If the calendar says March, there is one obligatory question to ask ….”Are you mad yet?”  The answer will undoubtedly depend on what side of the storyline your team falls on:

If your basketball m came teaout of the gates smoking hot this season, then fizzled out in a long blink of an eye, then entered the Big Dance on one leg, but then danced hard enough on that one leg to extend the first song, yet still be sent home…like my Sooners…then you’re mad at what could have been, but ultimately wasn’t….

If bracket players only looked at the number beside your school and didn’t give a second thought to counting on the #1 overall seed…..only to have THE upset of all upsets unfold…your collective heads have probably been in the clouds. By now fans of UVA...we all know what that stands for….aren’t the only ones who know the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers had a bite of historic proportions!

Music City has a lot to offer visitors.  Even still, it’s far too soon to mention it to college basketball fans from the Cincinnati area.  After both the University of Cincinnati and Xavier were unceremoniously dismissed from the tourney…on the same day….Nashville will not find itself as the go-to destination for Bearcats and Musketeers Nations in the near future.

We Big XII folks are reveling in our Sweet 16 representation. To be comfortably in the best conference of the year discussion is something along the lines of Halley’s Comet.  No problem with going with the flow here though....we’re ready to ride this thing til the wheels come off!!

Surprisingly enough, NCAA Basketball hasn’t had a stronghold on madness.  The NFL has maintained a close second place ranking.  If she is a league fan, the recent “money moves” made by several franchises may have rapper Cardi B’s head shaking like the rest of us!  I get it….a team without a quarterback is, well, not a team. Between shelling out top shelf salaries & playing their best hands with the upcoming draft…all sense of logic seems to be a thing of the past.  These off season shenanigans only make the anticipation of whether a record setting contract for a qb sans numerous record setting performances…or a $20 million one year salary for a qb who tends to use up all of his sick leave…to name a few, will be worth it in the end….

Care to take a wild guess as to who has zero qualms with the month of March?  Every single person affiliated with the sport of golf….from the advertisers, to the tour execs, to the fan---both avid and fair weather, to the counter associate at the 19th hole of clubhouses across the world.  Make no mistake about it...with open arms & a sigh of relief, they are saying with heartfelt sentiment …”Welcome back, Mr. Woods, you are indeed a sight for sore eyes!!!”

Attorney Antonio Moore analyzes the new report by the NY Times that shows ana anlysis of high income black. Moore critically breaks down how income is a flawed tool in analyzing wealth in America, and how it moves

"Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys"

Even when children grow up next to each other with parents who earn similar incomes, black boys fare worse than white boys in 99 percent of America. And the gaps only worsen in the kind of neighborhoods that promise low poverty and good schools.

According to the study, led by researchers at Stanford, Harvard and the Census Bureau, income inequality between blacks and whites is driven entirely by what is happening among these boys and the men they become. Though black girls and women face deep inequality on many measures, black and white girls from families with comparable earnings attain similar individual incomes as adults.

 

[Commentary]

It's interesting that the editors of National Geographic decided to examine the publication's past racist representations of Africa. If my book The Hearts of Darkness, How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa (Black Star Books, 2003, 2016) played a role in this re-examination, this is also welcome. In 2016 the online magazine Who,What, Why published excerpts from my book in three parts. I thank the editor Milicent Cranor and Publisher Russ Baker, who was one of my professors at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia.

In 2007, BlackAgendaReport published excerpts from the earlier edition of my book; I thank the publisher Glen Ford.

Western representations of Africa was the subject of my masters paper at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in 1992 and the subject of my subsequent book. After Columbia Journalism Review accepted my Masters paper for publication then backed out later on --even after editing it and inserting what amounted to an apology to The New York Times that the CJR's editors wrote on my behalf without my knowledge--  I decided to expand the research into what later became the book "The Hearts of Darkness" which I published myself. 

The book deals with racist representations of Africa dating back to the 17th Century when European so-called explorers started going to the continent to prepare the groundwork for the colonizing powers who came later during the "Scramble for Africa" in the last 20 years of the 19th Century. The book also deals with coverage of Africa in The New York Times (beginning in the 19th century), and later in the 20th century by National Geographic, Time magazine and The New Yorker magazine. My book also deals with concoctions about Africa published in The New York Times and in National Geographic.  

In 1992 after CJR aborted the agreement to publish my paper --incidentally the paper won the James Wechsler Memorial Prize at Columbia-- I sent a copy to then New York Times Op-Ed editor Howell Raines offering to write an Op-Ed about the Times' past racist coverage of Africa; I thought it was best for that story to come out. Raines did not respond. I also sent a copy to Arthur Ochs Sulzberger then Times' publisher. Managing Editor Joseph Lelyveld responded on his behalf. Lelyveld agreed that I had unearthed New York Times articles with "crude and ugly" language about Africa. 

My research --which took me into the Times' archives-- revealed that while he was a reporter in South Africa, Lelyveld himself wrote letters to his editors at the Times complaining about how some of his articles dealing with the apartheid education system had been edited.  Lelyveld did the right thing when he reporting from Africa. 

I published my book in February 2003. 

In September of that year I wrote a commentary for Extra! Magazine focusing on The New York Times' own concoctions about Africa -- including creation out of thin air by Times editors of Nigerian "small pagan tribes dressed in leaves"  in an article written by the late Lloyd Garrison and published in the Times on May 31, 1967, prompting Garrison to complain in a letter to his editors on June 5, 1967; and reference to Congolese "pygmies" inserted in an article about Congo's independence by Homer Bigart, published in the Times on June 5, 1960. The article appeared under the headline "Inventing Africa, New York Times archives reveal a history of racist fabrication."

My research revealed that when Times foreign editor Emanuel Freedman sent Homer Bigart to report on decolonization in Ghana he wrote back a letter in January 1960 that in part read: “I’m afraid I cannot work up any enthusiasm for the emerging republics. The politicians are either crooks or mystics. Dr. Nkrumah is a Henry Wallace in burnt cork. I vastly prefer the primitive bush people. After all, cannibalism may be the logical antidote to this population explosion everyone talks about.”

Freedman himself in a letter to Bigart dated March 4, wrote: “This is just a note to say hello and to tell you how much your peerless prose from the badlands is continuing to give us and your public. By now you must be American journalism’s leading expert on sorcery, witchcraft, cannibalism and all the other exotic phenomena indigenous to darkest Africa. All this and nationalism too! Where else but in the New York Times can you get all this for a nickel?”

The racist animus Bigart and Freedman harbored toward Africa was transferred into the "news" articles published in the Times as my book shows. 

I will be publishing the revised and corrected second edition of The Hearts of Darkness How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa in May, 2018. 

Below is Chapter 5 from my book "The Hearts of Darkness..." it deals with National Geographic magazine's African concoctions. 

CHAPTER 5 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE’S AFRICAN CONCOCTIONS 

The journals of the European travelers offered the indelible narrative of Africa as a backward continent inhabited by "savages." The National Geographic Magazine provided the pictoral proof through the decades.

The magazine was founded in 1888 as the publication of The National Geographic Society by a group of investors, geographers, lawyers, bankers and biologists. The magazine's declared objective was to "further the prosecution of geographic research," and to "diffuse the knowledge so gained, among men, so that we may all know more of the world upon which we live." 

Some of the so-called "knowledge" that the magazine disseminated to its readers included fictitious incidents, concoctions, and observations about Africans by writers who traveled to the continent. One of the most preposterous accounts published in the magazine was an article by a Briton named Frank J. Magee, in the magazine's October 1922 issue under the headline "Transporting a Navy Through the Jungles of Africa."

The article was supposedly Magee's account of how he and 27 English naval volunteers journeyed from the West Coast of the continent, with African porters, into the interior, to assist Belgians in what was then their colony, Congo. The Belgians were then fighting German soldiers on Lake Tanganyika, in 1915, during World War II. Tanganyika was then a German colony.

Magee's article contained numerous concoctions depicting Africans as ignorant savages while providing amusement for readers of National Geographic. It's worth reviewing Magee's article in some detail, considering the magazine's enduring influence and its role in shaping the perception of Africa around the world over several decades. 

According to Magee, he and his colleagues intended to first reach the river Lualaba with their dis-assembled boats. From there, the boats, the "Mimi" and the "Tou-Tou," would be re-assembled, and the crew would then sail to Lake Tanganyika. "And so early in the coolness of an African morning," Magee wrote, describing the beginning of the journey, "we turned our backs on civilization and all that it meant, to fade away, but for a short time, we hoped, into the heart of the African bush."

Magee depicted the traditional African rulers his party encountered along the way with the same type of contempt displayed by the 18th and 19th century travelers who preceded him. "One old chief, I remember, was attired in an old British militia tunic and a pair of spats, his crowning glory being an opera hat and a pink sunshade," Magee wrote. "I was aware that a big business in out-of-date uniforms is carried on between traders and these tribes, but the origin of the spats and the sunshade puzzled me somewhat until I remembered we were in the land of reputed cannibals."

