#NNPA BlackPress
Butterfield Introduces ‘BRIDGE Act’ to Push STEM Education, Employment
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Butterfield’s legislation would provide teacher education, including the provision of preservice teacher training and in-service professional development at eligible institutions, library, and media specialist training sites.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
The United States will need an estimated 1 million more STEM professionals by 2022 to keep up with workforce demands, according to U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.).
To help meet that need Butterfield has introduced HR 1586, which would amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act.
“This Act may be cited as the ‘Building Resources Into Digital Growth and Education Act of 2019,’ or the BRIDGE Act of 2019,” said Butterfield. “My bill will expand the opportunities available to HBCUs to ensure the students they serve are prepared for tomorrow’s innovation economy.” The representative is using the Twitter hashtag, #UnBoxingTheBill, to help promote his legislation.
Butterfield’s proposal mandates the establishment of a digital network technology program.
Through the program, grants are awarded, and cooperative agreements and contracts are provided to eligible institutions to assist in acquiring and augmenting broadband internet access.
Institutions would develop and provide training, education, and professional development programs, including faculty development, to increase the use of broadband internet access service.
Butterfield’s legislation would provide teacher education, including the provision of preservice teacher training and in-service professional development at eligible institutions, library, and media specialist training sites.
It would provide preschool and teacher aid certification to individuals who seek to acquire or enhance technology skills to use broadband internet access service in the classroom.
Certifications would include instruction in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology subjects.
Further, the BRIDGE Act would allow participating institutions to obtain capacity-building technical assistance, including through remote technical support, technical assistance workshops, and distance learning services.
Butterfield said that would help to foster the use of broadband internet access service to improve research and education, including STEM instruction.
The bill would also create or support centers at eligible institutions that are designed to spur innovation, opportunity, and advancement for entrepreneurs and start-ups.
“There are more than 100 HBCUs throughout the country, and unfortunately, many are in desperate need of improved technology and instructional resources,” Butterfield said.
“The BRIDGE Act is a solution to solve that,” he said.
Butterfield and members of the Congressional Black Caucus have long championed STEM education for African Americans and other minority students.
During the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) Annual Legislative Conference, Butterfield and others have sat in on or hosted panels to discuss the importance of STEM.
“The STEM field is important to our country, it’s critical to jobs in the 21st century—jobs that make the big bucks,” Butterfield told students from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Carver Technology Early College High School, who participated in a 2017 CBCF conference. “To succeed, we need to draw from the best in our community.”
Butterfield continued: “The lack of African-Americans in STEM means that many of our best minds are not included.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Remembering George Floyd
#NNPA BlackPress
OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association
For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.
As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.
Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.
We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.
Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.
The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.
We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.
Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association
#NNPA BlackPress
Hate and Chaos Rise in Trump’s America
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating across the United States in 2024. In its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report, the SPLC reveals how these groups are embedding themselves in politics and policymaking while targeting marginalized communities through intimidation, disinformation, and violence. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos, and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless,” said SPLC President Margaret Huang. The report outlines how hard-right groups aggressively targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout 2024. Figures on the far right falsely framed DEI as a threat to white Americans, with some branding it a form of “white genocide.” After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a former Utah legislator blamed the incident on DEI, posting “DEI = DIE.”
Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains. Similar threats hit Jewish institutions and Planet Fitness locations after far-right social media accounts attacked them for trans-inclusive policies. Telegram, which SPLC describes as a hub for hate groups, helped extremists cross-recruit between neo-Nazi, QAnon, and white nationalist spaces. The platform’s lax moderation allowed groups like the Terrorgram Collective—designated terrorists by the U.S. State Department—to thrive. Militia movements were also reorganized, with 50 groups documented in 2024. Many, calling themselves “minutemen,” trained in paramilitary tactics while lobbying local governments for official recognition. These groups shared personnel and ideology with white nationalist organizations.
The manosphere continued to radicalize boys and young men. The Fresh & Fit podcast, now listed as a hate group, promoted misogyny while mocking and attacking Black women. Manosphere influencers used social media algorithms to drive youth toward male-supremacy content. Turning Point USA played a key role in pushing white nationalist rhetoric into mainstream politics. Its leader Charlie Kirk claimed native-born Americans are being replaced by immigrants, while the group advised on Project 2025 and organized Trump campaign events. “We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics, and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”
Click here for the full report or visit http://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/year-hate-extremism-2024.
-
Activism4 weeks ago
AI Is Reshaping Black Healthcare: Promise, Peril, and the Push for Improved Results in California
-
Activism4 weeks ago
ESSAY: Technology and Medicine, a Primary Care Point of View
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’
-
Arts and Culture4 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW: Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss, and Legacy
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Newsom Fights Back as AmeriCorps Shutdown Threatens Vital Services in Black Communities
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
MLK Bust Quietly Removed from Oval Office Under Trump
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of May 7 – 13, 2025