April 1, 2019

CBC, Women and People of Color ‘Fight to Regain the Soul of America’               
By Hamil R. Harris

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Empowered with a record 55 members on Capitol Hill, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus has teamed up with a coalition of Civil Rights groups to mobilize African- Americans across the country behind a progressive legislative agenda to write a new chapter of American History that is now being led by women and people of color.

When she was sworn in as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), said the occasion marked the beginning of “correcting the trauma that we have all experienced on a daily basis for the last two years.”

Recently on Capitol Hill, Bass teamed up with her female colleagues and a coalition of Civil Rights activists, led by the Black Women’s Roundtable, to expound upon that effort.

“Women are confronting the discrimination that represents the intersectionality of being Black and being a woman,” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), one of several CBC members who spoke at the March event about their legislative priorities. “We stand up for Voting Rights and the re-enfranchisement of individuals who have paid their debt to society. We stand up for social justice and comprehensive criminal justice reform.”

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said “we are in a fight to close the wage gap,” and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) said with the record number African-Americans and females in Congress, she is constantly reminded that “It is African-American women who will help us to regain the soul of America.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tx), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that after years of trying in vain to get any type of gun control legislation through Congress, this year it might finally happen. “It’s our time for change and we are mobilizing through your efforts Sister Melanie: Black American women across the country.”

Jackson-Lee was referring to Melanie L. Campbell, President/CEO, of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and National Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable. She hosted a five-day gathering that brought more than a dozen female activists to the steps of the U.S Capitol as just one of the BWR events that marked Women’s History Month in March. Thousands of young and pioneer leaders participated in the 7th Annual BWR Women of Power National Summit, themed, “Time for A Power Shift!!!”

Campbell, whose organization is dedicated to organizing voters and fighting against voter suppression said, “We are determined to make sure that we save our Democracy from peril,” and echoing those sentiments were a number of speakers from across the country.

Kristen Clarke, president/executive Director, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, declared “Now is the time to hold corrupt officials accountable who take actions to harm voters.”

Cassandra Welchlin, co-Convener with Campbell and lead organizer of the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, said poor women are dying because of federal cut backs.

Welchlin talked about how a young mother died in Houston, Miss. after she had an asthma attack because the emergency room at the closest hospital to her home had been closed because of Medicaid cutbacks.

“The closest hospital was 30 minutes away,” Welchin said. “It’s criminal. Shateria Sade Shoemaker died. She had an asthma attack. Why did the hospital close? We need Congress to pass and fund the budget for safety net programs.”

March 31, 2019

$62 Billion in Education Cuts Proposed, Key College Aid Could be Slashed

By Charlene Crowell

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Every budget defines priorities and values. To put it another way, what’s really important in life gets supported financially. For many families, having a home, food, and utilities usually rank pretty high. Then there are other budgetary concerns like saving for college or having a ‘rainy day’ fund to cover less frequent costs that can be much higher than the size of the next pay check.

Government budgets, built on taxpayer dollars, also reveal priorities.  At the federal level, budgets are proposed by the executive branch, but it is the legislative branch that passes and funds budgets. What is in the best interest of the nation is supposed to be the guiding force in government budgets.

But as Sportin’ Life sang in the folk opera Porgy and Bess, “It ain’t necessarily so”.

The White House’s FY 2020 proposal cuts Education funding by $62 billion compared to that of FY 2019. Even worse, as the cost of higher education continues to climb, federal student aid would be seriously slashed while other programs would be totally eliminated.

Some of the most disturbing college federal cuts affect programs that lessen the amount of student loans that need to be borrowed for every academic term. As rising college costs have worsened the financial challenge faced by many Black and other low-wealth families, the availability of grant programs that do not have to be repaid and/or work-study programs are key sources for many college students and their families.

Among its many revisions, the Trump Administration stands ready to risk a sizeable portion of the proposed $7.25 billion in Pell Grant funding next year. This program is the single largest source of grant aid for low-income households for post-secondary education.

On March 26, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Education budget was the focus of a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee forLabor-Health and Human Services-Education. Secretary Betsy Devos delivered testimony that expanded upon previously released materials from the Trump Administration.

“Since President Trump took office, Congressional appropriations for U.S. Department of Education programs have increased dramatically – in spite of the Administration’s call to slow spending,” said Secretary DeVos. “We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results.”

In response, Connecticut’s Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the subcommittee chairwoman did not mince words. “This budget underfunds education at every turn”, said DeLauro who added “This budget inflicts harm.”

Even Rep. Tom Cole from Oklahoma who serves as the subcommittee’s Ranking Member viewed the White House proposal as “short-sighted”.

Representatives DeLauro and Cole were absolutely correct.

The Work-Study program that brings campus-based jobs to students would suffer a double blow. Its monies would be reduced by 55 percent and remaining funds would be shared with proposed pilot program that targeted to private sector employers for workforce development of nontraditional and low-income students.  That’s the window dressing on these cuts.

The Work-Study program that received over $1.2 billion in 2019 would be cut to $500.4 million. Secondly, instead of students working on campus, they would need to figure out how to reach employment at private business.

