logo
Joy-Ann Reid Delivers Moving Speech At Divine 9 Council Of Presidents Town Hall

Joy-Ann Reid Delivers Moving Speech At Divine 9 Council Of Presidents Town Hall

Yahoo26-02-2025

Joy-Ann Reid delivered an unforgettable keynote speech at a recent D9 Situation Room: Council of Presidents Town Hall, a private virtual event that united the leaders of all nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations.
According to AllHipHop, the political commentator and former host of MSNBC's The ReidOut—who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc.—spoke on how fake news can affect the Black community and how community leaders can combat that.
'We are living in an age of disinformation,' Reid cautioned attendees. 'It is so important that we look for trusted sources of information.' Mentioning her recently canceled show, she added, 'One of the reasons we did The ReidOut was to distill all of the noise and understand what is actually factual and true.' Reid also encouraged other D9 members to prioritize credible journalism over unverified social media content and called out established outlets like The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, and The Associated Press as trustworthy sources.
Reid also mentioned a recent viral story involving federal employees 'receiving a misleading mass email' requesting justification of their job performance. 'After investigation, we learned this email lacked proper authorization and was not legitimate,' she explained, emphasizing the importance of verifying information before reacting.
Organizers in attendance described the town hall as 'just the beginning' of mobilizing Black communities, distinguishing reliable information from disinformation, and sustaining grassroots.
'No one sorority or fraternity can do all this work alone,' one organization president affirmed during the panel discussion. 'Partner with another D9 organization in your community so that your voices and your work are amplified.'
With over 10,000 participants actively engaged in the live chat, the unity and determination among the Divine 9 was undeniable. 'There's a lot of excitement about next steps,' one person remarked. 'We are convening together to act together.'
As the event concluded, Divine 9 presidents reaffirmed their long-standing dedication to service, delivering a resounding message of commitment and legacy: 'We've been around for a long time. We're not new to this, but we are absolutely true to this.'
More from VIBE.com
Girls Trip: Sorority Sisters Pose For "Melanin Illustrated" Photoshoot
Delta Suspends 'Sorority Sisters' Co-Stars
Was It Worth It? Delta Sigma Theta Expelled Their 'Sorority Sisters' Stars

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How school choice policies evolved from supporting Black students to subsidizing middle-class families
How school choice policies evolved from supporting Black students to subsidizing middle-class families

San Francisco Chronicle​

timean hour ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

How school choice policies evolved from supporting Black students to subsidizing middle-class families

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) School voucher programs that allow families to use public funds to pay tuition to attend private schools have become increasingly popular. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia currently operate voucher programs. In addition, 15 states have universal private school choice programs that offer vouchers, education savings accounts and tax credit scholarships. More states are considering school choice and voucher programs as the Trump administration advocates for widespread adoption. School vouchers have a long history in the U.S. The first vouchers were offered in the 1800s to help children in sparsely populated towns in rural Vermont and Maine attend classes in public and private schools in nearby districts. After the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which justices ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional, segregationists used vouchers to avoid school integration. More recently, school voucher programs have been pitched as a tool to provide children from low-income families with quality education options. As a scholar who specializes in education policy, law and politics, I can share how current policies have strayed from efforts to support low-income Black children. History of school voucher programs Research from education history scholars shows that more recent support for school choice was not anchored in an agenda to privatize public schools but rooted in a mission to support Black students. Over time, as school voucher policies grew in popularity, they evolved into subsidies for middle-class families to send their children to private and parochial schools. School choice policies have also expanded to include education savings account programs and vouchers funded by tax credit donations. Vouchers can redirect money from public schools, many of which are serving Black students. Impact on public schools States looking to add or expand school choice and voucher programs have adopted language from civil rights activists pushing for equal access to quality education for all children. For example, they contend that school choice is a civil right all families and students should have as U.S. citizens. But school voucher programs can exclude Black students and harm public schools serving Black students in a host of ways, research shows. Since the Brown v. Board ruling, school voucher programs have been linked to racial segregation. These programs were at times used to circumvent integration efforts: They allowed white families to transfer their children out of diverse public schools into private schools. In fact, school voucher programs tend to exacerbate both racial and economic segregation, a trend that continues today. For example, private schools that receive voucher funding are not always required to adopt the same antidiscrimination policies as public schools. School voucher programs can also negatively impact the quality of public schools serving Black students. As some of the best and brightest students leave to attend private or parochial ones, public schools in communities serving Black students often face declining enrollments and reduced resources. In cities such as Macon, Georgia, families say that majority Black schools lack resources because so many families use the state's voucher-style program to attend mostly white private schools. Moreover, the cost of attending a private or parochial school can be so expensive that even with a school voucher, Black families still struggle to afford the cost of sending children to these schools. Vouchers can siphon school funding Research from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., shows that voucher programs in Ohio result in majority Black school systems such as the Cleveland Metropolitan School District losing millions in education funding. This impact of voucher programs disproportionately affects schools in predominantly Black communities across the U.S. with lower tax bases to fund public schools. Another example is the Marion County School District, a South Carolina system where about 77% of students are Black. Marion County is in the heart of the region of the state known as the ' Corridor of Shame,' known for its inadequate funding and its levels of poor student achievement. The 17 counties along the corridor are predominantly minority communities, with high poverty rates and poor public school funding because of the area's low tax base due to a lack of industry. On average, South Carolina school districts spent an estimated US$18,842 per student during the 2024-25 school year. In Marion County, per-student funding was $16,463 during the 2024-2025 school year. By comparison, in Charleston County, the most affluent in the state, per-student funding was more than $26,000. Rather than focus on school choice and voucher programs that take money away from public schools serving Black students, I argue that policymakers should address systemic inequities in education to ensure that all students have access to a quality education. Establishing restrictions on the use of funds and requiring preferences for low-income Black students could help direct school voucher policies back toward their intent. It would also be beneficial to expand and enforce civil rights laws to prevent discrimination against Black students. These measures would help ensure all students, regardless of background, have access to quality education.

