National
BALTIMORE, MD --For all Baltimore's average citizens knew prior to late June, LIBOR was a faraway planet or some kind of a cleaning compound (as in: "For maximum results, add a dash of LIBOR to your borax when laundering horse blankets").
Then the news broke that British bank Barclays had admitted to gaming a key financial benchmark, LIBOR--the London Interbank Offered Rate--so that its derivatives traders could extract illegal profits for the bank. Barclays is paying at least $450 million in penalties for the scheme, which may have affected mortgages, car financing and student loans.
LIBOR, like the much more widely known prime rate, Baltimoreans learned, is an interest rate to which not just adjustable rate loans but also pension funds and municipal bonds are pegged.
LIBOR-rate manipulations have by now grown far beyond a scandal du jour, prompting multiple investigations involving some two-dozen banks on three continents with potential damages in the billions of dollars.
Lost Money Equals Closed Services
And the banks that set the rate are now the subject of a class-action suit by multiple plaintiffs, led by the City of Baltimore, an urban center that has been struggling to make ends meet. For the past three fiscal cycles -- including the one that began on July 1 -- the city has grappled with multimillion-dollar deficits.
The city's fiscal managers have been forced to take extreme measures, from forcing city employees to take unpaid furloughs to making drastic changes in the city's public-employee pension system to cutting off funds for the historic Poe House, the family home of Edgar Allan Poe.
In the face of budgetary strife, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has taken a fighting stance. "We cannot stand by when we feel that we are being cheated," she told CBS-TV. "You're talking about $1 or $2 million. You know, that's a fire company, that's recreation centers. That's services that our city needs, and we're going to fight for that."
Baltimore invested hundreds of millions in "interest-rate swaps," which were devalued by rate-setting banks. Between 2006 and 2009, those "swaps" allegedly kept LIBOR artificially low. The scheme was ordered by bank managers to suggest that their banks were, during a time of economic troubles, more liquid than they actually were, say attorneys for the plaintiffs.
The result was that Baltimore and a large class of cities, states, pension funds and mutual funds received less than they should have in interest payments from banks. According to one estimate, about three out of four major American cities [http://huff.to/S7d5T8] hold bonds linked to the Libor rate.
Baltimore has not given estimates of its potential losses. "Our basic approach about it is that the question [of damages] is likely to be the subject of discovery in the litigation," said Baltimore City Solicitor George Nilson.
However, other would-be plaintiffs have given ballpark estimates. According to one report, New York's Nassau County estimates that it is out $13 million from swaps related to $600 million in outstanding bonds. By comparison, Baltimore reportedly held $550 million in bonds based on LIBOR interest rates in 2008.
"If I only knew."
The words of an anguished mother involved in a car crash in which her young child died haunt us, but also inspire us each day as we work to help make sure that every person – regardless of age – is safe on the road.
While cars and trucks today are safer than they have ever been, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of injury-related death for African American children.
Adding to this tragedy is that so many of these deaths are avoidable. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that our kids are significantly less likely to use seat belts or properly installed car seats. In fact, in crashes involving fatalities in children under 14, seat belt use is lower among African Americans than among all other race or ethnic groups and 52% of black children in fatal crashes were unrestrained.
The causes for these results are complicated and wide ranging, but they can be – and they need to be – addressed.
This is why trauma specialists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and vehicle safety experts at Toyota teamed up to create Buckle Up for Life, a community-based safety education effort with results that are unparalleled. It is the only national program of its kind. Building on Buckle Up for Life's initial success, we are now doubling its reach to four new locations across the country, each with substantial African-American populations: Houston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Orange County, CA. These locations join Buckle Up for Life programs already established in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Antonio and the Cincinnati area, where the program began.
This significant but preventable disparity in child passenger safety in the African American community is driven by a multi-faceted set of challenges. Some are economic: certain families have difficulty affording child safety restraints or drive older vehicles in which it is harder to install car seats. Some barriers are cultural, for instance a lack of family history in terms of buckling up. And sometimes the hurdles are about access to information: quickly finding the right guidance to help ensure that all passengers are safe.
Regardless of the key drivers, we refuse to allow these issues to be overlooked. We know this problem is a complex one – that combines health literacy, economics and socio-cultural concerns. But we also know it is a challenge that can be met with great impact through education, local partnerships and innovative thinking.
Community crises demand community-based solutions. That's why Buckle Up for Life works in neighborhoods – at the grassroots – with local churches and hospitals to reach families in places they trust, are comfortable and feel safe, right where they live.
Over a six-week period, Buckle Up for Life's medical experts and trained specialists work closely with participants of all ages – parents, caregivers and children alike – to deliver critical, interactive safety information in ways that resonate personally. Participants are also eligible to receive free car seats, and they are matched with certified child passenger safety technicians to help install these car seats and ensure that children are properly restrained.
There is, of course, a lot to accomplish but we are seeing real results. One Buckle Up for Life program, for example, nearly tripled the number of children buckled up among families who participated. And the positive results have sustained over time. That's the power in linking up with trusted partners in local neighborhoods, in working with the community to develop culturally relevant information and education, and in delivering a powerful message that drives change and empowers people to take even greater charge of their and their families' well-being.
Together, all of us in the African-American community have an opportunity and a responsibility to make a tangible difference. We need to reinforce at every turn that safety is a driver's paramount concern; that buckling up is not an option; and that properly securing oneself and one's children needs to become as ingrained a part of the driving experience as opening the car door or turning on the ignition. Because when it comes to our kids, our community's collective commitment to automotive safety must know no restraint.
Dr. Victor Garcia is founding director of Trauma Services, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Latondra Newton is vice president of Toyota Motor North America.
More information on "Buckle Up for Life" is available at www.toyotainaction.com/buckleupforlife.
Radio One last week reported second quarter growth for the company remained strong. CEO Alfred C. Liggins, III reported operating income of approximately $21.5 million for the quarter ending June 30th, compared to operating income of approximately $15.8 million for the same period in 2011. The radio division was up more than 6 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011. The first quarter also saw an increase of more than 6 percent.
"I was pleased with our second quarter core radio revenue growth of 6.5% year over year," said Liggins. "While the timing of the One Love Gospel Cruise and other corporate revenues brought the headline radio revenue growth rate down to 2.7 percent, I believe we strongly outperformed the markets in which we operate. We expect this trend to continue into the third quarter, where we are currently pacing up high single digits, with political revenues likely to strengthen as we move closer to the Presidential election."
The top Radio One markets for Q2 were Baltimore (up 16.5 percent), Raleigh (up 16.3 percent), Atlanta (up 8.5 percent), Washington, D.C. (up 5.9 percent) and Houston (up 2.2 percent).
Radio One also reported that its Internet division had a somewhat weaker than expected second quarter, with a lack of tent-pole events around which to build revenue. However, officials expect the progress towards profitability to resume in the third quarter.
Town Hall Meeting to Focus on Serious Challenges Facing Voters
During a Sept. 20 town hall meeting at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) will examine the issues of voting rights and new-age discrimination. The meeting, which runs from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will serve as the centerpiece of the Foundation's 42nd Annual Legislative Conference, scheduled for Sept. 19-22, in the nation's capital.
More than 20 states have changed their requirements for voting, which can affect a disproportionate number of African Americans, the disabled and low income communities. The Foundation will bring together experts, the community and academia to discuss how the new laws passed by several states have made it more difficult to vote. The panel will include:
Panel Moderator - Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC TV Host of the Melissa Harris-Perry Show; Tulane Professor of Political Science
Reps. John Lewis (Ga); Mel Watt (NC); and Marcia Fudge (Ohio) - CBC leads for anti-voter repression campaign
Donna Brazile - DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation; Democratic political strategist CNN
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill - CNN Commentator, Host of Our World Black Enterprise; Columbia Professor of Education
Crystal Wright - Conservative Columnist; political commentator
Ron Christie - Founder/President of Christie Strategies; Republican Political Strategist
"Millions of voters will be facing serious challenges as the result of the restrictive voting laws put in place across the country. Panelists discuss the implications of the new measures and offer strategies for ensuring that all have a fair and just opportunity to cast their vote in November," said Menna Demessie, Ph.D., senior research and policy analyst for CBCF.
In addition, the Foundation will distribute a voter guide tool kit on flash drives. These drives will include information on voter registration and identification laws in each state, the latest developments regarding voter identification legislation and opportunities for civic engagement to repeal the voter identification laws. The toolkit will also be available on CBCF's web site – www.cbcfinc.org after Sept. 20.
"We want people to be prepared before the election. It is too important an issue to be left to chance," said Dr. Demissie. "This tool kit is a step-by-step instruction guide to ensure voters are properly registered and ready to vote."
The mother of Trayvon Martin has started proceedings for a lawsuit against the gated community association where neighborhood watch guard George Zimmerman shot him to death in February.
Sabrina Fulton's filing, which would seek more than $75,000, targets Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America. However, Travelers is challenging the lawsuit, questioning its liability. Trayvon, 17, was walking through The Retreat at Twin Lakes neighborhood when the shooting occurred. Travelers has also asked the court to rule that the company has no duty to defend the modest townhome community.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Crump, attorney for Trayvon's family, believes other entities could also be held financially liable for his death.
Fulton and Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin --who had an insurance policy that paid all but $1,300 toward his son's funeral -- have as already filed a claim for compensation under the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund bin Florida.
The Fund aids families with services that include funeral expenses and counseling. According to a report, Trayvon's parents were approved in late March for benefits from the Fund that allocates up $30,000. So far, they have not received any payments.
United States Attorney Zane David Memeger indicted former school principal Dorothy June Hairston Brown and four others on charges that she orchestrated a scheme that bilked more than $6.5 million from the three area charter schools she founded.
Brown, 75, founded charter schools The Laboratory, Ad Prima and Planet Abacus, and was influential in the creation of Agora Cyber Charter School. Investigators with the Justice Department and Board of Education have targeted Brown's dealings with each of her schools, along with the dealings of Brown's private management firms, Cynwyd and AcademicQuest.
"Public education is a cornerstone of American life, which has provided many with the tools for future success," said Memeger. "As our public schools are funded through dollars earned by hard working Americans, there is a reasonable expectation that their tax dollars will be used to actually educate students. The indictment in this case alleges that June Brown and her four co-conspirators used the charter school system to engage in rampant fraud and obstruction. My office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue those charter school operators who defraud the taxpayers and deprive our children of funds for their education."
The 64-count indictment contends that Brown, along with charter school executives Joan Woods Chalker, Michael A. Slade Jr., Courteney L. Knight and Anthony Smoot of running the scheme. The four will also be charged with conspiring with Brown to obstruct justice; the indictment covers the dealings of Brown and her four codefendants from 2007 through 2011.
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the charges of wire fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering each carry a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. The charges of conspiracy each carry a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison. If convicted, Brown, Chalker, Slade, Knight and Smoot all face substantial terms of imprisonment and significant fines and other financial penalties.
The indictment alleges that Brown used her management companies to defraud the schools; specific attention is paid to the $5.6 million Brown caused Agora to pay to Cynywd for management contracts that didn't exist. The indictment contends that Agora's board of trustees was unaware of Brown's actions.
Further, the indictment alleges that Brown and Chalker, who was the CEO of Planet Abacus, caused Planet Abacus to make fraudulent payments to AcademicQuest totaling more than $700,000 under other fabricated contracts that had never been approved by the Planet Abacus board of trustees.
Memeger's indictment also claims that Brown fabricated documents, including contracts and board meeting minutes to make it appear that these schools signed off on the Brown-fueled payments; that Brown and her cohorts received unauthorized payments of more than $160,000 from an Angora account in June 2007; that Brown twice ordered payments of $37,000 from a Laboratory account to an employee she hired to work at Cynwyd and that as recently as April, Brown allegedly engaged in witness tampering as Brown tried to prevent the witness from identifying forged signatures on a backdated and fabricated contract between Planet Abacus and AcademicQuest.
Brown could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Gregory P. Miller, was also unavailable for comment, but has defended Brown's track record to the media and hailed her as a nationally respected pioneer in education.
"The School District of Philadelphia will review the indictment from the U.S. Attorney and determine the appropriate course of action. We are very concerned about allegations of financial wrongdoing involving certain charter schools reportedly associated with Dorothy June Brown. The School District will appropriately review and investigate," said School District of Philadelphia general counsel Michael A. Davis, throwing into doubt the survival of the three schools Brown chartered. "We have asked Michael Schwartz of Pepper Hamilton to assist the Office of the General Counsel in conducting an investigation into the allegations, and advice on any future course of action that may be warranted. In the meantime, pending renewal decisions on any charter school alleged by the indictment to be associated with Ms. Brown will be placed on hold."
Chicago Alderwoman Sandi Jackson, said in a statement this weekend that her husband, Jesse Jackson Jr. who collapsed on June 10, is getting treated for gastrointestinal and mental health issues, and that while he's still "very depressed" he's showing some progress.
Sandi Jackson commented during an interview with a Chicago newspaper after a visit with her husband at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The couple's two children accompanied her.
"What I can tell you is my husband has his good days and bad days, and they are increasing his depression medication to therapeutic levels," Mrs. Jackson said.
She also adamantly denied allegations that the congressman had attempted suicide or was receiving help for alcohol or drug addiction. Mrs. Jackson said that medical experts are still trying to determine whether a weight-loss surgery might have helped trigger her husband's depression.
Wide-spread concern over Jesse Jackson Jr.'s well-being grew after the Illinois congressman -- who is the son of noted activist Jesse Jackson Sr. -- took an abrupt leave of absence from his office on Capitol Hill in May. While an initial report from his staff in July said he was suffering from exhaustion, Jackson's office later issued a statement saying he was undergoing an "extensive inpatient evaluation for depression and gastrointestinal issues" at the upscale medical facility.
Meanwhile, Jackson, 47, who has represented Illinois' 2nd Congressional District since 1995, remains the focus of a House Ethics Committee probe on whether he used public resources — in the form of his Chicago and Washington, D.C., staffs — to vie for the appointment to the Senate seat that was vacated with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election.
Nearly 6 million former prisoners –1 million of them Black – will not be able to vote in the November presidential election because of state laws that continue to punish them even after they have completed their sentences, according to a recent report by the Sentencing Project.
The report said 5.85 million citizens who were formerly incarcerated will be prevented from voting. That's five times the entire population of Rhode Island and more than the adult population (18-65 years old) of Virginia.
"The most telling indicator of citizenship in the United States is that ability to cast a vote," stated Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a non-profit group focused on restoring the civil rights of ex-offenders. "If you don't have a voice you might as well be a slave."
He explained, "Everyday a person is being disenfranchised in the minority community that weakens that community's political voice."
Eleven states disenfranchise ex-offenders after they have completed their sentences: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming. Those 11 states account for 45 percent of the entire disenfranchised population.
The report also found that Blacks lose their right to vote at a rate that is four times higher than non-Blacks. If the presidential election were held today, more than 20 percent of Blacks living in Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia wouldn't be able to vote.
Meade, a Florida native, served a prison sentence from 2001-2004 for multiple crimes, the most serious being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm. He won't be able to vote in this year's presidential election and maybe the next, because Florida has some of the toughest felon disenfranchisement laws on the books. Meade said that Florida's disenfranchisement laws basically amount to a lifetime ban from the polling booth for many ex-offenders.
According to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, in Florida, an ex-felon automatically loses his or her civil rights and must apply to have those rights restored through the Board of Executive Clemency. That board consists of the governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture and consumer services.
The governor and two cabinet members must sign an executive order for an ex-felon to ultimately have his or her rights restored. Advocates such as Meade liken the ban to a lifetime ban, because of the arduous process it takes for citizens to have their rights restored once they've been taken away.
Disenfranchisement laws first rose to prominence shortly after the passage of the 15th amendment in 1870 that outlawed disenfranchisement based on race and past enslavement. But southern states with large Black populations found ways to circumvent the constitution.
Georgia, for example, passed the poll tax in 1871 that limited voter turnout among Blacks and poor Whites. By 1904 every state in the Deep South had amended their state constitution to limit Black voter participation.
"In some respects, disenfranchisement policies go back to the time of the founding of the country; the country was founded as a great experiment in democracy — of course it was a very limited experiment," said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project.
The Sentencing Project was one of the first groups in the late 1990s to study the impact of the disenfranchisement restrictions facing citizens flowing through the criminal justice pipeline. Once the information from the studies started getting out, momentum to change the laws began to build.
In 2007, Maryland lifted the lifetime voting ban on ex-felons and Maine and Vermont allow prisoners to vote. In Iowa, however, Republican Governor Terry Branstad overturned an executive order that restored voting rights to ex-felons, an executive order signed into law by the former Governor [now Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture] Tom Vilsack, a Democrat. Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott reinstated a five-year waiting period for non-violent ex-offenders before they could apply to regain their voting privileges.
According to Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is not surprised by the move to disenfranchise ex-offenders.
She said, "I predicted [in 2000] that we were seeing a new movement where people would attempt to win elections by destroying the opportunity to vote for people who would not vote in their favor."
Arnwine said that ex-offenders, need to organize and see their fight for voting rights as a larger challenge facing the community.
"Most states that have done away with the permanent bans did it through their state legislature," said Arnwine. "People need to be looking at their House members and the state senators. They need to make sure those people are with them."
Courtney Stewart, chairman of The Reentry Network for Returning Citizen, said that many ex-offenders don't understand the voting process and how crucial the right to vote is when it comes to reclaiming their rights.
"United States is about politics," said Stewart "So we have to get involved in the political process. If you're saying that you're a returning citizen and you want your citizenship and you want all of your rights returned to you, the best thing that you can do is [vote]."
The Reentry Network for Returning Citizens assists ex-offenders in their transition back into their communities.
For more information, on voting rights call the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST.
Renowned Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner William J. Raspberry, 76, was remembered for his generous spirit and strong journalistic voice during his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Northwest on July 26.
During the two-hour service, which was attended by thousands, Washington Post chairman Donald Graham, Vernon Jordan, a close friend of Raspberry, Dorothy Gilliam who worked alongside him at The Washington Post, and his children described the pioneering journalist as a family man who loved his city and his profession.
"Generosity was at the heart of Bill Raspberry," said Graham, who noted that his colleague had won his Pulitzer 25 years later than he should have.
"But that was one of the least important [accomplishments] for him," Graham said. "He had a strong voice at The Washington Post ... He believed journalists should root for the success of their city. No one ever told him what to say, and he never modified an opinion to please his boss."
Further alluding to Raspberry's passion for reporting racial injustices that frequently took place in the South where he was born and raised, Graham added that, "He walked into the gigantic story of civil rights in the 1960s, and for 40 years told that story [with stark accuracy]."
Graham went on to say that Raspberry was a "scathing critic" of his profession and that through him, many of his Post colleagues "learned how to think, write and listen."
Jordan, who serves as senior counsel for the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Field law group in Northwest, remembered his friend for his quiet, moral leadership and fierce commitment to educating people – young and old.
"Education was very important to Bill. He was a brave and intrepid pioneer," said Jordan. "He had a gift for the subtle sermon. His writings were always provocative but seldom predictable," he said. "[His wife] Sondra loved him and he had the good sense to love her back."
Gilliam reflected on Raspberry's knack for loosening things up in the newsroom.
"He was cool, relaxed and accessible to everyone," said Gilliam, director of Prime Movers Media at George Washington University. "He had a big influence on people in the newsroom [where] he was dedicated to improving quality," Gilliam said, adding that she was impressed by both Raspberry's prowess as a writer and prowess in the newsroom.
Raspberry's four grown children recalled the lessons he'd taught them.
While Patricia, his oldest daughter, described her father as a "magician" who could make the moon change to any color she wanted, and that he instilled in her that "being smart was a pretty special thing."
His youngest son Mark, recalled countless conversations with his dad at home, "down in the man-cave." Mark described him as "beautiful, wise and inspirational."
Angela, hailed her father as a "remarkable and phenomenal" man who got one of his best ideas for a column from her. It involved a story she told him about elephants in South Africa that he later paralleled with inner-city black males, she said.
"It was one of his most powerful pieces and he never gave me the credit," Angela joked, triggering a hearty round of laughter in the sanctuary.
Oldest son Reggie, who said Raspberry was "a great proponent of education," credited him with helping to turn his life around after he veered off course during his younger days, by returning to college.
"I was like the prodigal son," he said, adding that at both parents' urging, he had to take "baby steps" to get back on track.
"I'll always love you for that," Reggie said, looking directly at his father's closed coffin.
In an exclusive interview State Senator Jim Summerville told the Tribune that the scope of the grade changing investigation by the Senate Higher Education Sub Committee which he chairs is nearly three-times what has been reported previously.
"It (the hearing) is narrowly limited to the question of whether, why, and by whom the grades of some 270 students, enrolled in first-year, academically supported math courses, were changed from "Incomplete" to a passing letter grade," Summerville wrote.
Meanwhile TSU administrators continue to deny the allegations that the grades were changed outside of TBR and TSU protocol. TSU spokesperson Richard DelaHaya categorized the charges as "unfounded allegations" in a brief statement to the paper. He also went on to say the hearings will give the school administration an opportunity to set the record straight once and for all. "We look forward to providing accurate information to the legislators at our upcoming hearing and completing our internal investigation as soon as possible."
However, Summerville said that TSU interim President Shields requested and was granted a delay in the hearing due to prior travel dates on her schedule which conflicted with the previous date set by the committee. The Dixon County Republican also said that there are many questions his staff is currently looking into at this time. "The facts will and can only be developed from our research. At the moment a good many "facts" are in dispute. Our subcommittee will, as soon as the job is complete, present all that we learn and understand, backed by thorough, referenced documentation.
"The claims about "grade changes" came from credible sources but were disputed by highest ranking TSU administrators and Board of Regents executives. It is the duty of the General Assembly to oversee the laws it has enacted that apply to all public colleges and universities, since we representatives of the people appropriate their tax dollars to run this vast enterprise. The questions in this controversy go to the heart of the integrity of one of our oldest and proudest universities, and they must be investigated and resolved." There is no question that grades were changed. The controversy erupted when faculty members of the Mathematics department at TSU protested that the changes were made without following proper procedures. This week Dr. Jane Davis, president of the TSU Faculty Senate said an unnamed professor in the department contacted her to complain about what can only be described as pressure from the independent auditor at TSU who is conducting an in-house investigation.
"A very highly respected TSU Professor has informed me that the man conducting the Internal Audit of the Math grade, Mike Batson, contacted a member of Faculty Senate and attempted to get her to change her opinions about the grade change so that they would be supportive of the Administration," Davis wrote in an email obtained by the Tribune. "...It is clear that the validity of the Internal Audit is nonexistent if coercion is involved." When contacted by the Tribune Batson, the director of Internal Audit at TSU referred all inquiries to the school's media relations department. For her part Shields says the controversy is a result of "confusion."
"Tennessee State University welcomes the opportunity to clearly and factually address the unsupported and unfounded allegations raised about how grades were assigned to students who successfully completed the academic requirements of the math courses in question," Shields told the Tribune in statement to the Tribune. "It is unfortunate that confusion arose from the learning support, non-credit portion of the courses, which should not have influenced the course grade. The faculty members who taught the classes did what was right on behalf of the students who earned their grades. TSU stands ready and eager to address any misunderstanding for Senator Summerville and any member of the subcommittee." Davis however insists that the onus for the tumult falls squarely on the shoulders of TSU administration.
"...Much of the controversy over grade changed could have been resolved if Administration could produce the university grade change forms with required signatures with evidence that they were signed at the time of the grade change," wrote Davis. "The fact that this has not happened, together with the actions of the Provost in attempting to retaliate against me, and the actions of the Internal Auditor, make clear that it will be very difficult to get to the truth if TSU is only investigated from within." Summerville says that the hearing which is open to the public should take one day and he will call several witnesses. "...We expect to invite TSU President Portia Shields, Faculty Senate President Dr. Jane Davis, senior management from TBR, and others who can shed light into some of these shadows," Summerville said. "They (the hearings) are set for 1-3 p.m., August 13, Room 12 Legislative Plaza. I'm going to do my very best as chairman to conclude the hearings at that sitting, but we'll just have to see where we are." In an op-ed piece that ran in the Tennessean Shields denied any wrong doing by her administration.
"Let me be crystal clear...The TSU administration did not change or seek to change any students' grades in mathematics courses involved or any other courses." Davis however has a different take on the issue. "I did not initiate the grade change controversy but was told of the problem by a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences as a result of what department members were told at a faculty meeting regarding the Dept. Chair's concern over unauthorized grade changes."
The matter will be fully vetted in August.
New Florida Voting Laws Attract Lawsuit. "There is absolutely no explanation for restricting early voting other than intentional voter suppression, said Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL). Brown has filed a federal lawsuit to stop changes is Florida's early voting law.
In the 2008 elections, African Americans cast 22% percent of the total early vote, even though Blacks are just 13% of Florida's registered voters. More Blacks vote during the early voting period than on election-day or via absentee ballot combined according to University of Florida Political Science Professor Dr. Daniel Smith.
In 2008, President Obama won Florida over Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by a very slim 2.8% margin: 50.9 – 48.1%.
Blacks accounted for roughly 34% of votes cast on the Sunday before the election in 2008. The Republican controlled legislature in Florida shortened the number of early voting days from from 15 to 10 and and eliminated Sunday voting before the election. They also granted power to county supervisors to control the number of hours the polls are open.
"It seems that Governor Scott simply does not want people to vote. We should be making it easier for people to get to the polls, not harder," Brown said.
"Early voting has worked extremely well for all Floridians and especially for African American voters," said Brown adding, "More than any other racial or ethnic group, African Americans have come to rely on early voting," she added.
Brown said changes to the law, "violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. and 1973 (a) and the Florida constitution... Early voting was instituted after the debacle of the 2000 elections when thousands were turned away from overcrowded polls. Since 2004, Floridians have had access to the polls for eight hours a day, for fifteen days right up until the last Sunday before election-day."
WASHINGTON (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Ron Busby appeared reflective as he sat at the mahogany board room table at Industrial Bank, a Black-owned establishment, based in North West Washington, D.C. Busby, the president/CEO of the U. S. Black Chamber Inc. (USBC) then summed up his thoughts in one sentence:
"This is a game changer," he declared.
Amidst an economic downturn that has pulverized segments of the Black community with record unemployment and loss of wealth across the nation, Busby had just opened a U. S. Black Chamber account with Industrial. The deposit was a calculated move to start a new relationship that he hopes will spread into a national movement that will strengthen Black financial institutions and ultimately uplift the community at large.
"I believe that Industrial has a success story that is unequaled," he continued in the interview. "And if you really look at the statistics in reference to not only Industrial, but other minority and Black-owned banks, you'll see that they are in our communities; they lend money to our businesses as well as our local communities. And so, for the average reader across the country that's going to pick this up, I think it is game changing because now you have a national organization that's not just talking about a solution but is actually actively participating in the solution."
The USBC deposit was in fact another significant stride in the history of the 75-year-old Industrial. The bank started with six employees and $192,000 in assets in 1934 and now has 150 employees and more than $333 million in assets. With Industrial Bank pioneers Jesse H. Mitchell, founder, and B. Doyle Mitchell Sr., president, adorning the board room wall in portraits; Busby underscored the significance of the new business partnership.
"This will be our primary bank," Busby said. "We will probably do about a half million dollars of business a year that will run through this particular bank."
The 4-year-old Black Chamber, Inc. boasts about 108 chambers in 22 states and 240,000 members - mostly Black-owned businesses. The ultimate strategy, if it works as outlined by Industrial President/CEO B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., would benefit the community.
"The more deposits we have, the more we're able to lend out," Mitchell says. "In order to grow, you've got to have deposits."
Mitchell, also chairman of the National Bankers Association (NBA), envisions a spread of the movement. "I do see it as a partnership, but I also see it as an encouragement to other Black national organizations and Black companies to do more business with each other because I think we trail everybody in trying to do business with each other and keeping money in our own communities. I think with the U. S. Black Chamber being the top notch organization that they are, I think it's a big leadership step for them and for Ron to take that initiative."
