The Greene County Democrat

Tag: National Coalition of 100 Black Women

  • Newswire: Black women leaders declare ‘State of Emergency’ for vote on Kristen Clarke’s nomination for DOJ Civil Rights position

    Kristen Clarke

    By Hazel Trice Edney

     (TriceEdneyWire.com) – A coalition of organizations led by some of the most powerful Black women in America has called for the immediate vote on the confirmation of civil rights lawyer Kristen Clarke, President Joseph Biden’s nominee for the position of assistant attorney general for civil rights. Nominated five months ago, Clarke, a graduate of Harvard and Columbia University Law School, was interviewed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing April 14. The Committee finally voted 11-11 along party lines May 13. This means the full Senate will now determine whether to vote her nomination up or down. Black leaders across the nation fear the Committee could drag out the confirmation debate into the summer months as crucial civil rights issues lay dormant.  Republicans have tried to argue that her past views have been too radical, including on police reform. Democrats say she is just what America needs.  Clarke’s philosophy on civil rights is best expressed through her own words. “Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on,” she said in her written testimony before the Judiciary Committee. “I’ve tried to do just that at every step of my career, from the voting rights project at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to the Civil Rights Bureau in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, where I was the state’s top civil rights enforcement officer. And since 2015, I’ve led the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the nation’s leading civil rights legal organizations.” Given the crucial issues being dealt with by America’s civil rights community, including voting rights, police brutality and police killings of Black people, leaders say that Clarke’s background of fighting for justice on those issues alongside other civil rights leaders makes her a perfect fit to lead the division.  “In the time that we’re in, we know that she is more than up to the task. And we want to express the reasons that we believe she is up to the task and an excellent choice and we want to make sure that she is also treated fairly,” said Melanie Campbell, president/CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable. “History has shown us that we have to always speak up; especially when it comes to women of color who are put up for these positions to serve and she has been a servant leader all of her life.” In that regard, Campbell partnered with Johnnetta Betsch Cole, national chair and president of the National Council of Negro Women, to brief Black reporters by Zoom on the efforts of Black women’s organizations to push Clarke’s nomination through. That May 7 meeting was followed by a Call to Action, livestreamed across multiple media platforms May 11. “Today in our country, hatred and bigotry are on the rise. White supremacy is emboldened to carry out an insurrection in the Capitol of the United States of America. And there’s a wave of voter suppression bills being passed that look like and smell like – because they are like – old Jim Crow laws,” Cole told the reporters. “For such a time as this …so many more sister presidents are committed to smashing another glass ceiling.” Karen Boykin-Towns, NAACP board vice chair, stressed the urgency of the issues now faced by the civil rights community. “This nation needs its top civil rights law enforcement officer, and we need her now. Police violence continues to take the lives of Black Americans; We see a rise in hate crimes against the AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders); domestic terrorism rooted in White supremacy represents our greatest internal threat. And on top of everything, we are still struggling with devastating racial impact of a pandemic that is now going into a second year. The work of a civil rights division has never been more critical and who leads it matters greatly,” Boykin-Towns said. “Since the murder of George Floyd, there has been over a hundred police killings of Black people. We’re in a state of emergency. And so, her confirmation now and not to linger into the summer is so imperative.” Boykin-Towns said NAACP local leaders are working individually as well as collectively and putting a “full court press” on the confirmation. The coalition was also joined by Jotaka Eaddy, chief organizer of the Win with Black Women Collective;  Virginia W. Harris, president, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., and Beverly Smith, national president/CEO for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Clarke is no stranger to the nation. She is often seen among national civil rights leaders during press conferences and is often called upon by national media to speak on issues. “Her dedication to the pursuit of justice and her track record are invaluable,” said Harris.

  • Newswire: Coalition of civil rights leaders support CBC in protecting Black health

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
    @StacyBrownMedia


    WASHINGTON, D.C., May 3, 2020 – National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., National Action Network (NAN) Founder Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the Black Women’s Health Imperative, are up in arms because they say too many Washington politicians are protecting insurance company profits over health care for African Americans.
    Collectively, they argue that too often, insurance companies refuse to cover emergency services, and either patients are forced to pay bills they cannot afford, or hospitals are shuttering.
    Congress claims to be tackling this challenge, but until the Congressional Black Caucus got involved, Congress focused only on protecting insurer profits, not people, according to the coalition.
    Chavis, Sharpton, and others are throwing their support behind the CBC.
    They’re asking that others also support the CBC.
    Led by Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the 55-member CBC has worked almost non-stop in fighting for health equity in the African American community.
    The CBC works to protect and expand voting rights, comprehensive criminal justice reform, building a more inclusive economy, and ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare.
    A primary focus of the CBC remains to target insurance companies that have disproportionately neglected the needs of African Americans while also providing below standard care.
    “This outrageous situation benefits one group and one group alone: powerful insurance executives, who have managed to get off the financial hook for such bills, even as insurers shrink insurance coverage networks to wring more and more profits out of the system,” Chavis has stated.
    He and the other leaders have continued to express strong opposition to any legislation that would give insurers more control over health care prices.
    In their continued push for health equality, the group is working to ensure that insurance companies expand their networks and cover more emergency services. This will maintain access to care in hard-hit Black communities. “The status quo means hospitals in our communities close first,” the group noted in a statement.
    “We cannot let this happen. Together, we can ensure that the old way of doing business – putting insurance company profits over people – STOPS.”
    They continued: Join us and support the CBC. Help us work to make sure Congress passes a bill that keeps us healthy and alive by allowing insurance networks to grow and cover lifesaving services.”