Urban News Features

Marching in Place By James Clingman

July 14, 2014

Blackonomics

Marching in Place
By James Clingman

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As we draw nearer to one of the most relevant events in history, an event that has been revered and immortalized by the iconic phrase, “I have a dream!” hundreds of thousands of people are preparing to relive the famous March on Washington. August 28, 1963 was the day that a quarter million people descended on the National Mall and heard Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his timeless speech that began with an economic theme and ended with a rousing, thought-provoking, soulful call for freedom and equality.

Many people are excited about marching once again to commemorate that day in 1963, to restate MLK’s dream, and hear speeches from civil rights icons. In the last 50 years Black folks have organized more marches than I care to remember. And now we march again, not only to commemorate, but also to demonstrate the failure of our society to fulfill King’s dream.

When W.E.B. DuBois departed this country for Africa, according to Gerald Horne, Black and Red: W.E.B. DuBois and the Afro-American Response to the Cold War, he lamented, “I just cannot take any more of this country’s treatment. We leave for Ghana October 5^th and I set no date for my return…Chin up, and fight on, but realize that American Negroes can’t win.” DuBois died on August 27, 1963, just one day prior to the famous March on Washington, thus, never getting the news about the 250,000 participants and never hearing King’s words of accountability, admonishment, and idealism. I wonder what he would have thought about that day and what he would have suggested we do from that point forward. Keep marching for 50 years? I kinda doubt it.

A half century later we are steeped in the same emotional quandary we started with in 1963; we are bombarded by calls to come back to Washington to repeat what took place in 1963; and we are teaching our children about that day and telling them to “keep the dream alive,” to “relive the dream,” to “redeem the dream,” and to go back and march with us 50 years later.

Have we been marching in place all this time? Should we still be doing the same thing we did back then to highlight the same issues and to convince the same entrenched government and society to accept us as “equal”? Marching in place has taken us nowhere, which is hardly a revelation. By definition, as we learned in the military, it is not supposed to move people forward; rather it is supposed to keep them active, keep their metabolism rate up, and keep their attention right where they happen to be while marching in place. It’s how a “commander” controls his troops while making them expend energy, maybe to tire them out before they are allowed to sleep. Sound familiar?

We have been ordered to march in place for years, only to make us weary and tired, which has caused us to go back to sleep after every march. We slept after we marched in Selma, in Birmingham, in Mississippi, in Chicago, in Harlem, in Washington with a million plus Black men, and after we marched to Jena, Louisiana; Jasper, Texas; and Sanford, Florida. We marched to the polls and voted for Barack Obama, and went back sleep. Now we have awakened once again “fired up and ready to go” do what the President suggested a couple of years ago, "Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes…"

If our history of marching is any indicator, after we march this time we will go back to sleep a short while afterwards. So what’s the point? Here’s how Dr. Claud Anderson recently put it: “Blacks have been marching for centuries and have barely moved an inch. Marching does not injure the majority society. In fact, it does just the opposite. Black marches reward those who are kicking our butts. Blacks spend millions of dollars on hotels, airlines, restaurants, clothing stores, rental cars, and cabs while attending a march.”

I say we have been marching in place. Instead, we should be marching to our businesses and supporting them, marching to our banks and depositing our funds, marching to our schools to educate our youth, marching through our “hoods” and turning them back into neighborhoods and then into real communities. Let’s march to our churches and form Collective Empowerment Group Chapters across this country.

Stop being “treadmill activists.” And, in light of MLK dying while fighting for an economic cause, if you are going to march in Washington this year, at least fill up at a Black owned gas station, stay at a Black owned hotel, eat at a Black owned restaurant, and charter a bus from a Black owned company. I can hear the moaning, groaning, and excuses now. Sorry for my cynicism, but I wrote the same thing in 1995 prior to the Million Man March.

While we are counting our people at the marches, others will be counting their profits from the marches.

