Julianne Malveaux, Author at The Archive Site for The Baltimore Times

Graduation is just the first hurdle

NNPA — Marvel’s “Black Panther,” Chadwick Boseman, graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts (BFA) in 2000. On May 12, 2018, Boseman returned to his alma mater to address the Class of 2018, while receiving an honorary degree.

The Howard University graduation is one of more than 100 Historically Black College and University graduations and one of more than 4,000 general graduations across the country.

On May 5, 2018, White House Correspondent April Ryan, brought down the house at Bennett College in North Carolina. In Arkansas on the same day, journalist and political commentator Sophia Nelson made lasting remarks during the Philander Smith College commencement exercise.

All across the nation, families are gathering, people are celebrating and graduations are being hailed as an occasion of joy.

However, despite these many festivities, if you are a black American who graduated from the University of Florida (UF), your achievements may have been marred by the horrible memory of faculty marshals physically pushing you off of the stage, after you decided to celebrate your black Greek (fraternity) pride, with the execution of a few “steps.”

More than 20 students were assaulted by an unidentified faculty member (although some say he is a chemistry lecturer), who is now on paid leave.

Why would the university continue to pay someone who seems to have differentially attacked black students, as apparently no white students were assaulted or pushed off of the stage?

This lecturer is a menace to society and college students, who should not be exposed to his racism, either on stage or in a classroom.

According to The New York Times, UF President W. Kent Fuchs apologized to the affected students and left a personal message of apology on Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity member Oliver Telusma’s voicemail, due to the incident.

However, from where I sit, President Fuchs should track that student down along with all of the others and visit them face-to-face.

The UF incident reminds black students that graduation is but one of the many hurdles they must clear.

Every day, every single day, they face the possibility of pernicious racism, differential treatment, and the threat of law enforcement to compel compliance with the most foolish of laws and norms, spoken or unspoken.

That’s why Holly Hylton, the white woman who managed a Philadelphia Starbucks, felt free to call the police on two black men after they had been seated, without ordering anything.

That’s why a hysterical white female bigot, called the police on a black man, who was barbecuing in a public park in Oakland, California, where barbecuing is customary.

That’s why the police were called on three black women (and a white man), because they failed to wave or smile when they exited an Airbnb in Rialto, California, and were detained for 45 minutes despite possessing proof that they had reserved their space.

That’s why the police wrestled a 25-year-old black woman to the ground (exposing her bare breasts) in an Alabama Waffle House, after she asked for plastic cutlery and an ignorant employee reportedly said, “she did not know her place,” and the beat goes on and on and on.

The police are too often called to put black people in their place, to force them to comply, to reinforce the tenet of white supremacy; the notion that when we see a white person, we must shuck and jive and smile. So-called law enforcement officers become servants of racism, who want us in our place.

I want the graduates to know that their place is everyplace.

Class of 2018, your place is in that Starbucks at the table, order or not. Your place is in that Waffle House, getting the utensils you requested. Your place is at the lake in Oakland, burning those bones on your grill. Your place is on that stage at UF.

Resistance has a high price. Who wants to go to jail and end up, like Sandra Bland, whose mysterious death in Texas still has not been solved? Who wants to be handcuffed, humiliated, exposed and maligned, just for asking a simple question?

Starbucks will close thousands of stores to the tune of millions of dollars for unconscious bias training but who will train these biased police officers and the racists who call them, because their feelings are bruised when no one waves at them?

The Class of 2018 will learn, as have millions of other black Americans, that racism is alive and well.

They’ve cleared a hurdle with graduation, but even as some cross the stage, they are being reminded that there are many more hurdles to clear, to survive in our unfortunately racist nation.

Perhaps though, the Class of 2018 will be among those to dismantle the racist hurdles; and perhaps in the process of clearing other hurdles— graduate and professional school, marriage and children, artificial intelligence and gentrification— they will also find the wherewithal to eliminate racial barriers to success.

Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist and founder of Economic Education. For more information, visit her www.juliannemalveaux.com. Follow Dr. Malveaux on Twitter @drjlastword.

Blacks Can’t Afford to Ignore Dental Health

While Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide a safety net access to dental care is a big issue, especially for children of color.

“Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, five times as prevalent as asthma, and dental care is one of the nation’s greatest unmet children’s health needs,” according to Pew Charitable Trusts.

Sometimes children’s parents simply don’t arrange for them to see a dentist. Sometimes, dental services are not available in particular areas, for example, dental needs are sometimes more likely to be addressed in emergency rooms than dental clinics. A 2016 report from the Department of Health and Human Services said that dental provider shortages were at least part of the reason some children, especially low-income black and Hispanic children, lack dental care.

Children pay a big price when their dental needs are not met. In the worst and most extreme cases, as in that of Maryland’s Deamonte Driver, children can die, because they do not have access to basic dental services.

“Childhood dental decay can lead to pain, difficulty eating, speaking and sleeping, and more serious infections, some of which can be life-threatening,” said Dr. Diane Earle, the managing dental director for Kool Smiles.

To address some of the need, Kool Smiles is offering free dental care to children in need on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Forty-nine offices in 13 states plus Washington, D.C. will be open to provide dental exams, extractions, fillings, sealants and other emergency services. The free day is open to children who either lack insurance or are underinsured.

To be sure, Kool Smiles can’t possibly provide a smile for every child, but they are taking a step in the right direction. This year represents the fourth year that the organization has offered the free service. It’s first-come, first-serve, so if you are interested, visit: www.mykoolsmiles.com/sharingsmiles to find a location in your area and to register for a free appointment.

In the past three years more than 1,400 children have received free dental care with more than 500 being treated last year. Kool Smiles hopes to serve even more children this year.

Access to safe and affordable health care has been part of my portfolio for some years. In 2015, I had the privilege of spending a week at Meharry Medical College, lecturing on health policy. The challenges that people of color face around health care can be distilled to the 3 A’s: Access, Assets and Attitudes. All too often access is limited, because people live in the wrong areas, because providers are unavailable, or because there are other reasons people can’t physically get to the care they need.

Assets determine almost everything— if you don’t have the dollars, no matter what the proximity, you won’t likely have the care you need. Finally, the attitudes of both providers and patients make a difference in who seeks care and in what kind of care is provided. Recent work on maternal mortality among African American women, regardless of race, suggests that racial attitudes in treatment make a difference.

Mental health and dental health are the two parts of healthcare that are most frequently ignored. It is not enough to simply get an annual checkup. Increasing research shows that mental health and physical health are inextricably intertwined. Dental health, all too frequently,

is ignored. Even those with “good” health insurance may have limited dental insurance. And lower-income folks rely on Medicaid and CHIP, but may not have anywhere to go to get the help they need.

Dental practitioners like Dr. Earle, a second-generation Meharry-trained dentist, stand in the gap for those who may not have access to healthcare. In her role as Managing Dental Director for Kool Smiles, Earle says, “Sharing Smiles Day is an opportunity for our dentists and staff to put a smile back on the faces of children who need dental care but whose families cannot afford it.”

Kool Smile’s effort to see 500 or more children on May 20 doesn’t begin to deal with the enormity of the challenge, but it’s an effort that will make a big difference for the children who are treated. It’s also an opportunity for us to reflect on the importance of dental health that the role that organizations like Kool Smiles can play in closing the dental health gap.

Full disclosure: I’ve worked with Kool Smiles and their dental service organization, Benevis, on a program called Watch Yo’ Mouth, featuring Dr. Earle and healthy living author Debra Peek-Haynes. We plan to offer more of these programs in coming months. Meanwhile, though, I am excited about Sharing Smiles Day and about developing ways more low-income children can have access to dental care, so that there can be a healthy smile for every child in our nation.

Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist and founder of Economic Education. Follow Dr. Malveaux on Twitter @drjlastword.

Trump’s budget cuts will hurt the same people who voted for him

BALTIMORE (NNPA) — If you happened to have voted for the man who now occupies the White House, you may be feeling bamboozled, right about now. The man who said that he wanted to take care of the little people, those who were forgotten by the elites, now wants to cut programs that affect these working-class people, ranging from Legal Aid to Meals on Wheels to housing assistance to job training. He would cut the Environmental Protection Agency by more than 31 percent, leaving more than 3000 workers in the cold. Many of his other budget provisions will call for federal reductions-in-force (RIFs), and these chaotic RIFs may cause instability in some government agencies, since workers can appeal their RIF, or bump other workers out of their jobs.

He is not using a scalpel to make the cuts; he is using machetes and weed whackers. His budget makes his position on the culture wars clear. He would entirely eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Public Radio. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will get $6.2 billion cut, and even though the Department of Education will get a 12 percent cut, $1.4 billion dollars are slated to support private schools through school choice. HBCU programs have not been cut, but many of the programs they depend on, including work-study programs, have been cut.

It’s an ugly budget, but it’s the budget that Trump promised, a budget that “puts America first with a $54 billion increase in defense spending and $2.6 billion for the wall that Mexico is supposed to pay for.

We need to rail against this budget even as we tease out its odious details, but we also need to realize that it is too early to panic. Why? The United States Congress still has to pass this budget. Though Republicans control the House of Representatives and the Senate. I can’t believe they have all lost their minds. There are physicians among those elected Republicans who must surely understand the value of the medical research “45” has threatened to cut. There are educators, who understand the importance of summer Pell grants. There must be a handful of Republicans who will fight the cuts of the EPA and the cessation of other climate change research. These are the Republicans who need to step up, and they are the ones who must be lobbied.

There will be lots of moaning and groaning, teeth-gnashing and horror about this budget, but there should also be resistance. There will be hearings, and those who resist ought to attend those hearings. Members of Congress will be visiting their districts, and resisters need to be there to confront them about this budget. The proposed White House budget is nothing but a request. It is not a fait accompli, and it won’t be unless we roll over and accept this madness.

Our 45th President exhibits an unusual inability to understand our governmental system of checks and balances. He seems to think that he can unilaterally declare a policy change. He wants to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency. Does everyone? He wants to put more money into private schools. Are there members of Congress who would resist? It is time for Republicans of conscience— if there are any— to step up and say that it’s not okay to stop Meals on Wheels. It’s not okay to damage our environment. It’s not okay to cut off funds for medical research. All of us need to speak up!

People have marched, and both women and immigrants have stayed home to express their resistance. The presentation of this warped budget offers another opportunity for resistance, and the very future of our nature depends on this resistance. It is unfathomable that these Bible-thumping Republicans will turn their back on children, the elderly, and those who desperately need job training to contribute to the economy. The key to altering this budget process is resistance.

Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist and founder of Economic Education. Her podcast, “It’s Personal with Dr. J” is available on iTunes. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available to order at www.juliannemalveaux.com at Amazon.com. Follow Dr. Malveaux on Twitter @drjlastword.

We must close the payday loan debt trap once and for all!

(NNPA) — Between the unemployment rate report that was released in early September, and the Census report on income and poverty that was released on September 13, President Obama and his team got great news about the economic status of the average worker.

Incomes are up a whopping 5.2 percent between 2014 and 2015; it’s the first time incomes have increased since 2007. The poverty rate dropped 1.2 percentage points, to 13.5 percent, which translates into 3.5 million fewer people living in poverty. While the poverty rate is still higher than it was in 2007, this sharp decrease in the poverty rate is significant. Between the unemployment rate report, which shows an unemployment rate at 4.9 percent, and the income and poverty report, which shows a 2.4 million increase in the number of workers, the Obama economic team can rightly assert that economic recovery has trickled down.

Still, poverty rates are way too high— almost one in four (24.1 percent) African American households lives in poverty. The number of African American children in poverty, though falling, remains too high (31.6 percent). And the number of people living in “extreme poverty” (with incomes at less than half the poverty line) is alarming— more than ten percent of African Americans (and 6 percent of the total population) live in extreme poverty.

The persistence of poverty, even in the face of good news, provides opportunities for those whose riches come from the exploitation of poor people. Those who provide payday loans are among the worst, because they set up a debt trap that it is almost impossible for poor people to escape from. Indeed, these predators treat the poor as profit centers and enrich themselves from other people’s misery. Even as we celebrate the economic progress of the past year, we must ensure that usurious payday lenders are curtailed by regulators that can restrict their ability to extract interest rates in excess of 300 percent from the very poor.

This is how it works— payday lenders provide “emergency” loans for those people who have more month than money, and who simply can’t make ends meet. The loans are small and the terms are usually something like $15 per $100 for 7 to 14 days. The loan may be secured by a paycheck, a pre-dated check, or an automobile title. If the loan is not paid back on time, a borrower may negotiate an “extension,” which requires more fees. Repeated payday loans result in $3.5 billion in fees each year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering regulations to protect consumers from exploitation and usury from short-term loans and auto title loans. A coalition of faith leaders has asked people, who have been affected by payday loans to comment on their website, FaithforFairLending.org, hoping that the CFPB will be influenced by the experiences that many have had with payday lending.

Reverend Sekinah Hamlin, who leads faith initiatives for the Center for Responsible Lending, says that faith leaders have mobilized, because they expect that the payday lending industry will fight any regulations to curtail their activity. The CFPB will be accepting comments about payday lending until October 7, 2016, and the Center for Responsible Lending

(ResponsibleLending.org) hopes that people will share letters and comments encouraging CFPB to curtail payday.

While it is important to curtail payday lending so that low-income borrowers can avoid the debt trap, the longer term solution to the debt trap is better pay for people who could access traditional credit options, or avoid debt altogether, if they earned reasonable pay. The working families agenda that some in Congress have embraced (which includes an increase in the minimum wage, among other provisions to assist those on the bottom) is a step in the right direction. The fight for $15, which would provide families at the bottom with incomes of about $31,000 a year, would also alleviate poverty and make it easier for people to make ends meet.

It is important that those of us who care about economic justice make our voices heard before October 7, 2016.

To stop the payday loan debt trap and encourage the CFBP to issue regulations that will protect those who are so easily exploited, comment online at FaithforFairLending.org, or send your comment to The Center for Responsible Lending, Faith and Credit Roundtable, 302 W. Main Street, Durham, NC 27701.

Tackling the payday lending issue, however, is only a small step toward economic justice. Those who want economic justice must also be committed to electing those who will implement a working families agenda. The economic good news that was released early this month does not mean that we are out of the woods around poverty issues.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available at: www.amazon.com. For booking, wholesale inquiries or for more information, visit: www.juliannemalveaux.com.

This is why we have to invest in effective teachers

(NNPA) — While millions of children (and teachers) welcomed the call to go back to school in August and early September, all is not well in classrooms and school districts around the country.

Even though every school district may not be facing challenges, many urban school districts— where the majority of African American and Hispanic students are enrolled— face challenges that may either disrupt education in the classroom or affect the terms and conditions of work for teachers.

Meanwhile, some school districts are experiencing teacher shortages and an unhealthy reliance on substitute teachers. Teachers are leaving the profession more rapidly than before and teachers of color, especially men of color, are woefully underrepresented in the ranks of K-12 teachers. Indeed, African American men represent just two percent of all teachers. Eighty-three percent of all teachers are white, despite the fact that inner-city classrooms, particularly, are overwhelmingly black and brown.

In Chicago, teachers have returned to school without a contract for the second year in a row, and the Chicago Teacher’s Union will take a strike vote, proposing a strike in October. Meanwhile, the CEO says that unless the CTU agrees to concessions, there will be classroom cuts.

The Chicago Public School district has already “tightened its belt” by laying off more than 500 teachers and 500 school-based workers. These workers may not be out of jobs, as they can apply for other open jobs in the Chicago Public School district, but a massive July layoff is not the best way to approach August with a positive attitude. Chicago is not the only school district with challenges. Dozens of school districts have financial challenges, which is partly, because cities and states have implemented austerity budgets that are allocating insufficient funds to schools.

One of the major challenges for school districts and for teachers is the way that teacher pay lags behind pay in other professions. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “public school teachers’ weekly wages were 17 percent lower than those of comparable workers— compared to just 1.8 percent lower in 1994.” Those who teach must have a passion for their profession, and for students, but passion can often be dampened by low pay. Some young people who would be great teachers choose alternative, better paying, careers. And veteran teachers, who may have experienced pay freezes, because of fiscal austerity, may choose to make mid-life career changes, because more attractive financial opportunities beckon.

Why can’t we pay teachers fairly? If the teaching profession is considered as important as any other— and some might argue that it is more important than many— why does teacher pay lag so much behind other professions?

As Lawrence Mishel and Sylvia Allegretto note in their EPI study, “An effective teacher is the most important school-based determinant of education outcomes.”

The teaching profession needs to offer pay at a level to attract the best and the brightest to our nation’s classrooms. Otherwise, as a recent study shows, few students aspire to be teachers, only five percent of college-bound students were interested in pursuing a career in education in 2014. Is there any wonder?

Nationally, teachers earn just 77 percent of what other college graduates earn.

Meanwhile, public education and public school teachers are often under attack. Charter schools are seen as preferred alternatives; while most research shows that charter school vary in quality. The good ones are great, but the bad ones rival the worst public schools. And school bureaucracies often snuff the creativity out of the best teachers by burdening them with preparation for stifling standardized tests that do little to engage students intellectually.

There are some who believe that “anybody can teach,” which is why the Teach for America model is so troubling. Teach for America takes bright undergraduates, and after six weeks or so of training, throws them into inner-city classrooms, implicitly undermining the preparation that many take to get a degree in education. This notion that “anybody can teach” leads to the disdain that some have for classroom teachers, and the resulting low pay that they earn.

There are a myriad of challenges in K-12 education, a major challenge is that teachers are not too often paid sufficiently. Teachers deserve more public support than they get now. They need better pay and more autonomy. And they need to be unshackled from the

frequency of the standardized tests that they must too-regularly administer. We need a pro-teacher movement.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available at www.amazon.com. For wholesale inquiries or for more info visit: www.juliannemalveaux.com

What you need to know about voting on Tuesday, November 8

(NNPA) — Are you ready to vote? Are you registered? These may seem like simplistic questions, especially for those who are aware, but every year some folks are denied access to the polls, because they didn’t register on time, or they moved and their address does not match the address the registrar of voters has, or SOMETHING. The Presidential election is likely to be a nail-biter, and there are local races that are also close. Your best bet is to make sure you know what the requirements for voting are in your state. Check out www.vote.com; the site lists the requirements for all 50 states. A few states allow voter registration on the day of an election, but most states require you to register between 11 and 30 days before the vote. Some states allow online registration, most allow registration by mail (with requirements about the date a registration is postmarked), and almost all allow in-person registration.

The terms and conditions of voting are still being negotiated in some states so it makes sense to stay on top of voting rules. A federal appeals court recently kicked discriminatory North Carolina voting terms to the curb, saying that that state discriminated against African Americans with “surgical precision.” Efforts to reduce the number of days available for early voting, or to eliminate Sunday voting, disproportionately affect African American voters. North Carolina Republians are deliberate and mindful in their attempt to sideline African American voters, since most African Americans are Democrats. They want to deliver their state to Donald Trump and they want to ensure that Senator Richard Burr and Governor Pat McCrory, both Republicans, are also re-elected.

North Carolina isn’t the only state with electoral shenanigans. Texas, Kansas, Georgia and Alabama have also implemented restrictive measures that are being appealed by civil rights groups, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP and others. Disputes revolve around things like absentee ballots, purges of inactive voters, and issues of whether ballots will count if they are cast in the wrong precincts. In our “Democracy,” it seems that we do more to discourage voters than encourage them, and while the voting process could be seamless, plans to prevent as many as 50,000 Kansas voters from going to the polls, for example, make no sense in a “participatory democracy.”

Some folks don’t want it to be participatory, though. Republicans now control most state legislatures, and have been passing voter suppression laws since 2010, when they began to take control of state houses. Civic participation organizations, like the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Coalition for Black Civic Participation, and others, are fighting back, preparing to have people available to help voters, especially in battleground states, and with hot lines (1-866-OUR-VOTE) and other forms of voter assistance. In an election that is likely to be close, it is important that every voice be heard.

I’m still not clear why polling suggests that this vote is so close. Secretary Hillary Clinton, for all her imperfections, is a stunningly superior candidate to the bumbling Donald Trump who just recently praised Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “better leader” than President Obama. Now, that’s just downright unpatriotic, not to mention short-sided, and tone-deaf. While folks are running Colin Kaepernick down for being unpatriotic, Trump gets away with comments that border on the treasonous, and is still considered a “credible” candidate for President. Really?

Donald Trump goes to one Black church and gets all kind of mainstream media coverage. Hillary Clinton visits numerous Black churches, and the mainstream media is absent. Donald Trump blusters his way through an interview with Matt Lauer on national security, and is hardly challenged and, certainly, never interrupted. Hillary Clinton offers substance to an extremely biased Lauer who was, at best, unprepared for the interview. Instead of getting kudos on her performance, too many have noticed that Hillary didn’t smile. National security is no laughing matter, folks.

We have stark choices in this election, but some of us won’t be making choices because we won’t be prepared to vote on November 8. Now is the time to make sure you are prepared. Are you registered? Where will you vote? Will you be out of town or unable to get to the polls on November 8? Can you do early voting or vote via an absentee ballot? These aren’t questions to ask on November 5, they are questions to ask now. Don’t shake your head on November 9 and say you didn’t like the outcome if you didn’t bother to vote on November 8. The stakes are high!

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via www.amazon.com for booking, wholesale inquiries or for more info visit www.juliannemalveaux.com

Deconstructing Reconstruction in the aftermath of Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and Dallas

(NNPA) — After Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Falcon Heights, Minnesota there was Dallas, Texas. After rogue cops unceremoniously killed two Black men, a deranged shooter killed five police officers. The shooter, identified as Micah Johnson, reportedly said that he wanted to kill White police officers. Too many commentators referred to his middle initial “X.’ in an effort to be more racially provocative. Too many, like the unrepentant racist and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, used the shooter’s actions to excoriate the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is not racist, because it simply reflects our nation’s history. From our founding until today, there have been too many opportunities to legalize the misguided notion that Black lives do not matter. The fact that our Constitution reduces enslaved African Americans into a fraction of a person suggests that Black lives did not matter, at our nation’s founding, as much as White lives did. The differences in the terms and conditions of indentured servitude for Whites and enslavement for Afrodescendents further cemented the notion that black lives did not matter as much as white lives did. The persistence of enslavement, and the contradictions that came from the practice of “breeding” (i.e., treating Black people as animals to increase “stock”) heightened contradictions, because the slave owners were selling their children and siblings. What did they think of themselves, if they felt they had to couple with people they found “subhuman?”

Has former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ever read a history book? Does he understand that if revenge were ever a motive in Black/White interactions it would have been all over but the shouting between 1865 and 1876? Formerly enslaved people were hopeful about emancipation, but caught between hope and despair when Black Codes were imposed, when people were lynched for simply asserting the right to walk on the sidewalk, when soldiers were lynched, in uniform, because they did not defer to fellow citizens. Even though Constitutional amendments were passed to abolish enslavement, rigid Southern attitudes imposed a quasi-enslavement that persisted until the civil rights movement, and White supremacist attitudes that that persist until toady.

When our Constitution was written, John Adams lamented that the issue of enslavement was a conundrum that his generation was imposing on subsequent generations. When the 13th Amendment was passed, there was no playbook to detail how our nation would transcend enslavement. We have never taken the time or energy to condemn racist attitudes, assuming they would simply go away. They have not. And millions of African Americans have righteous resentment about the many micro-aggressions (not to mention murders) that our community experiences. The micro-aggressions of White skin privilege are minor compared to the macro aggressions of a rogue police officer. Have any of these people ever read a history book? Do they even understand that if revenge were a motive, it might have been extracted in 1866, not today?

The process for ending enslavement was imperfect. Too many Southerners cleaved to the notion that people of African descent were inferior, and then they passed laws to enforce unequal status. Jim Crow laws and Black Codes, prohibitions against property ownership and voting, unequal access to education, not to mention the constant nightriders, the granddaddies of contemporary rogue police forces, all existed to enforce subjugation and fear.

To be sure, we have come a long way since 1865 and since 1876. But the fact that, in contemporary culture, you still have White people who will wrap themselves up in a Confederate flag suggests we have not come quite as far as we must. People are talking about an “honest conversation” about race now, but the conversation should have taken place more than a century ago. Now, there is far too much denial for an “honest conversation”, and I despair that conversation is grossly insufficient if it is not coupled with action.

Through halting action and corrupt compromise, the Reconstruction of the United States never happened. We are sowing the bitter fruit of a broken Reconstruction today, with too many racial attitudes ossified. Black Lives Matter is not a racist phrase. It is the manifestation of the conversation that should have taken place after the passage of the 13th Amendment.

Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race Obama and Public Policy” is available via amazon.com for more information juliannemalveaux.com.

Recent police shootings show our nation’s hypocrisy

(NNPA) — Just a day after millions of Americans celebrated the “Fourth of You Lie,” our nation got more evidence of the lie we live when we “celebrate” freedom. On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was killed by White police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in an encounter that was blessedly videotaped. The footage showed a man being shot, even as he was down on the ground. A day later, on July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot four times as he attempted to comply with a police officer’s request to provide identification. Diamond Reynolds, his fiancé, videotaped the encounter, as her 4 year-old daughter sat in the backseat.

If patriotic fireworks make you feel warm and fuzzy about our nation, these two videos ought to be enough to throw ice water on them. I am chilled, disgusted, and angered at yet more senseless killings of Black men by police officers, 136 so far this year (about 25.3 percent of all police killings). You ought to read Frederick Douglass’ speech and understand why those videos leave me with cold antipathy for “my country.” Many things have changed since he delivered this oratorical masterpiece in 1852. Many things have not.

Watching Philando Castile’s blood seep from his body reminds me of our nation’s hypocrisy, and of Douglass’ searing words:

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.”

Indeed, while there is talk of fighting the terrorism of ISIS, when will we fight the terrorism that too many African Americans experience? If a law-abiding person with a right to carry a gun (Hello, National Rifle Association) can be killed because his taillight is busted, that’s terrorism, defined as the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aim. The aim is the maintenance of White supremacy “lite.” It dictates “the talk” all young African American men get from their dads (White men don’t have to have the talk because they aren’t the victims of violence and intimidation). It explains the fear and mistrust between so called law enforcement officers and the African American community. It is a gut-wrenching reminder that, black President or not, it is still important to assert that Black Lives Matter.

Diamond Reynolds is a woman of amazing grace and courage. She had the foresight to use Facebook to livestream what happened after her fiancé, Philando Castile, was shot four times in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. She had the composure to respond with civility and respect, and in a level tone of voice, to the hysterical human being masquerading as a police officer who shot Mr. Castile. She had the presence of mind to remind the officer that Castile had indicated that he had a conceal carry permit for a weapon before he reached into his jacket to provide the identification that had been demanded.

If you had a heart, the ten-minute video would break it at least a dozen times. I know that when the officer barked at Ms. Reynolds to get out of the car and get on her knees, my stomach lurched and I cried out in outrage. After witnessing an execution, and clearly not armed, why was Diamond Reynolds forced onto her knees and handcuffed? Did that sick White police officer think he was a god that had to be knelt to, paid homage to? He already had a license to kill. I guess a badge also gives you a license to humiliate. Diamond Reynolds had done nothing wrong. The police, surely, had a right to detain her as a material witness to Philando Castile’s murder. They also claimed the right to demean her and to deny Philando Castile’s relatives the right to identify his body the morning after his death.

I am, oh, so weary of these police killings, and all the more weary of our nation’s hate, hubris, and hypocrisy. I am weary of the attempts, already, to discuss Alton Sterling’s criminal record. And I will be weary of the conversation that will ensue as these murders are investigated and as the so-called police officers are not prosecuted, because there was “reasonable doubt” that they “intended” to kill.

In the wake of Michael Brown’s murder, President Obama appointed the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. A year ago, they submitted a report that talked about issues like trust between police officers and communities, and “best practices” for police officers. Nearly fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson appointed a similar commission, the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. In their report, “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,” one of the major findings stated, “Officials of the criminal justice system . . . must re-examine what they do. They must be honest about the system’s shortcomings with the public and with themselves.” Not much has changed in 50 years. Too many police officers are guided by hate and hubris, and protected by hypocrisy, and too many Black men are the “collateral damage” of our broken system.

Congressman John Lewis is one of a kind

(NNPA) — I have always had enormous admiration for Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) and that admiration increased exponentially when I watched him led dozens of his congressional colleagues to sit-in on the floor of Congress to force a vote on gun control. As the supercilious Paul Ryan called for “decorum” (where is the decorum in a man walking into a nightclub with an automatic weapon and gunning 49 people down), determined Democrats disrupted proceedings in the House of Representatives. I say, “Right on!”

YouTube

Democrats stage sit-in on House floor to force gun vote

Congressman Lewis tweeted, “Sometimes you have to get in the way. You have to make some noise by speaking up and speaking out against injustice & inaction.”

Congressman Lewis tweeted, “Sometimes you have to get in the way. You have to make some noise by speaking up and speaking out against injustice & inaction.” He is frustrated, as are many voters, about the fact that Congress has failed to take a position on background checks and the availability of assault weapons. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is equally frustrated, saying, “Moments of silence aren’t substitute for the action needed on gun violence.” Republicans have attempted to deflect, suggesting that the focus should be on ISIS and terrorism, not gun violence. But the Newtown, Conn., shooter was not a terrorist connected to ISIS. Indeed, troubled White men have perpetrated many of our recent mass shootings with access to guns, not ISIS loyal terrorists. No matter. Can’t Congress walk and chew gum at the same time? Can’t they focus both on ISIS and on our out-of-control gun culture?

Nobody is talking about repealing the Second Amendment (though that might not be a bad idea). Still, the “right to bear arms” does not mean the unfettered right to bear all kinds of arms. Nobody needs an automatic weapon. And anyone deemed dangerous or mentally ill should never be allowed to purchase a gun. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is an irresponsible organization that elevates the right for any random citizen to own and bear arms over the right of other citizens to survive. Members of Congress need to cut the cord from that organization. Voters need to back them up.

One might think the congressional sit-in has yielded few results. House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the plug on C-SPAN coverage and dismissed the sit-in as a “stunt.” Still, responding to the fact that 90 percent of Americans support background checks those who sat in showed enormous courage. Taking advantage of social media, they broadcast their sit-in using Periscope, reminding Ryan that he might control C-SPAN, but he doesn’t control all broadcast.

Ryan was insulting and condescending in calling the sit-in a “stunt,” and he reminded me of the many reasons I so admire Congressman John Lewis. Was the Atlanta Congressman’s skull fractured in a “stunt” in 1965 on Bloody Sunday, when his civil rights activity caused rabid Whites to attack him? Lewis pulled no stunt, he stood for what he believed in then. He is standing, firmly in his belief now, and using the time-honored tactic of protest to bring attention to the important cause of gun control.

Congressman Lewis and his colleagues were not successful in forcing votes on gun control. But they were successful in shutting the House down. Speaker Ryan was forced to adjourn Congress before he planned to, and Republicans sulked off like thieves in the night. Democrats held the floor hours after the Republicans scurried away, like hungry rats. No vote was forced, but a point was made.

Congress goes back to work on July 5. People should urge their representatives to take an appropriate vote to reduce access to guns, especially for those on a “no fly” list. People should also give Congressman John Lewis a “shout out” and appreciation for his leadership. He has taken the tactics of the 60s and taken them into the 21st century. He has reminded us that “stunts” have their purpose. His unassailable moral courage is admirable. Thank you, Congressman Lewis, for your activism in the 1960s and now. You are much appreciated!

Julianne Malveaux is an economist and author. Her latest offering “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available via juliannemalveaux.com or amazon.com.

Senator John McCain foolishly blames President Obama for the massacre in Orlando

(NNPA) — By Julianne Malveaux (NNPA News Wire Columnist)

The cretin who took an assault weapon into Pulse, an Orlando nightclub, on “salsa night” is beneath contempt. Was his target the LBGTQ community, Latinos, or simply human beings? After all, it is somewhat reductive to simply describe Pulse as a “gay club.” It catered to the LBGTQ communities and allies. Some of those who were massacred were not gay. They just wanted to dance.

In the wake of the massacre of 49 people, and the injury of another 53, the networks have offered sunup to sundown coverage. Analysis and opinions have been more than plentiful. Some of the most disgraceful comments came from Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who blames President Obama for the massacre in Orlando.

To be sure the Senator quickly retracted his words and said that he “misspoke.” But he started out by saying that he held President Obama “directly responsible” for the massacre in Florida. He explained that, because President Obama pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq, he created the vacuum that ISIS came to fill.

McCain was harsh in his excoriation of President Obama, and his harshness was misplaced when it was issued, on the same day that President Obama visited Orlando to meet with the families of those murdered. If you look into a dictionary under “sore loser” you will find a photograph of Arizona Senator John McCain. He still has not recovered from the whipping he took when then-Senator Barack Obama beat him for the Presidency. While he can only blame himself, his poorly executed campaign, and his poor choices (Sarah Palin, anyone?), he is far more comfortable venting against President Obama than he is exploring his own failures.

Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott is another politician who has made unfortunately inappropriate statements. Deflecting questions about assault weapons, he says he prefers to talk about eliminating ISIS. He behaves as if legislators have only a one-track mind. While it is appropriate to talk about managing ISIS, it is also appropriate to talk about the easy access that anybody has to assault weapons. If you are on the no-fly list, the adage goes, you ought to be on the no-buy list. Not that it helps as much as it should – there are too many ways to buy guns, ammunition, and body armor legally and under the table.

It does not erode anyone’s second amendment rights to restrict their right to assault weapons. One does not need a automatic weapon and thousands of rounds of ammunition to protect oneself or, for that matter, to “hunt.” Whenever those NRA folks start talking about hunting, though, I really want to know what (who) it is they want to hunt. It is entirely appropriate to restrict access to assault weapons, but for some reason rabid Republicans resist.

President Barack Obama has had to take on the role of Empathizer-in-Chief several times during his presidency. In the last year, he has had to deal with the shootings at Emanuel AME Church (June 2015, 9 casualties), at the Chattanooga Recruiting Center (July 2015, 4 casualties), Roseburg Community College (October 2015, 10 casualties), the San Bernardino Community Center (December 2015, 14 casualties), and now the tragedy in Orlando. He has been consistent in calling for assault weapons bans, and his opponents have been consistent in opposing such bans. And they have been irresponsible in their rhetoric of opposition. Senator John McCain stands at the tip of the iceberg.

Donald Trump is worse than Senator McCain. He has said that our President is sympathetic to ISIS terrorists. Like McCain, he quickly suggested that President Obama has some culpability in the Orlando massacre. What nonsense! Trump should be ashamed, if he is capable of such, for turning a tragedy into political manipulation. So should McCain.

McCain says he “misspoke,” but what he really needs to do is apologize. He has no right to accuse President Obama of being “directly responsible” for the Orlando killings. He was wrong, simply wrong. His statement was not a slip of the lip, but a calculated attempt to disparage our President for partisan purposes. McCain has been a victim of Donald Trump’s venom.

In the wake of a tragedy, our nation’s leaders ought to follow our President’s leadership in offering empathy. We ought also look at ways to prevent further tragedy. Banning assault weapons is one way to offer some solutions, and some Democrats have attempted to deal with that, despite resistance. Loose lips are inappropriate in the wake of this tragedy. Shame on you, Donald Trump and John McCain, for attempting to turn tragedy to your political advantage with your foolish words.

Julianne Malveaux is an author, economist and Founder of Economic Education. Her latest book “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy” is available to order at www.juliannemalveaux.com. Follow her on Twitter @drjlastword. Was his target the LBGTQ community, Latinos, or simply human beings? After all, it is somewhat reductive to simply describe Pulse as a “gay club.” It catered to the LBGTQ communities and allies. Some of those who were massacred were not gay. They just wanted to dance.