Month: January 2017

The ladies of Twitter never fail to brighten our days with their brilliant ― but succinct ― wisdom. Each week, HuffPost Women rounds up hilarious 140-character musings. For this week’s great tweets from women, scroll through the list below. Then visit our Funniest Tweets From Women page for our past collections.       

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Although an estimated 2.6 million people around the world joined the Women’s March this past weekend, some women of color felt conflicted over the issue of intersectionality at the event and chose not to attend.

Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory, two of the co-chairs behind the march, sat down with The Huffington Post on Wednesday to address the issue of intersectionality at the rally. 

While the conversation about intersectionality and the perils of “white feminism” isn’t new, the march resurfaced the issue. The event’s initial organizers were criticized for naming the rally the Million Women’s March, essentially taking the name of demonstrations that were organized by black activists in the mid-1990s, as Vox reported. The organizers renamed the event and reached out to women of color to help lead the event, but some women still remained skeptical. Historically, people of color and other minorities have not always been included in women’s rights movements.

Mallory acknowledged the legitimacy of the concerns, but explained to HuffPost’s Alex Berg why she felt compelled to get involved in the march.  

“It wasn’t easy, particularly being a black woman knowing that black women were specifically raising righteous concerns. And I have to say that it wasn’t just whining. It wasn’t just being angry for no reason,” Mallory said. “I wanted to ensure that there was no way that I would allow a convening to happen in this country, where women of color were not just a part of the conversation but rather helping to set the tone for what the conversation would be.” 

Sarsour added that “within 48 hours” after the Women’s March Facebook event was created, women of color were joining the event planning team to “leverage this opportunity” for marginalized communities.

According to Sarsour, the women of color who helped plan the event had “courageous conversations” with their white counterparts about the issues that affect their communities. And the team saw to it that women of color weren’t just “tokens” in the process.

“I was head of fundraising. Tamika did a lot of the operations work. Carmen Perez was the head of the partnerships,” Sarsour said. “So we weren’t just sitting around with our pretty faces. We were directing this march. We were helping to set the agenda. And we made sure our sisters our native sisters, our Mexican sisters, our undocumented sisters, trans women of color, that we were the march.”

Watch the video above to hear more about the debate over intersectionality at the Women’s March on Washington. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Jay Z’s latest project takes on a serious, but important subject.

On Wednesday, the music mogul premiered his forthcoming Spike TV docu-series, “TIME: The Kalief Browder Story” at the Sundance Film Festival. Browder, a former Bronx resident, was sent to Rikers Island prison in 2010 without a trial at age 16 following allegations over a stolen backpack. His experience at the prison complex was marred by abuse from guards and inmates, as well as countless days in solitary confinement. The case was eventually dismissed and Browder was released from prison in June 2013. He committed suicide in 2015.

At the six-part documentary’s premiere, Jay told independent news program Democracy Now! that he believes Browder’s story will “save a lot of lives.”

“What was done to him was a huge injustice, and I think people see his story and realize like, man, this is going on,” he said. “This is not like one case that happened. This is happening to a lot for people, you know, especially places where I come from ― inner boroughs and Marcy Projects and the Bronx and Brooklyn and all these places. So, it’s very important, his story.”

When asked if Rikers should close, Jay Z, who once met Browder at his office, responded: “If that happens to one kid… any place that that can happen to any kid should be closed.”

“TIME: The Kalief Browder Story” premieres on Spike TV on March 1st.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Shailene Woodley saw a familiar face in the crowd during a protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Monday. 

Speaking with Democracy Now this week, the “Divergent” actress revealed that Malia Obama was also in attendance at the event organized in solidarity with the people of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. 

“It was amazing to see Malia. I saw her last night when we did the event with [Standing Rock] Chairman Dave Archambault. And it was incredible to see her there,” Woodley explained. “To witness a human being and a woman coming into her own outside of her family and outside of the attachments that this country has on her, but someone who’s willing to participate in democracy because she chooses to, because she recognizes, regardless of her last name, that if she doesn’t participate in democracy, there will be no world for her future children.”

Obama, who joined her family on a Palm Springs vacation following Donald Trump’s inauguration, has been reportedly spotted attending screenings at the festival all week. The 18-year-old recently secured an internship with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, but it’s unclear whether she attended Sundance in a professional capacity. 

