National
Right on the heels of North Carolina becoming the 31st state in the Union to pass a ban on homosexual marriage, President Barack Obama announced his support of matrimony between same sex couples.
The president's public support of same sex marriage could either be a boon or a curse for his re-election campaign; it's too soon to tell, despite the fact that he's just received a million dollars in campaign contributions. But one thing is certain; the president's public stance in favor of homosexual marriage has drawn a dividing line among voters. Will it have an affect among African-American voters, some members of the Black clergy think it will.
"I think it will to some extent," said Bishop Ernest C. Morris Sr., Jurisdictional Prelate for Koinonia Jurisdiction. "A large percentage of Black Christians believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. What he may be banking on is the African-American community's love for the first Black president but he should consider that large numbers of Black churches won't agree with this. There are too many passages in Scripture that denounce homosexuality and I can't see how to fully justify it from the Word of God. Don't misunderstand me; this is not about hatred of homosexuals because we are all sinners in need of a savior and God is so gracious. It is the continuous practice of this that the Bible is against. I also think that as the nation's first Black president, he's seen not just as the political leader of our country but as more than that. Many people see him as a moral and spiritual leader as well."
On Wednesday May 9 President Barack Obama took what some political experts are saying was a risky move — especially during an election year — and voiced his support of same sex marriage. Like the issue of legalized abortion, same sex marriage is one of those hot button issues that draw a clear division between those who support it and those who oppose it. Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney said he opposes same sex marriages.
"Well when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name," Romney said in a published report.
A bill that would have allowed civil unions for same-sex couples in Colorado died in the legislature this week. The president's public endorsement of homosexual marriage followed a vote in North Carolina where constituents came out in favor of a ban against same sex marriage. North Carolina is now America's 31st state to enact legislation against it.
In a prepared statement, the president said he was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer regarding same sex marriage.
"I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry," the president said. "I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution. But over the course of several years I've talked to friends and family about this. I've thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships that are raising kids together. What I've come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, and the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens. So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry."
The president also said that he respected the beliefs of others and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines but he said that he believed that in the eyes of the law all Americans should ne treated equally and no federal law should invalidate same sex marriages in a state that enacted it.
Reverend Clarence James, a Black minister based in Chicago said he definitely believes the president's move is going to hurt him among African-American voters, many of whom oppose same sex marriage.
"Many of us oppose this in every form and may decide to vote against the president because of this," James said. "From a medical and psychological point of view homosexuality is a mental illness; for male homosexuals anal sex is medically dangerous. The president is coming at this as a civil rights issue but there is no correlation even though the homosexual community is trying to make it one. The Civil Rights Movement was about freedom and equal rights, this is a moral issue. For the president and other elected officials it's easier to go along with popular opinion rather than to do what's right."
But some members of the African-American clergy have a different point of view regarding this issue. They believe the African-American community should find ways to address same sex relationships and that there can be reconciliation between sex and spirituality.
"If every gay person in our church just left or those who have an orientation or preference or an inclination, or a fantasy, if everyone left, we wouldn't have — we wouldn't have a church," said Bishop Carlton Pearson who heads Chicago's New Dimensions Ministries in a published report. "Homophobia is hardly unique to the African-American community. It's a social malady that's due largely to the influence of fear based-theologies, particularly fundamentalist Christianity, Islam and Judaism, all of which grow out of the Abrahamic tradition. The African-American church has traditionally used a kind of 'don't ask don't tell' approach toward homosexuality."
Dr. Janice Hollis who heads Progressive Believer's said the African-American community should look at the president's record not just on this issue but on others and determine if the quality of their lives has improved.
"I think it's an insult for the president to intellectualize on morality as if the Church doesn't already have a mandate from God on this," she said. "This is a political move and even though he may not see it, he's only a fleeting moment in history; God has always been there. I think the president is promoting a way of life that deters people away from the Word of God."
Reverend Bill Owens, a minister with the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and who is based in Memphis, Tennessee, said there's no doubt that the president's endorsement of same sex marriage is going to hurt him among Black voters.
