On June 18 and 19th, I had the privilege of attending the 3rd Annual Blogging While Brown Conference as an NAACP representative. Blogging While Brown was created in 2008 as a response to the low level of diversity in some of the largest and most popular blogging conferences. The purpose of Blogging While Brown is to give Bloggers of Color an opportunity to connect in person, discuss issues affecting Bloggers of Color, and learn about the latest technology that will assist them with their work.

I feel compelled to open this tale with the caveat that I was somewhat skittish about attending Blogging While Brown due to the skepticism by some in the Black blogger community toward the NAACP. Much of the criticism stemmed from the NAACP’s perceived lack of tech savvy and an overall absence of blogger engagement. While I work at the NAACP and am aware of our history (or lack thereof) with the Black blogosphere, I also am aware of the strides we have made with the recognition of technology as both an asset in organizing and communication, and the significance of the Black blogosphere in helping us advance that mission.

I was pleased to find that my presence was well-received and that folks were actually very interested in hearing what I had to say. I had the opportunity to speak to a number of the more than 200 attendees, who blogged on a number of diverse topics including politics, science, technology, personal finance and debt elimination, family, and natural hair, to name a few. The range of topics may have been diverse, but the passion and enthusiasm displayed toward the respective genre was consistent and a requisite trait of each blogger.

The Conference opened with a blogger’s boot camp for newbie bloggers, followed by a White House visit for all attendees. I arrived just after the introductory panel opened, which discussed the origin, meaning and significance of BWB. A reception and game night closed the opening day, which was my opportunity to meet other attendees and throw down in a game of spades-a tradition in my hometown, Philly.

Day 2 began with a brief yoga session and moved into a series of panels discussing the future of blogging, advertising guidelines, blog improvement tips, the business aspect of blogging, and blogging as a means of creating change. A town hall followed, and the conference wrapped up with a panel of Breakthrough Bloggers - those who “made it” to the next level of blogging (#nowplaying Jay-Z - “Momma I Made It”). It’s difficult for me to pinpoint one favorite moment of BWB, but I think that panel may have been the perfect mix of blogger-specific guidance and general life-coaching inspiration. The panel featured bloggers/rock stars Baratunde, Afro Bella, and Anil Dash, and each had an inspiring tale or quote to share with the crowd. Perhaps the quote that resonated with me most came from Anil Dash: “When you step out on faith, the universe will meet you…if you believe something is out there you will find it.”

At BWB, I was in the presence of 200 men and women of varying shades, backgrounds and interests, all of whom recognize the power of their voice and possess the vision to make sure it is heard. In that sense, the common thread between these individuals runs much deeper than their self-identity as bloggers of color. They comprise a network, a community - and a powerful one at that. I was asked by one blogger whether I came to BWB as an NAACP rep or an attendee. My reply was that I came as an NAACP rep, and came away with knowledge, information and connections that hopefully will be cultivated on both a professional and personal level. For that, I am grateful that I could step out into BWB on faith, and even more thankful the BWB universe welcomed me.

You can reach Curt at curtisjohnson@naacpnet.org or on Twitter @curtjohnson.

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Originally Posted on CNN.com

(CNN) — On Wednesday the saga of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis will begin its last chapter. In an extremely rare ruling last summer, the United States Supreme Court ordered a federal judge in Georgia to grant Troy an evidentiary hearing to prove his innocence.

The ruling is unusual in that the Supreme Court has not granted this writ of habeas corpus in more than 50 years. Their decision is a strong indication that they are concerned about the constitutionality of executing the innocent — as am I.

Although much work still must be done in our justice system to ensure the innocent do not pay the price of the guilty, the granting of this evidentiary hearing is a major step for Troy Davis and for many other likely innocent prisoners sitting on death row; Troy Davis will have an opportunity to tell his side of the story and new evidence will be considered in this nearly 20-year-old case.

The hearing will allow the testimony of witnesses who have recanted or contradicted their original eyewitness testimonies to be heard and examined in a court of law. At long last, the courts will hear critical testimony that they were prevented from hearing in the original trial.

Troy’s journey to death row began in the summer of 1989, when he was arrested in connection with the killing of an off-duty police officer outside a Burger King restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. Two years later he was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime many believe he did not commit.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Davis almost a year ago, and I was convinced of his innocence. My sense of his innocence is impressionistic, but a close examination of the case indicates there was no physical evidence that tied him to the crime, no weapon was ever recovered and seven of the nine eyewitnesses have recanted or changed their original testimony in sworn affidavits, citing alleged police coercion.

One of the witnesses, a teenager, said the police threatened to hold him as an accessory to murder, warning that he would “go to jail for a long time” and would be lucky to ever get out because a police officer had been killed.

Since that trial, several members of the jury have delivered sworn statements to the court, indicating that their decision was based on incomplete and unreliable evidence. Given the murky timeline of the events in the dead of night, eyewitnesses who changed their stories, the pressure placed on the Savannah police department to promptly arrest and convict a “cop killer,” and the alleged coercion of witnesses, it is easy to understand why some jurors have admitted their uncertainty.

For nearly twenty years, Mr. Davis’s life has hung in the balance. Despite the prevalence of evidence and thousands of people rallying to save him from execution, including the NAACP, Amnesty International, former President Jimmy Carter, actor/activist Danny Glover, former FBI director William Sessions and conservative Congressman Bob Barr, the courts stubbornly refused to hear Davis’s claims of innocence…until now.

It is the unjust reality of the death penalty that in our nation that there are more than 3,300 people withering on our nation’s death rows, men and women who are almost universally poor, disproportionately African-American and in some cases innocent. Since 1973, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, 138 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. Executing an innocent person is a mistake that cannot be rectified.

We still have a long way to go before Troy has a chance at life off death row. The standard of proof in the evidentiary hearing turns our criminal justice system on its head. Mr. Davis will be expected to prove his innocence rather than for the state to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is especially challenging given that the crime happened more than 20 years ago and there is no physical evidence, such as DNA.

The Troy Davis case is the most compelling case of innocence in decades and on June 23, 2010, I will join leaders from NAACP, Amnesty International and other faith and community organizations in Savannah, Georgia, lending our support to Troy and his family and offering prayers for a favorable outcome at the hearing. We continue to work tirelessly on behalf of Troy and the MacPhail family to bring the real killer of Officer Mark Allen MacPhail to justice and to bring closure to both families.

Whatever the outcome of the hearing, we will be in the trenches, knocking on doors and holding prayer vigils in the churches of Georgia and across the country until justice prevails for Troy Davis and for all Americans who have been caught in the painful web of injustice.

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BET host Big Tigger held his 9th Annual Celebrity Weekend this past weekend in Washington, D.C. Tigger’s weekend focus on raising awareness of HIV and AIDs in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Some of the participants included recording artists Lyfe Jennings, Teyana Taylor and Tank, NBA stars Kenyon Martin and Vince Carter, comedian Red Grant, Hollywood actress Denyce Lawton and NFL player Shawne Merriman, just to name a few.

It’s always been an honor to participate in the weekend alongside Big Tigger. The 3 day star-studded weekend raises money to support The Street Corner Foundation, working to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS among young adults, minorities and women.

It is a cause that has kept me coming back for 7 years now. HIV has affected my family, my friends, and classmates. It is crucial for people to understand that HIV doesn’t discriminate. It has no regard for any age, race, height, weight, hair color, eye color, or social status.

Today, there remain stigmas associated with those who carry the virus. The best way to attack these stereotypes in our communities is to discuss the issue, so it doesn’t seem so “forbidden” to talk about. Organizations like the NAACP, Black AIDS Institute, Red Cross and The Street Corner Foundation, devise many testings and awareness seminars for our communities. The heartbreaking part is when these initiatives go into play, the turn out isn’t where it should be.

This year HIV Activist Hydeia Broadbent stole the show. Hydeia’s fight against HIV started the day she was born. Twenty-six years later she traveled across the world to share her story. Broadbent’s is a story you seldom hear: she contracted the virus from her mother. She didn’t have the ability to protect herself, yet most of us do have a choice whether or not we want to be affected, and some of us still don’t seem to take the precautions seriously.

You don’t have to be a celebrity or socialite to become an advocate of HIV/AIDS awareness. In fact, my first seminar was offered through the NAACP, and ever since 2005 I have made it my duty to “infect,” as many individuals as I can with the knowledge of the virus, and how it can be prevented.

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Before and during Memorial Day Weekend 2010, the NAACP conducted its sixth annual Operation Bike Week Justice. Each year, dedicated NAACP staff and volunteers monitor the businesses and the police to ensure that all tourists in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are treated equally and fairly.

There are two spring motorcycle festivals in Myrtle Beach. The first, Harley Week, is a predominately white event, occurring two weeks before Memorial Day Weekend. The second, Black Bike Week, is a predominately African American event occurring during Memorial Day Weekend.

Participants have complained that during Black Bike Week many Myrtle Beach businesses would close or subject African Americans to Jim Crow type treatment. Such degrading treatment included refusing to allow African Americans to stay in a hotel, closing certain hotel facilities, barring African Americans males from using public restrooms, forcing African Americans to eat substandard food outside and charging African Americans higher prices for food. Those same businesses remained open and offered full services during Harley Week. As a result of NAACP’s hard work and litigation, many businesses no longer engage in such discriminatory practices. However, this year, the NAACP continued to receive complaints regarding businesses closing during Black Bike Week.

In addition to discrimination from businesses, Black Bike Week participants have been victims of overly aggressive policing tactics. Although the NAACP reached a settlement agreement with the City of Myrtle Beach, there was a 2 to 1 arrest/citation disparity between Black Bike Week and Harley Week in 2009. A disproportionate number of African Americans have been arrested for minor violations such as non-parking use of a parking lot, engine revving and noise.

If you attended Black Bike Week 2010 in Myrtle Beach and experienced any of the aforesaid problems, please call the NAACP complaint hotline at (888) 362-8683.

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Cross-posted from TheGrio.Com

Last week, federal officials announced a decrease in our nation’s jail population for the first time since 1982. This comes at a time when overall crime is down despite this being the worst economic recession in decades. Although the announced decrease in jail population is a promising bit of news, reactions should be measured.

The US is 5 percent of the world’s population and has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Over the last 30 years, the US criminal justice system experienced the second largest increase in government investment, second only to health care. Last year, as state budget shortfalls loomed, 31 states cut education budgets while increasing money for incarceration.

Unless we support ongoing efforts to downscale prisons and jails, our country will literally go broke and funds for other public sector ventures will dry up.

We cannot read too much into the downturn in people jailed. Without changes to policies responsible for high rates of incarceration, any down turn in incarceration can fluctuate and even spike back up.

What the federal government failed to mention, is that during the same time period the country experienced a decrease in jail population, jail space created through expansion projects reached an all time high. The capacity for all jails nationwide reached 849,544 beds at midyear 2009, up more than 2000 from 12 months earlier.

Only when cities, states and the federal government follow the lead of New York, Michigan, and Seattle by systematically changing how the criminal justice system works, will there be reason to believe that a significant downturn in prison population can be sustained.

Policymakers in those states are meeting the challenges by narrowing who goes to jail, reducing the length of time a person is incarcerated and are creating alternative to incarceration opportunities for individuals addicted to drugs and or have mental health problems.

In efforts to reduce low-level drug offenders serving time, legislators in New York significantly reduced and nearly eliminated the state’s notorious Rockefeller drug laws. In Michigan, lawmakers eliminated mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses. In Seattle, local police departments and the public defenders association are piloting the Law Enforcement Assisted Diverson Program(LEAD), where police can opt into sending an offender to a pre-arrest diversion program and help a person get treatment instead of going to jail.

These are all strategies that have helped facilitate a downturn in the jail population and these are all policies that share in the success of reducing crime.

It is time to call for more strategies that meet the need of communities and repudiate the mindset of incarceration as the primary means of accomplishing public safety. The decrease in jail at the same time of decreasing crime rates is a good start, but in many ways, the work has just begun.

