Who’s earning the endorsement of Black women’s political organizations, and what issues are shaping their decisions this election cycle?

On Wednesday, October 21, Glynda Carr of Higher Heights joins Black Press USA’s Morning Show to discuss the organization’s midterm endorsements, the priorities driving its decisions, and the issues impacting Black women voters across the country.

From political representation to the policies shaping our communities, we’re getting into what matters as Election Day approaches.

Watch LIVE on Wednesday, October 21, from 8–9 AM ET.

Tune in to Black Press USA’s Morning Show on YouTube at Black Press USA TV.

#BlackPressUSA #MorningShow #GlyndaCarr #HigherHeights #Midterms2026 #BlackWomenInPolitics #BlackWomenVoters

Who’s earning the endorsement of Black women’s political organizations, and what issues are shaping their decisions this election cycle?

On Wednesday, October 21, Glynda Carr of Higher Heights joins Black Press USA’s Morning Show to discuss the organization’s midterm endorsements, the priorities driving its decisions, and the issues impacting Black women voters across the country.

From political representation to the policies shaping our communities, we’re getting into what matters as Election Day approaches.

Watch LIVE on Wednesday, October 21, from 8–9 AM ET.

Tune in to Black Press USA’s Morning Show on YouTube at Black Press USA TV.

#BlackPressUSA #MorningShow #GlyndaCarr #HigherHeights #Midterms2026 #BlackWomenInPolitics #BlackWomenVoters

Federal agents searched the D.C.-area home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Monday, taking the extraordinary step of executing a criminal search warrant against a sitting member of Congress just 22 days before Election Day, as the Trump administration investigates allegations involving her family’s immigration records.

The search immediately drew accusations of political intimidation from Omar’s supporters, who pointed to President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the Minnesota congresswoman and questioned the timing of an investigation targeting one of his most outspoken critics.

“Representative Omar is a dedicated public servant and a true ally for working families, and Donald Trump has done nothing but use racist tropes and stereotypes to attack her,” said Joel Payne, MoveOn’s chief communications officer. “Now, he’s abusing his power to physically intimidate and harass her.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman acknowledged that Homeland Security Investigations agents, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, searched a District residence as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

The spokeswoman declined to provide additional information or publicly identify the person under investigation.

According to published reports, the warrant identified possible violations involving false statements, immigration document fraud and conspiracy. Federal investigators have also examined questions concerning Omar’s finances, campaign funds and interactions with foreign citizens.

No criminal charges against the congresswoman were identified, but Monday’s search occurred less than four weeks before voters decided whether to return Omar to Congress.

The investigation follows months of public accusations from senior Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, who previously claimed that Omar committed immigration fraud.

In an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Vance asserted, without publicly presenting evidence, that the administration believed Omar had broken immigration laws. He also said he and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller had discussed how to pursue the allegations.

“What are the legal remedies now that we know that she’s committed immigration fraud?” Vance asked during the interview. “How do you go after her? How do you investigate her?”

Omar has repeatedly rejected the accusations, including claims that she married her brother to facilitate immigration fraud. Her office dismissed Vance’s allegations in March as fabricated and defamatory.

Questions about the investigation intensified in August when Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to release records sought under the Freedom of Information Act concerning allegations surrounding Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.

The agency cited an exemption allowing law enforcement authorities to withhold records when disclosure could interfere with enforcement proceedings. The refusal did not establish that Omar committed fraud or, at the time, confirmed that she was personally under investigation.

Omar, who came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia, was elected to Congress in 2018 and became one of the first two Muslim women to serve in the House. She represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, and has frequently challenged Trump over immigration enforcement, civil rights, and his administration’s treatment of immigrant communities.

Her confrontations with the administration have made her a recurring target of the president’s political attacks. The criminal investigation also follows a frightening incident earlier this year in which Omar was physically attacked during a public appearance.

On Jan. 27, a man attacked Omar during a town hall meeting at the National Urban League’s Twin Cities headquarters in Minneapolis. The incident prompted condemnation from the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and its Black Women’s Roundtable, which demanded accountability and warned against political violence.

