The Missouri House on Tuesday approved a congressional map designed to weaken one of the state’s two Democratic incumbents, intensifying the partisan redistricting battles that are shaping the political landscape ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The measure, which passed in late August by a 90-to-65 vote, makes Missouri the second Republican-led state to adopt a plan targeting the seats of Black Democratic representatives. The Missouri Democrat most impacted, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), said that he will run for re-election. Earlier this summer, Texas Republicans pushed through a map that could put as many as five Democratic lawmakers at risk. Democrats in California have mounted a counteroffensive of their own: last month, the Legislature advanced a proposal to the ballot that would reshape five Republican-held districts.
As the vote was taking place in Missouri, thirteen members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Rep. Cleaver, spoke emphatically about the state of play for Black elected officials targeted by redistricting. They spoke about what happened in Texas and how they knew that other states would follow. The group was strong in their statements on the current situation. “Texas has more African Americans than any other state in this country right now. Under the proposed maps, they want to make it so that Texas only has two districts in which African Americans have an opportunity to choose their representation. What does that mean for black voices in Texas? That means that it is approximately 1/5 the voting strength of their white Texan neighbors. That is what is going to be, not three-fifths, but we are going to be reduced to 1/5, so my colleagues have laid out a number of things that they believe are going on as to why it is that this is happening. But I’m going to start with number one, Trump himself. He’s racist,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas).
“We will not be silenced. They’ve tried to bury us before, not knowing that we were seeds. We will grow and we will be resilient, just as we have time and time before,” added Crockett. “We are about to experience something that we never thought we’d see in our lifetimes, especially after having experienced what happened at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which is probably the reason a good many of us in Congress are in Congress. It was at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday that John Lewis and a host of other people of goodwill suffered grave, gross, and inhumane injustices… Bloody Sunday is the reason we have the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We would not but for Bloody Sunday,” said Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). “We are going to fight this. We are not going to back down. And I believe that the Voting Rights Act will be upheld and that these maps in Texas will be overturned. But again, Texas is just the beginning. This is a nationwide fight, and it’s bigger than who holds the majority in the House of Representatives. This is about maintaining our democracy and our republic,” Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas). When asked by Black Press USA whether or not there is an actual plan to combat what is happening to Black elected officials around the country, several members answered yes. Rep. Veasey added that perhaps there needed to be a special group to deal with the redistricting attacks against Black members at the DNC. The members also relayed that legal strategies are ongoing, and in some cases have been for years, on redistricting.
The former U.S. President and the first Black man to hold the position of president in the country’s history, remains a fan favorite, particularly among Georgia’s democratic voters. Photo by Julia Beverly/The Atlanta Voice
The number of superstar surrogates is growing the closer it gets to Election Day, Nov. 5. Former United States President Barack Obama, the 44th Commander-in-Chief of the United States, is returning to Georgia to support current United States Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry and Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen will join Harris and Obama at the rally on Thursday night.
Obama was one of the featured speakers during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August. The former Illinois Senator has stumped for Harris and Walz across the country over the past couple of weeks, including in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and most recently in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state this election cycle.
Both campaign stops are being billed as “Get Out The Vote” rallies. As of Wednesday night, more than a half-million Georgians have voted early. The early voting period began on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and saw a record 300,000 Georgians cast ballots that day. There have been nearly two million early votes cast in Georgia as of Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Donnell began his career covering sports and news in Atlanta nearly two decades ago. Since then he has written for Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Southern Cross…
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(CNN) — You may want to avoid the Beyhive today, as it is buzzing and ready to sting.
There was heightened excitement among many heading into the final night of the Democratic National Convention, not just because Vice President Kamala Harris was set to accept the party’s nomination, but because of hope the woman behind her campaign anthem would “rain on the thunder” and “wave through the waters” of Chicago’s United Center.
Like most pop culture fantasies, speculation that Beyoncé would make an appearance at the DNC started – and ended – on social media.
From the moment CNN reported in July that Beyoncé had granted the vice president permission to use her 2016 song “Freedom” for her presidential campaign, there were questions.
Would Queen Bey make a formal endorsement? Might a concert in support of Harris happen? And even more mind blowing, could Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, two of the biggest artists on the planet, join together in support of Harris in Chi-town?
Some people swore they saw signs pointing to an inevitable Beyoncé arrival at the convention – her private plane was rumored to have landed at O’Hare, the house band was practicing Beyoncé songs, there were “Cowboy Kamala” sashes in the Washington delegation. Surely, she would come.
Shasti Conrad, the Washington Democratic Party’s chair, told the Washington State Standard that she is a fan of both the singer and the vice president – a Beyhive and “KHive” member.
“The Beyhive is sort of what the KHive built themselves after — sort of this rabid fanbase for both,” Conrad said. “So we were like, let’s celebrate the two of them and this cultural moment, political moment — and these incredible women of color.”
Delegates and attendees wear cowboy hats and “Cowboy Kamala” banners on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19. Credit: Eva Hambach/AFP / Getty Images via CNN Newsource
Abee emoji shared on X by White House political director Emily Ruiz further spiked the hype.
And in fairness to the fans, there was a concert vibe running through the star-studded DNC all week. After Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance on Wednesday night, a post by the X account “Angry Staffer” promised a more momentous moment on Thursday.
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but you don’t want to miss the DNC tonight,” the since-deleted post read. “If you thought the Oprah surprise was big, just wait.”
On Thursday evening, TMZ reported that Beyoncé would indeed be performing. Media outlets, including CNN, reached out to representatives to confirm, while social media held its collective breath.
