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Mays and Tucker headline 2019 high school kickoff jamboree

ATLANTA VOICE — The 2019 Corky Kell Classic is upon us and the Mays Raiders are the lone football club from Atlanta Public Schools seeking their first victory in the classic. Last year, the Raiders appeared in the Classic for the first time ever but fell to a tough Norcross Blue Devils team. They finished the 2018 season at 6-5 with a 20-12 loss in the opening round of the playoffs to the Lanier Longhorns.

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Photo of the Mays Raiders in Corky Kell action at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Photo by: Itoro N. Umontuen | The Atlanta Voice)

By Anfernee Patterson

The 2019 Corky Kell Classic is upon us and the Mays Raiders are the lone football club from Atlanta Public Schools seeking their first victory in the classic. Last year, the Raiders appeared in the Classic for the first time ever but fell to a tough Norcross Blue Devils team. They finished the 2018 season at 6-5 with a 20-12 loss in the opening round of the playoffs to the Lanier Longhorns.

The Raiders are more motivated for a great season. By great season, a shot at the 5-A championship title is the only option. For Raiders head coach Niketa Battle, he knows what it will take for the Raiders to get to Georgia State Stadium in May.

“We just have to stay consistent,” said Battle. “Keep on grinding everyday and doing what we’re supposed to do [which is] getting better as a coaching staff. If we do those things, the sky’s the limit.”

This year, they face an opponent in 5-A powerhouse, Kell Longhorns. The Longhorns finished 8-3 last season with an opening playoff loss to the Buford Wolves. They come into this season looking to avenge last season’s disappointment with a win.

In this year’s Classic against the known powerhouse, the Raiders are confident in their ability to compete and earn their first victory in the Classic. To earn that victory, Battle knows his defense has to show up and is confident that they will.

“[Our] defense is lights out,” Battle said. “Last year we were young. Now they are returning starters, are bigger, faster and stronger [plus] they are relentless. They’re playing with a chip on their shoulder and I love it.”

Along with the defense, the Raiders have a weapon in tight end/defensive end Jaquari Wiggles.

The senior Georgia Tech commit is the leader for this team and is great on both sides of the ball. This makes Wiggles a huge asset for this team but he knows what he is up against battling the Longhorns.

“One thing that jumps out to me [on film] is that they’re disciplined,” said Wiggles. “They’re coachable and disciplined, we can not make any mistakes or they will capitalize on what we do.”

The Tucker Tigers are no stranger to the Corky Kell Classic or Class 6-A. Not long ago in 2016, the Tigers made a state title appearance but lost to the Valdosta Wildcats.

The Tigers appeared in the Corky Kell Classic last year but lost to a talented Buford Wolves team 40-14 to open their season. Their season ended last year with a loss to 6-A State Runner up, Northside Eagles ending their season at 7-4.

This year, the Tigers play against a Gwinnett County powerhouse in the Archer Tigers. The Tigers were also in the Classic last year but lost to eventual 7-A champion Milton Eagles. They finished the 2018 season 10-2 with a loss to 7-A runner-up Colquitt County Packers.

Tucker Tigers head football coach, Bryan Lamar. (Photo by: Itoro N. Umontuen | The Atlanta Voice)

Tucker Tigers head football coach, Bryan Lamar. (Photo by: Itoro N. Umontuen | The Atlanta Voice)

Tigers head coach Bryan Lamar sees this game as an opportunity and ceiling potential for his young players.

“Coming into this game, we will see improvement and find out who we are against a really good football team who is going to challenge us,” Lamar said.

“I don’t really know how good we are going to be early because we have a lot of new guys.

For Tucker and coach Lamar, he knows who is up against and knows Archer is nothing new to Georgia football.

“They are well coached and they have great players who are going to play extremely hard,” said Lamar.

“They’re definitely going to test us on both sides of the ball and special teams. Coach Dyer does a great job preparing his guys.”

On the offensive side of the ball, everything for Tucker begins and ends with Isaiah Dunson.

The Florida State commit stood out last year in the Corky Kell Classic with six catches for 121 yards to ignite the Tigers offense.

For Lamar, he is proud of Dunson and his leadership and knows what he brings to the team.

“He is a great athlete and leader,” said Lamar. “He epitomizes what we look for in our players. on and off the field. He works extremely hard and does everything he can to help the team win; we are glad to have him on our team.”

Meanwhile for the Archer Tigers, they have not forgotten about their heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the 7-A semifinals last season.

This season, they look to avenge not only their loss in the classic last season but their chance for their first state title.

Tigers head coach Andy Dyer understands the expectations of playing in the big games such as the Corky Kell Classic and is using last season as a learning experience.

“We expect our team to be well prepared and ready to play hard,” said Dyer.

“We talked about it every year about getting the big games and the margin for error is little. It’s all about eliminating mistakes whether its on offense, defense or special teams to make sure we put ourselves in a good position.”

Dyer has done his research and knows that Tucker is not to be taken lightly.

“Defensively they’re always going to be good, prepared and physical,” Dyer said. “Offensively they want to control the football and play with physicality and run the Wing-T., we just have to read our keys and do a great job of being where we’re supposed to be.”

The Tigers are known for their offense and they return their starting quarterback Carter Peevy.

Peevy finished last season with a 66.5% completion rate, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Dyer has the utmost confidence in Peevy and is glad to have him back on the field one last time.

“I’m really looking forward to watching him play, said Dyer. “He’s a coach on the field for us and is an absolute honor for me to be able to coach.”

In this year’s classic, Archer is one of six Gwinnett teams invited to play in the Corky Kell. Out of all six teams, two are staying in county to play at Coolray Field while the other four will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The two teams playing at Coolray Field are Archer and Buford. Buford will face Milton at 8:30 to cap off Friday night.

The four teams playing at Mercedes-Benz include Norcross, North Gwinnett, Brookwood and Mill Creek. Norcross battles Walton at 11:45 A.M., or twenty minutes after Kell vs. Mays concludes.

North Gwinnett faces Colquitt County who will be playing under new head coach Justin Rogers. The next two games will feature Brookwood and McEachern with Mill Creek and East Coweta capping off the night.

Gwinnett County also features top state talent which includes Carter Peevy, Josh Downs, Barrett Carter, Sean Hill, Elijah Turner to name a few.

Mays vs. Kell will kickoff Saturday, August 24 at 9 a.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tucker vs. Archer will kickoff Friday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.corkykell.com/fan-info/buy-tickets/.

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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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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