The New Year Offers America New Hope

By Mildred Robertson

Today we sit on the precipice of a new year. America has struggled through 2021 and looks with great anticipation toward a new year that holds the potential for outstanding accomplishments or dismal failure. It is a cliché, but nonetheless accurate to say “it is the best of times, it is the worst of times.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” –Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

The dichotomy of America’s existence is stark.  In November of 2020, we exited perhaps the darkest time in our nation’s modern history. We survived the unhinged reign of a narcissistic sociopath who fed our worst inclinations toward selfishness and hatred. We endured the onslaught of a pandemic that stole hundreds of thousands of our friends and loved ones. We experienced a reckoning with police brutality and its roots in slavery. We saw the demise of a once-mighty Republican party that now indulges and promotes hate-filled radicals bent on destroying our democracy.

While the November 2020 elections marked the beginning of an end to this dark phase in our history, the challenges did not cease. On January 6, 2021, we experienced an uprising that challenged the very foundation of our democracy and threatened to topple our nation; an uprising led by a defeated former president and members of congress.

We are witnessing an unprecedented attack on voting rights, with Republican legislatures across the country rushing to pass legislation that will limit access to the ballot box, and limit women’s rights to control their own bodies. Countless individuals across the nation continue to refuse to take a life-saving COVID vaccination that could help bring an end to an epic worldwide pandemic.  People are dying because hospitals are foregoing or postponing life-saving treatment for non-pandemic illnesses because COVID patients have overrun the system. As Dickens said, “it was the worst of times.”

But there have been victories as well. Democrats were able to piece together support for a massive infrastructure bill that is touted to be transformative for America’s crumbling highways, bridges, rails, and other public works.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will expand access to high-speed internet, address climate change and advance environmental justice. It will create good-paying union jobs and will ensure that every American has access to clean drinking water.

President Joe Biden has been successful in appointing a record number of judges to federal courts across the country to counter the onslaught of conservative judges appointed during the Trump administration. While COVID has been a formidable opponent, the administration continues to promote vaccination and testing and to work with pharmaceutical companies as they develop a treatment for the prevention and/or mitigation of the COVID virus and its various manifestations.

A bipartisan committee is making slow but steady headway into the investigation of the January 6, 2021 attack on the nation’s Capitol, and the Justice Department has charged more than 700 people from more than 45 states with participating in the U.S. Capitol riot. CNN reported on December 11, 2021, that only 50 have been sentenced, with most, however, receiving lesser sentences.

So as we examine 2021, it is almost as though Charles Dickens was speaking directly about us when he wrote those storied words. But 2022 is a new chapter. There are opportunities…it is our spring of hope.

We must pass voting rights legislation to ensure that those who serve in our state and federal legislatures are a true reflection of the people’s will. Every vote counts; and every vote must be counted. This must be a top priority for President Biden and his administration.  He must pull out all the stops to ensure that he keeps his promise to the black women and men who turned out in record numbers to send him to the White House. There is nothing on his agenda that is more important than voting rights. If we don’t safeguard the vote his agenda will be the last in the foreseeable future to address the needs of American citizens, particularly minority citizens.

As we head into the primaries in preparation for the 2022 mid-terms, we must motivate the base to turn out and make their voices heard.  We must persuade them to vote despite the herculean attempt by the far-right to block them from the polls. Meanwhile, we must monitor the actions of states across the nation who are bent on predetermining the outcome of elections and minimizing the voice of the people.

While we may tire of the seemingly endless battle against COVID, the rabid radicalization of the far right, racial injustice, voter suppression, misogyny, and copious other injustices over which we fought during the past 5 years, 2022 holds hope for progress…redemption…rebirth.

It may not yet be the best of times, but the best of times is within our reach. We must, however, reach out and wrench it from those who would have us fail.

Happy New Year!

Manchin Reneges on Support for Build Back Better Legislation

 By Mildred Robertson

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has finally said out loud, what we all knew to be the case for months. He does not, and will not support Joe Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB) legislation. He announced today that, despite his earlier pledge to work with Biden and the Progressive Caucus to fashion a bill with which they all could live, he cannot see a way to support the legislation. 

It is clear that he never intended to support the bill which would have ensured Americans high-quality child care at an affordable cost, preschool programs for 3-4-year-olds; affordable housing, lower-cost healthcare coverage, and would close the Medicare coverage gap while reducing premiums. The bill also would have supported long-term family care needs and cut taxes for workers and their families. Had it become permanent under BBB, the Child Tax Credit increase would have become permanent, providing a tax cut of up to $1,500 for low-wage workers.

After more than five months of negotiations among Democrats, where Machin was his party’s chief obstacle to the passage of the $2 trillion social and environment bill, (down from the original $3.5 trillion at Manchin’s request), he stated today that he cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. “I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there.” This bill that he "can't support", would have provided billions to help families with children, addressed climate change by curbing carbon emissions, and would lower prescription drug prices.

So what part, exactly, of this bill could Manchin possibly find objectionable? Helping families with children?  Addressing climate change? Lowered prescription drug costs? Tax cuts for low-wage workers? Affordable housing?  Health-care coverage?  What part, exactly?

Manchin’s position is puzzling on several levels. His response to this legislation is particularly peculiar in that the state of West Virginia is among the poorest in the nation. This legislation would have been extremely impactful for that state, as it was designed to help families cope with health and child care costs.  Recent polls indicate that Biden’s BBB spending proposal is immensely popular in deep-red West Virginia, but also just this past week Manchin had personally provided Biden a $1.85 trillion written proposal similar to the bill for which the Democrats had gained consensus in October.

Finally, Manchin has left President Biden out on a limb, as he must face off with the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which compromised on the depth and scope of the BBB, but also supported the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on the President’s word that Manchin would support the social and environment bill when it came up. The infrastructure bill needed the support of progressive Democrats in order to pass. His pledge led the progressives to reluctantly support the infrastructure legislation without passing the BBB simultaneously.  

So Manchin’s disingenuous politicking leaves one to wonder, what kinds of levers are being pulled in the background, and who is pulling them. Manchin has direct ties to the fossil-fuel industry, and his daughter is the former CEO of drug-maker Mylan. According to a Mother Jones article published in October of this year, Manchin has received more in political donations from the oil and gas industry than any other senator; more than double the second-largest recipient. He is also the leading beneficiary of donations from the coal mining sector and has accepted more money from gas pipeline operators than any other senator. He ranks sixth among senators receiving national donations from electricity utilities.

If that is not enough to give you pause, it is alleged that his daughter Heather Bresch worked with Pfizer to keep the prices of the company’s EpiPen artificially high. Within five years of her leadership, the price of a two-pack of EpiPens was driven from $100 to above $600. Meanwhile, Manchin’s wife, Gayle, who is co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission and head of the National Association of State Boards of Education, lobbied states to require schools to stock epinephrine. As we examine underlying motivation, you might also note that, while Manchin blocks Democratic progress; he is busy raising funds among wealthy Republican donors, seemingly rewarding him for thwarting Democratic goals. All of these facts lead one to wonder to whom the senator is loyal...to whom he is beholden. 

It is unfortunate that the well-being of millions of Americans lies in the hands of a man who is not true to his word, and who would sacrifice ethics to promote family and pad their pockets.  I don’t know how Democrats overcome this obstacle in the short run. But in the long run, we can flood the polls in 2022 to dilute Manchin’s voice; a voice that clearly does not speak for the people.

While Manchin is not up for election in 2022, there are many seats that will need to be filled. We must fill them with statesmen and women who care more about the people than they do the position and the power. We need to elect citizen-politicians who believe in service to their electorate, not performance politics. We need to quiet the voice of folk like Joe Manchin who would stand in the way of progress so that this nation can move forward and the people can be heard.  

Kamala Harris Media Coverage: Just or Unjust?

 By Mildred Robertson

There is a narrative about Kamala Harris that is vaguely reminiscent of the kinds of articles we used to see about Hillary Clinton. I cannot come to her defense, since I don't know the woman. But I do know the tactics of the establishment to take down powerful women. You see, Harris was my first choice for president. I was pleased when Biden picked her as vice president, and have looked forward to the opportunity to see her run for the top spot again.

So, I want to know if this is just the male-dominated establishment trying to maintain the status quo, or is there some basis for the attacks Harris has had to endure. Articles indicate that she doesn't do the work, but holds her staff responsible for her unpreparedness--Prove it.

They say she is a bully. Why? How? Is she demanding effective, efficient performance, or is she just being mean? Many times, those attributes that people applaud in men, are seen as mean-spirited, intimidating, or tyrannical in women. 

She has not been prominent on the national stage since she became vice president. No vice president ever is. It is, for the most part, a ceremonial job. So it is difficult for the public to measure her strengths and weaknesses accurately because they are seldom on public display. Her job, generally, is to stand behind the president and smile. She doesn’t have policies to implement, because she must implement Biden’s policies. She cannot publicly vocalize how she would have handled a situation differently from the president. Again, that is not her job and there would be a whole other narrative in the media about her trying to undercut the president.

