Jan. 21, 2018

To Be Equal
Haiti Slur: Reprehensible, but not Surprising
By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Since 1804 Haiti has maintained national independence. I fling these facts at the feet of the detractors of the Negro and of Haiti. They may help them to solve the problem of her future. They not only indicate the Negro's courage, but demonstrate his intelligence as well. No better test of the intelligence of people can be had than is furnished in their laws, their institutions and their great men. To produce these in any considerable degree of perfection, a high order of ability is always required. Haiti has no cause to shrink from this test or from any other.” — Frederick Douglass, American Abolitionist, “Lecture on Haiti,” January 2, 1893

President Donald Trump’s timing could not have been more ironic—or revealing. On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the January 12 earthquake that devastated the island nation of Haiti (and the start of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend), President Trump sat in a bipartisan meeting on immigration reform and publicly questioned why the United States—a nation founded and built by immigrants—should continue to accept immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa. With a slur heard round the world, President Trump is quoted to have uttered an obscenity to describe those countries—and Haiti, in particular.

This would not be the first time Haiti has been on the receiving end of President Trump’s ridicule and contempt. Only weeks before, it was reported that during an earlier cabinet meeting on immigration, the president allegedly complained that immigrants from Nigeria would “never go back to their huts,” and that people coming from Haiti “all have AIDS.”  And despite then-candidate Trump’s pledge at a Miami rally to be the “greatest champion” of Haitian people, the Trump administration has given 60,000 Haitians living in this country under temporary protected status—granted after Haiti’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake—until July 2019 to leave or be deported.

The slur is reprehensible and deeply disappointing, but it is not surprising. It lives in a universe of targeted travel bans with discriminatory religious preferences, a candidacy kicked off slandering Mexicans, sympathizing with white supremacists, attacks on protesting Black athletes, and so on. The reported obscenity is, quite frankly, in keeping with past and current sentiments the president has expressed publically and via proxy through his administration’s policies.

The true obscenity is that our nation’s president is shaping immigration policy, not based on purported American ideals of inclusiveness, but based on the demonization of countries that are primarily Black or Brown; not based on facts, but by stoking fear; and not based on knowledge, but influenced by a narrow-minded worldview.

Haiti is not a slur. It is the first Black republic in the world. It is the second oldest independent nation in the Western hemisphere after the United States. Haiti achieved its independence by launching the only successful slave revolt in history. But Haiti’s fight did not end on the battlefield. It moved to the global arena where external forces would punish and destabilize the young island nation for claiming its freedom, resulting in lasting economic and political turmoil. France forced Haiti to pay more than $20 billion in today’s dollars as reparations for losing a profitable slave colony—drowning Haiti in debt. The United States, which provided aid to the French to help stop the rebellion, subjected Haiti to a crippling economic embargo until it recognized its independence in 1862. Over the years the United States would go on to invade and occupy Haiti, as well as play an oversized role in its politics and elections.

Nonetheless, Haiti is deeply woven into the fabric of America’s history and founding. Haitians fought in the Revolutionary War. The city of Chicago was founded by a Haitian immigrant from St. Marc. Haitian music, art and food transformed and shaped the city of New Orleans. And the Haitian slave rebellion was directly responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States.

As a citizen who believes Trump’s slander is inconsistent with who we should aspire to be, I abhor the president’s misrepresentation of America. As a former mayor of New Orleans, a city richly cultivated by the presence of Haitians, I am distressed by the president’s miseducation of the valuable contributions of Haitian immigrants. As the proud descendant of a family who emigrated from Haiti in 1805, I will always challenge the president’s wrong-headed assumption that immigrants are the living embodiment of the flaws and failures or upheavals of their countries of origin and cannot contribute positively in their adopted homes.

Jan. 21, 2018

Hidden Photo of Obama and Farrakhan Released in New Book
In autobiography, Askia Muhammad tells why and how the photo was kept a secret
By Hazel Trice Edney

This photo by Askia Muhammad that was hidden for 12 years has now been released in the journalist's autobiography. Pictured from left to right are: Minister Farrakhan's son-in-law, Leonard Farrakhan Muhammad; His son and security chief, Mustapha Farrakhan; U. S. Sen. Barack Obama; Minister Farrakhan's son Joshua Farrakhan; Minister Louis Farrakhan, and the Rev. Willie F. Wilson, pastor of D.C.'s Union Temple Baptist Church.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It was during a mid-2005 Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) meeting on Capitol Hill when award-winning journalist Askia Muhammad captured one of the most significant photos of his career. 

Muhammad had doggedly covered then Chicago Sen. Barack Obama since he "first laid eyes on him" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Now, here was the Senator in a warm conversation with constituent and fellow Chicagoan Minister Louis Farrakhan. As leader of the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan is another star in Black America, but one whose name is synonymous with controversy.

Wasting no time, Muhammad snapped the news photo. But moments later, he faced a dilemma. 
Obama had already become the darling of national Democratic politics. And the scent of a presidential run was strong.  

