Deaths – The Media Pub News (TM)

President Trump plans four stops in Pennsylvania on Saturday, and Joe Biden will give a speech in Philadelphia on Sunday.

The President will hold four rallies across Pennsylvania on Saturday and his wife, Melania, will host a fifth event in the swing state, as both the president and his Democratic challenger, Joseph R. Biden Jr., zero in on what could be a linchpin in the race for the White House.

Mr. Trump prevailed in Pennsylvania in 2016 by less than 45,000 votes, and his itinerary on Saturday suggests some of the key demographic and geographic ingredients that he hopes to combine to create another surprise victory.

His first stop is in suburban Bucks County, where Hillary Clinton prevailed in 2016 by less than one percentage point. He will hold two events outside the major media markets, in Reading and in tiny Montoursville (population around 4,400), as he seeks to drive up turnout among the white, working-class and rural voters who overwhelmingly supported him four years ago.

He will also campaign in Butler, in western Pennsylvania, where he hopes his unabashed pro-fracking message holds sway. Melania Trump, meanwhile, will appear in Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania, a historically Democratic region that Mr. Trump flipped into the Republican column in 2016.

The Trumps will hardly have the state to themselves in the last days before Tuesday.

On Sunday, Mr. Biden will deliver one of his final speeches of the campaign in Philadelphia, the state’s biggest media market. And on Monday, both Mr. Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, will “fan out across all four corners of the state” with their spouses on the last full day of campaigning before voters head to the polls, according to the Biden campaign.

Mr. Biden, who represented neighboring Delaware in the Senate for decades, has long considered Pennsylvania something of a second home state, given the media market overlap and his own often-cited roots in Scranton, where he was born. He delivered his campaign kickoff speech in Philadelphia in May 2019; coming full circle, his Sunday speech, which his campaign says will be about “bringing Americans together to address the crises facing the country,” will occur in the same city.

Mr. Trump will return to Pennsylvania on Monday for an event near Scranton, with other stops in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan.

In 2016, Mr. Trump flipped three Rust Belt states that had been reliably Democratic by fewer than 80,000 votes in total: Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. And while polls have him trailing Mr. Biden in all three states, Pennsylvania has been the least Democratic-leaning in surveys this year, and its 20 Electoral College votes make it the biggest prize of the three.

— Shane Goldmacher

— NYT: Top Stories

A group of Black leaders today announced the launch of a new $10 million fund to build an anti-racist America with 31 Black leaders across 15 states and Washington, D.C. receiving funding for their work on voting rights, COVID recovery, criminal justice reform, creating economic opportunity, environmental justice and education
Black Voices for Black Justice Fund (BVBJ) is unique in its approach – letting awardees use funding dollars in whatever way they believe will make the greatest impact toward racial justice

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As the U.S. continues an unprecedented racial reckoning following the deaths and continued pursuit of justice for countless Black Americans including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, an innovative new fund is supporting Black leaders on the frontlines of shaping the urgent movement to build a fair, equitable, and anti-racist America. The Black Voices for Black Justice Fund launched today with an initial $2 million investment – with the goal of raising over $10 million – to support Black leaders as they seize this unparalleled opportunity to advance racial justice.

In announcing the fund, co-chair Kerry Washington, actress and activist, said, “The Black Voices for Black Justice Fund recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries. Amplifying their voices and providing resources to these inspiring advocates is critical as we strive towards equity and racial justice in this country.”

Thirty-one awardees – encompassing Black leaders across U.S. cities including Minneapolis, MN; Tulsa, OK; Washington, D.C.; Brooklyn, NY and Portland, OR – have been selected for the fund’s first set of investments, encompassing a range of Black community leaders and organizers across the country who are working to address systems of oppression, violence and inequality:

Awardee Ryan Haygood, a civil rights lawyer who defended a core provision of the Voting Rights Act before the US Supreme Court in Shelby County Alabama versus Holder, led a successful legal challenge to voter suppression in Texas, and is President and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, said, “This is means a great deal to me, particularly because I know that there are so many people doing amazing work.”
Awardee Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, Founder and Executive Director of the Terrence Crutcher Foundation in Tulsa, OK, said: “Coming off the four-year anniversary of my brother’s murder – as I continue to try to turn my pain into purpose – I am humbled to receive this award. The message from the fund is clear, unusual and very welcome: You trust us as Black leaders to know how to make a difference! Almost a century after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, our work is more urgent than ever and this infusion of support means more than I can say to me and to my entire community.”
Awardee Nicole Lynn Lewis, who founded and runs Generation Hope, a nonprofit that helps teen parents forge a path to economic opportunity, said: “Receiving this award is a recognition of my voice and vision but, more importantly, it is a validation of young parents, single mothers and fathers, and parenting college students everywhere. Their stories – our stories – are intricately intertwined with the roots of racial oppression in this country, and this support will allow us to amplify their experiences and work alongside others to dismantle systemic barriers to their economic mobility.”
Awardee Michael “Zaki” Smith of Next100 and the Fair Chance Project in Brooklyn, NY, said: “This recognition shows that there is a rising awareness of the perpetual punishment faced by the formerly incarcerated. It shows that more people are believing in me and believing in the work. Too often, policy debates happen in the hallways of Washington or Albany, with little input or understanding from impacted individuals. These resources will allow me to continue to reach, work with, and educate more people directly and indirectly impacted by perpetual punishment, and the criminal justice system as a whole. It will allow me to work hand in hand with communities, and help empower them to drive change.”
Awardee Pastor Howard-John Wesley, pastor of Alexandria, VA’s historic Alfred Street Baptist Church, said, “It is humbling and gratifying to be acknowledged for the work we do in trying to promote justice which to me is synonymous with the call to righteousness and this great vision to support Black Voices for Black Justice.”

“The Black Voices for Black Justice Fund recognizes and supports the incredible work that’s being done by everyday heroes at the grassroots level,” said Wes Moore, bestselling author, social entrepreneur and CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation and a co-chair of the fund. “In order for our communities to exceed the level of greatness we all aspire to, these voices must be elevated, supported and heard.”

In addition to Ms. Washington and Mr. Moore, BVBJ is led by the following national Black leaders:

Tenicka Boyd, National Organizing Director and Deputy Political Director of the ACLU
Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Jean Desravines, CEO of New Leaders, a national nonprofit that works to ensure high academic achievement for children in poverty and students of color
Shavar D. Jeffries, president of Education Reform Now
John B. King, Jr., former Secretary of Education and president and CEO of The Education Trust

Initial funding was pooled by seven foundations: The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation (which supports the fund’s special area focus in Brooklyn); The Moriah Fund; Galaxy Gives; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; and CityBridge Foundation, Greater Washington Community Foundation and Bridge Alliance Education Fund (which collectively support the fund’s special area focus in Washington, D.C.)

For more information about the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, and to see the full list of awardees, visit www.blackvoices.org.

About Black Voices for Black Justice Fund

The Black Voices for Black Justice Fund is a new racial justice fund that is supporting Black leaders and Black-led organizations on the front lines in shaping the urgent movement to build a fair, equitable, and anti-racist America. It will amplify and elevate ongoing efforts to address our national crisis surrounding racism, white supremacy, police brutality, and racial inequality. By linking emerging community and local leaders with a cohort of established national leaders, the Fund will also seek to help develop the next generation of Black leaders.

Contacts

FLIGHT PR

Alysha Light

alysha@flightpr.com