Godsta

2010-03-01T03:04:00.000-05:00

GodSta - Put it down. Follow me.

GodSta is a counter-revolution of ideas, principles and systems for those who are willing to create change. Our weapons are love, peace, and hope. Our colors are bright and illuminating for the purpose shedding light on issues that need to be faced and addressed. Our initiation is a commitment to fight the good fight of faith. We Know who the enemy is and how to address him.

Black Farmers, USDA Agree to $1.25 Billion Settlement

2010-02-19T01:47:00.002-05:00

By LAUREN ETTER

A group of black farmers reached a $1.25 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a longstanding civil-rights case that had cast a pall over the agency for decades.
In a conference call Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the settlement would close a "sordid chapter in USDA history."

"This is a very historic, emotional day for black farmers," said John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association who once traveled 200 miles in a mule-drawn wagon from Baskerville, Va., to Washington to raise awareness about black farmers. "But the [Obama] administration is going to have to help me finish the job."

Thursday's settlement, which remains contingent on the money being appropriated by Congress, stems from a 1997 class-action civil-rights lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman, that was filed by three African-American farmers alleging the USDA had discriminated against them and other black farmers.

Among other things, the farmers claimed they were systematically denied USDA loans and farm subsidies by agency officers. Some farmers said that, even if they were awarded a loan, the agency took so long to allot it that time ran out to plant that season's crop and they were unable to repay other debts.

The Pigford case, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was settled in April 1999. Just over $1 billion was awarded to about 16,000 claimants.

The case was reopened after black farmers argued that thousands of additional farmers hadn't been given the opportunity to make claims. The 2008 Farm Bill included a provision that restored those farmers' access to settlement awards.

It isn't clear how many farmers could qualify for the payout, but it could be tens of thousands. Last year, President Barack Obama inserted a $1.15 billion request in his budget proposal to Congress. Lawmakers didn't appropriate the money then because no formal settlement was in place, said Thomas Perrelli, U.S. associate attorney general. "I don't think anybody in Congress doubts" the funds will be appropriated "expeditiously," he said.

Mr. Obama said in a statement released Thursday, "I look forward to a swift resolution to this issue, so that the families affected can move on with their lives."

The settlement is the latest in the Obama administration's push to focus on civil-rights issues and close out longstanding discrimination claims. In December, the administration proposed spending $3.4 billion to settle longstanding claims that the federal government mismanaged Americans Indians' trust funds.

Write to Lauren Etter at lauren.etter@wsj.com

Completing the college years

2009-12-21T11:13:00.001-05:00

TOO OFTEN, colleges and universities have blamed the poor performance of low-income and minority students on the preparation they received in high schools. Basically, their message was: Send us better students, and we'll show better results.

So it's nothing sort of a breakthrough that leaders of half the country's public colleges have embarked on an initiative to close racial and socioeconomic gaps in enrollment and graduation. Data from the Access to Success Initiative released this month paint a gloomy picture of low-income and minority students: Far too few enroll in college, and even fewer make it to graduation. Consider, for example, that 45 percent of low-income and minority students entering as freshmen in 1999 had received bachelor's degrees six years later, compared with 57 percent of other students.

“Everybody Fine” - A movie for fathers to see.

2009-12-12T22:33:00.006-05:00

With a 70% out-of-wedlock birth rate, we as Blackmen need as many inspirational references as possible. And believe it or not I recently found one in new feature film. There's very little fluff to this film. In essence, it's realistic, raw, touching and powerful, and transcends race and other significant differences. Its impact will be felt whether you're a parent or not. "Everybody's Fine "is a compelling story about a fathers relationship with his now adult children after his wife's passing.

At a recent NYC screening (for film critics) there wasn't a dry eye in the theater.

Checkout an interview with Kirk Jones the films director on Lingk2us.com. Enjoy!

Price of Life

2009-10-04T22:28:00.004-04:00

Witness the transformation of an ex-convict into a community leader. From life as a hustler to life as a responsible father, Robert Childs walks us through the realities of the “Price of Life.” Childs is the voice of ex-offenders who give up life on the street to repay their debt to their children and to society.

The Villanova University production Price of Life is a short documentary shot entirely on the streets of Philadelphia, PA. Produced in conjunction with the National Comprehensive Center for Fathers, Price of Life is a film on social justice; the lifestyles of urban street hustlers is chronicled through a series of interviews detailing paths to rehabilitation within the Philadelphia community.

Price of Life focuses on the life of Robert Childs, a Philadelphia native bred into the street culture of gun violence and drug trafficking from a young age. The film brings Childs back to the locations of some of the most notable events of his life, as he discusses the intricate details of street life during the two decades that he terrorized the streets of his local community.

From a young age, a life on the streets is the only way of life that Childs knew; without a father figure to turn to for guidance, Childs learned life lessons from older groups of hustlers who took him in. Price of Life reveals the lavish vices that Childs turned to in his darkest times, motivated purely by greed and a sense of maximizing all pleasures. There existed no clearly identifiable goal for Childs; each day was likely to be his last, as he watched his companions die around him throughout the years.

His debilitating journey of crime was littered with drawbacks stemming from conflicts with law enforcement and the constant threat of death. With no sense of death or morality, Childs’ reign as a horrifying figure of violence is shown in graphic detail to the audience of Price of Life, bringing a level of understanding to Childs’ life of darkened glamour.

Other figures in Price of Life include Childs’ mother Barbara Boyd, who recounts how Childs lived as an energetic youngster in the Philadelphia community. Her recollections of Childs’ youth bridge the gap between normal childhood behavior and his introduction to the violent culture that Childs came to dominate later in life. The most turbulent years of Childs’ life is recounted by his mentor Muhammad Shakur, who connects Childs’ experiences to the greater urban community as a whole. Shakur’s testimony brings to light the bigger issues within Price of Life, establishing the trends of violence that many fatherless figures of the black community turn to.

Childs’ path of rehabilitation through the National Comprehensive Center for Fathers (NCCF) served as the catalyst for turning his life around. Through a series of classroom instructions and personal mentoring, Childs worked to overcome the personal demons that plagued him for decades. Price of Life includes the NCCF’s director Kofi Asante, who provides his insight into Childs’ transformation and his strength and resolve to turn his life around to become a leader and role model for the community he once intimidated.

2009-08-17T19:58:00.004-04:00

Tom Daley, Dancing With The Stars?
I thought he was in jail with Jack Abramoff.

The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail
Nonprofit Group Linked to Lawmaker
Was Funded Mostly by Clients of Lobbyist

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 31, 2005

The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.

2009-08-05T00:44:00.009-04:00

Obama 'Joker' Picture Pops Up In Los Angeles and Across the Internet

You might not expect liberal Los Angeles, of all places, to be ground zero for anti-Obama sentiment, but that appears to be the case with a new, apparently grassroots campaign in the city. Posters have been spotted on utility poles and walls around town, depicting the president made up grotesquely as The Joker, the infamous Heath Ledger character in "The Dark Knight," with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick. The word "socialism" is printed in bold, dark letters under the image of his face.Nobody has come forward yet to claim responsibility for the posters, which, of course, only adds to the mystery and fuels Internet speculation.

The poster has also gone viral online, crashing the Web site that first posted images of it and rising to the top of Google's "Today's Hot Trends" list.

The poster has also gone viral online, crashing the Web site that first posted images of it and rising to the top of Google's "Today's Hot Trends" list.

Whoever is behind the posters has to be thrilled by the sudden media attention and especially the breast-beating overreaction by certain Democrats. Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson was especially melodramatic:
"Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery," says Hutchinson. "It is mean-spirited and dangerous.

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

For some reason Hutchinson wasn't nearly so upset when President George W. Bush was depicted with devil horns.

A bigger question than who's responsible for the poster is what does The Joker have to do with socialism? Isn't he more of an anarchist?

2009-08-04T22:38:00.001-04:00

First African-American female rabbi ordained

June 7, 2009

(JTA) -- The first African-American woman rabbi in the United States was ordained.

Cleveland native Alysa Stanton, 45, was one of 14 rabbis ordained Saturday at the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati. She is a graduate of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Stanton, a convert and mother to an adopted 14-year-old daughter, will take up her new pulpit as the spiritual leader of Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, S.C. Bayt Shalom is a small Conservative congregation that two years ago also affiliated with the Reform movement.

The former Pentecostal Christian converted 20 years ago while in college. She is a trained psychotherapist who specializes in trauma and grief.

2009-07-23T18:39:00.007-04:00

Heart of Stone

Bloods, Crips, College?
Passionate principal of an inner-city high school inspires dueling gangs to relinquish their weapons for education’s sake. Before 1960, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, the older Jewish and current African-American alumni cross cultures and join in raising funds for college in order to return their alma mater to its former glory.

2009-07-23T00:14:00.002-04:00

Do You Know Who You Are Getting Your Hot Dog From?
Newly Opened Felony Franks in Chicago Employs Ex-Offenders
By NATHALIE TADENA
July 20, 2009

For Bob Fitzgerald, finding a job with multiple DUI convictions on his record and no driver's license was no easy task. Then in July, the 56-year-old recovering alcoholic found employment—his first job since his last conviction in 2003—at a newly opened hot dog stand in Chicago.

Name of Illinois hot dog stand that employs ex-felons has caused controversy.

"I spent the last three years in and out of institutions, living in public housing," the Chicago resident said. "This is the first time I'm able to pay for anything."

Fitzgerald is an employee at the aptly-named Felony Franks, a local business that employs rehabilitated ex-felons looking for a chance to improve their lives. Most of Fitzgerald's co-workers have been convicted in the past of drug-related crimes, including dealing and illegal activities to support drug habits, such as theft and armed robbery.

2009-07-15T01:30:00.006-04:00

Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images

IN WARREN, MICH.: President Obama told a crowd at Macomb
Community College that “when we have placed our bet for the
future on education, we have prospered.”

Obama unveils plan to invest in community colleges

IN WARREN, MICH.: President Obama told a crowd at Macomb Community College that “when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered.” The president says he intends to inject $12 billion into the nation's two-year schools over the next 10 years to help struggling workers prepare for new careers.

By Peter Nicholas
July 15, 2009

Reporting from Warren, Mich. -- With unemployment continuing to climb, President Obama on Tuesday unveiled a plan to pump $12 billion into the nation's community colleges over the next 10 years to help struggling workers prepare for new careers, saying a better-educated workforce was crucial to long-term prosperity.

"Time and again, when we have placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result -- by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce," Obama said.

In his appearance here at Macomb Community College and earlier in the day in Washington, Obama sought to draw a direct connection between recovery from the economic crisis and a broad array of administration initiatives, including education, the stimulus package and overhauling the healthcare system.

Before flying to Michigan, Obama acknowledged that unemployment might "tick up for several months," but he said his prescriptions, taken together, offered the best hope for creating jobs.

And here, in a state where the jobless rate tops 14% compared with the national average of 9.5%, the president pointed to the healthcare debate raging in Congress and said stabilizing medical costs was crucial to restoring prosperity.

"Now is the time to build a firmer, stronger foundation for growth that will not only withstand future economic storms, but that will help us thrive," he said on the Macomb campus. "To build that foundation, we have to slow the growth of healthcare costs that are driving us into debt."

He took a barely veiled shot at Republicans, who were in power when the recession began but who have relentlessly attacked his recovery plans.

"I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, well, this is Obama's economy. That's fine. Give it to me," the president said. "My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe."

Obama added: "The hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won't be coming back. They are casualties of a changing economy."

He argued that community colleges could play an important role in helping displaced workers build new careers, but that they needed more resources at a time when state and local budget problems could lead to capped enrollments and fewer course offerings. FULL FEATURE

A SERIES OF FEATURES ON MENTORING

2009-07-15T00:10:00.000-04:00

MENTORS: Real Life Heroes
Forever in His Debt

I can remember my first mentor his name was Oraston Brooks. He was an exceptional artist, who could draw or paint anything. For several years, he worked as an illustrator and comp artist for various advertising agencies in New York City. When he visited, we would briefly discuss our common interest as artist, and he'd always encourage me to develop my skills. Oraston wasn’t always readily available, but the times we shared discussing art were greatly appreciated.

Several years passed, when I learned that Oraston suddenly passed away. My Aunt, who was a very good friend of his, and I attended the funeral service. There I met his nephew, and had the opportunity to talk to him about my relationship with his uncle, and the impact that his acts of kindness had on my life. I told him how, I vividly remembered meeting him in the early 1960’s. At that time, Oraston was dating my Aunt, but whenever he visited he would always take the time to acknowledge me as a fellow artist. One day, after several requests he sat with me, and did a pencil sketch of one of my favorite hero’s, Hercules unchained.

I was eight-years-old and in the third grade at the time. That-single act of kindness, and kinship, had a greater impact on my life and career, than my education at both Art & Design High School, and Pratt Institute, my twenty-plus-year career as an artist, designer, mentor and educator, simply because it made it all possible. When he passed that sketch to me, he was passing the baton, and daring me to carry on. He acknowledged and validated my talent, when others did so in passing. Most saw my ability to draw as a hobby, but he showed me that it was a beautiful gift from God, and for that I am forever in his debt.

When passing a baton you don’t give it back to the runner, who gave it to you, but past it on to the next runner. I always encourage my students to stop, reflect and remember those who’ve helped them, to consider developing and strengthening their ability to give. To actively create in their lives the cycle of giving, the returns are immeasurable.

Brotherman

Teen Birth Rate Up in 26 States in 2006

2009-01-07T16:41:00.003-05:00

Highest rates in South, Southwest; lowest rates in Northeast, government reports
Posted January 7, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The teen birth rate in the United States increased in 26 of the 50 states in 2006, representing almost every region of the country, according to a new government report.

Back in December 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the teen birth rate for the entire nation had increased for the first time in 15 years in 2006 -- from 40.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 in 2005 to 41.9 in 2006. Those statistics were based on 99 percent of all birth certificates in the United States for 2006, the agency said.

The latest report, released Wednesday by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, includes state-by-state teen birth rate statistics based on all birth certificates issued in 2006.

The report revealed that teen birth rates were highest in the South and Southwest, with the highest rate recorded in Mississippi (68.4), followed by New Mexico (64.1) and Texas (63.1).

Teen birth rates for 2006 were lowest in the Northeast, with the lowest rates in New Hampshire (18.7), Vermont (20.8), and Massachusetts (21.3), according to the report, Births: Final Data for 2006.

The only states reporting a decrease in teen birth rates between 2005 and 2006 were North Dakota, Rhode Island and New York, the report said.

The birth rate for teens 15 to 19 years old increased 3 percent in 2006, interrupting the 14-year period of continuous decline from 1991 through 2005. Only the rate for the youngest teens declined in 2006, to 0.6 per 1,000 females aged 10 to 14 years. The rates for teens 15 to 17 and 18 to 19 years old rose 3 to 4 percent each. These increases followed declines of 45 percent and 26 percent, respectively, in the rates between 1991 and 2005, according to the report.

Between 2005 and 2006, birth rates increased 3 percent to 5 percent each for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and American Indian or Alaska Native teens and 2 percent for Hispanic teens. The rate for Asian or Pacific Islander teens was unchanged, the report said.

More information

For more on teen pregnancy visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
More From USNews.com

* 8 Traits of Teens Who Abstain From Sex
* Teens and Sex: How to Help Your Kids Dodge Pregnancy and STDs
* 7 Factors That Foster Teen Virginity, Pledge or No Pledge
* A Debate About Teaching Abstinence

2008-11-17T23:47:00.000-05:00

A Negro Could be President in 40 Years
A Prophetic Robert F. Kennedy Quote From 1968

He gave a speech to the Voice of America all around the world 40 years ago. And despite what was going on in the country, particularly in Alabama, Bobby Kennedy said this: Things are 'moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be president in 40 years.' This is in 1968, we're now in 2008. '`There's no question about it,' the attorney general said. `In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has.' .... Kennedy said that prejudice exists and probably will continue to ... `But we have tried to make progress and we are making progress. We are not going to accept the status quo.'

- Robert F. Kennedy, Washington Post May 27, 1968

2008-07-21T03:43:00.005-04:00

The story of American democracy is often told as the steady expansion of voting but history has not yet caught up with one group—former felons. In the early American political system, the right to vote was reserved for white males over the age of 21 who owned land. In 1920, after the passage of the 19th Amendment, it was extended to women nationwide. The right to vote was technically extended to African-Americans in 1868 with the passage of the 14th Amendment and effectively enforced with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1971, Congress lowered the legal voting age to 18. Yet, in all but two states, citizens with felony convictions are prohibited from voting either permanently or temporarily. The United States is the only country that permits permanent disenfranchisement of felons even after completion of their sentences.

2008-06-23T14:11:00.003-04:00

Obama Calls for More Responsibility
From Black Fathers
By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: June 16, 2008

CHICAGO — Addressing a packed congregation at one of the city’s largest black churches, Senator Barack Obama on Sunday invoked his own absent father to deliver a sharp message to black men, saying “we need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn’t just end at conception.”

In an address that was striking for its bluntness and where he chose to give it, Mr. Obama directly addressed one of the most delicate topics confronting black leaders: how much responsibility absent fathers bear for some of the intractable problems afflicting black Americans. Mr. Obama noted that “more than half of all black children live in single-parent households,” a number that he said had doubled since his own childhood.

“Too many fathers are M.I.A., too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes,” Mr. Obama said to a chorus of approving murmurs from the audience. “They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”

Accompanied by his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, who sat in the front pew, Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, laid out his case in stark terms that would be difficult for a white candidate to make, telling the mostly black audience not to “just sit in the house watching ‘SportsCenter,’ ” and to stop praising themselves for mediocre accomplishments.

“Don’t get carried away with that eighth-grade graduation,” he said, bringing many members of the congregation to their feet, applauding. “You’re supposed to graduate from eighth grade.”

His themes have also been sounded by the comedian Bill Cosby, who has stirred debate among black Americans by bluntly speaking about an epidemic of fatherlessness in African-American families while suggesting that some blacks use racism as a crutch to explain the lack of economic progress.

Mr. Obama did not take his Father’s Day message to Trinity United Church of Christ, where he resigned as a member in May after a series of disputes over controversial remarks by the church’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Instead, he chose the 20,000-member Apostolic Church of God, a vast brick structure on the South Side near Lake Michigan. The church’s pastor, Byron Brazier, is an Obama supporter.

The address was not Mr. Obama’s first foray into the issue. On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama has frequently returned to the topic of parenting and personal responsibility, particularly for low-income black families. Speaking in Texas in February, Mr. Obama told the mostly black audience to take responsibility for the education and nutrition of their children, and lectured them for feeding their children “cold Popeyes” for breakfast.

“I know how hard it is to get kids to eat properly,” Mr. Obama said at the time.

The remarks Sunday were Mr. Obama’s first since he claimed the nomination that have addressed the problems confronting blacks in a comprehensive and straightforward way. While Mr. Obama’s remarks were directed at a black, churchgoing audience, his campaign hopes they resonate among white social conservatives in a race where these voters may be up for grabs.

On Friday, Mr. Obama said he would co-sponsor a bill, with Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, that his campaign said would address the “national epidemic of absentee fathers.” If passed, the legislation would increase enforcement of child support payments and strengthen services for domestic violence prevention.

“We need families to raise our children,” he said at the service on Sunday. “We need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn’t just end at conception. That doesn’t just make you a father. What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”

Mr. Obama spoke of the burden that single parenthood placed on his mother, who raised him with the help of his maternal grandparents.

“I know the toll it took on me, not having a father in the house,” he continued. “The hole in your heart when you don’t have a male figure in the home who can guide you and lead you. So I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle — that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my children.”

But Mr. Obama also acknowledged his own flaws as a father, citing the breakneck schedule of the campaign and the rare days he spends with his children.

“I say this knowing that I have been an imperfect father,” he said, “knowing that I have made mistakes and I’ll continue to make more, wishing that I could be home for my girls and my wife more than I am right now.”

Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina and an Obama supporter, said he welcomed not only the message the speech sent to black Americans, but also how it laid bare Mr. Obama’s own struggles growing up and, now, as the father of two children.

“I have been saying for some time now that he needs to talk more about his life experiences and what it means to be raised by a single mother,” Mr. Clyburn said. “He opened up.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the remarks on absent black fathers “courageous and important,” but cautioned that Mr. Obama’s words would not be embraced by all segments of the black community.

“There are a lot of those who will say that he should not be airing dirty laundry, those that will say he’s beating up on the victims,” Mr. Sharpton said in a telephone interview. “This will not be something that will be unanimously applauded, but I think that not discussing it is not going to make it go away.”

The Obama campaign added the speech to Mr. Obama’s schedule on Saturday, when he returned to Chicago after a campaign swing through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, took the day off from campaigning, but met privately in Washington with Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister.

The church did not publicize Mr. Obama’s visit in advance, and carried no mention of it on the its Web site.

But word had clearly gotten out, and by 11 a.m., as a musician warmed up on the timpani, thousands of people had filed through metal detectors at the church entrance and filled the pews, saving seats for latecomers with pocketbooks and hymnals. Even those who arrived an hour before the service milled around the church searching for empty seats.

Mr. Obama sprinkled his roughly 30-minute address with moments of levity. He said that when he asked his wife why Mother’s Day produced so much more “hoopla” than Father’s Day, she reminded him of his special status.

“She said, ‘Let me tell you, every day is Father’s Day,’ ” he said. “ ‘Every day you’re getting away with something. You’re running for president.’ ”

2008-04-01T16:38:00.008-04:00

Zimbabwe, What Might Have Been
Joshua Nkomo A Partner in the Revolution

The first leader of the Rhodesian nationalist movement was Joshua Nqabuko Nyangolo Nkomo. He had been elected
president of the newly formed African National Congress on
1 September 1957.

Joshua Nkomo (1917–1999)

Zimbabwean trade unionist and politician, vice president 1990–99. As president of ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People's Union) from 1961, he was a leader of the black nationalist movement against the white Rhodesian regime. He was a member of Robert Mugabe's cabinet 1980–82 and from 1987.

After completing his education in South Africa, Joshua Nkomo became a welfare officer on Rhodesian Railways and later organizing secretary of the Rhodesian African Railway Workers' Union. He entered politics in 1950, and was president of the African National Congress (ANC) in southern Rhodesia 1957–59. In 1961 he created ZAPU, of which he was president.

Arrested along with other black African politicians, he was kept in detention 1963–74. After his release he joined forces with Robert Mugabe as a joint leader of the Patriotic Front in 1976, opposing the white-dominated regime of Ian Smith. Nkomo took part in the Lancaster House Conference, which led to Rhodesia's independence as the new state of Zimbabwe, and became a cabinet minister and vice president.

Dr. King on War! (5yrs and counting)

2008-03-24T02:30:00.002-04:00

Bill Cosby about Gangsta Rap, drugs and youth

2008-03-13T01:48:00.002-04:00

Hookers For Jesus--Redemption In Sin City

2008-03-12T02:37:00.001-04:00

Hookers for Jesus being interviewed by George Knapp, Investigative Reporter with CBS affiliate KLAS in Las Vegas. Includes footage of JCs Girls at the AVN Porn Convention. (Final product for I-Team EyeWitness News)

Redemption in Sin City

Statistics of Prositution

The sex industry is a sad world, full of broken dreams, battered, shattered, sexually abused women, men and children. It is destroying our families, it is causing alarming divorce rates, teen pregnancies, STDs-AIDS, drug usage, not to mention altered views of what sex really means!

Buckle your seatbelts, here below are the stats on prostitution in the United States.

AGE FACTORS

* Average age of entry: 14-16 yrs
* Average mean age: 31
* Average years in prostitution: 11
* Percent younger than age 18 at entry: 42 percent

VIOLENCE IN PROSTITUTION

Traumatized individuals tend to minimize or deny their experiences, especially when they are in the midst of ongoing trauma, such as war combat or prostitution. This leads to a decreased rate of reporting violent crimes. Please understand these girls are afraid of their pimps, and if they told everything that is actually going on behind closed doors, they fear violent retaliation from the pimp or death. I can personally relate to this myself!

* Threatened with a weapon: 78 percent
* Physically assaulted: 82 percent
* Raped: 82 percent

Many women in this business are confused of the definition of rape. If rape is as unwanted sex act or coerced, then the statistic would be a much higher percentage. Some women in prostitution assume there is no difference between prostitution and rape, and they only call it rape if they were not paid, regardless of the violence of the act—asking them is like asking someone in a combat zone if they are under fire. A significant percentage of women currently prostituting deny rape and other violence because it would be too stressful to acknowledge the extreme danger posed by johns and pimps!

* Raped more than five times: 73 percent
* Current or past homelessness: 84 percent
* As a child, was hit or beaten by a caregiver until injured or bruised: 49 percent
* Sexually abused as a child: 65-95 percent

http://www.hookersforjesus.net/statistics.cfm

The Church
At South Las Vegas
3051 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway
Henderson, NV 89052

Located right off of St. Rose Parkway and Seven Hills Drive.

2008-03-12T02:26:00.004-04:00

FACT SHEET: AIDS In East Harlem - Intersections
SPONSORED BY Union Settlement

AIDS became another major piece in the puzzle of health and social ills in East Harlem since the beginning of the virus. AIDS cases have been recorded in East Harlem since the very early 1980’s. Since then, AIDS cases continued to increase in East Harlem peaking at around 1992 and 1993 when the CDC expanded the diagnostic criteria for AIDS. Although the AIDS case rate appears to have leveled off, this could be due to two major factors: 1) there is still a reporting lag for 1997 and 1998, and 2) the new medications are proving effective in slowing the AIDS progression rate, (i.e. a CD4 count of less that 200). Nonetheless, the social conditions that accelerate the AIDS epidemic continue at high rates in East Harlem. For example, East Harlem ranks #2 in NYC for STD’s, and #1 citywide for substance abuse hospitalizations. These factors, when added to high poverty rates, facilitate the spread of HIV.

East Harlem has a total population of over 110,508 representing 1.4% of New York City’s population yet has the second highest (4,330 per 100,000 adults) cumulative AIDS rate in the entire city (OAS 10/98).

Zip code 10029 in East Harlem recorded the highest number of AIDS cases among Hispanics and blacks in the entire borough of Manhattan (Blacks/Latinos living with AIDS by zip in DOH – B.D.I.R. 10/98).

By February 1999, there were 4,146 cumulative AIDS cases in East Harlem. Of the cumulative total 2,976, or 72% were males and 1,170 or 28% were females. (OAS 2/99)

Of these, a total of 2,662 persons have died of AIDS in East Harlem. Of the surviving 1,484 persons living with AIDS in East Harlem, 1,029 are male and 455 are female (ibid.).

713 or 48% of the persons living with AIDS in East Harlem are blacks, 679 or 45% Hispanics, 87 or .05% are whites and five persons are listed as others/unknown (ibid.).

The primary mode of HIV transmission in East Harlem is intravenous drug use (IDU). A staggering 62.3% of all AIDS infections resulted from IDU, more than six out every ten HIV infections. This represents the highest percentage in all of Manhattan (ibid.).

Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for 716 or 17.3% of the transmission rate in East Harlem.

Heterosexual transmissions accounted for 392 of these the total AIDS cases in East Harlem. Women account for 80.3% of transmissions in this category.

EAST HARLEM HIV CARE NETWORK
OUR MISSION

The East Harlem HIV CARE Network, through its committees, workgroups, and members strives:

To provide a forum for coordinating community residents, professional health and social service providers, and consumers of HIV/AIDS services in East Harlem.

To prioritize HIV/AIDS as a crucial issue in East Harlem and to keep HIV/AIDS in the forefront of community awareness, as well as national and local policy decision-making.

To gather and disseminate information concerning HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and related services with a dedicated commitment to data, methods of analysis, and statistics.

To monitor and evaluate the HIV/AIDS services rendered and consumed in East Harlem in order to avoid duplication of services and to foster closer working linkages.

To enhance the quality of HIV/AIDS services in East Harlem.

To advocate for East Harlem on every government level to improve the quality of life for people in our community living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Jose Martin Garcia Orduna - Network Coordinator

EAST HARLEM HEALTH DEPARTMENT 158 EAST 115^TH STREET, SUITE 218. NEW YORK, N.Y. 10029
TEL: (212) 828-6141/42/43 - FAX: (212) 360-5914

2007-11-13T01:45:00.000-05:00

COMMENTARY: Drug Dealer Frank Lucas, Denzel and Dad

My Father as a kid delivered groceries to the first drug kingpin “Bumpy” Johnson, who at the time, lived in the corner building on 120th street and 5th Avenue, across the street from Mount Morris Park. He use to tell me these colorful stories with admiration, about this man. Bumpy was an employee and conduit for the mafia, helping to orchestrate the distribution of heroin into Harlem and surrounding communities in the 1940's, an epidemic that would later spread and engulf the entire country for generations to come.

The street gangs of the 40's would become some of the first addicts, their members would ultimately form the first ruthless drug-gangs of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Families were destroyed individual lives ruined, violence and crime across the board increased at staggering rates. In spite the gains from the Civil Rights Movement, as a community we never fully recovered from the initial impact of the flooding of drugs into our communities.

Frank Lucas, portrayed by academy Award winner Denzel Washington in “American Gangster”, was the driver for Bumpy Johnson until his death by heart attack in 1968. By the time Mr. Lucas took power- the Harlem community had been decimated by this epidemic and the second generation of addicts already overwhelmed the streets. Like the Hip Hop culture violent movies have a tremendous impact on our children. Our young-people are continually bombarded with negative messages that unfortunately help shape and mold their character, Al Pacino's as Scareface is still a popular image on T-Shirts.

The moral of the story is not that the bad guy gets it in the end. Too many hopeless kids who are engaged in criminal activity, view the demise of these individuals in a fatalistic and morbidly glamorous way. Enlighten by our past history and current events we have to be careful not to glorify criminals. Mr. Lucas has the right to have his story told but as parents, mentors, big brothers and sisters, we must always monitor the messages and more important the response to the message portrayed in media.

Dad's discussions about Bumpy, were a small part of the rich history of the community that he shared with me. He gave me, as I did my son, Claude Brown's definitive book on life in Harlem, “Manchild in the Promise Land”, when I was a teenager. He also talked about Malcolm X and Dr. King, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Together we watched, Gil Noble's informative program “Like It Is”. My love of history and current events came from my dads talks about the Bumpy Johnson's as well as the Dr. King's of this world. He taught me to discern the messages that would bombarded me in my life-time. He knew then that no matter what, there would always be plenty of people like Bumpy Johnson and Frank Lucas around to share theirs.

Brotherman

2007-10-11T17:01:00.001-04:00

Snitching, loyalty to who!

I was listening to a local radio talk show the other day, the host and the guest a young rapper were discussing the rap culture - specifically about a promising young rapper that was shot to death in the lobby of his building the week before. They were discussing some of the social norms that have hindered the last few generations living in the inner-cities. Snitching – is a term used when an individual informs to the police on another individual whose committed a crime. This like other norms are complexed because a lot of the crimes committed are often by someone we know: family members, friends or associates. Cousin Johnny was a Pimp, when I was about 8 years-old and alone with granny in her apartment, while in flight from the police he came banging on the front door. I let him and his lady-friend rush in, and while he frantically peered through the peep-hole, he'd asked me to run and get him a beer.

In order for communities to change and grow these norms must die. If they're not willing to change, we must learn to snitch, drop-a-dime and rat-out, all of the cousin Johnny's of the world. if not, don't complain about the state of your neighborhood or what the police is not doing. No one will respect your community more that you do. Now, we know that there are a broad range of factors that contributed to the problems in our communities. But, maybe instead of waiting for the next movement, this might be a good one to start. What do you think…?

Brotherman

2007-09-03T01:48:00.000-04:00

Marbury's sneaker attack
is for real
By Scott Boeck, USA TODAY

NBA star Stephon Marbury says he is trying to change the sneaker industry by marketing a less-expensive basketball shoe.

The New York Knicks guard is leading a revolution, what he calls "the Starbury Movement," against high-priced sneaker brands that market to lower-income kids. Marbury, who grew up in the projects in New York City's Coney Island, teamed with Steve & Barry's, a national discount clothing store, and created his own signature sneaker — Starbury One — that sells for $14.98. His Starbury collection includes three other styles of sneakers and a line of urban apparel, most of which sells for less than $10 at more than 140 stores.

"This is a unique entry into the athletic-shoe industry," says Mike May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. "One, it's low priced. Two, you have a high-profile athletic figure who is attached to it."

Marbury on $14.98 shoes: "This ain't no hoax"

BALTIMORE — Doloris Ellis thinks it's ridiculous basketball sneakers cost up to $175. So when she heard an NBA superstar created a high-performance shoe for a fraction of that cost, she got in line.

Ellis was one of hundreds who visited Baltimore's Eastpoint Mall to purchase Stephon Marbury's new signature sneaker — the Starbury One — for her two grandchildren.

The sneaker hit the shelves Aug. 17 and is selling for $14.98 at Steve & Barry's University Sportswear.

"This ain't no hoax," the New York Knicks point guard insists. "What we are doing is real."

Marbury, who earned $16.5 million and averaged 16.3 points last season, will wear his shoe when the Knicks open the season tonight at the Memphis Grizzlies. He injured his heel during the preseason but says it had nothing to do with the shoe, which he wore in the preseason. "Yes, I am wearing the shoe," he's said numerous times.

