Civil Rights Organizations come together to call for a stronger Federal response to the jobs crisis

With unemployment among blacks at more than 15 percent, and in light of new unemployment data released for October 2009, the NAACP joined with several other groups this week to call on President Obama to do more to create jobs.

The organizations, including the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the AFL-CIO, the Center for Community Change, the National Council of La Raza, and the Economic Policy Institute, stated that they believe the president’s $787 billion stimulus program has not gone far enough to fight unemployment. In response to the crisis, the groups held a panel discussion this week to raise awareness and suggest potential solutions for policymakers. They also issued a joint statement advocating for strong congressional action to address the crisis, starting with extending unemployment benefits, food stamps, and COBRA to meet the needs of the significant number of unemployed people facing a long road to recovery.

“It’s time for us to really stoke this issue up,” said Hilary O. Shelton; NAACP Senior VP for Advocacy and Policy. “We’re not so much trying to convince him to do something he doesn’t want to do, but urging him to move forward on an issue we have agreement on.”

Currently, nearly 16 million Americans are unable to find employment and another nine million are only able to find part-time employment, according to the EPI. And finding jobs is increasingly difficult – there are over six job seekers for each available job opening. The situation is even more difficult for workers of color. The unemployment rate for blacks has jumped to 15.7 percent, from 8.9 percent when the recession started 23 months ago. That compares with 13.1 percent for Hispanics and 9.5 percent for whites. The black unemployment rate has climbed above 20 percent in several states, reaching 23.9 percent in Michigan and 20.4 percent in South Carolina.

"Make no mistake – this is the civil rights issue of the moment," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson. "Unless we resolve our national job crisis, all of our other priorities – from reforming health care and fixing our broken immigration system, to stemming home foreclosures and expanding economic opportunity for all Americans – are in real jeopardy."

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Members of the Kansas State NAACP meet with Tom Perez; Assistant Attorney General and head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division

Several members of the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP and regional activists attended a meeting with Tom Perez; Assistant Attorney General of the United States and head of DOJ Civil Rights Division, to discuss the strengthening of the agency's Civil Rights enforcement efforts. In attendance were Kevin Myles; President of the Kansas State Conference, Henry Lyons; President of the Olathe Branch, Katrina Robertson; President of the Johnson County Branch, Loris Jones; State Conference Education Committee Chair, Former State Conference President Charles Jean-Baptiste, and Mary Ann Flounder. Also in attendance Nimrod Chapel; Political Affairs Chairman for the Missouri State Conference, Marvin Szneler of  the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, Gwen Grant of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, Mona Lee Perry of the American Indian Council, Alvin Sykes of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, Jessica Piedra of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations,  and several representatives of the US Attorney's Office and the Kansas City Human Relations Department.

The Kansas State NAACP Delegation called for the agency to focus additional attention on:

• Child Welfare disparities in removal and reunification rates
• Non-Compliance of States with the National Voter Registration Act of 94
• Unitary Status/Re-segregation and the inequitable distribution of talent and teaching experience in recently desegregated districts
• Ricci Vs DeStephano and its impact on Title VII enforcement
• Wren Vs the United States and why we believe statistical Racial Profiling data rises to the level of a 14th amendment claim
• The underfunding of Public Defender's offices and the resulting effect on poor and low income peoples ability to obtain adequate representation
• And Employment Discrimination; namely how shifting interpretations of the term "similarly situated" creates a practically insurmountable standard that makes racial discrimination cases almost impossible to win.

We were also given direct contact numbers for the registering of complaints and in the coming days, we will be re-filing complaints that were overlooked or dismissed by the previous administration; foremost among these - the case of Rowana Riggs...

Nimrod Chapel, Political Affairs Chairman of the Missouri State NAACP, presented a detailed synopsis of the Heather Ellis case with a request for follow-up from the DOJ. NAACP National Board member Anita Russell and Missouri State Conference President Mary Ratliff were scheduled to attend but were delayed in their return from the rally for Heather Ellis in Kennett Missouri...

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The Vitter-Bennett Census amendment blocked in the Senate!

The U.S. Senate blocked a controversial amendment that would have required the Census Bureau to belatedly add a citizenship question to the 2010 Census questionnaire.

In voting for cloture on the Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) FY10 Appropriations bill, a majority of senators effectively stopped the amendment from coming up for a vote. If approved, the amendment would have asked respondents to identify if they are a U.S. citizen and would have required the reprinting of Census questionnaires at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

The Vitter-Bennett amendment was opposed by the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the NAACP and NAACP LDF, LULAC, People for the American Way, the Center for American Progress, the Japanese American Citizens League, SEIU, MALDEF, the NALEO Education Fund, and many other oraganizations. "The civil rights community won an important battle today in the fight for a fair and accurate 2010 census that counts every person in the United States as required by the U.S. Constitution," said LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson.

The amendment threatened to severely disrupt the 2010 Census. LCCR argued that hastily considered changes such as those proposed by Sens. Vitter and Bennett would delay the census and jeopardize the timing of redistricting and reapportionment, as well as negatively affect any public and private project that depends upon an accurate count of the U.S. population.

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The Lord's Diner withdraws its proposal to place a satellite facility in Northeast Wichita

After a torrent of meetings, discussions, emails, and phone calls, the question of whether or not the Lord's Diner would open a satellite facility on 21st street in Northeast Wichita has finally been answered. The Lord's Diner held a press conference on Saturday 11/14, and released a prepared statement that said in part, "Regrettably, over the past few months, we have reached an impasse in our efforts to move forward with a Lord's Diner in the northeast community. Out of respect for those who have voiced concerns, we are withdrawing our proposal for a Lord's Diner at 21st and Grove."

The Lord's Diner contacted the Mayor and asked that the Public Hearing scheduled for November 17th be taken off of the agenda.

As a party to many of the discussions that have taken place within the community and with the Lord's Diner, the Wichita NAACP would like to personally thank Wendy Glick and the board of the Lord's Diner for their willingness to dialogue, and for their responsiveness to the concerns of the community.

While we were firm in our opposition to their proposed 21st site, we believe in and fully support the mission and work of the Lord's Diner. It is our hope that in the coming days we might build upon the relationships and connections we've made and continue to explore opportunities for future partnerships and collaborations.

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The National Fair Lending Training Academy offering free training sessions for fair housing advocates

FREE! NFHTA Regional Fair Lending Training

The following courses will be offered at no cost to the public:

Lending Discrimination: What you need to know (2 Days)

Financial Aspects of Buying a Home (3 Days)

Preventing Foreclosure (3 Days)

Buyer Beware (2 Days)

These courses will be offered in the following locations:

Cleveland, OH - details and registration
Ft Worth, TX - details and registration
Los Angeles - details and registration
Miami, FL - details and registration
Philadelphia, PA - details and registration
Phoenix, AZ - details and registration
Salt Lake City, UT - details and registration
Stockton, CA - details and registration

For more information contact Maqueda Fuller (202) 314-3422

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CALLING ALL MINORITY CONTRACTORS - Minority Outreach 'Meet & Greet' planned for Nov 19th to discuss the Mid-Continent Airport project

The Wichita Airport Authority and The MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council have partnered together to host the Airport Authority Minority Outreach Meet & Greet on Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. The event will be held at the Wichita Airport Hilton, 2098 S. Airport Rd.

This networking event has been specifically designed to aggressively target minority firms for contracting opportunities on upcoming Airport projects. Prime contractors, Women, Disadvantaged and Minority Business Enterprises are encouraged to attend. A formal presentation on the upcoming Terminal and other construction projects will begin at 6:00pm. Light snacks and refreshments will also be provided.

The following resource partners will be onsite to answer any questions about business development resources and/or subcontracting opportunities.

• Wichita Airport Authority Staff
• AECOM – Program Management Staff
• MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council Staff
• Small Business Administration – Wichita Division Staff
• Kansas Department of Transportation – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
• City of Wichita – Emerging Business Enterprise Program Staff

For additional information contact Wichita Airport Authority representative, Linda Turley at (316)946-4716 or the MAMBDC Office at (316) 303-1703. Online registration is available at: www.mambdc.org

Registration deadline: Monday, November 16, 2009.

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This is it! - US House of Representatives set to vote on Health Care Reform TOMORROW 11-7-09

Tomorrow, Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on health care reform. The future of health care for you, me, and every American hinges on this historic vote. So now is the time to make your voice heard.

Please send an e-mail to your representative today and ask him or her to support a health care reform bill with a strong public option.

Unless we pass a strong bill, the color of your skin, your ethnic background, and where you live will continue to influence your access to health care, as well as the quality and cost of your care.

Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus came by the War Room today to urge us to help them pass real health care reform with a strong public option. With your help NOW, we can end discrimination in health care coverage and ensure access for every American.

Click here to send an e-mail to your representative in Congress and tell him or her to support health care legislation with a strong public option requiring all individuals to have insurance.

So, this is it. Let us ensure that Congress stops a system that delays, denies and defends the lack of care.

Click here to listen to a personal message from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee. Then, send a letter to your member of Congress now to urge him or her to support real health care reform with a strong public option when the vote takes place tomorrow.

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Be Heard: US Department of Education proposes changes to Civil Rights Data Collection - accepting Public Comment through November 10th!

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has proposed significant changes in Civil Rights Data Collection. The Department's proposal includes a biennial survey of roughly half the nation's schools (over 7,000 districts), with new requests for data on:

• Bullying/harassment of students in violation of civil rights laws
• Use of seclusion and restraint
• School-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement
• Expulsions under zero-tolerance school disciplinary policies
• Student retention
• College-preparatory courses, International Baccalaureate programs, and SAT and ACT test participation
• Pre-kindergarten programs
• School counselors
• School finance
• Teaching experience

The proposed changes provide that the data collected be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, special education status (pursuant to IDEA and Section 504), and LEP status.

The Department of Education will accept comments on the Civil Rights Data Collection submitted on or before Tuesday, November 10, 2009. We urge you to submit recommendations and comments; your input is essential to securing collection of this critical data. The DOE has already received comments in opposition to the breadth of the proposed changes.

Materials on the proposed modifications can be found on the web at: http://edicsweb.ed.gov. Click "browse pending collections" and choose #4127. The most relevant documents are labeled "B-4" and "B-5."

Comments should be submitted by e-mail to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.

By way of example, the Dignity in Schools Campaign has drafted comments addressing the disciplinary changes in the proposed Civil Rights Data Collection; a Word version of the comments is available at http://dignityinschools.org.

Thank you for your input, and your continued work and leadership in providing high quality, inclusive schools for all the nation's schoolchildren.

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"Good Enough" isn't good enough...

Wichita Branch and Kansas State Conference President KMyles spoke to a group of 20 young men at Northwest High School today. What was supposed to be a 15 minute talk stretched out to nearly an hour on the need for young black men to start thinking critically about their futures. Several of the young men indicated that they now plan to join the NAACP Debate team while others requested additional tutoring or educational assistance. The focus of the talk was on the fact that being "good enough" simply isn't good enough, mediocrity is for the mediocre and we should all strive to be excellent...

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