In the News
The fight over voting rights has gone from partisan to personal.
President Biden and his Democratic allies, furious with Republicans for opposing voting rights protections they had embraced for decades, are lashing out across the aisle with racially charged assertions that the GOP would rather secure power than ensure civil rights.
Black Democrats are vowing to continue pushing landmark voting rights protections, despite major voting rights legislation headed for a near-certain defeat in the US Senate on Wednesday night.
A group of members of the Congressional Black Caucus marched from the House of Representatives to the Senate side of the US Capitol as Senators debated The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, a sweeping voting rights and democracy reform bill that would expand voting access throughout the US and refortify key components of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Greater Columbus residents gathered at the Ohio History Connection Monday to explore and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
The "MLK Day Open House Celebration," a two-hour program that started at noon, featured about a dozen dance, music, spoken word and theater performances to pay tribute to King's life and showcase Black artists' contributions to America's culture and history.
"Art is transformative, and art helps heal," said Jevon Collins, the performing arts director at the King Arts Complex.
Ohio's state Supreme Court has struck down the state's new congressional map as a Republican gerrymander that violates the state constitution.
The ruling is a boon to Democrats, who could've held as few as two of the state's 15 House seats after the next election.
Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell lashed out at president Joe Biden on Wednesday, accusing him of widening the US political divide with his push for voting rights reform and call to change the senate rules.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Senate Democrats on Thursday to push for the swift passage of two voting rights bills, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are applying pressure for action as well.
Black House Democrats on Wednesday teed off on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for his refusal to back a change in Senate rules for the sake of strengthening federal voting protections.
Behind President Biden, a growing number of Democrats are pushing for a filibuster carve-out that would allow a pair of voting rights bills to become law — an effort that's gained steam over the past year as almost 20 Republican-led states have adopted tougher voting restrictions.
Ohio's Democratic congressional delegation is excited to watch billions of dollars in infrastructure funding come to the state, but where that funding goes now depends on local efforts.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in November, will bring needed funding to the state in areas such as water systems, public transportation and broadband, according to the state's federal representatives.
It seems the Congressional Black Caucus Members that communicated candidly with theGrio understand the high stakes and far reaching consequences for all Americans, but particularly Black people at home and abroad if the United States Congress doesn't deliver justice and enact swift reforms to secure our democracy.
House Democrats are bracing for a turnover in leadership next year that would amount to a seismic event for the party — one that could empower a new, diverse generation of members while also exacerbating tensions over the direction of the caucus and the policies it should pursue.