America’s 1.5 million missing black men is nothing short of genocide

(theGrio)   Where have all the brothers gone?

The numbers are staggering.

According to a report in The New York Times, black women between the ages of 25 and 54 outnumberblack men by 1.5 million, based on an analysis of data from the 2010 U.S. Census. There were 7.046 black men of that age group not incarcerated, to 8.503 black women.

To put it another way, for every 100 black women, there are 83 black men. This is not the case in white America, where for every 100 women, there are 99 men, almost complete parity.

What that means, effectively, is that black men have disappeared. This reality lends credence to the idea that black men are an endangered species — not just symbolically or rhetorically, but based on the hard numbers.

Video visitation: Jails and corporations profit from the poor

(theGrio)  Video visitation is coming to a county jail near you.

Families can take advantage of new technology and talk to their loved ones through video conferencing. On the surface, the concept sounds good.

What could go wrong? What’s wrong is when you mix prisons and profits and companies make money off the backs of prisoners and their loved ones.

Texas is embarking on a revenue-generating scheme that is catching on across the country. Of the 254 counties on the Lone Star state, 13 have signed contracts with a private company to provide video visitation to inmates in county jails. Sixty percent of the people in Texas jails are awaiting trial and are guilty of nothing except not being able to afford to post bond, while the remaining 40 percent are serving a sentence.

The Boston bomber should not be put to death

(The Progressive)  No human being deserves the death penalty, not even the Boston bomber.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of conspiring with his older brother Tamerlan in the Boston Marathon bombing and its violent aftermath. Even though his crimes are horrific, he should not be executed.

Capital punishment, with its troubling origins, and the corrupt, unjust, capricious and racially biased manner in which it is administered, has been a bad American habit through history.

Dyson vs. West: Black ‘leaders’ have never agreed on everything – and that’s OK

(theGrio)  Can’t we all just get along? Better yet, when it comes to black intellectuals, can’t we agree to disagree? After all, it’s not as if black leaders and thinkers always have agreed on everything.

In an extensive essay in The New Republic on Sunday, Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson provided a critique of Dr. Cornel West — scathing at times, laudatory at others, and ultimately, it seems, reflecting the views of a disappointed family member.

Essentially, Prof. Dyson comes at West for his uncompromising condemnation of President Obama and argues his former mentor has seen the twilight days of his scholarship, a “dramatic plummet from his perch as a world-class intellectual.”

In the Atlanta cheating scandal, standardized testing is the crime

(theGrio)  Hard prison time for cheating on an exam? Really? What do you do when the real crime is the exam itself?

Sparks are flying in Atlanta as public school teachers were convicted of racketeering in connection with the city’s huge testing scandal. Eight of the 10 teachers who were convicted of conspiring to inflate students’ standardized test scores received prison sentences of up to 7 years.

A state investigation had determined that 178 educators, including 38 principals, had participated. Ultimately, thirty-five educators were indicted, with twenty-one pleading guilty and 13 going to trial. Beverly Hall, the former superintendent who was indicted in the scandal, did not go to trial due to illness and recently died of breast cancer.

On Embracing the Diversity of the Jewish Diaspora

(Huffington Post)  As Jewish people across the United States and throughout the world celebrate Passover an remember their past, this is a perfect time to reflect on diversity and the future of the Jewish diaspora.

In this community, like so many others, everyone does not look, act or think the same. The recent PBS documentary Little White Lie -- the story about Lacey Schwartz, a biracial black-Jewish woman who was raised white -- reminds us about the many hues in the Jewish community.

The organization Be'chol Lashon estimates that at 20 percent of Jewish Americans are of color, which includes Jews of African, Asian and Latino descent, Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews, multiracial Jews, those who converted to Judaism, and people who were adopted by Jewish families.

Is the policing of black men a new sport for wealthy donors?

(theGrio)  Is the policing of black men the new sport for white officers and wannabe cops?

This is a question worth asking, in light of this season of police killings, particularly the April 2nd fatal shooting of a black man named Eric Harris, 44, by Reserve Deputy Robert Bates. After officers brought Harris to the ground, an officer yelled “Taser” twice, after which Bates shot Harris with his gun and said, “Oh! I shot him. I’m sorry.” Apparently, Bates meant to shoot the man with his Taser rather than his gun.

If Hillary wants our vote, she has to start being more vocal on our issues

(theGrio) Hillary can run, but she can’t hide from the issues that concern us.

On Sunday, Hillary Clinton — the former Secretary of State and First Lady — announced her candidacy for the White House.

This time around, it is reported that the idea is for voters to meet the “real Hillary,” the warm and fuzzy candidate who will meet in virtual one-on-one, small group settings and address the problems of the middle class.

State of Black America report: Blacks are treated 72 percent equal to whites

(theGrio)  The U.S. economy is rebounding, the stock market is thriving, and unemployment is down to levels not seen since the Great Recession. But how is black America doing these days? Not well.

This week, the National Urban League released its 39th annual State of Black America report. And according to the civil rights organization, there is something we should know — black America is in a state of crisis.

The report — available for the first time exclusively in E-book form — provides a detailed and sobering assessment of where African-Americans and Latinos stand with regard to injustice and inequality. Among the major topics covered are civic engagement, criminal justice, education, employment, healthcare, housing, income and poverty. The report was unveiled at a press conference Thursday in Washington, DC.

Sixteen states have more people in prison cells than college dorms

(theGrio)  College or prison: which is more important? In 16 states in the land of the free, the answer is prison.

As was reported in MetricMaps, there are 16 states where there are more bodies filling up the prisons than there are students living in college dormitories. What is truly fascinating, maybe even disturbing, is that nearly all of these 16 states are located in the South, the bottom portion of the country. You must view the map in order to appreciate the gravity of the situation.

Let than sink in for a minute. More people behind bars than in the dorms. What could it be about the South that would explain this? Could it be a tradition of slavery, racial violence and Jim Crow segregation, a legacy of criminalizing and dehumanizing people and of just not treating folks very well?

Boehner and Netanyahu Wouldn't Treat a White President Like This

(BlackCommentator.com)  The decision by House Speaker John Boehner to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress before the Israeli elections is both outrageous and offensive. 

Some have even suggested that for American lawmakers to effectively do an end run around President Obama and side with a foreign head of state - and allow that leader to speak before Congress for the sole purpose of embarrassing the president and undermining his policy regarding Iran’s nuclear program - amounts to treason. However, Boehner’s move is by no means surprising. Nevertheless, all of this should leave you wondering if they are treating the president in such a manner because he is black. And you need not wonder for too long.

Will Cuba extradite Assata Shakur to the US?

(theGrio)  What’s next for Assata Shakur? With Havana’s humanitarian release of AmericanAlan Gross — A USAID worker who had been imprisoned in Cuba for five years on accusations of espionage —President Obama announced a resumption in relations between the two countries after 53 years.

“Neither the American nor the Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that’s rooted in events that took place before most of us were born,” Obama said Wednesday in his White House speech. “It’s time for a new approach.”

In exchange for Gross’s release, the U.S. released the three remaining members of the “Cuban Five,”Cuban citizens who were convicted of spying in Miami in 2001. Cuba also released 53 political prisoners and a valuable U.S. spy who is a Cuban native.

The news from the president was dramatic and a game changer, thanks in part to an assist from Pope Francis, the first Latin-American pope. But now that U.S.-Cuba relations have thawed, with a road to normalization and a U.S. embassy in Havana at some point in the near future, what does that mean for Assata Shakur? Will she be extradited to the U.S. and forced back to prison?

Republicans’ letter to sabotage President Obama on Iran is a historic low

(theGrio) They pretend as if the man isn’t even in the White House.

It may not be an exaggeration to say that the 47 Republican lawmakers who wrote a letter to the Iranian government are traitors. Some believe they committed a felony under the Logan Act.

Lest you were unaware or uncertain that these folks do not recognize the president as the legitimate leader of the United States, read the letter.

In an effort to undermine President Obama’s negotiation with Iran over their nuclear program, 47 GOP Senators, most of the Republican caucus, wrote what they curiously called “An Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” on U.S. Senate stationery. In the letter, they purport to school Iranian government officials on the U.S. constitution.

The latest unemployment numbers are great if you’re not black

(theGrio)  Does a rising tide lift all boats, as President Obama once said? The economy is improving, and that’s a good thing, right? It depends on who you’re asking. While the economy is moving ahead, blacks are being left behind.

50 years since the march from Selma to Montgomery, we are reminded that institutional racism, racial disparities in wages and wealth, and discrimination based on color are still a harsh reality of American life. And we have a long way to go.

Would Hillary Clinton inherit Obama's black voter enthusiasm?

(CNN)  Hillary Clinton held a closed door meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday. Although the former secretary of state, senator and first lady has not declared, it is treated as a foregone conclusion that Clinton is running for president.

Likely to launch her campaign in April, Clinton is regarded as the front-runner — if not the only Democratic candidate — and the inevitable Democratic nominee.

There is an assumption that since Clinton supported Obama, the black community will now embrace her. But there are more than a few who didn't get that memo. At this stage of the game, many African-Americans may not be excited about a candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. And after two terms of the nation's first black president, she should proceed with caution.

The image that destroys the black ‘welfare queen’ myth

(theGrio)  They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, it might be worth a thousand food stamps.

In the town of Brushton, New York, 30 people were arrested for food stamp fraud. Can you guess how many people were black? None, as thepicture below shows. All of those arrested were white. Thankfully, the myth of black folks as welfare cheats who game the system — a carefully crafted GOP invention to appeal to racists — has been exposed for what it is.

And with the 2016 presidential campaign upon us, here is an issue Republicans will be unable to exploit, or shouldn’t be able to exploit for political gain. Not that they won’t try.

President Obama puts his legacy at risk with new war in Middle East

(theGrio)  In light of the threat posed by ISIS in Syria and Iraq, President Obama wants Congress to authorize military force against the Islamist group in the Middle East. Although the president believes a 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) gives him the legal grounds to go to war on his own, he has sent Congress a draft authorization for their approval.

Mr. President, be careful what you wish for. As Colin Powell once said about the consequences of the U.S. war in Iraq, “if you break it, you own it.” Congress should not give the green light to a new, potentially endless war, nor should Obama pursue it. This would be Obama’s war, and he would own it, with a very distinct chance of jeopardizing his legacy. And these wars never turn out well for America, so why would a war against ISIS be any different?

Why the CBC should boycott Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech

(theGrio) the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is giving a speech before a joint session of Congress in March. And he’s doing it because he and Boehner want to undermine President Obama and make him look bad. So far, two members of the Congressional Black Caucus — veteran civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and CBC chairman G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) have announced they will not attend the speech.

Lewis told the AP “I think it’s an affront to the president and the State Department what the speaker did.” Calling Boehner’s actions “unprecedented” and the Netanyahu visit “politicized,” Butterfield said he was “very disappointed that the speaker would cause such a ruckus” among members of Congress.

When it comes to Dr. King’s dream, America still disappoints

(theGrio)  If Martin Luther King were alive today, he would be 86 years old, with a full 50 years since his historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for voting rights. Surely there are a number of signs of progress made since King’s assassination. After all, in many ways, America is a different place. And yet, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

If the best way to remember someone is to do as he would do, then Dr. King would be disappointed with what we have done with his legacy and the manner in which we have squandered the progress he helped to bring about.

Towards the end of his life, a radicalized King spoke of America’s triple evils of racism, militarism (violence and war) and economic exploitation (poverty). Perhaps these are the best benchmarks to judge what has become of the man’s legacy. Sadly, on some levels, things have become even worse.

Obama’s SOTU address reminds us why he won ‘both’ times

(theGrio)  On Tuesday evening, the confident, populist Barack Obama of 2008 — if not 2004 — showed up for his sixth State of the Union address and reminded people why they voted for him in the first place.

Obama began his seventh year in office by turning the page on harder times, although many are still hurting, and providing an upbeat vision for America in his twilight years in office and beyond. He addressed the nation with a focus on inequality and opportunity, the role of government in helping people, and establishing his legislative agenda.

In the process, the president set the stage for a future showdown with a Republican-controlled Congress and fired the opening salvos in the 2016 elections.

Dirty ex-cop Louis Scarcella’s framing of innocent black men is costing NYC millions

(theGrio)  Louis Scarcella was considered one of New York’s finest, then the word fine leaves much to be desired.

By all accounts, the former NYPD detective is a bad man who helped put innocent people behind bars for decades, used phony witnesses to get the job done, and even beating some suspects into false confessions. And he is costing the city millions of dollars. You know you’re bad when you have a reputation among prisoners for being crooked or when the district attorney begs the judge to throw out the convictions of people you arrested.

Scarcella, 62, was on the force for nearly three decades, stationed in Brooklyn. And he had an impressive record of nabbing killers, doing whatever it took to get suspects to talk. As Sean Flynn reported in GQ magazine, the heavily decorated Scarcella received Chief of Detectives’ Award for Outstanding Police Investigation for the cases he purportedly solved.

Grappling With Today's Realities From a Black-Jewish Perspective

(Jewish Exponent)  As an African-American who is a member of the Jewish community by choice — and is also raising a Jewish child of color — I have a unique experience. And yet, I view my experience as part of the future direction of the diaspora. My link to Judaism involves multiple identities, a passion for social justice and a commitment to nonviolence.

Why are we beating up Starbucks?

(CNN) There is a controversy brewing about Starbucks and its new "Race Together" campaign. The ubiquitous coffee shop company was mocked for its decision to have its employees write the words "race together" on its coffee cups and start a discussion on race.

But what's so bad about that? Shouldn't we commend Starbucks for trying to be good corporate citizen, to walk the talk, as it were?

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the company's new campaign this week, which he described as "an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society." In other words, grab a cup of coffee and let's talk about race.

Seth Williams, Philly’s Frank Underwood, is a sad disappointment

(Progressive Philly Rising) In his attempt to make it to the U.S. Senate, Seth Williams is looking a lot like the devious Senator Frank Underwood from House of Cards,a man who will do anything and ruin anyone for higher political office. But there will be no positive outcome for him, if progressive voters are paying attention.

Some people are trying to portray the Philly district attorney as a courageous public servant who has stood up to leading Democrats in the state. For example, in a February 20 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Christine Flowers wrote that as “Philly’s top enforcer,” Williams stood up to a rogue Attorney General named Kathleen Kane on an ethics investigation of state legislators, and challenged executive overreach by calling Gov. Tom Wolf’s death penalty moratorium a “lawless act by the governor.” Flowers further argued that Williams, like death penalty proponents Ed Rendell and Williams’ predecessor Lynn Abraham, will not face any political consequences for his actions.

Brown Lives Matter, Muslim Lives Matter

(BlackCommentator.com) Brown lives matter, and Muslim lives matter. And homegrown domestic terrorism is a crisis which should concern us all, though not the type you might think.

Within the course of several days, three acts of violence underscore the problem facing people of color beyond the African-American community. On February 6, an Indian grandfather named Sureshbhai Patel, 57, was slammed to the ground for no reason and left paralyzed by a Madison, Alabama police officer. Patel, who speaks no English, was in the area to care for his grandson, who was born prematurely. This came after reports from a neighbor that a “skinny black guy” was wandering in the white suburban community. The officer was arrested.

Jimmy Dennis: A System Not Designed for Innocence

(Huffington Post) Jimmy Dennis has been a prisoner on Pennsylvania death row for 23 years. Dennis was convicted of the 1991 fatal shooting of Chedell Ray Williams, 17, a student at Olney High School in North Philadelphia, at a bus stop over a pair of $450 earrings. He was sent to death row in 1992. And his case reveals a great deal about a hopelessly broken system that administers the law, but does not necessarily dispense justice.

On August 21, 2013, the City of Brotherly Love witnessed one of those rare moments in time when the criminal justice system was forced to confront itself, its flaws and abuses, the corruption of public servants that send the innocent to prison, sometimes for decades, and sometimes to death. Judge Anita Brody, a federal district judge, wrote a damning 46-page opinion in which she granted Dennis' petition for habeas corpus. Throwing out his conviction and death sentence and ordering the state to retry Dennis within 180 days or release him, Judge Brody declared that Dennis "was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to die for a crime in all probability he did not commit."

