Lead Stories

Va. Legislation Would Prohibit Criminal History Questions on Applications By Zenitha Prince

Jan. 26, 2014

Va. Legislation Would Prohibit Criminal History Questions on Applications

By Zenitha Prince

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Virginia lawmakers recently introduced legislation to increase the employment chances for ex-felons, continuing the ex-offender restoration reforms championed by former Gov. Robert McDonnell.

State Sen. Don McEachin (D-Dist. 9) and Delegate Rob Krupicka (D-Dist. 45) recently introduced legislation in their respective chambers that would prohibit state agencies from inquiring about criminal history on employment applications.

So-called “ban the box” bills are among several measures advocated by civil rights groups and other activists on behalf of ex-offenders. The initiative gets its name from the box on job applications in which applicants have to indicate whether they have a criminal history. The movement seeks to give those applicants a chance to exhibit their skills, talents and personalities during the hiring process before they have to reveal their criminal past.

“When a person has served his time and is ready to become a constructive member of our society, we need to make sure that can happen,” McEachin said in a statement. “This legislation will create that opportunity for folks who want to get jobs and take care of their families instead of keeping them down and keeping them in a perpetual cycle of incarceration and unemployment.”

Advocates believe that when ex-offenders gain employment they are less likely to re-offend.

“75 percent of former offenders remain unemployed for up to one year after release,” Gail Arnall, executive director of Offender Aid and Restoration, said at a press conference to announce the new legislation. “Unemployed former offenders are 2.1 times more likely to be re-arrested than employed former offenders.

Businesses are missing out on qualified applicants because they are making assumptions about them before interviewing them. Employers have the right to know someone’s criminal background, but at least give them a chance at an interview.”

Krupicka, whose district includes African-American neighborhoods in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax, added that the measure could also help the state conform with federal censure.

“This is also an important liability issue for Virginia,” he said. “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has started to take actions against employers that fail to hire somebody solely due to a criminal background. Virginia can avoid this legal liability by ensuring we give prospective employees of the state a fair chance at a job interview by eliminating the criminal background box on employment applications. ”

In May 2013, McDonald made the restoration of voting rights an automatic process for nonviolent felons.

“A critical component of ensuring the security and protection of our citizens is reducing recidivism,” he said at the time. “Over 90 [percent] of inmates will be released from prison back into society. By making sure we have an effective system in place to give past offenders the opportunity to resume their lives as productive citizens, we can better keep them from committing another crime and returning to prison. This reduces victimization and prison expansion and is smart government.”

CBC Sets ‘National Day of Prayer to End Poverty’ - Feb. 6 by Hazel Trice Edney

Jan. 21, 2014

CBC Sets ‘National Day of Prayer to End Poverty’ - Feb. 6
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - They are often called the “conscious of the Congress” and the Congressional Black Caucus will demonstrate that literally on Feb. 6. The 43-member caucus is planning a time of public prayer for the poor on U. S. Capital grounds Feb. 6, the CBC has announced.

"America is one of the richest countries on this planet; yet we have the largest gap between rich and poor in the developed world. Currently, 15 percent of the people in this nation live below the poverty line, and one in four children in this nation go to bed hungry each night. Even with these statistics, there are people who are doing everything they can to cut government programs that help these people keep food on the table,” said U. S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, explaining why the prayer time is necessary.

The announcement comes on the heels of the U. S. Senate’s refusal to extend emergency unemployment relief funds to more than 1.3 million Americans. Their last checks came Dec. 28.

“There are Members of Congress who refuse to extend unemployment insurance to the long-term unemployed. There are individuals in this country who call those with the least among us horrible, dehumanizing names as though they are choosing to be in the predicament they are in. The CBC Day of Prayer is aiming to bring awareness to the issue of poverty that is affecting communities across this nation. Poverty has no race, it doesn't only affect one type of person and it is not confined to a certain area. It is affecting all of us and it is past due time that we pay attention and get serious about putting partisan politics aside and do something to help the people who are hurting across this country," Fudge said.

