Urban News Features

Notes on the First Republican Party “Debate” by A. Peter Bailey

August 8, 2015

Reality Check

Notes on the first Republican Party “Debate”
By A. Peter Bailey

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It’s very revealing that the subject of race was only mentioned near the end of the initial, two-hour long “debate.” And when it was mentioned, it was mainly as an attack on race relations during President Obama’s Administration. Furthermore, the question on race was directed to Dr. Ben Carson, one of only two persons of color on the stage (the other being Sen. Marco Rubio). Carson, by the way, was all but ignored throughout the process.

Equally revealing was the total lack of commentary about the real reasons that Latino immigrants are allowed to enter this country. They are a major source of cheap labor, especially for the agricultural and construction industries. Their labor is not only cheap but also under threat of deportation if they complain too publicly about salaries and working conditions. There is no way to convince me that the U.S. government could not block the entry of so-called “illegal immigrants” if it really wanted to. The “illegal immigrants” are for practical purposes allowed to cross the borders.

Then there’s the very revealing circumstance in which the moderators and the “debaters” spoke as though Iran is trying to introduce nuclear weapons into that region of the world. I’ll bet that every single one of them is well aware that Israel introduced nuclear weapons into the region years ago. Yet, no one dared to state this well-known fact. Whatever else Iran can be accused of it will not be the first nuclear power in the Middle East.

Finally, the “debaters” were all in step with what they consider the need for the U.S. to build up its military for the possibility of having enough boots on the ground to send into the Middle East or anywhere else they believe is a threat to “the National Security of the U.S.” Yet again, neither the moderators nor the “debaters” were willing to say that the quickest way to get the necessary boots on the ground is to reinstate the draft. I personally will believe they are sincere about this country’s National Security being at stake when they begin a draft that requires their sons and daughters to possibly face combat duty as defenders of “freedom.” Right now they basically use the children of low income and working class families as cannon fodder.

Because such issues were not “debated,” I found the two hours to be predictable and basically boring.

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A. Peter Bailey, whose latest book is Witnessing Brother Malcolm X, the Master Teacher, can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sandra Bland’s Life Mattered: Transforming our Criminal Justice System Now By Marc H. Morial

August 8, 2015

To Be Equal

Sandra Bland’s Life Mattered: Transforming our Criminal Justice System Now

By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWirel.com) - “Many people see this situation escalating, and I think it shows the frustration that many minority communities feel when they feel that, you know, maybe it wouldn't have escalated in a different community. I hope that that can bring this situation to light as well, so that people understand the frustration that many minority members feel when they're stopped by the police.” – United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch, July 2015

For many of us, it was with a sickening sense of familiarity that we watched the video recording of the violation of the welfare and rights of yet another person of color at the hands of law enforcement. Unfolding right before our very eyes, we witnessed as another routine traffic stop would come to a tragic and fatal end.

Two days before authorities would discover Sandra Bland’s lifeless body in her Texas jail cell, the 28-year-old called a friend after her first court appearance and left a 22-second voicemail asking, “How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this? I don’t even know.” The details of her arrest and her untimely death have left her family, friends, and those concerned about the treatment of people of color in our nation’s criminal justice system, wondering the same: how could a traffic stop could “turn into all of this?”

On Friday, July 10, Bland was pulled over by state trooper Brian Encinia for the minor traffic violation. As seen on the officer’s dashboard camera video, Encinia ordered Bland to step out of her car after she refused his order to put out her cigarette. The confrontation between the two continued to escalate as Encinia attempted to pull Bland out of her car and then threatened to use his taser gun on her. The remainder of the confrontation, and her eventual arrest, is not caught on camera, but we can hear her screaming during the arrest that the trooper is about to break her wrist and that he has slammed her head into the ground. She was taken to the Waller County jail on a charge of assaulting a public servant during a traffic stop.

Three days later, on Monday, July 13, Bland was discovered dead in her jail cell after allegedly hanging herself with a garbage bag. A medical examiner has ruled the death suicide by hanging, but her family and protestors are disputing the autopsy results. Bland’s relatives have ordered a private autopsy and Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis has opened up a probe into Bland’s death and has said that his office will treat her case like a murder investigation.

We don’t yet know how Sandra Bland died in her jail cell, but the video of her arrest is cause enough for grave concern. And for those committed to reforming our nation’s broken criminal justice system, it is an urgent call for action. As the litany of names of unarmed Black and Brown men and women brutalized and killed by law enforcement multiplies, so does the skepticism and distrust so many feel for a system that has proven time and again to be stacked against them and their communities at every level of justice.

Encinia’s behavior at the traffic stop was incendiary, unjustified and beyond unprofessional. The Texas Department of Public Safety must not tolerate this disrespectful and provocative method of policing from Encinia—or any officer. Officers are supposed to be trained to de-escalate tense situations, not escalate them.

We cannot limit our concern and anger to motionless outrage. While we mourn the loss of countless victims of police violence and injustice, we must be loud and engaged advocates for the sort of change that will save lives and rebuild that much-needed trust between law enforcement and all communities entrusted to their care and protection. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has expressed her hope that the tragic loss of Sandra Bland will galvanize more law enforcement departments to institute de-escalation training. This is the kind of training that could have saved Bland’s life.

