Nov. 30, 2022
By Toni Odejimi

Senator Raphael Warnock poses with his supporters in Omni Coffee and Eggs. 
PHOTO: Toni Odejimi

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Howard University News Service

ATLANTA (HUNS) -- It was all about early voting again for Sen. Raphael Warnock who recently spoke at Omni Coffee and Eggs in Atlanta as a part of his “One More Time” runoff campaign.

This is especially true on the cusp of his lawsuit win against Georgia state officials. Warnock and the Democratic Party of Georgia filed a suit against the provision that prohibited early voting on Nov. 26, and won. This allowed for early voting to occur in various participating counties, like Rockdale, Cobb and Gwinnett. Douglas and DeKalb counties started early voting earlier in the week. Early voting across the state will begin on Monday.

Warnock was pretty candid that the Nov. 23rd event wasn’t to encourage the people standing in front of him to vote. No, he already knew they were going do that.

“I didn’t come this morning to convince y’all to vote,” Warnock explained. “I came to convince you to convince others.”

This push to re-energize voters came after the 2022 midterm elections saw Democratic candidates lose up and down the ballot. Even Eshé Collins, the chair of the Atlanta Board of Education, understood that some voters were feeling reluctant to hit the polls again. She stressed that voters, particularly the 18-35 and 65+ crowd, need to run it back and vote.

Despite the push to get voters back to the ballot box, Warnock’s supporters in attendance didn’t see this runoff as a time to despair. No, they saw it as a time for hope. They were aware of the voter fatigue, some of them even admitted that they have it. But, to Takara McGee, there’s quite literally no other choice.

“He has to win,” McGee said. “There’s no other choice as far as Black people, women.”

McGee was referring to Herschel Walker, who believes that abortion should be illegal regardless of the reason as he denies allegations from women that he has encouraged and paid for their abortions.

In his speech, Warnock maintained his stance on keeping politicians out of the abortion clinic. He also criticized Walker’s comments on how diabetes can be avoided with proper nutrition and exercise in reference to insulin pricing. Warnock has been pushing to reduce insulin’s cost, which he eventually did by lowering it to $35 for people covered under “traditional Medicare.”

But insulin and attacks at his contender aside, Warnock still holds faithful that he’ll win his reelection.

“We have a lot of momentum behind this race. And we’re going to win,” Warnock said.

Nevertheless, Davida Huntley, a Warnock supporter and former candidate in a school board election, said turnout for this year’s midterm was disappointing.

Huntley said more people should have turned out for early voting, especially with the money spent on campaigning, which she described as “deplorable.” Overall turnout in Georgia was 3.96 million, or 57 percent, of the 6.95 million registered voters, according to the Secretary of State. About 2.9 million voters cast early ballots in person.

Why are these voters not coming out? Huntley thinks it’s down to a lack of faith within the election system. And she has some words for that.

“Everything you do is political,” Huntley said. “There is no such thing as ‘I’m not political. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect me.’ If you’re living and breathing, if you have a heartbeat, you are a part of the political process. And as long as you’re of the correct age, you should participate.”

Toni Odejimi is a student at Georgia State University and reporter for HUNewsService.com. She is part of the election team and has been covering the Warnock-Walker race.

August 16, 2022

Declaring a “State of Emergency” Black Civic Organization Calls on Voters to Fight in Midterm Elections:
‘Everything we love is on the line’
By Hazel Trice Edney

Melanie Campbell

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – As the summer vacation season winds down and the fall political season is about to heat up, the nation’s premier national Black voter organization is calling on Black America to start fighting now to elect the candidates that positively impact the Black community during midterm elections Nov. 8, 2022.

“This summer, our nation has witnessed a series of disturbing milestones. From the rollback of gun safety measures amidst back-to-back massacres, to the historic repeal of Roe v. Wade, to the stripping of EPA powers to protect our planet despite the existential threat of climate change, one reality stands out: our freedoms are under attack,” states Melanie L. Campbell, president/CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR). “All the while, conservative lawmakers are preparing to further dismantle our democracy by elevating states’ rights over federally protected individual rights and enshrine these disastrous decisions into law. Make no mistake: this represents only the beginning for this increasingly conservative court and the rightwing machine that installed it — and the clock keeps ticking to change the course set for our country. With under 90 Days until the November 8th midterm elections, the stakes could not be any higher.”

