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Talarico Pitches ‘a New American Dream’ as Economic Agenda Centers Workers, Affordability

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THE DALLAS WEEKLY — Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico unveiled his economic platform, “A New American Dream,” in Arlington. The platform focuses on lowering household costs, strengthening workers’ rights, and expanding access to housing, healthcare, and education.

Credit: Dallas Weekly

By Ceara Johnson

Source: Black Press USA Wire

ARLINGTON — Framing affordability as the defining issue facing Texas families, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico unveiled what he called “A New American Dream” Wednesday night, introducing an economic platform centered on lowering household costs, strengthening workers’ rights and expanding access to housing, healthcare and education.

Speaking before a crowd of more than 1,300 supporters in Arlington, Talarico argued that rising prices, stagnant wages and growing wealth inequality have placed the American dream further out of reach for working families. Throughout the speech, he returned to a central message that Texans who “work hard and play by the rules” should be able to afford a home, raise a family and retire with dignity.

Local leaders set the stage

Before Talarico took the stage, several Texas political leaders addressed the audience.

Congressman Marc Veasey encouraged attendees to remain engaged through Election Day, followed by Tarrant County District Attorney candidate Tiffany Burks, who is seeking to become the county’s top prosecutor in November. Republican former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley also spoke, criticizing Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton and urging voters to consider a different direction for the state. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, who has described himself as an independent, welcomed attendees before introducing Talarico and thanking residents for participating in the event. Talarico opened his remarks by recognizing each speaker and announcing the launch of his statewide “New American Dream Tour.”

Making affordability the centerpiece

Talarico opened the policy rollout with the story of a Houston airport worker named Augusta, whom he described as working long hours while struggling to afford rent and care for her grandson with autism.

He used her story to argue that many Texans are working full time but remain unable to cover basic necessities because wages have failed to keep pace with the cost of housing, healthcare and other essentials. He contrasted today’s economy with what he described as the stronger middle class of previous generations, when homeownership, higher education and retirement were more attainable for working families.

Raising wages and cutting costs

A significant portion of the proposal focused on increasing workers’ earnings while reducing financial pressures on households.

Among Talarico’s proposals are raising the federal minimum wage, expanding overtime protections, repealing tax breaks that primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans and redirecting those savings into cost-of-living tax relief for middle-class families. He also proposed lowering taxes for small businesses rather than multinational corporations and strengthening labor unions to help workers negotiate higher wages, better benefits and safer workplaces.

For many families across South Dallas and North Texas, where inflation and housing costs continue to strain household budgets, those proposals were presented as a way to increase take-home pay while supporting locally owned businesses.

Tackling debt, housing and healthcare

Talarico also outlined several proposals aimed at reducing personal debt.

His plan calls for canceling medical debt, limiting excessive hospital billing, capping high credit card interest rates and expanding access to college and career education without long-term student debt. He also proposed reducing the federal deficit by closing billionaire tax loopholes, cracking down on tax fraud and reducing spending tied to prolonged overseas conflicts.

Housing affordability also featured prominently in the speech.

Talarico proposed reducing federal barriers to new home construction and creating down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. He paired those proposals with calls for universal childcare, paid family leave, permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit and continued protection of Medicare and Social Security.

Energy and technology

On energy, Talarico rejected an either-or approach, describing Texas as both the nation’s leading oil and gas producer and its largest generator of wind and solar energy.

Instead, he proposed maintaining partnerships with the state’s traditional energy industry while expanding renewable energy investment, arguing that Texas can remain an energy leader through an “all-of-the-above” strategy.

He also addressed artificial intelligence and the rapid growth of data centers across Texas, an issue increasingly affecting North Texas communities.

His proposals include stricter oversight of large data centers over concerns about electricity demand and water consumption, while also calling for an “AI dividend” that would allow Americans to benefit financially from advances in artificial intelligence. He further proposed expanding entrepreneurship grants for small business owners, inventors and artists seeking startup capital.

Framing the election

Closing the speech, Talarico returned to the campaign’s central message that economic opportunity should be available to every Texan willing to work.

He pledged to reject corporate PAC money and argued that the election is ultimately about lowering costs, raising wages and making homeownership, education and retirement more attainable for working families.

The Arlington event marked the first stop of Talarico’s statewide “New American Dream Tour,” which the campaign says will continue with additional events across Texas in the coming weeks.

The post Talarico pitches ‘A New American Dream’ as economic agenda centers workers, affordability appeared first on Dallas Weekly.

Based on reporting by The Dallas Weekly.

Originally published by Black Press USA Wire — https://dallasweekly.com/2026/08/texas-affordability-new-american-dream/

California’s Proposition 50: A Quiet Rebellion Against the Rigged Game

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Sacramento California outside the capital building

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

In a political season defined by distrust, Californians did something rare on Tuesday night. They stood up for democracy. Proposition 50, approved by a wide margin, was more than a ballot measure. It was a statement of intent. Voters sent a message that when the system begins to fracture, citizens still have the power to restore it.

The initiative gives California’s Democratic-controlled legislature the authority to draw new congressional maps, replacing those crafted by the state’s independent redistricting commission. The goal is to counterbalance Republican gerrymanders in states such as Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. Analysts say the move could deliver as many as five additional Democratic seats in the U.S. House next year, a shift that could alter control of Congress. Gov. Gavin Newsom saw the fight over Proposition 50 as both political and moral. He warned that while one side manipulates the system, the other cannot simply play by old rules. “Donald Trump is trying to rig the midterm elections before one single vote is even cast,” Newsom said. He called on Democrats in other states to “meet this moment head on.”

Former President Barack Obama added his voice to the debate. “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” he said. The message landed with voters who have watched Trump’s party gain influence despite repeated national defeats. Opponents framed Proposition 50 as an overreach. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor who championed California’s original independent redistricting system, accused Newsom of taking power away from voters. Republicans warned that Democrats were undermining the very process they once defended. Yet many Californians viewed the measure differently. They saw it as a necessary countermeasure in a political landscape where fair play had already been abandoned.

Siddhartha Deb, a newly registered voter, captured that sentiment. “I don’t like the way the Republican Party is basically trying to rig elections by gerrymandering,” he said. “And this is the only way, to fight fire with fire.” For Democrats, the stakes could not be higher. Proposition 50 represents both a practical and symbolic stand against the erosion of representative government. “When Donald Trump started ordering his Republican lackeys to save his fading power by rigging the midterms, he didn’t realize he’d be up against a new Democratic Party,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said. “We don’t roll over when one team refuses to play by the rules. We fight back. Trump got his showdown, and tonight, we met him in the arena. Californians stood up, rallied together, and passed Proposition 50 to make sure voters, not Donald Trump, decide who represents them in Congress.”

Martin called the victory “a testament to the leadership of Governor Newsom and Democrats across California who refused to back down.” He said, “When we fight, we win, and from Day One, the DNC has been proud to stand right there alongside Californians to defend democracy and deliver a message that echoes nationwide.”

EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler praised the initiative and the women who helped lead it. “California voters sent a clear message. Republicans will not get away with manipulating the midterms in order to maintain their grip on power,” she said. “Strong women leaders will be key to flipping the House districts drawn by Proposition 50. EMILYs List is already working with the women best equipped to win these districts, take back the majority, and put a stop to Republicans’ barrage of attacks on Americans’ lives.” For Newsom and his allies, the passage of Proposition 50 represents a reassertion of democratic will in a time of democratic decay. It is not the work of idealists, but of pragmatists who believe the only way to preserve fairness is to confront those who manipulate it. It is also a reflection of how deeply voters have grown weary of the gamesmanship that dominates national politics. Californians voted not just to redraw maps, but to redraw the moral boundaries of the fight for democracy. The initiative may shift a few seats in Congress, but its real meaning lies in its message. It declares that the will of the people cannot be quietly rewritten by power.

In the end, Proposition 50 was less about partisanship than about preservation. Democracy, Californians decided, is still worth the fight.

Protesters in Milwaukee call for removal of National Guard from Chicago

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photo courtesy of CBS58.com

Article and photo courtesy of CBS58.com

While hundreds of people in Chicago recently protested the deployment of around 500 National Guard troops, protestors here rallied at Milwaukee’s Cathedral Square, calling for the removal of those troops and immigration agents.

Voces De La Frontera gathered demonstrators at Cathedral Square Park to make their demand of ‘Hands Off Chicago.’

Protestors in both cities say the president is escalating aggression by sending soldiers to support immigrations and customs enforcement agents.

Arrests, raids and protests happen daily as the number of immigration agents have drastically increased since the beginning of September.

Three hundred soldiers are from Illinois’s own National Guard and 200 more are from Texas.

U.S. Northern Command has said the troops are there to protect federal agents by securing perimeters, doing crowd control and deescalating situations.

The troops can detain people but will not make arrests.

A Question of Lynching in Mississippi

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Autopsy room (Photo by Gilles Corona)

By April Ryan

The autopsy for Trey Reed is underway. The 21-year-old student at Delta State University was found dead hanging from a tree on the campus. There are questions about whether it was foul play or suicide.

The state’s report will be completed in 24 hours. However, Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump confirms the parents of Reed will perform an independent autopsy in Mississippi after the current procedure is complete. It has yet to be determined if the family will use someone from Mississippi or outside of the state to perform the independent postmortem examination. Delta State’s initial contact with the family about Reed’s death was that he was found dead in his dorm room. Reed’s grandfather contradicts the information, saying the family found the truth from social media that he was dead, hanging from a tree. Crump is on the ground in Mississippi, working in collaboration with civil rights groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, NAACP, and Southern Poverty Law Center, “trying to get to the truth,” as he confirms, “the rumors are rampant.”

Compounding the issue, another man, 36-year-old Corey Zukatis, was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area in Vicksburg, Mississippi, near a casino. The family of Zukatis confirms he was homeless at the time of his hanging death. Both cases are under investigation. Democratic Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, is calling for a full federal investigation following the hanging deaths of two black men in Mississippi, long considered the most racist state in the nation. Brian Fair, Interim President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), is also calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the deaths, saying, “the tremendous outcry from the local community over concerns surrounding the loss of these two should not go unaddressed.”

Fair also says the optics “of these two deaths immediately evokes the collective consciousness of those who are deeply aware of Mississippi’s troubled past. These events remind us how inequity continues to endanger lives.” According to the Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America documents more than 4400 racial terror lynchings in the United States during the period between Reconstruction and World War II. Also, according to their website, EJI researchers documented 4075 racial terror lynchings of African Americans in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia between 1877 and 1950. On March 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law. The federal law says any act where someone conspires to commit a hate crime that results in death, serious bodily injury, or significant harm can be prosecuted as a federal crime. The law carries up to 30 years in prison plus fines.

The question now is, will this Trump administration recognize and/or utilize this law if there is a lynching conviction in these cases?

Congress Moves to Block Trump’s Social Security Assault

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

In its nonstop assault on the most vulnerable Americans, the Trump administration is preparing to impose sweeping cuts to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program that provides a lifeline for the nation’s poorest seniors, children, and severely disabled adults. The proposed rule would strip eligibility from hundreds of thousands and slash monthly payments by as much as one-third, even as new data confirms Social Security’s trust funds are facing insolvency within the next decade.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), nearly 400,000 people stand to lose critical income. That includes more than 275,000 who would see cuts of about $300 a month, and over 100,000 who could lose their benefits entirely. The changes target families already under strain, specifically SSI recipients living with relatives who receive SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Reversing Protections for Struggling Families

The Biden administration had expanded the definition of “public assistance household,” shielding recipients from the harshest penalties. That safeguard ensured that low-income families receiving food assistance would not be punished for offering shelter to an elderly parent or disabled child. Trump’s rollback would erase that protection, returning to outdated rules from 1980. “Receiving food assistance from SNAP would no longer be enough to qualify a family as a ‘public assistance household,” CBPP analysts warned. “The resulting SSI benefit cuts would be felt in low-income households with disabled family members or older relatives across the country”. The typical multi-person SNAP household with an SSI recipient survives on about $17,000 annually—well below the poverty line. Under the new rule, a woman with Down Syndrome living with low-income parents could see her benefits plunge from $967 to less than $700 a month, with families forced to track and report household expenses line by line.

Fallout Across the States

Every state would be affected. California could lose benefits for 57,600 people, New York 35,900, Florida 30,800, and Texas 23,600. Even small states like Vermont, Wyoming, and Alaska face losses. Advocates warn that the proposal would drive more disabled people into institutions, increase homelessness, and add crushing red tape. The cuts come as Social Security marked its 90th anniversary. Nearly 70 million Americans depend on the program, but the latest Trustees’ report projects its trust funds will be depleted by 2034, triggering an automatic 23% cut to monthly checks unless Congress acts.

Unions and Lawmakers Push Back

Unions and community groups are mobilizing. The AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better in a Union” bus tour stopped in Bakersfield, California, where California Nurses Association president Sandy Reding blasted the Trump budget bill as “a cruel piece of legislation that will have disastrous consequences for the most vulnerable in our communities, including the patients I care for in Bakersfield.” In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President Everett Kelley pledged to fight Social Security staffing cuts. “Across the country, we are using our voice—as workers, as parents, as people who care about our communities—to demand that this administration and Congress do whatever it takes to protect Social Security,” Kelley asserted. “The American people deserve nothing less.”

Democratic leaders are also taking action. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is preparing a September bill he calls the “Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act,” aimed at reversing Trump’s cuts, reopening shuttered field offices, and restoring staffing. “Social Security to me means my life,” said Ellen Carter, a New York recipient. “It means medicine gets paid; it means that I have a place to sleep at night.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a companion bill in the Senate that would add $5 billion in funding, restore staff, safeguard data, and launch an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the Trump administration’s Social Security cutbacks. “Trump and his Republican allies have made it crystal clear—holding on to earned benefits requires vigilant defense,” Wyden said.

The Stakes for Millions

For the 7.5 million Americans who rely on SSI each month, including many with severe disabilities, the stakes are life and death. “For 90 years, we’ve kept America’s greatest anti-poverty success story alive,” Jessica Lapointe, president of AFGE Council 220, told reporters. “We serve widows, orphans, the elderly, disabled, every vulnerable soul in your families and your communities, and they deserve respect and dignity when they come for their earned benefits.”

#billionaire #Inclusion 2024 election activists affirmative action ballot access Black communities Christopher Rufo conservative interests DEI democracy diversity election certification election outcomes Elon Musk equity initiatives far-right influencers featured Gerrymandering ideological balance Impeachment judicial campaigns Justice Janet Protasiewicz liberal majority New Yorker investigation political power Presidential race racial justice redistricting Republican lawmakers state courts twitter voting districts voting rights Wisconsin Supreme Court X

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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / The United States Department of Health and Human Services

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Thousands of federal health employees faced sudden job losses Tuesday as mass firings and forced resignations swept through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under a new directive from the Trump administration. According to Endpoints News, some FDA staffers arriving at the agency’s White Oak campus in Maryland discovered their employment had ended when their security badges failed to activate. Guards then escorted them to gather their belongings. Witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described a chaotic atmosphere as longtime employees were abruptly cut loose.

Those escorted out included individuals who had accepted buyouts and retirement packages, leaving them all the more perplexed and concerned about whether the Trump administration will keep its word on the separation agreements. “This is confusing,” said one individual who previously accepted a retirement package and was told their last day would be later in April. “Do I need a lawyer?” the individual wondered. Among the affected was Dr. Peter Stein, director of the Office of New Drugs at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Stein said he was presented with a reassignment to a newly created position in “patient affairs” — or the option to leave. He rejected the offer, calling it “ridiculous,” and was placed on administrative leave.