We reiterate our call as we have in the wake of far too many incidents of police violence for the comprehensive retraining of all police officers, the review and strengthening of police hiring standards and the widespread use of body and dashboard cameras. We will continue to hold law enforcement accountable when it fails to treat all citizens fairly and with dignity. We will work to bridge the widespread and dangerous distrust between law enforcement and too many communities of color. And we will dedicate ourselves to this mission for our nation’s sake, for Bland and for the innumerable others taken by police violence that are no longer here to fight for us or with us.

On 'Journey for Justice': NAACP President Aims to Influence Congress and White House by Hazel Trice Edney

Aug. 4, 2015

On 'Journey for Justice': NAACP President Aims to Influence Congress and White House

By Hazel Trice Edney

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks

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NAACP President Cornell William Brooks speaks in Alabama on first day of march. PHOTO/NAACP

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Brooks and other marchers braved the August heat, fueling along the way. PHOTO/NAACP

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Some used umbrella's and hats to shield from the summer heat. PHOTO: NAACP

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People of all ages engaged in the rallies and educational sessions. PHOTO: NAACP

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Foot soldiers enroute to Capitol Hill. PHOTO: NAACP

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, currently leading an 860-mile march from Selma, Ala. to Washington, DC, has described the march, “America’s Journey for Justice”, as “building a movement” that he hopes will influence Congress and the presidency.

“This is not a one-time episodic kind of thing. We’re building a movement so that once we leave Washington, you have people continuing to press. You will have people going back to their home states having met with their legislators in Washington. So they go back to their home states and they continue to press the case,” Brooks said in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire. “This is not a ceremonial march, this is not a nostalgic march; it is not a commemorative march. It’s a march for reform and a march to catalyze and build a movement.”

The march, from Aug. 1-Sept. 16, comes during a season of major civil rights anniversaries. They are the one year anniversary of the police killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 9; the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act, Aug. 6, and the 50^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, which was March 7, “all coming together in this year,” Brooks described.

Since the killing of Michael Brown and the protests that followed in Ferguson and across the country, Brooks says a fiery momentum pertaining to a list of key issues has been established that must not be lost. In that regard, the underlying theme of the march is “Our Lives, Our Jobs, and Our Schools Matter.” Therefore, the marchers are asking for specific legislation on the following issues as listed on NAACP.org:

National standards for use of force for all law enforcement agents, and the passage of the End Racial Profiling Act.
Federal action to ensure every student has access to safe, high quality education, regardless of location and household income.
Federal prioritization of job creation and training, and passage of the Raise the Wage Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.
That Congress restore, strengthen, and advance the 1965 Voting Rights Act by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Braving the August heat and traffic along the march route, advocates will conduct teach-ins, online and in-person training on key issues, he described. Marchers will journey from Alabama, where they will focus on economic inequality; Georgia, where the focus will be education reform; South Carolina, criminal justice reform; North Carolina, voting rights; Virginia, where a youth rally will be held and then finishing in Washington, D.C. with advocacy on Capitol Hill.

During the telephone interview with Brooks August 3, the marchers were preparing to hold their first state rally at the Alabama State Capitol. Then on through the other states.

A statement on NAACP.org describes: “Each morning, AJFJ march participants will have breakfast at the meeting locations and then board buses which will take them to the starting point of the march for that day. Boxed lunches will be provided for the marchers along the route. At the end of each day's march, participants will board the buses and return to the meeting locations. Dinner will be provided at the meeting locations at 7:30 p.m., and will be followed by the teach-in for that evening…That's 46 days of old-school marching. That's 860 miles for freedom and dignity. That's 1.7 MILLION steps towards justice.”

Brooks says the intent is not only to influence Congressional legislation, but the current and future White House as dozens of candidates line up with hopes to succeed President Obama and the debate season has begun.

“So we come to Washington, streaming by the thousands across the 14^th Street Bridge on the 15^th of Sept., we meet that evening for a massive rally and service where we inspire the folks, who have been not only inspired but educated," Brooks envisions. "And then the next day on the 16^th, we have an advocacy day where we take thousands of people through the halls of Congress asking for specific reform, marching under the theme that says our Lives, Our Votes, Our Jobs and Our Schools Matter.”

One Year Later, He Lives: Michael Brown and #Black Lives Matter Movement by Frederick H. Lowe

Aug. 4, 2015

One Year Later, He Lives

Michael Brown and #Black Lives Matter Movement. He was shot to death nearly a year ago.

By Frederick H. Lowe

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Michael Brown

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Nearly a year ago, an unarmed Michael Brown was shot to death by Darren Wilson, a White cop, but Brown’s death hasn’t been forgotten even though Wilson has been cleared by state and federal officials of the deadly shooting, signaling the case is closed.

Brown’s death along with the deaths of other unarmed Black men at the hands of the police or people, who act like the police, gave traction to the #Black Lives Matter movement, which challenges and raises awareness about how police treat Black men and Black women in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Recently in Toronto, Canada, #Black Lives Matter protesters shut down the city’s two busiest expressways after police killed two black men.

