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Monday, April 11, 2011

'A Stronger America: The Black Agenda'


updated 4/4/2011 6:11:40 PM ET
 
 Leading up to the panel discussion on April 10, MSNBC will air daily segments 
across its dayside news coverage, bringing in diverse voices from across the 
political spectrum and focusing on issues that affect the African American
community.


On Sunday, April 10, MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz will host a two-hour panel discussion with the National Action Network’s Rev. Al Sharpton titled, “A Stronger America: The Black Agenda” beginning at noon ET. The panel comes at the end of the National Action Network’s annual summit, and will feature prominent African American leaders from across the U.S. who are committed to furthering critical issues impacting their community. Schultz and the panel will discuss pertinent topics affecting African Americans such as politics, modern civil rights, healthcare, education and how we can help build a stronger African American community. MSNBC will ask the tough questions: What is the Black Agenda? What can the African American community do to help itself? How does the Black agenda help to further the overall American agenda?





Building a stronger Black America


Author Earl Hutchinson explains the boundaries African - Americans have crossed since the assassination of Rev Martin Luther King Jr. 

Census shows America remains segregated


Even thought the country has elected its first African - American President, an analysis of new U.S. census data shows the segregation evident among Americans. Author earl Hutchinson discusses.

Debating African American Leadership


Are too many African-Americans putting all expectation on President Obama? Cornel West, Rev. Al Sharpton, Velma Hart, and Robert Traynham of the Comcast Network get into a heated debate.

Politics and the Black Agenda


Have the recent political debates brought to light issues African-Americans care about? Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, Democratic strategist Karen Finney and NAACP’s Ben Jealous discuss.

Discussing Dr King's Legacy


If Dr. King were alive today, would he be in the front in the fight for unions? TheGrio.com’s Jeff Johnson, Marc Morial of the National Urban League, and journalist Karen Hunter, talk about Dr. King’s legacy.


Closing the education gap for African Americans


NBC’s Mara Schiavocampo shares the stark statistics about how the U.S. education system isn’t working for African Americans. American Federation of Teacher Randi Weingarten, Department of Education’s Russlyn Ali, and director of “Excellent Education for Everyone,” discuss on msnbc.

 Incarceration vs. Education

 
Why does the world's richest country spend more money to keep African Americans behind bars than it does to provide them with the education that could lead to success?  


The impact of Rev. Al Sharpton



To Coincide with it special 'The Black Agenda' and the efforts to build a stronger America - MSNBC takes a closer look at the contributions of Rev. Al Sharpton, who has emerged as a political power broker over the past several decades.

Why is racial inequality still prominent in America?



Dr Cornel West explains whether the America is still fighting a Civil War




Court upholds ban on Arizonia Immigration Law


The First Lady Honors the 2011 Military Child of the Year Award Recipients



First Lady at the Military Child of the Year Award Ceremony
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at the Military Child of the Year Award ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, Va., April 7, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
Yesterday evening, First Lady Michelle Obama honored five young adults with the 2011 Military Child of the Year Award. The award recognizes children that are part of a military family and are doing outstanding work in their communities and with their families.
The First Lady commended the individual accomplishments of each recipient for the community service and sacrifices they are making to support their families. Of the five honorees, two have completed 500 hours of community service and a third is almost there. While Mrs. Obama noted that each recipient had a unique path that brought them there, she noted that they do share some common characteristics:
 It’s clear that they share the same desire to help others, to serve their country, and to do something meaningful with their time on this earth.
The recipients of the 2011 Military Child of the Year Award are an impressive group:
  • Nicole Goetz has been helping to take of her little brother by cheering him up or assisting him with homework, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA, working a job, and performing 500 hours of community service.
  • Taylor Dahl-Sims has been taking on more responsibilities by assisting with her baby brother, who was injured at birth. When Taylor’s stepfather returned home with a traumatic brain injury, she took on a greater role at home.
  • Kyle Hoeye has taught hundreds of his peers how to make videos educating non-military kids about the challenges faced by military kids, and publicly speaking about his own experiences as a military kid. Kyle also works with his school’s Key Club to send personalized care packages to troops overseas.
  • Margaret Rochon is working to help people understand the issues that military children and their families experience. She convinced six recognized experts to lead a seminar for teachers about the effects of PTSD on military families, which is now a training requirement for all teachers in her county. Margaret has also managed to volunteer more than 500 hours in the community herself.
  • Melissa Howland has also been working hard in her community, committing almost 500 hours of community service to a dozen different causes. Melissa faced her own unique challenge, having been diagnosed with a blood disorder that left her unable to play basketball, an activity she loves. Melissa told the First Lady “you can’t go wrong giving back.” 
The First Lady commended all the honorees for their service, sacrifice and maturity:
When you think about everything that tonight’s honorees have done with their lives, you can’t help but begin to think twice about the title of this award, because while these five Military Children of the Year might be young people, they’ve each shown maturity and grace and wisdom far beyond their years.
Supporting military families has been priority for the First Lady and Dr. Biden. Together, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden are launching a new nationwide initiative calling on Americans to honor, recognize, and support military families.

