June 10, 2018

Congressional Black Caucus Wants Marijuana Decriminalized
Police arrest Blacks at much higher rates than Whites for marijuana possession, but some Blacks are uncomfortable with legalization
By Frederick H. Lowe

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Congressional Black Caucus has announced its support of decriminalization of marijuana, the centerpiece of the nation’s war on drugs that landed thousands of Black men and women in prison until states began legalizing it for recreational use when it was openly being used by Whites.

The 43-member caucus also said it supports expunging criminal records of individuals arrested for possession of small amounts of the drug.

“Some of the same folks who told African-Americans ‘three strikes and you’re out’ when it came to marijuana use and distribution, are now decriminalizing the drug and making a profit off of it,” said U.S. Rep. Cedric L. Richmond, chair of the CBC.

Some who will make a profit off of marijuana are Black. Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, recently broke ground for a California farm to grow marijuana.

The Congressional Black Caucus announced its position days after Cyrus Vance, Jr., the District Attorney for Manhattan, N.Y., said his office would decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases. The district attorney’s office said the new policy is expected to reduce marijuana prosecutions from 5,000 a year to approximately 200.

New York’s decision follows Seattle’s in which the district attorney and the mayor announced in early May plans to vacate convictions and dismiss charges for marijuana possession for men and women prosecuted by law enforcement from 1997 to 2010.

Washington State and Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012.

On the same day the Congressional Black Caucus announced its position, President Donald Trump said he would support ending a federal ban on marijuana, putting him at odds with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, longtime opponent of marijuana possession. Sessions said he did not like members of the Klu Klux Klan because they smoked marijuana.

The use, sale, and possession of all forms of cannabis in the United States is illegal under federal law. It was classed as a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under President Barack Obama, states were given leeway in enforcing laws against marijuana.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D., N.J.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has introduced legislation that would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making pot legal at the federal level.

Certain episodes of “Parts Unknown” hosted by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain also contributed to the changing attitude about marijuana. Bourdain, a former heroin addict, took his television show, “Parts Unknown,” to parts of almost all White New England to show whites of all ages smoking marijuana and using harder drugs like heroin. (Bourdain was found dead June 8th of an apparent suicide.)

Maine Governor Paul LePage charged, however, that Blacks from New York were bringing drugs into the state.

Before Bourdain, many people were led to believe through the news media, feature films and law enforcement that marijuana use was a problem only among blacks.

The way in which marijuana offenses were prosecuted convinced many people to think that way.

In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union published “The War on Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests,” which reported that between 2001 and 2010 there 8 million marijuana arrests. The study also reported that a black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person although blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates.

The report concludes that the war on marijuana, like the larger war on drugs, which is universally regarded as a failure, has had a staggeringly disproportionate impact on African Americans.

The CBC reports that 40 percent of federally convicted drug offenders are black and 12 percent of drug offenders in the prison population are there for marijuana offenses. The CBC also noted that 14 percent of drug offenders’ population is African American.

Decriminalization of marijuana is not a slam dunk in the black community. In his book “Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America,” author James Forman Jr. wrote that some blacks opposed legalization because they saw it as tantamount to giving up on black youth.

The CBC supports rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule 1 controlled substance. In addition, the CBC members want research conducted on the long-term health effects of marijuana. Some early research suggests that heavy marijuana users are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

Further, the organization wants money spent on the war on drugs allocated instead to rebuild the nation’s black neighborhoods.

June 10, 2018

Advice to Graduates: Pursue a PhD in Common Sense

By Marc H. Morial

“Education must not simply teach work. It must teach life.” – W.E.B. DuBois

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - This time of year brings great pride and congratulations for graduates at all levels, from high school to doctorates. But the most important degree I can recommend is a PhD in common sense, with a concentration in thriving and surviving in 21^st-Century America.

Common sense is genius wrapped in work clothes.  And to achieve it, we must learn four lessons.

First lesson: Don't ever forget from whence you came.  Along the long journey of life, one need only recognize that as graduates of 2018, you're standing on the shoulders of those who came before. As you celebrate your success after many years of hard work, financial sacrifice, long nights – in many cases working and going to school at the same time – there are many out there from your hometowns and neighborhoods, maybe in your own family, who will not have the opportunities you have today. This nation has too many children who are born into and grow up in poverty. This nation has a problem of mass incarceration. This nation still has too much gun violence. To whom much is given, much is expected, demanded and required. Go back to your high school, to your community, to the young people, and let them see your success. Let them hear your story. Let them understand what you had to do to get to today.

