Week of Feb. 4-10 February 4 1913—Civil rights heroine Rosa Parks is born on this day in Tuskegee, Ala. It was her refusal in December 1955 to give up her seat to a White man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus that sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement. For refusing to obey the laws of segregation, she was arrested and convicted. Montgomery Blacks responded with a boycott of city buses. A young minister named Martin Luther King Jr. was called upon to lead the boycott, which would last for nearly 13 months. The drama and accompanying legal challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court captivated the nation and propelled Dr. King into the national international spotlight as the nation’s premier civil rights leader. Mrs. Parks died in 2005 at 92. ROSA PARKS
by Angela Della Santi TRENTON, N.J. (AP)—The verbal feud over gay marriage in New Jersey got more personal Monday with Gov. Chris Christie firing a slang term at a lawmaker, and a hero of the Civil Rights Movement chastising the governor for a separate remark. Christie called openly gay Assemblyman Reed Gusciora “numb nuts” during a Statehouse news conference—his response to the lawmaker comparing him to former segregationist governors in the South. TAKES CHRISTIE TO TASK—Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., center, is flanked by NJ Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, D-Essex, and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-NJ, before speaking about a recent comment by N.J. Gov. Chris Christie on civil rights in the South, during a press conference at the Trenton Transit Station in Trenton, N.J., Jan. 30. The comment culminated more than a week of back and forth over gay marriage, which the Democratic majority in the Legislature is trying to achieve through legislation and Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex nuptials, wants decided by a public vote.
DETROIT (AP)—The federal government now says a 101-year-old Detroit woman it promised could move back into her foreclosed home four months ago can’t return because the building’s unsanitary and unsafe. Texana Hollis was evicted Sept. 12 and her belongings placed outside after her 65-year-old son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development foreclosed on the home. HOMELESS—In this Oct. 3, 2011, photo, Texana Hollis, 101, talks to her friend Pollian Cheeks’ granddaughter, Jahzara, after discussing her eviction in Detroit. (AP Photo Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
NEW YORK (AP)—President Barack Obama got some high-profile fundraising help last week from director Spike Lee and musicians Al Green and India.Arie. Obama was in New York Jan. 20 for a high-dollar fundraiser at director Spike Lee’s home and a campaign event at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, with performances by Green, India.Arie and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. CROONER-IN-CHIEF—President Barack Obama sings before speaking at a campaign event, Jan. 19, at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem. (AP Photo Haraz N. Ghanbari)
by Jerry SchwartzAssociated Press Writer (AP)—Is it too much to ask our presidents to uphold the Constitution, command the armed forces, execute the nation’s laws—AND provide us with a little musical interlude? The question comes to mind in the wake of Barack Obama's recent appearance at the Apollo Theater, when the leader of the free world took a moment to channel the Rev. Al Green, singing a bar from “Let’s Stay Together.” The crowd (and admirers on the Internet) went nuts, reacting in a way they rarely do to, say, a veto message or a Thanksgiving Proclamation.
by Carole Feldman Associated Press Writer (AP)—The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns. Collecting unemployment insurance benefits? All that you received in 2011 is taxed as income. Unless you requested that federal taxes be withheld, you could be in for a big surprise when you calculate taxes owed.
Week of January 28-February 3January 28 1938—Crystal Byrd Fauset becomes the first Black woman elected to a state legislature when she wins a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
NEW YORK (AP)—In a move to engage young people worldwide, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a global cultural ambassador. The Hall of Famer and NBA career scoring leader will promote the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding and using sports as a means of empowerment. AMBASSADOR—Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton looks up at Global Cultural Ambassador and former NBA basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jan. 18, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
by Jessie WashingtonAP National Writer Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are White, Black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They're all on food stamps. As the food stamp program has become an issue in the Republican presidential primary, with candidates seeking to tie President Barack Obama to the program's record numbers, The Associated Press interviewed recipients across the country and found many who wished that critics would spend some time in their shoes. SINGLE MOM—Victoria Busby holds her three-week-old daughter Christy Kalbaugh, at the Department of Human Services, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
