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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Announces Run for Mayor
ABOVE: Representative Sheila Jackson Lee speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People’s Rally To Cancel Student Debt During The Supreme Court Hearings On Student Debt Relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People’s Rally to Cancel Student Debt ) U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee […]
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ABOVE: Representative Sheila Jackson Lee speaks as student loan borrowers and advocates gather for the People’s Rally To Cancel Student Debt During The Supreme Court Hearings On Student Debt Relief on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for People’s Rally to Cancel Student Debt )
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee is running for mayor of Houston.
The congresswoman told parishioners at the City Cathedral Church on Monday that she will bid to replace term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your mayor for the city of Houston,” she said in a video posted by Urban Reform. “I will not be able to do it without each and every one of you.”
This announcement caught Houstonians by surprise, marking a new chapter in a long and eventful career. A native of Queens, New York, Jackson Lee earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1972. After moving to Houston, she joined the Texas Bar in 1975. She worked as a corporate attorney for the firm United Energy Resources (1980–87), during which time she became president of the Houston Lawyers Association (1983-1984). She later served as municipal judge for the City of Houston (1987-90).
She was elected to the Houston City Council in 1990; she served two full terms before departing in 1994. That year, she won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Rep. Craig Washington. Jackson Lee won her bid to represent Houston’s 18th District, which comprises Fifth Ward, Acres Homes, the Heights, and Bush Intercontinental Airport. She has remained in that position since 1995.
Jackson Lee easily won a court-ordered special election in 1996. It was the start of a long and successful electoral record: she’s won every re-election bid since, regularly picking up at least 70% of the vote. The congresswoman was named whip of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1997; she earned a spot on the House Judiciary Committee in 1998. (She’s also served on the Homeland Security Committee and House Budget Committee.) But her greatest impact is arguably local.
She’s become a Houston political icon, garnering both praise and criticism for her frequent appearances at televised press conferences and local community events. But she has also made a name for herself in Washington, D.C., raising awareness (and legislation) for a slew of pressing local and national issues.
Jackson Lee has sponsored bills on immigration, hunger relief, gun safety, drug sentencing reform, hate crime legislation, LGBT rights, and voting rights. In recent years, she’s continued advocacy for vulnerable and marginalized communities. In 2017, she secured $5 million in increased funding to treat veterans with PTSD. Two years later, she led congressional hearings on reparations for slavery, calling the measure “long overdue.” When the pandemic began in 2020, Jackson Lee opened over 30 testing sites to provide free testing and treatment for youth and seniors with COVID-19. In 2021, she participated in civil disobedience while fighting for voting rights. And she worked with Sen. John Cornyn on a bill to recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday. (The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden.) More recently, she protested the TEA’s takeover of HISD, going so far as to lobby for involvement from President Joe Biden. Now, she could become the first Black woman elected as mayor of Houston.
According to KHOU, Jackson Lee would not have to give up her House seat in order to run for mayor. If Jackson Lee indeed runs in November’s mayoral election, she’ll join a crowded field. Others who have declared include longtime state Senator John Whitmire, former At-Large City Council Member Amanda Edwards, and former interim Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins.
Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) represents the 15th Congressional District (representing north Houston and Harris County). He was elected to the Texas Senate in 1982, after serving for a decade in the Texas House. He serves as the chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, working to change the adult & juvenile criminal justice system. In 2010, when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice wanted $523 million for construction of three new prisons, Whitmire teamed up with conservative Republican Jerry Madden and convinced the Legislature, governor and lieutenant governor to spend $241 million on treatment, mental health and rehabilitation instead.
Chris Hollins is also running to be the next mayor of Houston. If elected, 35-year-old Hollins would be the youngest mayor of Houston since Kathy Whitmire in 1981. He was appointed as interim Harris County Clerk in May 2020. While overseeing Harris County elections, he instituted several programs to boost turnout, including drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting. He also nearly tripled the number of early voting sites in the county.
Mayoral candidate Amanda Edwards served on Houston’s City Council from 2016 to 2020, after which she launched a bid for the U.S. Senate. Prior to entering politics, she specialized in municipal finance as a lawyer.
The post Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Announces Run for Mayor appeared first on Houston Forward Times.
The post Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Announces Run for Mayor first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “With inflation and the rising costs of living squeezing all Pennsylvania households, Black voters 50+ are clearly looking for leaders with a plan,” said Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. “Candidates would be wise to listen to their opinions and concerns if they want to win in November.”
