romney, Justin Sullivan, Alex Wong, Michael Haley, Rainier Ehrhardt, Jaswinder Singh, Narinder Nanu, Bobby Jindal, Jindal, Win McNamee, Sean Rayford, Saul Loeb, Mike Pence, Drew Angerer, State Rex Tillerson, Matthew Rycroft, Boris Johnson, Bryan R, Smith, Raad Adayleh, Brendan Smialowski, Spencer Platt, Evan Vucci, Kevin Lamarque, Don Bolduc, Brian Snyder, Jonathan Ernst, Jake Tapper, Will Lanzoni, Demetrius Freeman, Rachel Mummey, Jonathan Newton, Nikki Haley Prev, CNN’s KFile, “ You’re, Nancy Protzmann, ” Protzmann, –, don’t, Ebony Davis, Ali Main Organizations: Hollis , New Hampshire CNN, New Hampshire Republican, Democratic, South Carolina Gov, Trump, Hampshire GOP, Republican Party coalesces, Trump ., Republicans, Republican, AFP, White House, Republican Party, Hollis, NATO, Republican National, Convention, Fox News, GOP, Vance of Ohio, “ Republican, Marist, Biden, Florida Gov, State House, New York Times, Twitter, South, AP, Capitol, South Carolina State House, Getty Images, Conservative Political, Conference, Army National Guard, Getty, Louisiana Gov, National Governors Association, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, United Nations, United Nations Security Council, UN, State, British, Norwegian Refugee Council, Gali Tibbon, UN Security, West Bank, The United States, Anadolu Agency, Republican National Convention, CNN, Washington Post, Social Security, Social Locations: Hollis , New Hampshire, Granite, New Hampshire, Haley’s, Hampshire, South Carolina, Trump, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Concord, Washington, Newfields, Hampton, Manchester, Portsmouth, Rochester, Maine, Kingston, Nashua, she’s, Iowa, Columbia , South Carolina, Afghanistan, Amritsar, India, AFP, Charleston , South Carolina, Columbia, State, New York, Syrian, United States, Jerusalem, Gali, Kuwait, Gaza, Londonderry , New Hampshire, Des Moines , Iowa, Grand Mound , Iowa, Miami, Hollis

☆ Atlanta D.A. Defends Qualifications of Outside Lawyer She Hired for Trump Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Rick Rojas | Sean Keenan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., pushed back on Sunday against the criticism and questions about her judgment that have followed a court filing accusing her of being romantically involved with the outside lawyer she hired to lead the racketeering case against former President Donald J. Trump. Ms. Willis emerged from almost a week of silence to address the congregation at Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Atlanta, which had invited her to be the keynote speaker for a service dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She did not address the allegation that she was in a relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired in 2021, who has earned more than $650,000 in the job to date. Instead, she said that Mr. Wade had “impeccable credentials” for the role and suggested that the accusations were just the latest thing to make her job hard to bear. Ms. Willis, 52, said she was “as flawed as they come,” but that she was also subjected to an added level of scrutiny and even to personal danger as a Black woman in such a high-profile role, taking on arguably the most powerful figure in the Republican Party.

Persons: Willis, Donald J, Trump, Martin Luther King Jr, Nathan Wade, Wade Organizations: Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Republican Party Locations: Fulton County ,, Big, Atlanta

☆ ‘Watch Night’ Review: For Spacious Skies, for Rancorous Waves of Hate
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Elisabeth Vincentelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some of them are imprinted with the text of the Second Amendment, others a rallying cry: “We fight fascists.” Among the most eye-catching is an ad for N.R.A. memberships, with its promise of “$5,000 Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance.”But what about intentional deaths? “Watch Night,” a new multigenre hybrid show, is interested in those, specifically the ones fueled by homegrown prejudice. He wrote the libretto for “We Shall Not Be Moved” (2017), an opera inspired by the police bombing in 1985 of a Philadelphia house occupied by Black activists, with an artistic team that included Jones and Lauren Whitehead, the “Watch Night” dramaturg. Unfortunately, those experiences have not helped focus this new production.

