June 22, 2014

The Face of Economic Recovery
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - From its June 18-19 meeting, the Federal Reserve is hedging its bets.  It says the US economy is on the mend, but more slowly than expected.  They’ve reduced their estimate for economic growth and say that it will take a year or more to get to where we were six years ago.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has offered a starker forecast.  Expected growth for the United States is about 3 percent, a level considered “normal” and “in recovery”.  They projected something right above two percent earlier this year.  Now they say the United States economy will grow at about 1.9 percent, below robust recovery, and that it will take until 20187 to get the labor market back on track.

Meanwhile, the stock market seems to signal a healthy recovery, and surveys of human resource professionals say that more employers are offering signing and retention bonuses to get the best employees and to keep them.  Obviously the nearly 10 million people that are unemployed aren’t being offered any kind of bonuses.  Most of them just want work.  That’s not to mention the 3.4 million people who have not worked in half a year or more.  Bonus?  Please.

The economic recovery is as bifurcated as our economic reality has always been.  The Occupy folks estimated it in a way that galvanized energy and spoke some truth.  Does the top one percent of our population get all the benefits of economic growth?  Just about.  One of the most telling statistics deals with race and recovery.  Aggregately, whites and Asians Americans have fully recovered from economic shortfalls, African Americans have seen their wealth rebound by only 45 percent.  They have lost 55 percent of wealth, bearing a disproportionate burden from this recovery.

When we parse the data by class, we learn that President Obama’s focus on the middle class leaves the poor where they have always been – at the periphery of economic progress.  Until the job markets open up at entry level, instead of providing opportunities for the middle class and more, the recovery will not trickle down.  Meanwhile, there are members of Congress who truly believe that the unemployed are jobless because they want to be.  These are folks who apparently refuse to read the data about the search for work.

What does economic recovery look like? It looks like vibrancy.  It looks like people joyfully working.  It looks like people who spend, if not freely, certainly less cautiously.  They don’t have to run an algorithm in their brain before they decide that their child can have an ice cream cone.  It means being able to put a few pennies aside for college possibilities.  It means having a moment to exhale.

For all the talk of Wall Street exuberance and economic recovery, there are millions who are still waiting to exhale.  While we mostly focus oh the officially unemployed, the equally pressing concern is about those who are underemployed, working part time when they want to work full time. All of these folks are in the job search mix, and they are too often the people we ignore.

In many ways this is also a “race matters” narrative.  Economic recovery looks great for some, good for others, and absolutely dismal for those at the bottom.  The unofficial unemployment rate among African Americans remains at someplace near 25 percent.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics won’t measure that, because then they will have to report the economic failure inherent in this so-called economic recovery.

Julianne Malveaux is a DC based economist and author.

Ruby Dee - Iconic Actress, Civil Rights Activist - Dead at 91

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Ruby Dee, the iconic, Emmy-winning actress, renowned for her civil rights leadership as much as her stage and screen talent, died June 11 in her New Rochelle N. Y. home at the age of 91.

A revered role model in Black America, she received honors and accolades this week from national civil rights leaders to the President of the United States.

“Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of actress, author, and activist Ruby Dee,” writes President Obama in a statement. “In roles from Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun to Mama Lucas in American Gangster, Ruby captivated and challenged us – and Michelle and I will never forget seeing her on our first date as Mother Sister in Do the Right Thing.

“Through her remarkable performances, Ruby paved the way for generations of black actors and actresses, and inspired African-American women across our country.  Through her leadership in the civil rights movement she and her husband, Ossie Davis, helped open new doors of opportunity for all.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Ruby and Ossie’s three children, with their friends and family, and with all those who loved them dearly.”

Her 56-year marriage to actor/playwright Ossie Davis, who preceded her in death, was admired deeply as much for their mutual civil rights leadership as for their enduring romance. He was the eulogist for Malcolm X.

Ruby Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 27, 1922. While  defying racial stereotypes she climbed to the top in her movie and Broadway careers. She was nominated for the Academy for her role in “American Gangster” among a string of other awards in her stellar career.

In 1963, Ruby Dee served as mistress of ceremonies for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom alongside her husband and in 1965 she became the first Black actress to play a leading role in the American Shakespeare Festival as Kate in “The Taming of the Shrew” and Cordelia in “King Lear.”

“Today we lost a true gem in the civil rights and entertainment community,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors. “With a career spanning seven decades and numerous achievements – including being an NAACP Spingarn recipient in 2008, Ruby Dee blazed a trail for African American artists by advocating for racial equality in the performing arts.  She was a courageous and fearless activist, who tirelessly committed herself to social, economic and political causes, including emceeing the historic 1963 March on Washington. Ms. Dee will be deeply missed; but her contributions and legacy will live with us forever.”

Interim NAACP President/CEO Lorraine C. Miller said, “In a career spanning seven decades, Ms. Dee will be forever known as a powerhouse in the performing arts community and in the arena of civil rights. In recognition of her commitment to making the dream of equality and justice a reality for all.”

On the world stage as an actress, she also became a symbol of civil rights and racial justice. Because of her contributions, she was a speaker at the funerals of both Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Ruby Dee was a phenomenally rare artist and a jewel to our nation and community,” said Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network. “I was privileged to work on several civil rights cases with her and her husband Ossie Davis. She was as committed to social justice as she was to the screen and stage. She will be greatly missed.”

Week of Non-Violence: Group Expresses 'Outrage', Demands Action Against America's Homicide Rate
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The total is 12,765. That was the number of murder victims across the U. S. in the year 2012, the most recent official count from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That number for one year is nearly twice the total number of American troops who have died in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan put together – approximately 7,000.

