Free Republic

Rep. Barbara Lee on Wednesday told colleagues that she intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, according to a person familiar with the conversation, revealing her plans to join a race that several House Democrats have shown interest in this week. Lee informed fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus of her thinking, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. Lee’s remarks did not amount to a formal announcement, said this person, who added that Lee is “getting her ducks in a row and figuring things out” and has spoken...

Aretha Franklin was tracked by the FBI for 40 years as the agency repeatedly sought but ultimately failed to tie the Queen of Soul to “extremists” and “radicals,” newly declassified documents reveal. The 270-page FBI file — obtained by Rolling Stone magazine — details how the feds spied on the “Respect” songstress through “false phone calls, surveillance, infiltration and highly-placed sources” from 1967 to 2007. The FBI’s suspicion of the late star was laid bare in the cache of documents, which included a slew of phrases, such as “black extremists,” “procommunist,” “hate America,” “radical,” “racial violence” and “militant blackpower.” “I’m...

WASHINGTON (AP) — For Jonathan Peter Jackson, a direct relative of two prominent members of the Black Panther Party, revolutionary thought and family history have always been intertwined, particularly in August. That’s the month in 1971 when his uncle, the famed Panther George Jackson, was killed during an uprising at San Quentin State Prison in California. A revolutionary whose words resonated inside and out of the prison walls, he was a published author, activist and radical thought leader. To many, February is the month dedicated to celebrating Black Americans’ contributions to a country where they were once enslaved. But Black...

A new Gallup poll shines a spotlight on the deep political divide in America and surely points to what the upcoming presidential election will be about. Gallup asked, "How proud are you to be an American?" Seventy-six percent of Republicans said "extremely proud" compared with 22 percent of Democrats. Broken down by age, 63% of those over 65 said "extremely proud," and only 24% of those 18 to 29. This tells us something about Nike's recent move to pull its Betsy Ross flag sneakers from the marketplace, having taken guidance from its ex-football star anti-hero, now-Nike corporate spokesman, Colin Kaepernick....

Colin Kaepernick’s history teachers should be ashamed of themselves. They either failed to teach him real history, or they succeeded in indoctrinating him into a false political narrative. Either way, he was short-changed and missed out on one of history’s greatest stories. To associate the 1776 American flag with slavery is to miss the purpose and genius of the American Revolution. The former football player turned well-paid corporate activist put the kibosh on a special edition Nike shoe because it sported the Betsy Ross flag on the heel. I’m sure you’ve heard that much. Kaepernick’s reason, which I’m sure you’ve...

“Jussie [Smollett] will NOT be returning to ‘Empire,'” series co-creator Lee Daniels said Tuesday. Daniels was responding to a Variety report in which multiple production sources said that “Empire’s” writing staff was breaking ideas for the show’s sixth and final season with the expectation that Smollett would appear in the back half of the 18-episode season. This is the first public acknowledgment that Smollett will not return for the final season of the Fox drama series. He was written out of the final episodes of the show’s fifth season following severe backlash stemming from accusations the actor and musician faked...

When Turlock, California’s Pitman High School was coming up with a list for its inaugural athletic hall of fame class, it probably didn’t take long before they got to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Twelve years after he graduated from Pitman, five years after he led the San Francisco 49ers to within inches of a Super Bowl title and one year after GQ named him its Citizen of the Year for his highly publicized social activism, Kaepernick will headline his prep alma mater’s first hall of fame class. Kaepernick is expected to attend the ceremony along with eight other inductees...

A Louisiana mayor reportedly banned his city’s recreation programs from purchasing Nike products in the wake of an ad campaign featuring former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Mayor Ben Zahn, of Kenner, signed a memo last week that states that “[u]nder no circumstances” can any Nike apparel or equipment be “purchased for use or delivery” at any recreation facilities in the city. “Effective immediately all purchases made by any booster club operating at any Kenner Recreation Facility for wearing apparel, shoes, athletic equipment and/or any athletic product must be approved by the Director of Parks and Recreation, or his...

The U.S. National Park Service almost spent nearly $100,000 of taxpayer dollars to honor the Black Panther Party, a group whose leadership killed law enforcement officers, and a group that the FBI acknowledged wanted to use violence and guerilla tactics to overthrow the United States Government.

Appearing on CNN this morning, Charlottesville Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy repeatedly referred to President Trump as “45.” Host Chris Cuomo eventually asked him about it, to which he responded: “That’s just what I call him. I believe that when he begins to act as if he deserves to be in that office, and leads in terms of unifying people, then he will deserve the name of President Trump. But at this point, I believe that he has not done the things in regards to bringing this country together.” View the video here.

Jim Harbaugh, who coached Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers, has offered mixed opinions on the quarterback’s protests of racial injustice during renditions of the national anthem. On Saturday, the Michigan head coach expressed “support” for players of his who raised their fists during the anthem before a game against Penn State.

WALLER, Texas - They're bold, unapologetic, and packing assault rifles.The new Black Panther Party protested the Waller County jail Wednesday afternoon. Yahcanon with the Black Panther Party says, "we have to take back the power, it will define who we are." They're the latest group to target the Waller County Sheriff after the July 13th death of Sandra Bland. The group took to the streets in what appeared to be a stand off with deputies from Waller County backed up by Harris County and the weapons were everywhere.

Approximately 8-9 hours ago Anthony Hervey and Arlene Barnum both black were returning from a rally in Birmingham yesterday in support of the Confederate Battle Flag Upon returning this morning Sharon Bauman started posting on her facebook page that they were being chased by unknown assailants and they subsequently wrecked on Mississippi State Hwy 6 in Lafayette county of which Oxford (Ole Miss) is county seat Ms Barnum survived and Mr Hervey died of his injuries All the info I have is from Ms Barnum Facebook and scant detail is on a blog called McAlester News According to witnesses the...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Obama refuses to prosecute members of the New Black Panther Party for their plot to commit murder and bombing Before I get to the main point of this post, I want to remind readers about two previous incidents regarding Obama and the New Black Panther Party. First, these photographs from 2007 show Obama speaking to and marching with the New Black Panther Party.Photos copied from the following source, and posted here under fair use:http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2011/10/05/pay_no_attention_to_obama_marching_with_the_new_black_panthers  Secondly, in May 2009, the Obama administration dismissed charges that had been filed by the Bush administration against members of the New Black...

Last week, Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn attended a fundraiser hosted by an ex-convict. No, I’m dead serious. The $2,600 a head Capitol Hill fundraiser for Ms. Nunn was co-hosted by Virtual Murrell; an early leader of the Black Panther Party who served some prison time for extorting businesses when he worked as an aide in city government in the 1990s (via National Review): Murrell was indicted in 1994 by a federal grand jury on charges that he solicited and received over $37,000 in bribes from businesses in San Francisco while serving as an aide to an Oakland city...

At Harlem identity Percy Sutton‘s funeral in January 2010, US Attorney General Eric Holder eulogized the man often described as one of his mentors. Speaking to the people gathered in the church’s pews, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called Sutton “one of the nation’s true heroes.” “I admired, respected and worked for him,”  Holder said of Sutton,  who died on December 26, 2009 in Manhattan at the age of 89.  “The opportunities given to my generation were paid for by his…Without him, there would be no me.” Holder, a native New Yorker, continued, saying, “Generations of other African American lawyers...

The tattoo on his face says, “Kill Whitey” in block letters, and cops say the gun he carried was loaded and unlicensed. But that didn’t stop Maruse Heath — head of the Philadelphia chapter of the New Black Panther Party — from claiming that he’s really all about charity and outreach as he was arraigned on a gun-possession charge in Manhattan last night. “It is my understanding that the New Black Panther Party is the functional equivalent of the KKK,” Assistant District Attorney Christopher Ryan countered as Heath, 41, was ordered held in lieu of $75,000 bail for getting busted...

Even the most ardent liberal defenders of Eric Holder acknowledge that the embattled Attorney General "is in a mess of his own making," as Dana Milbank of the Washington Postput it. Under fire for his Justice Department going after AP reporters' personal records, Holder testified in May 2013 to Congress: "With regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I have ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be a wise policy."But, Holder was caught in a lie when the Washington Post exposed an affidavit bearing Holder's signature naming...

Recently announced Vice Presidential pick Paul Ryan is being called a radical by the left for his fiscal policies. But no one would expect that anyone would imply that the Roman Catholic family man would be a Black Panther. Yet, the New York Times ran the headline "Paul Ryan, Black Panther?" on the day after the announcement was made. This was in a series called “Historically Corrected.” (So when will the New York Times allow me to blog in a series titled “Why You Should Read George Orwell and Other Novelists”?) This of course was false advertising, for anyone reading...

Now that the Democrats are gearing up to hold their September convention at the stadium, they can’t even bring themselves to type the words “Bank of America.” You know, because corporations are totally greedy, especially when they’re associated with the bankster one percent. For the record, Bank of America Stadium has never been called “Panthers Stadium.” Bank of America purchased naming rights in 2004, replacing L.M. Ericsson Inc. as the corporate (gasp!) sponsor. Prior to that, the facility was known as Carolinas Stadium. Yep, can’t have President Obama associated with an icky corporation when he delivers his keynote address at,...