May 6, 2014

At 'Mayday' Panel: Blacks in State of Emergency But Unaware
By Kelly-Ann Brown 

Wilmer Leon, Nicole Austin-Hillery, Ben Chavis, Shanta Driver  PHOTO: Roy Lewis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Black leaders assembled to discuss what has been declared as a state of  emergency in the African-American community, concluded that much of the Black community is unaware of the dire state of affairs around them.

“We are in a state of emergency, but the Black community senses no emergency,” said Baltimore pastor, Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant. “Our danger is that we have a generation that doesn’t know how to cry mayday, because they don’t even know they’re drowning…How can I see that I’m drowning when I don’t even have a job, but I wear $150 Jordans?” He said to applause.

High School students, civic leaders and other professionals and community members gathered for the standing-room-only forum at the D.C.-based African-American Civil War Memorial May 1.

The Historic Capital Press Club (CPC), led by journalist Hazel Trice Edney, president, sponsored the forum themed “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday in America! - A Nation Divided Against Itself…”.

Though the forum was conceived and announced weeks before the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a ban on affirmative action and the racial controversies facing the National Basketball Association after derogatory and racially insensitive remarks were made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, those issues were heavily on the minds of the panelists, which also included political scientist Dr. Wilmer Leon, Brennan Center Director-Counsel Nicole Austin Hillery, civil rights icon Dr. Benjamin Chavis, and Shanta Driver, national chair of By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), who argued the recent Shuette v. BAMN affirmative action case before the Supreme Court.

“What’s wrong with the NAACP?” questioned Chavis, formerly of the historic Wilmington 10 and a former executive director of the NAACP. Referring to Donald Sterling almost receiving his second Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles NAACP, despite past allegations of racism against him, he said, “That man won the Lifetime Achievement Award twice because he has Lifetime Achievement Award money.”

Moderated by economist Julianne Malveaux, the panelists did not hold their tongues or quell their passion, when offering insight into the paramount mayday issues of today.

“Part of the Mayday in me is how compromised we are. How unwilling we are to protest, to take it to the streets,” Malveaux says. She added that the most urgent issues to her are those associated with economic participation.

Chavis agreed that Blacks are not active enough in their own destiny and tend to compromise.

“The Mayday issue is us,” says Dr. Chavis, encouraging the audience to read a book by South Africa activist Steve Biko on Black Consciousness in South Africa.

“The election of President Obama was a great milestone, but it wasn’t the end of the journey at all. And in the book he said, ‘the greatest weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed’. Our reactions as a people to Sterling is because the mainstream media focused on it. The main street media is not focused on those 200 girls in Nigeria. So we don’t have that emotional response about it,” he said. “So I think that we have to find a way to raise the consciousness of our people. And I think that we should be unapologetic about having a Black consciousness.”

Dr. Wilmer Leon, political scientist and host of the Sirius XM radio show, “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon”, focused on unemployment along with a wealth gap between African-Americans and Whites and the disproportional impact of the home foreclosure crisis.

As a result of disproportionate economic impacts the average White family has approximately $632,000 in wealth, while the average black family has only $98,000. This disparity puts Africans Americans at a disadvantages for continued wealth in future generations as there is less money to allocate.

“If you cannot transfer wealth, it’s harder to create it,” said Leon.

The panelists shared their views on the declining state of Black America; offering possible solutions and urging the youth to stand up and take action.

“Here’s the news flash,” said Leon. “The Calvary is not coming. We are going to have to circle the wagons and save ourselves. We really must talk about what we can do to save ourselves.”

Nicole Austin-Hillery, Director-Counsel for Brennan Center for Justice, considers the impacts of mass incarceration and threats to voting rights as a pressing concern.

Recalling a conversation with a young African American man referring to his experience in jail, Austin-Hillery quotes him as saying, “I thought it was part of my existence that at some point I would end up in the criminal justice system. Mayday! We need to be alarmed when young Black men are growing up and saying, ‘I think that a part of my existence in this country is to grow up and be a part of the criminal justice system.’ So this issue of mass incarceration requires our immediate attention for it’s not just about Black and Brown men being locked up…Not only are we sending these Black and Brown men to prison, but there’s a trickle down affect that results from their mass incarceration. What does it mean when these young men are not in the home? What does it mean when these young men are not available to be productive members of their community, are not our future brain surgeons, our future lawyers, our future accounts, our future business leaders?”.

According to the NAACP, the U.S. is 5 percent of the world’s population, but accounts for 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Consequently, African Americans are likely to be incarcerated six times as much as white Americans - making up nearly 1 million of the 2.2 million of U.S. prisoners.

