April 15, 2014

President Obama At Easter Prayer Breakfast: ‘We’re All Children of God’
By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com)- As stories of racial and ethnic violence continue to rock America – even during Holy Week - President Barack Obama stressed the need for unity against racism and hatred, saying, “We’re All Children of God”.

“We have to keep coming together across faiths to combat the ignorance and intolerance, including anti-Semitism that can lead to hatred and to violence, because we’re all children of God. We’re all made in His image, all worthy of his love and dignity. And we see what happens around the world when this kind of religious-based or tinged violence can rear its ugly head.  It’s got no place in our society,” he said at an Easter prayer breakfast this week.

President Obama was specifically addressing the Kansas City incident in which documented White supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller (also used last name Cross) shot and killed three people at a community center and retirement home on Sunday. Shouting “Hail, Hitler!” Miller, who reportedly has a long history of involvement with the Ku Klux Klan, apparently thought the people were Jewish. Therefore, authorities say he will be charged with a hate crime.

The dead are high school freshman Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, an Eagle Scout and singer; his grandfather, William Lewis Corporon, a medical doctor; and Terri LaManno, shot while caring for her mother at a nearby nursing home.

The incident happened just as President Obama was preparing his remarks for the White House’s annual Easter Prayer Breakfast. Speaking before members of the administration, staffers, ministers and faith leaders, he gave “brief reflections as we start this Easter season.”

He parlayed the latest story of pain into a message of hope.

“My main message is just to say thank you to all of you, because you don’t remain on the sidelines.  I want to thank you for your ministries, for your good works, for the marching you do for justice and dignity and inclusion, for the ministries that all of you attend to and have helped organize throughout your communities each and every day to feed the hungry and house the homeless and educate children who so desperately need an education,” he said. “You have made a difference in so many different ways, not only here in the United States but overseas as well.  And that includes a cause close to my heart, My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative that we recently launched to make sure that more boys and young men of color can overcome the odds and achieve their dreams.”

Recent stories of racial division in America has predominately included attacks on unarmed young men of color, such as the Trayvon Martin, 17, shot and killed while walking from a neighborhood store; Jonathan Ferrell, 24, shot and killed while seeking help after a car accident and Jordan Davis, 17, shot and killed by a man who thought his music was too loud. However, President Obama stressed the need to equally deal with social issues that cause self-destructive behavior in Black neighborhoods.

He praised people in the audience who have mentored and worked with “young men in tough neighborhoods…We’re also joined by some of these young men who are working hard and trying to be good students and good sons and good citizens.  And I want to say to each of those young men here, we’re proud of you, and we expect a lot of you.  And we’re going to make sure that we’re there for you so that you then in turn will be there for the next generation of young men.”

Turning back to the Easter season and the meaning of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the President concluded his message, sounding almost like a preacher.

“So this Easter Week, of course we recognize that there’s a lot of pain and a lot of sin and a lot of tragedy in this world, but we’re also overwhelmed by the grace of an awesome God.  We’re reminded how He loves us, so deeply, that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him.  And in these Holy Days, we recall all that Jesus endured for us - the scorn of the crowds and the pain of the crucifixion, in our Christian religious tradition we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection - all so that we might be forgiven of our sins and granted everlasting life.”

The President concluded, “And more than 2,000 years later, it inspires us still.  We are drawn to His timeless teachings, challenged to be worthy of His sacrifice, to emulate as best we can His eternal example to love one another just as He loves us.  And of course, we’re always reminded each and every day that we fall short of that example.  And none of us are free from sin, but we look to His life and strive, knowing that “if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

PHOTOS TO COME

April 14, 2014

National "STEM" Expert: 21st Century Doctors Must Also Know the Arts
By Hazel Trice Edney

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski PHOTO: Roy Lewis/Trice Edney News Wire

Dr. Freeman Hrablowski speaks to the audience at the Howard University Health Symposium. PHOTO: Roy Lewis/Trice Edney News Wire

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – When Dr. Freeman Hrabowski was only 15 years old, he was in college and graduated at the age of 19 with high honors in mathematics from what was then Hampton Institute. He went on to receive a master’s in mathematics and then a doctorate degree in higher education, administration and statistics at the age of 24.

Now president of the University of Maryland at Baltimore County since 1992, Hrbowski’s is a national expert on science and education with a special emphasis on minority participation and performance and on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). He recently co-authored a report called “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads” and was appointed by President Obama to chair the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African-Americans.

But, despite popular believe that most people are either science or arts-minded, Hrabowski believes every doctor or scientist can and must be academically well-rounded in order to impact communities.

“If you’re going to be really good in STEM, you must also be really good in the other subjects because we don’t discuss problems in health with numbers. We discuss problems with language and words. And so, our ability to read well and to listen carefully to the problem,” is essential, he told an audience of students, academics, medical experts and the general public gathered at Howard University last week. “A doctor is better or that health care professional is better when they can hear and understand the words and the significance of what somebody is saying – what the person says, what the person doesn’t say, what’s between the lines and the sophistication of language skills that can help us to solve word problems.”

Hrabowski concluded, “STEM is so important because the fact is that whether we’re talking about whether somebody lives or dies, whether we’re talking about whether we can find a cure for cancer, whether we’re talking about how we protect our country, whether we’re talking about what we do with this environment and global warming; even when we talk about our quality of life every day, there’s some connection to what we call STEM.”

Those were among the sentiments he expressed during the Howard University Symposium on U.S. Healthcare, which drew an audience of hundreds April 10. Students and adults alike craned to see and hear every move and word of Hrabowski’s lively keynote presentation, which was peppered with applause and laughter. His speech was among the high points of the daylong event with the theme “The Affordable Care Act and You!”

The ability to communicate with people of diverse backgrounds will be at the crux of the success of the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA), according to Jannette Dates, former dean of the Howard School of Communications, who founded the annual conference, which focused largely on “the village” approach to education on health care.

“Communications is the nexus,” Dates said in an interview.  “It’s the focal point of everything and if you don’t figure out how to communicate what you’re doing, then you lose your ability to reach the audience that you have in mind. And that’s why communications is essential and all these other things come in as a part of it.”

Despite his accomplishments, quality education for Hrabowski didn’t come easy.  Inspired by a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on educational equality, the Birmingham native was among those who protested, faced police dogs, fire houses and went to jail during the civil rights movement, risking his own life and future.

But, he recalled Dr. King telling them, “What you do this day will have an impact on children who have not yet been born.”

Focusing on the middle school, high school and college students in the audience, Hrabowski stressed the academic balance.  “The people who will be most successful in life, whether they are majoring in literature or in chemistry will be those who take the work seriously, who are passionate about what they do, who believe that it’s important to listen to the stories of successful people, who’ve learned how to listen in general and who read a lot.”

Panelists’ conversations were broad throughout the day, focusing largely on the benefits of the ACA and the problems it aims to fix. Among the statics and benefits received by the more than 7 million who signed up for this year:

 - More than 129 million Americans had pre-existing conditions that affected their ability to obtain or sustain health insurance. Health care premiums were skyrocketing, insurance company profits were  skyrocketing even more. Tens of millions of people were underinsured, 58 million had no insurance whatsoever.

- Coverage has been made more affordable; especially for prevention of diseases that disparately plague African-Americans like high blood pressure, cholesterol, and tobacco addiction.

- Youth who were uncovered are now able to be covered under their parents’ plans until the age of 26.

- Community health centers are being set up in communities that have long been devoid of quality health care.

- Insurance companies cannot spend any more than 20 percent of their premiums on salaries and overhead. Eighty percent has to be spent on health care coverage. It used to be 60-40. If they spend more than 20 percent, they have to give a rebate.

- Some employers are mandated to provide health care.

Among a string of panelists throughout the day, Rick Valachovic, president/CEO of the American Dental Education Association, pointed out that the ACA is crucial; especially because of the growth of the people of color in America. “In 2045, more than half the U.  S. population is going to be minority,” he said, citing Census statistics.

Because people of color or more disparately sick and poor, the ACA is especially beneficial, he says.

“Health care premiums were skyrocketing…It stops insurance company abuses,” Valachovic said. “It stops insurance companies from denying initial coverage or to decline insurance coverage continuation over time” to people with pre-existing conditions.

He added that American dentists, who see 300 million patients a year, have served as a model for prevention of diseases. “What health profession can you think of that’s more committed to prevention than the dental hygienist?”

April 14, 2014

Photo coming momentarily.

NBA President: Blacks Should Be ‘Almost Religious’ About Supporting Black Businesses
By Hazel Trice Edney

NBA President/CEO Michael Grant and NBA Chairman Doyle Mitchell
award U. S. Treasury Department retiree Donna Gambrell, for her work
to strengthen Black-owned banks. During her 37 years, "she was a shining example of a civil servant
who took her job extremely seriously," said Grant. PHOTO: Rodney Minor/NBA

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - National Bankers Association (NBA) President/CEO Michael Grant says mutual support among Black businesses and consumers must become an “almost religious” culture in America if the Black community is to ever to attain significant economic strength.

“We are aware that our community was hardest hit by this recession. We’re aware that the historical and structural barriers against us remain. But, here is the real deal: We have enough wealth within our family to go toe to toe with anybody in America,” Grant told dozens during a legislative regulatory conference reception, sponsored by the NBA in Downtown DC. “If we are going to succeed as a people, we have got to learn – I mean with a burning passion – to commit to supporting each other in business.”

He continued, “We have got to be almost religious about this my friends. Nobody is going to save us but us.”

Grant seized the moment amidst a room full of bankers, regulators, media and small business owners, April 2. His remarks came on the heels of wide spread news reports that the number of grants and loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to Black-owned businesses has been abysmal, underscoring the need for internal community support as well as advocacy.

For those involved with Black business advocacy the SBA revelation is unacceptable.

“That is really a tragedy for an organization like ours that represents a quarter of a million Black-owned businesses. We have to address that,” said Ron Busby, president of the U. S. Black Chambers, Inc., who spoke briefly after Grant.

