Sept. 30, 2013

Court Orders Sale of Slavery Museum
By Jeremy M. Lazarus

L. Douglas Wilder

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - What is the status of the National Slavery Museum that former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has spent more than 10 years trying to build on a 38-acre site in Fredericksburg, Va.? Still undeveloped and now facing city sale of the land for back taxes.

Circuit Judge Joseph J. Ellis has now handed Fredericksburg a victory by issuing an order allowing the city toseize and sell the property. The city has been seeking to do so to collect more than $300,000 in unpaid taxes it claims the never-built museum has amassed since 2007.

Judge Ellis issued his ruling at a hearing in Caroline County, where he was sitting. He did so after being informed that a potential deal for a private sale of the museum’s land had fallen through.

Wilder had been in negotiations with a developer seeking to build a minor-league ballpark and sports complex on the site that overlooks the Rappahannock River. After getting close, the deal fell apart before the hearing, the judge was told. Judge Ellis’ decision though, is unlikely to be the last word in this more than two-year-old tax dispute between the city and the museum that Wilder says he is still committed to develop.

The city has not yet set a date to auction the property. At this point, the museum has at least four ways to halt any sale. It can appeal Judge Ellis’ order, it can sell the property for at least enough to cover the city’s bill, it can refile for protection of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court or it can retain the land and pay off the city’s tax bill, even though that could be inflated.

“All of our options remain open,” said Joseph D. Morrissey, a state delegate who represents the museum. He said he would consult with Wilder, now a co-counsel, on the next step the museum would take to protect its property interest. He said Wilder told Judge Ellis during the hearing that the museum was prepared to pay the city’s tax bill “if the city would just tell him how much was actually owed” from 2007 to 2013.

Morrissey said the question of how much is due is the result of a dispute over the property’s value. The city valued the property at more than $7 million in 2007, but has since reappraised the land for $1.7 million due to deed restrictions and the recession.

The judge refused to hold up the city’s tax-sale request until there is a decision in a separate case the museum has filed against the city seeking a correction of the tax bill based on the city’s finding the land is worth far less than originally thought. Nor would the judge order the city to provide the museum with an updated tax bill, Morrissey said.

Instead, the judge said that the museum’s only choice was to pay off the amount the city wants and then seek a refund if the museum believes it is being overcharged.

“In our view, that is just wrong. The museum should not be required to pay excessive taxes and then seek a refund,” Morrissey said, noting that the state Constitution bars localities from trying to collect higher tax amounts from property owners than are legitimately due. Wilder could not immediately be reached for comment.

Morrissey said Wilder asked him after the hearing, “‘How can a man’s property be seized when no one can tell him what the value of the property is or how much is owed in taxes.’ That is the crux of this case.”

Sept. 30, 2013

Keep Hope Alive With a New War on Poverty
By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.  

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Only a couple of weeks ago, as the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful “I Have a Dream” speech, I was reminded of the Rev. King’s last birthday, in January 1968.

He combined it with work — a staff meeting, planning for the multiracial Poor People’s March, where we made plans to occupy the National Mall. He spoke to us of the need to march to demand an end to the War in Vietnam and to push for a full commitment to the War on Poverty.

Four-and-a-half decades later — the U.S. Census Bureau has now reported that “the nation’s official poverty rate in 2012 was 15.0 percent, which represents 46.5 million people living at or below the poverty line.” That’s up from 46.2 million in 2011, and translates to a poverty rate of 15 percent — one out of every seven Americans.

The Census Bureau says that number includes about 16 million children and almost 4 million seniors. Is anybody listening? The Census Bureau reported that median household income also dropped. As Reuters summarized it, “While the Standard and Poor’s 500 index gained 16 percent on a total return basis last year . . . median household income slipped to $51,017 from of $51,100 in 2011.” Is anybody listening? Or as Bill Moyers puts it on his web site: “That number may sound familiar to anyone who remembers George H.W. Bush’s first year as president. . . . because household income in 2012 is similar to what it was in 1989.”

