Lead Stories

African Athletes on U. S. Teams Face Uncertainty As Trump Bills are Vetted by the Courts

Feb. 5, 2017

African Athletes on U. S. Teams Face Uncertainty As Trump Bills are Vetted by the Courts

african athlete t. maker

T. Maker

(TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) - President Trump’s ban on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim nations could have a wide impact on international sports if the ban is ultimately upheld by the courts, according to Jere Longman, a sports writer for The New York Times.

Major League Soccer has two American-born players with familial ties to two of the nations facing bans. Steve Beitashour of Toronto has played for Iran’s national team, and Justin Meram of Columbus has played for Iraq.

Four time Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farah, born in Somalia, was also expected to fall under the Trump order barring citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. Although British with a British passport, Farah is a Muslim and would not receive priority now approved for Christians. Farah is training in Ethiopia right now.

Farah, who lives and trains in Portland with the Nike Oregon Project, posted on Facebook: "On 1st January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.” … “I’ll have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home," he said.

This week, Farah received an exemption this week to the ban from Jared Kushner (Ivanka Trump’s husband) which will also exempt other Brits, according to Flotrack.org.

Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian for the U.S. who finished third in the 2016 New York City Marathon, was also born in Somalia and the race regularly attracts runners from around the globe.

Trump has called his ban an effort to defend the United States from "radical Islamic terrorism."

The athletes are currently free to travel based on a temporary ruling by US District Court Judge James Robart in Washington State, whose suspension of the ban was upheld by a federal appeals court Feb. 5. But the suspension of the ban is only pending submission of opposing arguments from the White House and Washington State. The appeals court is expected to rule this week, but that ruling will be subject to the U. S. Supreme Court if the filings continue.

Other athletes awaiting clarification are N.B.A. players Thon Maker and Luol Deng, both born in Sudan.

Mr. Deng, a forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, has lived in the United States for 17 years. His family fled to Egypt when he was 5 to escape the Sudanese civil war. Mr. Deng came to the U.S. when he was 14 and attended high school in New Jersey, and he later became a British citizen.

Christina Kelley, one of the few women allowed into a wrestling area in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution said she was frustrated by Mr. Trump’s decision.

“I don’t think our current president has any clue what the State Department and what sports diplomats and cultural exchanges do for our country and for the safety of our people around the world,” she said.

A World Cup archery event is scheduled for Las Vegas on Feb. 10.

Iran, one of the seven countries listed on the ban, brought one archer, Zahra Nemati, to last year’s Olympics. The status of Iran’s archery team for the World Cup is not known.

The U.S. wrestling team travels to Iran next month for a World Cup event, and the head of the federation said plans are still in place for that trip.

GLOBAL INFORMATION NETWORK creates and distributes news and feature articles on current affairs in Africa to media outlets, scholars, students and activists in the U.S. and Canada. Our goal is to introduce important new voices on topics relevant to Americans, to increase the perspectives available to readers in North America and to bring into their view information about global issues that are overlooked or under-reported by mainstream media.

Immigration Ban: Trump Shows He Revels in Dangerous Chaos By Jesse Jackson

Jan. 31, 2017

News Analysis

Immigration Ban: Trump Shows He Revels in Dangerous Chaos
By Jesse Jackson

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Donald Trump’s most recent provocation — suddenly issuing an order banning the admission into the United States of refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries — created chaos and fury that had to be expected.

Airports across the world were engulfed with demonstrators. Judges issued emergency orders staying enforcement of parts of the order. Families found their children studying abroad unable to return home, or their loved ones attending a funeral stranded in an airport. Translators who had risked their lives for American soldiers in Iraq suddenly found their green cards useless and their lives at great risk. Both intelligence professionals and State Department diplomats have protested the order.

Trump clearly revels in this chaos. He proves to his voters that he’ll fulfill his campaign promises, despite opposition. He shows them that he’s getting things done. He postures strong on securing Americans against foreign terrorists. He defines his opponents as bleeding heart liberals, more concerned about rights than security, more internationalist than nationalist. He views this all as a win.

