April 28, 2024

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In Waukegan, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago, Dulce Ortiz is celebrating with her children.

Ortiz is a cofounder of the local environmental justice organization Clean Power Lake County. She has been organizing for years to get coal ash waste cleaned up from the site of the retired coal power plant in her town.

The historic suite of power plant pollution standards announced last week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes a rule that will finally force power plant owners to clean up their coal ash pollution.

This is good news for Dulce Ortiz’s family and countless others, including the 30 million people who get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. Coal ash contains toxic pollutants like mercury, arsenic, and cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that leach into groundwater. And there are more than 100 coal ash waste sites along the shores of the Great Lakes. That includes legacy sites from retired plants like the one in Waukegan, which left two coal ash ponds and another coal ash deposit.

Ortiz says, “My vision for my family and my community is a lakefront where I can take my children swimming in the waters of Lake Michigan without worrying about toxic pollution; where we can go fishing without worrying about mercury and PCB contamination of the fish we catch; where I can go running along the shores of Lake Michigan without worrying about air pollution triggering my asthma. I want to see a clean energy future for Waukegan and all communities that have borne the burden of coal and industrial plant pollution for decades.”

Waukegan has borne a particularly heavy burden. The predominantly Black and brown residents share their town with five of Illinois’ 11 Superfund hazardous waste sites. That does not include the coal ash deposits.

Toxic waste from coal and industrial plants has been a plague for many American communities like Waukegan. One of my mentors, a legendary community organizer in Pittsburgh, once showed me an uncovered coal ash pit there. I asked him where all that waste went when there was a heavy rain. I still remember his response: “nowhere good.” 

In addition to addressing coal ash, the new EPA rules also include vital new standards for carbon and other toxic pollutants pumped into our air and water by coal- and gas-burning power plants. The impact of these rules in cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants – one of the top greenhouse gas contributors – will be to accelerate the decline of carbon emissions and our transition to clean energy. And, of course, these pollution standards mark a tremendous stride for public health that will save lives and prevent chronic illnesses.

The rules will remove economic barriers for some America’s communities that need it the most – in particular, the coal ash rule, as Ortiz points out:

“Allowing companies to pollute our communities without forcing them to clean up deters future investments in those same communities. We have aspirational plans in Waukegan for lakefront revitalization that have not been able to get off the ground due to the lingering contamination. This is devastating for communities like Waukegan that desperately need new investments and economic renewal.”

The new suite of EPA rules is a critical moment in the fight for a clean energy future and the result of years of advocacy. These common-sense safeguards mark the beginning of our next chapter in the fight to transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy. And, remarkably, they are the latest in a string of groundbreaking actions by the Biden-Harris administration announced throughout April, which is Earth Month. The Bureau of Land Management issued a new federal rule making conservation a priority on our majestic public lands. The Department of the Interior announced new protections for 13 million acres of land in the Western Arctica from oil drilling. That is just to name a couple. What a way to celebrate Earth Month!

Today, Dulce Ortiz’s vision for her family and her community is closer to reality because of the EPA’s new power sector rules. And that is a vision that so many of us share for our own families, our own kids, and our own communities. We all deserve a cleaner, healthier future. And the Biden-Harris administration just delivered in a way that is going to help get us there faster.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reality Check

Dec. 31, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com)- Black master teachers, including Brothers Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jerome Bennett Jr. , Harold Cruse, Hoyt Fuller, John Henrik Clarke, and Sisters including Fannie Lou Hamer, C. DeLores Tucker, France Cress Wesling, and Myrlie Evers-Williams didn’t totally agree on every issue confronting Black folks. However, the one thing that they all agreed on was the absolute necessity for serious Black unity in this country and in the world.

Their beliefs were based on the principle that Black unity was the most effective way to promote and protect our health, economic, cultural, political, educational, technological, and communication interest in a nation in which most of the majority population insist that they are inherently superior just because they are white.

It’s way past time for those of us who honor and celebrate the great lives of the above master teachers to understand that until we achieve the kind of unity they advocated we will be physically and psychologically abused by the proponents of white supremacy.

One of the ways to do that is to set up unity conferences throughout the country and cities that have sizeable Black populations. Those of us who live in urban areas such as New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, Richmond, Nashville,  Detroit, and Cleveland, etc. should  host  events that focus on the need for unity of our people. Following that there should be a national conference during which each entity will present their action plans for discussion and eventually a unified action.

Believe me, I am well aware that what I am proposing is not going to happen overnight….But I do believe that there are enough serious Black folks in this country to begin laying the groundwork for a serious degree of black unity. One of our master teachers Brother Martin has a birthday coming up very soon.

The best way to celebrate and honor him is to make sure that any event one participates in or just attends will be given a quote by Brother Martin which makes very clear his profound belief in Black unity. It goes as follows: “Groups and training centers now proliferating in some slum areas to create not nearly an electorate but a consensus, alert and informed people who know their direction and whose collective wisdom and vitality commands respect…. Power is not the white man’s birthright.P It will not be legislated  to us and delivered to us in neat government packages. It is a social force any group can utilize by accumulating its elements in a planned, deliberate campaign to organize it under its own control.”

Brother Martin was asking for real deal Black unity.

Dec. 30, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Taraji P. Henson is speaking out, and people are listening. It remains to be seen if the award-winning actress will become a catalyst for major changes within the entertainment industry, but her message is much needed.

Henson made her film debut in the 1998 movie Streetwise and later received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt. In 2016, she starred with Janelle Monáe and Octavia Spencer in the film Hidden Figures, which received three Oscar nominations. Henson is probably best known for her role as Cookie Lyon on the television show Empire. During the show’s six seasons, Henson won two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe for her performance.

