“MORAL MONDAYS AT THE
CAPITOL” TO COMBAT
TRUMP, GOP BUDGET CUTS
On the twelfth anniversary of the historic Moral Monday protests that left a positive legacy for progressive activism in North Carolina, its founder, Bishop William Barber, kicked-off the new “Moral Mondays at the Capitol” this week in Washington, D.C. to ramp up public opposition to the proposed 2026 budget by Republican President Donald Trump.
The Christian social activist was also arrested by Capitol police for peacefully praying for the nation in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. He was later released.
"If a preacher knows that legislators are developing policy that will create injustice, it is our duty to “go down to the palace of the King,” Bishop Barber later wrote in an email to his supporters Tuesday.
Barber is promising a series of Moral Monday demonstrations in the nation’s Capitol in succeeding Mondays to protest actions by the Trump Administration and the Republican-led Congress.
Amidst a gathering of faith leaders and progressive activists from across the nation on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, Bishop Barber, on behalf of his nonprofit organization Repairers of the Breach, spoke out against the Trump - GOP budget, saying that government budgets are “moral documents,” and that the poor people who will be hurt by the severe federal budgets coming “…must be united in our moral resistance against injustice, corruption, and oppression in any form.”
Bishop Barber wasn’t the only high profile progressive leader to recently speak out against the impending Trump-GOP budget cuts.
On Sunday, April 27th, Barber joined House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker on their live-streamed appeal to concerned voters from the steps of the U.S. Capitol about proposed Republican budget cut to important programs such as Medicaid, Head Start and the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program.
The proposed budget cuts, if passed, would also slash federal social safety net programs for federal housing assistance, education and also food for poor children in order to provide relief for the nation’s billionaires and millionaires, Jeffries of New York, and Booker of ew jersey, charged.
The Republican-led Congress, after a two-week recess, began this week taking up what Bishop Barber called this “great big ugly bill.”
‘It’s destructive, and it’s deadly, because policies are not benign,” Barber continued during remarks at the Jeffries-Booker livestream Sunday. “Policies don’t kill you quick, but they kill you over time.Because constant neglect is form of political violence and abuse,” the social activist added, noting that statistics show that 800 people in poverty a day die.
Bishop Barber maintained that the Trump-GOP budget cuts will only make that situation worse for poor and low-wage people.
“We cannot allow this budget to go untalked about,” Barber continued.
“We have to have pulpits that are on fire, and people who will say, “The only way a wannabe king gets to be king, is if we bow.”
-30-
ADAMS, ECSU, SHAW AND ST. AUG:
THE LATEST NC HBCU NEWS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
As the 2024-25 academic school year draws to a close, Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-12-NC) lauds President Trump’s executive order supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), while three of North Carolina’s most prominent HBCUs are making top headlines.
On April 24th, Congresswoman Alma Adams of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, a frequent critic of Pres. Donald Trump, this time lauded his support of HBCUs, saying that doing so “…is not a partisan issue.” Rep. Adams reaffirmed the importance of HBCUs being “…centers of achievement, excellence, and success, and have always punched above their weight, even in the face of historic underfunding.”
“We still have more work to do though, especially in holistic infrastructure investments at HBCUs, and I look forward to working with this administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass more impactful, bipartisan legislation for our HBCUs.”
But Congresswoman Adams also issued a note of concern about the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, stating that by doing so, “…the future for HBCUs will further be in question. Let’s work together to ensure these institutions of higher education always remain HBCU Strong, “ Rep. Adams concluded.
Congresswoman Alma Adams PhD. is Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, and Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan, Bicameral Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus.
ST. AUGUSTINE’S UNIVERSITY - Amid dire financial and loss of accreditation headlines that call the small, private HBCU’s future into question, comes good news.
Eleven of 25 seniors whose graduations were called into question because of unpaid tuition balances totaling $132,000 will now be able to walk the commencement stage on May 3rd with the rest of their graduating class of 2025, thanks to a generous $132,000 donation Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
The generous donation came after concerned seniors wrote letters soliciting assistance from St. Augustine’s alumni. Two of them, Gilbert and Carolyn Knowles of Alfred Street Baptist, saw the letters, and were moved o help.
“[The students]…have remained steadfast and stuck with SAU throughout all of the different issues we’ve experienced over the past year and a half,” the Knowles, who, along with the rest of their church, will attend SAU’s May 3rd commencement ceremony, said in a statement.
"This act of grace by Alfred Street Baptist Church is nothing short of transformative for our students and our institution," SAU Interim President Dr. Marcus H. Burgess said.
Meanwhile, Brian Bolware, SAU’s Board of Trustees Chairman, has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into alleged mishandling of covid pandemic relief money at the school.
SHAW UNIVERSITY - Across town in Raleigh, Shaw University is now dealing with allegations of mental and physical abuse from a senior guard on the Lady Bears basketball team who posted a Tik Tok video earlier last week. As a result, other former players commented that they, too, were victims of similar alleged abuse.
The small, private Baptist university has issued a statement saying it is aware of the recent allegations made online, and takes any allegations of misconduct seriously. The Shaw University statement added that it would not have any further comment on the allegation t this time.
ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY - Finally, at least one person is reported dead, while six other people were injured during an overnight shooting during the early Sunday morning hours that made national news last weekend during ECSU’s campus “Viking Fest” event.
A 24-year man who was not an ECSU student was killed in the shooting.
Three of the six reported injured people are ECSU students. None of the juries were considered life-threatening and all victims were taken to the hospital for treatment.
“The university is deeply saddened by this senseless act,” ECSU said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and all members of the Viking community affected by this tragedy.”
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment