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Acknowledging unprecedented support for HBCUs By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. President and CEO, NNPA
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. routinely would remind those of us who worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s about the vital importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As we celebrated Black History Month 2017, Dr. King’s admonition concerning the enduring need for HBCUs should be reaffirmed every month. Dr. King once emphasized, “The function of education is to teach one to Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” Dr. King was a graduate scholar of one of the leading HBCUs, Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was not only an intellectual genius and spiritual leader, but also had an enormous moral character that kept SCLC’s leadership on the front-line of civil rights social transformation. There should be no rational debate about the contemporary necessity to support the sustainability of the nation’s HBCUs. Yet, we do live in times where too many people have been misled to lean on the unfortunate and unstable walls of irrationality, divisiveness and the absence of truth. As we continue to posit and emphasize, there is a glaring need to demand intellectual honesty in all matters pertaining to the pursuit of freedom, justice, equality and empowerment for Black America and all others who struggle to improve the quality of life for all humanity. When it comes to the crucial funding of HBCUs, this is a matter that transcends the partisan divide between the left and the right. Truth is nonpartisan. Truth is therapeutic. Substantial efforts to increase higher education opportunities for Black Americans and others should not get mired down in contradictory and self-defeating political discourse. March 16 will mark the 190th anniversary of the Black Press in America since the first publication of “Freedom’s Journal” on March 16, 1827 in New York City. Honesty, integrity, and publishing the truth without fear of consequence
have been the hallmarks of the Black Press in the United States for nearly two centuries. We have neither reluctance nor hesitation, therefore, to acknowledge the strategic and unprecedented support that the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries have given to Historically Black Colleges and Universities via the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). Recently, one of the single largest financial contributions to TMCF, $25.6 million, was made by the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries. These funds are dedicated to establish and develop TMCF’s Center for Advancing Opportunity. “This is a momentous partnership,” stated Dr. Johnny C. Taylor, Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s president and chief executive officer. “Historically Black Colleges and Universities are uniquely positioned to lead the field in this type of research. There are thousands of fragile communities across the United States where there are tremendous barriers to opportunity. It’s important to recognize that lasting change to strengthen these communities must begin at the local level. So, we are proud to come together with the Charles Koch Foundation and Koch Industries to help members of these communities identify and study the challenges most significant to them.” The Center for Advancing Opportunity will focus on education, criminal justice, entrepreneurship and other issues the affect the quality of life in African American communities. The center also will create research think tanks on HBCU campuses, provide academic scholarships, establish graduate fellowships and render grants to selected HBCU faculty members. As a proud graduate of the flagship HBCU Howard University, I have witnessed firsthand the advantages and enormous value of primary research accomplished by Howard and other HBCU centers of research power, ingenuity and innovation. The proposed TMCF Center for Advancing Opportunity is a welcomed development that the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) salutes and applauds forthrightly. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org.
Congress must investigate Trump’s potential Russian ties By Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.)
The endurance of our nation’s security, sovereignty, and democracy is not a partisan issue. This is a top concern for all Americans and should be a top priority for the leaders that we send to Washington, whether Democrat or Republican. As elected officials, my colleagues and I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We, therefore, have a responsibility to do our due diligence in investigating Russian interference, and potential influ- Bennie G. Thompson ence, into our democratic elections and the potential Russian ongoing connections within this current presidential administration. Despite all of the evidence gathered thus far – evidence that has led all 17 of the U.S. intelligence agencies to conclude with confidence that the Russians had indeed interfered in the past election – the current administration seems unable or unwilling to put its full weight behind a full and proper investigation that seems necessary to the American people. In the face of evidence that campaign and administration officials seem to have had relationships with Russian officials, the president cannot simply move on from this issue. In fact, the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn this month seems to provide us with more questions than answers. The potential conflicts between the Trump Administration and its apparent ties to Russia seem numerous. The president has refused to release his tax returns – a move not seen from any oth-
er modern major party candidate – leaving questions unanswered as to potential Russian business ties and conflicts of interest that President Trump was all too happy to gloat about in years past. The president is unable to criticize Russia and its dictator-like leader Vladimir Putin, but, instead, praises him and prefers him to President Obama. When confronted with the assertion that Putin has had journalists and political opponents killed, President Trump doubled down on his support of Putin by shockingly asserting a moral equivalence between Russia and the United States. The president’s ties to Russia don’t end with him, however, they trickle down into his administration. As in the campaign, President Trump continues to surround himself with advisers that have expansive and well-documented financial entanglements to Russia. Recently, “The New York Times” reported that phone records show Trump associates communicated with senior Russian intelligence officials throughout the campaign, including his former campaign chair Paul Manafort, who is known to have involvements in multimillion-dollar business deals with Putin allies in Ukraine. Additionally, Michael Flynn was forced to resign following information revealing that he had lied about privately discussing U.S sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office, a potentially illegal act. It has since been reported that White House officials were made aware of Flynn’s actions and made no effort to correct the record. It was only after leaks to the public that President Trump’s hand was forced, raising concerns regarding the ability of this White House to maintain honest and open communication with the American people. This intricate web leaves us with critical questions that must be answered. U.S. Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) represents Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District and is the ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Detroit’s billioinaires take millions from the poorest children in the nation By Linda Simmons Money, money, money, money, mon ey! The O’Jay’s lyrics ring true. Some people will get it by hook or crook. Many African-American millenials, are complacently engaged on social media and watching celebrities make big bucks Empire, Love and Hip Hop, The Kardashians and Real Housewives of Atlanta, while billionaires, bankers, and power brokers, are busy buying buildings, and land right under their noses. Wealthy developers are reconstructing downtown Detroit (and other urban cities), with public funds taken from the poor, the needy, and the undereducated. Detroit is the nation’s largest city to file bankruptcy in history (2013). Ironically, it has some of the richest people in the world, from there, and or living there in “Pure” Michigan (state logo). According to Forbes most recent ranking, these billionaires include Hank and Doug Meijer ($8.2 billion); Dan Gilbert, Quicken Loans, Cleveland Cavaliers ($4.9 billion); Mike and Mariah Ilitch, Little Caesars Pizza chain, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Motor City Casino Hotel ($4.8 billion); Richard Devos and family, Amway co-founder and Orlando Magic owner ($4.7 billion); Rhonda Stryker, maker of replacement joints and medical devices ($3.6 billion); John Brown, former Stryker CEO ($2.1 billion); Manuel “Matty” Moroun, controls the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit and owns several trucking firms ($1.8 billion); William Young, owner of Plastipak ($1.5 billion); Roger Penske, owner of Penske Auto Group ($1.4 billion), and Martha Ford, widow of William Clay Ford ($1.3 billion), owner of Detroit Lions (Dalbey, Beth, Birmingham Patch, 3/3/2016). For two billionaires in particular, Mike Illitch, and Dan Gilbert, the timing couldn’t be better to take advantage of a bankrupt city. They catapulted into a shopping-spree like Black Friday, buying property at dirt cheap prices. Gilbert took downtown and Ilitch took Midtown, smiling all the way to the bank.
Without shame, billionaire Mike Ilitch, with the help of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Republican state legislatures, and the city, played his “trump” card and landed a deal (no pun intended) to construct his privately owned stadium and arena district. The approximate cost of $881million, 61% publicly funded, and an estimated $536 million from tax increments, including Detroit Public Schools’ funds. “In December 2012, the Michigan legislature restored Detroit’s ability to levy school tax funds from the downtown district for economic development purposes. If that 12.8 million annual gift weren’t going to the Ilitch empire, it would go to the state’s School Aid Fund.” (Bill Bradley, Detroit Scam City: How the Red Wings Took Hockey town For All I Had) “All of that was backdoor dealing,” says state Rep. Rashida Tliab (D Detroit), a critic of the deal who ultimately voted against the bill. “Every single thing that happened here in the legislature, as well as on the city level, all of that was agreed upon without consulting the community…” (Keith Mathney, Detroit Free Press) Amidst a screaming voice, discouraging city council from giving land to billionaire Ilitch, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones, approved a 5-4 vote to transfer the land. Council also sold the adjacent arena district for only a $1. Wait, there’s more, not only do the taxpayers have to pay for the Joe Louis Arena demolition, the city is prohibited from using the vacant land. And what does Detroit get for its generosity? Not one dollar! The revenues from the arena’s gate receipts, luxury suite sales, concessions, and more, will go into Ilitch’s bulging pockets. Ouch! Outraged, popular John Oliver, on Last Week Tonight (HBO), blasted Ilitch for taking $283 million of public funds, to build a privately owned Detroit Red Wings stadium, six days after the city filed for bankruptcy. He questioned why a billionaire would take money from a broke city (https://wwwyoutube
Political involvement is necessary, not sufficient By Julianne Malveaux NNPA Newswire Columnist
The unfortunate election of Donald J. Trump to the Presidency of the United States speaks volumes about the limits of African American involvement in the political system. Don’t get me wrong. I was born and will live and die a political junkie, obsessed with the minutiae of politics. Actually, I’m a recovering politician; having run for office, got my butt beat, and flirted with the possibility of doing it again for years. Politics is about making the rules of distribution, of deciding Julianne Malveaux how laws determine who gets what, when, where and why. Politics, importantly, ensures that those, who make the rules are favorably disposed toward justice and fairness. Politics allows resistance, when those elected don’t follow the lead of their constituents. Economics and politics are closely aligned. Economics also determines who gets what, when, where and why. “So-called” free markets determine the flows of economic distribution, but politics often regulates the way that these “so-called” free markets work. I say that these markets are “so-called” free, because we know that politicians distort markets to their liking. During a recession, for example, politicians agree that bankers need a tight rein on them that they can’t simply exploit for the purpose of earning predatory profits. After a recession, some politicians might loosen the rein on bankers and decide to let predatory markets flow free. African Americans have righteously focused on politics and the political system, especially during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, when the fight for the right to vote was a priority. People like Fannie Lou Hamer were beaten within inches of their lives, because they were determined to vote. Medgar Evers was killed because he was
organizing voters. We had a focus on laws. Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “The law will not make you love me, but it will keep you from lynching me.” And so we focus on the laws and on politics. The Trump election reminds us of the limitations of politics, and the need to focus on the economic aspects of our lives. Political involvement is necessary, but not sufficient for Black progress. Every single economic indicator shows African American people lagging. Not much has changed since 1967, when Dr. King said, “Of the good things in life, the Negro has approximately one half those of Whites. Of the bad things of life, he has twice those of Whites. Thus, half of all Negroes live in substandard housing. And Negroes have half the income of Whites. When we view the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a double share. There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double that of Whites and there are twice as many Negroes dying in Vietnam as Whites in proportion to their size in the population.” The numbers have changed some, but the bottom line is that African-Americans are not full equal participants in our economy. How do we fix that? How do African Americans flex our full economic muscles? How do we reward those corporations that support equality, and punish, through selective buying and boycotts, those who oppose freedom and equal opportunity? How do we stomp with the big dogs like the Koch brothers who buy politicians with the same ease that some of us buy potato chips? Do we even stand a chance? Politicians make rules, but money talks when the nonsense walks. We need to spend as much time focusing on economics as on politics. We need to follow the money when we see oppression. And we need to be clear that the clearest path to black liberation is that path that focuses on economics. Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist and Founder of Economic Education. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available to order at www.juliannemalveaux.com at Amazon.com. Follow Dr. Malveaux on Twitter @drjlastword.