Vol. 50 No. 40
January 23, 2020 -January 29, 2020
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Michelle Obama Building A Legacy Of Strong Black Women
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Military Veteran Rodney Lofton on What Voting for the First Time Meant to Him Local/National News
National News
The author, pictured here, is Rodney Lofton of Mobile, Alabama. Rodney voted for the first time in 2018 after having his rights restored. I currently work four days a week at the First Christian Church in Mobile, Alabama as part of the Second Chance Program – and I am proud to say today that I am a voter. But it wasn’t always this way. Although I am 49-years old, a veteran that served four years in the military (in Jacksonville, Florida), and have been living in Mobile for 32-years, I had my voting rights taken away from me. Before I was stripped of my rights because of a conviction back in 2015, I didn’t vote. A lot of minorities, particularly people in the black community here in Mobile do not vote for a variety of reasons. People feel disconnected from the political process and many are confused about who can and can’t vote. Many people here think that a crime disqualifies them from voting, even misdemeanors. The
(Photo credit: @MichelleObama instagram “Behind every strong man, there is a strong woman.” That statement used to be common, now it seems as though there is no other person standing behind or in front, just a strong women. And when you think of strong women, you always have to include Michelle Obama. The former First Lady is seen not only as a beacon of hope for many, but a perfect example of what being a strong Black woman is. And Mrs. Obama is raising strong Black women as well in her daughters. But if you talk to her, she’ll say everything she is, is a result of her own mom, Marian Robinson. On her kids: “Being a mother has been a masterclass in letting go,” Obama said. “Try as we might, there’s
only so much we can control. And, boy, have I tried – especially at first. As mothers, we just don’t want anything or anyone to hurt our babies. But life has other plans.” Allowing daughters Malia, 21, and Sasha, 18, to forge their own identities while growing up in the White House was a lesson she and former President Barack Obama learned during his two terms. “As a younger woman, I spent too much time worrying that I wasn’t achieving enough, or I was straying too far from what I thought was the prescribed path,” she said. “What I hope my daughters will realize a little earlier is that there is no prescribed path, that it’s OK to swerve, and that the confidence they need to recognize that will come with time.”
“When Malia and Sasha were newborns, Barack and I could lose hours just watching them sleep. We loved to listen to the little sounds they’d make – especially the way they cooed when they were deep into dreaming … But there is something so magical about having a baby in the house. Time expands and contracts; each moment holds its own little eternity.” On her mom: “The mother that I am today is a direct result of Marian Robinson,” said the 56-year-old. “My mom is one of the smartest people with just plain old common sense. The thing she always said that I do remember is that, she told me and my brother, ‘I wasn’t raising children. I was
raising adults.’” Obama says her mom always treated she and Craig like the adults she wanted them to be, and she never belittled them in conversation because of their age. “She always talked to us like we had sense,” she added. “She never used baby talk. She would ask you to…explain yourself. She would include you in big grown up conversations. There was never anything that she wouldn’t talk to us about.” Robinson, who lived with the Obamas during their White House years, shares a close relationship with her daughter. Asked in an interview in November what about Obama made her proudest, Robinson answered, “When I grow up I would like to be like Michelle Obama.”
Renewing Martin Luther King’s Dream by Renewing Our Minds By Dr. Kelvin “Kelly” Wright
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (National Archives) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” a scripture reading from Romans 12:2. Transformation is something the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior was in pursuit of. He was seeking to fulfill his God given dream to help lead all people to the promise land of true brotherhood. On this national holiday we observe the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a drum
major who followed the drumbeat of a different drum. He did not follow the world’s cadence of anger, discord and violence but chose to operate in the unforced rhythm of God’s grace to take a stand against racism, militarism, injustice and poverty. He sought to serve others in his quest to achieve equality in civil and economic rights for Black Americans, along with a demand for criminal justice reforms. In 1963, I remember as a child sitting at home in Hagerstown,
Dr. Kelvin “Kelly” Wright and Bernice King.
