Op-Ed

To Be Equal: The State of Black America—Part 3, Justice

Published

10 years ago

April 13, 2015

By Marc H. Morial
NNPA Columnist

“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states…Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

What is the state of Black America in 2015? In short, and on many fronts, Black America remains in crisis – and we see justice challenged at every turn.

A few weeks before the launch of the 39th annual 2015 State of Black America® report – “Save our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice,” the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing, and perhaps for some, startling report on the systemic racial bias inflicted upon the African-American citizens of Ferguson, Mo. by the city’s police department. The report’s tragic catalyst was – and sadly remains – an all-too-familiar story in Black and Brown communities dotted across our nation: an unarmed black male was approached by an armed police officer and lost his life in the encounter.

The National Urban League’s analysis of the relevant data told much the same story: the Ferguson narrative could be the narrative of so many U.S. towns, but within that dark cloud we discovered strands of silver linings.

Today, fewer African Americans are the victims of violent crimes, there are more Black lawmakers in Congress than ever and the U.S. Department of Justice is actively working to confront police misconduct and improve police-community relations. Yet, we cannot easily forget the images of anger and despair we have seen in communities rocked by protests over the killings of unarmed Black males at the hands of law enforcement.

These encouraging and necessary strides in our struggle for equality in justice are overshadowed by justice miscarried, with outrage spilling onto our streets as a seemingly endless parade of police officers are not held accountable by grand juries for their actions. We are also witnessing a continual assault upon our voting rights, as several states prepare to pass legislation that would erode access to the ballot box for people of color.

The state of justice in Black and Brown communities is very often a shameful tale of injustice and clear racial disparities in the implementation of the law.

The tragedy of Mike Brown’s death in Ferguson, Eric Garner’s death in New York, and the deaths of so many others, should underscore a difficult truth that should not sit well with any American: law enforcement, in too many cases, provides neither equal protection nor equal justice in far too many communities of color. And this is no blanket indictment of police officers. There are, and will always be, good police officers who put their lives on the line to keep law-abiding citizens safe. As the heated debates and protests continue, we know that police officers have become victims of violence, most notably the two officers in New York City late last year and police officers in Ferguson this year. But this should not – and cannot – silence our call to action in communities besieged by police officers who treat the people they are intended to serve and protect as presumptively guilty.

The exoneration of the police officers in those deaths of unarmed men by grand juries signaled that police accountability for the taking of Black and Brown lives was reaching a modern-day low. Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the family of Mike Brown, penned an essay in the 2015 State of Black America® report: “It’s Time to Pass the Grand Jury Reform Act of 2014.” The bill calls for judges to determine if the State should bring criminal charges against police officers who fatally use deadly force and calls for governors to appoint special prosecutors for those hearings. Deciding whether or not to indict would be a judge’s decision, not a grand jury’s, and the proceeding would remain open to the public, unlike grand juries that are, by law, secret proceedings.

Following the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision to strip preclearance from the Voting Rights Act, allowing states to bypass federal approval before changing their voting rules, 40 states are now in line to codify into law new ways to make it difficult for people to vote—laws that would disproportionately affect communities of color. Voting is a powerful tool for any individual or group in a democracy to influence their government and create change. Without this right, you have no voice. The National Urban League and others will continue to press Congress to pass the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014. This legislative fix would create new rules to determine which states require federal approval before making any changes their voting rules. Truth be told, we cannot maintain our commitment to democracy as a nation while, at the same time, deny the ballot box to so many of our citizens.

There are tremendous challenges ahead of us in what should be our national fight for equality under the law, because to deny justice to one is threaten justice to all, and as long as justice is challenged on any front, we must—as a nation— keep pushing on every front.

Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.

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Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

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Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

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The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

3 weeks ago

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Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

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Activism

NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

3 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: