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EXCLUSIVE — RNC: ‘President Understands Importance of the Black Vote,’ Hires Paris Dennard to Engage Black Community

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Dennard, a longtime GOP political commentator, writer, consultant, and strategist, will work to ensure that African Americans and other minorities are aware of President Trump’s efforts to support their communities.

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Paris Dennard is the Republican National Committee’s Senior Communications Advisor of Black Media Affairs.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has appointed Paris Dennard as the organization’s new Senior Communications Advisor of Black Media Affairs.

“We are thrilled for Paris to officially join our team! A fierce advocate for our President and our Party, he will be a great leading voice as we continue to grow our all-encompassing approach to expand our presence in black communities,” said McDaniel. “He will help us connect with voters on the issues they care about and work to re-elect President Trump and secure Republican victories up and down the ballot on November 3rd.”

Dennard, a longtime GOP political commentator, writer, consultant, and strategist, will work to ensure that African Americans and other minorities are aware of President Trump’s efforts to support their communities.

In an exclusive interview with NNPA Newswire, Dennard said Trump has been “pained” by unflattering and unfair characterizations that do not reflect his work as president.

He said the president also understands the importance of the Black vote, and the GOP is committed to demonstrating its value to all communities.

“I won’t sugarcoat it. It is a challenge to get the Republican Party’s and the Trump Administration’s campaign message to the Black community,” Dennard stated.

“But it’s a challenge that’s worth fighting for because I believe, at the end of the day, President Trump and the Republican Party want to earn the vote of the Black community.”

Dennard added that the RNC and Trump have platforms and policies that would resonate more soundly and positively in the Black community.

Those policies include the First Step Act, a law that reduced sentences for some drug offenses; Criminal Justice Reform, The Future Act, which assures funding for historically Black colleges and universities; and new Black Voices for Trump Community Centers.

“As long as they have an open heart and open mind to receive the factual information of all the good things that the GOP under President Trump’s leadership has been doing over the past three years,” he said.

“What I hope to do is work with Black media, specifically the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which is Black-owned newspapers and media companies. I want to show my community that, as a proud Black American, this is what the administration is doing to celebrate the successes of Black people,” Dennard continued.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, where he grew up reading the Arizona Informant newspaper, Dennard earned two degrees in Public Relations and Political Science from Pepperdine University in California.

From 2005 to 2009, he worked in The White House under President George W. Bush, serving in the offices of Political Affairs, Legislative Affairs, and Public Liaison.

He also served as The White House Director of Black Outreach, where his primary role was liaison to the Black community at large.

Dennard, a member of the Black Voices for Trump Advisory Board, also provided commentary on BET, BBC, CBN, MSNBC, Fox News, TVONE, OAN, and CNN.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there. In order for my community to be more educated, the GOP and the Trump campaign have to engage the Black community more directly. I know RNC Chairwoman McDaniel understands that the president understands we have to take the information and get it directly to the people, where they are, what they listen to, and what they read,” Dennard said.

“That’s why the Black Press is important because it’s still what many of us value and trust.”

Despite only receiving 8 percent of the Black vote during the 2016 election, Dennard said Trump hasn’t given up hope that African Americans will eventually support him.

“There’s no question that the divisiveness we see in the country has always been there, but it is greater now,” Dennard noted.

“At the end of the day, the president is a threat to all traditional Democrats and liberals. He threatens the narrative because he does things that traditional Republican presidents didn’t do. He consistently campaigned for the Black vote, and he didn’t stop.

“Every single year he’s worked for a group that only gave him 8 percent of the vote. Most people would tell him to focus on someone else. I’ve heard him tell the story about his concern for Black America and how it really upset him when he saw the state of Urban America that had been neglected under the leadership of Democrats.

“Housing and the economy were so bad, so he said, what the hell do you have to lose. From that moment, he wanted to ensure that Black communities knew they had a champion in him.”

Dennard believes what Trump has accomplished – from Criminal Justice Reform to the Future Act– is unprecedented.

“What he’s been able to do with Criminal Justice Reform is remarkable,” Dennard said.

“President Obama, for whatever reason, wasn’t able to get meaningful reform done. President Bush, for whatever reason, didn’t. President Clinton didn’t.”

Though the president has annoyed many with his penchant for tweeting, Dennard noted that one of those infamous tweets was what helped to push Criminal Justice Reform through the Senate.

“Mitch McConnell wasn’t going to bring it the floor because he didn’t think he had the votes for it to pass,” Dennard recalled. “The president worked behind the scenes with Republicans and some Democrats to get it done, and he tweeted at McConnell to bring it up for a vote.”

Dennard added that the president has continued efforts of engaging African Americans, which includes more outreach to the Black Press and the new Black Voices for Trump Community Centers.

The centers are located in Tallahassee, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, N.C.

They are stocked with campaign items, including videos of African American Trump supporters expressing their support for the president’s re-election, and pamphlets detailing Trump’s record in the Black community.

“These centers have rolled out in predominately Black neighborhoods,” Dennard noted.

“We are going to be hiring at these facilities, and they will be fully staffed, which means lots of jobs. One of the things we wanted when Black Voices for Trump organized was ways to communicate. We took out ads in Black-owned newspapers in Florida and on the radio.

“We wanted to get the word out. The RNC gets it. I know the White House gets it. They understand the important role that Black media plays, and I hope that in my position, I can continue to expand what the White House and the Campaign has been doing in terms of engagement.”

