WHAT’S YOUR CREDIT SCORE REALLY COSTING YOU 3
White parents with adopted Black kids tackle nation’s tense race relations Page 5 January 1 - January 7, 2015
Md. minimum wage earners get increase Page 11 www.districtchronicles.com
Volume 14 Issue 19
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Editorial The next steps after the protests, marches By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Columnist
Focus on a single issue. What do the best advocacy organizations do? Does the NRA focus on 20 issues at the same time? No. The winning actors on the political stage win because they focus on one or two issues and push until they win. In the case of police brutality, a push for independent counsels has come up as a solution to deal with police that get away with murder. It didn’t get that way by accident. The strength and focus of the police unions brought us to this point. Several officials have pointed out that activists need to put pres-
Understand the power of votes and money: The two languages people in power understand are money and votes. What’s needed is a political action committee (PAC) on police brutality. One that has a grassroots fundraising strategy, like MAYDAY PAC. Organize, Organize, Organize: The best most effective political advocacy organizations strategize and organize. Ever notice that the National Rifle Association doesn’t have marches? “The success of the civil rights movement has taught us when tragedy occurs: don’t agonize, organize,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to The Root. “What we have seen spontaneously is that young people across the country have begun to organize in protest to the epidemic of police brutality. We need to take that organization and translate it into legislative action.”
But what legislative action? Jeffries pointed out that funding for community policing programs have been cut. On December 1, President Obama called for Congress to appropriate $253 million for police training and body cameras. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) has a bill that would put the reigns on Pentagon program 1033, which allows the Department of Defense to give civilian police surplus war gear for free, including armored vehicles, drones and grenade launchers. Legislation is altered by specific and targeted political pressure and advocacy. In the case of an oftengridlocked Congress, it requires leverage to attach legislative language onto larger spending bills that are required to pass. Write letters: It may not be sexy, but even in the age of Twitter and Facebook, simple letter writing is still effective in political advocacy. Though Twitter is immediate, politicians still pay attention to letters addressed to them on specific issues. Why? Because a letter from a constituent is likely a letter from a voter. “We have to stop trying to organize and strategize after a crisis,” said IMPACT co-founder Angela
Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles
(NNPA) – We’ve seen it before: the injustice, the reactions, the nonstop talking and tweeting after yet another headline grabbing tragedy. We’ve seen the hours of commentary, the “think pieces,” the marches, the online petitions and the panels. But what exactly should people be doing? Where should the energy go and what should be pushed for? We’ve heard generalities, but let’s talk specifics on what would get results for the issue of the moment: Police brutality.
sure on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to appoint an independent prosecutor in the case of NYPD Office Daniel Pantaleo killing Eric Garner. In many states the governor can appoint one. In other states the legislature must change state law.
Ever notice that the most effective political groups don’t march, they raise money.
Rye. “At some point we have to really stop and strategize to discuss what we have to do to prevent the next Trayvon…to prevent the next Michael Brown.” She also pointed out that pushing template legislation and targeted letter writing campaigns work. March: Marching for the sake of marching – with no demands – has come under much criticism as being ineffective. But there is no denying that recent marches and demonstrations, after the non-indictments of former police officer Darren Wilson and officer Daniel Pantaleo,
have put international attention on the issue of police brutality. “It wouldn’t be an issue without the marches and the protests. The idea of marching and protest is not to solve problems, it’s to raise the attention and raise the notice of a problem,” said Rev. Al Sharpton on his radio show, “Keepin’ It Real.” But notice: The most effective groups at getting their way in politics never march. They would appear to be too busy raising money, strategizing and applying pressure to people in power. It’s time for us to try a different strategy.
Where should your charity go this year?
By Julianne Malveaux
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – African Americans are overrepresented among the poor, but it would be a mistake to conclude that all of us are poor. While we are all aware of the substantial incomes of luminaries like Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé and Jay Z and many others who are “living large,” it is equally important to acknowledge those African Americans who, while not wealthy, are earning more than simple survival wages. While African American families have a median income of about $33,000, White families have a median income of about $54,000. With a median wealth of $113,000, the average White family has wealth at 20 times that of African Americans. Several historical and contemporary factors contribute to these income and earnings gaps: African Americans tend to have
less education, less intergenerational wealth, and less spatial access to employment opportunities. While there has been significant progress since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from an economic perspective some gaps are widening instead of narrowing. Still, it is important to note that more than a third of all African Americans have incomes of more than $50,000 a year. Some would consider these to be middle class incomes. Fewer African Americans than Whites have these relatively comfortable incomes, but too many conversations about race and economic status proceed as if all African Americans are either poor or, as in the case of our superstars, extremely wealthy. Those African Americans who have comfortable incomes are often overlooked from the policy perspective. Also, too many are simply silent.
2 | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | District Chronicles
This becomes a relevant topic during the season of giving. If your mailbox looks anything like mine, it is chock full of requests to contribute to a myriad of causes. Some are causes I’ve given to before. Others suggest that the sender has done absolutely no research on me. For example, contributions for dogs? Please. If it were up to me dogs would not be allowed to populate the earth. The United Negro College Fund? Worthy, but I’d rather give my money to individual colleges for scholarships. The Rainbow/PUSH Coalitions, the NAACP and the Urban League? Absolutely. These organizations are fighting for our rights and they deserve to be supported. Our sororities, fraternities, or alma maters? Of course, but only when they “do the right thing.” African Americans are generous people. We are most likely to give to our churches, but are also
likely to give to education, to social service organization and to civil rights organizations. While the amounts of giving may be lower, the percentage of those giving is comparable, or even higher, than the giving among others. We must be strategic with our giving. It makes more sense to target two or three organizations or causes that are important to us than to send a few dollars to a series of causes. If we are affiliated with an organization as a board member, that organization should be one of the top three organizations we give to. It doesn’t matter how much we give, though. What matters is that we do give. End of the year solicitations come at such a pace because, for some, dedications are tax-deductible and the end of the year is a great time to calculate the tax you will owe and consider the fact that giving money to charitable organi-
zations may reduce tax liability. At the same time, all giving will not be tax deductible. If we don’t support our politicians their efforts are weakened, and now that Congress has increased the amount of money that the wealthy can give to political action committees, those with more modest incomes must support the politicians that support us. When African Americans are offered the opportunity to give, too many of us say we don’t have the disposable income to contribute. Our forefathers and mothers gave what they could, frying chickens and baking cakes to support our churches and our HBCUs. Can we do less? All Black people are not poor, and we ought not behave as if we are. We can afford to tithe to our churches, and we can afford to give to our institutions. If we don’t support ourselves, who will?
Finance
What you don’t know about your credit score could cost you big
Lenders, electric utilities, landlords, cell phone companies review your credit score.
(BPT) – Do you know what your credit scores are? If you don’t, you’re not alone. In fact, many people know very little about their credit scores, what they are, or how they work. And they certainly don’t understand that having low credit scores can have a big impact on their future. Are you one of these people? Recent research from the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions highlights some of the crucial credit score information most people don’t know. According to the survey that polled 1,000 American consumers, almost half of the respondents did not know that a credit score measures the risk of a person’s likelihood to default in 90 days, as opposed to factors such as knowledge of – or attitude toward – consumer credit. This is paramount, as lenders typically review a person’s various credit scores before authorizing a loan. The youth factor Although people of all ages showed a lack of knowledge regarding important credit score information, the results show that the wider knowledge gap exists with millennials (ages 18-34) than with older Americans. Less than half of all millennials understood that age was not used when calculating credit scores, according to the data. Meanwhile,
more than 60 percent of adults (45-64) understood this. Millennials also were less likely than older adults to know that credit scores are based on information collected by each of the three main credit bureaus. “It isn’t a big surprise that consumers in the 45-60-year range know more than younger consumers about credit scoring, but the generation of consumers coming into the workforce is particularly challenged by massive student loans. A student loan is a great opportunity to help establish good credit for these consumers, but the concern is that many of these young adults could miss payments and begin their financial lives deep in debt with low credit scores, putting them in a difficult position,” said Barrett Burns, president and CEO of VantageScore Solutions. Knowledge is power Many people fail to realize how many different ways poor credit scores can affect their lives. Credit scores affect not only whether a person can receive a loan, but also the interest rate a person pays for the loan. The data shows that while the majority of all respondents understood that their credit scores would be reviewed by credit-card issuers and mortgage lenders, they did not know that electric utilities, home insurers, landlords and even cell phone companies
may also review this information. In short, a good credit score could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest or rate payments when compared with possessing a poor score. If you want to improve your scores, the first step is to obtain your credit scores so you know where you stand. Not surprisingly, individuals who obtained their scores in the past year knew more about credit scores and how they are used by lenders in the market than those who didn’t obtain their scores in the last year. “We know that education can help consumers improve their scores, and whatever the consumer’s age, our aim is to arm him or her with accurate, unbiased information and resources to help them become good managers of their credit,” said Burns. To get a true picture of your credit status, it’s best to review your credit reports and credit scores from multiple sources. Test your knowledge about credit scores at www.CreditScoreQuiz. org, which was created by VantageScore Solutions and Consumer Federation of America. Both the online quiz and a corresponding brochure are available in Spanish at www.creditscorequiz.org/Espanol. For more tips and resources, visit the VantageScore website for useful information regarding what impacts your credit score, and how to be a good manager of your own credit.
