VOICE December 2018

www.africanamericanvoice.net December 2018 Free Young Blackman Found Hung in His Mother’s Backyard

By Dr. J.A. Salaam

SPANISH LAKE, Mo.—Two weeks after the troubling death of 24-year-old Danye Dion Jones, his family and friends were seeking answers to questions about what actually happened to him.

Mr. Jones was found hung in the backyard of his mother’s home in the north county community of Spanish Lake, Missouri, just five miles away from Ferguson where 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed in 2014. The St. Louis County Police Department is investigating the death as a suicide and say a 911 call about a “suicide” was made by a family member, who used that specific word, according to reports.

But Melissa McKinnies, Mr. Jones’ mother, and other family members aren’t convinced and lack confidence in police handling of the death and subsequent investigation.

“I don’t know who said my son committed suicide,” Ms. McKinnies told The Final Call. “Of course, when you first see someone hanging, your first thought is that. But I know my son and none of us said he killed himself. The police were standing there, and I said to both of them, ‘this needs to be investigated, do you hear me?’ I know my son and none of this adds up, not at all.”

St. Louis County police spokesman Shawn McGuire, during a press conference, said there were no signs of struggle or trauma to the body.

Ms. McKinnies found her son hanging by a bed sheet early Wednesday, Oct. 17, at approximately 5:45 a.m. As photos of Mr. Jones’ lifeless body circulated online many people expressed their suspicions via social media. Some questioned whether someone else could have been involved in causing the young man’s death.

Democratic Leaders Sell out NYC Working Class in Amazon Deal

The Party for Socialism and Liberation – New York City vehemently opposes the opening of a new Queens, N.Y. headquarters for Amazon, the trillion-dollar monopoly corporation infamous for low wages, backbreaking working conditions and hostility to labor organizations.

POLITICS , page 2

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“The knots that were used in the sheets he was hung with, everybody I talked to that’s been in the military, know about these knots. My nephew was not in the military, militia or boy scouts,” said Daniel (Kashif) Muhammad, Danye Jones’maternal uncle.

Photos showed an arm chair that Mr. Jones allegedly used to stand on, lying approximately three feet away from where he was hanging. The family believes this was staged to make it appear like he hanged himself. How did he get up there and tie a military-type noose around the branch of the tree and his neck? they asked.

Mr. Jones was about 6 feet and 1 inch tall. His feet were eight inches from the ground, his pants were rolled down to his ankles and both of his fists were clenched.

He had abrasions on his face and blood on his shirt.

“He was too happy with his life and the possibilities of being successful. He had just written in his notebook the night before, about his plans with his new real estate business. So why would he take his life? He wouldn’t, and we will find out who did this to him,” vowed his mother.

Mr. Jones had started a real estate business, Movin’ On Up Properties, that his uncle helped him with.

“He was really excited about it,” said the uncle. “When we came back, he didn’t think he was gonna be able to do anything about it because of his credit, and I began to tell him about wholesale real estate.

He was taking down notes. He would take down notes like the law, then from there we were talking on the regular and he was doing his research,” said Daniel Muhammad.

COMMUNITY, page 4

Georgia Business Are Victims of Abrams’ Sour Grapes

Georgia’s film industry-related small businesses are about to experience the bitter taste of Stacey Abrams’ sour grapes.

After 10 days of casting doubt and aspersions on Georgia’s election results, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate offered a no concession-concession POLITICS, page 3

Nobody is born wise. ~ African proverb

politics Democratic leaders sell out NYC Working Class in Amazon Deal

By PSL New York City The Party for Socialism and Liberation – New York City vehemently opposes the opening of a new Queens, N.Y. headquarters for Amazon, the trillion-dollar monopoly corporation infamous for low wages, backbreaking working conditions and hostility to labor organizations.

Mayor Bill De Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo must be singled out for handing Jeff Bezos the city on a silver platter, with massive tax breaks, outlandish special accommodations and a land giveaway.

Their actions will fuel a new cycle of rapid gentrification in Queens, while further straining city services and the subway system. This corporate giveaway was engineered and supported by a wide range of politicians who fraudulently style themselves as “progressives.”

This deal sets the stage for a massive struggle in Queens to protect the right of workers and tenants to remain in the borough. Amazon plans to employ 50,000 top-tier tech workers, mostly high-paid engineers who earn around $150,000 per year, at least three times as much as the average Queens resident. In San Francisco, tech corporations and real estate developers have worked through the local Democratic Party to reconstruct the entire city to cater to their narrow needs, while driving out whole working-class communities with sky-high rents. If this nightmare, a playground for the rich, is what De Blasio, Cuomo and Bezos have in store for Queens, then the only option is to fight!

Over the summer Queens already experienced the highest rent increase of any area in the United States. Even before Amazon officially announced the new headquarters, the cost of housing began to rise. According to real estate agents, “the market went from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market overnight, based on a rumor” that Amazon would move to Queens. Now there’s a full-fledged “condo gold rush” in the area, according to the Wall Street Journal. This is on top of the existing housing crisis in this city. Working class and immigrant families are already struggling to pay rent, large families are living in single rooms, women are forced to stay in abusive relationships because they have nowhere affordable to go, and one in 10 New York City school children are homeless.

The arrangement between the city government and Amazon lays bare the reality of capitalism, how our government serves the interest of corporations and not of working people. Some 238 cities tried to sell their city to Amazon founder CEO Jeff Bezos by offering hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives, building a transit systems specifically for Amazon employees, offering government grants, and other giveaways. Amazon is expected to receive $1.7 billion in grants and tax breaks from New York State. Meanwhile public services and the school system are underfunded, with the city’s mass transit crumbling, and getting worse by the day.

The new Amazon headquarters will be very close to the Queensbridge Houses, the

largest public housing development in the Western hemisphere. In marked contrast to all the new glistening Amazon buildings, residents of the New York City Housing Authority apartment live in roach, rotten, mold, and asbestos infested apartments, causing asthma and other health problems.

This is because the City government will not spend the money to maintain the buildings. Many residents feel that their apartments are being neglected in order to force their evictions. There is little doubt that this will mean more racist police harassment for public housing residents, and that the developers and politicians will come circling again like vultures eyeing this valuable land.

As expected, capitalist politicians are loyal to their funders instead of the people they are supposed to represent. From the governor on down to the local city council representative representing this Queens district, the whole New York political order is in the pockets of the big real estate companies who stand to make super profits from the Amazon deal. The New York political elite are only too happy to have a new master: Jeff Bezos, the richest man in history.

Amazon is the largest retailer in the world. Bezos, its CEO, parasitically receives $3,000 every second in profit via workers’ exploitation, corporate welfare and job destruction. He profits more in 12 seconds than millions of workers — including Amazon’s — make in a whole year.

HEALTH, page 10

Fifteen Federal Commission Members Appointed to Lead the Anniversary Commemoration in 2019

By Deborah ‘Dee’ Evans WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced the appointment of a 15-member commission to coordinate the commemoration of the 400-year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the English colonies in 1619.

The 400 Years of African-American History Commission, established by Congress on January 8, 2018, will plan, develop, and carry out programs and activities throughout the United States to recognize and highlight 400 years of African-American contributions. The bill had bipartisan support, and included sponsors from 23 States and the District of Columbia.

“I am honored to appoint this group to oversee such an important milestone in African-American history,” said Secretary Zinke. “As with President Trump’s recent designation creating Camp Nelson National Monument, as well as with the five historic sites designated into the African American Civil Rights Network this past year, this commission will help expand the understanding and appreciation of all facets of African-American history and culture.”

NATIONAL, page 11

Knowledge without wisdom is like water i n t h e s a n d . ~Guinean proverb

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DECEMBER 2018

Politics

Georgia Business Are Victims of Abrams’ Sour Grapes

By Bernie Marcus Georgia’s film industry-related small businesses are about to experience the bitter taste of Stacey Abrams’ sour grapes.

After 10 days of casting doubt and aspersions on Georgia’s election results, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate offered a no concession-concession this week. “Let’s be clear: This is not a speech of concession,” Abrams said in formally ending her campaign against Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp. “Because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that.” Abrams also announced she would be filing a federal lawsuit to challenge Georgia’s election system.

While the vast majority of Georgians seem ready to put the contentious election results behind them and move on with their lives, Abrams’ stance has motivated some in Hollywood to organize a boycott of the state’s film industry. Small business owners who lose out on economic opportunity as a result will know whom to thank.

Frank Rich, an executive producer on HBO’s “Veep” and “Succession,” reacted to Kemp’s victory by writing, “If Kemp wins in Georgia, Hollywood should put its money where its mouth is and pull all production out of the state.” And this week, actor Ron Perlman took it a step further, arguing, “If you choose to shoot movies and TV in Georgia, don’t bother to call me.” Other actors and actresses have also voiced their support for the nascent boycott.

While this boycott amounts to just the latest political stunt for self-indulgent Hollywood, it could have real consequences for Georgia’s economy.

DECEMBER 2018

The state has been dubbed Hollywood of the South, but it is actually the top filming location in the country. Film and television productions generated $9.5 billion in economic impact in 2017, including $2.7 billion in direct marketing and 28,700 jobs.

There are about 320 film and television productions shot in the state, including several Marvel movies, Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

Some of these projects now may be in peril because of politics.

The media suggest the combative stance

by Abrams is a well-founded rebuke to the state’s voter registration process that attempts to ensure only legal votes are counted. Yet by removing absentee voters from the rolls, Kemp was merely following state and federal election law, including the federal 1993 National Voter Registration Act that calls on states to “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names” of voters who are ineligible “by reason of” death or change in residence. State voter turnout was 16.4 percent above 2014 levels.

the process. “If she had a fair election, she already would have won,” remarked Hillary Clinton.

This coordinated attack on the integrity of the elections is part of a new linguistic war used by Democrats, according to former House Speaker and Georgia Rep. Newt Gingrich. In this war, he writes, “[w]anting to obey the law in counting votes becomes an effort to disenfranchise poor people, minorities and immigrants.” Anything short of victory in a close election becomes a tainted vote, which Democrats can complain about to try to occupy the moral high ground and stoke support for their next campaign.

While Abrams has officially opposed the Hollywood boycott, her actions speak louder than her words. Every person in the state whose pocketbook is impacted as a result should lay the blame squarely at her feet. Meanwhile, voters across the country should see Democrat hand-wringing over election integrity for what it really is: a new linguistic front in their war for power.

Bernie Marcus is the retired co-founder of The Home Depot and the co-founder of the Job Creators Network.

By Bernie Marcus www.realclearpolitics.com

“I find in being

Black, a thing of beauty: a joy, a strength, a secret cup of gladness.

”

-Ossie Davis The comments made by some of Abrams’ supporters indicate that this controversy has more to do with seizing power than election integrity. “If Stacey Abrams doesn’t win in Georgia they stole it, it’s clear,” said Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in an admission that the election outcome is more important than

A clever king is the brother of peace. ~ South African Proverb

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COMMUNITY A climate of racism took two lives at my Kroger Continued from page 1

Mr. Jones was also looking forward to his 25th birthday coming up on Nov. 19, he added.

Since the shooting of Mike Brown Jr., in August 2014—which sparked national and international outcry and protests — there have been numerous threats toward some of the frontline activists of Ferguson protests on social media.

Darren Seals, a 29-year-old youth activist, was found with his Jeep Wrangler engulfed in flames in Riverview, Mo., another suburb of St. Louis. He died from a gunshot wound to his head, according to authorities. Family members felt his crime scene was sloppily handled. Mr. Seals was among one of the first to respond in Ferguson following the shooting of Mr. Brown.

Deandre Joshua, 20, was shot once in the head and burned inside his car in 2014.

He was the only person who died during unrest that shook Ferguson after a grand jury decided not to indict the White officer who killed Mr. Brown. He was a friend of the young man who was with Mike Brown, Jr., during the fatal police encounter. There has been speculation that he testified to a grand jury, whose records are secret, but his family told a news outlet after his death that he did not testify.

Could the death of Mr. Jones be related

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to what many see as suspicious deaths?

“Absolutely,” said John C. Muhammad, a member of the St. Louis City Council and family friend of Ms. McKinnies. “I don’t think that these are isolated incidents. We continue to see a pattern of people that are involved in a protest movement or going against a system, we see that these people die. We see that consistently. We think that these are all connected some way, somehow. It may not be by the same forces, but there is a connection that binds all of them together—that is definite.”

Ms. McKinnies was very close to Mr. Seals, according to Daniel Muhammad.

She was one of the original protestors in Ferguson who lead demonstrations and campaigns surrounding the death of Mr. Brown. She was a member of a grassroots activist group called “Lost Voices.” The St. Louis County coroner is currently doing an autopsy that could take several weeks. The office did not respond to The Final Call’s request for comment.

Although family members and supporters believe police should investigate the case as a murder, they’re preparing for the police to render a different decision.

“Realistically, do we have the utmost faith in the law enforcement system here?

Absolutely not,” said John C. Muhammad. “And that’s because of what

we’ve seen happen in the past when our movement and protests have been shot down and no justice has happened after their death. ... Our justice will not come from any police department that investigates it. We understand this is something we’re going to have to pursue on our own.”

John C. Muhammad said some community members have been trying to piece things together. “We’ve all been trying to find information for what we can bring together to find out what happened, when exactly and why,” he said. “So, we can come up with a motive or a story or something we can say well, this is why.

And from that point, this is how we know how to move.”

Regardless of the decision by police, Ms. McKinnies is determined to get answers.

“They are not going to sweep this one under the rug. No! Wrong mother, wrong child,” she said. “Even if I have to get an autopsy done myself, we will get answers.

Or hire an investigator myself, but we have to do it. I’m going to fight for my baby, that’s what he would want me to do and I will.”

Since Mr. Jones’ death, Anthony Shahid, a St. Louis activist, said the atmosphere in the city is terrible.

“It’s always a cloud over [us] every time someone turns up deceased around here.

It’s always something you can’t put your hands on and we’re not accepting it,” he said.

Marcellus Buckley, a local poet and activist, found it difficult to believe the way Mr. Jones died. “I still don’t believe it, in some ways, that we’re still getting hung like we’re still going through that period of Jim Crow and it’s just heartbreaking,” he said.

“And for my son, to have him grow up in this world where this is still happening because we want to speak out or we want to have an opinion on our rights as human beings, it’s a sad thing.”

Ms. McKinnies is a friend of the Nation of Islam in St. Louis, said John C. Muhammad. Two of her brothers are members of the Nation of Islam. Daniel Muhammad recalls bringing his nephews to the mosque when he was young.

“When he was young, he used to be a part of the Jr. FOI (Fruit of Islam). He used to do the drills and when I first got back to St. Louis in 1999, when he was real young, we cleaned him up from pork and we went into it about the worms,” he said. “We had him to the point where he would run and open the door for the sisters.”

Daniel Muhammad said during a vigil for the young man, many recalled how well-mannered he was. “One thing that everybody mentioned from the drills is how we would have him say, ‘yes sir, no sir, yes ma’am, no ma’am.’ And everybody constantly talked about his love and mannerisms, not even knowing where it came from,” he said.

Javon Jones, Danye’s younger brother, said he was a good, family person. “We just want justice for what was done to my brother. It wasn’t his time to go. Even though God has a time for everybody, we would have really appreciated for him to stay here a lot longer,” said Javon Jones.

He’s dissatisfied with what he saw from the police in his yard the day his brother was found.

“They say it was a suicide. The police were in the backyard. I was looking at them through the back window; they were not even next to him,” he said.

“They were on the right side of the yard

www.africanamericanvoice.net

laughing and stuff. They were laughing and having a group conversation in the front yard before they even went back to do the investigation on what happened in the backyard. They didn’t give it any time of mind.

They just wanted to hurry up—get in and get out. My brother had bruises on his face and when it comes to suicide, you don’t do harm to yourself like that.”

The family held a press conference Nov. 1 to share with the public their belief that Danye did not commit suicide. Ms. McKinnies believes “vicious, hateful individuals” may try to paint an ugly picture of her son and herself. However, she’s determined to defend him.

“As his mother he was born for me to protect. And where he is now, I am going to protect him,” she said. “I know my son.

Danye had too much going on. Why would he be downstairs in his room writing his notes for his business if a couple of hours later he was going to hurt himself?”

As of now, John C. Muhammad said the main priority is comforting the family.

“It’s all about giving them comfort and giving them physical and spiritual security,” he said.

At Final Call press time, the case was still open and had not officially been ruled a suicide.

The family received all of Danye’s belongings except the sheet that was around his neck. They were told the investigation will take up to eight weeks before they can release the sheets and give their findings. The family is demanding a full investigation and for the sheets to be returned sooner.

“A people

without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.

”

-Marcus Garvey

DECEMBER 2018

COMMUNITY

DECEMBER 2018

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Beyond the rhetoric

By Mr. Alford & Ms. DeBow It was déjà vu’ all over again. Sometimes big government gets too big for reality.

It oversteps. Such was the way when the Obama Administration first came into power. It decided to become an environmentalist zealot. They began to implement a plan known as “Cap and Trade”.

Cap and Trade reminded us of the old Kyoto Treaty protocol. This was implemented back in 1992 and it was going to “bulldoze” environmental regulation at the expense of our general economy.

The economic efficient population would decrease their overall economy and the lower income populations such as Hispanics, Blacks and fixed income lower class would suffer.

We proved Cap and Trade to be a clone of the Kyoto Protocol and since have proven the Clean Power Plan to be a clone of Cap and Trade. The “bullheaded” environmentalists don’t seem to understand that people will not desire to live impoverished and unemployed while nations on the other side of the world continue to maintain their lifestyle and at the expense of ours. The ironic thing about the Kyoto Protocol was that the United States, despite refusing to adopt the plan achieved better environment improvement than those nations that professed to believe in the plan. It is our improving technology that is working to make our environment better – not adverse regulation.

So, as we continued to improve the quality of our environment at a reasonable pace, the extremists were demanding

unreasonable demands that could not find a “happy medium” in the improvement of our environment. Such was the case of the Clean Power Plan.

The following information is an actual timeline on the ongoing debate and parts of a study by “Climate Wire”. President Obama decided to give his unrealistic environmental goals another last try. “On August 3, 2015 the Obama administration

balance their carbon emissions.”

All hell broke loose. Just like Cap and Trade reasonable industry leaders, state governments, etc. began resisting with a vengeance. 27 states opposed this plan while 18 others approved it. States and business groups sued in federal court.

Hence, the Supreme Court has halted implementation of the Clean Power Plan.

A federal court is weighing the rule and

released the final Clean Power Plan. The U.S. EPA would cut carbon emissions 32% below 2005 levels by 2030. Each state must achieve a specific level or rate of emissions. States decide how much to ramp up natural gas, renewable power or energy savings and how much to reduce coal use.

Companies can buy and sell allowances to

the Supreme Court could take it up shortly.

President Trump had directed the EPA to review and possibly rescind the rule. It is in the campaign platform to stop this onerous rule. At last, the Clean Power Plan is being rewritten. On December 6, 2018 the “Rewrite” will be announced to the public.

Environmental extremists thought

that Donald Trump would not be elected President. His platform is going as directed. The industry is experiencing a fantastic comeback. In fact, all the closed coal mines are starting to reopen. Peabody Energy, a major coal producer, which fell into bankruptcy is now out of bankruptcy and is flourishing once again. The United States is becoming a major coal exporter.

Since the election, the United States is becoming a major coal decarbonizer due to its improving technology. Our emissions are improving at a great pace without all the unemployment and production losses. It is our improving technology that makes the difference. There is no need for economic devastation like the environmental extremists thought.

Nations in Asia are importing our coal production at a record pace. Job growth will be steady in our coal industry.

Thus, all the threats of making the Clean Power Plan a reality are stopped. African American and Hispanic employment levels do not have to be sacrificed. America will continue to grow, and the latest records are showing a great increase in Black employment and home ownership. The nation’s gross domestic product is growing at a record pace of 3% and will reach 4% shortly. The stock market is more robust than ever before.

There is no need for the Clean Power Plan. It is wasteful and unnecessary.

Despite its absence, America is becoming great again! Victory is ours!

By Mr. Alford & Ms. DeBow /www.nationalbcc.org

Mission Statement The National Black Chamber of Commerce® is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the Black Diaspora.

Organization Profile The National Black Chamber of Commerce® was incorporated in Washington, DC in March 1993.

The NBCC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities. 140 affiliated chapters are locally based throughout the nation as well as international affiliate chapters based in Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, France, Botswana, Cameroon and Jamaica and businesses as well as individuals who may have chosen to be direct members with the national office.

In essence, the NBCC is a 501(c)3 corporation that is on the leading edge of educating and training Black communities on the need to participate vigorously in this great capitalistic society known as America.

The NBCC reaches 100,000 Black owned businesses. There are 2.6 million Black owned businesses in the United States. Black businesses account for over $138 billion in revenue each year according to the US Bureau of Census. The National Black Chamber of Commerce® is dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States.

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4400 Jenifer St. NW Suite 331, Washington, DC 20015 phone: 202-466-6888 | fax: 202-466-4918 info@nationalbcc.org w w w. n a t i o n a l b c c . o r g

Wisdom is wealth. ~ African proverb

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DECEMBER 2018

national A Climate of Racism Took Two Lives at My Kroger INTERVIEW: MICHELLE RANDOLPH

By Jesse Hagopian In October, two Black grandparents were gunned down by a white supremacist in a Kroger supermarket in Louisville, Kentucky, sending shock waves through the Black community. The shooter was recorded on surveillance video trying to get into a predominately Black church just before the killing.

Michelle Randolph, who teaches fourth grade in a school with a majority of Black and immigrant students in Jefferson County, Kentucky, lives in the neighborhood and shops at the Kroger that was targeted. Randolph helped organize the over 5,000 Kentucky educators who shut down schools in 30 counties and rallied with students, parents and unionists on the state Capitol for education funding.

Kentucky educators were part of the “Red State Revolt,” which included strikes that shut schools down in more than five states dominated by Republican legislatures — including West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and North Carolina — and won many millions of extra dollars in education spending for their school districts.

Jesse Hagopian, a Seattle high school ethnic studies teacher and co-editor of the book Teaching for Black Lives, interviewed Michelle on the fight against racism and the struggle for education.

office, in the state of Kentucky, who support people who are against equal rights.

They’re against fair pay. They’re against supporting educators and students of color.

