National News Archives - The Atlanta Voice https://theatlantavoice.com/category/news/national-news/ Your Atlanta GA News Source Thu, 18 Jan 2024 22:37:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://theatlantavoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cropped-Brand-Icon-32x32.png National News Archives - The Atlanta Voice https://theatlantavoice.com/category/news/national-news/ 32 32 200573006 Congress passes short-term funding extension, averting government shutdown ahead of Friday deadline https://theatlantavoice.com/us-govt-shutdown-3/ Thu, 18 Jan 2024 22:37:48 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=154324

 (CNN) — Congress passed a short-term funding extension Thursday, averting a partial government shutdown at the end of the week after lawmakers raced the clock ahead of a key Friday deadline. The bill will now be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The Senate voted first to pass the measure by […]

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 (CNN) — Congress passed a short-term funding extension Thursday, averting a partial government shutdown at the end of the week after lawmakers raced the clock ahead of a key Friday deadline.

The bill will now be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The Senate voted first to pass the measure by a tally of 77 to 18. The House passed the bill later in the day, 314 to 108.

But major challenges still lay ahead. Lawmakers must now attempt to pass a series of full-year spending bills before new March deadlines – a painstaking process with a wide array of potential landmines as the two parties fight for competing policy priorities.

In a rare event, lawmakers had been confronting not one but two government shutdown deadlines early this year – on January 19 and February 2.

The short-term funding extension sets up two new funding deadlines on March 1 and March 8. The stopgap measure will provide more time for full-year appropriations bills to be negotiated and passed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who presides over an extremely narrow majority, has faced intense pushback from his right flank amid the government spending fight.

Johnson has been criticized by conservatives over a topline spending deal he struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, which would set spending at close to $1.66 trillion overall. Conservatives were also quick to criticize the proposal for a short-term funding extension after it was announced.

“This is what surrender looks like,” the far-right House Freedom Caucus posted on X.

Johnson has defended the topline agreement and said in a statement Sunday that the short-term spending bill “is required to complete what House Republicans are working hard to achieve: an end to governance by omnibus, meaningful policy wins, and better stewardship of American tax dollars.”

In addition to the effort to avert a shutdown, a group of Senate negotiators have been working to try to strike a deal on border security that could unlock passage of aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Top congressional leaders emerged from a Wednesday meeting with Biden at the White House hopeful that a deal on a national security supplemental aid package can be reached.

If a deal is reached in the Senate, however, its fate in the House will be uncertain. A number of House Republicans have warned that they don’t believe a Senate compromise on border security would be adequate to address the issues at the border and would be ready to reject such a measure.

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Aide asked 911 dispatcher to send ambulance to Austin’s house without lights and sirens before Walter Reed hospitalization https://theatlantavoice.com/lloyd-austin-prostate-cancer/ Wed, 17 Jan 2024 01:24:03 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=153621

(CNN) — An aide who called 911 requesting an ambulance to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s house on New Year’s Day asked that the ambulance be discreet and “not show up with lights and sirens.” “We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide told the dispatcher in a recording of the call obtained by CNN through the Freedom of Information Act from the Fairfax […]

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(CNN) — An aide who called 911 requesting an ambulance to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s house on New Year’s Day asked that the ambulance be discreet and “not show up with lights and sirens.”

“We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide told the dispatcher in a recording of the call obtained by CNN through the Freedom of Information Act from the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications.

“Yeah, I understand,” the dispatcher responded to the aide, whose name is redacted from the audio. The dispatcher explained that ambulances typically turn off their lights and sirens on residential streets.

The aide asked that Austin — whose name is also redacted from the call — be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The audio, first reported on by The Daily Beast, provides new insight into the defense secretary’s physical state at the start of what became a two-week stay at Walter Reed for Austin, who was experiencing complications from a December 22 procedure to treat prostate cancer.

Austin, the aide said, was not experiencing chest pain or feeling like he was going to pass out. He was awake and oriented, according to the audio.

While Austin and the aide’s names are redacted from the audio, the street name of the partially redacted address provided to the dispatcher matches Austin’s address.

While Austin was admitted to the hospital on January 1 — and the intensive care unit on January 2 — the public did not know about his health complications until January 5. It was later discovered that the White House, including President Joe Biden, had not been notified until January 4. Congress was not notified until January 5. The revelation has raised numerous questions about Austin’s compliance with notification requirements and transparency in the Pentagon.

Biden has since said that Austin’s delay in notifying him was a lapse in judgment.

The Pentagon’s inspector general has launched a review of whether the Pentagon has the appropriate policies in place to ensure an effective transfer of power and duties following Austin’s hospitalizations.