Trump’s act is based on a lie: that America is not careful in vetting those refugees from battle zones that seek refuge in our country from violence or persecution. In fact, our vetting is already among the most stringent in the world. Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christians would be given preference over other religious groups, asserting falsely that under Obama, “If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible.” In fact, last year we admitted virtually as many Christian refugees as Muslims, despite the fact that far more Muslims are at risk and seeking refuge. But this president has shown that he’s prepared to act on the basis of “alternative facts” when he so chooses.

The real problem is that the unintended consequences are likely to be far more dangerous than doing nothing. For ISIS and al-Qaida, the order is gift. It feeds their argument that the Muslim world is facing a war on Islam led by the Great Satan (the U.S.) intent on persecuting Muslims.

The anger and hatred generated will make it more difficult for moderate Muslim leaders to cooperate with the U.S. At home, a Muslim community under siege — and faced with rising hate crimes — is likely to become more closed, not less, and less cooperative, not more. If we will not respect their rights and security, they will be less likely to be concerned for ours.

Across the world, the order reveals an America that is frightened, not strong, and insular, not expansive. Trump has just mocked his own argument that our allies should bear a fair share of the defense burden, for he’s made it clear the U.S. will not do its part in offering refuge to the displaced — many of them driven from their homes by wars that we started or continue. And America’s claim to be a champion of human rights has just been weakened by our own actions once more.

The irony here is that Trump gets the threat wrong. Seven countries were singled out for special prohibition — a ban on all travelers, not just refugees for 90 days, visa or no visa. Not one person from those countries has killed any Americans in a terrorist attack inside the U.S. The perpetrators of American terrorist attacks in Boston, San Bernardino, Calif., Fort Hood in Texas, and Orlando, Fla. — did not come from the countries banned, and all were radicalized homegrown individuals.

Similarly, the hijackers of 9/11 did not come from the countries that are banned. They came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon, none of which are on the list.

There must be some other reason than terrorist threat for the selection. It may not simply be coincidental that the countries listed for bans are those where Trump’s company does no business, while the nations from which the 9/11 attackers came — and yet are exempted — are places where Trump has done or tried to do business.

Democrats have said they would try to get the order rescinded for its trampling of human rights, its lack of preparation and confused definitions. The real question is whether Republicans embrace this action or make their opposition known. Trump is happy to mock Democrats. His aides know that he has to learn to work with Republicans who control majorities in both houses of Congress.

Thus far, Republicans such as Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake have risked Trump’s wrath by objecting to the order. It is revealing that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell chose to duck — saying the courts would decide whether the order is constitutional — while House Speaker Paul Ryan chose to embrace the order rather than criticize it. These are not profiles in courage.

U.S. Rep., Civil Rights Leaders Dismiss Trump’s Claims of Voter Fraud

Jan. 29, 2017

U.S. Rep., Civil Rights Leaders Dismiss Trump’s Claims of Voter Fraud

Sees it as a strategic ploy to limit easy access to voting

U. S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Still angry that he lost the popular vote on the way to winning the White House, President Donald Trump claims millions of undocumented aliens illegally voted for Hillary Clinton, and he has called for an investigation. U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), and civil rights leaders say, however, the claims of voter fraud gives Republicans and others another reason to deny people the right to vote.

“The president can join me and my staff, and we will show him that there is no voter fraud,” said Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Trump on Wednesday tweeted for an investigation into voter fraud and voting irregularities, two days after he repeated his claim, without evidence, that he lost the popular vote because millions of people illegally voted for Clinton.

Among civil rights leaders dismissing Trump's unwarranted claim is NAACP President/CEO Cornell William Brooks.

“President Donald Trump called for the federal government to spend resources investigating alleged ‘voter fraud’ in the 2016 elections. Unable to accept the fact that he lost the popular vote by some 2.8 million votes, President Trump has repeated his naked and reckless claim that 3 to 5 million illegal votes were cast in the 2016 election by 'illegal immigrants'. However, this notion of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election, or any other American election cycle for that matter, is false and dangerous," Brooks wrote in a statement. “Voter Fraud has been proven virtually non-existent through studies conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, Arizona State University, and the Washington Post, among others. The Washington Post’s 2015 study showed that between 2000 and 2014 there were only 31 alleged cases of in-person voter fraud among the over 1 billion votes cast in the United States during that time period. Yet, this supposed widespread voter fraud is consistently used as justification for voting restrictions that suppress the votes of African-Americans and Latinos.

