Friday, May 16, 2014

Summer 2014 Paid internship for Norfolk, VA rising Senior High School Student

    ARDX is a woman owned & Norfolk, Virginia based Healthcare Management Consulting Company.
 
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     Contact Brittany Harris for details and application. Deadline May 23rd, 2014 for the submission of a resume and a cover letter.

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Thursday, May 8, 2014

BAR!: Obama Won't Jail Bankers, Jackson 'Rising' Lesson, Nigeria's Kidnapped Girls -- BAR for May 7, 2014

On Wednesday, May 7, 2014 7:36 AM, "publisher@blackagendareport.com" <publisher@blackagendareport.com> wrote:
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This week in Black Agenda Report

 

by BAR executive editor Glen Ford

In the second half of his second term, Obama and his crew seek to rewrite the history of his administration. Attorney General Eric Holder now declares that no bank is too big to jail. But the reality is, Wall Street's "impunity is infinite. Holder and Obama work for them."

By BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon

"320 activists from all over the country, including 80 or more from Jackson and surrounding parts of Mississippi converged on the campus of Jackson State University for Jackson Rising. "
Has raising up more black millionaires been a successful economic development strategy for our communities?  Evidently not. What's the alternative to gentrification, to stadiums, to ruthless exploitation? It's the solidarity economy. It's cooperation. It's democratically owned, worker-run cooperatives for child care, retail, auto repair, factories, health care, you name it. It's already rising in Jackson Mississippi, and soon, near you.

by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

Hundreds of Nigerian girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram fighters, three weeks ago. The abductions got very little media coverage, so the wave of U.S. revulsion is only now surfacing. Americans urge their government to "do something," but know next to nothing about the Nigerian political crisis, since there has not been "a single television news story about Boko Haram in 2013."

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford

Sixty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools desegregated, first "with all deliberate speed" and then, more urgently, "root and branch." By the early 1970s, substantial desegregation has taken place in the South. But today, segregation has rebounded. In some localities, folks don't quite remember what happened. "No one paid the court order any attention in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, for 30 years."

By Dr. Margaret Flowers

Millions of Obama voters in 2008 imagined they voted for universal health. What they got instead was Obamacare, an incredibly complex thicket of laws, regulations and exceptions requiring millions to purchase private health insurance which might or might not provide adequate or affordable coverage, might or might not protect them from bankruptcy, but certainly privatizes more of the nation's health care system than ever before.

by Mel Reeves

Faculty and student groups a the University of Minnesota insulted history and Black America, last month, inviting Condoleezza Rice to speak on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. Rice and her immediate family rejected that Movement. "She is not a beacon of the Civil Rights Movement but, rather, an embarrassment."

by Danny Haiphong​

Capitalists hoodwink the masses into belief in an ideal of individualism, which "places sole blame for the misery of capitalism on the individual person experiencing it." The U.S. Founding Fathers – a group of very rich white men – created a political infrastructure in which "the oppressed are coerced into competing among themselves for the crumbs the capitalist class has stolen from them."

by Patrick Bond

Based on new calculations, Nigeria no ranks as Africa's biggest economy. Actually, it is losing wealth a a frightening pace. In addition to the sheer volume of theft that drains the Nigerian people of their national patrimony, the biggest drain "is the depletion of natural resources, which when mined or drilled out are only counted as GDP credits on the income accounts, but not as debits."

by Raymond Nat Turner

Must each generation's Shangri-La turn into… ?

Seattle Activists Vow to Put $15 Wage on Ballot

"We can't wait seven years for workers to get relief," said Jess Spear, organizing director for the campaign by 15 Now and the Socialist Alternative Party to immediately raise most wages in Seattle to $15 an hour. A counter-proposal by Mayor Ed Murray's hand-picked committee, unveiled last week, would phase-in $15 over a 4 to 7 year period, with no cost-of-living increases until the first phase-ins are complete. Spear said the fact that the mayor had to present even a watered-down version of $15 an hour proves that "movements really get things done and change the conversation." The Socialist Alternative Party's Kshama Sawant won a Seattle city council seat, last year, on a $15 platform, igniting a groundswell of support for the wage hike. Spears said 15 Now will go ahead with a drive to collect 50,000 signatures to put its own, much stronger proposal on the ballot.

Benton Harbor Activist Under House Arrest

Back in 2008, Rev. Edward Pinkney, a longtime community leader in mostly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan, became the first person in living memory to be imprisoned for quoting the Bible – in this case, on contempt charges in an elections law trial. Last week, 35 to 40 armed sheriff's deputies came to arrest Rev. Pinkney on charges related to a recall petition against the city's mayor, an ally of the giant Whirlpool Corporation. "They were losing 5 to 1, and they knew they had to do something to stop this [recall] election," said Pinkney, who is confined to his home, forced to wear a GPS finder, and barred from working on his computer. The recall election has been called off until after adjudication of Pinkney's case. Activists plan to protest at the Whirlpool-sponsored senior PGA tournament, in Benton Harbor, later this month. "We're gonna have more people there, now, than ever before," said Pinkney.

