Black History

Fifty-Five Strong: The Largest Congressional Black Caucus Kicks Off the 116th Congress

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I am proud to witness the ceremonial swearing-in of the largest @OfficialCBC in history. With 55 members and @RepKarenBass serving as their chairwoman, the Congressional Black Caucus is stronger than ever,” wrote Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.

Published

6 years ago

January 11, 2019

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

As the new Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) was handed a large gavel from outgoing Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) it became clear that the new CBC would be making a sizable mark on the next Congress.

The new CBC includes the youngest African American woman to be sworn-in to the U.S. House in history, Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), as well as Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim females ever elected to Congress. Rep. Tlaib occupies the seat held by long term Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) who retired from Congress on December 5, 2017.

The new CBC features nine new members of the U.S. House bringing the group to a total of 55. The 116th Congress will be the first time that the Congressional Black Caucus will ever have over fifty members.

Bass, 65, severed served as the former Speaker of the California House and was the first-ever African-American woman ever to hold that position.

“Honored to have been sworn in as 26th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus today.

We will fight fiercely against hate. We will not retreat and allow our past victories to be erased,” wrote Chairwoman Bass on Twitter, January 3, the first day of the 116th Congress.

“I am proud to witness the ceremonial swearing-in of the largest @OfficialCBC in history. With 55 members and @RepKarenBass serving as their chairwoman, the Congressional Black Caucus is stronger than ever,” wrote Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>.<a href=”https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@IlhanMN</a> shows her new Congressional Black Caucus jacket to <a href=”https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AOC</a> outside the Capitol in Washington, DC on January 4, 2018. Photo for <a href=”https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@nytimes</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/nytassignment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#nytassignment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/7XOGzJ2Dte”>pic.twitter.com/7XOGzJ2Dte</a></p>— Erin Schaff (@erinschaff) <a href=”https://twitter.com/erinschaff/status/1083384301373263873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

The Presidency of Donald Trump will greatly shape the agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus over the next two years.

Just as Rep. Richmond witnessed, there will be many issues that will arise out of nowhere in the news simply because the Trump Administration has decided to roll back so much of what was completed during the eight years president Barack Obama was in The White House.

But there is one huge difference: The CBC will have what was referred to at the ceremonial swearing in as “the big five.” They are the five Chairmen and Chairwomen who will serve over what many CBC members hope are Trump’s last two years in office. They are Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Three of the five Chairs will head committees that are certain to play an investigatory role over the Trump Administration. Rep. Cummings who will Chair the Committee on Government Oversight has already signaled that his committee will subpoena over the Trump Administration policy of children being separated from their parents and detained at the U.S./Mexico border.

Chairwoman Waters, who will lead the House Financial Services Committee, has signaled she will push against Wall Street and in favor of consumer protections regarding investment and financial products.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.