NYPD cop killings must not be allowed to derail the movement

(theGrio) The execution-style shooting of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn was a cold blooded, senseless murder, and we must call it for what it is. But we have to be able to condemn the killing of police officers as we condemn police brutality. The two are not mutually exclusive, and I would suggest they are interrelated. The #BlackLivesMatter movement is far too important to allow the actions of one sick individual to derail it.

Three years after Trayvon Martin killing, two women's lives intersect

(CNN) When people are faced with overwhelming trauma in their lives, some become consumed by their difficulties, while others emerge stronger for it. In special circumstances, they may find their destiny, and seek to heal the world and make all of us stronger.

Myrlie Evers-Williams and Sybrina Fulton are two great women whose achievements demand our attention. Although their personal stories are separated by five decades, these women share parallel lives. Thrust into a position of leadership for the greater good of society, they have used personal grief over the loss of a loved one to become agents for change.

For Black America, Law Enforcement Is An Occupying Force

(The Progressive) The failure to indict Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., is not an aberration.

Every 28 hours, a black person is killed by the police in the United States. Law enforcement is increasingly becoming an occupying force. For many black, brown and poor taxpayers, the cops are there not to serve and protect, but to suppress and contain––and, far too often, to kill.

Fifty Years After Selma, America Retreats On Civil Rights

(The Progressive) Half a century after the Selma march, the United States is turning its back on civil rights.

March 7 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Depicted in the highly acclaimed recent movie “Selma,”the brutal police assault on nonviolent protesters became a turning point in the civil rights movement and a factor leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Today, the political heirs of those who stood in the way of equality back in the 1960s are doing whatever they can to roll back these gains.

Why the arrests of African-American ISIS suspects deserve more scrutiny

(theGrio)  Last Tuesday, two more African-American men were arrested on federal terrorism charges for trying to join ISIS. The FBI arrested Hasan Edmonds, 22, a member of the Illinois National Guard, and his cousin, Jonas Edmonds, 29, for allegedly attempting to stage terror attacks in the U.S. and join the terror group ISIS.

News of the arrests comes a week after Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, an Air Force veteran originally from New Jersey, was indicted by federal authorities for allegedly attempting to travel to Turkey to join ISIS and providing material support to the organization. In the past 18 months, 30 people have been charged with enlisting with or attempting to join terrorist organizations. And in February, three immigrants from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in central Asia were charged with conspiracy in Brooklyn, New York, and Florida in connection with failed attempts to join ISIS. The trio allegedly discussed attacking President Obama and Coney Island.

Why Rand Paul’s presidential bid should matter to black America

(theGrio)  It is official.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is running for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. But why should black America care?

Pay close attention to his views on mass incarceration and the war on drugs, which could move the Republican Party forward on criminal justice reform and possibly attract blacks, younger voters and other Democratic base voters. But don’t lose sight of the senator’s past statements against civil rights, which sound a lot like the same ol’ GOP story. And that story, brought to you by the tea party, has not been very friendly to black people these days.

“I am running for president to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government,” Paul said on his campaign website.

Should we all start wearing body cameras to protect ourselves?

(theGrio) A body camera for everyone? Let’s unpack that thought for a moment.

If there is one thing that we know about Walter Scott — other than the fact he was murdered in cold blood by a criminal who was an officer with the North Charleston police department — it is that a video camera made a difference. The videotaping of the fatal shooting by Feiden Santana, 23, may very well prevented Walter Scott from becoming another Michael Brown, with no trial for the killer and no justice for the family. Although the Scott family cannot bring their loved one back, they are fortunate that someone was around to document the tragic event and tell the true story of what happened.

As a result of the Scott killing, the North Charleston police has ordered 250 body cameras for its police force, reigniting the debate over the technology. Body cameras have been shown to reduce police violence.

What Walter Scott's death reminds us

(CNN) On Tuesday, a white police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, was charged with murder for shooting an unarmed black man in the back. Officer Michael Slager was arrested after raw video surfaced showing him firing numerous shots at Walter Scott as Scott ran away from a traffic stop.

The video footage contradicts Slager's statement that he felt threatened after Scott allegedly took his stun gun during a scuffle. The Post and Courier reported that the FBI has opened an investigation into the shooting death along with the State Law Enforcement Division, while the South Carolina attorney general is investigating possible civil rights violations.