Supreme Court Justices "Burning the House Down"

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to even consider an appeal of Hedges v. Obama, the suit against preventive detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial. "It's not simply that the court is turning a blind eye to constitutional rights," said Shahid Buttar, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. "It's also the case that the court is hamstringing itself and diminishing judicial independence and inhibiting the extent to which future courts will be able to rein in similar abuses." By failing to curb executive and legislative branch assaults on constitutional rights, "these judges are, basically, burning the house down," said Buttar.

Mumia, Street: Institutional Racism is the Deeper Cut

Billionaire Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was near-universally denounced for private, racist remarks, yet institutional racism remains as deep as ever, sanctioned by majorities of Americans. "It's interesting that you have this incident, and the shaming of Sterling, just a week after the Supreme Court hands down another absolutely terrible decision on affirmative action," said historian and activist Paul Street. "These dramas become kinds of rituals of white self-congratulation that feed the narrative that we're in a post-racial society, and tend to render the deeper institutional societal racism more invisible than it already was," said Street.
The nation's best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, made the same point in a commentary for Prison Radio: "Which story will affect the greatest number of Black lives – the anguished insecurities of a rich old man trying to exert control over his beautiful young lover, or the tortured reasoning of a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, essentially closing the doors of college to millions? Which are more relevant? Which are more racist?

Stop-and-Frisk Still in Effect in NYC

New York City cops continue to racially profile and confront young Black and brown men despite the fact that Bill de Blasio has replaced Michael Bloomberg at City Hall. De Blasio brought back former police commissioner Bill Bratton, an architect of stop-and-frisk. "The political incentives changed from Bloomberg to de Blasio, but the actual effect on people's lives did not," said Josmar Trujillo, of New Yorkers Against Bratton. Now that stop-and-frisk is officially frowned upon, "police simply won't write down every interaction and stop anymore." People are getting "a false sense of reform."

Cornel West to Support Dr. Anthony Monteiro at Temple University

Dr. Cornel West and others will join a student-community coalition demonstration on Thursday, May 8, to demand that Temple University reinstate Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the adjunct African American Studies professor whose contract was terminated earlier this year with the assent of department chairman Dr. Molefi Asante. Students last week staged a sit-in at the Philadelphia campus's administrative offices, and later met with the university provost and the dean of liberal arts. "They basically told us it was Dr. Asante's decision not to bring back Dr. Monteiro," said student activist Paul Conge, a political science major who has studied under Monteiro. Asante "wanted to move to an African cultural nationalist type of department." Asante recently told a radio audience that Dr. Monteiro's student supporters were all "white communists" – a charge that is both untrue and smacks of "McCarthyism," said Conge. Asante's version of "Afro-centricity allows him to be a proponent of capitalism – Black capitalism, Black-on-Black exploitation. He really does not care about economic exploitation."
 
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Saturday May 10th @ 2:00 pm at The House of Consciousness in Norfolk, Virginia


House ofConsciousness <hocbulletin@gmail.com> wrote:
Saturday May 10th @ 2pm Ashra Kwesi/Irritated Genie/Special guest! A day of Religious Discussion! Seats are filling up!!


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

It was incredibly liberating - Dr. Benjamin Carson's speech at CPAC 2013

The other Dr. Ben ! - 
Dr. Benjamin Carson's Stirring 
Speech at CPAC 2013 
You know. [laughter] after a while, I actually began to enjoy reading those books because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere, I could be anybody, i could do anything.
I began to read about people of great accomplishment, and as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you and what happens to you in life is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. it was incredibly liberating for me, made all the difference. - Dr. Ben Carson Thank you so much. Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mrs. Obama, distinguished guests - which included everybody. Thank you so much for this wonderful honor to be at this stage again. I was here 16 years ago, and the fact that they invited me back means that I didn't offend too many people, so that was great. [LAUGHTER] I want to start by reading four texts which will put into I want to start by reading four texts which will put into context what I'm going to say. Proverbs 11:9 With his mouth the Godless destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escapes. Proverbs 11:12 A man who lacks judgement derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue Proverbs 11:25 A generous man will prosper. He who refreshes others will himself, be refreshed. 2nd Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

You know, I have an opportunity to speak in a lot of venues. This is my fourth speech this week. and I have an opportunity to talk to a lot of people. And I've been asking people what concerns you? What are you most concerned about in terms of the spirituality and the direction of our nation and our world? And I've talked to very prominent democrats, very prominent republicans. And I was surprised by the uniformity of their answers. And those have informed my comments this morning. now, it's not my intention to offend anyone. I have discovered, however, in recent years that it's very difficult to speak to a large group of people these days and not offend someone. [laughter] And people walk away with their feelings on their shoulders waiting for you to say something, ah, did you hear that? The P.C. police are out in force at all times. I remember once I was talking about the difference between a human brain and a dog's grain, and a man -- and a dog's brain, and a man got offended. You can't talk about dogs like that. [laughter] People focus in on that, completely miss the point of what you're saying. [laughter] And we've reached reach the point where people are afraid to actually talk about what they want to say because somebody might be offended. People are afraid to say Merry Christmas at Christmas time. Doesn't matter whether the person you're talking to is Jewish or, you know, whether they're any religion. That's a salutation, a greeting of goodwill. We've got to get over this sensitivity. You know, and it keeps people from saying what they really believe. You know, I'm reminded of a very successful young businessman, and he loved to buy his mother these exotic gifts for mother's day. And he ran out of ideas, and then he ran across these birds. These birds were cool, you know? They cost $5,000 apiece. They could dance, they could sing, they could talk. He was so excited, he bought two of of them. Sent them to his mother, couldn't wait to call her up on mother's day, mother, mother, what'd you think of those birds? And she said, they was good. [laughter] He said, no, no, no! Mother, you didn't eat those birds? Those birds cost $5,000 apiece! They could dance, they could sing, they could talk! And she said, well, they should have said something. [laughter] And, you know, that's where we end up, too, if we don't speak up for what we believe. [laughter] And, you know, what we need to do -- [applause] what we need to do in this PC world is forget about unanimity of speech and unanimity of thought, and we need to concentrate on being respectful to those people with whom we disagree. And that's when I believe we begin to make progress. and one last thing about political correctness, which I think is a horrible thing, by the way.

I'm very, very come -- compassionate, and I'm not never out to offend anyone. But PC is dangerous. Because, you see, this country one of the founding principles was freedom of thought and freedom of expression. and it muffles people. It puts a muzzle on them. And at the same time, keeps people from discussing important issues while the fabric of this society is being changed. And we cannot fall for that trick. And what we need to do is start talking about things, talking about things that are important. Things that were important in the development of our nation. one of those things was education. I'm very passionate about education because it's made such a big difference in my life. But here we are at a time in the world, the information age, the age of technology, and yet 30% of people who enter high school in this country do not graduate. 44% of people who start a four-year college program do not finish it in four years. What is that about? Think back to a darker time in this our history. Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? Because when you educate a man, you liberate a man. And there I was as a youngster placing myself in the same situation that a horrible institution did because I wasn't taking advantage of the education. I was a horrible student. Most of my classmates thought I was the stupidest person in the world. They called me dummy. I was the butt of all the jokes. Now, admittedly, it was a bad environment. single-parent home, you know, my mother and father had gotten divorced early on. My mother got married when she was 13. She was one of 24 children. Had a horrible life. Discovered that her husband was a bigamist, had another family. And she only had a third grade education. She had to take care of us. Dire poverty. I had a horrible temper, poor self-esteem. All the things that you think would preclude success. But I had something very important, I had a mother who believed in me, and I had a mother who would never allow herself to be a victim no matter what happened. Never made excuses, and she never accepted an excuse from us. And if we ever came up with an excuse, she always said do you have a brain? And if the answer was, yes, then she said then you could have thought your way out of it. It doesn't matter what John or Susan or Mary or anybody else did or said. And it was the most important thing she did for my brother and myself. Because if you don't accept excuse, pretty soon people stop giving them, and they start looking for solutions. And that is a critical issue when it comes to success.

Well, you know, we did live in dire poverty, and one of the things that I hated was poverty. you know, some people hate spiders, some people hate snakes, I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. [laughter] But, you know, my mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and asked god to give her wisdom, what could she do to to to make her sons understand the importance of wisdom? God gave her wisdom. At least in her opinion. It was to turn off the tv, let us watch only two or three programs during the week, and read two books apiece and submit to her written book reports which she couldn't read, but we didn't know that. [laughter] She put check marks and highlights and stuff -- [laughter] But, you know, I just hated this. And my friends were out having a good time. her friends would criticize her. they would say you can't make boys stay in the house reading books, they'll grow up and hate you. and i would overhear them and say, you know, mother, they're right. but she didn't care. You know. [laughter] after a while, I actually began to enjoy reading those books because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere, I could be anybody, i could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment, and as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you and what happens to you in life is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. it was incredibly liberating for me, made all the difference.

To continue on that theme of education, in 1831 Alexis de Toqueville came to study America. The Europeans were fascinated. How could a fledgling Nation, barely 50 years old already be competing with them on virtually every level. This was impossible. De Toqueville was going to sort it out and he looked at our government and he was duly impressed by the three branches of government - four now because now we have special interest groups, but it was only three back in those days. He said, WOW, this is really something, but then he said, but let me look at their educational system and he was blown away. See, anybody who had finished the second grade was completely literate. He could find a mountain man on the outskirts of society who could read the newspaper and have a political discussion, could tell him how the government worked. If you really want to be impressed, take a look at the chapter on education in my latest book, America the Beautiful, which I wrote with my wife - it came out last year, and in that education chapter you will see questions extracted from a sixth grade exit exam from the 1800′s - a test you had to pass to get your sixth grade certificate. I doubt most college graduates today could pass that test. We have dumbed things down to that level and the reason that is so dangerous is because the people who founded this Nation said that our system of government was designed for a well-informed and educated populace, and when they become less informed, they become vulnerable. Think about that. That is why education is so vitally important. Now some people say, ahhh, you're over blowing it, things aren't that bad, and you're a doctor, a neurosurgeon. Why are you concerned about these things? Got news for you. FIVE doctors signed the Declaration of Independence. Doctors were involved in the framing of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, in a whole bunch of things. It's only been since recent decades that we've extracted ourselves, which I think is a big mistake. We need doctors, we needs scientists, engineers. We need all those people involved in government, not just lawyers...I don't have anything against lawyers, but you know, here's the thing about lawyers...I'm sorry, but I got to be truthful...got to be truthful - what do lawyers learn in law school? To win, by hook or by crook. You gotta win, so you got all these Democrat lawyers, and you got all these Republican lawyers and their sides want to win. We need to get rid of that. What we need to start thinking about is, how do we solve problems?

Now, before I get shot, let me finish. I don't like to bring up problems without coming up with solutions. My wife and I started the Carson Scholars Fund 16 years ago after we heard about an international survey looking at the ability of eight graders in 22 countries to solve math and science problems, and we came out No. 21 out of 22. We only barely beat out Number 22 - very concerning. We went to these schools and we'd see all these trophies: State Basketball, State Wrestling, this, that and the other. The Quarterback was the Big Man on Campus. What about the intellectual Superstar? What did they get? A National Honor Society pin? A pat on the head, there, there little Nerd? Nobody cared about them. And is it any wonder that sometimes the smart kids try to hide? They don't want anybody to know they are smart? This is not helping us or our Nation, so we started giving out scholarships from all backgrounds for superior academic performance and demonstration of humanitarian qualities. Unless you cared about other people, it didn't matter how smart you were. We've got plenty of people like that. We don't need smart people who don't care about other people. We would give them money. The money would go into a Trust. They would get interest on it. When they would go to college they would get the money, but also the school gets a trophy, every bit as impressive as a sports trophy - right out there with the others. They get a medal. They get to go t a banquet. We try to put them on a pedestal as impressive as we do the All-State athletes. I have nothing against athletics or entertainment. I'm from Baltimore. The Ravens won. This is great - okay. But, but - what will maintain our position in the world? The ability to shoot a 25 foot jump shot or the ability to solve a quadratic equation? We need to put the things into proper perspective. Many teachers have told us that when we put a Carson Scholar in their classroom, the GPA of the whole classroom goes up over the next year. It's been very gratifying. We started 16 years ago with 25 scholarships in Maryland, now we've given out more than 5,000 and we are in all 50 states, but we've also put in Reading Rooms. These are fascinating places that no little kid could possibly pass up. And uh, they get points for the amount of time they spend reading, and the number of books they read. They can trade the points for prizes. In the beginning they do it for the prizes, but it doesn't take long before their academic performance begins to improve. And we particularly target Title One schools where the kids come from homes with no books and they go to schools with no libraries. Those are the ones who drop out. We need to truncate that process early on because we can't afford to waste any of those young people. You know, for every one of those people we keep from going down that path - that path of self-destruction and mediocrity, that's one less person you have to protect yourself and your family from. One less person you have to pay for in the penal or welfare system. One more taxpaying productive member of society who may invent a new energy source or come up with a cure for cancer. They are all important to us and we need every single one of them it makes a difference. And when you go home tonight read about it, Carson Scholars, carsonscholars.org.

Why is it so important that we educate our people? Because we don't want to go down the pathway as so many pinnacle nations that have preceded us. I think particularly about ancient Rome. Very powerful. Nobody could even challenge them militarily, but what happened to them? They destroyed themselves from within. Moral decay, fiscal irresponsibility. They destroyed themselves. If you don't think that can happen to America, you get out your books and you start reading, but you know, we can fix it. Why can we fix it because we're smart. We have some of the most intellectually gifted people leading our Nation. All we need to do is remember what our real responsibilities are so that we can solve the problems. I think about these problems all the time, and my role, you know, model was Jesus. He used parables to help people understand things. And one of our big problems right now, and like I said, I'm not politically correct, so I'm sorry, but you know - our deficit is a big problem. Think about it. And our National Debt - $16.5 Trillion dollars - you think that's not a lot of money? I'll tell you what! Count one number per second, which you can't even do because once you get to a thousand it will take you longer than a second, but...one number per second. You know how long it would take you to count to 16 Trillion? 507,000 years - more than a half a million years to get there. We have to deal with this. Here's a parable: A family falls on hard times. Dad loses his job or is demoted to part time work. He has 5 children. He comes to the 5 children, he says we're going to have to reduce your allowance. Well, they're not happy about it but - he says, except for John and Susan. They're, they're special. They get to keep their allowance. In fact, we'll give them more. How do you think that's going to go down? Not too well. Same thing happens. Enough said.

What about our taxation system? So complex there is no one who can possibly comply with every jot and tittle of our tax system. If I wanted to get you, I could get you on a tax issue. That doesn't make any sense. What we need to do is come up with something that is simple. When I pick up my Bible, you know what I see? I see the fairest individual in the Universe, God, and he's given us a system. It's called tithe. Now we don't necessarily have to do it 10% but it's principle. He didn't say, if your crops fail, don't give me any tithes. He didn't say, if you have a bumper crop, give me triple tithes. So there must be something inherently fair about proportionality. You make $10 Billion dollars you put in a Billion. You make $10 you put in $1 - of course, you gotta get rid of the loopholes, but now now some people say, that's not fair because it doesn't hurt the guy who made $10 Billion dollars as much as the guy who made $10. Where does it say you have to hurt the guy. He's just put in a billion in the pot. We don't need to hurt him. It's that kind of thinking - it's that kind of thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands. That money needs to be back here, building our infrastructure and creating jobs - and we're smart enough - we're smart enough to figure out how to do that. We've already started down the path to solving one of the other big problems, health care. We need to have good health care for everybody. It's the most important thing that a person can have. Money means nothing, titles mean nothing when you don't have your health, but we've got to figure out efficient ways to do it. We spend a lot of money on health care, twice as much per capita as anybody in else in the world, and yet not very efficient. What can we do?

Here's my solution. When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record and a health savings account [HSA], to which money can be contributed, pre-tax from the time you are born, to the time you die. When you die, you can pass it on to your family members so that when you're 85 years old and you've got 6 diseases, you're not trying to spend up everything. You're happy to pass it on and nobody is talking about death panels. That's number one. Also - For the people who are indigent, who don't have any money, we can make contributions to their HSA each month because we already have this huge pot of money instead of sending it to bureaucracy - let's put it into HSAs. Now they have some control over their own health care and what do you think they're going to do? They're going to learn very quickly how to be responsible. When Mr. Jones gets that diabetic foot ulcer, he's not going to the Emergency Room and blowing a big chunk of it. He's going to go to the Clinic. He learns that very quickly - gets the same treatment. In the Emergency Room they send him out. In the Clinic they say, now let's get your diabetes under control so that you're not back here in three weeks with another problem. That's how we begin to solve these kinds of problems. It's much more complex than that, and I don't have time to go into it all, but we can do all these things because we are smart people.

And let me begin to close here - another parable: Sea Captain, and he's out on the sea near the area where the Titanic went down. And they look ahead and there's a bright light right there - another ship he figures. He tells his signaler to signal that ship: deviate 10 degrees to the South. Back comes the message, no you deviate 10 degrees to the North. Well, he's a little bit incensed you know. He says, send a message, this is Captain Johnson, deviate 10 degrees to the South. Back comes the message, this is Ensign 4th Class Reilly. Deviate 10 degrees to the North. Now Captain Johnson is really upset. He says send him a message, this is a Naval Destroyer. Back comes the message, this is a Lighthouse. Enough said. Now, what about the symbol of our Nation? The Eagle. The Bald Eagle. It's an interesting story how we chose that but a lot of people think we call it the bald eagle because it looks like it has a bald head. That's not the reason It comes from the Old English word Piebald, which means crowned with white. And we just shortened it to bald. Now, use that the next time you see somebody who thinks they know everything. You'll get 'em on that one. But, why is that eagle able to fly, high, forward? Because it has two wings: a left wing and a right wing. Enough said.

And I wanna close with this story: two hundred years ago this Nation was involved in a war, the war of 1812. The British, who are now our good friends thought that we were young whippersnappers. It was time for us to become a colony again. They were winning that war and marching up the Eastern Seaboard, destroying city after city, destroying Washington D.C., burned down the White House. Next stop Baltimore. As they came into the Chesapeake Bay, there were armadas of war ships as far as the eye could see. It was looking grim. Fort. McHenry standing right there. General Armisted, who was in charge of Fort. McHenry, had a large American flag commissioned to fly in front of the Fort. The Admiral in charge of the British Fleet was offended, said take that flag down. You have until dusk to take that Flag down. If you don't take it down, we will reduce you to ashes. There was a young amateur poet on board by the name of Francis Scott Key, sent by President Madison to try to obtain the release of an American physician who was being held captive. He overheard the British plans. They were not going to let him off the ship. He mourned. As dusk approached he mourned for his fledgling young Nation, and as the sun fell, the bombardment started. Bombs bursting in air. Missiles, so much debris He strained, trying to see, was the flag still there? Couldn't see a thing. All night long it continued. At the crack of dawn he ran out to the banister He looked straining his eyes all he could only see dust and debris. Then there was a clearing and he beheld the most beautiful sight he had ever seen - the torn and tattered Stars and Stripes still waving. And many historians say that was the turning point in the war of 1812. We went on to win that war and to retain our freedom and if you had gone onto the grounds of Fort. McHenry that day, you would have seen at the base of that flag, the bodies of soldiers who took turns. Propping up that flag, they would not let that flag go down because they believed in what that flag symbolized. And what did it symbolize? One Nation, under God, [applause] indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. God Bless.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

R.I.P. Black Greeks (BGLOS) ? Words to the wise & feedback

THE END OF BGLOS (http://gregoryparks.net/wordpress/?p=63)

Author - Gregory Parks

Contact the author on this webpage: http://gregoryparks.net/contact.php

For many years now, at least as long as I have been a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha—17 years—I have heard that “we are one lawsuit away from being out of business.” I am sure other BGLO (Black Greek Lettered Organizations) members have heard the same thing. I always took it as hyperbole; and over the years, maybe it was such or at least a scare tactic. Having been a researcher on BGLOs for the past 14 years and a law professor who has studied BGLOs for the past 3 years, I would bank on the fact that within 25 years the Divine Nine will be the Great Eight, Stellar Seven or Six…maybe the Fabulous Five or Four. Honestly, at the rate that BGLOs are going, I can only foresee two having any longevity. Given their sizes, financial resources, and frequency of hazing litigation, my prediction is that the organizations will fall by the wayside in the following order: Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi/Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Iota Phi Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha/Delta Sigma Theta.

The typical narrative about how BGLOs will meet their demise is typically one that consists of errant undergrads hazing and getting their organization sued out of existence. That is, from where I sit, part of the narrative, but not the whole or even the bulk of the story. Here are the factors that I think will do-in BGLOs:

First: To call someone “paper” or a “skater” is taboo, but the reality is that the current generation of college students is more entitled and less inclined to sacrifice for achievement than prior generations, on average. And that fact will only become amplified with time. I think a person who loses his or her sight, has to get skin grafts on their posterior, or has their kidney ruptured may have strong grounds to sue for hazing-related injuries. Such victims in the past would have been less-likely to sue, because they would have accepted such injuries as part of the hazards that went along with pledging a BGLO. Even more, this new generation may be more inclined to sue for even milder harms or real/perceived slights. Indeed, we live in an increasingly litigious society.

Second: In a study my colleagues and I conducted on over 1,300 BGLO members, we found that BGLO hazing has become more violent at least since the 1950s. More violence likely means more injuries, and more injuries likely mean more lawsuits against BGLOs. In another study, my colleagues and I found that BGLOs have more violent hazing than white fraternities and sororities. Black fraternities are the most violent. Part of this likely has to do with constrained notions of masculinity among black men, including black fraternity members. And given that black fraternities likely will not have any meaningful dialogue about masculinity and black fraternalism, they will not likely sort these issues out, especially as they relate to hazing. As such, hazing will remain particularly violent within these groups.

Third: The only thing that truly stands between BGLOs and plaintiffs in hazing lawsuits is the insurance industry. Unfortunately, there are few insurers of college fraternities and sororities. With the steady flow of hazing litigation involving BGLOs, it is not inconceivable that at some point it becomes unprofitable for any insurer to cover any particular BGLO. For example, let’s say BGLO A pays a $500,000 premium each year to Insurer A, but over the course of three years, Insurer A pays out $1,000,000 a year in hazing settlements involving BGLO A. It would likely make sense for that insurer to drop BGLO from coverage. BGLO A must then move on to Insurer B. With a limited number of such insurers out there, once Insurer B begins to lose money, BGLO A will then have to move on to Insurer C and so on until there is no insurer to cover BGLO A. A possible option is for an insurer to raise the premium, which would trickle down to each chapter in BGLO A. Higher insurance fees, especially for smaller chapters, would kill many BGLO A chapters, especially collegiate chapters. It is doubtful that any campus would let a fraternity or sorority chapter operate on its campus without insurance. As for the national organization of BGLO A, with no insurer, its only option would be to insure itself. And given the financial resources of each BGLO (consider the net assets or fund balances from 2011 and 2010 for each NPHC organization: Alpha Phi Alpha ($6,809,028/$7,258,956); Alpha Kappa Alpha ($24,384,894/$23,654,672); Kappa Alpha Psi ($5,817,499/$5,148,046); Omega Psi Phi ($2,624,479/$2,575,365); Delta Sigma Theta ($19,188,109/$19,555,631); Phi Beta Sigma ($1,835,670/$1,766,064); Zeta Phi Beta ($1,008,703/$1,091,217); Sigma Gamma Rho ($2,559,860/$1,817,088); and Iota Phi Theta ($300,857/$308,047)), it would take few law suits to reduce most BGLOs to bankruptcy. As an additional point, as a recent case between Admiralty Insurance and Kappa Alpha Psi shows, insurers will not insure, or seek to not insure, the hazing activities of BGLO members. Such an outcome would further expose BGLOs’ direct resources to judgment.

Another critical point: whenever a BGLO is sued, let us say in North Carolina just as an example, the BGLO’s General Counsel does not swoop into North Carolina to litigate the case. Rather, the insurance company gives the BGLO a panel of lawyers in the area to choose from—one who will represent the BGLO. I suspect that most of these lawyers are competent, but few are likely to be black, BGLO members, or experienced in litigating hazing cases dealing with BGLOs. Even more, most of them are not likely to affiliate with such a lawyer or hire an expert witness or trial consultant to aid them in navigating the unique terrain of BGLO hazing issues. As such, the parents of a young man or woman allegedly killed by hazing, or one with a severe injury, is a sympathetic plaintiff to a potential jury, and because of that the BGLO-defendant and their local attorney are somewhat outgunned.

Fourth: BGLOs have too many blind spots when it comes to hazing. Most of the organizations do not pay attention to the legal trends. Most of them do not pay attention to broader bodies of knowledge that could aid them in addressing the issue proactively or once litigation arises. They do not mine the data they already have on past litigations and likely do not share such information across organizations. As such, they fail to capture the big picture either in strategies that plaintiffs’ counsels have used against BGLOs, the ebb and flow of the law in the area, types of evidence that has been or not been useful in litigation, best practices, arguments that expert witnesses and trial consultants have made.

Photo: Tuskeege Airmen who are members of Omega Psi Phi, Inc. 

Fifth: Similar to number four, BGLOs are information/data adverse. This includes bodies of knowledge that are available outside of the respective organization files. I have attended the Fraternal Law Conference two years in a row. Most BGLOs are not represented there. Arguably, there has been more research on BGLO hazing conducted in the past five years than on any other type of organization. However, I would bet that most BGLO members and leaders have never looked at this research to see how it may aid them in addressing this issue within their own ranks. Part of this has to do with organizational politics. For example, given the petty intra-organizational rivalries between the groups, do you think Kappa Alpha Psi leadership would consult with a Phi Beta Sigma researcher on BGLO hazing? I doubt it, because they won’t consult with a Kappa, like Dr. Ricky Jones, who has researched the issue. What about vice-versa? Nope! Phi Beta Sigma has never even consulted with the only Sigma, Dr. Matthew Hughey, who currently studies the issue—ironic given that they have a national, anti-hazing initiative. These organizations do not solicit feedback, certainly not on a regular basis, from non-BGLO hazing experts or even BGLO members who are hazing experts, even within their own ranks. The ironic thing about BGLOs is that, for the most part, they have tremendous intellectual capital, given the nature of alumni membership within these groups, but the vast majority of this intellectual capital goes untapped. So, BGLOs remain in an information vacuum due to their own actions or inactions.

Sixth: In one study my colleagues and I conducted, we found that a determinant of hazing was the extent to which BGLO members were truly aware of sanctions associated with hazing. Arguably, most do not know how bad the problem is or how high the stakes truly are. Leadership within BGLOs seem to believe that their current efforts are the best possible, and they are not. Telling BGLO members that hazing will destroy BGLOs is very different from laying out the case systematically and regularly. But that all turns on having sufficient information—e.g., aggregating the major hazing incidents across BGLOs, resultant injuries, lawsuits, settlement/judgment figures, criminal convictions—to make such a case. But, as I have said, BGLOs do not keep such records, and to date they have not invested in gathering and consolidating such information. I suspect that given their indifference to information consolidated and analyzed by outside sources, even those efforts would be snubbed. With all that said, BGLO members are woefully under-informed about hazing, its nature, and the challenges it raises. And these very members are expected to either create and reform the Membership Intake Process within their own organizations or vote on its form and application.

Seventh: Black Greek-letter organizations have also lost their luster. We now live in an age in which many college students do not feel the need to join any fraternity or sorority. Some choose to join something other than a BGLO. It is problematic that BGLOs have built no real pipeline to membership by seeing mentoring K-12 African Americans as not simply good for the community but also necessary for the future viability of these organizations. At this rate, a decade or two from now, the pickings will be remarkably slim for college students who are interested in BGLO membership and possessed of the requisite qualities and characteristics that will sustain BGLOs. Even more, BGLOs have not thought through an optimal MIP that will commit members to their respective BGLO in real and tangible—financially and physically active—ways. As such, while BGLOs are likely to see fewer and fewer aspiring members or ones with poorer credentials than decades before, they are also likely to witness a greater hemorrhaging of active members. And for organizations with an economic model that depends largely on initiation fees and membership dues, their best hope will be to lower the bar to membership. This will fundamentally alter the nature of these organizations, not guarantee long-term membership commitment, and continue to leave them vulnerable to limited coffers and increasing hazing allegations, among other things.

In the end, I am hopeful about the longevity of BGLOs but not optimistic. Their demise will be blamed on 19-23 year-olds, but how responsible can you expect “kids” to be, even those who espouse high ideals? The end of BGLOs will ultimately have resulted from the failure of the adults, especially those in leadership, from doing, not simply something(s) about hazing, but all that needed to be done. Within BGLOs, there is not the will to be transformative. These are inherently conservative organizations where new modes of thinking are strenuously resisted, organizational politics prevails, and provincialism rules the day. Only time will tell; but time is not on their side.

About the author:
Gregory Parks is an Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law, where he has taught since the Fall of 2011. Professor Parks holds an M.A., an M.S., and a Ph.D. (all in Psychology) and a J.D. He served as a law clerk on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to The Honorable Anna Blackburne-Rigsby and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to The Honorable Andre M. Davis.  After clerking, Professor Parks took a Visiting Fellowship at Cornell Law School and then worked as a Litigation Associate at McDermott, Will & Emery LLP in their Washington, D.C. office where he worked on trial and appellate matters.

Professor Parks' research interests lie in a number of domains: (1) how social and cognitive psychology explain legal phenomena; (2) the application of empirical methods to legal questions; (3) race and law issues; and (4) the ways in which black fraternal networks intersect with the law. He teaches in the areas of civil procedure, social science and law, as well as race and law.

Professor Parks’ scholarly books have been published with Oxford University Press, The New Press, the University Press of Kentucky, the University Press of Mississippi, and Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. He recently completed two books - one entitled The Wrongs of the Right: Race and the GOP in the Age of Obama with Matthew Hughey (NYU Press) and another on implicit/subconscious race bias and the law (Oxford University Press). In 2013, he will turn his attention to writing two books - one on hazing within black Greek-letter organizations through the lens of law and other disciplines; another on the myriad challenges that face black Greek-letter organizations and how to solve those problems. 

His scholarly articles have appeared in such journals as: Florida State University Law Review; Howard Law Journal; University of California-Irvine Law Review; University of Pennsylvania Law Review (PENNumbra); Cardozo Law Review de novo; Wake Forest Law Review Common Law; Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy; Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology; Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class; Rutgers Race & Law Review; William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law; Hastings Women's Law Journal; and Psychology, Public Policy & Law.

Professor Parks is member of a number of professional (i.e., law- and social science-related) and fraternal organizations. His hobbies include martial arts (Karate (black belt), Tae Kwon Do (red belt), Gracie Brazilian Jujitsu (blue belt), Small Circle Jujitsu, kickboxing, Judo, and wrestling) and travel.

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A few responses:
VP says:
You have been in existence for over 100 years and your primary operating income is initiation, then you deserve what you get or what you are getting. If you have not put together a plan to sustain your organization with the thousands college grads not to mention all the legal minds, educators and business owners that exist in these organization. 2014 and you are still looking to initiation i.e. 18-22 year olds to carry your organization financially. Then, well, I hate to say, excuse me but leave the keys in the mailbox and good night.

Dre says:
This blog hits home big time. Hazing is serious and detrimental to all BGLOs. We can lay out the facts and the financial side of how this would ultimately shut us all down and someone will still believe ‘they have to be brought in RIGHT!’ No matter what anyone says it all comes down to individual decisions. As a member of a BGLO I’ve seen first hand how this practice destroys the chapter and everyone involved. It’s not worth it. If it continues (and it will) were going to go from the divine nine to the divine none.

Rob says:
To me, the elephant in the room is Black people inadvertently promoting white supremacy by calling themselves “Black Greeks.” The Africans on the Nile were the teachers of the Greeks and responsible for so-called Greek philosophy. We know that Pythagoras spent 21 years sitting at the feet of black people to receive his education. Most of the first Greek “philosophers” received their education in Africa. That is the major reason they were prosecuted for teaching a “foreign” doctrine. Dr. George G. M. James’ masterpiece, “Stolen Legacy” clearly proves beyond a reasonable doubt that: “The Greeks were not the authors of Greek Philosophy, but the people of North Africa, commonly called the Egyptians.” It should be a requirement that each Alpha brother reads, at a minimum, Stolen Legacy. The question is: are we as men, knowledgeable enough about who we are to embrace Africa and our ancestors who left us the Medu Neter (Words of God) to follow? The Medu Neter contains all of the wisdom and knowledge that black men need to resurrect themselves back to be the giants they once were when they ruled the ancient world. That is why our ancestors left Medu Neter on the walls and doorways of ancient African temples: “Know Thyself.”

Stephen Washington says:
Good stuff. I’ve been advocating that all BGLO should come together for collective survival and:
Suspend all undergraduate intake temporarily (one academic year)
Use that time to come together to share best practices and come up with a
common set solution options including alternative collective risk management strategies.
Consider using using more internet technology in the undergraduate intake process. (that’s right, online intake….you heard it here first)

Eric Woods says:
Mr. Parks,
Interesting read. While I disagree with some of the details, I do agree with the overall “head in the sand” indictment of the leadership of these organizations. I have said may times within my own network of BGLO friends (I am an initiate of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated & quickly approaching my 25th anniversary since being a Scroller) that the new intake process is crippling. It hasn’t solved the liability issue and it exacerbates the issue of entitlement since there is no sacrifice required. To that end, paragraph 7 resonates greatly.
You do a good job of outlining the problems, but you haven’t put forth any potential solutions. What say you on that front?
Lastly, you might want to investigate integrating Discus for comments. That way, a discussion can ensue that will allow dialogue to flourish.
Best,
Eric

Scholarly: Black Greek-letter Organizations
Victimology, Personality, and Hazing: A Study of Black Greek-letter Organizations
Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones, & Matthew W. Hughey
36 North Carolina Central University Law Review 16
Year published: 2014
Follow to article
Follow to article

The Psychology and Law of Hazing Consent
Gregory S. Parks & Tiffany Southerland
__ Marquette L. Rev. 101
Year published: 2014
Follow to article

The Great Divide: Black Fraternal Ideals and Reality
Gregory S. Parks, Matthew W. Hughey, & Rodney T. Cohen
8 Sociology Compass 129
Year published: 2014
Follow to article

Belief, Truth, and Organizational Deviance
Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones, & Matthew W. Hughey
56 Howard Law Journal 201
Year published: 2013
Follow to article

Belford Vance Lawson, Jr.: Life of A Civil Rights Litigator
Gregory S. Parks
12 U. MD Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class 1
Year published: 2013
Follow to article

Student Affairs Professionals, Black "Greek" Hazing, and University Civil Liability
Gregory S. Parks & Dorsey Spencer
31 College Student Affairs J. 125
Year published: 2013
Follow to article

Poetry as Evidence
Gregory S. Parks & Rashawn Ray
3 University of California Law Review 101
Year published: 2013
Follow to article

Black Fraternal Organizations: Systems, Secrecy, and Solace
Matthew W. Hughey and Gregory S. Parks
16 Journal of African American Studies 595
Year published: 2012
Follow to article

Social Networking and Leadership Accountability in (Quasi) Secret Organizations
Gregory S. Parks
2 Wake Forest L. Rev. Common Law 39
Year published: 2012
Follow to article

"18 Million Cracks": Gender's Role in the 2008 Presidential Campaign
Gregory S. Parks & Quinetta M. Roberson
17 William & Mary Journal of Women & the Law 321
Year published: 2011
Follow to article




Thursday, May 1, 2014

African Origins of Christianity by Rev. K. Price


malcomhuey
So glad to see a preacher speaking "TRUTH".
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