By Martina Correia

My name is Martina Correia and I am on Death Row in Georgia.

No I have not murdered anybody, never even been on trial. I am on death row because that is where my brother lives.

Death Row has been for me and my family a living nightmare. As the eldest of five children I have always been responsible for protecting my siblings, and I keep wondering what I could have done to go back in time or change past history.

My father died of pure depression and grief, my mother prays and prays and prays and cries and cries and cries. Late night phone calls terrify us, prison visits elate us, and death is always upon us. They say we are on the side of the murderer; we have been treated at times like criminals.

We temporarily lost our place of worship, we lost friends, we lost jobs but we never lost faith or the unconditional love of Troy, my brother.

We became the invisible victims, the tormented, the shamed; we became the enemy of the state.

I once believed in Justice, I don’t anymore. My life is a constant battle, I fight to save my brother, I fight to save myself from cancer, I fight to protect and educate my son and I fight to see my mother smile. It is a terrible thing to know someone you love will be killed, the day, the hour, with years of constant torment and fear.

On death row you see the other families awaiting execution and you don’t know what to say: you wonder if their pain and suffering will be over or just added to.

My greatest fear is that in the judicial system no one really cares and my brother will be killed by the State of Georgia. I look at my son who is old enough to ask the question, “Why do they want to kill my Uncle Troy?” I don’t have a good answer.

I feel at times, it would be better to die of cancer than to live and see my brother executed for a crime he did not commit. I live day to day thinking of death and dying, I think to myself, “What can I do to save Troy?” or even, “Will I be alive to see him walk free?”

My name is Martina and I am on Death Row

*Cross-posted on The Grio

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

Last Thursday the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and for legalized segregation.

It arrived more than a hundred years late, but better late than never. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to pass a similar resolution, and when they do, the bipartisan resolution will acknowledge our nation’s need to take a historic leap out of the shameful past of racial discrimination and toward a future that promises all citizens full access to the legal protections laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

But we must go beyond the civil rights guaranteed in the Constitution and advocate for the human rights that will assure that America’s promise is realized for all. While our Constitution mandates equality, for example, there is no constitutional guarantee for an education, let alone a good education. The fight for good schools is a struggle for our human rights.

Some have opined that there is no longer a need for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and that we as a society are post-racial because of the election of our first black president. But we cannot be post-racial until we are post-racism.

The case of Troy Davis, an African American man set for execution who we believe was wrongly convicted, is an exemplar of the disparities that still rock our nation (see IAMTROY.com). Davis was convicted of killing a police officer and has spent 18 years on death row. There is no physical evidence linking him to the crime and seven of the nine witnesses recanted or contradicted their testimony.

His case has sparked an outcry from both proponents and opponents of the death penalty including former FBI director William Sessions and conservative presidential candidate Bob Barr.

Yet our laws don’t allow him a new trial to reexamine the evidence that points to his innocence.

African-Americans are disproportionately represented on death row. Of the 3,500 people on death row, about 42 percent are black, and virtually all are poor. Studies underscore that it is race and class, more than guilt, that determines whether a defendant, once convicted, is sentenced to death.

The statistics paint an ongoing portrait of inequality. Unemployment for African-Americans remains twice that of whites and studies show there is no scientific rationale — neither education nor experience — that explains the gap. In some American cities, 50 percent of school-aged black men drop out of school and as much as 50 percent of young black men are unemployed.

Now, as we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NAACP in New York from July 11-16 (NAACP.org), we recognize that despite our many accomplishments, we have a long path ahead to right the inequity that still racks our nation.

Prompted by the riots in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Illinois, where a mob of whites containing many of the town’s “best citizens,” raged for two days, killed and wounded scores of African-Americans, and drove thousands from the city, a multiracial group of intellectuals, journalists and activists gathered in a small New York apartment to launch the NAACP and fight lynching’s and mob violence.

History has shown the efficacy of our tried and true approach: dreaming bold dreams, breaking them down into incremental steps and ultimately achieving big victories. And our triumphs strengthen the fabric of democracy in America.

When, after a multidecade-long struggle, we ended the cruel practice of lynching, not only African-Americans benefited but also Catholics, who were, after black people, the likeliest targets of lynchings in the South. Similarly, our lawsuit against 15 banks for steering African-Americans into the predatory loans that have devastated neighborhoods today would force transparency and accountability that would benefit all Americans.

