Jan. 12, 2015

Black Leaders Chide Scalise for Alleged Association with White Supremacists
Questioning Whether 2002 Speech was a ‘wink and nod’ to racism, Henderson and Morial request meeting with Rep.

By Hazel Trice Edney

Wade Henderson, LCCHR president/CEO 

Marc Morial, NUL president/CEO 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Leaders of two Black civil rights organizations have chided and requested a meeting with House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), recently accused of having spoken before a White supremacist group.

With Republican now controlling both Houses of Congress, the four-page letter from Wade Henderson, president/CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) and Marc Morial, president/CEO of the National Urban League (NUL), indicates a growing concern about a worsening of an already conservative agenda.

“We write to express our deep concern regarding your acknowledged 2002 speech before the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), a white supremacist, anti-Semitic, and neo-Nazi organization classified by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group,” the letter states. “Participation in the 2002 EURO conference by any member of Congress would be troubling. However, it is of particular concern to us that a member chosen to be part of the Majority’s leadership team in the House of Representatives, whose responsibilities include protecting the interests of all Americans, would legitimize the existence of such a group.”

Scalise has said in widespread reports that he “reject that kind of hateful bigotry” and had no idea the group was associated with White supremacy. At the time, he said he was disparate and was willing to speak to anyone that would hear him. Shortstaffed, he said the group, also associated with former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon David Duke, had not been thoroughly vetted.

But, the Henderson-Morial letter issues a subtle rebuke, clearly expressing disbelief that Scalise is being totally forthcoming about his knowledge of the organization’s connection to Duke, a Republican who served one term as a Louisiana state representative. Duke also ran twice for president, once for the Louisiana State Senate, the U. S. Senate, the U. S. House and governor of Louisiana – all unsuccessfully.

“It seems implausible to us that, as a state representative with national aspirations at the time, you would not have heard about the Louisiana-based EURO, which was already a well-known hate group led by America’s most famous white supremacist, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. While you indicated that, had you known of the affiliation, you never would have accepted an invitation to speak to a David Duke-sponsored group, you have also stated that the invitation to speak came from Kenny Knight, a long-time associate of David Duke and one of your neighbors. As you might imagine, it is difficult to fathom how you would accept an invitation from a Duke associate to speak to a group that you do not know, and yet, ask no questions about the engagement.”

Both the LCCHR and the NUL represent a vast number of organizational associates that deal directly with national race-related issues. Thererfore, they apparently need reassurance. LCCHR is a coalition of more than 200 national organizations and the NUL, founded in 1910, has 95 affiliates that advocate for economic empowerment of tens of millions of underserved people in 36 states. Pointing to these constituencies as their backup, the men are pushing for a Capitol Hill meeting to start the new Congress with has much influence as they can muster.

They say they wish to discuss key issues with Scalise, including his position on efforts to repair the Voting Rights Act, which 50th anniversary will be celebrated this year even after its “pre-clearance clause” was gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. They also listed as discussion items, his views on legal efforts to overturn President Obama’s executive action on immigration reform and congressional efforts for job creation by investments in public transportation systems, reconstruction of roads, bridges and public facilities.

“We are writing to request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss ways to work together for the good of all of the Americans that you represent, regardless of race or religion, in order to help move forward after the serious and legitimate concerns that your participation in this event has raised,” the letter states. “As you undoubtedly know, our nation has a long and troubled history of racially polarized politics in which ‘wink and nod’ gestures of affinity with racial segregationists and anti-Semites are used to divide Americans along racial lines and to appeal to our worst instincts. In that regard – and not withstanding your explanation – there is a question about whether your 2002 speech to EURO was a subtle ‘dog whistle’ of affinity to David Duke’s group of supporters.”

They note, “While we would prefer not to believe this, as you might imagine, we believe the questions surrounding the current controversy deserve further clarification.”

Among the reasons for their suspicions that the Congressman's story doesn’t add up, the letter ticks off some of his media quotes and past votes as evidence of views that may be more conservative than he now expresses. The letter states:

• In 1999 – three years before you spoke to EURO – Roll Call reported that you were said to embrace “many of the same conservative views of Duke,” but were “far more viable.” In fact Roll Call quoted you as saying that “Duke has proven he can’t get elected, and that’s the first and most important thing.”
• Later that year, you voted against making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a state holiday – one of just three state representatives to do so, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. And in 2004, two years after the EURO conference where you spoke, you were one of six to vote against the holiday.
• “You apparently took a similar position involving the naming of a U.S. Post Office for Louisiana civil rights icon, the Honorable Lionel Collins, a pioneering civil rights lawyer and the first African-American judge in Jefferson Parish, La. Judge Collins, who died in 1988.” The letter said despite the fact that Collins was “greatly revered and remembered annually with a New Orleans dinner in his honor” the passage of the bill, co-sponsored by five members of the Louisiana House delegation was blocked because of Scalise’s refusal to support it.

The letter concludes, “By themselves, your votes on the symbolic initiatives of the King Holiday and the Collins USPS facility were disappointing. Combined with the current controversy, however, they raise serious and legitimate questions about whether, in your new role as a member of the House leadership, you can be fair to all of the interests you will be charged to represent…We are requesting, by way of this letter, the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these concerns and related issues regarding the leadership agenda for the 114th Congress.”

Attempts to reach Scalise's office to ask whether he would meet with Henderson and Morial were unsuccessful. A recording picking up his Capitol Hill office phone repeatedly said his voice mail was full.

Jan. 12, 2014

New CBC Chairman U. S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) at CBC swearing in ceremony Jan. 9. PHOTO: Courtesy/House.gov

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - U. S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the 24^th chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, is taking the reins of the CBC at a pivotal moment in Black history.

Despite all of the progress that African-Americans have made since the group was founded in 1971, arguably the most significant of which has been the election of the nation's first Black president, Butterfield says there is still far to go.

"Black America is in a state of emergency today as it was at the turn of the century," Butterfield declared in remarks delivered at the CBC's Jan. 9 ceremonial swearing-in, where the theme was "Learn from our past, but boldly confront an uncertain future."

As the North Carolina Democrat noted, 25 percent of Black households today live below the poverty line and one in three Black children are living in poverty. The African-American unemployment rate has for a half century been twice as high as White unemployment, which only exacerbates persistent income and wealth gaps.

"America is not working for many African-Americans and the Congressional Black Caucus has an obligation to fight harder and smarter in the next Congress to help repair the damage," Butterfield said.

With both chambers now entirely controlled by a Republican Party that has repeatedly turned a cold shoulder on increasing minimum wage, extending long-term unemployment insurance and other proposals to keep the social safety net intact, it won't be easy.

In addition, said Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, who also spoke at the event, African-Americans must deal with the repercussions of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a key section of the Voting Rights Act and state and local governments around the country that are "stacking and bleaching legislative and congressional districts, diluting the effectiveness of Black representation and participation."

But Butterfield, who has a storied civil rights past, is no stranger to such challenges. "He has lived much of America's history," Clyburn said, and "has learned its lessons."

The new chairman says his leadership of the caucus will be influenced by his experiences growing up in the segregated South of Wilson, N.C., where "colored people" as Blacks were called back then, were treated like second-class citizens.

When Butterfield, was a boy, his parents, a teacher and a dentist, were considered middle class. But truth be told, they were just two weeks away from poverty instead of one day like others, and if either parent were to become seriously ill, their family of three would have been financially devastated just like everyone else's.

While he was more fortunate than most, Butterfield, now 68, still vividly recalls seeing Blacks from his side of the railroad tracks transported by Whites to work as domestics or laborers each day and paid a pittance at the end of the week. He remembers schools that were "structurally inferior" and outstanding teachers who were paid less than their White counterparts.

During that time, his father, an avid voting rights activist and founder of the local NAACP chapter, also served for a time on the city council – until efforts to disenfranchise black voters made it impossible for Blacks to be elected. As a teenager, Butterfield founded a junior NAACP chapter and helped lead hundreds of other youths in weekly demonstrations to protest segregated public facilities. During his freshman year of college, he took on voting rights, an issue he continues to fight for today.

"Those experiences have helped mold my perspective and make me determined to fight every day to expose and defeat racism and discrimination wherever it may exist," Butterfield said. "So if anyone has doubts that this chairman and this Congressional Black Caucus will have any reluctance to fight for our communities – you are mistaken."

Butterfield succeeds Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who led the Caucus with a keen focus on decreasing the jobless rate in the Black community and against poverty. In the next two years, the caucus will focus on reducing poverty; creating educational opportunities and strengthening HBCUs; restoring Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act; and ensuring corporate diversity. In addition to working with allies in Congress and in state and local government, the CBC will join forces with national Black organizations and the faith community to promote its agenda.

Butterfield hopes that poverty is an issue on which Democrats and Republicans can find common ground because GOP lawmakers represent the majority of constituents who've lived below the poverty line for the past 30 years.

"We will continue to fight against any additional efforts to reduce the deficit by dismantling the social safety net that our communities depend on and programs that create jobs for the unemployed and underemployed," Butterfield warned. "Irresponsible budgeting in this Congress will be met with dogged resistance."

The centerpiece of the group's agenda, however, will be criminal justice reform and reversing a "terrible trend" that has resulted in unarmed Black men dying at the hand of law enforcement, Butterfield said.

He said that the CBC will pursue legislation to deal with racial profiling and excessive police force, but also work to address "outdated sentencing laws, unethical prosecutors and communicate the importance of criminal defendants having competent counsel.

"We are ready for these fights. The fight for the future is not a Black fight, a Democratic or Republican fight; it is a fight that all fair-minded Americans should promote," the CBC chairman said. "We need to use political means, policy and legal means to reduce racial disparities and move closer to the day when all African-Americans will benefit from fairness and justice and realize the American dream."

Jan. 12, 2015

Selma Plunges a Dagger In the Truth
By Dr. Barbara Reynolds

News Analysis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - If Coretta Scott King were alive today, she would not recognize herself as she is portrayed in the new movie Selma scheduled for a full release on January 9.

Except for the beauty of the actress Carmen Ejogo that plays human rights leader Coretta Scott King, the filmmakers misconstrued the intimate relationship she had with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and miscast her as being tormented by fear when she was bold and courageous as she went through the fires of Southern terrorism as a wife, mother and her husband’s co-partner.

The movie is a powerfully dramatic story of the bloody civil rights struggle in Selma, Ala., which resulted in the Voting Rights Act which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965. It is directed by Black filmmaker Ava DuVernay with Oprah Winfrey as a woman being beaten into the dust by Nazi-like Alabama troopers. It tells how King played by David Oyelowo  and a charged up movement of Blacks and Whites combined protest with legislative muster to change the complexion and character of U.S. politics.

The movie has Oscar buzz and might not bother those who buy the premise that moviemakers are not historians and their mission is to entertain rather than to educate and to dramatically pursue a riveting story line regardless of its truth.

But then there are those of us who believe it is wrong for storytellers to mis-educate and fictionalize our main heroes which robs them of their historic truth, especially when they are no longer alive to defend themselves.  Sadly enough, it is easier to popularize a lie when it packs in more drama than the truth and the more often an untruth is told the harder it is to counter it.

Selma shows Mrs. King listening to a tape that suggests her husband was having sex with another woman.  It was a dramatic gotcha moment reportedly showing him as a philanderer and Mrs. King in anguish and in submissive tolerance asking him if he loved the “others.”

As Mrs. King’s biographer, she confided to me that she and Dr. King had a relationship secure in their love and in her trust that her husband was faithful to her and the marriage.  “It has been well established that the tape was sent by the FBI in an attempt to destroy our marriage and weaken him to the point he would take his own life.”

Describing the incident, she said: ”On January 5, 1965, I came across a package postmarked from Miami and dated November 2 that felt like it held a tape. I opened it. The package contained a reel of audiotape and a letter, which I also opened.

“The poorly typed letter read, 'King, we’ve found you out. This is just a sample of the goods we have against you. Your end will come soon. You are done for, there is only one way out for you. You better take it. You have thirty-four days before you will be exposed and publicly defamed.

“The letter had been sent some 34 days before Martin was to receive the Nobel Peace l Prize. There was no question in my mind that the letter was prodding Martin to commit suicide. Under stress, Martin often suffered from depression. In the sick minds of those who sent the letter, I’m sure they thought they were pushing my husband over the edge.

I had heard rumors that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI had prepared a suicide letter and a doctored tape to embarrass Martin. 'This must be it,' I said to myself. I sat up our reel-to-reel recorder and sat down to listen. Although I have read scores of reports talking about the reported scurrilous activities of my husband, there was nothing at all incriminating on the tape. It was of very poor quality and was recorded at some social event. I recognized a staffer Bernard Lee’s voice, but on the entire tape, I didn’t hear Martin’s. People were laughing, talking. Now and then I heard a dirty joke, some profanity. But there was nothing about Martin having sex or anything else that resembled the lies Hoover and his people were spreading.

“Oh, this is nothing,” I said to myself, cutting if off. I gave the tape to Martin who listened to it along with several staff members.

“Later, we learned what great lengths the FBI had taken to prepare the suicide package. Hoover had ordered the doctored tape be mailed from a southern state; an FBI agent flew to Florida with the small package, mailed it, and returned to Washington. Hoover reasoned that I would confront Martin and then leave him, putting Martin in such a weakened state that he would become ineffectual to the Movement. An impending divorce would also reduce his stature. Despite my refusal to fall for any of the bait, rumors spread through the media claiming we’d had a screaming match and saying I was on the verge of walking out. Once again, nothing could be further from the truth. Martin and I did not have the slightest argument over the tape."

As to their reported troubled relationship over Martin’s alleged infidelity, she said, “If there was anything like that I would have known.  A wife always know.’’  Yet despite her own confidence, it was puzzling that given the role of the FBI to discredit her husband that the media would put more credence to the smear than to the witness of  someone who Martin often described as “being only a heartbeat away.’’ That was just one of the many fabricated stories about Martin, our life, and me that I know were fabricated, pure and simple.”

Scenes showing Mrs. King traumatized by the outpouring of death threats to Dr. King and her family  were also out of character for a woman who often told me, “I gather strength from a crisis.”  She told me that rather than being a fearful woman, she had early in life come to terms with terror and the hate that produced it as part of the struggle.

As a teenager growing up in Heiberger, Ala. the family home was burned down, as was her father’s saw mill. On January 30 1956, she was home in Montgomery with her infant daughter Yolanda when it was firebombed.  Upon hearing of the danger, her father came to take her back home, but she refused to leave Martin which he later conceded would have made it more difficult for him to stand his ground if she had not been such a courageous soul.

This is not only the criticism levied against the movie for fictionalizing important historical events and DuVernay, a talented artist, is not the only filmmaker to do so.  Charges are flying back and forth that LBJ was depicted as an adversary instead of a leader in the Voting Rights struggle.

To be fair DuVernay has invited her critics to”investigate major historical moments themselves.” Unfortunately only a very few are gifted enough or have the resources to bring major events to world-wide audiences.

That is why it is so incumbent on the anointed storytellers not to plunge a dagger in the truth.

Dr. Barbara Reynolds is an ordained minister and formerly an editor/columnist for USA TODAY and a columnist for the ROOT DC of the Washington Post.  She is the author of six books, including Jesse Jackson: America’s David and has completed a biography of Coretta Scott King.