SPORTS SCOPE: Gotta be the shoes?

During the season Marbury will wear a pair of his sneakers that a student-athlete — chosen randomly in a national contest — picks up at a Steve & Barry's store on game day, says Erin Patton, the principal of The Mastermind Group, the marketing agency behind the Starbury Collection.

The two-time All-Star says the Starbury One has the same quality leather and construction as other signature shoes. "If (critics) don't believe it, they can take the shoe and go test it themselves," he says.

His shoe is made in China like most major brands. Rocketfish, a firm founded by ex-Nike designers, developed the high-performance sneaker. "Seeing is believing," says Patton, former director of the Jordan Brand. "It's an NBA-quality shoe. Anyone who looks at it can tell that the material, the composition of the shoe, is just the same as any other performance hoop shoe."

Skeptics aren't so sure.

"No, it's not going to be as good a shoe as an $80 shoe," says John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence.

Figures of how many Starburys have been sold have not been released, but consumers such as Ellis waited in lines for a pair during Marbury's 17-day, 34-store promotional trek.

"It's making it priceable for a family, people with more than one child," Ellis says. "I hope these catch on."

Marbury didn't sign an endorsement deal. Instead, he receives a commission from every Starbury item sold. "I am a trailblazer," he says. "I'm willing to do the things that others wouldn't do."

2007-09-01T02:56:00.000-04:00

COMMENTARY: Trickle down -From Michael Vicks, Marbury, to our Children

It's been a few weeks since the NFL player Michael Vick's dog-fighting incident, more than enough time for several camps to respond. The two I found most interesting was Stephon Marbury's of the New York Knicks and members of the community who mimicked his response. Here is Marbury's quote: “I think it's tough. I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dog-fighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors. I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down. I think he's one of the superb athletes and he's a good human being. I just think that he fell into a bad situation."

Notice he never mentioned torture, or electrocuting, lynching, or the drowning of animals. Common sense should tell most that it's the sadistic execution more than the fighting itself, which is in question here. Vick's athletic and monetary value to the NFL could have possibly gotten him off for the dog-fighting. When one group feels the need to justify the actions of it's own by leaving out pertinent facts it's inexcusable. Progress like ignorance can be bliss, we could begin to sound and act just like those who've historically practiced the same policy of ignorance towards us as a people for generations.

As a community we must tailor our response of support not for those who get paid millions of dollars to act and talk in an unconscionable manner. Our support has to be focused on the messages that trickles down to our children. As an adult, Michael Vick's, actions and Marbury's and certain member's in the community response has confused me. What of our children where's the concern for them, the issues with gangs, drugs, and violence come from, among other things, a lack of morale supervision and courage to deal in truth. Just as for generations, we've watched our parents and leaders respond to issues, i.e., the Civil Rights Movement, our children are watching us.

Brotherman

2007-08-24T23:37:00.000-04:00

Parents: Yanks should axe
gang caps

By David Freedlander, amNewYork Staff Writer | dfreedlander@am-ny.com August 24, 2007

A group of concerned East Harlem parents are calling on the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball to stop selling hats from a cap manufacturer that adds gang colors and symbols to some of their wares.

The hats, festooned with a crown above the "NY" or with a red or blue bandannas stitched in, are well-known short-hand signs for street gangs such as the Latin Kings, the Crips, and the Bloods, according to the Johnny Rivera, president of the Coalition to Protect Our Children, which is leading the fight.

"These corporations are capitalizing on known friction within communities of color," Rivera said.

"Any 11-year-old could buy one of these and get jumped if they walk in the wrong neighborhood because they don't know the signs."

New Era Cap Co., the maker of the hats, and the New York Yankees, did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but a spokesperson for Major League Baseball said: "Major League Baseball was not previously aware of the symbolism of the cap design and, of course, is very concerned about the issue."

The group is also calling on area retailers to pull the hats from their shelves, but so far only one, Tom Dick and Harry's, a sneaker store on Third Avenue, has done so.

The manager of the store, Isaiah Hill, said a friend of his was jumped after wearing one of the bandanna hats in the wrong neighborhood in East New York.

"I don't think kids should get beat up because of a hat," he said.

Gang prevention experts said the caps could trigger a dangerous reaction.

"A lot of times a young person not in a gang will wear one of these items because they like the way they look and people who are gang members respond and react as if the kid is in fact in a gang," said Lisa Taylor-Austin, an area counselor.

Alex Alonso, the creator of Web resource streetgangs.com, questioned why manufactures would make the caps.

"They are not being responsible," he said. "They know the audience and they know who is going to buy it. They are making far too much money to do something like that."

THE JENA SIX

2007-08-23T14:10:00.000-04:00

2007-08-23T13:52:00.000-04:00

WHAT'S (STILL) GOING ON!!
'Stealth racism' stalks deep South

By Tom Mangold, Louisiana

Jesse Rae Beard is one of the 'Jena Six' students on trial

This World investigates the rise of discrimination in America's deep south as six black youths are charged with an alleged attack on a white student, which could see them jailed for up to 50 years.

Three rope nooses hanging from a tree in the courtyard of a school in a small Southern town in Louisiana have sparked fears of a new kind of "stealth" racism spreading through America's deep south.

Although this sinister episode happened last August, the repercussions have been extensive and today the town of Jena finds itself facing the unwelcome glare of national and international publicity.

Jena has a mixed community, 85% white, 12% black.

The bad old days of the "Mississippi Burning" 60s, civil liberties and race riots, lynchings, the KKK and police with billy clubs beating up blacks might have ended.

But in the year that the first serious black candidate for the White House, Barak Obama, is helping unite the races in the north, the developments in the tiny town of Jena are disturbing.

Nooses in the playground

It all began at Jena High School last summer when a black student, Kenneth Purvis, asked the school's principal whether he was permitted to sit under the shade of the school courtyard tree, a place traditionally reserved for white students only. He was told he could sit where he liked.

Tom Mangold interviewed primary witnesses in Jena

The following morning, when the students arrived at school, they found three nooses dangling from the tree.

Most whites in Jena dismissed it as a tasteless prank, but the minority black community identified the gesture as something far more vicious.

"It meant the KKK, it meant 'niggers we're going to kill you, we're gonna hang you 'til you die'," said Caseptla Bailey, one of the black community leaders.

Old racial fault lines in Jena began to fracture the town. It was made worse when - despite the school head recommending the noose-hangers be expelled - the board overruled him and the three white student perpetrators merely received a slap on the wrist.

Troubled community

Billy Doughty, the local barber, has never cut a black man's hair. But he does not think there is a racism problem in Jena.

Caseptla Bailey with a picture of her son Robert, one of the 'Jena Six'

Caseptla Bailey who is 56 and a former Air Force officer, has a degree in business management, but she cannot get a job as a bank teller. She lives in an area called Ward 10, which is where the majority of blacks live in trailers or wooden shacks. She says no whites live there at all.