The election of President Obama is the result of a decades-long fight for political inclusion. His victory may have come as a bolt from the blue for some, but at the NAACP, we know that our century of hard work helped pave the way for the junior senator from Illinois, a black man, to win the White House. If our unofficial motto, “registration, mobilization, education,” sounds familiar, it is because that deceptively simple formula informed the successful election campaign of Obama.

The NAACP has always been about the present and the future, and we choose to focus on solutions, rather than just bemoan the hard work to be done: This doesn’t indicate denial, or ineffectiveness, we simply prefer action over rhetoric.

Now, we see Lincoln’s radical determination to extend the rights of the Constitution to all American citizens as the NAACP’s guiding light. We don’t often hear the words “radical” and “NAACP” in the same sentence but I like the proximity:

We’ve kicked off our next hundred years with actions that might have been perceived as “radical” at our founding a century ago — from ending the death penalty in New Mexico to successfully passing anti-racial profiling legislation in Missouri and other states.

Being radical is not new for me. I was born out of resistance to Jim Crow when my mom and dad married despite their union being illegal in many states.

My dad, Fred, was disowned for marrying a black woman and was used to being the only white guy thrown out of the diner for trying to integrate the lunch counter. My mom, Ann, was an early activist in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

My generation, was told the civil rights battles had largely been won — “Go forth young man and make money, enjoy your life and be successful” — but we woke up to find ourselves the most murdered and incarcerated generation in history.

So I chose to be an activist, starting at 14 with voter registration drives. I was later kicked out of Columbia University for protesting — ultimately graduating and becoming a Rhodes scholar.

During that forced hiatus, I journeyed south where I learned firsthand about the tenacity and pain of southern racism and poverty. I already knew well its northern urban counterpart. I also learned that we could win — which filled me with a sense of hope for the nation and confidence in our ability to impact the world.

Our many victories and the election of our first black president fuels my optimism over the bright future of the civil and human rights movement. It is spiced with a dash of pride, too. Thanks, in part to the work of the NAACP, my 3-year-old daughter and her girlfriends will grow up in an America where the idea of a woman president — or a black man, or an Asian woman, or a Latino man — isn’t likely to be “radical” at all.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Benjamin Todd Jealous.

*Cross-posted on CNN

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

As Father’s Day approaches, we often reflect on the male role models, father figures and patriarchs who are instrumental in our lives. We hold them in high regard because they possess qualities we admire: courage and strength, perseverance and determination, humility and grace.

To DeJuan Correira, his “Uncle Troy” embodies all of these attributes. A mentor to his nephew, Troy Anthony Davis played a prominent role in DeJuan’s development into a superior student while simultaneously providing support to DeJuan’s mother, Martina, Troy’s sister who was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. Davis’ accomplishments as a father figure and family man are astounding given his circumstances; since 1991, Davis has been on death row, wrongly convicted of the murder of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail.

His case is one of several in the United States where black men are convicted of violent crimes despite faulty testimony, ineffective counsel and reasonable doubt. In Missouri, Reggie Clemons was convicted of the 1991 murder of two young women despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime. His conviction and was based on coerced confessions, inadequate defense lawyers and a prosecution team that was held in contempt of court. Currently sitting on Missouri’s Death Row, Clemons is set to be executed on June 17.

But the Troy Davis case is the most compelling case of wrongful conviction in decades. No physical evidence links Davis to the crime; no murder weapons were found and seven out of nine eyewitnesses recanted or contradicted their original statements. The facts of his innocence are so overwhelming that it has inspired conservative former Congressman Bob Barr and former FBI head William Sessions to speak out. The chorus calling for a new trial includes former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. Despite irrefutable evidence of his innocence, Chatham County is one of 159 counties in the state of Georgia. The county currently has approximately 250,000 residents, less than 3 percent of Georgia’s state population. Yet this tiny county has produced one-third of Georgia’s exonerations and 40 percent of its death row exonerations, statistics that reveal a questionable history of negligent legal practices. The Troy Davis case is the latest in a series of disturbing instances of Chatham County’s disregard for justice and a proclivity to prosecute and potentially execute people innocent of the  crimes of which they’ve been convicted. The new Chatham County District Attorney, Larry Chisolm, who is black, could reopen the case, but so far he has refused to do so.

