banner2e top

Blacks Must Become Number One Employer of Blacks by Hazel Trice Edney

Blacks Must Become Number One Employer of Blacks
By Hazel Trice Edney

georgefraser

George Fraser

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – There are more than 9,000 Black public officials in America, yet African-Americans remain at the rock bottom of every negative statistic in crime, health, economics and education.

This is the reason that one lecturer and award-winning author says the Black community must pay equal attention to business ownership, economic development and wealth as it does to political empowerment.

“Your wealth will determine where you live, where you live will determine where your children go to school, where your children go to school will determine the quality of your children’s higher education; and the quality of your children’s higher education will determine your children’s life-long earnings,” George Fraser told a group at last week’s State of the Black World Conference at Howard University. “And your children’s life-long earnings will determine where your grandchildren live and where your grandchildren live will determine where your grandchildren will go to school and where your grandchildren go to school will determine the quality of their higher education and their life-long earnings. Do you understand the cycle of poverty here?”

Fraser, president/CEO of FraserNet, Inc. a 20-year-old firm that specializes in Black economic growth, has written multiple books on economic wealth and unity; including, “Success Runs in Our Race; The Complete Guide to Effective Networking in the African American Community”; “Race for Success; The Ten Best Business Opportunities for Blacks in America”, and “Click: Ten Truths to Building Extraordinary Relationships.”

The spellbound activists, professionals and students in the audience were attending the third day of the conference, sponsored by the New York-based Institute of the Black World – 21st Century. IBW President Ron Daniels described the conference as the first “great gathering” of African-Americans post-election. The theme was “State of Emergency in Black America – Time to Heal Black Families and Communities". The third conference of its kind held after the last three presidential elections, the goals was to establish a Black agenda regardless of who was elected.

In the Saturday session on economics, Fraser pinpointed what he says is the number one issue that Blacks should be dealing with – Black wealth.

“We are not poor. We’re just broke,” he told the audience, some of whom shouted “Speak!” “Tell the Truth!” and other words of agreement. Some even moaned, rocked and shook their heads as he spoke. “We have a $900 billion annual economy. If we were a nation, we’d be the fourteenth richest nation in the world.”

Fraser said with the “intellectual capital” in the Black community, there is no reason that African-Americans should be as economically destitute as they are. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, 25 percent of African-Americans live below the poverty level and fewer than 5 percent of small businesses are owned by Black people. Yet, Fraser estimated that Blacks have multiplied W.E.B DuBois’ dream of the talented tenth more than 70 times when counting the number of African-Americans with college degrees.

Fraser was one of dozens of speakers during the conference that drew more than 300 people. Other high profiled names included Susan Taylor, Julianne Malveaux, Elsie Scott, Melanie Campbell, George Curry, Hilary Shelton, and Jeff Johnson.

Fraser's econonics message comes as African-Americans are hoping that President Barack Obama will do something special to deal with the Black jobless rate, which remains in double digits even as the national average has dipped below 8 percent. Fraser says it is unfair to put pressure solely on politicians and challenged the audience to take a lesson from communities of Jews, Asians, East Indians, and Arabs.

“Every immigrant group that has ever come to this country is now the number one employers of their own people,” he stressed. “We too must become the number one employers of our own people. Why? Because the only way to raise up the poor is to create work and jobs for your own people.”

Announcing an entrepreneurship conference he is holding this summer, Fraser said he believes it will take a full century for African-Americans to gain the strength that they could have by establishing their own businesses, employing each other and supporting each other economically. But the key is unity, he says.

“The idea that the Black community can exercise affective power – political or otherwise – without simultaneously exercising economic power is fantasy…So, we have to make sure we fix this,” he said. “When we were unified around slavery, we freed ourselves…We were unified around civil rights, voting rights and public access in media…We have to be unified now around building wealth…We have everything we need to succeed except each other.”

LDF Names Civil Rights Scholar as New Director-Counsel

Nov. 18, 2012
LDF Names Civil Rights Scholar as New Director-Counsel
ifill sherrilyn
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has named civil rights scholar Sherrilyn Ifill as its next president and director-counsel, effective January 2013.
Ifill, named in a release this week, is a long-time member of the LDF family. Early in her career, she served as assistant counsel in LDF’s New York office where she litigated voting rights cases, including the landmark Voting Rights Act case Houston Lawyers' Association vs. Attorney General of Texas. In 1993, Ifill joined the faculty of the University Maryland School of Law where she continued to litigate and consult on a broad and diverse range of civil rights cases while grooming the next generation of civil rights lawyers.
A critically acclaimed author, her book “On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century,” reflects her lifelong engagement in and analysis of issues of race and American public life, the release states. She is a respected civil rights strategist who provides regular political commentary on both national and local television and radio programs particularly during Supreme Court nomination hearings.

