#NNPA BlackPress
PRESS ROOM: Black Women’s Roundtable Launches ‘BWR Justice Project’
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The BWR Justice Project was developed to address key race, pocketbook and safety issues identified in the 5th Annual BWR/ESSENCE Magazine ‘Power of the Sister Vote’ Poll (BWR/Essence ’19 Poll) released in September 2019 and other past research conducted by NCBCP and BWR. The BWR/ESSENCE ’19 Poll indicated the top issues Black women are most concerned about are racism/hate crimes, affordable health care, equal rights/equal pay, criminal justice/policing reform; affordable healthcare; gun violence and gun safety, affordable housing/gentrification, college affordability/student loan debt, high cost of prescription drugs and more,” said NCBCP President & CEO and National BWR convener, Melanie Campbell.
To Address Racial, Economic, Gender and Health Bias Impacting Black Women and Their Families
Washington, DC – In early November, the Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) launched its “BWR Racial, Economic, Health, Gender and Reproductive Justice Project” (BWR Justice Project) to address the racial, gender, economic and health bias impacting Black women and their families in Atlanta, GA with a BWR Reproductive Justice Forum at the Georgia State Capitol. Over the next 12 months, The BWR Justice Project civic engagement and organizing activities will also take place in AL, FL, MI, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC, VA and the DC/MD/VA metro area. The Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) serves as the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s (NCBCP) leadership development, mentoring, intergenerational and power building arm for Black women and girls.
NCBCP President & CEO and National BWR convener, Melanie Campbell shared, “The BWR Justice Project was developed to address key race, pocketbook and safety issues identified in the 5th Annual BWR/ESSENCE Magazine ‘Power of the Sister Vote’ Poll (BWR/Essence ’19 Poll) released in September 2019 and other past research conducted by NCBCP and BWR. The BWR/ESSENCE ’19 Poll indicated the top issues Black women are most concerned about are racism/hate crimes, affordable health care, equal rights/equal pay, criminal justice/policing reform; affordable healthcare; gun violence and gun safety, affordable housing/gentrification, college affordability/student loan debt, high cost of prescription drugs and more.”
Additionally, economic justice research conducted by the Black Women’s Roundtable (including the 2019 BWR Report on the “State of Black Women in the U. S.”), shows that “Black women are still the foundation of Black family financial power. And for most Black women, work Is not an option, it’s a necessary precondition for survival for themselves and their families. As a result, some 70% of Black women are primary breadwinners for their family unit. This compares to only 24% of white women who are the critical lynchpin in their family’s economic well-being. Over half (55%) of all Black families with children are headed by a single mother. And among single mother-headed families, fully 46% live in poverty.”
With regard to gender and health justice, BWR-sponsored studies have also revealed that the top issues that Black women want their national elected officials to address are to protect Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and affordable healthcare. Further, reproductive justice issues of concern to black women include — the escalation of attacks on women’s rights to control their own bodies is on the rise by right wing extremists on the federal and state level. Over the past year, several state legislatures have also passed laws to limit women’s reproductive rights. These states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Georgia. Planned Parenthood has reported that “Anti-women’s health politicians are attacking access to reproductive health care and sex education at the state level through dangerous bills, regulations and executive actions. These attacks include attempting to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood health centers, limit health care coverage for birth control, and promote abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.”
The BWR Justice Project goals and outcomes include:
- Promoting the adoption of work/family policies for women and working families to achieve security and prosperity now and for future generations, including paid leave, paid sick days, equal rights, equal pay, entrepreneurship, raising minimum wage and workers’ rights on a federal, state and local level.
- Promoting quality of life policies to secure economic, health & reproductive justice, including affordable healthcare, protect Medicaid, Medicare & Social Security and other safety net federal and state-based policies.
- Focus on engaging the powerful intergenerational voices of Black women to educate local, state and national leaders and policy-makers on the importance of enacting public policies to improve health care, economic opportunity, quality of employment and public education for Black women, families and communities.
To date, BWR Justice civic engagement and organizing activities have included:
- GEORGIA – BWR Reproductive Justice Forum in Atlanta, GA on November 8, 2019 at the Georgia State Capitol, focused on reproductive health care, reproductive rights, gender justice, LGBTQ rights, maternal mortality and other social justice issues impacting Black women, hosted by Clayton County BWR/HBCU Green Fund & GA BWR/GCPA;
- FLORIDA – BWR Sisters Can We Talk? Women’s Listening Session, focused on women’s health, reproductive rights and diabetes awareness, at Orleans Bistro in Titusville, FL on November 16, hosted by FL BWR/FCBCP & Worldwide Solutions;
- MICHIGAN – BWR Sistahs Can We Talk? Black Women Reproductive Justice and We Count” Forum in Kalamazoo, MI on November 17 hosted by Kalamazoo BWR and Mothers of Hope; and
- ALABAMA–BWR “Sisters Can We Talk?” Listening Session, Aunt Katie’s Community Garden in Dothan, AL, focused on racial equity and gender justice issues, on November 22, hosted by Southern AL BWR.
Upcoming BWR Justice Project activities include:
- ALABAMA – BWR “Racial Equality: A Community Discussion” hosted by Southern Alabama BWR at Aunt Katie’s Community Garden, 602 Linden Street, in Dothan, AL on December 6th.
- MICHIGAN – BWR “Black Women Matter Summit” hosted by BWR Metro Detroit, at Your Emerging Space – Y.E.S., 7 North Saginaw Street – 3A, Pontiac, MI, focused on racial and reproductive justice and other pocketbook policies impacting families, on December 7th.
- FLORIDA – BWR “Healthy, Wealthy, Wise Women’s Health & Wellness Retreat,” Oak Plantation Resort, 4090 Enchanted Oaks Circle, Kissimmee, FL, hosted by Osceola FL BWR & Hugs Therapy, on December 14th.
In 2020, The BWR Justice Project will include organizing BWR ”Power of the Sister Vote” townhall meetings during the 2020 presidential election primaries; release of its 2020 Presidential Election Non-Partisan Voter Guide; hosting its Annual BWR Women of Power National Summit on March 4 – 8, 2020 in Arlington, VA; as well as forums, listening sessions and summits organized by BWR state-based networks in MS, NC, OH, PA and SC.
The BWR Justice Project is supported by The Moriah Fund, Sephora, Family Values @Work Labor Project for Working Families, Oxfam America and Groundswell Fund.
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) is one of the most active civil rights and social justice organizations in the nation “dedicated to increasing civic engagement, economic and voter empowerment in Black America.” The Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) is the women and girls empowerment arm of the NCBCP. The BWR is at the forefront of championing just and equitable public policies that centers racial, economic and gender justice to promote health and wellness, economic security and prosperity, quality public education and global empowerment for and with Black women and girls in the South and key states including: AL, FL, GA, MI, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC, VA and DC/MD/VA Metro areas.
#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.

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.

#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

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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