Shavon Arline-Bradley, left, and Jotaka Eaddy — Photo Credit: Department of Labor Matt Stanley

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

November 12, 2024

Win With Black Women Hosts #UnitedWeWin Call In First Meeting Post-Election

The call's speakers encouraged viewers to stand united in purpose and celebrate its other victories.

Win With Black Women hosted its first call since the election, keeping up the morale with a #UnitedWeWin outlook to its attendees.

With over 10,000 in attendance, the Zoom meeting began with a spiritual message by Rev. Shavon Arline Bradley. She acknowledged the pain and disappointment many Black women are feeling. However, she reassured them that their story and fight are not over yet.

The discussion then moved to Jotaka Eddy, the founder of Win With Black Women, who introduced the next speakers. Senators-elect Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester joined Sen. Laphonza Butler to discuss the victory of their appointments.

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“The Senate is an incredibly challenging place to work and to serve… but we all know what important things happen for Black women and [our] community in [it],” shared Butler, who decided not to seek election for a full-term.

“I know my sisters are going to be going into a different United States Senate, but I also know that they are prepared to carry the weight of our community.”

Alsobrooks continued this positive messaging, stating that Kamala Harris did not lose despite not getting elected. She emphasized that the Vice President’s resilience and ability to work against the odds remains admirable.

“I want you all to hear me when I say our candidate was not elected, but she did not lose,” stated Alsobrooks. “And from where I si,t there was no way for her to los, the dignity that she demonstrated… Kamala Harris was flawless throughout, what she executed in a three month period can never be replicated again.”

She added, “We’re disappointed. I was shocked by the result on [Election day], but it was not [Harris’] loss; it was our country’s loss.”

Joy-Ann Reid also spoke on the call. She declared that Harris’s “emergency campaign” was “remarkable” in its accomplishments in 107 days. Other speakers championed this outlook, with the next round featuring Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Donna L. Brazile, and Brittany Packet Cunningham.

Crockett emphasized that Black women’s plight will come with losses. However, there are none that their ancestors have not also overcome to achieve their freedom. The congressman urged the viewers to stand “united in purpose” as they forge this country into one that uplifts all.

“We also must channel the fact that there were so many losses that our ancestors fought through… We will make it through… And we will be stronger on the other side. We have to be united in purpose in this moment and the purpose is to absolutely make sure that this country starts to live up to what it owes every single one of us.”

Crockett added, “I do want you to know that we fought for the right person [and] stood on the right side of history. So long as history books are allowed to be composed they will absolutely say that we did our part.”

The three-hour call highlighted the victories earned in other races on Election Night and noted the triumphant fundraising throughout their own coalition. The organization initially made history by fundraising over $1 million in its first Zoom call after Harris announced her candidacy.

While their efforts did not yield their desired results, Black women are still winning in their civic power.

Symone Sanders Townsend, Spelman — (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

November 12, 2024

Symone Sanders Townsend Tells Democrats And White Women Voters To Figure It Out ‘Internally’

The political analyst explained why these groups need to 'internally' figure out what led to this shift to the right.

Political analyst Symone Sanders Townsend had some choice words for the Democratic party and white women voters.

Sanders Townsend spoke up on behalf of the Black voters, specifically the 92% of Black women who voted for Kamala Harris. On MSNBC’s The Weekend, the commentator urged the Democratic party to address and evaluate why other electorates, primarily white women and Latino voters, strayed away from supporting Harris.

“I’ve been very dismayed, actually, by this whole working class voter conversation because are Black people not working class,” the co-host said. “If it was really about the issues, if it’s really about the message. How did that message break through to Black working class people and it didn’t break through to the majority of anybody else?”

Based on exit poll data shared by NBC News, 53% of white women voted for Trump, alongside 55% and 38% of Latino men and women, respectively. Given these jarring numbers, many analysts have questioned what the Democratic party failed to do messaging-wise to lose these crucial voters.

For Sanders Townsend, these communities, as well as the party itself, must start an internal dialogue to address what happened and find solutions.

