Commentary Thursday, May 12, 2011 • The Weekly Press • Page 4
The Way I See It
Christian Bible College 9th Annual Conference
to 9:50 p.m. and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. Last week Chrison Saturday. Anyone tian Bible College held interested in contacting its 9th Annual Christian the college in person Conference. The theme can do so by coming by of the conference was on Tuesdays or Satur“Building Tomorrow’s day at 720 South Blvd., Leaders Today.” The Baton Rouge 70802. conference included Instructors insinging, preaching, clude the following William and classes all about well known preachJones uplifting the word of ers, teachers and lecGod. turers here in the Baton Christian Bible College is a Rouge area are: Dr. Henry L. college that teaches directly from Goines, Dr. Bill Rogers, Dr. A. W. the Holy Bible. It teaches sound Azoney, Dr. Larry Hood, Apostle doctrine. The college is designed Leroy Banks, Dr. Thomas Bessix, to teach all Protestant religious Dr. Ronald Sutton, Evangelist denominations. It teaches gen- Emma Wells doctoral student, Dr. eral educational Bible studies MacHenry Wallace, Rev. Alvin including theology degree, as- Johnson, doctoral student, and sociate degree, bachelor degree, Dr. Jasper Roper who serves as master degree and doctorate President of the college. degree program. Classes are If you desire to enhance held every Tuesday and Satur- your faith knowledge in the day except holidays or as oth- Lord and Savior Jesus Christ erwise specified. Class hours pay it a visit. are Tuesday’s from 6:00 p.m. That Is The Way I See It. By William Jones
Mathis’ Mind
Ex-Offender Discrimination By Judge Greg Mathis NNPA Columnist When pundits discuss America’s still too high unemployment rate, they usually tell stories of individuals with impressive work histories and college degrees who are having a hard time finding a job after being downsized. Or, they relate tales of former manufacturing employees lost in our new, more tech-driven economy. Rarely does anyone share the plight of the more than 65 million Americans with some sort of criminal past who have a hard time finding work. We need to talk about this population more often and come up with solutions to help them secure employment. The reality is that more and more people with criminal histories are trying to enter the work force but failed background checks keep thousands of people from getting hired, some for offenses that are decades old and as minor as disorderly conduct, drinking and having too much fun in the street with friends. Some of those being denied work have never been convicted of a crime, only arrested. Every year, more than 700,000 people are released from state and federal prisons: they all need to find work so that
they may support themselves and their families, contribute to their communities and to ensure poverty, frustration and desperation don’t force them to return to a life of crime. There are no federal laws that protect individuals with a criminal past from being discriminated against by employers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, however, does suggest that employers take into account the severity of the offense, the amount of time that has passed since the crime was committed and how the crime relates to the position being applied. We need more than EEOC guidelines. There has to be a conscious effort by the business community to weed out practices that discriminate against ex-offenders. Most accept that some with a criminal past will not be able to work in certain sectors; for example, a child predator cannot work with children. But there are countless other positions this individual can hold that won’t present a danger to society. Employers also need to understand that, just because someone committed a crime once does not mean they’ll do it again. In fact, research shows that the farther back the crime occurred, See ex-offender, on page 7
To Be Equal
Housing Counseling Budget Cut An Assault on the Middle Class By Marc H. Morial NNPA Columnist “Every American lives in safe, decent, affordable, and energy efficient housing on fair terms.” National Urban League I AM EMPOWERED pledge If there was any doubt that middle and working class Americans are paying more than their fair share in the deficit reduction battles, the budget cuts recently enacted to prevent a government shutdown make it absolutely clear. Everything from Pell grants for college tuition to heating assistance for low income citizens suffered serious cuts. One of the most egregious and unconscionable cuts was the elimination of total 2011 funding -- $88 million – for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing counseling initiative. This cut comes in the midst of a housing foreclosure crisis that
has hit communities of color especially hard. The current foreclosure crisis will likely result in the greatest loss of wealth for African Americans since Reconstruction. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsible Lending, close to 20 percent of African Americans and Latinos may lose their homes by the time this crisis bottoms out. For the past several years, the National Urban League and others on the front lines of this crisis have offered free counseling assistance that has helped countless first time buyers negotiate fair terms, and thousands of others, modify their loans, avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. Housing counselors have also helped hundreds of thousands of seniors, many of whom are required to receive counseling before taking out a reverse-mortgage. Without See budget, on page 7
Donald Trump is a Celebrity Racist
By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist
There is one area in which Donald Trump is no celebrity apprentice – racism. After being exposed as a publicity-loving idiot after he questioned the authenticity of President Obama’s birth records, Trump quickly shifted away from the discredited birther attack and began raising wild and unsubstantiated charges about Obama’s academic achievement, a record that includes the future president finishing in the top 10 percent of his class at Harvard Law School and being elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. Although journalistic lapdogs are willing to parrot Trump’s ridiculous and increasingly outlandish charges about President Obama, few have chronicled his racist behavior and comments. Trump may have escaped scrutiny partly because he donated free office space to Jesse Jackson once upon a time and frequently makes the rounds with Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy. In one of the few times he has been confronted about his racism, Trump told TMZ.com, “I am the last person that such a thing should be said about.” No, Donald, you should be one of the first. And, I will tell you why. One would never know that Trump ever hung out with African-Americans, judging by his language. In a radio interview with Fred Dicker on Talk 1300 in New York, Trump complained about the difficulty Hillary Clinton had winning over Black voters. “You’ll hear a political reporter go on and say it had