They make comments from the highest office in the land that embolden dangerous people. These were two grandparents who paid their dues. Who went to church. Who raised awesome families. Were productive citizens in their respective communities. I know Mr. Stallard was in fraternity.

You think, “If I, as a Black person, can get them out of the west end of Louisville, if I can get my child and my family and myself to this eastern area, then we should be okay. We can live a life where we’re accepted. We can live a life where we will not have to worry about racism. We won’t have to worry about some of the things that we would necessarily see in these other neighborhoods.”

It’s a violent and very sad reminder that it’s everywhere. There are no neighborhoods to move to if you Black.

Jesse: It’s dangerous being Black.

Michelle: Yeah. There is no area of town that shields you. There’s no membership to an organization or regular attendance to church. There’s nothing that can shield you from this level of hate.

Jesse: In Trump’s America today, we’re seeing that over and over again. Horrifying.

And don’t you have a connection to the family of the people who were killed?

Michelle: A friend of mine, his grandmother was the woman who was slain.

Jesse: I’m sorry for your loss.

Jesse: Thanks for taking the time to talk after a long day in the classroom.

Michelle: My pleasure.

Jesse: I wanted to first ask you about the recent escalation of racist, hateful violence.

There were the mail bombs sent to political opponents of Trump. Then there was the attack on the synagogue that killed 11 people, which has been called the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. And in the midst of these, there was the racist killing of two Black grandparents in Kentucky, Maurice Stallard and Vickie Lee Jones, while they were doing their weekly shopping at the Kroger supermarket. Tell me about the impact of these shootings on you and on the people of Louisville.

Michelle: My first job was working at that Kroger. That’s how close my family and my parents live. I think the first thing you have to recognize about this violence that you see is that people are feeling emboldened to take violent action against things they feel are threatening. I will not name the shooter, as to give any recognition to him and what he’s done. But he’s not the only person who pulled that trigger that day.

There were several people who had a hand and played a part. That’s the climate of our country right now. We have people in the

DECEMBER 2018

Michelle: Thank you. The gentleman who was slain, his family lives literally behind my family. They’re all in the same area of town. Shopping in the same places. Seeing each other. Just in the neighborhood.

Jesse: How are people being impacted by these murders in your community?

Michelle: I would say that the people in that area of town are on high alert — including my own husband. He does not want me and the children to go into a grocery store alone anymore.

I’ve seen people go into that grocery store, people of color, and walk in with a look of fear. I’ve seen people break down crying in that grocery store. They are just trying to live what you would think of as a normal life — everybody has to go to the grocery store, right?

This is the store five minutes away from my childhood home. My parents still live in that neighborhood. When I go in any grocery store, I can’t go in there without looking at anybody and being on high alert, thinking, “Am I going to be somebody whose life is cut short because they feel like I’m in the wrong area of town shopping for grapes, bananas and oranges?” I want to be able to go in the grocery store without fearing for my life.

There’s an epidemic going on across the country where you can’t do anything while Black. You can’t go to church. You can’t study in a dorm. You can’t walk into your

own house. You can’t go into the grocery store. You can’t go to school. It’s a growing list of things that are deeply affecting the psyche of Black and Brown people.

And this is especially happening at school. Black and Brown kids see what is happening to people that look like them.

Now kids are asking, “Is there something wrong with being like me?” You have to have those very real and very transparent conversations with your students to let them know that they are not the problem.

Jesse: Are those conversations happening in the schools right now? About what happened with these killings and about the state of race in America?

Michelle: I am, definitely. As an elementary teacher, with fourth graders, we have touched on it. But across the schools I don’t think there’s been deep conversation about it at the elementary level. I do think more conversations are starting to happen amongst staff and employees.

The Jefferson County Public School district held their 2018 Equity and Inclusion Institute today. I attended, along with every teacher at my school. They talked about doing more culturally responsive teaching. And they began the conversation about understanding what the school-toprison-pipeline really is. How your own implicit bias is connected to how you treat your students of color and your minority students in your classroom.

I think we are slowly, within our particular district, trying to inform and educate those teachers and administrators who have such a diverse district to work in. However, I feel that we are very slow in moving there. I don’t even know if that conversation has been started across the commonwealth. That’s a fear that I have.

Jesse: For sure. Like you said, we’re in a state of emergency where Black people are living in fear and being terrorized. What we’re hearing from the president is that the real threat are some migrant families who are fleeing violence in their homeland and trying to come here to America. But what we need to be talking about is the threat of white supremacy.

Michelle: Absolutely.

Jesse: I was listening to Democracy Now! this week. I heard Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott interviewed. She made a point that struck me. She said that the recent gang bill that passed in Kentucky contributed to this climate of hate and fear and racism.

Michelle: She’s absolutely right.

Jesse: I wanted to get your opinion on that, if you could tell us what the bill was and how you think it may have contributed to this climate of hate.

Michelle: Sure. HB 169, or the gang bill, allows police to have an easier pathway to recognize a group of youth, or people, as a gang. It broadens the definition of criminal gangs, which gives them the opportunity to label any activity that maybe this said group of youth is doing as gang activity. It also allows them to prosecute with harsher penalties if they’re involved in said gang activity.

Here’s how that directly affects the students in our district. There are three malls in Jefferson County. Two malls are in the east end of Jefferson County. And both those malls, within the past five years, have enacted parental guidance required program for youth. If you’re in the mall and you don’t have a parent with you after a certain time of day, you could be told to leave the mall. If it’s a group of you leaving the mall, they could then call the police and say, “There is a gang engaged in activity that makes me feel uncomfortable, unsafe.”

Now you have created a climate not only where some people feel like the police serve as their personal security, but they can now call the police without any proof or evidence of wrongdoing and accuse youth of gang activity. I don’t know any teenager that doesn’t like going to the mall, or walking around the mall and hanging out. But you’ve created this culture and this climate to where you’ve made these students unwelcome.

And it’s not even just at the mall where this is a problem. A lot of people don’t know that Jefferson County is one of the most integrated school districts in the country.

That is because of busing. Students are being bused from the west end — which is the predominantly Black neighborhood — NATIONAL, page 12

Dr. Gina Paige, President (left) and Dr. Rick Kittles, Scientific Director (right) the African Ancestry Management Team and Co-founders.

African Ancestry 5614 Connecticut Avenue NW #297, Washington, DC 20015 www.africanancestry.com info@africanancestry.com

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Financial Debt and Rising Home Costs Continue to Defer Homeownership

By Charlene Crowell

Do you ever get the feeling that when it comes to news about the nation’s economy you’re in a different world?

I certainly do. And what’s more, I think much of America – especially Black America -- feels the same.

A decade has passed since the housing collapse. In that time, bank profits are back and continue to rise. Despite occasional trading fluctuations, the stock market remains profitable for most investors. Then there’s the low rate of unemployment that is often cited as if economic strides have included nearly everyone.

But unemployment data does not reflect the vast number of people who today are working and earning less, otherwise known as the underemployed.

People who toil at jobs that pay less than in previous years often have a work ethic that is bigger than their paycheck. Even for those who take a second job, the extra and modest earnings seldom free them from hoping they have enough money to make it through each month.

I also think about the families who sacrificed retirement or building savings to give their children a college education.

Both new college graduates, their parents and sometimes grandparents are startled at the amount of debt they share and how long it will take to fully repay it.

Whatever happened to the American Dream of owning a home and giving your children a better life than you experienced as a child? Is this ‘dream’ being deferred or denied?

The stark reality is that between the rising cost of college and the equally rising costs of homeownership, much of the country that works for a living is in a financial catch-22.

This contention is borne out by an updated consumer survey that annually measures profiles of both home buyers and sellers. Each year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys consumers who purchased a primary home in the past year. For 2018, NAR used a 129-question survey of consumers who purchased a home between July 2017 and June 2018.

Summarizing results, NAR concluded that current housing trends are affected by “mounting student debt balances”, along

with rising interest rates, higher home prices and larger down payments.

“With the lower end of the housing market – smaller, moderately priced homes – seeing the worst of the inventory shortage, first-time home buyers who want to enter the market are having difficulty finding a home they can afford,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Homes were selling in a median of three weeks and multiple offers were a common occurrence, further pushing up home prices.”

Despite the financial hurdles noted by the NAR survey, there was a single glimmer of encouraging news. For the second year in a row, single female buyers are successfully pursuing their own American Dream. While married couples comprise 63 percent of home buyers, single females represent 18 percent, purchasing homes at a median price of $189,000.

But for the rest of the home buying market, NAR found that the past year meant a median home purchase price of $250,000 required a median household income of $91,600 for a successful mortgage application. Additionally, the nation’s median home down payment now is 13 percent, or $32,500 for that $250,000 priced home.

How long does it take for families to amass $32,000 for a home down payment?

Longer than most families would want to wait, I’m certain. According to new research by the Urban Institute, median wealth for Black parents is $14,400 compared to white parents at $215,000, and $35,000 for Hispanic parents.

“As the NAR report shows, the share of first-time home buyers continues to lag far behind historical norms,” commented Mark Lindblad, a Senior Researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

“Efforts should be directed toward pairing low-down payments with affordable and responsible mortgage products so that lowincome households and borrowers of color have equal access to the opportunities that come from owning a home of one’s own.”

Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance shared a similar view to that of Lindblad.

“The NAR’s survey underscores the persistent difficulty under-served

communities face when trying to purchase housing,” said Rice. “With a median purchase price of $250,000 and down payment of $32,500, homeownership remains out of reach for far too many and this exacerbates stress on rental housing prices.”

The most recent figures from the Census Bureau report that nation’s 64.4 percent homeownership rate in the third quarter of 2018 was not statistically different from that of 2017 when it tallied 63.9 percent.

Geographically, homeownership in the Northeast, Midwest and South remained the most stagnant.

In stark contrast, the financial outlook for the 64 percent of Americans who already own a home brought a hefty median equity gain of $55,000 when they sold their residence over the past year. Additionally, after selling their homes, 44 percent traded up to a large home.

In other words, if you can find a way to become a homeowner, the costs incurred will likely be outweighed by the economic gains.

But making that important financial transition from renter to homeowner will become harder as mortgage interest rates climb from the historic lows of recent years. Additionally, should home inventories remain low, the likelihood of ‘supply and demand’ economics will keep driving prices higher as well.

“Now more than ever,” added Rice, “we need radical policies that will spur the development of affordable housing in all communities.”

Charlene Crowell Center for Responsible Lending’s Communications Deputy Director.

Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.

”

-Ida B. Wells-Barnett

A wise person will a l way s f i n d a way ~ Ta n z a n i a n p r o v e r b

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special supplement December 2018

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2018

Kwanzaa an African Tradition December 26 - January 1

December 26 – January 1 is a period when Kwanzaa is traditionally celebrated in Africa. Meaning “first,” Kwanzaa signifies the first fruits and the traditional celebration of the harvesting of the first fruit crops in Africa. Kwanzaa emphasizes humanistic and cooperative values, and celebrates African American efforts to work and build together.

The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba) The seven principles of Kwanzaa comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following seven principles: Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To defiine ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profi t from them together.

Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and benefi cial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in God, our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

THE OFFICIAL KWANZAA WEBSITE

As an African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions throughout the world African community, Kwanzaa brings a cultural message which speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense. Given the profound significance Kwanzaa has for African Americans and indeed, the world African community, it is imperative that an authoritative source and site be made available to give an accurate and expansive account of its origins, concepts, values, symbols and practice.

Moreover, given the continued rapid growth of Kwanzaa and the parallel expanded discussion of it and related issues, an authoritative source which aids in both framing and informing the discussion is likewise of the greatest importance. Therefore, the central interest of this website is to provide information which reveals and reaffirms the integrity, beauty and expansive meaning of the holiday and thus aids in our approaching it with the depth of thought, dignity, and sense of specialness it deserves.

The holiday, then will of necessity, be engaged as an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people’s culture. It is within this understanding, then, that the Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of the tradition, has established and maintains this website.

For more information visit www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.

Many hands make light work. ~ H aya ( Ta n z a n i a ) p r o v e r b

DECEMBER 2018

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special supplement Wednesday, December 26, 2018 Noon to 3p

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Kwanzaa Symbols

In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. ~ Nigerian proverb

DECEMBER 2018

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special supplement

#BUYBLACK

PRESIDENT WILLIAMS’ #BUYBLACK HOLIDAY JOY! Yes... you can have some fun this holiday season by supporting the #BuyBlack movement!

Black people spend $1.2 trillion annually, yet we only spend a small percentage within our community. We need to not only move our money to Black owned banks or #BankBlack, but also move our mind to look for opportunities to #BuyBlack as well!

Our President & COO, Teri Williams, made the commitment in 2016 to buy her holiday gifts from Black owned businesses. And she had fun!

Here is her experience in her own words: I decided last year to put my money where my mouth is…and buy ALL my holiday gifts from Black owned businesses. It was so much fun researching gift ideas locally and online. I found so many unique gifts that reflected my values. Here are a few of my purchases: I bought a beautiful skirt for my daughter and cool shirts for my husband and son from D’IYANU. The experience was amazing. They immediately sent me a message thanking me for the order. They then followed up with messages on the status of my order including when it was shipped and when it arrived. According to their website, “D’IYANU (dee-ya-nu) is a ready-to-wear bold print clothing line offering quality, trendy African inspired fashion at affordable prices. With her love for fashion and passion for self-expression through unique clothing, Nigerian born Addie Olutola launched the D’IYANU brand at the beginning of 2014. D’IYANU is a fun, bold, chic line centered on inspiring individuals to confidently dress bold and beautifully. All garments are currently made in Philadelphia with great attention to quality.”

I bought African print hoop earrings from That Ladys Closet which is the store for Diaspora Africa on Etsy. By day the owner, Shalair Armstrong, is a chiropractor. By night, she’s the seamstress and designer behind Diaspora Africa, located inside her Codman Square chiropractic office in Boston. With Diaspora Africa, I love that I can buy locally in Boston and online.

So…I wasn’t a head wrap fan until I went natural and did the big chop! Now, I love all things natural and love The Wrap Life! I have friends who wear wraps all the time and look so regal. I love The Wrap website because it includes video tutorials on how to wrap.

I carry the Mona Visa debit card and love the response I get when I pull it out! I love the internationally acclaimed artist, Addonis Parker, who paints such powerful images like Mona, Amir and Lady Liberty. For the holidays, I bought a great phone case gift with one of his paintings, “Scope Ice Cold.” By visiting Addonis Parker’s website, I found a link to Addonis Parker’s shop at Fine Art America where I could purchase all kinds of gifts with his art.

I’m an author, avid book reader and book giver. Many cities have Black owned bookstores. For the holidays, I purchased books from Eso Won Books in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. There was a great story in the LA Sentinel about Eso Won Books where the owner, James Fugate, says he’s thankful to the community for its support throughout the years. He sees Eso Won’s success as a circle, one in which the community plays a vital role. “Your support of our store continues to keep good books in print and continues to promote the books,” said Fugate. “It’s very important to have independent bookstores. A lot of people don’t realize what’s going to happen if you only have one source of getting your books.” Fugate and his partner, Tom Hamilton, provide a wealth of information on authors and history and hold book signing events.

