Let your voices be heard: “Send a Message of Support to Troy as he fights for justice…”

 “This is our justice system at its very worst…” – Benjamin Todd Jealous, President & CEO, NAACP.

Davis was convicted for the alleged murder of Savannah, Georgia Police Officer Mark MacPhail in 1989.

Since his tenure on Death Row, a long list of prominent individuals has asked for clemency for Davis, noting doubts, contradictions in testimony and recantations by seven of the nine witnesses.

Prominent names and organizations that either asked for a new trial, evidentiary hearing, urged a stay of execution and/or fairness and accuracy or suggesting that Davis’ life be spared, include Former President Jimmy Carter, Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Georgia Congressman and Presidential candidate Bob Barr, former FBI Director William Sessions, U.S. Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee, Singer Harry Belafonte, Actor Mike Farrell, Author Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), the NAACP and Amnesty International, among others.

Over the years, there were letter writing campaigns to Georgia and the Federal Court, although neutral to Davis’ guilt or innocence.   

When receiving news about Davis’ new execution date, Benjamin Todd Jealous, President & CEO of the NAACP,  in a statement said: “We’ve just received terrible news: The state of Georgia has set Troy Davis’ execution date for midnight on September 21st, just two weeks from today.

”This is our justice system at its very worst, and we are alive to witness it. There is just too much doubt.

”Even though seven out of nine witnesses have recanted their statements, a judge labeled his own ruling as ‘not ironclad’ and the original prosecutor has voiced reservations about Davis’ guilt, the state of Georgia is set to execute Troy anyway.

”Time is running out, and this is truly Troy’s last chance for life.
 

”But through the frustration and the tears, there is one thing to remain focused on: We are now Troy Davis’ only hope. And I know we won’t let him down,” said Jealous.

Jealous went on to point out three steps to help Troy Davis:
1. Send a message of support to Troy as he fights for justice on what may be the final days of his life:

http://action.naacp.org/LettersOfSupport

2. Sign the name wall, if you haven’t already. And if you have, send it to your friends and family. Each name means a more united front for justice:

http://action.naacp.org/Name-Wall

3. Make sure everyone knows about this injustice. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter (using the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt) so that Troy Davis’s story can be heard. We still have a chance to save his life, but only if people are willing to speak out against injustice.
 
 
Said Jealous: ”Today, the state of Georgia has declared their intention to execute a man even though the majority of the people who put him on the row now say he is innocent and many implicate one of the other witnesses as the actual killer. Now that a date has been set, we cannot relent. We must redouble our efforts.

“Thank you. Please act quickly and forward this message to all who believe the justice system defeats itself when it allows a man to be executed amid so much doubt.”

Jealous added: “Many supporters see it as a terrible injustice. Especially since seven of the nine witnesses recanted their statements.”

According to Wikipedia, at the trial in August 1991, the district attorney sought the death penalty. According to the prosecution, Davis had shot Michael Cooper, then met up with Redd Coles at a pool hall, pistol-whipped the homeless man Larry Young, and then killed Mark MacPhail.^[16] Trial witnesses Harriet Murray, Redd Coles, Dorothy Ferrell and Antoine Williams testified that Davis, wearing a white shirt, had struck Young and then shot MacPhail.^[28][29][30] Coles admitted arguing with Young but stated that Davis had hit him with a pistol.^[31] On cross-examination, Coles admitted that he also had a .38 pistol, but stated that he had given it to another man earlier that night.^[28] A neighbor of the Davis family, Jeffrey Sapp, testified that soon after the murder Davis had confessed to him.^[31] Kevin McQueen, a former fellow prisoner, testified that Davis had confessed to shooting MacPhail as he feared that the officer would connect him to the shooting of Cooper earlier in the evening.^[32] Cooper testified that he was inebriated when shot and said that Davis “don’t know me well enough to shoot me”.

You can get more details on Troy Davis’ years on Death Row at www.wikipedia.org.

“Dr. King has no peers during our lifetime relative to the impact he has on improving conditions for large numbers of people with African Americans being at the top of the list.” – U.S. Congressman Danny Davis (D-7)

Date falls on 16^th anniversary of the MMM

By Chinta Strausberg

Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7^th) Monday confirmed that the date for the official dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, representing a “Stone of Hope” and sits forward from the “Mountain of Despair,” has been changed to Sunday, October 16^th in Washington, D.C. on the historic National Mall which ironically falls on the 16^th anniversary of the Million Man March (MMM).

Originally scheduled for August 28, 2011, the 48^th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a Dream” speech he gave  at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, it was Hurricane Irene that changed that much awaited event. Ironically, it was in Washington where 48-years ago King spoke there as part of his March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom campaign.

Decades later,  King’s 30-foot memorial boldly stands not only for King’s paying the ultimate price, his life, but it will forever be a reminder of  his struggle for the poor, his legacy and King’s unfinished agenda of achieving economic and social justice for all Americans. 

The “Stone of Hope,” taken from a line in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, is located near two pieces of granite symbolizing “The Mountain of Despair” which is a visible story of the civil rights movement as lead by a man who has for ever changed this nation. Dr. King was the ultimate social change agent whose broken pieces are still being gathered and pieced together by his followers.

The monument overlooks the Tidal Basin located between the Lincoln Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on the historic National Mall.

The monument represents a “Stone of Hope” and sits forward from a “Mountain of Despair.” Visitors will pass through the “Mountain of Despair” and proceed to the “Stone of Hope” where they can read 14 of Dr. King’s most famous quotes.

With Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded the National Council of Negro Women, being the first African American to be honored by a statute, located in Lincoln Park, Dr. King’s monument is the first to be erected in the National Mall to represent an African American.

“No one could be more proud than Rep. Davis who when contacted, said, “I am a proud member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and I think it is one of the most significant things that we have done lately that stands out as a single activity.”

Davis was referring to the monument that was built by the Alpha Phi Alpha that raised $100 million to build the monument.

“Of course, Dr. Martin Luther King has no peers during our life time relative to the impact he has on improving conditions for large numbers of people with African Americans being at the top of the list,” said Davis.

“I am proud of the brotherhood. I am pleased that we were visionaries enough to tackle such a project, and it’s a great accomplishment,” he said

Referring to the King monument, Davis added: “It does not mean that our problems are solved, that our issues have been met and dealt with sufficiently, but it does mean a continuation of hope, of possibilities and it will forever be a part of our African history.”

According to the Wikipedia, the following is the transcript of the 14 quotes of Dr. King that are written on the “Inscription Wall” of the Dr. King Memorial:

The selection of quotes was announced at a special event at the National Museum on February 9, 2007 (at the same time the identity of the sculptor was revealed).[50] The fourteen quotes on the Inscription Wall are:[44]

“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” (16 August 1967, Atlanta, GA)

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (1963, Strength to Love)

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” (10 December 1964, Oslo, Norway).

“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” (18 April 1959, Washington, DC)

“I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world.” (25 February 1967, Los Angeles, CA)

“If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.” (24 December 1967, Atlanta, GA)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” (10 December 1964, Oslo, Norway)

“It is not enough to say “We must not wage war.” It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace.” (24 December 1967, Atlanta, GA)

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (25 February 1967, Los Angeles, CA)

“Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.” (4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York, NY)

“We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs “down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (5 December 1955, Montgomery, AL)

“We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.” (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” (16 April 1963, Birmingham, AL)

Some of King’s words reflected in these quotations are based on other sources, including the Bible, and in one case—”the arc of the moral universe” quote—upon the words of Theodore Parker, an abolitionist and Unitarian minister, who died shortly before the beginning of the Civil War.[51]

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

By Kathy Mulady

Equal Voice Newspaper

(http://www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org/?p=1810)

WASHINGTON – If the nation’s 14 million unemployed workers return to jobs, they will find some sobering changes in the workplace: They’ll earn less, pay more for health insurance and receive fewer benefits, some as basic as paid sick leave.

Decades of progress in the fight for better employee benefits have been wiped out, putting millions of families at risk of not being able to buy food or of losing their home over something only too common in families: getting sick.

For as many as 40 million people who work without paid sick leave, taking time off when they or their children are sick is a gut-wrenching decision. So, as President Obama turns his attention toward creating jobs, family advocates say employee benefits, including paid sick days, must be part of the equation.

Even Seattle’s Starbucks Coffee Co., once famous for its generous employee benefits including health insurance for part-time employees, no longer offers paid sick days to its hourly coffee shop workers.

In 2009, as the recession cut into profits, Starbucks continued to provide health insurance to part-time workers, but did away with sick pay and personal days for many of its frontline workers. Now those workers either go to their jobs sick or lose wages, even as reports indicate that in 2010 compensation for Starbuck’s CEO and founder Howard Schultz rose nearly 45 percent to $22 million, and the company’s net earnings reached $945.6 million.

Paid sick leave is fast becoming a national workers’ rights issue.

Cities including San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee have passed laws requiring employers to provide paid sick days.

In Seattle, where Starbucks is headquartered, city council members on Monday approved legislation requiring companies to provide paid leave to employees when they or their family members fall ill. The Seattle council took the proposal a step further and also included paid leave for workers who fall victim to domestic violence to seek medical care or participate in legal proceedings.

“Seattle has never feared being a leader,” said Seattle Council Member Nick Licata, who sponsored the ordinance. “A great city, a world class city, is one that cares for the welfare of all who work in its jurisdiction. This legislation is a model for cities, states, and the nation,”

A dozen states are considering paid sick days legislation. Connecticut approved a sick leave law in June.

At the federal level, paid sick days legislation is in committee review as part of the Healthy Families Act. Key supporters are President Obama and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

For Mary Ignatius, a statewide organizer for Parent Voices, a parent-led organization in California that is fighting to pass paid sick day legislation, it is just good economic policy.

“It is hard to be a good worker if it is at the expense of being a bad mother,” she said, “Having access to paid sick days would really help the economy; it would help employees keep their jobs, reduce employee turnover, and increase productivity.”

Nearly 40 percent of America’s workers don’t have paid sick days, in particular, those in low-wage industries such as child care centers, retail stores and restaurants.

A dining-industry study last year by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United reports that 88 percent of the restaurant workers surveyed did not have paid sick leave. About 63 percent of the workers said they have worked – cooking and serving food – when they were sick.

“A lot of momentum is building around the country,” said Vicki Shabo, director of work and family programs at the National Partnership for Women and Families. “We know that people see it as a common sense issue.”

According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, if a parent without paid sick leave misses three-and-a-half days of work, the family loses the equivalent of its monthly grocery budget.

Shabo said that families without paid sick days are more likely to use emergency rooms for routine health issues – increasing their health care costs –because they can’t take time off to go to the doctor’s office.

Opposition to paid sick leave legislation comes from business, chambers of commerce and the human resource industry. They argue that, with an uncertain economy, this is the wrong time to put more demands on business.

Some companies have threatened to leave cities or states that mandate paid health benefits. Others say providing paid sick leave would mean laying off current employees. Human resources spokespeople cite the potential for abuse: workers taking time off when they aren’t ill.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the private sector, the average cost to employers for sick leave per employee-hour worked was 23 cents, and twice that for management-level employees.

How the projected cost of paid sick leave is described depends on who is doing the math. Last year, a coalition of chambers of commerce fighting proposed paid-sick-leave legislation for New York City reported that the law would cost city businesses $789 million per year.

San Francisco was the first city in the country to require companies to provide paid sick days to employees. Companies, like Starbucks, which balk at providing paid sick days to employees elsewhere, are required to do so by law in San Francisco.

That mandate, however, doesn’t extend to workers in nearby Oakland.

Caroline Topeé, a single mom with an 8-year-old daughter, is a member of the Oakland chapter of Parent Voices. She said she was reprimanded at work for taking time off from her job as an administrative assistant when her child was too sick to go to school or day care.

Topeé lived in fear of getting sick herself and having to take off more days from work.

“You would hear about it. I was scared that I was going to lose my job,” she said.
“I had to take my daughter to school and tell the teacher that she had to be there. I couldn’t risk losing my job.”

In Atlanta, Sonya Underwood works in admissions at a local hospital. When she found out she was pregnant, she started saving up her paid sick days. Surprisingly, many hospitals don’t allow workers to use personal sick days to care for ill family members.

