White House Report Outlines Obama Successes in Black Community

By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A 44-page report, compiled by the Obama Administration, for the first time seeks to outline all of the major successes the President has made in Black communities over the past three years. The report was released Nov. 10, during a White House conference on African-American policies.

In remarks at the conference, President Obama described it as a “compilation of everything we’ve done over the last three years that has not only lessened the severity of the crisis for millions of people, kept millions of folks out of poverty, made sure that millions of folks still had unemployment benefits, health care, et cetera, but also talks about the foundations that we are laying so that as the economy recovers, the African-American community and communities all across the country of every stripe are going to have an opportunity to finally begin to rebuild so that we are seeing good, solid, middle-class jobs with good benefits that families who are desperate for their piece of the American Dream, that they’re going to be able to achieve it.”

Though federal employees aren’t allowed to campaign in the White House, it was clear that the Administration hopes the information will spread into Black communities across the nation.

Melody Barnes, director of the President’s Domestic Policy Council, told the more than 200 Black leaders that she hopes the report “will be a guide for you as you go out and you talk in your communities about the work that we’ve done. And also know that it’s something that we’re building on,” she said, noting that Obama has “pushed all of us to think more boldly, more creatively about the work that we’re going to do to build on what we’ve been able to put in place over the past three years.”

The full report can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans. Among the highlights:

• Tax Relief for Virtually All Working Americans. The President secured the Making Work Pay tax credit in 2009 and 2010 and a payroll tax cut in 2011 that amounted to a 2 percent raise for working Americans through 2011. In addition, the President secured historic expansions in refundable tax credits Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for low-income families. The American Jobs Act will extend and expand tax relief for every American family next year.  The American Jobs Act will extend and expand tax relief for virtually every American family next year, including nearly 20 million African American workers.
• Subsidized Jobs for Low-Income Adults and Youth. Through the Recovery Act, 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment and over 260,000 adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs. The American Jobs Act builds on the success of these programs by supporting summer jobs and pathways to work for unemployed Americans and youths. 
• Support for African American-Owned Small Businesses. Since the beginning of the Administration, the President has enacted 17 tax cuts for small businesses, including billions of dollars in tax credits, write-offs, and deductions for Americans who start new businesses, hire the unemployed, and provide health insurance for their employees. In addition, through the Small Business Jobs Act and other measures, the President has taken steps to expand American American-owned small businesses’ access to credit –through programs like the Community Development Financial Institutions and the New Markets Tax Credit, which provided over $4 billion in capital to predominantly African American communities. The American Jobs Act would cut payroll taxes in half for every American small business, including more than 100,000 African American owned firms.
• Reform K-12 and Early Education through Innovative, New Programs. President Obama created Race to the Top with a historic $4.35 billion investment. As a result of the initiative, over 40 states have raised standards, improved assessments, and invested in teachers to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality education. A similar Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge has been developed to raise the quality of and increase access to critical programs that ensure our kids are entering school ready to learn. In addition to these historic investments, the President has also fought against Republican budget cuts to critical programs like Head Start. The American Jobs Act provides $30 billion for States to hire new teachers, rehire those laid off, and prevent as many as 280,000 teachers whose jobs are at risk next year from being laid off.
• Increase College Access and Affordability. Since the beginning of the Administration, the President has dramatically increased Pell Grant funding to support an additional 200,000 African American students, created the American Opportunity Tax Credit to ease college costs, and championed bold and comprehensive reform of student loans that will save taxpayers $68 billion over the next decade. Together, these represent the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill. The President also secured $850 million in additional funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and $150 million for Predominantly Black Institutions.
• Keep Americans in Their Homes During a Housing and Economic Crisis. The Administration’s programs, both through their direct and indirect impact on the market, have helped more than 4 million families permanently modify their mortgages so they can stay in their homes. Through the Recovery Act, the President provided $1.5 billion for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program to prevent homelessness for 1 million Americans. The American Jobs Act builds on the success of these programs with the new “Project Rebuild,” which will invest in the communities hardest hit by the housing downturn.
• Create Economically-Sustainable Neighborhoods. The Administration has secured $40 million for Promise Neighborhoods and $126 million to Choice Neighborhoods that provide a continuum of services to combat the challenges facing communities most in need. The new Strong Cities, Strong Communities is helping strengthen cities and regions by increasing the capacity of local governments to execute their economic growth plans, while also delivering federal assistance tailored to the local government’s needs.
• Expand Health Care Access for Families and Workers. Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million children who would otherwise go uninsured. And the historic Affordable Care Act, when fully implemented, will expand health coverage to about 34 million Americans, including as many as 7 million African Americans.
• Protect Civil Rights and Promote Criminal Justice. The President has signed major legislation like the Fair Sentencing Act and the Claims Resolution Act, and worked to expand and enforce hate crimes prosecutions, reduce unfairness in sentencing, and counter employment discrimination.

Nov. 13, 2011

YOUTH VIOLENCE – The Annihilation of a Generation

The Halloween Carnage

By Michael Radcliff

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. on October 31 and November 1, there were five separate shootings in the city of New Orleans,” explained Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “There were 16 people shot, 14 injured and two killed.

“This is a clarion call not just for New Orleans, but for the entire nation,” the mayor continued. “Young African-American males being killed at the hands of other young African- American males – is a national tragedy. It’s unnatural and it has to stop.”

“What we have here is a culture of violence,” he went on to say. “A lot of killings in this city are not the conventional murders you normally see in urban areas. Many of these incidents occur as a result of often petty arguments, often amongst friends, getting out of hand, resulting in one or both parties resorting to guns to settle the conflict. We need to get better. We can’t stop this without a change in culture… [At one time] It used to end with a fist fight.”

“The city is working to find ways to catch young people during their formative years and teach them the conflict-resolution skills many are lacking,” James Carter, the newly appointed crime commissioner and former city councilman said last week.

“I think we’ve probably lost at least one generation of African-American males from the age of 18 to 25,” declared Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge (Terry) Alarcon, “They’re lost … They didn’t have a chance. It’s easier to get guns now, however that is. The people who used to settle things with fists now settle things with guns. This city has suffered from a lack of proper funding in a bunch of areas — recreation, education, criminal justice.

“And,” Alarcon continued, “you’re asking police officers to be psychiatrists, social workers, lawyers and judges. The educational system is floundering… By the time they get to us, the story’s pretty much written.”

“The epidemic is that young people are getting guns,” City Councilmember Susan Guidry said. “They’re getting guns very easily and they’re using them. And if you ask them they’re telling you they have to have a gun to protect them from each other, and they’re scared. They’re too young to have a lethal weapon.”

Echoing Mayor Landrieu’s assessment, NOPD Superin¬tendent Ronal Serpas said petty disputes that end with young men killing one another are “unnatural and unacceptable.”

The Halloween shootings began shortly after 8 p.m. when a 16-year-old was shot in the leg on South Pierce St; a little over an hour later, 19-year-old Joshua Lewis made the fatal mistake of accidentally bumping into 24-year-old Baltiman Malcom on the corner of Canal Street and University Place. A fight ensued and ended when Malcom pulled out a gun and shot over 30 rounds, killing young Lewis and wounding three other people. About an hour later, on Bourbon St. 25-year-old Albert Glover, who was initially pegged as being one of two shooters, was killed, according to a number of his friends and family members who witnessed the murder. Glover was reportedly killed after stopping to talk with a woman and an unknown African-American male glared at him. When Glover glared back at the man, the gunman opened fire on him, killing him, injuring the woman and a number of innocent bystanders.

“He [Albert] lost his life because of eye contact,” explained his aunt, Angela Ratliff-Waxter. Glover’s father, Arthur Gray, tragically was also a victim of Black-on-Black murder, as his best friend shot and killed him when young Albert was a little over a year old.

Later on Halloween night, two young African-American men got out of a car on Spain St. and were immediately attacked by the shooters from another car. Both survived the attack and are expected to make a full recovery..

The Role of Alcohol, Drugs and Rap Music…in Youth Violence .

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s report on Youth Violence and Alcohol, “Alcohol use directly affects cognitive and physical function. Hazardous alcohol use can reduce self-control and the ability to process incoming information and assess risks, and can increase emotional ability and impulsivity, to make certain drinkers more likely to resort to violence in confrontation. Additionally, reduced physical control and ability to recognize warning signs in potentially dangerous situations can make some drinkers easy targets for perpetrators.”

In essence, underage drinking is not only a risk factor for the perpetrators who commit violent acts, but also a risk factor for victims of youth violence. All too often, being a victim or even witness of violence can lead to youth using alcohol to cope as a form of self medication. Alcohol and youth violence are inextricably linked ritualistically as part of youth gang cultures as well as an initiation into adulthood. In a community sample of 18– to 30-year-olds in the United States, almost 25 percent of men and 12 percent of women had experienced some form of violence or aggression in or around a licensed bar during the previous year. Furthermore, it has been determined that crowded and poorly managed bars add to an increase in aggressive behavior among young drinkers.

In a recent study, conducted by the Institute of Youth Develop¬ment, four out of five of the teens questioned admitted using alcohol before entering college; nearly half admitted to using alcohol by the time they entered the eighth grade. Drawing a direct correlation to children afflicted with fetal alcohol syndrome, or pre-natal exposure to alcohol, the WHO report underscores the long-term affects on these young victims experiencing behavioral and social problems, including delinquent behavior which in turn contributes to keeping the cycle of violence continuing well into the next generation.

According to a SAMSHA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) report titled “Youth Violence and Illicit Drug Use,” “Youths aged 12 to 17 who used an illicit drug in the past year were almost twice as likely to have engaged in a violent behavior as those who did not use an illicit drug.” Nearly half the adolescents surveyed by SAMSHA who used marijuana or inhalants in the past year engaged in violent behavior, as opposed to nearly 70 percent of those who used methamphetamines. More than half of today’s teens will have used drugs by the time they graduate from high school.

A study conducted by Howell and Decker entitled “The Youth Gangs, Drugs and Violence Connection” concluded that “Because the growth in youth gang violence coincided with the crack cocaine epidemic, the two developments were generally perceived to be interrelated. This same conclusion was reached in assessments conducted at all governmental levels, suggesting that youth gangs were instrumental in the increase in crack cocaine sales and that their involvement in drug trafficking resulted in a growth in youth violence.”

Additionally, more alarmingly, recent trends have shown that girls and young women are using illicit drugs at earlier ages, nearly as early as boys. Due primarily to the physiological differences between the sexes, substance use often turns into abuse and/or addiction more rapidly in girls and young women, than that of their male counterparts; even when using less of the illicit drug. While girls and young women use drugs for different reasons than their male counterparts, they ultimately pay a higher price in terms of consequences, ranging from depression, being sexually abused or assaulted, to a significantly higher rate of suicide.

Very few argue that rap music is a powerful influence and rappers are very powerful role models; and a recent study by the Prevention Research Center of Berkeley, Calif., concluded that young people who listen to rap and hip hop are more likely to abuse alcohol and commit violent acts. Yet one must concede that Americans have always to an extent been obsessed with violence. Americans have glorified the likes of Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Al Capone, John Dillinger, the Dapper Don, to the fictional Tony Soprano. So the argument of to what extent rap music exerts a greater influences remains to be debated.

However in the context of the marketing of alcoholic beverages has recently come under fire, as marketers have shown a correlation of rap music and their corresponding videos and an increase in sales of alcohol beverages mentioned in these songs. Violence and alcoholism has proven to be a toxic mix for youth.

