Black lawmakers press Justice and Education Departments to investigate Florida's race curriculum
The Congressional Black Caucus is pushing the White House, Justice Department and the Department of Education to look into whether Florida school districts are violating federal discrimination law following changes to the state's Black history curriculum.
![Formed 50 years ago, Congressional Black Caucus made presence felt by standing up to Nixon](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/GqLsrtqFbTi3dHOf91e4ZoPoZoU=/1280x720/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/I3XQYUPXZ5HXFPLEH6TDQOK76A.jpg)
Formed 50 years ago, Congressional Black Caucus made presence felt by standing up to Nixon
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus, a nonpartisan group of Black members in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that provides a voice and highlights issues prominent in the Black community. With a growing number of Black representatives in Congress due to redistricting, members felt a more official group was needed to better serve their communities. So in 1971, 13 members of the House formed the initial group, but they were originally ignored by one prominent person: then-President Richard Nixon. After the group formed, Nixon initially refused to meet, and the members decided to do something about that, according to the Houseโs historical website. Currently at 55 members, the CBC forms about a quarter of the Democratic Partyโs representation in the House.
![Democrats proposing new police procedures, accountability](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/NvOh-kNlh9a19GjuY5m5wp7QXPQ=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/K2SDIRVOOBBBTADQRKOPCXJALM.jpg)
Democrats proposing new police procedures, accountability
WASHINGTON A sweeping overhaul of police oversight and procedures is being proposed by Democrats in response to the deaths of black Americans at the hands of law enforcement, according to a draft outline obtained by The Associated Press. It is the most ambitious changes to law enforcement sought by Congress in years. Bass said the package from House and Senate Democrats will be bolder than any law enforcement changes of the past decade. It is unclear if law enforcement and the powerful police unions will back any of the proposed changes or if congressional Republicans will join the effort. Booker and fellow one-time presidential hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, are co-authors of the package in the Senate.
![Democrats prepare police reform bills after Floyd's death](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/1mOX-2jZ7OQHGckSy17jMrlfaOY=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/C2X2D37ZQJH7DL6345GNJMVHT4.jpg)
Democrats prepare police reform bills after Floyd's death
Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, both former presidential candidates, are expected to announce a package in coming days, with a House bill coming soon. Both the Senate and House efforts are expected to include changes to police accountability laws, such as revising immunity provisions, and creating a database of police use-of-force incidents. We have a moral moment in our country, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the CBC, said on a conference call Wednesday. With Democrats in the majority, the bills will almost certainly pass the House. She acknowledged the opposition the bills will likely face, but called on fellow lawmakers to consider the option of doing nothing.