In a desperate attempt to silence Davis, the Georgia Department of Corrections has prohibited all television access to him. Interview requests from 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC and the Associated Press have been denied, and the prison has threatened to revoke Davis’ phone privileges should any family member allow media to speak to him. These drastic infringements on Davis’ First Amendment rights are a measure of the state’s fear that exposure could reveal the truth about racism and injustice in Chatham County and in the state of Georgia.

While many in his position would be resentful about the unfair circumstances and an unjust system that put them behind bars, Davis exudes benevolence, responsibility and leadership. The effect Davis has had on his nephew is evident—DeJuan achieved top honors in the state’s Social Science Fair for his project entitled “Time for Change: How Does the Troy Anthony Davis Case Affect Georgia?” From the confines of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, Davis has mentored and provided an example to young DeJuan by being positive, unwavering and unbroken.

Davis is steadfast in his belief that justice will eventually be served and that he will be absolved.

He has served nearly 18 years of his life on death row for a crime he did not commit; time he will never get back. Nonetheless, the window remains open to act before an irreversible crime is committed. We must put a stop to this injustice before it’s too late.

On June 25, the Supreme Court will hear a last ditch appeal in the case. If Davis’ writ of habeas corpus is denied, within weeks—maybe days—an execution date will be set.

I am urging everyone to take a moment to save an innocent life. Go to IAMTROY.com. where you can send a letter to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and ask him to commute Troy’s sentence.

Benjamin Todd Jealous is the president and CEO of the NAACP.

* Cross-posted on The Root

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

The struggle to end the lock ‘em up and throw away the key policies that resulted in the U.S. jailing more of its citizens than any other industrialized country has just won a significant victory.

For over 35 years, families in New York have been plagued by the notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws. The policy which included long mandatory prison sentences for first time non violent drug offenders resulted in major drug lords often going free while the non violent first offenders were given harsh sentences. The rule was particularly harsh for African Americans and women. In New York by 1990, 61.2 percent of all female prisoners were committed for a drug offense, compared to 32.2 percent of men. Mothers, who needed drug treatment, were thrown in jail for sentences as long as 20 years, torn from their families leaving children to fend for themselves in the foster care system. African Americans and Latinos constituted 94.2 percent of the total population of drug felons in New York, whites were 5.3 percent.

After decades of protest by civil rights and civil liberties groups and impacted communities, the law has ended with its repeal by New York State officials. It’s expected to save New York over a quarter billion dollars a year, but more importantly it will usher in an era of smarter crime polices. The new approach will send most non violent drug offenders to drug courts where they have access to treatment and implement a new law creating a drug “kingpin” offense for “organized drug traffickers who profit from and prey on drug users” and new crimes for adults who sell drugs to children. It rights the backward impact of the previous law, that seemed to target the victims with prison and let the “bad guys” go free. Now instead of unemployed teenagers, or girlfriends coerced by their boyfriends into carrying a package of drugs, the major drug dealers will get the prison sentences and the drug addicts will get the treatment.

New York Governor David Paterson should be applauded for his unwavering and longtime support for ending these cruel drug laws. Immediately prior to the repeal, he cited the example of a female drug addict who was arrested 60 times over 25 years. After being successfully treated for her addiction, she became a drug counselor. It shows the wisdom of the new policy.

There is a perfect storm for change – a confluence of state fiscal crises and the steady drumbeat of voices for prison reform. States like California, with dangerously overcrowded prisons, are adopting smarter sentencing policies similar to New York. Some states are letting prisoners go early in order to save money. We are at a rare moment when voices advocating an end to mass incarceration; urging alternative sentencing and ending the practice of using prisons to lock up the mentally ill and the addicted are resonating.

This moment reflects an important window in our history. It is the time to dream big. The economic and political shifts in our country open the door to advance policies that we thought would take decades to win. Overturning the draconian drug laws in New York was one of many battles predicted to take at least 5 more years to win, but the political shifts– reflected in the election of President Obama –and the unprecedented fiscal crises brings us a unique opportunity for change.

Like all battles before it, we have to keep moving forward until we achieve the comprehensive change our country needs. Now is the time.

