FORUM
Let's prove them
wrong, those who
expect us to stay home
GtyndaC.
Can
Guest
Columnist
Kimberly
P. Allen
Guest
Columnist
With a few days left
until Election Day some
' are speculating what the
overall turnout will be
among Black women.
Black women were
among the most active vot
ers in the 2008 and 2012
elections. In fact. Black
women make up 6.3 per
cent of the total U.S. voting
age population, but repre
sented 9 percent of the
2012 and 2014 electorate
due to their higher voter
turnout.
Over the past several
election cycles. Black
women have demonstrated
that their robust involve
ment is an absolutely
essential foundation of any
winning coalition.
Black women's partici
pation in the last two
Presidential elections tran
scended just showing up at
the polls and voting. A
closer look at our involve
ment reveals that voting
was just the beginning. The
Obama for America strate
gy provided meaningful
tools of engagement -from
hosting house parties to
organizing virtual phone
banks and door-knocking
opportunities.
The effectiveness of the
campaign's engagement,
investment and tailored
messaging resulted in a
surge in Black women's
overall engagement. That
participation has not only
expanded the electorate of
first-time voters, but it has
also mobilized a record
number of first-time politi
cal donors and bundlers.
This crucial post
Obama bridge election
presents a movement
building opportunity
designed for and by Black
women, independent of
any particular candidate.
The 2016 election pro
vides an opportunity to
harness Black women's
power by turning out the
vote. Furthermore, it gives
us the opportunity to lever
age that voting strength
into the power to shape and
inform political debates
from equal pay and afford
able health care to repro
ductive rights and commu
nity safety.
This November's elec
tion results will be deter
mined in large part by the
turnout rates among Black
women. There are several
factors to consider this
cycle: Will Black women
voters, many who voted for
the first time in 2008 and
2012 return to the polls? Is
there an enthusiasm gap
among Black women vot
ers? What strategies and
messages will motivate
Black women's engage
ment?
Can we activate this
critical 2008 and 2012 vot
ing bloc, turn them out to
the polls and motivate
them to organize their
communities? The answer
is yes!
The late Shirley
Chisholm, once said, "You
don't make progress by
standing on the sidelines,
whimpering and complain
ing. You make progress by
implementing ideas."
This statement rings
true today and Black
women have a pivotal role
to play in helping to move
the country forward. But,
we must activate our net
works.
History has demon
strated that when you fire
up a Black woman she
does not go to the polls
alone. She brings her
house, her block, her
church, her sorority and
her water cooler.
According to Nielson,
Black women are one of
the largest users of social
media. The
#BlackWomenVote cam
paign is tapping into the
organizing power of Black
women, encouraging them
to raise their voices, cast
their votes and show their
power.
The campaign is
engaging Black women
vote this election and to
mobilize their networks to
the polls. The campaign
has tools and resources to
help everyday Black
women organize their net
works from shareable
graphics and videos,
FaceBook Live events and
'Share Your Vote Story'
opportunities.
We need you to flex
your power and help us
move hundreds of thou
sands of voters to the polls
by November 8th. Join
the campaign and help to
register your folks to vote,
take them to the polls, and
discuss the issues and can
didates that matter.
Go to www.blackwom
envote.com, where you
will find all of the tools,
information and planning
guides you need to educate
yourself and mobilize your
network. Some are expect
ing us to stay home, let's
prove them wrong.
Glynda C. Carr and
Kimberly Peeler-Allen are
co- founders of Higher
Heights for America, a
national organization
focused on harnessing
black women's political
power and leadership
potential. They have
organized
it Black Women Vote, a non
partisan voter-activism
campaign which is the
leading, independent and
trusted voice for Black
women leading up to and
beyond Election Day 2016,
www Black WomenVote ?o
m.
Supremes, the
Senate and the
dirty Donalds,
Segretti to
Trump
Tom
Hastings
Guest
Columnist
Supremes, the senate and
the dirty Donalds, Segretti to
Trump.
OK, the Republicans said
when Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia passed away
late last winter, we are not
going to do our
- Constitutional work review
ing any nominations
President Obama might make because we think the
American people should have a voice in choosing the
members of the highest court in the land.
Huh? The American people elected and re-elected.
Barak Obama. That is called having a voice. That is called
voting. That is a democracy. What the Republicans did
was entirely bogus, but, as usual, the American people
didn't seem to excited about it, so the Republicans were
able to get away with that blatantly unfair move.
Now, unbelievably, Ted Cruz has threatened to block
any nomination on an indefinite basis, if in fact Trump is
unsuccessful in his groping campaign for the presidency.
This now disqualifies all Senate Republicans. Every
single one of them up for election or re-election should be
defeated to clear the way for government to actually func
tion again.
Trump says he'll only accept the election results if he
wins.
Ted Cruz says if needed, the GOP will abdicate its
Constitutional role in affirming Supreme Court Justices,
based on likely losing the White House.