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Howard University and Paladin Healthcare will run United Medical Center, the only hospital east of the Anacostia River.
District of Columbia Howard partners with D.C. and Paladin Healthcare Capital to operate United Medical Center
H
4 | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | District Chronicles
oward University has signed a “letter of intent� to enter into an agreement with the District of Columbia and Paladin Healthcare Capital to transform the United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. President Wayne Frederick, a medical doctor, said the opportunity to join partners and to find
a solution within an integrated healthcare system framework is key. “We are an academic medical center with a mission focused on high-quality education and highquality care for those who otherwise wouldn’t receive such care,� Dr. Frederick said. “We intend to utilize our Howard physicians to bring comprehensive, integrated healthcare to the citizens of Wards 7 and 8.� California-based Paladin Healthcare Capital currently manages the day to day operations of Howard Hospital and an agreement which allows Howard University to continue to be the li-
censed operator of the hospital. Paladin Healthcare Capital is a special opportunity investor that makes private equity, structured debt, and real estate investments in healthcare, according to the company’s website. Howard University’s letter of intent outlines details of the joint venture company to be formed by Paladin and Howard – the entity that will eventually acquire the operating assets of UMC. But the District will retain ownership of the property and physical plant. The joint venture company will lease the hospital from the District and assume the operational and maintenance cost of UMC.
Divine Intervention
Adoption forces evangelicals to grapple with race relations By Sarah Pulliam Bailey Religion News Service
B
efore she and her husband adopted a son and daughter from Ethiopia, popular evangelical blogger Jen Hatmaker said she had a different view about race in America. “A couple years ago, I would’ve said we’re moving to a post-racial society because I was so underexposed to people of color and the issues they deal with on a daily basis,” said the White Christian author, whose home renovation to make space for their growing family of seven was recently featured on HGTV. As evangelicals have turned their attention toward adoption in the past decade, families like the Hatmakers are grappling with race relations in a profoundly personal way, especially as national news spotlights racial tension in New York, Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere. And evangelicals aren’t alone: a new Gallup poll found that 13 percent of Americans believe racism is the country’s most important problem, the highest figure since the 1992 verdict in the Rodney King case sparked riots in Los Angeles. And, as Gallup noted, “After barely registering with Americans as the top problem for two decades, race relations now matches the economy in Americans’ mentions of the country’s top problem, and is just slightly behind government (15 percent).” That same Gallup poll also found that non-Whites are more than twice as likely as whites to call race relations or racism the country’s most important problem. As the Hatmakers’ son Ben, 11, creeps closer to the ages of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown – unarmed Black teenagers whose deaths have put race into a national conversation – the family talks about race more frequently. Her son learned about America’s racial history in public school during Black History Month in February. “Every time we talk about it, there are tears, there’s confusion,”
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White Evangelicals with adopted Black kids have to tackle race issues head on.
said Hatmaker, who said her son lives in a “no man’s land” because he’s Black but not necessarily African American. “He didn’t understand he was coming into a culture with a racial bias.” As the wife of a pastor, Hatmaker said her Austin, Texas, church of about 600 people is filled with an estimated two or three dozen adoptive families, including many who have adopted interracially. She and a number of female evangelical leaders and Bible teachers who have adopted interracially, like fellow Austinbased author Jennie Allen, are mulling ways to use their influence to discuss race. “We have to do the humble hard work of listening,” said Hatmaker. “We serve a God of justice and equality, and I’m anxious to see the transformation he’s prepared for us in our culture right now.” Perhaps more than most religious groups, White evangelicals have a complicated history with race. The Southern Baptist Convention was born with a defense of slavery, and many Southern Christians upheld Jim Crow laws. Even as more recent generations of evangelicals began to oppose racism, sociologists Michael Emerson and Christian Smith’s 2001 book, “Divided by Faith,” found that most White evangelicals see no
systematic discrimination against Blacks. Kathryn Joyce, author of “The Child Catchers,” who has raised questions about evangelical adoptions, has been surprised by the number of conversations about race on adoption forums. “Self-critique is happening with a lot of conversations focusing on big issues like racial justice, social justice, class, privilege,” said Joyce, adding she first heard about Martin’s 2012 death on an evangelical adoption forum. “These parents, mostly moms, were thinking about race early on because they had this personal connection.” To be sure, Christians have cared for orphans for centuries, but the most recent wave of interest came alongside the focus on the global HIV/AIDS crisis, a shrinking world with the increase of technology and well-known Christians becoming adoptive parents, like musician Steven Curtis Chapman and retired megachurch pastor John Piper. Piper, a White pastor who grew up in the segregated South and has spoken on his own history of racism, now has an adopted daughter who is Black. “Nothing binds a pastor’s heart to diversity more than having it in his home,” Piper wrote in his 2011 book, “Bloodlines.”
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Cover
President Obama: Black America ‘better off now’
By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) – President Obama says Black America is better now than it was six years ago when he first took office. “Like the rest of America, Black America, in the aggregate, is better off now than it was when I came into office,” he said in response to a question during a year-end press conference held Dec. 19. “The jobs that have been created, the people who’ve gotten health insurance, the housing equity that’s been recovered, the 401 pensions that have been recovered – a lot of those folks are African American. They’re better off than they were.” However, as the president answered the question from April Ryan, White House Correspondent for the American Urban Radio Network, he had to concede that major ills still exist. “The gap between income and wealth of White and Black America persists,” he said. “And we’ve got more work to do on that front. I’ve been consistent in saying that this is a legacy of a troubled racial past
of Jim Crow and slavery. That’s not an excuse for Black folks. And I think the overwhelming majority of Black people understand it’s not an excuse. They’re working hard. They’re out there hustling and trying to get an education, trying to send their kids to college. But they’re starting behind, oftentimes, in the race.” The president has been forced to become increasingly outspoken on race issues; especially over the past two years as killings of unarmed Black males by authority figures, mainly police, have dominated news coverage. Upon the jury’s acquittal of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who shot unarmed teen, Trayvon Martin, he stated, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Recently, he has spoken out strongly amidst mass protests around the nation against police
the broader population.” Obama also listed criminal justice reform as among his successes. He said, “Last year was the first time in 40 years where we had the federal prison population go down and the crime rate go down at the same time, which indicates the degree to which it’s possible for us to think smarter about who we’re incarcerating, how long we’re incarcerating, how are we dealing with nonviolent offenders, how are we dealing with drug offenses, diversion programs, courts.” – President Barack Obama drug B u t , the president had “measurable results.” He listed could not ignore the past four education reforms, increase in high months of roaring protests over school graduation rates, and a “re- police killings. Referring to the cord numbers of young people at- incidents in Ferguson and Staten Island that have spotlighted obvitending college.” He added, “In many states that ous racial tensions that remain, he have initiated reforms, you’re see- added, “But we’ve still got more ing progress in math scores and work to go.” reading scores for Latino and Af- The president’s comments forican-American students as well as cused on racial tensions that still killings of a string of Black unarmed men, including 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, a Staten Island father of six, killed in a chokehold. Despite the recent uprisings that have spread around the world, President Obama said, “We’ve seen some progress.” He pointed to initiatives by his administration that he says have
[Black folks] are starting behind ... in the race.
remain beneath the surface in America; despite general progress. He said the Ferguson and Staten Island cases have caused “a growing awareness in the broader population of what I think many communities of color have understood for some time, and that is that there are specific instances at least where law enforcement doesn’t feel as if it’s being applied in a colorblind fashion.” He pointed to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing, headed by Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey, and Laurie Robinson, a former assistant attorney general, now a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. That task force will return with recommendations March 2. “The task force that I formed is supposed to report back to me in 90 days – not with a bunch of abstract musings about race relations, but some really concrete, practical things that police departments and law enforcement agencies can begin implementing right now to rebuild trust between communities of color and the police department.”
With a criminal record, it’s one strike and you’re out By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent
Ninety-five percent of people who are incarcerated at any level will be released; Each year, nearly 12 million people move through local jails; and As of 2012, more than 4.7 million Americans were on
6 | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | District Chronicles
Ronald Lewis/Courtesy Photo
Ronald Lewis was standing on a street with his brother, who was selling drugs. When police were approaching, Lewis warned his brother. Both were arrested. That minor, almost reflexive reaction, led to Lewis sharing a drug possession charge with his brother as well as charges of being an instrument of a crime. His lawyer advised him that he could win a trial. Later, that advice became a plea offer. Without being tried, Lewis accepted a B-class misdemeanor conviction, served no time in prison, and was released from probation early for steady compliance. That was 10 years ago. Lewis, now 35, feels he is paying again for his past mistake. “I paid that lawyer $10,000 … I didn’t know what [the deal] entailed. I didn’t know the impact it would have on my life,” he said. After going through the criminal justice system, Lewis entered a vocational program and earned an engineering
license. “I thought life would begin for me … but I have had so many doors slammed in my face, I know what wood tastes like,” said Lewis who is enrolled to earn an HVAC certification. According to a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), as many as one in three Americans has a criminal record. Despite being commonplace, this status can cause life-long socioeconomic challenges. The report, titled, “One Strike and You’re Out: How We Can Eliminate Barriers to Economic Security and Mobility for People with Criminal Records,” paints the picture with an array of numbers:
Lewis has struggled in his re-entry back into society because of his criminal record.
probation or parole. Most will be confronted with their record as they attempt to rejoin society. Millions of people who have been arrested – even for exercising their constitutional right to protest – and were never convicted or incarcerated, still carry the stain of having criminal charges come up in a background check. “Even a minor criminal record can serve as an intractable barrier to employment as well as utter basics
such as housing, such as building good credit, education, job training, and more,” said Rachel Vallas, coauthor of the report. Low-income and people of color with criminal records are often most likely to fall into a cycle of poverty as a result of their records. The transgression, plus a common lack of skills and/or education, often merge to bar them from employment, and then from the social safety net that keeps people from sliding into deep poverty. In addition to the employment challenges, difficulties with housing, public assistance, education and training, and economic stability and mobility compound their predicament. In the case of public housing, for example, federal guidelines bar people with certain convictions and criminal activity – mostly drugrelated, but also violent and sexual offenses – from receiving assistance. However, local agencies manage federal housing programs and have authority to create their own guidelines. In many areas, agencies go beyond the federal guidelines to evict
or deny housing to entire families if any one member has an encounter with the criminal justice system, regardless of whether they were ever convicted. Consequences often extend past the person with the record. The report notes that as of 2012, more than half of incarcerated adults have minor children. Currently, more than one in four Black 20-somethings have had a parent incarcerated during their childhood. “It affects everybody close to you,” says Lewis. “From the moment you get in trouble, it’s a disappointment, it affects your mom…. Then your family sees you trying to turn your life around and enduring rejection after rejection. Then that spills over to your wife and your kids because your mood is not the best, and your sense of self-worth is not the best.” There’s a form from his daughter’s school that he still hasn’t signed and returned. It includes a question on criminal background. Lewis said, “I don’t want them to see her differently because of my record, or things that I did.
Politics Add economic justice to the Black agenda By Charlene Crowell NNPA Columnist
T
he groundswell for criminal justice reform has become nearly daily headline news. Demonstrations spanning the nation and many parts of the globe have demanded justice for those lives taken by questionable and fatal police behavior. Yet, Black America also suffers from another kind of injustice that is economic in nature and as pervasive as it is cruel. According to a new analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, White household wealth stands at 13 times that of Black households. Similarly, when White wealth was compared to that of Latino households, the wealth gap was more than 10 times. After accounting for total household financial assets such as savings, investments, and business equity, the Pew Research Center then subtracted all indebtedness, including mortgages, installment loans, credit cards student loans and more. The results in dollar values determined that the median net worth of White households in 2013 was $141,900. For Blacks and Latinos, however, median net worth was only $11,000 and $13,700, respectively.
The authors of the report, Richard Fry and Rakesh Kochhar, wrote, “[F]inancial assets such as stocks, have recovered in value more quickly than housing since the recession ended. White households are much more likely than minority households to own stocks directly or indirectly through retirement accounts. Thus, they [Whites] were in better position to benefit from the recovery in financial markets.” This reasoning may apply postrecession; but America’s racial wealth divide has existed throughout most of the nation’s history. For example, for more than 200 years enslaved Africans and their descendants worked with no wages. Emancipation freed former slaves; but few opportunities for immediate gainful employment existed. Although Reconstruction led to some short-lived economic gains, the “Black Codes” that soon followed with Jim Crow laws and practices reversed most financial gains. America’s ‘colored wages’ continued for several decades until 1960s federal civil rights legislation called for equal employment and banned racial discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing and voting. It is also noteworthy to remember that early federal homeownership programs were structured in
ways that discriminated against Black borrowers. For example, the FHA and GI Bill’s housing programs had severe biases against urban homes and neighborhoods with large numbers of minorities. These policies and practices led to the virtual exclusion of Black families in obtaining affordable and sustainable mortgages. At the local level, restrictive covenants banned people of color from neighborhoods, regardless of their ability to afford homes. Some restrictive covenants existed even in communities that did not officially mandate racial segregation. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), enacted in 1977, requires depository institutions such as banks and credit unions to use safe and sound practices to meet the credit needs of communities where they operate – including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. In May 1995 and again in August 2005, CRA’s regulation was substantially revised and updated. Even with CRA, however, predatory lenders consistently targeted consumers of color in their own neighborhoods. Often in the absence of full-service, mainstream financial services, these fringe lenders arrived to exploit financial needs in urban areas. In the process,
Economic Injustice: Subprime lending decimated the wealth of Blacks, Latinos the most.
