Dec. 21, 2015

By Zenitha Prince 

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Christmas came early to 97 felons granted commutations and pardons by President Barack Obama Dec. 18.

Most of the prisoners were behind bars for non-violent drug-related offenses: at least 74 of the 95 commutations involved possession or distribution of either crack or cocaine, nine involved only methamphetamine, five involved only marijuana, and five others involved unspecified drugs.

Another two of the commutations were for non-drug-associated crimes: one involving armed bank robbery and another involving possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The president also used his constitutional power to grant pardons to an Ohio physician convicted of counterfeiting in 2002 and a New Kent, Va., woman convicted of aiding and abetting bank fraud.

The commutations were the third set Obama has given this year and the most awarded at one time. In all, this administration has granted 184 commutations, which exceeds the total grants by the previous six presidents combined.

The commutations are part of the White House’s clemency initiative – launched in 2014 – which reflects Obama’s commitment to criminal justice reform, including parity in sentencing.

Civil and human rights groups hailed the move.

“American presidents have had the power to show mercy since the founding of our Republic. President Obama is the first president in decades to use it as the founders intended,” said Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, in a statement. “For that reason, we commend him for showing more mercy than his predecessors. But his work is not done…. Far too many others are still serving excessively long sentences that should be commuted as well.”

Under the clemency initiative, qualified federal prisoners were encouraged to apply to have their sentences commuted. But of the 36,000 offenders that have applied, fewer than 200 have received clemency in the past two years, according to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which helped coordinate the efforts of attorneys who have been working pro bono to assist those prisoners.

The group is calling on the administration to intensify its efforts and is also charging Congress to play its part in reforming the nation’s racially unjust criminal justice system, including its archaic, counterproductive sentencing laws.

“Legislation to reform these laws have drawn unprecedented bipartisan support, such as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, S. 2123, passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in October,” said Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee, in a statement. “The House Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill reforming federal sentencing laws in November. Both chambers need to bring these bills to the floor as soon as possible in 2016.”

Dec. 20, 2015

Bell Ringers Pass on Help They Received When Needed Salvation Army
By Janelle Berry

Cryston Cunningham, 24, says the Salvation Army helped her, so she wants to help others by collecting donations for fellow families in need.  Photo: Janelle Berry/Howard University News Service

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Howard University News Service

(TriceEdneyWire.com) — Around the holiday seasons when Christmas lights are up and holiday songs are blaring through the radio, everywhere you turn — from the front of department stores to large groceries — there are people with red kettles, ringing their bells.

They are the Salvation Army bell ringers: thousands and thousands of men and women around the nation who are collecting donations to help feed and clothe the needy. They are people like Cryston Cunningham, who was only 23-years-old when last year she found herself with a baby, newly unemployed, homeless and no money to get any gifts for her little girl during the Christmas holiday.

Cunningham and her father had been struggling financially and emotionally when her stepmother and father divorced, and her father worked as a school custodian at her high school. When she finally left the house at 18 after graduating from Rocky Mount Senior High School, she found herself constantly in between jobs and in and out of different relatives’ houses for several years. Once she became pregnant with her now 1-year-old daughter, she realized that it was time to find a solution.

Now, a year later, Cunningham, 24, is grateful to be ringing the Salvation Army bell with a red kettle on her side, encouraging grocery store patrons to donate to families in need for the holidays for the second year in a row.

Cunningham works four to five days a week as a seasonal bell ringer during the holiday season in order to provide for herself and her daughter while she searches for employment and a permanent place to live.

“I like working with them [the Salvation Army],” Cunningham said. “It’s a friendly environment, and I like to make people smile when I’m out here ringing the bell and greeting people when they walk in and out of the store.”

Because of the Salvation Army, she can even give her daughter some Christmas gifts for the second year in a row through a holiday assistance program created by the Salvation Army.

The Angel Tree Program is a national holiday assistance program where a business, church, civic group or an individual can sponsor or “adopt” a child and purchase new toys or anything else they need that the parent is unable to provide for their family during the holidays.  

The program, which was created over 40 years ago, currently impacts 14,000 children in the entire national capital area, which encompasses suburban Maryland and Virginia, as well as the D.C. metro area. In the D.C. region alone, the program currently impacts 5,800 “angels,” and impacted 6,300 the previous year. Several people throughout the D.C. community volunteer as bell ringers, or become seasonal paid workers like Cunningham every year to help the program help many families in need. This is the same program that Cunningham utilized last year, in order to gain some financial stability, as well as receive new toys and clothes for her daughter.

“I thought it was a good idea,” said Cunningham, when explaining how she was reminded of the program from a close cousin. “I heard about it when I was a kid, and my cousin does it for her kids, so I decided to work for them.”

During the rest of the year, Cunningham works with a government program called Maximus. The program provides her with $75 a week while she is looking for work, as well as checks for unemployment while also providing her the proper training and classes needed to apply for specific jobs. Cunningham is also currently in training to be a special police officer and lives with the who told her to sign up for the Angel Tree Program.

Although Cunningham is looking for a permanent full-time job, she expressed that if being a bell ringer would fit into her potential work schedule, she would continue to work with the Angel Tree Program during the holidays. 

The Angel Tree Program normally starts on Nov. 9 and ends on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. The Salvation Army has 200 bell ringers and 250 red kettles to receive donations throughout the season. Seventy percent of the bell ringers are compensated while 30 percent are volunteers from organizations, businesses, churches, families or individuals.

“Some families need extra income during Christmas time, and this program can get it,” said Media Specialist for the D.C. Region of the Salvation Army, Ken Forsythe. “We find out what the needs are early in the year, then in early October, families come forward and tell us what their kids want for Christmas.”

The families make a wish list of what their children want for Christmas which the sponsors receive and are encouraged to spend around $85 on gifts for children in need. The sponsors receive a tax-deductible for participating in the program as they spend for their desired level of generosity, according to Forsythe.

“Our goal is to meet the need of every child,” Forsythe said. “We work however we can to make sure that no child is left without anything on Christmas morning.”
The Angel Tree Program will begin distributing toys for the season in a ceremony on Dec. 17 at an undisclosed area.

Dec. 20, 2015

Labor of love: Family Improves Lives of People with Special Challenges

United by love and wearing their JP JumPers Foundation Santa hats, the Mines family gets into the holiday spirit at their Chesterfield County home. The family, from left, mother, Pam Mines; 11-year-old son, J.P.; adopted godniece, Sydnee, 13; daughter, Michelle, 13; and father, Perry Mines. Photo: Sandra Sellars 

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Helping those in the special needs community is a way of life for the Mines family of Chesterfield County, Virginia.

Through advocacy efforts and by organizing programs designed to showcase the talents of those in the special needs community, the Mines family seeks to improve the quality of life for people with mental and physical disabilities and other special challenges. It’s a labor of love for the tight-knit family of five that has two children with special needs.

The mother, Pam, is founder and executive director of the nonprofit JP JumPers Foundation that she named after her 11-year-old son, J.P. who is autistic and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Chesterfield-based organization seeks to “positively impact families affected by autism, special needs and unique circumstances,” according to its website.

Mrs. Mines was honored for her advocacy for the disabled and for her work to get a bill passed by the General Assembly two years ago known as “J.P.’s Law,” after her son, that would allow DMV Virginia to add a code to driver’s licenses and other IDs to help law enforcement officers be aware of an individual’s diagnosis.

She and her husband, Perry, also care for their adopted 13-year-old godniece, Sydnee, who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder of the nervous system, as well as ADHD and is blind in her left eye. They adopted the honor roll student in 2010, after her mother died from complications related to neurofibromatosis. The Mines’ 13-year-old daughter, Michelle, is typically developed with no special needs.

Mr. Mines fuels his desire to help others by mentoring at-risk youths through his company, Luv’em Like Mines Youth Services in Chesterfield County. The Third Annual Christmas Special Needs Worship Service was held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at a local high school. There, in an array of performances sure that evoked tears and cheers from audience members, children and adults with special needs ranging from autism and cerebral palsy to Down’s Syndrome and intellectual disabilities sang, danced, displaedy art, played the piano and guitar and even preached a Word from the Lord.

Mrs. Mines said she and her family pour their hearts and souls into the effort “because we want to celebrate an often overlooked community. We don’t think it’s a punishment, an accident or a curse to be affected or have a loved one affected by special needs. We consider it a true appointment by God and we take it seriously. The bottom line is I’m so glad God chose me to be inspired by a child with autism.”

