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Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Lauds The Links, Incorporated and Issues Voting Rights Call to Action

NEW JOURNAL AND GUIDE — Noted civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis closed out Women’s HERstory Month recognizing The Links, Incorporated as a distinguished organization of outstanding community service and influence.

Published

6 years ago

April 20, 2019

Web Staff

By The New Journal and Guide

Noted civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis closed out Women’s HERstory Month recognizing The Links, Incorporated as a distinguished organization of outstanding community service and influence.

Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, president of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated met with Congressman Lewis in his historic and museum-like Capitol Hill office. There, he lauded Dr. Jeffries Leonard for her dynamic, bold leadership as the organization’s 17th national president. Moreover, he praised the women’s organization of more than 15,000 professional women, for its integrity, courage, and accountability. While presenting the esteemed service award, Congressman Lewis further characterized the group’s work as “essential to bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice.”

Dr. Jeffries Leonard shared that Congressman Lewis is a fearless trailblazer whose contributions in both the civil rights and political arenas are unrivaled. “Receiving your vote of confidence, Congressman Lewis, confirms that we are on the right track, focused on transforming lives and fulfilling our purpose,” said Dr. Jeffries Leonard.

August 6, 2019 marks the 54th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Many brave activists, like Congressman Lewis, shed blood so that African-Americans could enjoy the voting rights they have today – a right that Congressman Lewis calls “precious” and “almost sacred.”

Currently voting rights in America are under attack. When asked about how The Links, Incorporated could raise their collective voices in support of Congressman Lewis’ agenda, he responded, “We need everyone to have the ability to participate in the democratic process and be able to register and vote.”

The Links, Incorporated is committed to this call to action in ensuring every American has the ability to exercise their constitutional right to vote, and is proud to have seven dynamic women in Congress as active members: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Congresswoman Val Demings,Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, and honorary member Senator Kamala Harris.

With 288 chapters in 42 states, and in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom, the organization will mobilize, galvanize and utilize across its vast reach to coordinate with elected officials on state and local levels in preparation for the 2020 election.

“It is incumbent that every American hold their elected officials accountable to ensure voting rights are protected for generations to come,” Dr. Jeffries Leonard stated.

The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women.

For more information, visit www.linksinc.org

This article originally appeared in the New Journal and Guide.

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Activism

Opinion: Can Donald Trump Pole Dance?

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

The news cycle has been buzzing the last few weeks. Xi, with Putin and Kim, the sweethearts of Trump carousing alone without him? The victims of the pedophile Epstein speaking out publicly in DC.

Then, there’s the release of that salacious letter Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump said the letter didn’t exist. But it does.

Timing is everything.

Additionally, there are further concerns, such as the Supreme Court removing restrictions on ICE interactions. ICE Agents can stop anyone now. For any reason. And there’s the threat of the U.S. sending the military to fight crime in Chicago. Trump even posted a meme of himself as a character in “Apocalypse Now.”

All that with bad polls and bad economic numbers, and these topics are dominating the news cycle — Trump era chaos.

Given all that is happening, if the presidency was more like pole dancing, you know Trump would be flat on his butt.

The reality is the opposite. He keeps going strong like nothing’s happened. Inexplicably, Trump always seems to defy gravity.

That’s why to reassure myself with reality, I just think of Trump on a pole. Dancing. He was born on Flag Day, after all.

I’ve got pole dancing on my mind because I’m in Canada at the Vancouver Fringe Festival doing my show, “Emil Amok 69, Everything’s Flipped,” about how the current political situation gets very personal.

Get tickets here if you’re near:

I’ve performed at 16 fringe festivals, and I always look for unique performers. This year, in my same venue (the Revue Stage) I found her in a show, “The Pole Shebang.”

Andrea James Lui may look like a typical Asian American at first.

But she’s Asian Canadian, married to an Australian, who now lives down under.

At the Vancouver Fringe, she highlights her special identity.

Pole Dancer

Yes, pole dancing has come to the fringe. Leave your dollar bills at home, this is not that kind of pole dancing.