valuable dollars have been drained from wallets and livelihoods. For example, 2012 research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) found that: Black and Latino families bore $1 trillion of the nation’s $2 trillion in lost wealth due to the concentration of subprime mortgages in communities of color; Auto loan interest-rate markups cost consumers nearly $26 billion each year; and Borrowers in lower credit tiers
pay up to 68 percent higher monthly payments on private student loans than on safer federal loans. If economic injustice is allowed to continue, America’s disturbing wealth gap trends will underscore what the 1960s Kerner Commission report predicted: two Americas divided by race. As a New Year begins, a different kind of resolution is in order: Economic justice for all. Charlene Crowell is a communications manager for the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
Civil rights leaders outraged over NYPD officers’ killing By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Civil rights leaders, who have consistently encouraged non-violent protests to push for justice in police shootings of unarmed Black men, are vehemently condemning the assassination-style killing of two New York City police officers that took place right before Christmas. “I have spoken to the Garner family and we are outraged by the early reports of the police killed in Brooklyn today. Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement. President Obama released a statement reminding that police “deserve our respect and gratitude every single day. Tonight, I ask peo-
ple to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal – prayer, patient dialogue, and sympathy for the friends and family of the fallen.” New York Police Department Officers Rafael Ramos, 40, a father of two, and newly-wed Wenjian Liu, 32, were both shot in the head and upper torso at point blank range as they sat in their patrol car. The shootings follow mass marches and protests across the nation against police shootings of unarmed Black men which had been mostly peaceful. Both youth and seasoned leaders had called for non-violence. But the gunman, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley of Baltimore, with a long police record, was described by the NAACP as “a troubled individual” committing an “act of vigilante justice.” After shooting the officers, Brinsley, 28, then fled and shot and killed himself on a subway platform
as police closed in, according to reports. He had also shot his former girlfriend in Baltimore. Brinsley’s alleged statements on social media mentioned the chokehold killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y. and the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. “I’m Putting Wings on Pigs Today,” Brinsley allegedly wrote on an Instagram page, according to widespread reports. “They Take 1 Of Ours . . . Let’s Take 2 of Theirs…This May Be My Final Post.” The Garner and Brown cases had sparked mass protests, largely encouraged by authorities and even President Obama as long as they remained non-violent. The outrage had escalated when grand juries refused to indict the officers involved in either killings, which had nothing to do with Ramos or Liu. “We have stressed at every rally and march that anyone engaged in
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any violence is an enemy to the pursuit of justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown. We have been criticized at National Action Network for not allowing rhetoric or chanting of violence and would abruptly denounce it at all of our gatherings,” said the statement by Sharpton, who led tens of thousands to the U. S. Capitol last month, demanding an end to the killings of unarmed Black men by police. “The Garner family and I have always stressed that we do not believe that all police are bad, in fact we have stressed that most police are not bad.” The New York Times quoted Mayor Bill de Blasio as saying, “It is an attack on all of us; it’s an attack on everything we hold dear.” A string of statements from Black leaders also condemned the killing of the officers. “All lives matter,” said a statement from Congressional Black
Caucus Chair Marcia L. Fudge (DOhio). “This is not about race or affiliation, and it isn’t about [B] versus blue.” An NAACP statement stressed the apparent mental state of Brinsley. “In no way does the NAACP support this act of vigilante justice by a troubled individual. While our criminal justice system is not without deep and divisive flaws, we know that police officers, who risk their own safety for ours, play a critical and necessary role in keeping every community safe. Our sincerest sympathies go out to the friends and the families of the slain officers. The loss of any life at the hands of violence is tragic. We who believe in peace and freedom, fairness and equality, understand that progress can only be achieved by intimate and intentional collaboration of law enforcement and community members.”
District Chronicles | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | 7
Health
ObamaCare sign ups hit 6.4 million in November
By Sarah Ferris A total of 6.4 million people bought health care from the federal government in the first month of open enrollment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week. About 1.9 million people gained coverage for the first time, making up just under one-third of all signups, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a briefing. The robust enrollment tally – which does not include California, New York and a dozen other states that run their own exchanges – puts the administration on track to outpace its goal of 9.1 million signups by February. State marketplaces have independently reported just over 1 million sign-ups outside of the federal marketplace, and will be included in the government’s official count this month. The newest enrollment tally offers the first glimpse of people who were automatically enrolled in plans if they chose not to return to the marketplace. Just under two-thirds of people were auto-enrolled, said Burwell, which she added was higher than she expected because “most people just let what happens go.” Those who opted for auto-en-
A year after a rocky start of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government seems to be on track to get more people the health insurance plans.
rollment are more likely to see rate hikes. The federal government has warned for weeks that ObamaCare customers should log back into the marketplace during the second year of enrollment to find cheaper plans. Most customers received between three and 10 reminder letters or phone calls. “We emphasized very strongly and tried to communicate with people about coming in,” said Burwell.