Muhammad and others almost immediately realized that the public release of this photo could mean major trouble down the road. Mainly because of bigotry and fear-mongering, the public release of that photo could doom America's chances of electing Obama as its first Black President. 

Muhammad had not even left the scene when he received a call and the photo was being summoned by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Muhammad ultimately surrendered the disk to Minister Farrakhan's chief of staff. And it remained one of America's best hidden secrets for the next 12 years. 

For the first time, more than a decade later, the glowing photograph of now former President Barack Obama and Minister Louis Farrakhan has been published in a book by Muhammad to be released Jan. 31 - "The Autobiography of Charles 67X". Muhammad and some political observers still believe that if that photo had been released, it could have drawn enough fire - even from some of Obama's supporters looking for excuses - to dent his chances of becoming President. 

"I gave the picture up at the time and basically swore secrecy," Muhammad said in an exclusive interview with the Trice Edney News Wire this week. "But after the nomination was secured and all the way up until the inauguration; then for eight years after he was President, it was kept under cover." 

As for any debate that the photo could have made a difference in the outcome of the Obama presidential election, Muhammad is emphatic: "I insist. It absolutely would have made a difference."

He has agreement in high places. 

"I do believe that it would have had a very, very negative affect in that given moment as far as the candidacy of candidate Obama at that time," says Dr. Shayla Nunnally, president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. Her opinion was based largely on the "negative stereotypes about Muslim Americans about Black people and about their allegiance to the United States," which have often been twisted and used to fit bigoted agendas - especially after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 

"On top of that," Nunnally said, "people have always characterized Minister Farrakhan as being a combative figure in American politics. That adds another layer."

Nunnally, a professor of political science who also teaches in the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, specializes in public opinion, political behavior, race and politics.

She questioned what the release of the photo will mean "even now because there's so many conspiracy theories still floating."

Obama, who is a Christian, has constantly been the target of bigoted attacks, Nunnally pointed out. When a woman called him an Arab during a public forum, even his re-election opponent Sen. John McCain retrieved the microphone and corrected her, saying, "No ma'am. He's a decent family man." Nunnally also recalled how former Secretary of State Colin Powell once weighed in against negative stereotyping of Muslims saying, "He's a Christian...But the really right answer is, what if he is" a Muslim?

Nunnally concluded, "There are many, many, many layers of what that picture can represent to people in their various perceptions. So, I say this to mean that I can see that the release of that photo in that given moment, it would have been highly controversial."

Also, pictured in the photo are Minister Farrakhan's son-in-law, Leonard Farrakhan Muhammad; His son and security chief, Mustapha Farrakhan; Minister Farrakhan's son Joshua Farrakhan; and the Rev. Willie Wilson, executive producer of the program for Farrakhan's Million Man March in 1995 and a chairman of the 20th anniversary.

In an interview, Wilson says he doesn't recall the photo and didn't know he was in it. But hearing the description, he also was certain it could have hurt Obama's campaign.

"I'm sure it would," Wilson said. "Given all of the furor related to the sermon that his pastor, Jeremiah Wright did, I'm sure that it would more than likely have had a tremendous effect on his candidacy."

Wilson says Farrakhan is so controversial because, "He speaks truth and this is a country that has in so many ways attempted to cover up the realities of its wrong doings of which Minister Farrakhan is quite vocal in bringing to light."
The book tells of other notables who knew about the photograph and never divulged it. In addition to narratives of pivotal moments of his life, the autobiography is also a book of Muhammad's poetry. 

Columnist and political observer A. Peter Bailey, anticipating the book release, says he believes the photo would have created controversy for Obama, but could not have caused him to lose the election or his re-election because of the groundswell of Black voter support for him.

"It could have done some damage," Bailey said. "But nothing could have stopped the election because Black support would have countered it."

Jan. 21, 2018

Behind the Black Unemployment Rate
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - When the unemployment rate dropped and economic conditions improved under the leadership of President Barack Obama, 45 derided the gains as “fake news”. 

He suggested that the monthly Employment Situation (www.bls.gov) reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics were inaccurate and “made up”.  These are the monthly reports that detail employment statistics, including unemployment rates.  Now that 45 is in charge, he can’t crow often enough about the statistics that he described as “phony” just 18 months ago.

For the last week, we have heard 45 and his surrogates crowing that “the Black unemployment rate is lower than it has ever been.”  And, with a Black unemployment rate of 6.8 percent, they are right that the rate is at its lowest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started disaggregating data to report unemployment by race.   Is this something worth crowing about?  Does 45 deserve to get credit for it?  The answer to both questions, from my perspective, is a resounding “no”.

First of all, the 6.8 percent unemployment rate African Americans experienced was exactly TWICE the White unemployment rate of 3.4 percent.  Suppose that white men had an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent?  Would 45 and his minions be celebrating if whites had the same employment situation as African-Americans?  I think not.  So, celebrating the 6.8 percent rate without speaking of the inequality it is based on is like celebrating the inequality.