Republicans are simply racing to the bottom and are
displaying all the moral fiber of the average junior high
bully, completely unable to accept any defeat without
having an adolescent hissy fit. Grow up, people!
Since that seems to be the phenomenon we see, it is
clear that no Republican should be voted in this year, at
least in the Senate and obviously the White House. In my
66 years on this planet, I've never seen aUS. campaign
season so despicable, uncivil, boorish, and infantile. Add
to it all the Comey move ? the FBI tampering with the
election?
It is the Donald Segretti School of Political Chicanery
arcing forward to the Donald Trump Malevolent
Machine. These people can't win a fair fight, so they
resort to their bottomless barrel of dirty tricks; we are
called to teach them better.
For the good of the nation, defeat every Republican
running for U.S. Senate in 2016, so we have some chance
for a bit of normalcy and progress in the U.S.
Tom H. Hastings is Founding Director of PeaceVoice.
Pay attention to domestic violence
Laura
Finley
Guest
|Columnist
October was Domestic
Violence Awareness
Month. Dwarfed by the
enormous outpouring for
breast cancer awareness
month, it receives attention
largely from survivors,
advocates and activists.
But it should warrant far
greater and more careful
consideration.
Domestic violence is
not only deadly, it is also
associated with a host of
other social problems. It
costs the country billions
in criminal justice expendi
tures, healthcare, lost pro
ductivity and more. It is a
contributing factor to many
other crimes. Yet it is pre
ventable. I implore every
one to do what they can to
support survivors but also
to teach our children and
young adults how to
engage in healthy, peaceful
relationships.
Here is why we should
all care about domestic
violence.
According to the
Violence Policy Center,
more than 1,600 women
were murdered by men in
in 2013. Of those, 62 per
cent were wives or inti
mate partners. Almost one
third of the mass shooting
deaths in 2013 were
domestic violence-related,
and in cases in which four
people were killed (but not
the shooter), 57 percent
included family members
or intimate partners as vic
tims. Domestic violence
was the reason for more,
than 20 percent of police
officers"killed in the line of
duty between 2010 and
2014.
Bullying is a predictor
of later involvement in an
abusive dating or domestic
situation. Dating violence
is a major cause of school
massacres. According to
sociologist Jessie Klein of
Adelphi University, of 12
school shootings that
occurred in the U.S.
between 1997 and 2002,
assailants specifically tar
geted girls who had either
rejected them or broken up
with them. The boys had
previously made threats
against the girls, typically
both in person and online.
The CDC has estimat
ed domestic violence costs
$83 billion per year, with
$5.8 billion of that in med
ical costs and $23 billion
in lost productivity.
Domestic violence is the
most common cause of
injury for women in the
U.S. ages 15 to 44. Victims
of domestic violence use
emergency healthcare
services eight times more
frequently than do non-vic
tims. Women who have
been abused are 70 percent
more likely to have heart
disease, 80 percent more
likely to have a stroke, and
60 percent more likely to
develop asthma. They are
three times more likely to
suffer from depression,
four times more likely to
commit suicide, and
endure six times the rate of
PTSD as non-victims.
Women experiencing
physical abuse are also
three times more likely to
report having an STI than
non-abused women. More
than one-third (38.8 per
cent) of adolescent girls
tested for STI/HIV have
experienced dating vio
lence. The increased
healthcare costs for victims
can persist IS years after
the abuse.
According to a 2005
survey, some 64 percent of
domestic violence victims
say the abuse has impacted
their work. It is estimated
that victims lose eight mil
lion paid days of work
annually. Abusers often
injure or kill others while
targeting victims at the
workplace, as in the recent
shooting at a mall in
Burlington, Washington.
Children who witness
abuse are at greater risk for
becoming either victims or
abusers. They are also
prone to act out in school,
creating a challenging cli
mate for teachers, adminis
trators and classmates.
They may require mental
health assistance, which is
also costly. And many,
especially boys, end up
involved in the criminal
justice system?yet anoth
er cost.
The above-listed statis
tics should be enough for
us to take action in our
homes, schools, work
places and communities.
We can teach our children
healthy, respectful rela
tionship boundaries and to
intervene when they wit
ness someone mistreating a
date or partner. We can
include these topics in our
school and college curricu
la. We can train employers
and colleagues to identify
the signs of abuse and to be
helpful supporters. We can
educate healthcare
providers and police on
best practices in identify
ing and responding to
abuse that help survivors
receive the support they
need and hold abusers
accountable. Amazing
resources are available
through organizations like
Futures Without Violence,
The National Coalition
Against Domestic
Violence, and the
Partnership for Prevention.
While it is easy to buy one
more pink item that con
tributes minimally to
breast cancer awareness
and research, it is equally
easy to leam and act to end
domestic violence.
Laura Finley, PhD.,
teaches in the Barry
University Department of
Sociology A Criminology
and is syndicated by
PeaceVoice.