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Where Cotton was King, Racism is Still King by Susan Hagen

August 17, 2015

Where Cotton was King, Racism is Still King
 By Susan Hagen

cotton king states

Map of states where cotton was king

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - White Southerners who live today in former slavery strongholds, a region known as the Cotton Belt, are more likely to express negative attitudes toward blacks than their fellow Southerners.

The findings are based on county-by-county analysis of census data and opinion polls of more than 39,000 southern whites.

Residents of these areas where slavery and the plantation economy dominated are also more likely to identify as Republican and to express opposition to race-related policies such as affirmative action.

“The legacy of the plantation economy and its reliance on the forced labor of African Americans continues to exacerbate racial bias in the Deep South.”

Conducted by Avidit Acharya, Matthew Blackwell, and Maya Sen from the University of Rochester, the research is believed to be the first to demonstrate quantitatively the lasting effects of slavery on contemporary political attitudes in the American South. The findings hold even when other dynamics often associated with racial animosity are factored in, such as present day concentrations of African Americans in an area, or whether an area is urban or rural.

“Slavery does not explain all forms of current day racism,” says Acharya. “But the data clearly demonstrates that the legacy of the plantation economy and its reliance on the forced labor of African Americans continues to exacerbate racial bias in the Deep South.”

The findings are reported in a working paper that will be presented for the first time at the Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium at the University of California at Riverside on Sept. 27.

‘The South is not monolithic’

The study looked at data from 93 percent of the 1,344 Southern counties in the Cotton Belt—the crescent-shaped band where plantations flourished from the late 18th century into the 20th century.

The researchers found that a 20 percent increase in the percentage of slaves in a county’s pre-Civil War population is associated with a 3 percent decrease in whites who identify as Democrats today and a 2.4 percent decrease in the number of whites who support affirmative action.

The “slavery effect” accounts for an up to 15 percentage point difference in party affiliation today; about 30 percent of whites in former slave plantation regions report being Democrats, compared to 40 to 45 percent white Democrats in counties that had less than 3 percent slaves, according to the authors.

Despite the region’s similarity in culture and its shared history of legalized slavery and Jim Crow laws, “the South is not monolithic,” says Blackwell.

Politics: North and South

Their analysis shows that without slavery, the South today might look fairly similar politically to the North. The authors compared counties in the South in which slaves were rare—less than 3 percent of the population—with counties in the North that were matched by geography, farm value per capita, and total county population. The result?

There is little difference in political views today among residents in the two regions.

“In political circles, the South’s political conservatism is often credited to ‘Southern exceptionalism,’” says Blackwell. “But the data shows that such modern-day political differences primarily rise from the historical presence of many slaves.”

But how is it possible that an institution so long outlawed continues to influence views in the 21st century? The authors point to both economic and cultural explanations. Although slavery was banned, the economic incentives to exploit former slaves persisted well into the 20th century.

“Before mechanization, cotton was not really economically viable without massive amounts of cheap labor,” explains Sen.

Lynching rates

After the Civil War, southern landowners resorted to racial violence and Jim Crow laws to coerce black field hands, depress wages, and tie tenant farmer to plantations.

“Whereas slavery only required a majority of (powerful) whites in the state to support it, widespread repression and political violence required the support and involvement of entire communities,” the authors write.

Again comparing the county-by-county data, the researchers found evidence of the relationship between racial violence and economics in the historical record of lynchings. Between 1882 and 1930, lynching rates were not uniform across the South, but instead were highest where cotton was king; a 10 percent increase in a county’s slave population in 1860 was associated with a rise of 1.86 lynchings per 100,000 blacks.

“For the average Southern county, this would represent a 20 percent increase in the rate of lynchings during this time period,” says Blackwell.

By the time economic incentives to coerce black labor subsided with the introduction of machinery to harvest cotton in the 1930s, anti-black sentiment was culturally entrenched among local whites, the authors write.

Passed down through the generations

Those views have simply been passed down, argue the authors, citing extensive research showing that children often inherit the political attitudes of their parents and peers.

The data, says Sen, points to the importance of institutional and historical legacy when understanding political views. Most quantitative studies of voters rely on contemporary influences, such as education, income, or the degree of urbanity. The findings are also in line with research on the lingering economic effects of slavery.

