Selma Is Now: Voting Dropped Nearly 50 Percent As New Policy Keeps The Poor From The Polls

The Census Bureau released data this week that details the voter turnout in the 2014 election and the numbers are frightening for many reasons. In last year’s election, only 41.9 percent of the voting age population came out to the polls. This is the lowest number the Census has seen in its entire history of collecting voter activity which began in 1978… Between the 2012 presidential election and the 2014 midterm election the decline in voter turnout was the strongest among minorities and low-income citizens. The 2014 midterm election is the first election to take place since the Supreme Court ruled against an important provision in the Voting Rights Act, which led conservatives to push the passing of discriminatory laws with the purpose to do just what the 2014 election did – suppress turnout.

[Madamenoire]

Newark Reinvents Itself As A Technology Hub, Millionaires Flock

Newark, New Jersey has not always had the best portrayal across the country. Ridden with high crime rates, the city was once declared to be the worst place to start a business, according to Wallethub. But Senator Cory Booker is planning on changing that with technology at the forefront. A number of initiatives are bringing Booker’s vision to life reported Mashable. The city has become attractive in Silicon Valley with its “reinvention”being a focus for many tech millionaires. “From Thomas Edison’s work to the invention of the transistor, New Jersey has a proud history of technological innovation,” Booker said in a statement provided to Mashable. “Now, Newark is poised to take the next big step forward.”

[Madamenoire]

Budweiser Made In America Adds TIDAL Stage For New Artists

You just knew Jay Z’s TIDAL music streaming service would be implemented into the 2015 Budweiser Made In America (MIA) Festival that the rapper turned mogul curates. Today (July 20), MIA announced that a TIDAL Stage has been added to showcase new, up and coming artists at the two-day music festival. Nine TIDAL Rising and TIDAL Discovery artists will perform on the stage each day starting at 2:45pm. The Budweiser Made In America Festival goes down over Labor Day weekend on Saturday, September 5, 2015 and Sunday, September 6, 2015 at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, PA. This year’s headliners are Beyonce and the Weeknd.

[HipHopWired]

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