The sweeping changes will affect roughly 3,500 FDA employees — nearly one-fifth of the agency’s workforce. The Biden-era leadership structure is being dismantled under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has installed new personnel and removed several high-ranking officials, including those working on cancer therapies and biologics. Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official and longtime director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, also resigned. He cited what he described as a dangerous erosion of public trust in science under Kennedy’s leadership. “If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy,” an HHS spokesperson said.

Marks, who led the FDA’s biologics division since 2016, played a central role in the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He oversaw emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and was instrumental in Operation Warp Speed — the Trump administration’s public-private partnership to develop and distribute vaccines. In his resignation letter to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Marks condemned what he called the promotion of misinformation from the agency’s top levels. “Undermining confidence in vaccines is irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security,” he wrote.

Marks said he had initially hoped to collaborate with Kennedy on efforts to improve vaccine transparency but became disillusioned. “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary,” Marks wrote. “Rather, he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.” Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has questioned the safety of widely used immunizations and filed a 2021 petition to revoke FDA authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, calling them the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” He has also made misleading claims about the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that it “does cause deaths every year.”

According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, no deaths have been linked to the MMR vaccine in healthy individuals. The vaccine is not recommended for immunocompromised individuals. Marks’ resignation also pointed to the current measles outbreak in the U.S., which is especially severe in Texas, as a direct consequence of the growing distrust in science. “The ongoing multistate measles outbreak that is particularly severe in Texas reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined,” Marks wrote. “Measles, which killed more than 100,000 unvaccinated children last year in Africa and Asia owing to pneumonitis and encephalitis caused by the virus, had been eliminated from our shores.”

Flu Cases Skyrocket Nationwide, Overwhelming Hospitals and Closing Schools

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Flu cases are surging across the United States, pushing hospitals to capacity and forcing school closures in multiple states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least 24 million people have been infected this season, with 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths, including 57 children. The latest data show flu activity continues to rise, with ten states and New York City experiencing the highest levels. Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas are seeing widespread outbreaks. In New York City alone, more than 51,000 flu tests returned positive during the week ending January 25, a six percent increase from the previous week. Flu-related hospitalizations in the city rose by 11 percent, with 3,000 people admitted in one week.

Schools nationwide are being forced to shut down as outbreaks spread among students and staff. Nearly a dozen schools have temporarily closed, with administrators struggling to contain the rapid spread of illness. Doctors and public health officials warn that a pause in communication from the federal government has disrupted efforts to track and contain the flu. On January 21, the Trump administration halted external messaging from health agencies, delaying critical updates. While some messaging has resumed, health professionals say the interruption has made it harder to track infection patterns and prepare for surges.

CDC continues to urge vaccinations for everyone six months and older and emphasizes the importance of early antiviral treatment for those at higher risk. The agency is also monitoring co-circulating respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and RSV, which are contributing to the strain on hospitals. “Seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country,” the CDC stated in its latest report.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Match Sets Betting and Streaming Records

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By Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

@StacyBrownMedia

The highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson shattered records across sportsbooks and streaming platforms, drawing unprecedented attention to the world of combat sports. Held Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the event was a commercial success despite the underwhelming performance inside the ring.

According to BetMGM, the fight attracted more bets and more money than any other boxing or MMA event in the sportsbook’s nearly seven-year history. The company reported that the Tyson-Paul fight generated four times as much money as any previous combat sports event, highlighting its massive appeal. ESPN BET also declared the bout its most-wagered combat sports event, with more than twice the handle of its biggest MMA event since launching in November 2023.

“It was unbelievable for business,” said John Murray, executive director of the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. “Casino was packed. Bets flying in all day. I was stunned.”

Over 70,000 fans filled the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium, while millions tuned in via Netflix to witness the clash between Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and Tyson, the legendary heavyweight stepping back into the ring after nearly two decades. Netflix reported a staggering 60 million households tuned in, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams. The platform described the event as a “mega-event,” citing record-breaking viewership and significant social media buzz.