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By Monique Morris, NAACP Vice President for Economic Programs

Cross-posted from TheGrio.Com

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the greatest environmental disaster our nation has ever faced–virtually no one is willing to debate that at this point. From the fishermen and business owners whose livelihoods have been negatively affected by the spill to the president himself, the American people are interested in holding British Petroleum (BP) and other contractors accountable for the myriad alleged violations that resulted in the spill. Since April 20th, affected families have sought remedy to this crisis through litigation, documentation, and protests–all with the hope of recovery.

This reaction to such a catastrophe is not new, however. In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, demonstrators protested the spill, and have continued to elevate the long-term effects of its legacy. This unrest, coupled with the civil and criminal probes (similar to the one “Attorney General Eric Holder”:http://www.thegrio.com/politics/feds-open-criminal-probe-of-gulf-oil-spill.php announced on Tuesday from New Orleans), resulted in Exxon paying more than $1 billion in penalties and compensatory damages, which included $125 million in criminal penalties, the largest sum fined to date. With OSHA statistics reporting BP as responsible for more than 760 “egregious, willful” safety violations in the last 5 years -compared to eight by Sunoco and Conoco-Phillips, two by Citgo, and one by Exxon–the degree of BP’s negligence is clear.

Today, advocates are calling for a worldwide boycott of BP until the oil spill is cleaned up and until affected individuals, families, and communities receive compensation for the harm caused by the spill. In fact, the Facebook page, “Boycott BP” has more than 270,000 fans. However, while this call to action is admirable, a boycott of BP may not yield the full results for which advocates are searching. Boycotts are typically used to demonstrate consumer dissatisfaction with a corporation and to demonstrate a collective disagreement with a power structure or decision-making body. They are a symbolic gesture that has, in theory, caused enough of an economic dent to change behaviors, policies, or practices.

In the gulf, BP is in crisis control mode. Without an effective remedy, oil is now estimated to continue spewing into the Gulf until August. While there are a series of protections that need to be put in place, and a host of restitution owed to residents who have suffered dearly from this greed and avoidance of environmental protection laws, the truth is that even if the nation of advocates and concerned citizens vowed not to purchase another drop of BP oil, the company wouldn’t crumble to its knees because of its other sources of income. Oil is but one of the many products offered by the world’s fourth largest company.

One may decide to pass by that BP gas station in favor of another provider, but the truth is that by doing so, the entity taking the hit is the local gas station owner, not British Petroleum. One could vow not to patronize another BP gas station for a year, but that same consumer may be driving on BP asphalt, flying in airplanes lubricated with BP products, drinking bottled water made with BP aromatics, or eating vinegar made with BP acetyls. The bottom line is that a real boycott of BP is harder than you think.

Still, a significant outcry can affect the company’s market value–in six weeks, the firm’s market value has dropped by 40 percent, a loss of $74.4 billion. Additionally, an organized boycott of BP gas also provides a platform to elevate the injustice that has occurred–and continues to occur–in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is an opportunity to strengthen laws that protect individuals and the environment against egregious actions by corporations, and to ensure that compensation for damages are awarded to those whose health and wealth have been harmed by the oil that is now uncontrollably gushing into the gulf. This is also a chance to push for a public discussion about environmental and economic justice and use this as a rally cry for the development of standards that protect communities–including the environment–from abusive practices that can lead to the disaster we are now witnessing.

Our challenge is to think prevention, intervention, and compensation. British Petroleum, as well as its partners, should accept responsibility for the harm they have caused and do everything in their power to remedy the situation. We should all seize this moment to call for corrective action that can keep a collective eye of scrutiny on the corporation until justice is served.

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Originally Posted at TheGrio.Com

While Congress was pushing through the nation’s toughest financial regulatory reform bill in decades last week, nine men were charged with nearly 100 counts of scamming more than $2 million from up-front fees charged to families across the nation.

Though the watchdog component of the new bill, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will have an ability to develop and enforce new rules governing mortgage lending, it may end up doing little to protect consumers from mortgage-related scams, particularly those aimed at foreclosure rescue.