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#NNPA BlackPress

Chavis and Bryant Lead Charge as Target Boycott Grows

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises.

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By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Calling for continued economic action and community solidarity, Dr. Jamal H. Bryant launched the second phase of the national boycott against retail giant Target this week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises. “They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,” Bryant told the packed sanctuary. “Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.” The town hall marked the conclusion of Bryant’s 40-day “Target fast,” initiated on March 3 after Target pulled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Among those was a public pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025—a pledge Bryant said was made voluntarily in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.“No company would dare do to the Jewish or Asian communities what they’ve done to us,” Bryant said. “They think they can get away with it. But not this time.”

The evening featured voices from national movements, including civil rights icon and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who reinforced the need for sustained consciousness and collective media engagement. The NNPA is the trade association of the 250 African American newspapers and media companies known as The Black Press of America. “On the front page of all of our papers this week will be the announcement that the boycott continues all over the United States,” said Chavis. “I would hope that everyone would subscribe to a Black newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper, subscribe to an economic development program — because the consciousness that we need has to be constantly fed.” Chavis warned against the bombardment of negativity and urged the community to stay engaged beyond single events. “You can come to an event and get that consciousness and then lose it tomorrow,” he said. “We’re bombarded with all of the disgust and hopelessness. But I believe that starting tonight, going forward, we should be more conscious about how we help one another.”

He added, “We can attain and gain a lot more ground even during this period if we turn to each other rather than turning on each other.” Other speakers included Tamika Mallory, Dr. David Johns, Dr. Rashad Richey, educator Dr. Karri Bryant, and U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby. Each speaker echoed Bryant’s demand that economic protests be paired with reinvestment in Black businesses and communities. “We are the moral consciousness of this country,” Bryant said. “When we move, the whole nation moves.” Sixteen-year-old William Moore Jr., the youngest attendee, captured the crowd with a challenge to reach younger generations through social media and direct engagement. “If we want to grow this movement, we have to push this narrative in a way that connects,” he said.

Dr. Johns stressed reclaiming cultural identity and resisting systems designed to keep communities uninformed and divided. “We don’t need validation from corporations. We need to teach our children who they are and support each other with love,” he said. Busby directed attendees to platforms like ByBlack.us, a digital directory of over 150,000 Black-owned businesses, encouraging them to shift their dollars from corporations like Target to Black enterprises. Bryant closed by urging the audience to register at targetfast.org, which will soon be renamed to reflect the expanding boycott movement. “They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,” Bryant said. “And now, we move.”

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The Department of Education is Collecting Delinquent Student Loan Debt

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt.

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By April Ryan

Trump Targets Wages for Forgiven Student Debt

The Department of Education, which the Trump administration is working to abolish, will now serve as the collection agency for delinquent student loan debt for 5.3 million people who the administration says are delinquent and owe at least a year’s worth of student loan payments. “It is a liability to taxpayers,” says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at Tuesday’s White House Press briefing. She also emphasized the student loan federal government portfolio is “worth nearly $1.6 trillion.” The Trump administration says borrowers must repay their loans, and those in “default will face involuntary collections.” Next month, the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt. Leavitt says “we can not “kick the can down the road” any longer.”

Much of this delinquent debt is said to have resulted from the grace period the Biden administration gave for student loan repayment. The grace period initially was set for 12 months but extended into three years, ending September 30, 2024. The Trump administration will begin collecting the delinquent payments starting May 5. Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Talladega College, told Black Press USA, “We can have that conversation about people paying their loans as long as we talk about the broader income inequality. Put everything on the table, put it on the table, and we can have a conversation.” Kimbrough asserts, “The big picture is that Black people have a fraction of wealth of white so you’re… already starting with a gap and then when you look at higher education, for example, no one talks about Black G.I.’s that didn’t get the G.I. Bill. A lot of people go to school and build wealth for their family…Black people have a fraction of wealth, so you already start with a wide gap.”

According to the Education Data Initiative, https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans It takes the average borrower 20 years to pay their student loan debt. It also highlights how some professional graduates take over 45 years to repay student loans. A high-profile example of the timeline of student loan repayment is the former president and former First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who paid off their student loans by 2005 while in their 40s. On a related note, then-president Joe Biden spent much time haggling with progressives and Democratic leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill about whether and how student loan forgiveness would even happen.

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VIDEO: The Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. at United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

https://youtu.be/Uy_BMKVtRVQ Excellencies:       With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world.  I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the […]

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Excellencies:

      With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world.  I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
      The focus on AI and digital equity is urgent within the real time realities today where there continues to be what is referred to as the so called mainstream national and international media companies that systematically undergird racism and imperialism against the interests of People of African Descent.
         We therefore call on this distinguished gathering of leaders and experts to challenge member states to cite and to prevent the institutionalization of racism in all forms of media including social media, AI and any form of digital bias and algorithmic discrimination.
            We cannot trust nor entertains the notion that  former and contemporary enslavers will now use AI and digital transformation to respect our humanity and fundamental rights.
              Lastly we recommend that a priority should be given to the convening of an international collective of multimedia organizations  and digital associations that are owned and developed by Africans and People of African Descent.
Basta the crimes against our humanity!
Basta Racism!
Basta Imperialism!
A Luta Continua!
Victory is certain!
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