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August 2, 2007
Remembering Shirley Chisholm, Groundbreaker - Icon:
Can a possible Clinton / Obama ticket in 2008 live up to the ideals and standards that Shirley Chisholm
stood for?
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Shirley Chisholm's mission for equality. |
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"Unbought & Unbossed" |
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Hear directly from Shirley Chisholm herself! She expounds on her views of the American political system
in these excerpts from her 1970 book. |
June 28, 2007
June 2007
Vice President Jesse Jackson?
Is America ready for an EDWARDS / JACKSON PRESIDENCY?
John Edwards / Jesse Jackson 2008
If John Edwards anti-poverty agenda connects with various activities and priorities or Jesse Jackson,
should these to Americam Leaders be seen as the most potential Domocratic nomoinees for the democratic partys' ticket to the
White house?
JESSE JACKSON:
Poverty should be at the top of our national agenda: June 5, 2007,
'We haven't even mentioned
poverty," John Edwards noted toward the end of Sunday night's Democratic presidential candidate debate. The CNN host, Wolf
Blitzer, grilled candidates about Iraq, immigration, health care, energy, gay rights and women's rights -- but there was virtually
no mention of the economy, rising poverty, stagnant wages or the worst corporate crime wave since the Robber Barons.
Iraq, health care and energy issues rank at the top of American concerns. But so does this economy, which
befuddles people. The stock market sets new records; corporate profits are up; CEO salaries are up; worker productivity is
up. Yet most Americans find themselves working harder and longer -- longer hours than workers in any other industrial nation
-- just to stay afloat.
Corporations are shredding the promises they once made to workers -- stable jobs, living wages, health
care, pensions. The jobs that are being shipped abroad pay more and have better benefits than those that are being created.
This economy works well -- but only for those at the top, not for the vast majority.
We've witnessed the worst crime wave in the corporate boardrooms in history. Enron and WorldCom are infamous,
but the leaders of literally hundreds of Fortune 500 companies have admitted to cooking their books and backdating their pensions.
Increasingly, CEOs plan not to build companies over the long term, but to cash out in the short term.
At the same time, our trade policies have been made by and for the multinationals, not the nation. The
result is the worst trade deficit in history. Inevitably, foreigners flush with dollars are beginning to buy up America, and
our jobs become even less secure.
We desperately need a broad debate about getting this economy back on the right track.
Republican candidates have been asked if they believe in evolution. Democrats if they support English only
as the official language. Candidates in both parties rail against budget deficits. Our trade deficits are a problem, not our
budget deficits. Our staggering investment deficit -- in schools, modern transport, clean energy, basic research and development
-- is what limits our growth. We don't suffer from soaring inflation and rising interest rates. We suffer from stagnant wages
and growing insecurity.
And poverty cannot simply be cordoned off as the signature of the John Edwards campaign. His moral courage
should invite others to engage, not to retreat. As a society, we all pledged that we would never forget the poverty and desperation
revealed in the wake of Katrina. But the poorest of Katrina's survivors have been dispersed across the country, most still
unable to return. Public housing has been leveled with nothing to replace it. Homes have not been rebuilt.
New Orleans reflects the nation. Our cities grow unequal -- with the wealthy doing well, the middle class
displaced, and the poor struggling ever more. Immigrants with no legal status supply a low-cost, easily oppressed pool of
workers, driving down wages on the low end.
Why is poverty not on the agenda of the debates? Is it because our national anchors are so well paid they
think the economy is humming? Is it because we wrongly conflate race and poverty, and forget that most poor people are not
black -- they are white, female and young?
The Bush administration has an answer for the economic woes that plague middle-income and poor people.
The administration is slashing the budget of the bureau that collects the statistics on poverty and well-being. If more children
are raised in poverty, at least we won't know too much about it.
Today, Republicans gather for their New Hampshire debate. They will be asked about the war, about choice,
about immigration. As they should be. But this time, don't leave out poor children and what we should do about rising poverty.
Ask about stagnant wages, and what we should do about an economy in which so few capture so much of the rewards of rising
productivity. Ask what they would do to insure that workers get their fair share of the profits they help generate. We may
learn what the candidates' values really are.
Source: Chicago Sun times Article, 6/5/2007 (SunTimes.com)
John Edwards on the Issues: National Press Club Policy Address, June 2006
Every day, 37 million Americans wake in poverty. Our response to that reality says everything about the character of
America. John Edwards has called for a national goal of eliminating poverty within 30 years, with policies rooted in the core
American values of opportunity for everyone and responsibility from everyone. We can reach that goal by creating and rewarding
work, strengthening families, helping workers save and get ahead, transforming our schools, expanding access to college, breaking
up areas of concentrated poverty, reaching overlooked rural areas, and expecting people to help themselves by working whenever
they are able. Read More »
A National Goal: End Poverty Within 30 Years:
End Poverty by 2036: Edwards believes that ending poverty should be
a goal our nation actively pursues. A national goal will rally support for the cause and help us measure our progress. In
1999, Tony Blair announced a 20-year goal to end child poverty in Great Britain and he has already reduced child poverty by
17 percent [Washington Post, 4/3/2006]. Edwards calls for a national effort to:
- Cut poverty by one third within a decade, lifting 12 million Americans out of poverty by 2016.
- End poverty within 30 years, lifting 37 million Americans out of poverty by 2036.
Creating A Working Society
Edwards has outlined a Working Society initiative to lift 12 million Americans out of poverty in a decade and beat poverty
over the next 30 years. In the Working Society, everyone who is able to work hard will be
Strengthening America's Middle Class
The backbone of America is its middle class. But middle class families are struggling. Wages have fallen in recent years
even as the economy has grown. At the same time, the costs of necessities like health care, child care, and education have
grown. President Bush's tax policies have increased the share of the tax burden borne by middle-class workers. Our economic
policies must reward work, help families save for the future, and fight the rising costs of middle-class life.
(john edwards.com)
ANNOUNCEMENT June 13,2007:
The following web sites have announced the upcoming 2008 US Presidential debate Schedule or have information
relating to campaign topics:
April, 2007
ANNOUNCEMENT:
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National Action Network (NAN) is a political, social, and activist-oriented organization that was conceived with a focus on action. With the word “National” representing the scope of our activities, and “Network” reflecting
the methodology of expansion, the National Action Network is based in New York City, 35 national chapters within the United
States. The organization provides extensive voter education awareness and the national platform revolves around activism against
racial profiling, police brutality, women’s issues, economic reform, public education, international affairs, including
abolishing slavery in Africa, job awareness, AIDS awareness, and more. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT:
Rainbow PUSH New Orleans Bureau Hosts Economic Summit April 3-4
“Right to Return and Reconstruction Project” Summit to also memorialize Dr. King
CHICAGO (March 2, 2007) -- The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund will host “Greenlining
Redlined America:”The First Annual Gulf Coast Economic Summit, a conference sponsored by the Rainbow PUSH
Right to Return and Reconstruction Project, to be held in New Orleans April 3-4, 2007.
Convened to address the government’s broken promises to the devastated Gulf Coast region, the two-day summit
will also commemorate the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the “Greenlining Redlined America” summit, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president
of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, will lead a town hall meeting bringing together leaders from all over the nation to discuss
the desperate but unmet needs of the Gulf Region.
“We must not allow New Orleans to be forgotten,” Rev. Jackson said. “We must demand that the
Bush administration deliver on its promise to rebuild this city and this region. This summit aims to put New Orleans back
on the agenda.”
Sheila Williams, executive director of the Right to Return and Reconstruction Project, said the town hall meeting
will address the government’s failed promises of rebuilding New Orleans.
“All you have to do is travel one mile from downtown New Orleans to see that those communities are not being
rebuilt, including the 9th Ward, New Orleans East, Gentilly and other communities where people live. They are very slowly
rebuilding these areas,” Williams said. President Bush stood in Jackson Square, he said “New Orleans will rise
again”. He has not delivered on that promise.”
Williams said the summit hopes to develop strategies to put a “green line” of financing and commitment
around redlined areas that have not been rebuilt since the hurricane.
“We are looking at the whole reconstruction of New Orleans and the Gulf region,” she said. “It
appears that a red line has been drawn around certain communities and reconstruction of those communities has been very slow”.
The summit will include sessions on the education crisis in post-Katrina New Orleans; use of tax incentives to
spur rebuilding, and governments and private sector reconstruction plans and contracting opportunities. The summit will also
seek to connect people, businesses and the communities to the $100+ billion in reconstruction funding.
The entire summit will take as its backdrop the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. “We are keeping
the dream alive,” Rev. Jackson said. “There will be a proclamation presented at the time of day when Dr. King
was assassinated. Leaders from across the nation will be invited to participate in this event in memory of Dr. King.”
