Friday, May 16, 2008

The Wichita NAACP and Sunflower Community Action to partner in an effort to address Violence in the community











The Wichita Branch NAACP and Sunflower Community Action have agreed to work in concert on a series of events to address the issue of violence in the community. The series, tentatively planned for July and August, will be patterned after the "Family Strengthening Series" held by the Wichita Branch NAACP, the Urban League of Kansas, and Representative Melody Miller in the summer of 2005.

The 2005 "Family Strengthening Series" dealt with Youth and Education as its main themes. It began with the NAACP hosting the 9-hour Academic Achievement Gap Symposium on the campus of WSU, followed three weeks later by the Urban League hosting a seminar for parents on how to have a successful and productive parent-teacher conference, and concluded with Representative Melody Miller hosting a forum on Disproportionate Minority Contact with the criminal justice system (or DMC).
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This series (yet unnamed) will focus on the social and economic indicators of criminal and violent behaviors. For our part, the NAACP will work to bring focus to the economic indicators by addressing jobs and employment issues with particular emphasis on young African American men and teens, dealing with the issue of preparedness for change and opportunity. Sunflower Community Action will work to raise community awareness by engaging the community in dialogue about violence and empowering the community to take a stand. We are also looking for Churches and Pastors who would be willing to join with us in this effort, and who would be willing to work specifically toward dealing with some of the underlying family issues and indicators of criminal and violent activity.

If you or your organization would be interested in partnering with us in this effort, please send us an email at stoptheviolence@wichitanaacp.org or leave us a voice mail by using our "Grand Central" voice mail button in the right column of this page...




Wednesday, May 14, 2008

USD259 provides funding for the Director of Equity and Accountability position


Earlier this year, USD259 voted to end busing for desegregation. We (the Wichita Branch NAACP) participated in the district meetings to discuss the end and alternatives to busing and we agreed with the proposal with some caveats. In February of this year, we made a presentation to the Board of Education wherein we outlined our recommendations for maintaining diversity and equity in the district post-busing.

The first of these recommendation was that the district would create a Director level position who would oversee diversity and equity issues within the district. This position was also referenced in the 4-point plan to eliminate the achievement gap that we presented to the district sometime earlier.

The District has since voted to create a new Director of Equity and Accountability position. And we are very pleased to report that they have now proposed to fully fund the position with a $300,000.00 line item in the budget that would cover the Director's salary, the hiring of an assistant, and the services of a consultant who will help them draft the job description and will advise on how to properly manage the transition from busing to a new system.

We sincerely applaud the district's effort, and we thank them for listening and being responsive to the concerns of the community. We believe that this position will prove to be a great benefit to the district in a number of areas. Beyond the racial diversity issues, this position can help the district deal with *compliance issues on Board Policies, and objectives. It can refocus the board on *resource management and the equitable allocation of funds and projects throughout the district. It can even initiate a real discussion on the *allocation of Human Resources; namely the distribution of experienced versus inexperienced teachers.

We look forward to strengthening our relationship with the district as we continue to work on the critical issues of diversity and equity. And as always, we'll keep you posted...



Sunday, May 11, 2008

President K Myles discussing Wrongful Terminations

This is a brief video detailing our efforts to address Wrongful Terminations in Kansas through Legislative Advocacy...


Friday, May 9, 2008

Students United launch a campaign to strengthen anti discrimination policies in USD259

Guest Posted by Marrque Nunley - Organizer Hope Street Youth Development
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Students United

Students United, a coalition of students from across the city of Wichita, is currently working on a campaign to stop discrimination and protect all students in the Wichita public schools. Our Anti-Discrimination campaign is focused on getting sexual orientation and perceived sexual orientation added to the Anti-Discrimination policy of USD 259. The campaign was started in late 2007 when one of our students brought up the fact that “sexual orientation” was not in the Anti-Discrimination policy. So we, as students, decided to take it on as a campaign.
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We spread the word and got support by numerous students and faculty. Along with some organizations like the NAACP Wichita chapter, the ACLU regional chapter, Kansas Equality Coalition, East Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and other GSA’s across the city, and many other student organization and churches.
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We went to the Board of Education in November. There was no movement until late December when the Board included “sexual orientation” to the Anti-Bullying Plan. We strongly commend the Board for taking this step and including it in the Anti-Bullying Plan. However, this step was not far enough because bullying and harassment are one thing, but discrimination is separate. “Harassment” is a repeated unwanted gesture or action. “Bullying” is the act of intimidating. However, “Discrimination” is excluding someone based on a category that person belongs to.
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To educate the public, Students United will be having a public meeting on this issue.
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Public Meeting
Saturday May 10th
Midtown Community Resource Center
(11th and N. Broadway)
2pm
Everyone is invited to come and encouraged to bring friends. We want as many people there as possible. You really don’t want to miss it!

For More Information Contact:
Marrque Nunley - Organizer
Hope Street Youth Development
316.263.7325 - Office
marrque@hsyd.org

Marcus McNeal - Student Leader
Hope Street Youth Development
316.409.5125 - Cell
MrmacnL09@aol.com

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

The NAACP New York State Conference to protest the acquittals in the Sean Bell case

Please join us in our Quest for Justice For Sean Bell - Prayer Vigil/Civil Disobedience


Hazel N. Dukes, President NAACP New York State Conference, Reverend Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network, Reverend W Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of. Chairman National Action Network, Rev. Herbert D. Daughtry, Pastor, House of the Lord Church, Brooklyn, NY, Cynthia Dorsey, Mothers Against Guns and other organizations will lead a "pray-in" on Wednesday, May 7th, at 3:00 p.M. to protest the acquittals of the three detectives in the Sean Bell case and to call upon the United States Department of Justice to intervene in the case. "If you are not going to lock up the guilty in this town, then I guess you'll have to lock up the innocent," says Rev. Sharpton. This action is a lead-up to an eventual citywide shut down this spring.

All are encouraged to attend the rallies and then, if you are able, to also participate in the civil disobedience. There are 5 gathering points.
  • Varick and Houston Street (Led by Hazel Dukes, NAACP NYS Conference and Labor One)
  • Police Plaza (led by Rev. Al Sharpton, Chairman of National Action Network)
  • 125th and Third Avenue (led by W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman of National Action Network)
  • Third Avenue and 60th Street (Led by National Action Network senior staff)
  • 34th and Park Avenue (Led by National Action Network senior staff)
  • The House of the Lord Church, 415 Atlantic Ave ( Led by Rev. Herbert Daughtery, Pastor)
Civil Disobedience
If you are going to participate in the Civil Disobedience (going to jail) part, please make certain that none of the following conditions apply to you:

You owe any New York City or New York State taxes.
You have any outstanding parking tickets.
You have any outstanding summons.
You owe any child support (even if it is owed in another state).
You are on Parole
You are on Probation

Do:
Carry Government issued ID (passport, driver’s license, non- driver’s license)
Make sure your name and birthday is as it appears on ID.
Give your name and address as it appears on ID.
Dress for comfort
Refrain from violence
Make sure captain has your name.

Do Not:
Wear jewelry
Carry cell phone, camera, Ipods, etc.
Carry pens, pencils, nail files, mace, razor blade, box cutter, knife, etc.


Please Join Us and Pray for Justice For Sean Bell!

N.C. NAACP files formal vote-suppression complaint against Women's Voices, alerts U.S. DOJ of concerns

The North Carolina NAACP has filed a formal complaint of possible voter suppression against Women's Voices Women Vote, the D.C. nonprofit behind deceptive and illegal robo-calls made to state residents. The N.C. NAACP hand-delivered its complaint on Saturday May 3rd, to state Attorney General Roy Cooper and State Board of Elections Executive Director Gary Bartlett. It's also alerted the U.S. Department of Justice that it's collecting more information from its national network and is contemplating filing a formal complaint with that agency.


N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II announced the filing of the complaint at a press conference held on Saturday May 3rd, outside the N.C. Department of Justice. He was joined by his group's attorney, Al McSurely, and Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina. The state Attorney General's office is already investigating Women's Voices, but the N.C. NAACP and Democracy North Carolina want to be parties to that investigation. "When you mess with the right to vote, you're messing with everything that is fundamental in our democracy," Barber said.

Here is the full text of the group's complaint, dated May 2.

When it refers to "Ex. 1," that is the WVWV letter to Gary Bartlett available here [PDF]; "Ex. 2" directs readers to news reports at DailyKos, Facing South and NPR. "HKonJ" refers to Historic Thousands on Jones Street, a statewide coalition of some 70 social justice groups organized by the N.C. NAACP; Jones Street is where the state legislature is located in Raleigh.

RE: Voter Suppression Activity Targeting Black Voters in North CarolinaDear General Cooper and Mr. Bartlett:

On behalf of the North Carolina Conference of over 100 NAACP Branches across North Carolina, I file this formal complaint against an organization out of Washington, D.C. called Women's Voices Women Votes (hereafter "WVWV") that has engaged in a pattern of massive robo-calls and mass mailings that appear to be designed to suppress and dilute voter participation, with a peculiar focus on African Americans.

One of our HKonJ Partners, Democracy North Carolina, made a request to both agencies earlier this week, to investigate automated telephone calls with misleading information about the voting process made to African Americans. We now know the source of the calls to be WVWV and we know from this group's own admission in a letter faxed to Mr. Bartlett on 28 April 2008 that it knew these messages would confuse voters. The Attorney General has taken initial action to stop the illegal calls, but there needs to be a much more aggressive investigation into WVWV's intentions and aims and the effects of its massive efforts to confuse voters.

Who was targeted? Why? How could a national organization be ignorant of the dates of one of most important primaries in the history of our State? How could a national organization give such wrong-headed directions to unregistered voters during the exact same period when they could easily register through our one-stop early voting procedure? Does the evidence show that WVWV violated NC General Statute 163-275(17), which makes it a felony crime to communicate misleading information about the voting process with the "intent and the effect" "to intimidate or discourage potential voters from exercising their lawful right to vote." Democracy North Carolina joins with us in requesting a much more aggressive investigation of the actions of the group. Here are some of the areas we urge you to look into:

1. The WVWV told Mr. Bartlett in its 28 April 2008 letter that it was about to mail voter registration information to 276,118 unmarried women in North Carolina and that it was sending similar mailings to "unmarried women not just in North Carolina, but around the country." (See Ex. 1) A comprehensive examination of the mailing list must be done to determine how many of these letters went to "unmarried women" as opposed to African Americans and other people of color, how many of each group were registered or not registered, and which misleading message each group received.

2. Although in this same letter the WVWV said it was only targeting unmarried women, three days later, on 1 May 2008, after Democracy North Carolina had raised the issue of possible targeting of African Americans, the WVWV denied it only targeted unmarried women. In a written answer it said: "While our focus is on unmarried women, we have worked to target other under-represented groups through our project, the Voter Participation Center." (Ex. 2) To what extent does the WVWV discriminate in how it communicates to African Americans in contrast to unmarried women? We cite as one example the contrast in the automated telephone messages sent to black versus white households in late April.

To speed your investigation (it is probably too late to prevent or remedy the damage done to voter turnout during early voting and on Tuesday, May 6th, but we trust a solid investigation will prevent similar misfeasance in future elections), permit us to share with you the information we have gathered since we first became aware of the confusing robo-calls and mailings a few days ago:

1. WVWV admitted it made thousands of automatic calls to North Carolina residents on 24 and 25 April 2008. (See Ex. 2) On calls, apparently to white women, a woman said: "Hi. Just a reminder. Your voter registration form is in the mail to you. Your voice counts and your vote [indecipherable]. Sign it, date it and send it in. Thanks!"

2. An African American man, who identified himself as Lamont Williams (hereafter "Lamont") gave the following message to other homes: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then, you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you." According to WVWV, "Mr. Williams is a professional voice talent," and his calls only went to men and a woman was used to contact women."

3. Lamont's calls tell people that are registered that they are not and that the only way they can vote is to wait a few days, get a form in the mail, fill it out and mail it back in. As one commentator said, "Whether the result of deliberate design or massive negligence on the part of WVWV and/or its vendors in terms of the timing of the calls and the determination of who would be called, the end result is something which rightly raised suspicions about the intent of this program."

4. Contrary to North Carolina law, there was no identification of the organization who had paid for the call, WVWV, or its "project" organization, Voter Participation Center, nor did Lamont provide any way for the receivers of his misleading message to check on it, if they had questions.

5. Mr. Kevin Farmer, in Durham, N.C. has an original tape of Lamont's message, which was apparently aimed at a young African American male voter who had registered to vote for the first time in 2004, and whose 2004 telephone number was reassigned to the store where Mr. Farmer now works.

6. Rev. and Mrs. Nelson Johnson received Lamont's message three times. Neither are unmarried women--they are African American civil rights activists in Greensboro.

7. When Lamont's messages were sent to hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians on April 24th and 25th the deadline to register for the May 6 primary had passed if you tried to register by mail. You could easily register--and Vote! by going to a one stop early voting place. WVWV focus has been on unmarried women. (See Ex. 1)

8. WVWV sent Mr. Bartlett its fax from the Institute of Women's Policy Research which has the same address, 1707 L Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 as the Women's Voices. The letter was dated April 24, but the fax was sent late in the afternoon of April 28, which was the same day the mailing was scheduled to leave the mail house for North Carolina.

9. In the letter to Mr. Bartlett, the WVWV explained its massive 276,118 mailing that was about to be sent, but did not mention Lamont's calls or any other calls, presumably to the same people, telling them to look for the mailer. (Ex. 1)

10. Copies of the mailing pieces were not sent to Mr. Bartlett for his review or even as a courtesy. Some of the messages on the mail pieces are misleading while others appear to misrepresent North Carolina law regarding the registration process. For example, some say, "The deadline for voter registration is approaching," but the mail-in deadline has ended two weeks earlier. Some say, "state law requires you to update your voter registration records," but voters who move within a county are allowed to vote without previously changing their registration.

11. WVWV has said they have tried to delay the 276,000 pieces of mail destined for North Carolina and that "a majority of the mail that was going to North Carolina will not be delivered, and our folks are continuing to try to make sure that as much of the NC mail as possible is held until a later date." (Ex. 2) Based on conversations with WVWV's vendors and postal officials on Friday, approximately 110,000 pieces are still being delivered this week, most heavily in Eastern North Carolina.

12. WVWV said it "was a mistake" for Lamont not to identify the sponsoring organization and "we regret the error and will ensure it does not happen again." WVWV has repeatedly been challenged on the inaccurate and misleading mass robo-calls and mass mailings in other states, and it merely apologizes, and says they will do better in the future. Months ago, we understand, WVWV pledged to identify the source of Lamont's calls. This promise was broken.

13. The robo-calls in N.C. were part of a massive set of calls and mailings in 24 states in late April 2008 that included Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Oregon--all states where the voter registration deadline has passed and the primary is approaching. Two months earlier, on 6 and 7 February during other primary campaigns, Lamont, or someone acting for WVWV, made millions of calls in 22 states, including Virginia. At that time, the registration deadline had passed in Virginia and the primary was days away. The resulting chaos led to an investigation by the State Police and more promises from WVWV to change its deceptive practices.

14. WVWV says it was fully aware of the closing of the registration rolls in North Carolina, the availability of one-stop registration/voting, and other important voting factors that would influence the impact of its call/mailing operation. In its letter to Mr. Bartlett, WVWV apologized for the confusion its poor timing caused, but dismissed the timing as an "unfortunate coincidence."

15. Voters in Virginia, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Michigan complained to the WVWV that the anonymous calls probably caused voter confusion and frustration. The Institute for Southern Studies found media or other reports about complaints regarding WVWV calls or mailings in at least 10 states in the past five months.

By copy of this letter we alert the U.S. Department of Justice that the NC NAACP is collecting more information through our national network in contemplation of filing a formal complaint about this issue. We also copy this letter to our National NAACP leadership, which has approved these complaints. Through our national organization, we will see information about how these confusing robo-calls and mailings affected minority voter participation in other states, such as West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky, as we continue our discussions about our next steps to expose efforts to confuse and mislead voters in key primary states. We will also be consulting with two national Election Protection hotlines that are monitoring the primary election in North Carolina to evaluate whether their findings shed additional light on the actions of WVWV.

The letter is signed by Barber and copied to Julian Bond, chair of the NAACP's national board; NAACP Interim CEO Dennis Hayes; Angela Ciccolo, NAACP's interim general counsel; and Christopher Coates, acting chief of the U.S. DOJ's Voting Section.To listen to WVWV's Lamont call, click here. For the call with the woman's voice, click here.



Monday, May 5, 2008

Election 08: Showing up is half the Battle

Last Thursday, I was invited to speak to the Sedgwick County Pachyderm Club. The Pachyderm club is a Republican group which meets to discuss policies and issues affecting the people of Kansas. And while I personally am not a Republican, I was pleased to accept their invitation and I took the opportunity to speak for an hour about the issues and concerns facing our community and constituency.

This was the second time I had addressed the group, having been invited to do so about a year and a half ago. One of the points that I made during my talk was that I was certain that we would not agree on everything, however, as activists, and personally as someone who is loyal to the interests of the community and not to a Political Party, I would hope that we could work together on those issues wherein we were able to find common ground. And that message seemed to have resonance with the group. And while I have no illusions that a couple speeches here and there could somehow transform the relationship between the African American community and the Republican Party, I commend the Pachyderm club for their willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue and their willingness to look for common ground.

In light of that, I thought I'd share a few thoughts I have about this coming election cycle with particular emphasis on Kansas races. There is no time of year when the phrase "Under-served" is more befitting our community than during an election cycle. Because during election cycles, we are visited by candidates and would be politicians, who share platitudes and platforms that they developed to speak to the needs of others. We hear stump speeches, which may poll well, but are often devoid of any real consideration or understanding of the issues affecting our lives. And as we prepare to elect a new slate of City Council Members, County Commissioners, School Board members, State Legislators, and Congressional Representatives, I'd like to offer you a few points to consider...
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For those candidates who seek our support, we want to hear your thoughts and plans about *TIFF districts, STAR bonds, economic development initiatives, and your plans to create a climate where small businesses can develop and be successful within our communities. We want to hear your thoughts and plans about *education financing, charter schools, the educational achievement gap, suspension and expulsion rates, and what can be done to address our drop-out crisis. We want to hear your thoughts and plans about *health disparities, rising food prices, senior care, and the rates of "excess death" in our community as a result of preventable disease. We want to hear your thoughts and plans about *racial profiling, excessive force, and the unacceptable incarceration rates for African American teens also referred to as DMC (Disproportionate Minority Contact) We want to hear your thoughts and plans about *predatory lending, Yield Spread premiums on home loans, and the proliferation of payday lending and title lending establishments in our community. We want to hear your thoughts on *the lack of inpatient drug treatment facilities in our community and how that affects the jail population... We want to hear your thoughts on *SRS and the unacceptable numbers of children who are removed from their homes in Sedgwick county and never reunited with family... We want to hear your thoughts on *cultural arts funding and how too many worthwhile organizations within our community are still funding themselves with Fish Frys and donations, while annual fund disbursements are made in support of uptown and downtown projects... We want to hear your thoughts about *rising gas prices and efforts you could initiate to offer some relief... We want to hear your thoughts about *the multitude of municipal taxing agencies in Kansas and Sedgwick county which have led to the spiraling property tax rates and the escalating costs of home ownership... And we want to hear your thoughts on *diversifying our local economy so we are not so heavily dependent on aerospace manufacturing...

Now let me tell you, I am an Political Independent. And I don't say that "tongue-in-cheek"; I am independent in the truest sense of the word because I will support anyone who is willing to support the positions and aspirations of my community. Conversely, I will work to withhold support from any candidate who is unwilling or unable to speak to these same issues Regardless of Relationship or Party. And as the Kansas State Political Action Chairman of the NAACP, I intend to hold us accountable to that same degree of political independence.

Now what does this mean to you...

It means that any candidate or would be candidate who seeks the support of this community must speak to the issues of this community. Any candidate that hopes to coast by on the strength of party allegiances is making a gross miscalculation. Throughout the State, the Kansas Branches of the NAACP will host candidate forums, listening sessions, and town hall meetings. We will provide the microphones; you must provide your positions... We encourage all parties and candidates to come and be a part of this great dialogue and to offer your insight and solutions to the problems we face throughout the State. Election day is just around the corner; now is the time for us all to get acquainted. So to all of the candidates and would-be candidates for office, please take another look at your schedule... because we're looking forward to hearing from you...




Thursday, May 1, 2008

Representative Russell Pearce Proposes Ban on Student Groups Based on Race at Arizona Campuses

Russell Pearce, a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, has introduced legislation that would bar students at state-operated universities from forming groups or associations based in whole or in part on racial classifications.

Under the proposal, groups such as the Black Law Students Association, the Black and African Coalition, the Black Business Student Association, the National Society of Black Engineers, the NAACP, or other groups based on race, would not be permitted on the campuses of the University of Arizona or Arizona State University.

The bill authorizes the state to withhold public funding from colleges and universities that do not comply with the provision.

What is Most bizarre is that the provision was not introduced as a stand-alone bill but rather was amended onto a routine Homeland Security bill. That his amendment was not germane to the original bill was apparently not enough to stop the Arizona House Appropriations Committee from passing it on Wednesday. It still awaits a vote by the state’s full House and Senate.

The Complete text of Representative Pearce's proposed amendment to SB 1108 can be found by clicking [HERE].
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I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. This is the same Legislator that introduced HCR 2041 - the companion bill to Ward Connerly's attempt to eliminate Affirmative Action. Only Representative Pearce takes Ward Connerly's stance a step further by introducing this 'gem'. Representative Pearce's bill contains a provision that:

Requires that an injured party’s race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin are not to be considered when seeking remedy for violations of anti-discrimination law.

Now tell me, if you can't consider the race of an injured party in a discrimination case, then how can you ever prove racial discrimination? The Answer? You CANT... Pearce's bill would "end" racial discrimination in Arizona by making it illegal to investigate the claims... This would be funny if it weren't so sad...
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Rep. Russell Pearce (R) Distr 18
House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington
Room 114
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone Number: (602) 926-5760
Fax Number: (602) 417-3118
Email Address: mailto:rpearce@azleg.gov


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... somebody ought to give Representative Pearce a call...
Arizona NAACP'ers, let me know if there's anything we can do to help...