Benjamin Todd Jealous is President and CEO of the NAACP

Its 6:59am and I’m sitting in the Laurel, Maryland Community Center waiting to vote. Wow! I didn’t know I had so many Black neighbors (I don’t get out much). There is easily almost 500 people here already. They just opened the polling booths and you would’ve thought that the Ravens just scored a touchdown…the crowd went bananas!

I’m a bit overwhelmed right now - trying not to cry in front of these strangers I now share a kinship with because we are participating in a historic event together. I’ve been on the road nonstop it seems working to see this day. Not just with regards to voting but everything I do with the NAACP.

Since I was 14 years old I’ve wanted to be a civil rights worker. I’m still not exactly sure why - strangely enough, maybe it was that picture I saw of two young boys that were lynched for trying to register Black people to vote. And yet here I am today, in 2008 - standing in a gym in a middle class neighborhood, with a bunch of Black people about to exercise their right to vote.

Today, a Black man in America could really become the President of these United States of America. A Black man who became his party’s nominee on the same day in 1955 when the body of his fellow Chicagoan, Emmitt Till’s mutilated body was found in Mississippi. A Black man who less than 200 years ago wasn’t even considered a man by this country’s government. Please understand that this isn’t partisan talk - this is Providence. The manifestation of God’s benevelance. Tthe personification of ancestors’ prayers.

In memory and in honor of those two young men and countless others, I am humbled and grateful to God for allowing me to experience this moment in time.

Stefanie Brown
National Director
NAACP Youth & College Division

November 1, 2008

Youth and college students representing Georgia area universities came to Columbus, Ga. on a crisp Saturday morning “fired up and ready to go” to kick-off their part of the NAACP Youth & College “Think Hard, Vote Hard” Bus Tour.

Just outside of the A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium where football fans were firing up their barbeque grills to tailgate for the Fountain Classic, students, NAACP volunteers and other participants were fired up with excitement as they marched down the street holding an NAACP “Vote Hard” banner repeating in unison: “I know I can…vote on Tuesday.”

Once the marchers reached the rallying site, NAACP youth college presidents representing chapters such as Morehouse, Spelman and the University of West Georgia College, charged the crowd and surrounding game day tailgaters with pumping music and words of “getting out the vote.”

NAACP President and CEO, Benjamin Todd Jealous addressed the youth and was excited to see their enthusiasm, as many were new to the political process but very engaged. Following, was a step show performance, closing the rally whereupon students were greeted by President Jealous. Students and NAACP volunteers boarded their respective buses that would take them into various predominately Black neighborhoods to engage residents to learn if they had voted and provided educational materials if they were not aware of their voting rights. Cities on the tour included: Talbotton, Thomaston, Macon (Lunch Rally), Jonesboro and Marietta.

During their whistle stop in Marietta, Paine College students met with NAACP Cobb Branch President Deane Bonner and others at the Cobb Branch office, who expressed their gratitude for what the youth were doing.

History and pre-law student Keishaundra Rucker, who is also the Paine College NAACP President, along with psychology major Oscar Jessie of Augusta, were one of several students who answered questions from Marietta residents ranging from what to do if they were on probation, what they should be prepared for when they went to the polls and where to report issues if they experienced problems making their vote count.

Final activities culminated that evening at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Bus Tour Update #3
10pm

Demetrius Fisher

The NAACP Vote Hard Bus Tour just pulled away from Moncks Corner, South Carolina on our final stop for this weekend. What a fantastic time we had tonight. There were about 400 people at tonight’s rally, and media everywhere so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these young people get their picture in the paper!

We were hosted tonight by Joshua United Methodist Church, and we can’t thank them enough. We had local ministers giving the invocation and benediction, and a whole host of NAACP leadership to thank this group of youth for all that they have done today.

NAACP board members Madie Robinson from Florence, SC and Gloria Sweet-Love from Brownsville, TN (board member and President of the Tennessee State Conference) came in to cheer on the crowd. We also had Branch President Andrea Glove, treasurer Alicia Brooks, Claflin University NAACP Chapter President Britney Tringle and Akeem Brown, the Political Action Director of the South Carolina Youth & College Division.

Think about it. In one day these seven buses hit seven cities across South Carolina with voter education and get out the vote material. The three rallies combined drew well over a thousand people, these young people knocked on hundreds of doors to talk to people about voting, and we passed out thousands of pieces of literature about voting rights and voter education. That’s an amazing accomplishment, no wonder they’re so exhausted!