President Williams discovered many other Black owned businesses during her journey to #BuyBlack for the holidays.

We encourage you to take your own journey. Check out local Black owned business, shop online and/or use online resources such as We Buy Black. Even small purchases add up to build wealth and create jobs in the Black community. Share your recommendations and get the Amir, Mona or Lady Liberty Visa Debit Card to #BuyBlack every day!

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health

Vegetarian Chili with Tortilla Crisps Ingredients: • 4 corn tortillas • 1/4 c. Country Crock Original • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped • 1 red pepper, diced • 1 yellow pepper, diced • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 tbsp. chili powder • 1 tbsp. cumin • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper • kosher salt • Freshly ground black pepper • 1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes • 1 15-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed • 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed • 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed • 1/2 c. freshly chopped cilantro, plus more for serving • 1/4 c. sour cream • 1/4 c. shredded Cheddar Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and brush all over with Country Crock Original. Bake until golden and crispy, flipping halfway through, about 6 minutes, then season with salt. Once cool, break each into pieces.

2. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons Country Crock Original in pot over medium-high heat, and cook onion and peppers until soft, 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne and cook 2 minutes more, stirring well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, then add tomatoes and juices, crushing tomatoes gently with a wooden spoon.

3. Add beans to pot along with 2 1/2 cups water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes, then stir in cilantro.

4. Ladle chili into 4 bowls and garnish with sour cream, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with crispy tortillas.

Yield: 4 servings

Stay in the KNOW! Health information provided by Mile High Fitness & Wellness

Kim Farmer

Kim Farmer is the president of Mile High Fitness & Wellness.

Mile High Fitness & Wellness offers in home personal training, wellness challenges, onsite corporate fitness classes and seminars including cooking demos.

President

Join our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/milehighfitness for special offers and timely fitness and nutrition tips!

Mile High Fitness & Wellness was founded by Kim Farmer whose primary mission is to bring fitness and nutrition to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Mile High Fitness & Wellness is the proud provider of many municipalities, private companies, school districts, non-profits and other groups located in and outside of Colorado. She has partnered with many practitioners to travel to various locations to provide high quality, professional personal training and nutrition programs, corporate wellness initiatives, assessments, workshops, speeches and more.

Sign up at www.milehighfitness.com to schedule a consultation for in home/at work fitness and nutrition support.

In Home Personal Training & Nutrition Coaching Starting at $30 www.milehighfitness.com

DECEMBER 2018

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health Democratic leaders sell out NYC working class in Amazon deal Continued from page 2

Amazon’s lengthy history of abusing its workers indicates the type of company that New York’s politicians have jumped into bed with. In August, thousands of Amazon warehouse workers in Italy, France, England, Germany, Spain, and Poland walked off the job to protest wage cuts and poor working conditions.

In the summer of 2011, Amazon workers in Allentown, PA, had to endure warehouse temperatures over 100 degrees reaching up to 115 on certain days. With no air conditioning or ventilation, warehouse workers were experiencing heat strokes, suffering dehydration and fainting on the job. Instead of installing air conditioners, Jeff Bezos hired ambulances to be stationed outside the warehouse for when workers could no longer handle these conditions and had to be escorted to the hospital because it was cheaper to do so! An article in the Morning Call reported that, “workers who were sent home because of the heat received disciplinary points.”

To ensure increased profits, Amazon is trying to find new ways to track worker productivity. In 2017 there were reports of workers having wear “productivity trackers” on their wrists. This would track how fast they work and how many ‘idle moments’ they may be taking.

Poor conditions and low pay has led to high worker turnover for Amazon’s warehouse and logistics workers, and the company has crushed unionization efforts. It is imperative that New York City’s labor movement leverage its power and visibility to assist those efforts nationwide; the new Amazon headquarters, if it proceeds, must become a prime target for workers’ mobilization.

Amazon also maintains a highly segregated workforce continuing and deepening the U.S. legacy of extracting super profits from Black labor. The company’s own 2016 Employer Information Report for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lays out the following: Of 105 executives, 93 percent are white. Women make up only 21 percent of managers and 26 percent of professionals, reflecting generalized trends across the technology sector.

Horrible working conditions are not the only way Amazon profits from the misery of others.

They have sold facial recognition software to ICE and police departments nationwide to help power its detention and deportation programs and further the Surveillance States. Its facial recognition software “Rekognition” enables local law enforcement agencies across the country to build facial recognition databases for their own purposes.

Amazon represents the greatest ills of capitalism, class oppression, white supremacy and patriarchy. That cities would be bending over backwards for it — just to win the opportunity to be exploited — shows what kind of system this is. PSL organizers in Queens and across New York City are working to build a broad fight-back to defend workers and tenants against Amazon and the city’s capitalist politicians. The power of the people will prevail. Join us!

The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~ Ta n z a n i a n p r o v e r b

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national Fifteen Federal Commission Members Appointed to Lead the Anniversary Commemoration in 2019 Continued from page 2

Commission members, many of whom are leaders in the African-American history community, are appointed by the Secretary to serve for the life of the commission, through July 1, 2020. The Secretary received recommendations from governors, members of congress, civil rights and historical organizations, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Support for the commission will be provided by the National Park Service. The new commission members include:

Pocatello, Idaho: Rally Against Police Brutality

By Sunny Nelson On the chilly evening of Nov. 26, more than 30 people gathered at Caldwell Park in Pocatello, Idaho, to protest police brutality after a Bannock County Sheriff Deputy shot an unarmed 16 year-old passenger during a traffic stop in Chubbuck.

The protesters marched more than a mile from Caldwell Park to the Idaho State University Campus and back. As they marched the people chanted, “No justice!

No peace! No killer police!” and “Hey hey! Ho ho! Police brutality has got to go!”

Other chants included, “When our friends and family are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “Protect and serve? That’s a lie! You don’t care when people die!” When the protesters returned to the park, a photo was taken of the group with their fists raised in solidarity for the boy who was shot.

Local newspapers have called the shooting “an altercation,” disregarding the fact that the victim made no attempt to harm the officer but was in fact running away. The teenager was rushed to the hospital after the shooting and is expected to survive, though details have been few and far between. As of yet, the officer’s name has not been released and he has been placed on paid leave.

Lexi Azzola, one of two main organizers for this event, said there was a dire need to support the victim of the shooting. “Cops should be punished when they do these things,” Azzola said. “I think a great way to hold them accountable and put this into action would be making sure cops have body cameras.”

Steven Findlay shared the same views as his fellow organizer: “We’re here protesting police brutality and abuse of power, “he said. “There have been too many times where police were too quick to use force.”

This marks the third police shooting of the month — all from traffic stops. On Nov. 2, an Idaho State trooper killed 35 year-old Jesse J. Quinton, a Black immigrant man in Idaho Falls. And on Nov. 19, another Idaho State trooper killed 41 year-old Christopher Williams. None of the identities of the officers in question have been released.

As offenses such as these come to light, more and more people realize that the police do not exist to protect the people, but rather to maintain order for a system built on brutal oppression.

Jail all killer cops! Justice for Jesse!

Justice for Christopher! Justice for Pocatello!

Sunny Nelson www.LiberationNews.org

“one had better

die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap.

