Stop the Violence Against Women by Julianne Malveaux

Stop the Violence Against Women

By Julianne Malveaux

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated held its annual Sisterhood Luncheon last Saturday, and I was privileged and honored to be the keynote speaker. A cloud hovered over the luncheon, though, and the media was there to talk about it. Four Delta women have been raped in the Dallas Fort Worth area in the last year by a serial rapist who appears to be targeting women in their 50s and 60s. The rapes have caused such alarm that the national President of our sorority, Cynthia Butler McIntyre, has issued an alert, suggesting caution in displaying Delta identification on automobiles, and in wearing identifying t-shirts and sweaters.

Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted. More than 200,000 people, mostly women, are sexually assaulted each year. But only one in sixteen rapists will spend even a moment in jail – more than 60 percent of all rapes are not reported to the police. Most rapes occur within a mile of a victim’s home, or in her home, and almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone the victim actually knows. Nearly 80 percent of all rapes are perpetrated on women under 30, so the Delta rapes are unusual in many respects. Still, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has the opportunity to turn the pain of these rapes into an empowering moment by organizing to stop the violence against women.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was authored by Vice-President Joe Biden when he was the senator from Delaware. It became law in 1994, and was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. It is up for reauthorization again this year, and while it should face no trouble in Congress, who knows with this Congress? While there should be no resistance to this reauthorization, it is important for women to remind their congressional representatives that this critical legislation must be reauthorized.

Additionally, there is a federal agency that focuses on implementing VAWA by providing resources to organizations dedicated to preventing violence against women. The Office on Violence against Women (ww.ovw.usdoj.gov) is part of the Department of Justice. Earlier this fall, they held a meeting of university chancellors and presidents to talk about campus safety and violence against women, since college-aged young people are more likely to be victims of such violence than others are. The office urges people needing assistance to reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

Although we are well into the twenty-first century, we still treat the crime of rape with nineteenth century sensibilities. Many women lack the courage that the Guinean victim of former World Bank President Dominique Strauss-Kahn (also known as DSK) showed. Yet her treatment is a cautionary tale about why so many victims are silent. After Naffissatou Diallo spoke up, we learned all her business – that she cleaned rooms for $25 an hour in New York, that she had an acquaintance or fiancé who may have been involved in drugs and was incarcerated in Arizona, that she may have lied on her immigration application, and that she may have earned income that she did not report. Before it was all said and done, charges were dropped. Then DSK fled back to France where he spoke of an “inappropriate relationship” with Diallo. Give me a break! When does spilling your semen on someone you do not know constitute a relationship? I digress. The point is that many women don’t speak out because they don’t want to be dragged through the media mud of scrutiny into their past lives. Even a prostitute can be raped, but the prostitute wouldn’t likely get a fair trail, especially if her abuser were rich and powerful. The victim’s character is still placed on trial, and that shouldn’t be the case. And yet, how many women judge victims of rape with the same harsh scrutiny that others have. What was she wearing? Was she asking for it? Was it just miscommunication?

VAWA does not address many of these questions, and perhaps it cannot. We have to change the culture so that rape is so repugnant an act that most people will not consider it as an option, that penalties are so harsh that people can be thrown under the jail for such crimes. Four members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority were violated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and more than 200,000 people are violated in our nation each year. Delta can use the pain of these rapes to lead the nation in drawing a line in the sand. Enough is enough. It is time to stop the violence against women.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, NC.

Black Farmers Finally Getting Paid by Valencia Mohammed

Nov. 7, 2011

Black Farmers Finally Getting Paid

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President Obama, during a 2010 White House visit, congratulates John Boyd for work on behalf of Black farmers. (Courtesy Photo)

By Valencia Mohammed
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Afro American Newspapers

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The U.S. District Court approved a settlement in the ongoing saga between Black farmers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) providing an additional $1.2 billion for housands of plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit.

The Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation, decided Oct. 27 by Judge Paul L. Friedman, was derived from a class action suit initiated in 1997, Pigford v. Glickman, in which African-American farmers (initially James Copeland, Earl Moorer and Marshallene McNeil) joined to allege a pattern of systemic exclusion from USDA grant and lease programs.

It was alleged that USDA discriminated on the basis of race in various federal programs denying Black farmers loans and other benefits that were granted to White farmers. It was noted, when the Black farmers filed complaints to USDA, the allegations were not investigated. In addition, no remedies were sought to correct egregious violations of civil rights laws. USDA’s failure to act deprived countless farmers of credits and payments under various federal programs which resulted in financial and real estate losses.

“This agreement will provide overdue relief and justice to African American farmers, and bring us closer to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on,” said President Barack Obama at a recent press conference.

The resulting consent decree was soon enlarged to include about 40,000 persons after Congress acknowledged the historical validity of the claims by expanding the statute of limitations. This allowed the litigation to proceed unhindered by the 1981 to 1996 time span.

Uncertainty about who qualified as a “Pigford complainant” persisted as thousands more submitted claims. The number reached 61,252 by 2000, and most of these claims were allowed for consideration after passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. By 2010, about 16,000 complainants received over $1 billion in “direct payments, loan payments, and tax relief.” These direct payments threatened to deplete the $100 million in funds allocated under the Farm Bill to make the remaining qualified complainants whole. Additional relief was sought.

“I am glad to see that this day has finally come. For years, Black farmers have faced discrimination – not only from businesses, but from the very government that was meant to protect them. The U.S. District Court’s approval of the settlement is a major step forward in closing an ugly chapter of USDA’s civil rights history. Not only will this agreement provide overdue relief; but it will provide justice to African American farmers who have been disenfranchised,” said chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D- Mo.

John W. Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, hailed the ruling granting the motion to certify and approve the settlement in this historic discrimination case.

"Today, because of a Congress that was willing to once again waive the statute of limitations and to appropriate $1.25 billion to help further redress the historic discrimination against African-American farmers, the court is pleased to approve the settlement agreement proposed by the moving plaintiffs, and endorsed by the United States, as fair, reasonable, and adequate."

Boyd added, "Today is an important day, in fact a truly historic day for the nation's Black farmers and for all of those who worked so hard to give every farmer their day in court so they may be compensated for the government's discrimination.”

Boyd reminded the farmers there is still more work to do. “It is also important for the farmers to know that all cases must be adjudicated before the payments go out to the farmers. After all we have been through – justice always finds its way home. I have been praying for this day.

“The settlement isn’t perfect but we’re glad the judge finally resolved the situation. The farmers need their money. But it’s unfortunate it took so long. Many of them have died waiting while this struggle played out.”

Researcher DeRutter Jones contributed additional material to this story.

Part 1 - YOUTH VIOLENCE: The Annihilation of a Generation by Michael Radcliff

Nov. 6, 2011

YOUTH VIOLENCE: The Annihilation of a Generation

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By Michael Radcliff

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In 1933, 75 percent of the deaths of young people between the ages of 15 and 19 were a result of natural causes. By 1993, some 60 years later, 80 percent of these deaths were caused by homicide and unintentional injury. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, homicide is now the second-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24 years old. In 2007, 5,764 young people ages 10 to 24 were murdered at a rate of 16 kids each day. Of this group, 86 percent or 4,973 of these victims of homicide were male and 14 percent or 791 were female. According to a recent survey, nearly one out of four — or 25 percent — of high school boys reported taking a weapon to school at least once in the past year.

As Dr. Edward Cornwell, Professor of Surgery and Director of Adult Trauma Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital explained in a lecture to a group of faculty, staff and students at Stanford University entitled “A Trauma Surgeon’s Perspective on Youth Violence, “The new public health problem [today] is kids thinking violence is cool. The upcoming generation will be more exposed to direct violence and violence in the media, with easier access to guns, and with fewer non-violent role models than any other generation in history. Arguments that used to be played out in after-school fistfights are now resulting in kids dying… We live in a country that glamorizes violence… Kids from all ages and all backgrounds are inundated with images of violence that glorify it..”

As alluded to by Dr. Cornwell, the culture of youth violence is a direct result of a lifestyle that includes readily available guns, illicit drugs, promiscuous sex, and other risky behaviors. Additionally, according to the AMA’s report on Youth and Violence, “In the United States, almost 16 million adolescents — including 70 percent to 95 percent of children in America’s inner cities — have witnessed some form of violent assault, including robbery, stabbing, shooting, murder, or domestic abuse.” On a global skill, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Youth violence takes many forms including bullying, gang violence, sexual aggression, and assaults occurring in streets, bars and nightclubs. The victims and perpetrators alike are young people, and the consequences of youth violence can be devastating. Across the world an average of 565 young people aged 10 to 29 die every day through interpersonal violence, with males at greater risk, and for each death there are an estimated 20 to 40 youth that require hospital treatment for a violence-related injury.

Who Are These Young Perpetrators?

According to the Surgeon General’s Report on Youth Violence, “there are two general onset trajectories for youth violence — an early one, in which violence begins before puberty, and a late one, in which violence begins in adolescence. Youths who become violent before about age 13 generally commit more crimes, and more serious crimes, for a longer time. These young people exhibit a pattern of escalating violence through childhood, and they sometimes continue their violence into adulthood. It goes on to say that, “most youth violence begins in adolescence and ends with the transition into adulthood.” Surveys consistently show that about nearly one-third of all male youths and nearly one in four female youths reported having committed a serious violent offense before reaching the age of 18.

