Connect with us

#NNPA BlackPress

Eddie Melton announces run for governor

CHICAGO CRUSADER — Senator Eddie Melton is in the running to become the first African American governor in Indiana’s 203-year history. Melton has officially entered the race with plans to bring a new voice and strong vision to Indiana.

Published

on

SUPPORTERS APPLAUD AFTER State Senator Eddie Melton announces his run for governor. (Photos by Ted Brown)

By Giavonni Nickson

Senator Eddie Melton is in the running to become the first African American governor in Indiana’s 203-year history. Melton has officially entered the race with plans to bring a new voice and strong vision to Indiana.

Earlier this year Senator Melton launched an exploratory committee to weigh his bid for Indiana Governor in 2020. Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at the newly remodeled Gary Public Library, Melton made the formal announcement to join the race to be the 52nd Governor of Indiana.

Melton is the 3rd Democrat to join a field vying for the Democratic nomination to face Governor Eric Holcomb. Holcomb officially declared his bid for a second term July 13.

Melton’s mother, wife Crystal, and three of their four children sat front row as Melton made his announcement. As a proud father, he gleamed about their oldest child being away at college.

Indiana State House Representatives Robin Shackleford, Cherrish Pryor, Earl L. Harris Jr., Dr. Vernon G. Smith, and Ragen Hatcher joined State Senator Lonnie M. Randolph, North Township Trustee Frank J. Mrvan, and a crowd of Melton supporters anxiously awaiting the announcement.

Melton unveiled his plan to raise the minimum wage and teacher pay, invest in education, and ensure all Hoosiers have access to affordable, quality healthcare. Tuesday night Melton said he has a new vision for Indiana and pledged to fight to preserve democracy.

Throughout the night applause rang high and seemingly bounced off the walls. Melton supporter Kathy Kelly said, “He has the courage to stand up to make a difference when he sees things not being done right.”

“I am very excited. He has a great track record of being able to move across the aisle. I think that’s what we really need to move our state forward,” said Community Builder Jessica Renslo.

Melton, born and raised in Gary, credits his success to football, faith, and family. His mother proudly raised her hand in the front row when Melton acknowledged her exemplary work ethics. She retired from the steel mill and his father, who retired from the railroad, earned a purple heart and silver star while serving in Vietnam.

After college Melton returned to Gary to help normalize the transition from high school to college for at-risk youths by helping them figure out a game plan for their future.

One of his mentees, recent IUN graduate Alice Gallegos, took the podium Tuesday night. “Senator Melton has always been a positive role model. I believe he will fulfill the goals he has for the State of Indiana through his commitment, hard work, and dedication,” said Gallegos.

As a pilot group member of the IN-Power Youth Mentoring Program, Gallegos saw Melton work tirelessly connecting students with tutors and encouraging them not to give up.  Melton created the program with a vision to help students gain college experience and college credit making academic success the norm.

Melton later realized he was being called to higher levels of service.

“In order to really set students up for success, I knew I had to do more so I ran for the statehouse,” said Melton.

In 2016, Melton was elected State Senator of the 3rd District, succeeding veteran politician Earline Rogers.  Tuesday night Melton described being elected as one of the most humbling experiences of his life. “Every day I walk into the statehouse I am reminded of why I’m there and who I represent. I am reminded that we have to speak truth to power and fight for what’s right at all cost.”

Melton is certainly going to have to fight to do what no Democrat has done in the last 16 years in the predominantly Republican State of Indiana. Melton’s colleagues believe he has what it takes.

“As the chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, we are just thrilled and excited to be supporting such a dynamic colleague,” said State Representative Robin Shackleford. “We have a feeling that Eddie will be able to take this all the way. He represents the people, he is for the people.”

State Senator Lonnie M. Randolph asked a rhetorical question in support of Melton for governor. “What better catalyst to have to motivate our people, particularly from this region, than to have my colleague Senator Eddie Melton run for governor of the State of Indiana?

State Representative Earl L. Harris, Jr. said, “When you talk about winning and becoming the next governor of Indiana if it’s going to be a Democrat it has to be someone who has a Northwest Indiana connection. Eddie Melton has that.”