• Mr. Terry E. Brown, Superintendent, Fort Monroe National Monument, National Park Service, Virginia • Mr. Lonnie Bunch III, Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; former President, Chicago Historical Society; Former Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs, National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. • Mr. Ron Carson, Founder, Appalachian African-American Cultural Center; CEO, Carson Black Lung Research and Education Center; formerly of Stone Mountain Health Services, Pennington Gap, Virginia • Ms. Kenya Cox, NAACP Kansas State President; Executive Director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission, Office of the Governor, Topeka, Kansas • Reverend Nora “Anyanwu” Cox, Minister and Founder, Holy Spirit Healing Ministry; Retired Nurse; Community Advocate and Activist, Wichita, Kansas • Dr. Rex Ellis, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Former Vice President, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; Board of Trustees, Fort Monroe Authority, Williamsburg, Virginia • Mr. Ted Ellis, Artist and Cultural Historian; Art Ambassador, National Juneteenth Organization, Friendswood, Texas (formerly of New Orleans, Louisiana) • Mr. Glenn Freeman, President, Omaha Chapter, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, a patriotic, civic organization; retired decorated Air Force Chief Master Sergeant; Omaha, Nebraska • Dr. Joseph Green, Jr., Pastor, and Co-Founder Antioch Assembly; Founder/ CEO, Josiah Generation Ministries; Founder, The 2019 Movement, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania • Mr. Hannibal B. Johnson, Attorney, Author, and Independent Consultant specializing in diversity and inclusion/cultural competence issues and non-profit governance, Tulsa, Oklahoma • Mr. Kenneth Johnson, CEO, Johnson, Inc., Richmond-based marketing and communications firm; Board of Trustees, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia • Mr. Bob Kendrick, President, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, Missouri • Mr. George Martin, Managing Partner, McGuireWoods law firm, Richmond office; Member, 2019 Commemoration (VA) Steering Committee, Richmond, Virginia • Dr. Myron Pope, Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Central Oklahoma; Adjunct Instructor, Department of African and African-American Studies, The University of Oklahoma; Advisory Board Member, Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, Edmond, Oklahoma “Fort Monroe plays a significant role as the site of the first arrival of enslaved Africans in English North America and later, a safe haven for freedom seekers during the American Civil War,” said Superintendent Brown. “During this anniversary we are honored to lead the conversation about the resilience and contributions of African Americans, including the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had on the United States.”

The commission is expected to begin meeting later this year and begin to encourage civic, patriotic, historical, educational, artistic, religious, economic, and other organizations to come together to participate in anniversary activities.

”

-Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem. ~Akan proverb

DECEMBER 2018

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national A climate of racism took two lives at my Kroger Continued from page 7

all over the county. Some areas are far east.

If those students are getting out of school, they could literally just be walking to a gas station or walking to the public bus stop and someone could feel unsafe and call the cops.

Jesse: The BBQ Becky phenomenon on steroids! I heard that in Mississippi, where they passed an anti-gang bill, in the eight years since it’s passed, it’s only Black people that have received the enhanced sentences from the gang bill.

Michelle: Of course.

Jesse: It’s clearly racialized.

Michelle: Absolutely. And just this year, a state of the art $500 million federal prison has been approved to be built in Eastern Kentucky, so it makes sense. If you have your eyes open, it makes sense that they would start targeting Black and Brown youth so they can fill up this prison.

Now, there is a growing group that’s being suspended at a much higher rate than all the other demographics in our school district. Black girls. There’s a new shift to where now not only Black boys, but Black girls are getting these labels and they’re being suspended at a much higher rate than their white counterparts. Now they are starting to surpass the rate of suspension for Black boys, which is unbelievable.

Jesse: I read a really powerful book called Pushout by Monique Morris, who writes about the phenomenon of Black girls being suspended. It is something we really have to work to end. The racist narrative of the dangerous Black teen is coupled with the sexist narrative of the angry Black girl and now Black girls are suspended at some seven times the rate of white girls nationally.

Michelle: Absolutely.

Jesse: When you were on strike last year you were part of an effort to talk to teachers about taking up the issue of the gang bill and argued that educators shouldn’t just take up the bread-and-butter economic issues, but also the question of racism. I was really moved by your leadership on that.

Michelle: It’s really clear for me. I live in Jefferson County. We have such a diverse population in Jefferson County. Just based off of what I saw in the bill, I knew that it would directly target Black and Brown students in our district. The gang bill is one of those things that, if you allow that to pass, if you allow that to go without a fight, without a struggle, then which group is next? Which group will they target next?

Yes, we definitely want to fight for our pensions and our benefits. All of those things are very important. But how can you, as an educator, then go back to your school and look at those Black and Brown children in your classroom and teach them the basics and not vote in their interest?

They need our support to dismantle the school-to-prison-pipeline. As educators, if we’re not advocating for our students, then we’re missing part of our responsibility.

Jesse: You’re right, we have to start talking about the emergency of the schoolto-prison-pipeline. I just saw a viral video from a school in Kentucky where the Kentucky sheriff was handcuffing third

12

grade boy. He had to slide the handcuffs around the biceps of this kid because his wrists were too small. Cuffing his arms behind his back!

It turns out this officer had been cuffing Black and Latino students routinely. Students with disabilities.

Verbally berating them. They just won a $337,000 settlement for this painful and unconstitutional treatment of students. Of course, a settlement isn’t justice. It isn’t accountability for this officer. I wonder how this policing of students fits into the school-to-prison-pipeline you’ve been talking about.

Michelle: I think it fits because, when you automatically label Black students as loud and disruptive and this is the mindset you come to school with, then your thought process is, any time you see them doing something, you’re going to think negatively. We, and I’m including myself because I am guilty too, educators, are weaponizing “The Office.” Threatening our children with “The Office” if they don’t follow instructions, are constantly disruptive and engaging in inappropriate behavior. We treat it like the BBQ Beckys [use the police] sometimes due to lack of time and or resources to work with a students who are acting out.

That leads to referrals. After so many referrals, that leads to suspensions.

Those suspensions then lead to loss of instructional time. Because of their loss of instructional time, they tend to either fall back severely, within their own academics, or eventually get to the place where they’re old enough to where they’ll dropout.

Instead of adding more security and more police in the schools — and more systems in place to where students are having referrals that lead to suspensions — they should be putting that money and resources into behavior coaches and restorative justice programs. How about some counselors?

Jesse: Thank you! I just read a story that said there are 1.7 million students in this country that go to a school where there’s a police officer but no counselor. That was appalling to me. That leads me to ask you about the Black Lives Matter at School movement that erupted in over 20 cities last year and is gearing up again for a week of action from February 4 through 9 for this school year. What are your thoughts on this movement?

Michelle: I think it’s an amazing initiative.

Black Lives Matter at School is not just creating some type of program where kids learn a few Black history facts and that’s it. They’re actually building a movement across the country. People who work in education. People who work in policy.

Students. Parents.

They’re taking the opportunity to look at some things that we can change systematically within education. This movement is saying we need to start mandating that we include Black and Brown culture and history classes at school. There’s no reason that you have a particular demographic at your school and you never touch on their history. You never touch on their contribution. You never touch on who they are. The blood that runs through their veins. How the people who came here before them helped build what they are now standing on.

I think the Black Live Matter at School would be an awesome initiative for Jefferson County and the state of Kentucky.

I think that Jefferson County has started, like I said before, trying to incorporate more culturally responsive education. But

I think, if they were to eventually team up with the Black Lives Matter at School, that it would create another opportunity to reach those students who feel like their voices aren’t heard.

Jesse: Right on. Speaking of making your voice heard, I was just amazed by what you and your colleagues accomplished last school year by raising your voice and taking action for education justice. You were part of a historic strike wave in this country that showed the labor movement what’s possible and showed educators, who have been suffering with underfunding for so long around the nation, how to struggle and how to win. Talk about what that movement meant to you.

Michelle: I think the first thing for me was having my voice out there on behalf of my students and for my own kids. I have two kids that are in the public school system right now. I’m a product of the same public school system. So is my husband.

We’re not saying things just to be saying them. We wholeheartedly believe in the public school system and believe that it can be better with proper funding, proper support and proper implementation of laws that support our youth and the people in our commonwealth.

I think that the strikes that happened were because people felt empowered. People were starting to feel like maybe we can really do this. Maybe, if we work together, we can stop these injustices; There’s no good reason for having one school receive only $2,000 to spend per student, but in the same county, $8,000 is spent on each student in another school.

This goes back to making sure not only that we have people in Frankfort [capital of Kentucky] who have our best interest, but it also goes back to holding them accountable. I think that’s where we have the most work ahead of all of us across the country.

I’ve been blessed to meet so many instrumental people across the country who led strikes in their respective states.

One thing we all saw that was in common was everybody felt that they needed to be on one accord. Everybody came together as a unit.

I think now we have to move towards continuing to hold politicians accountable.

Yes, tomorrow we’re going to be voting.

Politicians will to let us know why we should vote for them. But once we vote, we need to make sure that we are still being active. We are still holding those people accountable. Not getting caught up in we got this particular party in office, so everything’s all good now.

As Black people, as minorities, as people who have a low socioeconomic status, we can no longer afford to think that voting a particular color has anything to do with us having some type of upward mobility in this country. We have to come together and work together and struggle together, because it’s a fight.

There are so many barriers in place to make you feel like there’s no way you can overcome the problems in our society.

There’s systematic oppression and racism.

Then there’s classism. You got all these different things that you feel are working against you whatever your cause is. Let’s come up with tangible ways to solve those problems. There is no magic bullet.

There’s no magic candidate. It’s just not out there. We will have to struggle.

Jesse: For sure. And I think that what you all did in Kentucky, joining the red-state revolt of educators across the country and shutting down entire school systems in

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states, revealed the power that was hidden in plain sight.

We’re with our co-workers every day making the schools run with very little support and we often talk about how removed the politicians are from understanding the schools. On one level, know that it’s our labor that makes the school system work. But what you all did was make it explicit and demonstrate to everybody that no matter who’s in power in the halls of government, we make the schools run and we can shut them down until they agree to fund them.

That lesson, I think, is invaluable. And now the strikes are spreading. We had a strike wave of schools districts here in Washington state. Now it’s looking like the Los Angeles educators are going to go out.

Michelle: Yes! My connects in LA have been messaging me often. I’ve been giving them all my love and words of encouragement, because the people we’re up against don’t fight fair. It’s a struggle.

It’s hard work. It’s dirty. It’s not glamorous.

But it’s necessary.

We are all in this together. Whether you’re in Chicago or Seattle or Louisville or LA, or you’re in Arizona or West Virginia, at the end of the day we really all want some of the same things.

We want to live a nice life. We want to make sure our kids are safe and healthy and educated. It really comes down to the fact that community means all of us.

James Tucker Publisher James Tucker

Phone: 719.528.1954 Publisher james.tucker@africanamericanvoice.net Phone: 719.528.1954 james.tucker@africanamericanvoice.net Undray Tucker

Associate Publisher Undray Tucker Associate Publisher

Reginald Watson Webmaster Reginald Watson Rubbie Hodge Webmaster Copy Editor Rubbie Hodge

Craig Morris, Jr.

Graphic Artist Copy Editor www.morrisjrcraig.com

Columnists: Charlene Crowell Columnists: Harry C. Alford Charlene Crowell Harry C. Alford The African American Voice is published monthly by The African American The African American Voice is published Voice Newspaper, Inc. The contents of monthly by The African American this publication are copyrighted by The Voice Newspaper, Inc. The contents of African American Voice Newspaper, Inc. this publication are copyrighted by The Reproductions or use of content in any manner African American Voice Newspaper, Inc. is prohibited without prior written consent.

Reproductions or use of content in any manner is prohibited without prior written consent.

Contact us at 719.528.1954 or

james.tucker@africanamericanvoice.net

Contact us at 719.528.1954 or www.africanamericanvoice.net james.tucker@africanamericanvoice.net www.africanamericanvoice.net The Black Press Creed

The Black Press believes that America The Press Creed can best leadBlack the world away from racial The Black Press believes that and national antagonism when itAmerica affords can best lead the world away to all people – regardless of from race, racial color and national antagonism when it affords or creed – their human and legal rights. to all people – regardless of race, color Hating no person and fearing no person, or creed – their human and legal rights. the Black Press strives to help every Hating nothe person fearing noare person, person in firmand belief that all hurt the Black Press strives to help every as long as anyone is held back. person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

DECEMBER 2018

community network When You Shop for the Holidays, Buy Black Power!

Shop at Uhuru Furniture, where your money goes to African self-determination!

Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles stores in Philadelphia, PA and Oakland, CA are hosting Buy Black Power holiday sales from Friday, Nov. 23rd through Sunday, Dec. 30th.

Both Uhuru Furniture stores feature top quality, affordably priced, gently-used furniture and home decor and are economic development projects of the African People’s Education and Defense Fund (APEDF).

This sale features NZO African Styles at Home and Abroad, including hand-painted African design furniture, pillows, fabric, jewelry and bags, greeting cards, home decor and portraits of African revolutionary leaders. Uhuru Furniture will also introduce Decolonaise all-natural beauty products that fund the African National Women’s Organization and UZI jewelry which funds the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, as well as special discounts on excellent quality furniture and housewares.

This is socially conscious shopping that is putting power into the hands of the African community!

For more info and to see merchandise on sale: Uhuru Furniture Philadelphia uhurufurniturephilly.blogspot.com 832 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130 • 215-546-9616 Uhuru Furniture Oakland uhurufurniture.blogspot.com 3742 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94610 • 510-763-3342

Your Business Card Ad Here!

Call - 719.528.1954

$75 per month or 3 months for $150

Buy 2 get 1 month free!

DECEMBER 2018

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community network

Bank Black!

Support Black Banks A man who uses force is afraid of reasoning. ~ K e n ya n p ro v e r b

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DECEMBER 2018

community network

Grace’s African Restaurant - Ghanaian Cuisine

4409 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 570-8096 Monday – Tuesday 11AM–9PM Sunday 12PM–9PM

Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 9pm Lunch Buffet 11am – 3pm All You Can Eat $12.99 Nitty Gritty Copy Editing "No job is too small"

8531 Olive Blvd.

University City, MO 63132 https://www.facebook.com/simbaugandanrestaurant/

DECEMBER 2018

email mobile twitter address

rubbiehodge@icloud.com 269-547-7550 @rubbieh Kalamazoo, MI 49009

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St. Louis city and St. Louis County Boycott For Economic and Social Justice The St. Louis County and St. Louis City Boycott consist of grassroots organizations dedicated to exposing the injustice and unfair treatment of African Americans. Missouri is ground zero for the modern day civil rights movement.

Remember, Missouri was a slave state.

• Dred Scott Case • Gaines v Canada (University of Missouri) • Jefferson Bank Lawsuit • Housing Lawsuits • Ferguson Uprising • University of Missouri Football Players Boycott

Government agencies continue to fail African Americans by not protecting African Americans civil and human rights.

Arab Businesses

St. Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights

*Study the history of slavery and SLU

“You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” – Fannie Lou Hamer

We ask conscious people to support the boycott!

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DECEMBER 2018