Austin’s doctors said last week that he had a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” on December 22, but on January 1 he was experiencing “nausea with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain,” and was found to have a urinary tract infection.

“Further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines,” the statement from his doctors last week said. “This resulted in the back up of his intestinal contents which was treated by placing a tube through his nose to drain his stomach. The abdominal fluid collections were drained by non-surgical drain placement.  He has progressed steadily throughout his stay.”

Austin was released on Monday, and his doctors said in a previous statement that he is expected to “make a full recovery.”

“Secretary Austin’s prostate cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent,” said the statement from Dr. John Maddox, trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed. “He has no planned further treatment for his cancer other than regular post-prostatectomy surveillance.”

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Kemp pitching Georgia at World Economic Forum https://theatlantavoice.com/kemp-pitching-georgia-at-world-economic-forum/ Tue, 16 Jan 2024 17:18:59 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=153389

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp is talking up Georgia to foreign business and political big wigs for the second January in a row. Kemp is spending the week in Switzerland attending the World Economic Forum, meeting business executives and political leaders and taking part in discussion panels. “We get a lot of value being able […]

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ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp is talking up Georgia to foreign business and political big wigs for the second January in a row.

Kemp is spending the week in Switzerland attending the World Economic Forum, meeting business executives and political leaders and taking part in discussion panels.

“We get a lot of value being able to see, talk to, and pitch a lot of people in one place,” Kemp told Capitol Beat Tuesday in an exclusive interview from Davos, Switzerland. “The exposure we get is really helpful selling the state.”

The trip includes meetings both with executives from companies with an existing presence in Georgia and those that might be interested in setting up shop in the Peach State.

On Tuesday, the governor met with officials from Korean automaker Hyundai, which is building a massive electric vehicle manufacturing plant west of Savannah, and multinational technology company Cisco, which has offices in Midtown Atlanta. Tomorrow, the state will host a luncheon reception for 25 companies.

Kemp also participated in a panel discussion on the EV industry, which has become a major player in Georgia with both the Hyundai plant and a manufacturing facility Rivian is building east of Atlanta along the Interstate 20 corridor.

The governor will lead Georgia’s delegation to meetings elsewhere in Switzerland later this week before heading back home on Saturday.

Kemp, a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate after his second term as governor expires in 2026, dismissed the notion that he’s out to burnish his own national and international profile by going to Davos.

“My No.-1 goal is selling our state,” he said. “That’s the reason I came to the forum.”

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DEI opponents are using a 1866 Civil Rights law to challenge equity policies in the workplace https://theatlantavoice.com/section-1981-dei/ Mon, 15 Jan 2024 01:07:34 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=151607

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of workplace diversity programs are increasingly banking on a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to challenge equity policies as well as funding to minority-owned businesses. Section 1981 of the act was originally meant to protect formerly enslaved people — or Black people specifically — from economic exclusion. […]

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NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of workplace diversity programs are increasingly banking on a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to challenge equity policies as well as funding to minority-owned businesses.

Section 1981 of the act was originally meant to protect formerly enslaved people — or Black people specifically — from economic exclusion. But now the American Alliance for Equal Rights — a group run by Edward Blum, the conservative activist who challenged affirmative action in higher education and won — is citing the section to go after a venture capital fund called the Fearless Fund, which invests in businesses owned by women of color. A federal appeals court temporarily blocked funding for Fearless Fund’s grant program as the case proceeds.

Conservative activists have brought lawsuits using the 1981 section against other companies and institutions, including insurance company Progressive and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The cases are being monitored carefully as the battle over racial considerations shift to the workplace following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions.

While the 1981 statute had been used well before the latest affirmative action ruling to prove reverse discrimination, Alphonso David, Fearless Fund’s legal counsel who serves as president & CEO of The Global Black Economic Forum, said that there’s a “coordinated use of Section 1981 now that we did not see before.”

Here’s what’s happening and what the impact could be:

Arian Simone of the Fearless Fund delivers a keynote speech at the 2023 National Minority Supplier Development Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen)

What is Section 1981?

The 1866 Civil Rights Act is a federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, and ethnicity when making and enforcing contracts. Section 1981 specifically grants all individuals within the U.S. jurisdiction the same rights and benefits as “enjoyed by white citizens” regarding contractual relationships.

However, the Supreme Court’s 1976 McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation decision broadened those protections, ruling Section 1981 prohibits racial discrimination in private employment against white people as well as people of color.

“It’s a very clever game plan,” said Randolph McLaughlin, a civil rights attorney and law professor at Pace University, referring to the use of the 1866 law. “They want to turn civil rights law upside down.”

