4A
EDtTORIAL AND OPINION/tt^t C»ar(sttt 9s(t
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Cljarlotte
/■/if Voicf »/ the hlai k Community
1531 Camden Road Charlotte. SC. 2X203
(ierald (). Johnson ct/j/publishe;r
Robert /- Johnson CO-PL'BI.ISHIJVGENERAL manager
Herbert L White EDITOR IN CHIEF
OPINION
Good news
fOrwoildng
famHies
Federal earned income tax
credit will relieve low-income
As tax season approaches, live Children’s Defense Fund is
lielpin^ to spread some important good news about tax credits
and free tax preparation help for working families. Many of the
coiuitrys working poor may not know they are eligible for the
Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for people
who work hill- or part-time but earn low wages. Tliese are the
liard woridng low- to moderate-income families who are playing
by the niles but still strufl^ling to stay ahead.
T^iis federal credit can generate a cash refiind for them of as
much as $4,400, aiid it can be even more in states that offer a
supplemental state Earned Income Tax Credit In addition, the
E mun C^lild Tax Credit can be worth up to $1,000 per
cliild for some working families More than 21
million workers collected billions of dollars in
EITC refunds in 2003; and those families were
^ money to help cover key expens-
es like rent, utilities, food, medical bills, child
care, and even to put a down payment on a
home Tlie EITC is the most effective work sup
port and anti-poverty tool we have today But
even though most low-income working families
with children qualify for both the EITC and the
Child Tax Credit, up to 20 percent of eligible
Marian
WRiciifr
Hdu.man
My time with journalism’s Be-Be kids
George E.
Curry
woricera do not receive them
Some unscrupulous conunercial tax preparers take advantage
of woricers who are likely to be eligiUe for these credits by tar
geting them for “rapid reflmds” through Refund Anticipation
Lioans. Tliese are short-temi, high-interest loans that teix filers
take out against their expected tax return.
Tax preparers aggressively market these loans as a way to get
cash fast instead of waiting for a tax refund, and most of their
aistomers are low-income taxpayers who need their refunds
quickly to pay for basic needs Dming 2003, about 7 million low-
income workers purchased RALs But these loans undermine
benefits like the EITC by costing low-income workers lai^ por
tions of their tax refunds in interest and fees. Across the coun
try, low- to malerate-income working families who claimed the
EITC lost more tlian $900 million of their earned refunds dur
ing the 2004 tax season in exchange for collecting those reflmds
about 10 days socHier, in some cases. Tliere are ways for fami
lies to learn about the benefits for which they are eligible and
receive fiee. fast, tax help at the same time.
'Hiroughout tax season, the Children’s Defense Fund and oth
ers across the coimtry are operating fi^ tax filing sites. The
Voliuiteer Income Tax Assistance program was created by the
IRS aiKl is supported and overseen by the agency VITA sites
offer free tax preparation help to families making $38,000 or less
pep year VoUmteers are trained to help families claim the EITC
and other valuable federal, state, and local tax credits to which
they are entitled and collect their refunds quickly without the
unnecessary’ liigh fees of commercial preparers
Even those who areji’t required to file a tax return based on
earnings should file a return because they may have had too
much taken out of their payciiecks during the year or they might
qualify’ for a reflmd through the ETTC. Volunteers are also able
to help working families who failed to file their taxes or claim the
EUTC tax credits in the past claim them now. because they have
up to three years to do so.
VTTA sites are set up in convenient locations such as shopping
centers, libraries, commiuiity centers, and schools. Families vis
iting them are also able to receive information about other gov-
enmient benefits, including food and nutrition programs, health
care, housing, child care, and eneigy’ assistance
All of CDFs state offices in New Y’brk. Tfexas. Minneeota, Ohio,
Mississippi. South Carolina. Ibnnessee and California, and the
District of Colimibia participate in the VITA program. Child
poverty would be reduced by 20 percent and the number of fam
ilies liv’ing in extreme poverty would be reduced by 70 percent if
all families with childr^ participated in the government pro
grams for which they are qualified, including the ETTC. Tlie
CDF is part of the movement to help make fiee tax assistance
available, accessil^e. and well-publicized for everyone who could
use it
Could the VITA program help your family'’ Tb locate the site
nearest to you. call 1-800-829-1040 If you have Internet access,
you can also learn more by v’isiting the Tax and Benefits secticai
of CDFs Web site i w’wwchildrensdefense org).
/itwirtz-nd/e. S.C.. natixv\fARlAN WRIGHT EDELSiAN is president
and EiHtnder of the ChtUbm's Defense Fund.
Last Saturday, I celebrated
a homecoming. I was invited
to address the opening ses
sion of an 8-week Urban
Journalism Woricshop, spon
sored by the
Washington
Association of
Black
Journalists.
Two decades
ago, I served
as founding
director of the
workshop.
" ■ Next year
will mark the 30th anniver
sary of the St Louis Mnority
Journalism Workshop, a pro
gram that I helped create and
served as founding director
before moving to Washington.
With the assistance of the
New York Association of
Black Journalists, I served as
founding director of a similar
workshop there after I left
Washington. In all, about 15
workshops around the coun
try are patterned after the St.
Louis model.
Over the years, hundreds of
high school students who sat
through Saturday sessions
have become professional
journalists. I call them my
journalism Be-Be kids - they
don’t’ die, they multiply They
include: Ann Scales, an editor
at the Boston Globe; Marcia
Davis, an editor at the
Washington Post; Everett
Mitchell, editor of the
Nashville Ibnnessean; Maik
Russell, managing editor of
the Orlando Sentinel; Ben
Holden, executive editor of
the Columbus, Ga. Ledger-
Enquirer, Celeste Garrett of
the Chicago THbune; Andre
Jackson, assistant managing
editor for business at the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch; Bennie
Currie, formerly of the
Associated Press; Russ
Mitchell, an anchor/reporter
for CBS News; Warren
Woodberry, a reporter for the
New York Daily News;
Jennifer Golson, a reporter
for the Newark Star-Ledger
and the list goes on Three of
my former students - Alvin
Reed, Marcia Davis and
Betsy Peoples — worked on
my staff when I was editor-in-
chief of Emerge magazine.
In addition to directing
three high school workshops,
I taught in summer programs
at the University of Missouri
School of Journalism and a
Washington-based pix)gram
sponsored by Northwestern
University Out of the
Northwestern summer pro
gram. designed to I’each stu
dents at historically black col
leges, came Jacque Reed, an
anchor for BET News, David
Cummings, a reporter for
ESPN magazine and Emile
Wilbekin, who served as edi-
tor-in-chief of Vibe magazine.
By no means did I do any of
this alone. In each dty, the
workshops were sponsored
and staffed by the local affili
ate of the National
Association of Black journal
ists. After I moved to New
York, the Washington work
shop was directed by Ken
Cooper, a Washington Post
national correspondent and
former member of my St.
Louis staff; Sorya Ross and
Darlene SuperMHe of the
Associated Press, Robin
Bermefield of the Discovery
Chaimel. Keith Alexander,
who participated in the
Pittsburgh pregram started
by Christopher Moore, anoth
er former St. Louis staffer,
taught in the Washii^ton
program while serving as
president of the Washington
Association of Black
Journalists.
Obviously, the instrxrctors
wer’e as enthusiastic about
the workshops as the stu
dents. In addition to Chris
Moore in Pittsburgh,
Rochelle Riley, who served on
the Washington workshop
staff, started programs in
Dallas and Louisville before
moving to Detroit. Cher*yi
Smith took over in Dallas
eifter Rochelle left for
Louisville, whero she started
another program before mov
ing to Detroit.
Some of our former stu
dents not only became profes
sional journalists, but started
similar workshops — Bennie
Currie and Celeste Garrett in
Memphis and Mark Russell
in Cleveland.
When I looked into the
bright eyes of about 50 aspir
ing journalists on Saturday, I
told them about some of the
students that had gone before
them Around the time I was
speaking to them, Mark
Russell was preparing to
leave Orlando and travel to
New York, where he would be
serving a juror for the
Pulitzer Prizes.
A profile on Mark in 2003
for the McCormick
Fellowship Initiative at
Northwestern University
mentioned our relationship.
It noted, “After watching
Curry in action as a reporter
for the St. Louis Post-
Dispatch during the 1970s,
he decided that Ihis is the
guy I want to be like.’ Russell,
then 17, abandoned his origi
nal plan to be a football play
er or a banker making lots of
money”
On Monday I received an e-
mail from Juan
Diasgranados, one of the stu
dents in the audience on
Saturday.
‘T just wanted to say that I
have many future hopes in
being a TV anchor or a radio
personality one day and the
words of wisdom you told us
really motivated me. I have
been let down by some people
saying I am not good enough,
but I really think I can. I just
want to thank you and wish
you the best of luck in your
career I hope one day I could
be hke you!”
That’s what Mark Russell
said. It wasn’t so much about
me as it was about my profes
sion. Like Mark, I am sure
Juan will realize his dream.
GEORGE E. CURRY is editor-
in-chief of the NNPA News
Sen ice. He appears on National
Public Radio three tunes a week
as part of “News and Notes with
Ed Gordon.”
GOP’s Contract with Black America
Sherman
Miller
When the Republican Party
took aim at controlling the
United States Congress,
some people may have
thou^t their aspiration was
a pipe dream at best for it
was almost a given for
decades that Democrats con
trolled the U S. Congress.
However,
Republican
strategists
put together
a “Contract
with
America”
that piqued
the national
psyche
enough that
today they
control the U S. House of
Representatives, the U S.
Senate, and The White
House Republican Party’s
winning strat^>’ was to blur
the line between church and
state; thereby unleashing the
awesome vx)ting power (ff the
religious vute.
Tbday the legitimacy of
faith-based organizations
participating in some govern
mental activities is gaining
some receptivity in the eco
nomic mainslream. Faith
Based voting blocks are
reshaping the political arenas
in favor of the Republican
Party However. the
Republican Party recognizes
that there is a significant
browning of American under
way fiom blacks. Hispanics.
and Asians who will eexobane
to become tomorrow’s new
political majority This com
ing nonwhite m^ority means
that today’s Republican
strategists must not be
cau^t in tl^ quandary of
their party being labeled an
ultraconservative whites-
only organization.
The Republican Party
knows that the Achilles heal
of nonwhites in politics has
been the de facto ^ass ceiling
where their wins are limited
to district races. Some politi
cal pundits might argue that
many black politicians over
the last 40 years were in
office as a reward for partici
pation in the civil rights
movement. This dvil ri^ts
activist background may
bode well in local or district
elections that have over
whelming minority voters,
but it may be an albatross in
statewide elections where
some white voters may feel
scHue aversion to voting for
yesterday’s dvil rights
activists.
The Uack “Thlented Tbnth”
were p^eona non grata in
the black c(»nm\inity for they
benefited from Affirmative
action. Affirmative actiem did
not reach the masses of Uack
America. These upwardly
mobile Uacks evolved into
white American dcaies, whidi
exacerbated the view ff them
as being sellouts in Uack
America.
But in rou^y 50 years of
dvil rights evduticsi, sudi as
the U.S. Supreme Court rul
ing in Brown vs. Tbpeka
Board of Ekhication (knocking
down the infamous “separate
by equal ruling that legiti
mated Jim Crow), enact
ments of the dvil rights and
voting ri^ts laws, and the
U.S. Supreme Court knock
ing down the anti-miscegena
tion laws, there is a paradigm
shift evolving in black
Am«ica that the Republican
strat^ists appear to be culti
vating.
Young blacks’ partidpation
in interradal relationships
su^ests that they do not har
bor disdain for whites
because they have no appre-
dation for the maltreatment
their fore-parents experi
enced in the radal segrega
tion epoch. They may not feel
beholden to yesterday’s black
dvil ri^ts leadership. This
point was made at a
Univ«sity of Delaware black
graduate student activity
where I chatted with a black
young lady who labeled many
black lead^s as relics of a by
gone era.
The UD graduate sfrident’s
assessment gains credence
when you recognize that
rou^ily 80 percent of the U.S.
population in the 2000
Census was under 55 years of
age. This suggests that many
young people are relying
heavily oti learning of the tri
als and tribulations of the
Hack Ammcan dvil ri^ts
movement fixon boHcs and
films. As yesterday’s national
dvil rights leadership contin
ues to fade away, one might
expect the emotional links to
the dvil ri^ts era to fade
. with time. Hence, it appears
that the ‘Talented Tfenth”
may be coming back into
vogue as interradal int^;ra-
tion gains receptivity in black
America and mainstream
America.
In 1996, I chatted with the
late Emily Morris, an Afiican
American who had been an
elected offidal in Kent
Covmty, Delaware where one
mi^t have expected the anti
black receptivity to be on par
with anti-black Mississippi in
the late 1950s. I wanted to
understand how she was able
to get white farmers to vote
for her. She said she present
ed her ideas fiom a main
stream point of view. This
same county produced
Ddaware’s first black mayor
in the City of Smyrna who
was also embraced by white
voters.
Tbday Republican strate
gists recognize that white
America will vote for a black
candidate if that person can
be packaged as a mainstream
individual. They al.qn know
that the black church is the
strongest instituticHi in the
black community and if they
are to gamer their fair share
of the black vote their black
voter cnitreach efforts need to
be tied to this church.
SHER.UAN MILLER lives in
Wlmington, Del.