Secondly, the unemployment rate is an imperfect measure of the employment situation.  The employment-population ratio is a far more accurate way of measuring how fully employed a population is.  It measures the percentage of people who are employed. While 69 percent of white men are employed, just 63 percent of Black men are employed (the numbers for women are closer, with African-American women actually working MORE than White women, with an employment-population ratio of 59 percent for Black women and 55 percent for white women). 

The employment-population ratio and labor force participation rates show racial disparities among men that are alarming.  Differences in the employment-population ratio suggest that some African-Americans have stopped looking for work because they don't think they can find it.  When the Black unemployment rate is adjusted to reflect these realities, it is closer to 10 percent than to the 6.8 percent 45 and his team are crowing out.

Furthermore, the 45^th President inherited an economy that was improving.   Falling unemployment rates are a result of the Obama expansion.  Let’s say it again, the Obama expansion.  An economic expansion will naturally move unemployment rates downward, no matter who is the President.  While 45 can only legitimately claim stock market gains for the last two months, as his regressive tax bill has handsomely rewarded corporate interests, stock market gains in the first month of this year might also be considered a result of the Obama expansion.

Will 45 take credit for the stagnant wages that plague all workers, but especially African-American workers?  While unemployment rates have dropped, wages have not risen by very much (less than 2 percent last year).  Sure, some workers got tax bill-related bonuses, and Walmart will raise their wages for some workers to $11 an hour.  Most workers are stuck making the same amount of money they made three years ago.

Does 45 take credit for income and wealth differences between African-Americans and whites?  The average white family has a $65,000 income, compared to just $39,000 for African-Americans.  And the average African-American household has just $17,000 in wealth, compared to $171,000 for Whites.

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 visitwww.juliannemalveaux.com

Jan. 16, 2018

Black Republican Rep Says Trump ‘Must Apologize’ for ‘Sh*thole’ Remarks
Civil Rights Leaders, Others Rebuke Trump for his latest racist remark
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Donald Trump, who has constantly denied being a racist, is now embroiled in a growing controversy after he referred to African countries, Haiti and El Salvador as “sh*thole countries” and asked why America can’t draw more immigrants from places like “Norway”, a predominately White country.

The remarks made Jan. 11 during a bi-partisan Whitehouse meeting on immigration policies, has set off a fire storm of criticism from both sides of the aisles, including from the only Haitian-American in Congress, Republican Rep. Mia Love (Utah), who has demanded an apology.

“The president’s comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values. This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation. My parents came from one of those countries but proudly took an oath of allegiance to the United States and took on the responsibilities of everything that being a citizen comes with,” Rep. Love wrote in a tweet Jan. 11. “They never took a thing from our federal government. They worked hard, paid taxes, and rose from nothing to take care of and provide opportunities for their children. They taught their children to do the same. That’s the American Dream. The President must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned.”

The White House initially issued a statement not denying the comments, but saying that Trump, “will always fight for the American people.”

The White House Statement continued, “Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”

“Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who were in the meeting, confirmed the ‘sh*thole’ account though others in the room claimed they did not hear it, denied that he said it, or that he used the term ‘sh*thouse’ countries.

As the firestorm reaction grew to reports of his crude remarks, Trump then denied having made them. But given the president’s reputation for lying, his reputation for making racist remarks and given the credible witnesses and reports, the outrage continued to rise this week during a time of celebration of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. The following are excerpts from some of the statements:

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.): “President Trump’s comments are yet another confirmation of his racially insensitive and ignorant views. It also reinforces the concerns that we hear every day, that the President’s slogan Make America Great Again is really code for Make America White Again.”

Richmond continued, “All of the reservations we have had about negotiating with him on immigration are well-founded. President Trump is clearly more concerned with ending the future flow of immigrants from Africa and the African diaspora than providing relief to Dreamers who came here through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that we can negotiate in good faith with a person who holds such vile and reprehensible beliefs.”

The National Bar Association President Juan R. Thomas: “The NBA calls upon all members of Congress to openly reject Trump’s politics of racism.”

NAACP President/CEO Derrick Johnson: “Yesterday, the raw racism of Donald Trump and those driving his immigration and other policy making decisions were on full display as he called for fewer Black people to be admitted into the United States in favor of white immigrants. And this morning, the President doubled down on his comments offering a weak justification for his racist viewpoint.”

National President, National Congress of Black Women: Dr. E. Faye Williams: “These derisive comments are dramatically similar to those made in December when #45 said, Haitians "All have A.I.D.S" and that once Nigerian immigrants saw the United States they would never "go back to their huts."  Sadly, it is apparent that the judgments and decisions made by this man are informed by fundamental racism -- a racism that's as likely to moderate as is the likelihood of the Sun rising in the west and setting in the east.

”Whatever one thinks of #45, no one should feign surprise with the progressively egregious and insulting nature of his comments and conduct.  From the opening remarks of his campaign, upon which he based insults directed at Hispanic immigrants, through his "Good" Nazi Charlottesville comments to his most recent, #45 has never tried to disguise his true nature to those listening in earnest,” says Williams.

She concludes that despite the calls from Rep. Love for an apology, no such thing will be forthcoming. “He has never apologized, and most likely will never do so.”