Despite the spectacle, the fight itself left much to be desired. Paul secured a unanimous decision victory after eight uninspiring rounds. Tyson, now 58, showed signs of his age, throwing just 97 punches and landing 18. Paul’s athleticism carried him through the match, improving his professional record to 11-1.

The event elicited mixed reactions from fans and fellow fighters. Evander Holyfield, Tyson’s former rival, called the fight lackluster. Nicola Adams, an Olympic gold medalist, remarked that a prime Tyson would have easily dominated Paul. “Let’s be real,” Adams posted on X. “A young Mike Tyson would’ve absolutely annihilated Jake Paul tonight.”

The bout also drew criticism for its quality, particularly when compared to the co-main event featuring Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Their thrilling match saw Taylor controversially retain her undisputed world light-welterweight champion status, providing a stark contrast to the main event.

“I love Mike Tyson, but they giving him too much credit,” wrote Terence Crawford, a four-division world champion, on X. “He looked like trash, to train that long and only throw 97 punches the whole fight is crazy. I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt out there.”

Head Start Is a Jump Start for Women’s Economic Security

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Children in HeadStart by Vince Alongi

Head Start Is a Jump Start for Women’s Economic Security

By Christian F. Nunes, MBA, MS, LCSW

Since 1964, the Head Start program has been a lifeline for generations of women and families, providing free, high-quality educational, health, social-emotional, and nutritional services and opening doors to opportunity and economic justice that had long been kept shut. Now, as Head Start approaches its 60th anniversary, it’s a great time to look back on all that the program has achieved — and look forward to what our country could look like if Head Start was strengthened. It’s been said that when it began, Head Start was not simply an “innovation” but also an “invention,” and a radical one at that. President Lyndon Johnson, a former teacher in a one-room schoolhouse, believed strongly that education was the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and Head Start was one of the earliest elements of the “War on Poverty” launched by his administration.

He put the whole engine of government to work on disrupting the cycle of poverty that endured from one generation to the next and advanced a social justice agenda in areas where educational opportunity was denied based on race. Naturally, this intersects with the issue of economic justice for women. As Marian Wright Edelman — the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar and the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund — described it, “After the Mississippi Summer Project, the Freedom Summer of 1964, without a doubt, Head Start coming to Mississippi in 1965 was the most important follow-up and aftermath. It led to a bunch of independent people getting jobs outside of the plantation structure, not going through the state structure — where they wouldn’t have gotten jobs anywhere, except as janitors. And creating this Head Start program, those 3,000 people multiplied into many of your hundreds of elected officials today. It was the next phase of trying to build the movement.” The experts, scientists, and officials who crafted Head Start believed that a child who is physically or mentally unwell, or who is hungry, would not be able to learn, and they made health and nutrition integral parts of Head Start.

By now, Head Start has served nearly 40 million children (about twice the population of New York), birth to age five, and their families. In 2023, that included more than 833,000 children and pregnant people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Head Start protects the healthy development of children living in poverty and it frees parents to pursue their education or employment, opening doors to middle-class security. What’s more, Head Start is an essential building block on the path to universal pre-K, with many states integrating Head Start programs into their state pre-K system. But not everyone sees it that way, with some pushing to eliminate Head Start from state and federal budgets. That would slash pre-K, cut the number of available childcare slots, cause childcare costs for families living in poverty to skyrocket, thwart economic growth, and widen income inequality. Roughly 68% of children under age six have all available parents in the workforce, making access to childcare both a necessity for families and the nation’s economy. It’s been estimated that lack of access to reliable, affordable infant and toddler care costs $122 billion every year due to lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue.

