July 31

EDITORS: THE FOLLOWING ARE THE REMARKS BY THE REV. JESSE JACKSON AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION.

Healing, Hope, and Hillary
By Rev. Jesse Jackson

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - I stand proudly in support of the next President of the United States, Hillary Clinton. And let me also congratulate Bernie Sanders for energizing this campaign season with ideas and hope.  The Bern must never grow cold.

A theologian once said, “Where hate abounds, love must abound even more.  Where fear abounds, hope must abound even more.”

In this stormy season of violent campaign rhetoric, we are called to be steady in the face of the whirlwind. 

There’s a tug of war going on for the soul of America.  We have a clear choice.  We must tear down walls of separation, and build bridges of hope and unity. Love must trump ignorance, fear, hatred and violence.

We live under one big tent where all must be included and none are left behind.  We have learned to survive apart, and now we must now learn to live and grow together. 

I met Hillary decades ago in the delta of Arkansas when she was delivering legal protection to the poor, fighting for the marginalized and defenseless. In Hillary we have a tested, tried and trusted partner. Hillary can be trusted to appoint a fair Supreme Court, and a skilled administration, including a man of faith like Senator Tim Kaine. She will fight to make us more secure by banning assault weapons that are turning our communities into killing fields: over 2300 shot and 260 killed in Chicago alone this year! She can be trusted to honor the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.   She will never forget our pain. 

Nationally, there are 45 million people still illiterate, and there are as many Blacks incarcerated as graduate from college. Hillary understands the historic dimensions of the agony, hope and promise of Black Lives Matter.   She knows our scars and suffering. From Trayvon Martin to Michael Brown and Alton Sterling, and far too many others,

The shootings of young black men must stop. And we deeply regret the killing of police officers with powerful assault weapons.  That resonates deep in our soul. We must choose reconciliation over retaliation and revenge. We must stop the killing. Now.

We can trust Hillary not to insult our Hispanic and Muslim brothers and sisters. And to Resist the mass deportation of 15 million people.

We can trust Hillary to expand African trade and development. We can trust Hillary to fight for historically Black colleges and universities – that graduate 42% of our Black engineers and over half of all Black teachers and lawyers.

A Clinton administration will grow jobs.  Eight years ago, Republicans drove our economy to the brink of disaster.  But after 76 straight months of job growth under President Obama – it’s no time to turn back now. We’ve never lost a battle we fought.  And we’ve never won a battle unless we fought.  

In 1965 we fought and won the battle for the historic Voting Rights Act. That journey continued in 1984 and 88, when we built a winning coalition, registering and empowering millions of new voters reflecting the new America.

My words in 1984 ring true today: “If Blacks register and vote in great numbers, progressive Whites win. It's the only way progressive Whites win.

“If Blacks vote in great numbers, Hispanics win. When Blacks, Hispanics, and progressive Whites vote, women win. When women win, children win. When women and children win, workers win. We must all come up together. And when we all come together, we can, and will win. Red, yellow brown and white, we are all precious in God’s sight.”

It’s healing time. It’s hope time. It’s Hillary time. It’s time for Healing, Hope and Hillary. Healing. Hope and Hillary! Keep Hope Alive!

July 31, 2016

Too Blind 
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. 

(TriceEdneyWire.com)  – "Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes, but do not see; Who have ears, but do not hear." - Jeremiah 5:21

Since I assessed the Republican National Convention last week, this week my intention was to comment on my assessment of the Democratic National Convention. I was there and surely there was enough going on among Democrats for that. As this new standard of campaigning has demonstrated, the Republican candidate strives to dominate every news cycle—no matter how offensive his offerings may be. He injects himself into the mix whenever and however often it suits him. Seemingly, it suits him on a non-stop basis! I request forgiveness for having to include him in my commentary.

To begin, I believe a person's political alignment is predicated in commonality of values.  It’s abnormal to vote against one's own self-interests or of those similarly situated. Looking at both major party candidates, I see no self-interest in support for Donald Trump or other Republicans whose motives remain questionable at best.

