Keep Hope Alive Gala

Shutdown the Shutdown Protest at Centers for Disease Control Atlanta Tuesday October 8 2013

RPC AND CEF ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

SOUTHERN REGION RAINBOW PUSH COALTION

 

 

Voting Rights

 

In 2012, the Atlanta office of RPC convened elected officials from the Southeast to confront the challenge of ALEC, the Tea party and other extreme groups.  The conclave produced regional legislative priorities.  RPC also organized a People’s Court trial of the Voting Rights Act.

 

Civil and Criminal Justice System

 

Robert Patillo, legal consultant to RPC, is planning a legal challenge to the constitutionality of Georgia’s discriminatory Stand Your Ground law. RPC n commented to the United Nations Commission to Eliminate Racial Discrimination (CERD).  The comments were in response to a report on progress toward racial justice issued in May by the U.S. Department of State.  The Southern Region urged support for regional adoption of North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act, which recently resulted in changing a death sentence to life without parole, due to extensive evidence of systematic exclusion of blacks from juries.  Janice Mathis traveled to Sanford, FL twice in support of Trayvon Martin’s family. Davida Mathis traveled attended the Supreme Court oral arguments in Shelby v. Holder, the case that struck down portions of the VRA.

 

Economic Justice

 

Robert Patillo led RPC’s effort to investigate claims of discrimination by Paula Deen Enterprises, resulting in a report of the findings and recommendations for improvement.  So far, Paula Deen Enterprises has failed to respond. RPC also actively educated citizens, particularly students, about the inequities of the lottery as a funding mechanism for public pre-school and higher education.  Lottery-funded scholarships tend to benefit wealthier families at the expense of lower-income frequent lottery players.  RPC attended meetings of MARTA and the Georgia Lottery to urge diversity and inclusion.  It also hosted a Town Hall Meeting on the Affordable Care Act in October at Mount Ephraim with WAOK host Lorraine Jacq White.

 

Trade Bureau – Business Development Director Randolyn “Tina” Jones is focusing the Trade Bureau monthly meetings on promoting new enterprise among minority and female-owned firms, as well as increased access to capital.  TB also specializes in identifying and connecting TB members with public and private contracting opportunities.   As a result of TB advocacy a major hotel chain has adopted energy-saving products distributed by one TB member firm. RPC formed an Opportunity Consortium of TB members in the Advertising, Marketing and PR space to maximize opportunity.

 

International Affairs - Southern Region Director Joseph Beasley continues to lead delegations to various African nations and Haiti to investigate human rights abuses.  He is currently negotiating a new pact with a major U.S. based firm to support NGO’s in Brazil.

 

Legislative Affairs – RPC protested the government shutdown with a picket in front of Atlanta’ Centers for Disease Control.  RPC successfully fought Georgia Packing – a pro-gun lobby that sought to lower the gun carry age from 21 to 18.  RPC successfully lobbied the U.S. Department of Justice to strengthen enforcement of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance. It also supported the Obama administration’s national adoption of Georgia Works, a training program for unemployment assistance recipients.

 

Coalition Partnerships – RPC participated in the National Association of Black Journalists Conference, the SCLC National Convention, the National Association of Black Aviation Employees annual legislative conference, and the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus annual legislative caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference.

 

The Atlanta office spearheaded a strategic alliance among several advocacy organizations, including Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Black Constructors Association, GABEO and the Georgia Conference of Black Mayors to promote equal contracting and supplier opportunities.  It met with Home Depot Burger in search of broader opportunity for black and minority vendors and employees.

 

CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION FUND, INC.

 

 

Voter Education

CEF and RPC co-hosted three Town Hall meetings in Washington, D.C. during the commemoration of the 50^th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.  Poverty Town Hall speakers included Dr. Otis Moss, Dr. Freddie Haynes and Judge Penny Brown Reynolds.  Members of Congress who participated in the Voting Rights Town Hall included John Conyers, Shelia Jackson Lee, Corrine Brown and Hank Johnson.  The poverty and voting sessions aired live on C-SPAN.

 

VOTING RIGHTS TOWN HALL MEETING ACTION STEPS

VOTING IS FUNDAMENTAL

MARCHING FOR LEGISLATION AND APPROPRIATION

 

1. Educate family, friends, youth and ourselves about the issues that affect the right to vote
2. Get agitated – have a sense of urgency
3. Create alliances
4. Read Justice Ginsburg’s dissent to Shelby v. Holder
5. Get inspired
6. Study state and local elections laws, rules and procedures
7. Volunteer to be a poll watcher or poll worker
8. Register to vote and encourage others to register
9. Report voting changes to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
10. Protest restrictions on voting
11. Attend local board of elections meetings
12. Join and support RPC, SCLC, NAACP, NAN and other civil and human rights organizations working to protect and expand the right to vote.

 

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition recommends a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to provide an individualized, affirmative right to vote.  For more information on how you can get involved, call 773 373 3366 or visit www.rainbowpush.org.

 

One Thousand Churches Connected

Axel Adams makes sure this non-sectarian, non-denominational self-help alliance of nearly 2000 congregations is at the heart of CEF.  OTCC focuses on helping congregations and individuals recover from the economic downturn by systematically teaching Hands on Banking and other financial literacy classes across the nation as part of its partnership with Wells Fargo and Bank of America.    Many new congregations joined the alliance.  OTCC also conducted seminars on end of life care with VITAS and participated in numerous fairs, seminars and other educational events.   

 

Foreclosure Prevention

 

Based in Atlanta, Trina Heathington and CEF counseled hundreds of families facing foreclosure and escalating mortgage payments.  CEF made applications for payment forbearance, modification, principal reduction, refinance and other foreclosure prevention measures.  Axel Adams and the CEF staff conducted financial literacy workshops in more than 20 cities including Charlotte, Augusta, Columbia, Greensboro, N.C. and Greenville, S.C., as well as New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

 

Neighborhood Stabilization

 

CEF formed a new partnership with Wells Fargo to put churches in the pipeline to purchase or receive donations of REO property.  The aim of the partnership is to stabilize neighborhoods by reducing blight, increase occupancy and steady property values.

 

Parent Power

 

In August, CEF participated in a Back-to-School expo at Stonecrest Mall.  More than 200 families signed the parent and student pledges for excellence.

 

PUSH-ing for Safety

As a result of discovering that the leading cause of teen deaths in the South is auto collisions, UPS and The Peachtree Street Project continue their partnership with public schools to teach safe driving techniques to approximately 10,000 Georgia youth, using UPS’ Five Seeing Eye Habits interactive curriculum and other tools.  Dextor Clinkscale delivered the classes. 

 

Research – The Peachtree Street Project is currently reviewing data on bank lending to small business owners and plans to issue a report by Spring 2014.  CEF also periodically examines the extent to which Fortune 500 corporations in the Southeast practice diversity and inclusion.

 

Shareholder Activism - The Peachtree Street Project attended annual shareholder meetings at Synovus, Equifax, Cracker Barrel and Yum! Brands in an ongoing effort to promote diversity and inclusion. 

 

 

 

Creating Opportunity Conference Overview

Fairness in the Work Place, the Marketplace and the Public Square 

Creating Opportunity Headliners and Legends

Doug Shipman, Keith Parker, Roger Bobb, G G Dixon, Joseph Leonard,

Horace King, Clarence Pope, Larry West, Richard Applebee, Chuck Kinnebrew, Tommy Dortch, Terrez Thompson, Rita Samuel, Byron Perkins,

Hank Stewart, Patricia Smith, The Wardlaw Brothers, Johnnie Booker

and Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. 

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund will host their 14^th Annual Creating Opportunity Conference in Atlanta, November 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree Street, 30303.  This year’s conference agenda focuses on financial literacy, business growth and development, job creation, civil rights enforcement and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). 

The purpose of the conference is to promote fairness in contracting, hiring, retention and promotion, as well as fair terms and conditions in purchasing, lending and investment.  The conference will also inspire youth and their parents to take advantage of every opportunity to achieve the highest potential. 

Rainbow PUSH has worked with hundreds of families across the nation to avoid foreclosure and retain their homes.   It also pushed progressive ideas such as  the infrastructure bank, student debt forgiveness and principal reduction to spread the recovery throughout the economy beyond Washington and Wall Street. 

The Conference also presents Financial Literacy, featuring Wells Fargo’s Hands On Banking Internet-based curriculum, to promote neighborhood stabilization and home retention.  According to RPC Vice President Janice Mathis, “we are working on three fronts:  we aim to improve public policy at the state and federal levels; promote urban and rural economic development and job creation and help families and congregations escape or avoid poverty by making sure they have as much knowledge as possible.  Federal investment is designed to spur economic recovery, but without participation by unemployed persons and underutilized firms, the stimulus cannot achieve its purpose.  According to Rev. Jackson, “we cannot just water the leaves, we must also stimulate the roots to revive the economy.” 

Small business owners will get a bird’s eye view of how investments in critical infrastructure creates contracting and job opportunities from some of the largest public and private players including MARTA, Georgia Power Co. and the Coca-Cola Company.   G.G. Dixon and Moanica Caston, two executives on the rise, will speak at the Business Breakfast on Friday morning.  

A session on Voting Rights is being led by noted Birmingham lawyer Byron Perkins (Coca-Cola and John Deere) because the right to vote is under attack and defines the  freedoms, obligations and rights enjoyed by all Americans. 

 

Students will get a roadmap to “Life Beyond the Playing Field and the Stage” under the direction of Dextor Clinkscale, former safety for the Dallas Cowboys. RPC will recognize the contributions of Horace King, Clarence Pope, Larry West, Richard Applebee, Chuck Kinnebrew, the class of African Americans who were the first scholarship athletes to play for the storied University of Georgia.  A special surprise guest will be on hand as well.   

Also on Saturday, Axel Adams will facilitate the Youth Summit, as a new generation of leaders takes the stage to discuss solutions to issues that uniquely impact young people, including Hip-hop culture, violence and bullying.  Emory University, Georgia Tech and other colleges and universities will participate in the annual College Fair.   

On Friday, the Jesse Jackson Public Policy Institute will present a public policy roundtable, focused on state and local government.  Participants include Charleston, South Carolina state representative Dave Mack and Louisiana Black Caucus Chair Patricia A. Smith.  Racial profiling, voter id, gun control, financial aid, health care are all dictated to some degree by state legislation and local ordinances.  Fairer government requires broad engagement.  The session will take on the issue of the State of the Southern Rainbow.  In the wake of recent conservative political gains, regional leaders will discuss the fate and future of the progressive agenda.  

The following persons will be honored for their contributions to civic and economic life during the conference Keep Hope Alive Gala:  Dr. Joseph Leonard, Assistant Secretary of the USDA for Civil Rights and Tommy Dortch.  

The Wardlaw Brothers and the Jean Childs Young Middle School Jazz Band will perform at the Keep Hope Alive Gala which celebrates Rev. Jackson’s birthday and benefits the work of RPC, CEF and families facing economic insecurity. 

 

For More Information, call 404 525 5663 or visit  www.rainbowpushatlanta.org

 

 

 

 

EEOC GUIDANCE ON CRIMINAL HISTORY

EEOC Limits Use of Criminal History in Employment Decisions

To Read the Entire EEOC Enforcement Guidance, visit

http://www1.eeoc.gov//laws/guidance/arrest_conviction.cfm?renderforprint=1

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued guidance to employers regarding the consideration and use of conviction records in making employment decisions.  According to the EEOC, the guidance is designed to “consolidate and update” the use of arrest or conviction records under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the Guidance, “the fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred, and an exclusion based on an arrest, in itself, is not job related and consistent with business necessity. However, an employer may make an employment decision based on the conduct underlying an arrest if the conduct makes the individual unfit for the position in question.”

                          This provision has been used in our practice to restore employment to a person who has been accused, but not convicted, of a criminal offense. 

                          The Guidance goes on to compare disparate treatment and disparate impact.

A violation may occur when an employer treats criminal history information differently for different applicants or employees, based on their race or national origin (disparate treatment liability).

      An employer’s neutral policy (e.g., excluding applicants from employment based on certain criminal conduct) may disproportionately impact some individuals protected under Title VII, and may violate the law if not job related and consistent with business necessity (disparate impact liability).

      National data supports a finding that criminal record exclusions have a disparate impact based on race and national origin. The national data provides a basis for the Commission to investigate Title VII disparate impact charges challenging criminal record exclusions.

Properly applied these policies should result in considerable relief to persons whose criminal histories have impeded the search to obtain and keep good employment.

 

United Nations Reviews U.S. Efforts to Eliminate Racism

COMMENTS OF THE RAINBOWPUSH COALITION ON THE

PERIODIC REPORT OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (CERD)

On June 12, 2013, the State Department reported on efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in the U.S.  According to the Periodic Report to the United Nations, although the U.S. has “made great strides over the years in overcoming the legacies of slavery, racism, ethnic intolerance, and destructive laws, policies, and practices relating to members of racial and ethnic minorities…the path toward racial equality has been uneven, racial and ethnic discrimination still persists, and much work remains to meet our goal of ensuring equality for all.”

Attorney General Eric Holder indicated on August 12, 2013 that the United States Department of Justice will seek to ameliorate the harsh effects of mandatory minimum sentencing in federal courts and seek alternatives to incarceration.  We hail this announcement as a positive step in the right direction toward lowering one of the highest incarceration rates in the world.  Some states, most notably California, due to persistent advocacy, regulatory pressures, as well as the spiraling costs of caring for an aging prison population, are also experimenting with ways to reduce the number of incarcerated persons in the United States.

2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington and one hundred and fifty years since the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved persons held in rebellious Confederate states.  Glaring racial disparities in health, education, incarceration rates and accumulated wealth are only a few of the indicators that race discrimination is a sad fact of American life.  We take issue with the assertion that “existing U.S. constitutional and statutory law and practice provide strong and effective protections against discrimination…in all fields of public endeavor, and provide remedies for those who, despite these protections, become victims of discrimination.”  Racial profiling and mass incarceration are two examples of the failure of U.S. law and policy to address the effects of discrimination. 

Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was bolstered by considerations of national security, national pride and concern for world opinion.  In that spirit, we offer these comments regarding the recent U.S. report to the CERD and U.S. response to previous CERD recommendations.

Compounding the problem is the expanding trend to require civil rights plaintiffs to prove that racial discrimination is “intentional”.  Civil rights groups and the government have relied heavily on disparate impact because intent is so difficult to prove.  Disparate impact is not concerned with intent, but instead focuses on results.  The CERD

In the U.S. remedies for discrimination are routinely “strictly scrutinized” to assure that blacks who have been historically excluded from virtually every area of American life don’t receive too much relief.  For example, in the recent Fisher v. Texas case, the Department of Justice sought to defend a race-conscious admission policy designed to increase the number of black and Latino students at the university.  A 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court sent the case back to the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether the implementation of the program was sufficiently narrowly tailored to meet a compelling state interest.  Ten years ago, the Court deferred to the judgment of university officials regarding “complex educational judgments.” Now, the Court is unwilling to accord the University of Texas the same deference.  The history of civil rights enforcement by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past forty years has largely been the tale of barely holding on to past gains, while persons seeking redress for discrimination must climb a narrower, rockier path.

In the area of government contracting, local governments must undertake expensive time-consuming “disparity studies” to prove that discrimination continues to exist.  Minority-owned contracting firms must undergo rigorous examinations of their official papers and records to qualify for diversity programs aimed at bolstering inclusion.  These and similar mechanisms discourage would-be bidders.  With regard to federal government incentives for inclusion of black contractors in work of private firms, sometimes, as in the case of the $16 billion dollar Southern Nuclear plant construction in Georgia, federal subsidies such as loan guarantees are extended without any goal or consideration of inclusion of minority-owned firms. 

It should be noted that many of the examples of progress cited by the United States emanate from districts outside the former Confederate southern states.  Examples from federal appeals courts in New York[i][1], South Dakota[2] and Pennsylvania[3] hardly tell the story of the United States when it comes to race.  Half of all blacks still live in the South and federal courts in the 4^th, 5^th and 11^th Circuits are the most hostile to race discrimination claims of all kinds.   It is also true that these circuits sentence federal defendants at much as 30% more harshly than the federal sentencing guidelines require, and much more harshly that federal courts in other circuits.

The United States and the states have done very little to address the following 2008 CERD recommendations, and as a result race discrimination in these areas is still rampant. 

1.       The Committee recommends that the State party review the definition of racial discrimination used in the federal and state legislation and in court practice, so as to ensure…that it prohibits racial discrimination in all its forms, including practices and legislation that may not be discriminatory in purpose, but in effect.

 

2.      The Committee recommends that the State party broaden the protection afforded by the law against discriminatory acts perpetrated by private individuals, groups or organizations

 

3.      The Committee recommends that the State party consider the establishment of an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles.

 

4.      The Committee recommends that the State party establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure a coordinated approach towards the implementation of the Convention at the federal, state and local levels.

 

5.      The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to combat racial profiling at the federal and state levels, inter alia, by moving expeditiously towards the adoption of the End Racial Profiling Act, or similar federal legislation.

 

6.      The Committee therefore calls once again upon the State party to adopt and strengthen the use of such measures (affirmative action) when circumstances warrant their use as a tool to eliminate the persistent disparities in the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensure the adequate development and protection of members of racial, ethnic and national minorities.

 

7.      The Committee recommends that the State party undertake further studies to identify the underlying causes of de facto segregation and racial inequalities in education, with a view to elaborating effective strategies aimed at promoting school desegregation and providing equal educational opportunity in integrated settings for all students.

 

8.     Bearing in mind [that] stark racial disparities in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system, including the disproportionate number of persons belonging to racial, ethnic and national minorities in the prison population, may be regarded as factual indicators of racial discrimination, the Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary steps to guarantee the right of everyone to equal treatment before tribunals and all other organs administering justice, including further studies to determine the nature and scope of the problem, and the implementation of national strategies or plans of action aimed at the elimination of structural racial discrimination.

 

9.      The Committee wishes to reiterate its previous recommendation contained in paragraph 396 of its previous concluding observations of 2001, that the State party adopt all necessary measures, including a moratorium, to ensure that death penalty is not imposed as a result of racial bias on the part of prosecutors, judges, juries and lawyers.

The United States seems impervious to its own pre-judgments about race.  There is widespread belief that the racial and ethnic disparities are caused by lack of personal responsibility instead of institutional racism.  There are none so blind as those who will not see.  African Americans in particular who complain about the policies and practices described above are admonished to “get over it”, or “stop playing the race card.” 

We applaud the work of the CERD and urge US policy makers to take its observations and recommendations seriously.

 

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[1] “…New York City’s use of examinations for firefighters had an unlawful disparate impact on Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. U.S. v. City of New York, NY, 683 F. Supp. 2d 77 (E.D.N.Y. 2009).”

 

[2] “…a recent enforcement action led to an agreement with Shannon County, South Dakota to ensure the voting rights of Lakota-speaking Native American voters with limited English proficiency.”

 

[3] “For example, in 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS/OCR) secured a settlement requiring the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to ensure that closure of a hospital in a predominately Black/African American community did not have a disparate impact on the residents of that area.”

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VOTE AT 16

                                                                

Voting at 16 deserves serious consideration.  Many laws disproportionately affect young people, especially in the areas of criminal justice and education.  Budget and fiscal issues decided today will impact them longer.  In many states 16 year olds may drive, marry, have consensual sex, drop out of school, get a job.  Why not allow them to vote?  

TAKOMA PARK, Md. -- A small Maryland city just outside the Washington, D.C., city limits voted in May, 2013 to lower the voting age for city elections to 16.  The Takoma Park City Council voted 6-1 on Monday to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city elections starting in November.
The council also voted to allow convicted felons who have served their time to vote.
Councilman Tim Male, who voted for the measure, told WJLA-TV (http://wj.la/12yVSqi) that elected officials are trying to make it possible for more people to be part of the city government.
The lone councilmember to vote against the measure wanted the issue put to referendum.
Takoma Park, known as a liberal-leaning community, has a population of about 17,000. The law takes effect in 50 days.