Childcare is work that supports all other work. Mothers, who do most of the caregiving, too often must choose between staying home reducing their paid work hours to care for their children, or arranging childcare that can be so expensive that continuing to work may not be worthwhile. The cost of childcare can be a “tax” on wages — for every hour a single mother works, she must pay someone else to take care of her children. Head Start saves women money and connects them to a support network of other parents and service providers to help them rise the economic ladder. At a time when most Americans live in childcare deserts, areas with an insufficient supply of licensed childcare, women can’t afford to lose the hundreds of thousands of childcare places and the network of services provided by Head Start. This is especially true in rural communities. A 2018 survey of ten states (Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, and Texas) found that Head Start programs provided 22% of the overall childcare supply in rural areas, including more than one-third of the center-based child care in Georgia counties and more than 40% in frontier counties (those with a population density of fewer than six people per square mile) in Michigan.

The rising cost of childcare takes a painful, daily toll on women’s economic security. The national average price for childcare in 2023 was $11,582. For families at the poverty level, which is the income eligibility threshold for Head Start, that represents 38.6% of their income and is more than five times greater than the threshold the government has said is affordable for families to pay for childcare. Dozens of studies have shown how Head Start children and their families benefit over the long term across health, education, parenting, high school graduation rates, participation in college, employment, and earnings. One study even found positive impacts on the children of Head Start graduates. The numbers are clear, and the facts are plain. Head Start is a great example of a government that works for women and children. It must be protected, strengthened, and expanded.

Christian F. Nunes is the National President of the National Organization for Women

____________________________________________________________

 

Family of 16-Year-Old Shot in Alleged “Wrong House” Incident Retain Attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt

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The engagement of Attorneys Lee Merritt (left) and Ben Crump confirm that the Yarl case is likely to gain national media attention. (Photo of Lee Merritt coutesy of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Photo of Ben Crump by Lorie Shaull)

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

A story broken by the Kansas City Defender, a family is claiming that their 16-year-old son, Ralph Yarl, was shot twice at the front door of a man after appearing at the wrong home as he attempted to pick up a sibling.

According to news reports, Ralph Yarl, who is Black, was shot twice by a white man in North Kansas City. The man who shot Yarl was later questioned and released by police. The reaction that has followed after reports of Ralph Yarl’s shooting by the Kansas City Defender has been strong and pointed.

“This was not an ‘error,’ this was a hate crime. You don’t shoot a child in the head because he rang your doorbell. The fact that the police said it was an ‘error’ is why America is the way it is,” Dr. Faith Spoonmorethe told the Kansas City Defender. Spoonmorethe is an aunt of Ralph Yarl.

“There can be no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening and defenseless teenager that rang his doorbell!” Our offices have been retained to seek justice for Ralph Yarl. We demand immediate action,” wrote attorney Lee Merritt of Texas on social media on April 16.

“We’ve been retained by Ralph Yarl and his family following the unjustifiable shooting of the 16-year old by an unidentified white male assailant. Lee Merritt and our legal team demand Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement swiftly identify, arrest and prosecute the man responsible,” wrote attorney Ben Crump on the evening of April 16.

The Yarl shooting happens as the country is gripped in debate about the rise in gun homicides. The number of mass shootings has also risen over the last two years.

“Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice by a white man in Kansas City after accidentally ringing the doorbell of the wrong home. The man shot Ralph in the head through his glass door, and then when Yarl was already bleeding out on the ground, shot him again,” wrote Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts.

“My goodness…let’s be for justice, which is a continuum. That means the man who did this should be charged AND we need to work for the legislative and heart change to prevent these tragedies,” wrote Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Protest events are scheduled in support of Ralph Yarl in the community to demand justice.

“The Yarl family is urging supporters to help spread awareness about the case and bring attention to the issue of racial violence in America,” reports the Kansas City Defender.

The engagement of Attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt confirm that the Yarl case is likely to gain national media attention.

Crump rose to national prominence in 2012 when he represented the family of Trayvon Martin, who was murdered by a self-proclaimed “neighborhood watch” volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Crump’s advocacy helped bring attention to the case and led to the indictment of Martin’s killer — George Zimmerman.

Since then, Crump has continued to represent families of victims of police brutality and other civil rights violations, including the families of Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. He has also been involved in advocacy efforts to reform the criminal justice system and end police brutality.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She may be contacted at [email protected] and on twitter at @LVBurke