Sean Bell was killed in a 50-bullet police shooting on the day of his wedding to Nicole Paultre in 2006.

NEW YORK (July 28) — The city of New York has agreed to pay more than $7 million to settle a civil lawsuit stemming from the fatal 50-bullet police shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day.

The settlement filed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday pays $3.25 million to the estate of Sean Bell, who was killed in 2006 outside a strip club in Queens while leaving his bachelor party. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to pay $3 million to Joseph Guzman and $900,000 to Trent Benefield, both of whom were wounded in the shooting that killed their friend.

The lawsuit had accused the city of wrongful death, negligence, assault and civil rights violations.

“We hope that all parties can find some measure of closure by this settlement,” the city’s attorney, Michael A. Cardozo, said in a statement.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Scott Rynecki, said the settlement was hard-fought over two days and that the plaintiffs felt it was the best outcome possible.

“I think it was all about closure at this point,” Rynecki told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Three police officers were acquitted of manslaughter and other charges in 2008. Federal authorities in February declined to bring civil rights charges against them.

The officers remain on modified duty and are facing departmental charges that could result in their dismissal.

The Bell settlement follows other multimillion-dollar payouts in high-profile civil lawsuits involving the police department.

In June, the city agreed to pay a record for a civil rights lawsuits when it agreed to settle for $9.9 million with Barry Gibbs, an innocent man who spent 19 years in prison after being framed by a police detective.

In 2001, the city and police union agreed to pay $8.7 million to Abner Louima, who was beaten and sodomized with a broomstick in a police precinct by officers. After legal fees, Louima was left with about $5.8 million.

With that declaration, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s international president, Barbara A. McKinzie, congratulated President Elect Barack Obama on his election as president of the United States of America. Addressing thousands at a prayer rally held at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, and convened by its pastor the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock and the Rev. Al Sharpton, McKinzie characterized Mr. Obama’s triumph as a “seminal moment in history.”

Speaking on behalf of the organization’s 225,000 members in 975 chapters worldwide, McKinzie noted that the Sorority has a special connection with Senator Obama. She said that the Sorority had honored him with its prestigious Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion of Honor during its Centennial Celebration held in July. Named in honor of the former first lady and honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the award is presented to a global leader for recognized humanitarian work. She said his achievements make him worthy of such a coveted accolade.

McKinzie said that Obama’s historic ascension to the presidency as the first African American to hold the office is dramatic testimony to how far America has come in advancing race relations. She said it is a testimony to the vision laid by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Noting that the “Watch Night Service” is being held at the historic site where Dr. King and his father once pastored, McKinzie invoked King’s name and cited the following passage from King’s speech in her message. “I am an optimist. While it is a bitter fact that I am denied equality solely because I am black, yet I am not a chattel slave. Millions of people have fought thousands of battles to enlarge my freedom; restricted as it still is, progress has been made. This is why I remain an optimist, though I am also a realist, about the barriers before us.”

In memory of Dr. King, McKinzie exhorted the crowd “to be or become optimists and realists as we continue the struggle with our leader of change.”

“We congratulate President Elect Obama, First Lady, Michelle and first children Malia and Sasha. We praise them for their sacrifices, commitment and exhibiting grace under fire during the past 22 months.

Your optimism has been our Balm in Gilead. Your capacity to appear normal when all around was chaos demonstrated a divinity that calmed an unlikely team across lines of age, gender and race. As the world watched, you always displayed an ability to first understand, then sought to be understood.

“May this remain your daily garment of choice. This is your gift to the world and may it be the cornerstone of your legacy.”

McKinzie said the family’s poise during the campaign speaks volumes about their strength of character, confidence in the mission and love for humanity. Expressing condolences to the family on the loss of Senator Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham, she said that the family’s courage and composure during this period of sadness only deepened the world’s admiration for the First Family to Be.

McKinzie proclaimed that January 20th is only the beginning and put in historic context the bigger significance of the genesis of this blessed journey.

“We are instinctively cohesive from centuries of oppression and struggle, which is a core that binds us one to the other. This core has been tested over generations and centuries and we welcome the present challenge.”

Reflecting on the long road to victory, McKinzie said, “Nearly 150 years after slavery, an African American has ascended to the most powerful position in the world. Against this historic backdrop, January 20, 2009 will be forever etched in the history books as one of the world’s watershed moments.”

She cited President-Elect Obama’s focus on fixing the economy, getting people back to work and restoring America to its global standing as reasons his message captivated the electorate and transcended humanity. She said his vow to bring change to a nation beleaguered and demoralized added to his emphatic victory. She said that the ultimate message from the election results signals a readiness for progressive change.

McKinzie said that following the official swearing in, the Sorority will arrange a meeting with the new administration to advance its ESP program. Introduced in July 2006 when she became president, the program focuses on economics, entrepreneurship, leadership development and improving the financial well being of the traditionally disadvantaged. She said the Sorority programs were necessary due to failed leadership policies of the past 30 years that have crippled the middle class.

“Alpha Kappa Alpha programs serve its communities by providing the tools and resources to empower survival. Were achieving success in spite of failed leadership policies, which did not support the aspirations of the powerless.”

McKinzie said the Sorority is elated that the incoming administration programs bolster the middle class and mirror the programmatic focus of AKA. Borrowing from her ESP theme, McKinzie said the prospect of having an administration that understands the plight of the powerless and supports the mission of the Sorority makes her Ecstatic, Satisfied and Pleased beyond measure.

McKinzie said the new president will face mounting challenges that cannot be reversed quickly. Against these realities, she cautioned those who supported him to exercise patience and not to pin unrealistic expectations on him.

“Each supporter,” she admonished, “should be ready to act responsibly and to do all they can to help his progressive change movement.”

“It has taken over three decades for America to decline to the depths that it currently finds itself. It will take years to balance the policies that led to the financial malaise, the deterioration of America’s respect worldwide, and the erosion of an economic position based on the foundation of the middle class.”

While the AKA president vowed to support the new president, she said that the AKA membership will monitor his agenda and respond to any results that reflect significant barriers to achieving the progressive change program.

“This is a moment of historic proportion,” she marveled. “But we must not lose sight of the work that has to be done to restore America to its rightful leadership position and set it back on a course of greatness. Ultimately, that is the ‘change we can believe in.’”

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In the September 2008 issue of EBONY Magazine, Johnson Publishing’s boss broke from company tradition and endorsed Barack Obama for President of America.

Chicago-based Linda Rice Johnson carries a lot of clout. She heads the world’s largest African-American-owned and-operated publishing company. With established businesses in publishing, cosmetics, television production and fashion, Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) brands, such as EBONY and JET magazines and Fashion Fair Cosmetics, are considered staples among African-Americans.

For the first time in JPC history; EBONY officially endorsed a presidential candidate. Company President Linda Rice Johnson called this election the “most crucial in our lifetime” and that “During this campaign, Barack Obama’s brilliant and innovative views on the issues have been more in line with the thinking of Black America”. To commemorate “the historic presidential election,” JPC brands created a special line of EBONY and JET Obama apparel and accessory merchandise products. Sales of the products may be the way Johnson’s company intends to make requisite money from the campaign.

Black Enterprise publisher Earl G. Graves Sr. called it “our moment of history.” He said, “This opportunity may not come again in our lifetimes… there’s no way we’ll get another shot at the White House for decades to come… and our concerns as citizens will be off the table, perhaps permanently.”

Ms. Johnson, Mr. Graves and broadcast maven Cathy Hughes represent the leading black businesses in the communications industry. Other members of the Black Media were enamored with Barack’s run, didn’t feel they got any love in return. Local black newspaper and broadcast owners voiced enthusiasm at the prospect of a black man becoming US president. But, though they expected to be beneficiaries of the most lavish campaign advertising budget in history, black newspaper owners didn’t fare well from Obama’s campaign.

But, when they were getting the milk for free, why would’ve Obama operatives feel the need to buy the cow? Black newspaper owners said they were locked out of Obama’s $90 million dollar advertising budget that their reporters were often ignored. Publishers such as Lenora Carter of Houston’s Forward Times said that candidate’s handlers thought that “black people are so anxious to get a black president that we’ll support him no matter what. So why waste money on us?” She said “I have bills to pay” and that Obama’s campaign operation showed “total disrespect for the black press”.

While most Black Americans were giddy about the campaign, black newspaper owners groused about their lack of business opportunities. They complained that they got no ads, weren’t even considered as mediums to get messages out for the campaign. Houston Forward Times publisher Carter said, “He came here in early March and nobody black could get to him”. She said, “Blacks set up a headquarters for him here in the 3rd Ward. He never visited it, and ignored requests to visit the black radio station, which was just six blocks from where he stayed.”

The Obama campaign bypassed local black newspaper operations with paid staff that opened campaign offices in black areas. They hosted neighborhood barbecues and “dropped in” barbershops and beauty salons. Campaign operatives simply sent voter-information press kits to black media outlets. But, BET and TV One were in the $4 million buy to run Barack’s half-hour television infomercial.

Linda Johnson’s father could tell blacks in the media business a thing, or two, about press access and power. John H. Johnson overcame the racial barriers to become the personification of black media power. He never endorsed in a presidential campaign, but regularly held court with American Presidents. In 1996, he received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from Bill Clinton.

Obama is going to have to do like every other politician and appease his campaign supporters. In his first 100 days as Barack offers visions of his top priorities he should convene a forum where he uses the Black Media to give his administration’s interest and intent on the “Black Perspective”, along with withdrawing troops from Iraq and addressing universal health care and energy and climate change

William Reed – www.BlackPressInternational.com

MLK – Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

The question about African Americans’ “empowerment” is not as much about our political clout as it is whether or not we are better off economically than we were when Martin Luther King was killed in 1968.

Some black Americans are doing very well. Barack Obama’s presidential run, Tiger Woods is the world’s best-paid athlete and former Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal pocketed $160 million in a golden corporate parachute. But these blacks are the exception rather than the rule. Where MLK’s civil rights activities paid off the most was in spawning a Black Middle Class. Since the Civil Rights Movement, the black political and middle-income class has grown significantly. Forty years since MLK declared American owed a debt to Black Americans, Barack Obama is black’s race-neutral Messiah, and our middle class group is regressing.

With their contemporary image of surfeit, the question surrounding the Black Middle Class Era is “What contribution have they made toward Martin’s ‘dream of economic equity’ in America?” The black middle class grew from the Civil Rights Movement through public policy and increased opportunities for skills development. Since King died the black middle class population has quadrupled. In 2008, over a million black households have annual incomes of $100,000 a year or more. These upward strides and their excesses have given the illusion that race cannot be the barrier that some make it out to be.

The rates of self-obsession and consumption among the generations of black middle class illustrate how static hold reaps regression. Many of the black middle class are now caught up in the financial meltdown. Despite their displays of opulence, similar salaries and educational backgrounds, the majority of the black middle class never enjoyed class-equivalency to whites

The “black middle class” is predominately a development that arose after the 1960s. Prior to then, African Americans had limited opportunities. In 1960, blacks had little to no access to higher education and only three percent graduated from college. Those blacks who were professionals were mainly confined to serving the African American population. The Black Middle Class MLK had envisioned was to grow and impact traditional black communities.

While a black underclass has remained rooted in urban poverty, blacks of middle class means started to leave them in the 1970s to pursue quality schools, security and appreciated property values in suburban neighborhoods. Nowadays, many blacks are finding their grip on middle class is precarious. The value of many Black middle-class homeowners wealth is falling. Loans that many of them received in the 1990s were high-cost sub prime loans. Now, the value of their homes is sinking as foreclosures occur and their banks have frozen home equity lines of credit. Their “trappings of power” are being foreclosed and America’s contemporary black middle class is being revealed as having been more “symbol” than “substance”. In what Booker T. would have called “frivolous actions,” the black middle class’ activities have tilted more toward trappings of consumption than economic advancement for the race.

The Black Middle Class cashed in on the check MLK said America owed. As they became “middle-class” they became adherents of the status quo. Many among the Black Middle Class never think, or act, outside a mainstream mindset. They became establishment-oriented and provided “insufficient funds” toward lifting up their fellow Black Americans.

“If they have no bread, let them eat cake,” is how the black middle class has responded to their urban and underclass cousins. To their determent, middle class blacks have been obsessed with “mainstreaming”. Their unflinching support of the Obama candidacy and acceptance of the American establishment’s indifference to the plight of poor blacks and social policy needed to maintain affirmative action, end law enforcement and judicial injustices, and increase race-targeted antipoverty programs to help poor blacks illustrates their abandonment of any legacy of King’s economic dream. As they reel backwards, wonder how many of the black middle class recognize the error of their deeds? By

William Reed, Week of October 26, 2008

The fastest growth rate was not on America’s shores but among households in developing regions, such as China and the Gulf States. In these regions, the world-wide axiom applies: the families who were already rich got richer. Wealth is growing among households in Asia and the Pacific Rim – rising 14 percent. Wealth growth was fueled by manufacturing in Asia and commodities in Latin America and the Middle East.

The world’s wealth is increasingly concentrated among those that have the most. The top 1 percent of the world’s households owned 35 percent of its wealth last year. Meanwhile, the top 0.001 percent, ultra-rich households holding at least $5 million in assets, commanded $21 trillion – a fifth of the world’s wealth. Forbes lists 1,125 individuals and families as billionaires. Americans account for 42 percent of the world’s billionaires and 37 percent of their total wealth. Russia is number two with 87 billionaires. Germany is third with 59 billionaires. Africa has two of the world’s richest, South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe and Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote. Mohamed “Mo” Ibrahim is a Sudanese-born communications billionaire based in Briton. The planet continues to mint new millionaires rapidly. The biggest jumps in 2007 of second-tier rich came from emerging countries in Asia and Latin America. Overall, the number of millionaire households in the world grew to 10.7 million last year.

Hampered by the mortgage crisis and credit crunch North Americans’ personal wealth growth slowed to 3.8 percent last year. The number of U.S. millionaire households is now roughly seven percent of all households – 9.3 million. The number of millionaire black households in America is 110,000. Most black millionaire households get their wealth from family businesses – funeral homes, medical practices, real estate and construction, retail and service sector businesses. America’s two black billionaires, Oprah Winfrey and Bob Johnson amassed their fortunes in communications and entertainment, and real estate.

TNS research company reports that the median age of the head of millionaire US households is 58 percent – 45 percent are retired. Roughly 19 percent own in whole or part a professional practice or privately held business. Over 50 percent of millionaires said they had become more conservative in their investment approach over the past year. Their wealth is the result of long-term wealth accumulation. Although real estate is not their sole source of wealth, it remains a staple for many American millionaires. Forty-six percent own investment real estate like a second home or rental properties and 70 percent of millionaire households own stocks and bonds, and 68 percent own mutual funds.

Reports show that while the world’s rich have been making some adjustments as a result of the financial crisis. This year, assets are being shifted to more conservative investments, more money is being kept onshore in home markets and some investments have been curtailed. The outlook for wealth markets and the banks who serve them remains dimmed by the current financial crisis. Banks, brokerages and money managers will have little choice, but to expand their presence among these individuals, families and investment programs in the world’s fastest growing centers.

Personal wealth in America is expected to continue growing, but at a slower pace. With Wall Street’s slump, growth in assets is expected to rise less than 1 percent. Things are expected to improve over the next five years with personal wealth growing more than 3 percent annually – well off the 8.5 percent set between 2002 and 2007. While Black Americans have increased their presence in mainstream and middle-class-status numbers, their wealth profile remains comparatively low. The median black household income was $33,916 (national median: $50,233). Blacks’ per capita incomes was $18,428 (national figure: $26,804). Their poverty level was 24.5 percent (national rate: 12.5%). Blacks’ rate of poverty remained statistically unchanged.

By William Reed, Week of October 19, 2008

MLK – Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

The question about African Americans’ “empowerment” is not as much about our political clout as it is whether or not we are better off economically than we were when Martin Luther King was killed in 1968.

Some black Americans are doing very well. Barack Obama’s presidential run, Tiger Woods is the world’s best-paid athlete and former Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal pocketed $160 million in a golden corporate parachute. But these blacks are the exception rather than the rule. Where MLK’s civil rights activities paid off the most was in spawning a Black Middle Class. Since the Civil Rights Movement, the black political and middle-income class has grown significantly. Forty years since MLK declared American owed a debt to Black Americans, Barack Obama is black’s race-neutral Messiah, and our middle class group is regressing.

With their contemporary image of surfeit, the question surrounding the Black Middle Class Era is “What contribution have they made toward Martin’s ‘dream of economic equity’ in America?” The black middle class grew from the Civil Rights Movement through public policy and increased opportunities for skills development. Since King died the black middle class population has quadrupled. In 2008, over a million black households have annual incomes of $100,000 a year or more. These upward strides and their excesses have given the illusion that race cannot be the barrier that some make it out to be.

The rates of self-obsession and consumption among the generations of black middle class illustrate how static hold reaps regression. Many of the black middle class are now caught up in the financial meltdown. Despite their displays of opulence, similar salaries and educational backgrounds, the majority of the black middle class never enjoyed class-equivalency to whites

The “black middle class” is predominately a development that arose after the 1960s. Prior to then, African Americans had limited opportunities. In 1960, blacks had little to no access to higher education and only three percent graduated from college. Those blacks who were professionals were mainly confined to serving the African American population. The Black Middle Class MLK had envisioned was to grow and impact traditional black communities.

While a black underclass has remained rooted in urban poverty, blacks of middle class means started to leave them in the 1970s to pursue quality schools, security and appreciated property values in suburban neighborhoods. Nowadays, many blacks are finding their grip on middle class is precarious. The value of many Black middle-class homeowners wealth is falling. Loans that many of them received in the 1990s were high-cost sub prime loans. Now, the value of their homes is sinking as foreclosures occur and their banks have frozen home equity lines of credit. Their “trappings of power” are being foreclosed and America’s contemporary black middle class is being revealed as having been more “symbol” than “substance”. In what Booker T. would have called “frivolous actions,” the black middle class’ activities have tilted more toward trappings of consumption than economic advancement for the race.

The Black Middle Class cashed in on the check MLK said America owed. As they became “middle-class” they became adherents of the status quo. Many among the Black Middle Class never think, or act, outside a mainstream mindset. They became establishment-oriented and provided “insufficient funds” toward lifting up their fellow Black Americans.

“If they have no bread, let them eat cake,” is how the black middle class has responded to their urban and underclass cousins. To their determent, middle class blacks have been obsessed with “mainstreaming”. Their unflinching support of the Obama candidacy and acceptance of the American establishment’s indifference to the plight of poor blacks and social policy needed to maintain affirmative action, end law enforcement and judicial injustices, and increase race-targeted antipoverty programs to help poor blacks illustrates their abandonment of any legacy of King’s economic dream. As they reel backwards, wonder how many of the black middle class recognize the error of their deeds? By

William Reed, Week of October 26, 2008

Let’s fact it, gambling is a reality around the world and growing in America among people who have the desire and money for it. It’s time that African Americans do something transformative toward generating more economics where we live with more of us owning places where bets are placed. If example, polls in Maryland show that 7 of 10 residents support legalizing slots; and if the state’s voters approve the initiative in November, Maryland will become the 38th state to allow slots or casino-style gambling. Due to the state’s black legislative officials, African American entrepreneurs will have numerous operations in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, the nation’s wealthiest majority-black county

Gambling is where the money’s at. Americans wager more money than they spend on all leisure things except alcohol. The gambling industry had 2005 gross revenues of $84.65 billion and proponents say it provides localities valuable tax revenue and job opportunities. Across America in 2006, commercial casinos provided over 354,000 jobs and yearly state and local tax revenue of $5.2 billion.

Gaming operators mainly provide a place or a means to play games of chance, where the odds of winning favor the “house.” Gambling is legal under US federal law, but the states are free to regulate or prohibit it. If state-run lotteries are included, almost every state allows some form of gambling. Levels of government down to township municipalities have the right to authorize multiple forms of gambling from bingo in church basements, to multi-million dollar poker tournaments. The American Gaming Association breaks gambling down into the following categories: Card Rooms, both public and private; Commercial Casinos; Charitable Games and Bingo; Indian Casinos; Legal Bookmaking; Lotteries; and Pari-mutuel Wagering.

Black economic empowerment can occur in gambling businesses. There are 17 states (and 1 US Territory) that allow commercial casinos in some form. There are approximately 450 commercial casinos. Most casinos are small. Companies with large operations include MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment. About $35 billion of annual revenue is taken in by commercial casinos, $20 billion by state lotteries, about $25 billion by Indian casinos, and the rest by horse racing, bingo, charities, and bookmaking operators. (For gambling companies, “revenue” is the total amount bet minus winnings paid to gamblers.) The industry has become highly concentrated: the top 20 companies hold more than 60 percent of the market.

Actual operations of casinos involve acquiring and servicing gambling machines, usually from large game equipment manufacturers such as International Game Technology and Bally Technologies. Gambling operators are free to set the odds of winning as long as they prominently post a pay schedule on the machine. Gambling licensees pay states a percent of gross revenue – 20 to 25 percent. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and effective marketing. Large operators have the financial resources to make large investments in facilities and computers.

Detroit-native, Don H. Barden is the country’s only African American owner of a national gambling company and first to own a Las Vegas casino. Barden has been a millionaire since the 1980s and a casino owner for 12 years, with six casinos in five states. He owns large casino establishments in Tunica, Mississippi and Gary, Indiana. The Barden’s Company was selected Black Enterprise’s 2003 Company of the Year. The Baden Companies have annual earnings in excess of $350 million and is perennially among Black Enterprise’s top ten black companies.

Many blacks will oppose gambling, saying “it leads to corruption, compulsive gambling, and higher crime rates” in their communities. But, nationwide polls show 66 percent of Americans view gambling as “moral acceptable” and support it. Over the last decade, legal gambling businesses have expanded exponentially and politicians have become intimately connected to the industry. If gambling is being discussed in your town, you need to ensure lawmakers get minority businesses 25 percent, or more, of gambling-related contracts, and guarantees that the venues will hire local residents. People interested in entrepreneurial opportunities in the industry should research their local legislation on gambling.

By William Reed, Week of October 5, 2008

Lawmakers that pushed for the legislation hailed it as key to saving thousands of jobs in the state.  Detroit Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, chair of the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus, played a major role in passage of the legislation.  What many will call “corporate welfare” enables General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to get at least $5 billion each.  This allows them to borrow money at interest rates as low as 4 percent. Over several years, the automakers could save hundreds of millions in financing costs. The car companies will have five years before they start repaying the loans.

Black Americans hold 13 percent of auto industry jobs and have significant interest in the Detroit 3’s survival.  With approval of the low-interest loans, the U.S. auto industry won help it urgently needs to rework its vehicles.  The plan was in the Congressional queue months before the Wall Street bailout came to the fore.  But the loans are one of several government aids – from research funds to consumer tax credits – automakers will increasingly rely on to build technology they need to survive. The automakers first sought an installment of loans totaling about $6 billion, but the nationwide credit crunch crimped their ability to borrow. The $25 billion is just a down payment, automakers will seek another $25 billion next year to retool old assembly lines and develop advanced, fuel-efficient technology.

The idea behind the loans is to buy time while the Detroit 3 revamp their lineups, develop new hybrids and other fuel-sippers, and convert old SUV plants into factories turning out cars able to compete with comparable Japanese models. Consumers reeling from $4 gas have fled the big trucks and SUVs the manufacturers milked for two decades, and Detroit’s smaller cars tend to rate poorly compared with competitors.  The domestics’ U.S. market share is now about 48 percent, a staggering fall of nearly 20 points since the start of the decade. GM and Ford are expected to produce about 1.3 million fewer cars this year than in 2007.  Even cheap loans will do little to help erase years of red ink and it’s going to take some time to make a dent in their debt load.