In 2009, 2.8 million foreclosure notice were delivered to American property owners, with one million properties in the pipeline and five million properties in serious delinquency. According to RealtyTrac, one in 389 housing units received a foreclosure filing in April 2010, while many lending institutions streamlined processes to work through backlogs, resulting the repossession of a record 92,432 properties in April.

Though the consumer financial protection agency promises to increase accountability among lending institutions, consumers will still need to beware of scam artists, who have historically targeted communities of color and the elderly, and who may use the uncertainty of the new regulatory reform to disguise their dishonest deeds.

To adequately protect ourselves and our communities from the deleterious effects of foreclosure rescue scams, consumers should only work with counselors that are HUD-approved, and should follow these simple guidelines:

• Never sign over your lease to anyone. A lease/buyback scheme has been a common scam used to lure property owners into a scenario where they turn over the deed to their home in exchange for the promise of a home saved from foreclosure and improved credit. In exchange, the troubled borrower makes a “lease” payment back to the new owner. Troubled borrowers should understand that the new owner can evict them at any time, and he/she is not obligated to sell the house back to them. Troubled borrowers who try this method of foreclosure rescue almost always lose their homes.

• Read documents carefully. Consumers should never sign any documents without reading them carefully. Some homeowners have been tricked into signing over the deed to their home because they thought they were signing documents to facilitate a loan modification.

• Steer away from forensic auditors claiming they can help for an upfront fee. Consumers should never pay for foreclosure mitigation counseling services, even if it is requested by someone claiming to be an auditor or other expert. Counseling and mitigation services are free from all HUD-approved agencies and lending institutions. Those who discourage direct contact with the lender and request an up front fee are usually insincere in their efforts.

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alone will not prevent consumers from being exploited by individuals and institutions seeking to profit from their misfortune. To file a report and learn about strategies to avoid foreclosure rescue scams, visit www.preventloanscams.org, a project of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Our ability to defend our communities from abuses will largely be informed by our willingness to alert others when injustices occur. Let’s speak up.

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The BP Oil Drilling Disaster is yet another example of the string of adverse impacts, particularly on communities of color, of US over reliance on fossil fuels (coal, oil, etc.) We’ve seen several acute incidents resulting in deaths in these last few weeks due to dangerous coal and oil processing. We’ve also seen, through our Clearing the Air Road Tour, the death of a thousand cuts communities of color and low income communities are experiencing by living in communities that are constantly polluted by our disproportionate exposure to toxic coal fired power plants, which are linked to respiratory illnesses such as asthma as well as lung cancer.

The Oil Drilling Disaster is imperiling livelihoods, health, and the animal habitats of coastal communities. Spewing minimally 5,000 barrels (over 200, 000 gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico daily, the oil spill is threatening communities in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. As a sentinel for human and civil rights the NAACP is gravely concerned with reports from our branches in the affected areas of health impacts they are witnessing and experiencing from noxious fumes, fisherman who know longer have a source of income, houseboat residents who are finding their marshes filling with oil and are worried about displacement, etc.

Besides dealing with the immediate issue before us of the BP Oil Crisis, as we’ve indicated in our draft statement, we as a nation need to take a long hard look at how our energy choices are disproportionately imperiling the lives of communities of color while more broadly negatively impacting the wellbeing of the planet.

Read the full NAACP statement here.

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* Non-Hispanic blacks (35.7%) had 51% greater prevalence of obesity, when compared with non-Hispanic whites (23.7%). This pattern was consistent across most U.S. states.

* African-American children ages 6 to 11 are more likely to be obese or overweight than white children.

* African American communities have fewer supermarkets and recreation opportunities than white communities - limiting access to fresh fruits and vegetables and safe places for children to play.