She said the faith-based service is designed to be welcoming to all performers and includes a wide array of acts for the audience to enjoy.

“It’s all inclusive,” Mrs. Mines said. “You can mess up, you can miss the words or you don’t have to know the words at all. The audience will know what you’re doing and everybody gets a standing ovation.”

“You get to see people display their different abilities,” she added, “and it also helps encourage other parents to see that if they have kids with disabilities, that doesn’t mean they’re limited in their ability to perform their talents.” 

Jordan Ohree, an 18-year-old autistic youth who graduated last year from Varina High School, will serve as master of ceremonies at the service. He also earned intern of the week honors last week through Project Search at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital in Henrico County.

Mr. Mines called the showcase event “an awesome thing that allows people with special needs to perform and feel good at the same time.”

“It’s important to them for the community to show their support and to let the people that care for them to know that they can be a part of something special like this,” he added.

J.P. brought down the house last year when he concluded the show by performing “Is This the End” by New Edition. He plans to sing “Got to Be There” by Michael Jackson on Sunday.

Sydnee plans to sing “Glory” by John Legend and Common from the movie “Selma.”

“I like performing,” she said. “It’s nice to do it because I’m looking at family. If I mess up, it’s going to be OK because kids won’t make fun of me.”

Michelle lent her support at last year’s show by praise dancing to several songs. She plans to do so again this year.

“It adds another spice to the special needs show,” she said. “It’s my way of giving back to the community. I may not be affected (with special needs),” she added, “but I am affected with Sydnee and J.P., who sometimes need special attention. There are a lot of responsibilities in things like making sure J.P. gets his dinner and lunch and doesn’t get off track.”

Mrs. Mines and longtime mental health advocate Monica Lucas of Richmond partnered to organize the first special needs worship service in 2013 at Second Baptist Church.

The faith-based service that attracts performers from as far away as Maryland has become so popular it outgrew the church sanctuary and is now headed to Huguenot High School to accommodate a larger audience.
Ms. Lucas called the talent show “a celebration of God’s love for us all and a moment to show appreciation for the special people in our lives.”

In order to cover the cost of the venue and the food after the service, JP JumPers Foundation has a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3,500. To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/2015JPJFgivingTree.

Dec. 20, 2015

By Frederick H. Lowe

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The U.S. Senate has been called the world’s greatest deliberative body, but it’s not very diverse and neither is its top senate staff when it comes to African-Americans, according to a report published by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank for Black elected officials.

The 30-page study, titled “Racial Diversity among Top Senate Staff,” reports that of the 336 top senate staffers—chiefs of staff, legislative directors and  communications directors in the Washington, D.C., personnel office of U.S. Senators and staff directors assigned to committees—only three African-Americans hold any one of these 336 top positions, only 0.8 percent, although Blacks comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population, according to the report.

Spencer Overton, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, said U.S. Senate staff positions are key because they have role in shaping issues like federal budgets, education, workforce, immigration, sentencing, federal confirmations and countless other matters.

The study reported there is one Black chief of staff, zero legislative directors, one communications director out of 297 positions in the 114th Congress. Whites control 276 of the 297 positions.

The study notes that African-Americans represent from 17 percent to almost 28 percent of the populations of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, yet blacks hold only 1.7 percent of the top total staff positions in these states’ U.S. Senate offices.

Blacks hold one position in South Carolina, which has two Republican U.S. Senators—Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham– the report said.

Incidentally, members of the U. S. Senate also lack in diversity. Currently the Senate has three Blacks out of 100 senators - more than ever before in history at any one time. Previously, there were six Black U. S. senators to have served; totaling only nine throughout history.

The report only focused on top Senate staff in Washington, D.C., although some Senators employ Blacks as home-state directors.

A decade ago, Diversity Inc. declared the Senate the worst employer for diversity hiring, even worse than the nation’s 50 largest corporations.

The report’s author conducted a census of top staffers using a variety of methods, including LegiStorm, The Leadership Library, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Wikipedia, Roll Call, The Hill, National Journal, wedding announcements and press interviews.