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Immigration Takes Center Stage at Race Healing Conference by Hazel Trice Edney

May 6, 2013

Immigration Takes Center Stage at Race Healing Conference
African-Americans Must Take ‘Right Side’ of the Issue, Black Leaders Say

By Hazel Trice Edney

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Rev. Alvin Herring and Ben  Jealous PHOTO: Danielle Miles/W.K. Kellogg Foundation 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) – More than 50 years since the civil rights struggle for the right to vote and racial desegregation for African-Americans, a new kind of racial and ethnic battle is raging in America.

The issue of immigration, now at its peak in a bill before Congress, recently took center stage at a conference on racial healing. Modern day civil rights leaders say it is imperative that Blacks take the high road.

“Fifty years ago, Dr. King was sitting in a Birmingham Jail, contemplating the sum total of the movement that he was participating in and he was troubled,” said Rev. Alvin Herring, a training director for the PICO National Network, the nation’s oldest and largest faith-based community organizing group.

Herring continued, “He was troubled because he understood that there was a window open but it wouldn’t stay open forever. And he and others were going to have to figure out how to capitalize on the moment and do what was morally right, do what was just, do what God was asking of him and others to do. I think in many respects, we are back to that moment.”

The first to speak on a panel of civil rights leaders, Herring had set the tone for a hearty discussion on various issues. The setting, the W. K. Kellogg America Healing Conference held in Asheville, N. C. late last month, stirred up a rare level of free and uninhibited debate that largely included the issue of immigration and its implicit racial disparities.

“One of the largest groups of undocumented immigrants is Canadians in this country. Another is Irish in this country,” said NAACP President/CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.

Jealous pointed out that these immigrants are regularly given cart blanch on American soil – mainly because of the color of their skin.

“You don’t see raids of their homes due to ordinances that limit the number of people who can sleep in a living room. We don’t see them seeking to enforce that on White households. But, we’ve seen it happen to Latinos. We’ve seen it happen to other groups of color,” Jealous said.

The annual Kellogg conference, part of a five-year initiative with a goal to start healing racism in America, featured discussions on a plethora of hot-button issues that continue to rage in America. At this forum, the immigration issue, still being debated in the U. S. Congress, took center stage with rights leaders focused on how to “change the narrative” – or the perspective from which immigration is currently viewed and the conversation surrounding it.

While a common complaint among African-Americans is that a burgeoning Latino population is taking up jobs, leaders say it is to the advantage of African-Americans to join the fight for immigration reform alongside the Hispanic population.

“While a large portion of undocumented immigrants are Latina, we’ve got to educate people that it’s people from Canada, that it’s people from Ireland, that it’s people from the African diaspora – Yes, Africa and the Caribbean," said National Urban League President Marc Morial. "We’ve got to affirmatively indicate that this is a multi-dimensional, multi-cultural issue…We’ve got to affirmatively educate people about the importance of this."

The author of an annual “State of Black America”, report which actually quantifies the effects of racism in America, Morial says African-Americans should be the first to identify with and empathize with the problems faced by immigrants given the oppression history of Blacks in America.

“The African-American community has a responsibility to be on the right side of this issue,” Morial said. “We know oppression and repression having been treated as a second class person. So we can’t stand by the wayside, be spectators, embrace reactionary arguments in the face of one of the great human rights challenges of our time.”

The moderator, former CNN correspondent Soledad Obrien, agreed that the common false stories that have been told about immigrants must be corrected. “The story is that they are running across the borders and taking or destroying America,” she said.

Hundreds in the audience, listening to the conversation, were invited to weigh in or ask questions.

A woman named Audra (last name withheld to protect her privacy) came to the microphone and said she has found herself in multiple situations in which some of her friends and associates have made offensive comments pertaining to immigrants. “I’m getting angry and about to shut down the church picnic,” she said in jest, drawing laughter from those who identified with her feelings. She asked “How to use personal leadership to change hearts and minds on this issue.”

Kathleen Ko Chin, president/CEO of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, responded with empathy: “You want to be building your emotional fortitude when you’re not at that situation so when you are in that situation you can pull from those reserves.”