The NAACP is committed to utilizing our voice to “sound the alarm” on childhood obesity which has plagued a generation that has been deemed the first that will not outlive their parents. Childhood obesity remains an issue of enormous social impact for which there are significant racial disparities and systemic implications. African-American children are more likely to be poor, obese and to live in unsafe communities which have harmful environmental factors, fewer supermarkets and more fast food chains

Do you live in a safe place for your children to play? Are there adequate parks and recreation centers available all year round for our children? Do local grocers provide fresh fruits and vegetables? Do families have access to healthcare? The NAACP encourages African American communities to be empowered to address lack of access to healthy school meals, physical activity guidelines for schools, food desserts and issues of food justice, poverty and built environment.

Stay tuned for the NAACP’s response and call to action. We will focus our efforts on addressing key school based policies, food desserts, rebuilding safe communities, and economic injustice. Whether in a rural, urban or suburban community, the health of our children must be addressed. Take pride in the future of the next generation; their health relies on the power of our voice!

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Originally posted at TheGrio.Com

Public opinion is loaded with divisive rhetoric that suggests that undocumented immigrants are taking “black” jobs–low wage occupations in domestic, agricultural and other industries requiring manual labor. It was the allegation that some used to fuel anti-immigrant sentiments in Arizona, and unfortunately, it is likely to live in the debates that will accompany the next wave of copycat bills in the making.

Legislators in at least ten states–including Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Maryland–are now considering copycat bills to the one passed in Arizona, a problematic trend that promises to propel the myth that immigrants somehow keep African-Americans from working. Psychologists must revel at the simplicity of it all–the age-old strategy of “divide and conquer” that has dominated policymakers’ responses to hard issues, especially in a troubled fiscal climate when employment remains elusive for so many.

April unemployment figures show African-Americans unemployed at 16.5 percent, unchanged from March 2010. In times like these, suggesting that someone is “taking your job” can become fighting words; but unfortunately, this fight has resulted in little more than a cadre of marginalized soldiers fighting over the wrong issue.

First, there is no “black job.” While immigration trends have led to immigrants filling low wage jobs that were historically filled by African-American workers, no low-wage job was ever exclusively black; so, the foundation upon which the assertion that someone is taking away “black jobs” is flawed on its premise. Undocumented immigrants have participated in the American workforce; however, a greater percentage of American jobs are being hidden by a heavy bureaucracy that denies to the American labor force an opportunity to work.

In other words, in most states, it’s not undocumented immigrants who are keeping jobs from U.S. citizens. Access to appropriate education and training, employer bias, incorrect background checks, inappropriate credit checks and other structural barriers also serve as barriers to employment. However, in some cases, particularly in states where residential segregation is most acute, it’s our own state governments that are preventing folks from working.

Thousands of publicly funded jobs are currently invisible to those seeking public employment because they are not listed on a public database. In any state, less than 10 percent of public jobs can actually be accessed by the public, leaving most without knowledge that a job was even available–and the more segregated the community, the less likely public hiring processes will be transparent. In this scenario, there are fewer systems of accountability and decreased opportunity for employment–for everyone.
If one doesn’t know about a job–he or she can’t apply for it.

Research has shown that when transparency is improved, everyone is more likely to work. In fact, if transparency is improved, thousands more jobs could instantly be available at more than 2,900 public employment centers around the nation. Again, there is no “black job,” “white job” or “immigrant job;” however, there are publicly funded jobs for which people apply and are hired, because they knew they were there, and engaged in the process.

Instead of pointing a half-informed finger at undocumented immigrants, we should fix the structures that are actually denying Americans employment. Immigration, particularly the need for comprehensive immigration reform, will undoubtedly continue to dominate the public discourse about our changing nation–especially if these ten states are successful in their efforts to copy the Arizona legislation. But armed with information about what’s real, and what’s propaganda, we shouldn’t fall for the proverbial “banana in the tail pipe.” We should recognize that the threat to our employment is not the coming of new immigrants–documented or undocumented. It’s the lack of transparency and continued segregation of opportunity that threatens the integrity of our quest for employment.

As the nation considers the pending Local Jobs for America Act and other legislative responses to create jobs, let’s make sure that equal access to those jobs doesn’t hang in the balance. This can begin with holding states accountable to publicly disclose what and where the existing jobs are–and it will continue with our commitment to sift through the hype to ensure that everyone has an equal chance to compete, without obstruction and without blame.

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