Michelle Alexander and New Jim Crow Social Justice Movement in Bermuda; Susan Taylor Recruits Mentors Across America; Peace In the Hood Parent Conference; Million Fathers Club at Field Museum of Natural History; Urban Partnership Bank's CEO Speaks at Movers and Shakers Luncheon

Making Progress; Moving Forward! New Jim Crow Social Justice Movement Arrives in Bermuda Peace In The Hood Resource Fair America Has Given Up On Young Black Men Million Fathers Club at Field Museum Cities United Work to Stop Death of Black Men and Boys Movers and Shakers Luncheon with CEO William Farrow Susan Taylor Recruits Mentors from Across Country Links: The Black Star Project's website: blackstarproject.org Black Star Jounral: blackstarjournal.org Become a Member: Click Here Event Calendar: Click Here Like us on Facebook:   Michelle Alexander and New Jim Crow Social Justice Movement Arrives in Bermunda   March 31, 2012, 7:00 pm Cathedral Church Hall Church Street Hamilton, Bermunda      Longtime US Civil Rights advocate, bestselling author and legal scholar Michelle Alexander [pictured] will be the keynote speaker when Citizens Uprooting Racism In Bermuda [CURB] holds its two-day "Racial Justice Conference" later this week to promote dialogue and action around racial justice issues.   The event - which opens on Friday [Mar. 31] - is being held at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel's Gardenia Room and this year's theme is "Bermuda's Criminal Justice System: Intent and Impact". The conference goals are to raise awareness as to the intent and impact of Bermuda's existing criminal justice system; evaluate and discuss what is already being done; look for Bermuda-based ideas and solutions to help improve interagency collaboration; encourage community involvement; understand the root causes and offer solutions to the increasing violence in the Bermuda community. . Read More... "Peace In The Hood" through Better Parenting in the Hood   Editorial America has given up on young Black men, like Trayvon Martin   By Phillip Jackson   TRAYVON MARTIN is more valuable to America as a dead young black man than he ever was alive!  As a dead symbol, the president can claim him as a son he never had, but as a living black man, the American criminal justice system claims one out of three young Black men born after 2001.   Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, reminds us that more Black men are in prison today than there were Blacks enslaved in America in 1850. She suggests that we have not really ended Jim Crow, but have just given it another name - the criminal justice system.   As a dead symbol, Trayvon might spark a national conversation on race, but as a living young Black man, Trayvon probably couldn't get a job at a fast-food restaurant. Addressing symbols is quite useful and practical when a society lacks the courage and integrity to deal with its disturbing realities.   America loves Black men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and even Trayvon Martin after they are dead. It is the strong, vocal, positive Black men that they have trouble with while they are alive. . Read Full Article  Join the Million Fathers Club at the Chicago Children's Museum FREE!!! FREE!!! FREE!!! Saturday, March 31, 2012 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm Navy Pier 700 East Grand Chicago, Illinois    For children 2 years old to 14 years old. Please call Bruce at 773.285.9600 to RSVP  or for more information. Philadelphia Mayor Nutter, New Orleans Mayor Landrieu and Cities United Work to Reduce Deaths of Young Black Men and Boys   Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, center and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, far right Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement, along with partners Casey Family Programs, Knight Foundation, Association of Black Foundation Executives, National League of Cities and US Conference of Mayors with the leadership of Mayors Michael Nutter and Mitch Landrieu launched Cities United in October 2010 to respond to the violent deaths of black boys and men in cities across America.   Click Here to View this Important Video on Stopping the Murder Of Young Black Men and Boys in America. The Black Star Project's Movers and Shakers  Luncheon Series with Urban Partnership Bank's President and CEO William Farrow   Wednesday, April 4, 2012 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at The Black Star Project, Suite 2B 3509 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois Please call 773.285.9600 to RSVP Investment: $30.00  Fathers, Step Fathers, Grandfathers, Foster Fathers, Uncles, Big Brothers, Mentors   Join The Million Fathers Club at The Field Museum of Natural History 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm Wednesday, April 4, 2012 (Spring Break for Most Chicago Schools) 1400 South Lakes Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois FREE!!!  FREE!!!  FREE!!!    Mothers and women are very welcome!!!  We expect men from Milwaukee, Racine and Madison, Wisconsin;  Gary, Indianapolis and South Bend, Indiana; Joliet, Elgin, Springfield, Peoria, Decatur, Danville, Champaign, and Rockford, Illinois; and St. Louis, Missouri, to bring their children to this free event.  Please call Bruce at 773.285.9600 to RSVP for this amazing opportunity. Susan Taylor, the Mother of Mentoring in America, Is Asking You To Be "In" for Our Children. Become a mentor!     Why Mentor?   Because this is our state of emergency today: Of all Black fourth-graders, 58% are functionally illiterate. In some cities, 80% of our boys drop out before finishing high school. Every day 1,000 Black children are arrested. 1 in every 8 African American males ages 25-29 is incarcerated. The number one cause of death for our boys is homicide. If you have 60 Seconds to watch this video, you will become a mentor too.   If you wish to become a mentor in cities with National Cares Mentoring Movement Circles, Click Here or if you do not have a National Cares Mentoring Movement Circle in your city, Click Here to learn how to start one.   I'm in!!!  And you should be too! Editorial -  I'm Shocked; You're Shocked: Another Black Child Murdered   by Kenneth Braswell   Kenneth Braswell and sons I couldn't help but ask myself the question; "should I be shocked?" Another black youth shot down in the prime of his life visa vie unusual circumstances; Yeah, what's shocking bout that? I've asked myself this question over and over; against my need and desire to still grieve for Trayvon and struggling with my morals to remain empathic. However I can't ignore that I've lived long enough to remember the stories of Emmitt Till. A tragedy that lends some context to the value or lack thereof for young black life pressed up against the hard rock of racism.   Read More...

Are They Justices -- Or Legislators?

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter March 29, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY E.J. DIONNE Is This America's Courtroom -- Or A Lobbyist's Office? Three days of Supreme Court arguments over the health care law demonstrated for all to see that conservative justices are prepared to act as an alternative legislature, diving deeply into policy details as if they were members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: DAVID CAY JOHNSTON Are Americans Losing Their Right To A Landline Phone? The guarantee of landline telephone service at almost any address, a legal right many Americans may not even know they have, is quietly being legislated away in our U.S. state capitals. Unless the new rules are written very carefully, millions of people, urban and rural, will lose basic telephone service or be forced to pay much more for calls. READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: JIM HIGHTOWER Why The Right Wants To Destroy The U.S. Postal Service Each day, six days a week, letter carriers traverse 4 million miles, toting an average of 563 million pieces of mail, reaching the very doorsteps of our individual homes and workplaces in every single community in America. From the gated enclaves and penthouses of the uber-wealthy to the inner-city ghettos and rural colonias of America's poorest families, the U.S. Postal Service literally delivers. All for 45 cents. The USPS is an unmatched bargain, a civic treasure, a genuine public good that links all people and communities into one nation. So, naturally, it must be destroyed. READ MORE ON THE WEB Do You Know What The Obama Campaign Knows About You? We can't describe the Obama campaign's massive database of information on potential voters with certainty, because the campaign won't talk about it. Citing concerns about letting Republicans learn its tactics, the campaign declined our request for comment -- as it has with other outlets -- about what data the campaign collects and what it's doing with the data. But we were able to get some bits of information. READ MORE SOCIAL SECURITY AND YOU Can My Family Get All Of My Social Security Benefits? The Social Security office told me that my kids will keep getting checks until age 19. And my wife will get Social Security until the youngest one turns 19. But by then, she will be 62, so she will be able to get regular wife's benefits at that point. They also said the total amount we are getting now will never change. Is all of that true? READ MORE SUPREME ISSUE Entire Healthcare Law Jeopardized As Conservatives Dig In The third and final day of Supreme Court hearings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act saw the conservative majority dancing around the details of completely overturning it. "If the individual mandate is unconstitutional, then the rest of the act cannot stand," said Paul D. Clement, the attorney representing the coalition of business groups and state attorneys general challenging the law. He found a rather receptive audience among the Republican justices. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001

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msnbc video: Bashir: A pass for George W. Bush, but none for Trayvon Martin among conservatives

msnbc video: Bashir: A pass for George W. Bush, but none for Trayvon Martin among conservatives

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

2 girls shot inside East Chicago home | VIDEO Two young girls are recovering Wednesday after being hit by bullets while inside an East Chicago, Ind., home. City worker to be sentenced in DUI crash A city worker who pleaded guilty to DUI charges after plowing into seven pedestrians on a busy Chicago sidewalk will be sentenced Wednesday. Prosecutors allege Dwight Washington was drinking on the job. Rogers Park murder victim's family gets $10M A $10 million settlement has been awarded to the family of a woman killed in her apartment on the city's North Side seven years ago. North Side synagogue vandalism investigated Chicago police are investigating what they call ''disparaging statements'' that were spray-painted on a North Side synagogue. Fire forces residents out of Pilsen building A fire inside a basement apartment early Wednesday forced everyone out of a building in the 1300-block of West 19th Street. Zoo staff cares for black-footed cat kitten A male black-footed cat kitten was born at Brookfield Zoo on February 14. Because his mom was not providing him with proper maternal care, staff quickly intervened and began hand rearing him at the Animal Hospital. MORE STORIES Strange News Medvedev cat that didn't run away becomes Twitter trend Clintonville residents shaken once again by booms Lunch-goers by the hundreds bust a move in Sweden 'Hamburglar' strikes at Maine McDonald's NYC: Test topics should avoid aliens, Halloween Consumer Trying to sell your home? Ways to boost its value | VIDEO Consumer Reports: Dangerous Medical Devices Consumer Reports: Smarter Students Loans Unpaid bills could cut into Ill. residents' tax refunds BMW recalls more than 1 million cars worldwide Healthbeat New cream may reduce Rosacea Alcohol may help men recover after heart attacks Controversy after mom puts 7-year-old on strict diet | VIDEO Chocolate can make you thinner? Obesity still heart specialists' top concern MOST POPULAR Mega Millions winning numbers yield no winner Man charged after shooting alleged intruder Questions of bullying in boy's death Mega Millions winning numbers announced JetBlue pilot restrained by passenger after meltdown All Most Popular

Advertisement TODAY'S WEATHER OUTLOOK 68°F 37°F Mostly sunny, breezy and mild Hour-by-Hour | 7 Day Forecast | Radar & Satellite TONIGHT ON ABC Lottery Results Your Daily Horoscope Rush dons hoodie on House floor in protest Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush took the House floor Wednesday morning to protest the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Neighborhood watch shooter supporters afraid to speak out Pfleger 'in solidarity' with Trayvon Martin's parents Mother: Police trying to demonize Trayvon Martin Chicago worshipers wear hoodies for Trayvon Martin Wisconsin residents shaken again by 'boom' noise Residents were shaken by booms once again in a Wisconsin city where a small earthquake was recorded last week. Relatively quiet night in boom town Wis. city's equipment fails to tape mystery booms

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America Has Given Up On Young Black Men, Like Trayvon Martin!!!

America has given up on young Black men Editorial  America has given up on young Black men, like Trayvon Martin America loves Black men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and even Trayvon Martin - after they are dead. Photo of Trayvon Martin provided by The Black Star Project By Phillip Jackson March 28, 2012   Guyana, South America - TRAYVON MARTIN is more valuable to America as a dead young black man then he ever was alive!   As a dead symbol, the president can claim him as a son he never had, but as a living black man, the American criminal justice system claims one out of three young Black men born after 2001.   As a dead symbol, Republican presidential candidates can claim that Trayvon deserves his right to live as an American; but many living young black men, like Trayvon, are stripped of their rights every day because of harsh, racially-targeted and overly-punitive laws created by and pushed by Republicans.   Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, reminds us that more Black men are in prison today than there were Blacks enslaved in America in 1850.   She suggests that we have not really ended Jim Crow, but have just given it another name - the criminal justice system.   We can also call it the education system or the economic system, but they all equate to a new system of racial control of Black Americans just like Jim Crow.   America knows how to use the symbol of a dead young black man to achieve its objectives.   When symbols are used correctly sweatshirt companies profit, candy companies and iced-tea companies profit, for-profit prisons flourish and America cleanses its conscience while the deplorable plight of young Black men in America remains the same. America has given up on young Black men, like Trayvon Martin.   As a dead symbol, Trayvon might spark a national conversation on race, but as a living young Black man, Trayvon probably couldn't get a job at a fast-food restaurant.   No place in America is this stark contradiction of symbol versus reality for young Black men more evident than in Chicago, Illinois. While hundreds of people in Chicago protested the death of Trayvon Martin, few people protested the violent murders of more than 100 mostly young black males in Chicago in the past year, mostly at the hands of other young Black males.   Chicago media, foundations and elected officials have ignored the blood of black children running in Chicago streets while they congratulate those who speak in symbolic terms about race in America.   Chicago is ground-zero for the destruction of young black men in America!   In Chicago, only three out of 100 Black male high-school freshmen will graduate from college by age 25 (Consortium for School Research at U of Chicago).   Only 44 percent of Black males in Chicago graduate from high school (Schott Foundation for Public Education).   Last summer, approximately 90 percent of Chicago's young Black males 16 to 19 years old were unemployed (Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University).   Black boys are arrested in Chicago at two to six times the rates of other populations (Project Nia). Young Black men who submit resumes with Black-sounding or Africanized names, like Trayvon or Barack, even with college degrees and the exact same academic credentials as persons "perceived to be White males," are one-half as likely to be called back for a job interview (University of Chicago Study).   Chicago has no plan or good intentions to address this silent, devastating catastrophe!   As dire as this crisis is, there are solutions, but they are not in symbols or soul-searching.   They are comprehensive and substantial efforts and actions to ameliorate this stain on America's reputation for fairness and equality.   Government, foundations, civic, faith and community organisations must: Help rebuild Black families with fathers as an essential, prominent and functional component of the family structure. Provide mentors, positive role models and viable paths for young Black men. Ensure that all young Black men are supported to value education and to experience a globally-competitive education. Teach young Black men about how to succeed in entrepreneurship, small business, cooperative economics and in the work world. Encourage young Black men to be spiritually sound and to be of good character. Establish rigorous efforts in the largest 300 cities in America that address the issues of education, family, imprisonment and employment for young Black men. Establish a national commission to manage a comprehensive, coordinated campaign for Black male achievement, similar to the one created by Open Society Foundations.  The death of Trayvon Martin is a symbol of the plight of young black men in America.   As a symbol, his senseless death is something to which most Americans can relate. But the realities of black men's lives in Chicago and across America are the realities to which most Americans do not want to relate.   The truth is that America is comfortable with young black men as symbols, being where they are in society, being like they are, hoodie and all, violence and all!   Addressing symbols is quite useful and practical when a society lacks the courage and integrity to deal with its disturbing realities.   America loves Black men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and even Trayvon Martin after they are dead.   It is the strong, vocal, positive Black men that they have trouble with while they are alive. If America continues on its present course, the symbols for Black men in America might change, but the realities will remain the same or become worse! And America will be lesser for it!   Photo of Miami Heat in Hoodies provided by The Black Star Project ................................................................................................................................. This editorial has been published in Guyana, Sri Lanka, Great Britain and the United States.   Phillip Jackson is the founder and executive director of The Black Star Project in Chicago. The Black Star Project is committed to improving the quality of life in Black and Latino communities of Chicago and nationwide by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap. Their mission is to provide educational services that help pre-school through college students succeed academically and become knowledgeable and productive citizens with the support of their parents, families, schools and communities.     Click Here to see a Press Conference on this issue.   You may contact Phillip Jackson at 773.285.9600 or by email at blackstar1000@ameritech.net.  Visit the Black Star Project's website at www.blackstarproject.org.