Here, a perceptive reader may wonder how Magee himself, and his party, lived to tell the tale after the encounter with the alleged cannibals, without also being consumed. Magee claimed that when he and his colleagues then ignited the engine to start up bulldozers in order to clear a path, all the "natives" fled into the bush, thinking it was some kind of monster that had come to devour them.

Later, during the journey, the "natives" happily sang Christian hymns even while carrying loads that exceeded 50 pounds. "They had memorized the tune and words, but they had no actual comprehension of the meaning," Magee explained. "Imagine, therefore, a crowd of natives on the march, each carrying a load of some 60 pounds on their head, with a prospect of a 30-mile trek under a blazing sun, singing such a hymn as 'Now the Laborer’s Task Is Over.'"

On September 28, 1915, according to Magee's account, the expedition reached the Lualaba River and after transporting their vessels by railroad, they sailed the rest of the 350-mile distance, shooting crocodile and hippos along the way. When the party reached its destination, it was welcomed by Belgian troops. Magee and his colleagues then started constructing a harbor, using blasted stones. By the time Christmas arrived, all their vessels were afloat. The team waited patiently for the German enemy.

Suddenly, one day, according to Magee's account, a German vessel appeared with guns ablaze and the battle commenced. By the time the smoke cleared, the German vessel, the "Kingani," was immobilized and three German marines killed. Three Africans were missing, while the British suffered no losses, Magee reported.

When the German vessel was escorted to the shore, flying the white flag of surrender, the "natives" erupted in wild celebration of the British victory, Magee claimed. "They came bounding down from the trees and the hill-tops, giving vent to loud whoops of delight and gesticulating wildly, simply falling over each other in their hurry to reach the beach in order to pay their homage to the new Great White Chief, our commander," he wrote.

Magee then followed up with a scenario that was intended to evoke Joseph Conrad and may have, in fact, been plagiarized from Heart of Darkness, or from Georg Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa; or from both books. Magee wrote: "There they assembled in thousands, arrayed in their brightest pigments and grandiest loin-clothes, a jigging, jogging, frenzied mass of black humanity—a sight not to be forgotten." 

Once the British commander landed ashore, Magee claimed, "The natives, with grunts of satisfaction and approval, threw themselves flat on the ground and trickled sand on their hair—a sign of respectful homage—as the commander passed among them. The native women flocked around in an effort to be seen by him, regarding this as a fetish which would protect them from evil spirits." In contrast to the "natives'" alleged barbaric form of celebration, the Europeans, Magee wrote, "expressed their joy in the usual demonstrative Continental fashion of embracing and kissing each other and by singing of their national anthem."

The dead Germans were then buried with "full military honors" after which, according to Magee, "specially chosen native troops were put on guard over the graves," around-the-clock. "The significance of this," he explained, "lies in the fact that a large majority of the Belgian native troops were recruited from tribes addicted to cannibalism and some of them might have felt tempted to take the opportunity of indulging in their horrible custom, if precautions had not been taken to prevent it."

Furthermore, the "natives," Magee claimed, were so impressed by the victory over the Germans that they molded the likeness of the British commander, Spicer Simson, in clay and started worshiping him as their new "ju ju." Magee explained: "This was very well for Commander Spicer Simson, but it must have proved rather disconcerting to the Belgian White Fathers of the native mission –who had spent years and years in an effort to open the native mind to Christian teachings—only to find their black folk suddenly turning to a new ju ju in the form of a British naval commander, in clay."

Magee never explained in the article the improbable timeline, from when the molding was made: when the worshiping commenced; and, when the Belgian White Fathers became alarmed by the "natives'" alleged relapse into barbarism.

At some point, the Belgians then decided to test a Marconi wireless at the precise moment that they were also test-flying a newly assembled plane, according to Magee. "Picture, therefore, the amazement of the superstitious negroes," he wrote, "when, shortly after the wireless had begun sending testing messages, with the rasping, crackling of electrical sparks, lo and behold came the answer to their prayer to Heaven, as the natives thought, in the form of a low droning, gradually getting louder."

He continued, "Suddenly, the seaplane shot into view out of the sky, describing circles and going through sundry evolutions over the camp. The natives stood spellbound, gaping upward with arms extended, eyes bulging, and mouths agape. The airmen then made a sudden dive downward and that broke the spell. The savages bounded off into the bush, terror lending wings to their progress. Mothers snatched up pickaninies and dived for the shelter of their kraals, shrieking at the top of their voices. It was real pandemonium."

The National Geographic even published an obviously staged photograph purportedly showing the terrified-looking "natives" -- seven Africans kneeling on the ground, gazing up at the sky with arms upraised. The caption for the photograph read: "Spell-bound, gazing upward with their arms extended, eyes bulging, and mouth agape, the awe-stricken natives first believed the aero plane a new kind of monster swooping down from the sky to destroy them."

Who would blame any African, reading these lines from Magee's 1922 article today, if she or he wished that Magee had actually been consumed by one of the alleged cannibals he claimed to have encountered? 

Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. Photo--Twitter. Has Cuomo lost confidence in his credibility?

It is of great concern that sexual assault cases have not been pursued with full vigor by our criminal justice system.

Specifically, there are questions about the handling of the 2015 sexual assault case of Ms. Ambra Battilana against Harvey Weinstein. The Manhattan District Attorney is currently in the midst of a separate investigation, which involves witnesses and facts from the 2015 case.

The Manhattan District Attorney at this point believes this current investigation will be completed within approximately 45 days. It is critical not only that these cases are given the utmost attention but also that there is public confidence in the handling of these cases.

Therefore, I have directed the Attorney General to begin a review of the 2015 case in a way that does not interfere with the current investigation and, at the conclusion of the Manhattan District Attorney's current investigation, to review the entire matter and report to me on its findings.

Based on these findings we will decide what further actions may be necessary.

The recent revelations about sexual assault and harassment pervasive in our society are most disturbing. We are leading the way forward with the nation's most comprehensive reform package. This behavior must end.

Cuomo is Governor of New York State.

Isaac Lubangakene imitates digging using an axe

“I have managed to clear three acres of land using hand hoe already singly handedly. I wish government or any other body to help us with at least a pair of oxen plus ox-plough to help us. I find challenge in digging enough to enable me pay my three grandchildren in school”

“Inequality in Africa is fueling poverty, factoring our societies, and stifling the potential of millions of people”

LAMWO-UGANDA: Isaac Lubangakene is hardly two years old, but he is already imitating his mother, Ms. Agnes Lamaro:-digging the land.

It is the rainy season now in most parts of Uganda and farmers are busy opening   land ready to start planting. Farmers use various means including tractors and ox-ploughs depending on status; poor ones like Isaac's parents are still stuck with hand hoes.

When I visit, the child struggles with the as his mother tills the soil together with his sibling 10-year old Aryemo, a Primary four pupil of Ligiligi Primary School in Palabek Gem sub-county in Lamwo district.

Isaac wants to contribute to his family and make life less challenging. Of course the axe is too heavy for him. He is unbothered by my coming close to him with my phone ready to take his picture.

It was about ten o’clock in the morning, local time (about 07.00 GMT) on Thursday, February 15, 2018, at Ayuu Lupur village.
Two couples are weeding my cassava garden in exchange for money. Because they do not have baby-sitters, all of them came with their children.

Aryemo does not go to school on this day because her parents can't afford to buy basic scholastic materials like notebooks and pens, which cost less than a dollar.

Three-year old Daniel Lubangakene is forced to babysit his sibling, Isaac, although a community nursery school, Lok-Yengo, (literally meaning words satisfy) is hardly a kilometer away.

In urban settings, Kevin and Daniel would be in school at this time of the day; but sadly, their parents are illiterate and don’t see the value of education.

The parents of Kevin and Daniel still use antiquated farm tools; hand hoes of the pre-industrial age while others in other developed regions of the world are busy with intensive large scale commercial farming using GPS driven machines for planting crops.

Although the peasants of Ayuu Lupur village in Lamwo own large swaths of fertile land suitable for large scale commercial farming to drive away poverty, they still use hand hoes for tilling the land. Lack of knowledge, capital and modern farming methods has limited their efforts to open up more land.

There are about six peasants in this village who use oxen to open land. They hardly hire out the oxen to others who don’t have. Even when one wants to hire a pair of oxen to open land, they usually cannot afford to pay the fee of hire --about $30 per acre of land. Only one farmer, a retired civil servant, managed to hire a tractor which opened six acres of land on which he planted rice.

By eleven o’clock in the morning local time (8.00 GMT), I decide to go to nearby homes and mobilize them to come to my garden and work. I pay each shs.2500--about $4 dollars for each ‘katala’. A ‘katala’ measures one hundred square meters.