Busby noted the 2.3 percent of loans the SBA reportedly awards to Black-owned businesses. “We can talk about ‘My Brothers’ Keeper’. We can talk about ‘My Sisters’ Keeper’. But, at the end of the day, this is truly about Black businesses being in business making sure that they can employ these young adults as they get through the system if it works.”

Reactions around the room brought strong agreement with Grant as some speculated on the reasons that African-Americans fall short when it comes to supporting each other’s businesses.

“I think psychologically as a people we’ve had some circumstances that other groups have not had in this country,” said Industrial Bank President/CEO Doyle Mitchell, also NBA chairman. Mitchell was alluding to the bond between Blacks during Jim Crow segregation when their patronage of White-owned businesses was limited verses post segregation which opened up the markets to choices African-Americans never had.

“Asians have not had the kinds of circumstances and situations that we’ve gone through. Hispanics have not had that. And I think when we were forced to support each other we did it. But, for some reason when we weren’t forced and we got options; then we got away from it,” Mitchell said. “And I think we just have some psychological issues as a people.”

Mitchell speculated that perhaps African-Americans don’t so readily support each other because having been enslaved for centuries, Blacks were conditioned to think lowly of themselves and each other. “We don’t believe we can do things as good as other people do. That’s the only thing that I can come up with because every other race on the face of the planet supports each other, except us. And I think our very survival is going to depend on it.”

Constant reminding and advocacy may turn that mindset around, says Barbra Lang, former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, who now owns Lang Strategies, LLC, a business consulting company.

“Many times we don’t even have it as a part of our consciousness of how we go and do that,” said Lang who led the Chamber for more than a decade. She pointed out that she has quickly discovered that most of her new business contracts, have “come from White executives; not from African-Americans… I think we all have a responsibility to lift a hand and bring somebody with us. That means individually also as minority businesses.”

According to the SBA, there is an estimated 1.9 million Black-owned businesses in the U. S. During the early part of this century (2002-2007), Black business ownership tripled the national rate. Simultaneously, the U. S. Census estimated an annual sales increase of 55 percent to $137.5 billion.

In addition, the buying power of African-Americans is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to a "State of the African-American Consumer" report by Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Despite past efforts to pool Black dollars and launch movements to support Black owned businesses, how often African-Americans actually spend with Black businesses has not been documented.

Donna Gambrell, retired director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, said it will take great passion in order for such a movement to succeed.

“That was an important message that [Grant] gave tonight, that we have to figure out a way to come together to support one another. There’s strength in numbers,” she said. “We have to come together and support one another and pursue new strategies and keep our voices raised.”

Grant has begun a campaign to support the more than 37 mostly Black-owned banks of the NBA. Pushing for major deposits in those banks, he recently convinced the USBC and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations to make significant deposits in Black-owned banks.

“There are no more messiahs coming alone. Every man and woman in this room has to recognize that we can make it big in America,” Grant concluded. “But, we have got to start looking at people who look like us and say I am going to support you. I love you. I’m going to stop being jealous of you. I’m going to stop criticizing you. I want you to be successful. If we do that, I promise you this silver rights movement will equal in success the civil rights movement.”

April 14, 2014

Innocent Man Freed After 25 Years in Prison 
By Frederick H. Lowe

Jonathan Flemming

Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth P. Thompson

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Brooklyn, N.Y., District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson on Tuesday dismissed murder charges against Jonathan Fleming, who spent 25 years in prison, serving time for a crime that occurred in New York although he had solid alibi that he was in Florida at the time.

"Today's actions follow a careful and thorough review of this case and based on key alibi facts that place Fleming in Florida at the time of the murder, I have decided to dismiss all charges against him," Thompson said in a statement.

Fleming was convicted of the Aug. 15, 1989, murder of Darryl Rush in Brooklyn, although Fleming was vacationing with his children in Florida, where they were visiting Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Police arrested Fleming on Aug. 17, 1989, and in his possession, they found a Florida hotel receipt that was time stamped for Aug. 14, 1989, at 9:27 p.m., four hours before Rush was slain at 2:18 am.

During his trial, Fleming said he was innocent of the murder and the hotel receipt corroborated his defense.

The Brooklyn D.A.'s  Conviction Review Unit, which is now headed by Harvard Law Professor Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., was investigating Fleming's conviction when they found the hotel receipt in his files.

The CRU also interviewed Fleming's former girlfriend, who said she called Fleming on the night of August 15, 1989, and he was still at the Florida hotel.

"This witness was found to be credible and phone records support her story," Thompson said. "Other witnesses who claimed to have seen Fleming shoot Rush have either since recanted their testimony, or were found to be not credible."

The Innocence Project, which is based in New York, praised Thompson's decision.

"The Innocence Project is very pleased that the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office has agreed to dismiss the murder indictment against Darryl Rush after a review by its Conviction Review Unit found that Rush was wrongfully convicted," said Paul Cates, a spokesperson for the Innocence Project.

"District Attorney Thompson is to be commended for including defense attorney's in the process, as their presence helps to ensure that the unit conducts a meaningful review of cases under consideration," Cates said.

The 51 year-old Fleming said he has dreamed about this day for 24 years. "I am finally a free man," he said. "I am going to eat dinner with my mother and my family."