#NNPA BlackPress
OP-ED: How one decision set voting rights back 50 years
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Ray Curry, Secretary-Treasurer, UAW — “What a lot of people don’t realize is that many aspects of the VRA are not permanent law. Many of the provisions are temporary and must be renewed by Congress. So, we must continually fight to protect this critical piece of civil rights legislation. We must fight challenges in the courts, fight to ensure the temporary provisions are renewed and fight to maintain the watchdog provisions of the Act at the state and local levels where we see voter suppression.”
The Mountain Standing Right Behind the Mountain Top
A longtime grassroots activist, Ray Curry is a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, a Silver Life member of the NAACP, and member of the NAACP National Board of Directors. He is also an active member of numerous community and social organizations including but not limited to the Michigan State Democratic Party, American Legion Post 177 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Unique Masonic Lodge #85, Charlotte Consistory #35, and Rameses Temple #51 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and various others. He resides in Detroit.
By Ray Curry, Secretary-Treasurer, UAW
This month marks the 54th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), one of the most sweeping pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. This ground-breaking measure, fought over and marched over and bleed over on the streets of Selma, Alabama, was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965. It was designed to knock down legal barriers at state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
That essential democratic right to have a say in who can best make government work for its people, had been guaranteed by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1870. The amendment stated that the right to vote could not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
And even though that sounds clear as a bell, the road to the polls was made instead an arduous and at times even perilous one with Jim Crow smack in the way, installing roadblocks and tripwire at as many turns as he could get away with. As originally written, the Voting Rights Act took an axe to those barriers.
But in 2013, the Supreme Court delivered a decision that, in effect, gutted VRA protections. Since then, we’ve seen numerous court challenges and legal maneuvering designed to further weaken the VRA. Designed to obfuscate that mountain top view of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s promised land, that momentous decision put another mountain of dehumanizing anti-voting measures in place.
The 2013 decision did its dirty work by seizing on one of the most critical temporary provisions, known as Section 4.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that many aspects of the VRA are not permanent law. Many of the provisions are temporary and must be renewed by Congress. So, we must continually fight to protect this critical piece of civil rights legislation. We must fight challenges in the courts, fight to ensure the temporary provisions are renewed and fight to maintain the watchdog provisions of the Act at the state and local levels where we see voter suppression.
A dagger in the heart of the VRA
The devastating 2013 decision rendered moot, Sections 4 and 5, two of the most critical aspects of the law. Section 4, which was struck down, provided a formula for the federal government to identify locations with documented histories of racial discrimination. The locations identified under the provision were: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia; three counties in California; five counties in Florida; three counties in New York; 40 counties in North Carolina; two counties in South Dakota; and two Michigan townships.
Section 5 called for locations identified under Section 4 to submit any changes in voting laws to the Department of Justice for pre-approval. Until 2013, Section 5 proved very effective in blocking discriminatory measures. Between 1998 and 2013, 86 proposed election changes were blocked and hundreds more withdrawn.
The effect of scuttling these critically important checks have turned a fire hose on the people the VRA was meant to protect.
Perhaps John Lewis, Georgia U.S. House representative and well known Freedom Rider in the civil rights movement summed up the decision best: “What the Supreme Court did was to put a dagger in the heart of the Voting Rights Act.”
And we felt the pain across the nation.
‘No, you can’t vote’
Here are but a few examples of the rampant assault on voting rights and voting access since 2013.
At least 17 million voters were purged nationwide between 2016 and 2018, according to a Brennan Center for Justice Report. A similar number was purged between 2014 and 2016, leading up to the 2016 presidential election, the first presidential election in 50 years conducted without the full protection of the VRA.
Of note is the fact that those numbers are much bigger than the purge rates in 2006 and 2008. Moreover, purge rates were significantly higher, reaching up to 40%, in those areas identified under Section 4 as having a history of voter suppression along racial lines.
Georgia, (one of the identified states under Section 4), for example, purged twice as many voters between 2012 and 2016 than it did between 2008 and 2012.
Moreover, at least 17 states have enacted new voting restrictions that make it more difficult to register to vote, that curb voter registration drives and decrease opportunities for early voting, and establish requirements for government-issued IDs (a document that millions of Americans don’t have).
That last provision alone has the potential to suppress millions of voters, and it’s clear that strict voter ID laws disproportionately affect African-American, Latino, Asian-American, young, elderly and poor voters.
A Florida measure barred ex-felons from being eligible to vote after serving their sentences, preventing 1.7 million Floridians from voting in 2016, including 1 in 5 black voting-age citizens.
Fighting back
The assault the Supreme Court enabled on voting rights now threatens our democracy and the principles on which this nation was founded. Enter voting rights champion, Stacy Abrams and her group, Fair Fight Action, which is taking on voter suppression in Georgia in the courts. The Georgia suit doesn’t address Sections 4 and 5 directly, but instead challenges the legitimacy of a system that would allow egregious voting disparities.
A May 2019 Vox article on Abrams noted: “Obstacles to voting have created a two-tiered voting system that disproportionately affects voters of color and limits the power of their votes.”
Heading into the 2020 presidential election, we must work harder than ever to protect our democracy — and the right of every U.S. citizen’s voice to be heard at the ballot box, even if it takes moving mountains to do it.
#NNPA BlackPress
2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?
AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.
The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.
Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.
Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.
Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.
Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.
On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.
There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.
Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.
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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound
LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.
Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.
What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.
Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)
The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.
That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.
What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.
Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)
Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.
That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.
The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.
That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.
In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.
#NNPA BlackPress
OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy
MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.
A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses
By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder
I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.
Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.
That’s why I’m speaking out now.
Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.
Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.
Here’s what that means in plain terms.
Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.
The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.
This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.
In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.
Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.
If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.
I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.
Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.
Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.
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