Recent attention has focused on those young people researchers classify as bullies. Research has determined that nearly 60 percent of boys who bully other children — in grades six through nine, were subsequently convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24; and nearly four out of 10 of these same bullies, were found to have had three or more convictions by age 24.

What Are The Risk Factors For Becoming A Violent Juvenile Offender?

Over the years, much research has gone into identifying risk factors relating to personal characteristics, environmental conditions, societal conditions, etc.. that place children and adolescents at risk for falling into a lifestyle of violent behavior. It was determined that risk factors exist in virtually every area of life — individual, family, school, peer group and community. The Surgeon General report on youth violence determined that “each individual interacts in complex ways with other people and conditions in the environment to produce violent behavior.

“The strongest risk factors,” the report went on to state, “during childhood are involvement in serious but not necessarily violent criminal behavior; substance use; being male; physical aggression; low family socioeconomic status or poverty and antisocial parents — all individual or family attributes or conditions. The more risk factors a child or young person is exposed to, the greater the likelihood that he or she will become violent.”

During adolescence, the influence of family is largely replaced by peer influences. The strongest risk factors are ties to antisocial or delinquent peers, belonging to a gang, and involvement in other criminal acts. The CDC adds that “individual risk factors leading to teen violence include: attention deficits/hyperactivity; antisocial beliefs and attitudes; history of early aggressive behavior; involvement with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco; early involvement in general offenses; low IQ; poor behavioral control; social cognitive or information-processing deficits.”

The CDC goes on to state that family factors in youth violence include “authoritarian child-rearing attitudes; exposure to violence and family conflict; harsh, lax, or inconsistent disciplinary practices; lack of involvement in the child’s life; low emotional attachment to parents or caregivers; low parental education and income; parental substance abuse and criminality; poor family functioning and poor monitoring and supervision of children.”

Black Unemployment, Lowest in Two Years, Still Much Too High by Hazel Trice Edney

Black Unemployment, Lowest in Two Years, Still Much Too High

By Hazel Trice Edney

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CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.)

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Unemployment in the Black community is now at its lowest in exactly two years, according to the newest numbers reported from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the gap between Black and White statistics remains vast.

The drop in the Black unemployment rate – nearly a whole percentage in one month - has received applause by the Congressional Black Caucus, but CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) makes it clear the numbers are still drastically high.

“I am pleased that the number of private sector jobs grew by 104,000 over the past month, representing the twentieth straight month of increase, bringing the overall unemployment rate down to 9.0 percent and African-American unemployment from 16 percent to 15.1 percent, but there are still far too many Americans out of work,” Cleaver said in a statement. “By now, we should all understand the stagnant economic condition in which our country finds itself. The economy will only continue to worsen if we do not act quickly to address it. Politics has continued to trump legislative productivity—providing policy solutions that create opportunities for the American people so that they can care for themselves and their families.”

Despite the drop in Black unemployment, the gap between races is still incredibly apparent. The White unemployment rate has remained consistent at 8 percent for the past three months. In fact the White unemployment rate has never risen above 9.4 percent over the past decade, always remaining well below the national average and always nearly half that of the Black rate. The 15.1 percent rate for African-Americans is the lowest since August 2009, when the rate reached 15 percent.

Cleaver, who spent the summer on a cross-country jobs tour with his CBC colleagues, wasted no time pointing out that while the economy shows signs of hope, the Obama jobs bill remains stuck amidst political wrangling in the Senate.

"This week marked 300 days into the 112th Congress with no action on jobs,” he said in response to the new stats, released Nov. 4. “The Republican Leadership continues to bring forth divisive ideas instead of ensuring that we do our job as legislators and pass a comprehensive jobs bill.”

President Obama was in Cannes, France talking global economics at the G-2 Summit when the numbers were released. He gave his reaction during a press conference there, appearing to dismiss presidential politics – but focused on the quagmire in the Senate.

“I have to tell you the least of my concerns at the moment is the politics of a year from now,” Obama said in response to a question. "I'm worried about putting people back to work right now, because those folks are hurting and the U.S. economy is underperforming. And so everything that we're doing here … at the G20 mirrors our efforts back home - that is, how do we boost growth; how do we shrink our deficits in a way that doesn't slow the recovery right now; how do we make sure that our workers are getting the skills and the training they need to compete in a global economy. And not only does the American Jobs Act answer some of the needs for jobs now, but it will also lay the foundation for future growth through investments in infrastructure, for example.”

He continued, “My hope is, is that the folks back home, including those in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, when they look at today’s job numbers - which were positive but indicate once again that the economy is growing way too slow - that they think twice before they vote “no” again on the only proposal out there right now that independent economists say would actually make a dent in unemployment right now. There’s no excuse for inaction.

CBC members held job fairs in high employment cities across the nation last summer. Thousands came out to apply for jobs, sometimes lining up at 5 a.m. to wait for doors to open at 9.

“Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have seen firsthand the devastating economic conditions of millions of African-American families and millions of other American families by launching our national 'For the People Jobs Initiative',” Cleaver said. “CBC members have introduced over 50 job creation bills since the beginning of the 112th Congress.”

Cain Denies Sexual Harassment Charge, But Guess What Else He Denies by Hazel Trice Edney

Cain Denies Sexual Harassment Charges, But Guess What Else He Denies

By Hazel Trice Edney

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Al Teich/National Press Club

WASHINGTON (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Herman Cain, the only Black presidential candidate among eight Republicans vying to challenge President Obama in 2012, has surprisingly surged to the forefront – only to face sexual harassment charges that he vehemently denies.

But, yet another denial at the National Press Club on Monday also raised eyebrows. He said race has nothing to do with widespread angst against President Obama.

The atmosphere was hyped as members and guests at the Press Club luncheon awaited his response to the allegation that had surfaced in the newspaper, Politico. Cain’s tax plan numbers “999” colorfully emblazoned on the tops of the cupcake deserts belied the seriousness of the moment as a standing-room-only horde of media lined the club, cameras and recorders ready for Cain’s defense.

“Number one, in all of my over 40 years of business experience, running businesses and corporations, I have never sexually harassed anyone,” he said in response to the first question for NPC President Mark Hamrick. “Number two, while at the restaurant association, I was accused of sexual harassment – falsely accused I might add – I was falsely accused of sexual harrassment and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and my human resource officer to deal with the situation. And it was concluded after a thorough investigation that it had no basis.”

He continued, “As far as a settlement, I am unaware of any sort of settlement. I hope it wasn’t for much because I didn’t do anything. But, the fact of the matter is I’m not aware of a settlement that came out of that accusation. Per the article, two anonymous sources claim[ed] sexual harassment. We’re not going to chase anonymous sources when there’s no basis for the accusation.”

In a follow up question from Hamrick, Cain said he would not ask the Association to release any records to further “verify or shoot down” his version of the story.

“No, there’s nothing to shoot down. Secondly the policy of the restaurant association is not to divulge that information…As far as we’re concerned, enough said about the issue. There’s nothing else there to develop,” Cain said.

Concluding that conversation, Cain said, “We have no idea the source of this witch hunt.”

Politico quoted anonymous sources saying that two female members at the National Restaurant Association, where Caine was board chair, not only charged him with inappropriate behavior, but was paid five-figure settlements in an agreement that included their confidentiality and commitment not to publicly discuss the issue.

In his trademark humorous style of communicating with audiences, Cain, former chairman and CEO of God Father's Pizza, drew lots of laughter and applause during opening remarks, but has left open the door for further investigation into his denials of the accusations.

Only hours after the National Press Club appearance, he appeared to contradict himself in an interview on PBS: “I am aware that an agreement was reached. The word settlement verses agreement. I don’t know what they called it,” he said. Then he mention how small the settlement was, indicating that he did know that there was a monetary settlement after all.

The sexual harassment denial wasn’t the only denial from Cain. He said that the widespread discomfort with President Obama has nothing to do with race.

“I don’t think people being uncomfortable with this President has anything whatsoever to do with race. It’s bad policy,” he said to loud applause from supporters in the audience.

Cain made this statement despite polls, experts, and scientific research that have clearly exposed racism as the basis for widespread angst against President Obama from the very beginning of his presidency. Clear evidence and proof have included hate images, such as Obama drawn as a chimpanzee; death threats, and a record Secret Service security force that was established at the beginning of his election

In a report written early this year by race hate expert Mark Potok, “The Year in Hate and Extremism, 2010”, he reflected on President Obama’s tenure. Potok wrote, “For the second year in a row, the radical right in America expanded explosively in 2010, driven by resentment over the changing racial demographics of the country, frustration over the government’s handling of the economy, and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories and other demonizing propaganda aimed at various minorities. For many on the radical right, anger is focusing on President Obama, who is seen as embodying everything that’s wrong with the country.”

Meanwhile, Fox News commentators and other conservative pundits came to Cain’s rescue over the sexual harassment charges. Conservative analyst Ann Coulter called it a “high tech lynching”, quoting Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas when he was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill during his Senate hearings process.

However, that defense will not stick given that White male conservative Republicans and Democrats have been held to the same scrutiny. Among those who have made national news due to alleged and/or proven sexual indiscretions are President Bill Clinton, a Democrat; New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican; New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat; House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican; U. S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat; U. S. Senator John Edwards, a Republican; and the late U. S. Senator Strom Thurmond, a Republican.

Cain’s Press Club visit ended with his singing a song at Hamrick’s request. He chose to sing, “He Looked Beyond My Faults and Saw My Needs.”