Debbie Elliott/NPR His congressional colleagues describe him as even-tempered and levelheaded, able to command respect without shouting for attention. This change became effective April 15, 1915. The center is supporting efforts by Thompson and the Till Memorial Commission to have Bryant's Grocery and other sites associated with Till's lynching protected as part of the National Park Service. Bennie Thompson - Biography - IMDb Representative John Katko, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said he and Thompson have a terrific partnership, stemming from an understanding of the bipartisan importance of the committees purview. Troy Carter of Louisiana got to Congress in 2021, he and Jeffries joked about how they would work on growing their ranks in Congress. Write to Mini Racker at mini.racker@time.com. There, he partnered with current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, then a state senator, to author a law preventing police from keeping the names and addresses of New Yorkers they stopped, frisked, and releasedmany of them Black and Latino. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Kappa Alpha Psi is the 2nd oldest existing collegiate historically Black Greek Letter Fraternity and the 1st intercollegiate Fraternity incorporated as a national body. In order of their founding, here are some highlights of these nine Black Greek letter organizations. Thomas says it's about interpreting the Till story a different way. That was a very different and liberating feeling as compared to the neighborhoods of central Brooklyn in the 1980s in the midst of the crack-cocaine epidemic.. The name of Fraternity and the image it portrayed was of paramount importance. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital February 10,1963 Power always changes hands, and Republicans are widely expected to retake the House in the midterm elections. Jeffries has since credited his time in the historically Black fraternity as a defining era of his life. He graduated from Hinds County It is a fact of which Kappa Alpha Psi is proud that the Constitution has never contained any clause which either excluded or suggested the exclusion of a man from membership merely because of his color, creed, or national origin. Debbie Elliott/NPR When Rep. hide caption. and I shall do my share to make it so. The founders of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. are: Elder Watson Diggs, more affectionately known as 'The Dreamer', Dr. Ezra D. Alexander, Dr. Byron Kenneth Armstrong, Atty. The school provided a safe space for Freedom Riders and hosted meetings led by Medgar Evers, the president of the Mississippi NAACP. Miguel Correa finds parallels to events today. Thats one of the guys Im really going to miss working with when I leave here. (Katko, who was one of just 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the events of January 6, was sure to clarify that his praise of Thompson pertained only to the Homeland Security Committee. Can rise within the system that initially and aggressively sought to exclude him. The highest number of lynchings in the country between 1882 and 1968 occurred in Mississippi, according to the NAACP. Bennie Thompson Do you have a sports website? Throughout my public service career in Congress, I have always put service above self and principles above politics. hide caption. Bennie Thompson The committee was approved almost entirely along party lines, and its members were chosen by Pelosi. As we celebrate Black History Month, its important to acknowledge the remarkable legacy of the Divine Nine. The question of who gets to tell the Emmett Till story is a charged question says Dave Tell, a professor at the University of Kansas and author of Remembering Emmett Till. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson called on the hundreds who marched during the annual King Day at the Dome to continue to fight against injustice. Bennie G. Thompson, (born January 28, 1948) is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993, and the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2011. Thompson, who grew up in a small Mississippi community in 1971, sympathized with the group known as the Republic of New Africa, participating in a news conference blaming law enforcement for instigating clashes with the group which led to a dead police officer and a wounded FBI agent. A commitment to Pi Kappa Phi that transcends any personal selfishness. The historic marker was taken down after three white fraternity brothers from the University of Mississippi were pictured holding guns next to the sign. He served in that capacity for six years. "This is justice for our family," says Till's cousin Airickca Gordon-Taylor who runs the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation in Chicago. Congressman Bennie G. Thompson is a firm believer of giving back to those whom afforded him an opportunity to serve. and activities of their college; Who prepare themselves diligently to shoulder their He is a longtime member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Bolton and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity (Gamma Rho Tougaloo College). The Fraternity would seek to raise the sights of Black youths and stimulate them to accomplishments higher than might otherwise be realized or even imagined. In 1980, Thompson was elected to the Hinds County board of supervisors, where he served 13 years. 