August 29, 2017

Thousands of Ministers March for Justice and Peace, Against ‘Political Laryngitis’
By Alanté Millow

Thousands of clergy march from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial toward the
U. S. Department of Justice on August 28. It was an outcry to the Trump Administration on
the 54th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. PHOTO: Roy Lewis

At the Justice Department, ministers locked arms and sang, "We Shall Overcome". PHOTO: Roy Lewis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - More than one thousand religious leaders from across the nation gathered Monday morning at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in a “Minister's March for Justice” to hold the Trump White House accountable.

“We wanted one thousand rabbis, sheiks … Christian ministers of all denominations,” said the National Action Network’s Rev. Al Sharpton, the organizer of the demonstration. “It’s time for moral leaders of all religions to get freed of the fears and political laryngitis … and stand up together!”

The march from the King Memorial to the U. S. Department of Justice commemorated 54 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., also a Christian minister, led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. His eldest son, Martin Luther King III, led marchers alongside Sharpton down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Department of Justice. King III described the march as a “moral crusade.”

“My father talked about a revolution of values which meant every human being would be treated with dignity and worth,” he said.

The march aimed to hold the Trump administration and Attorney Jeff Sessions accountable during an increase in hate crimes, mass incarceration and discrimination, according to a release by the organization.

Participants gathered that morning, adorned in various types of religious garb, t-shirts and carrying protest signs. Among the messages displayed on the signs were: “Do Justice, Love Mercy, March Proudly,” “54 Years Later, Still Marching,” and “Black Lives Matter to This Rabbi.”

Organizers expected 1,000 ministers in the march. But Sharpton announced that nearly 3,000 had registered that morning, surpassing his goal of unity.

The crowd gathered around a stage and was first serenaded by a choir singing the words, “Love is patient. Love is kind. No room for hate. Show a little more love.” An array of speeches were given by several religious leaders from various walks of faith. Among them was Rev. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, from the Empowerment Movement of Baltimore. He spoke about the apologies religious leaders may owe to different groups of society.

“We owe an apology today to the members of Black Lives Matter because we have had to adjust,” Bryant said. “Black Lives Matter will historically hold an asterisk as the first social justice movement not led by a religious body and so it has been difficult for us.”

He also said an apology was owed to the LGBT community for “forgetting that [they] too are members of the body of Christ.”

Bryant, known as a prolific speaker, added, “But let me tell you who we don’t owe an apology to…We don’t owe an apology to the alt-right, the extremists, to KKK …We stand today in alignment, in agreement, that our lives matter and we shall not be denied. Donald Trump, we’re coming!”

As the crowd cheered with excited, the outcries got louder as the next speaker, Grammy award-winning gospel artist, Bishop Marvin Sapp, was introduced. Onstage, he delivered a few quick words before singing his hit song, “Never Would Have Made It” acapella-style, to the participants.

“We are here to celebrate years of successful fighting but we’re also here to make sure that the fight continues. You’ve all had some great speakers … telling you all of these wonderful things that we need to be doing,” Sapp said. “But the reality is that we’re not here because of our goodness or because of our kindness. We’re here because all of us have realized that we never would have made it without him.”

With high anticipation, Rev. Sharpton led the crowd in the chant, “No justice, No peace”, before leading marchers out into the streets and toward the Department of Justice. Streets were blocked by police to ensure a smooth journey for the marchers amidst heavy traffic for commuters.

Tourists and working men and women on their lunch breaks stopped, taking in the site of the Monday mid-day march. Some even showing their solidarity with a thumbs-up or wave. The marchers sang traditional songs in harmony such as “Wade in the Water,” and “This Little Light of Mine,” as they passed by the National Monuments on their route. The group also stopped at the Trump hotel, for a brief prayer before continuing their journey.

Once protesters arrived at the DOJ, several more speakers addressed the issues they want addressed.

“It’s time to take those statues down.” Jeffrey David Cox Sr., National President of the American Federation of Government Employees, said. “But leave the base so we have to tell our children and our grandchildren what an evil wicked thing this country did.” He was making obvious reference to slave-supporting Confederate leaders around the country, an issue made national due to recent violence connected to them three years ago in Charleston, S.C. and earlier this month in Charlottesville, Va.

“Pardoning the sheriff convicted of contempt of court and racial profiling, this is not normal,” said Rev. Marshall Hatch, referred to Trump’s recent pardon of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. “Press briefings from the White House un-televised and filled with misinformation, this is not normal. Threatening of nuclear war and rumor of war by president by tweet is not normal. Refusing to condemn racism and anti antisemitism is not normal. Somebody has to have the courage to stand up and say, ‘This emperor has no clothes!’”

August 21

Is Clinton-Era Trade Bill for Africa Next for the Trump Hachet?

(TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) – The Trump administration can’t seem to find an existing trade or aid bill for Africa that it likes enough to renew. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)– eagerly signed and extended by Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama – is the latest economic development program in the crosshairs of the new U.S. doctrine of “America First.”

This month, the annual AGOA Forum, held in the coastal city of Lome, Togo, was attended by 40 African finance and trade ministers, the top U.S. trade negotiator, Robert E. Lighthizer, and a large delegation of senior U.S. government officials.

The Forum was titled “The US and Africa: Partnering for Prosperity through Trade” but the optimism was belied by the outcome - no decision on renewing the agreement that expires in eight years.

Under AGOA, some 6,500 items, including textiles, steel, chemicals and numerous agricultural products are approved for duty-free export to the U.S., enhancing market access to U.S. buyers.

It has been the cornerstone of the US government’s trade policy with sub-Saharan Africa since 2000.

Thirty-nine countries qualify for AGOA benefits with five - Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, Chad and Gabon – the top beneficiaries. Angola, for example, exported oil and diamonds worth $115 billion in 2014. Lesotho, making garments for Levi’s and Walmart, exported $250 million in 2016.

Kenya, which exported products to the U.S. worth $394 million in 2016, was nearly stripped of AGOA status when it joined the East African Community (EAC) to ban imported second-hand clothes and shoes by 2019. Kenya finally agreed to accept the used garments, resolving a complaint by a U.S. trade group, but EAC members Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, who claim used American clothes will hurt their own growing textile industry, now face an “out-of-cycle” review.

The turnaround “is, no doubt, a victory for Kenya's trade diplomacy,” said Abdirizak Musa, an embassy official. But just to ensure their “victory,” Kenya hired a Washington lobbying firm with ties to the Trump administration at the rate of $100,000 monthly for three months.

Meanwhile, other programs on the chopping block include the U.S. African Development Foundation, and funding for U.N. peacekeeping operations. Current pledges to treat HIV/AIDS in Africa— known as PEPFAR and which provides life-saving treatment for 11.5 million people - appear to be safe for now. 

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.

August 20, 2017

NAN's Rev. Al Sharpton to Lead More Than One Thousand Ministers in 'Dream Busters' March on Washington

Rev. Al Sharpton

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In the wake of the horrific events in Charlottesville, The Trump Administration’s inability to say the words KKK, Nazis, or White supremacists right away – waiting instead until they were pushed to the following Monday – was simply inexcusable. The National Action Network, ministers, and civil rights leaders are not only disgusted by the lack of leadership in the current White House, but are also tired of the silence of others.

That is why the Rev. Al Sharpton, rabbis, imams, and other ministers will join together – more than 1,000 faith leaders in total - in the nation’s capital on the 28^th of August for a Ministers March for Justice.

That weekend, those filled with hate gathered around the statue of Robert E. Lee; and in late August faith leaders from across the country will gather at the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Under the statue of America’s champion for civil rights, ministers will reaffirm their commitment to the social justice movement and hold both the Trump Administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions accountable in the wake of an increase in hate crimes, mass incarceration, and discrimination.

On August 28^th, the 54th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington faith leaders of all ages will unite to send a message that while white supremacists cling to a statue representing the racist past of America, we will unite under the statue representing America's inclusive future. 

At least one thousand ministers of all denominations will convene to reaffirm their commitment to the social justice movement and to stand in solidarity in the spirit and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Clergy will hold the Trump Administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions accountable in the wake of an increase in hate crimes, mass incarceration, and discrimination.

The following is the key information:

WHERE: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 1964 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024

WHEN: Monday, August 28

TIME LINE:

10:00 a.m.           Ministers and March participants gather at King Memorial

11:00 a.m.           Pre-program, including prayer vigil ceremony

12:15 p.m.           March begins along specified route

2:00 p.m.             March concludes

August 20, 2017

Hundreds Feared Dead in Sierra Leone Mudslide Linked to Climate Change

(TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) – A fast-moving wall of mud, loosened by heavy overnight rains, has buried over 300 Sierra Leoneans, many of them sleeping children, during a torrential downpour early Monday. The deluge was foreseen by climate change experts.

Videos posted by local residents show an angry flood of dark orange mud rushing down a steep street in the capital. In some shots, people waist and chest deep in water are seen desperately trying to cross the road.

Early estimates put the number left homeless from the hilltop area of Regent at 2,000 while over 100 properties at the foot of Sugar Loaf mountain were reported submerged or collapsed before sunrise, said the Red Cross.

Residents of the Kaningo neighborhood on the west side of the capital Freetown were seen collecting the dead even as floodwaters had yet to recede. The neighborhood was among the hardest hit by rampaging floodwaters, which washed away a bridge and left homes caked in mud and debris.

Two years ago, a member of the Africa Research Institute, Jamie Hitchen, investigated the country’s flood cycle and its impact on the 61 or more unplanned settlements, many of which are perched on the farthest land masses before the sea.

“Kroo Bay, one of the largest coastal slums with an estimated population of 6,000, has flooded every year since 2008”, Hitchen observed.

“The floods were not unexpected,” Hitchen maintained. Increasingly frequent floods disproportionately affect those living in “at risk” communities.

A recent report by the USAID Climate Change Risk Profile highlighted the country’s environmental threat.

“Sierra Leone faces multiple risks from climate change that threaten key economic sectors and increase the potential for wider environmental degradation.

“Projected increases in the intensity of rainfall events will exacerbate the existing impacts of floods, which include loss of life and property as well as damage to critical service and transport infrastructure. Floods account for 85 percent of disaster-related mortality in the country, followed by landslides and storms.”

Meanwhile, a hydroelectric power plant that promised to “light up” Freetown has barely delivered the much-needed 60MW of power intended. This month, a UK company has taken over construction of Bumbuna II, a second power plant. Estimated year of completion: 2030.

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.