Earnest McBride

Black farmers call for release of $5 billion emergency assistance

Thousands of Black farmers across the nation are in a quandary over how to get access to $5 billion in loan forgiveness and supplemental grants awarded them under the American Rescue Plan, a part of the COVID relief package. Almost before the ink on the new award had dried, however, white farmers in several states began suing to block the program, thus tying up the money in the court system. Leaders of Black farmer organizations pledged to take the fight all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

Rental assistance program gets mixed reviews

Tuskegee sister city link with Congo’s Mbuji-Mayi is ‘Crown Jewel,’ Johnny Ford declares

After 50 years of leading the movement to bring African and African American cities together in something pretty close to a worldwide network of sister cities, Tuskegee’s legendary “Mayor” Johnny Ford simply beams as he declares that he is about to witness the union of the perfect pair of sister cities, something he calls the “crown jewel”. The city of Tuskegee and Mbuji-Mayi, the second largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), he says, are developing an official sister city bond that will last into perpetuity. Both sides have confirmed the relationship, said Ford, one of the several inspirations and guiding spirits behind the deal. Officials of the two cities are now just waiting for the final details to be worked out, he said.

Deportation of Haitians from Del Rio brings storm of protest

Pan African Film Fest 2020 spotlights Trinidad ‘Hero’ and late director John Singleton