It is this kind of emotional build up that’s dealt with in what Kellogg calls “healing circles” during the annual conference. In these private talks, group members speak personally from their hearts about their day to day experiences with the issues of race in America, how they are impacting those issues and how those issues are impacting them.

The conference is part of the Kellogg Foundation’s America Healing initiative which provides grants for organizations to address structural bias and facilitate racial healing in communities. Gail Christopher, Kellogg vice president for program strategy, said there is an urgent need to present stories, not just of racial pain, but inspirational stories of racial healing and people working together.

Given the level of racism that continues in America, quantifying the impact of the program after five years will clearly be daunting. But, Christopher is convinced that it is absolutely doable.

“We certainly don’t stop. It really doesn’t end,” she said, She noted that the impact will be measured based on four goals. They are: “How much impact we’ve made” surrounding communications around these issues, both in the media and otherwise; How much capacity has emerged at the community level?; Have we “accelerated the amount of research” that relates to these issues? And the amount of “capacity within the organizations” that work on the changes.

Meanwhile, in its third year, the race healing conference is expanding and growing in topics. Among those discussed this year were affirmative action, gun violence, health care disparities, poverty, economic justice and immigration, an issue that has moved front and center as a new civil and human rights issue.

Obrien, who specialized in race documentaries at CNN, mainly “Black in America” and “Latino in America” outlined the principled questions within the issue: “[This is] an American conversation. Who will be considered as a real citizen? Who gets to be counted?...[Who gets to] stop hiding in the shadows and come into the light of day.”

Former CBC Chair Watt Nominated to Head Housing Agency by Zenitha Prince

May 5, 2013

Former CBC Chair Watt Nominated to Head Housing Agency
By Zenitha Prince

mel watt

U. S. Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) 

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from GIN 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - President Obama has nominated former Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) had earlier suggested Watt as a choice for Secretary of Commerce and was one of several critics who had questioned the homogeneity of the president’s cabinet, but praised Obama for his choice of Watt.

“I congratulate President Obama and his Administration for making such an outstanding choice…. Rep. Watt will be the transformational leader the FHFA needs to make sure this country stays on the path to full economic recovery,” she said in a statement.

In making his announcement on May 1, President Obama said Watt is the right leader to build on successes and continue the work of healing the crippled housing industry.

“Seven years after the housing bubble burst, triggering the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes and costing Americans millions of jobs, and, in some cases, their homes, our housing market is finally beginning to heal. [But] there are a lot of areas where we can make significant improvement,” Obama said, speaking from the White House State Dining Room. “And one of the best things I can do is to nominate Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.”

The 11-term Democratic congressman from North Carolina has served on the powerful House Financial Services Committee for two decades. He is known for his efforts to combat predatory lending, and to promote homeownership among lower-income Americans.

“Mel has led efforts to rein in unscrupulous mortgage lenders, he's helped protect consumers from the kind of reckless risk-taking that led to the financial crisis in the first place, and he's fought to give more Americans in low-income neighborhoods access to affordable housing,” Obama said of Watt's years of service on the financial services panel.

“[He] understands as well as anybody what caused the housing crisis,” Obama added. “He knows what it's going to take to help responsible homeowners fully recover, and he's committed to helping folks ….. who work really hard, play by the rules day in and day out to provide for their families.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Watt will replace Edward DeMarco, FHFA’s acting director for more than three years.

During his tenure, DeMarco has helped bring the mortgage financiers back into the black, even as he sought to reduce their near-monopoly of the housing industry. But DeMarco was often the target of Democrats, who criticized his handling of the foreclosure crisis and his unwillingness to implement a White House-supported plan that would help homeowners whose outstanding loan balances exceeded their homes’ equities to reduce the principal.

Earlier this year, 45 lawmakers s led by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote a letter to the president, criticizing DeMarco’s performance and urging him to nominate someone “who is ready and willing to implement all of Congress' directives to meet the critical challenges still facing our nation's housing finance markets.”

Jackson to South African Students: You're 'Free But Not Equal'

Jackson to South African Students: You're 'Free But Not Equal'

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from GIN

rev. jackson in south africa

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.


(TriceEdneyWire.com) – Globe-trotting civil rights activist, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, was in South Africa this week where he was acknowledged by Pres. Jacob Zuma for his many years organizing Americans against apartheid.

 

At a ceremony marking “Freedom Day,” Jackson received the Order of the Companions of O.R. (Oliver) Tambo from Pres. Zuma.  The prize goes to foreign citizens who have promoted South African interests and aspirations through cooperation, solidarity and support. It is named after the late Oliver Tambo - the African National Congress’s president-in-exile for many years.

 

Addressing students at the ceremony in Pretoria, Jackson said pointedly: "I want the present generation to know that the struggle is not over. You are free but not equal. You have freedom to equality and to globalization but that doesn't mean you're free from the humiliation of skin color apartheid, or apartheid in land ownership, apartheid in education, apartheid in healthcare, apartheid in banking and apartheid in who owns ships and airplanes and trade and business.”

 

This generation, he said, must continue the work started by those activists who went to jail more than 30 years ago and those who went to Robben Island and exile and were murdered like Chris Hani and Steve Biko.”

 

“That generation pulled down the walls. This generation must build the bridges. This generation must seize education in order to close the gap in engineering, medicine and industry and capital investment."

 

Jackson’s remarks appeared to reference the country’s enormous wealth gap with a small very rich and powerful elite and an enormous “underclass.”

 

Bishop Robert Kelley, a member of the Democrats Abroad based in Johannesburg, affirmed the choice  of Jackson.  "He was a vocal and active voice for the freedom of South Africa. He went to jail for South Africa in perhaps a more profound way because it caused millions of leaders and the congress in the US to wonder why Jackson, black leaders and legislators would go to prison and fight for the freedom of people on a continent and land so far away.”

 

However, he added, "Now the quest is that apartheid in SA is in legislative remission but growing in prominence economically. The spirit and the effects of the sin still remain. Only a united people can eliminate its scars of the past."

Wilder Owed Apology — And Maybe $? by Joey Matthews

May 5, 2013

Wilder Owed Apology — And Maybe $?
By Joey Matthews

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Former Va. Governor L. Douglas Wilder

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - An attorney representing former Virginia Gov. L.Douglas Wilder in the National Slavery Museum case said the city of Fredericksburg owes the former governor an apology and perhaps some money as well. 

Attorney Joe Morrissey told the Free Press on Wednesday he would make that argument in a response that was due this May 6, in Fredericksburg Circuit Court.

Judge Gordon Willis had set the May 6 deadline for the National Slavery Museum to respond to the city of Fredericksburg’s request to sell the museum’s property. Wilder, who became the nation's first elected Black governor in 1990, later became mayor of the City of Richmond.

The city now claims Wilder owes about $300,000 in unpaid real estate taxes on the 38 acres of land where the never-built museum was planned. The tax bill is based on the city’s valuation of the property at $7.6 million. Morrissey said the city’s valuation is way off based on a recent appraisal by Independent Appraisers and Consultants LLC of Richmond, which did the appraisal for the museum and valued the land at $750,000.

Morrissey said he will argue that the city knows it has overvalued the property based on the report from Taxing Authority Consulting Services, which is representing the city in the case. That company hired an independent appraiser that valued the land at $1.7 million, about 80 percent less than the city’s $7.6 million assessment, Morrissey said.

He will argue the amount owed by Wilder should be based on the appraisals of $750,000 and $1.7 million. “Gov. Wilder has already paid $28,000 (on the museum’s behalf) to the city based on an erroneous assessment,” Morrissey said. “By the time you add in that amount and the interest that has accrued over the five-year period that it was paid, it wouldn’t surprise me if” the museum is owed a refund. Morrissey said the National Slavery Museum and Mr. Wilder “have been kicked around over the last two years for this tax matter, and he has remained stoic and taken the high road.

What irks me is they still have not apologized for what they have done.” The attack on the city’s property valuation and tax bill is just another stalling tactic by the museum, claims John Rife of Taxing Authority Consulting Services. He is hoping the judge will allow the sale to proceed before August, when the museum could again file for bankruptcy. In 2011, the city began the process of selling the 38 acres to recoup the museum’s delinquent real estate taxes.