Woodley has been one of most high-profile advocates against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would carry crude oil across sacred lands, potentially contaminating the population’s fresh water source and disturbing sacred grounds. She and 26 others were arrested for criminal trespassing while protesting the pipeline in October.

Amid massive protests at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, the Obama administration halted construction on the pipeline two months later, which was hailed as a significant victory for indigenous people everywhere. In January, President Trump reversed the decision by signing an executive order to continue building on the land. 

But Woodley and other protesters plan to challenge Trump’s decision and “mobilize” following the setback.

“What we could do now as a population, as a society, is to hold our corporations accountable and hold our banks accountable, because there are a lot of banks that are invested in this pipeline,” she told MSNBC. “Regardless of any executive order or what our politicians want to do, if there’s no money invested in the pipelines, then they can’t be built.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at Friday’s 44th annual March for Life that underscored his already well-known anti-abortion views, but his words were peppered with statements that should have minorities in America raising quite a few eyebrows.

The March for Life is an annual demonstration in Washington D.C. for anti-abortion activists. At one point in his speech, Pence made a bold claim that anyone familiar with his political track record will find questionable:

“You know, I have long believed that a society can be judged by how we care for our most vulnerable – the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn.”

The statement can be heard in the video below at 5:30. 

For anyone familiar with Pence’s life before President Donald Trump’s White House run, the idea that his political concerns involve the most vulnerable Americans should be disconcerting, if not laughable.

While “unborn” people make Pence’s short list, many of America’s most vulnerable did not: most notably, LGBTQ people, women, people of color and immigrants.

These people, especially the ones occupying intersections of these different marginalized identities, are some of the individuals most under threat in America ― and the ones whose rights and survival Pence has actively worked against throughout his career.

Let’s take a look.

Prior to his White House bid, Pence was widely known to be one of the most anti-LGBTQ state-elected officials in the country. His merits include signing a draconian anti-LGBTQ “religious liberty” law in Indiana in 2015, supporting the barbaric practice of conversion therapy as a member of congress and claiming that same-sex marriage would lead to “societal collapse.” 

As governor of Indiana, he signed the most abortion-restrictive regulations throughout the entire nation that would also “require the remains of miscarried or aborted fetuses to be interred or cremated.” Abortion restrictions are proven to endanger women’s health. He also led the crusade to defund Planned Parenthood, creating the worst HIV outbreak in Indiana state history.

Pence also proposed the Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act in 2006, legislation that would’ve required undocumented immigrants to “self-deport” and only return to the U.S. legally if they acquired a job. Our Vice President also tried to bar Syrian refugees from settling in Indiana and is, of course, highly supportive of President Trump’s latest xenophobic moves when it comes to the Mexico border wall and immigration.

When we talk about vulnerability in terms of identity in this way, we have to consider a number of questions: Who receives visibility? Whose voice is heard? Who prospers? Who lives? Who dies?

In Mike Pence’s vision of America, the people whose lives are the most under threat are not the ones he sees as vulnerable. In fact, the vulnerable are the ones Pence seems to believe need the most policing and regulation, based on his prior political track record.

So when Mike Pence stands before a crowd of anti-abortion activists and proclaims that he prioritizes the needs of vulnerable Americans… it’s important for us to recognize that might just be some good ol’ fashioned alternative facts.

And the most vulnerable Americans are learning, once again, that they have to be the ones to take care of each other.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Missy Elliott is back with her first new single ― “I’m Better,” featuring Lamb ― since 2016’s collaboration with Fall Out Boy for the new “Ghostbusters” theme song. She also released a more proper single around this time last year ― “Pep Rally” ― in conjunction with a Super Bowl advertisement.

Elliott announced the track on Twitter at midnight Friday.

The title choice, “I’m Better,” is a good one, as on first pass the new single is highly similar to styles popularized recently by artists such as Future and Migos. At this point in her career, Elliott is a bonafide legend, and here she successfully brings her own skill-set to what may be a slightly derivative approach.

It’s fitting that Migos also dropped new music Thursday night with an announcement on Twitter ― although they had Kanye West start off their promotional cycle.

