Saturday, March 13th, marked one year since the death of Breonna Taylor.
It will mark 365 days since Louisville police officers burst into her apartment and shot 32 times, six of which hit Ms. Taylor, killing her as she slept.
This month also marks the beginning of the trial for Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer charged with killing George Floyd last summer in Minneapolis.
In 1926, Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson launched "Negro History Week." Celebrated during the second week of February, it was designed to promote the study of African American contributions to the United States.
Fifty years later, in 1976, President Gerald Ford helped establish what we now know as Black History Month in America. In his statement to the nation, President Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."
Maryland congressional Democrats are urging the leadership of the U.S. Postal Service to step in amid a flood of constituent concerns about mail delays, they said Thursday morning.
The state delegation, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, has sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, urging him to walk away from cost-cutting measures that have brought mail delivery problems into the headlines several times over the past year.
The Democratic members of Maryland's congressional delegation called Wednesday on Gov. Larry Hogan to improve the rollout of the state's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, citing frustration from constituents and local officials about inefficiency and inequity.
"…It was unlike anything I had ever seen before and just crazy. Words have consequences and we've been saying that for years, everybody has based on the words of Donald Trump…now we see what happens when it gets out of control.
I saw members of the House saying to me, "Oh my God, can you imagine the rage in their faces? I've never seen anything like that." And I said, well, welcome to my world," Mfume said.
"We don't know all that we're dealing with and there are some things I can't go over now," said Mfume, who represents parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County. "I will just simply say that there is a threat. I believe most members of Congress are feeling secure. I do."
Kweisi Mfume's return to Capitol Hill after two-plus decades out of elected office is more than a second act. It's like his fifth. Overcoming a troubled youth, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1978. Eight years later, he went to Congress, eventually giving up his seat to helm the NAACP. In 2013, he was named chair of the board at his alma mater, Morgan State University. We discussed the national political climate, and the work at hand.
Last week, the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act passed the House of Representatives. The bill, which was first introduced by the late Elijah Cummingsm in 2019, aims to increase African American participation in clinical trials and address racial health disparities.
Congress paid homage to a local hero this week with the passage of legislation named for Henrietta Lacks. The House of Representatives passed the "Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act" in honor of the African-American woman from Turners Station, who died in 1951, at 31 years old from cervical cancer and is popularly referred to world-wide as the "Mother of Modern" medicine.