Black News Across Black America

Rapper turned high school football coach

Here’s a look at African American issues and people making headlines throughout the country.

Alabama
Richard Bates has been elected to be the first Black sheriff in Marengo County. Bates told The Tuscaloosa News he wants to provide good law enforcement to the west Alabama county and is not concerned about being the first Black sheriff. Marengo County is about half Black and half White and he said he won by knocking on as many doors as possible and it didn’t matter if the voters he contacted were White or Black. Bates is a former deputy sheriff and military police officer who says he will focus on fighting illegal drugs while he is sheriff.

California
Air security officials recently struggled with arriving passengers who were outraged by new anti-terrorism screening procedures they consider invasive and harmful. Many passengers expressed their disapproval of being forced to choose scans by full-body image detectors or pat-downs. Top federal security officials said that the procedures were safe and necessary sacrifices to ward off terror attacks. The most popular instance of non-compliance this week came from the San Diego airport where software engineer John Tyner, complained about being removed from an airport after refusing both forms of security, specifically the groin check.

District of Columbia
More than 30,000 residents in D.C. are in search of employment and Mayor-elect Vincent Gray plans to make putting people to work a priority when he takes office in January. “The more people are out of work, the tougher it becomes for our local small business owners, a vital segment of our economy, to stay in business,” Gray said. “For the past three and a half years, the current administration has virtually ignored unemployment, doing little, if anything, to deal with this growing crisis” The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported in October that while joblessness increased for African-American residents, employment remained steady for White residents and college-educated residents and a large part of that is because of the recession. Some of the poorest areas in the District have unemployment rates as high as 30 percent.

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

Alabama
Terri Sewell, a Birmingham lawyer who was college friends with First Lady Michelle Obama, made history Tuesday becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. Sewell will represent the 7th District, a seat formerly held by Democrat Artur Davis. She defeated Republican Don Chamberlain. District of Columbia Radio stations WHUR 96.3 FM and WHUR-WORLD HD2 of Howard University in partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, will sponsor “Food2Feed,” a 12-hour radiothon and fundraiser to feed needy families during the Thanksgiving holiday. The event will take place at the Old Post Office Pavilion on Nov. 18 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Volunteers will fan out along 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Northwest Washington to encourage people to donate. In the Washington area, approximately 633,000 residents are at risk of hunger or experiencing hunger. “Food2Feed” and the Capital Area Food Bank distribute 20 million pounds of food, including six million pounds of fresh produce, to more than 700 partner agencies each year.

Georgia

The City of Atlanta and the Committee on the Appeals for Human Rights of the Atlanta Student Movement held a dedication ceremony recently to dedicate Fair Street in honor of the Atlanta Student Movement. Presiding over the occasion was Atlanta City Councilman Michael Julian Bond. A long time coming, those in attendance were elated over the unveiling and dedication of the street.