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BSU and HU Alumni Earn DC HBCU Alliance Awards

THE AFRO — Two distinguished alumni from Bowie State and Howard University are among the six-member class who will be presented with HBCU Alumni Awards September 20 as the DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance holds its annual gala to honor outstanding contributions by local Historically Black College and University graduates.

Published

7 years ago

August 15, 2019

Oakland Post

By Mark F. Gray

Two distinguished alumni from Bowie State and Howard University are among the six-member class who will be presented with HBCU Alumni Awards September 20 as the DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance holds its annual gala to honor outstanding contributions by local Historically Black College and University graduates.

Eunique Jones Gibson, a 2007 Bowie State University graduate, and Howard University alumnus Rosie Allen-Herring will be recognized during the ceremony at the 3rd Annual HBCU Alumni Black Tie Gala at the National Museum of Women in the Arts during the Congressional Black Caucus weekend.

Jones Gibson is described as a creative visionary, cultural architect, and social activist. She will be honored with the HBCU Alumni Media and Communications Award, which recognizes print and media professionals and journalists in radio, television, social media, and print publications.

Gibson has previously directed commercials featuring NBA all star Kevin Durant and R&B artist Jennifer Hudson. Her online advertising career began with Microsoft and she has worked with Nickelodeon and the Green Bay Packers as well.

Gibson has been noted for developing advertising and promotional campaigns that spark conversation. She has also used her talent to address timely and relevant issues impacting a variety of communities. After the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, Gibson created her first photo awareness campaign, “I AM Trayvon Martin,” which spread through news and social media inspired the public to use it’s voice to highlight social injustices and the need for change in their neighborhoods.

In February 2013, Gibson launched the award-winning, “Because of Them We Can” photo campaign in time for Black History Month. The campaign featured photographs of children, leaders, activists, and celebrities. It has evolved into a platform for the next generation to honor the legacy of their ancestors.

Last year Jones Gibson, a Maryland native, launched the Dream Village in Hyattsville. Dream Village is a co-working space that hopes to build a supportive community in both physical and virtual spaces. The Dream Village opened in February 2018.

Rosie Allen-Herring is President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of the National Capital Area and will be honored with the HBCU Alumni Community Involvement Award which recognizes outstanding engagement in community programming for citizens and/or youth, and selfless volunteerism.

She has been recognized as one of the most powerful business women in the District three times since 2011, when she earned Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business Award”. In 2013 Allen-Herring was named Washingtonian Magazine’s “Most Powerful Woman” and Washington Business Journal’s “Most Influential Business Leader”.

Allen-Herring holds leadership roles with several business and civic organizations including: the Greater Washington Board of Trade, District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Washington Area Women’s Foundation, and Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital and Raise DC.

Raise DC is a partnership of more than 250 organizations throughout the District and across public and private sectors working toward “cradle-to-career” goals in education and the workforce. It’s programs are designed for all students to earn a postsecondary credential and for those who aren’t in school to receive the education and training that will prepare them for a sustainable career.

North Carolina A&T’s Iris Wagstaff earned the HBCU Alumni Education Award. James McNeil, from Alabama State, the Founder, CEO and President of McNeil Technologies, Philandrophy, is being honored with Alumni Business Award. Former Senior Health Science Adviser to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Dr. William E. Bennett, from The Lincoln (PA) University class of 1950, will receive the HBCU Alumni Public Policy Award. Leah M. Williams, Supply Chain Analyst from Delaware State earns the Young Alumni Award.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke