Greene County Democrat

Category: Politics

  • Former First Lady of two African nations, Graca Machel launches new women’s network

    By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)

    gracamichel_gmichel_web120
    Graça Machel said that the primary mission of WIMN is to amplify the voices of women’s movements, influence governance and promote women’s leadership and contributions in the economic, social, and political development of Africa. (Graça Michel)

     

    In an effort to transform the narrative and negative perceptions of African women and children, Graça Machel, the former first lady of two African nations, recently established a first of its kind Pan African Women in Media Network (WIMN).

    The network of women journalists will work in conjunction with the Graça Machel Trust.

    “The Graça Machel Trust’s Women Rights program is based on our aim to multiply the faces and amplify the voices of women, especially in areas where they are underrepresented,” said Machel, who’s also the founder of the Foundation for Community Development in Mozambique. “Through our women’s networks in agribusiness, finance and ‘Women Creating Wealth,’ we foster links and build a critical mass of highly-qualified and active women across sectors and professions who can work collectively to influence, shape and drive the socio-economic policies to ensure that they achieve economic prosperity and social change.”

    The Graça Machel Trust works across the African continent to amplify women’s movements, influence governance, and advocate for the protection of children’s rights and dignity.

    The Trust consolidates the work of Machel and seeks to build on her legacy by inspiring the younger generation to take up new challenges and create societies that value and care about social justice.

    Machel noted that the primary mission is to amplify the voices of women’s movements, influence governance and promote women’s leadership and contributions in the economic, social, and political development of Africa. The Trust also advocates for the protection of children’s rights and dignity.

    Recognizing the crucial role that media plays in shaping societal attitudes, Machel said it’s important that women are at the center of transformation within the media landscape.

    The new network has also gained the support of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the Black Press that’s comprised of approximately 208 African-American owned newspapers across the United States.

    “The National Newspaper Publishers Association supports and salutes the Graça Machel Trust that effectively empowers African women. When African women are empowered, it results in advancing all African people throughout the world,” said Dr. Benjamin Chavis, the president and CEO of the NNPA.
    “The Diamond Empowerment Fund, co-founded by Russell Simmons, me and others also recognizes the extraordinary global leadership of Graca Machel and the Graca Machel Trust. I vividly remember meeting Graça Machel at her home in Maputo, Mozambique along with her husband South Africa President Nelson Mandela and my colleague Russell Simmons in 2006.” Chavis continued: “We discussed the ongoing struggle and movement to transform Africa for progress and the liberation of all who stand for freedom and equality.”

    Prior to her marriage to Mandela, Machel was the wife of Mozambique President Samora Machel. She also served for more than a decade as that country’s minister of education and culture.

    Machel said that WIMN will drive coordinated messaging and build awareness on issues related to health, education, and women’s economic empowerment, which will have a positive effect on women and children.

    “Given the influential role that media plays in shaping societal attitudes, the network seeks to change the present narrative of women that presents them as powerless victims and ignores the many positive stories and successes,” Machel added. “When economically empowered, women take control of their lives, set their own agendas, provide solutions to their problems and challenges, and develop self-reliance.”

    Machal added: “To build a strong and equitable future for all Africans, we acknowledge the fundamental contribution of women and ensure that we create a supportive and enabling environment where they are able to fully participate and benefit.”

    The network will also create an inter-generational platform to allow young talented female journalists to participate and work alongside the continent’s more seasoned veterans. WIMN will comprise an initial group of about 30 to 40 women journalists, bloggers and influencers, officials said in a statement.

    “Women and children’s issues have tended to make headlines more as victims that are helpless, abused and exploited yet women and children have, over time, been capable of so much more, having overcome many obstacles and excelled in many sectors of the economy and society,” said WIMN board co-chair Susan Makore. “The amazing stories need to find more expression in our media. Therefore, I hope to do my part in ensuring that key stories that highlight and celebrate the various facets of children and women’s activities across all sectors are given prominence in the media by working with my colleagues that run media houses, especially in Zimbabwe where I hail from.”

    Bronwyn Nielsen, the co-chair of the WIMN advisory board, said that Africa’s youth and female dividends are at the core of the continent’s future and, with the right support. “It is a fact the women and children who can positively impact the future from an economic growth and development perspective,” said Nielsen. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members and all the members of this privileged network to jointly leverage our circles of influence under the esteemed guidance of Mrs. Machel to drive this agenda deep across the continent with both speed and passion.”

     

  • Trump International Hotel spray-painted with ‘Black Lives Matter’ message

    By Joe Heim , Washington Post

    graffitti-at-trump-hotel  Message painted on entrance to Trump hotel in Washington, D. C.

     

    D.C. Police are searching for the man who spray-painted the walls in front of a side entrance to the new Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington with political messages late Saturday afternoon.

    The messages – “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice” (and the word Peace with a line through it) were spray-painted in black. The word “Van” was spray-painted in red below Black Lives Matter.

    A video of a man spray-painting the message spread on social media. In the video, the man can be seen spray-painting the Black Lives Matter message and then trotting down the hotel’s steps and walking across 12th Street, NW.

    A picture of a police officer photographing the graffiti was also widely shared.

    Police were called at 4:03 p.m. Saturday to investigate a report of destruction of private and public property, according to  MPD spokeswoman Aquita Brown. She said police are looking for a male suspect. They are not releasing any other information at this time.

    A spokeswoman for Trump International Hotel declined to comment. By Sunday afternoon, sheets of plywood had been placed in front of the messages and a security guard stood at the top of the steps.

    The $212 million 263-room hotel, located on Pennsylvania Avenue just a few blocks from the White House, opened with much fanfare on Sept. 12. Rooms at the luxury hotel begin at $895 a night. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has often remarked that he will run the country the same way that he has run the building of this hotel: ahead of schedule and under budget.

    At a March news conference in the hotel’s lobby, Trump said, “It’s a great thing for the country, it’s a great thing for Washington.”

    Trump’s new Washington monument is a luxury hotel his blue-collar supporters can’t afford.

     

  • With Flint victory, African American lawmakers increase their clout in Congress

     

    By Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis , Washington Post

    black-congressional-caucusMembers of the Black Congressional Caucus speak out on issues, from left are: Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, D-Ohio, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    As the country’s first Black president prepares to leave the White House, African-American members of Congress are exerting increasing influence on Capitol Hill.

    The Congressional Black Caucus has emerged as the driving force behind several dramatic standoffs in Washington this year – most recently spurring successful efforts to secure funding for the water crisis in Flint, Mich. as part of a budget deal that sent lawmakers home for the elections.

    “Our minority caucuses do not want to vote for a bill that does not have Flint in it,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters, just hours before striking the deal to secure at least $170 million in Flint funding. “I don’t think our black caucus will vote for it…without Flint.”

    The CBC has always been an influential faction of House Democrats, but its power is rising as Congress struggles to respond to a series of racially charged police shootings of African-Americans around the country.  The 43-member caucus — which includes only one Republican, Utah Rep. Mia Love — now intends to capitalize on that influence to force action on issues of importance to black Americans.

    In addition to pushing the budget to the brink over Flint funding, CBC leaders like Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) helped organize a nationally televised sit-in in June demanding votes on gun control legislation.

                “The extent to which you get agreement on Flint essentially means that we are educating our caucus” of House Democrats, said Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.), the House’s No. 3 Democrat. “I will use that success, to show we have not just zeroed in on this, in the next Congress.”

    Clyburn said that despite the incidents playing out across the country, and the racially-charged language that has taken over the debate surrounding it, the country is better off than it was when Obama took office.

    “President Obama took the baton from us, and now he’s about to give it back,” Clyburn said. “He’s handing the baton to us with the country in a much better place than it was when we handed it to him.”

    Black lawmakers trace the current upswing in influence to a bitter debate over allowing Confederate flags on federal grounds forced Republicans to yank a spending bill off the House floor.

    New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called that episode, and the 25-hour sit-in over gun control, “probably the two most dramatic moments that we’ve had in the House since the government shutdown” in 2013.

                Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), a former CBC chair, said that the House leadership is taking notice of the group’s increased clout.

    “The leadership is far more sensitive on the issue of inclusion and making sure that everybody’s voice counts than in previous times here in Congress,” Cleaver said. “So it’s not like ‘Oh, here they come again.’ It was like: ‘We know you guys are interested and we want you to come up and talk.’”