Brooks continued, “In stark contrast to the myth of widespread voter fraud is the proven reality of voter suppression. A number of federal courts across the country have determined that certain states enacted voting restrictions that discriminated against Black and Latino Americans, as in Texas, or, worse yet, were written with the specific intent to suppress the Black vote, as in North Carolina. In fact, a federal appellate court held that North Carolina’s law targeted African-American voters with 'almost surgical precision.' Voting restrictions such as those recently struck down in Texas, North Carolina and elsewhere weaken our democracy and themselves cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of our electoral processes."

HBCU Band Defies Critics, Reaps Reward Through Inauguration By Brookie Madison

Jan. 29, 2017

HBCU Band Defies Critics, Reaps Reward Through Inauguration
Talladega College Raises $670,000 to Perform in Parade

By Brookie Madison

Talladega College President Billy Hawkins is surrounded by the media and students during a send off to march in the inaurugal parade in Washington. Hawkins was criticized harshly for the band's participation, but the program is $650,000 richer for doing so. PHOTO: Courtesy/Anniston Star

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One third of all Talledega students are members of the marching bandthat performed during the inauguration. The money from the trip will go to scholarships,new equipment, equipment and facilities, administration officials said. Courtesy Photo

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Howard University News Service

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – At Talladega College, a tiny historically Black institution 55 miles east of Birmingham, Ala., the president, the administration, the band director and the school’s 230-member marching band are as giddy in anticipation as a 9-year-old a week before Christmas.

In this case, however, Santa Claus, in the names of Donald Trump and his supporters and Fox-TV’s Bill O’Reilly and his millions of viewers have already come to town and left the cash-strapped school $670,000 to march in Trump’s inauguration. And now it’s time to go shopping. Visions of new trumpets, clarinets, Sousaphones, drums and trombones are dancing in their heads. There’s talk of a new band room big enough for all the members of the Great Tornado Marching Band to get in without stepping over each other. The college is even considering its own buses to get the band to performances at NFL games, the New Orleans Mardi Gras and the numerous other venues the band plays annually.

“This has been an absolutely amazing ride,” said Greg Wilson, a spokesman for the college rode back to Talladega on the buses with the band. “What started out as a GoFundMe account just to get to D.C. to participate in the inauguration has morphed into something far greater.

“In terms of the financials, it’s a blessing. We’re thankful for it. The band has an immense amount of needs.”

Probably no one is happier than Talladega President Billy Hawkins. “This is also a demonstration that we made the right decision to allow our students the opportunity to participate in a civic ceremony,” Hawkins said. “It provided our students this opportunity to be a part of history and something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

A little over a month ago, the college was the target of scorn nationally from activists and alumni for having agreeing to participate in the inauguration of a president-elect largely loathed by African-Americans. The band had applied to march in the parade long before the election, but when Trump won on Nov. 9 instead of Hillary Clinton and invited the band to participate, an avalanche of criticism engulfed the school. Shirley Ferrill of Fairfield, Ala., a member of the graduating class of 1974, told the Associated Press that she and other alumni were horrified to hear news of the school’s participation. She said didn’t want her alma mater to seem as if it was supporting Trump in any way.

She created a petition asking for the withdrawal of the band from the inaugural festivities that gathered over 2,000 signatures. Poet Nikky Finney, a Talladega graduate and professor at the University of South Carolina, said she felt the band should not celebrate Trump. “The college had sold out the history of Talladega College for chicken change [and] maybe a tin star on a hatemonger’s parade route,” Finney told the New York Times. Much of that criticism was directed at Hawkins.

