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Black Pastors Preaching the Message of the Resurrection and the Legacy of Dr. King by Hamil R. Harris

March 27, 2024

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - It's the Easter season, and while many pastors are focused on crafting sermons and hosting events, others are equally concerned about King’s legacy on the anniversary of his death April 4, 1968.

“This election is one of the most critical elections in history,” said Rev. Gerald Durley, the retired pastor of the Provident Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. “This is an election to preserve Democracy in America.”

Durley, 82, is preaching and speaking more than ever because, he said, if former President Donald Trump is elected, it will set Civil Rights back 60 years.

“All of the marching that we did was to ensure equality and equity was in place,” Durley said. “Dr. King lived and died so that the check of Democracy would not be marked as insufficient funds. “

Durley said while the Black church has a great history, the battle for Civil Rights is far from over. “We have had a lot of Moses, but we need more Joshuas,” he said, referring to the younger leader he brought the children of Israel closer to the promised land.

From Atlanta to San Francisco to Washington, DC, many pastors are preaching the gospel as well, challenging their congregations to not only hear the Word but to be doers.

“It's sad and very troublesome,” said Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco. “The crucifixion wasn't about self-serving personal salvation. It was about good being delivered for all human creatures. That's why the Roman government put him on that cross…He was a social justice Christ. He cared about the marginalization of women. There were chauvinists back then as there are today,” Brown said. “Democracy should be for everybody."

Rev. Barbara Skinner,  who works with the organization, Faiths United to Save Democracy, has been  busy  educating potential voters. 

“While faith leaders cannot tell people who to vote for they can educate them about voting” said Skinner. She stressed the importance of "Preparing church members to vote having reviewed with them weeks prior what’s at stake and what’s in the ballot.”

“There are  19 steps to take before voting so people are ready to vote,” said Skinner. She referred to the website, http://www.turnoutsunday.com/ for a  toolkit.

Rev. Dr. Ben Chavis, a veteran Civil Rights activist, said while Easter is about the Resurrection of Jesus, there needs to be an “Economic Resurrection” in Black America, and that starts by going to the polls in November. 

During Black History Month, The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III was formally installed as president and CEO in a ceremony in downtown Dallas, replacing Jackson, 82, who announced in July that he would step down.

“I stand not in his shoes but on his shoulders, and because I stand on his shoulders, I hope you stand with me,” Haynes told those gathered during the service.

“How appropriate it is during Black History Month that we look back… but we look forward to a great future,” said Dr. Haynes immediately after taking the oath. He thanked those who mentored him, including Rev. Jackson, who he compared to baseball legend Jackie Robinson, opening doors for so many African Americans who came behind him.

As Civil Rights veterans yield to a new generation of pastors, they also employ new strategies and techniques.

Rev. Tony Lee, pastor of the Community of Hope African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Temple Hills, Md., said, the greatest importance of the church during this season is not just political power but moral authority. “We need a moral authority, a voice that stands for humanity, a voice that says that we are all God’s children,” he said, comparing those that Jesus called “the least of these” to “the left out” of today.

On March 26, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and activist Malcolm X met for the first time. Rev. Grainger Browning, pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, reflected on that date to say that today, “We need to come together.”

“The ongoing Civil Rights organizations are not as visible as they used to be, but it is important that some way during this Easter season, we have a coordinated effort to begin some strategy as to where we go from here,” Browning said. “I have faith in the resiliency of the African American population.”

Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta said, “I hope that Resurrection will look different in America in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Bryant said. Referring to the COVID pandemic that killed and sickened millions around the world, Bryant said, “The second pandemic is hopelessness.”

In the Black Community, It’s Not Voter Apathy By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III

March 24, 2024

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Dr. Wilmer Leon

NEWS ANALYSIS

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Public Politics is the negotiating process between interested constituencies regarding the access to and distribution of limited resources and the resulting outcome or policies pertaining to those resources.

One of the popular narratives that was disseminated in mainstream America media to explain Hilary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign loss to Donald Trump was post-Obama voter apathy in the African American community.  According to the Washington Post, “In 2016, a seven-point drop in black voter turnout was perceived to have cost Clinton the election.

Political commentators often cite black voters’ “enthusiasm gap” as the primary reason for low turnout. This short-sighted perspective fails to consider that Mrs. Clinton ran a terrible campaign.  She took the African American vote for granted and failed to craft a message that spoke to the needs and interests of the Community. Blaming the Community played into a stereotype that labeled African Americans as uninformed and monolithic in thought, instead of being introspective and recognizing her own short-comings. Her campaign ignored a simple reality…African Americans are as “political” as the rest of the country and there are real and substantive political interests that motivate the Community. 

Two substantive pieces of legislation that impacted Hilary Clinton’s campaign came out of her husband’s administration. The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act . The crime act, also known as “3 Strikes and are Out” contributed greatly to the mass incarceration of African Americans. So-called welfare reform, that Hilary Clinton encouraged her husband to sign, removed hundreds of thousands of poor people of color from the welfare safety-net and plunged them into the ranks of the desperately working poor. Many African Americans never forgot nor forgave her for supporting these pieces of legislation, as well as her referring to members of the Community as “superpredators” who needed to be brought “to heel.” It was not voter apathy or an “enthusiasm gap” that turned the African American community against the Hilary Clinton campaign, it was the realpolitik of Hilary Clinton. 

As America moves closer to the 2024 presidential election, the narrative of “voter apathy” and problems with the African American voter are being promoted once again. The Guardian reports - Black and Hispanic voters deserting Democratic party in large numbers.  The problem with this story is its failure to focus on Democratic party policy outcomes that have left many African American voters feeling ignored and disrespected.  Fox reports - Biden support from Black voters plummeting as Democrats blame ‘disinformation’. 

The Democratic party elite need to realize that African American voters are not uninformed, simple-minded, easily swayed nor can be taken for granted. President Biden has not developed, acted upon, nor articulated a message that resonates with the Community and reflects its reality.As America moves closer to the 2024 presidential election, the narrative of “voter apathy” and problems with the African American voter are being promoted once again. The Guardian reports - Black and Hispanic voters deserting Democratic party in large numbers. 

The problem with this story is its failure to focus on Democratic party policy outcomes that have left many African American voters feeling ignored and disrespected.  Fox reports - Biden support from Black voters plummeting as Democrats blame ‘disinformation’.  The Democratic party elite need to realize that African American voters are not uninformed, simple-minded, easily swayed nor can be taken for granted. President Biden has not developed, acted upon, nor articulated a message that resonates with the Community and reflects its reality.

There is another reality that is developing that could turn the “blame African Americans for Democratic party disappointments” narrative on its head.  It is an oppositional form of politics called “uncommitted” that is gaining traction in Michigan, Minnesota, and other states. In the most recent Michigan presidential primary, the Listen to Michigan campaign which is a coalition of African American, Arab American, Muslim American, and other voters is expected to receive approximately 10,000 votes.  The country was shocked to have more than 100,000 Michiganders take the time to vote for nobody instead of the incumbent president.

Michigan is a battleground state that President Biden won by fewer than 150,000 votes in 2020. The strength of that 2024 “uncommitted” protest vote sent an unambiguous message to the Democrats.On Super Tuesday Minnesota saw nearly 19 percent of its primary voters check the “uncommitted” box — an even higher ratio of voters than in Michigan. The focus of the voter’s ire in both Michigan and Minnesota is the Biden administrations unyielding support for genocide in Gaza.  The #AbandonBiden campaign has said that under no circumstances will it support Biden in November. “Our triumph in Michigan is more than a victory; it’s a declaration of our fury and our refusal to be silenced…”

According to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 4 in 10 U.S. adults want America to broadly take a “less active” role in solving global conflicts. In a recent poll from Data for Progress roughly three in four Democrats support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.  In the Data for Progress poll a total of 61% of Americans polled said they were in favor of a ceasefire.  The Democratic Party and its presumptive nominee, President Biden are ignoring their base.  This is a very dangerous tactic when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Americans are not excited about a Trump vs. Biden rematch.

In fact, there is a growing cohort called “double-haters,” those who are dissatisfied with Biden and Trump and do not want either candidate to win in November. Recent polls from the Marquette Law School, NYT-Siena College, and Morning Consult all reported 19 percent of those polled expressed dissatisfaction with both options. That is a large percentage of voters in a race that right now is within 1.5% to 2.0%, well within the margin of error.

Labor unions should be another area of concern for the Biden/Harris ticket.  This past January, UAW President Shawn Fein announced the UAW’s endorsement of President Biden.  Fain praised Biden for standing with the union during its strike against the Detroit Three automakers. The problem is the approximately 1 million rank and file membership may not follow the endorsement of UAW union leadership.  Following the union endorsement Fein explained that he expected most of the UAW membership would not vote for President Biden in November.  During an interview on Fox Business Network’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fain stated, “Let me be clear about this. A great majority of our members will not vote for President Biden…The majority of our members are gonna’ vote for their paychecks, they’re gonna’ vote for an economy that works for them.”

The Washington Post recently reported that The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents about 2 million health-care, property service and government workers, plans to spend $200 million to boost President Biden and Democrats in electoral battlegrounds across the country this year.  If the Democratic Party historically is the bastion of union politics and support, why is the UAW’s rank-and-file “gonna vote for their paychecks” (not for Biden) and why is the SEIU planning to spend $200M to get their vote out amongst a constituency that historically votes for Democrats?

According to The National Alliance to End Homeless, homelessness is on the rise in America. In 2022, counts of individuals (421,392 people) and chronically homeless individuals (127,768) reached record highs in the history of data collection. Unsheltered rates are also trending upward, impacting most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups.  As more than half of working Americans (53 percent), according to a recent Workforce Monitor study feel their paychecks are not keeping up with the pace of inflation, and Democrats; the Biden administration continues to find ways to send the much needed American tax dollar to war efforts in Ukraine and Gaza. According to Stephen Semler in Jacobin, “The Biden administration has been able to maintain a low profile by spreading arms provision to Israel across more than 100 smaller munitions sales”— allowing the president to posture as a peacekeeper while US weapons wipe Gaza off the map.

Voter disinterest is not at issue; voter apathy in not the new black.  The two major American political parties are listening to their corporate benefactors, talking amongst themselves in their echo chambers and are not listening to their constituents.  Maintain current the course and speed at your own peril.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a nationally broadcast talk radio host. An adjunct professor of political science. Host of the podcast Connecting the Dots w/ Dr. Wilmer Leon. Author of Politics Another Perspective. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com © 2024 InfoWave Communications, LLC

Haiti At The Bottom Of The Abyss, Soon to Be Led By Outlaws by Joseph Guyler C. Delva

 
 
 
 

President Biden's State of the Union Address Centers On NUL's Agenda To Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity, Defeat Poverty By Marc H. Morial 

To Be Equal March 18, 2024

                               President Biden's delivery of the State of the Union Address. PHOTO: Paulette Shipman-Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

                               Vice President Kamala Harris backs up Biden with applause as House Speaker Johnson remains seated as he often did alongside his Republican colleagues. PHOTO: Paulette Shipman-Singleton/Trice Edney News Wire

NEWS ANALYSIS(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “When you get to my age, certain things become clearer than ever before. I know the American story. Again and again, I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on core values that have defined America. Honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.” – President Joe Biden, 2024 State of the Union Address

President Biden’s third State of the Union Address on  March 7 met with overwhelmingly positive reviews for both its powerful content and his energetic delivery.

Falling as it did just days after the release of the National Urban League’s 2024 State of Black America® report – which included a special section, Evaluation for Progress: Report on the Biden Harris Administration – it’s worth noting the contrast between this address and the 1976 address by President Gerald Ford that inspired the original State of Black America report.

Both President Ford’s address and Sen. Edmund Muskie’s opposition conspicuously failed to mention the challenges facing Black Americans at the time. In contrast, President Biden not only wove racial equity throughout his speech, but he also delivered it on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a transformational moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Encouragingly, the speech explicitly addressed all three “Ds” in the National Urban League’s agenda: Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity, Defeat Poverty.

“I ask all of you, without regard to party, to join together and defend democracy,” President Biden said. “Respect free and fair elections. Restore trust in our institutions. And make clear — political violence has absolutely no place, no place in America.”

Highlighting the anniversary of Bloody Sunday and pointing out the marchers in the chamber, he said, “Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, to claim their fundamental right to vote,” he said. “They were beaten. They were bloodied and left for dead … Five months later, the Voting Rights Act passed and was signed into law. But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time: voter suppression, election subversion, unlimited dark money, extreme gerrymandering."

He called on Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Right Act, two bills that are at the heart of the National Urban League’s advocacy. In calling for an end to book bans and the erasure of America’s history of racial violence and discrimination, President Biden called diversity a “core value of America.”  In addition to assembling the most diverse Cabinet, senior leadership, and federal judiciary in history – including the first woman and person of color to serve as Vice President and the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court – President Biden on his first day in office disbanded the Trump Administration’s 1776 Commission, which has sought to erase America’s history of racial injustice., and revoked Trump’s damaging executive order restricting diversity and inclusion training. Several times during the speech, President Biden referenced the American Rescue Plan, which lifted more people out of poverty than any piece of legislation in the past 50 years, spurring the greatest single-year reduction in child poverty on record, and driving child poverty to a record low. “The child tax credit I passed [as part of the American Rescue Plan] cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in half. Restore that child tax credit. No child should go hungry in this country.” The National Urban League is proud to have worked with the Biden Administration to help defend democracy, demand diversity, and defeat poverty, and we are committed to continue holding President Biden and all elected officials accountable to the imperatives of racial equity and economic opportunity.