    Black lawmakers are also responding to a political atmosphere in which GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump charged that Black Lives Matter protests are driving the killings by police and said that black communities are “in the worst shape they’ve ever been.”

    And they’ve spoken out, loudly, when some of their colleagues — most recently North Carolina Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger — have made racially inept remarks. In televised comments to the BBC, Pittenger said that black protesters “hate white people” — comments that CBC members called “ignorant” and “beyond the pale.”

    CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) said last week that Pittenger had personally and sincerely “apologized multiple times” for what he said, and that the CBC is “ready to move on.”

                But the episode, as well as the legislative muscle the CBC has been flexing, illustrate a key element of the group’s strategy.

    “When we are united we are a force to be reckoned with,” said Butterfield said.

    Members say being in the House minority has made it easier for Democrats to band together. “We don’t control either body here, and we’ve been forced to work better together,” Clyburn said. “As a result, I think you’ve seen some better results.”

    Black lawmakers said they now intend to focus on economic solutions in other majority-black cities. They said their next fights will be for resources to expand access to housing, education, and the sort of community revitalization programs that attract business, tax dollars, and better water, sewage, roads and bridges as a result.

    Clyburn expressed optimism that such changes were within reach, pointing to recent bipartisan support for a CBC-championed anti-poverty plan, which Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have both endorsed.

    But in order to expand their influence, Clyburn and other CBC members are acutely aware that their challenge is to convince their colleagues that the issues that matter to African-Americans should matter to all Americans.

    Poverty, they believe, is an area where that should be an easy sell. “We have had the kind of experiences like the people in Flint, so we can personalize this stuff in a way that a lot of other members can’t,” Clyburn said. “But it’s time for us to get beyond this color business…this is not about black communities, this is about needy communities.”

    White communities in places like Kentucky and West Virginia are just as economically bad if not worse off than many poor black communities, Clyburn pointed out. Two-thirds of poor counties in America are represented by Republicans, he added, expressing frustration that “the moment you start talking about poverty, the face of poverty’s always black.”

     

  • Harry Belafonte is really concerned about Trump supporters

    By: Brennan Williams Pop Culture Editor, The Huffington Post

    harry-belafonte-on-trump Harry Belafonte on CNN

     

    During Saturday’s episode of “CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield,” the legendary entertainer shared his latest thoughts on this year’s election.

    Harry Belafonte, who initially endorsed Bernie Sanders during the primary season, has shifted his support to Hillary Clinton.

    The legendary entertainer appeared on Saturday’s episode of “CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield” and shared his thoughts on the election season, including his concern over Donald Trump’s number of supporters.

    “I think America sits at its most critical space I’ve every known our country to be,” he said to Whitfield. “I think it’s one thing to flippantly dismiss Donald Trump as some phenomena or some peculiar phenomena. I think Americans think of him very seriously. I’m not as concerned about him and the distortions of his character, as I have about the fact that obviously 13 million people have declared themselves committed to his ideology, and committed to his philosophy. That’s a big number.”

    When asked what impact he thinks the election will have on the current climate, Belafonte summed it up when he said there’s no “ambivalence” between the ideologies of the two candidates.

    Well. He’s right about that.

  • Judge Hardaway issues order validating bond for Greene County Health System

    Circuit Judge Eddie Hardaway issued an order validating the issuance of $2.75 million for the operation and maintenance of the Greene County Health System (GCHS) dated September 19, 2016. Hardaway issued his order following a public hearing in the Greene County Courtroom, to give the public an opportunity to comment on the issuance of the bond.
    The bond issue will be financed by Citizens Trust Bank, over ten years at 4% interest, with annual payments on September 1st of each year. The bonds are backed by the proceeds of a one-cent sales tax levied since 1977, by the County Commission, on behalf of the hospital and other units of GCHS.
    In his order, Hardaway references the official documents presented at the hearing including the GCHS Board of Directors resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, the financing agreement between Citizens Trust Bank and GCHS, and the specifics of the law levying the one-cent sales tax.

