March 24, 2024

Dr. Wilmer Leon

NEWS ANALYSIS

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Public Politics is the negotiating process between interested constituencies regarding the access to and distribution of limited resources and the resulting outcome or policies pertaining to those resources.

One of the popular narratives that was disseminated in mainstream America media to explain Hilary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign loss to Donald Trump was post-Obama voter apathy in the African American community.  According to the Washington Post, “In 2016, a seven-point drop in black voter turnout was perceived to have cost Clinton the election.

Political commentators often cite black voters’ “enthusiasm gap” as the primary reason for low turnout. This short-sighted perspective fails to consider that Mrs. Clinton ran a terrible campaign.  She took the African American vote for granted and failed to craft a message that spoke to the needs and interests of the Community. Blaming the Community played into a stereotype that labeled African Americans as uninformed and monolithic in thought, instead of being introspective and recognizing her own short-comings. Her campaign ignored a simple reality…African Americans are as “political” as the rest of the country and there are real and substantive political interests that motivate the Community. 

Two substantive pieces of legislation that impacted Hilary Clinton’s campaign came out of her husband’s administration. The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act . The crime act, also known as “3 Strikes and are Out” contributed greatly to the mass incarceration of African Americans. So-called welfare reform, that Hilary Clinton encouraged her husband to sign, removed hundreds of thousands of poor people of color from the welfare safety-net and plunged them into the ranks of the desperately working poor. Many African Americans never forgot nor forgave her for supporting these pieces of legislation, as well as her referring to members of the Community as “superpredators” who needed to be brought “to heel.” It was not voter apathy or an “enthusiasm gap” that turned the African American community against the Hilary Clinton campaign, it was the realpolitik of Hilary Clinton. 

As America moves closer to the 2024 presidential election, the narrative of “voter apathy” and problems with the African American voter are being promoted once again. The Guardian reports - Black and Hispanic voters deserting Democratic party in large numbers.  The problem with this story is its failure to focus on Democratic party policy outcomes that have left many African American voters feeling ignored and disrespected.  Fox reports - Biden support from Black voters plummeting as Democrats blame ‘disinformation’. 

The Democratic party elite need to realize that African American voters are not uninformed, simple-minded, easily swayed nor can be taken for granted. President Biden has not developed, acted upon, nor articulated a message that resonates with the Community and reflects its reality.As America moves closer to the 2024 presidential election, the narrative of “voter apathy” and problems with the African American voter are being promoted once again. The Guardian reports - Black and Hispanic voters deserting Democratic party in large numbers. 

The problem with this story is its failure to focus on Democratic party policy outcomes that have left many African American voters feeling ignored and disrespected.  Fox reports - Biden support from Black voters plummeting as Democrats blame ‘disinformation’.  The Democratic party elite need to realize that African American voters are not uninformed, simple-minded, easily swayed nor can be taken for granted. President Biden has not developed, acted upon, nor articulated a message that resonates with the Community and reflects its reality.

There is another reality that is developing that could turn the “blame African Americans for Democratic party disappointments” narrative on its head.  It is an oppositional form of politics called “uncommitted” that is gaining traction in Michigan, Minnesota, and other states. In the most recent Michigan presidential primary, the Listen to Michigan campaign which is a coalition of African American, Arab American, Muslim American, and other voters is expected to receive approximately 10,000 votes.  The country was shocked to have more than 100,000 Michiganders take the time to vote for nobody instead of the incumbent president.

Michigan is a battleground state that President Biden won by fewer than 150,000 votes in 2020. The strength of that 2024 “uncommitted” protest vote sent an unambiguous message to the Democrats.On Super Tuesday Minnesota saw nearly 19 percent of its primary voters check the “uncommitted” box — an even higher ratio of voters than in Michigan. The focus of the voter’s ire in both Michigan and Minnesota is the Biden administrations unyielding support for genocide in Gaza.  The #AbandonBiden campaign has said that under no circumstances will it support Biden in November. “Our triumph in Michigan is more than a victory; it’s a declaration of our fury and our refusal to be silenced…”

According to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 4 in 10 U.S. adults want America to broadly take a “less active” role in solving global conflicts. In a recent poll from Data for Progress roughly three in four Democrats support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.  In the Data for Progress poll a total of 61% of Americans polled said they were in favor of a ceasefire.  The Democratic Party and its presumptive nominee, President Biden are ignoring their base.  This is a very dangerous tactic when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Americans are not excited about a Trump vs. Biden rematch.

In fact, there is a growing cohort called “double-haters,” those who are dissatisfied with Biden and Trump and do not want either candidate to win in November. Recent polls from the Marquette Law School, NYT-Siena College, and Morning Consult all reported 19 percent of those polled expressed dissatisfaction with both options. That is a large percentage of voters in a race that right now is within 1.5% to 2.0%, well within the margin of error.

Labor unions should be another area of concern for the Biden/Harris ticket.  This past January, UAW President Shawn Fein announced the UAW’s endorsement of President Biden.  Fain praised Biden for standing with the union during its strike against the Detroit Three automakers. The problem is the approximately 1 million rank and file membership may not follow the endorsement of UAW union leadership.  Following the union endorsement Fein explained that he expected most of the UAW membership would not vote for President Biden in November.  During an interview on Fox Business Network’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fain stated, “Let me be clear about this. A great majority of our members will not vote for President Biden…The majority of our members are gonna’ vote for their paychecks, they’re gonna’ vote for an economy that works for them.”

The Washington Post recently reported that The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents about 2 million health-care, property service and government workers, plans to spend $200 million to boost President Biden and Democrats in electoral battlegrounds across the country this year.  If the Democratic Party historically is the bastion of union politics and support, why is the UAW’s rank-and-file “gonna vote for their paychecks” (not for Biden) and why is the SEIU planning to spend $200M to get their vote out amongst a constituency that historically votes for Democrats?

According to The National Alliance to End Homeless, homelessness is on the rise in America. In 2022, counts of individuals (421,392 people) and chronically homeless individuals (127,768) reached record highs in the history of data collection. Unsheltered rates are also trending upward, impacting most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups.  As more than half of working Americans (53 percent), according to a recent Workforce Monitor study feel their paychecks are not keeping up with the pace of inflation, and Democrats; the Biden administration continues to find ways to send the much needed American tax dollar to war efforts in Ukraine and Gaza. According to Stephen Semler in Jacobin, “The Biden administration has been able to maintain a low profile by spreading arms provision to Israel across more than 100 smaller munitions sales”— allowing the president to posture as a peacekeeper while US weapons wipe Gaza off the map.

Voter disinterest is not at issue; voter apathy in not the new black.  The two major American political parties are listening to their corporate benefactors, talking amongst themselves in their echo chambers and are not listening to their constituents.  Maintain current the course and speed at your own peril.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a nationally broadcast talk radio host. An adjunct professor of political science. Host of the podcast Connecting the Dots w/ Dr. Wilmer Leon. Author of Politics Another Perspective. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com © 2024 InfoWave Communications, LLC

Dec. 22, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law.” -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

Calling for the genocide of Jews, or of any people, is hate speech that is incompatible with American values and the U.S. Constitution. 

As Americans, we cherish our constitutional right to free expression as passionately as we abhor bigotry, discrimination, and injustice.  In the words of Voltaire biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall, often misattributed to Voltaire himself, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."  

But we also live by another principle, expressed in an adage whose origins have been lost to time: Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.  

Nowhere is this paradox more vividly illustrated than on the campuses of our nation’s colleges and universities, where conflicting ideologies are passionately debated.  The lectures of controversial public figures are protested and boycotted.  Outspoken professors ignite controversy and invite censure. Students are challenged by seemingly radical new perspectives they may be encountering for the first time. 

But a university’s status as a thriving laboratory of thought – a place where the “fists” of free expression are swung zealously and audaciously – does not absolve it of the responsibility to safeguard its students’ safety and security.  

During testimony before Congress earlier this month, the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT declined to say whether to say whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies. 

The backlash led Penn’s President Liz Magill to resign, and ignited a national debate over what constitutes hate speech and whether it should be tolerated on campuses in the name of freedom of expression. 

To be clear, all three presidents have since clarified that antisemitism, in all its many and insidious forms, is at odds with the universities’ values.  And while the universities “embrace a commitment to free expression, even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful,” as Harvard President Claudine Gay testified, their policies prohibit bullying, harassment, and intimidation. 

This is, in theory, the balance that universities should endeavor to strike.  What’s hard to understand is why the presidents declined to affirm during their testimony that calls for violence against Jews around the world do violate their policies against bullying, harassment, and intimidation. 

In written testimony submitted prior to her appearance before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Magill said that Penn has “zero tolerance for violence or speech intended to incite it.” 

After the hearing, Gay issued a statement saying “There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account.” 

It's unfortunate their testimony to the Committee was not equally unambiguous. 

Contrary to some of the commentary presidents’ testimony, the First Amendment does not protect this kind of hate speech.  In its landmark decision in Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court held that speech can be prohibited if it is "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and it is "likely to incite or produce such action."  

Antisemitic incidents in the United States have soared since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, according to ADL, which has tracked at least 40 incidents of physical assault, 337 incidents of vandalism, and 749 incidents of verbal or written harassment. 

We must create climates on college campuses that make it clear to students that their right to free speech will be protected, but that condemnation of people based on race, religion, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation is inconsistent with the responsibility that goes along with the exercise of free speech and can lead to tragic consequences.   

Dec. 18, 2023

Lee Saunders

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - When working people stand together, raise their voice and show their power, they win.

That’s the lesson of 2023, a year in which workers boldly asserted their rights and refused to accept less than their fair share of the value they create.

Through October, nearly 500,000 workers had taken the courageous step of going on strike this year, three times the number that did during the first 10 months of 2022.  And almost 900,000 union workers have won pay hikes of at least 10% over the last year.

AFSCME affiliates across the country have been a part of this wave of strike activity. From workers in Yamhill County, Oregon, to employees in the Morgan County, Ohio, school district, AFSCME members withheld their labor until their employer afforded them the respect they deserve.

This is happening across the economy – from health care to hospitality. Writers, actors and other workers in the entertainment industry hung together for months until they finally got a better deal from their employers. Sometimes, just the threat of a strike forces management to soften and cede to workers’ demands. That’s what happened in the standoff between the city of San Jose, California and the Municipal Employees’ Federation–AFSCME Local 101 this summer. Similarly, the Teamsters were prepared to walk off the job at UPS but ultimately didn’t have to, using the leverage of a 97% strike authorization vote to land a historic contract.

Perhaps the year’s highest-profile worker action came from the United Auto Workers. In an unprecedented gambit, the union went on strike against all of the Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors and Stellantis – at the same time. UAW now has contracts with all three companies that include life-changing raises of up to 160%, as well as greater retirement security and union protections for those working on electric vehicles.

When workers are able to organize, bargain collectively and go on strike when necessary, the benefits are felt especially in communities of color. Unionization has been an economic lifeline for generations of Black people, in the public as well as the private sector. My father was a bus driver in the city of Cleveland, and while we sure weren’t rich when I was growing up, his union wages and benefits meant that we could have a decent life.  

Unions are a force for racial equity. While there are still major pay and wealth gaps between Black and white workers, they would be much larger if not for unions. And in 2022, median earnings for Black union members were more than 20% higher than for Black workers who don’t belong to a union.

No wonder African Americans are more likely to be union members and more likely to support unions than the population at large. So, as we look at strategies for growing the labor movement, organizing Black workers must be a top priority.

Workers of all races are feeling empowered and emboldened, claiming their seat at the table and inspired to take collective action. And strong public support is the wind at our back. Recent polling demonstrates that unions enjoy sky-high approval ratings, particularly among young people. Growing numbers of people want unions to be stronger and believe they are good for the economy.

As we close out 2023 and look ahead to a new year, the challenge for those of us in the labor movement is to build on this momentum. We must continue standing up to the boss and organizing new workers. We must continue bargaining good contracts and electing pro-worker allies. We must continue, every day, to talk about and demonstrate the power of the union difference.

Lee Saunders is president, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Dec. 11, 2023

Michael Grant (right), former president of the Nashville Branch of the NAACP and the National Bankers Association, congratulations Tennessee Rep. Harold Love on his election as the next president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

Rep. Harold M. Love, Jr.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) -  Tennessee Representative Harold M. Love, Jr., the next president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), served as host to the NBCSL’s recent conference held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Nashville. Representative of Tennessee’s 58^th legislative district, Love is now president-elect of the NBCSL. He will be sworn in as president next December 2025 in Washington, D.C.  

“One thing that I have thought about when it comes to leading NBCSL once I’m sworn in is to continue some of the work I’m doing now as president-elect. And one of the main focal points that I have been charged with by the current president is to establish a series of regional quarterly meetings.” 

Love says the NBCSL will begin holding in-person meetings throughout the year instead of one annual meeting, a strategy envisioned by current president, Alabama Rep. Laura Hall, and assigned to Rep. Love. 

“The benefit is that we can address issues a lot faster than to wait for the annual conference at the end of the year. Most legislators are in session part time and the issues that we have to address happens in many states and affects constituencies that we represent from voting rights to educational attainment to affordable housing and health issues,” he said. “And so, to have regional meetings on a quarterly basis will allow us to respond faster collectively and that’s the strength of NBCSL. We are a collection of caucuses from across the country…We work in silos, but it does help when we have an organization that can galvanize us and make us aware of issues that are moving from state to state. So much happens from January through November that we now can no longer wait to convene.” 

