Economics, voting rights, death penalty among top Black stories of 2011

By Hazel Trice Edney
Contributing Writer

(TriceEdneyWire.com) — At least 10 top stories that disparately impacted African Americans in 2011 are carrying over into the New Year, forecasting continued struggles, but also new hope for 2012.

Among the top stories headlined by the Black Press in 2011 are the consistently high unemployment rate; President Oba­ma’s leadership in the killing of September 11 mastermind Osa­ma Bin Laden; the controversial execution of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis; the Black vote under attack; the Dr. King Monument dedicated on the National Mall; and Obama’s health care plan goes before the U. S. Supreme Court.

The following are synopses of those and other major Black stories from 2011 with implications for 2012:

1. Black Unemployment: After monthly jobless rates that fluctuated like a roller coaster, Blacks ended 2011 – as usual – at the top of the unemployment list. Last March, the Black unemployment rate hit 16.5 percent, the highest in more than a decade. Then, in October, it dropped from 16 percent to 15.1 percent, the lowest in two years, only to shoot back up to 15.5 percent in November while simultaneously dropping for Whites. The American Jobs Act, proposed by President Obama late last summer in a joint session of Congress, failed to pass the U. S. Senate, but was broken into pieces, some of which passed, included an extension of benefits for unemployed workers and an extension of a payroll tax holiday. In 2012, members of the Congressional Black Caucus have vowed to continue fighting for several jobs bills they have proposed.

2. Death of Osama Bin Ladin: President Obama was widely lauded for the success of a U. S. Military operation, May 2, that killed al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, the master mind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The President made the announcement in a late night national television broadcast from the East Room of the White House after which thousands of Ameri­cans spilled into the streets, celebrating a decade after the plane attacks killed nearly 3,000 men, women and children in the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, and Shanksville, Pa.

3. President Obama’s Health Care Plan Goes to the U. S. Supreme Court: The nation’s highest court revealed in October that it will decide by the end of June 2012 whether President Obama’s “Affordable Care Act” is constitutional. The court will review the President’s signature legislative accomplishment to decide whether the law’s requirement for all Americans to buy insurance is constitutional. Among the benefits, the White House says the plan will result in lower health care costs for millions of families, including the African Americans community which has the greatest health and health care disparities of all racial groups.

4. Black Leaders Declare War on War on Drugs: A national forum aimed to declare war on the 40-year-long “war on drugs” culminated into a campaign to continue pressuring Congress and the White House to end the campaign that – according to statistics – has severely damaged Black communities nationwide. The initial forum, held June 17 at the National Press Club, was organized by the Institute of the Black World – 21st Century, led by Dr. Ron Daniels and featured the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation President/CEO Elsie Scott, among other Black leaders. Disparities include African Ameri­cans as 62 percent of drug offenders sent to state prisons, while representing only 12 percent of the U.S. population.

5. Troy Davis Executed: After a nearly 20-year battle for his life, supported by hundreds of thousands of people who ultimately signed petitions, Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection Sept. 21 after a stay of execution was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1991 conviction of Davis for the murder of a police officer had been long the focus of civil rights leaders who proclaimed his innocence. The fight for justice, led by the NAACP, was largely based the recantation of seven of nine witnesses after the conviction. Anti-death penalty advocates have vowed to continue the fight against death as a punishment; especially in cases in which evidence is presented that destroys the prosecution’s case after the person has been convicted.

6. Historic Martin Luther King Jr. Monument Dedicated on National Mall: “The Stone of Hope”, a towering statue of Civil Rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was officially dedicated on the National Mall October 16 after Hurricane Irene caused a postponement on August 28. President Barack Obama, members of the King family, and a string of major civil rights icons spoke at the dedication and stars such as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin performed. The four-acre site is the first dedicated to a Black man on the National Mall. It is viewed as a monument to past civil rights gains, but also a symbol of racial progress that must be made in years ahead.

7. Black Vote Under Attack: A clarion warning came from dozens of national civil rights leaders who say established and proposed new voting laws around the country amount to an attack on Black voting rights just as the 2012 presidential contest gets underway. The NAACP announced in November that over the past year “34 states have introduced voter suppression legislation, with laws passing in 14 of those states and bills pending in eight. These suppressive laws take many forms, but in each case they disproportionately impact people of color, working women, blue-collar workers, students, seniors, and immigrants.”

8. First Black President Conti­nues to Face Race Hate as He Seeks 2012 Re-election: Hate experts continued to express serious concern as racial attacks continued to mark the first term of President Barack Obama. Public expressions of concern escalated following the Nov. 16 arrest of Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, 21, charged with attempting to assassinate the president for his shooting at the White House with an assault rifle. Officials’ contend that the motive in that case was not proven to be race-related, but rather anti-government. But hate experts, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, which documents hate incidents, say regardless of that suspect’s motive, Obama has consistently remained under escalated threat because of his race since before his election Nov. 5, 2008. The Secret Service gave Obama protection earlier than any other candidates and they’ve said Obama’s had more threats against him than any other president.

9. The Rise and Fall of Herman Cain: Herman Cain, a Godfather’s pizza executive, initially dismissed as an insignificant GOP candidate for president, suddenly rose to national prominence as he surged to the top of the GOP polls last fall. His candidacy peaked just as he appeared at the National Press Club Oct. 31 as news broke of several sexual harassment allegations against him. He denied the charges, but also revealed his threat to truth as he denied that widespread hate against Obama has anything to do with race. Cain’s campaign fizzled as the harassment charges intensified and he resigned from the race Dec. 3 while denying an alleged 13-year extramarital affair.

10. Occupy Protesters Win Support, Alliance from Civil Rights Leaders: What started as a group of mostly young white protesters on Wall Street late last summer, quickly spread to cities across the nation as protesters set up tents in public parks to decry unjust economic policies against the 99 percent of Americans who are not considered rich. Despite winter, the Occupy Movement caught fire and is increasingly winning the support and involvement of traditional civil rights leaders. Most recently, a group of Black clergy, led by former NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Chavis and the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, announced the formation of what they call “Occupy the Dream”. Starting Monday, Jan. 16, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday, Chavis says the group will hold protests at Federal Reserve Banks in 10 cities around the nation with hopes to spread “the message of income equality, economic justice and empowerment.” The mission aims to diminish Black unemployment by strengthening and promoting Black-owned businesses as an extension of Dr. King’s “Poor People’s Movement cut short when he was assassinated April 4, 1968. Chavis says, “Now that we have the monument, it’s time to rekindle the movement that the monument represents.”

This article was originally published in the January 9, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper