The political ambitions of Texas twins Congressman Joaquín Castro (D) and former Obama HUD Secretary Julián Castro are on a parallel track to capitalize on the growing influence of the Latino community in American politics.
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All week, The Beat DC has been reporting on the drama around the White House HBCU conference. Yesterday, we reported that Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) would be hosting her own HBCU event during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. Apparently, this really ticked off folks at the WH. Learn more about what's going on and catch up with all of our HBCU stories.
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After completing her summer vacation on the Vineyard before starting college, Malia Obama headed for Harvard. It’s official. She moved in. Former President Barack Obama was spotted dining at Harvest restaurant in Harvard Square on Monday. Turns out the family took advantage of the solar eclipse by choosing that time for the move so they wouldn’t draw attention.
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Seriously, what is going on at HUD?? A report filed by New York Magazine and ProPublica says that HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson has a constant companion at his job -- his wife Candy. This, the report says, is only one of many oddities that HUD employees were encountering in the Trump era. The report is not only is it a page-turner, but it’s a head scratcher that will leave you asking yourself, “what the hell is going on at HUD?”
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Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) says she will instead host her own HBCU event during the CBC Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. “Despite the ongoing drama and unnecessary distractions of the President's own making, we plan to move forward with opportunities for HBCU leaders to engage in substantive dialogues that put our schools and students first."
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Several top WH officials want Trump to strike a deal with Congress that offers DREAMers protection in exchange for legislation that would pay for a border wall, fund more detention centers, and lower legal immigration numbers, among other things, reports McClatchy. Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) tweeted, “Rumors of Trump deal to sell DREAMers & #DACA for more deportations & border wall... NO DEAL.”
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Danny Glover is joining the Airbnb team as an Advisor for their ongoing efforts to engage communities of color. His specific focus will be ensuring that communities are taking advantage of the economic opportunity to host on the Airbnb platform.
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On Friday, Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) got another Democratic challenger: Rick Treviño, a teacher from San Antonio who ran for its City Council earlier this year and narrowly missed a runoff. He had the backing of Our Revolution, the group headed by Nina Turner and aligned with former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
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The CBC has kicked off a campaign to #RootOutRacism. In a call with reporters yesterday, CBC Chair Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Vice Chairs Karen Bass (D-CA), and André Carson (D-IN), and Caucus Secretary Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) detailed their plan, which includes federal policy the caucus has introduced and The Beat DC has highlighted. The Caucus also calls on the WH to fire advisors Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller.
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The President and CEO of Holisso Hakv Inc., a mergers and acquisitions advisory consulting firm, has announced his run for Congress. J.D. Colbert, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, kicked off his campaign on Monday to represent the 3rd congressional district in Texas.
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During the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) annual conference in Anaheim, CA, the organization elected Monica Thammarath as its new President. At 31, Monica becomes the youngest and first-ever Southeast Asian American to lead the organization.
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On Friday, Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) called for the postponement of the 2017 National HBCU Week Conference which is scheduled to take place just outside of DC September 17th-19th. “In light of recent events, I have reached the unfortunate conclusion that this year’s 2017 National HBCU Week Conference should be postponed,” said Congresswoman Adams.
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The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium is spearheading a petition that criticizes Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for standing by Donald Trump as he blamed both sides for the terrorist attack in Charlottesville, VA.
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Add Univisión’s Randy Falco to the list of those speaking out against Donald Trump. After the events in Charlottesville, Falco penned an open letter describing his commitment to speaking out against the inaccurate portrayal of immigrants, efforts to break apart immigrant families, efforts to demonize the LGBT community, attacks on the media, and “the abject failure to clearly and forcefully denounce the actions of white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and others who espouse racist and hateful views.”
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Organizing for Action, the successor to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign that has been rebuilding itself as a Trump-era resistance machine, is launching a new effort to train more activists by connecting progressive groups with newly trained organizers.
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The rumor mill sweeping DC says Paris Dennard may be in line for an administration post. Dennard currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which is run by Johnny Taylor. In November, Taylor will assume the position of President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Once he leaves, the scuttlebutt is Paris may leave as well to head to the Trump admin. But what position could Paris assume?
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At the center of Charlottesville news is the 30-year-old vice mayor of the city, Wes Bellamy. Reportedly, he spearheaded the removal of a statue of Virginian Gen. Robert E. Lee. The Root reports that Bellamy -- the youngest person to ever be elected to the Charlottesville City Council, and its only African American -- has been the subject of death threats and called “nigger” multiple times.
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Illinois Democratic Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Danny Davis on Thursday sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) questioning its June 2017 decision to rescind funding for an initiative to counter right-wing extremism, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and other white supremacist groups.
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Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) gets a win. After urging the Justice Department to make tampons, pads and liners available to federal female inmates, the agency has finally agreed to do so. Under the new policy, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be required to provide these essential products to incarcerated women free of charge.
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Michelle Obama might be the latest big name added to the list of guest stars for the upcoming Will & Grace revival. In Touch Weekly is reporting that the former first lady will appear on an episode of the new season.
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