Lesson two: Pursue excellence in every instance. It is still an unfortunate fact that to be Black, you've got to be better. Your grandmother and mother will tell you that time and again. But you can be the best. Say no to mediocrity. Say no to half-stepping. Say no to foot-dragging. Be excellent. And remember, excellence is not perfection. No one is perfect. What excellence means is the pursuit of perfection and the faith that in all of our endeavors, you have given everything that God has given you to accomplish to achieve and to pursue your goals and your dreams.

Lesson three: In this nation today, racism is real. But you are not going to let racism break your spirit. Whether it’s Starbucks or Waffle House. Whether it's Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown or Eric Garner. Whether it's a student taking a nap from studying too hard in a student lounge at Yale university. Implicit and explicit bias is still a part of American life. It’s in the criminal justice system, where people of color who serve longer sentence than white men who commit same crimes. It’s in the scourge of hate crimes that have spiked over the last two years. It’s in the leaders talking about building walls when we should be talking about building bridges.

Racism is real. But you’re not going to let it break your spirit. Frederick Douglass didn’t let racism break his spirit, and he didn’t let Lincoln’s hand shake when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Racism didn’t break the spirit of Harriet Tubman, who carried members of her family through the back woods on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, time and time again, to freedom. Racism didn't break the spirit of Thurgood Marshall in 1954 when he persuaded the Supreme Court to declare unanimously that that school segregation is unconstitutional. Racism didn't break the spirit of Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois. Remember that Rosa sat so Martin could march, so Barack could run, and Barack won so you can soar.

Finally, America respects economic power and political power. Now that you have a college degree, it’s time for you to build your assets. Building assets means investing in things that appreciate in value. Yes, you need a car but even the fanciest car doesn't appreciate in value. Fancy handbags and fancy shoes don’t appreciate in value. Glam and glitter do not appreciate in value. Real estate does. Stock portfolios do. I know many  of you are saddled with student loan debt. But don't ever think any dime you invested in yourself was a dime wasted. If it is within your vision for yourself and the skill set that God has given you, build a business. Hire more people. Grow that business and sell that business and build a new business. Economic power is what we need.

This nation understands political power. We shirk our duty and our responsibility when an election comes and we don't vote. We surrender our power to others when an election comes and we don't vote. We need to send a message to the people who lead this country that we do not want a divided America. We do not want an America of walls; we want an America of bridges. We do not want an America of hate; we want an America of cooperation and an America of love. We want an America where everyone, regardless of race, creed, color, religion, orientation, or national origin is respected and honored as one of God’s children. that's the America we want.

Of all the honors I’ve been humbled to receive in my life, and all the things I’ve learned from attending great institutions, the most important degree I got is the PhD in common sense I got from my mama. It came from these four lessons: Remember from whence you came. Pursue excellence. Racism is real but will not defeat us. And America respects economic power and political power and while we do not worship it, and we will build it each and every day of our lives.

Congratulations to the class of 2018!

 June 10, 2018

South African Promise of a 'New Dawn' Slowed by Infighting

(TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) - South Africa’s former leader Jacob Zuma is among those said to be impeding efforts by his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, to create a “new dawn” for citizens and foreign investors – free of corruption and cronyism which became associated with the Zuma regime.

Zuma was ousted as president of South Africa three months ago. It was a humiliating end to his nine year rule.

Now Zuma’s shadow is looming large over the Ramaphosa era as his allies launch a fightback within the ANC.

"There is bad blood there, and Zuma is feeling betrayed -- it is an open secret," political analyst Somadoda Fikeni from the UNISA university in Pretoria told the French news service AFP.

Zuma’s advisors still believe that he is "universally loved" and that the nation shares in his belief and anger that the charges against him are a political plot.

Even if that were true, Ramaphosa’s popularity, both inside and outside the ANC, is huge and without any doubt much, much bigger than that of Zuma.

In a public appearance at the High Court of Durban where he faced corruption charges dating back to before he came to power, Zuma’s followers chanted “Hands off Zuma” and “Tell us what he had done wrong.”

