The Party of Lincoln?

and the 16th presidents, respectively.

There are many memories of my first years in school which remain etched in my mind. I remember learning the "Pledge of Allegiance" and the national anthem. Since I have always liked history, there are numerous persons and events that are in my memory cells. Like most students of that period, the first two presidents I learned about were George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the first

George Washington "chopped down a cherry tree," led the Continental Army against the British, and became the new nation's first, but the reluctant president. For me, Lincoln was a little more interesting. He was a country kid, born into what can only be called poverty, reportedly was a hard worker, held a variety of jobs — both laborious and sedentary — became a country lawyer, honed his debating skills, became the first candidate elected to be president as a Republican, "freed the slaves," and was shot dead at Ford's Theater.

Chief among his accomplishments is that he remains known as "Honest Abe" and his legacy is circumscribed by his veracity in addition to having his name ascribed to the Republican Party as its founder. Among African Americans, his party, the party of the Great Emancipator, was the only political party worthy of their votes (those who could vote). Although there are fewer African Americans who retain this loyalty, many still vote without question for The Party of Lincoln. Unfortunately, if he were alive today, I am sure that he would attempt to reform them or

Marc H. Morial

completely disavow the deviants and devilments of "his" party.

The biography and resume of George Santos, the newly elected Republican congressman from New York, belies the ethic of truthfulness. He is the antithesis of Honest Abe! Santos has admitted to embellishing his biography with stories that are more akin to myths and fables than simple embellishments. His lies wind through a trail of life events that serve to endear him with the voters but have no remote connection to his personal experiences. He has fabricated so much of his resume that there is some speculation that his real name may not really be George Santos. He has used at least one other name.

What is worse, he poses a threat to the good order of the House of Representatives and, through exposure to classified materials, our national security. In their attempt to retain power and maintain their slim margin of control, Speaker McCarthy and his conference have chosen to overlook this potential threat. What is more, they have chosen to

On 50th Anniversary of Landmark Abortion Decision, Legality Alone Isn't Enough

and futures.

"Overturning Roe and outlawing abortions will never make them go away. It only makes them more dangerous, especially for the poor and marginalized. People will die because of this decision. And we will never stop until abortion rights are restored in the United States of America." — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Fifty years ago, women across the country celebrated the infamous Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the constitutional right for people to have an abortion. Now, after decades of scheming, right-wing politicians finally have forced their unpopular agenda on the rest of America. They have decided that the government — not pregnant people and their doctors — should make a private health care decision and deny women the right to control their own bodies

Since the Supreme Court made its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization last June, nearly half the states in the country have either outlawed abortion services or placed heavy restrictions around abortion access. This decision put important health care decisions out of the reach of millions of women and violated their right to decide what happens to their own bodies. Access to safe abortion services have proven over time to discourage women from exploring unsafe methods to end their pregnancies, a reality that has mostly impacted Black women and women in underserved communities.

Black women are four times more likely to die as a result of childbirth than white women, according to American Medical Association. Meanwhile, due to racialized income and wealth disparities, inequitable access to medical care, and the other insidious ways manifestations of structural racism, people of color are more likely to

DOJ Initiative Fights Redlining in Cyberspace and the Real World

As 2023 begins, a key anti-financial discrimination initiative is expanding million-dollar penalties and the kinds of businesses found to violate fair lending laws.

The Combatting Redlining Initiative that since 2021 has combined resources and efforts of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection

Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is now holding a social media giant as well as another bank accountable for violations of fair credit and lending laws.

A Jan. 9 settlement with Meta Platforms — formerly Facebook, Inc. — marks the first time that a social media platform will be subject to court oversight for its advertising targeting and delivery system. As the world's largest social media platform, the enforcement action will affect its 264 million users in the United States and Canada, as well as 10 million advertisers that in the third quarter of 2022 generated $27.71 billion in revenues.

According to settlement terms, Meta's new system will measure algorithmic discrimination that violates the Fair Housing Act. Meta will be subject to federal court oversight monitoring and regular reviews through June 26, 2026, to determine whether all terms of the settlement are honored. Guidehouse, Inc., an independent third-party reviewer will verify Me- ta's adherence to settlement metrics. Meta must provide this monitor with regular compliance reports and any necessary information.

"Federal monitoring of Meta should send a strong signal to other tech companies that they too will be held accountable for failing to address algorithmic discrimination that runs afoul of our civil rights laws," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice's Civil Rights Division.

The Justice Department also continues to move against lenders require abortion care and but are less likely to be able to afford outof-state travel to obtain care if it is outlawed in their state.

Forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will can have devastating and lasting consequences for them and their family and push women and families deeper into poverty. Our health care system already fails Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, and barriers to abortion care who allow discrimination in their lending practices. On Jan. 12, Los Angeles-based City National Bank, with 58 California locations as well as branches in nine other states and the District of Columbia, reached a $31 million settlement with DOJ's Redlining Initiative, the largest such agreement in DOJ's history.

According to DOJ, from 2017 until at least 2020, City National failed to provide mortgage lending in Los Angeles County's major-