Civil rights advocates celebrate early executive actions as important victories
WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released the following statement ahead of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, celebrating the historic change in leadership and the early important victories coming through executive actions in the first 10 days of the new administration.
“With an immense sigh of relief, we celebrate the historic inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” said Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “This consequential moment sparks tremendous hope for a stronger, brighter future where we unite, build back better, and find solutions to the very serious challenges we face. As we close a dark, deadly chapter in our nation’s history where we pushed back against relentless attacks on civil and human rights, we look ahead to collaborating with the Biden-Harris administration to undo the atrocities we have all endured and create a more just and equitable future.”
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain recently released a memo outlining executive actions that President Biden will take within the first 10 days of the new administration, starting on day one. These executive actions focus on four areas, including the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and the racial equity crisis.
“These executive actions will make an immediate impact in the lives of so many people in desperate need of help,” continued Henderson. “Reversing Trump’s deeply discriminatory Muslim ban, addressing the COVID-19 crisis, preventing evictions and foreclosures, and advancing equity and support for communities of color and other underserved communities are significant early actions that represent an important first step in charting a new direction for our country. We urged the Biden-Harris administration to take these early actions and look forward to working with them in continuing to advance the civil and human rights coalition’s priorities.”
The White House released an early calendar with actions through the end of January that will focus on several of the civil and human rights coalition’s other priority executive actions. These include rescinding Trump’s executive order banning diversity training and directing agencies to take action to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; rescinding Trump’s executive order on excluding non-citizens from the census and presidential memorandum on undocumented immigrants and apportionment; directing agencies to preserve and fortify DACA in advance of legislative efforts to codify the program; rescinding Trump’s executive order on immigration enforcement to impose a moratorium on removals; and many other priorities.
In December, The Leadership Conference released a list of priority initiatives for the Biden-Harris administration and the 117th Congress. The coalition priorities, available here, outline the current state of civil rights and offer recommendations that represent a path forward.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
This Wednesday, when Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swears in former California Sen. Kamala Harris as vice president, she will make history for several reasons. Harris – who was born in Oakland and spent part of her childhood in Berkeley — will become the first woman and the first person both of Black and Asian descent to assume the second-highest political office in the United States.
“With just a few days left, I am anticipating seeing Kamala raise her hand and take the oath to become the most powerful woman in American history. I am so honored. She is ready and able. And she is a sister, a good friend and an inspiration to so many people here in California and to so many more Americans,” said Amelia Ashley-Ward, the publisher of the San Francisco Sun Reporter, the city’s largest and oldest African American newspaper.
Ward, who has been friends with Harris for decades now, says it seems “like yesterday” when Harris began running for district attorney 18 years ago. At that time, people in San Francisco told her to drop out because she was not prepared.
“It was unheard of in this city for a Black woman to challenge the status quo and win. She did it and remained true to who she is,” said Ward. “From district attorney to attorney general to United States senator, to running for the presidency, then becoming vice president. I will be watching, inspired, and in tears, with a heart full of joy.”
As Harris, who has represented California in the Senate for four years now, prepares to ascend to the vice presidency, she enters the White House at a time when the country is fraught with division and uncertainty. A raging pandemic has been sending shocks through the economy over the past 11 months. And the country is unsettled in the throes of an ongoing reckoning on race expressed partially by riots that erupted last summer after a Minnesota police officer violently killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. On top of those crises, far right-wing groups, which have been resurging across the country for more than a decade now, have been organizing protests with threats of violence opposing the election of Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Harris.
On Jan. 6, a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, including some trained military personnel and law enforcement officers, stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The violent riot resulted in five deaths, including the murder of a police officer, the evacuation of members of the U.S. Congress and significant damage to the historic building.
As a result of the mayhem at the site where Biden and Harris will be sworn in, the inauguration is being held under tight security. Some 20,000 national guard troops have descended on Washington, D.C., to harden the city and the Capitol building against potential attacks. Much of the National Mall will be closed on Inauguration Day. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has told people to stay away from the inauguration because of COVID-19. She also asked federal authorities to cancel demonstration permits for security reasons.
Harris, who has said she supports having the swearing-in ceremony outside of the Capitol despite security concerns, says Americans should not be defeated by the people who attacked the building that symbolizes American democracy around the world.
“No matter what challenges we face, democracy will always win,” Harris tweeted last week.