“We are shocked and extremely disturbed by the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar yesterday while she attempted to address the critical issues and chaos swirling around in Minneapolis,” Melanie L. Campbell, president and CEO of the coalition and national convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, said in a Jan. 28 statement.

Campbell praised Omar for continuing to speak out despite threats against her.

“We believe that NO public official should be threatened or physically attacked, especially when they are serving in the best interests of their constituents,” Campbell said. “Political violence and intimidation have no place in our democracy.”

MoveOn, the progressive advocacy organization, accused Trump of using federal law enforcement to intimidate a political opponent and urged voters to respond at the ballot box.

“On Nov. 3rd, we get our chance to fight back and hold him and his corrupt administration accountable,” Payne said.

Based on reporting by Washington Informer.

The NAACP is launching a voter protection hub ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as voting rights groups prepare for potential challenges at the polls.

Voters will be able to report allegations of intimidation and suppression by phone and through online submissions, while NAACP attorneys and legal volunteers investigate complaints and seek emergency court intervention when necessary.

According to The Washington Post, the hub is scheduled to launch October 24.

“We are ready,” NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke told The Washington Post. “We have an army of legal volunteers across the country and are prepared to activate and seek emergency relief on Election Day where necessary.”

The effort comes as organizations are also working to increase Black voter participation ahead of the midterms. BIN reported in September that the Congressional Black Caucus Institute launched its “SO VOTE” campaign, which plans to spend at least $4.5 million registering and mobilizing Black voters, young voters and rural voters.

The Associated Press reported that the campaign is targeting Georgia and Mississippi statewide, along with 16 congressional districts.

The NAACP is particularly focused on voter intimidation, changes to election rules and the impact of redistricting on Black voting power.

The organization filed a lawsuit against Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon on Friday (October 2), seeking records about the department’s plans to deploy election monitors at polling places during the midterm elections.

“To be clear, there is no federal statute that gives the U.S. Department of Justice the right to send their so-called ‘election monitors’ to polling sites across the country,” Clarke said in a statement.

The NAACP’s voter protection hub will give voters a centralized way to report problems and connect with the organization’s legal team during the election.

The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HEREto tune in live.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Daily World.

When KevOnStage took the stage at The Pageant Sunday night, his house rules let everyone know what they were in for with his one-man show “Grief Sucks.”

“Do not judge yourself. Do not judge the jokes. Just laugh,” he said.

Even within his directions, were jokes.

He gave the audience permission to cry, but quietly – because Black people have a tendency to do things at full volume.

The hour that followed provided plenty of laughter. But underneath the humor were truths that anyone who has ever lost someone could feel deep in their chest.

The show was based on his experience of losing his brother, best friend, manager and business partner Jason Fredericks. He died suddenly of a heart attack four years ago at the age of 42.

Kev warned the audience to be mindful of their social media — both the wild posts that could end up being someone’s last and the intrusive ones people make after a loved one dies. And he gave people permission to laugh at the moments that feel too outrageous to say out loud — the ones that become inside jokes for families trying to survive the worst days of their lives.

“Grief is dark humor,” he said as he walked through the story of his brother’s death — a story he jokingly blamed on Nia Long.

He found a way to give permission to laugh at the outlandish moments that often serve as inside jokes. Those who have lived through some of the worst moments of their lives and not only found a way to talk about it, but to steal a laugh in the midst.

“Grief is dark humor,” he said as he walked through the story of his brother’s death — a story he jokingly blamed on Nia Long.

“I know that sounds crazy,” he said. “It’s not her fault — but it is her responsibility.”

It was a jarring moment, but it let the audience know exactly what kind of honesty they were in for.

He said his brother’s death was “proof that she is drop‑dead gorgeous.”

“Sometimes things are funny — and sometimes things are funny because you should not be laughing,” he said.

The show moved through a series of points about grief, each one backed by a story that made the room nod in recognition. He talked about how grief can twist ordinary moments — how it can make you jealous of people with siblings or irritated by strangers having a good day.

