Oct. 2, 2015

When Will It End?
By Dr. E. Faye Williams

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - After all of the senseless killings in schools, in churches, in workplaces, on streets by civilians and by those charged to protect and to serve us; I cannot help but wonder, “When will it end?”

Our world has become increasingly mean and violent. Tempers are short.  People take what doesn’t belong to them. Arguments happen over practically nothing. Members of Congress refuse to compromise—making life miserable for those they were elected to serve.

We see adults acting like children.  In the past few days, we’ve seen a leading candidate for President resorting to vulgarity to express himself. Since I‘m sometimes asked to participate in events where rappers are on the program, I decided to research some of them, and take a look at the words to some of their songs. I was blown away with the words young boys and some older men use in describing women!  I’m painfully aware that a few women lower themselves to act in ways that would make their mothers and grandmothers blush and pray hard for their children to recognize the error of their ways.

Don’t the words peace, respect, love, truth, honor, tolerance, dignity and unity mean anything anymore? Doesn’t life mean anything to those who so easily take the lives of others? Doesn’t dignity mean anything?

A few days ago, Pope Francis visited our nation and experienced the ultimate in love and respect.  People seemed to have been affected positively by his presence and his words. I went to the National Mall when the Pope spoke to Congress, and people were happy.  The crowd was diverse.  People were applauding every time justice was mentioned. They were courteous.  People of all persuasions were laughing and talking with one another and all seemed to be well. Nobody had a fight.  Even John Boehner bid a happy farewell to his job as Speaker of the House of Representatives!  He had a “You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to throw down and when to walk away” attitude.  He exhibited no bitterness or regret.  He even sang a happy little tune at his announcement.

The Pope left town and it seemed that all the goodwill we experienced for a few days left with him.  Congress went back to talking about shutting down the government.  Republican men began a shameful tag team grilling of Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood. Russia announced it’s bombing in Syria, a teen was shot at a local recreation center in Washington, DC for no apparent reason, and soon thereafter, it was announced that a mass murder had occurred on a community college campus in Roseburg, Oregon!  Why?  When will it end?

Talking with each other seems to have become a lost art. If each of us would think of just one thing we could do to make life better for those with whom we come in contact, isn’t it possible we could get rid of some of the anger, the disrespect, the hate that’s leading to all the problems we are currently experiencing?  If our leaders would try just one act of kindness on their jobs each day, I think that would be the beginning of change that could lead others to change their behavior. I am not naïve enough to think this would resolve all of the problems that lead to tragedies, but I have enough hope to believe it would make a difference.

Pope Francis left us with the reminder of something most of us learned in Sunday school or at home when we were very young when he said, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  If we did that, just maybe, some of the senseless tragedies would end.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.  www.nationalcongressbw.org.  202/678-6788)

Why Did the Washington Post Single Out Black Chamber Leader for Front-Page Criticism?
By Khalil Abdullah

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Many in Washington who follow policy debates, particularly as those discussions and subsequent legislation would affect minority-owned businesses, are familiar with Harry Alford and the organization he leads, the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

From the organization’s inception in 1993, Alford has taken decidedly pro-business and pro-minority business stances on a host of issues: from a demand to include minority-owned accounting and financial firms to monitor the $700 billion bank bailout in 2008 in what was initially a sole-source contract to two non-minority firms to recent advocacy in opposition to legislation that would have terminated all affirmative-action programs inside DOD. This short list does not begin to do justice to the breadth of Mr. Alford’s concerns.

One can have well-grounded disagreements with aspects of Alford’s positions -- or even reject them whole-cloth – but it seems easy to understand why he takes the positions he does. As the head of a business chamber, Mr. Alford represents the interests of his members. He has done so publicly and unapologetically.

This, in part, is what is so troubling about a front-page profile of Mr. Alford that Washington Post published on Tuesday.

The piece chronicles Mr. Alford’s campaign against new EPA rules to restrict ground-ozone emissions, or smog. Alford contends that the rules would undermine businesses and hamper employment, especially minority employment, in the process.

In and of itself, that hardly seems worthy of a front-page profile, particularly since other business groups raised similar objections and since the article itself acknowledged that Mr. Alford was “a veteran of multiple campaigns to quash regulations….”

So what makes Mr. Alford, a self-professed conservative, worthy of such coverage? The hue of his skin? “In smog battle, industry gets help from unlikely source: black business group,” blared the headline to the article by Joby Warrick.

Presumably, what made the National Black Chamber of Commerce’s support of industry so “unlikely” was not that it is business chamber. No, it is that this business chamber happens to represent African-American members.