Senator Melton leveraged a bipartisan approach to extend the age for students to be identified for developmentally disabled opportunities, extended resources for special education and tutoring, and pushed innovation through the general assembly to allow Hoosiers to access their driver’s license through a mobile device.

In a speech Tuesday night Barbara Hargrove boasted about Melton in his journey from the elementary schoolhouse to the statehouse. Hargrove said, “I have followed him as State Senator and watched him not just fill the job as some do, but to run with it and explore all the ways he can make it better, not just his district, but for all Indiana residents, especially our children.” Hargrove was Melton’s art teacher at Jefferson School.

Melton attributes his success in the statehouse to his focus on intentionally working in a bipartisan fashion to get things accomplished in the general assembly.

“It takes intentionality to get things accomplished in the legislature. Often the work we are able to accomplish for the people is overshadowed by partisan politics driven by the party with the most political power. The dominance of a one-party rule constantly places us in a battle that requires Democrats to speak truth to power,” said Melton.

This session, the legislature passed two major economic development bills to allow Gary to move one of its casino licenses inland to I-80/94 and open Buffington Harbor for major development projects. These projects come because of a resolution Senator Melton passed last year to study economic development and job opportunities in the city.

If elected governor Melton plans to elevate the voices of the people that feel state government has left them behind and has failed to address the issues that matter to them the most.

During his address Tuesday night Melton cited Abraham Lincoln’s timeless words from the Gettysburg Address, “Sometimes we have to remind the powers that be that this is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We should never forget that,” said Melton.

Elected State Superintendent for the State of Indiana Dr. Jennifer McCormick offered full support of Melton while announcing him at the podium. According to McCormick, Melton exemplifies bipartisanship. She described his action-oriented approach to politics.

“From the beginning, he would come into our office in the Department of Education to ask questions, think, and then act,” said McCormick about Melton.

Melton took further action in extending an offer to collaborate with McCormick in launching a 19-city community listening tour across the state.

“I was thrilled that I had a Democrat from Gary, IN asking a Republican in Henry County and Delaware County to go across the state of Indiana together,” said McCormick.

Melton’s wife Crystal joined him on the tour and said, “It was great to meet so many Hoosiers and to really understand all of the issues they have throughout the state.”

After traveling thousands of miles Melton said, “I was reminded of how hard-working, passionate and proud Hoosiers are. I was also reminded that many communities are struggling across the state. People need leadership that cares about them and addresses the issues that matter to them the most.”

Indiana is currently ranked 7th worst in the nation with its infant mortality rate, 3rd worst with its maternal mortality rate, and 50th in teacher salary growth since 2002.

Melton plans to execute a new vision that will combat what he considers to be the failure of state house republicans.

Melton approached the state’s issues with civility and demonstrated courage to speak truth to power by calling out Gov. Holcomb during his address.

“Our current governor is campaigning on the slogan, putting people first.

Were people put first when the administration put a work requirement in the healthy Indiana plan? Jeopardizing healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers, is that putting people first? Did he put people first when he signed a watered-down hate crime law?”

Some critics believe Melton is not ready to run for governor. According to Melton, “There is never a wrong time to do right. Now is the exact time for a governor that has lived and understands the challenges that Indiana faces and will face.”

Melton believes he can bring the change Hoosiers need.

“In January 2021 when I’m sworn into office, I will be a governor that works for all Hoosiers, not just a select few. I will be a governor that prioritizes healthcare, education, and making a livable wage in the State of Indiana. I will provide economic growth opportunities for all Hoosiers, not just a chosen few. I will be a governor that brings forth a unified vision for the future,” said Melton.

Melton summarized his plan in one sentence, “My game plan is to go to Indianapolis and bring home a win for Hoosier families.”

Giavonni is a passionate freelance writer native of Gary IN. She covers business, politics, and community schools for the Chicago/Gary Crusader.