The standard of proof for the 1981 section is high. That’s because of the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Comcast v. National Association of African American-owned Media establishing that the plaintiff who sues for racial discrimination under the section bears the burden of showing that race was the central cause in denying a contract opportunity — as opposed to merely a motivating factor.

Why not rely on Title VII instead?

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. If the plaintiff opts to sue via Title VII, then he or she needs to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That’s a process that takes up to 180 days. After that, the plaintiff can file a lawsuit. Choosing the 1981 route is much quicker.

Section 1981 is also broader than Title VII, which generally applies to employers who have 15 or more employees, legal experts said. Also under Title VII, a plaintiff can recoup only up to $300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages total. Section 1981 has no limitation.

Title VII does have a lower standard of proof than Section 1981. Plaintiffs only have to show race was a motivating factor, not a central cause.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, former President of Liberia, Madame President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield pose for photos during the Global Black Economic Forum’s Access & Economic Opportunity Summit at the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ on June 29, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

Why is the case against the Fearless Fund potentially significant?

In its lawsuit, American Alliance For Equal Rights seeks relief by arguing that the fund’s Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which awards $20,000 to Black women who run businesses, violates Section 1981 by excluding some people from the program because of their race.

Attorneys for the Fearless Fund have argued in court filings that the grants are donations, not contracts, and are protected by the First Amendment.

David, the Fearless Fund’s legal counsel, says that if these types of grants are considered contracts, one can make the argument that grants issued in many other forms and contexts could also be considered contracts.

“Think of every foundation out there that issues grants,” David said. “They issue grants to people of different demographic groups. They issue grants only to women. They issue grants to survivors of earthquakes. Are those all contracts?”

Angela Reddock-Wright, an employment and Title IX attorney and mediator based in Los Angeles, believes it is “very possible” that the case could end up at the Supreme Court.

“Ideally, the court would decline to hear this matter on the grounds that Section 1981 was not intended to cover matters such as this, but this court appears to operate under different rules and standards,” she said.

Ayana K. Parsons of The Fearless Fund speaks during a town hall at the Congressional Black Caucus’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Thursday, September 21, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

What impact have similar lawsuits had?

Some companies have already changed their criteria for their diversity fellowship programs.

Law firms Morrison Foerster and Perkins Coie opened their diversity fellowship programs to all applicants of all races in October, changes the companies said were in the works before Blum filed lawsuits against them. He subsequently dropped them. Previously, the programs for first year law students had targeted students in historically underrepresented groups.

Morrison Foerster’s fellowship program now caters to students with demonstrated commitments to equity and diversity. Perkins Coie announced that it had opened its fellowship programs to all applicants, regardless of their race, gender or LGBTQ identity. In a statement, Perkins Coie said the changes arose as part of updates to its diversity and inclusion policies following the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action.

Last February, Pfizer dropped race-based eligibility requirements for a fellowship program designed for college students of Black, Latino and Native American descent. A judge had dismissed a lawsuit filed by the conservative nonprofit Do No Harm, which claimed Pfizer’s program violated Section 1981, but Do No Harm is appealing the ruling.

“What would work in (companies’) favor is to lower their profile,” said University of Virginia’s Distinguished Professor of Law George Rutherglen. “Which means they do not explicitly consider race in making these decisions. Look to other conditions and requirements that might achieve the same objective.”

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“Me and my God, we talk like regular folks’: Fani Wilis opens up about racism, death threats & solitude in her fight for justice as D.A. https://theatlantavoice.com/me-and-my-god-we-talk-like-regular-folks-fani-wilis-opens-up-about-racism-death-threats-solitude-that-in-her-fight-for-justice-as-d-a/ Sun, 14 Jan 2024 20:11:55 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=151164

"Now I must warn you, if you are looking today to hear from a perfect person, well he was crucified and he died for your sins," said Willis. "Today what God has brought you is his very flawed, hard-headed, and imperfect servant. So I pray for him to please use me this morning."

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took a step away from the lectern inside the pulpit at Big Bethel AME Church and caught herself. She was in the middle of her testimony, a discussion she recently had with God, and was about to cry. Willis was invited to be the guest speaker for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial service at the historic 175-year-old church located in the heart of Auburn Avenue, and moments earlier told the congregation that this was going to be a different kind of interruption in service.

“Now I must warn you, if you are looking today to hear from a perfect person, well he was crucified and he died for your sins,” said Willis. “Today what God has brought you is his very flawed, hard-headed, and imperfect servant. So I pray for him to please use me this morning.”

Church elders and leaders form a prayer circle with Willis (to the right of the woman in blue) before Sunday service, Jan. 14, 2024.
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

Willis announced to the congregation that the theme being celebrated on the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is, “It starts with me.” She proclaimed that there has been and can continue to be a shift in the cultural climate through the study and practice of Dr. King’s non-violent philosophy. The current climate she said she was in was one of hatred, racism, sexism, violence, and constant death threats. As one of a very few female district attorneys of color in the United States, Willis already had a tough job to do in Atlanta’s largest and most populated county. Of the 50 district attorneys in the state of Georgia, only seven are Black women.

On Sunday, without having to mention the name of the former United States president currently dealing with indictments in Fulton County, she was clear that the weight of her lofty position had gotten much heavier following the charges levied against Donald J. Trump.

“This church is built on faith and resilience and this hard-headed, flawed, imperfect servant before you is built and is being constantly chiseled on faith and resilience,” Willis said. “I knew God was telling me I’m sending you where you need to be. God always brings you to that safe place where you need to be.”

Willis said, “”I must reveal a secret, the journey is ugly, the journey is painful, the journey is full of pitfalls, but if you are one of His children you must answer the purpose, the call, and you must answer the mandate.” Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

Willis asked a question that felt more introspective than rhetorical. “How much are you presently willing to sacrifice for the greater good of His purpose?,” she said. “I want to talk to you today about what is required to be a soldier in warfare to shift the cultural climate.”

A mother of two adult daughters, Willis, 52, said, “I must reveal a secret, the journey is ugly, the journey is painful, the journey is full of pitfalls, but if you are one of His children you must answer the purpose, the call, and you must answer the mandate.”

During her 30 minutes in the pulpit, Willis shared stories that her father, former defense attorney and member of the Black Panther Party, John C. Floyd III, shared with her of Dr. King. She said her father spent time with King and often told her stories about speaking with King and how tired the slain Civil Rights era leader was.

“I must confess to you, as a little girl I really didn’t think that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream would still be just a work in progress. I thought by 2024 that us humans would have gotten it together. That the cultural shift would have already taken place. I thought by now we would all just be getting along. Boy was I wrong.”

She said now, as much as any time in history this country needs a cultural shift. She used the lack of respect for law enforcement and the racist, bigoted, and hateful rhetoric being shared on social media and in public as examples. “Americans have normalized cruelty, bigotry, and hate,” Willis said. “See they criticize me for who my Earthly father is and my Heavenly one.”

Floyd let his daughter know there is a big difference in how King is celebrated today versus when he was alive and one of the faces of a cultural change in America. Those lessons on perspective have not left Willis, who was uncharacteristically open and vulnerable during her time at Big Bethel. “Oh we’re going to tell the truth this morning,” she said. “This week at one point I became so in need of my source that I stopped and to tap in I penned a letter to my Heavenly father. I desperately needed to tap into that one source. God knows my heart, my joys, my pains, my sins, my faults.”

She prefaced that point by proclaiming, “In my life I have experienced things that taught me that Jesus is the only source I can rely on every time and all the time,” Willis said.

Willis shared that she still receives a steady diet of death and bomb threats. Through different means, King shared similar experiences of threats of violence to himself and his family during his journey from co-pastor under his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church and the first president of the Student Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to global icon and later civil rights martyr.

In a candid moment that drew a hush over the crowd, Willis shared that if she isn’t alerted of multiple death threats per week

On Christmas Day 2023 she was alerted of a shooting at her home only to learn that it was a cruel prank. She called it just another day when her joy was stolen while trying to celebrate God.

Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

“God, I trust you, God, I thank you, God, I love you, I thank you for every attack that makes me stronger,” she said. “See, I sit here with a peace that passes all understanding.” The latter statement brought the congregation to its feet.

United States Representative Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga, 14th District) and Fulton County Commissioner Bridget Thorne were mentioned during Willis’ testimony. “God, I don’t want to be like those who attack me. I don’t want to be like a Marjorie Taylor Greene,” said Willis. “How is this woman who has the honor of being a leader in my state, how is it that she has not reached out to me? She can tell me I don’t agree with anything that you’re doing, but I do not agree with people threatening your life or the life of your family.”

She said God asked her to pray for Greene, Thorne, and others who have ill intentions or thoughts about her and her family.

During the reading of her letter to God, Willis also shared with the congregation that she sometimes feels unworthy of the position she currently holds. She read: “Lord, even right now I continue to feel unworthy of the honor. A divorced single mom who doesn’t belong to the right social groups, that doesn’t necessarily come from the right family, and doesn’t have the right pedigree, the assignment was just too high for lowly me.”

Willis shared that she “struggled the entire time” raising her children following her divorce from their father, but obeyed God and carried on to eventually become the first ever female Fulton County District Attorney. “It will always be one of my greatest honors. I worked so hard for it for so long, but I still humbly realize that only one percent of the district attorneys in this country are women of color.”