Blacks have a stake in the trillion-dollar automotive industry, and many jobs are at jeopardy if the Detroit 3 stay in the doldrums.  But, as taxpayers it’s time to consider what “a billion” actually means:  Counting non-stop, one number a second, it would take almost 32 years to count to 1 billion.  A billion here and a billion there and soon it adds up to real money that has to be repaid.  But the reality is that automakers face a life-threatening crisis if the U.S. car market doesn’t rebound. General Motors reported a second-quarter loss of $15.5 billion and Ford Motor reported an $8.7 billion loss. GM and Ford could start to run out of cash by the second half of 2009.  Chrysler’s sales are down even more than Ford and GM.

Vehicle purchases are the second-largest purchase most black families make.  Import and domestic dealers, in total, have annual new car and truck sales of about $480 billion.  Annual new and used car and truck sales in the US amount to a near-trillion dollar business.  Minorities accounted for 22 percent of the US new-car market, but just 5 percent of dealerships.

African American should hope the loan infusion doesn’t just produce more of the same for them in the automotive marketplace.  Due to discrimination, black buyers have to spend more than other groups at the time of their purchase of vehicles.  On top of their taxpayer burden to the industry, blacks shouldn’t have to pay higher loans rates than whites on 60 to 72 month contracts after they’ve paid an average price of $30,000 for a new car or truck.

By William Reed, Week of September 28, 2008

African American political icon, 76-year-old Charles Bernard Rangel is in hot water regarding his Chairmanship of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee of Ways and Means. Harlem’s Congressman heads the 110th Congress’ chief tax-writing committee. The U.S. Constitution requires that all bills regarding taxation originate in the House of Representatives, and House procedure is that all bills regarding taxation must go through Rangel’s committee. The 19-term Congressman is accused of slovenliness regarding his person financial and tax filings and real estate deals and under pressure to vacate his high position.

“Charlie” Rangel was born in New York City on June 11, 1930 and has been a Democratic member of Congress representing New York’s 15th Congressional District since 1971. Even though his district is the smallest in the country in geographic size, Harlem’s Congressman is one of Congress’ most senior and legendary Members. He became chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in January 2007 and is the first African-American to chair the committee.

The emperor has no clothes. Rangel was an original founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, but instead of gaining standing as a paragon of African Americans’ political empowerment, his political chicanery has been more of an embarrassment. The man who heads the nation’s tax policies admits to a string of errors on his federal tax returns and congressional discourse forms that possibly go back 20 years. Rangel is being forced to re-do his state and local returns and has hired forensic accounting experts to “conduct a thorough, independent review” of his statements for the last 20 years.

The author of “And I Haven’t Had a Bad Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress,” may have to give up his chairmanship due to “bad days” of ineptitude the House Ethics Committee may dredge up examining Rangel’s records. His transgressions include failure to report ownership of a Florida condo, and assessing the value of his Caribbean rental home at $250,000 one year and $40,000 another – and not reporting it at all in a third tax year. More galling is his four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem and apparent failure to report income from the sale of a home he owned in the District of Columbia. In the face of Harlem residents seeking affordable housing, Rangel rents four apartments in the Lenox Towers, three of which he uses as a residence and the other as a campaign office. Because the units are rent-stabilized, Rangel’s monthly payments are well below market rates.

But, if you thought Rangel was irresponsible regarding his accounting practices, the antic that has Washington bureaucrats hopping mad involves his “vintage” Mercedes Benz. Reminiscent of rube neighbors that leave junk cars on blocks in front yards, Rangel used a House of Representatives parking garage for years as a free storage space for his old Benz – in direct violation of congressional rules. The 1972 silver sedan was parked in a coveted section of an indoor lot near elevators that led to his office. Before it was towed, the car sat covered with a protective tarp and no license plates. Records show Rangel’s registration on the vehicle expired in 2004.

In spite of his missteps, since his chairmanship Rangel has been one of the Democrats’ top fundraisers. Due to his position, Rangel is flooded with contributions from lobbyists and political action committees. Rangel regularly raises millions for the party, but says that corporate entities seeking his attention should “support policies that help mostly African-American and Hispanic constituencies” in inner-cities.

That’s big talk on his part, but the question of the moment is: “Should someone that ethically obtuse continue to sit as chairman of Ways and Means?” Should blacks blindly support Rangel to hold his chairmanship, or hold him to a high standard of performance? Friendly fellow that he is, Rangel’s antics, whether simply through slovenliness, neglect, or both, should be brought to an end.

By William Reed, September 21, 2008

Dr. Crouch’s Presidential works are of note because they are setting precedence for racial progress and measurable inclusion.  In 2006, Crouch took an unprecedented step to break down racial barriers, end common miscommunications and continue arouse black heritage.  In a plan considered “controversial,” Crouch and Georgetown are trying to increase their minority student’s recruitment numbers through relationships with historically black Baptist denominations to adopt the legacy of Bishop College.

With “race issues” so prominent in the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Crouch’s move sets an attention-getting tone.  While the prevailing national discussion evolves around “race natural” and “colorblind” issues, Crouch says, “Everybody talks about ‘diversity’.  We must learn to live, work, and play together.  Therefore, the effectiveness of diversity depends on the sincerity of its delivery”.

Typically marginalized and unrepresented in America, Blacks should recognize actions of inclusion that’s more than talk.  Crouch’s plan to Bishop College’s alumni involves making Georgetown their adopted alma mater.  Georgetown offers scholarships to children or grandchildren of Bishop Alumni or students nominated by Bishop Alumni. Upon graduation, these students receive diplomas with the name and insignia of Bishop College.  The focus of Crouch’s ploy is to help Georgetown increase its minority enrollment to 25 percent by 2012.

Crouch is leading a $27 million campaign that will preserve the memory, spirit and advancement of Bishop College.  Saying he’s captivated by Bishop’s history and its graduates’ accomplishments, Crouch hopes the “Bishop College Alive” campaign will get Bishop Alumni to send good black students his way.  Georgetown College is 897 miles from Bishop’s old Dallas, Texas campus.

Crouch’s initiative includes Legacy Scholarships and a new building named for Bishop, founded in 1881 in the name of a white Northern couple that provided the initial $10,000.  Through financial support of white philanthropists Bishop grew.  During the 1930s through the ‘50s, Bishop was nationally known for its two-year ministerial program – participants included the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson.  By 1986 Bishop had amassed huge debts, lost its accreditation, filed for bankruptcy and closed.  Paul Quinn College now occupies Bishop’s old campus.

Dr. Crouch acknowledges that boosting Georgetown’s minority enrollment is “absolutely critical” to his quest for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter.  But, to meet that challenge Crouch currently endows Bishop Scholarships at $500,000 annually.  He is raising $4 million for the academic building at Georgetown that will carry the Bishop name and be designed by a black architect.  Bishop’s ministerial Alumna has pledged $1 million toward the project and serves on Georgetown’s board of directors.

With words not spoken in Polite American Society, Crouch says “Diversity in higher education is critical to creating future leaders”.  Crouch has added more African Americans to Georgetown management and admissions positions.  Georgetown officials plan to house sermons and other historical materials related to black Baptist ministers.  Georgetown sought and received a government grant and houses the Kentucky Underground Railroad Research Institute in a building that once served as quarters for slaves in transit.

Dr. Crouch has gotten Sovereign Bank, Simplex Corp., the Army and others to help Bishop People “preserve their heritage”.  He says Georgetown will award an annual honorary doctorate to distinguished Bishop Alum and reintroduce and market a Bishop clothing line.  Crouch’s plan gives Bishop’s People a home away from home.  He’s offered to host Bishop Homecomings on Georgetown’s campus. African-American fraternities and sororities are encouraged to establish chapters in Georgetown’s “Greek” culture.

Crouch is right that the 21^st Century will be increasingly diverse and that culturally-diverse education better prepares people to live and work together.  He’s to be congratulated for his meaningful body of work navigating the historically white Baptist institution past a history based of slavery, segregation, and racism.

By William Reed, Week of September 14, 2008