“I understand there are white women out here that voted for Kamala Harris, but baby, 52% of y’all voted for Donald Trump. And this was not the first time. Now, for the third time,” she continued. “So you’ve got to come together and address it internally. So I understand you didn’t do it, but enough people did where y’all got to have a conversation.”

Moreover, Sanders Townsend called out Rep. Nancy Pelosi for urging President Biden to suspend his reelection campaign.

“[Pelosi] played into presidential politics this cycle,” expressed the panelist. “She helped orchestrate the very public demise of the president.”

.@SymoneDSanders calls out Democrats on Capitol Hill, specifically Nancy Peolsi for “playing into presidential politics” this election cycle. @LeahDaughtry agrees. pic.twitter.com/aIbVVbUXam
— The Weekend on MSNBC (@TheWeekendMSNBC) November 9, 2024

As the Democratic party struggles to determine its next steps, Sanders Townsend believes that leaders and certain groups must be held accountable.

Sonia Sotomayor — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

by Daniel Johnson

November 12, 2024

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Not Expected To Retire

Donald Trump's return to the presidency has pundits and insiders strategizing.

Though some have called for her resignation, 70-year-old Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is expected to stay put ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in January 2025.

Sotomayor, the 2009 Obama-era appointee to the court, is the senior member of the liberal wing of the court.

One anonymous person close to Sotomayor told the Wall Street Journal, “This is no time to lose her important voice on the court. She just turned 70 and took better care of herself than anyone I know,” suggesting that progressives should find another way to protect the Constitution.

David Dayen, the editor of the liberal American Prospect magazine, and former MSNBC host Medhi Hasan are two voices who have called for the popular justice to resign. They argue that her choice to remain on the court could provide an opening for Trump to nominate another conservative justice to the court if she retires while Trump is in office.

Those arguments have their roots in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death at 87 in September 2020, which allowed Trump to effectively pack the Supreme Court with conservatives, paving the way for rulings favorable to a conservative agenda.

Those concerns also prompted some to call for Stephen Breyer’s resignation in 2021. Breyer eventually retired at 83 in 2022, allowing President Joe Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law, who called for Ginsburg’s retirement during the Obama administration, said that the two women have entirely different political contexts.

“It is far more uncertain that the Democrats could confirm a successor than in summer 2014,” Chemerinsky told the WSJ. “And Sotomayor is 70,” he added.

Another of Sotomayor’s supporters is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). When asked about this on NBC’s Meet The Press, Sanders indicated that Sotomayor should stay in her position on the court.

WATCH: Sen. Bernie Sanders says the idea that Justice Sotomayor should step down so President Biden can appoint someone younger before he leaves office is not a "sensible approach."@kwelkernbc: "Have you heard any talk of this?"@BernieSanders: "A little bit, yes." pic.twitter.com/jwVIvBmvym
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 10, 2024

According to Salon, another path that Democrats could take is “court-packing” or confirming as many federal judges as they can while they still have a Senate majority. In a statement, Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said he “aims to confirm every possible nominee before the end of this Congress.”

The statement continued, “Senate Democrats are in a strong position regarding judicial confirmations as we approach the lame duck session given that we have a number of nominees on the floor ready for a vote, and others still moving through Committee.”

Wheeler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told Salon that Democrats must be willing to use the tactics of their political foes if they want to exert any judicial influence.

“Democrats let through 13 Trump nominees after it was clear that he had lost the election,” Wheeler explained. “Fair play means that you should let through at least 13 Biden nominees, but that logic doesn’t work anymore.”

United And Unyielding: The Call To Collective Action In The Face Of Adversity

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

November 12, 2024

United And Unyielding: The Call To Collective Action In The Face Of Adversity

The Village Market is committed.

Written by Lakeysha “Dr. Key” Hallmon, EdD.

Before we look to the challenges and opportunities ahead, it’s important to pause and extend profound gratitude to Vice President Kamala Harris. Her unwavering commitment, sacrifice, and deep love for this country brought hope, promise, and light not only during her time in office but throughout the campaign trail. Her leadership has inspired many and reinforced the importance of resilience, vision, and service to our communities.