Brown’s death at the hands of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Wilson, sparked days of peaceful and violent protests in the St. Louis suburb and dramatic changes in the majority White Ferguson police department that patrolled the streets of the mostly Black town.
Police rolled out heavy military equipment to scare the protesters, but the armored personnel carriers and other heavy military equipment did more to shock people that police would use military hardware against their fellow citizens. Brown, who was 18, was shot to death August 7, 2014, by Wilson when the two got into a fight after Brown ignored Wilson’s command to stop walking in the middle of the street.

Police allowed Brown’s body to lie in the street for hours and many black Ferguson residents saw it as a sign of disrespect. When his body was finally removed, some residents placed flowers and balloons at the location to honor him.

The site, however, wasn’t a memorial; it was a volcano that spewed out over White city hall and police officials. U.S. Justice Department Officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., traveled to Ferguson and talked with the city’s residents. The Justice Department also issued two comprehensive reports.

One report told how the police were nothing more than a collections’ agency, targeting Black residents for traffic tickets so the city could raise revenue. Black drivers accounted for 85 percent of traffic tickets although they comprised 67 percent of the city’s population.
The Justice Department also discussed how white city officials and police officers talked about Black Ferguson residents in the most-racist terms.

As a result, many White city officials and police officers were forced to resign, some with tears in their eyes because they couldn’t immediately find jobs. They declared and believed they weren’t racist although their comments said otherwise.
Wilson also left the police force. He is profiled in this week’s issue of The New Yorker.

Recently, Ferguson hired Andre Anderson as interim police chief, replacing Thomas Jackson, who was police chief when Brown was killed. Anderson is Black, and he wants the police department to reflect its citizens.

White Americans Want Harsh Laws to Fight ‘Black Crime’

August 3, 2015

White Americans Want Harsh Laws to Fight ‘Black Crime’
White people are more likely to support harsher laws if they think prison populations are disproportionately Black

By Dan Stober

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Although African-Americans constitute only 12 percent of America’s population, they represent 40 percent of the nation’s prison inmates.

Stanford University researchers Rebecca Hetey and Jennifer Eberhardt found that when White people were told about these racial disparities, they reported being more afraid of crime and more likely to support the kinds of punitive policies that exacerbate the racial disparities.

The expansion of harsh policies—such as California’s Three Strikes law and similar measures by other states—has led the United States to have the largest per-capita prison population in the world.

“Most people likely assume this must be due to rising crime rates, but the explosion in the prison population is better explained by harsh criminal justice policies,” says Hetey, a postdoctoral scholar and the lead author on the study.

Real-life test

Hetey and Eberhardt, an associate professor of psychology, wanted to know whether making White people aware of racial disparities in incarceration would bolster or diminish their support for draconian policies.

Their first experiment unfolded at a train station near San Francisco. A white female researcher asked 62 White voters to watch a video containing mug shots of male inmates. Some of the participants saw a video in which 25 percent of the mug shots were of Black men, while others saw a video in which the percentage of Black men among the mug shots rose to 45 percent.

The participants then had an opportunity to sign a real petition aimed at easing the severity of California’s three-strikes law.

“It seemed like a great opportunity—a real-life political issue—to test this question of whether blacker prison populations lead people to accept these more punitive policies,” Eberhardt says.

The results were clear. Over half of the participants who’d seen the mug shots with fewer black men signed the petition, whereas only 27 percent of people who viewed the mug shots containing a higher percentage of black inmates agreed to sign. This was the case regardless of how harsh participants thought the law was.

Stop-and-frisk policy

To determine whether fear of crime might explain these findings, Hetey and Eberhardt conducted a second experiment.

In 2012, the New York City Police Department detained people more than 500,000 times under the city’s controversial stop-and-frisk law. Of that total, 55 percent were African-American. For their experiment, Hetey and Eberhardt showed 164 white New Yorkers statistics about the prison population.

The New York residents read about black inmates either in terms of the national incarceration rate (40 percent of prisoners are black) or the New York City rate (60 percent.) Next, they were asked about their support for the stop-and-frisk policy.

About 33 percent of the participants who saw the lower national statistic were willing to sign a petition to end the policy. But only 12 percent of those who saw the higher city rate of black incarceration were willing to sign the petition.

Participants who saw the higher rate of black incarceration were more likely to report concern over crime, which was associated with reluctance to sign the petition.

Social activists or policymakers trying to fight inequality often use statistical evidence to motivate people to join their cause. In light of this study, that strategy may backfire.

“Many legal advocates and social activists seem to assume that bombarding the public with images, statistics, and other evidence of racial disparities will motivate people to join the cause and fight inequality,” Hetey says. “But we found that, ironically, exposure to extreme racial disparities may make the public less, and not more, responsive to attempts to lessen the severity of policies that help maintain those disparities.”

“Our research shows that numbers don’t always speak for themselves,” Eberhardt says. “Reducing inequality takes more than simply presenting people with evidence of extreme inequality.”

Dan Stober is director of academic news and media relations at Stanford University.