On April 4, Rev. Jackson will lead a candlelight vigil at the exact hour Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated
in Memphis.
“If Dr. King were alive today, he would be doing what we are doing: highlighting the inequities and injustices
in New Orleans, working to shift America’s focus back on the rebuilding of these neglected communities,” Rev.
Jackson said. “Katrina is a metaphor for all the ills in urban America – the lack of affordable housing, lack
of high-quality education, the lack of efficient health care and the lack of economic development.”
The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil
rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. To
learn more about the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, please visit www.rainbowpush.org, or telephone 773-373-3366. To arrange an interview
Rev. Jackson on this issue, please contact Jerry Thomas 773.256-2714, 773.677.6378 or Sheila Williams at (504) 529-4223.
A Community Response to Hurricane Katrina
Rescue - Relief - Relocation - Reunification - Restoration - Reconstruction In the midst of the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, we are focusing on of
homes, communities, and families. The Bush administration, Homeland Security and FEMA have utterly failed to fulfill their
duty in this crisis. RescuePeople displaced by the Hurricane should be not disrespectfully
characterized as “refugees” – as if they are fleeing to or from another land. We are U.S. citizens and deserve
to be treated as such. This is our land; it is our families, friends, schools and churches, and homes affected – and
our government must be responsible and accountable to us. Relief We need to identify
the locations of the relief centers being established by the Red Cross and other agencies; and how and where relief supplies
and resources can be distributed. We need a freeze on mortgage payments and a moratorium on mortgage foreclosure proceedings,
amnesty from electrical, utility and telecommunications payments, and a freeze on implementation of the new bankruptcy law. RelocationWe
need our people and families to be relocated to NEARBY facilities. Available military bases, state and national parks and
other available public lands should be utilized to house people as CLOSE TO their former communities as possible. ReunificationWe
need a systematic effort to reunify families, many of whom are being separated and sent to different relocation destinations.
In some cases, the rescue/relocation effort is creating even greater dislocation. RestorationWe
need a Hurricane Victims Fund to provide resources to the affected people and families, based on the same compensation and
assistance formula of the 9/11 Victims Fund. ReconstructionWe need to ensure direct African
American participation in all dimensions of the reconstruction plan that emerges from the crisis. Our businesses, community
resources and people should be given priority in the allocation of jobs and contracts and services provided for the rescue,
relief and reconstruction of our communities. We need counselors, social service workers, medical personnel and security
resources in the emerging relocation centers to assist people and families with FEMA registration, unemployment and social
security applications and other aspects of the transition ordeal
Political History Note 2007:
The Politicans that saved the American Dream:
Both SHIRLEY CHISHOLM and GERALD FORD set new moral frameworks and standards for America at a time when the country
was divided socially, politically, economically and racially, and brought hope to a counrty that seemed to have died
during the national controversies of the 1950's and 1960's .
As America advanced into the new Global and national era
of the 1970's 2 leaders took to the stage of the american public to address the urgent needs for change and prgressive development
of the country in a wholitic manner as a nation.
Shirley Chisholm: never bought or bossed (seattle times)
Senator Clinton Honors Shirley Chisholm (Clinton Press Release)
February 2007
Oprah Winfrey building a dream...
At 52, Oprah feels her most important work has just begun. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—South Africa
is an innovative high school whose aim is to discover, teach and inspire young South African girls to become a new generation
of leaders. It is the first of several she hopes to build in struggling communities on every continent. She's looking for
brave girls, children who have already conquered adversity with a feeling of "I can!" That dream began for her a long
time ago.(O,The Oparah Magazine)
Talk show host opens school for girls in effort to change the culture (MSNBC)
ABC, Winfrey are "Dream" builders (MNSBC)
The one-hour special, "Building a Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy," (Cable TV Talk)
The one-hour special, "Building a Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy," (The Show Buzz)
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| Coverstory: New African Magazine (An IC Publication) |
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South Africa
A hugely significant event happened in South Africa at the beginning of the New Year that should point
the way forward. It began with a dream. The African-American billionaire and talk-show host, Oprah Winfrey, dreamt of top
quality education for intelligent African girls whose dream would otherwise die because of poverty. Oprah’s own difficult
childhood embroiled in poverty was a point of reference. She dreamt the detail right up to how her pupils would look, and
brought into reality the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened on 2 January 2007. But what does that say
about the state of education, and by extension the economic and social wellbeing, in South Africa 13 years into black majority
rule? Pusch Commey reports from Johannesburg. More... |
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Liberia/Sierra Leone
The trial of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, is expected to begin in The Hague on 2 April
2007, but administrative and other bottlenecks have prevented his defence team from functioning properly. The defence has
not yet been given an office or even a correspondence address in The Hague, and it is threatening to pull out if no remedy
is immediately found by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) which transferred Taylor’s case to The Hague.
Osei Boateng reports on a messy pre-trial period that has brought no honour to the international justice system. More... |
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Black History Month
The celebration of the 200th anniversary of the day the Abolition of Slavery Bill was finally passed
by the British Parliament in 1807 will kick off in Britain on 25 March. Dubbed “Wilberforce 2007”, this major
commemoration will run for 34 weeks, ending in October, traditionally Black History Month in the UK. It will include a wide
range of exhibitions, conferences, debates and a full spectacle of the march of the abolitionists. A 200-mile Meridien Walk
from Hull in northeast England to Westminster, the seat of the British government in London and a Sankofa Walk which will
link London, Bristol and Liverpool in a triangle to symbolise the triangular trade has also been planned. In this opinion
piece, Prime Minister Tony Blair explains the importance of the commemoration and why Britain should express its “deep
sorrow” at its role in the transatlantic slave trade. More... |
Oprah opens South African school for disadvantaged girls
Tuesday, January 2, 2007 | 12:36 PM ET (CBC Arts) | Former South African president Nelson Mandela hailed talk show host Oprah
Winfrey as a benefactor to the disadvantaged as she opened a girls' school near Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa, was built with a $40-million
US donation by Winfrey.
 U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey and students at her Leadership
Academy for Girls cut the ribbon to open the school on Tuesday. (Denis Farell/Associated Press)
Winfrey took a hand in every stage of the school's development, from design of the campus to selection of
the 152 students.
"I wanted to give this opportunity to girls who had a light so bright that not even poverty could dim that
light," Winfrey said.
The opening on Tuesday was attended by singers Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, actors Sidney
Poitier and Chris Tucker, director Spike Lee and Mandela, the former anti-apartheid fighter.
Winfrey promised Mandela six years ago that she would create the school.
"This is a lady that has, despite her own disadvantaged background, become one of the benefactors of the disadvantaged
throughout the world," Mandela said.
Winfrey said she hoped she could "change the face of a nation" by offering a quality education to girls who
are raised in poverty.
 Winfrey made a promise to build the school six years ago to Nelson Mandela, former president of
South Africa, shown here in 2003.
(Canadian Press)
In remarks at the gala opening, she referred frequently to her own disadvantaged background.
"I was a poor girl who grew up with my grandmother, like so many of these girls, with no water and electricity,"
said the host of the influential Oprah Winfrey Show.
Guests to the gala were asked to bring a book for the school's library.
Winfrey said she was grateful that she had an opportunity for a good education and welcomed the chance
to see bright young women develop into leadership roles in South Africa.
She hailed the attitudes of many of the 11- and 12-year-old girls she interviewed personally before accepting
them to the school, saying they seem to value education in a way that North American children no longer do.
The school received 3,500 applications from girls around the country. It accepted 152 students to start, but
will eventually take 450.
The 28-building campus has computer and science laboratories, a library and theatre,
sports facilities, a wellness centre and beauty salon.
Winfrey worked initially with the South African government on the project, but the government backed out of
the project, apparently thinking that the talk show host's plan for the campus was too lavish.
"These girls deserve to be surrounded by beauty, and beauty does inspire," Winfrey said in an interview with
Newsweek.
Lost family to AIDS
South Africa's state-funded schools are overcrowded and lack even basic necessities such as books. They also
are plagued by gang violence, drugs and a high rate of pregnancy among schoolgirls.
Many of the girls have been raised in the poor townships around Johannesburg and have lost family to AIDS.
"Girls who are educated are less likely to get HIV/AIDS, and in this country which has such a pandemic, we
have to begin to change the pandemic," Winfrey said.
Winfrey has taken a great interest in South Africa's post-apartheid development and said the school was a
way to feel closer to the people she was trying to help.
"When I first started making a lot of money, I really became frustrated with the fact that all I did was write
cheque after cheque to this or that charity without really feeling like it was a part of me," she said.
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With growth finally on track, the search continues for a unifying vision to lead a stronger Africa into the new era.