(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Black Kos, Week In Review [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-07-18

Commentary: Black Scientists, Explorers, and Inventors

By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor

When you plug your printer, keyboard or monitor into your PC, the majority of the time you'll find, happily, that it simply works, no matter what brand your peripherals are or how long ago you purchased them. This is largely because of the developments of inventors Mark E. Dean and Dennis L. Moeller, who developed the internal architecture of what's know as the ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) systems bus at IBM in the early 1980s. Mark Dean was born on March 2, 1957, in Jefferson City, Tenn. He earned a B.S. in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee in 1979, followed by a master's degree in electrical engineering from Florida Atlantic University in 1982. He later went on to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, in 1992. He began working for IBM in 1980.

Dennis L. Moeller was born on April 28, 1950, in St. Louis, Mo. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri. In 1974, he joined IBM's semiconductor manufacturing team, and later moved onto IBM's Series 1 mini-computer printer project. Mark E. Dean (L) and Dennis L. Moeller (R) The pair began working together on a team tasked with building a microcomputer system with bus connectivity for peripheral processing devices for IBM computers and compatible PCs. A bus is a device that connects a computer's central processing unit with devices such as keyboards, mice, monitors, printers and the like. A bus allows the devices to communicate with one another, making it possible for devices to work together efficiently and at high speeds. Dean and Moeller made architectural improvements within the PC and the bus that laid the foundation for explosive growth in the computing industry. Their invention, for which they received U.S. Patent No. 4,528,626 in 1985, made it possible for users to connect computers to peripherals by simply plugging them in. IBM first brought the concept to market in 1984 with its PC/AT computer. An augmented version of the ISA bus remains standard within most PCs to this day. Dean and Moeller were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for their invention in 1997..…Read more here ->

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who was convicted last year of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights to serve just one day in prison, despite the fact the conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who waslast year of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights to serve just one day in prison, despite the fact the conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In a court filing, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division late on Wednesday downplayed the conviction of former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, noting he "did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death."

The filing said the one-day sentence would amount to time served since Hankison would "get credit for the day he was booked and made his initial appearance."

Taylor, a Black woman, was killed by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant during a botched raid of her home. Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm, shot at police, prompting them to fire back 22 times into the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Florida's Supreme Court upholds a congressional map that dismantled a majority-Black district, ruling that restoring the district would constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The Grio: Florida congressional districts that eliminated a majority-Black seat upheld by state Supreme Court

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Florida’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the state’s current congressional redistricting map, rejecting a challenge over the elimination of a majority-Black district in north Florida that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The court, dominated by DeSantis appointees, said in its ruling that restoration of the district that previously united Black communities from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee, or across 200 miles (322 kilometers), would amount to impermissible racial gerrymandering. That, the majority ruled, violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees. “The record leaves no doubt that such a district would be race-predominant. The record also gives us no reasonable basis to think that further litigation would uncover a potentially viable remedy,” said Chief Justice Carlos Muniz in the court’s majority opinion. The decision means Florida’s current congressional districts that give Republicans a 20-8 advantage over Democrats will remain in place for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. The previous north Florida district was most recently represented by a Black Democrat, former Rep. Al Lawson. The new districts divide that area among three Republicans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An annual diversity survey shows that 42% of Democratic Senate staffers are Black and Brown, a slight increase from 2024. The Grio: Senate Democrats see record number of diverse staffers, even as diversity is ‘demonized and distorted’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senate Democrats are touting a record number of diverse staffers working in their offices, in direct conflict with the political climate in Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration declares war on DEI.

The Grio exclusively reports that the 2025 Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative, an annual survey, found that the diversity of Capitol Hill staffers has reached its highest levels since being recorded in 2017. “At a time when diversity is being demonized and distorted in too many corners of this country, I’m proud to report that more staffers of color are serving in our caucus than ever before in history,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement provided to theGrio. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamal Bryant is advocating for more than just the rehabilitation of DEI initiatives at Target. During a recent panel discussion with Symone Sanders at the NAACP’s 116th national convention, Pastor Bryant stressed to audiences that the Trump administration’s rapid changes to immigration policies impact Black communities just as much as they can impact Hispanic communities

“We have been deluded into believing that immigration is a Latino and Mexican issue,” he said. “There are 500,000 Haitians [who] are unprotected, 250,000 Jamaicans who are about to be on the watch list. And they want to hear, will the nation’s largest, biggest, strongest civil rights organization [say] anything about immigration?”

Since his return to the Oval Office, President Trump has accelerated deportation efforts, giving ICE agents full authority to defend themselves by “whatever means necessary” against the communities he refers to as “thugs.” Immigration is only one of the plethora of points in the Trump administration’s agenda, and every day since he has gotten into office it feels as though new changes are being made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince has nurtured generations of Haitian artists and exhibited the country’s most important works of art. Then came the gangs. Washington Post: Under a rain of bullets, Haitian police rescue thousands of artworks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the days this month after Haitian gangs incinerated Port-au-Prince’s famed Hotel Oloffson, the Gothic-gingerbread retreat for such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando and Mick Jagger, rumors grew that they were now setting their sights on another cultural landmark: the Centre d’Art.

Allenby Augustin, director of the museum and art school, had long fretted about the security of the center, one of the oldest such institutions in the Caribbean and home to many of the most important works of Haitian art. In March, a powerful coalition of gangs moved into the neighborhood, occupying homes next door and stealing the center’s solar panels, generator and batteries.

But late last week, in a rare victory for Haiti’s outnumbered and outgunned police force, dozens of officers and museum staffers successfully executed a two-day operation, under steady gunfire, to salvage thousands of pieces of art and documents key to the nation’s vibrant cultural patrimony. The works, which include paintings by the 20th-century masters Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin and his son Antoine and sculpture by Georges Liautaud, were escorted under armed guard out of gang-controlled territory to an undisclosed location. Museum staff are now conducting an inventory to determine whether anything is missing, Augustin said, but so far, he is “confident” that most of its 6,000 artworks and 3,600 documents have been “successfully recovered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY PORCH

IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSEL

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/18/2333831/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.