"Absolutely it will and especially among the Black churches where the conviction against same sex marriage is so strong," Owens said. "I think many Black Christians feel somewhat betrayed by the president on this — this is something that Black churches have always stood firmly against."
About 47 percent of Congress, or 250 current members of Congress, are millionaires, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of lawmakers' personal financial disclosure forms covering calendar year 2010. The Center's analysis is based on the median values of lawmakers' disclosed assets and liabilities.
That lofty financial status is enjoyed by only about one percent of Americans.
"The vast majority of members of Congress are quite comfortable, financially, while many of their own constituents suffer from economic hardships," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
"It's no surprise that so many people grumble about lawmakers being out-of-touch," Krumholz continued. "Few Americans enjoy the same financial cushion maintained by most members of Congress – or the same access to market-altering information that could yield personal financial gains."
On the whole, elected officials in the U.S. Senate enjoy cushier bank accounts and portfolios than their counterparts in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2010, the year of the most recently released financial data, the estimated median net worth of a current U.S. senator stood at an average of $2.63 million, according to the Center's research.
Despite the global economic meltdown in 2008 and sluggish recovery, that's up about 11 percent from an estimated median net worth of about $2.38 million in 2009, according to the Center's analysis. And it's up about 16 percent from a median estimated net worth of $2.27 million in 2008.
Party doesn't matter
Fully 37 Senate Democrats and 30 Senate Republicans reported an average net worth in excess of $1 million in 2010, according to the Center's analysis. The same was true of 110 House Republicans and 73 House Democrats.
The median estimated net worth among Senate Republicans was $2.43 million, and the median net worth among members of the Democratic caucus in the Senate was $2.69 million, by the Center's tally.
Meanwhile, in the House, the median estimated net worth of a GOP House member was $834,250 in 2010, according to the Center's research, compared to a median net worth of $635,500 among House Democrats.
The median estimated net worth among House members, overall, stood at $756,765 in 2010. That's up about 17 percent compared to the median net worth of $645,500 among House members in 2008, but down about 1 percent compared to 2009, when House members posted a median estimated net worth of $765,010, according to the Center's analysis.
Broad ranges
When members of Congress file these annual reports, they are allowed to list the value of their assets and liabilities in broad ranges. The Center for Responsive Politics determines the minimum and maximum possible values for each asset and liability for every member of Congress and then calculates each lawmaker's average estimated net worth.
Sometimes millions of dollars separate a lawmaker's minimum estimated worth from his or her maximum estimated wealth. That said, members of Congress might be more financially well off than they seem. The annual filings do not include the values of government retirement accounts, personal property – such as cars or artwork – or any non-income-generating property, such as their primary residences.
Moreover, because of the forms' broad ranges for assets and liabilities, it's impossible to know whether some members of Congress are in the black or in the red.
Issa on top
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) ranks as the wealthiest member of the 112th Congress, according to the Center's analysis of 2010 financial disclosures. Issa's minimum estimated net worth in 2010 was $195 million, while his maximum estimated net worth was more than $700 million. That gives Issa an average net worth of $448 million.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) ranks as the wealthiest House Democrat. Polis, who has spent about $7 million of his own money on his campaigns since 2007, has an average estimated net worth of $143 million.
No. 2 is Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas, $380 million), followed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass., $232 million), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va., $193 million) and Sen. Herb Kohl, the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team (D-Wis., $174 million).
Hastings at bottom
The net worth of Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is below zero. Her maximum net worth is a negative $15,000, while her minimum net worth is a negative $50,000.
A similar predicament afflicts Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Louis Gohmert (R-Texas), Steve Fincher (R-Tenn.) and Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).
Notably, Hastings, whose minimum estimated net worth is $7.3 million in debt and whose maximum estimated net worth is $2.1 million in debt, ranks as the poorest member of Congress, by the Center's tally.
None of the 43 Congressional Black Caucus legislators appear in the top 100 wealthiest federal lawmakers. The richest, Rep. Al Green of Texas, has an average net worth of approximately $4.5 million – No. 104 on the list.
The average net worth of CBC members is $411,179 – well below the congressional average of $7.4 million.
Lobbied investors
The most popular company in which members of Congress were invested in 2010 was General Electric, a company that spent more than $39 million on federal lobbying that year and ranked as the No. 3 top spender on lobbying.
Seventy-five different current members of Congress held stock in GE in 2010, according to the Center's research. Collectively, these holdings were worth at least $3.6 million.
Inaction in Congress is doing more than angering constituents across the nation. The lawmaking body's lack of action has caused the dismissal of dedicated government employees who are unable to work around the partisanship on Capitol Hill.
Such is the case with the Government Printing Office, or GPO for short. Their top leader, Bill Boarman, stepped down recently right before the New Year, but not because he personally chose to move on. He was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate in enough time to save his job and continue in his role as Public Printer.
Boarman was originally nominated for the role in April 2010 and President Obama gave him a recess appointment earlier in 2011. Still, he loses his spot since he was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate at the end of 2011. The Senate went on holiday break shortly before Christmas.
As an alternate move, Boarman appointed Davita Vance-Cooks to the role of Deputy Public Printer on December 20th. This ensures that the agency has some sort of capable leadership in place upon Boarman's departure.
Despite his disappointment with the confirmation process, Boarman was quick to offer praise for his successor.
"Over the past year, Davita Vance-Cooks has been a leading member of GPO's senior management team in developing and carrying out our program of reducing the size and cost of GPO, streamlining our operations, and utilizing new technology, a program that has yielded positive results for the Government and the taxpayers," Boarman said in an official statement announcing the appointment of Vance-Cooks.
Hundreds of community, civil rights and social justice leaders met in New Orleans recently with the support of a philanthropic foundation to facilitate a dialogue on how to repair American's racial wounds.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, based in Battle Creek, Mich., convened a four-day conference, "Healing for Democracy" in April that focused on how the country can deal with its ongoing race problem. Gail Christopher, the foundation's vice president of program strategy, said that the conference comes at a critical time for the nation.
"Trayvon Martin's tragic killing, the shootings in Tulsa, the beating death of an Iraqi-American woman in California and organized efforts to suppress voter participation for people of color, all exemplify the need for racial healing that can break down the historic barriers that have divided our nation," said Christopher of Ft. Washington, Md. "Our convening will help the participants bring racial healing to their communities."
The Kellogg Foundation, the seventh largest in the United States, was established in 1930 as an independent, privately owned foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg. Its mission is to ensure that all children be given an equal opportunity to succeed. The foundation works in areas of the country that have high poverty rates.
Christopher, 61, said that racial issues need to be aired out because it's in the best interest of the country.
"There's an urgency to address this now," Christopher said. "In our near future, the majority of children in America will be kids of color and many will live in poverty. To ensure that generations can grow up in a thriving and inclusive democracy, we must put these issues of inequity squarely in front of us so that, together, we can move beyond them."
The Martin controversy led to countless discussions in the Crescent City.
"I think he was a victim," said Joselo Lucero of Patchogue, N.Y. Lucero, 37, has been a leader against anti-immigrant violence since his brother, Marcelo, was murdered in 2008 by a White youth who happened to be hanging out with group of young people.
"It is the environment in this country," he said. "There are some people who believe that if you are Black, you are a criminal. A hoodie [and] baggy jeans fit into the stereotype that Blacks who wear those things are bad."
Rachel Godsil, director of research for the American Values Institute, said the Martin controversy shows a racial divide among Americans." CNN reported that 78 percent of all Americans thought that George Zimmerman should have been immediately arrested after the killing of Trayvon Martin," Godsil said. "In that group, it was 58 percent of Whites and 83 percent of Blacks."
She said that the divide deepened a few weeks following the shooting, with constant media coverage of the controversy.
"Forty-three percent of Whites surveyed said that they had heard enough of it while only 16 percent of Blacks said the same," she said. "This shows that Whites really do not like to talk about race."
Donna Brazile, a national Democratic Party operative and commentator who lives in the District, said that people of color need to organize.
"We need to increase the level of civic engagement in communities of color," said Brazile, 52. "We need that because we have seen the re-segregation of the South. Those people who oppose us know that we have power, but do we know that?"