Campbell concludes, “For all our movements, everything that we love is on the line. We are in a state of emergency that requires the civil rights, women’s rights, labor, environmental and social justice communities to work together during a summer of activism. So, where there’s life there’s hope — but only if we fight for a future worth hoping for.”

Campbell’s declaration, distributed to media across the country breaks down the significance of some of the nation’s most important issues to the Black community.

• “Nearly 40 percent of all abortions in America since Roe vs. Wade have been by Black women. Who pays the price when abortions are outlawed? Poor women, women of color, and the millions of women who already face limited access to high quality healthcare.”
• “From Charleston to El Paso to Buffalo, the past decade reveals that racially motivated shootings and domestic terrorism is on the rise — with Black and brown communities in the direct line of fire. Who pays the price when common sense gun legislation is held up and rolled back while white nationalists are emboldened to emerge from their hiding places? Black, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, Jewish and Muslim people.”
• “The climate emergency means hotter summers, more destructive tornadoes, stronger hurricanes. Who bears the brunt of this crisis? Black and brown communities living in neighborhoods devastated by environmental racism. As our communities choke on toxic air and dirty water, drown in Southern floods, and are forced into displacement because of increasingly hostile and extreme weather patterns, our lawmakers are happy to fill their pockets with donations from the same harmful corporations who are facilitating this catastrophe.”

The NCBCP and the BWR, both non-partisan organizations, have traditionally led the national push for Black voter activism, including through its annual meetings during the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference. With the possibility of conservative politicians about to take over the U.S. House of Representatives, this could mean even more roll backs on voting rights and other significant issues in the Black community.

Despite the significance of mid-term elections, voters often stay home and wait to vote in presidential elections every four years. But this moment is too urgent to stay home, says Campbell, stressing the fact that conservative lawmakers, who already have control of the U. S. Senate, could place even more conservative judges on the U. S. Supreme Court if the opportunity arises.

“Enough is enough,” she says. “We urgently need to elect leaders who will fight to cure what ails our damaged democracy and codify our sacred rights into law. That entails voting for lawmakers who will work for us, not conservative, reactionary, bought-and-paid-for forces that are weaponizing the courts in order to execute an unconstitutional power grab. Because let’s be clear: when radical conservatives take power, marginalized and low-wealth communities suffer most.”

With hundreds of thousands of Black voters still qualified, but unregistered to vote, Black organizations have their work cut out. The key will be to inspire prospective voters with issues that hit home and let them know the power is in their hands.

“From the 1964’s Freedom Summer to the 2020 protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbury & Brianna Taylor, we have always demonstrated our perseverance in the face of injustice,” Campbell says. “We stand at a perilous crossroads…Elections matter. If voting did not matter, too many conservatives and White nationalists in Congress, in courts, gubernatorial offices and state legislatures across the nation wouldn’t be working so hard to take our rights and freedoms away to maintain white power and privilege for a few, at the expense of everyone else. Our freedom is in danger — but we will not go silently in the night. We have 90 days to organize, mobilize and vote like our lives depend on, because it does. Now is the time to live out the movement chant in your community that states, “When Our Lives Are Under Attack, what do we do? Stand Up, Fight Back! Let’s fight back together.”

January 25, 2020

To Be Equal 
Newly Inaugurated, President Biden And Vice President Harris Face Confront Historic Challenges Of Pandemic, Racial Justice

By Marc H. Morial 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer. A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear. And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront, and we will defeat.  o overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.” – President Joe Biden, Inaugural Address

I had the honor of attending the Inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris.

It was an inauguration unlike any in my lifetime, and perhaps unlike any in American history.

The twin pandemics that plague our nation – COVID-19 and racially-motivated violence – meant there were no cheering crowds of hundreds of thousands. Those of us who were invited to attend were tested for COVID and required to wear masks. 25,000 National Guard members were on hand to prevent a repeat of the deadly riot of January 6.

But the inauguration was historic for other, more hopeful reasons, as well. Kamala Harris became the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the office of Vice President.  A 22-year-old Black woman, the nation’s first Youth Poet Laurate, captivated the nation with her vision of hope and healing.

It was a ceremony that was at once uplifting and weighty with the life-and-death challenges that face the new administration.

Among the very first actions he took upon assuming office – after mandating masks and social distancing on federal property –was directing every federal agency to review its state of racial equity and deliver an action plan within 200 days to address any disparities in policies and programs.

The Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government reads, in part, “The Federal Government’s goal in advancing equity is to provide everyone with the opportunity to reach their full potential.  Consistent with these aims, each agency must assess whether, and to what extent, its programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups.  Such assessments will better equip agencies to develop policies and programs that deliver resources and benefits equitably to all.”

The order also rescinds the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission, which “sought to erase America’s history of racial injustice,” as well as Trump’s order preventing federal agencies and contractors from holding diversity and inclusion trainings, which the National Urban League sued to overturn.

It was an encouraging sign from a President who campaigned on a promise to bridge the nation’s racial divide. He has assembled the most racially diverse presidential Cabinet in U.S. history, with people of color making up half of the nominees for Cabinet positions and Cabinet-level positions.

In a memo issued Saturday, the President’s chief of staff promised “significant early actions to advance equity and support communities of color and other underserved communities.” He was not specific about these actions, but President Biden has promised he would create a national police oversight commission in his first 100 days.

The National Urban League stands ready to assist and support President Biden and Vice President Harris as they tackle what the memo called the “four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis.”

We also stand prepared to hold the Administration accountable to its commitments.

In the words of our Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, ”We will not march back to what was but move to what shall be, a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce, and free.”

Jan. 25, 2021

President Joe Biden is sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts with First Lady Jill Biden by his side. PHOTO: Reuters Pool Photography

President Elect Joe Biden gives inaugural address. PHOTO: Paulette Shipman-Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

Vice President Kamala Harris is sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff holds the Bible. PHOTO: Anthony Tilghman/Trice Edney News Wire

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were among the former administrations represented at the inauguration. Presidents Clinton, Bush and former Vice President Mike Pence were also in attendance. Former President Trump chose not to attend. PHOTO: Anthony Tilghman/Trice Edney News Wire

New Administration - President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff prepared to enter the Capitol after the inauguration. PHOTO: Anthony Tilghman/Trice Edney News Wire

A field of thousands of flags decorated the National Mall surrounding the U. S. Capitol where hundreds of thousands of people have stood during previous inaugurations. More than 25,000 National Guard troops surrounded the ceremony for protection.  PHOTO: Paulette Shipman-Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Despite a backdrop of more than 25,000 gun-toting police and national guard troops and a chilly National Mall with waving flags instead of waving people, President Joseph Biden’s message was received by Black lawmakers, leaders and voters as a ray of hope Jan. 20.

“Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded,” Biden said to the small crowd gathered on the West side of the Capitol which survived a domestic terror attack Jan. 6. “We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

The world now watches for the President’s continued actions toward a reset after the attack from supporters of now twice-impeached former President Donald Trump, who – with Trump’s encouragement – tried to physically stop Vice President Mike Pence and the U. S. Senate from certifying the electoral college vote for Biden. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Black leaders interviewed at the inauguration appeared overjoyed about the new beginning.

“To me this day represents free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last!” proclaimed Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chair emerita of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Free from racism and division and hatred. It’s a very exciting day. And maybe now we will finally get a hold to what has killed 400,000 Americans,” she said of the COVID19 pandemic that has killed Black people four times more often than Whites. “That’s what’s on my mind today.”

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who was the first to call for the first impeachment of Trump, has a specific vision of how Biden should begin racial reconciliation.

“This day brings to an end a very sad chapter in our history. But it also begins a new chapter full of hope,” he said. “My hope is, personally, that this administration will see the need for a department of reconciliation…I have a resolution for a department of reconciliation with a secretary of reconciliation whose job it will be to wake up every morning with the idea of eliminating invidious discrimination. We should have done this after the slaves were freed. But what we didn’t do then; we can do now. This is the time for us to start genuine reconciliation.”

Due to the disastrous spread of the coronavirus and because of the threat of further terrorism, the hundreds of thousands that have shown up for past inaugurations were diminished to approximately 1,000. The tight security included COVID-19 screenings and mandatory masks to protect from the virus. It also included military police and National Guard troops with long rifles to protect from terrorists. Still, those seated beneath the presidential podium pensively lifted their eyes to the sky at the sound of a distant aircraft.

To sighs of relief, the “peaceful transfer of power” that is a hallmark of American democracy continued without incident. Among the highest points was the historicity of Vice President Kamala Harris being sworn in as America's first female and first African-American vice president. Notably, one of her escorts was Eugene Goodman the Capitol police officer hailed as a hero for singlehandedly holding back a mob with a night stick while leading them away from the U. S. Senate chambers.

National youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman, 22,  immediately became a social media and literary world sensation with her poem, "The Hill We Climb," read during the inauguration ceremony:

"Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished," she recited near the beginning of the poem. Her closing words: "The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it." 

The beauty of the day even included a surprise sprinkling of snow flakes as the small, bundled crowd enjoyed the soul stirring songs by Lady Gaga, who sang "The National Anthem"; Jennifer Lopez who sang a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful," and Garth Brooks who sang “Amazing Grace," inviting the Capitol and TV audiences to join him. 

“In this truly American moment, we begin anew. Democracy has won the day, and President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have met the moment,” said House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), in a statement. “They will lead by precept and example and restore the calmness and courage needed to lead us out of this era of crisis and combat. Elected leaders on both sides of the aisle have come together today to celebrate this moment, and I am hopeful that is indicative of the days to come.”

Also in the audience, D.C. Mayor Marian Bowser, who made national headlines when she directed the naming of “Black Lives Matter Boulevard” near the White House amidst protests against the police killing of George Floyd, said everything Biden does now will be connected to ending the pandemic.

“Without crushing this virus, our economy won’t come back, people won’t be able to go back to work, kids won’t be able to get back on track at school. So, crushing COVID has to be our number one priority,” Bowser said. She added that she is also looking forward to vetting the issue of DC statehood, for which Biden has voiced support.

President Biden hit the ground running with a comprehensive action plan to battle COVID-19. During the afternoon following the swearing in he signed a COVID-related bill which included mandatory mask-wearing inside federal buildings.

Strategically, his inaugural address immediately sought to put the tragedies behind. The speech did not mention the name of twice-impeached former president Donald Trump while obviously addressed the way forward after the damage by him and his supporters.

While the crowd was small at the Capitol, millions watch by live television, praying for peace and for the new beginning.

“I am cautiously optimistic that Joseph Biden – better than any U.S. President in history – has what it takes to begin the racial healing that American owes her citizens of color,” said Michael A. Grant, former president of the National Bankers Association. “Through his many years in public life, President Biden has shown a sensitivity to the plight of millions of Americans who are often overlooked. He used his status as a senior statesman to tell the whole world that he had absolute confidence in the ability of a young Black man who was to become the leader of the free world. While we should hold the Biden – Harris Administration accountable for the equitable treatment of Black people, I genuinely believe that they will earnestly seek to chart a more positive course for race relations in America.”

“As we close a dark, deadly chapter in our nation’s history where we pushed back against relentless attacks on civil and human rights, we look ahead to collaborating with the Biden-Harris administration to undo the atrocities we have all endured and create a more just and equitable future,” said Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “This consequential moment sparks tremendous hope for a stronger, brighter future where we unite, build back better, and find solutions to the very serious challenges we face.

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain released a memo outlining executive actions that President Biden promised to take within the first 10 days of the new administration. They focused on four areas, including the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and the racial equity crisis.

“So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries,” Biden closed his speech. “We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be, and we must be.”