Interestingly, African-American youth, who historically drink considerably less than youth in general, are continuously deluged with advertisements for beer and other distilled spirits aimed solely at this demographic. A recent survey found that African-American youth ages 12 to 20 were exposed to 66 percent more advertising for beer and 81 percent more advertising for distilled spirits; with the most intensive campaigns promoting the cognacs and brandies, which have become synonymous with hip hop and rap. The continuing growth of violence in young people across the board — not just African-American youth, but young people across America — demonstrates succinctly that the mix of violence and alcohol can have deadly repercussions,

Who are the Victims of Youth Violence?

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin¬quency Prevention, “Between 1980 and 2008, an estimated 55,810 juveniles were murdered in the United States – 1,709 in 2008. In 2008, 30 percent of murdered juveniles were female, 47 percent were Black, and 50 percent were killed with a firearm; of the juvenile murder victims with known offenders in 2006, 39 percent were killed by family members, 47 percent by acquaintances, and 14 percent by strangers. About one in five reported murders of juveniles in 2008 occurred in just five of the nation’s more than 3,000 counties and the major cities in these five counties (beginning with the city in the county with the most murdered juveniles) are Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Houston and Baltimore. In 2008, about 86 percent of the 3,141 counties in the U.S. had no reported murders of juveniles, eight percent had one, and seven percent had two or more.

Murder is most common among the oldest and the youngest juveniles. In 2008, 39 percent of juvenile murder victims were under age six and 46 percent were ages 15 to 17. Of the estimated 1,709 juveniles murdered in 2008, 39 percent were under age six, seven percent were ages six to 11, eight percent were ages 12 to 14, and 46 percent were ages 15 to 17. However, the characteristics of juvenile murder victims vary with age. In 2008, a substantially larger proportion of victims under age were killed by family members than victims ages 15 to 17 (56% vs. 4%). Another major difference between the murder of older and younger juveniles was the relative involvement of firearms. In 2008, firearms were used in 15 percent of murders of juveniles under age 12 but 81 percent of the murders of juveniles ages 12 to 17. At the point of greatest risk (the top of the highest peak), are 19- and 20-year-olds killing 19- and 20-year-olds. Many very young children are killed by persons in their 20s and 30s — mostly incidents of infants being killed by their parents. Adult offenders tend to kill victims in their own age group

Males account for the largest share of juvenile homicide victims, but the female proportion has grown since the mid 1990s. In 2008, females accounted for 30 percent of all juvenile murder victims, down from 36 percent in 2002. Until their teenage years, boys and girls are equally likely to be murdered. Between 1980 and 2008, the annual numbers of male and female homicide victims were very similar for victims at each age under 13. However, older victims were disproportionately male. For example, between 1980 and 2008, 84 percent of murdered 17-year-olds were male.

While homicide is the second-leading cause of death for the 15- to 24-year-old segment of the population, it is the leading cause of death for African-American youth in this category. Black youth accounted for about 16 percent of the juvenile population between 1980 and 2008, but were the victims in 47 percent of juvenile homicides during the 29-year period. In the early 1980s, the homicide rate for Black juveniles was four times the rate for white juveniles. This disparity in¬creased so that by 1993 the Black rate was six times the white rate. The relatively greater decline in Black juvenile homicides bet¬ween 1993 and 2002 (down 52 percent, compared with a 36 percent decline for whites) dropped the disparity in Black-to-white homicide rates back to 4-to-1, before increasing slightly in the years from 2003 through 2008. About half (49%) of juvenile murder victims in 2008 were white, 47 percent were Black, and three percent were either American Indian or Asian.

Older juveniles are more likely to be killed by a firearm than younger juveniles. Between 1980 and 2008, at least three of every four (78%) murder victims ages 15 to 17 were killed with a firearm, compared with one of every 10 (10%) murder victims ages 0–5. In 2008, firearms were used in 15 percent of the murders of juveniles under age 12 but in 80 percent of the murders of juveniles ages 12 to 17.

Older juvenile victims (ages 15 to 17) of nonfatal violence were more likely than younger victims (ages 12 to 14) to have been victimized by a stranger (41% vs. 32%) and less likely to have been victimized by an acquaintances (45% vs. 58%).