Carla Morrison, chair of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worship service, said to Willis, “Sister Willis, Big Bethel pulled out all the stops for you this morning.”

Presiding Prelate, Sixth Episcopal District AME Church Bishop Reginald T. Jackson (above) spoke of Willis’ preparedness for the job of Fulton County District Attorney. “She’s prepared for the job for which she was elected. I want Fulton County to know that this is one of the best things you’ve done.” Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

Willis was presented with a plaque and some gifts by church leaders, including senior pastor Rev. Dr. John Foster and Presiding Prelate, Sixth Episcopal District AME Church Bishop Reginald T. Jackson who said of Willis during his introduction of her as the guest speaker, “She’s prepared for the job for which she was elected. I want Fulton County to know that this is one of the best things you’ve done. I am so proud of our speaker this morning.”

Willis closed with her time in church with some homework for the congregation: “Please find a way to do your God-given assignment to make this world a better place for all people.” 

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9 places where you can walk in MLK Jr.’s footsteps https://theatlantavoice.com/mlk-travel-destinations/ Sun, 14 Jan 2024 01:30:01 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=150594

(CNN) — Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised in the American South, but his dream of racial equality and social justice reverberated out of his region, into the whole country and around the world. And it wasn’t just his vision that spanned the globe – the man himself embarked on travels far and wide. You can […]

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(CNN) — Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised in the American South, but his dream of racial equality and social justice reverberated out of his region, into the whole country and around the world. And it wasn’t just his vision that spanned the globe – the man himself embarked on travels far and wide.

You can honor him on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 15) – or any other time of year – by walking in his footsteps figuratively or literally.

From his homeland in the heart of the South to unexpected destinations far beyond America’s shores, here are the places that shaped and inspired the man:

Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia’s busy capital city is King’s birthplace and his final resting place. As such, it probably has the biggest claim on his legacy and MLK-related sites.

Many of them are clustered together at the MLK Jr. National Historical Park in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, including the tombs for MLK and Coretta Scott King.

Some of the highlights include:

• Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church: This is where MLK was baptized and where he co-pastored with his father starting in 1960. It’s been magnificently restored inside and out to how it appeared in the 1960s and is an ideal place for prayer and quiet reflection. 407 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30312.

• MLK Birth Home: You can tour the two-story house where MLK was raised, when Sweet Auburn was the epicenter for African American life in Atlanta. 501 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312.

• The King Center: Coretta Scott King established the The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in 1968. Almost 1 million people would visit annually pre-pandemic to learn more about the Kings’ public and private lives and to pay their respects at their tombs, the reflecting pool and the eternal flame. 449 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Just a few miles away, prestigious Morehouse College is King’s alma mater. (In fact, MLK Jr. was one of numerous King family men to attend college there). The campus grounds are a lovely place to take a stroll where the young collegian walked. 830 Westview Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30314.

Memphis, Tennessee

For a city of its size, Memphis has an outsized influence on the nation’s musical, cultural and political history. The United States was deep in turmoil and scarred by violence when King came to Memphis in March 1968 in support of striking sanitation workers.

King and his group were booked at the Lorraine Motel, a safe and welcoming place to stay for black travelers at the time. On April 4, King was standing on the balcony outside of room 306 when he was shot and killed.

Today, the Lorraine is the site of the National Civil Rights Museum, where you can learn about the broad sweep of civil rights history as well as see the room where the man who changed America spent his final living hours.

On the Monday holiday, the museum is hosting an all-day celebration that will include children’s activities and live entertainment as well as a food drive. Admission to the museum on Monday will be free from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A new exhibition, “Tarred Healing,” featuring photography by Cornell Watson, opens on Monday. 450 Mulberry St., Memphis, TN 38103.

If you would like to also eat where King often broke bread, visit the soul food restaurant The Four Way. Opened since 1946, it serves Southern favorites such as fried chicken, turnip greens and lemon meringue pie (said to be an MLK favorite). 998 Mississippi Blvd., Memphis, TN 38126.

Montgomery, Alabama

It’s difficult to overstate the impact of King’s time in the segregated capital of Alabama during the mid-1950s. His coordination of the long bus strike after Rosa Parks famously refused to yield her seat put him on the national and international map.

Today, Montgomery has numerous must-see civil rights attractions, including:

• The outdoor National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which explores the history of lynching, Jim Crow laws and more. 417 Caroline St, Montgomery, AL 36104.

• The indoor Legacy Museum, about 1 mile away from the memorial. It’s situated on a site where Black people were forced to labor in bondage. 400 N.Court St, Montgomery, AL 36104.

Both were founded by the Equal Justice Initiative and will be open on Monday for MLK Day with free admission.

• The Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University, which is dedicated to Parks’ legacy and the lessons of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 252 Montgomery St, Montgomery, AL 36104.

• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church: This church was founded in 1877 in a slave trader’s pen and was originally called Second Colored Baptist Church. King served as its pastor from 1954 to 1960. It was from here he planned the bus boycott and other efforts to dismantle segregation. Tours of the church are by appointment; you can visit on Sunday morning for worship. 454 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36104.

• Dexter Parsonage Museum: This is the clapboard house where King lived – and which was bombed several times during the civil rights struggle. Open Fridays and Saturdays; otherwise by appointment. 309 S Jackson St, Montgomery, AL 36104.

• Enjoy some food and history at Brenda’s Bar-Be-Que. During the Montgomery bus boycott, organizers gathered at the restaurant and Black people were taught how to read and write there so they could pass literacy tests and vote. Menu favorites for locals include ribs and a pig ear sandwich.1457 Mobile Road Montgomery, AL 36108.

Birmingham, Alabama

The industrial powerhouse of the South and a bedrock of integration opposition in the mid-20th century, Birmingham also figured prominently in King’s life.

It was from Alabama’s largest city, after all, that he penned his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in 1963, in which he passionately defended nonviolent civil disobedience to skeptical white ministers who questioned his tactics and perceived impatience at the pace of change.

You can see the actual door from his jail cell at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute as well as important documents and oral histories from the civil rights movement. 520 16th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203; +1 205 328 9696

Kelly Ingram Park, which was a gathering spot for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other groups in the civil rights movement, has sculptures depicting the struggle. 5th Avenue N & 16th Street.

Washington, DC

It now seems inevitable that King’s march for justice took him beyond the Deep South to the nation’s capital. Here are some places you can visit:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: The first memorial to honor an African American individual on the National Mall, it opened to the public in 2011 and features a powerful 30-foot statue of King emerging from boulders. You can also read inspirational quotes made in carvings on the site. 1850 West Basin Drive SW, Washington, DC 20024 (closest Metro station is the Smithsonian)

• The Lincoln Memorial: Fittingly, it was from the steps of this beloved memorial that King gave his most famous speech – “I Have a Dream.” Sit on the steps, close your eyes and just imagine the atmosphere there on August 28, 1963, as more than a quarter of a million people filled the National Mall to hear what became one of the most important speeches in US history. 2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20037

• The National Museum of African American History And Culture: The museum made an excellent addition to the capital’s many fine institutions when it opened in 2016. The museum contains artifacts directly related to King as well as a sweeping look at the contributions and tribulations of Black Americans. 1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560

Boston, Massachusetts

While several cities in the South claim part of the King legacy, it may surprise some folks to know that Boston, that bastion of New England, also was a key place in shaping his life.

Before returning to the South, King attended Boston University in the early 1950s. Just as you can walk in the undergraduate’s footsteps at Morehouse in Atlanta, you can do the same for grad student King at BU. 771 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215.

You may want to go to the grounds of the impressive Massachusetts State House, where King addressed a joint session of the legislature in April 1965. 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133

You can also see a 22-foot memorial called The Embrace in Boston Common park that commemorates MLK and Coretta Scott King. This is the city, after all, where they met and where they began married life.

Bimini, Bahamas

Combine a gorgeous island getaway with some MLK history on Bimini, the western most outpost of the Bahamas and just 50 miles off the coast of Florida.

King would come here to relax and craft his speeches, including notes for his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech he gave in Oslo, Norway, in 1964.

CNN Travel’s Lilit Marcus reported in a 2018 article that “there are two busts of King on the island – one in front of the Straw Market in the center of Alice Town and one among the very mangroves where King spent so many peaceful afternoons.”

Ghana

The civil rights struggles in the United States and the end of colonialism in Africa came at the same time and naturally the movements dovetailed.

In 1957, the Kings went to Ghana in West Africa to attend its independence ceremony from Britain, according to the King Encyclopedia at Stanford University. In the capital of Accra, he met then-Vice President Richard Nixon, among others.

His first overseas trip, Ghana had a profound effect on King. Upon his return to the United States, he said, “Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first, that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it.”

Before the pandemic, Ghana was emerging as a prime tourist destination not just in West Africa but the entire continent. While many people come for the beaches, wildlife and food, it also holds important historical sites.

Those include Cape Coast Castle, which was a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. A visit there is a somber reminder of centuries of oppression and its ramifications during MLK’s time up to today. Victoria Road, Cape Coast, Ghana, +233 57 710 1707

India

Mahatma Gandhi’s crusade of nonviolent resistance to liberate India from British rule deeply influenced King.