state has not put much effort into educating citizens about this. But in September 2018, I was approached by Ellen Boettcher of the Alabama Voting Rights Project, which is a partnership between the Campaign Legal Center and Southern Poverty Law Center. She told me that not all convictions deny you of the right to vote. Mrs. Ellen gave me the paperwork and walked me through the rights restoration process. I got a voter registration card in the mail and cast a ballot in November’s elections – for the first time in my life. Even after Mrs. Ellen helped me out, I almost couldn’t vote. On Election Day, my truck broke down. The pastor at First Christian Church helped me get to the polls by giving me a ride. By giving me a ride to the polls, it encouraged me because it showed that someone had my back and cared that I voted.
Campaign Legal Center and Vote.org Join Forces to Educate People with Past Felony Convictions About Their Voting Rights WASHINGTON - Campaign Legal Center (CLC) will partner with Vote.org to reach millions of Americans with past felony convictions by increasing their access to information about their voting eligibility – in time for 2020 presidential primary voter registration deadlines. Vote.org is one of the top voter registration and turnout organizations in the country. CLC’s website, RestoreYourVote.org, provides well-researched, state-specific information and resources to guide people with past felony convictions and help them take the steps needed to restore their rights. “Our democracy works best when all eligible citizens can vote without barriers, and those who have paid their debt to society deserve a second chance,” said Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “While many states have some restriction on voting rights for people with felony convictions, most states restore the right to vote to citizens after they complete their sentences. In fact, up to 18 million Americans with past felony convictions could vote today, they just may not realize it because felony disenfranchisement laws in every state can be confusing. In order to have an active electorate, you must have an informed electorate
that knows its rights. Our partnership with Vote.org guarantees we will reach more eligible voters with this information in time for the 2020 presidential primary registration deadlines.” When people with past felony convictions visit Vote.org, they will now be directed to CLC’s RestoreYourVote.org to understand if they can vote. And when eligible voters visit RestoreYourVote.org, they’ll be prompted to use Vote.org’s bestin-class tools to register to vote and those who do register will be sent Vote.org’s proven election reminders and get-out-the-vote outreach. “We’re thrilled to partner with Campaign Legal Center’s Restore Your Vote project to reach this important and often neglected segment of our electorate,” said Sarah Jackel, general counsel at Vote.org. “We know that in order to have a more representative electorate, we have to ensure that all eligible citizens – particularly those who have been historically disenfranchised and remain underrepresented in our electorate – can register and vote without informational barriers. By leveraging what we both do best, we’re confident that together Vote.org and CLC can increase voter turnout among those with felony convictions in 2020 and beyond.”
Our Values, Mission, & Vision Statement Maryland with my mother and grandmother in our living room watching a network news report on the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. The report showed Dr. King delivering what would become a speech literally heard around the world and echoed throughout history, “I Have A Dream.” It was a dream that set into motion the transformation of race relations in America. Dr. King’s leadership in the non-violent struggle for civil rights earned him
the distinction of being called a “drum major for justice, a drum major for peace.” But to his four children, he was simply known as “daddy.” Dr. King was mindful of his children when he delivered his famous address, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. King’s youngest child, ( continued on page 3)
Our Values: Treat all people with care, respect, honor, and dignity. Tell it as it is with love, truth and integrity. Promote the interests of advertisers and sponsors along their strategic interest for the betterment of the community and beyond. Speak truth to power. Our Mission: To continuously improve communication between all people of the world. Our Vision: To be the best community newspaper in our region and the nation. Provider of: A voice for the poor, the underserved, those that are marginalized, Positive and edifying news about people, places and businesses. Keep San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties informed about global trends while retaining the consciousness of local events and processes. Memberships and Associations: The San Bernardino American Newspaper is a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, National Newspaper Association and addociated with California Black Media.