He explained how grief can twist even the simplest moments, how it can make you jealous of people with siblings, or irritated by strangers having a good day. He brilliantly compared grief to a rock stuck in your shoe. Sometimes it’s small and manageable. Other times its jagged and unbearable – but always there.

He also talked about the unfairness of grief — how the world doesn’t stop when your loved one dies, how people still go to Raising Cane’s, still pick up their kids, still laugh. And he talked about the heartbreak of realizing his brother never got to see things he would have loved, from TV shows to cultural moments. And that he was robbed of the opportunity to engage with him about them.

“He would have loved Sinners,” Kev said. “But he never got to see it.”

At one point, he paused to show a video of his brother telling him how proud he was. The room went quiet. It wasn’t the polite kind of silence – but the kind where you can hear someone in the back sniff. The crowd assured him that it was okay for him to take a beat. His voice shook as he pushed through. Those pauses made the audience lean in even more.

Kev made grief feel communal. He made people laugh at things they didn’t think they were allowed to laugh at. And he reminded everyone in the room that grief doesn’t make sense, doesn’t follow rules, and doesn’t care about timing. And most importantly, he drove home the point that it also doesn’t have to be carried alone.

There were moments when his emotions got the best of him. There was the video he shared of his brother telling Kev how proud he was of him that compelled him to take a beat. His voice quivered as he powered through. Those pauses made the audience connect with the show all the more. Grief Sucks wasn’t just comedy. It was catharsis. It was storytelling. It was a room full of people realizing they weren’t the only ones trying to make sense of loss.

KevOnStage gave them permission to feel all of it — and to laugh anyway.

Internet personality and standup comedian KevOnStage used the sudden and unexpected loss of his brother as the foundation for a one-man show that was funny, honest and a little dark – often at the same time.

Sunday night, he brought “Grief Sucks” to The Pageant. His barometer check

KevOnStage walked onto The Pageant stage Sunday night with a promise: that the next hour would be funny, honest and a little dark. And he delivered all three — often at the same time.

His one‑man show, Grief Sucks, was as relatable as it was funny. It was the kind of performance where the audience laughed hard, then caught themselves nodding in recognition. Because beneath every punchline was a truth that anyone who has lost someone could feel in their chest.

He opened with the kind of humor that only comes from someone who has lived through the worst days of their life and somehow found a way to talk about it. He told the crowd they had permission to cry, laugh, sit still, or just breathe — but to “cry quietly,” because, as he joked, Black folks tend to do everything at full volume.

Then he went straight into the story of losing his brother — not with soft edges, but with the kind of raw honesty that made the room go still. He explained how grief can twist even the simplest moments, how it can make you jealous of people with siblings, or irritated by strangers having a good day. He compared grief to a rock stuck in your shoe: sometimes small and manageable, sometimes jagged and unbearable, but always there.

And he didn’t shy away from the intrusive thoughts that come with loss — the ones people rarely admit out loud. He shared the moment he realized he had lived longer than his older brother ever got to, and how that fact sits heavy no matter how much time passes.

Kev’s storytelling is built on the kind of humor that comes from real life — the funeral home upcharges, the family dynamics, the dark jokes that slip out at the worst possible moments. He told a story about previewing his brother’s body with his wife and grandmother, and how one unexpected comment turned into an inside joke that has carried them through four years of grief.

He also talked about the unfairness of grief — how the world doesn’t stop when your loved one dies, how people still go to Raising Cane’s, still pick up their kids, still laugh. And he talked about the heartbreak of realizing his brother never got to see things he would have loved, from TV shows to cultural moments.

The most emotional part of the night came when he recounted the day his brother died — the phone calls, the confusion, the hope, and finally the moment his nephew said, “He’s gone,” while Kev was sitting in a middle seat on a United flight. He told it plainly, without theatrics, and the room held its breath.

But even in that story, he found a way to make people laugh — not at the pain, but at the absurdity of life continuing around you when your world has just shattered.

By the end of the show, KevOnStage had done something rare: he made grief feel communal. He made people laugh at things they didn’t think they were allowed to laugh at. And he reminded everyone in the room that grief doesn’t make sense, doesn’t follow rules, and doesn’t care about timing — but it also doesn’t have to be carried alone.

Grief Sucks wasn’t just comedy. It was catharsis. It was storytelling. It was a room full of people realizing they weren’t the only ones trying to make sense of loss.

And on a Sunday night at The Pageant, KevOnStage gave them permission to feel all of it — and to laugh anyway.

Based on reporting by St. Louis American.

Here’s a transformational idea: everyone should have access to safe, healthy and affordable food.

If this idea doesn’t feel radical to you, then perhaps you haven’t spent much time in the Southside of Chicago and its adjoining suburbs.

Food insecurity is rampant in our neighborhoods. If you live in Washington Heights, you are practically guaranteed to experience lower food access than the average Chicagoan – with similar circumstances in the South Shore, West Englewood or West Pullman.

It has been clearly documented that “Food is Medicine.” In fact, according to countless scientific studies, good nutrition is critical during cancer treatment. It empowers your body to maintain muscle, rebuild damaged tissues and better withstand aggressive radiation or chemotherapy. A patient with access to nutritious food will experience fewer side effects, like fatigue and nausea, and will have less need for extra medicines. In short, good food improves a patient’s daily life.

Instead, though, a Black woman with breast cancer in our South Side neighborhoods or suburbs has the opposite experience. In fact, if “food is medicine,” then we are inarguably in a crisis, and it is disproportionately affecting Black women with breast cancer.

As co-authors of the Pinkprint and members of the Chicago Better Together Breast Cancer Disparities Think Tank, an initiative launched to address the disproportionate impact of breast cancer mortality on Black women in Chicago’s South Side and South Suburbs, we know that by combining data-informed strategies with community-driven advocacy and leadership, we will create equitable, sustainable outcomes for those most affected by breast cancer and the lack of access to nutritious foods in their communities.

Solutions start as local initiatives. We must pilot community-driven solutions in areas with the highest breast cancer mortality rates and limited access to nutritious food.

Existing local programs – food pantries, community fridges and even hospital-run delivery systems – are a critical piece of this local infrastructure. They are just a component, though, of the robust nutrition infrastructure the South Side lacks. In the long-term, our neighborhoods need clean, well-stocked grocery stores – and we must demand that our elected officials do everything they can to attract and retain these food corporations to invest in our communities.

This is just one item on their to-do list. Long-term solutions will include policy changes and targeted incentives at the city, state and federal levels. Just this spring, over 150,000 people in Illinois lost SNAP benefits, a devastating cut with ripple effects across families into entire neighborhoods. These cuts disproportionately affect people in the South Side of Chicago – not to mention, overwhelm food banks and other centers that serve as part of our social safety net. The Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger (FRESH) program in Illinois provides a one-time, automatic $400 cash payment per eligible household member to residents who lost their SNAP food benefits. This will help ease the immediate negative effects of these cuts and is much appreciated. But it is not a long-term solution.

When we started conversations in work groups about this project, we started with the idea that Black women deserve equitable access to quality breast cancer care. Any conversation about breast cancer care and goals for improved outcomes, must include a conversation about nutrition justice.

Nutrition justice is not just a transformational ideal: it is an idea that will literally transform our neighborhoods and the quality of life of every single person living in them. It will put grocery stores in empty storefronts; it will deliver food to a breast cancer patient going through chemotherapy.

Nutrition justice will help improve breast cancer outcomes for Black women on Chicago’s South Side. And Black women should not have to wait.

This op-ed is the second in a series focusing on eliminating breast cancer mortality in Black women on Chicago’s Southside. The authors are part of the Chicago Better Together Breast Cancer Disparities Think Tank, an initiative launched to address the disproportionate impact of breast cancer mortality on Black women in Chicago’s Southside and South Suburbs. Together with other community leaders, they have co-authored the Pinkprint, a strategic multistep plan and call-to-action on this critical issue.

The post She’s Not Non-compliant, She’s Hungry: Addressing Food Justice to Improve Breast Cancer Outcomes appeared first on Chicago Defender.

Based on reporting by Chicago Defender.