The Census Bureau report was released on the second anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which drove the issue of inequality in America into public debate. Unfortunately, House Republicans continue to try to head the nation the wrong way down austerity’s one-way street. Their latest act of meanness?

The GOP-dominated House voted to cut $40 billion out of food stamps over the next 10 years! The Center for American Progress (CAP) had the details: “In a party-line vote, 217 House Republicans voted to cut $40 billion from the food stamps program.” In a press release titled “Reverse Robin Hood,” CAP continued: “The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Thursday’s cuts will bump 3.8 million off the program next year, with an additional 2.8 million losing them each year on average over the next decade. Additionally, an estimated 210,000 children will lose access to free school lunch programs and 55,000 jobs will be lost in the first year of cuts alone.”

This is not a War on Poverty, but a War on the Poor! Is anybody listening? Perhaps not in Washington, where the collusion with Wall Street has created a 1 percent economy. As Berkeley professor Emmanuel Saez’s new study shows, “the top 1 percent captured 95 percent of the income gains in the first three years of the recovery.”

Ninety-five percent of the gains to the top 1 percent. That’s just not right. Here’s a good example of how such outrageous greed works. Earlier this month, Vodafone agreed to sell its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, to the tune of $130 billion. To quote Barron’s, “As it happens, the dividend will be eligible for preferential tax treatment.”

Of course it will — the 1 percent writes the rules. Barron’s also noted: “The Vodafone group will incur only about $5 billion in U.S. taxes on the transaction, or just about 4 percent.” You don’t say. Not a single African-American, Latino, or female bond firm will share in the $265 million in fees generated from the mammoth $49 billion bond offering Verizon will use to fund the cash portion of the transaction. And the deal was government approved.

But the poor did get some good news this week. It sounds like Pope Francis has been listening, has heard the cries of the poor. When asked what he wished for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis replied in a way that gave me great hope: “ . . . the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. . . . Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. . . . And you have to start from the ground up.” Unfortunately, as writer Steven Rosenfeld pointed out, the “House GOP didn’t get the pope’s memo before slashing food stamps.”

These cuts must be blocked. Even better, we could honor Dr. King and the March on Washington with a new War on Poverty. Keep hope alive.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. is president/CEO of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

See more at: http://rainbowpush.org/commentaries/single/keep_hope_alive_with_a_new_war_on_poverty#sthash.yBhEFnIw.dpuf

Sept. 30, 2013

Evelyn Lowery, Champion of Human/Women's Rights, Succumbs
By David Stokes and Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - America’s civil rights community is in mourning this week upon the death of Evelyn Gibson Lowery, 88, wife of civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery, who was a heroine in her own right.

"My beloved Evelyn was a special woman whose life was committed to service, especially around issues of empowering women.  She was a wonderful mother and wife, and I thank God that she didn't suffer any pain, and that I was blessed having her as my partner, my confidante and my best friend for close to 70 years," Rev. Lowery said in an article published by the Atlanta Inquirer. "I will miss her each and every day, but as a man of faith, I know that she is with her God.  My entire family has been overwhelmed by the continuous outpourings of love, support and prayers that have come from across the country, and we ask for your continued prayers over the next few days."

Mrs. Lowery, founder and board chair of SCLC/WOMEN (Women's Organizational Movement for Equality Now), Inc., died Thursday, Sept. 26, while resting at their southwest Atlanta home after suffering a massive stroke. She had left a local hospital after doctors asserted there was nothing more medically that could be done for her.

The schedule of events to celebrate her life and legacy this week included a public viewing on Monday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 9 pm. at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road in Atlanta. The homegoing celebration was slated for Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. Wednesday’s viewing was scheduled for 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The celebration will begin at 11 a.m.

The outpouring of statements in her memory began immediately upon the news of her death.

“Evelyn, the beloved wife of Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery impacted numerous lives,” said Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “She held a deep passion for empowering women and was a staunch advocate for women, children and families.  Against many odds, she, and her husband, Rev. Lowery, were indeed leaders and foot soldiers in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.  Unafraid and unbowed, they fought together for justice and equality during some of the most tumultuous times in Alabama, marched for voting rights as Selma to Montgomery March participant, and were arrested for protesting against South African Apartheid and the dumping of toxic waste in North Carolina.”

Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP board of directors, said, “Evelyn Lowery’s leadership was essential to the longevity and power behind the movement for equality. Ms. Lowery was a drum major for justice in her own right. Her spirit lives on in the initiatives she founded and in the activists she mentored across the nation.”

NAACP President/CEO Ben Jealous said, “Ms. Lowery’s foresight and leadership pushed the envelope of what organizations like the SCLC and the NAACP could do for women and families. Her legacy lives on in the coalitions she built and the strong foundation she laid. She was a hero and will be truly missed.”

Melanie L. Campbell, convener of the Black Women's Roundtable, described her as a “visionary founder and leader of the SCLC W.O.M.E.N., devoted wife and partner of Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, mother and a mentor to countless women and girls across the country.”

Campbell, also president/CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, stressed that Mrs. Lowery’s work focused largely on women, but was on behalf of people across the nation.

"The nation has lost a great leader and advocate for civil rights, women's rights, human rights and social justice for all people…We will 'never forget to remember' Mrs. Evelyn Gibson Lowery's legacy by continuing to do the work every day fighting for the empowerment of women and girls to achieve equal rights economically, educationally and politically now and for future generations."

For more than one-half century, Mrs. Lowery assisted in advancing the cause of women and the African-American family unit, in particular, as well as mankind, in general, alongside her husband within the civil rights movement's era that began in 1955 Alabama.  Throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s, Mrs. Lowery championed the cause and promoted women's rights within the movement, as well as worked alongside her husband with the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), co-founded by Rev. Lowery, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

Although SCLC/WOMEN, Inc. was formed in 1979, Mrs. Lowery, 16 years later in 1995, led in the rehabilitation of the present SCLC/WOMEN's headquarters where she coordinated various programs and initiatives to benefit women and the family unit, as well as remember stalwart activists who rendered the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of justice and equality within the movement.  Mrs. Lowery will be remembered as the champion and creator of several signature initiatives, including SCLC/WOMEN's annual "Drum Major for Justice" awards dinner, held every April 4, in commemoration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to recognize individuals of various professions carrying out the objectives of Dr. King of justice, equality and peace.

The annual awards dinner was initially presented in 1980.  Another annual event was the Evelyn Gibson Lowery African-American Civil Rights Heritage Tour, held every first weekend in March.  The Heritage Tour is a weekend junket by students, led by Mrs. Lowery, to learn of various civil rights sites throughout Alabama in which activists held to advance the cause of freedom and justice, as well as acknowledge those activists who rendered their lives which ultimately led to the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In lieu of flowers, contributions Can be sent to SCLC/WOMEN, Inc., Evelyn G. Lowery Civil Rights Heritage Educational Tour, 328 Auburn Avenue, NE Atlanta, Ga., 30303 or Joseph E. Lowery Institute P.O. Box 92801 Atlanta, Ga. 30314

In January 1998, as her husband retired as the longest serving president/CEO of SCLC, Mrs. Lowery remained on guard as SCLC/WOMEN's leader, ready to continue the work "that was left to do.  There is much more to be accomplished; so many successes have taken place over the years, yet, so many more are still coming.  We must remain on course, stand and work vigilantly, and witness the rewards of our labor for the cause of freedom, justice and peace," Mrs. Lowery said at the time.

Mrs. Lowery, age 88, was the mother of Yvonne, Karen, Cheryl, respectively, as well as a loving grandmother and great-grandmother. She was also known as a friend to all who supported and worked for the cause of peace, justice and equality.

David Stokes is associate editor of the Atlanta Inquirer.

Sept. 29, 2013

The Un-United States of America
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress struggled to develop a document that would provide the structure for the first government of the United States.  On November 15, 1777, the representatives of the 13 original colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation.  It provided structure for a loose association of independent states, enabling them to cooperate on specific matters while maintaining individual state sovereignty.

The Articles of Confederation failed for a number of reasons.  Among those reasons were the inability of the national government to tax, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, and provide for central leadership.

