Jan. 6, 2013

Black Church and Youth Balls Among D.C. Inaugural Galas
By Afro American Newspapers and Trice Edney News Wire

Pernessa Seele is founder/CEO, The Balm in Gilead

Jermaine Crawford, founder, Code Blue

(TriceEdneyWire.com)- The leaders of African American churches will, once again, convene in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Weekend to commemorate one of the most extraordinary events in American history – the second term and inauguration of President Obama, America’s first president of African descent.

In an inaugural ball to be held Jan. 20, the gala celebration will mark the historic event and honor the Keepers of the Flame recipients, individuals whose lifetime achievements and contributions to society and culture have contributed to the realization of this moment in time.

“For certain, the African American Church must mark this moment with great pride, honor and power. For today, we stand on the shoulders of so many who bled and died for this moment of witness, of which we consecrate with our joy and commitment to continue to fight for equality and justice for all,” according to the organizers’ mission statement on the African American Church Inaugural Ball website. The Black church ball, to be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington, is a sequel to the premiere event in 2009 and will feature leaders from the religious, civic, business, arts, and entertainment communities.

Separately, a H.O.P.E. Inaugural Youth Ball, to be held Jan. 20 at the newly renovated historic Howard Theatre, will mark the occasion with a benefit for homeless teens. Jermaine Crawford, visionary of the event, is best known for his starring role on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire. He played Duquan “Dukie” Weems, a homeless teen on the callous streets of Baltimore. While playing the character, Jermaine “was inspired to be a voice for his peers whose reality was that of which he only portrayed,” states an announcement from the organization.

Crawford founded Code Blue nearly five years ago. It is an organization that focuses on bringing solutions to eradicate the youth homeless problem. Crawford held a similar ball for President Obama’s first inauguration.

This year, he is holding the late afternoon ball in partnership with Out of the Box Design, Inc., a D.C.-based event decoration and design company, headed by Wanda Crawford, Out of the Box’s executive director.

“The Ball gives youth the opportunity to share in the inaugural festivities surrounding the swearing in of President Barack Obama and join with the rest of the nation in honoring his example of moving FORWARD,” said the release. “The Ball promises to be an evening of family-friendly elegance and entertainment. There will be souvenir photographs, celebrity appearances, performances and much more!”

Code Blue quotes statistics from national homeless agencies saying 1.8 million youth become homeless each year across the U. S. Proceeds from the event will be donated to The Sasha Bruce Youthwork. Sasha Bruce focuses on meeting the urgent needs of homeless youth and their families in Washington D.C. Past celebrity guests for the H.O.P.E Inaugural Ball were recording artist Wynter Gordon, comedian Dave Chappelle and musician Fredric Yonnet.

For more information about the H.O.P.E Inaugural Ball 2013, contact Wanda Crawford at 301.485.9565 or go to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Black church ball, themed, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” will honor leaders with the “2013 Keepers of the Flame” Award. The recipients are individuals who have sustained an unshakable commitment to our future and who have earned an undeniable place in the African American book of history. Confirmed honorees include: Muhammad Ali; Bishop George E. Battle, Jr.; Bishop Philip R. Cousin, Sr.; Andraé Crouch; Ed Dwight; Joycelyn Elders, MD; Bishop William H. Graves, Sr.; Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale; Hugh Masekela; Rev. Dr. Otis J. Moss, Jr.; Jessye Norman; Beny Primm, MD, and Cicely Tyson.

Other honorees to be confirmed include: The Honorable Andrew Young, Hon. William J. Clinton, Ruby Dee, Aretha Franklin, Rev. Dr. Cain Hope Felder, Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon, and Dr. Vernon J. Jordan, Sr.

In 2009, distinguished honorees included: Dr. Maya Angelou, Donna Brazile, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Dr. Marian Wright Edelman, Dr. John Hope Franklin, Earl Graves, Sr., Rev. Dr. William H. Gray, III, Bishop Barbara Harris, Dr. Dorothy I. Height, The Honorable Alexis Herman, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Hooks, Congressman John Lewis, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Marc Morial, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Gardner Taylor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker Sr.

“This inauguration is an extraordinary mark in American history, punctuated by those who so gallantly served so we could see such a time,” said Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, II, Inaugural Ball Chair and pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon, NY. “This is certainly a time when the African American church community can be proud of its contributions to this great country and honor the work that has been done and those who have made an indelible footprint in the sands of history.”

The executive producer is Pernessa Seele, founder and CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., the gala’s fundraising beneficiary. The Balm In Gilead, a nonprofit, international organization, is committed to a dynamic, community-driven approach, contributing a lasting response to health disparities and ensuring that African Americans will become fully knowledgeable about the Affordable Care Act.

“This African American Church Inaugural Ball not only celebrates history and President Obama’s second term, it also honors the work that he has enacted, such as The Affordable Care Act, an essential tool for decreasing the rates of preventable diseases in African American communities,” Seele said in a statement.

For more information on the African American Church Inaugural Ball, visit www.AACIB.org. For more information on Pernessa Seele and The Balm In Gilead, visit www.balmingilead.org. The Media should contact UniWorld Group, Inc. – Teresa Lyles Holmes, (212) 219-7239, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or Camille Gray, (212) 219-7121, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Jan. 6, 2013

CBC Reluctantly Support Obama 'Cliff' Deal

U. S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) voted against the bill.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In a stunning climax, President Obama scored a last-minute victory as Congress halted income tax increases for 99 percent of Americans in a bid to keep the nation from g o i n g over the so-called “f i s c a l cliff.”

T h e deal came together near midnight Jan. 1 as the House joined the Senate in supporting the deal largely forged by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The president, though, failed to win unanimous support from the 39-member Congressional Black Caucus for the final bill that will raise taxes for individuals making more than $400,000 a year and couples with a combined income of more than $450,000.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby”Scott, D-Newport News, Va., refused to join the 36 Caucus members, who as their then chairman, Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver put it, “reluctantly and cautiously” voted yes. Rep. Cleaver said the yes votes showed support for the deal’s agreement to protect lower-income people from tax increases, save long-term unemployment benefits for 2 million jobless and preserve Earned Income Tax Credits for the working poor. The deal also saved tax credits for college students and child care, he said.

Rep. Scott, though, broke with the president and the Caucus to oppose what he called an “irresponsible deal. He said the deal would pave the way for future drastic cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and other portions of the social safety net to cover the cost.

Rep. Scott, who also represents Richmond, was one of the two Caucus members who opposed the “fiscal cliff” deal. The other was outgoing Republican Rep. Allen B. West of Florida. (Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia did not vote because he left Washington on Monday to return to Atlanta in the wake of his wife Lillian’s death.)

Ironically, Rep. Scott, a liberal Democrat, ended up on the same side archconservative House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Henrico County, who also voted no, mostly because the approved bill did not contain cuts in federal spending. In a sharply worded statement following the vote, Rep. Scott explained that he voted against the proposal “because it cut taxes and will add a staggering $3.9 trillion to our deficit (over 10 years) with no indication of how (the tax cuts) will be paid for.”

He spent the past year urging the president and House colleagues to let the Bush tax cuts expire as the best way to deal with the country’s massive deficit. He maintained that position.

“This bill,” Rep. Scott continued, “does nothing to reduce our deficit. It does, however, make the task of responsibly reducing the deficit more difficult and makes it much more likely that seniors, the disabled and our more vulnerable communities will bear the greatest burden.”

He was among 167 members of the 435-member U.S. House who opposed the agreement. The measure passed by 257 votes or 39 more than the 218 needed for a majority. Rep. Scott, Virginia’s lone Black congressman and an avid Obama supporter, was joined in opposition by nine other Virginia representatives, including Rep. Cantor. The only Virginia House vote for the deal came from Rep. Gerald Connelly, D-Fairfax. Both Virginia senators, Mark R. Warner and outgoing Jim Webb, voted for the deal that passed the 100-member upper chamber 89-8. 

Despite the overwhelming Caucus vote for the deal, Rep. Cleaver said the members continue to be concerned about an array of potentially “dangerous and detrimental” spending cuts that were delayed for two months by the deal and remain on the table as Congress prepares by February to vote on raising the federal borrowing limit. Rep. Clever said the Caucus will continue to focus on the impact that such cuts could have on “communities of color and other vulnerable populations.”

Clever concluded, the Caucus “remains committed to serving as the ‘conscience of the Congress’ and protecting vulnerable communities.”

Emancipation Proclamation Celebrated in Former Confederate Capital
By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Audience members joyfully respond at Richmond’s Emancipation Proclamation celebration service Jan. 1, marking the150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s issuance of the freedom document. PHOTO: Jerome Reid/Richmond Free Press

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

 (TriceEdneyWire.com) - The church rocked to the sounds of gospel music, and people danced in the aisles at the freedom celebration on New Year’s Day. 

The event: Richmond’s worship service to mark the 150th anniversary of the President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation — the landmark Civil War edict he issued Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves in Virginia and nine other rebel Southern states fighting to uphold human bondage. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, whose un-American mission was to preserve slavery and destroy the United States.

“When I see what God has done for us, when I think of where we were and where we are, I know that God is still working miracles,” Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, also a Baptist minister, told the nearly 700 people who packed Fifth Baptist Church in the West End.

The service was the only area event — and the largest in Virginia — to mark the proclamation that paved the way for full abolition two years later with the passage of the 13th Amendment and also opened the door for the enlistment of 180,000 Black soldiers who were pivotal in the Union victory over the Confederacy and slavery.

In welcoming participants, the Rev. Earl M. Brown, pastor of Fifth Baptist, held up a recent edition of the Richmond Free Press in which the newspaper devoted a full page to feature the full text of the Emancipation Proclamation. Rev. Brown said the newspaper’s editor/publisher, Raymond H. Boone, had provided hundreds of copies, “particularly for the young people” in attendance.

The minister urged participants to take copies to share with their children and grandchildren, citing the newspaper’s inclusion of photos of President Lincoln and the great abolitionist advocate Frederick Douglass. In the same edition, the Free Press also recognized Dr. W. L. Ransome, the late founder of the annual proclamation worship service and civil rights advocating pastor of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, of which the mayor is now the senior pastor.

Mayor Jones was among a handful of elected officials who attended the three-hour service hosted by the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Richmond and Vicinity to mark the great occasion. This was the 74th service since the annual program began in 1940. Others included Richmond Delegates Betsy B. Carr and Jennifer McClellan, Richmond state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III and Henrico County Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson, also pastor of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Jackson Ward.

Sen. Marsh told the audience, “I teared up” in thinking back to the horrors that people endured before slave auction blocks were completely dismantled — begun by the proclamation. “This is just a tidbit of what African-Americans went through,” Sen. Marsh said.

He said that the state commission he chairs, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission, planned to host events over the next two years to celebrate the proclamation and also is seeking to establish a Richmond monument to the great document. In a city of stone markers “to the generals who lost, it is time we do something to celebrate those who won.”

The power of faith from slavery to modern times was a major theme at the service, including the remarks of the main speaker, Dr. Leonard N. Smith, senior minister of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Arlington and past president of the Virginia Baptist State Convention, the state’s oldest organization of black churches. Citing verses from the Book of Isaiah, he said that God had been there through the “dark times then” and is there in the “dark times now” as too many suffer from unemployment, violence and poverty.

The event also included a performance of excerpts from a cantata, “Changed My Name,” in which a choir and actors recalled the brutality of the slave auctions where people for generations were bought and sold. 

Dec. 30, 2012

Black Press Stories of 2012 Foretell Continued Struggle for Justice
By Hazel Trice Edney

Marc Morial and other Black leaders say they will hold President Obama accountable to Black interests.

Shaken by the Sandy Hook tragedy, President Obama will tackle gun violence in his second term.

The Trayvon Martin story carries far-reaching implications for racial profiling in America.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – America prepares to commemorate 50 years since the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 2013. But, most stories that dominated the Black Press in 2012 foretold a continued quest for racial justice.

The killing of Trayvon Martin; the contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder; the Black jobless rate; the fight to maintain voting rights; the contentious re-election bid of President Barack Obama and the rebirth of the debate on gun violence were just a few of the headlined topics in 2012. They reminded America that Black America has yet to overcome. The following is a synopsis of some of the top stories:

The Economy: As 2012 wound down, President Obama and leading members of Congress negotiated intensely to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” – the simultaneous occurrence of sizable tax hikes and deep spending cuts. Regardless of the outcome, African-Americans remain in double digit unemployment rates and continue as the racial group that has suffered the highest unemployment, lost most wealth and experienced more foreclosures during the economic downturn. A group of African-American organizational heads, convened by National Urban League President/CEO Marc Morial, says they will hold the President accountable for protecting the interests of African-American, his most loyal supporters.

Gun Violence: The nation united in grief over 20 first-graders and seven educators killed by mass murderer Adam Lanza, who had also killed his mother before killing himself Dec. 14. The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary brought tears to President Barack Obama, reigniting an old debate over gun laws and mental health care. The discussions are escalating as Vice President Joe Biden will head a committee to suggest possible new legislation. Representatives of the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, have called for an armed guard in every school. The tragedy has also shed light on gun violence and deaths of children in cities across the nation, including in President Obama’s hometown of Chicago. There, at least 500 homicides occurred in 2012. Of those deaths, at least 270 were teenagers or children.

Re-election of President Obama: Concluding a nail biter of an election that practically spellbound the nation, President Barack Obama was re-elected in a decisive Electoral College vote of 332 to 206 against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Nov. 6. As in his historic 2008 victory as the nation’s first African-American president, Obama again won with at least 95 percent of the Black vote.

Voter Suppression: As America approached the Nov. 6 election, 46 states introduced laws that would require voters to show photo identification, proof of citizenship or a birth certificate in order to vote. Legislators claimed the measures would prevent voter fraud. But civil rights leaders scoffed and decried the new laws as suppression and intimidation tactics that could have disenfranchised as many as five million Americans. Because of the diligence of key civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, the National Coalition on Black Voter Participation, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the apparent plot was exposed and thwarted.

Rodney King Dies: The accidental drowning death of 47-year-old Rodney King on June 17, 2012 shocked the nation. King, who died in a swimming pool at a home that he shared with his fiancé, had become a symbol of civil rights 20 years after Los Angeles police viciously beat him during a videotaped traffic stop March 2, 1991. National outrage and six days of rioting broke out when the police officers where initially allowed to walk free. The publicity surrounding King’s sudden death was a stark reminder of inequities that continue against African-Americans in the criminal justice system.

Killing of Trayvon Martin: The February 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin has become the quintessential symbol of racial profiling. A Florida judge has set a date of June 10, 2013, for the trial of George Zimmerman on charges of second-degree murder in the shooting. The unarmed 17-year-old was killed as he walked in a gated Sanford community toward his father's house. He was wearing a hoodie, carrying a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman, 29, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman has pleaded not guilty on grounds of self-defense. He claims Martin attacked him after he called police reporting a suspicious youth in the neighborhood.

Death of Whitney Houston: It was undoubtedly the biggest entertainment news of 2012. On the eve of the 54^th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, Whitney Houston, a six-time Grammy Award winner and one of the most celebrated artists in music history, was found dead. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined that she died of drowning as a result of cocaine use. But, some still contend foul play and possibly murder. Compounding the shock, her death came just before the release of her final starring role in the film, “Sparkle”, which opened in August.

U. S. Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act: Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts was the deciding justice in a 5-4 vote to uphold President Barack Obama’s staple legislation, nicknamed “Obamacare” on June 28. Despite arguments that U. S. citizens cannot be mandated to obtain health care, Roberts invoked that the law is constitutional as a tax. The ruling was a major relief to the Obama campaign.

Attorney General Eric Holder Found in Contempt of Congress: The first African-American to serve as attorney general, Holder was found in contempt of Congress June 28 by a largely partisan vote of 255-67. Seventeen Democrats voted in favor of the measure, and two Republicans voted against it. Holder was found in contempt in connection with an investigation into a tactic called “Fast and Furious,” in which authorities tracked weapons purchased by gun traffickers without immediately intercepting them. Holder was questioned over his refusal to turn over documents that showed how the Justice Department reacted to the investigation and the loss of more than 1,000 tracked weapons. Furious over the contempt vote, the Congressional Black Caucus and other leading Democrats walked out of the vote in protest. In all, 108 Democrats including minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Civil Rights Era icon John Lewis (D-Ga.) joined the protest.

Continued Fallout from Hazing Death of Robert Champion: Fallout continued throughout 2012 following the Nov. 19, 2011 hazing death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion. In February, a national coalition of educational, clerical and journalistic leaders started a movement to end hazing and other types of violence on historically Black college campuses. In October, FAMU President James Ammons resigned after Champion’s parents, Pam and Robert Champion Sr., filed a lawsuit against the university. Just last week, a 32-page report was released by the Florida Board of Governors Inspector General’s Office. According to the Associated Press, it concludes that FAMU “lacked internal controls to prevent or detect hazing, citing a lack of communication among top university officials, the police department and the office responsible for disciplining students.”