(2-17-26) BHN Talk Radio Show: Questionable SAVE America Act, partial shutdown, redistricting war backfires

The show is hosted by news publishers Cheryl Smith, Julia Dudley Najieb, and Brigitte Jones. BREAKING: Starting with a tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, this episode covers: Is the SAVE America Act the new 'Jim Crow 2.0'? DHS Shutdown begins ... redistricting scheme backfiring ... Black History Month Spotlight: In 2022, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's HOPE Crew (Hands-On Preservation Experience; http://www.savingplaces.org/hope-crew) program in partnership with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (http://www.savingplaces.org/action-fund) presented a 6-month paid fellowship to students studying at three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs; http://www.savingplaces.org/hbcus): Florida A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, and Tuskegee University. To share the impact of the digital documentation fellowship and the way in which it has encouraged and supported the integration of historic preservation at HBCUs, HOPE Crew, in partnership with the Action Fund produced a documentary featuring the five students from the cohort. Election & Politics: (FOX News) Democratic lawmakers say President Donald Trump’s redistricting gambit is backfiring as Virginia’s Democratic-controlled Senate advanced new congressional maps that could chip away at the House GOP's majority. (NBC News) While some state lawmakers have been able to redraw congressional maps through legislation, Virginia's constitution mandates that a bipartisan redistricting commission handles the process. After several Republican-controlled states enacted new maps, Virginia Democrats began the complicated effort of amending the constitution to allow them to respond with redrawn district lines. (SCOTUSblog) California’s path to the enactment of its new map was slightly more complicated than in Texas. The California Legislature adopted the new map in August, but under the state constitution an independent redistricting commission – rather than the Legislature – normally has the power to redistrict. The legislation adopting the new map therefore proposed a ballot initiative, known as Proposition 50, that would amend the constitution to allow the use of the new map from 2026 through 2030. By a roughly two-to-one margin, the state’s voters approved the initiative in a special election on Nov. 4.