America Faces a Time for Racial Healing By Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal

America Faces a Time for Racial Healing

By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” ― Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall

As far back as June of last year, the National Urban League called upon all Presidential candidates to refrain from using racially divisive and disparaging language in their campaigns.

In the ensuing months, we heard an unprecedented call to ban all Muslims from the nation, even United States citizens. That call was followed by more than two dozen anti-Muslim attacks in the United States, ranging from a cabdriver shot in Pittsburgh to the deliberate torching of a Somali restaurant in Grand Forks. N.D. The owner of a food market in Queens was beaten by a customer who vowed to “kill Muslims.”

The level of vitriol against immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities was amped so high during the campaign that the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, coined the term “The Trump Effect” to describe the alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color over racial tensions and their fears of being deported.

According to an SPLC survey of teachers:

More than two-thirds of the teachers reported that students—mainly immigrants, children of immigrants and Muslims—have expressed concerns or fears about what might happen to them or their families after the election.

More than half have seen an increase in uncivil political discourse.

More than one-third have observed an increase in anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant sentiment.

More than 40 percent were hesitant to teach about the election.

Other children have been using the word “Trump” as a taunt or as a chant as they gang up on others.

Over two-thirds (67 percent) of educators reported that young people in their schools—most often immigrants, children of immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and other students of color—had expressed concern about what might happen to them or their families after the election. Close to one-third of the students in American classrooms are children of foreign-born parents. This year, they are scared, stressed and in need of reassurance and support from teachers. Muslim children are harassed and worried. Even native-born African-American children, whose families arrived here before the American Revolution, ask about being sent back to Africa. Others, especially younger students, have worries that are the stuff of nightmares, like a return to slavery or being rounded up and put into camps. Overall, these vulnerable students are disillusioned and depressed at the hatred they’re hearing from candidates, in the news, from classmates and even, sometimes, from trusted adults.

As we have said throughout this campaign, religious and racial bigotry are not core American values. In fact, such bigotry is more than unpatriotic; it threatens our national security.

So, where do we go from here?

We are hopeful now that the heat of the campaign begins to cool, our President-Elect and his supporters will adopt a more sober approach to issues of racial justice. He has called for the country to unite, and we will take him at his word.

Our duty as citizens is to hold him to his word. We have the power to define patriotism in the 21st Century, and there’s no room in that definition for bigotry. Some have mused that this campaign has served as a poultice of sorts, drawing the poisons of hate and intolerance to the surface. This is our opportunity to cleanse them away.

Trump Shocks World in Presidential Victory as Black Leaders Examine Meaning of His Win by Hazel Trice Edney

Nov. 9, 2016

Trump Shocks World in Presidential Victory as Black Leaders Examine Meaning of His Win
Marc Morial: ‘The Paint’s Not Dry on This’

By Hazel Trice Edney

Donald Trump gives victory speech and mid-Manhattan hotel. (Screen shot)

Clinton concedes election to Donald Trump. (Screen shot)

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Prepared for an election night party, a couple embrace upon realizing the news that Clinton had lost the election: PHOTO: Paulette Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

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Somber crowd awaits Clinton before being asked to go home. She publically conceded the election the morning after. PHOTO: Paulette Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

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The picture of disappointment, this young man sat on the floor in deep reflection. PHOTO: Paulette Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

Some openly cried. PHOTO: Paulette Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

New York (TriceEdneyWire.com) - In an epic victory that sent shockwaves around the world, billionaire Donald Trump – ending a campaign characterized by bigotry, insults, vulgarities, sexism, racism and hate speech - became president-elect of the United States on Tuesday, contrasting his vitriolic campaign rhetoric with a softened appeal for unity.

“I've just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us…on our victory. And I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard fought campaign. She fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude to her service for our country,” Trump said in his victory speech.

Appearing to extend an olive branch directly to his opponents, Trump added, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across the nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It's time.”

He continued, “I pledge to every citizen of our lands that I will be the president for the American people. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, for which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country.”

The electoral vote of 289-218 won the election for Trump at a magnitude that was least expected by exuberant Democrats who gathered at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for Hillary Clinton’s Victory Party. He only needed 270 to win.

Although he won the majority of Electoral College votes, it was Clinton who won the popular vote by 188,962. The results as of Wednesday morning was 59,429,038 to 59,240,076.

As the night grew late and Trump began to win state after state, even the press room grew nearly silent as reporters – anticipating the coverage of a victory party – watched the anticipated story of America’s first woman president dissipate before their eyes.

The loss was clear when Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta informed the hundreds of reporters that there would be no party and no immediate speech from Clinton as “several states are too close to call so we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight”. After the media declared Trump the winner in the early morning hours, Clinton privately called Trump to congratulate him and concede the election, but did not give a public concession speech until mid-morning on Wednesday.

"Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans," she said. "This is not the outcome that we wanted or that we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we have for our country. But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. For this vast, diverse, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life."

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will meet with Donald and Melania Trump on Thursday this week to assure a smooth transition. Obama spoke from the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

"Everybody is sad when their side loses an election. But the day after, we have to remember that we’re actually all on one team. This is an intramural scrimmage. We’re not Democrats first. We're not Republicans first. We are Americans first. We’re patriots first," Obama said. "We all want what’s best for this country. That’s what I heard in Mr. Trump’s remarks last night. That's what I heard when I spoke to him directly. And I was heartened by that. That's what the country needs - a sense of unity; a sense of inclusion,; a respect for our institutions, our way of life, rule of law; and a respect for each other. I hope that he maintains that spirit throughout this transition, and I certainly hope that’s how his presidency has a chance to begin."

Meanwhile, civil rights leaders have already begun to strategize and ponder how the Black community must react.

“I’m stunned. I’m shocked and it was unexpected,” said National Urban League President Marc Morial. “But beyond that it is really difficult until we really look at the returns and really sit down and evaluate what this means before really saying what the path forward is going to be.”

He said civil rights leaders had already spoken Wednesday morning to begin mapping a direction and reaction. “Obviously we extend our congratulations to the winner, but we haven’t decided what we’re going to do,” said Morial. “It suffices to say that there are numerous discussions going on about what this might mean, what are the issues at hand, how we as a collective will deal with him. There are a lot of issues. The paint’s not dry on this.”

Morial said civil rights leaders are going to be deeply concerned about civil rights enforcement, the future of Black economic challenges.

“You become the president-elect and the meat of it is not really what you say but what you do.”

CNN exit polls reported that Trump received 8 percent of the Black vote. That was much higher than the 2 percent that was anticipated. President Barack Obama, who campaign vigorously for Clinton, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, received more than 90 percent of the Black vote, had criticized Trump as “dangerous.”

Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative is convinced that the unexpected Black vote for Trump – regardless of how small - represents a righteous backlash against some of the Obama Administration’s lead issues such as same-sex marriage. While Democrats have championed the right to gay marriage and embraced it as a hallmark issue, the U. S. Supreme Court, nearly two years ago, declared it to be legal and constitutional. However, millions in Black and other churches remain against it, based on scripture, Rev. Evans pointed out.

“The churches in our coalition took this election very seriously. And we tried to send three very clear messages: One, we were extremely disappointed in the Democratic Party and what they did surrounding same-sex marriage and blocking the Black church. Number two, we wanted to declare our political independence from the Black Democratic machine, including the Congressional Black Caucus and particularly Al Sharpton and everybody else.”

Thirdly, Evans said he wanted to be clear that the NBCI did not advocate a vote for Trump or for Clinton. “What we discovered is there is a core of Black religious voters who will follow scripture, who will pray, who will take their time and educate themselves on the issues. They will not listen to the White House. They will not listen to the Democratic Party. They will not listen to the Republican Party. They will listen to their faith.”

Evans said it was not only the same-sex marriage issue, but the lack of strong movement against Blacks being shot by police, lack of support of Black colleges and Black-owned businesses among other issues. “This was the Black faith voters saying we are now declaring our independence,” Evans said, pointing to a Oct. 23 letter he sent to Black pastors imploring them not to allow “the White Press to tell us how to think about this race…We do not have all the answers but what we do have is an understanding that the Black Church can no longer be manipulated and utilized for someone else’s agenda while Black people and Black congregants suffer at such an enormous rate.”

Trump, meanwhile, is already envisioning his next move forward with what he perceives as a mandate, but, given the controversial statements made by him during the campaign, it is unclear what that mandate will look like.

“As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hardworking American men and women who worked together to make America better for their family,” he said. “It is a movement combined of all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs who want and expect to serve the American people and serve the people it will.”

Hater Dressed in Obama Costume With a Noose Around His Neck at Wisconsin Game

Nov. 6, 2016

Hater Dressed in Obama Costume With a Noose Around His Neck at Wisconsin Game

Chancellor calls it free speech; Alumni label it hate speech

Noose tied around neck of Obama Halloween mask at University of Wisconsin versus University of Nebraska football game. PHOTO: Twitter

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Surrounded by Whites, some smiling while others looked indifferent, an unidentified man dressed in a Halloween costume as President Barack Obama with a noose around his neck attended the University of Wisconsin and University of Nebraska football game on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Madison, Wisc.

