By JEFF AMY, Associated Press DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Stacey Abrams, who built her national reputation by advocating for voting rights, is calling on Congress to take action on federal voting rules as the Democrat launches a second bid to become Georgia’s governor. Senators including Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock, Abrams’ close ally, have been arguing in recent […]
Author Archives: Jeff Amy
Associated Press
Posted inNEWS
Stacey Abrams launches 2nd campaign for Georgia governor
By JEFF AMY, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat and leading voting rights activist, said Wednesday that she will launch another campaign to become the nation’s first Black woman governor. Without serious competition in a Democratic primary, the announcement sets up a likely rematch between Abrams and incumbent Republican Gov. Brian […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Georgia Park With Confederate Sculpture Shuts Gates to Rally
By JEFF AMY, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Suburban Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park, home of a giant sculpture of Confederate leaders, says it will close its gates Saturday in the face of a planned right-wing rally. The event has sparked fears of violence, especially before an all-Black militia said earlier this week that it would […]
Posted inNational News, NEWS, POLITICS, U.S. Government
Democrat’s Path to Victory in Mississippi: Black Turnout
By JEFF AMY, Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The special election for a U.S. Senate seat in deeply conservative Mississippi wasn’t supposed to be competitive. But hopeful Democrats are eyeing a narrow path to victory next week by driving up African-American turnout after Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith stirred outrage with her remark to a supporter […]
Posted inNational News
Mississippi Seeks Parity, But Academic Achievement Gaps Grow
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has an ambitious plan to close academic achievement gaps among student groups by 2025, but last year’s results won’t help – most gaps grew wider. Black and Hispanic students fell further behind their White counterparts in proficiency in English language arts and math. Poor students fell further behind those who […]
Posted inNational News
Rep. John Lewis: Trump is an ‘Insult’ to Civil Rights Event
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — U.S. Rep John Lewis announced Thursday that he won’t speak at the opening of Mississippi civil rights and history museums, saying it’s an “insult” that President Donald Trump will attend. FILE- In this June 20, 2017 file photo, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks at an election night party for Democratic candidate […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Parents Sue over White Teacher’s Hanging Threat
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Parents of a former student sued a central Mississippi school district Thursday, alleging a White substitute teacher made a racially biased comment about their Black son being hanged. Tony and Kayla Lindsey say their son, who has since graduated, threatened during an April argument to hit a White student. They say […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Former Mississippi Prison Chief Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Christopher Epps once called himself the “tallest hog at the trough,” but he was cut down to size Wednesday when a judge sentenced Mississippi’s former corrections commissioner to nearly 20 years in prison for crimes connected to more than $1.4 million in bribes. This is a Madison County Detention Center booking […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mississippi Man Sues R. Kelly, Says Singer Ruined Marriage
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi sheriff’s deputy is suing singer R. Kelly, alleging that Kelly had a years long affair with his wife that broke up his marriage. R. Kelly (AP Photo/Brian Kersey) Deputy Kenneth Bryant, who married Asia Childress in Mississippi in 2012, filed suit last week in a county circuit court in […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Lawyer: Former Mississippi Officer Indicted in 2015 Fatal Shooting of Black Man
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A lawyer says a former Mississippi police officer has been indicted in the October 2015 shooting death of a Black man. Attorney Jim Waide said Thursday that a prosecutor told him Canyon Boykin, a White former police officer in Columbus, has been indicted for manslaughter in the death of Ricky Ball. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Grand Jury Fails to Indict Mississippi Officer in Shooting of Black Man
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Grand jurors on Monday cleared a northeast Mississippi police officer of wrongdoing in a June 18 shooting that left a man dead, but relatives rejected that finding, saying they’re looking to a federal investigation and a civil lawsuit for justice. Several hundred protesters make their way down North Green Street in […]
Posted inNational News
Prosecutor: ‘Mississippi Burning’ Civil Rights Case Closed
On June 29, 1964, the FBI began distributing these pictures of civil rights workers, from left, Michael Schwerner, 24, of New York, James Cheney, 21, from Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman, 20, of New York, who disappeared near Philadelphia, Miss., June 21, 1964. The investigation into the infamous slayings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi […]