Welp.
That’s it for Joe. After being diagnosed with COVID last week and additional pressure from the Democratic establishment (like President Obama), President Biden has agreed to be a one-term president. We hear a lot of reasons why Biden shouldn’t have dropped out, like his critics are just being ageist, he is a progressive POTUS, and even that his blunders are due to a speech impediment.
From our POV, much of that is not true. How can the “most progressive President ever” be a committed Zionist and support an active, out-in-the-open genocide? Why should Black voters vote for someone who’s promising change when that person has had the last 4 years to make change and did not? How many more blunders can we overlook and still believe that our president can represent the nation well? We can go on, but we’ll stop there.
We know Trump is horrible, his politics are horrible, and the only thing he’s leading is his group of MAGA minions. That doesn’t mean Biden was the best alternative option though. The truth is, the Democratic Party wouldn’t have had to switch up on him if they had the balls to tell him the truth sooner. Joe simply should never have gotten this far in the election cycle.
There are honestly so many different opinions amongst Dems, progressives, and independents on this move, but now it's game time.
Looking to 2024
On his way out, the POTUS did endorse VP Harris and the Democratic establishment (except President Obama??) seems pleased. She raised $50M yesterday alone. Is the country ready for Kamala Harris, a Black woman with Jamaican and Indian heritage? Is she who we need to beat Trump and who we need as our next leader?
Across the aisle, 45 and his followers had a time at the Republican National Convention last week. They made his ear bandage a new cult fashion trend, used Amber Rose and other Black people we’ve never heard of in an attempt to woo Black voters, and officially made Donnie the Republican nominee.
Today, however, Trump is big mad at Joe dropping out. Lol.
Also, if you haven’t had time to read Project 2025. Someone did the work for you. Check out the top 10 ways the platform would (continue to) harm the Black community, if implemented.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
The International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, finally confirmed the obvious: Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories (not the entire area, unfortunately) is unlawful. As far as any country supporting Israel, the expectation is that they’d uphold the ruling of the court. Israel has already disregarded the non-binding ruling. We wonder what the US will do considering this latest development.
Another 8M student loan borrowers will have their SAVE repayments paused while the Biden admin works out another legal hurdle.
Congress, What’s Good
Welp, with Biden’s withdrawal, some key folks in Congress got what they wanted. Highest ranking Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries were amongst those asking Joe to reconsider last week.
The GOP, however, is not pleased because House Speaker Mike Johnson and others want Biden to resign from office now. At the same time, Speaker Johnson also claims it’s unlawful to replace Joe Biden on the ballot. Isn’t that, though, what we’d still have to do if Joe were to resign from office today…? Someone help us figure it out.
Committee meetings are back. Here’s a glimpse of what’s on the agenda this week:
Oversight of the Secret Service after Trump’s assassination attempt
Examining the landscape of veteran-owned small businesses
How Zelle and big banks fail to protect us from fraud
Social Justice Round Up
80 years later, 258 Black sailors have had their convictions cleared by the Navy after they were unjustly tried for wanting safer work conditions. The Navy thought it was okay to ask sailors to return to work only one day after a 1944 explosion killed 300 mostly Black sailors. Those left demanded a safer work environment and the Navy convicted them all and even gave some of them jail time. The nerve of those sailors, right?
Marcellus Williams is on death row in Missouri despite many believing he’s innocent. Unfortunately, he will be executed in September because the state’s attorney general is opposing the entry of new DNA evidence that proves he wasn’t linked to the crime. Just another day of being Black in the US of A,
No. We still cannot call the police for help without putting ourselves in grave danger. 36-year-old Sonya Massey called the cops because she feared someone lurking around her home. A visit to her house by police resulted in her being killed because one of the deputies feared a pot of boiling water that she apparently did not throw at him…? More details will emerge with the release of body cam footage today, but so far it has been determined that the force was not justified. Are we shocked?
What the Health
This kid is telling us why she’s better seen and heard. Meet the teen who created and starred in a film to offer insight on addressing the mental health crisis facing Black youth.
Taking advantage of our desire to be outside right now, COVID is back up in 7 states. Florida, Texas, Maryland & California, y’all are all on the list.
Constipation is a sign of poor gut health and chronic disease. If you’re having issues with going to the bathroom, please don’t overlook it.
Around the Diaspora
What’s happening in Haiti continues to stop us in our tracks. As gang violence still has civilians living in fear, a boat headed towards safer waters caught fire and claimed the lives of 40 migrants.
The Bahamas will soon be legalizing the use of cannabis for medical & religious reasons.
Nigerian leaders and medical experts are working to stop the spread of cholera as the numbers climb higher. 3600 people have been diagnosed and 100 people have died over the last 7 months.
Our Black Jobs & Our Black Money
Though we hear a lot about mass layoffs (and for good reason), some tech companies are still hiring. If you’re looking for a new opportunity in tech or IT, check out these job boards: Levels.fyi, Techfetch, and Dice.
Culture that Pops
If we can reimagine what the election process looks like (we’re literally being forced to do so now), why can’t we also reimagine what freedom looks like for us? Here are 7 books that do just that.
Meagan Thee Stallion is giving back to her hometown in the wake of Hurricane Beryl. She launched a program to donate generators to the elderly in Houston after many in the city still suffer from a lack of electricity.
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics will happen this Saturday, July 26. Who do you think will have the best fits? Hint: it’s not the US.
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