Of those 12,765 murder victims, approximately 1,100 were children under the age of 18. Sixty-five of the victims were between 9 and 12 years old. Ninety-six of the victims were between 5 and 8 years old. About 260 were between 1 and 4 and about 144 were just infants under the age of 1. African-Americans, at only 13 percent of America's population, made up more than 50 percent of the 2012 homicide victims.

But, one little girl who was struck by a bullet May 20 and is still recovering has sparked a movement by asking why she was shot. The story of 6-year-old Khalia, who fled despite being shot in the left leg while playing on a playground among 20 other children in the North West area of the nation’s capital, caused Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds to convince Black Women for Positive Change (BW4PC), to take action by calling for a “National Week of Non-violence” August 16-23.

“We cannot turn our eyes away. We cannot act like this question has not been raised. We have to say that we are here and that we will be here standing strong and standing long until we get some answers,” said Reynolds, a renowned journalist and BW4PC chaplain at a press conference June 16.

Standing in sweltering mid-morning heat on another North West D.C. playground with dozens of children playing only yards away, Reynolds and other BW4PC members and associates, vowed to do everything possible to make a difference in the nation’s homicide rate.

“We are really outraged. I think that sums up how we feel and why we’re standing here in the heat,” said Dr. Stephanie E. Myers, national co-chair of BW4PC. “We are outraged because every day you turn on the news, the first thing you hear is about another beautiful young person with potential and promise being shot or mowed down.”

Despite community uprising and outrage over homicide rates for decades, Myers said, there can never be enough until the violence ends. Standing alongside police officers and representatives of the Jewish and Islamic communities, she said the goal of the national week of non-violence will be to start changing “the culture of violence in America” which she said has largely become accepted and played out through television programs watched by children as well as in video games, movies and the entertainment industries. 

“We [as a nation] applaud guns for whatever reasons,” she said. “We want every American, every mom every dad every aunt, every grandmother to get real and realize our 6-year-old boys and girls deserve to be able to go on a playground and not get shot. We are outraged…Hip hoppers, rappers, bloggers, we’re talking to you too. Gang members, people out here who are returning from prison, we’re talking to you too. If you have been incarcerated, your child is at risk.”

Between August 16-23, Myers said the organization is asking individuals and organizations to host an anti-violence event to help teach young people the power of non-violence. Noting that the event could be big or small, Myers said it could be just a dinner party, back yard, park, or playground conversation. The point is to educate, she said. She added that she also wants legislation on gun control, mental health issues as well as opportunities for training in conflict resolution.

She issued a statement listing about three dozen elected officials across the nation who have issued proclamations for a “National Day of Non-violence” August 22. They include Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.; Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. The list also includes Mayors Vincent Gray of D.C.; Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia.

Assistant U. S. Attorney of D.C. Leutrell Osborne II and Alexandria, Va. Mayor William Euille, also attended the press conference.

“Just because we don’t have the problem in Alexandria doesn’t mean we won’t have it in the near future. So when we all collaborate as partners and work together, we address this issue and we would solve it,” said Euille. He said he would continue to lobby the U. S. Conference of mayors to spread the word during its upcoming annual convention, starting in Dallas June 20.  “I was one of the first members as a mayor to sign onto the U. S. Conference of Mayors’ illegal gun initiative back in 2007 and have continued to work with the organization against non-violence."

Unity and respect in spite of differences appeared to be the over-riding theme expressed by participants at the press conference.

“Let’s turn this culture around. Let’s change this culture of violence. We can do it,” encouraged Rabbi Batya Steinlauf, director of social justice and interfaith initiatives at the Jewish Community and Relations Council. “We must make it clear that violence is not a norm. We will not accept this in our society. We are better than that. We are more than that.”

Muslim Imam Talib Shareef, president of the Nation’s Mosque Majid Muhammad, made it clear that the Week of Non-violence is not only focused on street crime but domestic violence and bullying. “We say in many prayers now, ‘thy will be done’ God’s will is for us to have peace and move away from violence. Coming together will begin to do that,” he said.

Marcus Hughes, a youth advisor for the DC Branch of the NAACP said he is working to spread the word throughout the NAACP’s Youth and College Division as well as high schools and youth centers “about thinking twice before they act and about the consequences of their actions.”

DC Police Offers Douglas Berin and Derrick Ferguson also attended the announcement.

Berin said he can attest that change can be made with efforts by bigger police presence and community involvement.  He said the playground area where the press conference was held “was basically an open-air drug market” at one point. But, now, “It’s changed a lot and a lot safer place to be.”

Ferguson stood at the conference as both a law enforcer and a person who has known the emotional pain of crime and violence. On Dec. 9, 2012, his daughter 20-year-old Selina Brown was killed in a domestic violence incident as she attempted to board a Metro Bus. Her daughter in her arms, not even 2 years old, was also shot and is still recovering.  The shooter was the child’s father, Javon Foster, who then fled to New York and committed suicide, Ferguson said.

“It’s really trying because she has a lot of psychological issues pertaining to abandonment. She witnessed it because she was facing her father when it happened,” he said. “We do speaking engagement so she’ll know what we stand for…During the National Week of Non-violence we will do a different speaking engagement for every day of that week. We want to eliminate meaningless violence all together.”

This is the kind of scene that happens far too often across the nation, says Myers. She said BW4PC is sharing a special video that can be played to start conversations during the Week of Non-Violence. The educational video, titled “On Second Thought”, can be found on the organization’s website at www.blackwomenforpositivechange.org.

“America knows the power of non-violence because of Dr. Martin Luther King. And Africa knows about the power of non-violence because of President Nelson Mandela, and the whole world knew about Mahatma Gandhi,” Myers said. “Let’s get business people. We have to teach our children about, non-violent conflict resolution and anger management. You can be angry with someone, but you don’t have to shoot them!”