Calls for Investigations Into Shocking Mortgage Discrimination Claims in Class Action Lawsuit by Charlene Crowell

March 11, 2024

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(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A mortgage discrimination case that began with two plaintiffs last December was consolidated in late February with seven others to form a class action lawsuit alleging that Navy Federal Credit Union – the nation’s largest with 13.4 million members and $170.8 billion in assets – “systematically and intentionally discriminates against minority borrowers across the United States.”

The lawsuit alleges that Navy Federal, which serves current and former military members from all service sectors, denied loans for 52 percent of Black borrowers and 44 percent of Latino borrowers, while denying only 23 percent of white applicants for home mortgage purchase or refinance loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit.

Affidavits of affected borrowers told stories of the financial and emotional distressed caused by qualified loan applicants having to find alternative – and often more costly – financing after being denied by their member-owned credit union.

The lawsuit, led by nationally-known attorney Ben Crump and his co-lead counsel Adam Levitt, of DiCello Levitt and Hassan Zavareei, of Tycko & Zavareei, said the lender’s own data show that Navy Federal approved loans for a higher percentage of white borrowers annually earning less than $62,000 a year than for Black loan applicants earning $140,000 or more.  

And when Navy Federal did approve a loan to a Black or Latino applicant, they often were offered worst interest rates and loan terms than those offered to white borrowers with similar financial profiles. These activities are illegal under federal laws, including the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

“The outright discrimination that occurs when Banking While Black continues to reveal itself in the lending practices of many of America’s largest financial institutions,” said Crump. “It is shameful that Navy Federal, an organization that prides itself in helping the families of men and women who served their country, does not give their Black and Latino customers the same opportunities as white customers.”

“We hope this legal action will stop racial lending discrimination in its tracks and require Navy Federal to right their wrongs,” said Adam Levitt. “Home ownership is recognized as the cornerstone of the American Dream. We will not sit by while that dream is denied to hard-working and deserving Americans based on discriminatory practices and algorithms.” 

Navy Federal said in a December 2023 statement that its  more than $3.5 billion in mortgages to Black borrowers in 2022 shows its “longstanding commitment to expanding credit and economic opportunity to Black borrowers.”  

But the number of people calling to hold Navy Federal accountable is growing, and now includes civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, 10 U.S. Senators, over 20 Members of Congress, consumer advocates and others. 

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee called for federal agencies to begin investigations.

“Credit unions are owned by their members and while this type of discrimination may be par for the course for a profit-driven megabank, a member-driven credit union should know better,” said Waters.“As a private institution that bears the name of an esteemed branch of the United States military, Navy Federal must explain both to Congress and their members how such practices took place, what immediate steps are being taken to correct the harm done, and who in management will be held responsible,” Waters continued. “These abuses will not be tolerated, and I urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration, and other appropriate agencies to promptly investigate this matter.”  

Consumers Union, a nonprofit advocacy group, added its support. “The large racial disparity found between loan approvals for applicants with roughly the same financial profile raises serious concerns that Navy Federal may be unfairly discriminating against Black and Latino applicants,” said Jennifer Chien[, CU’s senior policy counsel for financial fairness..

In a joint letter on January 11,2024, 10 U.S. Senators led by Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown urged the CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department HUD to investigate the issue.

“As the regulators with primary responsibility for enforcing ECOA and the Fair Housing Act, we ask that you thoroughly review Navy Federal’s mortgage lending practices and outcomes for compliance with all federal fair housing and fair lending laws and regulations. Navy Federal’s members have made countless sacrifices in their service to our country. We must do all we can to ensure illegal barriers are not placed on their path to homeownership.” 

Even more lawmaker support came on February 28 in a joint letter from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition that called upon six federal agencies to investigate and report on their findings.

“[T]he federal financial regulators have a duty to ‘affirmatively further fair housing,’ which means they must take meaningful actions that overcome and do not further entrench patterns of segregation and systemic disinvestment, such as through redlining, based on protected classes under the law,” wrote the lawmakers.

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 Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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