Later at a recent media briefing, Blade Nzimande, head of the South African Communist Party, threw the towel back at Zuma and urged the new president to “dismantle the networks of parasitic looting of public resources that flourished under the patronage of former president Jacob Zuma”.

Elsewhere in South Africa, white farmers are said to be receiving  self-defense training from an ex-Israeli soldier. It follows statements from President Ramaphosa that a radical land redistribution plan is in the works to address unequal land ownership in the country.

Participants deal with simulated home invasions, violent assaults and imminent executions, with techniques designed to overpower the aggressor.

Despite statistics showing 638 farm attacks last year, organizations representing white farmers, such as AfriForum, argue that the number of violent incidents is far higher.

Yet crime does not just happen to white farmers, says Ronald Lamola, a presidential adviser and a senior ANC member. “It also happens to black farm workers. It also happens to anyone, anywhere in this country.”

GLOBAL INFORMATION NETWORK creates and distributes news and feature articles on current affairs in Africa to media outlets, scholars, students and activists in the U.S. and Canada. Our goal is to introduce important new voices on topics relevant to Americans, to increase the perspectives available to readers in North America and to bring into their view information about global issues that are overlooked or under-reported by mainstream media.

June 10, 2018

The Employment Situation is Improving, So Why Aren't Workers Dancing
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The most recent unemployment rate report seems to contain nothing but good news. The overall unemployment rate is down to 3.8 percent, the lowest that it has been since 2000. The Black unemployment rate, at 5.9 percent, is lower than it has ever been. With the white unemployment rate at 3.5 percent, the ratio between Black and white unemployment, usually stuck at around 2, is below 1.7 percent, a historic low.   While it is risky to make conclusions about Black unemployment, given month-to-month fluctuations (the last time 45 crowed about low Black unemployment rates in January, the number shot back up the following month by nearly a full percentage point), it is clear that the employment situation for African Americans has improved in the 500 or so days since 45 took office.

To be sure, much of the improvement in the labor market can be attributed to the Obama recovery. President Obama put everything in place to ensure that the labor market improved. Still, it would be churlish to deny that some 45-inspired policies may have improved the employment situation. With economic growth nearing 3 percent, and with business confidence stable, more than 220,000 new jobs were created in May.   Tax cuts have encouraged businesses to add employees; the fact that wages have increased by more than 2 percent suggests some slight tightening in the labor market.   Good news, right? So why aren’t workers dancing?

Black teens have hardly any reason to dance.   Although the unemployment rate among Black teenagers dropped nearly ten percentage points, from 29 percent to 19.6 percent, a big part of this drop is contained in the fact that fewer teens are either working or looking for work. A year ago, there were 788,000 Black teens in the labor market, but the number had dropped to 681,000 last month.   Thus, fewer teens were working last month (547,000) than a year ago (579,000). Even though many teens have dropped out of the labor market because they don’t think they can find work, it is likely that more will look for work this summer. It is extremely unlikely that the lower unemployment rate for teens will sustain through the summer unless businesses are strongly motivated to hire part-time and temporary workers this summer.

Teens have no reason to dance, but what about the rest of us? The unemployment rate for Black women is at an amazing low of 4.7 percent, more than two full percentage points lower than a year ago. The labor force participation of Black women is down slightly – there are about as many Black women in the labor force now as a year ago, despite population growth. Additionally, 45’s threats to cut the federal workforce, not yet substantially realized, will have a disproportionate effect on Black women, since about 20 percent of all Black women work for the federal government. If you combine this with the threats to the social safety net, not yet realized, but anticipated, one can understand why few are dancing, even though the growth music is playing.

After having passed massive tax cuts that will only increase the deficit, House Republicans are talking about budgetary “clawbacks”. Just this week, they have discussed cutting the food stamps by requiring more work of those who receive SNAP funding (a sizeable portion of SNAP recipients work but earn so little that they qualify for food assistance) and frozen some unspent funds from the child health program. House Speaker Paul Ryan, in his few remaining months in leadership, has pledged “entitlement reform” including Medicaid and Social Security cuts. Even with lower unemployment and modest wage growth, these “entitlement reforms” bode ill for many workers.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via www.amazon.com for booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com