    An important part of the order is the statement, “that the Court expressly finds (i) that the Pledged Tax Proceeds have been duly pledged as security for payment of the Bond and (ii) the levy and collection of the Pledged Tax Proceeds by or on behalf of the County, and the pledge thereof by the Board in favor of the Bond, shall continue to be valid and binding on such parties for so long as the bond is outstanding, regardless of whether the Hospital shall continue to operate, because the operating expenses financed by the Bond were incurred in connection with the operation of the Hospital.”
    District Attorney Gregg Griggers represented the State of Alabama and the people of Greene County at the public hearing. He raised some questions about the utilization of bond funds and management of the hospital, nursing home, physician’s clinic and home health care service but overall was supportive of the validation of the bond issue. No individual citizens or anyone else requested to testify at the hearing to oppose issuance of the bonds.
    In his order, Judge Hardaway indicates that he reviewed and considered all issues and concerns raised at the hearing in issuing his order to validate the bond issue.
    Frank McPhillips, bond counsel for the GCHS, said that the bank would be able to issue and finance the bonds fourteen (14) days after Hardaway’s ruling. As indicated at the hearing, the proceeds of the bonds will be issued to pay operating and maintenance expenses, including unpaid patrol taxes, for the Greene County Health System.
    Elmore Patterson, CEO of GCHS said, “ I am hopefully that we will soon have the bond funds to satisfy outstanding expenses which are on a long list. We appreciate the patience of our creditors and suppliers. We hope to be in a better position to render health care to the residents of Greene County once this matter is favorably concluded.”

  • Alabama New South Coalition to hold Fall Convention on Saturday, October 1 in Wetumpka

    The Alabama New South Coalition (ANSC) will hold its Fall Convention on Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the Wind Creek Casino Entertainment Center meeting room in Wetumpka, Alabama. Registration begins at 8:00 AM with breakfast and the convention convenes at 8:45 AM.
    The theme of the convention is “Lifting our Communities; Saving Ourselves with Our Vote”. Most of the meeting will deal with voter education, registration and get-out-the-vote planning for the critical General Election on November 8, 2016, which is less than forty days away.
    The meeting features a panel discussion on Voter Registration, Education and Mobilization to help prepare and encourage ANSC members statewide to actively participate in the upcoming elections. Senator Hank Sanders of Selma and a founder of ANSC will moderate the panel.
    Among the panelists are: Rev. Kenneth Glasgow from Dothan, Alabama who has been an activist in promoting the restoration of voting rights for the previously incarcerated; Jerome Gray, a community expert on voter involvement; Attorney Faya Rose Toure of Selma, who has worked on many grassroots electoral and community leadership development efforts; two Greene countians – Dr. Carol Zippert and Commissioner Lester Brown complete the panel and will share their experiences.
    The ANSC will adjourn its meeting to hold a meeting of its sister organization, the Alabama New South Alliance (ANSA), which will screen and endorse national and statewide candidates for the coming election. ANSA endorsed Hillary Clinton for the March 1 Democratic Primary and is expected to endorse the Clinton-Kaine ticket for the November General Election as well as Congressional and statewide candidates who will be on the ballot.
    Absentee balloting is already underway in Alabama for the November elections and October 24 is the last day to register to be able to vote in November.

    The ANSC Luncheon speaker is John Tanner a retired Chief of the Voting Rights Division in the U. S. Justice Department who will speak on voting rights issues in the aftermath of the Shelby vs. Holder Supreme Court decision which gutted the Section 4 and 5 pre-clearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
    John Tanner began his work in voting rights as a teenager in Birmingham during the mid-1960s, when he assisted the SCLC and other groups with voter registration drives and other activities.
    After college and the Army, he joined the Voting Section of the Justice Department as a paralegal and went to law school at night at American University. Upon graduation he was accepted as an attorney in the Department under the Honors Program, and for many years was the principal Department of Justice attorney for voting rights enforcement in Alabama.
    In 1995, he moved to prosecute police brutality and other federal criminal civil rights violations with the Department, and was on the National Church Arson Task Force.
    Mr. Tanner returned to the Voting Section in 2002 and became Section Chief in 2005. As Section Chief he led the Voting Section in filing the highest number of lawsuits in its history.
    After retiring from the Justice Department, Mr. Tanner began a private law practice from his home in the District of Columbia in which he has represented minority voters in Alabama, Texas, and Georgia.
    He also has taught courses and lectured on voting rights and civil rights at the University of Alabama Honors College, Alabama State University, the Cumberland School of Law, and Baylor Law School. He has published numerous articles on voting rights and was the Aaron Henry Lecturer at Mississippi State Valley University. He is a Life Member of the NAACP.
    Mr. Tanner has been recognized for his work by a number of African American community groups in Mississippi and Alabama, and by the City Council of the District of Columbia. He also received numerous Department of Justice awards, including the John Doar Award, the Civil Rights Division’s highest honor.
    All members and supporters of ANSC are invited to attend the meeting. Registration fee is $25.00, which covers breakfast, lunch and all materials. For more information contact Ms. Shelley Fearson, ANSC Coordinator in Montgomery at 334/262-0932 or AlNewSouth@aol.com.

  • Local DST Chapter and Harambe Youth sponsor student voter registration drive

    delta

    Shown L to R assisting students in registering to vote: Alfretta Crawford, Marva Smith, Tameshia Porter and Nancy Cole. Not shown are Carol Zippert and Alphonzo Morton, III.

    The Greene County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. along with Harambe Community Youth Organization sponsored a voter registration day for eligible students at Greene County High School on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. The volunteers assisted 24 students in completing their voter registration forms. Arrangements will be made to further assist students in acquiring an official voters ID if they do not have a driver’s license.
    Once the applications are processed, the newly registered students will be sent a card from the county registrar’s office validating their registration and indicating the individual’s voting place.
    Students who will be 18 years of age before the November 8 national election were also allowed to complete a registration form. The local registrar’s office noted that these applications will be fully processed once the individual reaches the lawful age.
    September 27, 2016 was designated as National Voter Registration Day. The purpose of designating such a day is to increase participation in the voting process, especially with a presidential election scheduled for November 8 of this year. Many Americans don’t vote because they miss registration deadlines or they don’t know how to register to vote. October 24 is the last day to register for the Nov 8 elections.
    This special effort of the local DST Chapter and Harambe Organization assures that young persons in our community eligible to vote will be prepared to exercise their right and duty as an active voter in the upcoming state and national election on November 8.

    Andrea Perry serves as President of the Greene County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Florence Williams is Social Action Chairperson. Alphonzo Morton, III and Carol Zippert are Co-Coordinators of Harambe.

     

  • Nigeria sues ‘Big Oil’ for stolen shipments worth billions

    Shown above Nigerian oilfield;  Anti-corruption sign

    Sep. 26, 2016 (GIN) – Subsidiaries of some of the world’s leading oil companies shipped millions of barrels of Nigerian crude oil to the U.S. but failed to report these, causing a drop in Nigeria’s oil export earnings. They have now been named in a landmark suit by the Nigerian government seeking billions in reimbursement.

    The Federal High Court in Lagos begins hearings next week in the suit against the Italian ENI’s Agip, and France’s Total, according to news sources. Oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil are rumored to be next in line for the Nigerian claims.

    According to government officials quoted by the Associated Press, foreign companies declared only 57 million barrels of crude between 2011 and 2014 as exports bound for the U.S. when much more was shipped. That was deduced from audits of declared exports and what was unloaded in the United States.

    Ehiozwa Johnson Agbonayinma, a lawmaker, speaking to the House of Representatives in Abuja last week said:  “As of today, the country has to its credit over $17 billion of recoverable shortfalls from undeclared crude-oil exports to global destinations.”

    Of an estimated $17 billion in undeclared shipments, over $12 billion was shipped to the U.S., $3 billion to China and almost $840 million to Norway, while the liquid natural gas (LNG), allegedly stolen, was estimated at more than $461 million, the government said.

    The suit contains a highly-detailed list of companies, shipments, bills of lading and revenues lost with each undeclared shipment. In one typical case, a vessel under the name North Star shipped over 490,000 barrels from Nigeria to the U.S. with a value of $54 million. This was sold to BP Products North America in Houston, Texas, but not reported.

    The legal action appears to be the latest effort by President Muhammadu Buhari who pledged to clean up corruption, especially in the oil sector, during his campaign. When he assumed the presidency, he called the “stolen” sums from Nigeria’s oil industry “mind-boggling.”