One major event that signaled the failings of the Articles was Shay’s Rebellion, an armed uprising that took place in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. Daniel Shay, a Revolutionary War veteran and Massachusetts farmer was being forced into foreclosure on his farm as the state raised taxes and interest rates to cover its war debt.  Shay and fellow protesters shut down county courts to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection. The government’s inability to deal with the issues leading up to the rebellion signaled a break down in order and signaled that a new structure was needed.  The country was becoming ungovernable.

Today, 226 years later, American’s face yet another threatened shutdown of the government but this time there’s a difference.  Shay’s Rebellion was an uprising led by a small band of citizens against the established order, the government.  Today, the anticipated shutdown is being led by a small band of elected officials who are more focused on their narrow political ideology than operating in the best interest of the American people. They are also willing to misrepresent the facts and lie to the American people to make their case. Congress’ unwillingness to work with the executive branch and its inability to pass legislation is a clear indication that once again, the country is becoming ungovernable.

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a bill linking the continued funding of the government to the unrelated defunding of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the poster boy for the conservative opposition to the ACA.  He has called the ACA a “glitch-riddled healthcare takeover that is killing jobs, wages, and health-care benefits all across the nation.”  It’s not a takeover of health-care; it’s a change to health insurance which provides greater access to care for the previously uninsured.  Why are Republicans opposed to expanding healthcare to more Americans and willing to shut down the government in order to prevent it?

According to fact checking by USA Today, Cruz’s diatribe on the Senate floor was filled with outright lies. For example, Cruz falsely claimed that the spouses of 15,000 UPS employees will be "left without health insurance" and forced into "an exchange with no employer subsidy." UPS is dropping coverage for spouses only if they can get insurance with their own employer. Cruz also cited an outdated quote from Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, to back up his claim that Obamacare is slowing job growth. Zandi told us the slowdown in job growth at small businesses is "no longer the case."

Even Senator John McCain (R-AZ) took issue with Cruz.  He called it “extended oratory” and took issue with Cruz’s reference to Nazi Germany.

House speaker Boehner has stated, “"The American people don't want a government shutdown and they don't want Obamacare...The House has listened to the American people…Now is the time for the U. S. Senate to listen to them as well."  The problem with Boehner’s statement is that it is just not supported by the facts. For example, CNBC released a poll earlier this week showing Americans oppose defunding the new health care by a 44 percent to 38 percent margin and strongly opposed defunding 59 percent to 19 percent, if it means shutting down the government. Not to mention the fact that health care reform was a significant plank in President Obama’s platform in both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. He won convincingly both times.

Senator McCain addressed the previous point by saying, "the people spoke" and still reelected President Barack Obama in 2012. Lawmakers shouldn't "give up our efforts to repair Obamacare" McCain said, but said it wasn't worth shutting down the government. "We fought as hard as we could in a fair and honest manner and we lost…”

These are the same people who two weeks ago under the direction of the House majority leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA), pushed through a bill that slashes $40 billion from the food stamp program over the next 10 years and limits the time recipients can get benefits to three months. Cutting food stamps at a time when, according to Bread for the World, 14.5 percent of American households struggle to put food on the table? More than one in four American children are at risk of hunger? Senate Democrats have pledged to not pass this bill and President Obama has promised to veto the bill if it comes across his desk.

Cantor’s bill would also require adults between 18 and 50 without minor children to find a job or to enroll in a work-training program in order to receive benefits.  This, at a time when according to Census Bureau statistics there are11.3 million unemployed persons and the unemployment rate at 7.3 percent, changed little in August?  Lest we forget, Cantor and his cronies are also leading the charge to cut funding for job training programs.

The Ted Cruz’s and Eric Cantor’s of the world are the modern day Daniel Shay.  The difference is Shay led a populist movement of citizen’s who’s way of life was being threatened by the government.  Cruz, Cantor, and their band of Tea Party political terrorists are holding Americans hostage and using the American government against the American people; making the United States of America, un-united and ungovernable.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirisu/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com  © 2013 InfoWave Communications, LLC