An Economic Divide is Growing in Our Cities By Jesse Jackson

July 14, 2013

An Economic Divide is Growing in Our Cities
By Jesse Jackson

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - What is the plan for our nation’s cities? Are they simply to simmer with a growing divide between the affluent financial district and the impoverished slums? Will another generation be lost while we wait for the inevitable explosions? The gulf between the realities of our cities and the foolishness of our politics has seldom been wider.

Consider gun violence. Over the Fourth of July weekend, Chicago surpassed 200 homicide deaths for the year. On that weekend alone, 10 people were killed and several dozen wounded in gun violence, including 5- and 7-year-old boys. The only grim salvation in the savage toll is that the city’s year-to-date homicide rate is rising at a somewhat slower rate than last year.

While this goes on, the Illinois state Legislature is gearing up to overturn the state’s ban on carrying concealed weapons. The last of its kind, the concealed-weapons ban was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court. Somehow, the conservative justices concluded that the Second Amendment, which provided constitutional protection for state militias, now prohibits citizens from deciding to ban concealed weapons as part of cracking down on gun violence. The gulf between the reality on the ground and the crackpot ideology of the right-wing activist judges could not be greater.

Consider the economy. The youth unemployment rate in the U.S. is the highest it’s been since World War II. The Center for Labor Market Studies reports that 72 percent of Illinois teenagers —ages 16-19 — are unemployed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that less than 16 percent of black teenagers are employed. The official unemployment rate for African-American teenagers — which doesn’t count those forced to take part-time jobs or who have given up — stood at 43.6 percent in June, according to the BLS.

This is a human and national calamity. An entire generation of young people is coming out of school and ending up on the streets or on a couch in their parents’ home.

Yet at the national level, Washington and Wall Street are telling us that this calamity — a deep and enduring depression in our urban areas — is the “new normal.” The Congress is cutting jobs, not taking action to create them. In Illinois, those on unemployment are suffering a 16.8 percent cut in benefits. The gulf between the elite politics in Washington and the realities facing young people in our urban areas could not be greater.

None of this is inevitable. None of it is an act of God. These realities are the result of policy choices, of values and power expressed in policy. This cannot continue without a reckoning. If we choose not to invest in the young, we will pay dearly as they grow older. If we choose to starve the schools of poor children of color, we will suffer when they become adults without skills. If we choose to let companies stash profits abroad without taxes, we will lack the resources we need to build a strong economy at home.

What is clear is that Wall Street, Washington and the conservative judges feel that they can embrace this new normal without paying any price. These policies will not be changed by those who profit from them. They will only be changed if those who are victimized by them make it clear that they will not “adjust and accept.” The young, the unemployed, the poor, the abandoned urban communities must make their voices heard. Change will come only if they force the elites to face reality, not ignore it.

Keep up with Rev. Jackson and the work of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org.

The State of Black Men – Part One By Marc H. Morial

July 14, 2013

To Be Equal
The State of Black Men – Part One
By Marc H. Morial

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “As of 2004, more black men were denied the right to vote because of a criminal record than in 1870, when the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, giving blacks the right to vote.” Joshua Dubois, former director of President Obama’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives

As the Trayvon Martin trial and record high summer temperatures both begin to add their heat to the unemployment and economic woes plaguing Black America, we thought it would be a good time to take stock of the one group that more than most continues to be locked up, shut out and left behind -- African American men. This topic is too big and too complicated to cover in one essay. But it is not too big or complicated to solve with the necessary resources, commitment and partnerships. So we will continue our discussion of the issues, along with the creation of solutions, in future columns.

Today, we simply want to provide an overview and begin to point to some answers. A good place to start is the recent Newsweek cover story, “The Fight for Black Men,” by former Obama White House advisor Joshua Dubois.

Like the National Urban League, Dubois understands that the solution to the under-employment and over-incarceration of African American men must begin with changing our perception of who they are and investing in their potential through job opportunities, quality education and economic development. These have been the building blocks of the great American middle class and represent the surest path to responsible adulthood and stronger communities. So why haven’t we done this for African American men?