In the next ten days, I hope that you will take the lead from these youth and do something to tell the people around you just how important it is to use your vote.

Check back next weekend when the Vote Hard Bus Tour will be back on the road!

Demetrius

—————————————

Bus Tour Update
2:45pm, Columbia Stop

Demetrius Fisher

This day just keeps getting better. We just pulled away from Columbia, South Carolina, where we had over 600 people at the NAACP Vote Hard Rally. It was so big that Fox News and some of the local papers showed up! I just can’t tell you how energizing it is for these young people who got up at 4:30 this morning to get out here and educate voters.

The rally was at the Allen University Student Center, and people were packed inside and outside. We had a DJ on the lawn and there were people everywhere with NAACP signs and shirts, people were even stopping their cars to see what was going on! Even better was that Benedict College is literally across the street from the student center, and it was their Homecoming. So we had lots of people coming over from Benedict to join us too.

Dr. Lonnie Randolph, the President of the South Carolina State Conference, helped get the crowd charged up. We also had Judge Mildred McDuffy from Columbia, President of the Allen University Student Government Association John Doctor, and Shamieka Johnson, the President of the Allen University chapter of the NAACP.

The canvassing is being really well received in the community too; we have people telling us that they are so happy to see the young people out there walking door to door. They are listening to the youth leaders, taking the literature and putting up our yard signs on the spot.

These young people will be exhausted by tonight, I know I will be, but this is a day that they will never forget. We’re teaching a whole new generation to be community activists, and that’s worth getting up at 4am to do any day of the week.

We have three more stops to go, then our final rally tonight in the Charleston area at 7pm, so look for my last update late tonight.

Shamieka Johnson
President, Allen University NAACP

It is just amazing to see how many young people were willing to get up so early and be so pumped up to get out there and educate voters. This is definitely one of the most inspiring things I have ever taken part in. The NAACP is so much bigger than just my chapter, and we can do so much when we work together.

One of the best things is the rally really brought unity to the Allen University campus. It brought people out who didn’t really know what the NAACP was about, and that was wonderful. We got a chance to network, and even increase the membership.

Akeem Brown
Political Action Director
South Carolina Youth & College Division

What has inspired me most about the day is seeing the youth out there. It’s not just college students; a lot of them are from the Youth Councils. These are high school students who can’t vote themselves. But they are out here pushing others who can vote to do it and giving them the information they need.

We got up at 4:30 this morning, but the energy of the day is keeping us motivated. We have rallies throughout the day, and just being together is keeping us energized and moving. Everyone in these communities has opened their arms to us and has been as hospitable as they can be. It’s just wonderful.

———————————–

Bus Tour Update
9:30am October 25th

We just left the kick-off rally in York, South Carolina, and it was such a wonderful experience. I opened the rally with a few remarks, then our Bus Tour Musician John Fitzgerald McGill performed some old spirituals. We had words of inspiration and encouragement from Rev. Charles Darden, Pastor, New Home AME Zion Church. Then the Mayor of York, branch and State Conference leadership, city officials, and Congressman John Spratts got the crowd really charged up!

We have seven buses making their way across South Carolina today to make sure young people know just how important it is to get out there and cast your vote. It’s not just the about the President, it’s about the mayor of your town, the school board, the sheriff, the people who are going to make decisions that effect how you live every single day.

Judging by the number of young people who got up at 4 am to get on the bus, I know this is going to be a big success. These youth are fired up! We have jam-packed buses from South Carolina State University, Claflin University and the Orangeburg Youth Council with us this morning, and as we make our way to the next three whistle stops we’ll be meeting up with buses from Allen University, Winthrop University, Rock Hill and Western York.

It is just amazing to see these young people so energized and excited about being part of the political process. Many of them are doing this for the very first time, and they couldn’t wait to hit the streets and distribute pamphlets about voting in the community. I wish you all could be here with me, it makes you feel so very proud about the work that the NAACP does to engage our youth.

We’re on the bus on our way to the next rally in Columbia at noon, but we’ll be stopping in Clover and Rock Hill on the way. Check back this afternoon and I’ll post news from the Columbia rally.

Demetrius Fisher