The Scott Sisters will be Released from Prison!!!

The Scott sisters, whose incarceration has drawn national attention, will be released from prison according to a statement from Gov. Haley Barbour this afternoon. Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted in a 1994 armed robbery which yielded $11, a crime in which they have consistently denied any involvement. Both sisters were sentenced to double-life sentences and have remained imprisoned since their convictions, despite the fact that they were convicted primarily on testimony from three teenagers reportedly coerced by the County Sherriff’s office. One of the witnesses has since recanted his statement and acknowledged that the Scott Sisters are innocent.

Barbour announced he is suspending the sentences indefinitely for Gladys and Jamie Scott.

The NAACP made the Scott sisters case a National Campaign, highlighting it on the NAACP website and blog, gathering thousands of signatures on an internet based petition, and direct appeals to Governor Haley Barbour to put an end to the excessive and inexplicable sentences handed to these women.

In a September 15th letter to the Governor, NAACP President Ben Jealous stated, "It is a travesty that in the state of Mississippi, the lives of two Black women are valued at little more than 11 dollars,” said Jealous. “From the outset, the measures in which the Scott Sisters were convicted were questionable and pattern themselves after dubious criminal justice trends in Mississippi and nationwide. We intend to pursue justice to the fullest extent for the Scott Sisters, and will continue our push for criminal justice reform throughout America.”

President Jealous continued by specifically requesting that Governor Barbour grant a “compassionate medical release” to Jamie Scott in light of her current medical condition. Jaime Scott lost renal function in both of her kidneys and cannot survive without a transplant; her sister and several others have agreed to be a donor but the Department of Corrections had steadfastly refused to allow any tests to determine donor compatibility.

This afternoon, Governor Barbour released a statement that read in part:

"Today, I have issued two orders indefinitely suspending the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott. In 1994, a Scott County jury convicted the sisters of armed robbery and imposed two life sentences for the crime. Their convictions and their sentences were affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1996.

“To date, the sisters have served 16 years of their sentences and are eligible for parole in 2014. Jamie Scott requires regular dialysis, and her sister has offered to donate one of her kidneys to her. The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society. Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott’s medical condition creates a substantial cost to the State of Mississippi.

“The Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the sisters’ request for a pardon and recommended that I neither pardon them, nor commute their sentence. At my request, the Parole Board subsequently reviewed whether the sisters should be granted an indefinite suspension of sentence, which is tantamount to parole, and have concurred with my decision to suspend their sentences indefinitely."

"Gladys Scott's release is conditioned on her donating one of her kidneys to her sister, a procedure which should be scheduled with urgency. The release date for Jamie and Gladys Scott is a matter for the Department of Corrections."

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The Wichita Branch NAACP 2010 Year End Report is now available

The 2010 Year End report for the Wichita Branch NAACP, detailing branch activities in the areas of Education, Civil Rights Enforcement, Legislative Advocacy, Youth Development, Legal Redress, Branch Administration, and Advocacy Training, is now available to the public.

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the report


SCAN HERE with your Smartphone to download a mobile copy

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New Features incorporated into the Wichita NAACP blog and advocacy campaigns

As you move around this site, and in upcoming editions of the Wichita NAACP newsbrief, you will start to see the incorporation of a new tool for sharing interactive and multimedia content. The devise is a 2 dimensional bar code known as a QR Code.

QR Codes can be scanned by virtually any smartphone and can be used for the transmission of documents, URL's, photos, videos, sms, text, etc...

You will begin to see codes embedded in our posts here that when scanned will link you to videos providing background information, reporting from other sites, photo galleries from described events, or mobile versions of documents or reports for you to keep.

An example of a QR Code can be found here: 
Scanning this code with your smartphone will
allow you to follow the Wichita NAACP on 
Twitter:

In the coming days, look out for QR Codes in our printed materials as well which will link you to even more interactive and multimedia content...

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The Kansas State NAACP files employment discrimination complaint against the City of Nickerson Kansas

The Kansas State Conference of the NAACP has sent a formal request that an investigation be conducted into the hiring and employment practices of the City council and Mayor of Nickerson Kansas. The complaint stems from a case filed with the Hutchison Branch of the NAACP by April Addis, the former Police Chief of Nickerson Kansas.

Through our investigation we have discovered what we believe to be a clear pattern and practice of racial discrimination. We affirm Chief Addis' assertion that she was directed to fire a newly hired and qualified Officer (Officer Bembry) because of his race. Further, we believe that the firing of Officer Bembry solely on the basis of his race was a clear violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights act.

We attempted to address this case through the Mayor's office, who referred us to the City's Attorney. We met with the City Attorney and again relayed our concerns, and he stated he would have to go back and talk to the Mayor. We waited a reasonable amount of time to allow the City to effectively address the issue, but no direct action was taken.

The case has now been filed with the EEOC.

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Back to the Future... again

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. ~Sun Tzu

A friend of mine recently took a trip to a vacation spot down South. While there, he took some time to visit a number of historic sites, museums, and monuments. He was excited when he returned to talk about all of the things he had learned. Among them was the idea that the South had actually engaged in the Civil War to fight back against the Federal Government for encroaching upon the rights of the States. While he did understand that there were some underlying issues as well, he seemed sure that the war was in essence about the Government over-reaching, and that the Confederate Soldiers were simply fighting to be left alone so that they could live their lives as they saw fit.

For Clarity: He didn't arrive at these ideas after having a conversation with some random guys at a bar... this was what he 'learned' after visiting historical sites and monuments in the South and taking the official tours... Nevermind the fact that the supposed "right" that the Southern States were willing to fight and die for, was the "right" to keep Black people locked in chains and to treat them like beasts of the field in perpetuity. According to these federally funded Park Service tour guides, the newly remixed Civil War was fought over Slavery Federalism.

Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi (a potential Presidential candidate in the 2012 elections), was recently in the news after boldly asserting that the old Mississippi Citizen's Councils were actually Anti-Klan organizations who helped integrate the schools. Nevermind the fact that the Citizen's Councils (which live on to this day as the Council for Conservative Citizens) actively sought to stop the passage of ANY Civil Rights related legislation or ordinances, worked tirelessly to maintain segregation, and used economic pressure to keep Blacks and others from demanding change. In the latest upgrade to history, even the bad guys were good guys.

Texas recently voted to approve new Social Studies standards for their textbooks which, because of the sheer volume of textbooks they purchase, will affect schools around the country. In the newly revised history of the Country, Thomas Jefferson wasn't one of America's great political philosophers, America is not a Democracy, Joseph McCarthy was right, Ida B. Wells and WEB DuBois were merely "muckrakers", Shirley Chisholm is no longer to be considered a significant political leader, Gen Benjamin O. Davis is no longer to be considered a WWII Military leader of consequence, and there was and is no "separation of Church and State"... Things like the Eugenics Movement, the Tuskegee experiment, Black Wall Street, the Cointelpro, the Children's march, etc., never even happened   ...anymore.

In April, Governor Bob McDonnell enjoined all Virginians to join in him a celebration of the "shared history" of the Confederacy.

And just YESTERDAY a group gathered in South Carolina to host a formal "Secession Ball" where participants watched selected clips from the infamous pro-klan film "the birth of a nation" and celebrated the history of the confederacy and South Carolina's decision to secede from the Union so they could continue to enslave their black people without any pesky government interference.

Also consider recent shifts in language... I've been writing for the last couple years about how our language concerning Race has been changing. The definition of racism, which used to connote the use of power and/or influence to benefit or harm someone on the basis of their race, has been altered. The far more common usage of the term now denotes the act of speaking about or dealing with race in any detailed or deliberate manner. Therefore, someone who talks about race is considered race-ist. For a far more detailed description of this shift, please read: Racism vs Race-ism.

Now why do I bring these things up?

Because these items when considered individually generally evoke the same responses... "This shows that there is still work to do", and "this shows we have to stay vigilant", etc... But considered collectively I believe we are witnessing something else. In the so-called "Culture Wars", we are being flanked...

History is being rewritten to attribute pure motives to all parties. Atrocities are being erased. Our leaders are being maligned, minimized, or erased. Men responsible for enslaving, beating, lynching and selling, countless Africans, and who waged war against their own Government for the freedom to continue to do so, are now being openly celebrated; their causes ennobled; our protests distorted. The very terms we used to describe the most egregious acts of bigotry and hatred are now being redefined through common usage to apply to those who fight against injustice. And to what end?

I began this post with a quote from Sun-Tzu, who taught that by the time you witness the opening salvo, the battle has already been decided. He taught that the epitome of excellence in battle is to destroy your opponents resistance without fighting.

I believe we are witnessing an attempt to do just that. To erase misdeeds so that no one and no institution is accountable. To create and promote a narrative of a self-correcting society that bends towards fairness and equality on its own, and that has no need for muckrakers or race-talkers. To sterilize the past so that in the present we lose the ability to recognize "ill-gotten" gains. And ultimately to destroy our social struggle by retroactively making it historically insignificant.