The reasons are many but one stands out. As described by Michelle Alexander in her best-selling 2010 book, The New Jim Crow, the intentional mass incarceration of young Black men has created what she calls a “permanent under-caste” that may never be able to escape the past and compete on equal footing with the rest of us. Disproportionate arrests and unequal sentencing have had a devastating impact in Black communities. African American men are six times more likely to be incarcerated than whites. More African Americans are in prison or on probation today than were enslaved in 1850.

The economic consequences have been just as bad. This year’s Urban League State of Black America report found that the average unemployment rate for Black men in 2012 was 15% compared with just 7.4% for white men. Black men earn only 72 cents for every dollar earned by white men. Because of the civil rights advances of the past 50 years and the election of Barack Obama as President, in the words of Michelle Alexander, we may have been “lulled to sleep by the rhetoric of color blindness and the appearance of great racial progress” and thus have “closed our eyes to the millions who have been locked up, locked out and relegated to second-class citizen status.”

But our focus must extend beyond talking about the problems.

That is why the National Urban League has been a leading voice in challenging Washington to develop a comprehensive urban agenda. It is also why we recently announced our $100 million Jobs Rebuild America campaign designed to address the nation’s employment and education crisis. This effort includes our Urban Youth Empowerment Program, which offers job training, education and other wrap-around services to prepare out-of-school and adjudicated youth for the world of work, as well as our Training for Work-Adult Re-entry program, which targets convicted adults in Work Release Programs and provides them with supportive services, education and training opportunities, mentoring, and job readiness and placement support.

We must create more opportunities for Black men who have been locked up or left out. As we celebrate the momentous anniversaries of our civil rights struggle, let’s remember – there can be no celebration without continuation. We cannot afford to stop now.

Marc Morial is president/CEO of the National Urban League.

The Connection Between Trayvon Martin and James Powell By A. Peter Bailey

Reality Check

The Connection Between Trayvon Martin and James Powell
By A. Peter Bailey

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The stalking and killing of 17-year old Trayvon Martin by adult White male George Zimmerman underlines three concrete realities about much-heralded “post racial” America.

The first reality is that Zimmerman would never have killed a 17-year old White male teenager in similar circumstances. The clothing worn by Trayvon was not the motivating factor in Zimmerman’s action. It was the young brother’s color. The killer would have reacted the same way if Trayvon had been wearing a $500 suit.

The second reality is that if any Black man, even one who was a police officer, had stalked and killed a 17 year old White male teenager under the guise of standing his ground or self-defense, the reactions from White authorities and propagandists and killer-supporters such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly would have been swift and decisive. At the very least the killer would have long since been locked up.

The third reality is that if we as Black folks were unified and organized to effectively promote and defend our interests in this country, Zimmerman would have been afraid to stalk and kill Trayvon. Watching and reading about the proceedings brought back chilling memories of the killing of 15-year old James Powell by New York City police officer, Thomas Gilligan in July 1964. An editorial I wrote 49 years ago for Volume 1, Number 2 of the official newsletter of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), which was founded by Brother Malcolm X, reads exactly as follows:

The events that began on July 15, 1964, with the killing of 15 year old JAMES POWELL by Lieutenant GILLIGAN and which ended in the demonstrations in several Afro-American communities, have once again exposed the powerlessness of the Afro-American communities.

No one in his wildest dreams can imagine a black policeman shooting and killing a 15 year old white boy without losing his job and possibly his life. Yet a white cop brazenly shot down an Afro-American boy without even being suspended.

This type of killing happened because the Afro-Americans are powerless and therefore are not respected in the white community. And the reason that the Afro-American communities are powerless is the total DISUNITY in these communities. Developing unity of purpose and method is the most urgent problem facing the Afro-American communities.

Unity must be achieved or there will be no progress. With UNITY will come POWER; with power will come RESPECT, for one of the most basic truths in the relationship between individuals, groups, races or nations is that POWER RESPECTS ONLY MORE POWER. White America is generally united in its desire to keep Black America powerless. Black America will make progress only when they are as united and determined to liberate themselves as the white supremacists are in oppressing them. Unity means black leaders responsible only to the black communities.

Programs in the Afro-American communities will succeed only with unity. With Afro-American UNITY there will be Afro-American POWER, with Afro-American power there will be Afro-American PROGRESS.

I was a young novice journalist when I wrote that editorial. I believed then and believe now that our lack of unity and organization inevitably makes us targets of the Zimmermans and Gilligans in this country. Not surprisingly, Zimmerman was acquitted of killing an unarmed Black teenager as was Gilligan. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

A. Peter Bailey is author of new book, Witnessing Brother Malcolm X, The Master Teacher. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Scourge of Gun Violence By Julianne Malveaux

July 14, 2013

The Scourge of Gun Violence
By Julianne Malveaux

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Trayvon Martin might not be dead except for the fact that George Zimmerman carried a gun around and acted as a wanna-be policeman. Rev. Al Sharpton and others deserve props for rallying people and insisting that Zimmerman be brought to trial. Anytime a gun goes off, I think somebody has to go to trial, simply to ensure that their actions be accounted for. Zimmerman may be found not guilty, or he may (should) be found guilty, but least, at this point, he has been made accountable for his actions.

Zimmerman isn’t the only one slaughtering young black men, though. Too many of our young brothers are slaughtering each other. In Washington, DC, rising senior Omar Adam Sykes was killed on “independence” day. He was a victim of an attempted robbery, when two men approached him and a friend of his with guns. The Howard University police say that robberies on campus are on the decline, but I don’t think that Omar Sykes’ parents find that any consolation. Indeed, one young black man lost to gun violence is too many, whether the perpetrator was a vigilante like George Zimmerman, or another young black man who is so desperate for dollars that he will kill another brother.

Seventy-four people were shot, and a dozen killed in gun violence in Chicago during the July 4 weekend. Two of them were young boys, aged 5 and 7. Much of this violence is gang violence, and too many of the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter. This scourge of gun violence is a plague on our nation, but especially on the African American community.

The online website Slate estimates that more than 6500 people have been killed this year through gun violence. The Center for Disease Control says it is at least twice as many. Since the massacre of twenty children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut there has been a marked concern about gun violence. Concern, however, does not move legislation. Those politicians who have been purchased by the National Rifle Association lament gun violence but are unwilling to do anything about it. So the violence continues.

There are heart-breaking stories of those who are massacred. Young men and women at the cusp of adulthood who happened to be “hanging out” with friends on the wrong corner. Fathers who agitated an enraged driver. Children who “got in the way” of a random bullet. We say that guns don’t kill, people do. But people without guns can perhaps wreak havoc without creating a fatality.

While the population of the United States exceeds 300 million, there are about 280 million guns in civilian hands. Every year, 4.5 million firearms, including about two million guns have been sold. While many do not own guns, those who do keep acquiring them – the average gun owner had nearly 7 guns in 2004, up from 4 guns ten years earlier. More than 30 people are victims of gun violence each day. A third of them are under 20; half are between 18 and 35. Gun violence is the leading cause of death of African Americans in that age group.

What if George Zimmerman had not had a gun? If he did what he was told to do, police officers may have come and questioned Trayvon as he proceeded to his daddy’s house. Or perhaps there may have been a fist fight. There surely would not have been a deadly bullet, and while Zimmerman was the slayer, our gun laws are complicit in Trayvon Martin’s execution.

How many young people have been victims of unintended violence, victims of drive by violence, people just minding their business and losing their lives for minding their business? How many people with axes to grind would whoop and holler instead of carrying guns to workplaces, schools, and other places? How many crazy legislatures are relaxing gun laws to allow people to carry guns in bars and near schools? How many retailers, like Starbucks, refuse to ban guns in their establishments (in states where openly carrying guns is legal)?

As we mourn for Trayvon Martin, let us also recognize the scourge of gun violence. If we restricted gun ownership, this tragedy, and thousands of others, may not have happened.

Julianne Malveaux is a DC based economist and author.