In February and March of 1959, King embarked on a five-week tour of India to learn more about the movement that inspired him. In Delhi, he met with Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, among others. He talked with students at New Delhi University.

Eventually he made his way to Calcutta (now called Kolkata), India’s intellectual center. Martin Luther King Sarani, a street named for him in the heart of the city, is not far from the Victoria Memorial.

In Bombay (now called Mumbai), King visited Mani Bhavan, which is where Gandhi worked and lived for 17 years. Today, it’s a museum where you can see artifacts from Gandhi’s life. 19, Laburnum Raod, Gamdevi, Mumbai-400 007, India.

Online

If you’re simply not able to make it to any of these places in person this year, trace the journeys of King online at Stanford University’s extensive King Institute. It’s a deep dive into his life, yet easy to navigate.

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‘Church Talks’ take place at Ebenezer Baptist Church on MLK Day weekend https://theatlantavoice.com/church-talks-take-place-at-ebenezer-baptist-church-on-mlk-day-weekend/ Sat, 13 Jan 2024 00:36:28 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=149534

The pews inside historic Ebenezer Baptist Church were filling fast as the rain fell outside Friday, Jan. 12. The crowd assembled inside was there for the 3 p.m. “Church Talk,” a discussion about the history of the church and the men and women that helped build it. Hosting that afternoon’s talk was National Park Service […]

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An image of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., (above) the third pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, in stain glass inside the church.
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice

The pews inside historic Ebenezer Baptist Church were filling fast as the rain fell outside Friday, Jan. 12. The crowd assembled inside was there for the 3 p.m. “Church Talk,” a discussion about the history of the church and the men and women that helped build it.

Hosting that afternoon’s talk was National Park Service park ranger Doug Coyle. Having worked there for the past 21 years Coyle was well versed in the history of the church, which is part of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site.

During the talk, which ended with guests asking questions and taking photos, Coyle told stories about the pastors of Ebenezer, including the first two pastoral leaders of the church, reverends John A. Parker and A.D. Williams.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first preached a trial sermon at this pulpit inside Ebenezer Baptist Church at the age of 17.
Photo by Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice
(Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice)

A chronological history of the church includes the installation of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., who’s image is forever part of the church by way of a stain glass window. King, Sr., the father of Civil Rights era icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., allowed a 17-year-old Martin to deliver a trial sermon from the very pulpit inside the church today. Upon learning this fact many of the people inside for the “Church Talk” whipped out their phones to get pictures of the wooden pulpit with the tithe box in front (as seen below). The news that Dr. King, the younger, had never been senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and was solely a co-pastor, elicited looks of wonder from a couple of the people in the pews. King was well on his way to becoming a national figure for his work as the first president of the Student Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) while his brother A.D. Williams King was co-pastoring alongside their father.

“Dr. King did not just happen in a vacuum, history just builds and builds upon itself,” said Coyle while explaining the King family lineage within the church.

Asked why he enjoys giving these talks the past two decades, Coyle said, “Because people need to know history. You know what they say about history. If you don’t know you are doomed to repeat it.”

Ebenezer was finished being built in 1922 and was the church home for many Atlantans for 76 years until the new church was built across the street in 1999. The new building seats 1,700, nearly three times as much as the original.

Looking around at the crowd following his talk, Coyle quipped, “This is as close as we get to a service these days.”

The “Church Talks” were free and are a part of the tours given throughout the year at the King Center.

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Michelle Obama says she’s terrified about potential outcome of 2024 election https://theatlantavoice.com/michelle-obama-democracy/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 03:37:53 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=147166

(CNN) — Former first lady Michelle Obama said she’s “terrified” about the potential outcome of the 2024 election, listing November’s presidential contest as among the fears that keep her awake at night, in a podcast interview released Monday. “What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders […]

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(CNN) — Former first lady Michelle Obama said she’s “terrified” about the potential outcome of the 2024 election, listing November’s presidential contest as among the fears that keep her awake at night, in a podcast interview released Monday.

“What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama told Jay Shetty on his podcast “On Purpose.”

“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she said.

Her comments come as President Joe Biden begins to ramp up his reelection campaign, narrowing in on a message that democracy is on the ballot this year.

Still, many Democrats have expressed concern that his message isn’t resonating, pointing to polls showing him in a close contest with former President Donald Trump.

In the interview, the former first lady listed a number of other items that worry her, including: “Are people going to vote, and why aren’t people voting?”

“Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder: ‘Where are we in this? Where are our hearts?’” she said.

Later, Obama suggested there was a double standard when it came to Trump’s legal entanglements and what might happen if a similar predicament befell a Black man.

“The bars are different for people in life. That I’ve learned,” she said.

Without naming Trump, she continued: “Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black men can’t. You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience.”