37 46 37 37. The panels investigators interviewed technology industry executives and law enforcement and intelligence officials, along with Trump aides and Republican election officials. Bennie Thompson Family And Net Worth. It was clear at the outset that the new fraternity would not warm over principles or practices of other organizations. However, few Blacks could remain longer than a year or so without having to withdraw in search of employment. For many of them, joining Kappa Alpha Psi represented a lifetime commitment to leadership and social change. Born in a state with a unique history of racial inequality, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson draws inspiration from the legacies of Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry and Henry Kirksey. The Bolton, Mississippi native considers it an honor to walk the path Mississippi civil rights icons paved decades ago. We have a saying down here America, welcome to Mississippi. So a lot of what Bennie is dealing with, Im sure like all of us, we were hopeful that we wouldnt see again, Fitzgerald said. Since 1980, 13 members of the fraternity have served in the United States House of Representatives, the most by any member organization of the National Pan Hellenic Council. On January 5, 1911, the Fraternity then became known as Kappa Alpha Nu, possibly as a tribute to the Black students of 1903 (the Alpha Kappa Nu Greek Society) who preceded them at Indiana University. He understands in a deeper way the dynamics of both normal and abnormal politics.. Some of Till's relatives will be a part of the ceremony. The Mississippi congressmans long struggle for civil rights is culminating with his role atop the January 6 committee. Thompson was born in Bolton in 1948, the son of a mechanic and a schoolteacher. She says the repeated vandalism just adds more pain. Read More: America Loves to Celebrate Firsts Like Hakeem Jeffries. She added that she wanted to particularly credit him for his decision to elevate GOP Representative Liz Cheney to the role of committee vice chair. Bennie combines the wisdom, judgment, patience, and good humor necessary to guide our committee at this historic moment, she said. Rep. Sanford Members of Greek letter organizations also get the opportunity to participate in numerous philanthropic and community service events. The company found its own response to the incitement of violence troubling, according to the report, but no substantive work was done to improve the situation in 2021, including in other high-profile elections such as in Brazil last year. Some of the topics discussed at the annual James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference include immigration policy, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and United States Supreme Court vacancies. As fraternity president, Jeffries coordinated and emceed the Mu Kappa chapters fashion show fundraiser. The fraternity declined to comment to NPR. "Whites and blacks came to our meetings and [said] 'Why are you all bringing this up? He plans to donate a long-term lease to better protect the site. Jeffries was only a college sophomore at Binghamton University when he was elected president of the schools fledgling chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. "Much like in the 1960s, racial politics were worked out at lunch counters, sidewalks, swimming pools; in the 21st century, we work out our racial politics for example in battles over the flag or statues or the names of dormitories," says Tell. The following is a transcript of an interview with Representative Bennie Thompson that aired Sunday, January 23, 2022, on "Face the Nation." The Bennie Thompson Affair. @BennieGThompson Husband. What occurred on January 6, and the vitriol and the racism of the modern era, were reminiscent to Fitzgerald of what she and Thompson experienced during the civil rights movement. The hearings and report included testimony on the importance social media played in spurring supporters to come to Washington and inciting the mob after it penetrated the Capitol to further anger against former Vice President Mike Pence. It's part of our culture. Most of them were working their way through school. The report covers the shortfalls of other platforms, including mainstream companies such as Googles YouTube and Reddit Inc. as well as those with a smaller user base such as Parler Inc. and Gab. H cuRRenT membeRs H Bennie Thompson 1948 united states representative democrat from mississippi 1993 In a video posted last year to his Kappa Alpha Psi chapters Instagram, Jeffries said he was grateful to Cordero for appointing him president of his pledge classwhich preceded his eventual election to lead the whole chapter. Bennie G. Thompson @BennieGThompson. Bennie Thompson is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Mississippis 2nd congressional district since 1993. The Kappa step shows soon became a draw for students of color across campus. All of a sudden, there was a part of the campus that just didnt know that we even existed, and then we were like the Beatles on campus, Cordero says. It is the beautiful realization of a vision shared commonly by the late Revered Founders that enabled them to sow the seed of a fraternal tree whose fruit is available to, and now enjoyed by college men everywhere, regardless of their color, religion or national origin. All Rights Reserved. Even now, when hell face relentless demands on his time as House Minority Leader by lawmakers, lobbyists and donors, Jeffries stays in touch with many of his frat brothersboth his classmates and others from the wider network of Black fraternities. Thompson Politics | Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Favorite Healthcare Staffing. As far as replacing the sign, Weems is getting help from a fifth-generation local farmer, Walker Sturdivant, who owns the property and plans to donate a long-term lease to better protect the site. Two of these men, Elder Watson Diggs and Byron Kenneth Armstrong, had previously attended Howard University and had come into contact with men belonging to the only national Black Greek-Letter Fraternity currently in existence. He had joined the fraternity just a year earlier in search of community in his new home, nearly 200 miles and a world away from his Brooklyn upbringing. When Rep. Social media companies bent their own rules in favor of former President Donald Trump and his supporters in the volatile weeks preceding the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, according to an unpublished staff report from the Houses Jan. 6 committee. Rep. Bennie Thompson speaks during the January 6 committee's first public hearing. "The basic idea is that you can't shoot an app," Tell says. Bennie Thompson weighed 210 lbs (95 kg) when playing. Through their combined labors, the fraternitys ritual and ceremonial forms, constitution, hymn and motto were created, and insignia and emblems were fashioned. He lives in Sumner, Miss., where the two men who killed Till were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury, only to confess to the killing when they sold their story to Look Magazine months later. At the end of FY2010, the Veterans population in the United States was approximately 22.6 million. He practiced law for several years, representing CBS in