This year’s scaled-back inauguration will be broadcast on TV and online and includes a number of events leading up to the main ceremony, including a virtual “We The People” concert hosted by actors Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing that was held Sunday night. On Martin Luther King Day, a “National Day of Service” featuring speakers and encouraging people to volunteer across America was held. On the day before Harris and Biden are sworn in, a lighting ceremony is being held in Washington, D.C., and across the country to honor Americans who have died of COVID-19.
Becoming vice president of the United States is the culmination of a long political journey for Harris, whose father immigrated from Jamaica. Her mother, who is now deceased, was an immigrant from India. After completing two terms as district attorney of San Francisco in 2011, Harris was elected California attorney general in 2010, becoming the first African American and first woman to serve in the role. Harris was also the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the United States Senate when she was sworn in as the junior United States Senator for California in 2017. At the time, she also made history as the second African American woman to serve in the Senate after Carol Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois from 1993 to 1999.
In the U.S. Senate, Harris served on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on the Budget.
Harris is married to attorney Doug Emhoff, who is based in the Los Angeles area and will become a law professor at Georgetown University when he moves to Washington with Harris this week. Emhoff, who is Jewish, has two children from a previous marriage.
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37), who was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) until this month, looked at Harris’s record. She said Harris has “fought long and hard on behalf of Californians everywhere both in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento.”
Harris was a member of the CBC until Monday afternoon when she turned in her letter of resignation to Gov. Newsom.
“Congratulations on becoming this nation’s first woman of color to be elected to serve as vice president,” Bass said in a statement. “Your tenacious pursuit of justice and relentless advocacy for the people is exactly what this country needs right now. California is better because of your work as attorney general and stronger because of your work as a senator. Now, all Americans will benefit from your work as vice president. We know you will make us proud as you always have.”
Recording artist and content creator Javon Alvin releases politically conscious visual “Lonely in America.” This track was crafted with the intention of moving fans of all cultural and political backgrounds toward united progression.
The “Lonely in America” visual highlights the generational struggles of African Americans in America and encourages listeners to acknowledge the contributions and simultaneous tribulations of black men and women in this country.
Alvin creatively takes a 360°approach to the development of his music. As an artist who directs, edits, produces and records his own projects, “Lonely in America” personifies his personal reality and the experiences of his peers during the current social climate in America.
This ‘feel good’ track was created to inspire, enlighten and encourage all listeners to live life with love and compassion despite differences of race, creed and color.
Check out Javon Alvin’s discography on, Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal.
TV One has announced the premiere date of its two-part documentary special UNSUNG PRESENTS: MUSIC & THE MOVEMENT –remembering the artists and songs that have provided the soundtrack to the fight for justice and equality – airing part one on Monday, January 18, 2021, at 8 P.M. ET/7C immediately followed by part two at 9 P.M. ET/8C. On hand to provide commentary about the new musical genre that emerged during pivotal movements in Black Americans tumultuous past and troubling present are Erica Campbell, Big Gipp, Raheem DeVaughn, Rev. Al Sharpton, Isaac Hayes III, Ronda Racha Penrice, Headkrack, Shante Paige, DJ Kemit, Dyana Williams, Angie Ange, Colby Colb, Rickey Vincent, Steve Ivory, Delores Thompson, Dave Washington, Billy Johnson, Jr., Kenny Gamble, P. Frank Williams, Keith Murphy, DJ Yella, Battlecat, Soren Baker, and Felicia “Poetess” Morris.
“Music is the heart and soul of Black culture – giving life to our experiences, voice to our stories and growing power out of our pain,” said Cathy Hughes, Chairwoman, Urban One, Inc. “Every melody, lyric and rhythm artfully depict the layers of Black diversity, scope of black creativity, and depths of the complexity of our people. TV One’s Music & the Movement special pays homage to the music and music makers whose talents created a soundtrack of Black music during moments of political and social unrest throughout our history. It is another opportunity for us to spotlight Black content.”
“Throughout history, Black music has been a clarion call to amplify the voice of our community and important social and political movements like the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matters Movements,” remarked Robyn Greene Arrington, Vice President of Programming and Production. “After an unprecedented year of social, economic, and political turmoil, we felt MLK Day was a great time to chronicle the ongoing struggles of Black Americans along with those who tirelessly lend their voices to protesting injustice and instigating positive changes for our community and social justice movements.”
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day special incorporates first-hand accounts, interviews with artists and media, coupled with archival footage from memorable speeches, soul-stirring vocal performances, and more. Moments of Black auditory dissent featured in the special spans centuries and includes themes of Negro spirituals, like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” which provided both a distraction from the harsh conditions of slavery and communication tools for the enslaved as they plotted their escape to freedom; to soul and funk anthems during the Black Power movement performed by Aretha Franklin (“Respect”) and Curtis Mayfield (“People Get Ready”) demanding an immediate change to the political landscape and that civil rights be upheld; to the heart-wrenching viral music videos by young, contemporary artists – like Keedron Bryant’s captivating single “I Just Want to Live” – creating rallying mixtapes for the current Black Lives Matter movement which, this past summer, saw a melting pot of cultures across the globe who marched in solidarity, to protest police brutality. The two one-hour specials serve as a re-examination of the power that music has had to transform a cultural moment into a movement.
Additionally, UNSUNG PRESENTS: MUSIC & THE MOVEMENT will feature the broadcast debut of the original track “KliKKK KlaKKK” by Sunny Dizzle and the group Steaksawse, recently announced as the winner of Reach Media’s “The Song” contest. Presented in partnership with Kevin Liles and 300 Entertainment, the contest was designed to provide an opportunity for an independent artist to create music that reflects the current climate, elevates the collective consciousness, and promotes hope and change. The single will have its global release on Friday, January 15, 2020 and will be featured accross Reach Media radio stations.
UNSUNG PRESENTS: MUSIC & THE MOVEMENT is executive produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions’ Arthur Smith and Frank Sinton with Executive Producers Mark Rowland and Co-Executive Producer Kysha Mounia and Co-Executive Producer P. Frank Williams. For TV One, Jason Ryan is Executive Producer in Charge of Production, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting, and Robyn Greene Arrington is Vice President of Original Programming and Production
For more information about TV One’s upcoming programming, including original movies, visit the network’s companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the hashtags #MUSICANDTHEMOVEMENT and #REPRESENT.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—-On Friday, January 22 the Young Visionaries will be hosting a Virtual Talent Search. The show will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to youth ages 14 to 17. There will be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places ranging from $50 to $250.
The event will be hosted by I AM VanSwan, Miss Teen California US Alana Morgan, NFK Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader Tamia Casey, and Gabriel Cannon.
The deadline to submit is January 8. If you miss the deadline, you may still be able to submit by sending your videos to iamvanswan@yvyla-ie.org.
SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- On Monday, January 18 at 9 a.m. the Inland Empire African American Churches –IECAAC will celebrate the 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Prayer Breakfast. This year they will continue the tradition of the dreamer, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a virtual celebration. This year’s theme is “Embracing the Dream” found in Ecclesiastes 3:5.
The keynote speaker this year is Dr. Bishop Kenneth Ulmer. The event will be hosted by inspirational comedian, Lester Barrie. There will be a special performance by Stellar and Grammy Award Nominee, Brent Jones, and other guest performances. There will also be an award presentation for those individuals that excelled and showed concern and commitment helping to others.
To register for the event and receive access information, please visit: bit.ly/mlkcelebration2021. Or visit IECAAC website at www.iecaac.org.
The Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches thank you in advance for the prayers and support. If you have any questions, please call at 909-494-7036. At the conclusion of the event the MLK prayer breakfast committee will proceed to the MLK Jr. statue to lay the honorary wreath. It’s a day on, not a day off. Please wear a mask, and social distance. Amen!
In It didn’t take long for Shakur Stevenson to show the world his talent in the boxing ring. As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the bantamweight division at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. As a pro, he established himself as one of boxing’s future stars, showcasing an abundance of skills along with superstar qualities.
Stevenson won the WBO featherweight (126 pounds) title in just his 13th professional fight, cruising to a dominant unanimous decision victory over Joet Gonzalez, who had been undefeated through 23 professional fights.
After securing the featherweight title, Stevenson moved up to junior lightweight (130 pounds), where the dominance he showed at featherweight has stood intact through two fights.
Stevenson has his sights set on Jamel Herring’s WBO junior lightweight title. And if WBC champion Miguel Berchelt prevails against undefeated Mexican star Oscar Valdez next month, Stevenson looks to secure a date with Berchelt later this year. Given the crop of young talent at both junior lightweight and lightweight, the smaller divisions are receiving considerable attention; the crafty southpaw from New Jersey plans to be the cream that rises to the top.
Zenger News caught up with Stevenson, 23, to hear his plans for 2021. He explains why he doesn’t feel it’s necessary to be mentioned among today’s Four Kings, and addresses boxing trainer Buddy McGirt’s recent comments about him.
Percy Crawford interviewed Shakur Stevenson for Zenger News.
Zenger News: Who was that kid giving you buckets the other day on your Instagram?
Shakur Stevenson: Oh, that was my little brother.
Zenger: That’s wassup, man. Good-looking kid. How have you been, brother?
Stevenson: Ain’t nothing. I’m good. I just been laying low and staying out the way.
Zenger: You were the first fighter — definitely the first prestige fighter — to return to the ring following COVID. Was it important to you to get back in and set the tone for things to come?
Percy Crawford interviewed Shakur Stevenson for Zenger News. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)
Stevenson: Yeah, I think it was important to me because I was one of the first ones that got my fight cancelled. When my fight got cancelled, I wanted to be one of the first people back, so it didn’t matter when they called or whatever they said, I was going to be ready.
Zenger: You’re also one of the only — if not the only — big-name guys to get in two fights in 2020. Given the circumstances, that was big-time as well.
Stevenson: Yeah! That was another one… All the fights I had this year, I only had like five to six weeks to prepare for them. They’ll just call me and tell me the situation. Like the last fight, [Oscar] Valdez or Berchelt, one of them [Berchelt] got corona[virus], and they ended up saying, forget their fight, we’re going to put Shakur in there. He can take over the date. I knew in five weeks’ time. I flew into training camp, and just got prepared.
Zenger: Did that make the transition from 126 to 130 perfect timing, given that you weren’t getting full training camps, or was that move up in weight the play anyways?
Stevenson: I think that was going to be the move anyways, but the timing was kind of perfect. My body got bigger. It was about time. This year was definitely the time to hit the 130-weight class.
Zenger: You could definitely see it in your shoulders that you were starting to fill out. Physically, in the ring, how do you feel at junior lightweight?
Stevenson: Shit, I feel a lot stronger. I feel physically stronger. If you watch my fights, when I’m getting into clinches and all that stuff, I feel a lot stronger. I feel like I can put my body on people and stay solid, even my punches. I feel a lot stronger, I’m not gonna lie. I like it there.
Zenger: In your last fight, against Toka Kahn Clary, when you hurt him and he wanted to tie up, you were able to get him off of you rather easily. Definitely a sign of the maturation of your frame.
“Yeah, the main thing is, when you’re around other good fighters, you get better.” (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Stevenson: Yeah, I agree with that.
Zenger: The lower divisions are back in the spotlight. This is the most attention these divisions have received in a long time. Social media brought up the “Four Kings” thing — Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez. Where does Shakur Stevenson fit into that round robin?
Stevenson: I mean … in my head, you don’t even have to put me in that. Let them do whatever they do. I think I’m going to be the best fighter out of this young generation, so I’m at a point now where I just let them sit back and talk. In five to 10 years, you are going to see later on down the line who was what and what was what. I will be able to show — and everybody will see — that I was the one that I said I was.
Zenger: So, when you look at those names, you don’t want the inclusion — you don’t feel like you need to be looped in with those guys. You just want things to play out.
Stevenson: At first it was like, how are y’all not going to mention me in that sentence? But I can understand some of it too, because all those fighters are at 135. But then it’s like, Tank really at 130, so I don’t know. Something not adding up. But I mean, shit… I don’t really care for it no more. I’m at the point now where it’s like, I’m just going to show people. Y’all just gotta see who I am. I feel like they disrespecting me at the end of the day. They keep trying to disrespect me. I’m cool with it. Do y’all thing. Years later, when all them fighters are not on my level, then it’s going to be like, shit, ya’ll should’ve listened.
Stevenson: Nah, you can bring up whatever you want. You know I’m good.
Zenger: Do you feel like because of the silver medal and your amateur pedigree that you’re rushed more than other fighters? You’re only 15 fights into your career, yet you’re treated like a guy with 30-plus fights. Or do you welcome that treatment?