The Truth MATTERS. History is not some political football to be passed back and forth, changed or altered to confer benefit or loss... History is the story of what happened. It is the record. It is the Truth. It is the foundation of our culture and worldview. History informs our present as we shape our future...

But what if you could change it?

What if you could rewrite it and give people an alternative interpretation of the present? Could you then impact the type of future we would create?

History is a weapon...  We better damn well wake up and fight for it.

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NAACP, NUL, and NAN sign agreement with Comcast to improve diversity efforts

The nation’s leading civil rights organizations, The NAACP, National Urban League, and the National Action Network reached an agreement with Comcast Corporation, NBC Universal. The agreement urges COMCAST and NBCU to improve upon their current diversity efforts in the areas of corporate governance, employment/workforce recruitment and retention, procurement, programming, and philanthropy and community investments. The agreement sets forth specific and measurable actions to attain these four goals. Key highlights are set forth below:

Corporate Governance: Comcast will create external Diversity Advisory Councils, including an African American Advisory Council, to provide advice to Senior Executive teams at Comcast regarding development and implementation of the master strategic plan to improve diversity practices at Comcast. There will be other diversity councils including one for the Hispanic and Asian communities. Meetings will take place not less than two times per year and Comcast’s Chairman and CEO will attend one of those meetings.

Employment/Workforce Recruitment and Retention: Comcast will increase African American representation and retention among employees and executives at all levels of the corporation. It will focus on senior management, mid-level management, entry-level employment opportunities, and current employment levels. They will build or leverage development and training programs to build leadership talent among African Americans within Comcast as well as enhance opportunities for further advancement.

Comcast will implement a boot camp for mid-level vice president candidates with no less than 80 percent diverse candidates. With the cooperation of the African American Advisory Council, Comcast will identify and utilize search firms successfully recruiting diverse pools of talent. They will have at least one person of color on every slate for vice president level or above. Comcast will provide annual workforce data to the African American Advisory Council. For the first time, Comcast will link a percentage of senior management’s bonus to the achievement of diversity initiatives.

Procurement: Comcast spent $84 million with over 130 African American owned and operated businesses in 2009. Comcast will strive to increase the percentage of business conducted with African American owned vendors to be on par with the percentage of African American owned businesses in the communities they serve. Comcast is a founding partner in Inclusion Initiative, a collaborative designed to increase significantly business opportunities for law firms owned by diverse individuals. Comcast has committed $1 million to this effort. NBCU will use its best efforts to utilize law firms that participate in this initiative. Comcast commits to engage and African American owned advertising agency (or agencies) to develop national and or local advertising and marketing materials. Comcast and NBCU jointly commit to spending additional revenue advertising with minority-owned media.

Outreach:  Comcast will use the National African American Organizations and the African American Advisory Council to identify opportunities for spending with African American suppliers. Comcast will provide procurement data to the African American Advisory Council.

Programming: Comcast carries twelve cable networks owned by African American interests and/or air programming primarily focused on the African American community. Comcast will add at least 8 new independently owned and operated networks where minorities have substantial ownership or operational control. Comcast will establish a $20 million venture capital fund intended to expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurs in the development of new digital media applications. NBCU has committed to continue funding a diversity staff writer position for each scripted series on NBC as well as its three late night programs. NBCU seeks expanded presentation of diverse viewpoints in its public affairs programming and will consider recommendations from the African American Advisory Council regarding individuals who should participate in these programs.

Philanthropy and Community Investment: Comcast has three investment priorities, building tomorrow’s leaders, expanding digital literacy, and promoting community service. Diversity will underpin each of these areas. Comcast will increase philanthropic efforts to African American led and African American-serving institutions. It will increase support for internship and scholarship programs for African American organizations with a track record of working in the African American community and will work with Human Resources to ensure that graduates of these programs are considered for entry level positions.

Upon execution of the merger, Comcast will begin a benchmarking study against which future progress can be measured and monitored. The study will be provided to the newly constituted African American Advisory Council.

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Pigford II settlement bill signed into law!!

On December 8, 2010, President Barack Obama signed historic legislation funding a settlement, known as "Pigford II" between the US Department of Agriculture and American Black farmers, many of whom had suffered decades of discrimination. The NAACP enthusiastically supported this legislation as this case had festered for years and too many black farmers lost their livelihoods, their farms, and too often their lives awaiting resolution.

For more information on the bill and the struggle, please see the attached Issue Update.

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Remembering Rosa...

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