More than half (53%) of nonfatal violent crimes against younger juveniles occurred at a school. Younger juveniles were slightly less likely than older juveniles to be victimized at home (15% vs. 17%). In contrast, violent crimes with juvenile victims peaked between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., fell to a lower level in the early evening, and declined substantially after 9 p.m. Robbery victimizations for persons under age 18 reach their highest levels between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Aggravated assault victimizations of juveniles peak between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Most victims of violent juvenile offenders were themselves juveniles, and most victims of violent adult offenders were age 18 or older. Juveniles were the majority of offenders for violent crime victims ages eight to 15 only. About one in eight violent crime victims of juvenile offenders (5% + 7%) and adult offenders (1% + 11%) was a stranger, while almost half (48%) of the victims of juvenile crime were juveniles who were acquaintances of the offenders.”

Boxers; Even Former Opponents Mourn Smokin' Joe Frazier

Frazier was awarded the Order of the Palmetto in Beaufort, South Carolina in 2010. (Courtesy Photo/commons.wikimedia.org)

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Several boxing greats expressed their bereavement following the death of Smokin’ Joe Frazier including the former heavyweight champ’s most famous adversary. “The world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration,” Muhammad Ali said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Michael Jackson Eulogist Says Guilty Verdict is ‘Down Payment of Justice’

By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It’s over. The lengthy involuntary manslaughter trial in the case of King of Pop Michael Jackson ended this week with a guilty verdict for his personal doctor, Conrad Murray and “mixed emotions” from Jackson loved ones.

Reverend Al Sharpton, close friend of the Jackson family, and  eulogist at Michael Jackson’s funeral said in a statement, “ I received the news of the guilty verdict in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray with mixed emotions feeling that only a down payment of justice has been served.”

Murray purchased and administered the powerful anesthetic propofol which Jackson craved to help him fall asleep. Murray was accused of giving the star an overdose of the drug and taking too long to respond after Jackson stopped breathing June 25, 2009.

The dramatic trial, which lasted more than a month, featured a string of Murray’s girlfriends who spoke of how he called them on the day Jackson died, supporting patients who spoke of his compassion and care, anesthesiologists as other expert witnesses.

Murray could serve as much as four years in prison for the death of Michael Jackson. However, speculation has it that with overcrowding in the Los Angeles penal system, he could serve out his time in a house arrest or a less likely probation.

The star-studded Jackson family expressed relief at the verdict for Murray, some crying.

"He was in that courtroom and that's why victory was served," Jackson's sister La Toya told CNN News as she left the courthouse.

"I'm just happy it's over with. Nothing will bring him back, but I'm just happy (Murray) was found guilty," said another sister, Rebe. Jackson's mother, Katherine, remained silent after the verdict was read, quietly wiping away tears.

In a statement issued on Saturday before Monday’s verdict, Jackson’s father, Joseph Jackson, issued a statement describing the saga as “one of the darkest moments of our lives.”

He wrote, “We miss Michael endlessly, our pain cannot be described in words. But Michael would not want us to give up now. So we want to thank all of his faithful supporters and loyal fans worldwide, you – who Michael loved so much. Please do not despair, because Michael will continue to live on in each and every one of you. Continue to spread his message, because that is what he would want you to do. Carry on, so his legacy will live forever.”
Crowds of fans outside the courthouse cheered at the news of Monday’s verdict.

Sharpton’s statement concluded:

“Certainly I feel that more punishment could and should have been served but I am pleased that this jury didn’t blame Michael for his own death,” said Sharpton’s brief statement. “For the Jackson family, particularly his mother and children that have gone this horrific ordeal, to hear a verdict that buried Michael again would have been devastating. I am happy that they didn’t have to suffer that indignity. I feel that Dr. Murray and others who benefited from Michael but didn’t protect him got off relatively lightly. Michael lost his life and we lost one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. I lost a friend and will never forget him.”