Stevenson: I think I’m in a weird situation. With my fights, if you’re really paying attention, I don’t have any trouble. No matter who gets in there, I don’t have any trouble. The fights look too, too easy. The fans… I’m so good, I’m at a level where I’m so good, it’s hard for the fans that don’t know too much about boxing to get in tune with me and understand what I’m doing because they question my level of opposition because every fight is so easy. You don’t see me in war type of fights like with Tank and Léo [Santa Cruz]. Even if you throw Léo in there.
I’ll give you an example. I ain’t dissin’ Tank. If I’m being real, I think Tank is a helluva fighter. Let me fight Léo. I get in there, and even if I don’t stop Léo but I go 12 rounds with Léo and I have no scratches, no nothing, and it’s an easy fight. The fans are going to look at it like it’s regular. Tank fight Léo and it’s like, “Oh, snap!” And he knocks him out, but it was a war the whole entire fight. These dudes are beating each other up. Now, the fans that don’t know too much about boxing gravitate towards that because Tank took some punishment, Léo took some punishment, but if I go in there and just wipe him out for 12 rounds, it’s like, “Shit, that was too easy. Who are you fighting? You ain’t fighting nobody.”
Zenger: I don’t remember your “prospect” phase. You were thrown into that world title talk so soon, it’s almost like you were never really a prospect.
Stevenson: I agree, but even that, when I fought for the world title, I feel like I ain’t get as much credit as I deserved. I felt like Joet [Gonzalez] was a young, hungry lion who didn’t have any losses. He had been waiting on a title shot, he got his opportunity, and he failed, but I just feel like I’m not going to get no credit for that, just for the fact that I made it look so easy.
Zenger: Your last three opponents have a combined record of 64-3-2, for a fighter who only has 15 professional fights. That’s insane. When you look at the current champions at 130 pounds, do you have a set plan to get these guys in the ring, or is it about who Top Rank puts in front of you?
Stevenson: Nah, I plan on getting the WBO first, and then getting the WBC by the end of the year. So, Jamel belt first, and then we’re going to get Berchelt belt by the end of the year.
“I’m going to be the best fighter out of this young generation…” (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Zenger: Berchelt took to Twitter to comment on your last fight, and you’re never shy about responding.
Stevenson: Nah, not at all. I don’t know. I don’t be caring about what these people be saying. They gonna talk, ya feel me? I had seen what he said, and I replied to him. You not gonna play me without me saying something back. I don’t care who it is. I think that we’re going to have a big fight at the end of the year, so it don’t even matter.
Zenger: When you see a guy like Dame Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers say you’re a problem, or you’re up next, obviously, you have to take it in stride, but it does have to be flattering.
Stevenson: It feels real good knowing people like Dame Lillard, even Kevin Durant, had hit my DM a couple of weeks ago. It feels good knowing athletes like that respect me and they understand I’m going to be on their level one day. It feels real good. When KD hit my DM, he didn’t even tell me anything about me; he was asking me a boxing question. He asked me about a certain fighter, like, “Is he good?” But he wanted my opinion, and I respected the fact that he would come to me and ask my opinion on another fighter. He respect my boxing knowledge.
Zenger: You have a tight bond with Terence “Bud” Crawford, Josh Greer Jr. and guys like that. The fact that you guys feed off of one another instead of it always being combative is impressive. Sometimes you can have that type of relationship with someone who is within the same sport as you and grow from each other.
Stevenson: Yeah, the main thing is, when you’re around other good fighters, you get better. Me being around Bud for these years, I have been picking up on certain stuff he does inside and outside the ring. I just feel like you get better being around other fighters like that. You pick up on things that help. Even with Josh Greer being around us, it’s going to help him and he’s going to help me too, because Josh Greer got a great mindset. He’s always positive. I need to take part of that too. It definitely helps a lot.
Zenger: When I spoke with [manager] J Prince, I told him that you can see a certain glimmer in his eye when your name is mentioned. So, I will ask you, what impact has J had not only in your career, but in life in general?