"We want to live better, we want better housing." she says. "The Church says we should all be brothers and sisters in Christ".

Yet Sunday morning is perhaps one of the most segregated times in all of America. In the white neighbourhood, Pastor Dominick DiCarlo has only one black member of the Church, out of 450 resident members.

Race-related fights

As racial tension grew last autumn and winter, there were race-related fights between teenagers in town. On 4 December, racial tension boiled over once more at the school when a white student, Justin Barker, was attacked by a small group of black students.

He fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete, suffering bruising and concussion.

He was treated at the local hospital and released, and that same evening felt able to put in an appearance at a school function.

District Attorney Reed Walters, to the astonishment of the black community, has upgraded the charges of Mr Barker's alleged attackers to conspiracy to commit second degree murder and attempted second degree murder. If convicted they could be 50 before they leave prison.

Mr Walters has refused to give an on-the-record interview to the BBC about his decision on the charges.

Mr Barker has since been charged with possessing a firearm in an arms-free zone (the school grounds).

The six black students will face a hearing next month. One of them is Caseptla Bailey's son Robert, who originally had his bail set at an unaffordable $138,000 (£69,495).

She had to hire a private lawyer who managed to get Robert's bail reduced to $84,000 (£42,285) so that her family could meet it.

Michelle Jones' brother Carwyn is one of the boys charged. She is adamant that he will not get a fair trial in Jena.

"If he's tried here, the jury will pick who they want. I have no doubt that they will convict those boys of attempted second degree murder."

When they do eventually file into court, many observers believe it is the town of Jena which will really be on trial.

This World: "Race hate in Louisiana" will be broadcast on Thursday 24 May 2007 at 1900 BST on BBC Two.

2007-08-17T19:54:00.000-04:00

Book Details Journey from the Streets to the Stove

All Things Considered, March 5, 2007 · In the late 1980s, Jeff Henderson was making $35,000 a week as a major drug dealer in San Diego. He got busted, went to prison and wound up washing dishes on kitchen duty. Then he had an epiphany: He actually liked to cook.

Henderson used his talent and his growing repertoire of recipes to rise through the ranks of the prison kitchen.

After his release, he eventually made his way to some of the best restaurants on the West Coast — where his skills making crack cocaine helped him master fussy French recipes such as foie gras.

Now, Henderson is the an award-winning executive chef at Cafe Bellagio in Las Vegas. The 42-year-old describes his remarkable transformation in a new memoir, Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras.

2007-08-17T19:15:00.000-04:00

His Bags of Books Help Prisoners Learn A Better Way

Rich Dowling entered the lobby of the Morris County Correctional Facility recently, a tote bag brimming with self-help books in each hand. They are for the inmates, and they have titles such as “Anger: How to Live With It and Without It” and “As You Thinketh.”

“They're looking to correct behavior here,” said the 57-year-old licensed professional counselor, as he placed the bags in a security scanner before proceeding into the jail. “But to correct your behavior, you have to change your thinking.”

Self-defeating thoughts— some embedded in the subconscious since childhood— can cluster into beliefs, fuel emotions and adversely impact lives, according to Dowling. Reading books, and therapy, can be examined, abandoned and replaced with life-affirming alternatives.

For years, Dowling's goal has been to get self-help titles into as many prisons, jails and related facilities as possible. In 2004 his efforts were formalized when he and three partners— Susan Akers, his wife; Barry Grant and Darlene Smith— created Books Behind Bars and Beyond, which has sent books to facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Indiana and Scotland.Grant benefited from Dowling's early efforts. He was serving time at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway from 2001, he said, when a guy in the prison yard told him about S.M.A.R.T. Recovery, an option to Alcoholics Anonymous that emphasizes self-reliance and thought management. Grant called Dowling, a founding board member of S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Self-Management And Recovery Training. At the time the men were strangers.

“Rich took money ot of his own pocket and sent me books,” Grant recalled. “As I read I needed someone to go over things. Rich never hesitated to accept a collect call from me. Then he visited me at Rahway and we talked. Through glass, but we talked. He is a wonderful individual with a vision.”

In the books Grant learned behavior is learned and can be unlearned and relearned. One day he was stopped cold by a quote from Epicttetus, an ancient Greek philosopher.

“It was ‘People are disturbed not by things, but by their view of things,”’ Grant recalled. His inner life pivot on the insight. “I realized, it's all about my perspective.”

Today he is a certified alcohol and drug counselor working toward a master's degree in human services.

Though Dowling has never had a life of crime, he was dependent on alcohol, tobacco and caffeine as a young man, he said. His life had drifted. Out of college, he worked in auto mechanics and summer theater. He was a VISTA volunteer in South Dakota.

At 34, Dowling realized his addictions had something in common: They helped him ease the discomfort of guilt, anxiety, depression and anger, as well as the discomfort of withdrawal. He challenged his thoughts. He explored how he was hurting himself by not accepting life as it is and how the ego can drive negative feelings. Soon after, he married and took a job in social services. In 1990 he earned a master's degree in counseling and chose a specialty in addiction.

He hit his stride and has not stopped. Today in The Thought Exchange, his private practice in Morristown, he works with people struggling with any addiction, from eating to alcohol to overwork. They are all in prison, he said. A prison with bars made of thoughts.

More: To donate to Books Behind Bars and Beyond or to reach Rich Dowling, visit www.booksbehindbarsandbeyond.org or www.thethoughtexchange.biz.

“Human Interests” appears every Sunday and other days of the week from time to time. In each column Lorraine Ash explores interesting angles on local life that may otherwise escape attention. Reader mail is welcome at lvash@gannett.com.

2007-08-10T01:58:00.000-04:00

COMMENTARY: From Selma to Newark

When the news first broke, and I saw the image of the four young college students, somehow I flashed back to the four girls killed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15, 1963. Their images have haunted me for more than forty-years, especially one of the young-girls who looked just like my mother when she a little girl.

On August 6, 2007, four young college students were shot execution-style behind an elementary school in Newark, NJ. Three were killed, one listed in fair condition a local Hospital after being shot in the head. This event shocked the country, shook the young Major of Newark who was visibly shaken by this crime.

Maybe it was the way the photographs were positioned, maybe it was that fact they were so young, or their hope for a brighter future was so abruptly and violently snatched away in a matter of minutes. In Selma, these four children were to hopefully benefit from the Civil Rights Movement that would impact the world. In Newark, these four young-people were to benefit from the experience and opportunity of a college education. I don't know, but occasionally I am still shocked by the level of violence that has occurred between then to now.

Just when we think, we've seen or experienced it all something happens to remind us that we haven't. It also reminds us that all is not lost, that we must remain prayerful, hopeful and become pro-active. Before Selma and after Newark the hope for a better and safer world community existed and remains an obtainable goal. Those of us who are able to help- join in by mentoring, helping a neighbors or volunteering with one of the many organizations that genuinely need help. And, please don't forget to pray for these families and their lost.

Brotherman

2007-07-24T12:32:00.000-04:00

New Federal Law Has States Trying To Reduce Prison Rape

By AIMEE GREEN

Christopher Lauricella says he was horrified when his cellmate groped him. (Photo by Joel Davis)

c.2007 Newhouse News Service

Just a few months into his prison sentence, a 26-year-old burglar from small-town Oregon was lured into a secluded stairway of the Oregon State Penitentiary and raped by another inmate.

Nothing extraordinary in a nation where aggressive, violent inmates have long preyed on weaker ones. At least 4 percent of prison inmates anonymously reported in a national survey that they had been sexually assaulted in the previous year.

But what happened after the attack at the Salem prison stunned officials: The man reported the rape and agreed to testify.

Prosecutors think the victim, a first-timer to the Oregon prison system, came forward only because he was naive: He didn't know that inmates who snitch on other inmates risk being savagely beaten or raped again.

Across the country, corrections officials are struggling to reverse decades of indifference toward rape behind bars and persuade more victims to report attacks. They are under pressure from a new federal law, the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, which requires jails and prisons to take steps to reduce sexual assaults or face loss of federal funding starting next year.

Each new arrival at the Oregon Department of Corrections is shown a 10-minute video providing tips on how to avoid falling prey and urging inmates to report attacks. Prison officers have been trained to notice signs that an inmate has been attacked. Staff are documenting each reported sexual assault in hopes of preventing future ones.

Prison administrators say part of their work is eradicating old attitudes.

No one, they say, deserves to be raped.

"These are real human beings,'' said Joan Palmateer, of the Oregon Department of Corrections, who cringes at the flippant portrayals of prison rape in popular culture. "It's not something to be joked or sneered at.''

Experts say most victims of inmate-to-inmate sexual attacks are targeted because they're small, young or seen by other inmates as effeminate.

Eight of 10 victims are men.

Full Feature continued

2007-07-23T11:14:00.000-04:00

COMMENTARY: Atlanta Home of the Braves Land of the Forgotten

Like most metropolitan cities, Atlanta's jails are overcrowded, but unlike a lot of other cities there are no effective reentry programs available to ease the transition from jail to community, nor are there very many preventive programs to catch them before they enter the system. Those of us within the faith-based and community-based service providers struggle with finding funding to deal with the ever increasing numbers of individuals who fall through the cracks in the floor of opportunity. Daily all around the city community activists are gathering to discuss ways to combat the problem, while on the other end of the spectrum businessmen are discussing ways to achieve economic progress and ignore the problems of this under-served class.

In reality a city has to make great progressive strides to compete in this global marketplace, but what about the people! It is a testament to the great visionaries of progress for the city of Atlanta to thrive as it has and will do. However, I think that an even greater testimony to these visionaries would be how we care for the homeless and dispossessed. This city boast over thirty years of successful events such as the jazz festival, arts festivals’, mayors balls and gay pride parades and such , but we have no legacy as of yet on how we celebrate the success of helping the helpless, hopeless, and homeless. We have one of the greatest trauma units in this region of the country (Grady Hospital), going under for lack of funding. But what the heck, it’s only a hospital that helps the poor; we all know that the arts are more important. Whoopee doo that Coco-Cola has a new home across from Centennial Park worth millions just to show off its trivia. Wouldn’t it be nice if the homeless had a few new shelters worth millions? The choice of trivia and a good looking train station over healthy communities seems like a poor choice to me, what you think... F. Lee

2007-07-01T02:48:00.000-04:00

Georgia Supreme Court to Hear Davis Case, Parole Board Delays Hearing

By Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer, The Atlanta Progressive News (August 07, 2007)

Photographs by Jonathan Springston

(APN) ATLANTA – Concerned activists held a press conference at the State Capitol, Tuesday, August 07, 2007, to update the public on developments in the Troy Davis death row case, and to present witnesses regarding overall problems with the death penalty in this country.

Davis, who had faced a July 17, 2007, execution for the murder of Officer Mark McPhail in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989, had received a 90-day stay of execution on July 16, 2007, from the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles until the Board could hear more testimony.

The Georgia Supreme Court voted 4-3 on August 03, 2007, to hear the Davis case after a Chatham County Judge Penny Haas Freesemann denied Davis’s extraordinary motion for a new trial in July.

Haas Freesemann ruled “Davis's new evidence did not meet the legal standards for new trials,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) newspaper wrote. "Some of the new evidence was cumulative to evidence Davis presented at trial, some was obtained as long as 10 years ago, some was based on inadmissible hearsay evidence, and some was not sworn testimony, the Judge said."

However, the Georgia Supreme Court has agreed to begin hearing oral arguments in November and perhaps eventually compel the Chatham County Court to open a new trial.

A fourth juror in Davis’s original trial in 1991 has also recently signed a statement that if she had heard the new evidence at the time of the trial, she would not have convicted Davis, the AJC reported.

Also, Pope Benedict XVI recently issued a letter to Governor Perdue seeking to save Davis’s life.

"In the name of Pope Benedict XVI, I am respectfully asking you to commute Troy's sentence to life in prison without parole," wrote Monsignor Martin Krebs, a US envoy for the Pope. Davis’s "conviction was not based on any physical evidence, and the murder weapon was never found," Krebs wrote.

"The Pope continually exhorts all people, and especially those men and women who serve in government, to recognize the sacredness of all human life," Krebs wrote. "I reiterate the commitment of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, and I hope that you will give heed to his petition."

The Georgia Supreme Court decision prompted the Board, which was set to hear more testimony on August 09, 2007, to postpone that hearing until after the Georgia Supreme Court hears the case.

The Board also rescinded its 90-day stay of execution order until after the Georgia Supreme Court hearing. Board rules dictate that it can consider a clemency petition only when it appears all appeals options have been exhausted. Davis could appear before the Board again if this round of appeals fails.

"With the knowledge that numerous witnesses have identified another individual as the real killer, we know justice cannot be served by executing Davis, who might well be innocent," Laura Moye, Acting Director of Amnesty International USA’s (AIUSA) Southern Regional Office, said.

Seven of nine original witnesses have recanted or changed their testimony since Davis’s 1991 trial. Many have implicated Sylvester Coles, one of the nine who has not changed his story, as the real murderer.

"The state cannot return a human life once it extinguishes it," Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, Director of AIUSA’s Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, said in a press release obtained by Atlanta Progressive News. "The state cannot adequately compensate the wrongfully executed person’s family for taking the life of their loved one. There is no posthumous clemency."

About the author:

Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at jonathan@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Revised syndication policy:

Our syndicaton policy was updated June 2007. For more information on how to syndicate Atlanta Progressive News content, please visit: http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/extras/syndicate.html