The CBC will join with faith leaders from around the nation on Thursday, February 6 at 1 pm, for a “National Day of Prayer to End Poverty and Income Inequality”. The prayer will be held on the U. S. Capitol Hill East Lawn.

A press release further noted, “Since 1953, leaders from all religions backgrounds, sectors of society, and communities around the world have gathered in Washington, DC for the National Prayer Breakfast to unite in faith and to build new relationships that will benefit goodwill for all. This year, when faith leaders gather in our nation’s Capital, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus will also host the first National Day of Prayer to End Poverty and Income Inequality in our communities.

“As millions of American families continue to live below the poverty line, and the gap between the wealthiest in our nation and all others continues to grow, faith leaders are invited to attend and stand in solidarity with the CBC as we pray for the consciousness of America to be awakened and united against this startling and harrowing trend.”

Man Ordered to Stand Trial in Killing of Black Motorist Seeking Help By Frederick H. Lowe

Jan. 19, 2014

Man Ordered to Stand Trial in Killing of Black Motorist Seeking Help
By Frederick H. Lowe

Renisha McBride and Jonathan Ferrell. They were both shot to death while
seeking help following separate traffic accidents.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Theodore Wafer, a Dearborn Heights, Mich., man on Wednesday was ordered held over for trial on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the deadly shooting of an African-American motorist who knocked on his door seeking help, following an automobile accident.

Wafer, who has admitted to killing Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old Detroit woman, was arraigned before Wayne County, Mich., Court Judge Qiana Lillard. His jury trial is scheduled to begin June 2, 2014.

The 54-year-old Wafer shot his gun through a locked screen door, wounding Hunt in the head after she pounded on his door seeking help on November 2. Police responding to a 911 call found her body on Wafer's front porch.

Wafer said through his attorney he believed Hunt was attempting to break into the home, where he lived with his elderly mother, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said there were no signs of attempted forced entry. Wafer has pled not guilty to the charges.

He remains free on bond.

McBride was the second Black motorist shot to death iin 2013 while seeking help following an automobile accident.

In September, Randall Kerrick, a cop with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Department, shot to death Jonathan Ferrell, who was seeking help after he had been in a traffic accident.

Ferrell, 24, knocked on the door of a woman homeowner. She panicked, fearing he was a burglar. She called the police. When Kerrick and two other police officers arrived, Ferrell ran toward them his arms outstretched, apparently thinking they were there to help him.

They weren’t.

Kerrick fired his pistol 12 times, wounding Ferrell 10 times, killing him instantly.

On Monday, Christopher Chestnutt, the attorney for Ferrell's family, sued Kerrick, Police Chief Rodney Monroe, the county and city of Charlotte over Ferrell's death. Police charged Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter.

Roy Cooper, North Carolina's Attorney General, issued a statement on Monday in which he said he would seek an indictment of voluntary manslaughter against Kerrick before the Mecklenburg Grand Jury.

Civil Rights Leaders Lament ‘Unfinished Business’ on MLK Holiday By Hazel Trice Edney

Civil Rights Leaders Lament ‘Unfinished Business’ on MLK Holiday
By Hazel Trice Edney

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Barbara Arnwine, president, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

lorraine miller

Lorraine Miller, president, NAACP

repmarciafudge

U. S. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), chair, Congressional Black Caucus

richard trumka

Robert Trumka, president, AFL-CIO

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – As millions of people around the nation enjoyed the day off on Monday - many volunteering or commemorating the Martin Luther King birthday holiday with educational activities - civil rights leaders issued clarion calls that America faces “substantial unfinished business.”

“Without a doubt, there’s substantial unfinished business ahead of us as a nation, particularly on issues like voting rights and political empowerment, health inequities, employment, and asset-building,” said a statement from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. “Regrettably, some 45 years since his assassination, there’s clear evidence that many of Dr. King’s goals have yet to be achieved.”

The Joint Center, a think tank for national Black politics and economics, recently issued a report declaring “there is strong statistical evidence that politics is re-segregating, with African Americans once again excluded from power and representation. Black voters and elected officials have less influence now than at any time since the Civil Rights era.”

The extent of the outcries from rights leaders seem to have reached epic proportions. Barbara Arnwine, president/CEO of The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued a two- page essay on Monday, the first of what she said would be a series of statements in response to the King Holiday this week. She pointed to the 50^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s vision for a “Great Society” and among the greatest indicators of unfinished business.

“This vision of a ‘Great Society’ reflected Dr. King’s dream of economic prosperity, and established many programs that have significantly reduced poverty, including the Social Security Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the nation’s first food stamp program to combat hunger, notably African American poverty dropped from a height of 56 percent in the 1960s to approximately 31 percent today,” Arnwine pointed out. “However, 50 years later, these very programs that resulted in profound improvements in quality of life for the needy are being declared failures to be terminated, despite their gains. In President Johnson’s 1965 speech on passage of the Voting Rights Act, he made clear that ending poverty is part of the campaign for human rights…We have made great strides in reducing abject poverty, but too many families remain unable to make ends meet.”

Civil rights leaders, who specialize on various issues, point to vast inequalities indicating the need for multiple strategies.

“Sadly in 2014 the ugly specter of racial injustice still haunts every aspect of American society,” Arnwine continued. “Fifty years later, the inequality Johnson described has persisted in unemployment and increased through homelessness in communities of color, communities both urban and rural, and for too many children and seniors. We have dismantled formal school segregation, but continue to struggle with providing a quality education to all. Informal segregation in housing further impacts our ability to provide educational opportunities. There are no longer poll taxes or literacy tests, but in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder, jurisdictions have enacted new discriminatory barriers to voting. We must honor Dr. King’s vision of a society free of racial discrimination and poverty by examining how efforts to solve those problems must be improved.”

The strategies are as vast as the problems themselves.

“We'll march for it. We'll sing for it. We'll shout for it and stand for it, when it's easy and when it's hard, and the harder it is, the louder we'll sing, and the longer we'll stand!” proclaimed AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, speaking in San Antonio, Texas on Monday.

Reflecting on the words of the civil rights anthem, “We shall overcome someday,” Trumka thundered to the crowd, “The 99 percent need that new day now - the 10 million jobless workers. College graduates loaded with debt, and their parents, who want to retire but can’t. We need that day now - because too many people who work for a living are pursuing dreams that just keep getting farther away! And so we are here to celebrate the dream of Dr. King, on a day when the dreams of too many of us are slipping from our fingers!

Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) released a statement in which she questioned how Dr. King would respond to the conditions of today.

“I believe Dr. King would applaud the progress we have made toward racial and social equity, but he would strongly caution us about the shrinking equality of opportunity currently plaguing our world,” Fudge said. “He would question our nation’s persistently high unemployment rate, particularly for African- Americans. He would ask why Congress couldn’t agree on extending unemployment insurance to the long-term unemployed - the people who need it the most. Dr. King would ask why millions of Americans continue to live in poverty and seek work while corporations post billions in record profits. He would call for individuals to be paid wages that would prevent them from falling below the poverty line.”

She concluded, “If he were alive today, Dr. King would certainly be proud of who we are, but he would also say that we must commit to move forward together as one nation, we must not rest on our progress, there is still much work to be done.”

Regardless of the strategies it will take to move forward, NAACP Interim President/CEO Lorraine C. Miller says it must include Americans from all niches of society – following King’s example - in order to make serious progress.

“Of the chance to serve, Dr. King once said: Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve,” Miller said. “You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And serve, he did. Dr. King was a leader in service to others, to the causes of civil and human rights, and to making the United States a great nation—for all.”

Congressional Black Caucus Faces Tough Battles in 113th Congress by Zenitha Prince

Jan. 19, 2014

Congressional Black Caucus Faces Tough Battles in 113th Congress

By Zenitha Prince

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In a Congress likely to be steeped in the politics of this year’s midterm elections, the Congressional Black Caucus said it will continue to fight for issues important for communities of color.

“We all know that 2013 was one of the least productive years in the history of the Congress,” said CBC Chair Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) in a press call on Jan. 15. “Yet, the Congressional Black Caucus diligently worked on a number of issues and was successful in influencing policies that benefitted our communities and that would, but for us, be disregarded or completely ignored.”