Mitchell and Busby both serve on the Small Business Administration's Council on Underserved Communities, where they first began this conversation. They have concluded that - in addition to government initiatives - the African-American community must step up its activities to revitalize itself. To make that happen, Mitchell and Busby are strategizing with Michael Grant, president of NBA, which has a membership of 37 mostly Black-owned banks.
"This can be the catalyst to get other national organizations to see how important it is that we harmonize; synergize, and energize our efforts," says Grant as he listed several major Black organizations. "At the end of the day, all of these organizations have constituencies that go all over America, all of these organizations handle money and their members handle money... You start with the leadership of these organizations and you say 'Listen, we need to do a better job at harvesting our own wealth. Yes, we want to look to politicians to do things and yes we may ask the corporations to be more fair about their hiring and their contracting and so forth, but what are we supposed to do?'"
Grant continued, "To me, I don't think that we should keep asking others and passively sitting back and waiting for others to deliver for us. We should be proactive and aggressive about making sure that economic opportunity exists in the Black community. So, all of us are national organizations; we've already got people; we've already got constituents, right? We've already got resources. So, let's set the example."
A "national action plan" in this regard will be announced July 27 during the USBC's School of Chamber Management conference at Georgetown University in D.C., Busby says.
In a nutshell, the plan is described as a strategic national movement in which Black chambers - and ultimately Black businesses and Black organizations - will be encouraged to open accounts in Black banks. Among the initial cities are Phoenix, Ariz.; Austin, Texas; Atlanta, New York City, and Detroit, Busby said.
"And so we're going into those six cities and saying, 'Okay, here's your local Black bank. We need to make sure that they're successful as well. We need to move as many of our loans, our bank accounts, our savings accounts into Black-owned banks.'"
Busby points out that the strategy is actually a part of the USBC's "solution-oriented" mission statement, which deals with supporting African-American businesses and banks based on five pillars:
*Advocacy: Fighting for legislation, programs and policies that promote small business growth.
*Access to capital: Creating avenues "by which Black businesses can gain greater access to credit, capital and other financial instruments."
*Contracting: Helping members "gain access to business opportunities" in private and public sectors.
*Entrepreneurial training: Assisting Black business leaders in achieving "stellar performance and growth through entrepreneur and business management training."
*Chamber development: The growth and expansion of new chambers around the nation.
The new strategy will focus mainly on three of the pillars. They are access to capital, contracting and entrepreneurial training, Busby said.
Throughout history, Black leaders have attempted various economic strategies to strengthen the Black community as whole, most of which have failed. Grant explains that the greatest hurdle to this movement will be galvanizing the masses in the same direction and convincing people to think about community rather than just about their own organizations or households.
"The civil rights movement was the last time that over time we came together and we all got some kind of agreement - if you will - on one accord about what we wanted. The civil rights movement ended up changing a lot of people's minds and attitudes because the reward was so close in front of them," Grant said. "If you want to change behavior, you have to use positive reinforcement so that rewards for the new behavior are strong enough."
Economist Julianne Malveaux lauds the plan but says prospective participants must ask hard questions in order to hold the banks accountable.
"This is a very welcome move because only one in 10 Black dollars goes into Black entrepreneurs and Banks. So, whereas a dollar may turn over seven or eight times in other communities that invest in themselves the African-American community's dollar may turn over only once; then go right out. So, the Black Chamber is modeling what Black folks supporting Black folks should be," Malveaux said.
However, the success of the movement will be contingent upon whether Black banks are serious about spreading the wealth in Black communities.
"There are a series of questions that people who are changing accounts will have to ask. And those are questions that minority banks will have to answer. Like, for this support, what are you offering? Is this support simply rhetorical or does this mean more lending in the Black community? Does it mean more opportunity for our young people? Does it mean more employment for our young people?"
Grant concludes, "The burden is on all organizations; including the Black bankers too...It's a two-way street. When you think about all the things our banks could do in their communities to help strengthen those communities, that burden is on us as it is on everybody else. What can we do to grow wealth in our community? All of us have a responsibility. Nobody's exempt."
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