Persons: Perelman, Bill T, Jones, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Tamar, kali, Joseph, Carlos Simon, “, George Floyd, Lauren Whitehead Organizations: Perelman Performing, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Minnesota Orchestra, Black Locations: Charleston, S.C, Pittsburgh, “ brea, Philadelphia

☆ The Strange Omission of Slavery from a Charleston Ghost Tour - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Colin Dickey | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

(The church discourages these stories; a plaque on the grounds reads: “The only ghost at St. Philip’s is the Holy Ghost.”)Leaving race out of any history is a striking blind spot — even in a ghost tour. Born into slavery, Vesey had purchased his freedom in 1799 after winning a lottery, and became a prosperous carpenter. Some websites will tell you to look for Vesey’s ghost at the Old Charleston Jail, a structure that’s stood since 1802. Long after my own tour, I tracked down two longtime ghost tour guides, Joy Watson and Randy Johnson, who regularly take visitors up to the old jail. They told me that they had never heard of any Vesey ghost sightings there.

Persons: Stede Bonnet, Harriet Mackie, Sue Howard, Philip’s, Denmark Vesey, Vesey, Emanuel ”, Long, Joy Watson, Randy Johnson Organizations: Old, Philip’s, African Methodist Episcopal Church Locations: Holy, St, Charleston, Denmark, Haiti

☆ Actor Viola Davis to join US African diaspora council
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] FiILE PHOTO: Viola Davis attends the world premiere of "AIR" at Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Lauren Justice/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the first members of the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement, including actor Viola Davis, who will advise Washington on deepening ties with African communities. Washington has sought to stress the region's importance and counter challenges posed by China and Russia to the United States' interests in the increasingly important region. In addition to Viola Davis, members include: Patrick Gaspard, the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress think tank; C.D. Glin, president of the PepsiCo Foundation and global head of social impact for PepsiCo; and Almaz Negash, founder of the African Diaspora Network, among others.

Persons: Viola Davis, Lauren Justice, Joe Biden, Judd Devermont, Silvester Beaman, Patrick Gaspard, Glin, Davis, Tony, Wagner, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Don Durfee, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Regency Village Theatre, REUTERS, Rights, Tuesday, Africa, Summit, National Security, African Affairs, African Methodist Episcopal, Center for American Progress, PepsiCo Foundation, PepsiCo, African Diaspora Network, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, President’s, Washington, China, Russia, United States, States, Africa, Ukraine

☆ 36 Hours in Charleston, S.C.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Ariel Felton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

3:30 p.m. Tour downtown’s Black historyTake in history on foot with Lost Stories of Black Charleston , a two-hour walking tour that starts at Buxton Books on King Street and explores two downtown neighborhoods: the French Quarter and South of Broad. On a recent stroll, the author and historian Damon Fordham (who said he never gives the same tour twice), pointed out the Broad Street location of the country’s first known Black law firm, Whipper, Elliott, and Allen, which opened in 1868. In front of the South Carolina Historical Society, he spoke of Denmark Vesey, a free Black man who, in 1822, planned an unsuccessful slave revolt. When his plan was revealed, white Charlestonians burned down Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Mr. Vesey was a member. The church was rebuilt in 1872 (and again in 1891, following an earthquake) and was the site of the 2015 shooting that claimed the lives of nine Black churchgoers.

Persons: Damon Fordham, Elliott, Allen, Denmark Vesey, Vesey Organizations: Buxton Books, King, South, South Carolina Historical Society, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Locations: Charleston, Broad, South Carolina

☆ Once a Force in Harlem, the Oldest Black Church in New York Hangs On
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Mia Jackson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“The history of Harlem churches is bound up with the history of cities and the changes that happen within the cities,” said Prof. Wallace Best, who teaches African American studies and religion at Princeton University and is writing a book on Black churches in Harlem. But the church will be unable to financially sustain itself and uphold its legacy of tending to the spiritual, political, and social needs of its community, without a dramatic uptick in its membership and donation flow. On any given Sunday, a few dozen or so churchgoers, primarily a mixture of older congregants and curious tourists, fill the pews. The First Sunday After Second-class TreatmentThe very first Sunday service of the church was held in 1796 in a cabinetmaker’s shop in Lower Manhattan on Cross Street, flanked by Orange and Mulberry Streets. A group of former slaves, dissatisfied with their second-class treatment in the predominantly white John Street Methodist Church, left to start Zion church under the leadership of its first bishop, James Varick.

Persons: ”, Wallace Best, paraders, Adam Clayton Powell Jr, James Varick Organizations: African, Princeton University, National Trust for Historic Preservation, The New York Times, Cross, John Street Methodist Church, John Street Methodist, Methodist Church, Episcopal Locations: Harlem, Lower Manhattan, Orange, Mulberry, ”

☆ Harris rejects invite to debate slavery with Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday rejected an invitation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to discuss the state's new Black history curriculum and said she will not be debating the topic of slavery with him. DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, on Monday invited Harris to Florida to discuss the state's new Black history curriculum after the vice president criticized it for backing guidelines that taught "revisionist history" about slavery in the United States. On Tuesday, Harris said, "I will tell you, there is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact: There were no redeeming qualities of slavery." Harris flew to Orlando to deliver remarks at an African Methodist Episcopal Church event. Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Reverend Wheeler Parker, Jr, Emmett Till, Mamie Till, Elizabeth Frantz, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Harris, Biden, Nandita Bose, Alistair Bell Organizations: U.S, White, REUTERS, Florida Governor, Monday, African Methodist Episcopal, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Illinois, Mississippi, Washington , U.S, Florida, United States, Orlando, Iowa, Chicago, Washington

☆ Vice President Harris rejects DeSantis invite to debate slavery curriculum
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Vice-President Kamala Harris participates in a political event with reproductive rights groups at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, U.S., June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday rejected an invitation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to discuss the state's new Black history curriculum and said she will not be debating the topic of slavery with him. DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, on Monday invited Harris to Florida to discuss the state's new Black history curriculum after the vice president criticized it for backing guidelines that she said taught "revisionist history" about slavery in the United States. On Tuesday, Harris, made a previously-scheduled speech in the state, telling the audience, "Well, I'm here in Florida. Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Evelyn Hockstein WASHINGTON, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Harris, Biden, Nandita Bose, Alistair Bell, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Mayflower, REUTERS, Florida Governor, Monday, African Methodist Episcopal, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Florida, United States, Orlando, Iowa, Chicago, Washington

☆ Proud Boys members fined over $1 million in ‘hateful and overtly racist’ church destruction civil suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Josh Campbell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Members of the right-wing extremist group, the Proud Boys, have been ordered to pay more than a million dollars as part of a civil suit judgment involving the destruction of property in December 2020 at the predominantly Black campus of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. DC Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz approved Friday’s default judgment against Proud Boys members Joseph R. Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Jeremy Bertino and John Turano, as well as the group’s limited liability corporation. In a blistering order, Kravitz described the “highly orchestrated” and “hateful and overtly racist conduct” from members of the Proud Boys during the “attack” on the Metropolitan AME church, in which a Black Lives Matter sign owned by the church was allegedly destroyed. A request for comment on the judgment has also been made to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. According to Kravitz’s order, on December 12, 2020, several people in Proud Boys regalia “leaped over Metropolitan AME’s fence, entered the church’s property, and went directly to the Black Lives Matter sign.

Persons: Neal E, Kravitz, Joseph R, Biggs, Enrique Tarrio, Jeremy Bertino, John Turano, ”, “, Arthur Ago, Tarrio, Donald Trump, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, DC, Proud Boys, Metropolitan AME, Tarrio, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal, “, Boys Locations: Washington , DC, Tarrio, Black, Washington

☆ One of the most dangerous hours in America is now 11 o’clock on Sunday morning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

It would also foreshadow a disturbing trend that has only worsened in subsequent years: 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is now one of the most dangerous hours of the week in America, pastors and church security officials say. Brady Boyd, senior pastor of New Life Church, the same church where Assam confronted a gunman 16 years ago. And in 2018, a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. But his church security does not have a monopoly on Sunday morning firepower. Consider this sobering Sunday morning scenario:A spiritual seeker visits a church and finds it filled with metal detectors and armed security guards carrying walkie-talkies.