“I had a plan,” said Underwood, who has worked at the hospital for 11 years.

But she couldn’t plan on delivering her baby four months early. She went back to work and continued to save sick days while her baby stayed in the hospital to gain weight. Now her infant is ready to go home, but still requires oxygen equipment and a heart monitor.

Underwood says the hospital’s human resources office has told her she can use her banked sick leave only for her own illnesses, and not to care for her fragile baby.

“I don’t want to be a statistic; I don’t want to lose my job,” she said. “I have no one to take care of my baby. No child care accepts preemies. I have to be able to provide a home for him and electricity for his medical equipment.”

But Georgia laws may soon change. State Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Ga. 13th District) said she supports the family care bill proposed in her state last year, a bill likely to come up for vote this year. If passed, the new law would allow workers like Underwood to use their paid sick days to care for family members.

“The legislation promotes an open and honest relationship between employees and employers,” said Dempsey. “We are not requiring any company to have paid sick leave, this is for companies that already offer it. We are not trying to burden small businesses at this time or put mandates on businesses.”

Cindia Cameron, organizing director for 9to5 Atlanta, which advocates for better work conditions for women, said growing support for the legislation indicates that change is possible.

“We want sick children to be able to stay home. We don’t want to spread contagion in the classroom. It is a win-win when parents can stay home with their kids when they are sick,” said Cameron.

Starbucks employees and activists have rallied for paid sick days in front of the coffee company’s stores throughout the country, including in Denver and Connecticut.

According to Marilyn Watkins, a spokesperson for the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, which inducted Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz into its Paid Sick Days Hall of Shame, workers are vulnerable during tough economic times and cannot afford to lose income because they have the flu or because their child needs medical care.

“Strengthening families’ economic security and giving all children the opportunity to thrive requires common sense protection like paid sick days,” she said.

By Susannah Nesmith

Equal Voice Newspaper

(http://www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org/?p=1827)

FLORIDA – Alberto Tarud would like to treat your lawn for pests, notarize your will or provide security at your office.

Really, he’d like any kind of job at all.

The 63-year-old Tarud knows firsthand how the Recession and the subsequent jobless “recovery” have disproportionately affected people like him. Tarud used to run a plastic bag factory in his native Colombia. In 2006, he moved to South Florida to be closer to his adult daughters, brother and grandchildren. He has a work permit and was able to buy a home in southern Miami-Dade County in 2008. But, for two years now, Tarud has been unemployed or underemployed; his mortgage is “under water,” and his grown daughters and his brother have to help him with his car payment.

Though Tarud has been able to stay in his home, many older Hispanics have had to move in with their children.

“Hispanics tend to live in larger households, with more support from each other,” said Rakesh Kochhar, the senior researcher on the Pew study.

“There are cultural reasons for that and economic reasons. The recession has reinforced that trend.”

Tarud worries what will happen if he gets sick – he has no health or disability insurance – or if he loses his home.

“I guess I’d have to move in with one of my daughters,” he said outside the government building where he works as a greeter three hours a day for minimum wage. “They help me when they can, but they can’t afford to support me.”

Tarud’s situation is not unusual. A June 2011 AARP analysis of U.S. labor numbers found that workers age 55 and over who lost their jobs stayed unemployed an average of more than 52 weeks, four full months longer than younger unemployed workers.

Tarud’s net worth has evaporated just when he needs a financial cushion. Hispanics have seen the greatest drop in personal wealth of any group in the United States, according to a study recently released by the Pew Hispanic Center. The median wealth of Hispanic households dropped a staggering 66 percent from 2005 to 2009, compared to a drop of just 16 percent in non-Hispanic white households.

The Pew report pinned the disparity on the fact that Hispanics had more of their assets tied up in housing and a disproportionate share live in the states where property values fell the most: Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona.

Tarud knows just what the report is talking about.

Tarud bought his home for $87,000 back in 2008, when he was working for a pest control company and felt his future was secure enough to sink his savings into a down payment. Now, the modest, two-bedroom is worth about $32,000, according to the county property appraiser. Not only does Tarud owe more than the home is now worth, but his interest rate just reset, increasing the payments he was already struggling to make.