It’s natural to feel shaken right now. Take the time to honor the shock and grieve, but let us not forget that strength, unity, and progress await us on the other side. As we enter this next chapter under President-elect Trump’s leadership, the stakes have never been higher for Black-owned businesses and the communities they anchor. While uncertainty exists, this moment is not one for resignation but a call to action. It is a time to gather together, fight for each other, and recommit to our shared mission of resilience and economic empowerment.

Over the past years, we’ve faced significant challenges and celebrated countless victories. We’ve built ecosystems, fostered dreams, and nurtured Black businesses through a foundation that goes beyond commerce—it’s about collective resilience and unyielding support. Our mantra, “Support is a Verb,” isn’t just a tagline; it’s the heart of our approach, a reminder that progress requires deliberate action, not passive observation.

Why Now, More Than Ever, We Must Stand United
Progress in this country has not been without defining moments that hold a mirror up to reflect its darkness. For those who seek progress, it demands resilience, discipline, and a commitment to unity and purpose.

The current political landscape is a clear reminder that policies at the highest levels ripple through the smallest storefronts, shaping the daily realities of Black entrepreneurs. Even with President-elect Trump on his way into office, I still expect—and you should too—that elected officials prioritize small businesses, recognizing us as the backbone of our communities. Yet, we cannot rely solely on external support or legislative promises to drive our progress. We must make sure our collective voice is not just heard but felt.

At The Village Market, I often ask, “What is your verb?” It’s a question that challenges us to move beyond passive support and embody action—whether that means investing in Black businesses, showing up at city council meetings, advocating for policies that protect our community, or ensuring that our dollars contribute to more than just individual success. Business excellence must come with an intentional eye toward uplifting the whole community.

I urge every Black entrepreneur, leader, and ally to look beyond today’s headlines and focus on the long game. Stay informed about policies impacting our businesses, remain proactive in seeking resources, and engage in spaces where decisions are made. Let’s educate ourselves, our teams, and our communities about the power of our vote, dollars, and voices. This moment calls for an unwavering belief in our collective—for us to assess how we show up for each other. At The Village Market, we’re committed to providing spaces and opportunities for Black-owned businesses to thrive—not just survive. We will continue this work because we know that the future of our community depends on it.

To those who feel heartbroken by the election results: remember, we are a people of perseverance. Our history is filled with stories of triumph born from the depths of struggle. Now is not the time to waver; now is the time to rally. We are a village, and together, we are unstoppable.

Let’s fight for each other, invest in each other, and uplift each other. Let’s move forward as a community united by purpose and driven by action. Let’s cling to and be restored by love today and all the days to come.

Are you ready to go after it as a Village? Because I am.

About the Author:
Lakeysha “Dr. Key” Hallmon, PhD, is a mission-driven visionary and founder of The Village Market, an organization dedicated to empowering the Black community through collective wealth and economic resilience. Since 2016, she has served over 1,440 businesses and facilitated $8.3 million in direct sales to Black-owned enterprises. Her pioneering “Village Model” integrates grants, mentorship, technical assistance, retail platforms, and a focus on holistic wellness—setting a new standard for Black-owned business success. Guided by the mantra “Support is A Verb,” her work has propelled businesses from Atlanta to the Bahamas, transforming big ideas into thriving ventures.

Daytona Beach, Civil Rights Leader, Howard Thurman — (Photo: Addison N. Scurlock-Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives NMAH.AC.0618.S04.01, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69597951)

by Daniel Johnson

November 12, 2024

Daytona Beach To Celebrate Civil Rights Leader Howard Thurman

Thurman mentored Martin Luther King Jr.

Howard Thurman, a Daytona Beach, Florida-born theologian, civil rights leader, and author will be celebrated by his hometown on Nov. 18 with an event featuring tours of Thurman’s 128-year-old childhood home.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, there will also be a luncheon and a program featuring Kenyatta R. Gilbert, dean of the School of Divinity at Howard University as the keynote speaker.

Thurman, who died in 1981 at age 81, was a personal friend of Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi, and a mentor to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Thurman was also noted for being the pastor of the first interracial church, The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, which he founded in 1944.

