FINDING JUSTICE IN THE CASE OF TYRE NICHOLS

Our heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to Mrs. Row Vaughn Wells and Mr. Rodney Wells, the parents of Mr. Tyre Nichols. We admire the courage, clarity and strength they have exhibited in the wake of the horrific and senseless death of their son. We pray for their continued strength and comfort.

There never seems to be the right time to seriously address police reform in this nation. The culture of violence and guns is pervasive, not just in the streets of inner-city neighborhoods, but in rural towns, urban enclaves, private homes and government capitals.

Police reform was throttled in the U.S. Senate last year, despite passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The archaic Senate filibuster required that ten U.S. Senators would have to cross the partisan divide to create reasonable national guardrails for police accountability. Once again, despite global protests and best efforts of Senator Cory Booker and Representative Karen Bass. the reform effort stalled.

Every time one of these events occurs, the public learns something new. They occur with such regularity that we have learned a lot about police culture. With Rodney King we learned the value of video cameras. With Breanna Taylor we learned that it is dangerous for Black folk to stand their ground in their own home. In Baltimore we learned what it meant to give a “rough ride”, something not taught in any police academy. With Sandra Bland we learned how dangerous it could be to refuse to put out a cigarette. From George Floyd, we learned that police officers have a duty to stop the egregious behavior of their comrades in blue and render aid to helpless victims. And now, we are learning lessons from Tyre. We are learning the extent to which Black officers are equally susceptible to excessive violence, even against Black persons. There is something euphemistically called a “tune up”, that some aggressive police units use to punish a suspect who has the temerity to flee. It should be self-evident that the role of police is to apprehend, not to punish.

If the state and federal legislatures cannot curb police violence and establish accountability, perhaps reform will come from the free market. The Washington Post reported in September, 2022, “Where community activists, use-of-force victims and city officials have failed to persuade police departments to change dangerous and sometimes deadly policing practices, insurers are successfully dictating changes to tactics and policies, mostly at small to medium-size departments throughout the nation. The movement is driven by the increasingly large jury awards and settlements that cities and their insurers are paying in police use-of-force cases, especially since the 2020 deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Those cases led to settlements of $12 million and $27 million, respectively. Insurance companies are passing the costs — and potential future costs — on to their law enforcement clients.”

We are not surprised that protests so far have been peaceful. The protests are adopting the tenor of the man in whose memory they are taking place. In the face of barbaric behavior, Tyre was the person who tried de-escalation, something the screaming, cursing, kicking police officers never attempted. Apparently, his demeanor in the face of terror was learned from his mother. Mrs. Wells, Tyre’s mother, dealing with unspeakable loss, is consoling the nation by reminding us that some good will come from her son’s ordeal, because he was a good person.

Sisters in Law affirms its commitment to the struggle for justice and equal protection under law and will continue to advocate for sustainable law enforcement reform.

Contact Your U.S. Senators to Support Kristen Clark to Lead Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice

Call Your U.S. Senators This Week

Why Kristen Clarke?

Experienced

Courageous

Fair-Minded

Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, has spent her career fighting for justice for people facing discrimination. Kristen Clarke is the civil rights champion we need at the Department of Justice. It’s time to make her fight our fight.  Attorney General Merrick Garland needs Kristen's help to fight discrimination and excessive use of force by police. 

Kristen’s Civil Rights Record is Unimpeachable

Kristen Clarke started her career at the very department she’s now been nominated to lead: the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, where she prosecuted civil rights violations and investigated police misconduct, hate crimes, and human trafficking. Later, she led the Civil Rights Bureau in the New York Attorney General’s office, where she continued her work fighting for people who were being discriminated against.

 

 

Mother's Day

Janice L. Mathis janicelmathis@ncnw.org	5/6/21 8:55 PM

As sometimes happens when the two of us engage in casual conversation, we indulge in the sweet treat of reminiscing about Mary Frances Lewis Betsch and Kittie Mae Avery Mathis, the women who “raised us up.”  Like most Black mothers, they were prone to certain common sense “sayings”. Mary Frances Lewis Betsch was known to remark to teen-aged Johnnetta Betsch Cole, “a woman is known by the company she keeps.”  And Kittie Mae Avery Mathis would quip, “if you act as well as you look you will be alright.”  These admonitions were administered to us with a sprinkling of irony and wry humor. 

 

No doubt, if you are a Black woman, you have heard or used these or similar sayings yourself because they are deeply rooted in African tradition.  The poet Maya Angelou described them as “mother wit”, the “collective wisdom of generations.”  The first African women who came to these shores 402 years ago brought with them a treasure trove of common sense that has been a source of strength and endurance in our quest to survive as a people.   

 

Now you must understand that “mother wit” is practiced by mothers, but also by grandmothers, aunts, cousins and ”play mamas” whether they have birthed children or simply and lovingly cared for them.  Today, we think about not just our own mothers but mothers across space and time who have an irrepressible commitment to taking care of their children, other folk's children, partners and husbands, if they have one. And then there is all that other business we take care of that has to do with earning a living and calling for and working in the interest of the rights of our people – indeed of all people.

 

What we think of today as Black Girl Magic is not really magic at all, but is the stored up wisdom of hundreds of years of experience and common sense distilled from determination, love and toil and sacrifice and devotion.  Our fondest desire is that every little girl and boy and every grownup person would have their own generous portion of “mother wit.” There is an African proverb that says this: "A mother is like a kernel, crushed by problems but strong enough to overcome them." Today, and throughout the year, we salute the mothers and all of the women in NCNW, in our communities, in our nation and our world who have the tenacity, the wisdom, and the faith not to be crushed by problems, but to overcome them.

 

Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., President and National Chair

 and

Janice L. Mathis, Esq. Executive Director

The National Council of Negro Women, Inc.

633 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004

Office:  (202) 737-0120 Direct:  (202) 383-9155

Cell:     (404) 394-1500

 

Women’s Equality is Elusive

Janicelmathis

Aug 26 · 4 min read

NCNW joins the nation in celebrating Women’s Equality Day. On this day, in 1920, one hundred years ago, women were written into the U.S. Constitution with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. But in reality, the struggle goes back much further and continues even today.

In a letter dated March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

It took another 144 years for Abigail Adams “rebellion” to become law. Herstory records that an amendment giving women the right to vote was first introduced in 1848, 72 years before it was finally ratified. And still, the victory was imperfect. As a practical matter, the 19th Amendment did not result in universal suffrage for Black women, due to a coordinated and well-documented campaign of intimidation, poll taxes, so-called literacy tests and state sanctioned statutes and customs. My own mother, who was born in 1920, did not vote until 1948 when the Whites only primary in our home state of South Carolina was finally outlawed.

During the 1970s and 80s there was an effort to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment as a way to strengthen the effect of the 19th Amendment. After all, the point of voting is not just to be admitted to the polling place. The end result of voting should be public policy that facilitates access to life, liberty and happiness or as political scientists sometimes say, the allocation of scarce goods and resources. The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. The ERO has so far failed to achieve ratification by 2/3 of the states.

It should not surprising that those states that have failed to ratify ERA are many of the same states that enslaved Black people and were covered for mandatory “pre-clearance” of all proposed changes in voting laws, practices and procedures under the Section V of the Voting Rights Act: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi. There is remarkable consistency between discrimination n based on race and discrimination based on sex.

The nation has made progress in many areas of sex discrimination. The nomination of Kamala Harris to be Vice President of the United States is surely a sign that many Americans are ready for equality. A couple of examples make the point that there is still work to be accomplished. According to the American Bar Association, the percentage of U.S. Lawyers who are women steadily rose from 31% in 2010, to 37% in 2020. In other words, representation of women among lawyers rose 25% over the decade since 2010. By comparison, the percentage of lawyers who are Black remained steady at 5%, showing no increase at all. But perhaps most telling is what is missing from the ABA statistical report. It does not indicate how Black women are represented in the profession.

Data USA reports that 51.7% of engineering degrees were earned by White men in 2012. By 2017, white men earned 46.3% of engineering degrees. White women earned 10.9% of engineering degrees in 2012, a number that increased to 11.7% by 2017. Black men earned 2.8% of engineering degrees in 2012 and in 2017, with no increase or decrease. Black women were the only demographic group that saw a decline in engineering degrees earned — from 1.04% in 2012 to .93% in 2017.

Lean In, whose mission is to “help women achieve their ambitions and work to create an equal world” reports that “Black women are paid less than white men — and white women. On average, Black women in the U.S. are paid 38% less than white men and 21% less than white women.” To paraphrase Frederick Douglass’ famous 4th of July speech, what does Women’s Equality Day mean to Black women? Celebration of the 19th Amendment should spur us to continue to work assiduously to close the remaining opportunity gaps — not only to improve the quality of individual lives, but to form a more perfect union, where all talent is recognized and rewarded.

Get the Weekly SIL Podcast

June 22, 2020

     Rescue Black Business from the Pandemic

The ever-expanding COVID-19 has just unearthed yet another racial disparity.  Shockingly, 40% of the nation’s Black-owned businesses may permanently close due to lack of customers, lack of federal funding and lack of private reserves.  Many black-owned companies closed when they were determined not to be “essential” from a government perspective.  They are not closing due to lack of talent, ability to serve customers well, or from any form of neglect.  Many Black-owned firms are closing because they do not have the financial strength to weather the worst economic and health calamity the U.S. has faced since the Great Depression.

CBS News reported today that “There were more than 1 million black-owned businesses in the U.S. at the beginning of February, according to research from the University of California at Santa Cruz, which drew from Census survey estimates. By mid-April, 440,000 black business owners had shuttered their company for good — a 41% plunge. By comparison, 17% of white-owned businesses closed during the same period, the UC Santa Cruz research shows.”

While we are still digesting the racial disparity in COVID-19 deaths and reeling from the televised execution of George Floyd, we now must face the fact that one of the true bright spots for African Americans is being erased.  From 2018 to 2019, the number of firms owned by African-American women grew faster than the overall growth rate for women and for Black men, an annual increase of 50%.

Black women start out with less income and less wealth that can be applied to creating a new business.  The long-standing gender pay gap widens for the majority of racial and ethnic groups as women move up the corporate ladder, though not to the same degree. The largest controlled pay gap is for Black and African American women, with Black female executives earning $0.62 for every dollar a white male executive earns.

When it comes to wealth, the racial inequity is even worse.  According to the Brookings Institution, a “close examination of wealth in the U.S. finds evidence of staggering racial disparities. At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. Gaps in wealth between Black and white households reveal the effects of accumulated inequality and discrimination, as well as differences in power and opportunity that can be traced back to this nation’s inception. The Black-white wealth gap reflects a society that has not and does not afford equality of opportunity to all its citizens.”

  

If the United States and Corporate America are sincere about closing racial economic gaps, here is a prescription:

1.      Corporate CEOs should empower supplier diversity departments to do business with highly qualified companies owned and operated by Black women.

2.      The Small Business Administration (SBA) should increase the size of its Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance from $10,000 to $100,000.

3.      Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) should be empowered to actively seek out Black-owned businesses to make sure they are aware of the EIDL program and provide application assistance and support. There are 112 SBDCs scattered across the nation that, according to the SBA website, “make special efforts to reach minority members of socially and economically disadvantaged groups, veterans, women and the disabled.”

4.      Given the compelling interest that the nation has in preserving these businesses, and the clear evidence that there is disparate impact on Black people, the Congress should issue another round of PPP loans specifically aimed at under-served Black urban neighborhoods and rural communities.

5.      Given our personal responsibility to our own community, Black people (and all people of good will) should make it a priority to shop with Black-owned companies.

While it may be true that most Black-owned businesses do not employ hundreds of people, most of them do provide a relatively stable source of income for the proprietors, their families and employees.    If 40% of them fail to survive, there will inevitably be increased demand for services such as SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid and other support programs.  Let’s do the smart thing – come together as a nation and throw a safety net to thousands of American companies capable of providing great service during these difficult and unprecedented times. 

NBC Interviews Rayshard Brooks Months Before Atlanta Police Kill Him

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rayshard-brooks-he-was-killed-police-said-justice-system-sees-n1231411

June 18, 2020, 10:51 AM EDT / Updated June 18, 2020, 12:26 PM EDT

By Ben Kesslen

Rayshard Brooks talked about criminal justice in the U.S. in a February interview, saying he wished the system didn't view us as if "we are animals."

Months later, Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man and father to four, was killed by police in the parking lot of a Wendy's in Atlanta.

The fatal shooting happened June 12, after two officers responded to a 911 call reporting that a man who appeared intoxicated was sleeping in his car in the restaurant's drive-through.

The officer who fired the fatal shots, Garrett Rolfe, was fired from his job and charged with felony murder among 11 counts total on Wednesday. The second officer, Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative leave and is a cooperating witness for the state. He faces three charges, including aggravated assault and violation of oath.

Brooks' interview in February 2019 was conducted by Reconnect as part of a project about individuals on probation or parole.

"Some people, they get a tap on the wrist" from authorities, Brooks said about inequities in the criminal justice system. "But some people don’t."

Brooks also talked about the struggle to get back on your feet when you have a criminal record, and the emotional toll of being caught up in the system.

"You get treated like an animal," he said. "Some of the system could look at us as individuals; we do have lives, you know."

"I'm trying, I'm not the type of person to give up. I'm going to keep going till I make it to where I want to be," he said.

Brooks said being judged for a criminal record and denied employment is a "hard feeling to stomach" when he was just trying to support his family.

"There could be a way to erase some of these things," he said, referencing records that follow people and job applications that ask prospective employees if they've ever been arrested or incarcerated.

"It breaks your heart," Brooks said. "That puts us down."