In regards to voting rights, Austin-Hillery posed the question, “Why do you think they try to keep us fem the voting booth? Because there is power in the polls...You cannot allow people to lock you up and shut you up.”

Driver said the greatest issue the community faces is the “prospect of building Civil Rights and Immigrant Rights Movements.”

She said the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Michigan’s ban on affirmative action for college enrollment is not only a step backwards but an opening to a whole new movement.

“This is the new Jim Crow. This is separate and unequal again. This the disenfranchisement of our people. And we've got to pull together and stand together and fight ,” she said. “Affirmative action programs were a product of our struggle and made an enormous difference in our society. We went from less than 1 and 2 percent Black lawyers in the 1960s to 7 percent of those by 1980. Now our numbers are starting to fall again because the attack on affirmative action is leading to the resegregation of higher education.”

Despite the many issues concerning the Black Community, panelists were confident hope is not lost.

As dozens of high school students from the Maya Angelo Public Charter School looked on, Leon said, “Young people think the [Montgomery Bus Boycott] just happened. It didn’t. It took strategy, they [Civil Rights Leaders] studied [and planned].”

Another possible solution offered was picking an issue that is inspiring and not limiting oneself to “traditional” civil rights issues.  Concludes Austin-Hillery, “If your civil rights are being violated, that’s a civil rights issue.”

The forum was part of a series of public gatherings in celebration of the 70^th Anniversary of the Capital Press Club, formed in 1944 when the National Press Club refused to accept Blacks. In closing remarks, Edney said she has a feeling “help is on the way.”

May 5, 2014

Ben Jealous to Focus on Voter and Economic Empowerment at Center for American Progress
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Former NAACP President/CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, who recently announced his new position as a venture partner with the Calif.-based Kapor Center for Social Impact, has also joined the Center for American Progress (CAP) as a senior fellow.

In an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire this week, Jealous said he will write op-eds and reports for the non-partisan CAP, focusing on the intersection between democratic and economic power.

“The first report I’ll write will focus on voting rights. It will focus on the future of our country and where we’re headed and ultimately our opportunities through the ballot box to make a more prosperous and inclusive future for our country come faster for all,” Jealous said.  “I’ve always suggested that people vote to take control of the future. Right now when you look throughout many parts of the country, the people who are in control aren’t focused on expanding opportunity and expanding prosperity. They tend to be focused on just the opposite – keeping it constrained to a very small number of people.”

Though Jealous’ has a Kapor Center office in Oakland, Calif., he and his wife, Leah, and their two children, still live in Washington, D.C., where CAP is based. Jealous says there is no conflict between his work with the two organizations and he still maintains time to spend with his family, which is the reason he gave for leaving the NAACP in December.

The CAP fellowship is a volunteer position, which will enable him to continue his thought leadership as an advocate and activist.  

“This is something that sits at the nexus of the work that I do every day as an investor and an organizer to continue to shape the conversation in our country,” he said. "The writing that I will do will help people see the connection between expanding the prosperity for all of us and expanding participation at the ballot box and in government. The two have always gone together. Gaining more power in our democracy, they tend to gain more prosperity in our economy.”

A CAP press release said Jealous will also “focus on tracking political trends impacting civil and human rights and will contribute to developing policy solutions that ensure equity and opportunity for all Americans.”

CAP President Neera Tandan lauded Jealous as having “a long and outstanding history of dedicating his talents toward defending the civil rights of all Americans and is a proven civic leader and public servant. Promoting social and economic fairness and opportunity should be a priority for policymakers across the political spectrum, and we are thrilled to welcome Ben to CAP and look forward to working with him to find innovative solutions to narrowing the gaps in opportunity and achievement for all Americans.”

Jealous, had served as NAACP President/CEO since 2008 when he departed in December. He joined the Kapor Center in March. It uses technology to impact social justice. CAP describes itself as a "nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all.”

Jealous says he will also continue building a political action committee to support “transformative Democratic and Republican candidates.”

He concluded this week, “The things that are worth doing are worth talking about. I’m blessed to be able to contribute to our economy and our democracy in ways that are dynamic and help the future come faster. And I’m excited to be able to focus time on talking about those ideas, spreading those ideas.”

May 6, 2014

Nigerian Women Lead Rallies for Their 'Missing Girls' Worldwide

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Global Information Network

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – An unprecedented surge of gatherings and rallies across the U.S. and abroad sparked by the kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian boarding school girls have made plain the growing anger and frustration of Nigerian and other women over inaction by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration. After three weeks, little more than a call this week for an investigative committee has been accomplished.

Since the rallies Saturday, photos of the impromptu events have appeared on Facebook and on blogs, widely exposing a story which received little press attention when the crime in the town of Chibot in the state of Borno, was first reported.

From Union Square in New York City to Oakland, California, women filled public plazas with hand-written signs that read “Bring Back Our Girls” “Nigeria the World is Watching” “200 Too Many” among others. Most of the women wore headwraps or “geles” which have a spiritual significance for Yoruba women.

In New York, Gugu Lethu said she was planning only to meet with a few women in Union Square to show support for the girl and mothers. However her flier for the event was passed from hand to hand and Facebook page to Twitter and close to 300 women turned up.

Repercussions from the spontaneous gatherings were felt in Nigeria as the wife of President Jonathan tearfully took to the airwaves to accuse the grieving mothers of the missing girls of embarrassing her husband and to order the detention of two of the protesting mothers. She also pledged to march to the governor’s office of Borno state to demand the release of the girls although it is widely believed that the girls were spirited away to be sold as brides of men in neighboring Chad or Cameroon or to members of the terrorist group Boko Haram.

Despite the tragedy, a major economic conference is expected to take place in Nigeria’s capital Abuja from May 7 to 9. President Johnson has given assurances for the safety of the foreign and African guests expected to attend. The BBC is reporting that schools and government offices are to be closed and arrests are being made.

According to the website of the conference: ”The 24th World Economic Forum on Africa comes at a crucial time for the continent. Taking place under the theme, Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs.” Guests include Premier Li Keqiang of China and eleven African heads of state and government.

Some 1,500 people have been killed since January 2014 due to the ongoing fighting between the insurgent Boko Haram group and the Nigerian military.

A U.S. contingent in Nigeria will not be taking part in the girls’ rescue, it was clarified today. Their efforts are limited to security training and crowd control for the business event this week, reports said.

Nigeria's budget for security this year is more than $6 billion - double the allocation for education.

Meanwhile, the noted author of Half of a Yellow Sun and most recently, Americanah, published a response to the tragedy called “The President I Want.” The full article can be read at: http://www.thescoopng.com/exclusive-chimamanda-adichie-president-want/

May 5, 2014

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Donald Sterling isn’t the first owner of a professional sports team to stir controversy and ill will with racist remarks.

Here is a sampling of incendiary rants delivered long before the Los Angeles Clippers owner stuck his foot in his mouth,exposing his true, hateful feelings. In 1978, Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith drew public ridicule and created unrest among his players with statements he made to the Lions Club in Waseca, Minn. Griffith was quoted as saying: “I’ll tell you why wecame to Minnesota. It was when I found out there were only15,000 Blacks here.

"Blacks don’t go to ballgames, but they fill up a rasslin’ ring and put up such a chant it’ll scare you.

“We came to Minnesota because there are good, hard working white people here.”

The Twins, who were originally the Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota in 1961. Rod Carew, a Black Hall of Fame infielder from Panama, was so upset with Griffith’s remarks that he demanded a trade. Carew, who posted a .328 career batting average, signed with the California Angels as a free agent a few months after Griffith’s remarks. No disciplinary action was taken against Griffith by the American League Ironically, Griffith, who died in 1999, was buried in Washington.

Then there was Marge Schott, owner of the Cincinnati Reds. Schott was overheard by employees making disparaging remarks about African-Americans, Jewish and Japanese persons.She also was heard giving verbal support for the Nazi party in Germany and Adolf Hitler. Schott was banned by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn fromher administrative duties  with the Reds from 1996 to 1998.

She later sold her majority share of the club. Ms. Schott also was fined $250,000 in 1993, by Kuhn, for insensitive statements. In 1979, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien was quoted as saying that, ideally, his NBA roster would be “50percent White because White fans like players that look like themselves.”

Then there was the all-time bigot, George Preston Marshall,owner of the pro football team in Washington. Marshall was proud to be a racist and did not sign ablack player until 1962, some 15 years after the rest of the NFLbroke the color line. Marshall was quoted as saying: “I’ll start signing Black players when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing White players.”

It wasn’t until Washington moved from privately owned Griffith Stadium to D.C. Stadium (later called Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) that Mr. Marshall gave in.Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall threatened to revoke Marshall’s right to use the stadium built on federal land if he did not open his roster to Black players. Bobby Mitchell and John Nisby became Washington’s first Black players in 1962.