Despite the depth of talent and the success throughout the careers of Black actresses, Hollywood is not immune from the issue of pay inequality for Black women. It is easy for fans to automatically assume television and movie celebrities have “rich and famous” lifestyles free from financial struggles. When we see so many Black female celebrities in high-profile roles on the big screen, we conclude that they have made it, and the infamous glass ceiling doesn’t come to mind. As others have done before her, Henson has returned the spotlight to one of Hollywood’s many dark sides.

In a recent conversation on SiriusXM, Henson spoke about how she is still treated as a novice regarding negotiating contracts for film and TV roles. “It seems every time I do something, and I break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again, like I never did what I just did,” Henson said. There is a report claiming she considered quitting acting altogether. “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, being paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired.” It is unfortunate that an actress of her talent was brought to the point of giving up due to being undervalued, disrespected, and discriminated against. Race and gender should never determine a person’s professional value. In 2019, she told Variety that she asked for “half a million” to perform in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” only to receive $150,000. The film was a box office hit, grossing approximately $335 million worldwide against a $150 million budget.

The combination of racism mixed with sexism is not new. According to the National Women’s Law Center, Black women are typically paid only 67 cents for every dollar paid to white men. The wage gap widens to 65 cents on the dollar for Black women who hold doctorate degrees compared to white men with the same level of education. Pay disparity increases when educational and professional skill levels are the highest, decreasing with fewer skills and education. Emily Martin, vice president of Education and Workplace Justice at the National Women’s Law Center, noted, “If you look at workers who don’t have a high school diploma, that is the education level at which the wage gap is smallest for Black women, who make a whole 75 cents for every dollar white men because there is more of a cap on lower-wage earners.” The Equal Pay Act requires “that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal.” That is the law that is often contradicted by reality. One way companies ultimately get around the pay disparity is to encourage employees to keep their salaries private. As a result, the discrimination is not easily discovered.

As entertainment stars, Black actresses have shown their greatest talent in every film genre, from musicals, dramas, romance, and comedies. Many of them, such as Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Halle Berry, Alfre Woodard, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Cicely Tyson, Loretta Devine, Mo’Nique, Nia Long, and others have achieved star-power comparable to their white male and female counterparts. Yet, many of them still have horror stories of compensation discrimination.

In addition to Taraji P. Henson’s recent remarks, Octavia Spencer has spoken out many times concerning pay inequality in Hollywood. In 2019, she highlighted the importance of men advocating for fair pay for Black actresses. During Spencer’s salary negotiations for the Netflix series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, Executive Producer LeBron James was forced to intervene on her behalf. Mo’Nique, an Oscar winner for her Best Supporting Actress role in the movie Precious, sued Netflix for alleged gender and racial bias regarding negotiating her salary. The lawsuit was eventually settled. Beyoncé, the former Dreamgirls actress, said it best, “But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender…” Her words are true in addressing the issue of pay disparity everywhere, not just in Hollywood.

David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America. He can be reached at www.davidwmarshallauthor.com.

Dec. 22, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—By the time you read this message, we will already have said goodbye to 2023. It is my hope you have made your resolutions for 2024 that you really plan to keep! It is my experience that we make resolutions but forget them a few weeks later!  I have counted myself among those who forget them, but I am determined to do better in 2024.

Times require us to be serious about keeping many of what I hope will be in your resolutions. For example:

1.       Did you wish for the killing of our brothers and sisters who are still living in Gaza to stop immediately and may the hearts of those still living be healed?

2.       Did you wish for our brothers and sisters in Israel to have their relatives who’re hostages returned safely to them and may their broken hearts be healed for friends and family they lost?

3.      Did you wish for all the broken hearts from 2023 to be healed?

4.      Will you do all you can do to prevent the senseless killing of our people, including our children?

5.      Did you pray for America to end homelessness?

6.      Did you pray for ending food deserts, and a way to feed healthy food for all to eliminate hunger?

7.      Will you take any steps necessary to truly make voting a right that is worth exercising?

8.      Will you work to make voting easy and urge every citizen to know about and exercise their right to vote?   

9.      Will you speak with your Members of Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act immediately?

10.  Will you contact your Members of Congress to urge them to make Rosa Parks’ birthday a Federal Holiday?

11.  Will you encourage your local, state, and National leaders to recognize the urgency of working on climate change?

12.  Will you work to get politicians to provide more support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities?

13.  Will you support efforts to continue taking down Confederate statues representing slavery and glorifying racist actions in this country?

14.  Will you support National and World Foster Care?

15.  Will you work to support women’s right to choose and take away that practice from politicians?

16.  Will you support efforts to find common ground for the U.S. and Cuba to work cooperatively?

17.  Will you work to end book bans and support educators who are taking a stand against banning books?

18.  Will you do all you can to improve healthcare for all?

19.  Will you work to end racism in every form and for all of our brothers and sisters no matter from whence they have come?

20.  Meanness against immigrants has got to stop!

21.  Finally, will you do all in your power to make this a kinder, gentler nation for all?

Inaction by our leaders has got to be called out and voted out if they can’t solve the problems.  When I heard a seasoned politician like Lindsey Graham respond to Trump’s constant racist ranting about immigrants saying he wasn’t concerned about Donald Trump’s highly offensive rantings and poisoning the blood of this nation, I was shocked.  Trump no longer shocks us, but Lindsey Graham is intelligent enough to do better. We have a lot of work to do in 2024, so no one is exempt from helping to resolve the craziness going on all around us. It seems these multiple cases against Trump will never be resolved, so we can’t help by wishing things away.  Voting is more critical now than ever before and Black people can’t be mad about anything, and sit out the election because we don’t like one thing President Biden did. You need to vote!

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of “The Dick Gregory Society” and a member of the Board of the World Conference of Mayors.)