That attempt stalled when the museum filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2011 to stave off the tax sale. The museum withdrew the bankruptcy last August and pledged to pay the back taxes, which it has not done. Judge Willis is to hear the city’s latest sale request on Tuesday, May 28, in Fredericksburg.

17 Arrested, Jailed During NAACP “Pray In” Protest in NC by Ben Wrobel

April 30, 2013
17 Arrested, Jailed During NAACP 'Pray In' Protest  
By Ben Wrobel
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the NAACP

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Rev. Rev. Curtis Gatewood gets arrested at the NC General Assembly. He was one of 17 people, age 18 to 74, who engaged in civil disobedience. PHOTO: NAACP

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Rev. Rev. Barber and other activists sing during the “pray-in” outside the doors of the NC Senate. PHOTO: NAACP

RALEIGH, N.C. (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Seventeen people, including eight ministers, civil rights leaders, and students, were arrested during a prayerful protest at the state legislature in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday.
The activists were handcuffed and taken to jail while they sang and prayed in front of the locked doors of the North Carolina Senate. The nonviolent civil disobedience was the opening round in a series of protests to focus national attention on what Rev. Dr. William Barber, North Carolina NAACP State President, called “the ideologically driven, extremist, mean-spirited agenda” that has captured both legislative houses and the Governor’s office in North Carolina.
“The decision to engage in civil disobedience is not one we take lightly,” stated Dr. Barber. “But the extremists are acting like the George Wallaces of the 21stcentury. They are pursuing a cruel, unusual and unconstitutional agenda reminiscent of the Old South. What happens in North Carolina does not stay in North Carolina. It has national implications. North Carolina is ground zero in a national struggle to defend democracy for all.”
The group arrested Monday was composed of men and women of many different races and backgrounds, with ages ranging from 18 to 74. They were charged with second degree trespassing and with singing loudly and holding placards in the General Assembly, which is not allowed.
The ministers included Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II; Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins; Rev. Curtis Gatewood; Rev. Nelson Johnson; Rev. John Mendez; Rev. Maria Palmer; Rev. Larry Read and Rev. Theodore Anthony Spearman. The others included three college professors, two students, and veteran civil rights leaders: Adam Sotak; Dr. Timothy Tyson; Margaretta Belin; Bryan Perlmutter; O’Linda Gillis; Professor Perri Morgan; Molly McDonough; Barbara Zelter; and Bob Zellner.
In the first 50 days of the North Carolina legislative session, the Republican-controlled legislature enacted polices that will adversely impact hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. A recent PPP poll found that North Carolinians oppose this extreme and aggressive agenda. However, the legislature appears steadfastly committed to acting outside the best interest of the people of North Carolina. This session, the legislature has:
  • Rejected funding to expand Medicaid to cover 500,000 North Carolinians without health insurance;
  • Rejected more than $700 million in federal funds for unemployment benefits, affecting 170,000 laid off workers;
  • Cut the payroll tax credit for over 900,000 poor and working people, while giving a tax break to 23 of the wealthiest people in our State;
  • Planned to reduce access to pre-school and kindergarten; and
  • Attacked the right to vote with a series of voter suppression laws, including a voter ID bill that will disenfranchise nearly 500,000 voters.
“Love and justice demand a witness in the face of this regressive public policy,” stated Rev. Barber. “The noblest sentiment of our constitution and deepest aspirations of our religious traditions summon us in the public square to enact policies that maintain a commitment to the protection of civil and human rights, the common good, the good of the whole, equal protection and justice for all, and the uplift of the poor and marginalized. Anything opposing these principles must be challenged.”
He continued, “This much is clear: the Republican-led legislature is standing in the way of progress and passing laws that violate fundamental constitutional rights. As leaders of moral conscience, we must draw the line somewhere. That is what this direct action is all about.”
The attack on voting rights seen in North Carolina is being mirrored in state legislatures across the country, particularly the South. Legislators are pursuing extremist, regressive agendas to block progress by making it hard for people to vote.
“Those most impacted by these policies are seniors, students, people of color and the working poor,” stated Attorney Al McSurely of the North Carolina. “Reverend Barber calls on all people of conscience to hold similar protests and direct actions in cities and states across the country, in solidarity with us in North Carolina.”
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