Representative Love has been groomed for national leadership since his youth. His father, the legendary Harold Love, Sr., served in the Tennessee state house for nearly 30 years. His mother, an educator, taught math for 10 years and acted as director of the federal government’s local Upward Bound program for 47 years at Tennessee State University. She passed away one year after retirement. 

Representative Love lavishes praise on both of his parents who taught him how to serve others. All of their efforts resulted in his finally being elected after three unsuccessful attempts to hold public office. According to Representative Love, who earned a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Theological Studies and a doctorate from Tennessee State University in public policy and who is also Senior Pastor at Lee Chapel AME Church, received some sage advice from his mentor, Rev. Sonnye Dixon: “Do the work for the community outside of elected office. Then you will be able to continue this work after you are elected”. 

From that, Rep. Love took that there are many paths to public service and to elective office.  

“I know some people who worked for individuals and for campaigns and then ran for elective office the first time and won. That was not my case. Even though I worked in my father’s campaign, even though I was fairly active in my community, I did not win until my fourth time running,” he recalls. “It was in that space that Rev. Dixon said to me, ‘I know you want to do well. I know you want to help your community. Put that to work outside the office. And then if you get in the office then you’ve done well. But even if you don’t get elected, you still engaged in helping to shape policy.’” 

There are many ways to serve, Love says. “We get caught up in the moment-in-time snapshot of election day…But we must also look for opportunities to serve on local and state level boards and commissions. We miss that. Local and state level boards. Or we can shadow someone in a legacy organization like the NAACP and the National Urban League and engage in that work.” 

The 2010 flood that damaged a section of Black Nashville, gave Dr. Love the opportunity to put Reverend Dixon’s advice to work. By taking the initiative and helping to organize the recovery funded by FEMA, a grateful community encouraged Representative Love to seek office again. This time, in 2012, he was resoundingly elected to represent the 58^th district of the Tennessee General Assembly. 

The 2010 flood was a deep learning experience for Rep. Love. 

“We often times do not adequately look into the long-lasting damage that is done to African-American communities post a national disaster. You think about the uprooting of a family, you think about the one of several entities that can appreciate in value – that’s the home – and what that looks like for that thing to now be gone. What it looks like for a person to have to relocate their entire family to another part of town and acclimate themselves to a new community, new amenities to all that is new. What does that disruption look like from the standpoint of the ripple effect because it doesn’t just affect them. We’re talking about a whole neighborhood. It affects their families and affects their friends.” 

Three major initiatives to date are accomplishments of Representative Love. They are as follows: 

1. Legislation to require TennCare to track and report on the most current treatment modalities for Sickle Cell Anemia. This legislation allowed constituents to hold TennCare accountable for keeping the public apprised of the latest developments in Sickle Cell research. Eleven states have subsequently passed similar legislation. 
2. Representative Love introduced legislation to amend the property tax freeze program for citizens 65 years of age and older who met the income requirements. He got the income ceiling lifted from $31,600 to $60,000 annual income. This legislation has allowed countless seniors to maintain their status as homeowners. Regardless of the increase in house values, the freeze would cap the property tax rate through the duration of homeownership. 
3. Finally, through a joint committee, headed by Representative Love, the historical under-funding of Tennessee State University, a Land Grant college, has been publicized. This gross inequity, dating from 1957-2020, has resulted in a finding that the State of Tennessee owes the school some half a billion dollars for capacity grant matching funds withheld. 

Asked what his vision for the NBCSL will be when he assumes office, Representative Love, with a comprehensive and methodical mind, stated that he wants to get his fellow legislators to take notice of the trend to empower state legislators by political conservatives and be prepared for what is coming at minority communities across the country, such as voter disenfranchisement and intimidation. He wants voters across the country to realize that voting is their obligation in a democracy. Also, that they should stay engaged in the political process from election day to the implementation of policies designed to ensure inclusion in government created opportunities. 

Rep. Love believes America’s leading issue is “Without a shadow of a doubt, voting rights.” 

He says he believes voting rights “impact everything else that we’ve been discussing. When you talk about voting rights it’s not just the surface-level election day process. The whole concept of who governs is linked into access to voting. If I don’t have easy, consistent access to vote, then I don’t get to engage in the process of deciding who governs. If I don’t get to decide who governs, then the person who’s dealing with legislation, that person may not have my interests at heart and I didn’t get to engage in a process to choose them or to not choose them…So, that is where it starts and ends as far as I’m concerns. Because without the ability to decide who governs, everything else is almost unattainable.” 

Michael A. Grant, J.D. is a former president of the Nashville Branch of the NAACP and the National Bankers Association in Washington, D.C.