Mayor Foxx kicks off re-election campaign

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Mayor Foxx kicks off re-election campaign

By Michaela L. Duckett – August 9, 2011

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Good morning! Today the weatherman is calling for partly cloudy skies with a high of 94°. There is also a slight chance of thunderstorms tonight.

Did you know that black babies were once used as alligator bait? In this disturbing video, a curious historian tells how he came to learn about a dark part of Black history that most folks don’t know about or won’t acknowledge.

Here’s what’s brewing in the news:

Mayor Foxx wants your vote

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx officially announced his bid for re-election Monday evening to a crowd of about 100 supporters at his former grade school, Irwin Avenue Elementary.

In a speech, Foxx counted bringing jobs to the city and working to accelerate transportation projects among his chief accomplishments since being elected to office in 2009. He said he has “strengthened and diversified” the city’s economy by creating 12,000 new private-sector jobs, reports The Charlotte Observer.

We want to know what you think about the job Foxx has done as mayor. Can he count on your vote in November? Sound off in the comment section below.
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‘Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation’

Today, VH1 announced a new documentary exploring the link between hip-hop and cocaine. Next month, the network will air "Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation." The two-hour special is executive produced and narrated by rapper turned actor Ice-T and will feature rappers Snoop Dogg, Cyprus Hill's B-Real and Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and Raekwon. (Read more)
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U.S. going to hell in a hand basket?

When S&P downgraded the nation’s bond rating from AAA to AA+, was it the beginning of the end? Bennett College for Women President and author Dr. Julianne Malveaux thinks so. She writes, “The US is going to hell in a hand basket, replicating the denouement of England in the mid-twentieth century. Our tax structure, which rewards the rich and punishes the middle class, looks like something from a developing country, and our economic distribution is going to look like that soon, as well.” Malveaux goes on to note that the number of Americans receiving food stamps has reached a record high, increasing by 12 percent from a year ago. As she points out, those figures are understated. Many more Americans likely qualify for food stamps but are too embarrassed to apply. Meanwhile, homeownership has declined to the lowest level in two decades. (Read more)
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Another black teen dies after being struck with Taser

Everette Howard, 18, was a student in a summer program at the University of Cincinnati. He was killed over the weekend after police stunned him with a Taser. Friends say Howard was trying to break up a fight when police arrived on the scene. The officer who stunned Howard has been placed on paid leave as the incident is investigated. Meanwhile, grieving friends, family and an entire campus are mourning his loss. "He was probably the most talented student as far as writing skills, oral, leadership; anytime I had trouble with the rest of the group he would help me out," said Ekundayo Igeleka. "The world didn’t get to see who he really was, to fully develop into the man he could have been." According to reports, this is not Howard’s first time being struck by police with a Taser. The first incident occurred in 2010. In both cases, officers claimed that the young man didn’t appear to be in his right mind. (Read more)