Studies have shown that former slave populations in Africa, South and Central America, and the United States continue to experience disparity in income, school enrollment, and vaccinations.

For the study, the authors drew on publically available data, including the 1860 census and the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, a large representative survey of American adults. No external funding was required for the analysis.

 

New Orleans Katrina Pain Index at Ten: Who Was Left Behind? by Bill Quigley

Aug. 17, 2015

New Orleans Katrina Pain Index at Ten: Who Was Left Behind?
By Bill Quigley

new orleans under water - 2005
New Orleans under flood waters, 2005. 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, the nation saw tens of thousands of people left behind in New Orleans.  Ten years later, it looks like the same people in New Orleans have been left behind again.

The population of New Orleans is noticeably smaller and noticeably whiter.   While tens of billions poured into Louisiana, the impact on poor and working people in New Orleans has been minimal.  Many of the elderly and the poor, especially poor families with children, never made it back to New Orleans.

The poverty rate for children who did make it back remains at disturbingly high pre-Katrina levels, especially for Black children.  Rents are high and taking a higher percentage of people’s income.  The pre-Katrina school system fired all of its teachers and professionals and turned itself into the charter experiment capital of the U.S. even while the number of children in public schools has dropped dramatically.

Since Katrina, White incomes, which were over twice that of Blacks, have risen three times as much as Blacks.  While not all the numbers below are bad, they do illustrate who has been left behind in the 10 years since Katrina hit:

33 - Rent in New Orleans is up 33 percent for one bedroom apartments and 41 percent for two bedroom apartments since Katrina hit.   This is very tough because in New Orleans, 55 percent of residents rent. The national average is 35 percent.  In 2005, one bedroom was $578 and two was $676.  In  2015, it is $767 for one and $950 for two.

CNN/Money recently named New Orleans as one of the worst cities in the US for renters. Before Katrina the average renters spent 19 percent of their income on rent.  The Data Center, a terrific resource for information on the region, reports 37 percent of renters in New Orleans now spend more than 50 percent of their income to rent.  Rental apartments are mostly substandard as well with 78 percent, nearly 50,000 apartments, in the city needing major repairs.

38 - In 2005, 38 percent of the children in New Orleans lived in poverty, 17 percentage points higher than the U.S. as a whole.   The most recent numbers show 39 percent of the children in New Orleans live in poverty, still 17 percentage points higher than the national average.  82 percent of these families have someone working in the family so the primary cause is low wages.

44 - New Orleans now has 44 school boards.  Prior to Katrina, nearly all the public schools in New Orleans were overseen by the one Orleans Parish School Board.    91 percent of the public schools in New Orleans are now charter schools, the highest rate in the country.   Only 32 percent of African- Americans believe the new nearly all charter school system is better than the public school system before the storm versus 44 percent of Whites even though precious few Whites attend the public schools.
50 - 50 percent of the Black children in New Orleans live in poor households, a higher percentage than when Katrina hit.
59 - New Orleans is now 59 percent African American, down from 66.7 percent in 2000; 31 percent White, up from 26 percent in 2000; and 5.5 percent Hispanic, up from 3 percent in 2000.

67 - Prior to Katrina, New Orleans incarcerated more of its citizens than any city in the US, five times the national average.  Ongoing efforts by community members and local officials have reduced the number of people held in the jail by 67 percent.
73 - 73 percent of New Orleans students who start high school graduate on time.

3221 - There are now 3,221 fewer low income public housing apartments in New Orleans than when Katrina hit.  In 2005 there were 5,146 low income public housing apartments in New Orleans, plus thousands of other public housing apartments scheduled for renewal or maintenance, nearly 100 percent African-American.  The housing authority now reports having 1925 public housing apartments available for low income people on the sites of the demolished complexes, less than half of the number promised, and less than half of those completed have rents set at rates which are affordable to those who lived in public housing before Katrina, meaning the majority of their public housing units now require higher incomes from renters than the people who were living in public housing prior to Katrina.  That is why only about half of the families who lived in the four public housing developments which were demolished after Katrina made it back to New Orleans at all by 2011.  And only 7 percent of those original families were living in the new housing which replaced their homes.

6,000 - There are 6,000 fewer people on Social Security in Orleans Parish than before the storm.   Orleans parish had 26,654 people on Social Security, either old age or disability, in 2004.  Orleans parish had 20,325 people on Social Security in the latest report.   There are similar drops in the numbers of people on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in New Orleans.  There were just over 3,000 families receiving state temporary assistance in New Orleans in May 2005.  As of May 2015, that number was down to 463.

7,500 - Over 7,500 public school teachers and paraprofessionals, mostly African-American, were fired after Katrina when Louisiana took over the New Orleans public school system.  The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal in May 2015.

9,000 - There are 9,000 fewer families receiving food stamps than before.  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the old food stamps program.   In May 2015, Orleans Parish had just under 40,000 households receiving SNAP benefits.  In May 2005, New Orleans had 49,000 households receiving food stamps.

17,392 - There are 17,392 fewer children enrolled in public schools in New Orleans now than before Katrina.  There were over 63,000 enrolled pre-Katrina and now there are 45,608.

$35,451 - The median income for White families in New Orleans is $60,553; that is $35,451 more than for Black families whose median income was $25,102.  In the last 10 years the median income for Black families grew by 7 percent.  At the same time,the median income for white families grew three times as fast, by 22 percent.  In 2005, the median income for Black households was $23,394, while the median for White households was $49,262. By 2013, the median income for Black households had grown only slightly, to $25,102. But the median for White households had jumped to $60, 553.

44,516 - The New Orleans metro area (Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany Parishes) has 44,516 more Hispanic residents in 2013 than in 2000.  The total is now 103,061, just over 8 percent of metro population according to The Data Center.  

71,000 - Seventy one thousand fewer people live in New Orleans now than before the storm.  In 2005, New Orleans had a population of 455,000 and in 2014 its population was 384,000.

99,650 - There are  99,650 fewer African-Americans living in New Orleans now than in 2000, compared to 11,000 fewer Whites.

$71,000,000,000 - Seventy one billion dollars was received by the State of Louisiana for Katrina repairs, rehabilitation and rebuilding.  One look at this index and you see who did NOT get the money.

Bill teaches law at Loyola University New Orleans.  You can reach Bill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trump, Banned for 'Sexist' Comments, Has Said Worse About Black Men

August 11, 2015

Trump, Banned for 'Sexist' Comments Has Said Worse About Black Men
 His comments about black men, including President Obama, are well known
donaldtrump
Donald Trump has really gone after Black men.paid $85,000 for the ads.
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Donald Trump, who was banned from last weekend’s RedState gathering in Atlanta because of sexist comments he made to Fox News’s Megyn Kelly during Thursday’s Republican debate in Cleveland, has made even nastier comments about black men with very little national blow back.

In 1989, after a woman jogger was brutally attacked in Central Park, Trump placed full-page ads in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post and New York Newsday, calling for New York to “Bring Back the Death Penalty” and for New York City to “Bring Back Our Police.” Trump, a billionaire businessman and television personality, paid $85,000 for the ads.

Police arrested five teenagers —four blacks and one Hispanic —claiming they confessed to the high-profile crime which occurred on April 19, 1989. Newspapers and television stations labeled them The Central Park Five.

When DNA evidence and a confession by the actual perpetrator cleared the Central Park Five in 2002 after they had served lengthy prison sentences for a crime they didn’t commit, NYC agreed to pay the teenagers, who are now men, a settlement of $40 million in 2014.

The agreement made Trump even more irate.

“My opinion on the settlement of the Central Park jogger case is that it’s a disgrace,”  said Trump adding that the settlement was a waste of taxpayer money.

Trump’s biggest target, however, has been President Barack Obama, the first African-American man elected Commander in Chief.

Trump, a birther, charged that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States; therefore, he couldn’t be president. Trump’s persistent and baseless accusations were an attempt to discredit Obama fundamentally; they were reminiscent of post-Reconstruction America when black men were required to carry and present on demand identification papers.

Eventually Obama, who was born in Hawaii, produced his birth certificate, and Trump started slamming others.

As of last week, several polls had Trump leading the race for the Republican nomination for president.

The Prophetic Voice of Julian Bond Silenced at 75 by Hazel Trice Edney

Aug. 17, 2015

The Prophetic Voice of Julian Bond Silenced at 75
The Civil Rights Giant Often Envisioned the Future as He Spoke
 By Hazel Trice Edney

julianbond

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – President Barack Obama called him “a hero” who helped change this country for the better”.

NAACP Chairman Roslyn Brock said she was inspired by the “breadth and depth of his exemplary service”, which included activism, writing, historic record-keeping, teaching, and within it all, an “unrelentingly eloquent voice for the voiceless.”

With the streams of accolades being spoken in memory of civil rights giant Julian Bond, who died August 15 at the age of 75 - one description of his voice that is rarely mentioned is the word “prophetic.”

Yet, in interviews with the Black press over the years, Bond would indeed speak prophetically as he couched his viewpoints more in a context of what needed to happen for the future than simply responding to what was happening at that time.

“It is a tipping point, as was the murder of Trayvon Martin,” Bond told the Trice Edney News Wire of the police killing of 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. less than a week after the shooting occurred. “But we all have short attention spans, and some will lose heart. But I believe this will be with us for a long time. Will it stop the murders of Black young men?  No. But it will serve as a marker, as has other deaths. Emmett Till's death is still with us; this one will be with us too.”

Then, earlier this year, during a Black History Month forum discussing old and new civil rights leadership, Bond stressed the importance of new leadership rising up “to chart its own course without waiting to hear from their elders,” reported Howard University student by Jacquelyn Johnson, who covered the campus forum for the Howard University News Service. "I think people in my generation are a little reluctant to say to these young people, ‘Why don't you do this?  How about you do that?’ I'm not willing to say that because I think you know what the problems are. You know what the solutions are, and I'm sure we will be glad to help, but don't depend on us to tell you what to do.  Just go out and do it."

Bond’s voice, whether prophetic, encouraging or comforting, was one that consistently spoke up for what he viewed as justice. And as the civil rights community has said in solemn statements this week, that voice will be sorely missed.

“We've lost a champion,” proclaimed the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) headline announcing his death in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after a brief illness. Bond, a co-founder of SPLC, served as its president from its founding in 1971 to 1979. He was described as a “visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights” by SPLC President Morris Dees, who pointed to Bond’s deep roots in civil rights.

“From his days as the co-founder and communications director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s to his chairmanship of the NAACP in the 21st century, Julian was a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights,” Dees said.

According to the Washington Post, Bond became suddenly ill Aug. 12, from complications related to vascular disease,” according to his wife, Pamela Horowitz, who survives him along with his five children.

Horowitz told the Post that he remained optimistic, laughing often. “He had a wonderful sense of humor,” Horowitz said in the Post story. “You know, that got him through the serious things he dealt with all his life. He used to joke that on his tombstone, one side would say ‘Race man’ and the other side would say, ‘Easily amused.’ ”

But the pains of racism and discrimination were too painful to be funny. Therefore, when necessary, his voice also reflected tart reminders of just how sharp those pains were. In a speech as chair of the NAACP, he once referred to the Bush administration as the “Taliban wing of American politics” and on another occasion, he accused Bush of using “snake oil” politics.

Among his long fought issues was the right to vote. Discussing the early uprising in Ferguson, he said, “The Black (and decent White people) must learn how to vote. It is a shame to have a Black majority without power. Across the country, Black (and decent non-black) people must learn how to monitor their police departments and stop these crimes.”

Considered civil rights royalty, Bond’s life mirrored a person destined to impact the future –whether he is here to see it or not. The following obituary was posted at NAACP.org:

While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Bond helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He was elected Board Chairman of the NAACP in 1998.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Bond's family moved to Pennsylvania when he was five years old when his father, Horace Mann Bond, became the first African American President of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), his alma mater. Bond attended Morehouse College in Atlanta and won a varsity letter for swimming. He also founded a literary magazine called The Pegasus and served as an intern at Time magazine.

Bond was a founding member of the SNCC and served as communications director from 1961 to 1966. From 1960 to 1963, he led student protests against segregation in public facilities in Georgia. Bond graduated from Morehouse and helped found the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). He was the organization's president from 1971 to 1979.

Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965. White members of the House refused to seat him because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. In 1966, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the House had denied Bond his freedom of speech and had to seat him.

From 1965 to 1975, he served in the Georgia House and served six terms in the Georgia Senate from 1975 to 1986.

In 1968, Bond led a challenge delegation from Georgia to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and was the first African-American nominated as Vice President of the United States. He withdrew his name from the ballot because he was too young to serve.