    The U.S. was the biggest importer of Nigerian oil until it began exploiting its own shale oil reserves, though Nigerian exports to the U.S. have increased six-fold this year, according to OPEC.   Speaking at a recent forum between the private sector and the government, Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu, a former executive vice-chair at ExxonMobil Africa, said he was well aware of the Nigerian oil industry’s shortcomings. Since becoming junior oil minister, he has replaced the heads of all eight of the state oil company’s divisions.

    A spokesman for Italy’s Eni responded to Nigeria’s suit. “ENI believes the claim has no ground and shall resist in court,” it said. “Similar requests have been put forward to several other international oil companies operating in Nigeria.”

    Chevron said by email: “This matter is the subject of ongoing litigation before the court in Nigeria. We will not comment further on the matter since it is already before the courts.”

     

     

  • Obama says new Black History Museum tells story of America

    By: Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Mary Millikee, Reuters News Service

    President Barack Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama and Ruth Odom Bonner, center, ring the bell opening the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
    Obama speaking at opening,    President Barack Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama and Ruth Odom Bonner, center, ring the bell to open the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016.

    President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed hope that a new national museum showcasing the triumphs and tragedies of the African American experience will help to bring people together as the nation reels from recent racial upheaval.

    Speaking at a dedication ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Obama said that the story of black America is the story of America.

    “This national museum helps to tell a richer and fuller story of who we are,” said Obama. “Hopefully, this museum can help us to talk to each other. And more importantly, listen to each other. And most importantly, see each other. Black and white and Latino and Native American and Asian American – see how our stories are bound together,” he said standing on a stage outside the bronze-colored, latticed museum.

    The museum, located on the National Mall, officially opened its doors on Saturday. It contains 36,000 items that trace the journey of African Americans from slavery in the 1800s to the fight for civil rights in the 20th century and lauds modern icons, such as media mogul Oprah Winfrey and tennis champion Serena Williams.

    With a ring of a bell, Obama and wife Michelle and four generations of an African American family inaugurated the $540 million museum designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, who was inspired by Yoruban art from West Africa.

    ‘PLACE TO UNDERSTAND’

    Obama, who made history as the first black president of the United States, spoke as racial tensions flared once again across the nation in the aftermath of police shootings of two black men in the past two weeks.

    In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a white police officer has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting Terence Crutcher, 40, whose car had broken down and blocked a road.

    Violent protests broke out after a separate incident in Charlotte, North Carolina, where police shot Keith Scott, a 43-year-old father of seven.

    The deaths were the latest in a string of fatal encounters between police and African Americans that have sparked unrest and threaten to overshadow Obama’s legacy on race relations.

    Obama said the museum’s exhibits on the fight against racial discrimination and segregation could provide context for current movements against police brutality. “It reminds us that routine discrimination and Jim Crow are not ancient history. We shouldn’t despair that it’s not all solved,” Obama said, noting all the progress that the country has made just in his lifetime.

    “This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist, but inform each other,” he said.

    The dedication ceremony was attended by a who’s who of American officials, including Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as entertainment luminaries including Winfrey, Stevie Wonder and Will Smith.

    The Obamas were joined on stage by former President George W. Bush, and his wife Laura. Bush signed the law authorizing construction of the museum in 2003. “A great nation does not hide its history, it faces its flaws and it corrects them,” Bush said.

    Demand to visit the museum is high, with free tickets to the museum quickly snatched up online.

    Obama has joined in the excitement for the new attraction. The first family enjoyed a private preview earlier this month. He also hosted a reception at the White House on Friday in honor of the opening and attended a star-studded concert heralding the museum at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night.

  • After recent police shootings, NNPA declares a ‘State of Emergency in the Black Community’

    By Freddie Allen (NNPA Newswire Managing Editor)

    ben-chavis-nnpa-speaks Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. (center), president and CEO of the NNPA, speaks during a press conference on police brutality and police misconduct in the Black community joined by Denise Rolark Barnes (left), the chairwoman of the NNPA and publisher of The Washington Informer, Bernal E. Smith II, a member of the NNPA Board of Directors and publisher of The New Tri-State Defender. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

    The recent extrajudicial killings of three Black males, including a 13 year-old boy, have sparked protests across the country, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has now declared a state of emergency in Black America.

    The NNPA, is a trade group that represents more than 200 Black-owned media companies nationwide and reaches more than 20 million readers a week.