This is more Cirque Du Soleil-ish- acrobatic stuff, yet it’s hard to deny the sexiness when a woman flawlessly swings from a pole with her legs apart.

The show is more intriguing than it is titillating.

Lui has created a behind-the-scenes look at the “polar” experience.

“She could have been a physicist,” says her big sister Christina, who despite saying that, supports her sister 100 percent.

Lui touches on some of the emotional depth in the poled subculture. But there’s plenty more to mine in the future. “Polar Bare,” the Musical? I’d see it.

Trump on a Pole

So that’s how I’ve come to the polar metaphor.

As Trump flails in the news, I picture him on a pole.

The letter to Epstein is further proof of the character of the man.

Will he stay afloat?

Not if the presidency were more like pole dancing.

You can’t lie on the pole.

That’s one way all of us in the Trump era can get to the truth.

About the Author

Emil Amok is a veteran journalist, commentator, and stage monologist. He has written a weekly column on Asian Americans for more than 30 years.

Contact: www.amok.com

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Bo Tefu

California’s Largest ICE Detention Center Reopens, Begins Receiving Detainees

“We have begun receiving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at our California City Correctional Facility (CCCF) in response to an immediate need from the federal government for safe, humane and appropriate housing and care for these individuals,” said Ryan Gustin, senior director for public affairs for CoreCivic.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California’s largest federal immigration detention facility has quietly reopened in Kern County and has started receiving detainees, according to the private prison operator CoreCivic. The facility, now known as the California City Immigration Processing Center, is a 2,560-bed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.

The facility is the third privately-operated ICE detention center in Kern County and the seventh in California. It originally opened in the late 1990s as a federal facility, later becoming a state prison, and was closed in 2024 after California ended for-profit prison contracts. CoreCivic confirmed that the reopening will create roughly 500 jobs and generate more than $2 million in property taxes for California City.

The reopening has raised legal and community concerns. California law requires a 180-day public notice before opening or reusing detention facilities under SB29. City officials, including Mayor Marquette Hawkins and City Manager Christopher Lopez, did not respond to comment requests, and Lopez said he had “no information” on long-term agreements between ICE and the city.

Advocates warned during a June 24 city council meeting that reopening the facility could lead to increased local ICE arrests.

Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, manager of the nonprofit Faith in the Valley, said, “We’re troubled by California City turning a deaf ear to the objections voiced by community members and advocates voiced at previous meetings.”

Faith in the Valley estimates that roughly 300 detainees have already been quietly transferred from nearby facilities Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde. City officials have raised safety concerns, citing insufficient emergency communications and building code issues in a July 29 letter to CoreCivic. Gustin said the company has addressed these concerns and maintains “an open line of communication” with city officials.

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Business

California Payroll Report Highlights Top-Earning Public Workers as Controller Malia Cohen Publishes New Data

The self-reported data shows special district employees received more than $12.66 billion in wages last year, with an additional $3.38 billion in health and retirement benefits. A total of 3,100 special districts submitted reports, though 68 either failed to file or turned in noncompliant information.

Published

4 days ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

California State Controller Malia M. Cohen. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California State Controller Malia M. Cohen has released 2024 payroll data for special districts, spotlighting some of the state’s highest-paid government jobs. The report, published on the Government Compensation in California (GCC) website, offers a detailed look at wages and benefits for nearly 173,000 positions.

Special districts are local government entities designed to provide targeted services such as healthcare, utilities, transportation, and fire protection. According to the 2024 report, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority led the state in total wages, paying more than $1.18 billion. It was followed by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District with nearly $599 million and the Inland Empire Health Plan with $372 million. Other top-paying districts included Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and Orange County Fire Authority.

“Fiscal oversight and transparency are central to my responsibility as State Controller,” Cohen said in a statement. “Publishing the 2024 payroll data for California’s special districts allows the public to see how billions in wages and benefits are managed each year. The Government Compensation in California website is a critical accountability tool that helps taxpayers, policymakers, and local leaders track spending, evaluate priorities, and ensure that public resources are being used responsibly.”

California law requires cities, counties, and special districts to report compensation annually. The GCC site now hosts salary and benefit information for more than two million public jobs, including those in state government and the California State University system.