Tagged: State Senator Gerald Neal

Congressman John Yarmuth presented two local members of the Montford Point Marines with the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday.

The Montford Point Marines are the first African-Americans to enlist and serve in the United States Marine Corps. Approximately 20,000 black recruits were trained for combat in World War II, breaking the armed services color barrier.

Yarmuth says the men who enlisted in the Montford Point Marines deserve to be honored for their military service, but also for breaking Jim Crow segregation.

"The Montford Point Marines changed the course of history and their story continues to inspire all of us in the fight for racial equality to do more. What happened at Montford Point was a key moment of progress in U.S. history with 20,000 unique stories of triumph," he says.

Louisville businessman and community activist Norris Shelton is vying for the state Senate against Democratic incumbent Gerald Neal in this year's general election.

The 75-year-old west Louisville business owner is the founder and president of American Slaves Inc., a non-profit group that is most notable for eschewing the use of the term "African-American" to describe black Americans. Running under the Descendants of American Slaves Party, this is Shelton's first bid for public office despite being an outspoken critic of local leaders for a number of years.

Shelton says the decision to run was made by the group and isn't a personal slap against Neal, but he argues the longtime lawmaker hasn't done enough for the district.

"I don’t know of anything he’s done except collect his salary and ignore his people. If there’s something good that he’s done I’d like to know it," he says.

A national progressive organization that's pressuring Democrats to drop their memberships in a conservative nonprofit is now operating in Kentucky.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has spearheaded several national campaigns, like the push to recall Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker and with Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s U.S. Senate bid.