Category Archives: Civil Rights

Rev. Sharpton FBI Informant… Old News Or Relevant Today

Posted by hjacksonenterprisez on

Activist say that without doubt, Reverend Al Sharpton tried to set up for the re-capture the FBI wanted escapee/fugitive Joann Chesimard aka; Assata Shukur!

By Ron Howell, Newsday, Friday 21 October 1988

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has worked as a federal informant, tried to set up a meeting with black fugitive radical JoAnne Chesimard in 1983, according to activists who said they were approached by Sharpton.

JoAnne Chesimard

The black activists said they feared Sharpton was trying to deliver Chesimard into the arms of federal agents, but said they had no proof.

One law-enforcement source, who declined to be identified but has detailed knowledge of Sharpton’s activities as an FBI informant, said this week that Sharpton was working as an informant at the time he sought to meet Chesimard. The source said that one of Sharpton’s assignments was to try to lead agents to Chesimard, who escaped from prison in 1979 after being convicted in the killing a New Jersey state trooper.

It wasn’t a big massive operation. It was just a small shot, an everyday deal, the source said. I would equate it with setting up 10 traps a day trying to catch a fox . . . He said Sharpton was not a major participant in the search for the woman, who goes by the African name Assata Shakur.

A top FBI official said that Sharpton was not used in any manner to lure Shakur into a trap. This is the first I’m hearing of it, it’s bull———, FBI Assistant Deputy Director Kenneth Walton, who led the Shakur investigation, said earlier this week.

Sharpton flatly denied trying to make contact with Shakur.

Newsday reported in January that beginning in 1983 Sharpton secretly supplied federal law enforcement agencies with information on boxing promoter Don King, reputed organized crime figures and black leaders and elected officials. And in a two-hour interview, Sharpton admitted to Newsday that he had assisted the government in drug and organized crime cases. He said he also accompanied undercover federal agents wearing body recorders to meetings with various subjects of federal investigations. He said he had allowed the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York to install a tapped telephone in his Brooklyn home.

Sharpton has insisted he never turned over information on black radicals or on King.

This week, Sharpton denied assertions by Ahmed Obafemi, a long-time activist, and Kwame Brathwaite, an activist and photographer who says Sharpton asked him to set up an encounter with Obafemi. Both men say that Obafemi acted as the intermediary in the failed discussions with Sharpton to reach Shakur.

Sharpton called the men liars and said they were possibly police agents. He charged they are part of an element in the black community that has lost out . . . and that will fabricate any story out of jealousy because they have no following . . .

Obafemi, the national organizer for the New Afrikan People’s Organization, said Sharpton met with him in Manhattan at least four times in 1983, over a period of about two months. He said that Sharpton offered to donate money to help black revolutionaries running from the law and that Sharpton was particularly interested in setting up a meeting with Shakur, once referred to as the soul of the Black Liberation Army.

Sharpton told Obafemi he was representing two former Black Panthers, who wanted to see Shakur, according to Obafemi.

The ex-Panthers were supposedly trying to make useful contacts in case they had to flee the country someday, Obafemi said he was told.

The first discussion was that they were close to her, that they had been in the [Black Panther] party with her and that they wanted to talk to her, Obafemi said. I wanted to find out who they were, but he said they really didn’t want to be known.

Shakur was once a member of the Black Panther Party, but went underground around 1971 because she said she believed the group was being infiltrated by city and federal law enforcement officers.

The 1983 deal fell through at a final meeting when Sharpton insisted that money would be donated only if the two former Panthers could meet Shakur. Failing that, Obafemi said, Sharpton was interested in making any kind of contact with her or with any of her close associates also on the run from the law. Naturally, I never got back to him, said Obafemi, whose organization believes that blacks should have their own country within the United States and that they have the right to fight for it.

Obviously we had to feel that a definite possibility existed he was working for the government, and we would have felt that way about him or anybody else who approached us in that manner, said Chokwe Lumumba, an attorney and chairman of the New Afrikan People’s Organization.

Lumumba had been informed in 1983 by Obafemi about Sharpton’s proposal. The attorney said his organization was more interested in getting information about Sharpton’s motives than in receiving money from him. I can’t say that we were able to make any definite conclusions about whether Sharpton was acting as an agent for the government, Lumumba said.

Both Lumumba and Obafemi denied knowing where Shakur was at the time.

Sharpton’s first broached his interest in Shakur during a chance encounter with Brathwaite, a black nationalist, Brathwaite said. Brathwaite said he happened to run into Sharpton one day in midtown but he could not remember the month. Already acquainted with each other from entertainment circles, the two men started talking and Sharpton said he wanted to make a donation to Assata, Brathwaite said.

A day or two later, Brathwaite told Obafemi of the offer. I told him to watch out, said Brathwaite. I knew that authorities were trying to find out where she [Assata Shakur] was and that they were trying to get close to somebody who was close to her . . . And then I just knew that he’s always been a hustler.

Last year, Newsday disclosed that Shakur was given political asylum in Cuba and was living there with her daughter, now 14 years old. She is probably the most sought-after of the 1970s radicals linked to bank robberies and police killings over a 10-year span.

The specific amount of the contribution Sharpton said he was prepared to make in 1983 on behalf of the ex-Panthers was not discussed, Obafemi said; but Sharpton said the prospective contributors gained the money by ripping off the system, Obafemi recalled.

He said that at least two of the meetings occurred in a luxurious apartment at 30 Lincoln Plaza, near Lincoln Center. That was the building where, according to a law enforcement source and a report published in the Feb. 2, 1988 edition of The Village Voice, a federal agent using the name Victor Quintana set up an apartment in 1983 or earlier to lure boxing world denizens suspected of illegal activity. Quintana in that year ensnared Sharpton into working for the FBI, New York Newsday reported in January.

The Village Voice article reported that apartment was on the 29th floor, but Obafemi could not recall the floor on which he had his rendezvous with Sharpton. Sharpton lives in Brooklyn and Obafemi said he did not explain why Sharpton had access to the apartment. He made me think it was his, said Obafemi. I was saying (to myself), ’What kind of money must they have to have a spot in here.’ He had the keys and everything.

Sharpton denied this week ever being in the building.

Obafemi said that up until 1983 he knew Sharpton only as the head of a youth organization, the National Youth Movement, and as someone with vague connections in the entertainment world.

Obafemi is the ex-husband of Nehanda Obafemi, once known as Cheri Laverne Dalton, who is still wanted by the federal government in connection with the notorious Brink’s robbery which took place seven years ago yesterday. She is allegedly connected to the group of black and white revolutionaries convicted in the Brink’s heist. A guard and two police officers were killed in that incident, which took place upstate near Nyack.

In 1983, Obafemi was busy trying to gain support in the black community for the people arrested in the Brink’s case. In October of that year, several blacks and whites were convicted in that robbery and in the highly planned breakout of Shakur from prison in 1979.

The law enforcement source implicating Sharpton in the hunt for Assata Shakur said that Sharpton was also, secondarily, trying to help agents get other fugitives, especially Mutulu Shakur, who was still on the run at that time. Mutulu Shakur, no relation to Assata, was later apprehended and convicted in connection with the Brink’s robbery and the escape of Assata Shakur.

Robert E. Kessler contributed to this story.

[***The following appeared in the City version***Brathwaite is the brother of Elombe Brath, an official of a black nationalist organization called the Patrice Lumumba Coalition. Brath and several associates have been opposed to Sharpton because of his FBI ties. ]

+-+ sent by the PrisonAct List <prisonact-list@prisonactivist.org> +-+ A project of the Prison Activist Resource Center. See the Prison Issues Desk at <http://www.prisonactivist.org>.

Black Voting Rights – The other side of the story.

Posted by Little tortillas on

Schools today do not teach actual history bet you didn’t know!

http://www.mrctv.org/embed/102104

Dispelling the Voter ID Disenfranchisement Myth!

Posted by Wonder Woman on

Dispelling Voter ID Disenfranchisement Myth!

Some of my liberal friends would have you to believe that requiring Photo ID’s for voting would disenfranchise millions upon millions of voters and take away our right to vote. I disagree! Requiring Photo ID’s is a simple way to help ensure less fraud in elections. As we witnessed in 2004 and 2008 with the presidential elections, and even now with JoAnne Kloppenburg, voter fraud is a problem. Photo ID is at least one positive attempt to make sure the state of Wisconsin is actively working towards error free elections and fraud at the polls.

I admit I was back and forth on this issue until I went through a 30 day experimental trial of seeing exactly how many times I used my photo ID in any of my life dealings. Actually I was surprised at the times when I didn’t need it and then there were some times while shopping that I was upset it was not asked for. (I think when you spend over a certain amount the seller should ask to see your photo ID and should not settle for a swipe and even giving cash back all without asking to verify your identity, but that is for another day). Continuing on, I had to use ID at the bank obviously, for ALL government business, for my rental space contract renewal, for my car, the library, the doctor’s office, hospital visits-even the ER demands photo ID!! Seriously? Anyway, I also had to use my photo ID for WIC (Woman, Infants and Children program), registering for classes, for purchasing certain items at the gas station, and for a whole host of things that I thought were a bit silly, like a stop at local eatery (the bill was about $5 and I’ve spent more there in the past and was never asked for ID, so I guess it depends on who’s taking the debit card). None the less, there I was pulling out my ID over and over again. I even had to scan my ID and email and fax it to a couple of places for internet shopping or again with government business. It is a rather new ID but it looks worn already. I don’t consider myself some crazed shopper or an “on the go” type of person so I have to say in this society we are very dependent on photo ID’s. That being said why is it such an injustice to ask everyone to show up with a photo ID to vote?

This week the Wisconsin legislature has been working on this bill. The bill’s authors, Republican Rep. Jeff Stone and Sen. Joe Leibham, have modeled their bill after Indiana’s Voter ID law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court case upholding Indiana’s Voter ID bill, “99 percent of Indiana’s voting age population already possesses the necessary photo identification to vote under the requirements.”

Since we have many similarities to Indiana I am going to conclude we share this same population finding. We already have photo ID’s in most cases!

And to clarify, the Wisconsin bill does have a provision to provide free identification for some Wisconsinites.

 

So Let’s Dispel the Most Common Myths

1.    We would disenfranchise the Elderly:

Many of our elderly use Badger Care/Title 19, Medicare/Medicaid, and other government programs like Meals on Wheels. They are more likely to visit the doctor regularly, use debit and credit cards (they are the only ones with good credit left in some cases!). They tend to require medical equipment and services that all requires, you got it, photo ID’s.

Elderly poor are included in #2.

2.     We would disenfranchise the Poor:

Which poor, the poor receiving government services, Qwest, Badger Care, W2, or the other poor, the ones who ????

What I am saying that is if you are poor, we already require photo ID. This means somehow our poor folks out there are already disenfranchised daily trying to get food, medical support, and other government services. So without trying to sound like a heartless …itch, I am asking how are we disenfranchising the poor unless the day of an election they suddenly became poor?

I see very few of the “poverty pimps” in the trenches when the poor are standing in ridiculous lines and trying to get government services, meals, food, clothing, or shelter. Try going to SDC and getting assistance and see how disenfranchised they are for real. They are treated like scum, have to wait all day for a 5 minute interview to be made to feel less human and worse (some of those people at SDC are very miserable individuals), anyway… they go to other venues for assistance and still we have them stand in lines, treat them horribly and now we want the world to show compassion when they vote only? Give me a break!! Have you been to Vliet Street lately? In addition to photo ID’s you also need birth certificates, immunization records, and a few other items if you want specific services so that argument holds no merit with me. One thing you don’t need to have to apply for benefits in this state is the ability to speak the language of our country. Just an aside!!

I would also think if one were that poor, to the point of starvation, maybe voting is the least of their worries. I do think that would stop a few van drops from picking up the homeless from their dinner lines and common hangouts to go and vote for smokes or cash as we have seen in the past. Oh yes and that was Democrats who did that right? Yep it was!

“Constance Milstein, a platinum-card Democrat, flew into Milwaukee a few days before the election to help Gore-Lieberman workers trade packs of cigarettes for votes at a homeless shelter.”

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/12/10/loc_bronson_marlboros.html

3.  We would disenfranchise Those of Other Cultures:

As a bi-racial female, my physical appearance is that of a person of non-Caucasian background. I can tell you that anyone of color who does not have ID is walking a dangerous line in certain situations. With certain common racist practices, in a most segregated state/city, and given the fact that we are of color, we get asked for ID more frequently than our Caucasian counterparts. That is a fact. So why are more Blacks than whites walking around without photo ID’s? Why more Blacks in particular do not have photo ID’s speaks to a long list of issues. We are also the same group that uses a big portion of government services so how can this be? If you need photo ID’s for government dealings, but yet we have 1/3 more Blacks walking around without them? Seems odd to me, but I am sure someone will point out what I am missing.

Our Hispanic Friends: The number of illegal aliens in the state of Wisconsin according to The Pew Hispanic Center says the state has 75000 to 115000 illegal immigrants. There is a tie between Wisconsin and Ohio for the 10th position on the most desirable states for illegal aliens to relocate to: 20 thousand more illegal immigrants reside in each of Wisconsin and Ohio. This is a 20% increase, and the eleventh highest in the nation. So would it be so wrong to wonder and want verify that you are a legal citizen? Maybe this could help us cut down on the number of tax dollars we spend taking care of illegals each year as opposed to taking care of natural born citizens which according to everyone from Obama to Walker we simply cannot do anymore. We are running out of money, actually we have been out of money; we are now screwing up our kids futures.

http://newworldorderdawning.lefora.com/2010/11/07/top-10-states-being-invaded-by-illegal-immigrants-/

So yes I know it is not PC to think out loud like this but better to be honest and say what I know many people think. Are illegal immigrants voting? Are they voting for candidates who will help them get in and stay in this country and thus take more of our discretionary spending? For example, Blacks are seeing less and less scholarship $$ as they have to now divide this money more and more particularly with illegal aliens. Is this fair? And really I don’t mean to sound racist but how are we discouraging illegal behavior and fraud?

4.  We would disenfranchise Young People:

Exactly what young people? Couldn’t be students because last I checked they needed photo ID’s to get loans, scholarships, and grants, and to arrange living on/off campus. Possibly the average 18-25 year old that is not quite sure what they want to be or is hindered by life circumstances would be a candidate for a “pass over” on this. This might be the only group I might consider as they need to be encouraged to vote and to get ID’s. But then again there is a provision to get free ID’s. Darn, back to photo ID’s for you!

As we saw with college students in the state protests, they sure have a lot of time on their hands, are quite inventive, and are so passionate about causes that affect them. So maybe they can make time to put their actions to something useful like getting an ID. We also have a high number of binge drinkers in our state universities so I am assuming they are all of drinking age and show photo ID’s regularly right? Yeah sure!

 

5.    Where’s The Proof?

Those who disagree on photo ID requirements say there is no wide spread proof of voter fraud and election tampering.

However I can think of many incidences in this state that require our immediate attention to this problem. JoAnne Kloppenburg being the latest victim of election fraud!!

“There are legitimate and widespread anomalies, and widespread questions about the conduct of (the Wisconsin Supreme Court) election, most visibly in Waukesha County, but also in counties around the state.” 

JoAnne Kloppenburg on Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 in remarks at a news conference.

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/apr/29/joanne-kloppenburg/joanne-kloppenburg-says-anomalies-were-widespread-/

She and/or her legions of supporters, fans, and the like cited voter fraud and election tampering in her loss to Prosser. And yes she lost!! Now she is wasting money going after nuns and bs that is wasting more and more money. But more power to her!

I saw on my own FB page, read in the Journal/Sentinel and listening to all the talk shows how much fraud people saw. “It made me sick and we need to do something about it!” one man told a talk show host on a popular radio talk show.

Even the Milwaukee Police Department way back in 2004 documented rampant voter fraud. Being a logical thinker, if it was very bad then and nothing has been done since, what must it be like today? EVEN WORSE!

Here is the MPD published report:

http://media2.620wtmj.com/breakingnews/ElectionResults_2004_VoterFraudInvestigation_MPD-SIU-A2474926.pdf

So the next time someone gives you this tired mantra about disenfranchising voters, go buy a pack of smokes, or try to do some banking, or even try to get a damn library book and then tell me how it felt! Where your feelings hurt? Did you feel violated? Were you embarrassed? Did you feel like your civil rights were hindered?

Peace Family,

WW

 

Interesting Statistics from which I based my categories

Wisconsin’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. Those without state-issued photo identification and who would need to obtain one under the Wisconsin Voter ID bill include:

  • 23 percent of all elderly Wisconsinites over the age of 65
  • 17 percent of white men and women
  • 55 percent of all African American males and 49 percent of African American women
  • 46 percent of Hispanic men and 59 percent of Hispanic women
  • 78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24

[Driver License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin, 6/05]

http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_50902.pdf

New Berlin Racists or Protecting Their Way Of Life

Posted by Wonder Woman on

New Berlin Racists or Protecting Their Way Of Life?

Recently New Berlin shot down a proposal that would allow development of low-income/disabled housing. Residents opposed the new development citing concerns of race and the “type” of people the development would attract.

Do you think race played a role?

Of course it did. Witnessing what the folks in New Berlin see all day, every day on TV would you want that in your backyard? Do they have a right to be concerned or are their fears justified?

After all some of those “New Berlinites” moved there to get away from the urban issues they despise in the first place. Why should they have to be forced to take on new residents who show little concern for how they live, tear up property and more importantly bring down property values?

So what do you think family? Are they right to be concerned or should they open up their doors and take a chance, hoping that their new neighbors would be great assets to the community? I think they have a fair point but I also think it speaks to the segregation problems the city and state face, well choose to ignore in large part.

For those who might live in the development, would they want to live there knowing they are not welcome? What kinds of problems would that spark, cross burnings, fights, outrage?

I think they are right to be concerned but does that make them racists or concerned citizens fighting to keep an expected standard on their way of life?

Peace Family,

WW

 

Here is the story from the Journal Sentinel:

Race played no role in denying housing plan, New Berlin says

By Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

 

http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/120722469.html

 

April 26, 2011 4:20 p.m. | New Berlin — The race of potential tenants of MSP Real Estate’s proposed low-income housing project played no role in the city’s decision to reject the development, and MSP’s lawsuit alleging the city is violating federal law by blocking the project should be dismissed, the city says.

MSP filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee last month, contending that race was a key factor in the city’s decision to rescind approval of the low-income housing and senior apartments proposed for the City Center just months after the project was approved.

MSP is seeking $12,995,996 in compensatory damages and an unspecified amount in punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.

In the suit, MSP alleges the city and Mayor Jack Chiovatero violated both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some of the planned apartments were going to be disabled-accessible, the lawsuit says.

The city in a response filed in court April 12 acknowledges that there was community opposition to MSP’s proposal and that “some of it was based upon issues of race.”

But the development was rejected because MSP’s proposal failed to comply with city ordinances and other guidelines for development, the city says.

Among the problems, MSP’s proposal did not include the required number of parking spaces and MSP had not properly created the parcel on which the development was to be built, the city contends.

MSP’s site included land that was part of Deer Creek condominiums, but the company did not have the consent from condo owners to use that parcel, the city says.

“Despite what might have been going on in the community and the opinions expressed by some members of the public, the fact remains that these unresolved legal issues were fatal to this project and would have precluded it from moving forward under any circumstances,” City Attorney Mark G. Blum says in New Berlin’s response.

MSP issued a statement Tuesday standing by its contention that race was a factor.

“This development received legal approvals, which were reversed,” MSP said in the statement. “The mayor has admitted that he recognized and gave in to opposition to this project based upon race, which we believe prompted the reversal of approvals and violates federal law.”

Turning Earth Day Black!

Posted by Wonder Woman on

 

Turing Earth Day Black!

Environmental Injustices Affecting The Black Community and Earth Day

You think of Earth Day and you think of white folks planting trees and other such fluff. What you need to know is that African Americans, especially those of us in the highly populated areas of Mother Earth are the ones who need to be vigilant about Earth Day, every day!

What Is Earth Day?

Short version…April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson-Governor of Wisconsin declared Earth Day, a way to call the nation’s attention to the issues of Earth and our need to be better caretakers of it.

This year’s theme is “A Billion Acts of Green.”

Why?

“Black Americans are disproportionately exposed to environmental injustices and life-threatening pollutions and toxic hazards. These dangerous problems are local, statewide, regional, national and international. In Harlem, South Central Los Angeles, Southside Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, New Orleans, and in just about every other place in America where we reside, we find ourselves disproportionately with high rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases, multiple forms of cancer, and other sicknesses that are directly related to harmful exposure to environmental hazards in the air that we breathe, as well as in the water and food that we consume.”

 Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

There are many reports that link the food we eat to the ever changing hormonal imbalance our young girls especially, are facing. PMS (Premenstrual Symptoms) or worse PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder), cause ongoing depression, anger and rage, difficulty concentrating, overeating, and fatigue to name a few. You may also notice that our young girls are bigger and “curvier” than ever before. How many times have you walked passed a young woman and noticed that she is built like a full grown woman? This has also been linked to the hormones found in our food and water supplies that can cause lifelong imbalances in all of us.

Think of all the toxins farm animals are injected with and that our fresh produce is really jacked up with hormones to make it bigger, grow faster, and be more appealing to the eye. We are poisoning ourselves while we think we are eating healthy. In fact some of our produce and bottled water is as cancer causing as a lit cigarette! We read about lead poisoning and our water supply and the connections to cancer every day!

We can’t even swim in Lake Michigan but yet we are exposed to its effects every day. As soon as it gets warm where do we all head? You really want to know what MMSD has swimming around in those “overflows” and sewage dumping that we keep side stepping?

What are we as a community doing to ward off some of the toxins we are exposed to especially in big metropolises like Milwaukee? Earth Day is OUR chance to remind the entire community about the need to be good stewards of our planet. It is not a white issue at all. It is definitely a black issue as well. It’s an “everybody” issue! We all need to work together to begin making our urban areas safer.

Another case-in-point for you:

“Did you know that many of the growing lists of so-called “learning disabilities” that affect too many of the children in the Black American community maybe environmentally related to exposures from lead poisoning and other toxic substances laced in many of our neighborhoods?”

 Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

This is indeed scary! Is it any wonder why our kids are falling so far behind? If they live and breathe toxins every day and can’t focus, how can we expect anyone to teach them anything?

So How Do We Make Earth Day Black?

Taking Earth Day and making it Black must remain a priority issue for us. It does not have to be trivial, stupid, or a labor of wasted time. In fact families can use the time to do something useful and unifying like planting that tree or starting a garden, or cleaning up. When is the last time you saw a young person walking around your neighborhood with trash bags and gloves and repairing the damage some of their friends cause? How many people do we see littering all over the place but we keep on walking and think what a horrible person?

Do you talk to your kids or young people, or even talk to some of us “adults” about how we livin’? Does the inner city have to look like one big garbage can filled with trash and blight everywhere? Can we unite to call our mayor and aldermen to find grant money to spruce up that abandoned building we all know is sitting there, over a decade, with no promise of anything to come? Can we petition for a park or a place for us to begin gardening or co-ops? We have grants for everything else under the sun! We can use this day to teach our youth that they are not just responsible for themselves, but teach them that they are global citizens. What happens in Japan happens in our backyards too! This is a good time to build community and remind ourselves of our pledge to Kwanzaa the seven guiding principles that should be worked on every day of our lives.

