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Prudential Study: African-Americans Optimistic About Finances, Future

June 9, 2013

Prudential Study: African-Americans Optimistic About Finances, Future

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from Target Market News

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Prudential Financial, Inc. has released the results of its 2013-2014 "African American Financial Experience" study, which found that members of the African-American community remains optimistic and continue to demonstrate financial progress, confidence and growing affluence, despite mounting debt and little contact with the financial services industry.

"The study shows increasing economic power and an emerging middle class within the community," said Charles Lowrey, Prudential's chief operating officer, U.S. Businesses. "Approximately 4 in 10 households surveyed have annual incomes of at least $75,000, and nearly a quarter earn $100,000 or more. Half of African Americans surveyed said they feel better off financially than a year ago, while only 19 percent say they feel worse."

The study also brings to light distinctive characteristics of the African American community that influence financial priorities and corresponding behaviors. According to the findings, the African American financial experience is largely defined by family-oriented priorities and goals, including greater ownership of protection-oriented financial products, greater reliance on faith-based organizations as a source of financial education, financial decisions driven by women and earlier retirement.

The 2013-14 "African American Financial Experience" is Prudential's second study measuring the financial trends and attitudes in the African American community, and is part of a series of signature research by the company examining financial trends in America's multicultural communities.

As in the inaugural survey, only about a quarter of African Americans feel any financial services company has effectively shown support to the community. Across all levels of affluence, African Americans are 13 percent less likely than the general population to have been contacted by a financial advisor. While half of African Americans surveyed say they believe working with an advisor would help them make better financial decisions, only 19 percent say they have a financial advisor.

The study also finds African Americans remain significantly more confident and optimistic about their financial future than the general population. While the general population's financial confidence is driven largely by level of asset accumulation and macroeconomic factors, African Americans' financial confidence is shaped by a broader and balanced array of factors, including life insurance protection, level of debt and expenses, and health care costs.

"Family remains a key factor in the African American financial experience. African Americans also report managing more financial priorities than the general population, despite doing so with lower incomes. African Americans have a greater number of family-oriented financial priorities, like adequately protecting loved ones, leaving an inheritance and funding education," said Sharon Taylor, senior vice president and head of human resources at Prudential.

The study also points out that African Americans are more likely to live in multi-generational and female-headed households, and to be financially responsible for supporting other family members. Of those surveyed, 57 percent provide financial support to another family member. Reflecting the impact of today's economic condition on African Americans, the survey further revealed that many African Americans are providing financial support to unemployed friends and family - nearly double the rate among the general population.

Student loan debt also was reported as a significant obstacle to wealth building for African Americans. College-educated African Americans are twice as likely to have student loan debt, proof of economic progress while at the same time hampering the ability to save or invest.

In addition, the study finds African-Americans own insurance products, such as life and disability, at equal or greater rates compared to the general population, but are about half as likely as the general population to own investment products, such as IRAs, mutual funds, stocks and bonds.

Nearly half of African-Americans say they have a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan, and 8 in 10 of those currently eligible are contributing. However, African Americans' balances within employer plans are less than half those of the general population's, in part due to the impact of loans and withdrawals. And three in 10 have taken loans from their plan, citing the need to repay other debt.

The study is based on a March 2013 poll of 1,153 Americans who identify as African-American or Black and 471 general population Americans on a broad range of financial topics. Respondents are age 25-70, with a household income of $25,000 or more and some involvement in household financial decisions. Among those meeting the survey criterion of $25,000 or more in household income, the median household income was $61,000. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 5 percent for African-Americans and +/- 6% for the general population.

An oversample of 471 U.S. adults was also obtained as a reference point. The General Population sample met the same screening criteria as the African-American sample. A quota was applied in order to obtain at least 300 African-Americans and 100 of the General Population with a household income of $75,000 or more.

Results were then weighted according to the U.S. Census to reflect the proper proportions of African Americans and the general population within each of these income groups. The first African American Financial Experience survey was conducted in 2011. Other research in the series includes focuses on women and the LGBT community.

To view and print a copy of the study, visit http://www.prudential.com/media/managed/aa/AAStudy.pdf

Trial of Trayvon’s Killer Began This Week

June 9, 2013

Trial of Trayvon’s Killer Began This Week

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The long-awaited Florida trial of the Neighborhood Watch captain accused of gunning down teenager Trayvon Martin in cold blood opened this week. And it is expected to focus the nation on Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law.

The law allows a person to use deadly force against an attacker in self-defense without any obligation to retreat first. Focus was put on the law when George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American, shot and killed Trayvon, a 17-year-old African-American, Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman was at first not charged in the deadly incident. But after national protests, including ones in Richmond and Petersburg, he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

His trial was scheduled to begin Monday, June 10.

According to authorities, Trayvon was walking to the house of his father’s fiancée after going to a convenience store that night when he was confronted by Zimmerman in the gated community. The autopsy report shows Zimmerman shot the teenager in the chest at close range.