Stevenson: I mean, J is like a big role model to me. He is one of them people you don’t always come across. He is really real. He a real person. He look out for me inside and outside the ring. He treats me like family. Me and J’s relationship is not just a business relationship. He’s more like family to me. I appreciate J for treating me the way that he treats me, because he don’t even have to treat me the way that he treats me. He can just be my manager and it can be all business. But J treats me like family. He a real dude. I respect J a lot. I’m glad he feels the way he feels about me. Even with you saying that, I hear interviews with him too, and I see J, and every time my name do come up, you can tell he’s excited about the future for me. And you know what? J is hands-on too. He’s in the gym with me a lot. He’s always coming to watch me spar, he’s always paying attention, and he’s always around me. He is somebody who get to see me often, so he understands what he’s seeing. A lot of people don’t understand what they’re seeing, so they’re not going to understand what’s coming. He’s around me, so he know. That’s why you probably get that reaction out of him, like, “Shit, nobody can beat Shakur,” and that’s the truth.
Zenger: I hate to even bring up the Buddy McGirt stuff, but it’s fresh and it is newsworthy.
Zenger: I remember asking [boxing trainer] Derrick James why does he feel some old-school fighters and trainers talk down the newer generation, and he explained that most of them can’t remove themselves from the equation. They hang on to the past. Do you feel that’s why Buddy kind of came for you?
Stevenson: The thing is, that’s not the first time Buddy did interviews talking about me. That’s the second or third interview I have seen of him talking about me. I ain’t really say too much about it. I was just like, “Yeah, I’ll beat your fighter up,” or whatever. I don’t care because I’m thinking he’s trying to sell a fight with his fighter. But now I’m looking at another interview and he’s not even mentioning his fighters anymore. He’s saying Teó [Teófimo López] would stop me. Now it’s like, OK, you’re not even thinking about your fighter. You just really got something against me. It’s like, damn, why you keep bringing my name up in every interview you do? I don’t see nobody else name brought up from Buddy McGirt besides Shakur Stevenson. Somebody asks him about Shakur Stevenson and he got some negative shit to say. It’s Buddy McGirt. He keeps claiming he knew me since I was a kid. He didn’t know me like that. I was a teenager before he knew me. That man don’t even know me, so why are you in interviews talking like you know me?
And then … yo, they act like this dude is just so good of a trainer. Now, I’m going to keep it real. I’m going to keep it 100 with you because he been trying to play me, so I’m going to tell the truth on him. This man said in an interview, “Shakur better stay away from Berchelt. That’s how fighters like him get hurt,” or something like that. And then two interviews later, I swear to God, this man gonna say, “I never even seen Berchelt fight, he just look real big.” I’m like, damn, I thought you were supposed to be this master trainer. How the fuck you gonna say in an interview that I should stay away from someone who you never seen fight before? You never seen this man fight. That don’t even make sense to me. He’s supposed to be this real good trainer, and you’re going to say that I should stay away from someone who you’ve never seen fight before. I put two and two together.
Zenger: It’s frustrating to you because it sounds personal now.
Stevenson: Yeah, it sounds personal to me now. He got something against me. Now you’re saying I’m protected and Teó will knock me out in six or seven rounds. Bro, you just hating on me, bro. At the end of the day, Buddy McGirt … sits in the gym all day. Let’s be real: What fighter did Buddy McGirt start from scratch that he has right now? I don’t see no fighter that Buddy McGirt started at the beginning of their career and they became a world champion. He’s the coach that when fighters lose, you send them to Buddy McGirt, and I guess he tightens some things up and fix some errors. You don’t see him with no fighters that he started from scratch. Those are the coaches that I respect. Like you mentioned, Derrick James — Derrick James been with Errol Spence his whole career. It’s not like he just got [Jermell] Charlo now … no. He’s been with Errol Spence his whole career, and Errol Spence is one of the best fighters in the sport of boxing.
What we talking about? Buddy McGirt don’t start no fighters from scratch, so how you a good coach? How is he so good? Everybody want to respect these coaches. Buddy McGirt was a real good fighter. I give him that. But I feel what I feel, and I feel like he ain’t start no fighter from scratch. He don’t have a world champion right now that he started from scratch. He’s trying to leach off of everybody else’ fighters and get their paycheck. That’s what Buddy McGirt is.
Zenger: That being said, Shakur, I’m expecting a huge 2021 from you. Best of luck in trying to capturing those titles. Always a pleasure speaking to you. Is there anything else you want to say before I let you go?
Stevenson: I appreciate you. Tell everybody to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ShakurStevenson. This year I’m going to have two belts at 130, and I’m taking over the whole 130-pound weight class.
Still, in March 1944, a young Jewish immigrant to Palestine named Hannah Senesh (Anna Szenes) parachuted into occupied Slovenia on behalf of the British Army.
The goals were twofold — to help Allied pilots who had fallen behind enemy lines flee to safety and to work with partisan forces to rescue Jewish communities under Nazi occupation.
Senesh was captured by the Hungarian police on June 7, tortured for months, and executed on November 7. She was only 23.
Hannah Senesh’s immigration certificate, 1939. (National Library of Israel)
A year later, a soldier in the British Army’s Jewish Brigade, Moshe Braslavski, returned to Kibbutz Sdot Yam, where Senesh had come to live in 1941. He found a suitcase full of letters, diaries, songs, poems and more under her bed.
Her tragic, heroic story and her poems — including “A Walk to Caesarea” (known popularly as “Eli, Eli” / “My God, My God”) — have made Senesh into an iconic figure of modern Jewish, Israeli and Zionist culture.
This year, Kibbutz Sdot Yam renovated its Hannah Senesh House, established in 1950, with an audiovisual display in Hebrew, English, Russian, French, Spanish and German presenting the story of her life, mission and death.
Hannah Senesh’s iconic poem, “A Walk to Caesarea” (“Eli, Eli”) in her notebook. (National Library of Israel)
Hannah Senesh House also houses an exhibition about the other six paratroopers who were killed on that mission and a monument brought from the Budapest cemetery, where she was initially interred. Her coffin was moved to Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl National Cemetery in 1950.
It contains her handwritten poems, personal diaries, a newspaper she edited at the age of six, letters, photographs, personal documents, the transcript of her trial and her suitcase, typewriter and camera.
Perhaps the two most moving items in the collection are a pair of notes found in her dress following her execution: the last poem she ever wrote and a letter to her mother.
Hannah Senesh’s childhood drawing of the Hungarian flag for her grandmother, 1930. (National Library of Israel)
“In 2021, we will commemorate 100 years since Hannah Senesh’s birth, and the National Library of Israel will work throughout the year to open global digital access to this significant archive, giving it pride of place among the millions of other cultural treasures we have digitized and made available online over the past decade,” said Oren Weinberg, director of the National Library of Israel.
The archive had been kept by the family until now.
After the war, Hannah’s mother, Katherine, immigrated to Palestine with more of her daughter’s writings and personal items from their home in Budapest. Katherine received the materials Braslavski had found on the kibbutz and kept the complete collection in her apartment in Haifa.
Hannah Senesh’s last note to her mother, found in her dress after her execution in 1944. (National Library of Israel)
Following Katherine’s death in 1992 and the death of Hannah’s brother Giora in 1995, the materials were passed down to Giora’s sons, Eitan and David, who used them to promote Hannah’s memory and legacy. Eitan also worked to manage, catalogue, translate and preserve the literary estate.
Over the past year, Ori and Mirit Eisen from Arizona enabled the transfer of the complete Hannah Senesh Archival Collection to the National Library of Israel, where it can be seen alongside the personal papers of other cultural figures, including Maimonides, Sir Isaac Newton, Martin Buber, Franz Kafka and Naomi Shemer.
“We feel that the collection has reached safe harbor, just as the renewed Hannah Senesh House opens in Kibbutz Sdot Yam,” commented the Senesh family.
“We thank the National Library of Israel and the Eisen family for their efforts and assistance and are happy and excited that the flame of the poet Hannah Senesh and her father, the writer Bela Szenes, will now be preserved in the most suitable place — the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem — and that from there, its light will shine upon the world.”
For information on Hannah Senesh House on Kibbutz Sdot Yam, click here.
For information on the National Library’s Hannah Senesh Archival Collection, click here.
TAIWAN STRAIT—- Ensign Elijah Jones, from San Bernardino, California, plots on a maneuvering board in the combat information center as the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) conducts routine operations. Curtis Wilbur is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Minority Health Institute and UCLA BRITE Center for Science, Research and Policy invite you to attend a virtual town hall with some of the nations’ premier COVID-19 experts and historically Black institution and organization leaders to address facts, fears and myths pertaining to COVID-19 vaccination as we fight to protect and save Black lives.
The townhall will take place on Saturday, January 16 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. To register and participate in the COVID-19 Vaccination: It Matters in Saving Black Lives visit www.mhinst.org.
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