 

 

Remarks by the First Lady at the Military Child of the Year Award

Barack Obama's White House Presidential Office (D) posted a Press Release on April 7, 2011 | 9:22 pm
 
Release Time: 
For Immediate Release
Location: 
Ritz Carlton Pentagon City
Arlington, Virginia
6:04 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you all.  Thank you so much.  Please sit down.  Thank you.  And good evening, everyone.  Let me tell you, it is a pleasure and an honor to be here tonight for the 2011 Military Child of the Year Award.  These aren’t children, they’re young adults, but, you know, we know the difference.
I want to start by thanking Jim for that very kind introduction and for his leadership as CEO of Operation Homefront.
I also want to recognize the leaders from each of our services who are here tonight to present these awards:  General Schwartz, General Dunford, Admiral Greenert, Lieutenant General William Troy, and Vice Admiral Sally Brice-O’Hara.  Thank you all for your leadership and for your continued commitment to the families.
I also want to thank my partners in these efforts, some of them who are here:  Deborah Mullen, Bonnie Amos, Susan Schwartz, and all of the other spouses who have been so supportive to me and to Jill.  They have been partners with us every step of the way, and I love them like they are sisters.  But I want to commend them for their championship, for their leadership for military families.  Let’s give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)
And finally, I want to thank everyone at Operation Homefront for the vital work that you all are doing for military families across the country, including hosting this beautiful event for the five outstanding young people that we’re honoring tonight.   
As First Lady, I’ve had the privilege of welcoming the 2009 and 2010 Military Children of the Year Award recipients to the White House.  I’ve had the chance to get to know those young people and to meet and know their families, and to be inspired by their sacrifice and their spirit and their strength.
And I’ve seen them up close.  I’ve been proud to share their stories with people that I meet all across our country.  And that’s why I wanted to be here tonight to be a part of honoring the five of you all, our 2011 Military Children of the Year.
Now, each of you young people already knows that your families are proud of you.  You know that your communities are proud of you.  Your parents’ services are proud of you.  But tonight I want you to know that my husband and I are proud of you -- very proud.
We’re proud because we know about your strength and your resilience and your spirit.  We know about your achievements in school -- they’re amazing.  We know about the countless hours you’ve spent volunteering in your communities and caring for your families.
And I’m here tonight because I want our country to know about you all as well.  I want our country to know about the five of you and about all the military kids and families all across this country.
Most folks in this country are already aware of the incredible sacrifices that your parents are making.  We’re already in awe of our men and women in uniform.  But we often lose sight of the fact that our Armed Forces is largely a force of families.
More than half of our active duty troops are married.  And there are nearly 2 million American military children.  And a lot of folks don’t realize that when our troops are called to serve, their families serve, too.  A lot of folks simply don’t know the stories of our military families and their kids.  They don’t know what it’s like to kiss Mom or Dad goodbye as they head off to war, and then have to go back to class, and do homework, and act like everything is fine.
They don’t know about all the missed soccer games and the missed prom nights and the missed shared daily moments -- the hugs, the bedtime stories, the meals with an empty seat at the table.  They don’t know that every day, military kids are stepping up and helping to run the household and care for their families.
That’s what Nicole Goetz has been doing.  When her little brother is feeling down, Nicole is the one who takes him to the movies and cheers him up.  When he needs help with his homework, Nicole is the one who tutors him.  And somehow, she’s managed to perform 500 hours of community service, earn a 4.0 GPA -- right about that? -- do all kinds of activities at school, and work a job as well.  Sheesh.  (Laughter.)  You must be tired.
And I understand that Nicole’s dad, who I got to meet, Chief Master Sergeant Michael Goetz, has come all the way from Afghanistan to see Nicole get this award today.  So let’s give him a round of applause.  (Applause.)
And let’s remember that our military kids aren’t just shouldering extra responsibilities when their parents are deployed.  They often continue to do so once Mom or Dad returns home, and everyone has to readjust and reconnect as a family figures out how to come together after those months away.  And when a parent comes home wounded, the result can be a real role reversal.  It can mean taking care of Mom or Dad who once took care of you; taking on responsibilities that would be overwhelming for most adults, let alone for most kids.
And that’s what Taylor Dahl-Sims -- Taylor, where’d you go?  There you go.  That’s what she did.  
Now, Taylor already had plenty of experience with adult responsibilities.  Her new baby brother was seriously injured at birth, and her house was flooded I think at the same time, all while her stepfather was on his fifth deployment.
So Taylor helped care for the baby.  She helped clean up the house.  And when her stepfather returned home with traumatic brain injury, going in and out of the hospital for most of that year, she stepped up again to help hold everything together.
So when we talk about service to our country, when we talk about all that sacrifice for a cause, when we talk about patriotism and courage and resilience, we’re not just talking about our troops and our veterans.  We’re talking about our military families as well.  We’re talking about military kids like the young people that we’re honoring here tonight.  They play their own very unique role in keeping our country safe and preserving the freedoms that we all hold dear.
Their strength and support helps our troops serve and protect every last one of us.  So I think it’s time for every last one of us to step up and show our gratitude for our military families.  And that’s why, for the past two years, I’ve traveled this country meeting with military families and working to raise awareness of the incredible contributions that these families are making, and it’s why next week Jill Biden and I are launching a new nationwide campaign calling on every single American to honor, recognize, and support our military families.  And our message is very clear:  It’s that every American has the ability -- and the obligation -- to give something back to our military families.
Everybody can do something.  Schools can work to better meet the needs of military kids.  Businesses can make an effort to hire military spouses.  Ordinary citizens can do something as simple as offering to shovel the snow, babysit, organize events in their communities to celebrate these families.
And in the coming months, Jill Biden and I will be traveling the country -- Jill’s a Blue Star mom herself -- and we’ll be highlighting the best businesses and nonprofits and community efforts, and we’re going to be doing everything that we can to tell the stories of our military families.  And I think we could learn a thing or two from a couple of our honorees tonight.
Kyle Hoeye -- there’s Kyle right there, quite handsome young man -- (laughter) -- he’s taught hundreds of his peers how to make videos educating non-military kids about the challenges faced by military kids.  He also speaks publicly about his own experiences as a military kid and works with his school’s Key Club to send personalized care packages to troops overseas.
Margaret Rochon -- Margaret, where did you go?  There you go, there’s Margaret.  She singlehandedly convinced six nationally recognized experts to come lead a seminar for teachers about the effects of PTSD on military families.  And it was so successful that it’s now a yearly training requirement for all the teachers in her county.  And by the way, Margaret also managed to find time to volunteer more than 500 hours in the community herself.
So when you think about everything that tonight’s honorees have done with their lives, you can’t help but begin to think twice about the title of this award, because while these five Military Children of the Year might be young people, they’ve each shown maturity and grace and wisdom far beyond their years.
And that’s certainly true of our last honoree, Melissa, Melissa Howland.  There’s Melissa right there.  Now, she was diagnosed with a serious blood disorder and hospitalized several times while her dad was deployed.  And because of her illness, she had to quit the basketball team -- an activity that she loved.  But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for herself, she decided -- and these are her words -- “You can’t go wrong giving back.”  She then went on to volunteer nearly 500 hours for a dozen different causes.
So in the end, while our five honorees come from different places and they’ve taken different journeys to this moment, it’s clear that they share the same ethic of service that led their parents to enlist in our Armed Forces in the first place.  It’s clear that they share the same desire to help others, to serve their country, and to do something meaningful with their time on this earth.
And tonight, let me tell you, I am proud and I am honored to be here to congratulate them and to thank them for all that they have contributed to their communities and to our nation.  We are really, really amazed by everything you all are doing.  And again, we want this country to know your stories.  We want you to be shining examples to all other young people of how much you can get done with a little will, a little passion, and a little determination.
So you all keep doing what you’re doing, and we will keep supporting you.  God bless you all.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)
END
6:17 P.M. EDT

American Indian Tribes Face Struggles With Federal Shutdown


Apr 8, 2011 – 6:59 AM


Felicia Fonseca
AP

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The threat of a government shutdown Friday has America Indian leaders scrambling to determine what the stalemate on Capitol Hill would mean for their reservations, where the federal government's presence often plays a vital role in everything from law enforcement and social services to schools.

The looming shutdown would be especially troublesome for tribes that receive such essential services as police and health care directly from federal employees, said Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. Those tribes tend to be the most impoverished and many aren't in a position to make up for the loss of government services.

American Indian Tribes Face Struggles With Federal Shutdown
Getty Images
Members of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina wait for a tribal dance on the National Mall after the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in 2004. America Indian leaders are trying to determine what a government shutdown would mean for their reservations.
Under the shutdown scenario, dozens of schools that the Bureau of Indian Affairs oversees could be closed, said former BIA assistant Secretary Carl Artman.

Leaders on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, meanwhile, say they'll even have to halt trash pickups if lawmakers can't reach a budget agreement by Friday's midnight deadline.

During the 1995 government shutdown that lasted 21 days, all 13,500 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees were furloughed, and there were delays in general assistance payments for basic needs to 53,000 benefit recipients.

Like the last time around, however, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services official said Indian Health Service hospitals and clinics on tribal lands would likely see little impact because their services are deemed critical.

Many tribes are still assessing likely impacts following tribal council meetings and sessions with staff held earlier in the week on how to move forward.

"There would be a significant financial impact on our daily operations and the (tribal) council would have to make some tough decisions," said Robert McDonald, a spokesman for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes in Montana. "Our director of social services is very concerned about the services he could provide."

The federal government provides services directly or indirectly through contracts, grants and compacts to nearly 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, who have long had a unique relationship with Washington through the federal government's treaty obligations.

Officials on the Navajo Nation, the country's largest Indian reservation, said the tribe receives two-thirds of its money from the federal government to support jails, police force, social services and other programs.

The tribe said it would have enough money to run those programs for about a month but anything longer would be more difficult.

Many tribal officers on the 27,000 square-mile reservation that covers parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico travel hundreds of miles to respond to crimes, so law enforcement already faces a tough situation, said Sherrick Roanhorse, executive chief of staff.

"Our priority is to ensure that law enforcement and human services stay intact," he said.

It's unclear whether tribes that replace their federal funding would be reimbursed after a budget is passed. Artman, the former BIA official, said the agency's response might be that it doesn't have a process for that, it would violate rules or that the tribes don't have a right to demand a refund.

"Politically you'll understand it, emotionally you'll understand it," Artman said. "But from an accounting and regulatory perspective, it may not be possible to achieve what the tribe wants."

Tribes are hopeful law enforcement would be kept on the job as well, but BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling declined to specify the agency's plans.

"There are things I think people are working on right now, but they're not for public consumption at this point," Darling said late Wednesday.

Darling confirmed that tribes were sent a letter advising them to draw down any money that's available from the federal government in case it shuts down. That money already has been limited because of continuing budget resolutions.

"It becomes a way of life if you're a tribe," said Robert McNichols, a former superintendent for the BIA's Truxton Canyon Agency in Arizona. "It's not anything new for them to face challenges that they don't have resources."

The impact to the 183 schools under the BIA's Bureau of Indian Education would depend on the extent to which they are supported by the federal government, said Artman.

Many of the elementary, secondary and dormitory schools are run by tribes through contracts with the federal government, and tribes could choose to supplement that funding if needed. A third that are operated directly by the BIA likely would be shut down, Artman said.

Any services from local or regional BIA offices would be curtailed, such as permitting, business site leasing or housing improvements as federal employees are sent home.

In Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal council recently met with department heads to go over their options if federal funding were suspended. They discussed dipping into other funds or running a skeleton crew to provide basic services to the most vulnerable residents, but no final decisions were made, McDonald said.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, meanwhile, was assuring members that all services would remain, said tribe spokeswoman Judy Allen. But she added that the Choctaws feel "it is imperative that a resolution be found soon so that federal funds ... continue to be available."

Loren "Bum" Stiffarm, chief administrative officer for the Fort Belknap Reservation, said his main concern is that a shutdown could occur as the Milk River threatens to spill over its banks. The rising river is predicted to go into flood stage within a week, and if it causes significant damage to the reservation, tribal officials will be seeking federal emergency assistance.

The reservation in northern Montana is home to the Gros Ventre and Assinboine tribes. Tribal leaders were expected to discuss the Milk River situation with the Interior Department on Thursday.

"We hope to come away with a formal assurance that they will assist us if the flooding occurs," Stiffarm said.

Fort Belknap plans to have only essential staff working if there is a government shutdown. Some programs and services would be put on hold, including garbage pickup, but the tribal government will continue to provide for the welfare of the people, he said.