May 12, 2013

Congressional Task Force Tackles Bloated Criminal Code

By Zenitha Prince

U. S. Capitol/Afro stock photo

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

May 6, 2013

Immigration Takes Center Stage at Race Healing Conference
African-Americans Must Take ‘Right Side’ of the Issue, Black Leaders Say

By Hazel Trice Edney

Rev. Alvin Herring and Ben  Jealous PHOTO: Danielle Miles/W.K. Kellogg Foundation 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – More than 50 years since the civil rights struggle for the right to vote and racial desegregation for African-Americans, a new kind of racial and ethnic battle is raging in America.

The issue of immigration, now at its peak in a bill before Congress, recently took center stage at a conference on racial healing. Modern day civil rights leaders say it is imperative that Blacks take the high road.

“Fifty years ago, Dr. King was sitting in a Birmingham Jail, contemplating the sum total of the movement that he was participating in and he was troubled,” said Rev. Alvin Herring, a training director for the PICO National Network, the nation’s oldest and largest faith-based community organizing group.

Herring continued, “He was troubled because he understood that there was a window open but it wouldn’t stay open forever. And he and others were going to have to figure out how to capitalize on the moment and do what was morally right, do what was just, do what God was asking of him and others to do. I think in many respects, we are back to that moment.”

The first to speak on a panel of civil rights leaders, Herring had set the tone for a hearty discussion on various issues. The setting, the W. K. Kellogg America Healing Conference held in Asheville, N. C. late last month, stirred up a rare level of free and uninhibited debate that largely included the issue of immigration and its implicit racial disparities.

“One of the largest groups of undocumented immigrants is Canadians in this country. Another is Irish in this country,” said NAACP President/CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.

Jealous pointed out that these immigrants are regularly given cart blanch on American soil – mainly because of the color of their skin.

“You don’t see raids of their homes due to ordinances that limit the number of people who can sleep in a living room. We don’t see them seeking to enforce that on White households. But, we’ve seen it happen to Latinos. We’ve seen it happen to other groups of color,” Jealous said.

The annual Kellogg conference, part of a five-year initiative with a goal to start healing racism in America, featured discussions on a plethora of hot-button issues that continue to rage in America. At this forum, the immigration issue, still being debated in the U. S. Congress, took center stage with rights leaders focused on how to “change the narrative” – or the perspective from which immigration is currently viewed and the conversation surrounding it.

While a common complaint among African-Americans is that a burgeoning Latino population is taking up jobs, leaders say it is to the advantage of African-Americans to join the fight for immigration reform alongside the Hispanic population.

“While a large portion of undocumented immigrants are Latina, we’ve got to educate people that it’s people from Canada, that it’s people from Ireland, that it’s people from the African diaspora – Yes, Africa and the Caribbean," said National Urban League President Marc Morial. "We’ve got to affirmatively indicate that this is a multi-dimensional, multi-cultural issue…We’ve got to affirmatively educate people about the importance of this."

The author of an annual “State of Black America”, report which actually quantifies the effects of racism in America, Morial says African-Americans should be the first to identify with and empathize with the problems faced by immigrants given the oppression history of Blacks in America.

“The African-American community has a responsibility to be on the right side of this issue,” Morial said. “We know oppression and repression having been treated as a second class person. So we can’t stand by the wayside, be spectators, embrace reactionary arguments in the face of one of the great human rights challenges of our time.”

The moderator, former CNN correspondent Soledad Obrien, agreed that the common false stories that have been told about immigrants must be corrected. “The story is that they are running across the borders and taking or destroying America,” she said.

Hundreds in the audience, listening to the conversation, were invited to weigh in or ask questions.

A woman named Audra (last name withheld to protect her privacy) came to the microphone and said she has found herself in multiple situations in which some of her friends and associates have made offensive comments pertaining to immigrants. “I’m getting angry and about to shut down the church picnic,” she said in jest, drawing laughter from those who identified with her feelings. She asked “How to use personal leadership to change hearts and minds on this issue.”

Kathleen Ko Chin, president/CEO of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, responded with empathy: “You want to be building your emotional fortitude when you’re not at that situation so when you are in that situation you can pull from those reserves.”