Thurman was a key, if unheralded, figure during the Civil Rights Movement as he provided spiritual guidance to many of its leaders, including King and Vernon Jordan.

Thurman was selected as one of America’s 12 outstanding preachers in a nationwide poll Life Magazine conducted and was also named a 20th Century Saint by Ebony.

According to PBS, Thurman was raised in Daytona Beach by his grandmother, a formerly enslaved woman.

In 1925, Thurman became an ordained Baptist minister, and later became the pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Oberlin, Ohio; he was appointed as both the professor of religion and the director of religious life at Atlanta’s Morehouse and Spelman Colleges.

In 1932, after studying under Rufus Jones, a Quaker mystic who taught at Haverford College, Thurman began to publish religious work critical of white America’s “will to dominate and control the Negro minority” which he believed led Black people to harbor a crippling hatred of whites who would be their colonizers.

In 1949, after meeting Gandhi, Thurman published his seminal work, Jesus and the Disinherited, which laid out the basic principles of a nonviolent civil rights movement as interpreted through the New Testament gospels.

In the book, Thurman argued that Jesus was at the core, a liberating figure whose message could be used to create a praxis of revolutionary nonviolent resistance to injustice.

Eventually, Thurman would pass on this belief to King and James Farmer, the founder of the Congress of Racial Equality. (CORE)

Vassar College also credited Thurman with shaping its record on human rights during an event in February 2024 that honored him via the research of four students on Thurman’s legacy at the school.

Trump, EEOC, DEI — (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

by Daniel Johnson

November 12, 2024

President-Elect Donald Trump’s Possible Day 1 Agenda

Donald Trump has promised to make a lot of changes on the first day of his presidency. How many of them can he actually implement?

Although Donald Trump has made a series of troubling, Democracy-threatening promises when he becomes president in January 2025, the reality may differ from his proclamations due to the sheer number of things that he would need to do to make good on his threats.

According to The Associated Press, Trump has indicated that he wants to begin mass deportation, roll back the Biden Administration’s policies on education, fire thousands of federal employees, and pardon the insurrectionists who rioted at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In addition, Trump has indicated that he wants to close the United States border and to “drill, drill, drill” on his first day.

According to Trump’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, “tens of” executive orders will be issued during the first week, a tool Trump utilized during his first term to bypass Congress.

Trump also wants to fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who has been prosecuting two federal cases against him, on day one.

Smith, however, is busy trying to wrap up those cases ahead of Trump’s inauguration due to the Justice Department’s policy that sitting presidents not be prosecuted.

Trump has made overtures to the insurrectionists, calling them “unbelievable patriots” and promising to help them on “the first day we get into office.”

In March, Trump said via Truth Media, his social media platform, “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them probably got out of control.”

Trump has also promised to end Biden-era protections for transgender students on day 1, noting in May that he has the power to do so unilaterally.

“We’re going to end it on day one,” Trump said. “Don’t forget, that was done as an order from the president. That came down as an executive order. And we’re going to change it—on day one it’s going to be changed.”

Trump has also promised to “sign a new executive order” on day one that cuts federal money for schools “pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the lives of our children.”

Trump, or at least his national spokeswoman, has indicated that he could end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

During an appearance on Fox News, Leavitt said that Trump’s purported brokerage of a peace deal between the countries, which “includes, on Day 1, bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to end this war.”

According to Georgetown Law professor Stephen Vladeck, an expert on constitutional law and national security law, said what Trump has promised and what he can do are dependent on what will be upheld by the court system.

“Yeah, I mean, as soon as the president takes the oath of office, he or she can sign pieces of paper promising to do lots of things. I think the real question with a lot of what former President Trump is proposing is how much of that would actually require exercises of legal authority that would then be challenged in court. I mean, that was what happened with his first travel ban back in 2017—hard to imagine that wouldn’t happen again if that’s where we are come January of next year,” Vladeck told NPR in October.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Trump’s plans regarding energy, foreign policy, and packing his government with loyalists through reinstating Schedule F could reasonably be expected to go into effect on day one; others, like closing the border and immediately deporting people, cannot logistically be carried out on his first day.