After all, Beyoncé has appeared at numerous Democratic events in the past, including President Barack Obama’s presidential Inaugural Ball in 2008, Obama’s second presidential Inauguration in 2013, and a pre-election concert in Ohio for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Beyoncé also endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020.
Then the fever dream ended and the pop culture balloon popped.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to have the news that the Grammy-winning singer would not be appearing at the DNC.
“She was never scheduled to be in Chicago,” Beyoncé’s representative Yvette Noel-Schure told CNN in a statement.
TMZ issued a mea culpa with “Texas Hold ‘Em” song lyrics to walk back its report.
The X account that appeared to have gotten the initial ball rolling, Angry Staffer, also offered up an apology on the site, writing “Re: special guest rumor – I’m not sure where it started, but the people who told me aren’t prone to hyperbole.”
The internet, however, is.
CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this story.
CHICAGO – For the next four days, voters, protestors, agitators, politicians, pundits, national and local media from around the country and the world, and Chicago residents will meet in the center of the city for the Democratic National Convention (DNC). More than 50,000 people will be visiting the city, according to local reports.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Many of those visitors have made their way to the United Center, host site of the DNC, while many others were protesting everything from the war in Gaza, the indoctrination of current United States Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket, abortion, and former United States President Donald Trump and all things MAGA. The city’s pre-segregated “free speech zone” was at Park No. 578, which is located on W. Maypole Avenue, a quarter-mile from the United Center. The more popular site for protests, however, was at Union Park, which is a larger park and more suitable for gatherings like protests and concerts, for example.
“Are you planning to vote in the upcoming election?” Nearly every person The Atlanta Voice asked had one answer: “No.”
Sheila Williams sat in a wheelchair sheltered under a tent as protesters marched down Washington Boulevard. Pinned on either side of her jacket were mini flyers declaring that “the whole damn system’s got to go,” and to “stop following the bourgeois electoral bullsh*t.”
“At my age, I should be at home in a rocking chair, but here I am with my walker out here to say, enough is enough,” Williams said. “All these people out here in the streets today that are protesting about racism, protesting about abortion rights, protesting about genocide, protesting about police brutality, protesting about so many things that are elements of this system. America was never great.”
Leo Pargo, a leading member of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity Chicago. Photo by Laura Nwogu/The Atlanta Voice
“We’re coming into an unprecedented election. We’re saying this year isn’t going to be a normal election year,” said Leo Pargo, a leading member of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity Chicago. “Biden-Harris on one side supporting this genocide. The fascist Trump on the other side is going after women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, demonizing migrants that are forced to come here from all over the world. We’re saying this isn’t a time to side between one oppression or another.
Over by the United Center, Art H. sold t-shirts and hats with pro-Harris/Walz themes on them. He said his t-shirts have the clearest photo of Harris on them out of any people are going to see on the streets. “People don’t understand, Trump understands the visibility of his face is how you get your image out there,” Art explained.
Asked if he was going to vote in November, Art, a resident of Seattle, Washington who is in town for the convention, said he was. “It’s my duty.”
Darius Smith, working security outside of a library a block away from the United Center, said he was also planning to vote in this election.
“I’m going to vote out of obligation,” Smith said. “Ever since I was 18 years old I always tried to vote for the candidate that benefits poor people the most.”
T-shirst for sale on a street corner near the United Center in Chicago. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
On Monday night, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA), and Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan spoke about the power of the collective vote. United States President Joseph R. Biden and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton kicked things off. Former two-term United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are the featured speakers on Tuesday while fellow former two-term Commander-in-Chief Bill Clinton on Wednesday. Clinton will share the marquee with United States Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
There will be more potential voters from around the country making their way to Chicago before the election takes place. Whether or not this presidential election garners more voters than the nearly 150 million voters that took part in 2016 remains to be seen. A lot of those voters will be a part of the working class that both campaigns are targeting this election. The “9-5” workers that make up the majority of American voters. During the reporting for this story The Atlanta Voice asked founder and CEO of Homebase John Waldmann why he believes nearly 35% of hourly workers are undecided with less than 90 days until Election Day, November 5?
“It’s possible some local workers feel it’s too early to know which candidate is going to address their unique concerns,” Waldmann said via email. “The good thing is that there is still time to win over these voters. Our data uncovers a few areas where candidates can address those needs.
Waldmann said hourly workers may be more vulnerable to policy changes that directly impact their livelihoods, from inflation to taxes on tips. “More than other audiences, they may be waiting for debates and more substantive policy discussions before they decide on their preferred candidate,” said Waldmann.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are just over 80 million wage workers (ages 16 and older).Asked if that is a demographic/voting block both sides of the aisle need to target, Waldmann said there was no doubt about it.
“Hourly workers account for over 80 million American workers. Small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce and represent almost 44% of America’s GDP,” Waldmann said. “Their votes are incredibly powerful, and matter more than ever this election cycle. Considering nearly 35% of hourly workers are undecided, there’s a huge opportunity for both candidates to dig into hourly workers’ concerns and priorities to gain their trust – and votes.”
When speaking with voters, inflation came up most often when asked what concerned them the most this election season. Waldmann believes inflation has a direct influence on hourly workers’ day-to-day financial stability and overall quality of life.
“More importantly, this impact often feels immediate and personal. With the cost of living skyrocketing across many cities, and inflation making it challenging to afford everyday goods and services like groceries, gas, and housing, hourly workers could be feeling the pinch more acutely when prices rise,” he said. “Hourly workers aren’t just young folks holding a summer job – they are also adults with families to take care of and bills to pay. More than anything, they want a candidate who makes them feel heard.”
