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Racism at Core of Attack on Capitol and Black People, as Usual, Rise to the Occasion

That the Capitol Police were unprepared for what had been predicted would be an unruly, dangerous crowd, was the second sign of racism as Black news pundits and even some politicians, including President-elect Joe Biden, observed that security would have been much different if these had been, for instance, Black Lives Matter protesters.

Published

5 years ago

January 15, 2021

Kiki

The attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6 was practically a picture postcard of racism in America.

Firstly, it was prompted by the victory of Joe Biden over Pres. Donald Trump in November’s election, a victory that had significant support from Black and Brown voters.

In denial, Trump, with the help of right-wing media, claimed the election had been stolen and turned to the MAGA crowd and Republican politicians to ‘Stop the Steal.’

Wearing MAGA hats, carrying Confederate flags and armed with tactical gear and carrying military grade weapons, the crowd of mostly white Trump supporters marched to the Capitol at the president’s behest.

The attack left six people dead. The men and women of Congress, knowing they were targeted for injury and even death by a highly organized, tactical element of the rioters are left traumatized.

The third element of racism was in the actions and testimony of the Capitol’s Black police and staff said racism played.

Buzzfeed News interviewd two Black officers, one a veteran and one a newer recruit. They said it was “a trained group of militia terrorists who attacked us.”

One was beaten by a rioter carrying a Blue Lives Matter flag.

“I got called a n—- 15 times today,” the veteran officer shouted in the Rotunda at the day’s end. “Trump did this and we got all of these … people in our department that voted for him. How the …. can you support him?”

“I cried for about 15 minutes and I just let it out,” he said.

In a widely circulated video, it was a Black member of the Capitol Police officer whose heroism perhaps saved members of the Senate and staff from harm. Alone and outnumbered, the Capitol policeman is seen repeatedly shoving a trespasser in the chest, drawing him and his followers away from a doorway to the Senate chamber that was still insecure.

In all, before the six-hour siege was over, at least 14 police officers were assaulted.

That so many were injured, yet so few intruders were arrested and so few arrests were attempted was also a sign of racism as comparisons between the Capitol attack and one Black Lives Matter demonstration attest. Eventually, the Capitol Police got help from the National Guard.

Much has been made about the vulnerability of the members of Congress, but they were not the only ones trapped during the siege. Some members of Congress had their staff with them and then there were the people who maintain the building, many of who are people of color.

It was they, Black and Brown men and women joined late in the evening of the attack by a Korean Ameican congressman from New Jersey who cleaned up the mess made by a crown that was mostly white.

They picked up glass, empty bottles and broken furniture. They took away broken and damaged artifacts — for the Capitol is also a museum. They wiped away blood, urine and feces from floors, walls and statues.

Interviewed in the following days, some janitorial staff said they felt unsafe in a building that was supposed to have some of the best security in the world.

“It felt bad. It’s degrading,” said one custodial employee in his 30s, who works for the Architect of the Capitol’s Labor Division. “We’re all Black in this shop.”

Amid the debris, a piece of a tribute to the late John Lewis was found. It had been destroyed.

Buzzfeed, Business Insider and The Washington Post are the sources for this report.

Kiki

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Related Topics:Congressman John Lewis (D-GA)Donald Trump MAGA President-elect Joe Biden

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke