SCLC National Magazine - Fall 2006 Issue

Meet Justin Merrick.

The next great symphony conductor.

As a fourth-year music student studying at one of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Justin may one day lead the next great musical movement. A commitment to developing future leaders is why Honda created HBCU programs such as the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge and Honda Battle of the Bands. We believe the work done by America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities is truly worth a standing ovation.

For information about America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities visit hbcu-central.com or honda.com. © 2006 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

vol. 35 | no. 4

October | November | December

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SCLC 48 Annual Convention Highlights National Officers National Board of Directors Membership Application Chapters & Affiliates President’s Corner A Message from the SCLC Director of Compliance By the Reverend Wilburt O. Shanklin 40. Employment Opportunities

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Southern Christian Leadership Conference N A T I O N A L M A G A Z I N E A M E R I C A’ S L E A D I N G C I V I L R I G H T S V O I C E

SCLC NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS One Georgia Center 600 W. Peachtree Street, 9th Floor Atlanta, Georgia 30308 SCLC NATIONAL MAGAZINE DIVISION 6260 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Suite 303 North Hollywood, California 91606 (800) 421-0472 Tel (800) 292-9199 Fax MAGAZINE MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 92544 Atlanta, GA 30314

48th Annual Convention Highlights 16. The President’s Address Restoring our Movement, “A Legacy of Strength” 17. President’s Address Highlights in Pictures Photos by Wendell Rogers 18. 48th Annual Convention Declared “Resounding Success”

By David Stokes 20. Convention Highlights in Pictures Photos by Wendell Rogers 22. Three Convention Resolutions Passed by the SCLC Board of Directors 24. Convention Highlights in Pictures Photos by Wendell Rogers

FOR ADVERTISING SALES INFO ads@sclcmagazine.com www.sclcmagazine.com (800) 421-0472 PUBLISHER Dr. Steven W. Blood, Sr. ASSISTANT PUBLISHER Mark Madson GRAPHIC DESIGNER Monica M. Fett EDITOR Sonja Roberts ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Dawn McKillop

Features 26. The American Justice System Needs to Address Mental Illness to Curb Violence

By Judge Greg Mathis 28. We Can Make Changes to Empower Ourselves

By Teri Miller Barker 30. Victoria Gray Adams, Civil Rights Leader is Dead at 79

By Tim Weiner 33. SCLC Leader Treks to New Orleans for “Equitable Education”

By Keisha S. Ray & David Stokes 34. SCLC to Play Global Peacekeeping Role

By George E. Curry 36. Realizing the Dream Tour, King Revives his Dad’s Dream

By Andrea Robinson 37. Belafonte Will Join Martin Luther King Lineup in Kansas City

By Glenn E. Rice 38. Reviving Activism, Church Exhorted to do Battle with Social Injustice

By Sylvia Cooper 42. Protesters: Teen Should be in School not Jail

By Christopher Quinn 43. Alcorn State University in Mississippi Mourns Sudden Passing of Its President Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr.

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ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Deanna Stephens

WRITERS WANTED! encourages its members and affiliates to write articles for this publication. We want to know what civil rights issues are happening in your region of the country. If you want to submit an article for publication, please follow the guidelines set forth by the editorial staff of the magazine.

You will need approximately 1500-2000 words in Microsoft WordTM on a topic that is specific to civil rights and social rights. Social rights implies a broader focus than just racial injustice. The social rights agenda could involve (for example) the problems with globalization or wage inequality between men and women. Please note, all articles selected for publication become the property of SCLC MAGAZINE. The magazine is dedicated to all topics that deal with ending racism, sexism, classism and improving democracy for people of color, in particularly, African Americans. We would prefer that you e-mail your submission to info@sclcmagazine.com.

If e-mail is not an option, please mail your submission to: SCLC MAGAZINE Submission; Southern Christian Leadership Conference; One Georgia Center; 600 W. Peachtree Street, 9th Floor; Atlanta, GA 30308 SCLC MAGAZINE

In honor of this year’s conference, Washington Mutual is proud to help the SCLC celebrate the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement as it recognizes past and future great leaders. Their dedicated commitment to this year’s theme of “Restoring our Movement” inspires our continued support for communities today. For more information about our community and diversity programs visit wamu.com.

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NATIONAL OFFICERS & STAFF Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Mr. Charles Steele, Jr. PRESIDENT & CEO Rev. Raleigh Trammell CHAIRMAN

Rev. Curtis W. Harris VICE PRESIDENT Rev. Dr. Sylvia K. Tucker VICE CHAIRMAN

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. FOUNDING PRESIDENT 1957-1968

BOARD OFFICERS Spiver Gordon–Treasurer Jeweline Devereaux–Secretary Rev. N.Q. Reynolds–Recording Secretary

Dr. Ralph D. Abernathy PRESIDENT EMERITUS 1968-1977

Rev. Dr. Ruby Reese Moone–Chaplain Rev. Wilburt O. Shanklin–Parliamentarian

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS Rev. S.L. Harvey–South Central; New Orleans, Louisiana Bennie Rountree–South Atlantic; Greenville, North Carolina Dr. Joseph E. Lowery PRESIDENT EMERITUS 1977-1997

Dr. Henry Silva–North Atlantic; Charlottesville, Virginia

NATIONAL STAFF Ron Woods–Executive Director Nancy Winn–Executive Assistant to the President Brenda Davenport–Director of Programs & Development

Mr. Martin Luther King, III PAST PRESIDENT 1998-2003

Hope Allen–Program & Administrative Assistant Keisha Ray–Public Relations & Media Rev. Fred Taylor–Direct Action Coordinator Ralph Worrell–Field Staff & Magazine Distributor Rev. Albert E. Love–Director of Chapters & Affiliates

Rev. Fred E. Shuttlesworth PAST PRESIDENT 2004

Frederick Moore–Field Staff Vickie Adams–Finance Elaine Day–Receptionist Thomas Lindsey–Facilities

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NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Mr. Lanze Alexander Los Angeles, California

Rev. Roosevelt McGee Country Club Hills, Illinois

Rev. Dr. William Augman Columbus, Ohio

Rev. Dr. Ruby Reese Moone Rockville, Maryland

Mr. Joseph Boston Washington, North Carolina Mr. Charles I. Brooks Birmingham, Alabama Mr. Alvin Brown Jacksonville, Florida Bishop E. Lynn Brown Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. James Bush, III Miami, Florida Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness Cleveland, Ohio Ms. Jeweline Devereaux Dallas, Texas Ms. Jacqueline A. Ellis Bowie, Maryland Chief Elwin “War Horse” Gillum Slidell, Louisiana

Mr. Jeremy Ponds Atlanta, Georgia Dr. Milton A. Reid Norfolk, Virginia Rev. N.Q. Reynolds Anniston, Alabama Mr. Bennie Rountree Greenville, North Carolina Mrs. Rita Samuels Atlanta, Georgia Rev. A.A. Scales Anniston, Alabama Dr. Henry Silva Charlottesville, Virginia

Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Co-founding President Atlanta, Georgia

HONORARY Rev. Cameron Alexander Atlanta, Georgia Mrs. Johnnie R. Carr Montgomery, Alabama Bishop Phillip Cousin Jacksonville, Florida The Hon. Walter Fauntroy Washington, D.C. Ms. Maxine Green Fort Pierce, Florida Mr. Dick Gregory Plymouth, Massachusetts Congressman John Lewis Atlanta, Georgia

Mrs. Cheryl Spencer Dayton, Ohio

Ms. Evelyn Occhino Los Angeles, California

Rev. Charles Steele, Jr. Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Dr. Joseph Roberts Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Cincinnati, Ohio

Mrs. Wilhelmina J. Rolark, Esq. Washington, D.C.

Dr. Marshall Hodge Dallas, Texas

Rev. Norwood Thompson New Orleans, Louisiana

Rev. C.T. Vivian Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr. Tallahassee, Florida

Rev. Dr. Sylvia K. Tucker Disputanta, Virginia

Rev. Phyllis Johnson Los Angeles, California

Mr. Richard Turner Sandersville, Georgia

Rev. Randy Johnson Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Raleigh Trammell Dayton, Ohio

Rev. William Keen Danville, Virginia

Mr. Chester Weeks Anniston, Alabama

Mr. Martin Luther King, III Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. Kenneth T. Whalum, Sr. Memphis, Tennessee

Dr. Bernard LaFayette Kingston, Rhode Island

Rev. Abraham L. Woods Birmingham, Alabama

The Hon. Judge Greg Mathis Detroit, Michigan

Dr. Claud Young Detroit, Michigan

Mr. Spiver Gordon Eutaw, Alabama Rev. Curtis W. Harris Hopewell, Virginia Rev. S.L. Harvey New Orleans, Louisiana

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Rev. Lewis Neal Sandersville, Georgia

EMERITUS

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Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker New York, New York The Hon. Andrew Young Atlanta, Georgia

IN MEMORIAM Dr. Ralph D. Abernathy, Sr. Rev. Avery C. Alexander Dr. Bernard J. Bridges Rev. R.N. Gooden Ms. Roxanne Gregory, Esq. Mrs. Coretta Scott King Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. James C. Moone Rev. John S. Nettles Mrs. Rosa Parks Rev. Marshall Shepherd

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Help us make social responsibility an everyday reality.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Your SCLC membership will enable us to promote program initiatives that include Voter Registration and Education; Conflict Resolution and Nonviolence Training; Economic Empowerment; Health Care; Youth Development; and Collegiate Chapter Development.

SCLC Individual Memberships ● Youth $10 (Age 11-17) One-Year Membership Member Newsletter

● General $25 One-Year Membership Member Newsletter

● Student $15 (Age 18-24) One-Year Membership Member Newsletter

● Freedom Fighter $100 One-Year Membership Member Newsletter Quarterly SCLC Magazine

● Faithful Servant $50 One-Year Membership Member Newsletter Quarterly SCLC Magazine

● Senior $15 (Age 65 and Over) One-Year Membership Member Newsletter

● Dream Keeper $250 One-Year Membership Member Newsletter Quarterly SCLC Magazine Membership Certificate ● Drum Major $500 One-Year Membership Member Newsletter Quarterly SCLC Magazine Membership Plaque ● Martin Luther King, Jr. Life $1000 Member Newsletter Quarterly SCLC Magazine Membership Plaque

Corporate Memberships are now available. For information on Corporate Memberships contact Ron Woods, Director of Programs and Administration at tel. (404) 522-1420.

Please, cut along dotted line, detach and return with your payment.

SCLC Individual Membership Application Name Address City

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Please check circle(s) that apply:

● Youth $10 ● Senior $15 ● Student $15 ● General $25 ● Faithful Servant $50 ● Freedom Fighter $100 ● Dream Keeper $250 ● Drum Major $500 ● Martin Luther King, Jr. Life $1000

Chapter Name (if applicable) E-Mail Address Amount Enclosed (check circle if an installment) $ The Life Membership can be paid in installments with an initial payment of $250 and with an annual minimum of $250. Please submit membership payments by check or money order to your local SCLC office or the SCLC National HQ.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

SCLC National Headquarters One Georgia Center 600 W. Peachtree Street, 9th Flr. Atlanta, GA 30308 Tel: (404) 522-1420 Fax: (404) 527-4333 www.sclcnational.org

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CHAPTERS, AFFILIATES & THEIR PRESIDENTS Southern Christian Leadership Conference

State Chapters & Alabama Rev. A.A. Scales Anniston, Alabama Affiliates are the links Birmingham between Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Birmingham, Alabama SCLC & County the masses Calhoun Rev. Nimrod Q. Reynolds of people Anniston, Alabama who make Greene County up Mr. Spiver Gordon Eutaw, Alabama the movement. Jefferson County Mrs. Georgia Hampton Dr. King Hueytown, Alabama

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Okaloosa County Mr. Felton Barnes Crestview, Florida

Tri-County Mr. Charles McDougald Butler, Georgia

Pensacola County Ellison Bennett Pensacola, Florida

Warner Robbins Mrs. Kenneth Hubbard Warner Robbins, Georgia

Plant City Rev. Johnnie Cooper Plant City, Florida

Louisiana State Rev. Dr. Norwood Thompson New Orleans, Louisiana

St. Augustine Rev. Ronald Stafford St. Augustine, Florida St. Petersburg Mr. Sevell C. Brown III St. Petersburg, Florida

Baton Rouge Rev. Reginald Pitcher Baton Rouge, Louisiana New Orleans Rev. S. L. Harvey New Orleans, Louisiana

Selma Mr. Clarence Williams Selma, Alabama

Tallahassee Rev. S.L. Phillips Tallahassee, Florida

Tuscaloosa Rev. Clarence Sutton Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Athens Rev. David H. Nunnelly Sr. Athens, Georgia

Los Angeles Rev. James Lawson Los Angeles, California

Acworth Rev. O.J. Brown Acworth, Georgia

Riverside County Mr. James Baylark Moreno Valley, California

Baldwin County Mr. George Hogan, Sr. Milledgeville, Georgia

San Bernardino County Rev. Sherman Mitchell Victorville, California

Coosa Valley Bishop Norris Allen, Sr. Rome, Georgia

Bay County Pres.–Rev. Delwynn Williams V.P.–Mr. Jeremy Ponds Panama City, Florida

Greater Stone Mountain Rev. Dr. Marvin Crawford Lithonia, Georgia

Jackson State Rep. Jim Evans Jackson, Mississippi

Jacksonville Rev. Levy Wilcox Jacksonville, Florida

Laurens County Mr. James Holder Dublin, Georgia

Buffalo-Eerie County Ms. Gwen Neal Buffalo, New York

Miami Ms. Sandra Dickerson Miami, Florida

Sandersville Mr. Richard Turner Sandersville, Georgia

North Carolina State Mr. Bennie Rountree Greenville, North Carolina

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Slidell Ms. Elwin Gillum Slidell, Louisiana Maryland State Rev. Dr. Ruby Reese Moone Rockville, Maryland City of Baltimore Dr. Marvin L. Cheatham, Sr. Baltimore, Maryland Prince George’s County Mr. McArthur Bishop Largo, Maryland Detroit Dr. Claud R. Young Detroit, Michigan

Beaufort County Mr. Joseph Boston Washington, North Carolina Charlotte Rev. Alvin Daniel Greenville, North Carolina Pitt County Mr. Dennis Mitchell Greenville, North Carolina Cleveland Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness Cleveland, Ohio Dayton Rev. Raleigh Trammell Dayton, Ohio Tulsa Rev. Melvin Easiley Glenpole, Oklahoma Memphis Rev. Dwight Montgomery Memphis, Tennessee Dallas Ms. Joyce Foreman Dallas, Texas Hopewell Mr. Oscar Byrd Hopewell, Virginia

AFFILIATE CHAPTERS Montgomery Improvement Association Mrs. Johnnie M. Carr Montgomery, Alabama Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Anniston, Alabama Christian United Rev. Freddie Phillips Griffin, Georgia Ebenezer Baptist Church Pastor, Dr. Joseph Roberts Atlanta, Georgia Friendship Baptist Church Pastor, Rev. William Guy Atlanta, Georgia Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials State Rep. Tyrone Brooks Atlanta, Georgia Georgia Coalition of Black Women Atlanta, Georgia Lindsey Street Baptist Church Rev. A.A. Motley Atlanta, Georgia

Norfolk Ms. Anne Thornton Norfolk, Virginia

Richmond Mr. Ralph Ramirez Richmond, Virginia

Petersburg Mr. Milton Richardson Petersburg, Virginia

Roanoke Chapter Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson Roanoke, Virginia

Prince George County Mr. Raymond Tucker Disputanta,Virginia

Southwest Ms. Corrine Dagner-Walker Brodnax, Virginia

SCLC Veterans Organization Rev. Willie Bolden College Park, Georgia West Hunter Street Baptist Church Rev. Louis R. Jones Atlanta, Georgia Cannan Baptist Church Dr. Wyatt Walker New York, New York Faith Liberation Community Christian Church Dr. Charles E. Reese Charlotte, North Carolina Inter-Denominational Minister’s Conference of Greater Harrisburg Rev. Dr. W. Braxton Cooley, Sr. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Hopewell Action CouncIl Ms. Elsie Massenburh Hopewell, Virginia Mt. Zion Baptist Church Arlington, Virginia

For more info contact: SCLC Department of Chapters & Affiliates One Georgia Center 600 W. Peachtree Street 9th Floor Atlanta, Georgia 30308 (404) 522-1420 Tel. (404) 527-4333 Fax chapters.affiliates@sclcnational.org www.sclcnational.org

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the president’s corner

By Charles Steele, Jr. SCLC National President & CEO

s the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina passes, the surreal images of the aftermath one year ago continue to linger in our minds. Although the devastating images remain vivid in our psyche, there is an all too real comprehension of the horrific aftermath. The aftermath of Katrina continues to stare the citizens of New Orleans in the face as they struggle to rebuild their lives.The realization is not that the hurricane happened and the levees broke, but that there seems to be no real urgency in helping the many, many people who have had their lives turned upside down.

People around the world watched in disbelief at the magnitude of the disaster that took place in New Orleans.

Still, you cannot imagine what these incredibly strong people have had to endure and still are enduring. It saddens me that the federal government is taking their time in giving the people of New Orleans the help they need to fully recover, not to mention, the lack of funding for schools that are in dire need of support.As if these children haven’t been through enough, they have to wait on a complacent government to respond to their needs.

With the Lower 9th North ward destroyed in its totality

by Hurricane Katrina, racism seems to be at the center of the lack of restoration of many predominantly black schools.

For example, Martin Luther King Elementary School of Science and Technology was most recently at the forefront of what seemed to be racial discrimination. I, along with direct action staff of the SCLC, journeyed to New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sept. 6, and joined SCLC national board members, community leaders and concerned citizens for an SCLC style rally.We wanted to ensure that over 600 African-American students would no longer have to arrive at an unfinished school and be turned back because there is no safe place prepared for them to attend class. Can you imagine what our children felt as they watched other children return to class, most of which were predominantly white? It seemed to that the plan was not to re-open the school at all. African-American students, once again, were not a priority in terms of education and economic funding.

I believe that when you close a school, you close the community. In my opinion, this was just another way to refuse the residents of the Lower North 9th ward the right to return home.

It is so important that we as a people come together and stand up for our rights as Americans in this country. We are tired of being taken for granted.We cannot sit idly by

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and let African-American students be denied a right to their education nor can we let the residents of the 9th ward be denied the right to return home.

This is why it is of the utmost importance to continue the civil rights movement in 2006 and forever. It’s not enough to be free without being equal.The civil rights movement can never be over. Just like in the 1960’s the quality of life for African-Americans was dependent upon the civil rights movement to ensure that we are equal as well as free. We must do the same today as we did then. We have to come together when there is an injustice and demand that justice prevails. Some people say the civil rights movement is not needed. I say it is needed more today than ever before. Some of us can remember when Rosa Parks was arrested because she would not give up her seat to a white woman. It was the Montgomery bus boycott that told Black America it was time to move and the civil rights movement was born.Yet, today we are still fighting for equality.

As long as this world exists the civil rights movement will be needed to help bring about true equality for all of God’s children.

If I can say one thing that continues to motivate me, I must mention a little girl that I met in New Orleans. She could be no older than ten years old, and she looked up at me and said,“I want to go to school and learn, and maybe one day, I can be the president of SCLC.” I looked into her sincere eyes and said,“yes, yes, you can, and one day, you and your generation will continue the movement.”

This is what it is all about, the children.We must make sure that they know and understand our struggle as AfricanAmericans. Most importantly, we must make sure they are equipped to carry on the movement for years to come.We must remember the civil rights movement was our tool to getting us the freedom we have today.

African-American people must always understand that the government is not here to give you justice and equality; you must fight for it on a daily basis.You cannot expect a government that enslaved you, to save you. The SCLC is here to ensure that all people have equality in an unfair and sometimes unjust society. When one person is affected, we are all affected. It might not be you today, but it could be you tomorrow. The civil rights movement needs the support of all fair and just people of all nationalities and backgrounds, especially African-Americans. For AfricanAmericans are still the most discriminated against in society today. In the words of our beloved co-founder, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,“our lives begin to end the day we become

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Those strong individuals who have dreamed big dreams and helped make them reality.

As we join the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in honoring the memory of Mrs. Rosa Parks, we reflect on the people and events that helped shape the African American community and our entire nation. Here’s to a promising future of progress and growth. Call 1-800-COMPASS or visit www.compassbank.com today!

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McCormick & Company, Inc. joins the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. © McCormick & Company, Inc. 2006

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the compliance corner

A Message from the SCLC Director of Compliance the Reverend Wilburt O. Shanklin We again want to share the conuring the SCLC tinued concern regarding the memN a t i o n a l berships, charter fees and National Convention in Board Member annual contribuAugust, we experitions.

As collective members of SCLC, enced one of the we must continue to work together. best years ever with Several important dates are coming registration of chapters that are in up so be sure to mark your calendar. compliance.We are happy to say that Remember that the election of offiwe have more then seventy chapters cials should be completed by and affiliates that are now in compliDecember of 2006.

Other events ance. We are currently working with The Reverend Wilburt O. Shanklin include the Chapter Presidents meetBoard Presidents of the Florida, and ing in February, 2007 and will be Virginia State Units to ensure proper during our home coming in New Orleans, as well as the compliance for those units by the end of the year.We will Spring Board Retreat in April, 2007. also be visiting California, Kansas, North Carolina and Maryland state units before February of 2007. Since the convention, we have begun to take seriously the matter of Don’t forget that compliance is development. If all chapters and affiliates being in compliance and ask for your chapter needs help with development and is your full cooperation in this regard.

Unfortunately, some chapters have not received charters unable to meet the requirements of fifty members and we will shortly notify state and local officials of nonper chapter and cannot afford to pay the $300 charter compliant chapters as well as send letters of “Cease and fee, please request our help by contacting the SCLC Desist” to chapters in cities that don’t have up to date charters.

National Office.

National Board members who have not met their assessThe Struggle Continues. ¥ ments need to remember that failure to do so may translate into Constitutional Dismissal very shortly.

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Goody’s, a family oriented company established in the southeast, proudly supports the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference Opening the doors of opportunity to all, Goody’s is an equal opportunity employer. “Diversity in Business, Diversity in Relationships, Diversity in Life.” www.goodysonline.com

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SCLC 48 th AnnualConventionnn

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The President’s Address Restoring our Movement, “A Legacy of Strength” Fairhaven Church, Dayton, Ohio Sunday Evening, July 30, 2006

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President Steele delivers his address.

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harles Steele, Jr., President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), spoke of global peace. During the 48th annual national convention attendees could be heard giving great praise to the presidential address, some are calling it a message of hope.As the crowd listened intensely the President spoke these words: In a world of prejudice, violence, poverty and ignorance, the message of SCLC is to teach and apply Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of non-violence and conflict resolution. One of SCLC’s goals is to bring peace, security and hope to the afflicted people in the South, throughout America and around the world.

The mission was crystallized in a conversation I had in December 2004 with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his chief of staff.

I was in Israel talking with the chief of staff and the prime minister and he [the chief of staff] said, ‘you all can bring about world peace. You all have been through the Trans-Atlantic African slave trade and you got lynched, you were murdered, your women were raped and killed, but you didn’t turn out to be terrorists. You didn’t strap yourselves with a bomb, you don’t have any blood on your hands.’

“I said, ‘what are you saying Mr. Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister?’ He said, ‘Charles, what I am saying is you can stop the war.” Representatives of Hamas have recently gotten in touch with me, urging SCLC to help diffuse tension in the Middle East. And I plan to do just that.

We have the vision.We’re the only one in the world with the moral authority to bring on resolutions to problems and conflicts and the fact that people really don’t understand how to get along.

We’re the organization that Dr. King so often talked about.

We’re the organization that when people think of world peace, they think of Dr. King, Dr.Abernathy and other [SCLC] civil rights leaders.

I’m sorry to disappoint y’all but President Bush can’t do it.

Condoleezza Rice can’t do it. And I know I’m going to upset some Negroes now: Bill Clinton can’t do it.

It’s going to take a moral authority to bring on world peace.

That’s what SCLC is doing.We’re the answer.

The answer to curbing violence in the United States and internationally is the establishment of SCLC Martin Luther King Jr. Conflict Resolution Centers. The goal is to establish 50 centers in the U.S. and 10 abroad by 2010. The organization is on the rebound.We were on life support, but we didn’t die.•

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(Top, Left, L to R) Mrs. Barbara Gordon, Mrs. Cathelean Steele, and Mrs. Ann Trammell listen to (Top, Right) SCLC Chairman Rev. Raleigh Trammell introduce (Center, Left) President Charles Steele, Jr. at the President’s Address. (Center, Right) SCLC Convention Banner. (Bottom, Left) The evening was concluded by dancing gymnasts.

Photos pages 16-17 by Wendell Rogers

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48th Annual Convention Declared “Resounding Success”

By David Stokes aytON, OHIO—In a city of the Midwest where this nation’s oldest historically black college and university, Wilberforce University, is located and where modern-day aviation was born, leaders and supporters of the civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, Joseph E. Lowery, Fred Shuttlesworth and other clergy-activists, the SCLC, descended into the Buckeye State to not only celebrate past achievements of the years gone by, but also remind the black diaspora via national speakers with passionate messages that much work remains to be completed if all God’s children are to witness freedom by attaining social justice and equality.

Additionally, a convention highlight was the presentation of the group’s stellar honors—the President’s Award and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award— bestowed to activists that have consistently represented the ideals and goals “to redeem the soul of America” with various human rights campaigns now spanning nearly 50 years.

From the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev.Al Sharpton and Rev. Otis Moss to Martin Luther King, III, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, entertainer Dick Gregory and other guest speakers who lended a hand to propose action against societal ills of inequitable healthcare, housing, employment, et al., afflicting African-Americans, in particular, inspirational charges were presented to 500-plus delegates from around the country to hold up the mantle of righteousness and fight to maintain voting rights and equal rights via affirmative action, among others, and not be complacent from the gains of the 1960s, as well as beware of individuals seeking “to turn back the clock” of segregation which hindered blacks one-half century ago.

“When America catches a cold, opined Lowery during his SCLC presidency (1977-January 15, 1998), black America catches the flu.”

From July 29-August 2, the annual conference brought together stalwart activists who either assisted in campaigns that brought about historic federal government legislation, i.e., the “Voting Rights Act of 1965,” or New Millennium activists who are “getting their feet wet” and getting in the trenches to maintain for their generation hardfought gains from those of Lowery’s and Shuttlesworth’s

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“This year’s convention was one of the best SCLC has ever presented,” stated President Steele. “It really was a resounding success with cooperation from our corporate sponsors, partners and many others who support our endeavors to work for the freedom of all people.”

Seen nationwide on the C-SPAN cable television network, King, III and Sharpton highlighted the “A Changing Movement: From the Streets to the Suites” workshop and roundtable discussion. The eldest son of SCLC’s founding president and the founder of the New York City-based National Action Network fired up and shook the foundation of listeners to be vigilant to stand up and speak out for blacks to sustain voting rights, as well as taking the initiative to bring about positive change within respective communities.

“You cannot pass a baton” of leadership, Sharpton emphasized. “One must earn (leadership roles) by trust and respect of the people. You don’t make leaders. One has to earn the respect to move the masses,” alluding to King being elected in 1956 president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and subsequent SCLC a year later.

Martin Luther King, III, Rev. Joseph Lowery’s immediate successor, who served five years as SCLC president/chief executive officer from 1998-2003, implored that the civil rights movement and “street action” itself is not totally archaic to counterattack ills disproportionately crippling black America, which has produced more black men housed in prison, or under the confines of the criminal justice system, than attending institutions of higher learning, for example. “Some blacks have been blessed because of the civil rights movement ..., while the masses remain in the streets” for equitable jobs and wages.

“There are many leaders in every genre of life,” King, III indicated, pointing out that no one potential leader is mandated, or necessary, to contribute toward today’s social achievements for a body of people as did his father 50 years ago.

Another crowd-pleaser during the five-day conference was a former SCLC project coordinator who later founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago three years following King’s assassination in 1968.

Speaking on elected politicians assaulting and jostling for passage of provisions for voting rights for AfricanAmericans, “a backlash is taking place ...where (the) union is going back to states’ rights,” Rev. Jesse Jackson stated, elaborating on the struggle between Democratic and GOP officials in Washington, DC to vote for the renewal of

certain provisions within the “Voting Rights Act” initially set to expire next year. (President Bush signed final legislation last month at a White House ceremony that now extends the Act to 2032.) The South Carolina native also inspired attendees to be vigilant for African-American families to receive economic parity, in particular, to offset and decrease statistics of blacks entering—or for some, residing—in “first-class jails” while future leaders face harm by attending “second-class schools“.

“It’s time to march ...to ensure that every American has a job and benefits in the United States,” the 64-year-old Jackson implored.

The outspoken and longtime Democrat serving Southern California, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, urged listeners at the SCLC/WOMEN Luncheon to“not squander”the precious right to vote during all-important election time.

As chair of the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Election Reform (established following the 2000 presidential debacle), Rep.Waters was unrelentingly adamant of her dismay of blacks not going to the polls in large numbers. “I am sick of low voter turnouts. We must learn to use the power that we have, and learn that just because (a candidate is) black, (voters of color are not) obligated to vote for (them). Furthermore, upon criticizing the controversial course provisional ballots and general electronic voting is playing within democracy,“the struggle continues that eligible citizens vote ..., and that every vote is counted.”

Legendary entertainer/SCLC board member Dick Gregory, along with Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, highlighted the one-onone “Conversation with Civil Rights Icons”. The founder of Alabamians for Human Rights in the ‘50s, Rev. Shuttlesworth, originally from Birmingham, Alabama, recounted human rights struggles alongside King,Abernathy and Lowery for blacks to eventually receive rights within public facilities, along with employment and voting rights in segregated Birmingham. From those initiatives, the “Public Accommodations Act” and “Civil Rights Act of 1964” were signed into federal law. Gregory emphasized “the people need to stop being fooled...” if black Americans are to succeed and move forward on the road to freedom.

“Is there any word from the Lord?,” was the poignant question that stirred the souls of convention delegates by Rev. Otis Moss, an activist, who served on SCLC’s board of directors and is now chairman of the board of trustees at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, the alma mater of SCLC Founding President Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..

Rev. Moss, pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, accentuated on the civil rights organization’s history of protesting in the streets, as well as emphasized principles of Christianity in the struggle for justice,

equal rights and peace on which SCLC was founded. At the Closing Prayer Breakfast, Moss electrified persons with a “mission, message, motive and method” theme for the civil rights group to strategize and work within the New Millennium.

“America has had to consult with SCLC ..., and SCLC has had a mission to not see the country destroyed” during the heyday of oppressive segregation, the Rev. Moss indicated.

“SCLC has shaken the moral conscience” of America for the right to vote, receive job equity, equal housing, employment, et al. “Is there any word from the Lord ...to help infuse courage in the body politic that will be courageous for our communities?

“Martin Luther King, Jr. was a vision, a voice and a way to help shake the political structure until (legislators) said, ‘what must we do to be saved?’ Today, we now have the responsibility to reawaken the moral conscience of the United States to uplift spiritual courage. We must bring new liberating songs and poetry to America’s children and people to eventually survive. Is there any word from the Lord?,” Rev. Moss asked.

“While the GOP party has no conscience, the Democrats simply have no courage ...as our children are asking shameful questions” to maneuver and progress in life, the 70 year old theologian and Morehouse alumni said.

“Being truly free is to also break the chains of others. We must re-examine our reason for being in life (mission); be courageous with demonstrating our mission and message (method); articulate a bold mission (message), and harmonize all of the above (motive) in the moment of existence to have not lived—nor died—in vain. Is there any word from the Lord?”

At the Annual Awards Dinner and Gala, State Representative Tyrone Brooks and Rev. Dr. Frederick Reese, respectively, were this year’s recipients of the SCLC President’s Award and, for the retired Selma, Alabama educator, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Brooks is a longtime Georgia State Representative, and president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO), who was the SCLC communications director during Dr.Abernathy’s reign as national president (1968-77). “I am honored and humbled to be recognized by this esteemed civil rights organization that has served the nation for one-half century,” Rep. Brooks said.

Rev. Reese was honored as being credited for his activism as one of Selma’s first African-American principals who invited Dr. King in 1965 to undertake and the lead the campaign for voting rights for blacks, as well as led teaches of color to protest for the right to vote.

Next year,celebrating SCLC’s 50th anniversary, the annual

...U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters urged listeners at the SCLC/WOMEN Luncheon to “not squander” the precious right to vote...

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(L to R) Anthony Whitmore, Rev. Raleigh Trammell, Rev. Wilburt Shanklin, Maxine Waters & President Steele

(L to R) Bishop E. Lynn Brown, Spiver Gordon, Rev. Otis Moss & President Steele

(L to R) President Steele, New Orleans City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, Rev. Trammell & Spiver Gordon

(L to R) President Steele, Tyrone Brooks, Rev. Trammell & Spiver Gordon

(L to R) President Steele, Dr. Lester C. Newman & Rev. Trammell

(L to R) President Steele, Rev. Trammell, Rev. Dr. Fredrick D. Reese & Spiver Gordon

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(L to R) President Steele, Rev. Sylvia Tucker & Rev. Trammell

Mrs. Cathelean Steele & U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters

(L to R) Martin Luther King, lll, Ms. Xenona Clayton & President Steele

(L to R) Rev. Sylvia Tucker, Anthony Whitmore & Rev. Ruby Moone

African children dancers perform at the Women’s Luncheon.

(L to R) Rev. Fredrick D. Reese, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth & Rev S.L. Harvey Photos on pages 20-21 by Wendell Rogers

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SCLC 48 th AnnualConventionnn

highlights Resolution to Support Efforts to End Alleged Patterns of Discrimination at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio HIS RESOLutION is made to recognize and support the support the efforts of the Dayton Southern Christian Leadership Conference to expose and resolve reported incidents of discrimination which have occurred or continue to occur at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

WHEREAS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the largest, most diverse and organizationally complex Air Force base in the U.S. Its mind-boggling array of services include worldwide logistics supporting the entire Air Force, aeronautical research and development, home for more than 70 units, second-largest medical center in the branch, and about 10,000 scientists and engineers; WHEREAS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the largest, most diverse and organizationally complex Air Force base in the U.S. Its mind-boggling array of services include worldwide logistics supporting the entire Air Force, aeronautical research and development, home for more than 70 units, second-largest medical center in the branch, and about 10,000 scientists and engineers; WHEREAS, the Dayton Southern Christian Leadership Conference is duly an authorized chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference;

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WHEREAS, for the past year the Dayton SCLC has engaged in a community based campaign to investigate reported incidents of racism and discrimination at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; WHEREAS, the Dayton SCLC has processed over 90 complaints of racism, discrimination, unfair hiring and promoting practices, and the improper use of government funding; and WHEREAS, in furtherance of the efforts to root out the systematic problems that exist, the community has organized the Wright-Patterson Employees’ and Families’ Coalition for Justice.

NOW THEREFORE, in recognition of the foregoing truths, and in furtherance of the purpose of this resolution, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the National SCLC does hereby declare that the Wright-Patterson organizing campaign is a national priority and as such commits to support all ongoing efforts to resolve the issue.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 48th Annual Convention assembled in Dayton, Ohio that this resolution has been unanimously passed, approved, adopted and ratified by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference this 30th day of

Resolution to Recognize & Support the Efforts of CompuCredit Corporation to Make Credit Products & Financial Services Available to African-American & Financially Underserved Consumers HIS RESOLutION is made to recognize and support the contributions of CompuCredit Corporation to make credit products and financial services available to the African-American and Financially Underserved consumers and respective communities on terms that are fair and equitable, and to assist African-Americans and financially underserved consumers and their communities with greater access to, education on, and improvement of, opportunities for credit products and financial services.

WHEREAS, there is a substantial population in the United States that does not have access to traditional sources of consumer credit, financial services, or even bank checking accounts; WHEREAS, the majority of financial institutions rely on the scoring system of the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO score) to determine the creditworthiness of consumers;

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WHEREAS, the FDIC considers those with FICO scores of 660 and below to be “sub-prime” credit consumers; WHEREAS, there are an estimated 80 million people in the United States with FICO scores of 660 and below; WHEREAS, there are an estimated 54 million people in the United States that have no credit score or a “thin” credit file; WHEREAS, individuals that do not have or maintain traditional bank accounts are “unbanked”; WHEREAS, individuals that have impaired credit or “thin” credit files financially “underbanked”; WHEREAS, this “unbanked” or “underbanked” group is denied credit and financial products that are generally available to others in the United States; WHEREAS, over 51% of African Americans makeup the unbanked and underbanked population; WHEREAS, SCLC understands and recognizes that consumers with low FICO scores represent a higher cost to

service due to the associated risk; WHEREAS, a key objective of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is to assist African-Americans and underserved financial consumers with obtaining equal access to consumer credit and financial opportunities; WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this Resolution to recognize and support the efforts of Financial Service Companies and their associated partners to make mainstream credit products and financial services available to AfricanAmericans on terms that are fair and equitable; and WHEREAS, consumers deserve the right to know the terms, conditions and costs of obtaining credit through full, accurate and understandable disclosure.

NOW THEREFORE, in recognition of the foregoing truths, and in furtherance of the purpose of this resolution, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that provide these products and services to the African-American Community on terms that fairly accounts for the credit risk undertaken by such companies.

THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that partner with nationally and state chartered banks to promote and enhance the availability and accessibility of mainstream financial products and services to the financially underserved and in their communities; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that provide consumer education to the unbanked and underbanked consumer to educate them of the various options for consumer credit and financial services that are available to them; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that develop relationships with National Credit Bureaus to accept all credit payment

history equitably; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that provide a credit delivery platform that individually risk-base prices consumers and incorporates guaranteed graduation to better credit terms and lower prices for underserved consumers who demonstrate creditworthiness; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that provide mainstream banking services for the unbanked consumer while providing services options to meet their individual financial needs; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote Financial Services Companies that provide full, accurate and understandable disclosure of agreement terms, conditions and the cost of obtaining credit; THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and promote the need for a stable regulated environment that promotes competition for Financial Services Companies that service the financially underserved to promote product innovation and new delivery mechanisms that will bring economic value and financially empower consumers; and THE SCLC does hereby recognize, support and commend the efforts of CompuCredit Corporation and its bank partners in achieving the objectives detailed in this resolution to equitably provide mainstream financial services and credit products to the financially underserved consumer while providing a vehicle to bridge the gap of the financial empowerment divide.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 48th Annual Convention assembled in Dayton, Ohio that this resolution has been unanimously passed, approved, adopted and ratified by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference this 30th day of

Resolution to Support Human Rights of Smithfield Workers HEREaS, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was organized in 1957 has always embraced the notion that working people have a bargaining unit to represent their best interest; WHEREAS, the SCLC has committed to working with the unorganized working poor both individually but in coalition with organized labor including supporting sanitation workers in Memphis,Tennessee in 1968 preceding the assassination of our founding President, Martin Luther King, Jr. and striking hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina in 1969; WHEREAS, the relationship between the SCLC and the ensured right of workers to organize free of intimidation of impediment demands continuous conversation and unfettered accountability; WHEREAS, SCLC continues to support the rights of workers in the modern day civil rights movement; WHEREAS, currently workers in Tar Heel, NC are organizing to prevent human rights abuses by the Smithfield Packaging,

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the world’s largest pork processing facility in the world; WHEREAS, the SCLC has reviewed court documents from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that mandate that the company must pledge to never again threaten workers trying to unionize; and WHEREAS, the court ruling is in line with the principles of SCLC as it relates to the protection of the rights of workers to organize.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference demands that Smithfield abide by the ruling of the US Court of Appeals and work to ensure that Smithfield workers are never threatened or intimidated.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SCLC encourages Smithfield to negotiate a union contract or provide workers with the opportunity to utilize union recognition (“card check system”) to protect their human rights and to ensure a safe workplace free of fear of retaliation.

Rev. Raleigh Trammell, SCLC Chairman of the Board•

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(L to R) Rev. Fredrick D. Reese, President Steele & Rev. Shuttlesworth

Rev. Ruby Moone & Rev. Jesse Jackson

William Dudley, North Carolina Delegate & Rev. Jackson

Rev. Moone & President Steele

Rev. Otis Moss & Mrs. Steele

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

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Alveda King

(L to R) Ambassador O.J. Webb, Mr. George Curry, President Steele & Mr. Johnny Ford

President Steele & Rev. Shuttlesworth

(L to R) Rev. E. Theophilus Caviness & Family with Rev. Jackson

Mr. Dick Gregory

Rev. Sylvia Tucker & Rev. Jackson Photos on pages 24-25 by Wendell Rogers

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The American Justice System Needs to Address Mental Illness to Curb Violence

By Judge Greg Mathis ntreated mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, can lead to violent and sometimes criminal behavior. Knowing this, it’s no surprise that over half of the men and women in America’s jails and prisons are mentally ill. Instead of necessary treatment, these men and women—most of them of color—get jail time. Given the rising prison population and the societal costs to imprison men and women, it’s time the justice system treat, not incarcerate, mentally ill offenders.These individuals can, with the proper therapy and medication, be rehabilitated.The government just has to be willing to make the investment.

According to a study released by the U.S. Department of Justice, 56 percent of state inmates, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of those in local jails are mentally ill. Incarcerated women tend to have higher rates of mental illness than men.

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“Untreated mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, can lead to violent and sometimes criminal behavior.

Knowing this, it’s no surprise that over half of the men and women in America’s jails and prisons are mentally ill. Instead of necessary treatment, these men and women— most of them of color—get jail time,” Judge Greg Mathis writes.

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While the diseases and symptoms are varied—depression, delusions, hallucinations, mania—one thing is constant: these people are not getting the help they need before they are arrested or when they are imprisoned. Drug and alcohol abuse is rampant among the mentally ill, especially those who have been incarcerated. Research shows that many people with mental disorders use drugs to self-medicate, to feel “normal.”

Judge Greg Mathis Untreated, diseases like Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can cause young people to become agitated, unfocused and difficult to manage, both at home and in the classroom. Many children who’re afflicted with ADD or ADHD don’t get the help they need suffer in school and often drop out.A survey of the nation’s prisons and jails will show that most inmates don’t have a high school diploma.

When arrested, statistics show wealthy mentally ill whites are directed to treatment centers or are incarcerated in facilities that provide comprehensive therapy. Most Americans, however, are sent to jails where they not only do not receive the mental health counseling they need, their needs are ignored altogether. This lack of treatment makes for a volatile prison situation; mentally ill prisoners are more likely to get into fights, making jails unsafe environments for inmates and staff alike.

Providing treatment before incarceration is crucial to curbing violence—on our streets and in our jails—and for reducing the overall prison population.This country’s systems must work together; schools must monitor students to detect early signs of mental health issues, and counseling centers and hospitals must do the same.When a person is arrested for a nonviolent crime, a full mental health assessment must be made and treatment must be available.

Catching and addressing these problems in the early stages can help divert many men and women away from the prison system.The U.S. government has a responsibility to make sure all of its citizens, not just the privileged class, have access to adequate mental health care. Such an investment saves society in the long run.• Article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com. Judge Greg Mathis is National Vice President of Rainbow PUSH and

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We Can Make Changes to Empower Ourselves

By Teri Miller Barker isinherited. Displaced. Discriminated.

Disgraced. A dissed race. African Americans are stepchildren, trying to assimilate in a country where our roots are very shallow. It started over 550 years ago when we were abruptly torn from our homeland and brought to a foreign country in the grossest mode of exploitation imaginable, as precious cargo; Human cargo. Exchanged for ammunition, spices, or whatever good was needed at the time. Shipped here as a commercial product, packed like sardines, sometimes lying in our own excrement. One can only imagine the sores, infections and diseases our people suffered as a result of traveling for several weeks under those conditions. We had the strength and resiliency to keep on keeping on despite the atrocities we witnessed or experienced day-to-day, yearto-year, for over 400 years.

Our tragic, involuntary disconnection from our culture and our lack of self-knowledge manifests as a deep, depressing, emotional wound that has yet to heal. There is so much self-destruction in the African American community. Although we get a significant amount of assistance from society, some of it is our own fault. Somewhere along the way, we dropped the ball. Somewhere between “We Shall

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Overcome” and “I’m a Survivor”, we relaxed on our laurels.

We forgot to tell our offspring the stories about our struggle because we became too comfortable and complacent with the achievements of our forefathers and mothers.We have relied on the schools’ curriculum to include Black achievements each year in February, which only brushes the surface of our rich, deep history and contributions to this country and the world.There’s an old adage that says ‘until you tell your own story, it won’t get told properly,’ so we can’t depend on others to be our storytellers. We have evolved from Negroes, to Colored, to Black, to Afro-American and African American. Some prefer to be called Americans of African descent. Regardless of the brand or label we carry, we have a past that we can be proud of. It’s our present image that needs an extreme makeover.

Outside of Black-on-Black crime, high unemployment rates, and poor education—which are all interrelated, if you ask me—there are a couple of issues within our realm of control that we can resolve to give ourselves a facelift.

One, we can stop degrading ourselves through our music.

Particularly rap. I like some of it, especially the songs that sample Old School music. But here is where I get a little fickle—I like the music, but I don’t like the lyrics 90% of the time. I’m tired of Black women being called hoodrats, bitches and ho’s.Tired of our young girls being bombarded with messages that they have to drop it like it’s hot, make it clap, touch their toes, or back that thang up to get a man. I’m tired of our men buying into the pimp, thug, gangsta and hustler mentality that is heavily promoted in our music and videos.With the pimp and ho themes dominating our mainstream music, it’s no wonder we have such high percentages of illegitimate births, single mothers heading households, and disproportionate representation in AIDS cases.Why do we think it’s the norm to have casual, meaningless, premarital sex? Our men are conditioned to “hit it and quit it” and our women psych themselves into believing that they don’t need a man, when in fact, we need each other.We’re no longer the mothers and fathers of our

children because we’ve allowed ourselves to be reduced to baby mamas and baby daddies. And it ain’t cute, it’s ignorant. I remember when that ‘My Baby Daddy’ song came out in 1997. It had a catchy, Old School beat, so I was really feeling the music, but I thought it would be, hoped it would be a novelty song that would be forgotten once it fell off the charts. But nooooooo, we had to embrace it, nurture it, raise it and commercialize it until it became an acceptable way to refer to parents in our communities.We have to get back to being responsible and respectable mothers and fathers to our babies.

Another thing we can do is stop giving our children ghettocentric names like T’Niqua, La-Quandria, DeVonte’and Raquan. Don’t be mad at me for saying those names sound Black. We are good for expressing our creativity through names we give our children.Why, because it sounds pretty or because it’s a clever combination of the mother and father’s names.When we do this to our children, we are, in essence, setting them up for difficulty in a life that’s already guaranteed to be challenging. It’s sabotage.They’re defeated before they can even enter the game. Not trying to offend anyone who has given a child an unusual, difficult to spell, cumbersome to pronounce name, but I think you need to understand that as minorities, particularly Americans of African descent, we already have so much stacked against us, that we shouldn’t make it easy to be stereotyped or categorized. Studies refer to those names as “exotic.” Exotic is something that is strange. Strangely beautiful or strangely fascinating. There is nothing beautiful about made-up

names with apostrophe’s, and hyphens when they can impede yours or your child’s ability to succeed in school or the workforce.There is nothing fascinating about a name that encourages others to prejudge you or attempt to define you without ever having met you. It’s not fair, but research also shows that not only do people assume that T’Niqua and DeVonte’ are Black, they assume that they come from lowincome and poorly educated backgrounds.There’s nothing wrong with wanting a name that sounds good, but names should also have meaning. Just about any book on names will tell you that names have impact on character, destiny, success and failure in one’s life. So it’s not an astonishing revelation when studies show that names like Amber and Joshua are granted job interviews, while names with odd spellings and pronunciations often get rejection letters or no response at all.

Black-on-Black crime, high incarceration rates, high unemployment rates, and poor education are challenges we face as a result of circumstance because, as the descendants of slaves and slave owners, we are here in America by default.

There are civil rights organizations and churches that advocate for us through educational workshops, job programs, and grassroots involvement in our communities. However, the music we listen to and the names we give our children are not civil rights issues.There are changes we can make to empower ourselves and help improve our image.We can start by refusing to support and promote artists, music or videos that depict us as pimps, ho’s and hustlers, and stop giving our children burdensome names that create hurdles

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Victoria Jackson Gray Adams at the 1964 Democratic Convention

Victoria Jackson Gray Adams Civil Rights Leader is Dead at 79

By Tim Weiner

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ictoria Jackson Gray adams, a key figure in the struggle by Mississippi blacks to win their political and civil rights in the 1960’s and the first woman to seek a seat in the United States Senate from her state, died Saturday,August 12, 2006, in Baltimore. She

was 79.

Her death was announced by her son, the Rev. Cecil Conteen Gray of Baltimore.

Forty-two years ago, Mrs. Gray Adams, a teacher, door-todoor saleswoman of Beauty Queen cosmetics and leader of voter education classes from the hamlet of Palmers Crossing, on the edge of Hattiesburg, Miss., decided to take on Senator John C. Stennis, the Mississippi Democrat who at the time had been in the Senate for 16 years.

In July 1964, she announced that she and others from the tiny Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party would challenge the power of the segregationist politicians, like Mr. Stennis, who represented her state.The time had come, she said, to pay attention “to the Negro in Mississippi, who had not even had the leavings from the American political table.”

That decision became a turning point for the civil rights movement and for the Democratic Party, which for most of its history had been profoundly influenced by all-white delegations from the South. From Hattiesburg, the waves of the civil rights movement “swept quietly through the church world into politics,” the author Taylor Branch wrote in “Pillar of Fire:America in the King Years, 1963-65” (Simon & Schuster, 1998).

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Mrs. Gray Adams was defeated by a ratio of 30 to 1 in the Democratic primary, in part because Mississippi had effectively disenfranchised black voters. But the party she started and led went on to challenge the right of the all-white Mississippi delegation to represent her state at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City.

“We had women, men, African-Americans, whites,” Mrs. Gray Adams said of the party in a 2004 interview for the Virginia Organizing Project, a grass-roots political group she helped found.“We were going in the face of the Mississippi Democratic Party, which included some of the most powerful members of the U.S. Congress, to demand that we be recognized to have representation at the Democratic National Convention. It was wild.”

Millions of Americans watching on television saw Fannie Lou Hamer, the best known of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party’s founders, tell the convention’s credentials committee that she had been jailed and beaten for trying to register blacks to vote.“Is this America?” Ms. Hamer asked.

The all-white Mississippi delegation walked out of the convention. It rejected a compromise proposal to give the integrated Freedom Democratic Party token representation on the floor. It was the beginning of the end of an old political tradition. In 1968, Mississippi seated an integrated delegation at the Democratic convention.

“We really were the true Democratic Party,” Mrs. Gray Adams said in the 2004 interview. In the end, she said,“we accomplished the removal of the wall, the curtain of fear in Mississippi for African-Americans demanding their rights.”

She continued:“We eliminated the isolation of the AfricanAmericans from the political process. I believe that Mississippi now has the highest number of AfricanAmerican elected officials in the nation.We laid the groundwork for that.”

Born on Nov. 5, 1926, in Palmers Crossing, the daughter of Mack and Annie Mae Ott Jackson, Mrs. Gray Adams was educated at Wilberforce University in Ohio, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and Jackson State College in Mississippi.

She went on to serve as a campus minister at Virginia State University and to teach and lecture at schools, colleges and universities across the nation.

Her first marriage, to Tony Gray, produced three children, Georgie; Tony Jr., who died in 1997; and Cecil, and ended in divorce in 1964. Other survivors include her husband of 40 years, Reuben Earnest Adams Jr.; their son, Reuben III; a brother, Glodies Jackson; and eight grandchildren.

Mrs. Gray Adams said she learned in 1964 that there were two kinds of people in grass-roots politics,“those who are in the movement, and those who have the movement in them.”

“The movement is in me,” she said,“and I know it always will be.”•

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SCLC Leader Treks to New Orleans for “Equitable Education”

By Keisha S. Ray & David Stokes t the dawn of a crescent moon from the night before, parents and school children of the “Crescent City” that is New Orleans, along with the magnanimous and determined activism of SCLC President/Chief Executive Officer Charles Steele, Jr., prepared for a showdown that has become a “mean what I say, say what I mean” effort which ultimately rendered Steele and national SCLC direct action staff, parents and even the children themselves to march and chant ‘60s movement-style songs for equality, thereby, leading all to initiate a sit-in for productive conversation with the New Orleans schools superintendent at its administrative offices.

President Steele leads the rally in New Orleans.

Prior to the controlled environment within the schools officials’ office (now re-named the Recovery School counterparts.

District as the city continues to clean up after Hurricane “We are from the nine, and you ain’t taking mine,” proKatrina one year ago), SCLC President/CEO Steele, indiclaimed Cynthia Williard-Lewis, the city councilwoman vidual school administrators and parents held a rally at the representing the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

Colton Middle School on St. Claude Ave.—the proposed site “We’ve continually asked (officials) to repair the schools for of the Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Science and our children affected by Technology. The SCLC Katrina, along chief, other activists “Equitable education is what we want now,” Hurricane with repairing in record and parents are frustrated time, the white schools, all exclaimed SCLC’s Steele. “I’m ready to and angered after numerto no avail.

We will not sit ous promises of mainteraise hell and go to jail if that’s what it idly by with this issue nance have been unfulfilled by the school will take! You can’t expect a system that of classism and environmental racism at the system, led by Dr. Robin enslaved you to save you.” expense of our children,” Jarvis, for the School of said Rev. Byron Clay, a Science and Technology New Orleans activist who is also a national SCLC board to open for the new school year, on Sept. 6th, alongside the member. majority of white schools that have consistently received “African-American students, once again, are not a priorrepairs and rehabilitation for months. ity in terms of receiving a fair education and economic fund“Equitable education is what we want now,” exclaimed ing.

I believe that when you close a school, you close the SCLC’s Steele. “I’m ready to raise hell and go to jail if community, ” iterated the SCLC official. “It remains so importhat’s what it will take! You can’t expect a system that tant that we as a people come together and stand up for our enslaved you to save you.” rights as Americans.

We are tired of being taken for granted.

On the steps of the dilapidated school edifice sat African“We are ready to march with you, and go to jail, too, if it American children, ages three to 13, and confused why they will take opening up the schools for our kids,” decried an would not be able to start the academic year like their white

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SCLC to Play Global Peacekeeping Role

By George E. Curry ith a conflict resolution center already established in Israel and a direct line of communication to Hamas, one of Israel’s most ardent foes, SCLC President Charles W. Steele Jr. says Dr. Martin Luther King’s old organization is poised to play a key role in defusing tensions around the world.

Steele, a former Alabama state senator, made that observation Sunday in his keynote address opening the group’s 48th annual convention here.

“In a world of prejudice, violence, poverty and ignorance, the message of SCLC is to teach and apply Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of non-violence and conflict resolution,” Steele said.

One of SCLC’s goals, he said, is:“To bring peace, security and hope to the afflicted people in the South, throughout America and around the world.”

Steele said that mission was crystallized in a conversation he had in December 2004 with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his chief of staff.

“I was in Israel talking with the chief of staff and the prime minister and he [the chief of staff] said,‘You all can bring about world peace. You all have been through the Trans-Atlantic African slave trade and you got lynched, you were murdered, your women were raped and killed, but you didn’t turn out to be terrorists.You didn’t strap yourselves with a bomb, you don’t have any blood on your hands.’

“I said,‘What are you saying Mr. Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister?’ He said,‘Charles, what I am saying is you can stop the war.’” Steele said representatives of Hamas have recently gotten in touch with him, urging SCLC to help diffuse tension in the Middle East.And Steele says he plans to do just that.

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement is held in high esteem by activists around the world. Many model their protests on the pattern created in the U.S. and have voiced enormous respect for African-American leaders. Such respect has allowed former SCLC organizer Jesse Jackson to free political prisoners around the world.

In a speech frequently interrupted with applause and shouts of “Amen,” Steele told delegates to the SCLC convention: “We have the vision. We’re the only one in the world with the moral authority to bring about resolutions to problems and conflicts and the fact that people really don’t understand how to get along.”

He added,“We’re the organization that Dr. King so often talked about. We’re the organization that when people think of world peace, they think of Dr. King, Dr.Abernathy and other [SCLC] civil rights leaders.”

With the crowd listening intently, Steele said:“I’m sorry

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President Steele at the SCLC 48th Annual Convention

to disappoint y’all but President Bush can’t do it.

Condoleezza Rice can’t do it. And I know I’m going to upset some Negroes now: Bill Clinton can’t do it.

The audience cheered wildly, many rising to their feet.

“It’s going to take a moral authority to bring about world peace,” Steele continued.

“That’s what SCLC is doing. We’re the answer.”

The answer to curbing violence in the United States and internationally, Steele said, is the establishment of SCLC Martin Luther King Jr. Conflict Resolution Centers. SCLC has established two centers, one in Dayton, Ohio, the home of Board Chairman Raleigh Trammell, and one in Dimona, Israel, the home of African Hebrew Israelites.A third center is expected to be opened in Ivrea, Italy later this year.The goal is to establish 50 centers in the U.S. and 10 abroad by 2010, Steele said.

In the United States, the centers will focus on ending gang wars and teaching young people to settle differences without the use of violence. In 2002, more than 877,700 young people were injured in violent acts. One in 13 was hospitalized because of those injuries.

After several tumultuous years, SCLC seems to be regaining its footing.The organization seemed rudderless—some say irrelevant—earlier this decade as internal feuds took precedent over Black advancement. In 2003, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, one of SCLC’s founders, quit as president because of squabbling. The following year, Martin Luther King III stepped down as president after clashing with the board. And police were summoned to the acrimonious 2004 convention to maintain order.

This is the second convention for Steele, who was picked

in November 2004 to restore stability to the organization.

Step-by-step, he seems to be doing that, attracting more corporate sponsors to its national convention and attracting long-time supporters.

Last year’s convention, marked the return of Shuttlesworth and Rev. Joseph Lowery, another former president who had left in disgust.This year, Martin King III; Al Sharpton and longtime SCLC supporter Dick Gregory appeared at the Dayton convention to demonstrate their support.Two of King’s nieces also attended, representing the next generation of leadership.

As part of restoring the King legacy, SCLC has entered a partnership with Mississippi Valley State University to offer a program in international studies that concentrates on nonviolent conflict resolution.

“Given the international conflict and the lack of cultural understanding we have about people in general—not only in the country but worldwide—it is important to have people trained who can relate to each other and hopefully allow us to deal with those conflicts that keep us part and to deal with other human beings,” University president Lester C. Newman said in a statement.

When Steele took over, the organization was so deeply in debt that it couldn’t pay its utility bills. Steele, who prides himself as a fundraiser, reversed that and has announced that in August, SCLC broke ground on a new national headquarters building in Atlanta.

Looking at the progress SCLC has made under his leadership, Steele said the organization is on the rebound. He said,“We were on life support, but we didn’t die.”• Courtesy of blackpressusa.com. George E. Curry is Editor-in-Chief of the National Newspaper Publishers

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Realizing the Dream Tour King Revives his Dad’s Dream Laying the groundwork for a revival of the Poor People’s Campaign, Martin Luther King, III chatted with low-income residents in Miami-Dade about their living conditions.

By Andrea Robinson t was a dream his father envisioned nearly 40 years ago before his assassination: to move masses of lowincome people off welfare and into a better life.

Now Martin Luther King III wants to tackle the vexing issue of poverty in America.

King, eldest son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., is in Miami this week as part of a nationwide tour.

The goal: to chat with small groups of residents who live with poverty and get ideas from them on what would improve their lives.The name of the new campaign and the nonprofit organization through which King works is Realizing the Dream.

The organization, based in Atlanta, was founded in January

by King and former U.N.Ambassador Andrew Young to continue the human rights and civil rights work of Martin and Coretta Scott King. It is not connected with the King Center for Nonviolence, which also is based Atlanta.The tour is being funded through private donations.

Miami is the 10th stop of a 20-city jaunt through different cultures and communities that are bound by a common denominator—poverty. At one recent stop, King and his small entourage visited an American Indian reservation in South Dakota.

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Chronic Problem Miami was chosen as a stop because of its areas of chronic economic upheaval, such as Liberty City and Overtown, King said.

He said the city’s visible signs of an economic boom— are cranes that sit adjacent to high-rises downtown—have not translated into a windfall for places like Allapattah, Liberty City, Overtown and Perrine.

“There is plenty of construction, so there should be plenty of jobs,” King said.“It’s strange to see so much construction going on and to see so much poverty. Something is wrong.”

During his three-day visit in Miami-Dade County, which began Monday with stops in Liberty City and Overtown, King and a film crew have visited several communities throughout the county that have deep pockets of poverty.

Residents from public housing and senior centers sit with him in small groups where they vent and discuss conditions in their neighborhoods.

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The tour wrapped up the evening of August 23rd with a town hall meeting in South Miami.

The series of meetings has been hosted by M i a m i - D a d e Commissioner Audrey Edmondson and Liberty City minister Larrie Lovett.

“The divide between the haves and the havenots has widened and welfare reform shredded Martin Luther King, III the safety net,” said Edmondson.“Working poor people across this nation spend more than 51 percent of their income on housing. Those facts alone indicate that poverty is alive and well in America.”

Accompanying King is a small film crew to capture the conversations on videotape. Later this year the Miami conversations will be combined with those in other U.S. cities in a documentary that will air during a national summit in Washington, D.C.

Father’s Campaign This latest movement is loosely based on the Poor People’s Campaign that was designed by his father and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference—the civil rights organization where both men served as president and CEO. The original Poor People’s Campaign, which launched in 1967, was supposed to bring together low-income residents of all races and cultures to address economic inequities and push for job opportunities through nonviolent means.The campaign was cut short, however, after the April 1968 assassination of the elder King.

Now his son vows to pick up the mantle and his father’s message of “the evils of poverty, militarism and racism.”

“Poverty and militarism are worse than they were 40 years ago, but racism is far better,” he said.

“We have to find a way to focus on militarism and violence in general.”• Article courtesy of the MIAMI HERALD, August 23, 2006.

Belafonte Will Join Martin Luther King Lineup in Kansas City Travis Smiley, also will be among the guests at the 38th annual celebration.

By Glenn E. Rice ntertainer and activist Harry Belafonte will be among the featured speakers during Kansas City’s 38th celebration commemorating the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The events in January will feature an array of educational, entertainment and inspirational programs, organizers said Friday, September 8, 2006.

The King observance, sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, Kansas, begins January 5, 2007 with a jazz and gospel workshop and performance. It will conclude January 15 with the annual citywide celebration.

The events also include a community luncheon featuring former SCLC president the Rev. Joseph Lowery.

Television talk show host and commentator Tavis Smiley will be a presenter at a youth leadership workshop at the Kauffman Foundation. Former Kansas City resident and Grammy-award- winning jazz guitarist Norman Brown will perform during an artist tribute to King.

This year’s theme—“If you don’t know from whence you come, you have no idea where you are going,” —attempts to pay homage to African-American history and the history of the civil rights struggle, the Rev. Nelson L. Thompson, SCLC chapter president, said Friday, September 8.

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Howard P. Milstein

Chairman, Board of Trustees

“As always, we will focus on bringing people together and breaking down the barriers of race, class, sex and age,” Thompson said.

He said the logo for the celebration would feature an image of King surrounded by historic figures who have made an impact on the culture, history and modern-day civil rights struggle.

Those individuals will Entertainer & Activist include W.E.B. DuBois, Harry Belafonte Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, abolitionist John Brown, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a friend and supporter of King, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and U.S. Senator Barack Obama.

The logo also will feature the images of Michael Schwerner,Andrew Goodman and James Chaney, the young civil rights workers who were abducted and murdered in Mississippi in 1964.

“We want to have a focus on history and some understanding of the past,”Thompson said.

The local celebration began in 1969, the year after King’s assassination. Other communities in the Kansas City area also are expected to sponsor events celebrating King’s legacy.

The festivities will conclude January 15 at St. Stephen Baptist Church at Truman Road and the Paseo.The Rev. Linda Lee, a United Methodist bishop, will be the event’s keynote speaker.

For more information about the events sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, call (816) 241-8100.• Article courtesy of the KANSAS CITY STAR, Sept. 11, 2006.

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Reviving Activism Church Exhorted to do Battle with Social Injustice

By Sylvia Cooper he National Dialogue and Revival for Social Justice in the Black Church began Monday, August 14, in Augusta with prominent black leaders calling for a revival of political activism.

About 400 people attended the first day of the two-day conference at Good Shepherd Baptist Church, focused on mobilizing the black vote for the November 7 general election.

Among those exhorting black churches to go back to their roots and quit turning a blind eye to social injustice were the Rev. Al Sharpton; Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta; Charles Steele, the CEO and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; and the Rev. Otis Moss III, former pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta and now at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Mr. Steele said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other founders of the SCLC always saw it as a Christian-based social justice movement.

“And I think in the wake of the Christian Right we forget the weapons of the movement were the Bible and the flag,” he said.“It did not start with Jerry Falwell.That started with the SCLC and Dr. King. In many ways it was hijacked by the Falwells and the Pat Robertsons. And we intend to return it back to where it was supposed to be.”

Mr. Steele told the audience it would have to make the country “do right.”

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“You can’t expect a system that enslaved you to save you,” he said.

“SCLC is the organization that carried you,” he said,“but now we have forgotten from which we have come. And I tell people,‘You might have arrived, but you got off at the wrong station.You ain’t there yet, baby.’“ The Rev. Moss had most of the lunch crowd on its feet for much of his fiery speech on the difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker, between a “prophetic preacher” and a “prosperity preacher.”

“I believe the role of prophetic faith is to disturb the peace,” he said. In the words of Al Sharpton, “There will be no peace where there is no justice.”

He condemned President Bush for the U.S. presence in Iraq.The Rev. Moss said the president has lied to the American people but that black preachers aren’t saying anything.

“Children are dying in this country,” he said.“We are not saying anything about the bombings in Lebanon. But guess what? The only thing we want to talk about is gay marriage.

The issue is that we have a person in office who is buying off the black church.”

He condemned a church that deifies doctrine but ignores the love of Christ.

“That’s how you got to this country,” the Rev. Moss said.

After the lunch session, Olivia B. Wimberly, of Augusta, described the conference as “awesome.”

“I think the Augusta black community should be here, everyone, to hear this,” she said.“I’m so energized, and I don’t want to miss a single session.”• Article courtesy of the AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, Aug. 15, 2006. Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker.

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at the event, which seeks to mobilize black voters.

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of a company’s people. Variety of their life experiences, perspectives, talents, skills and more. That zesty combination keeps Harris Teeter a dynamic grocery industry leader in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. In addition to our 150 Opportunities are often available in our editorial, retail stores, we also operate distribution centers in marketing, production, new media and sales areas Greensboro and Indian Trail, NC, as well as the Hunter Farms dairy in High Point, NC. If you want to be part of a within our New Jersey, Indianapolis, and California prestigious, well-managed company committed to locations. For openings, please visit: www.wiley.com. performance-based promotion from within, look into Harris Teeter. Now accepting applications for these If interested, submit resume to: JOHN WILEY & SONS, positions: Store Manager Trainees, Department Manager INC.,111 River Street,Hoboken,NJ 07030;Fax:201-748Trainees, Hourly Associates. For consideration, please AE: Tony IO#: BOS318131e FEE BASED COMMISSION 6049 or E-mail: opportunities@wiley.com. send resume to: Glazier Jerry Franklin,PUBLICATION: Harris Teeter, TMP PO Box 10100, Matthews, NC 28106; Email: (V: 2 ) AD SIZE: 4.5 x 7.5 RUN DATE: 2/1/2004 ESEND#: e161707 jfranklin@harristeeter.com; Fax: 704-844-4178.

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Southern Christian Leaership 3-3/8” x 4.5” BW Equal opportunity for all shouldn’t be the exception; it should be the rule. At John Hancock, we believe that everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability. We support diversity in the workplace.

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WHY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD? Rensselaer employees are rewarded through a competitive compensation package, an exceptional benefits plan, professional growth and development, and continuing educational opportunities. Our faculty, staff and students enjoy Rensselaer’s park-like, 275 acre campus located on a hill side overlooking the historic city of Troy, New York and the scenic Hudson River.

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Protesters: Teen Should be in School not Jail

By Christopher Quinn bout 20 people protested Saturday, Sept. 16, 2006, in front of the Acworth Police Department over the arrest and treatment of a Cobb County teenager and his mother last month in Georgia.

Brandon Edwards, 17, has been jailed since his Aug. 25 arrest at an apartment complex. He is charged with two counts of obstruction of an officer and carrying a concealed weapon, a knife. No bond has been set, and supporters of the family wonder why.

“That’s one of the questions that needs to be answered,” said Gerald Rose of the New Order National Human Rights Organization, the Cobb County-based group that organized the protest.

The Rev. O.J. Brown, president of the Cobb County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said Brandon has missed nearly a month of school while in jail.

“In this country, you are considered innocent until you are proven guilty,” he said.“This child should be in school, not locked up.”

Edwards’ mother, Valerie, was arrested for interfering with her son’s arrest and kicking an officer. She was released, but has been suspended from her cafeteria job at North Cobb High School, Rose said.

Officer James Van Alstine was working out of uniform, providing security for an apartment complex the day of the incident.

He was investigating a reported trespassing and stopped Edwards, who formerly lived at the apartment complex, according to police.

Police accounts say Edwards ran, then fought the pursuing officer. When Valerie Edwards showed up, she got involved in the tussle, according to police.

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Valerie Edwards and her husband, Raymond Edwards, are protesting her arrest and the jailing of her teenage son in Cobb County, Georgia.

The family says Van Alstine initiated the fight and that Valerie Edwards was abused by the officers.

Sgt.Wayne Dennard, a police spokesman, said Van Alstine, a former Cobb County police officer with several years experience, has been with Acworth for about six months.

Police are reviewing the incident. Van Alstine is still on duty, Dennard said.

Kathy Watkins with the Cobb County District Attorneys office, reached Saturday, said she did not know details of the case or why no bond had been set.

She will review the records Monday, Sept. 18, she said.• Article courtesy of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, Sept.

17, 2006. Photo by Louie Favorite.

Alcorn State University in Mississippi Mourns Sudden Passing of Its President Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr. r. Clinton Bristow Jr., president of alcorn State University, died suddenly while on the university’s track field Saturday evening, August 19, 2006. Flags at the university have been placed at half mast.

Bristow, 57, became president of the Mississippi historically Black university on Aug. 24, 1995.

“Clinton Bristow was an extraordinary individual and educator. His love for Alcorn and its students was remarkable,” said Dr. Thomas C. Meredith, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s Commissioner, in a statement.

President of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Bristow has been credited for doubling the percentage of Alcorn students attending Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr. graduate/professional school, improving retention and establishing a faculty research incentive program to enhance research in the life sciences, according to the Alcorn Web site. DIVERSE magazine’s 2006 Top 100 minority degree producers special report ranks Alcorn State No. 8 and No. 19 in granting bachelor’s degrees in agriculture to African-Americans and minorities respectively.

Before becoming president of Alcorn State, Bristow served as president of the Chicago Board of Education, dean of the College of Business at Chicago State University, and vice president at Olive-Harvey College in Chicago. He holds a bachelor’s, law degree and doctorate from Northwestern University and a MBA from Governors State University.• Article courtesy of Diverse Issues in Higher Education Online, diverseeducation.com, Aug. 20, 2006.

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Our supporters believe in equal opportunity for all, regardless Beverage Distributors Inc. One North Field Court Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

3800 King Avenue Cleveland, Ohio

www.brunswick.com

Globe Homestead FSA 4051 Veterans Boulevard, Suite 100 Metairie, Louisiana 70002

Pratt Industries 1800 C Sarasota Business Park Conyers, Georgia 30013 www.prattindustries.com

Indian River Mental Health

Body Shop of America

3701 Luke Road East, Building 39 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35404

6225 Powers Avenue Jacksonville, Florida 32217

Hitachi Metals America, Ltd.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Company

2 Manhattanville Road, Suite 301 Purchase, New York 10577

Two Pierce Place Itasca, Illinois

Patterson Companies, Inc. 1031 Mendota Heights Road St. Paul, Minnesota

Prosser, Hallock Inc. 13901 Sutton Park Drive South, Suite 200 A Jacksonville, Florida 32224

(651) 686-1600

Intervoice, Inc. 17811 Waterview Parkway Dallas,Texas

May the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Become a Reality for All People

Charming Shoppes, Inc. 450 Winks Lane Bensalem, Pennsylvania

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www.sclcnational.org

Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center 215 Marion Avenue McComb, Mississippi We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Memory Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

KCI-Kinetic Concepts The Clinical Advantage Visit our Web site at www.kcil.com or Call us at 1-800-ASK-4-KCI

of race, creed, sex, age, disability or ethnic background.

American Building Company

Lubbock Christian University

1150 State Docks Road Eufaula, Alabama

5601 19th Street Lubbock,Texas 79407

We Join the SCLC in Honoring

Gordon Food Service, Inc.

the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

333 50th Street, SW Grand Rapids, Michigan

May His Dream Become a Reality for All People.

Evening Post Publishing Co.

Cummins-American Corp.

Glenview State Bank 800 Waukegan Road | Glenview, Illinois

Robinson Brothers, Inc. 9550 Interline Avenue | Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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Our supporters believe in equal opportunity for all, regardless Able Health Care Service, Inc. 1240 Broadcast Plaza Merrick, New York

D’Onofrio General Contractor 202 28th Street Brooklyn, New York

Hubbard-Hall, Inc. 563 South Leonard Street Waterbury, Connecticut

Alabama Council on Human Relations 319 West Glenn Avenue Auburn, Alabama

DePaul University One East Jackson Boulevard Chicago, Illinois

Iowa Association of Community College Trust 707 E. Locust Street Des Moines, Iowa 50309

Alps Automotive, Inc. 1500 Atlantic Boulevard Auburn Hills, Michigan

English Construction Company P.O. Box P-7000 Lynchburg, Virginia 24505

Associated Grocers, Inc. 8686 Anselmo Lane Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Express Scripts Inc. 13900 Riverport Drive Maryland Heights, Missouri 63043 (314) 702-7015

Athens Academy P.O. Box 6548 Athens, Georgia 30604 (706) 549-9225 www.athensacademy.org Best Way Rent to Own Norfolk, Virginia Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Vermont P.O. Box 186 Montpelier, Vermont Bowman & Sons, Inc. South Street Erwin,Tennessee Brown’s Dairy 1300 Baronne Street New Orleans, Louisiana CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield 10455 Mill Run Circle Owings Mills, Maryland 21117 www.carefirst.com Carpenter GMAC Real Estate 8901 South Meridian Street Congleton-Hacker Company P.O. Box 22640 Lexington, Kentucky 40522

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First African Methodist Episcopal Church 2270 South Harvard Boulevard Los Angeles, California Rev. John J. Hunter First National Bank 101 Sunset Avenue Asheboro, North Carolina 27203 www.MyYesBank.com First National Bank of Byers Cattleman’s Branch Central & Main Street Byers,Texas Foremost Corporation of America P.O. Box 2450 Grand Rapids, Michigan Gerber Childrenswear, Inc. 7005 Pelham Road Suite D Greenville, South Carolina Harley Ellis First Center Office Plaza 26913 Northwestern Hwy, #200 Southfield, Michigan

J.R. Short Milling Company 1580 Grinnell Road Kankakee, Illinois Jideco of Bardstown, Inc. 950 Withrow Court Bardstown, Kentucky Joy Mining Machinery 2101 West Pike Street Houston, Pennsylvania Lincoln County Board of Education P.O. Box 39 Lincolnton, Georgia 30817 Louisiana Technical College Tallulah Highway 65 South Tallulah, Louisiana (800) 215-3905 Lucky’s Supermarkets P.O. Box 427 Huntsville, Alabama Macon Bank & Trust Company 609 Red Boiling Springs Road Lafayette,Tennessee Mercer County Schools 371 East Lexington Road Harrodsburg, Kentucky 40330 (859) 734-8400 Michigan Education Association 1216 Kendale Boulevard P.O. Box 2573 East Lansing, Michigan

Country Mutual Insurance P.O. Box 2020 Bloomington, Illinois

High Point Convention & Visitors Bureau P.O. Box 2273 High Point, North Carolina

Miller/Zell, Inc. 4715 Frederick Drive Southwest Atlanta, Georgia

Crimson Fire, Inc. 907 7th Avenue North Brandon, South Dakota

Hill Mechanical Group 4241 North Ravenswood Avenue Chicago, Illinois

New Park Cemetery, Inc. 4536 Hornlake Road Memphis,Tennessee

www.sclcnational.org

of race, creed, sex, age, disability or ethnic background.

Norment Security Group 3224 Mobile Highway Montgomery, Alabama

Ralph L. Samuels & Associates, Inc. 2700 Chamberlayne Avenue Richmond, Virginia

Swank, Incorporated 656 Joseph Warner Boulevard Taunton, Massachusetts

North Lawrence Community School District 460 W Street Bedford, Indiana 47421 www.nlcs.k12.in.us

Raymond James Bank 710 Carillon Parkway St. Petersburg, Florida www.RaymondJamesBank.com (888) 457-5626

T.R.E.A.T.Ment Christian Counseling Service 1920 North Lake Ave., #108-137 Altadena, California

O-AT-KA Milk Products Cedar & Ellicott Streets Batavia, New York

Reising Radio Partners, Inc. QMIX 107.3 Columbus, Indiana Korn Country 102.9 Columbus, Indiana 825 Washington Street Columbus, Indiana 47201

Oakwood Center of the Palm Beaches, Inc. 1041 45th Street West Palm Beach, Florida

Ridgefield Bank 150 Danbury Road Ridgefield, Connecticut

OPW Fueling Components P.O. Box 405003 Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 www.opw-fc.com

Royal Cup, Inc. P.O. Box 170971 Birmingham, Alabama

Pfeiffer University USPS 429-480 Misenheimer, North Carolina

Shippensburg University Shippensburg, Pennsylvania (717) 477-1161

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. One Pre-Paid Way Ada, Oklahoma (580) 436-1234

St. Joseph Regional Catholic School 115 Plum Street Florence, Alabama

RBM Of Atlanta, Inc. 7640 Roswell Road; Atlanta, Georgia Mercedes-Benz

Stack-On Products Company P.O. Box 489 1360 North Old Rand Road Wauconda, Illinois

Cedar Hill Independent School District 270 Highway 67 Cedar Hill,Texas 75104

Tauber & Balser, P.C. 1155 Perimeter Center West Suite 600 Atlanta, Georgia 30338 (404) 261-7200 The Commercial Bank of Ozark P.O. Box 1029 Ozark, Alabama Wright Tree Service 139 Sixth Street West Des Moines, Iowa Yokohama Tire Corporation 1500 Indiana Street Salem, Virginia

Compliments of friends in…

Santa Barbara, California Berlin, Connecticut Litchfield, Connecticut Westport, Connecticut Naples, Florida New York, New York Cincinnati, Ohio

Bradley, Arant, Rose & White 1819 5th Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35203

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Mercedes-Benz

2700 Corporate Drive, Suite 100 | Birmingham, Alabama 35242

Mercedes-Benz of Sacramento Serving Sacramento Area Since 1963 1810 Howe Avenue Sacramento, CA 95825 Tel 916.924.8000 www.vonhousen.com

“We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”

Quality In Everything We Do

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

www.ey.com/careers

We Join the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Celebrating the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

KLLM Transport Services, Inc. 135 Riverview Drive | Richland, Mississippi A family owned supermarket retailer in the Midwest and Mid-South ©2006 Schnuck Markets, Inc.

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www.sclcnational.org

Supports Equal Opportunity for All, Regardless of Race, Creed, Sex, Age, Disability or Ethnic Background