“They’ve said that I have shamed the college by making this decision and have had folks to say I am a disgrace to my African-American race,” he said during a television interview before the inauguration. With such a furor, Hawkins considered pulling out, but decided to go after all. “This was never about politics and those who were critical of this didn’t think about the students,” he said. “They deserve the same right to participate in this parade just like all the other parade participants.” The band set up a Go Fund Me account with the goal of $75,000. In the beginning, there was a slight trickle, but after the college president appeared on the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox TV, the money flooded in. The college received $670,000 in the Go Fund Me account in a mere 15 days. The contributions were led by large donors. O’Reilly chipped in $25,000. Ophelia and Juan Roca, two Miami-based philanthropists, gave $6,000. That was followed by two anonymous donors of $5,000 each, then scores of four figure donations. More than 50 people gave at least $1,000. The donations were often accompanied by comments reflecting the donor’s support of Trump and O’Reilly. “Congratulations to the band, to O'Reilly and O'Reilly Factor, to the college,” the Rocas wrote. "I'm very proud of your students.”

Howard Anderson gave $2,500. “I wish you the best as we make America great Again,” Anderson wrote. “We are with you Our FUTURE Thank You. I love you GOD BLESS.”

Edward Kinsey gave $500. “Your courage is an example of doing the right thing to support the United States of America,” Kinsey said. Ferrill said she wished her petition had moved the school not to participate and she still feels the school made a mistake. “For me, it transcends the money,” she said Tuesday as she quoted a passage from the Bible, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?’”

For the band and the school, the influx of cash has been a godsend. One third of the school’s 800 students participates in the band, officials said, and most of those students as well as at least half of the students on are some form of federal loans. “Financial aid is a challenge to pay for, especially for students at historically black colleges,” Hawkins said. “Now we will be able to provide additional scholarships.” He said he hopes to build on the school’s success, with alumni and others. “I would to see a new established donor base and I would hope that those that gave would continue to support the band and Talladega College,” he said. “It was so, so positive.”

Black Immigration Group Ready to Battle Trump By Frederick H. Lowe

Jan. 29, 2017

Black Immigration Group Ready to Battle Trump
By Frederick H. Lowe

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a national network that advocates for black immigrants, announced that it will fight President Donald Trump’s plans to restrict immigration of Africans to the United States from countries with large Muslim populations. Although most Americans think of immigrants as being from Mexico or South America, a growing number of immigrants are Black and are from Africa and the Caribbean. In 2015, a record 3.8 million Black immigrants now live in the United States, more than four times the number who lived here in 1980. Not everyone, however, is from a mostly Muslim country.

President Trump has issued an order barring citizens from seven countries with Muslim majorities from entering the U. S. for the next 90 days. It also suspends the entry of refugees for 120 days. Those countries are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

As protestors demonstrate at major airports around the nation, legal actions have already begun. U. S. District Judge Ann Donnelly Saturday night blocked the affects of the executive order on anyone who was stranded in U. S. airports because of it. "The petitioners have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioner and other similarly situated violates their due process and equal protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution," Donnelly wrote i her decision, according to widespread news reports.

“The Black Alliance for Just Immigration is committed to preparing Black communities to defend against their harmful policies, to building power amongst Black immigrant organizations nationwide and to working with our partners to fight back against this administration’s racist and xenophobic agenda,” said Tia Oso, National Organizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, which has offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif.; Atlanta and Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Alliance also said it would also fight President Trump’s attacks on sanctuary cities. A sanctuary city is a city that has adopted a policy of protecting illegal immigrants by not prosecuting them for violating federal immigration laws in the country in which they are now living illegally. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney General to defund sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal immigration law. He also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to begin issuing weekly public reports that include “a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignored or otherwise failed to honor any detainers with respect to such aliens.”

Opal Tometi, executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and co-founder of #Black Lives Matter, called Trump’s actions troubling. “Punishing cities for offering protection betrays the humanitarian value of offering a safe haven for the oppressed,” Tometi said. Some mayors of sanctuary cities said they will fight Trump’s order.

“We are going to fight this and cities and states around the country are going to fight this,” Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, said at a news conference. If sanctuary cities comply with Trump’s order, African immigrants and others who run afoul of the law can be handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration to promote homeland security. Those arrested can be held in a prolonged state of displacement because many of the refugees here illegally are no longer welcome in their home countries.