Bond ran for the United States House of Representatives, but lost to civil rights leader John Lewis. In the 1980s and ‘90s, Bond taught at several universities, including American, Drexel, Williams, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard universities and the University of Virginia.

Bond continued with his activism as Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP, after serving 11 years as Chair, and working to educate the public about the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the struggles that African Americans endured.

“Julian Bond helped change this country for the better,” said the statement from President Obama and First Lady Michelle. “And what better way to be remembered than that.”

Michael Brown Jr.'s Memory Honored With Moments of Silence, March by Kenya Vaughn

August 11, 2015

Michael Brown Jr.'s Memory Honored With Moments of Silence, March
By Kenya Vaughn  

brownmemorymarch

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “I just want to give love to my family and my friends – my new friends and my world,” Michael Brown Sr. told the crowd. “Y’all are my world.”

His remarks were the briefest of among by those selected to speak in honor of his son Michael Brown Jr.’s life on the first anniversary of his death.

At 18 years old, Brown was killed before he could truly live.

Yet the phenomenon of prolific unrest that his death incited reignited the conversation on the broken relationship between law enforcement and the black community - and assured he will never be forgotten.

As the sun beat down at the very spot where Michael Brown Jr.’s life ended at the hands of former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, the commemoration and silent march served as a reminder that the fight was not over.

“This year has been so hard. No accountability, no justice. And police are still killing us,” said Erica Garner, daughter of Eric Garner.

She was in attendance, as were the family of Oscar Grant  - who was killed by an Oakland transit cop on News Year's Day 2009.

Erica has become an activist in the wake of her father’s death - which took place a mere three weeks before Michael Brown Jr. was fatally shot by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. His death was captured on video, though the New York police officer who administered the chokehold that ended his life would not face criminal charges.

“It’s a crisis that’s going on. People like Sandra Bland, Sam DuBose – that shouldn’t happen,” Erica said. “We’re being killed on camera. Females are dying in jail cells with no explanation.”

As hundreds piled into the Canfield Green Apartments, acknowledgement was given by Michael Brown Sr. and others for starting a movement from the ground up –and refusing to let Michael Brown Jr’s death get swept under the rug.

“I’m not speaking to nobody but the street brothers,” said Anthony Shahid, who has worked closely with the Brown family since Michael Brown Jr.’s death. “I want to give acknowledgement to them for starting this up. If it wasn’t for these youth in these streets, none of us would be out here.”

Sunday morning’s march was preceded by four –and-a-half minutes of silence, to symbolize the amount of hours that Michael Brown Jr.’s body would lie in the street.

As residents looked on at the gathering, the trauma of what happened a year before was still on their faces.

Before he could be quiet Shahid, or Brother Shahid as he is known in the community, had some choice words for those who speak against the protests, the family and demonized Michael Brown Jr. in death.

“We’re not anti-police so don’t try to get that off – I’ve got brothers in my family that are police,” Shahid said. “We’re talking about people like Darren Wilson – who are shooting us down in the streets, and stripping us of our human rights.”

Shahid promised to commence to silence at 12:02 – the moment Michael Brown Jr. was killed – he made his feelings known until the very second it was time to pause.

“What’s the lion’s name…Cecil. Cecil got treated better than us. Quit dogging us,” Shahid said. “You ask us how we feel, how the hell do you think we feel? Then you wanna put the mic in my face and think I’m gonna be out here playing with y’all. Y’all wanna tell us about being peaceful, you be peaceful. You the ones shooting us down.”

Activist Bree Newsome, the family of Oscar Grant and Dr. Cornel West were among those who came to pay their respects. Renowned spoken word artist Jessica Care Moore moved the crowd with a tribute.

"I see Michael Brown's face in my son's eyes every morning," Moore said in her poem.

Leading the second march in as many days, Michael Brown Sr. and Chosen For Change Foundation that he works with in his son’s honor, the pain had him almost beyond words. Tears streamed from his wife and Michael Brown Jr’s. surviving siblings who sat near the front of the podium.

But through his pain, it was easy to recognize the sense of pride that he felt for a community that refused to allow his son’s death to be in vain.

“Y’all made this happen,” Michael Brown Sr. said. “Y’all are my new world.”

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