New Baptist Convention President to Push for Renaissance in Black Community

Sept. 9, 2014

New Baptist Convention President to Push for Renaissance in Black Community
By Hazel Trice Edney

Rev. Dr. Jerry Young

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – If the Rev. Dr. Jerry Young, the new president of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., has his way, things will change in the Black community from the leadership down to the grassroots.

Young dreams of a day when Black leaders across the nation will set aside any competition and self-orientation that may exist. And then come to the table as servants to hone out an agenda that will successfully combat the devastating effects of the economic and social ills in the Black community.

“We’ve got to come to the table. And we’ve got to determine that God has not given us these gifts for competition but rather for cooperation,” says Young, elected Sept. 4. “And we’ve got to determine that we’re going to work collectively as a group to partner together to help bring about a renaissance in our communities. That’s what has to happen.”

Young rose to the top position from the office of the vice president at-large under the now former presidency of Dr. Julius Scruggs. Leading a membership of 33,000 churches that make up the largest Black religious organization in the nation, Young now has the national pulpit for the next five years to help make the renaissance happen.

“I am certainly going to do everything I can to seek to bring people to the table because here again this is a strong conviction of mine, that we must hold all of our leaders accountable and that all of our leaders have got to come to the table with a servant attitude who actually embrace the idea that God does not give to me what he gives to me for me, but for his glory and for the good of people,” Young says. “And I think that’s what we’ve got to do. I think we’ve got to come to the table.”

Gross economic disparities; police brutality and killings; mass incarceration; Black on Black homicides; roll backs of civil rights; and major health disparities are just some of the issues facing Black America that Young says must be addressed in a way that effects change for the nation as a whole. “We have got to be concerned about America - period - as well as our community.”

Young reportedly won about half (3,195) of all votes cast (6,400) for five candidates in last week's election during the Baptist's 134^th Annual Convention in New Orleans. Therefore, he also apparently has the support to forge his vision.

A native of Scott, Miss., Young said the Black church has fallen from the leadership and advocacy role it once held during the civil rights movement. This could be largely because other organizations, including para-church organizations, have moved into that role, he said. He described a para-church as “those who operate outside of the traditional church, whatever those organizations are.”

He said there are many individual churches that are still active and vibrant. But using the parable of the “frog and the kettle” he illustrated the general state of the Black Church as it relates to social justice:

“A frog is placed in this water. The water is quite comfortable and gradually they increase the heat and because they do it gradually the frog literally remains in the water until the water kills him because he’s unaware that the temperature is changing,” he said. “Now had that water been hot all along then obviously the frog would have undoubtedly left that water a long time ago. But that’s what happens when things creep very slowly, very slowly, very slowly. And I think that has happened in the context of the church because of so many other para-church organizations that are involved.”

Fitting the description of the para-church are organizations like the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Actual network. Young did not specifically name these civil rights leaders; nor their organizations. But Jackson and Sharpton – both with roots in the Baptist church – are notably among America’s most prominent civil rights leaders and those who are most often on the forefront of issues related to injustices against Black people.

“Those of us who are privileged to be in leadership have got to come up with an agenda to deal with these ills in our community. We must,” Young insists. “Otherwise, why are we in leadership positions?”

Pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss. for 34 years, Young’s vision of helping people largely springs from his childhood experiences. Having grown up in the South during the civil rights movement, Young says he will continue to draw from his roots in order to address social ills.

“I was born on a Mississippi plantation. I grew up as a boy on the plantation in the Mississippi Delta,” he recalls. “I have seen the worst that there is to see. And I have seen people exploited, dehumanized, and all the rest. I’ve been here all my life. And now that God has granted me the privilege to serve in this position, my greatest desire is to use this position to do good for other people. How can I make a difference in terms of the quality of life for people? How can I bring glory to God? That’s what I want to do. Show me where I can do that and Jerry Young will be right there.”

The National Baptist Convention was lauded by President Barack Obama, who sent videotaped remarks focused on its historic works.

“For 128 years, you’ve been bending the arch of the moral universe closer to justice by working to advance equality and opportunity and respect for all,” President Obama said. “On some of the most urgent challenges of our history, from the fight for equal voting rights to giving all of our children a chance at a world-class education, you’ve been out in front reminding us what’s right, pushing us to do better and to be better." Obama also thanked the organization for their support of My Brothers’ Keeper, his staple mentorship program, announced last year.

Young says he has a particular heart for youth and education. His 3,000-member New Hope Baptist has "one of the best schools in the nation". Students go from 6 months to 4 years old; then from kindergarten to the sixth grade. His congregation is currently building a new church that will teach students to the 8th grade.

Now on the national stage, Young says he has “absolutely no desire to become a celebrity” – only to remain a servant. He says balancing spiritual evangelism with social activism has always been the appropriate role of the church. God’s call to Christians is to be both spiritually and socially responsible, he says.

“I think the church has to, without a doubt, embrace a dual role within the community. We’ve got to be evangelistic. That’s priority number one. But, by the same token, we have to be socially responsible,” he says. “The God who is the God of our justification is the same God who is concerned about justice. I think that has to be clearly understood within the context of the church.”

Ferguson Police Officers to Wear Cameras by Zenitha Prince

Sept. 8, 2014

Ferguson Police Officers to Wear Cameras
By Zenitha Prince

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Ferguson, Mo. police officers have been outfitted with body cameras after weeks of unrest in response to the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teen. Law enforcement and eyewitnesses have offered very different accounts of what transpired on Aug. 9 when Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown multiple times in the head and chest.

Authorities claim Brown had been engaged in a struggle with the officer. But witnesses say the 18-year-old victim’s hands were raised in surrender when Wilson shot and killed him. The inconsistency has spurred calls for police officers across the country to be equipped with body cameras to help offer accurate, objective accounts of police encounters. For example, a White House petition with more than 150,000 signatures calls for the creation of a “Mike Brown Law” that would require all police officers to wear the cameras.

“The law shall be made in an effort to not only detour police misconduct (i.e. brutality, profiling, abuse of power), but to ensure that all police are following procedure, and to remove all question from normally questionable police encounters,” the petition reads. The law would also help “to hold all parties within a police investigation accountable for their actions.”

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch his department was given approximately 50 body cameras by two companies, Safety Visions and Digital Ally, about a week ago. According to a statement posted on the company’s website, the donation was an attempt to protect both law enforcement and the public by providing transparency during investigations.

“The city of Ferguson has gone through an unfortunate series of events and Safety Vision body cameras and flashlight DVR will assist in capturing prima facie evidence for investigations involving vandalism, looting, and shots fired,” the company said in the statement. According to the Post-Dispatch, Ferguson police officers used the cameras for the first time on Aug. 30 during ongoing protests.

According to Jackson, the devices have been well-received by officers. “They are really enjoying them,” he said. “They are trying to get used to using them.”

The wearable video recorders are catching on elsewhere. New York’s police commissioner is expected to announce a pilot program in the near future in which 50 officers in five of the city’s 76 precincts will be outfitted with the cameras. A federal judge ordered the department to test-run the devices after ruling that New York officers had acted unconstitutionally by stopping and frisking Blacks and Latinos in disproportionate numbers. Despite increasing calls for use of the cameras, there are some who worry the devices may undermine privacy.

Poll: 70 Percent of Blacks Think Police Use Excessive Force

Sept. 7, 2014

Poll: 70 Percent of Blacks Think Police Use Excessive Force

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - After the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, by Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson, an overwhelming number of African-Americans give low marks to police departments for not holding officers accountable for misconduct, using the appropriate amount of force and treating racial and ethnic groups equally, according to a poll by Pew Research Center and USA Today.

Some 70 percent of Blacks say police departments do a poor job of holding officers accountable for misconduct and an equal percentage say police departments do a poor job of treating racial and ethnic groups equally.

Some 57 percent of Blacks think police departments do a poor job of using the right amount of force.

Justice Department Launches Investigation into Ferguson Police Practices By Zenitha Prince

Sept. 7, 014

DOJ Investigates Ferguson Police Practices
By Zenitha Prince

eric_holder_official_portrait

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspaper

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Department of Justice has launched a wide-ranging civil rights investigation into the practices of the Ferguson Police Department following the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teen by White officer last month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Sept. 4.

The new investigation is separate from an ongoing federal civil rights investigation probe into the Aug. 9 slaying of Michael Brown, 18, by Officer Darren Wilson.

Since the shooting—the exact circumstances of which differ according to the source—the city of Ferguson has been mired in violence and chaos. Protestors claim the incident is another in a series of racial injustices perpetrated by police officers against African Americans around the nation.

As part of an effort to quell the turmoil and to bring resolution to the situation, Holder visited Ferguson and met with area leaders and residents, who shared stories of their own mistreatment or discrimination at the hands of police.

“I heard from them directly about the deep mistrust that has taken hold between law enforcement officials and members of the community,” Holder said in a statement. “People consistently expressed concerns stemming from specific alleged incidents, from general policing practices, and from the lack of diversity on Ferguson’s police force.”

“These anecdotal accounts underscored the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention,” he continued. “As a result of this history—and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data—we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson Police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law.”

The new DOJ probe will assess the police department’s use of force, including deadly force. It will also analyze stops, searches, and arrests, and will examine the treatment of individuals detained at Ferguson’s city jail, in addition to other potentially discriminatory policing techniques and tactics.

Ferguson’s minority residents have long complained of being disproportionately targeted by police for traffic stops. A 2013 report from the Missouri attorney general’s office backed up that claim, showing a major racial disparity in police stops and searches, with African Americans being twice as likely as Whites to be searched and arrested.

Residents of the city also chafe at the imbalance of power. While the city is almost 70 percent Black, there are only three African-American officers on the police department’s 50-member force.

Holder also announced the department is working with the St. Louis County Police Department in a “collaborative reform effort.” The partnership is led by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, which is working closely with St. Louis County officials to conduct a comprehensive assessment.

Black leaders and members of the civil rights community praised Holder’s decision to launch a more comprehensive investigation.

“The Justice Department’s decision to initiate a pattern and practice investigation of the Ferguson Missouri Police Department that we previously requested sends a signal that review and relief for substantive complaints about the quality of policing in the community is on the way,” Congressional Black Caucus members Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) and Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) said in a statement. The group previously sent a letter to Holder on Aug. 11 calling for independent DOJ investigations into Brown’s shooting and the allegations of long-running police misconduct.

“The Department’s additional decision to engage the St. Louis County Police Department in the COPS technical assistance program is further evidence of the Attorney General’s commitment to remedy the root causes of the unrest triggered by the tragic shooting of Michael Brown,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Eric Holder’s Inaction in Trayvon Civil Rights Case Called ‘Disappointing’ by Hazel Trice Edney

Sept. 1, 2014

Holder’s Inaction in Trayvon Civil Rights Case Called ‘Disappointing’
With Michael Brown Case Now Before Him, Has Holder Dropped the Ball on Trayvon Martin?

Trayvon Martin

Group assembled in front of the White House Monday holding boxes containing more than 900,000 petition
pushing for Civil Rights violation charges against police officer who shot Michael Brown. PHOTO: Roy Lewis/Trice Edney News Wire

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – The NAACP delivered 1.7 million signatures to the U. S. Department of Justice a year ago, requesting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla.

Despite the outrage and demands for justice after Zimmerman was acquitted of second degree murder, Attorney General Eric Holder has yet to announce a clear answer on his findings in the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old who quickly became a household name across America. Ben Jealous, the NAACP President who collected many of the names and electronically delivered the signatures says he’s disappointed at the delay, but is still awaiting Holder’s answer.

“Attorney General Holder was very responsive when we initially reached out to ask for answers around Trayvon Martin,” says Jealous, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “It is disappointing that the investigation has gone on for so long without a conclusion when the injustice is so evident. However, I am keeping the faith. I'm encouraged by the swift response Holder's Justice Department has had so far in Ferguson.”

Trayvon Martin was shot dead by Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012. Despite national outcries, a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder on July 13, 2013. The case largely centered on a debate over whether Zimmerman was defending himself although he was the one who confronted and pursued Martin against the advice of a 911 operator.

Using expletives, Zimmerman said on the 911 tape, "They always get away." For civil rights leaders and others, this statement was clear evidence that Martin, wearing a hoodie, was racially profiled by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman. The unarmed teenager was actually only walking home from a store with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea.

After the controversial verdict in the criminal trial, justice seekers, largely led by the NAACP and ColorOfChange, then sought redress through the Justice Department, pushing for an indictment of Zimmerman on a civil rights violation. Holder promised a thorough investigation, but has yet to announce a conclusion.

On Friday, August 29, a group pushing for justice in the Aug. 9 Michael Brown killing by Ferguson, Mo. police officer, Darren Wilson, delivered more than 900,000 signatures on a petition, also in support of a civil rights charge. Holder, who visited the Ferguson amidst unrest over the killing of Brown, who was also unarmed, has again promised a thorough investigation into the case in which witnesses said Brown had raised his hands when shot. A grand jury will determine whether to bring criminal charges against the officer.

Meanwhile in the civil rights investigation against Zimmerman, some say the assumption that the Justice Department couldn't find anything is not good enough. Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, says Holder’s silence on the Martin case could engender a lack of confidence in the Brown and other cases.

“We want an answer,” says Jackson. “The wheels of justice must move quickly or it will erode people’s confidence,” he said, adding he hopes Holder’s response on Trayvon “will come soon.”

The Trice Edney News Wire has attempted several times to attain the Justice Department’s status on the civil rights investigation into the Trayvon Martin case. However, Press Secretary Kevin Lewis has still not responded to two phone calls and an email sent earlier this year. Lewis is former Black Press liaison at the White House under the Obama Administration.

On Nov. 4, 2013, Holder, questioned by reporters at an unrelated press conference, said the Justice Department had not yet decided whether to file charges against Zimmerman, but that the investigation was continuing.

Some civil rights leaders acknowledge that Holder has not given a clear answer, but they are also hoping that both criminal and civil rights charges in the death of Michael Brown will finally bring national change to cases of unarmed Blacks being shot by police.

“Holder is different on this one,” says Barbara Arnwine, executive director and CEO of the Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights Under Law, one of the groups that called for the civil rights investigation in the Martin case. “He’s not the same man he was at that time,” says Arnwine. She pointed out that since the death of Martin, Holder has “spent two years investigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system” and has begun to push policy changes.

Still there are those who say more should have been done on all fronts.

“The death of Michael Brown makes me angry and disappointed in the lack of progress since the death of Trayvon Martin,” says Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, founder and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. He says the greatest sign of hope will be the arrest and prosecution of the police officer who killed Brown.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, agrees with Ogletree, but indicates that he is currently eying the brown case given eye witness testimony that he was trying to give up when fatally shot.

“Every case is unique,” he said. “All I know about this case is that he was executed.” Crump said he believes the shootings will diminish when “the shooters are held accountable for the killing of our children.”