It remains unclear whether a full-length Elliott album is finally on the way after over a decade.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

How well do you know the lines from Samuel L. Jackson’s movies?

Better yet, how well does Jackson know his own dialogue?

On Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel tested the “Pulp Fiction” and “Snakes on a Plane” star by having seniors read quotes from films and asking Jackson if they were said by one of his characters.

How Jackson fared really isn’t the point. The real payoff is watching the older folks spouting his profanity-laced quotes.

Watch the fun above.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The presidential inauguration may have added tension between some Republicans and Democrats, but one waitress who joined the Women’s March shared a surprisingly unifying moment with a Donald Trump-supporting customer this week.

Rosalynd Harris, a waitress at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., was serving a table of three white men Monday and assumed, based on their outfits (she says they were wearing trucker hats), that they were visiting from out of state and had come to town for Trump’s inauguration. 

Harris, who had attended the Women’s March that weekend, chatted with the group and learned that they were from West Texas. They asked her about the restaurant, which is named after Langston Hughes, an African-American poet who wrote moving literature about black identity in America. Then, Harris told The Huffington Post, they told her they’ve never experienced a place like it before.

The group left quietly after their meal, but when Harris went to pick up their check, she noticed a long note written on the receipt. 

“We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues,” the note read, “but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race. Not gender. Just American.”

Then Harris saw that they had left her a $450 tip on a $72.60 bill.

Jason White is a dentist from Lubbock, Texas, who left Harris the $450 tip.

He was indeed in D.C. for Trump’s inauguration and, on his way to his flight home, had stopped for lunch at Busboys and Poets ― a restaurant that features artwork and books by people of color and, according to Harris, usually attracts a liberal-minded clientele.

White told The Washington Post that he initially felt out of place at the restaurant but has since called the restaurant a “cool” and “unbelievable place” to local media.

The tip amount he left for Harris was a nod to Trump, the 45th president, and a symbol of all Americans moving forward together.

“It’s really our duty to make America great ourselves, not one person, but ourselves,” White told Washington news station WUSA9. “And that’s by respecting and loving one another no matter how much we disagree with them.”

Harris said that White seemed in awe of the restaurant, which she admits has a liberal and Democratic atmosphere.

He “was mystified by the experience, very, very grateful and open,” Harris told HuffPost. But she said that their conversation never turned political.

“The exchange wasn’t about President Trump,” she said. “It was [about] two people who were authentic with each other, who looked past these pre-judged views that could be misconstrued, and who saw each other and had a pleasant exchange.”

Harris also pointed out that neither she nor White published ― nor wanted to publish ― the receipt on social media. That was the work of her fellow employees.

Harris told HuffPost that she reconnected with White using FaceTime on Thursday. She said that they both didn’t appreciate how the now-viral story about the generous tip has become about race.

“I hope that people just don’t see it as this white guy helping this black girl,” Harris told HuffPost. “This gracious gesture came from a place of compassion and love, I honestly believe. It’s human.”

The note, which has now been widely shared across social media, is leaving an impression on many people, especially at a time when other servers in America are still receiving offensive notes on their receipts because of the color of their skin or their sexual identities.

Harris said this experience has shown her how important it is for Americans to be honest and kind to one another.

“We need to see the things that make us similar,” Harris said. “Because, yes, this is our president now. But how do we talk about working together now? The president is one person, but we are still a whole body of people ― an immense body of people.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Wisconsin Republicans enacted a restrictive voter identification law in May 2011, just months after they took control of both houses of the state legislature and the governorship for the first time in over two decades.

The timing of that law, which made it more difficult for low-income and minority Wisconsinites to cast a vote, was no coincidence. A new study in the journal American Politics Research finds that states are more likely to pass voter ID laws soon after their governments switch to Republican control.

Republicans newly in charge of state legislatures are also more likely to embrace voter ID laws if their states have large black and Latino populations, according to the study from Daniel Biggers, a law professor at the University of California, Riverside, and Michael Hanmer, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Those lawmakers often contend that stricter voter ID requirements help reduce voter fraud, but in-person voter fraud is exceptionally rare. An analysis of voter fraud from 2000 to 2014, published in The Washington Post, found just 31 credible allegations of voter impersonation. Still, President Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election and called for an investigation into voter fraud.

Between Trump’s encouragement and November’s election results, the study’s findings would suggest that more voter ID laws are on the horizon. Republicans won majorities in both chambers of the legislatures in Iowa, Kentucky and Minnesota ― meaning they now have total control in 32 states, an all-time high. Iowa is already considering a voter ID proposal.

“It’s not just that you have Republicans in power. It’s that you have Republicans who have just come into power,” Biggers told The Huffington Post. “They’ve just taken over the mechanism necessary to implement these laws and they are more likely to adopt these laws, with one potential motivation being that they want to adopt these laws before they lose the ability to adopt them.”

He also noted that passing strict voter ID laws can give Republican legislators, “even if it’s on the margins, a better chance of retaining their offices.”

Between 1972 and 2013, the study found, states were 7.9 percent more likely to implement a photo ID law after Republicans took complete control of a state legislature than in periods of steady GOP control, Democratic control or split control of the legislature. After a state switched to a Republican governor, it was 5.4 percent more likely to adopt a photo ID law.

The size of the local minority population also seemed to be a factor in whether a state where Republicans had just taken control of the legislature would adopt a photo ID law: States with higher percentages of African-Americans were 7 percent more likely to pass a law requiring photo ID. States with higher percentages of Latinos were 5.5 percent more likely to do so.

In most cases, Biggers said, the lawmakers appeared to be influenced by the size of both the black and Latino communities.

“No matter how you define voter ID laws, very strict voter ID laws, some are more lenient, no matter what time period you look at, it’s consistently the case that the percent black, the percent Latino in the state is influencing whether or not the states are adopting these things,” he said.

The chances of implementing voter ID increased after 2002. In the most recent years covered by the study, states were 23.8 percent more likely to implement a photo ID law after Republicans took control of the state legislature and 19.2 percent more likely after switching to a Republican governor.

Biggers and Hanmer attribute the spike to the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002. The federal law requires first-time voters who register by mail to show ID the first time they vote, a change that the researchers suggest “awakened” Republicans to the possibility of extending voter ID laws to the entire electorate.

How will Trump’s first 100 days impact you? Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get breaking updates on Trump’s presidency by messaging us here.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The Fort Worth Police Department announced Thursday that it will be dropping all charges against a mother and daughter whose forceful arrests last month went viral on Facebook.

Jacqueline Craig called Forth Worth police in December, saying her neighbor, a man named Itamar Vardi, grabbed her 7-year-old son by the neck after the child allegedly refused to pick up some litter that he’d dropped.

Once police arrived to investigate, Craig, who is black, and Officer William Martin, who is white, got into a heated exchange after the officer failed to take Craig’s allegation seriously.

A family member of Craig’s filmed the exchange with a cell phone.

On Thursday, however, the Fort Worth Police Department announced that it would not only “withdraw all matters related” to Craig and Hymond, but would also slap Vardi with a misdemeanor assault charge.

The decision comes just hours after Merritt’s office released what appears to be body camera footage of the arrest, the attorney told HuffPost on Thursday.

Merritt said an anonymous source emailed his office the footage, which he and his team decided to send to The Associated Press. The police department had previously denied repeated requests to release Martin’s body cam footage, he said.

According to the AP, the audio in the body camera footage matches audio in the viral video that the family member filmed. The body camera footage shows Martin pushing the 15-year-old daughter into a police car and threatening to use his stun gun against the women.

A spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Police Department said the department was aware the body camera footage had been released, but refused to confirm its authenticity.

Merritt called the police department’s decision to drop the charges “too little, too late” and hoped the new footage would make the police department and mayor’s office “feel the pressure to accept that they made a mistake” in their handling of the case.

Craig and her family won’t be appeased until Martin is fired from the police department and criminal charges are brought against him, Merritt said.

Martin served his 10-day suspension and returned to work. He is currently appealing the disciplinary action, and is no longer assigned to patrol the neighborhood where he arrested Craig and her daughters.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=585c0c5be4b0d9a594576419,5873e956e4b043ad97e52025,560d2ef8e4b0dd85030ae03d

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices