Black History

Sen. Cory Booker Announces 2020 Run for the White House

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind, where parents can put food on the table. Where there are good paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood. Where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins. Where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame,” said Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, during a video announcing his bid for President of the United States.

Published

5 years ago

February 1, 2019

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Though much of the 2020 Election attention this week went to former Starbucks Coffee executive Howard Schultz, the end of the week held a surprise entry: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.

It was widely expected that Sen. Booker would run, the former mayor of Newark with a high-flying social media presence and an affable personality has been rumored to be a contender for the White House for years.

Booker, 49, is likely to project an upbeat positive tone at a time when President Donald Trump is winning comparisons to some of the worst presidents in U.S. history. If either Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) or Booker win the White House, they would become the second African American president in history, after Barack Obama.

Booker announced his candidacy via a video called “Rise.” The video focuses on many of the issues he confronted as Mayor of Newark such as housing and poverty. The video’s narrative features the New Jersey Senator affirming that he still lives in the inner-city Newark.

“I still live there today, and I’m the only senator who goes home to a low-income, inner city community. The first community that took a chance on me,” Booker says in the announcement video.

“I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind, where parents can put food on the table. Where there are good paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood. Where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins. Where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame,” Booker continues.

Sen. Booker will join Sen. Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), former Housing Secretary Julian Castro (D-Texas) and South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, have all announced that they will run for the White House in 2020.

Sen. Booker has already made stops in key primary states over the last few months. He now plans to travel more extensively as he joins the most diverse presidential field in American history.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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Oakland Post: Week of May 8 – 14, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 8 – 14, 2024

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2024

Oakland Post

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

7 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.