“I can’t refinance because I don’t have a job, but I’m not behind on my mortgage,” he said. “I could understand if they were scared of me because I haven’t made my payments, but I have.”

In 2010, 2.2 percent of homes in the country were in foreclosure, but in Florida, the number was 5.5 percent, according to RealtyTrac numbers discussed in the Pew report. In Miami-Dade County, the unemployment rate was 12.5 percent in July 2011, compared to the national rate of 9.1 percent.

Tarud responded to his layoff by learning new skills: He took a class to become a notary and then went through training to get his license as a security guard. But no job has materialized. He gets by with small notary commissions and by doing the occasional pest control job. He lost an arm in a car accident in 2004, but until the economy went south, he had always been able and eager to work.

Now, he’s in another training program. The 15-hour-per-week job is part of a program to train older workers run by the nonprofit organization Unidad of Miami Beach.

Unidad is using soon-to-dry-up stimulus money to pay for the program, which covers the wages of job trainees who are placed in government and nonprofit organizations. Raymond Adrian, of Unidad, said he recently had to cut all trainees back to 15 hours a week, from 20, because of budget cuts. The demand for job training among the 55+ clientele Unidad serves has tripled since the Recession began, Adrian said. Seventy percent of Unidad’s clients are Hispanic.

“They face so much discrimination because they’re Hispanic and older,” he said. “I tell them not to put the years they’ve worked at a job on their resume. People see they worked in the 1970s, and they don’t even get a call for an interview.”

Many fear people like Tarud will make up another tragic demographic in a few years: retirees without any source of retirement income.

Only 38 percent of employed Hispanics aged 50 to 69 had employer-sponsored retirement plans during the period between 2006 and 2008, compared to 62 percent of non-Hispanic whites, according to AARP. Rakesh Kochhar, associate director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center, said Hispanics have traditionally been much more reliant than other demographic groups on Social Security and other government programs in retirement because so few have private retirement plans.

Tarud, who came to this country legally in 2006, will qualify for little in the way of Social Security benefits, and though he has worked all of his adult life, he doesn’t see how he will ever be able to truly retire.

“I just have to work,” he said. “There’s no help for it.”

“I want to make this crystal clear. Josephine’s Hardtimes Cooking is alive and well. It is not closing. She is no quitter; rather she’s a fighter,” said Josephine Wade’s pastor, Bishop Gordon Simon, pastor of Triedstone Church of Chicago and Bishop for the Midwest Full Gospel Baptist Church. 

By Chinta Strausberg

The popular Josephine’s Hardtime Cooking Restaurant is not closing, Bishop Gordon Simon, pastor of Triedstone Church of Chicago and Bishop for the Midwest Full Gospel Baptist Church, said Monday who urged all African Americans to support this popular eatery that’s been in business for more than two decades.

Gordon, who is the pastor of Josephine Wade, owner of Josephine’s Hardtime Cooking Restaurant, 436 E. 79^th St., Chicago, Il., denied media reports that her restaurant is closing. “That simply is not true,” said Gordon. “She has been making improvement changes in the restaurant like the Wi-Fi Internet she had installed many months ago and other projects that are currently being negotiated as far as prices are concerned.”

Wade opened the doors of then Captain Hard Time 22-years ago around the same time Gordon began his church. Since then, economic times have been a roller coaster and lately on the down side.

“I don’t blame the disappearance of soul food restaurants on a 17 percent population loss among blacks. Even with a population loss, African Americans still represent 36.8 percent of Chicago’s population according to the U.S. Census,” said Gordon. “We just have to do a better job of supporting our own businesses.”

Gordon commended Wade for installing Wi-Fi Internet in her restaurant, for menu changes that include healthier selections. He also commended her for plans she began many months ago that will beautify the upgrade the popular eatery. Gordon applauded Wade for grooming her son, Victor Love, as her successor and together they are mapping the restaurant’s future for the Chatham area.

“It takes money to make Mother Wade’s dreams and plans become a reality, and right now because of this economy, all businesses are hurting, not just Josephine’s Hardtime Cooking. Bank of America is laying off 3500 people. Mayor Rahm Emanuel laid off 625 people. Gov. Pat Quinn is being forced to lay off 1900 workers and shut down seven state facilities. While other companies and governmental agencies are pink-slipping their employees, Josephine’s Hardtimes Cooking is holding its own,” said Gordon.

 “It is not just black restaurants that are feeling the pinch of this fledgling economy. All businesses are being affected by an uncertain economy and a high unemployment rate especially in the black community in Chicago. That’s a recipe for failure, but knowing Mother Wade as I do, she will never give up,” Bishop Gordon said. “As a member of the faith community, we support her.

 “I want to make this crystal clear. Josephine’s Hardtimes Cooking is alive and well. It is not closing. She is no quitter,” Gordon stated. “Rather, she’s a fighter and yes, it’s hard when your own people are unemployed. It’s hard for African Americans to find jobs. We’re usually the last hired, first fired, but though the she buys her produce at the same place the downtown hotels do for their restaurants, Mother Wade chooses to keep her price of $13.00 for a buffet meal the same.

“Of course, it is difficult to make the kind of extensive changes and beautification needing to be done. The restaurant business today is not the same as yesterday especially when you are offering good and healthier food and you’re competing against the fast food industry in a community under economic siege,” Bishop Gordon stated. “We stand behind Mother Wade in her efforts to provide healthy, quality food at a reasonable price for her customers.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.

Principal Baruti Kafele

Alexandria, VA (BlackNews.com) — According to The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, only 47 percent of black males graduate from high school. In response to this crisis, ASCD presents a new professional development DVD featuring renowned educator Baruti Kafele titled Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life.

Based on the blockbuster hit book published by ASCD in 2009, Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life brings to life the tactics and strategies today’s educators need to motivate black males to succeed. Through interviews and vignettes from real-life success stories, educators viewing Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life will be inspired to follow the example of Kafele, an educator for more than 20 years with experience as both a teacher and a principal.

“I know the challenges that black males face and the amazing things they accomplish,” said Kafele, a former East Orange, N.J., principal. “This DVD provides educators with a framework for motivating, educating, and empowering their black male students. It is my hope that this DVD will give educators the inspiration to truly believe that all of their learners will soar.”

In the DVD, Kafele helps teachers and administrators understand how to address crucial issues that face many young black male students, and works directly with a group of students on issues of manhood and responsibility. He provides practical tools and empowering examples that schools can integrate into their programs and practices right away, including:

* How to address the crisis of self-identity that many young black males face today.

* How to encourage reflective practice among teachers of young black male students.

* How to motivate and encourage young black males by establishing and leading a Young Men’s Empowerment Program.

“ASCD is pleased to present Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life,” said Judy Zimny, ASCD chief of program development and former school principal. “Principal Kafele provides the insight and knowledge any educator can use to encourage success among black male students.”

The 40-minute DVD with an additional 65 minutes of bonus material is available for sale in the ASCD store for $179.00 for nonmembers and $129.00 for members. Bonus material includes complete student and teacher workshop sessions led by Baruti Kafele.

Visit http://shop.ascd.org for more information about ASCD books and DVDs. To learn more about ASCD and ASCD membership, go to www.ascd.org.

Local communities pass Car-free Day resolutions                                                                            

(News from the Active Transportation Alliance)          

Thousands of people across Chicagoland will declare themselves car-free in favor of transit, walking and biking for Chicagoland Car-Free Day, Sept. 22. The event is part of World Car-Free Day — when people around the world pledge to go sans auto. For the 2011 Chicagoland Car-Free Day, the Active Transportation Alliance is again partnering with RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace to shine a spotlight on green, convenient, healthy, fun and affordable ways of getting around.

Anyone can declare him or herself car-free for the day at www.chicagolandcarfree.org and be eligible to win a $100 gift certificate to REI or an iPod Shuffle.

Communities around the region are also taking part in Chicagoland Car-Free Day. Skokie, Evanston and the Village of Wood Dale have all passed Car-Free Day resolutions this year. On September 22nd they will be encouraging their residents to rediscover their community by transit, bike or on foot.