Brazile said that with the use of the ballot "we can elect the first woman and the first Latino" as president of the United States.
DALLAS -- For two decades, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has been an outspoken voice for Democrats in her signature bright blazer and multicolored scarf.
Now the first black woman to represent North Texas in Congress faces serious opposition in the May 29 primary election, and the effort to unseat her is just one of several challenges against some of the longest-serving black members of Congress.
"I will always be ever more grateful for the trails that she has blazed," said Eva Jones, owner of a barbeque restaurant who was chairwoman of Johnson's first House campaign in 1992. But "there has come a time where we need new leadership, like in any business, like with anything."
Longtime black incumbents in Dallas, Detroit and New York City are being challenged by a younger generation of black office-seekers who aren't waiting for retirements by the old guard, including nationally known figures whose activism dates to the civil rights movement.
In Michigan, several people are challenging 82-year-old Rep. John Conyers, the oldest black member of the House.
One of his rivals, Michigan state Sen. Bert Johnson, said people who have voted for the congressman for decades in his Detroit district recognize that "perhaps we're not trying to integrate lunch counters so much" as work to prevent foreclosures in struggling neighborhoods."
"Those people know that there is a nexus between their experience and the youthful vigor and zeal that I bring to the table," said Johnson, who at 38 was born eight years after Conyers took office in 1965 following his work with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Eddie Bernice Johnson's two challengers are careful not to criticize her directly, but say they hear increasing doubts from voters in south Dallas, where neighborhoods have struggled long before the recession.
"North Texas has seen a lot of economic growth. Unfortunately, this district and our community hasn't really shared in that economic development," said Taj Clayton, one of the congresswoman's opponents.
Johnson, 76, grew up in Waco and moved to Dallas after college and took a job as a VA nurse. She decided to get into politics after a trip to buy a new hat at a shopping mall.
"I learned in just a very stark shock that I could not try the hat on," she told the Dallas Morning News in 1987. "I never experienced that in Waco. We could try on clothes. I found that black women (in Dallas) could not try on shoes. People tried them on for you, or they would measure your foot and guess your size."
She didn't buy the hat. Instead, she organized a boycott and took her first step into politics. More than a decade later, local leaders encouraged her to run for Texas state representative, and she won.
In 1986, she was elected to the state Senate. Six years later, she ran for the U.S. House from a district she helped draw as a state senator.
She's won 100 percent of the vote in every primary since. Johnson, who declined to be interviewed for this report, has won federal funding for new mass transit and other local projects. She's also fought against a Republican-backed voter ID law that she says would disenfranchise minority voters.
Supporters said the congresswoman's experience is needed in her district.
"This election is too important ... to hand everything to a novice that's going to help shape the policies for (President Barack Obama's) second term," said David Henderson Jr., a pastor and president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Dallas. "We need someone with her stature, with her status."
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Florida A&M University's famed marching band is being suspended for at least one more school year as officials try to cleanse the hazing culture that led to the death of a drum major, the school's president said Monday.
Eleven FAMU band members face felony charges in the November hazing death of Robert Champion, while two others face misdemeanor counts. The band has been banned from performing since soon after he died, and band director Julian White recently retired after it was revealed that at least 100 band members were not students when Champion died.
"As president my goal is to implement the best conditions we can to create a safe environment so teaching, learning and research can take place," Ammons said.
Ammons was already under pressure from many state officials – including Gov. Rick Scott – to keep the Marching 100 sidelined until other ongoing investigations into the band are completed.
The Marching 100 has had a rich history, performing at Super Bowls and in inauguration parades. The band has been one of the main draws during FAMU football games, and some board members on Monday wanted to know if the decision to keep the band off the field until 2013 would impact ticket sales.
In what could be considered a watershed moment in the world's 30-year fight against HIV, U.S. government advisors recommended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) give the go-ahead to a drug that has been shown to be effective in preventing the virus from replicating.
The drug, Truvada, if approved fully by the FDA on June 15, would become the first pill to prevent HIV infection.
Truvada was recently given a thumbs by the FDA advisory committee following votes of yeas and nays that highlighted concerns ranging from side-effects of persistent diarrhea to concerns about "a false security" possibly resulting in some at-risk men using the drug as an excuse to opt out of using condoms all together.
"We want to thank the advisory committee for recommending approval of Truvada for a pre-exposure prophylaxis," said Stephen Bailous, executive vice president, National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA). "We urge the FDA to move with caution toward final approval or disapproval, carefully weighing possibilities of side effects and increased risk behavior, but also weighing carefully the risks of letting an informal market grow without FDA regulation and clinical guidelines."
Another concern involved the clinical trials which were largely conducted in Africa. Although African-American women account for the largest share of new HIV infections among U.S. women (57 percent in 2009), African-American women, according to reports, were not part of the clinical trials.
"We have to do better for full inclusion of African-American women in clinical trials overall," said A. Toni Young, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Community Education Group. "HIV is one of the areas, but if you look at any clinical trials, African-American women are typically on the other end. This is not abnormal."
According to the District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH), more than 3 percent of the District's population, aged 13 and older, are living with HIV/AIDS. The rate is higher than many developing nations and is at a level that the World Health Organization classifies as an epidemic.
Truvada is not new to the pharmaceutical marketplace. In fact, it has been marketed by California-based Gilead Sciences since 2004 as a treatment for those infected with the virus. Doctors usually prescribe it as part of a "drug cocktail" to repress the virus.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of National Action Network (NAN), along with Julian Bond, NAACP chairman emeritus, and other civil rights leaders has released this open letter in support of President Barack Obama's stance on same-sex marriage:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As leaders in today's Civil Rights Movement, we stand behind the President Obama's belief that same sex couples should be allowed to join in civil marriages. We also affirm that individuals may hold different views on this issue but still work together towards our common goals: fair housing and equitable education, affordable health care and eradicating poverty, all issues of deep and abiding concern for our communities. President Obama stated his view that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
This is a view that we concur with, because as civil rights leaders we cannot fight to gain rights for some and not for all. At the same time, we acknowledge that the President stated his personal opinion, which everyone is entitled to – both those who agree with him, like us, and those who disagree. The President made clear that his support is for civil marriage for same-sex couples, and he is fully committed to protecting the ability of religious institutions to make their own decisions about their own sacraments.
There will be those who seek to use this issue to divide our community. As a people, we cannot afford such division. It is our hope that conversations on strengthening African American families continue in a civil and respectful way, on all sides, both with those who support the ability of same-sex couples to marry, and those who do not.
We are glad that President Obama has joined Dr. Joseph Lowery, Dr. Julian Bond and so many others in full embrace of equality for gay and lesbian individuals in our country. We also welcome the civil debate on this issue that will surely spring. And we encourage all individuals to keep all issues of import to our communities in mind in the days ahead, and we seek to secure equal justice, opportunity and dignity for all God's children.
A Chicago jury found William Balfour, Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law, guilty Friday on three counts of first-degree murder and four other counts related to the 2008 slayings of the entertainer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.
He will be sentenced to life without parole; Illinois has no death penalty.
Hudson, who was in the courtroom with her sister Julia and fiance, David Otunga, broke down in tears as she heard the verdict. Otunga said, "Yes," and put his arm around her.
In addition to murder, Balfour was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, home invasion, residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle.
A public defender for Balfour said his legal team would file a motion for a new trial on June 8 and then file a notice of appeal. "I do feel there were very strong issues of law in this case that need to be looked at by an appellate court," Amy Thompson told reporters outside the courthouse. "So we do have some hope."
CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin expressed surprise at the verdict. "This wasn't a slam-dunk case," she said, citing the lack of forensic evidence.
The case went to the jury Thursday, after heated closing arguments Wednesday set a tense tone.
In the middle of the afternoon on Friday, the jurors sent Judge Charles Burns notes saying they were split and asking to see testimony about cell phone records showing that Balfour's phone was near the site of the killings at the time they took place.
How Balfour verdict was reached
Hudson first witness in murder trial The split was then nine to three in favor of conviction, said juror Jacinta Gholston, who works for a Chicago-based chocolate company. "There were three of us who just needed to see the picture a little clearer," she told reporters after the verdict.
The records proved key. An hour later, jurors told the judge they had reached a verdict. "Once we got those holes filled, we were able to come to a unanimous decision," Gholston said.
Juror Paula Halcomb, a math teacher in the suburbs southwest of Chicago, also cited the cell phone records as persuasive. "We realized that he could not be in two places at one time," she said.
Hudson's testimony played no role in the jury's decision. "She didn't really say anything," Halcomb said.
Hudson, who was called as the prosecution's first of more than 80 witnesses, broke down in tears several times on the stand as she recalled her family.
"None of us wanted her to marry him," Hudson said of her sister's decision to marry Balfour. "We did not like how he treated her.
"Where he was, I tried not to be," she said.
"This wasn't a case about Jennifer Hudson," Gholston said of the entertainer, who attended the trial each day. "For us, her celebrity had nothing to do with it."
Jury Foreman Robert Smith, 42, who works for Chicago Public Schools, said the decision was an easy one for him. "I was pretty much certain from the beginning," he said of Balfour's guilt. "To me, everything connected."
Asked what he would tell Hudson, he said, "Honest, I don't really have anything to say to her. But I just hope that she can kind of put this behind her and just get on with the rest of her life."
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said she had spoken with Jennifer and her sister Julia Hudson after the verdict. "They are relieved and we hope that the verdict gives them some sense of justice."
The singer was "was very emotional about the verdict, as you can well imagine, and so was her sister and the rest of the family -- emotional but relieved."
Defense lawyer Thompson had argued that police had homed in on Balfour rather than conducting a full investigation.
"In their mind, this wasn't a whodunnit," she said.
No DNA evidence pointed to Balfour, said Thompson, who also questioned police work in the case, describing a set of keys that she said surfaced on an evidence list a month after the slayings.
"Those keys show how desperate the state was. They resorted to this. ... My client is an innocent man," she said.
But prosecutors argued that physical and circumstantial evidence linked Balfour to the killings and described as "absurd" defense claims that police may have planted evidence or been part of a conspiracy to frame Balfour.
Prosecutor Jim McKay told jurors that there was a "tsunami of circumstantial evidence."
"The circumstantial facts of this case are drowning this guy in guilt," he said.
Cook County prosecutor Jennifer Bagby said in her closing argument that Balfour had threatened to kill the family of Julia Hudson.
"If you leave me, I'll kill you. I'll kill your family first. You'll be the last to die," he had said, according to Bagby.
"He went in that house for one reason, and one reason only, to carry out that threat," Bagby told jurors.
Balfour was accused of fatally shooting Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and the singer's brother, Jason Hudson, 29, in their Chicago home in October 2008. The body of Hudson's nephew, Julian King, was found three days later in an abandoned vehicle.
Prosecutors portrayed Balfour as a jealous man who murdered the three in a rage at the thought that his wife had a boyfriend.
In her closing argument, Bagby said Balfour shot Hudson's mother as she tried to defend herself with a broom.
"He fired that gun at her over and over and over," Bagby said.
McKay called Balfour "a true coward."
"He shoots a 57-year-old grandmother in the back. He shoots a 29-year-old man in his sleep. He shoots a 7-year-old twice in the head," McKay told jurors. "The family, the community, the city, the country demand justice."
In the trial, 83 witnesses testified over 11 days.
The crimes took place a year after Hudson, who rose to fame as a contestant on "American Idol," won an Oscar for her role in the movie "Dreamgirls."
In a recent interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Hudson reflected on the life of her mother.
"My mother was a very wise and strong person. I feel like she raised us well, and she prepared me well, and so that's what I live by," she said.
Her career has continued to blossom and remains varied since her relatives' deaths.
Recent milestones include penning a memoir detailing her struggles with her weight; being cast as Nelson Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie, in an upcoming movie; releasing a new album; and singing a well-received tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in February.
