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Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Sues Conservative Group For Intimidating Voters
Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight organization filed a lawsuit claiming that a conservative organization intimidated voters. According to court documents, Fair Fight says that Texas-based True the Vote came to Georgia to intimidate voters during the 2020 election.
The organization announced it was challenging the eligibility of more than 364,000 Georgia voters.
The suit says True the Vote intimidated voters by recruiting volunteers to monitor ballots cast at the polls and offering up to $1 million to pay the legal expenses of anyone who has to go to court to challenge voters’ eligibility.
U.S. Judge Steve Jones in Gainesville will hear the arguments and decide if True the Vote violated a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prohibits voter intimidation.
Fair Fight is asking the judge to bar True the Vote from operating in Georgia and initiating any challenges in the future. Read More
Republican Lawmakers in Georgia Intentionally Diluted Black Voting Power
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones wrote a 516-page order that revealed how the lawmakers violated the Voting Rights Act. In turn, Georgia’s Congressional and state legislative districts must be redrawn before the 2024 election. Democrats could now gain a seat in the U.S. House and several seats in Georgia’s Legislature
In December 2021 following President Joe Biden’s victory, Republican lawmakers in Georgia used gerrymandering tactics to dilute Black voting power in the state. Although the Census revealed that Georgia had become more diverse, the voting maps would discriminated against Black voters in the state.
Republican-controlled Legislature diluted Black voting power in Georgia by choosing to “‘pack’ some Black voters in the Atlanta metropolitan area and ‘crack’ other Black voters in rural-reaching, predominantly white districts.” Read More
How Over 300,000 Student Loan Borrowers Received Monthly Bills With Wrong Amount
The return of student loan payments have been marred by some errors, according the Department of Education. After a three-year pause on payments, borrowers had to return to their payment schedules this month.
However, 305,000 have received monthly bills with the wrong amount with some payments that have doubled. Another issue is that some loans have been transferred from one servicer to another without the proper loan information. Some of the loan companies ended their contracts with the federal government during the the forbearance period.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down the Biden Administration’s loan forgiveness program has also created havoc for borrowers who could have had $20,000 of their loans forgiven.
The Biden Administration created a new income-driven program called SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) which offers smaller payment amounts for low-income borrowers. However, some of those who have applied continue to wait for their applications to be processed.
Borrowers who received the wrong amount are asked to contact their loan servicer and point out the issue. Read More
Atlantans More At Risk with Closure of 3 Fire and Rescue Stations
Atlanta Fire and Rescue Chief Roderick Smith on Monday, Oct. 23 announced the closing of three Atlanta Fire and Rescue stations due to staffing shortages and a dilapidated fleet of fire and rescue or EMS transportation vehicles with potentially life-saving but with dated and non-operational equipment.
The three stations include Station 22 on Hollywood Road, Station 23 on Howell Mill Road and Station 30 on Cleveland Avenue, all in the city’s high risk areas for
Councilman Dustin Hillis, who is the the Chair of the Public Safety Committee, acknowledged this problem didn’t just pop up overnight but it’s something the city and AFR have been dealing with for over a decade.
Smith told the committee as of Monday they have 17 trucks out of service. He confirmed eight of their 31 engines are not running, which is about 25 percent, and nine of their 15 ladder trucks are out of service, about 60 percent. Read More
How Richard Roundtree, Star Of ‘Shaft,’ Inspired A Generation Of Black Superheroes In Life And Film
As John Shaft, Richard Roundtree represented the power and prestige of leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Unafraid to challenge the social constructs in America, John Shaft became a figurative representation of Black progress.
Indeed, during the 1970s there were real-life Black superheroes that led in the efforts of change in Black communities nationwide. Leaders such as Mayor Maynard Jackson in Atlanta; Huey P. Newton of the Black Panthers; author James Baldwin; activist Angela Davis; and poet Nikki Giovanni.
These figures represented to the world what Roundtree portrayed on the big screen.
In terms of film, more Black superheroes would follow in films such as “Black Caesar,” “The Last Dragon,” “Action Jackson,” “Meteor Man,” and “Blade.” The release of “Black Panther,” which starred the late Chadwick Bozeman in 2018, would break box office records.
Roundtree would also reprise the role of John Shaft in the franchise’s subsequent sequels and TV show. Roundtree played John Shaft in both the 2000 and 2019 reboots, which starred Samuel L. Jackson. Read More
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