“The Village of Skokie is committed to promoting alternate forms of transportation and we are glad to partner with Active Transportation Alliance in promoting Chicagoland Car-Free Day again this year,” commented Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen. “In the next several months, the new CTA Yellow Line Oakton Station in Downtown Skokie will open to provide even greater mass-transit opportunities to both Skokie residents and others living in nearby communities.”

To celebrate the event, the City of Evanston will be sponsoring a commuter pit stop in front of the 909 Davis Building in between the Davis Metra and CTA stops 6-9 a.m. on Thursday, September 22.

“Car-Free Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the many options to getting around that do not involve a car. Evanston is lucky that about 40% of residents already use other modes of transportation to and from work instead of driving, according to the 2000 U.S. Census,” says Catherine Hurley, Sustainable Programs Coordinator for Evanston.  

The website, www.chicagolandcarfree.org, provides commuters with biking, walking and transit resources that will make it easier to leave the car at home. Resources like RTA’s trip planner, www.goroo.com, and www.PaceRideShare.com will help commuters every step of the way.

Find out more about Chicagoland Car-Free Day at www.chicagolandcarfree.org

ABOUT ACTIVE TRANS
The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. The Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by 6,800 members, 1,000 volunteers and 40 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

ABOUT RTA
The RTA provides financial oversight, funding and regional planning for the three public transit operations in Northeastern Illinois: The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and train, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban bus and paratransit. For more information, visit www.rtachicago.com and www.MovingBeyondCongestion.org.

ABOUT CTA
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates the nation’s second largest public transportation system providing both bus and rail service. On an average weekday, 1.7 million rides are taken on CTA. The CTA is a regional transit system that serves 40 suburbs, in addition to the City of Chicago, and provides 81 percent of the public transit trips in the six-county Chicago Metropolitan-area region either with direct service or connecting service to Metra and Pace.

ABOUT PACE
Pace, the suburban bus division of the RTA, provides fixed route bus, ADA paratransit, dial-a-ride and ridesharing services throughout northeastern Illinois. Pace has the seventh-largest bus fleet in North America, one of the largest vanpool programs in the United States, and its regional ADA Paratransit service is estimated to be the largest such operation in the world. In 2008, total ridership on Pace service was more than 40.5 million, its second largest total in the agency’s 25 year history.”

ABOUT METRA
Metra provides more than 80 million rides annually on 11 rail lines serving more than 100 communities at 239 rail stations in the six-county metropolitan area. For complete schedule information, customers may contact Metra Passenger Services, 312-322-6777, during business hours, visit www.metrarail.com, or call the RTA Travel Information Center at 836-7000 (city or suburbs).

Buffalo, NY (BlackNews.com) — The Jakki Price Show: From the Airlines to the Airwaves, You’re in the Air with Jakki Price is a news and entertainment radio talk show. Sort of like CNN with a twist! Talk will engage listeners with topics and issues that will appeal to the general market. As a flight attendant who travels to many destinations around the world, Ms. Price and her flying partners talk about everything! And that’s what the show is about…talk and discussions on all subjects!

The ‘Inflight Spotlight’ segment features interviews with flight attendants and pilots, delving into their personal lives. The lifestyle and time off from flying allow many flight attendants and pilots the opportunity to pursue other careers and business ventures while still working in the airline industry. Other guest interviews will offer fresh, varied and sometimes controversial perspectives. Travel segments will provide listeners with sightseeing and restaurant suggestions for destinations around the globe.

The Jakki Price Show does have a spiritual overtone, yet is not religious. Ms. Price promotes positive thinking among her listeners while offering knowledge and wisdom on universal kingdom law. Kingdom law is spiritual and surpasses denominations and race. Listeners will be encouraged to discover their God given talents and gifts and to become their dreams by using wisdom and taking action. Change your thinking, change your life! Elevate your thinking, elevate your life.

WWKB AM 1520 is one of seven stations owned by Entercom Communications Corp. in Buffalo, New York. Entercom is one of the five largest radio broadcasting companies in the United States, with a nationwide portfolio in excess of 100 stations in 23 markets.

The Jakki Price Show, Sundays, 11am-12 noon, WWKB AM 1520, Buffalo, NY, starting Sunday, September 11.

For more details, visit www.jakkiprice.com