Police issue assembly ban for downtown LA after third day of demos
Police issue assembly ban for downtown LA after third day of demos

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Police issue assembly ban for downtown LA after third day of demos

Authorities have declared the entire downtown Los Angeles area an "unlawful assembly" zone after a third consecutive day of clashes between protesters and law enforcement, sparked by the crackdown on immigration ordered by US President Donald Trump. "You are to leave the area immediately," the Los Angeles police department (LAPD) wrote on X in the early hours of Monday. Over the weekend, 56 people were arrested in connection with the ongoing protests, according to police reports. Police chief Jim McDonnell was quoted by US media as announcing that "the number of arrests so far is nothing compared to what is yet to come." On Sunday, tensions spiked dramatically following Trump's order to deploy the National Guard and, controversially, mobilize regular military forces - despite opposition from local officials. Thousands of protesters flooded the streets in response to the unprecedented deployment. Law enforcement responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs in an effort to disperse the crowds. However, the rest of the sprawling metropolis continued to function largely as normal, aside from isolated pockets of unrest in the downtown area. An expert cited by The New York Times said this is the first time in 60 years that a president has deployed a state's National Guard without the governor's consent. The last instance was in 1965, when president Lyndon B Johnson used troops to protect predominantly Black demonstrators during the civil rights movement in Alabama The protests began on Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers executed search warrants across the city as Trump pushed forward with his goal of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused the Trump administration of deliberately provoking the escalation and acting unlawfully in an effort to portray the president as a strongman leader. The Democratic governor - considered a potential contender for the 2028 presidential race - announced that the state would file a lawsuit against the federal government. Protests also in San Francisco Protests against the deportation of migrants without residence permits also led to riots in San Francisco. Around 60 people were detained after an initially peaceful demonstration in front of a building belonging to ICE, local station KGO reported. According to the report, hundreds of people protested on Sunday evening against the raids and deportations of migrants without valid residence permits currently taking place in the state of California. The mood turned sour when some demonstrators destroyed property, carried out attacks and caused other damage, according to police, the station reported. In order to break up the demonstration, the authorities declared the protests an "unlawful assembly." Some people nevertheless remained and later damaged buildings and a police car in other streets. Another group refused to disperse. This led to the arrests. According to the report, two officers were injured. A firearm was also seized.

The history of National Guard deployments in LA: What to know
The history of National Guard deployments in LA: What to know

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

The history of National Guard deployments in LA: What to know

The National Guard has been deployed to Los Angeles several times in response to civil disorder and natural disasters. In previous years, the National Guard was sent at the request of state and local officials. In January, California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a request from Los Angeles County to deploy the state National Guard to support law enforcement during the wildfires. Thousands of Guard members were sent to the region to assist in firefighting efforts and to help local law enforcement with checkpoints and patrols in the evacuation areas. While Vice President J.D. Vance has referred to the protesters as "insurrectionists" and senior White House aide Stephen Miller described the protests as a "violent insurrection," President Donald Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act. Under the 1807 law, the president may have the legal authority to dispatch the military or federalize the Guard in states that cannot control insurrections under or are defying federal law. In June 2020, USA TODAY reported that Trump had considered invoking the Insurrection Act over protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a former Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck on a street corner in May 2020. Protestors clashed with police across the country, including in Los Angeles, which prompted then-Mayor Eric Garcetti to ask Newsom for members of the Guard to be sent to the city. At the time, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and others urged against deploying domestic troops to quell civil unrest. In 1994, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake ‒ known as the Northridge earthquake – shook the San Fernando Valley, which is about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in residential damages, according to the California Earthquake Authority. The Guard was sent as part of the disaster assistance operation. The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was in 1992 by former President George H.W. Bush, when the acquittal of the Los Angeles Police Department officers who beat Rodney King sparked civil unrest in Los Angeles, which left more than 60 people dead and 2,300 injured, according to the Bill of Rights Institute. Thousands of members of the Guard, the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps were deployed in the city. In 1965, nearly 14,000 Guard troops were sent to Los Angeles amid the Watts riots at the request of the California lieutenant governor, according to Stanford University's Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Past National Guard deployments in LA: What to know

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store