President Joseph Biden

Maya Wiley, president, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Damon Hewitt, LCCR president

Former President Barack Obama

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Joe Biden is receiving wide applause among Black leadership for his executive order that attempts to assure that artificial intelligence (AI) remains within boundaries that respect civil rights and adhere to principles of democracy. But the question remains whether the executive order goes far enough to protect Black people - particular from abusive law enforcement.

“We believe in the potential for AI to be a powerful tool to help advance our vision of opportunity and prosperity for Black and Brown people. But we cannot let the tools of the future reinforce the mistakes of the past. Guardrails must be implemented now to ensure that this emerging technology centers equity at every step of development and implementation,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCR), in a statement issued following Biden’s signing of the executive order. “This executive order is a critical step to help guard against algorithmic bias and discrimination.  It can be the beginning of a pathway to a future where AI empowers instead of oppresses.”

Hewitt says the executive order prepares the federal government “to prevent and address bias and discrimination in new technologies; but more action is needed to fully address harmful AI used by law enforcement.”

Tech experts have pointed out that abusive AI tactics have been racially biased, especially against Black people.

An article titled, “Racial Discrimination in Face Recognition Technology,” written by Harvard University biotech consultant, Alex Najibi, points out that face recognition technology, a form of AI often used by police departments and in airport screening, as well as employment and housing decisions, has been known to involve “significant racial bias, particularly against Black Americans.”

Najibi adds, “Even if accurate, face recognition empowers a law enforcement system with a long history of racist and anti-activist surveillance and can widen pre-existing inequalities.”

He writes that “despite widespread adoption, face recognition was recently banned for use by police and local agencies in several cities, including Boston and San Francisco” because face recognition “is the least accurate” of all recognition technologies such as fingerprinting.

While applauding the Administration on its initial steps to direct agencies to determine how AI is used in criminal justice, the LCCR says Biden’s executive order does not go far enough to actually address “harmful uses of AI by law enforcement agencies, such as the discriminatory use of facial recognition technologies.”

President Barack Obama, who also released a statement, pointed out that he asked his staff seven years ago to study “how artificial intelligence could play a growing role in the future of the United States.”

He pointed out additional problems that could occur, including national security threats.

“We don’t want anyone with an internet connection to be able to create a new strain of smallpox, access nuclear codes, or attack our critical infrastructure. And we have to make sure this technology doesn’t fall into the hands of people who want to use it to turbocharge things like cybercrime and fraud,” Obama states.

He credited organizations such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Upturn to the Alignment Research Center for “tackling these questions, and making sure more people feel like their concerns are being heard and addressed.”

The Leadership Conference, led by Maya Wiley, president, wrote a letter to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on August 4, urging the Administration to focus Biden’s executive order on “protecting the American public from the current and potential harms of this technology— including threats to people’s rights, civil liberties, opportunities, jobs, economic well-being, and access to critical resources and services.” That letter was co-signed by LCCR, the NAACP, and the Center for American Progress among others.

The Executive Order directs the following requirements for organizations using AI:

• Require that developers of the most powerful AI systems share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government. 
• Develop standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy. 
• Protect against the risks of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials by developing strong new standards for biological synthesis screening.
• Protect Americans from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards and best practices for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content.
• Establish an advanced cybersecurity program to develop AI tools to find and fix vulnerabilities in critical software.
• Order the development of a National Security Memorandum that directs further actions on AI and security.

The focus of the executive order is primarily to assure a fair and safe future while using AI, Biden says. But the LCCR insists the order needs more work and vows to continue working with the Administration to that end.

Hewitt concluded, “To make that future a reality, civil rights-focused protections must apply to every aspect of our lives touched by AI technology, including the harmful use of AI by law enforcement. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration on how we can address the full scope of this challenge and fully leverage the opportunity before us.” 

Oct. 29, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - After three weeks of chaos, the Republicans got their man. In a party-line vote, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was finally elected speaker of the House, with Johnson receiving the votes of all 220 Republicans who cast a ballot while all 209 Democrats present voted for Hakeem Jeffries.

During his first speech as the 56^th speaker of the House, Johnson vowed to “rebuild and restore” the trust of the American people, which he acknowledged had been damaged by the turmoil of recent weeks. “We want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations. Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear: The People’s House is back in business.”

As the American people listen to Johnson and all factions making up the House Republican caucus, it is obvious that the internal enemies to America’s freedom and democracy are a greater threat than those from around the world. As the House members report back to duty, it is not simply a House divided between Democrats and Republicans, but Republicans versus Republicans.

The negotiations and compromises by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy resulted in a bipartisan temporary funding bill, which ultimately passed with more Democratic than Republican votes. One small act of leadership and bipartisanship triggered a motion to remove McCarthy. Hard-right Republicans turned on McCarthy just as they had turned on Paul Ryan and John Boehner. Former Speaker Boehner was previously threatened with a motion to vacate but escaped the removal process.

Johnson was the party’s fourth nominee to replace the ousted McCarthy. The previous nominees, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Rep. Jim Jordan, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, failed to unite a dysfunctional Republican caucus. The Republicans went as far as to blame the Democrats for failing to throw McCarthy a lifeline to save his job. While the predictions of a Republican red wave never materialized in the 2022 midterm election, the GOP still flipped the House, resulting in a small majority. Despite becoming the majority party in control, Republicans continue to show they remain the “party of no.” Seeing how the extreme factions of the party have taken control, few agents of unity remain within the GOP.

Therefore, is it realistic to believe that the new House speaker will have the ability to “restore and rebuild” trust after the American people witnessed how a bitterly divided GOP caucus used bullying tactics and death threats against their members over speaker votes? If there is no respect for their fellow GOP members when they disagree with each other, how can any responsible person lead this group while working in a bipartisan fashion with the Democrats when the circumstance of the nation calls for it?

With either their support or opposition to the advancement of critical legislation, the individual who holds the House speaker’s position has tremendous power that can impact the lives of every American. Therefore, any American who stands for democracy and against authoritarianism cannot trust Johnson, who, like Jordan, supported Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections. While some will passionately vote for the protection of the Second Amendment, the same degree of passion needs to be given to the Fourteenth Amendment.

A key element of the Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship to all persons “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people, and provides all citizens with “equal protection under the laws,” extending the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states. The amendment authorized the government to punish states that abridged citizens’ right to vote by proportionally reducing their representation in Congress. It banned those who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding any civil, military, or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.

Donald Trump and his allies consistently promoted the idea of massive voter fraud and irregularities in big cities and counties with large populations of people of color. It is the votes of minority voters that Trump, Jordan, and Johnson sought to invalidate in cities such as Detroit, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. Therefore, we cannot overlook the Fourteenth Amendment concerning the new speaker. Johnson had argued Biden’s win was bogus, and he appeared to pressure 125 House Republicans to join him in filing a brief to the Supreme Court supporting a Texas lawsuit to overturn Biden’s win in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He told them Donald Trump was watching.

 To end this chaos, the Democrats must flip the House back to the Democrats and make Hakeem Jeffries the House speaker.

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

Oct. 1, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Unless warring factions of Republicans in the House of Representatives can come to their senses, the United States government will shut down next Sunday. Some may not notice – we tend to rely on government only when we are in need. But the impact – and the hurt – will be immediate – and will grow over time. Nearly a million federal employees will be furloughed and sent home without pay until there is a resolution. Everything we rely on from the government will slow down or be halted. Home mortgage and loan applications will be delayed.

The inability to get government permits will impede everything from commercial fishing to health research to visas and passports. National parks will struggle to stay open, but they will overflow with human waste. Health and scientific research will be disrupted. As we continue to get hit with extreme weather, the emergency help provided by the government will start to run out. Some vital services will continue. The military will stay on the job – although civilian defense workers will either be sent home or work without pay. Social Security and Medicare checks will go out – but the newly retired are likely to find their applications delayed. As always, the vulnerable will be hurt the most. The janitors that clean offices, the food workers that serve food in cafeterias, the security guards who provide safety and others who work for government contractors will not be paid – and may never be paid for what they lose. Many of these earn poverty wages. Their families will suffer if they lose income for a few days, much less a few weeks.

The White House reports that 10,000 children from low-income families would lose access to the Head Start preschool program. Pell grants will continue, but new applications will be delayed. An extended delay will constrict federal aid to schools, parks, police, and arts programs. Families living in public housing will get hit. With HUD employees sent home, funding to fix furnaces, roofs, and windows will be disrupted. As contracts for low-income housing expire, HUD will be unable to renew them. Those seeking to start a new business will be unable to secure loans from the Small Business Administration. Subcontractors across the country – the smaller businesses that supply vital services to bigger government contractors – will go without pay; many will be forced to the edge. This shutdown – if it occurs – will be worse than the one that took place when Donald Trump was president. At that time, Congress had passed appropriations for several major agencies – from the Defense Department to the Department of Education. They continued to operate as normal. This time, the House has failed to pass any appropriations bill.

Republicans could not even agree on a Defense Appropriations Bill to send to the Senate. The threat comes directly from the chaos in the Republican Party. This isn’t a battle between the parties. The Republican majority in the House hasn’t even begun to negotiate with the Democratic majority in the Senate. Republicans can’t agree among themselves on what to pass, with their leaders held hostage by an extreme right that even Republican House members call the “clown show.” The objectors claim to be concerned about deficits but that’s not true. Any serious effort on deficits would have to include reversing the deep tax cuts given to the rich and getting control of soaring medical and defense spending. The objectors want more tax breaks for the wealthy, more money for the Pentagon, and oppose even modest steps to rein in prescription drug costs. Their main target is any provision that goes to the vulnerable. Republicans already blocked extension of the child tax credit that reduced childhood poverty by 40 percent during the pandemic.

Now they want to cut aid to schools, food stamps, support for low-cost housing, Pell grants for students and more – and, of course, reverse Biden’s programs to rebuild our infrastructure or begin to deal with the climate crisis. In order to avoid a government default on our debt earlier this year, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated an agreement with Joe Biden on funding levels for the coming year. Now the zealots in McCarthy’s party refuse to abide by that deal. McCarthy could sidestep them and put together a majority, drawing from the bulk of his party and moderate Democrats, but he refuses to reach out to Democrats. The result: a handful of right-wing zealots are barreling toward forcing a shutdown of the entire government.

Efforts will be made this week simply to pass a short-term “continuing resolution (CR).” That would fund the government at current levels for a few weeks or months providing more time to figure a way out. Hopefully, there are enough sensible Republicans in the House to join with Democrats to pass the CR and keep the government running. Millions will suffer if that doesn’t happen – and they will suffer for no good reason at all.

Sept. 3, 2023 

Lee Saunders 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As we celebrated Labor Day, it was an exciting a time as any in recent memory to be a part of a union. Working people are seeing what the union difference is all about, and they want to be a part of it.

Unions are overwhelmingly popular as the newest Gallup poll on attitudes toward labor unions shows.

Across the country, there is a bold surge of worker activism, as more people raise their voice on the job and claim their seat at the table. Workers are organizing with renewed vigor and winning some of our best contracts in decades. In the cultural sector, for example, 6,000 workers at museums, libraries, zoos and other cultural institutions have joined AFSCME since 2019. Municipal workers in New Orleans – a part of the country that hasn’t historically been labor-friendly – won collective bargaining rights this summer.

In city after city, we are seeing that same energy and enthusiasm during local job fairs that AFSCME is sponsoring as part of “Staff the Front Lines” – our new initiative to recruit qualified people for vacancies in public service. Job seekers are flocking to these hiring events in droves – nearly 200 people showed up in Philadelphia on a recent Monday afternoon.

They have heard our message that public service jobs are good jobs that can support a family and provide a career path. These are very often union jobs that come with strong protections, plus a unique sense of solidarity and fellowship with your co-workers. You get excellent benefits, including a pension so you can one day retire with dignity. These are also jobs with a purpose that allow you to make a difference in the lives of your neighbors.

Our strategy is working. After a huge drop in public sector employment during the pandemic, we are seeing a bounce back, especially in places where we enjoy strong partnerships with employers. Those best-in-decades contracts we’re negotiating are helping retain valued public service workers. And many employers are making steady progress bringing in new people who want to do work that strengthens their communities, while enjoying the rights and freedoms of union membership. Nationwide, July was the 16th consecutive month of growth in state and local government jobs, with a total of 315,000 added since the beginning of this year.

But there are still many positions to fill, and so we are casting a wide net. In many places, we are doing grassroots outreach to young people, to communities of color and to populations that are underrepresented in these jobs. That means, for example, working with faith leaders, asking them to spread the word in their churches and mosques that public service employers are looking for new talent – for nurses, corrections officers, sanitation workers, school bus drivers and more. We will do what it takes, because it’s critical that the public service workforce look like our communities.

Diversity in the public service has a rich history. Jobs in state and local government have been an economic lifeline for generations of Black people, especially when other doors of opportunity were slammed shut. This is my family’s story, so this is personal for me. My father drove a city bus in Cleveland, Ohio – a good union job that gave us some modest security and stability. We weren’t living on Easy Street for sure, but there was food on the table for dinner and a roof over my head at night.

We want to give more people of all races that chance – the chance to be one of the everyday heroes of public service, the chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself by joining a union.

This Labor Day, we honored the sacrifice of all working people. And we affirmed that life is better in a union. In the months and years to come, through “Staff the Front Lines” and other campaigns, we will keep fighting to help more people discover the union difference.

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