If Harris is not prepared to lead at this level, then there should be facts to support that allegation. If you don't have the facts, I don't want to hear it.

Justice in America; It’s Complicated

Mildred Robertson

According to civil rights leader Dr. William Barber, the outcome of two racially tinged trials in America with divergent outcomes is, well to say it simply, “complicated.” Barber was referring to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict in Kenosha WI, and the Ahmaud Arbery trial in Georgia.

While a predominantly white jury with just one black seated in the Georgia case took hours to find guilty three white vigilantes who stalked and killed 25-year-old Arbery as he jogged down a public street; a white jury in Wisconsin found Kyle Rittenhouse innocent of injuring one and murdering 2 Black Lives Matter protestors. Rittenhouse claimed self-defense despite coming to the protest armed with an AR 15, loaded with 30 rounds of hollow-point bullets. The first man he shot was unarmed. He was then pursued by a man wielding his skateboard, and another who had a handgun. Rittenhouse shot and killed one of his pursuers and injured the other.

The Rittenhouse verdict, while disappointing, surprised no one. The same cannot be said of the Arbery trial where a jury consisting of one black and 11 white jurors took little time to come back with a precise verdict that spoke directly to the offenses of each of the three defendants on trial. While defense lawyers pandered to what they hoped would be a racist jury, the prosecutor laid out a roadmap of facts that led to a definitive guilty verdict for all three of the men charged.

One trial stood as an example of what jurisprudence in America should be, while the other held the systems glaring failures up to the light. One trial was based on facts and evidence, while the other was based on vigilante justice.

The judge in the Rittenhouse trial showed a bias toward the defendant from an initial pretrial motion to determine whether those slain on the streets of Kenosha could be referred to as victims; to the point where he sat with the defendant as the jury viewed presentations by the attorneys. Throughout the trial, the judge scolded, yelled at, and berated the prosecuting attorney, blocking any opportunity he took to humanize Rittenhouse’s victims or to show he was the aggressor.

In contrast, the Arbery trial judge showed no signs of bias for or against the defendants. But that trial did not occur without issues of prejudicial behavior by the justice system. First, it was months after he was shot down in the streets before Arbery’s attackers were even arrested. The first call the shooter made was to District Attorney Jackie Johnson; now indicted for her actions. She told him to go home and wash his hands. Arbery’s attackers were arrested after a video of the encounter was released to the public. Linda Dunikoski the prosecutor who so eloquently tried the case was brought in from Cobb County. She successfully prosecuted the case, demolishing the defendant’s attempt to establish self-defense. All three of Arbery’s assailants are expected to spend the rest of their lives in prison, and still face federal charges for his murder that could result in additional life sentences.

The sentencing in the Arbery case is appropriate to deter others who might take similar actions in the future. Furthermore, Georgia has changed its laws to make it clearer when it would be legal to make a citizen’s arrest. Arbery’s mother said she thought she would never see this day but could look at the empty seat around her Thanksgiving table knowing that her prayers have been answered and that Ahmaud can now rest in peace.

While Ahmaud may now be able to rest, we cannot. These two disparate outcomes show the imbalance in the American justice system. One should not be afforded justice based on the luck of the draw in a jury pool, defense lawyer or prosecutor, or judge. Until these disparities are addressed, volatile instances of racial violence will continue to occur around this nation. Until America admits the role race plays in our criminal justice system, the phrase “Liberty and Justice for All,” is just words. 

In America race colors how the system views the crime; sometimes even determining that no crime was committed, as in the Rittenhouse case. You see, it’s complicated.

How Biden’s Build Back Better Legislation Will Affect You

Democrats Push for Social Change

Mildred Robertson

All politics is local. That may not be clear from the hoopla occurring in Washington, D.C. over President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” (BBB) initiative. But this bill is packed full of benefits that will transform North Carolina, and other states across this nation for years to come. We are talking about historic investments in child care, affordable housing, education, and health and family home care that will recreate our economy around today’s realities. 

We no longer live in an agrarian society where generations of family members live together to provide support for the young and the old. Our reality today generally requires a two-family income. That means families are left to grapple with child care and elder care, while both parents hold down full-time jobs. Not only must earned income go toward childcare and eldercare, but the costs for caring for our loved ones are exorbitant.

The North Carolina Democratic Party states that the average annual cost of child care for a toddler is $8,746. BBB will ensure that access to high-quality child care will consume no more than 7% of a family’s income. In North Carolina, that could affect close to 630,000 young children. Not only will this bill help with child-care costs, it will fund universal, high-quality preschool for children throughout the nation. Through BBB, more than 154,103 children ages 3-4 years old will gain access to North Carolina’s existing preschool program.

While addressing quality-of-life issues for families in this country, BBB also takes direct aim at the housing crisis. The NCDP says more than 600,000 renters in North Carolina spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Homeownership, they say, is out of the reach for many families. BBB addresses both these issues by expanding rental assistance and focusing on increasing the supply of high-quality affordable housing. 

Other issues this bill addresses is the need to expand health care coverage and lower costs. The bill will close the Medicaid coverage gap while reducing premiums, making insurance more accessible and affordable. That translates into 388,000 uninsured individuals who will gain coverage in North Carolina alone. NCDP says that 229,100 North Carolinians will, on average, save hundreds of dollars per year on insurance.

Additionally, “Build Back Better” will support long-term family care needs and will cut taxes for workers and families. It is estimated that the extended Child Tax Credit increase will become permanent and will provide a tax cut of up to $1,500 for 593,000 low-wage workers in North Carolina.

So as you weigh the importance of the Washington beltway chatter about the Biden administration and his “Build Back Better” program, I encourage each of you to examine how these cutting-edge policies will affect your daily lives. I believe the bill is transformational. I believe it positions America to be on the cutting edge of social, business and political innovation for the coming millennia. And I really do think it will make America better.

So ignore the chatter. Talk to your local legislators, read your local newspapers. Do your research. I believe you will find that BBB will help create a better life for you today and for generations to come.

Kyle Rittenhouse: Murderer or Martyr?

 By Mildred Robertson

Today we watched baby-faced Kyle Rittenhouse bawl on the witness stand like the child that he is, as he recounted the tragic day that he shot and killed demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It is said that Kyle’s tears seemed to move some of the jurors who probably sympathized with him because of his youth.  They may be weighing his actions based upon his adolescence. They may be thinking that no one his age should have had to make the decisions he made that night.  And they are right, because Kyle Rittenhouse should not have been there.

The fact is, Rittenhouse crossed states lines, illegally armed himself, attended a MAGA rally, and went to the protest looking for trouble. He found what he was looking for.  Rittenhouse murdered two people and wounded another.

He claimed it was self-defense. It is hard to argue with his claim, because the folks who could rebut his testimony about purported threats to his safety prior to the shootings are dead. He claims he was threatened by the first person he shot, after which other protestors pursued and threatened him and became his target.

While the defense has done a less than stellar job of bringing it out in court, Rittenhouse set in motion the events that led to the fatal shootings when he decided that he would become a vigilante peace-keeper during the unrest in Kenosha. It is my belief that he went to Kenosha in order to do just what he did. He wanted to be famous, and he has achieved that goal. Since the murders, he has been praised by the MAGA crowd as a hero and martyr.

Whether found guilty or not, he was no hero. Rittenhouse was at a place he should not have been, carrying a weapon he should not have had, taking actions he should not have taken. He did not live in Kenosha, and police had already called curfew. So when Rittenhouse illegally drove to Kenosha (He had no driver’s license), to participate in the unrest, he was wrong. When he strapped on an AR 47 long gun loaded with 223 full-metal jacket ammunition, he was wrong. When he entered a cordoned-off area of town through police barricades he was wrong. When he failed to heed police announcements to vacate the area due to curfew he was wrong.  

No one knows whether Anthony Huber or Joseph Rosenbaum threatened to kill Rittenhouse that fateful night. They are dead and cannot speak for themselves.  The third victim, Gaige Grosskreutz, who was armed and pursued Rittenhouse after the shootings, says that he had his hands raised, yet Rittenhouse still shot him.  But the fact is, these events were set in motion by Rittenhouse himself and his actions. It was he who precipitated the events that led to the death of two human beings, and the injury of another.

While watching the proceedings today, it is clear that the judge is inclined toward the defense, openly displaying his disdain for the prosecution. It appeared that at every turn, he took the opportunity to chastise the prosecution, while giving leeway to the defense. Let us hope that the jury looks at the facts, and not his youth, or his white skin to determine his guilt or innocence. Let us hope that the justice that would be meted out to a black protestor in the same circumstance will be afforded to Kyle Rittenhouse.  

