At the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the Global Black Economic Forum stage closed out with a powerful political roundtable led by the hosts of theNative Land Podcast  hosts Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum and Tiffany Cross — who sparked a wide-ranging and candid conversation about the state of American democracy, health care, media narratives and the urgency of Black civic engagement. The panel featured U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas; Malcolm Kenyatta, vice chair of the Democratic National Convention; Ashley Shelton, president of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice; and Lynae Vanee, host of “The People’s Brief” and a prominent social commentator. ​​Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, opened the discussion with a question for Crockett about the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping piece of legislation signed into law by Donald Trump.  Crockett was direct in her assessment, warning that the bill would have devastating consequences for public health. “They cut $1 trillion...

NEW ORLEANS, LA – SEIU service and care workers joined by over a dozen local and national partner organizations, faith leaders, and local allies will lead a mass march and rally in New Orleans on Tuesday, calling for an end to the Trump administration’s brutal ICE raids, the release of immigrant workers unjustly detained in Louisiana and across the country, and a future where working people of every race and background can thrive.  “Workers of every race have always faced systems designed to strip away our rights, divide our communities, and criminalize our existence, all while politicians and corporations profit,” said April Verrett, President of SEIU. “Immigration detention and mass incarceration are two sides of the same system of control, and we’ve seen this hateful playbook before. We’re standing together in a powerful, united resistance to reject the politics of cruelty and greed, where some think they can send our families, friends, and...