Judge's racist, misogynist email targets Obama's mom

--- Sponsored Email --- Dear National Memo Reader:  Racism and misogyny are abhorrent in American public life -- especially among judges, who are supposed to dispense justice fairly and without bias. While judges are entitled to their private political opinions, a high-ranking Federal judge has used his government email address to send out a hateful, racist and misogynist joke about President Obama's late mother. Please consider the following message from People For the American Way about this outrageous misconduct and what you can do about it. Sincerely, Harold Itzkowitz Associate Publisher for The National Memo Team

A Tea Partier federal judge was so blinded by his hate for President Obama that he used his official email to forward a disgusting "joke" attacking the president's deceased mother. Check out the forwarded email and sign our petition telling the judge to step down now. "The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. Is sent it out because it's anti-Obama." -- Judge Cebull Dear Activist , Have you heard about the Montana federal judge who got caught forwarding a disgusting racist, misogynist "joke" about President Obama's deceased mother? Sign our petition now telling him to do the right thing and RESIGN his post as chief judge of the Federal District Court for Montana. Judge Richard Cebull, the chief Federal District Court judge in Montana, admitted that sending the email to his personal contacts -- from his official email account on a government computer -- showed "terrible judgment" and that he was aware that the joke was racist, but that he did not send it because it was racist. He sent it because it was "anti-Obama." And, in his eyes, that made it okay. See the outrageous email he sent and sign our petition urging Judge Cebull to step down now. Judge Cebull submitted himself for disciplinary review to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Montana, and wrote a seemingly sincere apology to the president in which he said, "Honestly, I don't know what else I can do." Well that's easy -- he can and should resign. PFAW called for his resignation, and we were soon joined by editorial boards both in Montana and at the New York Times. Please add your voice to the call for Judge Cebull's resignation too. See Judge Cebull's shocking email and sign PFAW's petition now. Judge Cebull's hatred for the president is so extreme that he forwarded on a very personal attack that he KNEW was racist and tasteless. He did it because it was, in his words, "anti-Obama." Welcome to the Tea Party Era. The Far Right's hate rhetoric against this president has created an environment where even people who should know better consider racist, misogynist attacks ... even attacks on his deceased mother, fair game. Nothing is out of bounds if its purpose is to denigrate or hurt the president. You've heard the term "snow blind" -- Judge Cebull was "hate blind." And that hate blindness surely led to his transgression. Regardless of what led to it, his action clearly shows a severe lack of judgment, potential bias, and a temperament unbecoming of a federal judge. He needs to step down now. Sign our petition now urging Judge Cebull to resign. Thank you for standing up against Tea Party extremism and right-wing hate. -- Ben Betz, Online Strategy Manager P.S. A federal judge is free to hate the president and his policies, just as other Americans are. And he is free to privately tell his friends that. But Judge Cebull used his official government email address to make a statement that has now become very public. It is important that Americans see their judges as neutral arbiters, not as political figures. Therefore, it is imperative that Judge Cebull resign.     pfaw.org  |  privacy policy  |  subscribe   |    |  contact us | Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube   Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use pfaw@pfaw.org. 1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005-5002, 202-467-4999