If you are looking for event s in your area, please visit “earthday.org”

And let us not forget to send a shout out to Growing Power a nonprofit entity with an emphasis on this African American community which helps people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. They did just receive a major grant to help move them and us forward. We need to see more of this kind of “out of the box” thinking in this city!!

Please support them in this major undertaking!

http://www.growingpower.org/

More about African American Environmental Efforts Can Be Found Here:

The Grio

http://www.thegrio.com/specials/earth-day/

I leave you with some statistics to help us all understand the damage of Asthma because we all know someone with it. It is one of the largest infiltrators of the Milwaukee African American yet we have some power to change its destructive course if we start to focus on Earth Day and its immediate impacts on our community in particular. Over 3 million African Americans have Asthma and we are 3 times more likely to die from it. Asthma thrives in large part because of our quality of life, or lack thereof.

Peace Family,

WW

Asthma and African Americans

• In 2009, about 2,380,000 African Americans reported that they currently have asthma.

• African American women were 30% more likely to have asthma than non-Hispanic White women, from 2001-2003.

• In 2006, African Americans were three times more likely to die from asthma related causes than the White population.

• From 2003-2005, African American children had a death rate 7 times that of non-Hispanic White children.

• African Americans had asthma-related emergency room visits 4.5 times more often than Whites in 2004.

• Black children have a 260% higher emergency department visit rate, a 250% higher hospitalization rate, and a 500% higher death rate from asthma, as compared with White children.

• Children in poor families are more likely to ever have been diagnosed with asthma.

http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=6170

 

African Americans & Asthma

African Americans have the highest asthma prevalence of any racial/ethnic group. The current asthma prevalence rate among Blacks was 38 percent higher than that for Whites. African Americans account for 26 percent of the 4,200 deaths attributed to asthma in 2001. African Americans were three times more likely to die from asthma than Whites.

http://blackdoctor.org/content.aspx?counter=96

 

A Black American Earth Day

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA Columnist

http://keyconversationsradio.com/?p=1888

 

Top 10 Environmental Issues Affecting Urban America

By Talia Whyte

http://www.thegrio.com/slideshow/the-top-ten-environmental-issues-affecting-america.php

 

Earth Day turns 40 this year, but many African-Americans have never seen environmentalism as a priority until recently. With Van Jones and Majora Carter becoming household names, green is now the new black. Here is a list of 10 environmental justice issues affecting the black community that should be given full attention by all Americans.

1. Air pollution

Air pollution is a serious problem in communities of color, as poor air quality can contribute to a host of health problems.

2. Industrial Sites and Illegal Waste Dumping

Most communities of color live near power plants, oil refineries or waste management facilities. Industrial waste that is not disposed of appropriately (or legally) can get into the water system and land used for housing and agriculture.. Improper waste dumping creates a host of health problems, ranging from asthma to lung cancer.

3. Mercury Exposure

Fish is an important source of animal proteins and other nutrients, but it can also contain a high percentage of mercury emissions generally from incinerators, coal-burning power plants and other industrial sites, which can have a devastating effect on people of color.

4. Water Safety

Water is considered a fundamental human right, but many communities of color lack safe drinking water, swim near waste-contaminated beaches and live near polluted flood waters.

5. Transit Justice

Public transit is used at a higher rate by more people of color and low income communities than whites.

6. Food deserts

Communities of color are more likely to live in “food deserts” — areas where communities lack access to supermarkets and other sources of affordable, nutritious foods necessary for maintaining a healthy diet. Food deserts play a major role in poor health and environmental degradation.

7. Urban Green Space

As more skyscrapers and industries find homes in urban areas, less green space becomes available, especially for communities of color.

8. Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is possible the most damaging environmental injustice.

9. Climate Change and Basic Living

The growing climate change problem means that people of color and low income communities will soon have to pay more for basic necessities.

10. Heat in the City

Since most people of color live in inner cities, they are twice as likely to die in a heat wave, and suffer from more heat-related stress and illnesses.