Trayvon’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, his attorney, Benjamin Crump, and supporters claim the killing was cold-blooded murder by an overzealous volunteer acting out his police fantasy. Zimmerman, who is out on a $1 million bond, claims Trayvon attacked him, forcing him to shoot.

On March 5, Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, waived a preliminary hearing on the “Stand Your Ground” law to allow his client to go before a jury. He said he might later seek immunity for Zimmerman.

Late last month, Judge Debra Nelson ruled that Trayvon’s familiarity with guns, his marijuana use and fights he may have been in cannot be used in Zimmerman’s defense. Zimmerman could face up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted.

Separately, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has approved an investigation into the “Stand Your Ground” law. The organization will decide whether race is a factor in the enforcement of the law that 24 states have put in place.

“We’re going to take our own cut at it, go down, dig through records at the district attorney, police level and other things, and start going through … to see whether or not, as some people suspect, that there is bias in the assertion or denial of Stand Your Ground, depending on the race of the victim or the race of the person asserting the defense,” said Democratic Commissioner Michael Yaki.

Black Caucus Annual Legislative Weekend to Focus on ‘Individual Power’

June 2, 2013

Black Caucus Annual Legislative Weekend to Focus on ‘Individual Power’

ashuanisewashington

A. Shuanise Washington, CBCF president/CEO

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – “It starts with you.” That’s the theme of this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Caucus (ALC), attempting to inspire people to innovation in the answers to their personal and community issues.

“Throughout the centuries, humankind has been able to identify one person - an individual - who made a difference, who changed the thinking, who made an innovative discovery that led to a seismic shift in how history was written,” said a release this week. This year's ALC “hopes to have the same impact on the thousands of individuals expected to attend the four-day conference.”

U. S. Reps. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.) will serve as honorary co-chairs of the annual four-day gathering of issues forums, brain trusts, glitzy parties and receptions to be held from Sept. 18-21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.

In addition to the issue forums, the annual Thursday morning national town hall meeting, the Saturday morning prayer breakfast and Saturday evening Phoenix Award dinner are also major highlights. The town hall, themed "From Poverty to Prosperity: Confronting Violence, Restoring Opportunity, and Investing in our Youth" will address the impact of poverty, juvenile justice and gun violence, the release said.

“We encourage everyone, be they political figures, leaders in industry and non-profit organizations, celebrities eager to lend their voices to a cause, or citizens with a desire to obtain information to uplift their communities, to come together to exchange ideas and create solutions to the unique issues facing African Americans today,” said A. Shuanise Washington, president and chief executive officer for CBCF in a statement. “The goal of ALC is to find workable solutions to help stimulate our economy, end health disparities and improve education.”

Rice Moved from U.N. to White House to Be Obama National Security Adviser by Zenitha Prince

June 9, 2013

Rice Moved from U.N. to White House to Be Obama National Security Adviser
By Zenitha Prince

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's choice to become National Security Adviser, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 5, 2013, where the president made the announcement. Blunt and outspoken, Rice has been at the center of the international feuding over Syria and a lightning rod for criticism over Benghazi. Those controversies overshadowed her time at the UN.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Obama on June 5 named “trusted adviser” Susan Rice as his national security adviser, defying Republican critics who had decried her handling of the attack on a U.S. embassy in Libya, that left four Americans dead.

Rice will replace Tom Donilon, who retires July 1; Obama will also nominate Samantha Power, a Harvard professor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a book on genocide and former White House aide, to take over Rice’s position as UN ambassador.

“I am absolutely thrilled that she'll be back at my side leading my national security team in my second term,” Obama said of Rice, a longtime confidant, who helped frame the administration’s foreign policy in the first four years of Obama’s presidency.

“Put simply, Susan exemplifies the finest tradition of American diplomacy and leadership,” the president added, speaking from the White House Rose Garden.

“She is at once passionate and pragmatic…. Susan is a fierce champion for justice and human dignity, but she’s also mindful that we have to exercise our power wisely and deliberately.”

The White House shakeup could reflect a shift in Obama’s foreign policy toward more human rights issues.

At the UN, Rice has advocated on behalf of innocent civilians from Libya to Cote d’Ivoire and “raised her voice” for human rights, Obama said.

Of Powers, who works closely with Rice, the president said, “She has been a relentless advocate for American interests and values, building partnerships on behalf of democracy and human rights, fighting the scourge of anti-Semitism and combatting human trafficking” among other causes.

“I'm deeply honored and humbled to serve our country as your national security adviser,” Rice told the president. “And I'm deeply grateful for your enduring confidence in me.”

The latter comment could be a nod to the firestorm of controversy that erupted over Rice’s explanation for the 2012 Benghazi embassy attack, which Republicans used to derail Rice’s nomination for secretary of state.

Congress has no vetting power in the appointment of a national security adviser, but some Republicans voiced their dissatisfaction anyway.

“Susan Rice was complicit in the deception the administration perpetrated after the attack on our diplomatic facilities in Libya,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement. “Since that time she has done nothing new that would improve or enhance her qualifications to hold such an important diplomatic and national security position within any administration.

“I am troubled that the President has avoided the confirmation process to promote a friend who has already been deemed unfit for service and I am concerned about the potential negative impact on national security.”

Others seemed more resigned.

“Obviously I disagree [with Obama’s] appointment of Susan Rice as Nat'l Security Adviser, but I'll make every effort to work with her on important issues,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on Twitter.

National NAACP Applauds Historic Expansion of Voting Rights

National NAACP Applauds Historic Expansion of Voting Rights

Benjamin Todd Jealous, national NAACP president and CEO, flashes a sign of support for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s historic step to make it easier for ex-felons to regain voting rights, which the NAACP has long championed. PHOTO: Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “This is a great step for Virginia and we look forward to working with the Commonwealth …on expanding the vote,”

stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, national president and CEO of the NAACP. “Anyone who has made a mistake, done their time and paid their debt to society should be able to join their neighbors at the voting booth.”

The head of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization issued the statement in response to Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell’s historic and unprecedented plan to streamline the voter rights restoration process for people with nonviolent felony convictions. In a news conference at Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in Richmond’s mostly black Church Hill community, the governor said nonviolent felons who finish serving their sentences and maintain, after that, a clean record will regain their right to vote and other civil rights on an individual basis without having to apply.

The governor also is eliminating a two-year waiting period for former felons convicted of nonviolent crimes to have their civil rights restored. Previously, they also had to apply. Cases will now be automatically considered without an application.

“It really is a personal thing,” Gov. McDonnell said. “I believe in an America of second chances.”

The governor was joined on stage at the news conference by civil rights advocates and legislators from both parties, including members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, who have pressed for years to reform the state’s strict process for restoring ex-felons’ rights.

In Virginia, only the governor can restore these rights. Gov. McDonnell already has streamlined the process and has restored the rights of more than 4,800 former felons — more than any previous administration. But the Sentencing Project says about 350,000 Virginians who have completed their sentences remained disenfranchised in 2010. Thousands of those residents could become registered voters in time for the November election as a result of Gov. McDonnell’s new policy. Violent felons will still have to wait five years and apply to regain their rights to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury or become a notary public.

The announcement came a day after Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli released a report by an advisory committee he appointed in March to study restoration of rights. The panel concluded that the process could be improved by designating an executive branch agency to do all the legwork, working with religious and community groups to solicit and process applications for the governor’s consideration.

The attorney general said he liked the idea of outside help but preferred to keep the program in the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office. The Cuccinelli task force said the Virginia Constitution does not allow the governor to issue an executive order restoring all felons’ rights, and Gov. McDonnell’s new policy stops short of that by continuing to handle each case individually.

“I wanted to use the maximum authority I had,” Gov. McDonnell told reporters. “An executive order is probably beyond the scope of my authority.”

He said the new process will eliminate subjectivity.

“Your civil rights in this country should not be dependent on the whims of one person,” he said.

The change was welcome news for Darrell Gooden of Richmond, who was convicted of marijuana and cocaine possession in 2002. He said he applied to regain his rights in 2008, when Democrat Tim Kaine was governor, but was turned down because of a speeding ticket. He hasn’t reapplied, and now he won’t have to.

“I want my children to see that the American dream is not just a dream,” the 40-year-old father of three said.

Attempts to amend the constitution to allow the blanket automatic restoration of nonviolent felons’ rights have failed repeatedly, most recently in the 2013 General Assembly.

The constitutional amendment, historically championed by Democrats, was backed by the Republican governor and attorney general this year but was rejected by the heavily GOP House of Delegates. The ACLU of Virginia praised Gov. McDonnell for further expediting the rights restoration process.

“The governor will be giving voice to thousands of Virginians who have been denied participation in elections due to an antiquated and regressive voting law in the commonwealth,” ACLU of Virginia board president Jayne Barnard said in a news release.

Virginia New Majority, an advocacy group, said it would follow up Gov. McDonnell’s policy change — which is effective July 15 — with a voter registration drive.

“We’re going to celebrate today, but we have to get right back to work tomorrow,” said Jon Liss, the group’s executive director. “We’re making plans to ensure that people with nonviolent felony convictions will be registered in time for the November elections.”

Attorney General Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for governor, lauded Gov. McDonnell “for pushing his own reforms even further.”

“We needed to simplify the process for those who want to regain their civil rights so they can return to full participation in society,” he said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe called the change “an important step forward on an issue of justice for Virginians who have paid their debt to society.”

Gov. McDonnell said he expects the next governor to keep his new policy.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.