FUELING A NEW BLACK STUDENT MOVEMENT

 By Mildred Robertson

While the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s was ignited by luminaries like Martin Luther King,  Jr., Fannie Lou Hammer, and Malcolm X, it was fueled by freedom fighters from across this nation's college campuses.  Young men and women from both the north and the south joined forces to oppose the abomination of segregation; sacrificing their black and white bodies to end that horrid system of oppression. Even though great strides have been made in the fight for justice since the 60s Civil Rights movement, recent politics has exposed the simmering racism that bubbles just below the surface of American society. During the latter part of the 20th Century many Whites succumbed to social pressure against overt racism and retreated to passive aggression. This resulted in a false appearance of decreasing racism in our nation. That perception was shattered during the Trump administration as he whipped White racial backlash into a frenzy.

This backlash requires a response. Peter Grear, Co-Publisher of Greater Diversity News (GDN), has proposed such a response. He and a group of socio-political activists have joined forces to articulate the current state of American racism and to motivate a new generation of Freedom Fighters to take up the fight.

It was a group of students from North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, who in February of 1960 began the sit-ins at the Woolworth counter that helped drive a youth movement that swept across this nation. These young people became a catalyst that helped sustain the momentum created by Dr. King and others as they sought justice and equality for Black people across this nation. Looking at the past as prologue, Grear and GDN suggests that a new student response is needed to address the resurgence of overt racist acts that permeate today’s social and economic landscape.

Grear recalls his days at Fayetteville State University (FSU) from 1962-66 where he was part of the original Black Student Movement. He participated in the sit-ins and protests that helped integrate Fayetteville, and worked to end segregation. Grear moved on to follow his career path, which in 1976 brought him back to North Carolina. He noted that a common complaint he heard among his contemporaries when he returned home was, that unlike their generation, Black students just weren’t voting.

Having made his mark as an attorney and publisher, he was recognized in 2017 with the NC Black Leadership award. While receiving that recognition, he realized that his work was not yet done. So, at a conference in Charlotte on October 14, 2017 Grear got together with political advocates and legislators long in the battle for equality in this state, to see whether they could determine why the current generation of students seemed to lack the passion for political change they themselves had experienced back in the 60s.

Their brainstorming resulted in a concept designed to reignite the power of young people, not only across North Carolina, but ultimately across the nation. The group agreed that, though the work they had done in the 60s was impactful, they had somehow failed to pass on that knowledge and sense of urgency to the generation that followed. Their strategy was to help build a model that could be used by young black men and women to re-engage in the Civil Rights movement in a way as impactful as that we experienced in the 60s. Thus was born, The New Black Student Movement (NBSM).

The vision included the mobilization of Black Greek Letter organizations, Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alumni associations and the NAACP to systematically promote civic engagement and increased voter participation on college campuses across the state, and eventually, the nation. The group opined that if the “Divine 9” were to lead the way, other students would follow.

Among the organizers were Congressman, G.K. Butterfield, and four former Chairpersons of the North Carolina Black Leadership Caucus, (NCBLC) Carnell Robinson, Dr. E. Lavonia Allison former Rep. Larry Hall, and Peter Grear.

Currently, The NBSM is in its infancy as volunteers gather to hammer out the model which will be used to proliferate the movement across the state. The idea is to provide a prototype that can be used on any college campus to organize and mobilize student activists. That includes Black students attending predominantly White colleges and universities (PWI).

A soft launch of the concept occurred back in 2019 when “A Call to Colors” conference was held. The group, for the past 2 years, has worked to create and fine-tune the five models for civic engagement for HBCU, Greek Letter and non-profit organizations. The NBSM was the name recently adopted for the student model.

The initiative is poised to implement a core part of the NBSM model where students can volunteer to work on the project through non-profit organizations focused on civic engagement. The goal is to volunteer 8, 16, 24 or more hours per election cycle. The student group has volunteer advisors and are working to fine-tune the model. “The volunteer group is constructing goals and objectives to develop a roadmap accessible to any student organization that wishes to engage,” Grear says. The group hopes to work with HBCU student government associations and institutionalize the knowledge so that it is passed down to subsequent generations of leaders.

Grear also points to the need for coordination with existing organizations to create a strong model that can become self-sustaining. “It is within the framework of establishing HBCU-wide administrative initiatives that it becomes imperative to establish nonpartisan groups such as NAACP to organize and help develop organizational skills for students,” he says.

That is the goal; to spur the development of next-generation leadership among Black students and other young people across, first North Carolina, and ultimately, nationwide. “Through their mobilization we can increase the youth vote and have a substantial impact on voting outcomes across this country; an impact just as far-reaching as that of the Freedom Fighters of the 60s,” Grear says.

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