Persons: Jeanne Assam, He’s, Beretta, Jake Stephens, Brian Snyder, ”, Brady Boyd, Boyd, “ That’s, Scott Olson, Rabbi Hillel Norry, Beth David, Norry, “, Kwon, Jeff Swensen, ” Norry, that’s, Shaukat Warraich, Dwayne Harris, Harris, Hope, ” Harris, Darren Hauck, Tim Russell, ‘ I’m, David Swanson, Pastors, Jesus ’, ” Boyd, Jesus, Tommy Mason, Mason, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Saint Joseph, Beau Biden, Brendan Smialowski, Jerilee Bennett, George W . Bush, “ You’re Organizations: CNN, New, Church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Reuters Churches, New Life, White, Texas Church of Christ, Baptist, Security, Police, House Church, Geneva Presbyterian, Colorado Springs, Marion County Baptist Association, Service, Brandywine Catholic, “ Police, AP, Minneapolis Police Department Locations: Colorado, Assam, Colorado Springs, America, Charleston , South Carolina, Sutherland Springs , Texas, Texas, Orange County , California, Oak Creek , Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, That’s, New Zealand, Missouri, ”, Geneva, Laguna Woods , California, Marion, Alabama, Saint, Brandywine, Brandywine Catholic Church, Wilmington , Delaware, AFP, AP Assam

☆ ‘After Sherman’ Review: A Family Reckoning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lisa Kennedy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the elegiac documentary “After Sherman,” cameras glide along waterways, soar above marshes, contemplate churches and travel down Southern roads lined by trees, the moss hanging like braids. Under the director Jon-Sesrie Goff’s gaze, these places are sacred, even as they remain haunted by a nation’s grievous racial history. “I’m Gullah, born in exile,” says Goff, who is based in New York, describing his place among the Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina. Dr. Norvel Goff Sr., a descendant of formerly enslaved people who purchased land in South Carolina after emancipation. Reverend Goff, who owns property in the Lowcountry, was also the interim pastor at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, after a self-identified white supremacist killed nine Black parishioners gathered for Bible study one evening in June 2015.

Persons: Sherman, Jon, ”, Goff, Norvel Goff, Reverend Goff Organizations: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Locations: Southern, New York, South Carolina, Charleston

☆ Nikki Haley barely mentions her 2 years working for Trump in her 2024 presidential campaign launch video
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nikki Haley officially announced on Tuesday that she's running for president in 2024. But she makes almost no mention of her tenure as UN ambassador in her campaign launch video. It underscores the difficult path ahead for Haley, who once said she wouldn't challenge Trump in 2024. But her campaign launch video makes almost no references to the nearly two years that she spent working for Trump as US ambassador to the United Nations. Haley is set to formally launch her campaign at an event in South Carolina on Wednesday.

☆ Raphael Warnock delivers a personal address at hometown rally in Savannah, while zinging Herschel Walker as tight race nears: 'We're on a different field today'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Raphael Warnock on Sunday energized an upbeat crowd at a rally in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Days before the November general election, Warnock's return was met with pride from attendees. "He's doing a really great for us in the two years that he's had up there," Westbrook told Insider. When asked about Warnock's influence in Savannah, Westbrook said there's "a lot of pride" in the senator's trajectory. But he also pivoted to railing against Walker, praising his football career but saying that the election was being fought "on a different field today."

☆ Facebook's Meta and Russian oligarch are sued by massacre victim's family accusing them of 'radicalizing' the Charleston church massacre killer: lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook's Meta and Russian oligarch named in a lawsuit accusing them of "radicalizing" a killer. The family of a state senator who was killed in the 2015 Charleston massacre filed on Wednesday. Clementa Pinckney who was killed during the 2015 massacre, and their daughter filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, accusing Facebook and Yevgeny Prigozhin of exposing the killer to white supremacist propaganda, court papers show. Prigozhin set up Wagner Group in 2014 – a Russian mercenary organization accused of committing war crimes and human rights abuses. The Russian billionaire, who reportedly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, was once charged with interfering in US politics.

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