a suit over Janet Jacksons costume incident during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Bennie Thompson Happy Black History Month! Politics | Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Notable Members: Attorney, Johnnie Cochran, US Congressman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, and Athletes, Arthur Ashe and Colin Kaepernick Omega Psi Phi If I have two roads, a paved road with potholes in a white neighborhood and an unpaved one in a black neighborhood, my priority is the unpaved road, Thompson said in a 1985 profile written by Joe Klein for Esquire. Over the past year, Thompsons new committee has proceeded at a rapid clip, as members issue dozens of subpoenas, conduct depositions, review thousands of pages of documents, and gather additional evidence. The University of Mississippi fraternity brothers who posed with guns at the bullet-pocked marker were suspended by the Kappa Alpha Order, an organization that Milam (left) and Roy Bryant sit with their wives, Juanita Milam (second from left) and Carolyn Bryant, in September 1955. The number of places where they might assemble was limited. Thompsons supporters delineate a clear path from Thompsons upbringing, education, and career as a Black man in Mississippi, a state riven by the domestic terrorism of white supremacists in the decades between Reconstruction and the civil rights movement. Nationally, Kappa Alpha Psi has provided summer enrichment camps and provided funds for St. Jude Medical Research Center to assist in the fight against childhood catastrophic diseases by raising more than $1 Million. Andrew Harnik/AP. Congress is a venue in which attention-seekers thrive, instinctively turning to camera lights like plants tilt toward the sun. With assistance from Sarah Frier, Alex Barinka and Emily Birnbaum. This environment made day-to-day life for Blacks an arduous task and attempts to successfully achieve in school, nearly impossible. In the US, Facebooks Samidh Chakrabarti, then the product lead for the US election, suggested forming a working group to study the torrent of election delegitimizing content on Facebook. Guy Rosen, Facebooks chief information security officer who was running the companys safety and integrity efforts at the time, told Chakrabarti that even studying the problem would just create momentum and expectation for action that he didnt support. Pi Kappa Phis esoteric values are taught to each member through our Ritual of Initiation. This work is in preparation for compiling a comprehensive report offering the definitive account of what occurred and providing recommendations for what the Justice Department and Congress can do to prevent such an insurrection from happening again. Bennie Thompson (It was also where he met his wife of more than 50 years, London.). WebThe obligation to remain involved in Pi Kappa Phi after graduation and to work perpetually to build the ideal fraternity. Till, a black teenager visiting from Chicago, was brutally killed in Mississippi after allegedly violating Jim Crow social norms. And the one person who can manage it, who is uniquely equipped to manage it, is Bennie Thompson.. Hes all about getting the job done, said Representative Ritchie Torres, the vice chair of the Homeland Security Committee. The committee is also expected to hold more public hearings this year, after just one high-profile hearing with Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers last summer. Some of these members include: Ralph Abernathy, Wilt Chamberlin, Montell Jordan, Benjamin Jealous, Oscar Robertson, Cedric the Entertainer, Arthur Ashe, Mike Tomlin, Gayle Sayers, Adrian Fenty, Robert S. Abbott, Bennie Thompson, Donald Byrd, Johnnie Cochran, Ed Gardner, Smokie Norful, John Singleton, Tom Bradley, Bob Johnson, John Conyers, Alcee Hastings, Lerone Bennett, Jr., Kwame Jackson, Bill Russell, Tavis Smiley, Marvin Sapp, and Colin Kaepernick to name a few. "Kappa Alpha Psi", "KA", and the Coat of Arms of Kappa Alpha Psi are registered trademarks of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Bennie Thompson has not been elected into the Hall of Fame. To combat the repeated attacks by vandals, he has helped the Memorial Commission create a smartphone app called the Emmett Till Memory Project a virtual tour including pictures, documents, and maps. The towns white population revolted, and an unsuccessful lawsuit to prevent the three from taking office ultimately died in a federal court of appeals. The event also creates opportunities for community leaders in the fraternity to meet with, and hear from current members of the House and Senate, who are also members of the fraternity. Politics | Thompson faced another failed lawsuit after he won the mayoral election for Bolton in 1973. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Weband Thompson served as a town alderman from 1969 to 1973, when he won election as the towns mayor. Bennie Thompson for Congress He's the one we need Bennie In the late 1960s, Tougaloo, a private Black college on the outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi, had a population of particularly civic-minded students. Developments affecting the committees work continue at a fast pace. He was very good at it. You know, I cast votes based on what the issues are at that time, Thompson told CNN last July, explaining his vote against certifying Bushs election. The James "Biff" Carter Legislative Conference (aka "Kappas on Capitol Hill") brings together members of Kappa Alpha Psi to effect meaningful change. He is well-known among his colleagues, but not necessarily a nationally recognized figure. As a direct result of these policies, even before Jan. 6 we terminated thousands of channels, several of which were associated with figures related to the attack, and removed thousands of violative videos, the majority before 100 views.. Recent reporting by The Washington Post and CBS News revealed a gap in Trumps phone logs on January 6, 2021, of seven hours and 37 minutes. | Ranking Member of @HomelandDems . Guy Levis Grant, Edward Giles Irvin, and Sgt. Last July, he was tasked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead a select committee to investigate the attempted insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Equality doesnt mean spending the same amount of money on blacks as whites. The Bennie Thompson Affair