A hard working person can dig up four hundred square meters of land in a day, thereby earning about shs.10,000 (about $12 dollars) in a day. The two couples managed to dig up to eight ‘katala’, and earn a total of shs.20,000, $24 dollars that day.

While the two couples were working, I take time to find out from some youths who are in their early thirties why they have not gone to dig as the two couple. I find one of them, known only as "Joe," relaxing smoking marijuana. When I ask him why he had not gone to dig that morning, his reply shocks me: “I have no hoes”, he says.

According to the treasurer of Ayuu Pugwang clan Association, Ms. Elizabeth Otika, Joe prefers drinking, smoking weed and destroying the now endangered shea nut tree species, which he cuts for burning charcoal.

A day in the life of a peasant farmer in this village

Ms. Elizabeth begins her day at 05.00 o’clock (02.00 GMT) at dawn with prayers to her God since she is a born again woman. She then goes to ding three ‘katala’ up to about noon, after which she returns to rest and eat some left-over food from the previous day.

She returns to continue and digs more ‘katala’ up to six in the evening then she returns home to prepare supper. She goes to bed at ten o’clock in the night.

“I have managed to clear three acres of land using hand hoe already singly handedly. I wish government or any other body to help us with at least a pair of oxen plus ox-plough to help us. I find challenge in digging enough to enable me pay my three grandchildren in school”, says Ms. Elizabeth.

According to Oxfam, African poverty is far worse than thought. The social justice organization details the crisis facing Africa’s poor and issues a challenge to African leaders “to champion new economic models”. There are fifty million more people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2012 than in 1990.

In South Africa for instance, three billionaires own the same wealth as the poorest half of the population-around 28 million people. “Decades of record growth have benefitted elite but left millions of ordinary Africans behind and as a consequence, poverty has declined more slowly in Africa than in other region”.

250-350 million people could be living in extreme poverty in the next fifteen years.

“Inequality in Africa is fueling poverty, factoring our societies, and stifling the potential of millions of people”, says Ms. Winnie Byanyima, the Ugandan born executive Director of Oxfam, in a report.

My experience on this day reminds me of a hit-song by one of Acholi’s greatest artist, the late Lumix, titled “Anyim leka koyo”, literally meaning I am grieved with fear for the future. The future of the children in Sub-Saharan Africa looks bleak indeed.

Ethiopia is in political turmoil. After 27 years of increasingly autocratic rule under the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Ethiopians are demanding change. As a means to that change, they are seeking an inclusive national dialogue, leading to reconciliation and genuine democratic reforms.

We are pleased that many members of the international community have already endorsed this plan as the best means to bring democratic rights and stability to this strategic country in the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, at the same time, the government has declared the state of emergency, adding further restrictions to an already tense environment that could backfire, causing greater instability and even violence.

The purpose of this letter is to call on you to urge the current Government of Ethiopia to engage in an inclusive national dialogue with the people of Ethiopia, leading to the development of a principle-based road map and action plan to bring political stability and peaceful transition to a more democratic, reconciled and just Ethiopia.

My name is Obang Metho. As the executive director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), I come to you on behalf of the SMNE as well as on behalf of countless Ethiopians who seek greater freedom and justice in their country of birth.

The SMNE is a non-violent, non-political, grassroots social justice movement of diverse Ethiopians, formed in 2008 to advance truth, justice, freedom, equality, reconciliation, accountability and respect for the human rights of all Ethiopians; motivated by the truth: “no one will be free until all are free.” We have been working to mobilize Ethiopians in the Diaspora and within Ethiopia to unite in a coalition across ethnic, regional, political, cultural, gender and religious lines to build a society where “humanity comes before ethnicity” or any other differences.

Our work has included international human rights advocacy, raising awareness, refugee advocacy, investigation and analysis, reconciliation work, networking and coalition building. Our goal is to be a catalyst in bringing about a “New Ethiopia” where robust freedoms, the rule of law, transparency, respect for human rights, equal opportunity and good governance are grounded on the God-given dignity and worth of every human being.

CONDITIONS ON THE GROUND DO NOT MATCH EPRDF NARRATIVE

The EPRDF’s publicly acclaimed narrative does not match the desperate inner conditions of the country. The crisis of today does not come by surprise, but has been building for years; yet, the autocratic rule of the EPRDF has recently come up against the greatest and most effective resistance of its 27 years rule, with its end in sight.

To the international community, the EPRDF cited double-digit economic growth, the unity of the people around its governance model of ethnic federalism, its role as a beacon of peace and stability and as a critically important partner in the War on Terror.