The figures also showed a massive surge in signups in the week ahead of the Dec. 12 deadline to buy coverage that will go into effect before Jan. 1. The Obama administration had run a full-court press in the week ahead of the deadline, partnering with shopping malls on Black Friday, running promotions with 7-Eleven, and blitzing paid ads in every state on cable networks including Comedy Central and MTV. The first month of enrollment
is a stark difference from last fall, when a dysfunctional HealthCare. gov website prevented most users from logging in. This year, more than 14 million people have logged on and nearly 8 million applications have been submitted. The Obama administration now has about two months left to boost sign-ups by about 2 million users – a goal that health care consultants expect the government to easily meet. “Something very unexpected
would have to happen to not meet the 9.1 million target,” Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, said in an interview earlier this month. Officials had previously dialed back their expectations from 13 million sign-ups to 9.1 million, raising questions among healthcare policy experts who believed the bar was intentionally lowered. One independent analysis predicted about 10.5 million signups this year.
Ads call out U.S. colleges on campus sexual assault crisis Fitzgibbon Media
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UltraViolet the online community of over 550,000 people fighting sexism. “One in five women will be sexually assaulted before graduating. Students and parents deserve to know which schools are addressing this issue, and which are sweeping survivors of rape under the rug. This is important information for prospective students and their parents – and the Princeton Review needs to stop shielding schools that protect rapists and provide this important information for our nation’s high school graduates who are applying to college.” Last year, the Princeton Review acknowledged that they take the issue of campus sexual assault seriously but declined to include questions on a school’s policy towards rape on campus and rape culture in their school-by-school rankings for 2015. View the petition: http://act.
Sonny Shokrae/refinery29.com
A new online ad campaign from UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy organization, is targeting prospective students and parents applying to some of the top colleges and universities in the U.S. over their handling of issues of rape on campus. The campaign is aimed at pressuring campuses and the Princeton Review to include information for high school students and their parents on sexual assault prevention and response in their rankings of colleges and universities. The ads – part of a five-figure national ad buy – target prospective students on Facebook across the country as well as current and prospective students at some of the 86 schools currently under investigation, including Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Indiana University Bloomington, Vanderbilt,
UC-Berkeley, USC, UVA, MSU, FSU, UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory, University of Chicago, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Arizona State. Arizona State’s ad, for example, reads: “Arizona State has a rape problem. Find out more before you apply.” View the ads here: www. flickr.com/photos/79559505@ N06/sets/72157649390479019/ In May, more than 35,000 UltraViolet members petitioned the Princeton Review to factor rape into next year’s college rankings, more than 700 UltraViolet members have logged calls to the Princeton Review and survivors of sexual assault on college campuses have written to Princeton Review board members. “With epidemic rape on campuses across America, it’s time to make colleges compete to be the best at addressing this issue,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of
Thomas of UltraViolet, the group behind the ads, hopes colleges will address rape issues.
weareultraviolet.org/sign/princeton_review_campus_rape/
For more information, go to www.WeAreUltraViolet.org.
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Minimum wage earners in Maryland saw a boost in income this month and will get more as the State eases to $10.10/hr in 2018.
Anne Arundel Maryland minimum wage rises to $8 an hour (BALTIMORE) – On Christmas eve, approximately 77,000 Maryland workers got a 75 cent raise as the minimum wage jumped to $8 per hour. An additional 94,000 workers will be indirectly affected as higher wages at the bottom of the pay scale raise salaries for those who earn slightly more than the minimum. According to research from the Economic Policy Institute January’s raise will affect 6.5 percent of Maryland’s workforce, creating $84 million in increased wages and boosting consumer spending by $55 million. On July 1, 2015 workers will get an additional 25 cents per hour as the state’s minimum wage eventually rises to $10.10 per hour by 2018. “Workers, families and businesses across the state will immediately benefit from the raise in the minimum wage. That’s a win for all of us,” said Charly Carter, executive director of Maryland Working Families, the organization behind the successful Raise Maryland campaign. In addition to Maryland, 19 others states, and the District of Columbia, raised their minimum wages, lifting the pay of over 4.4 million
workers throughout the country. In Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon and Washington, wages will rise as a result of legislation that indexes the minimum wage to inflation so that each year the minimum is automatically increased to account for rising prices. Maryland Working Families built the massive Raise Maryland campaign that included more than 60 organizations united to raise the wage, such as BRIDGE Maryland, CASA de Maryland, Communities United, Jews United for Justice, NAACP as well as grassroots support from national groups. The coalition also benefited from the generous financial support from Rep. John Delaney to bolster the campaign’s social media work. A full-time canvass knocked on more than 40,000 doors, gathered 8,000 personal letters from voters and generated more than 25,000 petition signatures, not to mention numerous phone calls and emails to legislators. Grassroots activity was complemented by a vigorous social media presence, overwhelmingly positive polling, support from more than 180 businesses statewide, several high profile events with state and federal elected officials that generated positive media coverage, radio ads and a steady drumbeat of support in the media for a higher wage. “At the same time, we recognize