Yesterday, voting rights advocates won an important legal victory that will ensure that Louisiana's public assistance agency clients—the state's poorest and most marginalized residents—will be offered an opportunity to register to vote.
In a forceful decision, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP that Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires that all public assistance clients must be provided with a voter registration application whether they seek benefits in person or by the internet, telephone and mail. Louisiana argued that its public assistance agencies were only required to offer voter registration to
those clients who appeared in person.
"The vast majority of Louisiana's public assistance clients never step foot in a state office, and failing to offer them a chance to register to vote violates federal law," said Dale Ho, assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), who argued on behalf of the Plaintiffs at a hearing held on April 20. "Louisiana's refusal to enforce the NVRA risks denying tens of thousands of our poorest citizens a clear path to voter registration."
"The court's ruling will ensure that low-income individuals will not be denied voter registration services because of advancing technology," said Sarah Brannon, director of the Public Agency Voter Registration Program at Project Vote. "The court recognized that the mandates of the NVRA are not limited to in-person visits to public assistance offices."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and an individual client of the state's public assistance agencies. The Plaintiffs are represented by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., Project Vote, and New Orleans Attorney Ron Wilson.
Plaintiffs argue that, despite consistently high numbers of participants in Louisiana's food stamp and Medicaid programs, voter registration applications originating from public assistance agencies have been surprisingly low. As of 2008, voter registration applications originating in these agencies had dropped 88 percent from 1995, despite increased participation in public assistance programs. Nationwide, as of October 2011, more than one million low-income people in five different states have registered to vote as a result of proper NVRA enforcement.
The Court will next address whether Louisiana complied with its duty to offer registration to persons accessing benefits by telephone and through the internet. "We intend to move forward quickly and forcefully to ensure all Louisiana citizens are provided with an opportunity to register to vote in advance of the upcoming elections," said Attorney Ron Wilson.
"The Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP is committed to ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens are not denied their voting rights," said Ernest Johnson, president of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP.
"We are a stronger nation when every segment of our society is encouraged to vote, and we trust that Louisiana will come to see the wisdom of this basic principle," concluded Debo P. Adegbile, LDF Interim President and Director-Counsel.
WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has presented Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed with its highest honor, the Louis E. Martin Great American Award, for his innovative and effective leadership in guiding his city through difficult economic challenges in the wake of the recent recession.
Mayor Reed received the award at the Joint Center's Annual Gala Dinner Tuesday night in Washington before an audience of more than 500 elected and appointed government officials and business, civic and community leaders from across the country.
Mayor Reed was honored for improving the delivery of public services in Atlanta and strengthening the city's financial position while working to improve the quality of life for its most vulnerable residents.
Joint Center President Ralph B. Everett said that Mayor Reed is a forceful, forward-looking leader. "His record of success, his efforts to bring everyone in his community together to solve problems, his innovative spirit in finding solutions that work, and his determination to ensure that no one is left behind – these are the qualities that make Mayor Reed one of the most compelling leaders of his generation," said Everett.
"He has earned a reputation as an unflinching advocate for our nation's urban centers who recognizes that sustaining support for them is a necessity, even in tough economic times," said Cynthia G. Marshall, chair of the Joint Center's Board of Governors and President of AT&T North Carolina.
The Joint Center is a Washington research and policy institution that has supported African American leadership and encouraged broad political participation for more than 40 years.
The Louis E. Martin Great American Award is named for the legendary journalist and presidential advisor who was a co-founder of the Joint Center. Previous award recipients include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and William J. Clinton, Congressmen James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Muhammad Ali, lawyer and civil rights leader Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., the late civil rights activist Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Last year's recipient was Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), who is also from Atlanta.
Mayor Reed demonstrated his leadership traits when, as an undergraduate at Howard University more than 20 years ago, he created a fundraising program that has contributed more than $10 million over the years to the school's endowment. He was appointed as the University's youngest General Trustee in June 2002 and remains a member of that body.
"Kasim Reed, a beloved son of Howard University, represents our core values of leadership, excellence, truth and service," said University President Sidney A. Ribeau. "Mayor Reed's accomplishments in Atlanta have established him as one of the leading mayors in the nation. We congratulate him on this extraordinary Joint Center award. Well done!"
