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OPINION/ FORUM Chronicle ? Ernest H. Pitt Publisher/Co-Foundcr E LAI ME Pitt Businew Manager Michael A. Pitt Marketing T. k K \ IN WALKER Managing Editor Puon?iws A?*ocntJon Let's Not Give Haley Barbour Too Much Praise EJi. Shipp Guest Columnist Haley Barbour, Mississippi's governor, wants everyone to believe he is the good guy in the case of two black women who have spent nearly 20 years in prison because of an SI I rob bery that they may not have even committed. Once the heat over his recent civil rights flap got a little too warm for his big backside, Barbour generous ly decided that they should be released on the condition ^jthat one donates a kidney to the other. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote in October about the cascad ing pleas for mercy: "This should be an easy call for a law-and-order governor who has. nevertheless, displayed a willingness to set free indi viduals convicted of far more serious crimes. Mr. Barbour nas already par doned four killers and suspended the life sentence of a fifth." The judge who essentially sentenced the Scott sisters. Jamie and Gladys, to life in prison was down ri^iii icii icii i in 2005 when it came to sen tencing one of the ringlead ers of the lynching of three civil rights workers in Missi^ippi in l%4 Michnel Schwerner. Andrew Goodman. and James Chaney. That despicable human being was given 60 years? 20 years for each murder? -- but left free while appealing his conviction. As Nina Simone would say. if she were still among us, and seeing what Judge Marcus Gordon has wrought. "Mississippi, goddam!" The NAACP. which has pushed hard, for the release of Scotts. is grateful that Jamie and Gladys are about to be freed (the process may take 45 days). -but the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as well as other civil rights organizations ? and especially individual lawyers like Chokwe Lumumba -- want this kind of miscarriage of justice to never happen again. The Scott sisters, like the Scottsboro Boys in Alabama decades ago. have learned all about rural Southern justice and the politics that control that justice. We must learn from this. And. in 2010 and beyond, we must mean it when we say. "Never again!" Let's keep up with these sis ters once they are on the out side: being symbols is not enough. Oprah, do you hear me? Reverends, do you hear me?" Imams, do you hear me? Greeks, do you hear me? Professional athletes, do you hear me? Harbour Barbour is not only a governor; he is the former national chair of the Republican Party and heads the GOP Governors Association. He clearly has his eyes on the 2012 race against President Obama or whoever, is the Democratic candidate. So. he's counting on Black folks giving him some love ? and votes ? for releasing Gladys and Jamie Scott . He is especially counting on White people ? conserva tive Republicans, White Citizens' Council alums and Tea Partiers ? to give him some love (and votes) because the sisters "no longer pose a threat to socie ty." Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP. gives Barbour props for pressing the state parole board that did not ? does not ? want to release these women. "While iti been a long time coming, he could have waited if he want ed to." Most governors, Jealous said, are afraid to use their powers to grant clemen cy. This is the state ment Barbour issued: "... I have issued two orders indefi nitely suspending the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott ... Jamie Scott requires regular dialysis, and her sis ter has offered to donate one of her kidneys to her. The Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sis ters no longer pose a threat to society. Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilita tion. and Jamie Scott's med ical condition creates a sub stantial cost to the State of Mississippi." Well. la-di-da. Humanitarian. -Tough on crime. Watching the bottom line. All in a stroke or two of the pen. after these women have been in prison since 1994 for what is less than the cost of a couple of sandwich es. some chips and a soda or two. And, definitely less than the cost Of the lives of three young men whose only crime was trying to register Black folks to vote in 1964. Mississippi, goddam. ^ The kissing-uf) has already - begun. one Mississippi legislator. Willie Simmons, told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that Barbour had made a "courageous move." Jealous also consid ers him courageous for standing up to the parole board; I respect Jealous and others who see Barbour as a good guy in this drama, but I think that what Barbour did was about as courageous as my trying to make ^.chicken parmesan dinner for a friend's birthday the other night. E.R. Shipp, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is a Southerner based in New York and a frequent contribu tor to The Root. Black Farmers Finally Get Justice Marc Morial Guest Columnist "Black farmers have wait ed many years for this day - the end of denied justice, the dawn of a new era of equality." John Boyd. President of the National Black Farmers Association As many as 80,000 Black farmers received an early New Year's present from President Obama on December 8th. when he signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 into law. This legislation, which has been debated in Congress for more than a decade, funds a $1.5 billion lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for years of discrimination against Black farmers in feder al farm loan programs. It awards as much as $50,0(X) each to African American fanners who were denied fed eral loans during the 1980 's because of the color of their skin. President Obama. who was a sponsor of the legislation as a Senator, said this closes "a painful chapter in American history." National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd, who in September rode his tractor through the streets of Washington as part of his relentless campaign in sup port of the legisla tion. called it a belated but impor tant "vindication and justice for Black farmers." ? The National Urban League. The Congressional Black Caucus and other civil rights leaders have long championed this legislation. It is an outgrowth of an original class-action lawsuit. Pig ford v Glickman. filed in 1997 and settled in 1999. The new law awards $50 .(XX) to tens of thousands of aggrieved Black farmers who were left out of that original settlement. Many Black farmers have lost their farms waiting for this compensation. Some have Holder died waiting. In August of this year. I called Senate delays a clear case of political obstruc tionism and a violation of civil rights. Upon passage of the final bill Attorney General Eric Holder said. "This is a settle ment that addressed a historical wrong... and offers a new rela tionship between the many deserving Americans and the federal agencies that play an important role in their lives " Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added. "President Obama and 1 made a firm commitment not only to treat all farmers fairly and equally, but to riuht the wrongs in USDA's past. I applaud those who took this historic step to ensure Black farmers who faced discrimination by their government finally receive jus tice." John Boyd said that President Obama "made good on a . campaign prom ise. ..Down in places like Mississippi, these are poor communities and they need this money to help get their lives together." But for Boyd, this is just the first step. He will now lead the effort to educate Black farmers and help those who are eligible file their claims and have their cases heard. "The goal is to avoid a repeat of what happened during the first settlement of this case whqi many found out about it too late or did not file in time." Along with health care reform and financial reform, the National Urbfin League counts this settlement on behalf of Black farmers as one of President Obama's major accomplishments of 20 1 (). But. while this victory was a demonstration of important progress, the President rightful ly pointed out. "We must remember that much work remains to be done." We look forward to working with him in the New Year to keep moving America forward. Marc Modal is head of the National Urban-League . Criminal Checks Keep Students Out of Colleges George Curry Guest Columnist It's the beginning of a new year and that means it is time for high school seniors to begin completing college applications. Increasingly, whether they get admitted wiU have nothing to do with their grades, their SAT scores, or their overall aptitude for col lege. They may end up getting denied admission to the col lege of their choice because of a criminal record. Whether a person's past should continue to he held against them - even after they have completed their sentence - has long been an issue of public debate. Some states hamper an ex-offenders' reha bilitation by denying them the ability to vote or to hold cer tain trade licenses. The trend among colleges to use a person's criminal his tory against them in the admis sions process is being per ceived as a new civil rights issue because a college degree increases' people's ability to obtain a job commensurate with their skills and abilities. A survey by the Center for (Community Alternatives (CCA) in collaboration with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers ( AACRAO) sent out a 59-page questionnaire in late 2(X)9 to 3,248 institutions. Of those. 272 responded. A majority of the respond ing colleges (66%) collect criminal justice information, although not all of them con Aider it in their admissions. The survey found. "Private schools and four-year schools arc more likely to collect and use such information than their public and two-year counter parts." In most cases, colleges depend on applicants to self disclose their criminal history. "If it is discovered that all applicant has failed to disclose a criminal record there is an increased likelihood that the applicant will be denied admission or have their admis sion offer rescinded." accord ing to report, "The Use of Criminal History Records in. College Admissions Reconsidered." At the end of 2(X)X, more than l(K) million Americans had either been arrested or convicted of a crime, the study said. Another 2.3 million'were in jails and prisons, giving the United States the highest incarceration rate in the world. The report Viy CCA notes that African-Americans and Hispanics are disproportion ately hup by the admissions policy because they -are over represented in the criminal jus tice system. It explained that the use of ? criminal records "has become a surrogate for race-based dis crimination. serving the same function.. albeit unintentional ly. as the Black Codes and Jim Crow laws in earlier times." ' The move to consider criminal records originated from a concern for campus safety, especially in the after math of the Virginia Tech shooting, but the report found that there is no measurable dif ference in the campus safety of colleges that examine a per son's criminal past and those that don't. If colleges are determined to use the records, there are ways they can limit the adverse impact on applicants' live*. For example, the col leges can limit disclosure to specific types df convictions, such as felonies, but not mis demeanors or infractions; con victions that occurred only within the last five years or only felonies committed after the applicant's 19th birthday. Additionally, colleges can provide applicants with an opportunity to document per sonal growth and rehabilita tion. They can also remove barriers to admission for appli cants still under some form of community supervision. The push to get colleges not to consider criminal back grounds in college admissions is an extension of "ban the box" movement to prevent employers from discriminating against ex-offenders. Even the American Bar Association (ABA) has passed a resolution calling for increased opportu nities for people who got into trouble as juveniles. Our communities - on campus and off-campus - will be s>afer if ex-offenders arc effectively eased back into the society. George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge mag azine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can he reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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