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Angela Rye campaigns for Sawyer with intensity, strong language

NEW TRI-STATE DEFENDER — Rye is spending several days in Memphis this week to raise funds and support for Sawyer, the first-term representative for District 7 on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the leader of the #TakeEmDown901 campaign waged to remove Confederate-saluting memorials from city parks.

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By New Tri-State Defender

Memphis mayoral candidate Tami Sawyer has enlisted the help of Angela Rye, CNN commentator, national political strategist and activist, who says, “I don’t support campaigns, fundraisers or endorsements unless I really feel it.”

Rye is spending several days in Memphis this week to raise funds and support for Sawyer, the first-term representative for District 7 on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the leader of the #TakeEmDown901 campaign waged to remove Confederate-saluting memorials from city parks.

Angela Rye, Tami Sawyer. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

On Saturday (August 10), Sawyer and Rye will canvass campaign support at Williams Park at 3888 Auburn Rd. in Whitehaven, starting at 10 a.m.

Rye addressed a group of influencers during a fundraising luncheon at 115 Huling Ave. in Downtown Memphis on Thursday. She arrived as news broke of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Mississippi separating immigrant children from their parents.

Rye observed that Africans also attempt to cross the southern border seeking asylum and that one would think, as a people, we would never want to see that happen again as it occurred with enslaved Africans.

“As I often say, racism is a bipartisan problem or a non-partisan problem,” said Rye.

“You all, because you are here, are not the apathetic ones, but you all who have apathetic ones in your families, in your congregations, in your friend circles, in your Links chapters, are passively watching a racist govern this city of Memphis. … You’re passively watching a Dixiecrat reign in 2019.”

The term Dixiecrat harkened back to a segregation-embracing political party known as the States’ Rights Democratic Party, which promoted racial segregation during its brief run.

During her visit to Memphis in February 2018, Rye spoke during the “I Am A Man” March 50-year anniversary commemoration and questioned the city’s progress under Mayor Jim Strickland.

“Memphis, this is not what Martin Luther King Jr. had in mind when he envisioned the promise land,” Rye declared in her 2018 address, citing the city’s high child poverty rates and crime data.

She was aware that in 2017 Strickland’s administration maintained a “blacklist,” which included social activists who had protested racial profiling, along with names of some former City of Memphis employees. After a surge of concern from the community, including the American Civil Liberties Union, names of activists were removed. Lawsuits soon followed.

“This is not a game for Tami,” Rye said at the luncheon. “Allowing your current major to govern when you have the type of power and the type of numbers you have in Memphis is unconscionable. …

“I challenge you to do something different at this new beginning,” Rye said, referring to a time of jubilee mentioned in the bible that takes place every 50 years.

“You have the opportunity to turn the tide, to shift the paradigm so that the rest of Black America understands the importance of its power. … Challenge your peers to not just go vote, but to act like you have the political power that your ancestors fought for you to have.”

With the floor open for questions, Sawyer said she’s been asked why she’s still in the race given the challenge of raising campaign funds, the presence of an incumbent mayor, the candidacy of a former mayor and the fact that she is relatively new to the political arena.

Tami Sawyer (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)

Her response mirrored her campaign slogan. “We can’t wait,” she said, referencing economic data as she asserted that four more years of the current administration could restrict the city from broadly overcoming systemic inequities.

In a published statement, Steven Reid, campaign consultant for Strickland, noted Rye’s “hateful and divisive rhetoric,” adding that it didn’t “deserve a response.”

Later, Sawyer reflected on the day in a social media post that included this:

“Thank you to my special guest Angela Rye for challenging us to see the power we hold to make real and necessary change and to not standby silently while those in power ignore the majority of us. We all know the statistics & the realities, but how long are we going to wait to do something about it, Memphis? Black and brown communities are in crisis and we have to be able to talk about that and take action with courage and urgency.”

Newly registered voter Allyson Smith, 18, and Jade Thornton, 26, were among those who came out to support Sawyer, Teach for America’s managing director of External Affairs.

“She (Sawyer) reflects my interests, so taking my step in voting is a step for awareness,” said Smith, who will attend Howard University in the fall and vote for the first time in the Municipal Elections on Oct. 3.

Thornton, a former charter-school teacher, now works as a charter system community engagement expert. Asked how she would inspire those young women to vote who don’t seem motivated to do so, Thornton said, “I say to them, ‘When you see more than 50 percent of our children living in poverty, you’ve got to step up for the children.’”

Pastor Gregory Stokes of Greater Paradise Baptist Church was among the men in support of Sawyer at the luncheon.

“I have eight sisters, so I’ve been around strong women all of my life,” Stokes said. “Sawyer’s plans for crime reduction and prison reform provide hope, and I want to see real change, not only in Downtown and Midtown, but in Orange Mound, Boxtown, Smokey City and Klondike.

“If we’re our brother’s keeper, let’s share the wealth so that money will go into these communities also.”

This article originally appeared in the New Tri-State Defender

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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#NNPA BlackPress

Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

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