The Annual Gala Dinner is the organization's major fundraising event. This year's theme was Continuing our Commitment for the Next Generation.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is one of the nation's leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. To learn more, please visit www.jointcenter.org.
When she graduated from the University of Iowa two years ago with a major in elementary education, Amber Newman envisioned standing in front of a class of bright, energetic youngsters and providing them with the solid educational base that would help them become successful in the upper grades as well as later in life.
But when Newman didn't land a job in the classroom, she found another way of working with young people – she's a nanny in Chicago to two boys, ages 1 and 4. Although it's not her dream job, she's glad to have a job in this struggling economy. Any job.
"I'm okay, I'm not living on the streets, I'm not hungry," said Newman, who lives with her parents in suburban Chicago. "A lot of my friends have taken teacher's aide positions just to be involved in schools and get their foot in the door. Some work in daycare or are nannies like me. None of my friends who have done elementary education have changed their interest."
What has changed is the labor market.
"I kind of knew toward the end of my last year that there wasn't going to be a lot of regular teaching positions because of budgeting," Newman said. "When the economy went down, education took a big hit."
Two-thirds of the class of 2010 were met with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate – the highest in recent history – and an average of $25,250 in debt, according to "Student Debt and the Class of 2010," a recent study by the Project on Student Debt, an Institute for College Access & Success initiative.
The unemployment rate for teachers is likely to remain high as financially-stressed governments reduce jobs in the public sector.
Newman says enrolling graduate school while still job hunting is not a viable option.
"I think it just cost too much to go back to school," said Newman, who has about $30,000 in debt despite having received two scholarships. "When people ask me what I got my degree in and I say education, they would look at me kind of sad and say, 'Good luck.'"
And if the student is black, like Newman, he or she will need more than luck.
A study conducted by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center in 2010 – the same year Newman graduated from college – found that student loan debt levels of $30,500 or higher were more common among 27 percent of African-American college graduates, compared with 16 percent of their white counterparts.
Federal Reserve data show that the median student loan amount for Whites increased from $13,463 in 2007 to $15,000 in 2009, an increase of $1,537. Over that same period, student loans for Latinos rose from $13,463 to $17,000, an increase of $3,537. The highest increase was among Blacks, rising from $8,285 in 2007 to $14,000 in 2009, a jump of $5,715.
Meanwhile, the percentage of households relying on students loans was also highest among African-Americans (27.9 percent), compared with 14.2 percent for Latinos and 15.9 percent for Whites.
The increased reliance on student loans is directly connected to the economy,
"The expansion of education debt occurred at the same time that other credit markets, especially mortgages and credit cards, contracted," Christian E. Weller said in a Center for American Progress report. "Households went deeper into education debt during the crisis as other forms of credit became less prevalent."
Students loans now exceed total U.S. credit card debt.
More blacks may be forced to turn to student loans because Pell grants – direct allocations that help poor students attend college – may be slashed. That will have a profound impact on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) because two-thirds of their students receive Pell grants. Without those direct grants, families are more likely to seek loans.
Regardless of whether a college graduate lands a job, repayment of student loans are scheduled to begin approximately six months after commencement. According to the Institute for Higher Education Policy, only 37 percent of student loan borrowers were able to repay their loans without delinquency.
That number is likely to rise if Congress doesn't act soon.
"More than 7 million students and their families rely on Subsidized Stafford Loans to help pay for college," says a report by the Center for American Progress. "The loans distributed by the U.S. Department of Education currently hold an interest rate of 3.4 percent. But that rate is set to double if Congress fails to act by July 1, 2012. If that occurs, millions of students will see their interest rates soar to 6.8 percent on the new loans they take in the next year thereby causing a steep rise in their loan burden and effectively increasing the cost of attaining a college degree."
Newman hasn't abandoned her dream of being an elementary school teacher and is again applying for teaching positions.
"I started looking last summer but not full force because there weren't that many job listings," she explained. "It was kind of discouraging."
(Akeya Dickson is a Washington Correspondent for the NNPA News Service.)
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