Many of the priorities on the CBC’s 2014 agenda reflect ongoing concerns from 2013—reducing poverty and closing the income inequality gap, the challenges facing historically Black colleges and universities and increasing diversity in judicial nominations.

Poverty continues to be a scourge in Black communities—almost 10 million African Americans, including 4 in 10 Black children, live in poverty; almost 12 percent of African Americans are unemployed, etc.—cited Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who heads the CBC’s Poverty and the Economy Task Force.

Due to the CBC’s persistent efforts on reducing poverty, however, the issue has “gained momentum on Capitol Hill,” Lee said, and the CBC will continue to build on those gains.

The CBC will continue to advocate for an increased federal minimum wage, or living wage; it will continue to garner support for the Half in Ten Act, legislation – authored by Lee – which would create and implement a plan to cut poverty in half within 10 years, and it will continue to lobby for bills that create more high-earning jobs.

“We know the best pathway out of poverty is a job,” Lee said.

Deputy Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said the CBC will also continue to support the Affordable Care Act, and Medicare and Medicaid. The latter were key contributors to the gains made by the War on Poverty launched by President Lyndon Johnson a half-century ago, he said.

Another key initiative on the CBC’s “War on Poverty” will be its advocacy for the “10-20-30” initiative, which would require that at least 10 percent of federally appropriated money be spent in those communities where 20 percent or more the population has been locked below the poverty level for at least 30 years.

The targeted spending approach was first introduced by Clyburn as an amendment to the rural spending section of the Reinvestment Act. It resulted in funding for 4,655 projects totaling nearly $1.7 billion in chronically impoverished counties.

“We believe we have come upon a formula that can be used in our budget to direct resources to communities irrespective of the color or ethnicity of the people that live there,” he told reporters. “We are asking for that ’10-20-30’ approach to be included in other parts of our budget so that we can tackle poverty at the community level.”

Attempts to create income equality must also address education, and, for the Black community, HBCUs play an integral role. But the recent recession and changes in federal policy—such as changes in the credit eligibility criteria for Parent PLUS loans and a 5.1 percent cut in HBCU budgets due to sequestration—are endangering those higher education institutions, CBC members said.

“There is clearly a crisis at HBCUs as a result of Parent Plus loans,” said Fudge.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education made the underwriting standards for these popular loans more stringent and implemented those changes without input from or explanation to HBCUs. Within one year, Parent Plus loan denials skyrocketed by 50 percent for parents with students at HBCUs, Fudge said.

According to the Association for Public and Land-Grant Universities, 14,616 students at HBCUs learned their parents had been denied Parent PLUS loans in fall 2012; and HBCUs lost about $168 million as a result of the large number of students who were not able to start or continue their college education.

Overall, according to Education Department statistics, 101,740 fewer African-American students enrolled in higher education institutions in fall 2012.

In September 2013, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan apologized for the debacle to a group of HBCU presidents, administrators and faculty gathered for the annual National HBCU Week Conference in Washington, D.C.

“I know it’s been hard, it’s been frustrating, and some of you are angry,” Duncan told the group, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education. “I am not satisfied with the way we handled the updating of PLUS Loans, and I apologize for that.”

Despite the apology—and despite the CBC’s appeals to the department—revisions have yet to be made, Fudge said.

The CBC will continue to agitate for those changes as it will for a less homogenous judiciary, members said.

“We feel that it is pretty important to have African-American judges, both at the trial and the appellate level in every circuit in our country,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.). “The problem is that we have Republican United States senators who have been blocking this progress.”

Out of the 55 African Americans nominated to the bench by President Obama, only 42 have been confirmed, Butterfield said. Additionally, 43 seats at the district and appellate levels remain empty.

“The president needs to be more proactive in nominating African Americans to the bench [and] we would hope he would be less conciliatory with those Republican senators who have demonstrated that they are obstructionists,” said the North Carolina Democrat. “What we’ve got to do is continue to put pressure on the White House…and at the same time we need to encourage the Senate leadership to proceed with confirmation proceedings.”