Camp Randall Stadium staff told the person to remove the costume’s noose, which symbolized White terrorist lynching of blacks, after some the spectators protested on social media. The costumed man removed the noose but was allowed to continue watching the game, one played by many African- American football players.

University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement issued Sunday, Oct.30, that once the noose was removed, “the costume fell within the stadium’s costume policies.”

Blank explained that wearing the costume without the noose was a free speech issue.

“I believe our university must resist the desire to outlaw forms of speech and political dissent with which we disagree,” Blank said.

Some University of Wisconsin alumni, however, criticized Blank’s response, calling the costume hate speech and saying that the costume wearer should have been ordered to leave the stadium. Eventually, he left on his own volition.

One response on Twitter called the statement from the university ‘appallingly misguided’ and stressed that ‘hate speech is not protected as free speech.’

Alumni called on the school to revisit the in-stadium costume policy and consider a stronger response in the future such as revoking the person’s season tickets or permanently banning offenders from the stadium.

Arsonists Burn Black Church and Write “Vote Trump” on Building

Nov. 6, 2016

Arsonists Burn Black Church and Write “Vote Trump” on Building

Arsonists burn Black Mississippi church

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Arsonists set fire to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Miss., and wrote “Vote Trump” on the side wall of the burned out building.

The fire was discovered Tuesday night,, Nov. 1, and Greenville Fire Chief Ruben Brown Sr. told a news conference that the blaze was deliberately set.

“Samples and evidence have been collected from inside the church and are being analyzed to determine the accelerant or ignition source,” Brown said.

Police Chief Delando Wilson said his department is investigating the fire as a hate crime. “We feel that the quote on church is intimidating, ” he added.

The 111-year-old church’s red brick walls are still standing, but the pulpit and pews are charred black, and soot stains the brick above and next to some windows. Brown estimated that it was ‘80 percent destroyed.’

Black churches have long been a base of social activism, making them targets of bombing by white supremacists. The FBI’s Jackson Division is investigating the fire to determine if civil rights crimes were committed.

Greenville, a town of 33,000, is 100 miles northwest of Jackson, Miss., the state capital.

Horton’s Kids Helping To Build Brighter Futures By Alanté Millow

Nov. 6, 2016

Horton’s Kids Helping To Build Brighter Futures
By Alanté Millow

Horton's Kids, which began nearly 30 years ago, has changed the lives of hundreds of children in southeast Washington.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Howard University News Service

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In 1989, several homeless children offered to pump Karin Walser’s gas in exchange for any spare change. She didn’t have any cash, but offered to take them to the zoo instead. This act sparked the creation of Horton’s Kids, a non-profit organization built to empower at-risk children in southeast Washington, D.C.’s subsidized housing apartment complex, Wellington Park.

Horton’s Kids started with Walser and her friends volunteering their time to mentor and tutor these children, and has since expanded to a community resource center built within the Wellington Park community. Within this bulletproof safe community center, children are provided with meals, school supplies and access to computers.

Billy Fettweis, Horton’s Kids development director, said providing for the children is a big job.

“We meet the basic needs of children," Fettweis said. "We provide about 35,000 meals per year. We provide vision screenings. We provide coats in the winter, and meals at Thanksgiving and hats in the summertime,”

Children are provided hands on help, such as tutoring and mentorship, to help them succeed in their education. The same opportunities Walser once offered, like field trips, are still given to the children as enrichment to broaden their horizons.

“We work with some of the most at risk children in Washington D.C. and empower them to graduate from high school ready for college, career and life,” Fettweis said. Since these programs have been implemented, the Wellington Park community has seen a significant change.

According to Fettweis, Horton’s Kids works with about 500 children in the neighborhood, many of which families’ income does not surpass $10,000 annually, and the program’s high school graduation rates have more than doubled the neighborhood’s average.

Horton’s Kids has worked to build partnerships with federal agencies that provide space for programs free of charge, as well as help recruit volunteers. The organization was offered space in the Rayburn House Office Building in 2001, and by 2004 was invited to add a third tutoring day by the United States Department of Education. Ten years later, Horton’s Kids was offered a partnership with the Department of Transportation to provide evening tutoring specifically for the older youth in the community.

“We’ve all worked hard to expand our organization, so we can reach more children and give them even more resources to use,” Jina Simmons, Horton’s Kids youth development director said.

Although Horton’s Kids has expanded into an organization with several staff members on board, volunteers are still essential to the community outreach.

“We still get hundreds of volunteers every year,” Fettweis said. “We definitely retained that volunteer spirit that is so central to where our identity began.”

Volunteers are encouraged to come into the community center to provide homework help and mentorship for the children. Those interested in helping out at Horton’s Kids are encouraged to visit their website at https://www.hortonskids.org/.