Page 6 - DemoFlorida Sentinel 3-5-21

Politics
Vernon Jordan, Civil Rights Leader
And D.C. Power Broker, Dies at 85
Vernon E. Jordan Jr., the civil rights leader and Washington power broker whose private counsel was sought in the highest eche- lons of government and the corporate world, died on Monday at his home in Washington. He was 85.
His death was confirmed in a statement by Vickee Jordan, his daughter. She did not state the cause.
Jordan, who was raised in segregation-era Atlanta, got his first inkling of the world of power and influence that had largely been denied Black Americans like him while waiting tables at one of the city’s private clubs, where his mother catered dinners, and as a driver for a wealthy white banker, who was startled to discover that the tall Black youth at the wheel could read.
He went on to a daz- zlingly successful career as a civil-rights leader and then as a high-powered Washing- ton lawyer in the mold of past capital insiders like Clark M. Clifford, Robert S. Strauss and Lloyd M. Cutler.
Along the way he culti- vated a who’s who of younger Black leaders, inviting them to monthly one-on-one lunches, dispensing advice on everything from what to read to what to wear, and using his unmatched influ- ence to promote their careers in business, politics and the
VERNON E. JORDAN JR
nonprofit world.
Last year Jordan was
the subject of an hourlong PBS documentary, “Vernon Jordan: Make It Plain.”
His first wife, Shirley (Yarbrough) Jordan, whom he had met when they were students at Howard University, died of multiple sclerosis in December 1985 at 48. He married Ann Dib- ble Cook in November 1986.
In addition to his daugh- ter, Vickee, he is survived by his wife, two grandsons and three stepchildren.
Jordan also leaves be- hind a long list of younger Black leaders whose careers he fostered and who describe him as a sort of father figure, among them Mr. Walker, Mr. Chenault and Ursula Burns, the former chief ex- ecutive of Xerox and the first Black woman to lead a For- tune 500 company.
Congress Is Moving Ahead With $1,400 Stimulus Checks
New $1,400 stimulus checks could be on the way to millions of Americans now that the House of Rep- resentatives has passed the latest coronavirus relief bill.
The fate of those pay- ments now rests in the hands of the Senate, which is due to begin considering the proposed legislation this week.
The terms have called for direct payments of $1,400 per individual and per de- pendent.
The payments would be based on the same income thresholds as the first two stimulus checks. Individuals with up to $75,000 in ad- justed gross income, heads
of household with up to $112,500, and married cou- ples who file jointly with up to $150,000 would get full payments.
But the checks would be phased out for those with
incomes above those levels. This time, they would be capped for individuals earn- ing $100,000, heads of household with $150,000 and married couples with $200,000.
Rep. Karen Bass Reintroduces George Floyd Policing Bill In Congress
When George Floyd gasped his final breath last May after a Minneapolis po- lice officer was captured on viral video kneeling on his neck, Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation and world.
Yet the anguish, demon- strations and demands for an end to police brutality haven’t halted the violence; more than 100 unarmed peo- ple have been killed or bru- talized by police since then.
REP. KAREN BASS
Rep. Karen Bass (D- CA) is still fighting for sub- stantive change. On Wednesday, she and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
The bill is a comprehen- sive approach, intended to hold police accountable, change the culture of law en- forcement, and empower communities. It also seeks to build trust between law en- forcement and the communi- ties they serve, by addressing systemic racism and bias in order to help save lives.
“Black communities have asuffered from police abuse for as long as we’ve been here,” Bass told ESSENCE. “None of us are safe if essen- tially law enforcement can treat us any way they choose.”
The legislation would ban chokeholds, carotid holds and no-knock warrants at the federal level. It would prohibit racial and religious profiling, and mandate train- ing. The bill would also elim- inate qualified immunity for law enforcement; and estab- lish national standards to op- erate police departments.
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021