Warrick is a seasoned journalist and a Pulitzer Prize winner, but this piece resonates with a disappointing tone-deafness.  The absurd and offensive implication here is that it is somehow odd that an African-American business group would support the interests of businesses. The Washington Post thus demonstrates a kind of twisted double standard.

The Washington Post does not, for example, question that fact that Thomas J. Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposes the EPA rules for much the same reason that Mr. Alford opposes them. And why doesn’t it question Mr. Donohue’s position? Because Mr. Donohue is the head of a business chamber, and heads of business chambers protect the interests of their members against policies they view as hostile to business.

Readers are not well served by the glaring omission in the story’s opening paragraphs:

For years, the air over central Pittsburgh has ranked among the country’s dirtiest, with haze and soot that regularly trigger spikes in asthma attacks, especially among the urban poor. So it might have seemed odd that a black business group would choose this spot to denounce proposed restrictions on smog. But that’s exactly what the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce did this month. Chamber President Harry C. Alford appeared before some of Pittsburgh’s African American leaders to urge opposition to a White House plan for tougher limits on air pollution.

Here is what Mr. Warrick dropped from his lead of the story: that the Pittsburgh event Mr. Alford attended and that the story apparently cites was jointly hosted by his organization and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Inclusion of this fact would have diminished the narrative that Mr. Alford and the NBCC are nothing more than window dressing for an industry cause – as opposed to an industry partner.

The story also implicitly sets up a kind of moral standard for African-American leadership and allows a rival of Mr. Alford’s to act as jury and judge.

Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chamber Inc., argues in the piece that smog contributes to health problems in African-American communities. That’s a fair enough point. But then he goes on to suggest that Mr. Alford has no standing. “Anyone who’s saying it’s not affecting our community isn’t speaking on behalf of black people,” Mr. Busby is quoted as saying.

Again, how could the author omit a crucially important fact about Mr. Busby? Not only is he a rival. He and Mr. Alford were entangled in a legal dispute. The Washington Post owed it to its readers to make clear that Mr. Busby was hardly a dispassionate analyst.

Finally, the story leaves the impression that Mr. Alford is the only significant African-American leader raising concerns about the EPA’s proposed regulations. Not true; has not been true for decades. In 1996, for example, lobbying by an American car manufacturer persuaded members of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to withdraw a resolution calling for strengthening air quality provisions. Why? Because of the fear of job loss to African-American workers in those members’ legislative districts were those plants to close.

Today, other African-American leaders have argued that the economic consequences of the regulations would be severe in urban communities, including Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson of Gary, Indiana. Even President Obama decided to abandon a similar proposal around the time of his reelection, apparently concerned of the damage it would do to the economy. But none of this is mentioned.

Whether one agrees with Alford’s assessment of the environmental and economic impacts of the EPA’s new rules proposal is not the issue. Readers are led to conclude that Mr. Alford stands alone on the margins in opposition to them.

Let’s set aside other critiques of the piece for the time being. The overarching point is that Mr. Alford, as the leader of a business group, has every right to join his industry partners in protesting what he views as bad policy. The hue of his skin has nothing to do with that.

Khalil Abdullah, a former executive director of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, is also a former editor/writer for New America Media and former managing editor of the Washington Afro Newspaper.

Oct. 4, 2015

Ben Carson: The Brother from Another Planet
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - When neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson started flirting for a Presidential run, I thought he had lost his mind.  Now that he has jumped into the fray, opening his mouth one too many times, I know he has.  The problem?  Too many people disagree with me.  He raised $20 million in the last quarter, more than any of his competitors (of course, Donald Trump is self-financing his campaign).  For an outsider, he has done extremely well, raising $31 million in just a few months.

Why are people supporting him?  Many are signaling their disgust with Washington politics by supporting the nerdy neurosurgeon Carson, and caustic former CEO Carly Fiorina.  In a recent CNN poll, Trump, Carson, and Fiorina beat more established candidates Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Senator Ted Cruz.  Those who bring up the rear of the field include Ohio Governor John Kasich, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Rand Paul, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and New Jersey Governor Chris Cristie. During the first Republican debate, I thought I was watching a ten-person episode in a stand-up comedy reality show.  The more substantive conversation at the “kiddie table” for those who polled lower than “front runners”, catapulted Carly Fiorina into the September 16 debate, where she handled the bombastic Donald Trump more forcefully than others.

Since that debate Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Texas Governor Rick Perry have dropped out of the race.  There are others who need to drop out. Given his position in the polls and his now-expanding pocketbook, Ben Carson is not likely to go anywhere.  Will we be stuck with the brother from another planet as nominee, and possibly President of the United States?

Carson admits that he does not know what he is taking on.  When asked how, as President, he would handle the hurricane that threatened the East coast on September 30, he responded, “I don’t know”. Many of his other responses to questions mirror those of Donald Trump’s, which boil down to “we’ll figure it out”.  The voters are expecting Carson or Trump to “straighten out” the government, trust because of their reputations, even they have no experience in running a country.  How can we trust people who would build walls between the US and Mexico, or who could not accept Muslims in government?  How can we trust a prevaricator like Carly Fiorina who uses nonexistent videos as a talking point in her campaign?

The brother from another planet may be doing so well in the polls because he is pandering to predominately conservative white audiences with his extreme views. His clear contempt for African Americans who are not in his corner is troubling.  He says that the media has “manipulated” African Americans.  His comments seem to suggest that African Americans do not have minds of our own, and that we are open to manipulation.  Why didn’t he say that his white conservative allies are being manipulated by his homophobic, jingoistic comments?

Carson has said many of the things conservatives want to hear.  He has described marriage as a union between a man and a woman, even as the LGBT community has waged a successful struggle for marriage equality.  He has associated the gay community with “beastiality” and referenced marriage equality advocates with extreme groups like NAMBLA (North American Man/ Boy Love Association), which few support.  He says homosexuality is “a choice” because people go to jail straight and come out gay.  Some support him because he is unapologetically “politically incorrect”.  But he crosses the line between being politically incorrect and being offensive, inhumane, and bigoted.  He would not trust a Muslim to be commander-in-chief.  Half a century or so ago, there were fears that Catholic President John F. Kennedy might be unfit for office because of his religion.

The quote that catapulted Carson onto the public stage was one he made at the National Prayer Breakfast. He described the Affordable Care Act (often known as Obamacare) as worse than slavery.  President Obama was in the audience and Republicans aplauded Carson for his audacity in confronting our President to his face.  Since Carson had never been a slave (except, clearly, mentally), his comments were absurd.  His comments suggested that he would use race, but in a pejorative way (consider the manipulated black folks), but they were embraced.

If Ben Carson were anybody other than a reportedly smart African American neurosurgeon, would he be holding his own in the polls?  If he had not described the Black Lives Matters movement as “divisive”, would he have any traction?  In the weeks since the September 16 debate, he has gained almost a million Facebook followers – 50,000 more than Donald Trump.  Does that mean he could be President?

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist in Washington, D.C. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama & Public Policy” is available for pre-order on www.juliannemalveaux.com

Sept. 29, 2015

By Frederick H. Lowe

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

 
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank for Black-elected officials, is in better shape financially than it was two years ago when it was on life support, Spencer Overton, the organization’s president, wrote in the Joint Center’s most-recent newsletter.

“Two years ago, the Joint Center faced significant challenges that threatened the future of the organization,” Overton wrote. “Today, due to hard work, patience and support of many, I am happy to announce that we confronted and completely absolved these challenges. The Joint Center now has a stable foundation, a growing and committed team and a bright future.”

In 2014, Hazel Trice Edney, founder and editor of Trice Edney Newswire, reported the Joint Center was barely scraping by and that many of its staff had been either laid off or had left the organization. The Joint Center published annual reports to encourage political participation among Blacks. And at one time, the organization published a book that included the names of all of the black-elected officials in each of 50 states. Overton, who was on sabbatical from his job as a law professor at The George Washington Law School when he became interim president and CEO of the Joint Center, did not provide any details about the organization’s financial status.  

Overton replaced Ralph Everett who left the Joint Center in February 2014 after serving as president eight years. Dr. Brian D. Smedley, director of the center’s Health Policy Institute, replaced Everett on an interim basis until Overton took the job without pay. He is now listed as president, not interim president.

“Moving forward, the Joint Center will use roundtables, research reports, and social media to provide elected officials with ideas, solutions, and best practices that have a positive impact on communities of color,” Overton wrote. Last summer, the Joint Center hosted a roundtable with 25 top-elected officials in which they discussed criminal justice, technology, financial services and the energy workforce.  U.S. Senators Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Corey Booker, D-N.J., attended some or all the sessions as did many members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Joint Center also hosted a one-day roundtable on race, gun violence, mass incarnation and policing at George Washington Law School. Some 40 national leaders attended the conference. The Joint Center next week is scheduled to release a report that examines racial diversity among top U.S. Senate staffs.