Dec. 29, 2013

Charlotte Price Dies at 101
Mother of former National Urban League President Lived Life of Service

Charlotte Schuster Price and her son, Hugh Price.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the National Urban League

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Charlotte Schuster Price died peacefully at the age of 101 on December 22, 2013 at Sunrise Senior Living in Columbia, Maryland.  She was the mother of Hugh B. Price, who served as President and CEO of the National Urban League from 1994 until 2003. 

Mrs. Price attended every NUL annual conference during Hugh’s tenure.  A former activist in Washington, DC, and political science major at Howard University, she delighted in attending the keynote and plenary sessions, workshops, speakers’ lunches, gala dinners and concerts.  

The daughter of Alfred Ernest Schuster and Cora Hawley Schuster, Mrs. Price was born on October 6, 1912, in New Haven, Connecticut.  She grew up in nearby West Haven.   In 1935, she married Dr. Kline A. Price, Sr., who would go on to become only the second African-American physician in the United States to earn certification from the American Board of Urology,  They spent their entire married lives in Washington DC. 

During World War II after her sons reached elementary and nursery school age, she returned to Howard University to earn a B.A. degree.  Her professors at Howard included renowned historian John Hope Franklin and Ralph Bunche, who subsequently won the Nobel Prize for Peace. 

Mrs. Price lived a vigorous life of service to the causes of equality, opportunity and civil rights in the District of Columbia.  In the 1940s, she belonged to an organization of African-American parents, known as Consolidated Parents, which fought for school desegregation in DC.  She and her husband provided financial support for the litigation brought by their neighbor, Charles Hamilton Houston of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which steadily laid the legal foundation for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 that outlawed segregated public schools. 

As a member of the League of Women Voters, Charlotte fought for voting rights for DC residents.  She was very active in the Americans for Democratic Action and served as vice president of the Washington chapter.  In her mid-50s, she transformed herself from activist to archivist by earning a Master’s Degree in Library Sciences from Catholic University.  She then worked with her good friend and famed librarian Dorothy Porter at the Moorland Room at Howard University.     

Energetic and indefatigable, Charlotte Price lived for nearly 40 years entirely on her own following her husband’s death in 1973.  A native New Englander, she moved from Washington to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where, at the age of 61, she launched a new career as an archivist at Pilgrim Hall, the historical society there.  She set up the archives and was Curator of Books and Manuscripts for twelve years. 

In 1975-76, she served as acting executive director of Pilgrim Hall.  This was the first full-time job she had held since her early 20s.  The acclaimed “Remember the Ladies” exhibition, which celebrated the nation’s First Ladies, premiered at Pilgrim Hall on her watch.  

In 1978 she moved to the home she and her husband had built in East Falmouth on Cape Cod.  During her years in Falmouth and well into her late 80s, she served as a librarian and archivist for various institutions on the Cape.  She created the archives and served as first archivist at the Falmouth Historical Society and the Woods Hole Historical Museum.  She chaired the long-range planning committee of the Falmouth Historical Society and was a member of its board of directors. 

Mrs. Price spent fourteen years at Cape Cod Community College establishing an archive of documents about Cape history.  In addition she provided archival assistance to the Wampanoag Native American Tribe of Mashpee.  Her work on the Cape led to the publication of three guidebooks: A Guide to the Manuscripts and Special Collections in the Archives of the Falmouth Historical Society and two guides to the archives of the college.        

Ever curious about the world, she traveled with librarians’ groups to the Soviet Union and Machu Picchu in Peru.  She was proud of her St. Croix heritage on her father’s side, studied the island’s history, and often visited there to stay closely connected with her Crucian cousins.     

Charlotte Price’s ancestry is fascinating and historically significant.  She was a direct descendant of Nero Hawley, a black man who fought in the Revolutionary War and served at Valley Forge under the command of General George Washington.  Her great-grandfather was a slave named George Latimer, who with his wife Rebecca escaped from Norfolk, Virginia, to Boston in 1842.  Abolitionists thwarted his former master’s attempt to recapture him, a celebrated incident that helped spur passage of the Massachusetts Personal Liberty Law protecting fugitive slaves.  Her great-uncle Lewis Latimer, the noted inventor and member of the Edison Group, was George and Rebecca’s son.  

A lifelong fitness and health food aficionado, Mrs. Price took great pride in being known as “The Walker.”  Many weekends she and her husband went on long hikes beside the C & O Canal near Washington.  On Cape Cod she routinely walked along the seaside path from Falmouth to Woods Hole and back, typically outpacing her sons and grandchildren.  She worked, drove, lived in her own home, and shoveled her driveway until she was nearly 90, and continued walking daily until her late 90s.  The combination of optimism and fitness clearly account for her buoyant personality and eternally sunny disposition which brightened the lives of family members and friends who were blessed to know her.

Mrs. Price is survived by her son Dr. Kline A. Price, Jr., and his wife Bebe Drew Price of Columbia, Md.; her son Hugh B. Price and his wife Marilyn Lloyd Price of New Rochelle, N.Y.; seven grandchildren – Kelly Price Noble, Traer Price, Kline Price, III, Dr. Kendall Price, Janeen Price, Kathryn Price and Lauren Price; nine great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and their families.   

A visitation was set for 9:00 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 31st, at McGuire Funeral Home, 7400 Georgia Avenue NW in Washington, DC.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Charlotte S. Price’s name to the “Friends of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center” at Howard University – www.howard.edu/msrc/giving.html.

Dec. 22, 2013

President Obama Sees 2014 as ‘Breakthrough Year for America’
By Hazel Trice Edney

President Obama held a pre-Christmas press conference in the James S. Press Briefing Room of the White House, Dec. 20 before leaving for vacation in Hawaii. PHOTO: Lawrence Jackson/The White House

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Announcing that more than a million Americans have now registered for a plan through the Affordable Health Care Act, President Obama, in a last minute press conference before leaving for vacation in Hawaii, says he envisions 2014 as a ‘Breakthrough Year for America’.

“I think 2014 needs to be a year of action,” Obama said. “I firmly believe that 2014 can be a breakthrough year for America.”

The President’s declaration came as he preparing for Christmas vacation in Hawaii with his family. In fact, he was full of good news after the past three months of scorching criticism over a broken healthcare.gov and approval ratings in the lower 40 percentile.

“For all the challenges we’ve had and all the challenges that we've been working on diligently in dealing with both the ACA and the website these past couple months, more than half a million Americans have enrolled through healthcare.gov in the first three weeks of December alone,” he told reporters in the White House Press Room. “In the federal website, tens of thousands are enrolling every single day.  Since October 1st, more than one million Americans have selected new health insurance plans through the federal and state marketplaces.

He continued, “So, all told, millions of Americans, despite the problems with the website, are now poised to be covered by quality, affordable health insurance come New Year’s Day.  Now, this holiday season, there are mothers and fathers and entrepreneurs and workers who have something new to celebrate - the security of knowing that when the unexpected or misfortune strikes, hardship no longer has to.”

The now fully accessible healthcare.gov is especially good news for African-Americans. Blacks suffer with the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group. This has been largely because of a lack of affordable and quality health care.

The President also pointed to a declining unemployment rate, which overall dropped 7.3 percent to 7 percent between October and November; and from 13.1 to 12.5 for African-Americans for those two months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A closer look at those stats still reflect a vast racial disparity as the White unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 to 6.2 percent half the rate of African-Americans.

Not mentioning any racial differences in his press conference, the President pointed out that the overall rate is at its lowest point in five years. The BLS predicts that will get better. On Dec. 19, the agency predicted that employment will grow 10.8 percent from 2012 to 2022, adding 15.6 million jobs. “Occupations and industries related to healthcare are projected to add the most new jobs,” reports BLS.gov.

President Obama is seizing the moment. “More Americans are finding work and experiencing the pride of a paycheck.  Our businesses are positioned for new growth and new jobs,” he said. “But as I outlined in detail earlier this month, we all know there’s a lot more that we're going to have to do to restore opportunity and broad-based growth for every American.  And that’s going to require some action.”

He pointed to both houses of Congress passing a bi-partisan budget bill last week as an example of action to be applauded and continued. Widely criticized as a “do-nothing” Congress mired in partisan bickering, the President set aside his criticism to praise Capitol Hill for unifying behind a bill that meant compromise for both sides.

“For the first time in years, both parties in both houses of Congress came together to pass a budget.  That unwinds some of the damaging sequester cuts that created headwinds for our economy.  It clears the path for businesses and for investments that we need to strengthen our middle class, like education and scientific research.  And it means that the American people won’t be exposed to the threat of another reckless shutdown every few months.  So that's a good thing,” President Obama said. “It’s probably too early to declare an outbreak of bipartisanship.  But it’s also fair to say that we’re not condemned to endless gridlock.”

There was one sore spot that he pointed out. That was the failure of Republicans to support the extension of unemployment benefits to millions who – come late December - will suddenly have no income without it.

“Because Congress didn’t act, more than one million of their constituents will lose a vital economic lifeline at Christmastime, leaving a lot of job-seekers without any source of income at all,” Obama said. “I think we’re a better country than that.  We don’t abandon each other when times are tough.  Keep in mind unemployment insurance only goes to folks who are actively looking for work - a mom who needs help feeding her kids when she sends out her resumes, or a dad who needs help paying the rent while working part-time and still earning the skills he needs for that new job.”