nothing to do with his defeat as a victory race. But how come and bragged that he she had such a tiny was not required to “acpiece of the vote? And cept persons on welfare you know, it’s a very as tenants unless they sad thing,” Trump qualified as any other said. “I have a great tenant.” relationship with the Three years later, Blacks. I’ve always the Justice Department had a great relationhauled Trump back into George ship with the Blacks. court for violating the But unfortunately, it settlement by telling E. Curry seems that, you know, the Blacks they had the numbers you cite no vacancies when, in are very, very frightening num- fact, there were openings. bers.” After a group of four AfriThe Blacks? Who uses that can-Americans and one Latino, kind of language? And Trump aged 14 to 16 years old, were didn’t just say it once – he said arrested in 1989 for allegedly it twice. raping a White female jogger Well, let’s see how Trump in Central Park, Trump took treated the Blacks that he claims out a full-page ad in the New to have such a great relationship York Times calling for the death with. penalty. That would have been a In 1973, the United States terrible mistake – all five teenagJustice Department sued Trump ers were later exonerated. Management Corp. for violating John R. O’Donnell, forthe Fair Housing Act by refusing mer president of Trump Plaza to rent to some potential tenants Hotel & Casino, cited racist and because of their “race or color.” anti-Semitic remarks made by Trump, who had taken over as his former boss. In his book, president of the family busi- Trumped, the former company ness by then, reacted in typical official said Trump disparaged Donald Trump fashion – he sued a Black accountant at Trump the government for $100 million, Plaza by asserting “laziness is claiming the family business had a trait in blacks.” According to been defamed. The judge dis- O’Donnell’s book, Trump also missed the suit, saying Trump said, “Black guys counting my and his lawyer, Roy Cohn, for- money! I hate it. The only kind mer chief counsel to Senator Jo- of people I want counting my seph McCarthy, were “wasting money are short guys that wear time and paper.” yarmulkes every day.” Trump signed a settlement In an interview with Playrequiring that vacancies in the boy magazine in 1999, Trump 15,000 apartment complex, tried to dismiss O’Donnell as a which was approximately 95 loser, but acknowledged, “The percent White, must first be stuff O’Donnell wrote about me offered to people of color. He is probably true.” agreed not to engage in further Evidently not content steracial discrimination. In a pre- reotyping of Blacks and Jews cursor of what was to come after who worked for him, Trump was Obama released his long-form inclined to reduce the president birth certificate, Trump described to being a Black athlete.
“If you look at what he’s doing in Libya, which is a total disaster, nobody even knows what’s going on in Libya,” Trump asserted. “If you look at what’s happening with gasoline prices where he said he has no control over prices, which he does. If he gets on the phone or gets off his basketball court or whatever he is doing at the time.” It turns out that while Trump was attacking Obama on Libya, for playing basketball, and raising false charges about Obama’s birth certificate, the president was thoroughly engaged in planning a top-secret operation that would lead to the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was Trump who didn’t know what was going on. In view of Trump’s record, it is difficult to believe him when he says if he could do it all over, he would come back as an African-American. He told Bryant Gumble as part of a two-hour television special on race: “If I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated Black because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.” Not as much of the advantage enjoyed by a run-of-the-mill White male who inherited his wealth from his father. By the way, Donald, there is a welleducated African-American in the White House. And, look how you and those of your ilk are treating him. George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com You can also follow him atwww. twitter.com/currygeorge.
Black American Economic Progress
By Dr. Benjamin.Chavis, Jr. NNPA Columnist
If there was ever the best contemporary time to advance the economic status and condition of the African American community it is now. As of May 2011, the American economy continues to steadily recover and rebound. The stock market in the United States is up and the largest U.S. corporations are reporting record profits. But, the disproportionately high unemployment for Black Americans is still twice the unemployment of White Americans. Black unemployment remains more than 16 percent across America. But, President Barack Obama just announced that during the month of April 2011, there were another 258,000 jobs added by the private sector. In fact, during the last 14 months more than 2 million new jobs have been provided
by the “private sector” and for the establishto the U.S. economy. ment of new and inThe private sector novative businesses is that part of national within our commueconomy made up of nities throughout the private enterprises. It United States. includes the personal Many of our sector (households) national leaders and and corporate seccommentators contor (companies), and tinue to rightly focus Benjamin is responsible for alon the devastating F. Chavis locating most of the impact of Black unresources within an employment even economy according to the Busi- amidst the current economic ness Dictionary definition of recovery in the United States. key economic terms. What is Unemployment further sushappening, therefore, with the tains poverty, hopelessness, Black American private sector high rates of imprisonment, in terms of producing and pro- and self-destruction. But we viding new job opportunities must do more than describe for Black Americans? Too often these problems and social ills we have been too dependent that are derived from both the on economic forces outside our history of racial and economic community to provide economic discrimination against Black upward mobility. There is no Americans. Yet today, we better time than now for the have to be more discerning of expansion of currently African what are the solutions to Black American owned businesses economic progress in America
and throughout the world. I believe, more than ever before, with our brother in the White House, Black Americans should be focused with laser intensity on the steps, plans, tactics and strategies to secure a long-lasting sustainable economic development of the Black American community. We cannot afford just to complain about high unemployment. We have to get busy ourselves and make a difference concerning this issue. All of our national organizations, not just a few but all, should be making the economic development of our communities, in addition to education, one of the top priorities for African Americans in 2011. From the NAACP to the National Urban League, from the National Action Network to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, from the National See progress, on page 7
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