Not every student has a car. Nor is public transit always available near college campuses. These businesses would supplement their revenue streams with public monies but the profits derived would still be private.  Previously, Work-Study was jointly funded by the federal government paying 75 percent of hourly wages, with the remaining 25 percent paid by the college employer.

What for-profit business wouldn’t want the government to pick up 75 percent of its labor costs? Seems that the private business – not the student – is the greater concern with this budget.

“Betsy DeVos has some explaining to do – her disinterest in prioritizing quality and affordable education for students is disheartening and erodes the confidence the public has in the Department of Education,” said Debbie Goldstein, an EVP with the Center for Responsible Lending.

Currently, the formula-based Pell Grant award averages $4,251 per participating student. Next year as proposed, the program’s average award will be slightly less at $4,149 and traditional grant recipient students would be forced to share those funds with others enrolled in workforce development training that does not accrue credit hours or traditional academic terms.

Regular readers of this column may recall, many career and technical training institutions are also for-profit entities that in recent years have either failed to provide the training promised, or the earnings assured by admissions personnel – or both. In the worst-case scenarios, tens of thousands of students have been enrolled at the time of closures that came with little or no notice.

The Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant is need-based and financially helps low-income, undergraduate students. For the past two fiscal years, this program was funded at $1.7 billion. If the Trump Administration’s proposal holds, no monies will support this program next year.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants are available to students whose parent or guardian was a member of the Armed Forces and died as a result of their military deployment in either Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. In FY 2019, the average grant in this program was $5,293. In FY 2020, the White House would end it with no appropriation.

These are only a few of the cuts proposed to higher education at a time when education is more important today than ever before. The global economy requires a highly-skilled and knowledgeable workforce. It seems so ironic that this White House keeps placing businesses before the needs of people.

“Instead of punishing for-profit institutions that have deceived students and encouraged them to take on unaffordable levels of student debt, Secretary DeVos will defend President Trump’s proposal to extend taxpayer money to finance unproven short-term programs, many of which will be offered by these very same for-profit college,” added Goldstein.

Here’s hoping that Congress will hear a loud outcry on gutting federal financial aid. Enacting a budget that represents the needs of people should and must prevail.

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Charlene Crowell is the Communications Deputy Director at the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

March 31, 2019

Love Vs. Hate
By Dr. E. Faye Williams

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Recently police arrested a young teen in Charlottesville, Virginia. He’d made a racist threat against minority students—both Black and Latino. Why? Who will ever know, but it was apparently for no reason other than the color of their skin and the culture of their birth? One has to wonder if he experienced love or hate at home and is Donald Trump a regular of what the family hears on the news.

With so many people not just in Charlottesville still grieving over the tragic loss of Heather Heyer, how could a teenager reopen those wounds without adult leadership? My heart goes out to Heather’s Mom and family to have to face this same hate that killed their loved one who was out seeking justice when she was murdered by a hater. Every time some of us naively begin to think we’re more civilized now than we were during slavery and the immediate aftermath, hate seems to rise again. This time, the hate is compounded because it not only includes Black people, but it includes anybody who’s deemed to be different from white people.

I wonder if the average white person feels a responsibility to come up with a solution to white hatred. I know where they can start. Rise up as Black people so often have to do, and decide not to tolerate such reckless behavior. Hate is destructive to the hater, but it’s also taking the lives of too many good and decent people. If we’re going to be called a civilized nation, it’s important to at least elect decent leaders.

Whenever something negative happens in the Black community, we’re expected to fix it. It’s time for white people to fix their community because that is where so much hate is coming from against people who’re not classified as white. Just as all Black people aren’t to blame for what all Black people do, I’m not blaming all white people. I’m saying if anybody can fix the white community, it’s white people. Some of the most heinous crimes have been committed by white people. Look at the New Zealand tragedy. 50 people are dead because of white Islamophobia. In Tulsa, many people were massacred by white people and a whole community was destroyed. At Texas A and M, nurses were killed by a white person. In Rosewood, Florida, Black people were massacred for no reason. Thousands of Black people were lynched by whites simply because of the color of their skin. Thousands of Black people were stolen from their home and enslaved. An untold number of Native Americans were murdered and had their land stolen by white people. Isn’t it time white people take some responsibility for the hateful acts by their people? They must teach their children about respect for others and about love for all of God’s children.

They should take a lesson from the Superintendent of Schools in Charlottesville when she said,” In Charlottesville and around the globe, we stand firmly in stating there’re not 'very fine people' standing on both sides of this issue.”

Let’s take another lesson from the PM of New Zealand when she not only rejected hate verbally, but showed what real leaders do. She began work with her legislature to try to prevent such a tragedy again. White people need to show the U.S. white president how to do something about hate other than say, “There are good people on both sides.” Hate is destroying America, and the rest of the world is looking down on us. We’re no longer the leader, and we won’t be the leader again until all of us begin to show some love for all instead of hate.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National President of the National Congress of Black Women. www.nationalcongressbw.org. She also hosts “Wake Up and Stay Woke” on WPFW-FM 89.3).