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AUC presidents react to former Harvard president Claudine Gay’s resignation https://theatlantavoice.com/auc-presidents-react-to-former-harvard-president-claudine-gays-resignation/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:41:26 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=147164

Leaders in the Atlanta University Center reacted to news of the sudden resignation of former Harvard University president Claudine Gay last week.

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Leaders in the Atlanta University Center reacted to news of the sudden resignation of former Harvard University president Claudine Gay last week.

“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay wrote in a letter to the Harvard community.

The resignation comes after controversy over Gay’s testimony during a congressional hearing regarding her and other university presidents improperly handling antisemitic harassment towards Jewish people on campus. 

“Legitimate concerns regarding antisemitism on college campuses are being used as a wedge to divide us by those fearful of an emerging leadership of American institutions that reflects our diversity,” said Dr. David Thomas, President of Morehouse College. 

Gay also faced allegations of plagiarism in an early 2000s article regarding minority representation in political participation in California.

“After consultation with members of the [Harvard] Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this movement of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual,” Gay wrote in that beforementioned letter.

With Gay becoming the first Black person to lead the Ivy League school in its 400-year history, many wonder if her decision was racially motivated. 

“Looking beyond the unfortunate and highly complicated set of circumstances that led Dr. Gay to submit her resignation as President of Harvard University, I think it is incumbent on all of us, both in academia and outside of academia, to be mindful of the vital role that women, and especially Black women, continue to play in leadership positions across a wide range of professions,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine.

Harvard’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Alan Garber, will serve as interim president until a new one is announced. 

“We thank President Gay for her courage and vision as she began leading Harvard and regret that she will not be able to see her vision fulfilled,” said Dr. Helene Gayle, President of Spelman College.

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Speaker Mike Johnson faces narrow majority and tough vote math in looming government funding fight https://theatlantavoice.com/congress-shutdown-fight-2024/ Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:35:21 +0000 https://theatlantavoice.com/?p=146979

  (CNN) — Speaker Mike Johnson is facing an extremely narrow majority in the House and tough vote math as Congress confronts upcoming battles over government funding, aid to Ukraine and Israel and border security. At the start of the new year, Republicans control just 220 seats while Democrats control 213, which means the House GOP […]

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  (CNN) — Speaker Mike Johnson is facing an extremely narrow majority in the House and tough vote math as Congress confronts upcoming battles over government funding, aid to Ukraine and Israel and border security.

At the start of the new year, Republicans control just 220 seats while Democrats control 213, which means the House GOP can’t afford to lose more than a few votes to pass party-line priorities. Additionally, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s office has announced that he will work remotely until returning to Washington in February as he recovers from a stem cell transplant.

The House Republican majority will shrink even further by the end of the month with Ohio GOP Rep. Bill Johnson resigning from Congress on January 21 to take a new job as president of Youngstown State University. At that point, Republicans will control 219 seats to 213 for Democrats.

There are currently two vacancies in the House following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s resignation from Congress at the end of last year and the expulsion of former GOP Rep. George Santos of New York.

Johnson will have little margin for error as Congress faces major policy battles in the weeks ahead.

The most pressing issues are a pair of government shutdown deadlines in January and February and a high-stakes effort to strike a deal over border security and aid for Ukraine and Israel. It’s far from clear, however, whether lawmakers will be able to reach consensus over border security and foreign aid and legislation to avert a shutdown.

In a rare event, Congress faces not one but two government shutdown deadlines early in the new year – on January 19 and February 2.

Congress passed stopgap legislation in mid-November extending government funding until January 19 for priorities including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest of the government will be funded until February 2.

There are growing threats, however, from some House Republicans to shut down the government over issues at the southern border if hardline conservative border policies are not adopted.

Hardline House conservatives have already shown that they can hold major sway in the chamber with such a narrow majority – most notably when a group of hardliners moved to oust McCarthy from the speakership in a historic and unprecedented vote last year.

The exact size and scope of the far right of the House Republican Conference varies from issue to issue. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized House conservatives, describing “the 30 of them” in an apparent reference to conservatives who have made hardline demands over border policy, though it’s unclear exactly which lawmakers Schumer was citing.

Another key group within the House GOP conference are politically vulnerable members from battleground districts – members who will be under intense scrutiny during the 2024 election year.

There were 18 Republicans in House districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020 – a number that is now down to 17 after the expulsion of Santos. The fate of these politically vulnerable members will be key to whether the GOP can hold onto its majority.

Johnson will have to balance competing demands from the far-right and more moderate factions of the conference, no easy task as Congress faces government shutdown battles and fights over hot-button issues that have long been contentious on Capitol Hill such as border security.

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