that affected workers will not earn the full $10.10 until more than three years from now and that tipped workers will not benefit from this increase because legislators froze their wages at $3.63 per hour. That’s why our legislative agenda for the coming session includes measures like establishing paid sick days and other proposals that will make families more economically secure and able to flourish,” said Carter. Key provisions of the Maryland Minimum Wage Act of 2014 were stripped out or changed during consideration of the bill. The phase-in date was moved from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2018. A proposal to index the minimum wage so that it would rise to keep pace with the cost of living was amended out of the bill. Wages for tipped workers were frozen by the House at $3.63 per hour, a measure sought by the restaurant industry. Advocates beat back a broad training wage proposal but a narrower measure was established, allowing employers to pay workers under the age of 19 a subminimum of 85 percent of the minimum wage for the first six months of employment. Restaurants with a gross income of $400,000 are exempted from the higher rate, up from the previous amount of $250,000. Finally, an exemption for amusement parks will permit employers to pay workers 85 percent of the state minimum wage.
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District Chronicles | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | 11
In the Neighborhood Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington < Expects to keep D.C. from being shut down, maybe even permanently < Expects to play the lead role in one of the largest funding authorizations next year, funds Metro, roads and bridges < Believes all her economic development projects are safe and will continue, including the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Ward 8.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s 2015 predictions, 2014 review Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) says she is not as concerned about the Republican House and Senate as many residents are. Norton has spent all but 8 of her 25 years in the House with Republicans in charge and often a Republican president too. Still, she has gotten major D.C. bills enacted, she says, citing DCTAG and the $5,000 homebuyer tax credit as examples. Her other major accomplishments over the years, regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats controlled Congress include the business tax incentives, and major economic development projects that are transforming the entire Southeast and Southwest Waterfront neighborhoods, NoMa, Ward 8 communities with the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, and Upper North-
Personaldemocracy/Creative Commons
District of Columbia
With support from incoming D.C. committee chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz and his counterpart in Senate, D.C.’s home rule should be safe.
west with the former Walter Reed site. But, she is predicting rough times ahead and is wary of appropriation riders,. She, however, believes Republicans, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), have urgent priorities to get done before the 2016 election and are not looking for distractions with big fights over District matters--and fights they would get. Below are some of her predictions: < Expects significant relaxation of sequester for domestic and de-
fense funds < Chairmen of the two D.C. committees have already publicly come out for home rule, and she does not believe home rule is in danger. < How she expects to keep statehood alive in a Republican Congress that opposes it < D.C. marijuana reform is not dead < D.C.’s gun laws would continue to be a Republican Congress target < Expects to be able to keep budget autonomy referendum from being overturned in Congress
Norton supports normalization of relations with Cuba On December 18, the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released Norton’s statement on the Obama Administration’s efforts to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba: “President Obama’s opening of official relations with Cuba may not be Nixon going to China, but it is today’s version of what we needed to do to begin to bring U.S.-Cuba relations into the realities of the 21st-century. “In this case, the exchanges involved were significant, par-
ticularly with the release of Alan Gross, a U.S. international development worker who was held for five years for bringing telecommunications equipment to members of Cuba’s Jewish community. Ironically, his release is leading to this very result for the Cuban people. “The agreement to permit communications devices and telecommunications service into Cuba could be the most important development for bringing more democracy to Cubans. Isolating Cuba has only reinforced the Castro brothers’ monopoly on the ability of the Cuban people to compare themselves with people in other countries. Once exposed to real freedom on the Internet, it will be difficult for Castro’s old Cuba to remain intact. “Cuba may be allowing this opening now because its economy has all but collapsed and it no longer has reliable allies to prop it up. The Administration’s action does not lift the embargo. However, if Republicans listen to the positive reaction from the United States Chamber of Commerce and American businesses, they will follow suit and lift the embargo.”
Kwanzaa at the Anacostia Museum
Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles
Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles
Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles
Robert Eubanks/DistrictChronicles
Robert Eubanks/District Chronicles
12 | Jan. 1 - Jan. 7, 2014 | District Chronicles
On Monday, families celebrated the culmination of Kwanzaa festivities with an arts and craft workshop at the Anacostia Museum (Photo Credit: Robert Eubanks).