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Why Don’t You Do Something?

HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES — After the Senate Judiciary panel hearing, U.S. Congressman Al Green (TX-09) released the following statement: “We cannot continue to ignore the ongoing gun violence crisis in the United States. It is ravaging our country causing unimaginable grief to countless families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020 Texas had the most firearm-related deaths of all 50 states at 4,146 deaths. It needs to stop now. This is why today I am going back to Washington, DC to fight to protect American children and families from deadly mass shootings. It is not enough for elected officials to take a stand. Members of federal and state legislatures need influential people of goodwill across the country to take a public stand as well. Influentials with the power to shape public opinion, such as chambers of commerce, need to make clear where they stand to politicians to help shape political opinion. It is our collective responsibility to embrace solutions which help to save lives. This is about more than politics; it is about the life and death of our children. Influentials of goodwill need to take a public stand against do-nothing politics.”
The post Why Don’t You Do Something? first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

June 12, 2022

Oakland Post

“You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?”

– Garnell Whitfield Jr., whose 86-year-old mother, Ruth Whitfield, was among the 10 African Americans fatally shot and killed in Buffalo, NY, speaking at Senate Judiciary panel on June 7^th.

Every year, there is a constant back-and-forth argument in this country about gun violence and gun reform, especially after a mass shooting takes place.

The recent and senseless mass shootings that took place in Buffalo, NY, followed by the tragic murders of school children and their teachers in Uvalde, TX, have left the nation gripped with various unbridled emotions. The primary call for something to be done has intensified.

However, politics remain at the forefront of the issue. In this instance, the more things stay the same, the more we don’t see the changes needed to be made to address actions that move us further and further away from the change we desperately need to address it.

It is frustrating to many that their elected leaders continue to ignore the persistent calls for substantive legislation that will effectively address gun violence and mass shootings.

Elected officials in Washington, DC are not listening to the voices of their fellow Americans, and partisan politics continue to be a key driver on the issue.

Let’s look at what the American people are currently saying, to prove that point.

Point of note…there is still a strong difference of opinion amongst Democrats and Republicans on what to do relative to the right to bear arms, gun access, and the type of guns being made accessible; but there is a bipartisan view amongst Americans that want to do something to help curtail incidents like these from occurring again.

According to a recent CBS News Poll, which was conducted from June 1 to June 3, most Americans—regardless of party affiliation—are in favor of stricter gun laws and believe that background checks and a federal “red flag” law could help prevent mass shootings.

The CBS News Poll showed that 81% of the respondents are in favor of background checks on ALL buyers, 72% are in favor of the federal “red flag” law, and 62% are in favor of a nationwide ban on the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle.

Although these numbers appear to be significantly high, we need to break these numbers down a little further based on political affiliation to get the deeper story.

There appears to be closer alignment between Democrats (88%) and Republicans (74%) relative to increased background checks, but not so much on the other two issues.

According to the CBS News Poll, 84% of Democrats support the federal “red flag” law, while 52% of Republicans support it. Strikingly, although 62% of overall Americans that were polled favor a nationwide ban on the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle, 84% of Democrats support it compared to only 31% of Republicans.

Many people are not fully aware what the federal “red flag” law is, but 19 states and Washington, DC currently have “red flag” laws on the books in some shape, form, or fashion.

Texas is NOT one of those states.

The way “red flag” laws work is that in most states, family members or members of law enforcement can petition the court to temporarily remove the firearm(s) from an individual who is deemed a troubled or unstable person. The court then rules on whether that individual is at serious risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm, and then decides to either grant or deny the request of the petitioner(s) to remove the firearm(s) from that individual and ban them from purchasing any new firearms. There are a few other states who allow significant others, school administrators and employees, health professionals, including mental health experts, extended family members, and other individuals. The length of time that the firearm(s) are taken away or that the individual is unable to purchase a firearm can vary, but it could typically last up to a year, and the person can appeal the court’s decision.

Most Americans also believe that mass shootings could be prevented if America really tried, but the belief in what could prevent them varies whether you are a Republican or a Democrat.

The top four things that Democrats believe should be done to prevent mass shootings are:

More Background Checks (74%)
Banning Semi-Automatic Weapons (72%)
More “Red Flag” Laws (70%)
Better Mental Health Screening/Treatment (61%)

The top four things that Republicans believe should be done to prevent mass shootings are:

Better Mental Health Screening/Treatment (60%)
More Police and Armed Guards in Public Places (59%)
More Religion and Faith in People’s Lives (53%)
Allowing More Law-Abiding Citizens to Carry Guns (51%)

Sadly, one of the most startling results that came from the CBS News Poll was the number of people (28%) who believe that mass shootings are “unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society.”

God forbid!

This is not something that the families of victims are willing to accept as the norm.

This past Tuesday, June 7^th, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the white supremacist attack that took place on May 14^th at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, NY.

One of the individuals who spoke was Garnell Whitfield Jr., whose 86-year-old mother, Ruth Whitfield, was among the 10 African Americans who were fatally shot and killed in the attack.

Whitfield grilled the senators and challenged them to deal with the white supremacy and domestic terrorism that has dominated this country for years.

“Is there nothing that you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it inspires?” Whitfield asked the senators on the panel. “Because if there is nothing, then, respectfully, senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence to others that are willing to lead on this issue. The urgency of the moment demands no less.”

Whitfield pointed out that federal law enforcement has done research and found that white supremacy was the greatest domestic threat and rebuked them because “nothing has been done to mitigate it or eradicate it.”

“White supremacy, it’s a problem, and this young man, though he pulled the trigger, others loaded the gun. Others fed him. Others radicalized him,” Whitfield said, referencing 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who is a self-described white supremacist.

Investigators uncovered that Gendron detailed his plan of attack, visited the Tops Friendly Market several times before the attack, wrote about his racist beliefs and intentions, and posted them online before he drove three hours from his house to go on his racist killing spree, targeting nothing but Black people.

In the video that he recorded from the camera he attached to the semi-automatic weapon he used to carry out his racist carnage, Gendron can be seen pointing his gun at a white man and then apologizing to him once he realized that he was white like him.

“You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?” Whitfield asked the Senate panel. “You’re elected to protect us, to protect our way of life. I ask every one of you to imagine the faces of your mothers as you look at mine and ask yourself, is there nothing that we can do?”

Whitfield delivered one of the most powerful statements to the Senate Judiciary panel as he capsulized the feelings of all African Americans in this country who have to suffer the stinging blow of racist actions, and nothing being done about it.

“But we’re more than hurt. We’re angry. We’re mad as hell because this should’ve never happened,” Whitfield exclaimed. “We’re good citizens, good people. We believe in God, we trust in God. But this wasn’t an act of God, this was an act of a person, and he did not act alone. He was radicalized by white supremacists whose anger and hatred were metastasized like a cancer by people with big microphones in high places, screaming that Black people were going to take away their jobs and opportunities.”

After the Senate Judiciary panel hearing, U.S. Congressman Al Green (TX-09) released the following statement:

“We cannot continue to ignore the ongoing gun violence crisis in the United States. It is ravaging our country causing unimaginable grief to countless families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020 Texas had the most firearm-related deaths of all 50 states at 4,146 deaths. It needs to stop now. This is why today I am going back to Washington, DC to fight to protect American children and families from deadly mass shootings. It is not enough for elected officials to take a stand. Members of federal and state legislatures need influential people of goodwill across the country to take a public stand as well. Influentials with the power to shape public opinion, such as chambers of commerce, need to make clear where they stand to politicians to help shape political opinion. It is our collective responsibility to embrace solutions which help to save lives. This is about more than politics; it is about the life and death of our children. Influentials of goodwill need to take a public stand against do-nothing politics.”

Among the legislative priorities Congressman Green states he will be supporting are:

Requiring a waiting period prior to the purchase of a weapon with some exceptions
The banning of bump stocks
The repeal of special immunity from liability laws enjoyed by the gun industry
Requiring licensing before the purchase of a firearm with training to include anger management and dispute resolution, as well as safe storage methods
The funding of a national summer youth job program with a dispute resolution and anger management component
Fully funding gun violence prevention research through the CDC
Closing the “gun show loophole” which allows a person to purchase a weapon from an unlicensed seller at a gun show without a background check.

The issue of gun violence and mass shootings is nothing new, but the Forward Times is wanting articles like this to be a thing of the past. Therefore, the Forward Times will continue to remain on the frontline to ensure that something is done at the federal and state levels, regardless of what side of the political pendulum its readers find themselves on. Enough is Enough!

The post Why Don’t You Do Something? appeared first on Houston Forward Times.

The post Why Don’t You Do Something? first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

Published

4 days ago

June 20, 2025

admin

By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025

The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160^th anniversary, I went there to join them.

You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.

After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”

“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.

Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.

The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.

As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.

And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.

Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.

I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.

I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.

In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.

For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.

So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.

Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.

I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”

Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.

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Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

Published

4 days ago

June 19, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.

In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.

Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.

In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.

Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.

West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.

Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.

“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”

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Juneteenth and President Trump

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

Published

4 days ago

June 19, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

President Trump is set to proclaim the federal observance of Juneteenth as the White House is open for business on this holiday. The White House says the president will sign a “historic proclamation designating Juneteenth as a National Day of Observance, marking the 160th anniversary of General Order Number 3 in Galveston, Texas.” The declaration was that “all slaves are free.” This Trump proclamation, according to the White House, “will celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation, the Republican Party’s role in passing the 13th Amendment, and reaffirm the administration’s dedication to equal justice and prosperity for all.”

This proclamation comes as President Trump has denounced Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and anything Woke. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom from the tyranny of 250 years of slavery after the Civil War.

The Juneteenth celebration started when Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves that they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was created.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which is on display in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House, was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

The Juneteenth federal holiday was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden on June 19, 2021. This Trump White House is in full swing today, with a press briefing by Karoline Leavitt, not taking the federal holiday off. Also, President Trump will receive an intelligence briefing in the morning and participate in a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.