A Legacy of Excellence (ALOE)

ALOE was founded with the intention to empower and invest in the future of African-American students in the Tucson Unified School District.

By providing scholarships to graduating seniors who have achieved academically, are active in their community, and aspire to pursue higher education, we are fulfilling our vision of creating an equitable future for all.

May 3, 2025, 5:00PM at La Paloma

Donate and support these talented and bright students! Hope to see you there!



Thank you, Jeff Sawyer, Kamren Taravati, Natalie Clark, Gerry Buchanan, Wanda, Katrina, and Dawn Bell of EEF and the entire ALOE Committee for how you support our students!

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding Louisiana's congressional redistricting after the 2020 Census...

The case mirrors one from Alabama two years ago, but its outcome could make it harder for minorities to win redistricting cases.

Louisiana's population is about 30% African American, but after the Census, the state legislature outlined new district lines that included only one majority-Black district, despite having six congressional seats. This mirrors Alabama's approach, which the Supreme Court ruled violated the Voting Rights Act in 2023.

A key difference is that Louisiana, after losing in several courts, voluntarily created a second majority-African American district, whereas Alabama only did so after a court order. However, this new district was challenged by non-Black voters in Louisiana, who lost in lower courts and appealed to the Supreme Court.

CBS New York

Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

Some things change some things stay the same…

Three Long Island fire departments—Brookhaven, Holbrook, and Levittown—have reached a settlement over allegations of discrimination after displaying the Confederate flag.

The New York State Division of Human Rights announced that the departments will pay $28,000 in fines and change their policies to address unlawful discrimination. As part of the settlement, they must remove all Confederate flag depictions from equipment and websites and ban any symbols of hate.

While the fire departments did not comment on the settlement, the Firefighters Association of New York stated, "Fire departments operate best when their membership includes all members of the community they serve... Everyone in a fire district should feel comfortable and respected."

CBS New York

Photo by Mor Shani on Unsplash

Sen. Cory Booker Surpasses

Thurmond's Record, Defends Civil Rights Legacy

By Beverely Elliott, April 4, 2025 

Washington AP Wire 

Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) made it clear this week that he was determined to break the longstanding record for the longest Senate floor speech, a record set by the late Senator Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) during his 1957 filibuster against the Civil Rights Act. Booker, speaking on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, described Thurmond’s 24-hour, 18-minute speech as something that "irked" him deeply, noting the historic irony that the longest speech in Senate history was made by a segregationist who actively worked to block the advancement of civil rights for African Americans.

“To be candid, Strom Thurmond’s record always kind of, just, just really irked me, that he would be the longest speech — that the longest speech, on our great Senate floor, was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate,” Booker said during his first interview after spending more than 25 hours holding the Senate floor.

As Booker inched closer to breaking Thurmond's record, he remarked on the presence of a room in the Senate side of the Capitol named after Thurmond, a man who switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party seven years after his infamous filibuster, which aimed to derail civil rights legislation. Thurmond, who remained an outspoken opponent of integration throughout his career, symbolized an era of resistance to racial equality that Booker is now striving to overcome with his own stand on the Senate floor.

In a powerful statement, Booker’s mission has become about more than just breaking a record—it's about challenging the legacy of segregation and advancing the cause of racial justice and equality that Thurmond so fiercely opposed. As Booker continues his historic speech, he remained committed to uplifting the voices of those who have fought for civil rights and justice throughout American history.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Books on Holocaust, Feminism, African Americans, Civil Rights Removed from U.S. Naval Academy Library

By Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp, April 4, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant number of books were removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library last week, following an order from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to eliminate volumes deemed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Among the 381 books removed there were works on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights, and Maya Angelou’s renowned autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

This action is part of a broader initiative spearheaded by the Trump administration to restrict DEI-related content across federal agencies. The effort also targets related policies, programs, and even social media postings and school curricula.

In addition to Angelou’s influential autobiography, the list of removed books includes Memorializing the Holocaust, which explores Holocaust memorials; Half American, which examines the role of African Americans during World War II; A Respectable Woman, a study on the public roles of African American women in 19th-century New York; and Pursuing Justice, a book that focuses on the efforts to address racial inequality and injustice. These removals mark a continuing push to reshape educational content across the country in line with the administration's stance on DEI.

For further context, the removal of these books aligns with an ongoing trend in U.S. military institutions to limit material that addresses topics of racial and social justice, sparking both support and opposition within various sectors of the public.

Photo by Kaho Lee on Unsplash

Dove has partnered with RISE.365 and the CROWN Coalition to help make emojis as diverse as the people who use them. Together, we can show the world that Black hairstyles— braids, locs, afros, and cornrows—deserve a place on our keyboards.

Join Dove and RISE.365 to help convince Unicode – the organization behind the emojis on our keyboards – to introduce new emojis that depict natural and protective hairstyles to the emoji library. 

Here’s how you can take action: 

1. Comment #CodeMyCrown on The CROWN Act’s Instagram post about the emoji campaign. 
2. Repost The CROWN Act’s emoji campaign Instagram post on your social channels.  
3. Support the campaign by encouraging your family, friends, and followers to comment #CodeMyCrown and repost on their channels too. 

It’s time for the emoji library to more accurately represent all of the people who use it. Together we can help promote better representation of Black hair textures and styles in the digital world

Dove & The CROWN Coalition

The CROWN Coalition started this petition on OrganizeFor. If there's an issue that you would like to OrganizeFor, you can start your campaign here.

DOVE AND RISE.365 CALL FOR BLACK HAIR REPRESENTATION IN EMOJIS

©Dove

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