New SCLC VP Predicts King Strategy Will Bring Surge for Obama
By Hazel Trice Edney

Rev. C. T. Vivian

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – No great movement in America’s history has ever taken only a few years. Whether it was the movement from slavery to freedom, the women’s rights movement, the voting rights movement, the civil rights movement, it took time and diligence. That has not changed with the work of the nation’s first Black president.

This sentiment comes from someone who knows well the pace of movements in America. The Rev. C. T. Vivian, an 88-year-old civil rights pioneer who was a close friend and lieutenant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped to strategize the movement for African-American civil rights. Moreover, as the newly elected vice president of Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Vivian predicts that the second wave of that movement is about to surge.

“About every 30 to 35 years, there’s a new movement in this country,” he explains in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire a day before a press conference to announce his new role. “The civil rights movement was the last one. The one before that was the labor movement…Somewhere between 35 and 40 years, there’s always a new people’s movement…This time, it’s the continuation of the civil rights movement.”

The strengthening of health care, education, and economics are just a few of the issues involved in the unfinished business that Vivian indicates would continue with a second term of the presidency of Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president. But, it will take work, he says. African-Americans will have to move.

“We are the change agents for America,” he said. “When Martin moved, everybody followed us. The new women’s movement came in, the youth movement came in, the old folks moved - everybody who had not been getting justice - the gay movement came. They were all coming on the basis of what Martin laid down. And every one of them knew that, ‘If Black people can win who have been treated like they’ve been treated and at the bottom of the ladder, then we can have our rights as well.’ And they did, one after the another, all of these organizations moved.”

Despite the absence of a Dr. King in 2012, such a groundswell is still possible based on the momentum and the groundwork that’s been laid, Vivian says. He points to the work that’s begun by the Obama administration. From Obama’s historic health care bill to what appears to be a creeping turn-around in the economy, a wave of energy from coalitions of people who have been historically left out could bring about the fullness of change that could come with four more years, Vivian said.

“We are now coming together to move. All of these people know that they got theirs because we fought ours. And anybody who thinks that they’re going to stop some combination of Latins and Blacks and Jews and old folks and gays – if they think they can stop that – let them try.”

Vivian assumes his new role after several tumultuous years of inner struggles and court battles over leadership of the SCLC, which was founding by Dr. King in 1957. Vivian says the organization is forcefully re-emerging. He once worked as the national director of affiliates for the organization and will now share the helm with King’s nephew, Isaac Newton Farris Jr., 48, who rose to the presidency after the sudden death of Rev. Howard Creecy Jr., another civil rights stalwart, last summer. Farris has been working to rebuild the organization alongside other veterans, including Bernard LaFayette Jr., a King lieutenant who now serves as board chairman.

Vivian says he will work as a mentor, advisor and strategist alongside Farris and coalitions of college students because of his decades of experience in “the kinds of things that are basic to movements.”

Those tenets can be as simple and powerful as coalitions between youth and seasoned leaders.

“Black people are very practical. We’ve got to be. Our history has forced us to be practical…Someone said to Martin one time, a newsman, and he was asking, ‘How many members do you have?’ And he was suggesting, ‘Well that doesn’t represent much of Black America’ when Martin said, ‘We don’t operate through membership. We operate knowing that if we’re right, people will follow us.’

“It’s that kind of greatness that we represent and people moved all over this nation because Martin represented something that worked. This is what we always go with – what works, what helps deliver us…And, as a result, we changed this nation. It’s not just getting the message out. It’s that the SCLC represents action. Remember, it was Martin King that brought action to the scene.”

Vivian concedes that the SCLC is not allowed to endorse Obama as president because federal law prohibits non-profit organizations to involve themselves in partisan politics. But, he adds, that doesn’t preclude the organization from fulfilling its historic mission of leading and building diverse communities by speaking out on key issues and giving credit where it is due.

“I remember the Great Depression. And as a result of remembering the Great Depression, I can really know how great a job he has done already because it took FDR [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] years to do what he has done in a short length of time.”

He concludes, “We’re bringing the organization back to where it belongs. We’re bringing it back to active participation on the American scene once again and at a time of great need.”

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - NAACP President Benjamin Jealous assailed GOP presidential hopeful and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for what he labeled “inaccurate, divisive” comments about Blacks and food stamps. Gingrich, in remarks delivered in New Hampshire where he is trying to jumpstart his presidential campaign, said, “If the N.A.A.C.P. invites me, I’ll go to their convention, talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.”

The statement came during a campaign stop in his drive to win the New Hampshire primary. He told reporters if he were the Republican nominee, he would run against President Obama in part by visiting minority communities to pitch his supply-side recipe for job creation.

“It is a shame that the former Speaker feels that these types of inaccurate, divisive statements are in any way helpful to our country,” said Jealous. “The majority of people using food stamps are not African-American, and most people using food stamps have a job.”

“We invited Speaker Gingrich to attend our annual convention several times when he was Speaker of the House, but he declined to join us,” Jealous continued. “If he is invited again, I hope that he would come, with the intention to unite rather than divide.”

The Gingrich remarks about food stamps “is problematic on several fronts, most importantly because he gets his facts wrong," Jealous said. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture date, more Whites than Blacks receive food-stamp assistance. Whites accounted for 34.4 percent of food-stamp recipients in 2009, compared to Blacks who accounted for 21.4 percent of recipients, according to an October 2010 USDA report.

Gingrich rebutted critics of his remarks Jan. 6, saying that his campaign is targeting the Obama administration and liberal policies. "If you talk openly and honestly about the failure of liberal institutions and the way that they hurt the poor, there becomes a sudden frenzy of a herd of people running over screaming racism, racism."

FAMU Students Pledge Against Hazing
By Terrika Mitchell

FAMU SGA President Breyon Love (left) and Vice President Troy Harris (right).

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Capital Outlook

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - More than 3,400 Florida AM students have signed an anti-hazing form in an effort to take a stand against hazing.

The signing was a result of the Nov. 19 death of FAMU Drum Major Robert Champion, who the Orange County Sheriff’s Office believes died as a result of hazing.

The student anti-hazing form is a contractual agreement between organizations, students and other members of the university stating what the punishment for participating in any form of hazing will be on every level. The consequences of participating range from suspension or expulsion from the school to suspension from the Office of Student Activities for organizations, according to Student Government Association Surgeon General Tom Diamond II.

“With the help of SGA, in conjunction with the Office of Student Activities, it was mandatory that every organization on campus and student club come to the anti-hazing forum if they want to participate any longer at Florida A&M University,” Diamond said. “At our anti-hazing forum, we had a little over 4,000 students attend and say to the world and the media that ‘we are actively making progress to rid out hazing on any level here at the university.’”

Administrators, faculty and student leaders stressed the intolerance policy on what FAMU President James H. Ammons referred to as a pattern of destructive behavior from our students at the university.

The pledge was a charge initiated by Student Government Association President Breyon Love.

“Right now, it is up to us to recommit ourselves as Rattlers on the highest of seven hills to end hazing and become an example for a positive change across America,” Love told the audience.

Copies of the pledge are available on the SGA website at www.famu.edu\sga.

“Students can turn the forms in at the Office of Student Activities or SGA (Chambers),” he said. “As long as we get it in to some university official, (SGA) will take care of it from there.”

The forum and signings took place Dec. 5. On Dec. 7, Florida A&M University President James H. Ammons had the opportunity to briefly present to Board of Trustee (BOT) members; an opportunity he took to shed light on the anti-hazing effort involving all FAMU students.

“There is a culture of silence, a bell of secrecy,” he opened. “We have to strategically use this information to move forward and put our students in positions where they make the right choices at the right time. We have to be in control and take away the opportunity for this kind of thing to happen.”

The students’ stand against hazing practices does not only align with the administration’s efforts, but with the efforts of Champion’s family as well.

Champion’s parents are planning to initiate an anti-hazing hotline.