    “Millions of our readers across the nation are once again outraged at the latest fatal incidents of police brutality in Tulsa, Okla., and Charlotte, N.C.,” the group said in a joint statement released on Friday, September 23, by Denise Rolark Barnes, the chairwoman of the NNPA and publisher of The Washington Informer, Bernal E. Smith II, a member of the NNPA Board of Directors and publisher of The New Tri-State Defender, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., president and CEO of the NNPA. “These are not isolated incidents, but are a deadly national pattern of police violence and prosecutorial misconduct.”

    On September 14, thirteen year-old Tyre King was shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio who were responding to an armed robbery call. Police said that King ran when they approached him and then pulled a weapon from his waistband, which was later found to be a BB gun, a toy that couldn’t even fire bullets.

    On Friday September 16, Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby fired the fatal shot that killed Terence Crutcher after the truck he was driving broke down on the road. In a video captured by the Tulsa Police Department, Crutcher can be seen walking back to his truck with his arms raised, just before he was tased then shot. Shelby was charged with felony manslaughter.

    On Tuesday, September 20, police in Charlotte, N.C. shot and killed 43 year-old Keith Lamont Scott at an apartment building. Witnesses said that Scott was sitting in his car reading a book when plainclothes officers approached him and asked him to exit his vehicle. On Saturday, September 24, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police released body-worn camera and dashboard camera video footage of the incident. None of the videos show Scott holding a gun or pointing a weapon at the police.

    “We’re tired of covering these stories,” said Denise Rolark Barnes, chairwoman of the NNPA and publisher of The Washington Informer, “We have been covering these stories long before mainstream media ever saw them.” Barnes continued: “The situation has escalated and it is time for us to step up to not only tell the story, but to also make some demands.”

    Bernal Smith, the publisher of the New Tri-State Defender in Memphis, Tenn., said that, “I’ve had way too many conversations with our readers and with people in our community that feel like we’re under siege…that feel that driving, walking or even sitting while Black is a threat to their lives.” Smith continued: “We are here today to declare that there is a state of emergency in our communities across America and it requires immediate and significant action on behalf of the federal government…it can no longer be business as usual.”

    April Goggans, who represents the Black Lives Matter movement in Washington, D.C., said that the narrative about the killings of Black men and women at the hands of those sworn to protect them is still being controlled by mainstream media.

    “As much as we want to protect Black lives, we also have to protect the mediums and ways in which the stories that are true about Black lives are spread and that is through the Black Press,” said Goggans.

    At a recent press conference, the NNPA announced that they want President Barack Obama, Attorney General and the U.S. Congress to address four principle demands immediately:
    — Appoint a Special Federal Prosecutor on Police Brutality;
    — Establish a National Police Oversight Commission on Use of Deadly Force, Training and Cultural Sensitivity;
    — Create of a National Police Brutality and Misconduct Database that is publicly accessible;
    — Establish tougher federal penalties for police officers and prosecutors who violate constitutional rights.

    “We’re not waiting for a new Congress, we’re not waiting for a new Supreme Court Justice, we’re not waiting for a new president, we’re not waiting for a new Attorney General,” said Chavis. “We want action, today.”

    While critics of the civil rights groups that are fighting the epidemic of police brutality in the African American community quickly point to so-called “Black on Black crime” as the real problem hurting Blacks, Smith said that crime in the Black community and the need to address police brutality are two separate issues.

    “In our community, when a Black person kills another Black person, in those cases the [perpetrator] is prosecuted and goes to jail,” said Smith. “When police are murdering Black men, women, and children in the street, there is no justice. In most cases, there isn’t even an indictment or charges filed.”

    According to a study conducted by The Guardian, young Black men between the ages of 15 and 34, “were nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by police officers in 2015” and “Their rate of police-involved deaths was five times higher than for White men of the same age.”

    Most criminal justice experts agree that murder is often a crime that’s more closely associated with proximity to a victim and less connected to race and that police are seldom prosecuted in shootings that result in deaths, facts that detractors of the Black Lives Movement often ignore.

    Chavis said that on the eve of opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture it’s important for everyone to remember, that Black history is not only a history of oppression, but it is also a history of overcoming that oppression.

    “It is a history of us standing up and protesting injustice,” said Chavis. “So what we’re doing today is consistent with our history and our culture.”