As a "Political Junkie" most of my life, and once a candidate for Federal Office, I'm not naive about the behind-the-scenes machinations that influence or control party politics. I was disappointed, but not surprised when leaked DNC intra-party emails disclosed that some DNC staff had engaged in practices that disfavored Senator Bernie Sanders. Left to its own devices, this story had the potential to negate any positive outcomes from the Democratic Convention.

Fortunately, salvation came to the convention in the form of the First Lady of the US.  Michelle Obama made the first, and most memorable, appeal to delegates to look at the 'big picture' of the WHY? of their gathering. Although, some DNC practices disfavored Bernie and dissembled desired reforms to the nominating process, remedy was attempted with the removal of the DNC Chair and from her participation in officiating the convention.

Mrs. Obama, and speakers following her, drew stark contrast between expectations of Clinton vs. Trump administrations. Clearly, Republicans assume a starting position of doom-and-gloom. They embrace a foundation of racial, ethnic and religious exclusion. In contrast, Democrats articulate the need for progressive policies that support diversity, tolerance and opportunity for all of us.

Experience and pragmatism have shown there’s no perfect candidate with whom I can find 100% agreement. Most have flaws that offend some portion of the electorate. I believe DNC delegates left Philadelphia with the understanding that conflicts which separate Democrats are insignificant compared with those separating Democrats from Republicans. Surely they left with the understanding that "The Republic" cannot afford to entertain, sustain or survive four years of politics according to Donald Trump.

The case against Trump for being intemperate and unfit for the Office of President has been authenticated in the past few days by Trump himself.  Regrettably, I must regress to his latest two horrifying utterances.

Showing an absolute ignorance of the conduct of foreign policy, Trump has articulated a policy position that US compliance with established treaties (i.e. NATO) is conditioned upon up-to-date payments made by treaty co-signers.  Effectively, our allies cannot depend upon the US to live up to mutual defense agreements unless they are current with treaty payments.

Once it was determined that the source of the DNC email leaks was Russian hackers, Trump invited them to hack the e-files of Hillary Clinton for political purpose. This invitation to a foreign power to directly interfere in a US presidential election was a first in US history.  It was roundly condemned by Democrats and by the few Republicans who had images to sustain.

Trump's imprudent behavior causes me to ask, "Where is the outrage?"  Has Republican partisanship become more important than national interests?  Are those who govern their party really too blind to see?

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is National President of the National Congress of Black Women.  202-678-6788.  www.nationalcongressbw.org)

July 31, 2016

To Be Equal 

A Message to the Next President: Invest in America

By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - "America can't compete if she continues to warehouse a significant proportion of her work force in poverty and ignorance. If America is going to be competitive, she can't do so without investing in human resources." -- John E. Jacob, National Urban League President and CEO, 1982-1994

As the major-party conventions conclude and the general election season begins in earnest, the National Urban League has a message for the next President, whoever he or she might be: invest in America.

When Europe found itself in physical and economic ruin after World War II, the United States invested $13 billion ($130 billion in today’s dollars) through the European Recovery Program, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan, after Secretary of State George Marshall.  Since 2006, the United States has spent nearly $50 billion rebuilding Afghanistan through the Afghanistan Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program.  The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008, infused the nation’s faltering financial institutions with investments of more than $400 billion. The United States’ collections under TARP and affiliated relief efforts, actually have exceed total disbursements by more than $12 billion.

Whether we call it “recovery” “rehabilitation” or “relief,” it’s time for America to demonstrate that our commitment to our own struggling urban families and communities is as powerful and compelling as it was for Europe, or for Afghanistan or for Wall Street.

National Urban League proposes a sweeping and decisive solution to the nation’s persistent social and economic disparities: the Main Street Marshall Plan: From Poverty To Shared Prosperity.

In many ways, the country's recovery from the Great Recession is well underway. But the recovery essentially has bypassed struggling communities of color. Black Americans remain twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. Since 1976, the black unemployment rate has consistently remained about twice the white rate across time and at every level of education. The household income gap remains at about 60 cents for every dollar.  Black Americans are only slightly less likely today to live in poverty than they were 40 years ago.

The Main Street Marshall Plan is a bold and strategic investment of $1 trillion over the next five years in America’s urban communities is a commitment of $1 trillion over the next five years, including:

• Universal early childhood education: Studies show people who were in preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school, to own homes, and have longer marriages. They are less likely to repeat grades, need special education, or get into future trouble with the law. Furthermore, financially, the return on investment in early childhood education is estimated at 12 percent, after inflation.

• A federal living wage indexed to inflation: Not only would an increase in the minimum wage lift hundreds of thousands of Americans out of poverty and shrink the nation’s dangerously wide income gap, it would inject billions into the economy; according to a Chicago Federal Reserve Bank study, every dollar increase for a minimum wage worker results in $2,800 in new consumer spending by his or her household over the following year.

• An urban infrastructure fund to fund schools, community centers, libraries, water systems and urban transportation: Every dollar spent on infrastructure increases in economic growth between $1.50 and $2. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that a $250 billion annual investment boosts GDP by $400 billion and overall employment by 3 million net new jobs by the end of the first year.

• A new Main Street small- and micro-business financing plan with emphasis on businesses owned by women and people of color: Small businesses accounted for 60% of net new jobs since the end of the Great Recession and lead large firms in new technology and patent creation. According to an SBA report, small businesses produced 16 times more patents per employee than large firms.

• Expansion of summer youth employment programs, housing vouchers and workforce tax credits: Youth who participate in summer jobs programs do better academically and are far less likely to get in trouble with the law.  Housing vouchers lift millions out of poverty, reduce health care costs and stimulate the economy. Tax credits invested in low-income communities result in new jobs, and greater access to public facilities, goods, and services such as manufacturing, food, retail, housing, health, technology, energy, education, and childcare.

• A new homeownership tax credit for middle and low-income homebuyers: Higher rates of homeownership, particularly in low-income communities, are linked to improved children’s educational achievement, greater financially stability, improved civic participation, better health outcomes and reduced neighborhood crime rates.

• Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit: The EITC lifted 6.2 million people — including 3.2 million children — out of poverty overall in 2013. When the income gains from the increase in employment the EITC generates are taken into account, the EITC’s impact in reducing poverty is even more significant.

• Workforce training programs administered thru community-based organizations and targeted to areas of high unemployment: According to the Brookings Institute, employment focused training programs, often developed in cooperation and collaboration with employer or industry partners, have been tremendously successful, producing returns for workers that far exceed the social cost of the programs.

• A doubling of the Pell Grant program to make college more affordable, increasing the maximum grant from $5,775 to $11,550: As Sen. Claiborne Pell, the chief sponsor of the program, said, “Any student with the talent, desire, and drive, should be able to pursue higher education.” More than 60 million students from poor and working class backgrounds have received the economic lifeline they need to earn a college degree.

• Expansion of financial literacy and homebuyer education and counseling: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 70 percent of homeowners who participated in foreclosure prevention counseling obtained a mortgage remedy to retain their home, and 56 percent cured their defaults and became current on their mortgages.  Of those who participated in prepurchase counseling, 35 percent of became homeowners within 18 months.

• Increased access to affordable broadband and mobile technology for working and low-income Americans: Access to technology is associated with higher unemployment rates,  greater economic growth, better healthcare and education, and greater civic participation.

The original Marshall Plan brought about the most dramatic increase in economic growth in European history. Poverty and starvation seemed to disappear overnight. Though the plan officially ended in 1953, the unprecedented economic growth it sparked continued for two decades.  By contrast, the economies of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations, which declined American aid, faltered in the post-war era.

Today, our economy and infrastructure have been shattered, not by bombs and tanks, but by corporate malfeasance and governmental indifference.

Under President Obama, the nation has made great strides in stabilizing the economy. In eight years, the nation has gone from losing hundreds of thousands of jobs per month to 73 straight months of job growth. During President Obama’s term, the private sector has added 14.4 million new jobs.  The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act is widely credited with protecting the nation from a second Great Depression.

Much more remains to be done, however.  The benefits of the recovery have not reached our most troubled communities. We cannot continue to rely on policies that have proved ineffective in communities of high unemployment and low income; we must focus our resources and efforts on the neighborhoods where they are most desperately needed.

July 31, 2016

A Commitment to Democracy
By Julianne Malveaux

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The North Carolina NAACP President, Rev. William Barber, tore it up and then threw down in a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention on July 28^th.  He called on those assembled to be a “moral defibulator of our time”, to shock our nation with the power of love and morality.   Rev. Barber did not use the word “endorse”, but urged delegates to “embrace” Clinton, and his rousing rhetoric was challenging and inspirational

Rev. Barber is a committed and tenacious activist.  He founded the “Forward Together Moral Movement”, and has organized “Moral Mondays” in North Carolina.  For the past three years, Moral Monday activists have gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and used protest and civil disobedience to shine light on the many ways North Carolina has attempted to erode voting rights, and move the state backwards on economic justice issues.

“When I hear Hillary’s voice and positions,” Barber said, “I hear and I know she is working to embrace our deepest moral values, and we should embrace her,” he said. “She nor any person can do it alone. The watchword of this democracy is ‘we.’”

What are we, the people going to do in the aftermath of the political conventions?  Some have said they will stay home, but watching the difference between the gathering of Democrats and that of Republicans should remind us that staying home should not be an option.  Stay home, and leave our choice of leadership to others?  Stay home and co-sign the hateful comments Mr. Trump made during his convention?  Rev. Barber has called the democratic watchword “we”, and Hillary Clinton talked about Democratic inclusiveness, which contrasts with that we observed with Republicans.  What are “we” going to do?

President Barack Obama set Secretary Clinton up nicely with his Wednesday evening speech, singing her praises and passing the baton.  She caught the baton handily, offering a speech that exceeded my every expectation.  The speech was full of grit and grace, humor and humility, respect and reaching out to the Bernie folks.  Not only could I hear the glass ceiling shattering, but also I hoped that the world could see this woman as Commander-in-Chief.

Rev. Barber reminds us, though, that we are all part of the “we the people”.  He reminds us that we are only committed to democracy when we are actively involved in it.   It’s not just about a convention, or a vote.  It is about an imperative to transform a system that is flawed.  Rev. Barber talked about the Fight for Fifteen, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the missing morality in our nation now.  Even as he urged us to embrace Hillary, he also urged us to embrace justice.

President Obama reminds us that democracy can be frustrating and messy.  Rev. Barber reminded us that it can also be moral and loving if we make the collective decision to rally around key principles, to engage in the process of compromise, and if we understand that democracy is practiced with more frequency than every four years.

Voting is not the most we can do; it is the least we can do.  Real democracy exists when people like Rev. William Barber gather people weekly to fight for voting rights, when he speaks up with regularity on the need for political and economic transformation.  We exhibit our commitment to democracy when we hold our leaders accountable, when we pressure them to do the right thing, when we remind them of their campaign promises.

Those Bernie Sanders supporters who choose to remain engaged in the political process have the responsibility to continue to push their progressive agenda at the national, state, and local level.  Indeed, they honor their movement and their struggle by continuing the feel a burning desire for social and economic justice.  To take their marbles and go home because their candidate did not win suggests that they are committed to personality, not democracy.

Our system is far from perfect, but it’s the system we have.  We can change it if we are committed to democracy.  Or, we can accept imperfections if we eschew activism.

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 more information visit www.juliannemakveaux.com