“This continues to be a sad time for the entire FAMU community, but each day, I see that Robert Champion’s death was not in vain,” said Dr. Julian E. White, newly-reinstated director of bands. “A dialogue of healing has begun, and I’m encouraged to see students, faculty, alumni, administrators and trustees taking steps to get rid of hazing. Robert’s parents are starting a hazing hot line. I ask people to continue praying for the Champions and for the Rattler Nation.”

Jobs Report: African-Americans Lose While Others Gain
By Julianne Malveaux

News Analysis

Jobs line.

Thousands lined up to apply for positions at the Congressional Black Caucus' "Jobs for the People Initiative" last summer.  

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The unemployment rate is falling for the third month in a row and in December about 200,000 private sector jobs were created. The monthly unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that unemployment has declined by six tenths of a percentage point since August. Already, some economists are saying we can expect another decline next month.  

I am surprised, however, at the very tepid language that the Employment Situation report uses to describe the increase in African-American unemployment. A rise of .3 percent among African-Americans, the second rise in as many months, is described as having “changed little”. It has changed enough so that while some are celebrating gains, African-Americans are losing. Indeed, the African American unemployment rate increased from 15.5 to 15.8 percent.

Black women, it turns out, are losing more than most. While the unemployment rate for adult African-American women, at 13.9 percent, is still lower than the male rate of 15.7 percent, African American men gained jobs this year, while African-American women lost them. Why? Nearly one in four (23 percent) African-American women works for government, and federal, state, and local governments are releasing workers, not hiring them. And while some governments will attempt to get the economy moving by creating construction and redevelopment opportunities for men, teachers, nurses and social workers, mostly women, are walking on eggshells in fear of job losses. Even when we know that smaller classroom size gives a better yield in terms of educational results, school districts are being forced to shoehorn another student or two into already-crowded classrooms because of cost issues.

The data that comes from the Employment Situation report is, probably much lower than the reality of African- American unemployment. When we include those marginally attached to the labor force (stopped looking, etc.), as well as those part time workers that want full time work, the unemployment rate for the total population is not 8.5 percent, but 15.2 percent. And the estimate of the African-American unemployment rate would be not 15.8 percent, but a whopping 28.3 percent. More facts – though the number of officially unemployed people is dropping, it is still high enough with 13.1 million actively looking for word and not finding it. And the average person has been out of work for 40.8 weeks, six weeks longer than a year ago. The headlines blaze optimism, the reality is different.

Add to this a recent report that says that the wealth gap between Congress and their constituents is growing. In 1984, the average member of Congress had wealth of $280,000, excluding home equity. In the twenty years since 1984, Congressional wealth grew by two and a half times, to $725,000. Again, this doesn’t include home equity. In contrast, the median wealth of an American family actually dropped slightly to around $20,500, again, not including home equity. It is very likely that when home equity is added, the gap is even larger.

This wealth gap perhaps explains why Congressional representatives are more interested in tax cuts than in creating jobs. It explains, perhaps, why Republicans so resisted President Obama’s plan to extend the Social Security tax cut and also to extend unemployment rate insurance. Congress is operating in their own self-interest, they aren’t thinking about their jobless and economically challenged constituents.

 If these members of Congress got calls from bill collectors, lived with less money than month, had to deny their children a new pair of shoes or an after-school trip because of dollars, or actually had to visit a grocery store on a budget, they might have not so hesitated before they eventually capitulated to President Obama’s determination. Still the growing wealth gap perhaps explains why so few are alarmed at some of the unemployment rate data.

To be sure, it is exciting to see unemployment rates drop, even slightly. It suggests that some of the Obama policies are working. But someone has to explain why these policies aren’t working for African-Americans, especially for African American women. If this trend continues, the Obama Administration will have to consider targeting some relief to those who aren’t benefitting from the unemployment downturn. Some analysts, myself included, have been advocating programs targeted toward the inner city, toward service employment, toward unemployed youth, for quite some time. The unemployment rate gap, the fact that there are clear winners, and also clear losers in the current changes, make targeted employment programs far more imperative.

Julianne Malveaux is an economist and president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, NC.