It is this kind of emotional build up that’s dealt with in what Kellogg calls “healing circles” during the annual conference. In these private talks, group members speak personally from their hearts about their day to day experiences with the issues of race in America, how they are impacting those issues and how those issues are impacting them.

The conference is part of the Kellogg Foundation’s America Healing initiative which provides grants for organizations to address structural bias and facilitate racial healing in communities. Gail Christopher, Kellogg vice president for program strategy, said there is an urgent need to present stories, not just of racial pain, but inspirational stories of racial healing and people working together.

Given the level of racism that continues in America, quantifying the impact of the program after five years will clearly be daunting. But, Christopher is convinced that it is absolutely doable.

“We certainly don’t stop. It really doesn’t end,” she said, She noted that the impact will be measured based on four goals. They are: “How much impact we’ve made” surrounding communications around these issues, both in the media and otherwise; How much capacity has emerged at the community level?; Have we “accelerated the amount of research” that relates to these issues? And the amount of “capacity within the organizations” that work on the changes.

Meanwhile, in its third year, the race healing conference is expanding and growing in topics. Among those discussed this year were affirmative action, gun violence, health care disparities, poverty, economic justice and immigration, an issue that has moved front and center as a new civil and human rights issue.

Obrien, who specialized in race documentaries at CNN, mainly “Black in America” and “Latino in America” outlined the principled questions within the issue: “[This is] an American conversation. Who will be considered as a real citizen? Who gets to be counted?...[Who gets to] stop hiding in the shadows and come into the light of day.”

‘Mama, What Would I Do Without You?’ America Celebrates Mother’s Day This Sunday
By Hazel Trice Edney and Akua Aboagye

On Sunday, Kiona Daniels celebrated her Grandmother Ella's 98th birthday. This weekend, she will join millions across the nation in celebration of Mother's Day.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As young as 5 and 6 years old, Twan Woods would wake up at night and hear his mother having a seizure. He would know exactly what to do. He would run into her bedroom, hold her, put a cold rag in her mouth, comfort her and keep her from falling until it was over.

“My Mom, she’s a sick lady. She’s like, handicapped, she’s been like that all her life,” said the 37-year-old who grew up in Ward 8, a crime-ridden section of South East Washington, D.C.

Despite the hardships, his mother, whom he identified as Francine Ward, raised him and his younger brother the best she could - with love and wisdom.

“She couldn’t come out and chase behind me as I was growing up…She couldn’t even teach me how to go to school and how to become a man, but one thing she did teach me was to depend on the Lord. She put the Bible scriptures in me. When I was younger I didn’t want to hear it. But it was in me; so when I got older I had that to fall back on. She gave me the Word.”

In part, because of his mother’s heroic influence on his life, Woods and a few of his friends have pulled together a singing group called Ward 8 Entertainment. Their inspirational CD that he gives to anyone for a small donation is called, “Waiting for Better Days”. One of his prize singles on the CD is fittingly titled, “Mama, What Would I Do Without You?”

This week, millions of men, women, boys and girls, are asking that same question and preparing to pay respects to their mothers and the motherly figures in their lives. In various interviews, some discussed their most touching memories and most important lessons.

When Kiona Daniels was only 16 years old, her mother was killed in a car accident. Her grandmother, Ella, took over the mothering. But, having been raised until the age of 16 in a household with three matriarchs – her mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she had a triple dose of love that most people have not experienced.

“In retrospect, I think it had a huge impact on just developing me with a foundational basis of who I have become as a woman; especially as it pertains to relationships,” said Daniels, who was set to receive an executive Master’s Degree in public administration from American University this weekend. “Oddly enough, you wouldn’t think that two very older women would have an impact on me from a relationship standpoint,” but they taught by example, she said.

“My grandmother, Ella, she was just a loving, caring wife and had her own independence and had her own identity. And, so, just having my own identity in a relationship and having my own independence financially without any reliance or dependence on a dating partner was something that I took from my grandmother a great deal. That was one of her main things: ‘Never depend on anyone. Always have your own.’”

Mother’s Day, like many holidays, is overshadowed by consumer-driven advertisement. Therefore, some struggle to enjoy the real meaning of the day set aside to honor the one who gave words of wisdom, nursed injuries, wiped away tears, cooked favorite meals and often sacrificed her own desires for her family’s. Yet, this Sunday, many mother’s hearts will be touched with the simplicity of love demonstrated by macaroni art projects from elementary schools and oversized cups with huge lettering designating her as the “World’s Greatest Mom”.

Patricia Dillard eloquently recalls the love of her mother during a time when African-Americans still struggled amidst Jim Crow and racial segregation.

“I was about my granddaughter’s age (3-4 years old) and it was the late 1940’s in Sweetbriar, Virginia, where my father worked as a cook and my mother did domestic housework at Sweetbriar College, an all girls’ college,” she recalls. “The people she worked for gave her a porcelain doll as a gift. When my mother came home from work that day she said to me there was something in the car for me.

“It was raining and I ran to the back seat of the car out in the garage and there it was, this big beautiful baby porcelain doll. I felt so special that she gave something so precious that was meant for her to me. And I still have it. I think of the sacrifices my parents made to make sure I was happy, and how I appreciated this doll.”

Connie Danquah 23, a physical therapy student at Howard University, giggles as she recalls her Mom’s dedication to her after leaving a job working long hours in New York City.

“I was about 6,” Danquah recalls. “She quit her job and relocated to a position closer to home that was less demanding because she wanted to be around. She picked me up from school and took me to all my extracurricular activities. We got to do all the girly stuff together; she dressed me up in big flowery dresses and enrolled me in tap and ballet. I felt like she was more excited than I was. I think it was something she always wanted to do when she was little but due to family finances probably never got the chance.”

The veil of innocence causes most children to be oblivious to the love and caregiving received from their parents. It isn’t until later in life, most commonly after people have children of their own, that they really understand the strength and selflessness necessary to raise a child.

But, most people agree that regardless of who anyone considers Mom, there is nothing like a mother’s love.

“Mama, Mama, I know you’re really not a father figure,” says Twan Woods’ song, “But I want to take this time and thank you for giving me life.”

May 5, 2013

Former CBC Chair Watt Nominated to Head Housing Agency
By Zenitha Prince

U. S. Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) 

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from GIN 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Obama has nominated former Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) had earlier suggested Watt as a choice for Secretary of Commerce and was one of several critics who had questioned the homogeneity of the president’s cabinet, but praised Obama for his choice of Watt.

“I congratulate President Obama and his Administration for making such an outstanding choice…. Rep. Watt will be the transformational leader the FHFA needs to make sure this country stays on the path to full economic recovery,” she said in a statement.

In making his announcement on May 1, President Obama said Watt is the right leader to build on successes and continue the work of healing the crippled housing industry.

“Seven years after the housing bubble burst, triggering the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes and costing Americans millions of jobs, and, in some cases, their homes, our housing market is finally beginning to heal. [But] there are a lot of areas where we can make significant improvement,” Obama said, speaking from the White House State Dining Room. “And one of the best things I can do is to nominate Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.”

The 11-term Democratic congressman from North Carolina has served on the powerful House Financial Services Committee for two decades. He is known for his efforts to combat predatory lending, and to promote homeownership among lower-income Americans.

“Mel has led efforts to rein in unscrupulous mortgage lenders, he's helped protect consumers from the kind of reckless risk-taking that led to the financial crisis in the first place, and he's fought to give more Americans in low-income neighborhoods access to affordable housing,” Obama said of Watt's years of service on the financial services panel.

“[He] understands as well as anybody what caused the housing crisis,” Obama added. “He knows what it's going to take to help responsible homeowners fully recover, and he's committed to helping folks ….. who work really hard, play by the rules day in and day out to provide for their families.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Watt will replace Edward DeMarco, FHFA’s acting director for more than three years.

During his tenure, DeMarco has helped bring the mortgage financiers back into the black, even as he sought to reduce their near-monopoly of the housing industry. But DeMarco was often the target of Democrats, who criticized his handling of the foreclosure crisis and his unwillingness to implement a White House-supported plan that would help homeowners whose outstanding loan balances exceeded their homes’ equities to reduce the principal.

Earlier this year, 45 lawmakers s led by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote a letter to the president, criticizing DeMarco’s performance and urging him to nominate someone “who is ready and willing to implement all of Congress' directives to meet the critical challenges still facing our nation's housing finance markets.”