“It was a dream come true to serve as a lawyer at LDF years ago, and it is a high honor to return to this premiere institution as President and Director Counsel,” Ifill said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with the LDF team, allies and partners to advance an innovative 21st century civil rights practice that confronts the barriers to equality and justice in the lives of the most marginalized members of our community.”

She continues: “It was a dream come true to serve as a lawyer at LDF years ago, and it is a high honor to return to this premiere institution as President and Director Counsel...I am looking forward to working with the LDF team, allies and partners to advance an innovative 21st century civil rights practice that confronts the barriers to equality and justice in the lives of the most marginalized members of our community.”
LDF has fought to expand political participation, forestall injustice in the criminal justice system, broaden the avenues of educational opportunity, defend economic freedoms and further the nomination and appointment of fair-minded and diverse judges through impact litigation and advocacy for over 70 years.

“Sherrilyn Ifill brings to this position her visionary leadership, keen intellect, an unwavering commitment to social justice and a deep understanding of LDF’s legacy,” states David W. Mills, Co-Chair of LDF’s board of directors, in a release.
“With Sherrilyn at the helm, LDF will be stronger as the fight for racial justice in the 21st Century continues,” noted Co-Chair of the Board of Directors Gerald Adolph.
According to a biography released by the LDF: Sherrilyn Ifill is a professor of law at the University Of Maryland Francis King Carey School Of Law and a civil rights lawyer who specializes in voting rights and political participation. She served as former assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc., where she litigated voting rights cases, including Houston Lawyers' Association v. Attorney General of Texas, in which the Supreme Court held that judicial elections are covered by the provisions of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
In addition to teaching in the classroom, Ifill launched several innovative legal clinics while at Maryland Law School, including an environmental justice clinic, and one of the first legal clinics in the nation focused on the legal rights of ex-offenders. She is a respected civil rights strategist and public intellectual whose writings, speeches and media appearances enrich public debate about a range of civil rights issues. She is also an active and respected civil leader in the city of Baltimore and for the past two years has served as the Chair of the U.S. Programs Board of the Open Society Foundations, one of the largest philanthropic supporters of civil rights and social justice organizations in the country.

After Elections, Crises Abound by Barrington M. Salmon

Nov. 18, 2012
After Elections, Crises Abound
By Barrington M. Salmon
michaelsteele
Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Washington Informer

(TriceEdneyWire.) - For months before the Nov. 6 presidential election, Sandra Fleming's agitation grew about President Barack Obama's prospects for a second term.

"I was so worried because my impression was that they were going to get away with stealing this election," Fleming said of the Republican Party. "When I heard that Taggart [which makes voting machines] was bought by [Tagg] Romney, I was like 'Oh God, they're really going to steal it.'"

So she decided to be proactive and volunteered to work at an Obama campaign office in Maryland on a phone bank. It was only after several television stations called the race for Obama on the night of Nov. 6 that she finally exhaled.

As satisfied as Fleming and her husband James are about the outcome, Republicans are in a state of shock at the sound thrashing Obama inflicted on GOP challenger Mitt Romney. Obama swept the Electoral College, amassing a final total of 336 votes and he garnered 50.3 percent of the vote to Romney's 47 percent. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way and all that was left to make their joy complete was Romney's coronation.

Now, instead of Romney measuring the windows of the White House, Republicans are left to contemplate the reasons why they fared so poorly.

Political commentator Armstrong Williams said Republicans can't blame anyone but themselves for the stunning election loss.

"To put it mildly, many in the GOP were not pleased with the outcome of [Tuesday's] elections," said Williams. "This represents a national repudiation of reality: we have tossed out the doctor because we don't like his prognosis. The spending addict does not want an intervention; he wants more spending, no matter what."

"...The Democrats have a mandate to govern, and Republicans are now in an uncomfortable position everywhere. The policies of the last four years have been not only affirmed but, with these ballot initiatives, shown to now be mainstream," he explained. "Our nation's culture has shifted to the Left, validating that self-fulfilling epithet of 'Republican extremism.'"

Lee Saunders, president of the 1.6 million strong American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was exultant.

"This is a good day for the working middle class, the Main Street movement and the American Dream," he said following Obama's victory. "The American people sent a clear message that we will stand with a president who stands with all Americans ... the voters have given a mandate to protect vital programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid and strengthen the middle class."

Republicans on the whole are shell shocked, Newt Gingrich is dumbfounded by Obama's win, Karl Rove refuses to accept it; and the finger-pointing, accusations, and infighting is in full tilt.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal [R], said some candidates had damaged the party's brand with their intemperate statements and he chastised the GOP for being too beholden to the rich and powerful.

"We've got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything," he said. "We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys."

Meanwhile, Obama met with liberal and progressive supporters Tuesday, with members of the business community Wednesday, and on Friday, Nov. 16 was scheduled to meet House Speaker John Boehner [R-Ohio] to begin negotiations on averting the crisis of the country falling off the "fiscal cliff." On December 31, automatic spending cuts and tax increases will be triggered if Congress and Obama fail to seal a deal. According to the Congressional Budget Office, families would pay an average of about $2,000 more next year, an estimated three million jobs would be lost and unemployment would ratchet up to nine percent. Also, America could fall into another recession.

Boehner has indicated a willingness to talk but he is opposed by anti-tax Tea Party members.

In an hour-long teleconference Monday morning, former Clinton White House Counsel Lanny Davis and former GOP Chairman Michael Steele discussed the election and the way forward.

Steele castigated the Republican Party and said it needs to be overhauled or face the prospect of being the minority party for the foreseeable future.

"This is perhaps the most tortured experience I've ever seen a party go through," said Steele, a lawyer who served as Republican National Committee Chairman from 2009-2011. "It becomes painfully obvious that there's an internal struggle as to identity and ideas."

"You realize that something different is happening in American politics," he added. "Now we begin the recriminations and finger-pointing. My estimation: Cut the crap out and recognize your message is tone deaf for many voters and your brand isn't as strong as it once was. The country is moving in a different direction. Fifty thousand Hispanics are turning 18 every month. What is the party prepared to do?"

Davis, who with Steele is co-founder of Purple Nation, a bipartisan public affairs firm, credited Obama's formidable ground game, the broad coalition of support and a campaign which executed "the best media, political and grassroots campaign in eight states."

Davis, former White House counsel in the Clinton administration, said the Simpson-Bowles plan is the only one that can get bipartisan support. Simpson-Bowles was a commission appointed by Obama which advocates a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to balance the budget. Steele, who said he hates the word 'bipartisan,' said he wants Republicans to seek consensus without sacrificing their principles and values.

Far from the political fray, Fleming, a 40-year-old mother of one, said practical considerations such as Obama's health care plan fueled her support.

"I had a fear not just for my child but also for my husband that they'd be kicked off our health plan because of their asthma," she said. "I would always be nervous when the provider called. I was extremely grateful when the Affordable Care Act became law. Asthma medication is extremely, extremely expensive."

CeaseFire: Tackling Violence Prevention by Zoe Sullivan

Nov. 18, 2012

CeaseFire: Tackling Violence Prevention

By Zoe Sullivan

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The football field at the Samuel Green Charter School on Valence Street was abuzz with playing children, media crews, and blue-shirted sports heroes. Football legend Marcus Allen ran drills with boys and girls, while Wimbledon winner Monica Seles talked with others. As he remarked on her athleticism, Allen introduced one girl to Olympic gold medalist Dr. Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Allen, whose mother hailed from New Orleans, explained that the youngster dreams of becoming a track star. “She doesn’t even try to run and she runs,” Allen told Moses. This scene preceded a more formal presentation in the school describing how sports can reduce community violence. While the emphasis was on the positive role sports can play in young people’s lives, the message was clear that this is a strategy aimed at reducing violence. As such, it joins another high-profile violence prevention initiative launched this spring, CeaseFire.

In April, at the behest of the community group Solutions not Shootings, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the Urban League of Greater New Orleans launched CeaseFire. The program originated in Chi­cago, and it uses a public health approach to “interrupt violence.” The program trains people to act as “violence interrupters” and actively works to diffuse violence and solve conflicts in high-crime areas. Ryan Berni, spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office, told The Louisiana Weekly that the program not only aims to prevent shootings from happening, but that it also urges community members to respond when shootings do occur “to say that the shooting must stop, and that shooting is not acceptable in the community.”

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA uses a different approach to violence reduction, focusing on involvement in sports as a way of offering young people mentoring, positive goals, and, often, “a safe haven,” Moses told The Louisiana Weekly. Funded by Mercedes-Benz, Laureus USA partnered with Coaches Across America to bring additional coaches into schools and neighborhoods. A press release about the Green event stated that 3,250 New Orleans-area children would benefit from the coaching support. 30 communities will participate including Gentilly, Algiers, New Orleans East, Broadmoor, Gretna and Marrero.

Both programs have research to back up their claims of efficacy. The Department of Justice commissioned a study of CeaseFire, which was conducted by academics from Northwestern University. The Laureus Foundation co-funded a study with the Ecorys Research Programme on the outcome of sports initiatives in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. The Italian segment of the program features midnight basketball in a low-income, remote neighborhood of Milan. “The report shows that on average across the four programmes analysed, sport provides a return of 5.02 Euros for every 1 Euro invested through savings related to reductions in crime, truancy, and ill health.”

While the coaching program is just getting under way and has no results to report yet, CeaseFire, although only fully operational for approximately four months, can cite outcomes. Johnetta Pressley of CeaseFire told The Louisiana Weekly that roughly two-thirds of the people who have gotten involved in the violence interruption work are now employed, thanks to her organization’s efforts. “And two-thirds of them are in some kind of school. One of them actually went to college,” she went on. “We are taking folks who otherwise might be contributing to this disease and helping them do something different,” Pressley said.

Along with these outcomes, Pressley explained that approximately 1,500 people in the Central City area have participated in events that CeaseFire has organized. Asked whether these are one-time occurrences, Pressley told The Louisiana Weekly that several community members have become regular volunteers and some have requested signs for their property to show their disapproval of violence.

CeaseFire focuses on a very specific area within Central City. The area’s boundaries are Claiborne Ave., Thalia St., O. C. Ha­ley/Dryades, and Washington. The Mayor’s Office supplied The Louisiana Weekly with statistics showing a clear drop in shootings and killings between April 2012, when the program was launched, and October. No data was included that preceded the start of the program, making a comparison impossible, however. Additionally, Berni acknowledged that there was no evidence to confirm that CeaseFire was the cause of the decrease. Asked about stability in the program’s funding, Berni said that the program was funded through the end of 2013 and is a priority as part of the Mayor’s NOLA for Life initiative.

The Department of Justice study into Chicago’s CeaseFire program found that while crime rates fell overall in Chicago and across the nation starting in 1991, CeaseFire had a clear impact. “In summary,” it reads, “the hot spot centered in CeaseFire beat 612 remained visible during the two years following implementation of the program, but it grew smaller, and the cooler areas of the CeaseFire beats grew more quickly than they did in the comparison beats. While the level of shootings before and after implementation was higher in the CeaseFire beats than in the comparison beats, the decline was greater in the program area by several measures.”

The report also acknowledged, however, that pressure for results from policymakers often trumps the kind of longitudinal study that provides greater certainty about program impacts.

Post Massacre: South African Miners Reject Low-Ball Return-to-Work Offer

November 18, 2012

Post Massacre: South African Miners Reject Low-Ball Return-to-Work Offer

southafricanminers

Amplats strike

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – At a weekend rally, thousands of miners formerly employed by the metals giant Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) turned down a one-time return-to-work payment of $500 offered by the company and vowed to keep the strike alive.

"Nobody is going back to work, the strike is still carrying on," said Amplats Workers' Committee representative Evans Ramokga.

The world's biggest platinum mining company fired 12,000 workers in October after failing to reach a settlement for wage increases.

Amplats is one of a handful of mining companies still hobbled by a massive walkout. Some 50 people have died in the unrest, including 34 people shot point-blank by police in the so-called Marikana massacre, named for the mine.

A new outbreak of labor unrest was reported at the Kroondal chrome mine where South African police arrested 37 workers for public violence on Tuesday after firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters who barricaded a road leading to the mine.

South Africa produces 75 percent of the world’s platinum used in jewelry and automobiles.

Elsewhere in the country, some 51 houses in Lenasia, south of Jo’burg, were demolished by government agents who claimed the land, owned by the municipality, was sold fraudulently to low-income people. The buyers were given forged deeds of sale with the department's logo. Another 115 are slated for demolition later this week.

Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said the removals were in the best interests of the poor and sent a strong message to fraudsters who continued to sell land illegally in Gauteng. 

X