This article originally appeared in The Chicago Crusader.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

#NNPA BlackPress

PRESS ROOM: Top Climate Organizations React to Trump’s Executive Orders Attacking Health, Environment, Climate and Clean Energy Jobs

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Climate Action Campaign (CAC), along with partners and allies, voiced strong concerns about the executive orders and the confirmation of Lee Zeldin as the 17th Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

Published

on

Voice concerns about the New EPA Administrator

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump wasted no time implementing the Project 2025 playbook. Within his first hours as the 47th President, he issued executive orders aimed at dismantling crucial climate, health, and economic protections, which could have dire consequences for the country and the environment. His actions of disservice to our communities on the first day of his presidency coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day which was meant for service and reflection. The policies introduced by President Trump, along with his new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, stand in stark contrast to the spirit of Dr. King’s commitments to service others and improve society.

Climate Action Campaign (CAC), along with partners and allies, voiced strong concerns about the executive orders and the confirmation of Lee Zeldin as the 17th Environmental Protection Agency administrator. “The new administration has moved to undo hard-earned generational progress like Justice40 that was created to ensure every American has an opportunity to be healthy and thrive,” said Dr. Margo Browne, Senior Vice President of Justice and Equity, at Environmental Defense Fund. “These actions threaten the rights of tens of millions of Americans to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and use products free of toxic chemicals, particularly those people whose zip code or race add undue burdens.

We must stay focused. Leaders change, but our work remains the same. And we will do everything we can to uphold the progress made with our partners and allies and to uplift the people on the frontlines fighting for equity every day.” “As we enter into an era of weaponized phrases and issues, we must remember that environmental justice means that all people should have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment,” said Leslie Fields, Chief Federal Officer, WE ACT For Environmental Justice. “Trump’s day one acts – including rescissions of nearly 80 vital executive orders while adding dozens of new, anti-democratic orders – roll back popular policies that promote clean, renewable, and affordable energy. These actions also place vulnerable communities in even greater danger from pollution and the dire, real-time consequences of the climate crisis. In the face of these assaults, we will not stop pursuing justice.”

“The President of the United States is elected to lead and protect all Americans,” said Ben Jealous, Executive Director, Sierra Club. “Donald Trump promised to be a president who fights for working families, but his bluster of action shows he’s fighting harder to protect corporate polluters and their profits, all at the expense of our health, our safety, and our jobs. The American people want cheaper energy bills, safe drinking water, and clean air. Donald Trump should listen and offer actual solutions instead of exploiting their pain for political gain while he further lines the pockets of the wealthiest instead of American workers.”

On the Confirmation of Lee Zeldin, 17th administrator of the EPA:

“Lee Zeldin’s confirmation as EPA administrator is a catastrophic blow to the health of Americans, the climate, and the economy,” said Margie Alt, Director, Climate Action Campaign. “Under Zeldin’s leadership, the Environmental Protection Agency will no longer protect the American people and our communities – it will protect polluters. Zeldin’s public statements and record make it clear he will implement Trump’s anti-science, anti-clean energy Project 2025 agenda, prioritizing the interests of oil and gas CEOs at the expense of the clean air, water, and energy that Americans overwhelmingly support and rely on. Americans deserve an EPA administrator who will prioritize the health and safety of families over polluter profits. Zeldin’s confirmation is a tragic failure for all Americans.”

“The new head of the EPA must ensure that neither he nor the President denies vulnerable communities their most basic rights—the right to breathe clean air, drink water free from poison, and live on land that does not make them sick,” said Mustafa Santiago Ali, Executive Vice President, National Wildlife Federation. “Environmental Justice is not a privilege; it is the foundation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  To neglect it is to abandon the people who need protection the most.” “Confirming a director who normalizes baseless conspiracies, while failing to earnestly accept the facts of climate change, is a threat to the health of everyone in the United States and especially the most vulnerable Justice 40 communities,” said KeShaun Pearson, Executive Director, Memphis Community Against Pollution. “Lee Zeldin is the antithesis of environment and climate justice. We are amid a climate crisis that demands a protector, not a big oil pawn.” Climate Action Campaign is a vibrant coalition of advocacy organizations working together to drive ambitious, durable federal action to cut carbon pollution, address the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025 We Proclaim It

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In the history of this country, in the ongoing fight against racial oppression, against a white supremacist narrative, and against the racial apartheid laws that were passed and upheld, there have always been gear-shifting moments when individual people have taken a stand.

Published

on

By Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead

Former Georgia Representative Julian Bond and Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver once said that when Rosa Parks chose to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, somewhere in the universe, a gear in the machinery shifted, and everything changed.

A gear-shifting moment.

In the history of this country, in the ongoing fight against racial oppression, against a white supremacist narrative, and against the racial apartheid laws that were passed and upheld, there have always been gear-shifting moments when individual people have taken a stand. It happened in 1850, when Harriet Araminta Tubman, a year after her self-emancipation, chose to go back to Baltimore, Maryland, to help lead her niece and her niece’s two children to freedom. A gear shifted. It happened in 1770, when Crispus Attucks, a Black and Indigenous sailor and whaler, chose to get involved with the growing kerfuffle in Boston. In 1864, when the 22nd Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops marched from Camp William Penn through the streets of Philadelphia on their way to fight, gear shifted.

When Mamie Till told them in 1955 to leave her son’s casket open so that the world could see what those white men had done to her son, a gear in the machinery of the universe shifted, it happened again in 1966 with Kwame Ture and Mukasa Dada’s declaration of Black Power after the “March Against Fear.” In 2014, after police officers killed unarmed Eric Garner in New York and unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Black people came together under the banner and hashtag of Black Lives Matter to march, protest, and demand change. Gears shift when we choose to fight, when we choose to stand up, and when we refuse to back down. The moral arc of the universe does not bend on its own toward justice, it bends because we push it and because we are willing to continue to do it until change does happen.

In 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson—the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the son of formerly enslaved parents, a former sharecropper and miner, and the second Black person to receive a Ph.D. in History from Harvard University—sent out a press release announcing the first Negro History Week, a gear shifted. He chose February because the Black community was already celebrating the historic achievements on the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (2/12) and Frederick Douglass (2/14). Dr. Woodson did not wait for the celebration of our history to be proclaimed, he proclaimed it. He did not wait for someone to permit him to celebrate what we had contributed to this country, he celebrated it. Dr. Woodson understood that Black parents had been teaching their children our history since we arrived in this country. Our stories and achievements had been carried by the wind and buried in the soil. It had been whispered as bedtime stories, spoken from the pulpits on Sunday mornings, and woven throughout our songs and poems of resistance and survival. America did not have to tell us who we were to this country; we told them.

[This post contains video, click to play]

America did not have to tell us that we built this country, our fingerprints are etched into the stone. America does not have to proclaim Black History Month, we proclaim it. We live in the legacy of Dr. Woodson, and as we have done for 98 years, we will celebrate who we are and all that we have accomplished. We stand at the intersection of the past and the future; what we do at this moment will determine how the next gear shifts. The 2025 Black History Month theme is African Americans and Labor, which focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people and the transformational work that we have done throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora. We are celebrating our visible labor—from the work we did back then to build the White House to the work we do right now to hold the White House accountable, from repairing the roads to teaching in our schools, from stocking shelves to packing and unloading trucks; from working in the federal government to our ongoing labor in the state and local offices—and, our invisible labor—from raising and teaching our children to caring for our aging family members, from finding ways to practice revolutionary self-care to finding ways to hope beyond hope in a country that frequently targets and terrorizes Black people. We bear witness to what it means to work hard every day and to get sick and tired of working so hard.

As the president of ASALH, one of the many legacy keepers of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, I am excited to proclaim and uplift the start of Black History Month 2025. I believe that ASALH is a lighthouse that you do not notice until you need it. When boats are caught in a storm or fog, they look for the lighthouse to help guide them safely back to the shore. We have been standing as a lighthouse proudly proclaiming the importance of Black History and helping people to understand that it is only through studying the quilted narrative of our historical journey that one can see the silences, blind spots, hypocrisies, and distortions of American history. We do not celebrate because we are given permission, we celebrate because we are the permission givers. We do not wait for Black History Month to be proclaimed, we proclaim it. We do not wait to be seen, we see ourselves. We do not have to be told the story of America because we are writing it, we are telling it, we are owning it, and we are pointing the way to it. We invite you to join us as we once again celebrate and center the incredible contributions that Black people have made to this beautiful and imperfect nation.

Dr. Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead is the 30th person and the eighth woman to serve as the national president of ASALH. She is a professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland and the host of the award-winning radio show “Today with Dr. Kaye” on WEAA, 88.9 FM. She is the author of the recently released “my mother’s tomorrow: dispatches from Baltimore’s Black Butterfly” and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She lives in Baltimore with her family.

Continue Reading

#NNPA BlackPress

Black Reaction to Trump DEI Blame on The Plane Crash

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Before the completed investigation officially began, President Trump laid the blame for the accident on the Army helicopter. He felt it should have been flying at a different altitude, higher or lower, than the jet

Published

on

By April Ryan

“We are dealing with a vicious adversary,” according to Rev. Al Sharpton, the head of the National Action Network speaking of President Donald Trump and his hate diatribe Thursday morning. President Trump blamed DEI, the Obama and Biden administrations along with former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg for the deadly midair crash over the Potomac last night. 67 people died after an accident between an American Airline Plane and an Army Helicopter. When asked why President Trump thought diversity had something to do with the crash, he said,” I have common sense and most people don’t.” Reverend Al, who is investigating the impact of the Trump anti-DEI efforts in retail believes Trump is “obsessed with race” and he is a “raw, insensitive, uncaring man.”

Former Secretary Buttigieg immediately went to social media making a statement saying, Trump should be leading, not lying.” Buttigieg also fact-checked Trump saying we grew Air Traffic Control and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.” Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) / X During Trump’s rant on DEI at the White House briefing room podium, he asserted, “the FAA’s diversity push includes a focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing. And then it says, the FAA says, people with severe disabilities, the most underrepresented segment of the workforce, and they want them in, and they want them. They can be air traffic controllers. I don’t think so.” Trump went on to say the prior administrations felt those departments were “too white.”

According to reports FAA staffing has been an issue since Inauguration Day January 20, 2025.  Also, Elon Musk, the head of the White House Office of Government Efficiency is reported to have asked the head of the FAA to resign. Musk FAA Ax Former Black Obama Administration Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx exclusively told this reporter after the Trump statements,” I would caution against any definitive conclusions until that work [investigation] is done by trained, experienced professionals.”

Foxx, who also worked as a transportation consultant in the Biden administration admonished the Trump address saying, “There is no sugar-coating the tragic midair collision that occurred last night. In my experience, safety has always been the number one focus of the Federal Aviation Administration.” Foxx says there is a safety mission to be completed after this tragedy. “There is a well-practiced root cause process that has been taken in the past. It should be used now with competent professionals. A comprehensive, fact-based investigation will answer the many questions we all have. It would also help guard against future accidents of this type,” according to the transportation expert.

Before the completed investigation officially began, President Trump laid the blame for the accident on the Army helicopter. He felt it should have been flying at a different altitude, higher or lower, than the jet. When it comes to the president’s corrosive comments, reaction has been swift from the civil rights community. In a statement from the President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Derrick Johnson, “The NAACP is disgusted by this display of unpresidential, divisive behavior.” Johnson told this reporter in a text message, “The President has made his decision to put politics over people abundantly clear as he uses the highest office in the land to sow hatred rooted in falsehoods instead of providing us with the leadership we need and deserve.”

As Trump worked to distract with his words on DEI, the questions still abound as to what caused the deadly plane crash. Former Sec. Foxx, immediately following the fatal crash last night said. “My worst fear is that something happened with the avionics. I hope and expect that this is not the case. But most aircraft these days run in a form of GPS. Could a warning system have failed? But then, how can two systems fail? That leads to some even more grave concerns about interference with the systems. There are many other potential causes.”

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.