September 12, 2013

By Kenneth Miller

Assistant Managing Editor

In the most significant decision during his second term, President Barack Obama was joined by California Congressional members Maxine Waters, Karen Bass and Janice Hahn as he weighed America’s options for military action in Syria this week.

In a nationally televised address to the nation on Tuesday September 9, President Obama indicated he wasn’t just seeking the trust of the country in support of war in Syria, but America’s trust — period.

“I know that after the terrible toll of Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of any military action, no matter how limited, is not going to be popular,” Obama said in a prime-time address from the White House, adding that he has a “deeply held preference for peaceful solutions.”

The contentious debate on whether to use chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war lingers over his legacy as a world leader and the success of his broader second-term priorities.

The majority of Americans are against the use of force in Syria, but Obama asked them Tuesday to have confidence in his judgment as commander in chief if he launches a strike despite their opposition. The president also asked Americans to have faith that a president elected to end wars was still wrestling to achieve that goal.

The Syria standoff has called for delicate deliberations on Capitol Hill, as Obama tries to persuade Congress to pass immigration overhaul, rally support for budget issues or build backing for critical elements of his signature health care law.

“I know Americans want all of us in Washington — especially me — to concentrate on the task of building our nation here at home, putting people back to work, educating our kids, growing our middle class,” he said. “It’s no wonder then that you’re asking hard questions.”

Local Reps. Have aimed to balance the seriousness of Syria with the plight of their constituents here at home.

“I am pleased that President Obama is seeking congressional authorization before taking limited military action in Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime on its own people. There are still many unanswered questions, such as what limited military action would entail, what will be the targets, what United States national interests are at stake, whether President Obama has pursued all possible diplomatic alternatives to military action, and whether military action by the U.S. will have the support of the international community,” said Rep. Waters in a statement.

“I am also deeply concerned about how U.S. military action will impact the civilian population of Syria. I will continue to listen to the concerns of my constituents and evaluate information from the Administration, as well as look forward to the completion of the United Nations investigation before making a final decision,” Waters added.

Congresswoman Bass, member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and ranking member of the Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Subcommittee urged Russia to act.

“Russia can and must hold Syria accountable for the atrocities that have taken place and they should take that role seriously. However, this should — under no circumstances — be used as a stalling tactic.  It is unfortunate that it took a threat of the use of force to bring about this development,” said Bass in a statement.

 Bass stated that she is support of the president.

“I support President Obama and Secretary Kerry in identifying and pursuing a powerful diplomatic path forward with the international proposal to transfer control of Syria’s chemical weapons to international monitors for destruction. Such a solution would remove chemical weapons from Syria’s control, while ultimately saving lives, avoiding military strikes, and drawing support of the United Nations Security Council.  By seizing and destroying the chemical weapons, this diplomatic solution would significantly degrade the Syrian regime’s ability to inflict devastating harm upon the Syrian people.”

Meanwhile, Hahn indicated that she would stand with her colleagues on the matter.

“The horrific images of innocent children and families being murdered in Syria are terribly heartbreaking and I can only imagine the incredible pain and suffering that the Syrian people are enduring. Earlier this week, I stood with some of my colleagues to call on the president to seek congressional authorization for any military action in Syria. I am pleased that the president heard the message and that Congress will have an opportunity to weigh the evidence before any action is taken.”

September 12, 2013

Brian W. Carter

LAWT Staff Writer

 After serving as president for five years with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP), Benjamin Jealous will be stepping down from the position. The announcement came Sept 9. through a conference call with NAACP Chairwoman Roslyn Brock. Jealous has expressed interest in spending more time with his family, which was one of the two promises he made when he took the position in the beginning. The other promise was to help strengthen the NAACP, which he has done.

The son of a Black, retired psychotherapist and author, Ann Todd Jealous and White, civil rights activist, founder and president of the Breakthrough Men’s Community, Fred Jealous, you could say achieving great things runs in the Jealous family blood. 

Born in Pacific, Grove, California, Jealous grew up in Monterey, Peninsula, California. He attended Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science and master’s degree in comparative social research from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Jealous’ history with the NAACP began at Columbia University when he worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He became very active with the association in addressing issues relevant to the Black community. Later he would join the Black Press working as a reporter at the Jackson Advocate in Mississippi. Jealous covered investigative stories exposing corruption and wrongfully accused parties. He would later become the executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which is made up of 200 Black community newspapers. Jealous is responsible for NNPA.org, the online syndicated news service, which send its content to NNPA member papers.

Jealous’ attention to human interests and hard-hitting issues would continue when he took on the position as director of the US Human Rights Program at Amnesty International. There, he addressed issues such as prison conditions, racial profiling and youth sentencing practices. He would also accept the position as president of the Rosenberg Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Jealous was elected as president of the NAACP in 2008 and was the youngest to serve in that position. His passion for addressing issues important to the Black community didn’t stop during his time with the NAACP. Jealous would open national programs addressing criminal justice, health, environment and voting, education and banking issues.

His accomplishments include doubling the annual revenue of the NAACP from $23 million in 2007 to $46 million in 2012. Donors to the NAACP also grew from 16,000 to 132,000 over that same period of time. According to Jealous, the NAACP has a greater presence with (1.3 million) activists online and on mobile devices (more than 430,000) than any other civil rights organization.

Jealous is responsible for bridging networks with other groups during his tenure. In 2010, the NAACP led protestors, from multiple groups, under the umbrella of the One Nation Working Together Rally to protest issues like stop-and-frisk policing in New York City. Over the course of the past three years, he has started initiatives such as the Democracy Initiative to addressing money in politics, voting rights and reformation in Senate, worked with Tea Party members on criminal justice reform and addressed immigration.

In 2009, Jealous received the John Jay Award for his achievements at Columbia University. He has been named in various lists including Time Magazine’s “40 Under 40” rising stars of American politics in 2010, “Power & Influence Top 50” list, Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2012 to name a few.

Leon Jenkins, president of the NAACP Los Angeles Branch, commented on Jealous’ departure as president of the NAACP.  He spoke highly of Jealous’ accomplishments and in the qualities the next president needs to embody.

“He has served the NAACP very well for five years,” said Jenkins. “Our membership has increased, I believe, over 100,000 people since his time there.

“He is going to be sorely missed—I just hope the next person we get shares some of the values that are very close to the NAACP and has a charismatic presence.

“At this point and time—that’s what we need.”

“Ben Jealous has done a tremendous job in leading the oldest civil rights organization in the nation,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas.  “For the past five years he has demonstrated praiseworthy stewardship, upholding the NAACP’s long-standing legacy of fighting for civil rights for all people, whether leading the charge to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut and Maryland or registering thousands of voters across the country. His dedication and tenacity as the leader of the NAACP will be missed.  I wish him well in all his future endeavors.” 

Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, had mixed emotions when he received news that Jealous would resign from the NAACP.

“I am happy that he has done so well and leaves his post with no scandal, shame, or physical challenges, and young enough to have a bright future,” stated Sharpton in a press release. “There is sadness, however, because for the last several years he has joined Marc Morial (National Urban League president), Melanie Campbell (president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation), and me as we tried to broaden the civil rights leadership of the 21st century movement. Ben Jealous has operated with integrity and a real sense of hands-on activism.”

Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, a group working to empower Black communities economically and politically, stated that Jealous brought new energy to the NAACP with gifted and talented youth.

“[Jealous] uplifted these issues as being vitally important to healing and revitalizing sectors of Black America moving forward,” said Daniels. “There is a way that people tend to stay in these positions for a very long time, five years is not a long time. His tenure was really successful and I was actually looking forward to more.”

“The NAACP has always been the largest civil rights organization in the streets, and today it is also the largest civil rights organization online, on mobile and at the ballot box too,” said Jealous.  “I am proud to leave the Association financially sound, sustainable, focused, and more powerful than ever. Beginning next year, I look forward to pursuing opportunities in academia to train the next generation of leaders and, of course, spending a lot more time with my young family."

Jealous can leave the position knowing that he made great strides for the NAACP during his tenure. Now he that he’s fulfilled his first promise, no doubt he will accomplish his second promise to spend more time with his children. Jealous resigns Dec. 31.

Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent, contributed to this article.

September 12, 2013

By Bria Freeman

Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

The 18-year-old rape victim has been trying to get on with her life, though things are not as she had planned before she headed to Howard University as a freshman in the fall of 2012. Then, she had high hopes. She enjoyed attending classes and working part time. She was having a good time making new friends. Life was good.

All that changed when a man with evil intentions made his way into her dorm last fall. He raped her, leaving her in physical and emotional pain such that she no longer felt safe on the campus, or even in the world. She moved off campus because she was concerned about security. She had to increase her work hours to pay for the expense of an apartment. Then her grades dropped and she ended up having trouble completing the school year.

A co-worker at a local fast food restaurant became a friend, then a confidante, then a boyfriend, a walking, talking security blanket—someone to make her feel safe.

The 18-year-old girl was trying to rebuild her life when she heard about the rape of another young woman, who is also 18, on Howard’s campus on July 22. A sense of déjà vu befell her. All the bad memories came flooding back.

It was Nov. 5, 2012 and she was in her room in a Howard University dormitory, the Bethune Annex, when she turned around to see a stranger facing her.

“I was standing in the middle of my room and he was in the doorway and there was a shock moment,” she recalled in an interview with the AFRO.

The Bethune Annex has locked doors that can only be opened by a card provided to students. There are people who check student’s IDs to make sure that the people who are entering the building belong there, officials said. That particular day, the perpetrator was able to avoid detection before heading to her room and catching her off guard. He raped her after wielding a weapon with a sharp blade, according to court document in the case.

She reported the attack and he was later apprehended. To add insult to injury, he claimed the two had a consensual encounter.

“No matter what language you speak, ‘No’ is still ‘No,’ and there is no changing of that word,” she told the AFRO, her voice rising in anger. “It was never ‘Yes’ then I changed my mind. It was ‘No! Who the hell are you!!!’”

According to authorities, it was DeMarco Myles, 19, who was in the custody of the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), who made his way into the victim’s room and attacked her.

He is also accused of assaulting another woman exactly one week earlier, on Oct. 26, at her home in the 2300 block of Washington Place NE. He was tied to the case after investigators traced him to the area through video surveillance footage at a local store where he had shopped for a Halloween mask about the same time the attack occurred, the court record shows. He referenced Halloween when talking to the victim.

The Howard student told the AFRO the rapist left the victim a note with his phone number on it. During the attack, she had pleaded with him to leave her alone because she had never met him. He left the number, he told her, “because you said you didn’t know me.”

As police investigated the case, the victim, humiliated, took two weeks off from school and went home to her family in Atlanta. When she returned, she refused to live in the dorm. She and her dorm roommate moved into an off-campus apartment.

Living off campus made it harder to get to her classes. She wasn’t as energetic as she had been. She was fearful to even be there.

“Since the attack I have been very paranoid,” she said.

As the new school year has started, everything is different for her now. She is negotiating with Howard University officials after taking legal action in the case. She is awaiting Myles’ trial, where she is likely to have to testify. He is currently held in the D.C. jail. pending trial.

She had a baby with her boyfriend. She said in an interview in July that she planned to return to school.

After her rape, university officials said security had been increased. In a statement, university spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton said, “overall crime has been reduced as a result of our security enhancements and a robust crime prevention education program. We have implemented a number of safety initiatives including 24/7 security in the residence halls as well as provided an enhanced shuttle and escort service. Keeping our community safe is [the] University’s number one priority.”

The university hired 15 new police officers during the summer and has plans to add five more during the Fall 2013 semester; has stepped up “Campus Police uniform patrol visibility around all residence halls and campus and community ‘hot spots,’” with the support of D.C. police; has checked security and monitoring equipment to make sure everything is in working order; instituted round-the-clock “security staffing within the residence halls” and taken other steps, Hamilton’s statement said.

“Tell that to the girl who was raped after she was grabbed on campus and dragged into a classroom on July 22,” the victim said.

September 12, 2013

By Blair Adams

Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

One of the most opinionated political commentators, Dr. Cornel West, has incited a new round of controversy by calling Rev. Al Sharpton a “Bonafide House Negro of the Obama Plantation.”

During an Aug. 30 interview with radio host Tavis Smiley, West spoke of the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. He said the celebration included some wonderful speakers, but most of the country didn’t get a chance to hear them because speeches made by Sharpton and President Barack Obama “sanitized” Dr.Martin Luther King’s vision.

“Instead, we saw of course the coronation of the bonafidehouse negro of the Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton, supported by the Michael Dysons and others who’ve really prostituted themselves intellectually in a very ugly and vicious way,” West said of Sharpton’s speech.

West said the anniversary of the March on Washington was a beautiful thing. “I was there in D.C. to see the magnificent expression of, like, faces and sparkling eyes of everyday people of all colors, hungry, thirsty for justice, hungry, thirsty for truth.”

“Brother Martin himself, I think, would’ve been turning over in his grave,” West said. “King would have wanted people to talk about Wall Street criminality, he wants people to talk about war crimes, or drones dropping bombs on innocent people.”

West’s comments call back to an April 30, 1967 speech by King entitled “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam[3]”, in which the civil rights leader said:

“I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”

The hostility between West and Sharpton is nothing new. During a July interview on Democracy Now, West referred to Sharpton, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry as being “brought and paid for by the Rent-a-Negro network.”

According to audio found on Mediaite, West said, “if this anniversary happened during the Clinton presidency we would have seen the same thing.”

“Martin Luther King Jr. would just shed tears if he could see Black leadership personified by Sharpton at this point in time,” said West.

“Black leadership is just so sold out, it’s so bought out, it’s so differential and it’s so subservient,” he added.