The post PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
AARP Pennsylvania’s first 2024 election survey shows that candidates should pay close attention to Pennsylvanian voters ages 50 and older and highlights the priorities and concerns of Black voters ages 50 and older that will likely influence the outcome of the 2024 elections. Seventy-nine percent of Black voters in Pennsylvania are extremely motivated to vote this year. When asked about the issues that are important as they decide whom to vote for this November, older Black voters cited Social Security (92% say extremely or very important), Medicare (89%), policies to help seniors live independently at home as they age (87%), the cost of prescription drugs (86%) as key issues. Social Security and Medicare emerged as their top priority issue in their vote for Senate this year, with nearly twice as many Black voters 50+ choosing Social Security and Medicare as any of the other dozen issues tested.
“With inflation and the rising costs of living squeezing all Pennsylvania households, Black voters 50+ are looking for leaders with a plan,” said Bill Johnston-Walsh, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. “Candidates would be wise to listen to their opinions and concerns if they want to win in November.” Among Black voters 50+, President Joe Biden (D) leads former President Donald Trump (R) by a large margin: 84% to 8%. In the race for U.S. Senate, Senator Bob Casey (D) leads Dave McCormick 87% to 7%.
Other key takeaways include:
- 96% of Black voters 50+ say they are more likely to vote for a candidate for the U.S. Senate who advocated making sure workers get the Social Security they paid for through a lifetime of hard work.
- Four of the five issues measured as cost concerns are important to many Black voters 50+: health care/prescription drugs, utilities, food, and housing; and
- 58% of Black voters 50+ are worried about their financial situation including 63% of women. Health care/prescription drugs and housing are the biggest cost concerns.
- 66% of Black voters 50+ and 73% of Black voters 65+ say Social Security is or will be a major source of their income.
AARP commissioned the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward & Impact Research to conduct a survey. The firms interviewed 1,398 likely Pennsylvania voters, which includes a statewide representative sample of 600 likely voters, with an oversample of 470 likely voters aged 50 and older and an additional oversample of 328 Black likely voters aged 50 and older, between April 24-30, 2024. The interviews were conducted via landline, cellphone, and SMS-to-web. The margin of sampling error for the 600 statewide samples is ±4.0%; for the 800 total sample of voters 50+ is ±3.5%; for the 400 total sample of Black voters 50+ is ±4.9%.
View the full survey results at aarp.org/PApolling.
For more information on how, when, and where to vote in Pennsylvania, visit aarp.org/PAVotes.
The post PRESS ROOM: New AARP Pennsylvania Poll: Black Voters 50+ Say Social Security, Inflation, and Medicare Will Influence 2024 Vote first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies
OAKLAND POST — “It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank. Harris, who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month, was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
The post Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Bo Tefu, California Black Media | The Oakland Post
Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.
Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.
According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.
“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.
“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.
Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”
Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.
Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.
Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.
Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.
Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.
Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.
Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.
Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.
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The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs
THE OKLAHOMA EAGLE — The 1993 movie “What’s Love Got to Do with It” portrayed the relationship between Ike and Tina Turner as abusive before their breakup. Ike was also said to victimize Tina, as she shared in a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey. But Deon Releford-Lee, the actor who plays Ike in the Broadway musical, says there is more to Ike’s story than is told on screen. In preparing for the part, the Broadway actor searched for the triggers that made Ike who he was known to be.
The post The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Kimberly Marsh | The Oklahoma Eagle
According to Tulsans who knew him and the actor who plays him in the musical Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, Ike Turner may have had multiple sides to his personality. However, the Ike Turner the public has seen is a violent man.
The arc of Tina Turner’s career is well-known. Although Ike’s story is lesser known, he had a powerful influence on Tina’s life and career. They had a family together, and he witnessed Tina rise to superstardom.
The 1993 movie, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” portrayed the relationship between Ike and Tina Turner as abusive before their breakup. Ike was also said to victimize Tina, as she shared in a 2018 interview with Oprah Winfrey. But Deon Releford-Lee, the actor who plays Ike in the Broadway musical, says there is more to Ike’s story than is told on screen. In preparing for the part, the Broadway actor searched for the triggers that made Ike who he was known to be.
Ike is part of the musical until the breakup and the start of Tina’s solo career in the second act. Because of the problematic themes of domestic violence, the musical is recommended for ages 14 and older.
Ike Turner
In an interview with The Oklahoma Eagle, Releford-Lee said playing Ike Turner was a healing experience for him. While “villains” have challenging roles, Releford-Lee said it is liberating in some respects, and he embraces the challenge.
“I have a wealth of knowledge of difficult things to play. My focus is to do as much…research as possible to figure out who this human was, what happened in his path, and what maybe led him to the places to do some of the horrible things he did. Not to excuse their behavior because it’s deplorable, right? We don’t just walk around hating people, throwing them around, forcing them, and manipulating them to do things,” Releford-Lee said. He described Ike’s aggressive behavior, especially with his wife.
Channeling that aggressive hyper-masculine energy takes a toll but also frees Releford-Lee to be softer, more feminine, more free, and more in touch with his emotions off-stage. Having played many villains in the past, he said he learned to become “Okay with my ugliness because that ugliness is in all of us.”
“Ike was a Black man who wrote music and was one of the fathers of Rock ‘n’ Roll but never received the credit,” Releford-Lee said. As Tina took center stage and became the superstar she was, Ike was overlooked.
“Those are the things that I focus on to help ground me in the (character) because being rejected for being Black, being talented, being othered, is something that I can connect to.”
Tulsa Connections
In an article published in June 2023 following Tina’s death, The Oklahoma Eagle Editor Gary Lee reflected on the days when the Ike and Tina Revue came to Tulsa and performed at the Big Ten Ballroom. The Ike and Tina Revue was a Big Ten headliner several times in the 1960s, and they performed together until their 1976 divorce.
Tulsa musician and radio personality Bobby Eaton Jr. knew them both and witnessed much of what was happening around them on the road. Eaton recently held a launch party for his new band, Eaton Out. During the performance, he recounted working with Ike and Tina Turner as the youngest guy in the band. Eaton said he appreciated Ike as a band leader, a musician/composer, and a businessman who showed him the ropes in the industry. But Eaton acknowledged that the relationship was not easy.
“Tina was there, and a lot of fights and a lot of crazy stuff went on back in those days, but at the same, I couldn’t wait to get away because they had too much drama going on.”
Singer Michelle Love, a/k/a Sweet Randi Love, became an Ikette in 1993 and knew him during the last decade of his life when he revived his career as a frontman. She joined the band despite being familiar with the tumultuous relationship Tina described.
“We were more like a family unit. When it came to work, though, he was a real hard ass. I don’t want to say it like that. But you know what I mean? He was serious when it came to work. As far as that goes, he didn’t play any games because he was like, this is me on stage, and it represents me.
“After the Tina stuff, Ike was self-conscious…about every little thing that he did because he had already gotten kind of a bad rap behind the movie. So, he was a real stickler as far as that goes,” Love said, “But when it was time for everybody to go home and we were calming down, Ike was just a big old teddy bear. Honestly, he was really. I think a lot of what he went through, you know, in the past team as well, had a lot to do with his insecurities. During the Jim Crow days, he went through quite a bit. So, there’s a lot that people don’t know about him. As far as his background story goes, I’m not trying to take away from Tina’s background story because she has a story to tell, but it might explain why he was the way he was.”
Ike was released from prison in 1991 after serving 18 months for drug offenses. Cocaine was his drug of choice, and it flowed freely, in large quantities, around him. Ike’s drug addiction relapse in 2004 led to his drug overdose in 2007.
Love has returned to Tulsa and continues to sing and perform with Sweet Randi Love and The Love Thang band.
About Deon Releford-Lee
Releford-Lee attended Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, an HBCU. At the university, he studied dance and theater. He began working professionally when he was still not old enough to play certain roles, portraying more mature characters. Although getting attention was difficult, he worked his way from ensemble to lead roles. A move to New York City followed, leading to his current role as Ike.
Deon Releford-Lee plays Ike Turner in the TPAC production TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.
Releford-Lee plays Ike full-time every night but has two understudy actors for this incredibly physical and emotional role. A self-described Bohemian, Releford-Lee’s personality is very different from Ike’s, and he is shocked when audience members have no idea who he is when the cast goes out to greet them.
Following a night onstage, he does breathwork to unwind and get out of character, which can take about 15 minutes to exit.
“I realized that when I’m feeling anxious, it’s mostly because physically I’m not breathing at all. I’m holding my breath, so I’m just reminding myself to breathe. I’m someone who doesn’t leave the theater right away. I just kind of sit there for a bit, take off my costume, take off my wig, put my jewelry on, put my own clothes back on, and just kind of sit and listen to music, and then move on.”
Releford-Lee said people will learn a little more through Ike’s backstory, how the industry treated him, and why he was the way he was.
“And in the same breath, you’re also seeing him being manipulative and hurtful. And the audience is kind of on his side in one second, and then the very next second, betrayed by him.
“I love the moment where Tina and Ike first meet because you see them laughing, you see them enjoying each other. It’s one of the only times of fun between them. And I think that’s beautiful. I love watching Tina discover herself in the second act.”
Celebrity Attractions describes “Tina-The Tina Turner Musical” as the inspiring journey of a woman who broke barriers and became the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of her most beloved hits, this electrifying sensation will send you soaring to the rafters.” Tina Turner won 12 Grammy Awards and her live shows were seen by millions, with more concert tickets sold than any other solo performer in music history. Featuring her songs, “Tina–The Tina Turner Musical” is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd.
The post The TINA TURNER Musical Reveals Trials and Triumphs first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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