#NNPA BlackPress
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolls into Memphis with fix-government pitch
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The event at Douglass High was an organizing event and the first stop of a sweep through Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. Monday’s schedule called for stops in Cleveland and Greenville in Mississippi before an evening Town Hall meeting (televised by CNN) at Jackson State University.
New Tri-State Defender Staff Report
With Memphis-born Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” playing, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren took the stage at Douglass High School Sunday afternoon as her presidential bid rolled into a Southern swing.
The event at Douglass High was an organizing event and the first stop of a sweep through Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. Monday’s schedule called for stops in Cleveland and Greenville in Mississippi before an evening Town Hall meeting (televised by CNN) at Jackson State University.
Cheering supporters greeted the Massachusetts Democrat, who roused the crowd with a frank speech during which she called the national government mistakenly labeled as broken by other politicians.
District 7 Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who is running for mayor of Memphis, moderated a question and answer session after the speech.
Warren said “corruption plain and simple” prevents Washington lawmakers from responding to some of the basic needs of average Americans, asserting that government works just fine,“for those at the top.”
Sweeping changes is needed, she said, including bringing a halt to lobbying “as we know it” and blocking “the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington.”
Declaring a a need for “big, systematic change in this country,” Warren advocated a constitutional amendment that guarantees every voter’s vote is counted.
The rules governing how the economy works also needs to be changed, said Warren, setting a context by drawing upon her upbringing in Oklahoma as the youngest of four children. Her father was a salesman of fencing, carpeting, housewares and other items, until he had a heart attack.
“He pulled through but he couldn’t work for a long period of time,” she said, detailing the loss of the family station wagon and that her mother got a minimum wage job at Sears that saved the family home and Warren’s future.
“If you want to know who I am, that’s the story that tells it all,” Warren said. “It’s written in my heart.”

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer sets the stage for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (Photo Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises for The New Tri-State Defender
Warren said that for a long time she thought it was just a story about her mother and about how, “no matter how scared you get…you reach down and you get what you need to take care of the people you love.”
Later, she learned that it is a story about millions of people across the country.
A minimum wage job would support a family of three when she was growing up, Warren said.
“Today, a minimum wage job will not keep a momma and a baby out of poverty,” she said. “That is wrong and it’s why I am in this fight.”
Politicians used to ask what it would take to support a family of three, but now they ask what it will take to provide the profits for multi-national corporations, she said.
“I don’t want a government that works for multi-national corporations. I want a government that works for families like ours.”
Warren said her life has been centered around one fundamental question: “W)hat’s happening to working families in America?”
Continuing, she asked, “Why is it that hard working people, people who work every bit as hard as my mother did, have a tougher, steeper, rockier road than ever before?”
It’s not an accident, Warren said.
“We have a government that works great, that works fabulous…for giant drug companies. It just doesn’t work for people trying to get prescriptions filled.”
The government works great for payday lenders but not for people whose lives are being torn apart, she said, noting that the GDP (gross domestic product) and the stock market keep going up while wages, adjusted for inflation, have basically been flat for over a generation.
“Cost of housing up two thirds, cost of health insurance premiums more than double, the cost of sending a kid to school more than triple and the cost of child care up six times, seven times, eight times for families,” Warren said. “The squeeze on working people is real and they feel it every single day.”
Pitching for a “change in America,” she said, “We’re a Democracy and we need one that works for the people.”
On Tuesday, Warren’s southern swing was set to take her to a stop Selma, Ala., and to an organizing event at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham.
Hunter W. Thompson, who came to Memphis from Oxford, Miss. to see Warren, labeled her speech amazing.
“She was very forward. She was honest. I think she comes off as a great candidate. She has enough charisma and passion.”
Katherine Hancock agreed.
“I pretty much agree with everything she said. It was a great turn out and a great speech. She seems to have a great heart for the people of America.”
#NNPA BlackPress
High Court Opens Door to Police Accountability
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a judicial doctrine that for years shielded law enforcement officers from civil liability in police shooting cases by allowing courts to assess force based only on the final moments before an officer pulled the trigger.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a judicial doctrine that for years shielded law enforcement officers from civil liability in police shooting cases by allowing courts to assess force based only on the final moments before an officer pulled the trigger. In Barnes v. Felix, the high court struck down the Fifth Circuit’s “moment-of-threat” rule, which had been used to justify the 2016 killing of Ashtian Barnes, a Black man shot during a traffic stop outside Houston. Officer Roberto Felix fired two shots into Barnes’s moving car after stepping onto the doorsill. The lower courts determined that only the two seconds before the shooting—when Felix was holding onto the vehicle—mattered in deciding whether the use of deadly force was reasonable. The Supreme Court disagreed. Writing for the unanimous Court, Justice Elena Kagan made clear that determining whether an officer’s use of force is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment requires an analysis of the totality of the circumstances, including all events leading up to the shooting. “A court deciding a use-of-force case cannot review the totality of the circumstances if it has put on chronological blinders,” the Court ruled.
The victim’s mother, Janice Barnes, brought the case under Section 1983, alleging that Felix violated her son’s constitutional rights. The ruling sends the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration under the broader standard set by the Supreme Court. According to the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC), the Court’s ruling solidifies that police do not have special constitutional status and should be held to the same accountability standards. “The moment-of-threat rule is entirely unsupported by the Constitution’s text and history,” said Nargis Aslami, a fellow at CAC. Chief Counsel Brianne Gorod added, “The Court took a small but important step toward greater accountability for police officers who violate the Fourth Amendment by inflicting unnecessary violence during their encounters with the public.” The ruling comes as data continue to show disproportionate police encounters and violence against Black Americans. A NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet revealed that a Black person is five times more likely than a white person to be stopped without just cause. Black men are twice as likely to be stopped as Black women. Meanwhile, 65% of Black adults say they have felt targeted because of their race.
Each year, between 900 and 1,100 people are shot and killed by police in the United States. Since 2005, at least 98 non-federal law enforcement officers have been arrested for fatal on-duty shootings. Still, only 35 have been convicted—and just three have been convicted of murder with the convictions upheld. Recent data from the Prison Policy Initiative show that while white residents are most likely to initiate contact with police—for reasons like reporting crimes or seeking help—Black, Hispanic, and Asian individuals are more likely to be on the receiving end of police-initiated contact, including street stops, traffic stops, and arrests. Traffic stops, which remain the most common form of police-initiated contact, are also among the most lethal. According to Mapping Police Violence, over 100 police killings occurred during traffic stops in 2023. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 62% of Black people whose most recent police contact in 2022 was initiated by officers were drivers in traffic stops. That compares to 56% to 59% among other racial groups. Black drivers were searched or arrested at a rate of 9%—more than double that of white drivers and significantly higher than Hispanic or Asian drivers. “The Supreme Court’s decision in Barnes v. Felix is crucial not only for police accountability but also for broader constitutional protections,” the North Star Law Group wrote in a post. “If the Court upholds the ‘moment of threat’ standard, it could make it even harder to hold officers accountable for excessive force. However, if it reinforces the ‘totality of circumstances’ standard or adopts a hybrid approach, it could create a fairer system that protects both civilians and responsible police officers.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Workplace Inequity Worsens for Black Women
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, they remain underrepresented in high-wage fields like tech, law, and executive management—even when they hold the degrees and credentials to qualify.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Black women remain the backbone of the U.S. labor force—working more, earning less, and bearing greater burdens across nearly every sector. Even as the country added 177,000 jobs in April, Black women lost 106,000 positions, the steepest decline of any group. Their unemployment rate jumped to 6.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the losses go far deeper than a single month of data. Research shows Black women are not only overrepresented in low-wage industries like care, cleaning, education, and food service—they are also consistently denied advancement and paid significantly less than white male peers, even with the same credentials. In its July 2024 report, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) found Black women working full-time, year-round earned just 69.1 cents for every dollar paid to white men. That figure drops to 49.6 cents in states like Louisiana. “Black women consistently have higher labor force participation rates than other demographics of women,” officials from the National Partnership for Women and Families wrote. Yet those higher participation rates have not translated into pay equity or job security.
The earnings gap grows wider with age. For example, Black women aged 56 to 65 working full-time, year-round, earn just 59.3 cents for every dollar paid to white men in the same age group. Those in leadership roles report disproportionately high dissatisfaction with pay and access to advancement, with 90% of women of color in management saying systemic barriers hinder workplace progress. Additionally, according to a 2022 Health Affairs report, more than one in five Black women in the labor force are in health care—more than any other group. However, nearly two-thirds of them work as licensed practical nurses or aides, and 40% are in long-term care. These roles are among the lowest-paid and highest-risk in the industry, often involving grueling schedules, poor benefits, and unsafe conditions. Beyond health care, the National Employment Law Project found that more than half of Black women work in jobs where they are overrepresented, such as childcare, janitorial work, and food preparation. Meanwhile, they remain underrepresented in high-wage fields like tech, law, and executive management—even when they hold the degrees and credentials to qualify.
In Boston, Charity Wallace, a 37-year-old biotech professional, and Chassity Coston, a 35-year-old middle school principal, both say they’re leaning heavily on community and mental health strategies to cope with workplace challenges. “It’s a constant fight of belonging and really having your girlfriends or your homegirls or my mom and my sister,” Wallace told NBC News. “I complain to them every day about something that’s going on at work. So having that circle of Black women that you can really vent to is important because, again, you cannot let things like this sit. We’ve been silenced for too long.” Limited opportunities for promotion and sponsorship compound the isolation many Black women feel in their workplaces. In 2024, writer Tiffani Lambie described the “invisible struggle for Black women” at work. “The concept of ‘Black Girl Magic’ contributes to the notion that Black women are superheroes,” she wrote. “Although the intent of this movement was to empower and celebrate the uniqueness of Black women, the perception has also put Black women at greater risk of anxiety and depression—conditions that are more chronic and intense in Black women than in others.”
She warned that workplace conditions—marked by fear, lack of support, and erasure—threaten to push more Black women out of leadership and career pipelines. “If left untouched, the number of Black women in leadership and beyond will continue to decline,” Lambie wrote. “It is incumbent on everyone to account for these experiences and create an equitable and safe environment for everyone to succeed.” The Urban Institute recently spoke with a Black woman who transitioned from part-time fast food work to a full-time data entry role after completing a graduate degree. The job offered her better pay, health insurance, and stability. “It gives you a sense of focus and determination,” she said. “Now, I can build my career path.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Black Women Decimated by Job Loss in Trump Economy
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The number of employed Black women dropped from 10.325 million in March to 10.219 million in April. Their unemployment rate jumped from 5.1% to 6.1%, the largest month-to-month increase among all racial and gender groups.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
According to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, black women experienced the steepest job loss of any demographic group in April, shedding 106,000 jobs. The April report shows a significant setback for Black women in the labor market, even as the U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs and the national unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. The number of employed Black women dropped from 10.325 million in March to 10.219 million in April. Their unemployment rate jumped from 5.1% to 6.1%, the largest month-to-month increase among all racial and gender groups. Among other findings, the labor force participation rate for Black women edged to 61.2%, indicating a loss in employment and a possible decline in overall workforce engagement. The unemployment rate for white women remained unchanged at 3.3%. Hispanic women’s unemployment also held at 4.6%. Women in other groups generally do not face the dual barriers of racial and gender discrimination that Black women contend with, a factor in the jobless rate gap.
The overall Black unemployment rate rose to 6.3% in April, up from 6.2% in March, marking the third straight monthly increase and the highest rate since January. In contrast, Black men saw a gain in employment, dropping their jobless rate from 6.1% to 5.6%. Asian Americans had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 3.0%, while the rate for Hispanic Americans was 5.2% and 3.8% for white Americans. HBCU Money reported that the number of Black women employed is now at a five-month low, while the number of unemployed Black women is at a five-month high. Economist William Michael Cunningham, owner of Creative Investment Research, told BLACK ENTERPRISE that the number of unemployed Black Americans increased by 29,000 in April, reaching nearly 1.4 million. At the same time, the total Black labor force declined by 7,000. “The unusual nature of this increase in Black women’s unemployment is a testament to and a direct result of the anti-DEI and anti-Black focus of the new administration’s policies,” Cunningham said. “This is demonstrably damaging to the Black community, something we have not seen before.”
Cunningham noted that many Black women are searching for jobs but not finding them. He said eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion roles and cuts in federal government jobs are key contributors. The BLS reported that federal government employment dropped by 9,000 in April and is down 26,000 since January. “For Black women, the numbers show that those seeking work are not finding jobs,” Cunningham said. “The jobs that have traditionally been a path to stability are disappearing.” Nationwide, job growth continued in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance. Average hourly earnings increased by six cents to $36.06. The Employment Situation for May is scheduled for release on Friday, June 6.
-
Activism3 weeks ago
AI Is Reshaping Black Healthcare: Promise, Peril, and the Push for Improved Results in California
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of April 16 – 22, 2025
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Newsom Fights Back as AmeriCorps Shutdown Threatens Vital Services in Black Communities
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”
-
Activism3 weeks ago
ESSAY: Technology and Medicine, a Primary Care Point of View
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community
-
Alameda County3 weeks ago
OUSD Supt. Chief Kyla Johnson-Trammell to Step Down on July 1