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Politics
Jan
4
Howard Law Grad, Kasim Reed, Takes Helm As Mayor of Atlanta
Filed Under Politics, Something Else, The Profession • Leave a Comment
Watch Kasim Reed take the oath of office as Mayor of Atlanta.
According to his campaign:
Mayor-Elect Kasim Reed was raised in the Cascade community. He was educated in Fulton County’s public schools where he graduated from Utoy Springs Elementary School and Westwood High School (now Westlake High School) and went to Howard University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees.
Though Mayor-Elect Reed was the youngest Democratic State Senator, he had a well-established track record of legislative excellence. He was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1998 as State Representative for District 52. He was re-elected in 2000, winning seventy-seven percent (77%) of all votes cast. In the House, Mayor-Elect Reed served two terms as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Education Committee and Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
Mayor-Elect Kasim Reed served as campaign manager for Mayor Shirley Franklin’s first and second campaigns. Following her election in November 2001, Mayor Franklin selected him to serve as one of two Co-Chairs for the Shirley Franklin Transition Team.
Mayor-Elect Reed’s civic leadership and service has been nationally recognized in publications such as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Ebony and Black Enterprise. He was selected as one of Georgia Trend magazine’s “40 under 40 Rising Stars” in 2001, as one of the Fulton County Daily Report ’s “Lawyers on the Rise” and as one of “10 Outstanding Atlantans” in Outstanding Atlanta. Mayor-Elect Reed is a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2000 and is a Board Member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.
Mayor-Elect Kasim Reed is a member of Cascade United Methodist Church, pastored by Reverend Marvin Moss.
Dec
20
Chicago Law Student Considers Congressional Run
Filed Under Congressional Black Caucus, Politics, The Profession • Leave a Comment
The soon to be 25 yr. old William Godwin has formed an exploratory committee to weigh a run for the 8th District of Mississippi. The former Hill staffer attended Georgetown University and the London School of Economics. Here’s a head-scratcher–he’s worked for both Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Democratic Illinois U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
From the Jackson Sun:
Godwin said his bipartisan background has shaped his appreciation of Tanner, saying that he admires the founding member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition of congressional Democrats for often “trying to find a middle way.”
Godwin touted his knowledge of international issues. The statement announcing his interest in the 8th District seat says he once addressed aconference about the civil rights of Catholics in Northern Ireland and was an official state guest of the United Arab Emirates in 2007.
But don’t get any fancy ideas about his background:
“I’m not privileged. I’m not from a political background.” Godwin said. “… I have a knowledge and an understanding of the big domestic problems, especially the issues of education and health care that are challenging our country in big ways.”
Aug
20
Elie Mystal is a man obsessed. From his perch as Editor of About The Law he has encouraged law grads buried under student loan debt to emigrate, sacrifice and revolt in order to right student loan wrongs.
Today, he takes his soapbox to the Stimulist and offers President Obama some “simple solutions” to easing our student loan burden. He warms up with suggestions of lower interest rates and salary-based loan forgiveness, before throwing one into center field.
FULL STUDENT LOAN BAILOUT
This is the most controversial plan, but it is also a total solution. The real questions here are about the depth of the administration’s commitment to education and encouraging public service. The government will pay for your education if you serve in the military, but is fighting and potentially dying really the only kind of service Americans honor? What if a history Ph.D. taught in an inner-city public school for a few years and was then relieved of his or her educational debt? That sounds like a win-win (no, teacher’s union, I did not ask for your opinion).In this era of bailouts, can’t we find some money to help students buy themselves out of debtor’s prison? We can even call it “Dollars for Degrees”—Congress loves alliteration.
Feb
18
The nation’s first black AG, in a speech delivered during the Department of Justice’s Black History Month Program, said that when it comes to “things racial” America is a “nation of cowards.” (We know what you guys are thinking, but it would just be too easy to go there).
After tapping “the man” lightly with the stick, he offers up a big, bright carrot.
There can, for instance, be very legitimate debate about the question of affirmative action. This debate can, and should, be nuanced, principled and spirited. But the conversation that we now engage in as a nation on this and other racial subjects is too often simplistic and left to those on the extremes who are not hesitant to use these issues to advance nothing more than their own, narrow self interest. Our history has demonstrated that the vast majority of Americans are uncomfortable with, and would like to not have to deal with, racial matters and that is why those, black or white, elected or self-appointed, who promise relief in easy, quick solutions, no matter how divisive, are embraced. We are then free to retreat to our race protected cocoons where much is comfortable and where progress is not really made. If we allow this attitude to persist in the face of the most significant demographic changes that this nation has ever confronted- and remember, there will be no majority race in America in about fifty years- the coming diversity that could be such a powerful, positive force will, instead, become a reason for stagnation and polarization. We cannot allow this to happen and one way to prevent such an unwelcome outcome is to engage one another more routinely- and to do so now.
Read the full transcript here.
Jan
31
Mike Tyson’s ex back in the spotlight? Her brother’s the new GOP Chair.
Filed Under Politics • Leave a Comment
Michael Steele
This seems more about Barack Obama winning the presidency and the Republican Party implosion than it does about the GOP making racial progress; nevertheless, we must discuss the elephant in the room. The GOP has elected Michael Steele to lead them during this challenging times. He is the first African American to hold the post and can probably double the number of blacks attending the 2012 convention just by bringing his family along. Look for a lot of blackbiting. From the NYTimes:
[Steele] is likely to be, at least until the presidential race starts in two years, at the leading edge of his party as it makes its case against Mr. Obama.
Indeed, many Republicans said they were drawn to Mr. Steele because of his feisty public presence and television skills, and Mr. Steele made clear, from the moment he accepted the position after six rounds of voting that took up most of an afternoon, that he would move aggressively to take on the Democrats.
“It’s time for something completely different, and we’re going to bring it to them,” Mr. Steele said. “We’re going to bring this party to every corner, to every boardroom, to every neighborhood, to every community. And we’re going to say to friend and foe alike: ‘We want you to be a part of us. We want you to be with us, and for those of you who are going to obstruct, get ready to be knocked over.’ ”
Offering a hint of the tone he would take as his party’s spokesman, Mr. Steele said the Republican Party had been unfairly caricatured by Democrats “and the media” as racist and insensitive to the needs of ordinary Americans.