He called for Congress to revisit the issue immediately. “I know a bipartisan group is working on a three-month extension of this insurance.  They should pass it, and I’ll sign it right away.”

Ultimately, because the President can only request – not force – Congress to introduce or pass legislation, he is concentrating mostly on the areas where he has most control – including influencing the economy.

“We’ve got work to do to create more good jobs, to help more Americans earn the skills and education they need to do those jobs and to make sure that those jobs offer the wages and benefits that let families build a little bit of financial security,” he stressed.  “We’ve got to build on the progress we’ve painstakingly made over these last five years with respect to our economy and offer the middle class and all those who are looking to join the middle class a better opportunity, and that's going to be where I focus all of my efforts in the year ahead.”

President Obama Grants Clemency to 21 
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Twenty-one people will experience a very special new year as President Obama has granted them clemency.

Eight received shortened sentences, most due for release in the spring.  Thirteen others received outright pardons. Most were convicted of non-violent drug offenses like possession or distribution of crack cocaine. The pardons and commutations received applause from the civil rights community which has long fought against the 100-1 disparities in crack and cocaine sentences.

“The administration is continuing to correct a badly drawn path by law and practice,” stated NAACP Interim President/CEO Lorraine Miller.  “When the War on Drugs was initiated, too many laws were passed that were not fully thought through - one of those being mandatory sentencing for crack cocaine possession and other drug offenses that was partially driven by media sensationalism and faulty information on drug distinctions, their use, and their effects. Caught in the middle of that war were the poor and communities of color in America that are more likely to be targeted, caught and incarcerated for crack cocaine offenses.”

Analysis by the NAACP concludes that “all of the men and women inmates whose sentences were commuted had served at least 15 years in prison. Six were serving life terms. Neither inmate would have been committed to those long terms under the new sentencing guidelines set by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2011.”

The NAACP credits the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services for reporting that Blacks comprise approximately 13 percent and Whites comprise approximately 60 percent of illegal drug users in the nation.

“Yet, African-Americans make up 84.7 percent of crack cocaine convictions, while White Americans only make up less than 2 percent of those convicted,” the NAACP reports.

“We are ecstatic that the administration has been able to continue the progress it has made in addressing this issue of disparities and injustices in drug related sentencing and offenses,” said Hilary Shelton. “The Fair Sentencing Act signed into in 2011 sought to address the vast disparities in sentencing that has disproportionately harmed racial and ethnic minority citizens. It is our hope that the administration and the Congress will continue to work to correct these disparities in our criminal justice system.”

Dec. 22, 2013

Archbishop Tutu Chides ANC for Excluding Minority Whites at Mandela Services

 

Winnie Mandela and Archbishop Tutu

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Global Information Network  

(TriceEdneyWire.com)  - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an activist in the anti-apartheid struggle, said he was dismayed at the “blatant exclusion” of Afrikaners from last week's memorial services for Nelson Mandela.

 

He noted the absence of the Dutch Reformed Church and the limited use of the Afrikaans language at the services.

 

It was a mainly Afrikaner party that introduced white minority rule, which Mr Mandela opposed. But after becoming South Africa's first black president, Mr Mandela preached reconciliation with his former enemies.

 

"We were amiss in not being as inclusive as Madiba would certainly have been," Tutu said. "To the extent that I can do so meaningfully, I apologize to our sisters and brothers in the Afrikaner Community.”

 

The Archbishop also criticized the prominence of the governing African National Congress during the week of events following Mr Mandela's death on Dec. 5. "It may have sent out a more inclusive message,” he said, “had the program directors at the Memorial and Funeral - both national and State events - not both been senior office-bearers of the ruling party.”

 

Meanwhile, in Ventersdorp, a former Afrikaner stronghold, grieving for the former anti-racist fighter was observed among some Afrikaner whites

 

At the Dutch Reformed Church on Cochrane Street, a BBC reporter said he watched the old and the young stand in silence to remember Mr Mandela.

 

The pastor, Gerrit Strydom, had served as a soldier patrolling the black townships during the violence of the transition years.

 

“The Dutch Reformed Church provided a religious justification for apartheid,” recalled reporter Fergal Keane. “Its ministers once preached that blacks were inferior beings, the "hewers of wood and drawers of water" of the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament.

 

Pastor Strydom now believes Mr Mandela taught Afrikaners the value of reconciliation. "After all the years we had him in prison, he could have turned around and made South Africa a bad place for our people. But Nelson Mandela was the one guy who brought people together."

 

Anna Johnson, a Black Ventersdorp resident, went further: “What he gave us was beyond what we expected. We were in chains, he freed us. We were blind and he opened our eyes.”