To most of the people of Ethiopia, the ruling party of the EPRDF is an authoritarian political coalition of four ethnic-based party members, controlled by one of the four, the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). The other members include the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO), and the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM). These represent four of the nine regions in Ethiopia. Three out of four of the parties represent the one major ethnic group of the region they represent. Only the SEPDM has multiple ethnicities attached to them. In the last national election in 2015, the unpopular EPRDF won 100% of the seats.

This political arrangement leaves little representation for the majority of the 80 or more ethnic groups that make up Ethiopia. The TPLF, as the dominating party, plays favorites with those from their own ethnic group, the Tigray, who have access to opportunities, privileges and power, denied to most others. As a result, they dominate and control almost every sector of society, including the military, causing great resentment.

Political space has disappeared, opposition leaders and democratic voices have been jailed or forced to flee the country, independent civil society has been closed down through laws like the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO), land and resources have been grabbed, and economic advantages have been reserved for the entitled few, contributing to the perception of double-digit economic growth, despite the majority remaining in poverty.

The EPRDF has used deception, exaggeration, lies, threats and salesmanship to convince the international community that no one but the EPRDF could be trusted as a partner in the War on Terror in the Horn of Africa, nor capable of running the country. Repression of alternative voices created a handy vacuum to other alternatives to this autocratic regime.

THE EPRDF—ESPECIALLY TPLF CONTROL OF THE EPRDF— IS CRUMBLING BEFORE OUR EYES AS INCREASING PROTESTS CONTINUE WITH THE DEMAND FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

The repressive nature of the regime has been largely ignored in the past by the US and other members of the international community. Its core foundation—based on a type of ethnic-apartheid governance— has never been strongly challenged. The EPRDF’s claim to be the only ones capable of maintaining the stability of the country and of the Horn of Africa, have convinced the United States of America and international donor community to continuously prop up the weakening foundation of TPLF-dominated ERPDF rule, in spite of all its faults. Ironically, the critical flaws of the EPRDF system have been building over the last 27 years and they have now become the source of their own instability. The TPLF domination of the EPRDF is crumbling before our eyes and we are witnesses to that.

The demand by the people for their freedom and rights has been intensifying over the last three years and shows no signs of diminishing. The EPRDF has used lethal force against unarmed people, including many youth, which has resulted in the death of thousands of people. A state of emergency has been put into effect in the past with detrimental effects to the country. Though some want to call another state of emergency now; this time it is being challenged.

In the last two weeks, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has given his notice of resignation as prime minister and as the chair of the EPRDF. The people are worried about the future, especially because there has been a vacuum of leadership and significant fear that ethnic divisions will explode.

On a very positive note, in the last two week, the EPRDF has released thousands of political prisoners, including some of the strongest leaders and democratic spokespersons, although, thousands of other political prisoners still remain in custody. Yet, this is an encouraging development. We hope this newly taken direction will open up the alternative that did not exist earlier.

CALL TO THE PEOPLE FOR CALM

We know the future looks grim and that what happens next is unpredictable; yet, our history also tells us of other times Ethiopians have been tested for their survival as a people and a country. At these times, the people unified and responded in a way that led Ethiopia to stand together as one people, all created equally in the image of God. Those Ethiopians of the past give us a sense of who we are today.

We, in the SMNE, have called on the people to remain calm and restrained. We trust our people will us rise above the fears that Ethiopians will commit ethnic-based or religious sectarian violence. The EPRDF, including the former prime minister, Meles Zenawi, used this threat to sell outsiders on the need to continue to support the EPRDF. Yet, it is the EPRDF that is most likely to be the perpetrators; yet once started, violence could be ignited.

The EPRDF has incited fear that without them in charge, Ethiopia will descend into chaos. On the other hand, they have repeatedly incited conflict and division. This has been a key part of the narrative used to maintain EPRDF control; without ever acknowledging their own role in stirring up dissension or committing the acts themselves under hidden pretenses so as to blame others.

The Ethiopian people have shown an overwhelmingly strong commitment to peaceful demonstrations of protest, despite harsh crackdowns over the last three years, with only a few exceptions. When the EPRDF has tried to incite violence, on the majority of occasions, the people wisely have not responded as they expected.

We, the people of Ethiopia, have lived together for centuries. We are family and neighbors; not only sharing land, but sharing blood. Emotional outbursts of anger or revenge for injustice might surface here and there; but in general, our people impatiently, but non-violently, wait for justice and restoration of their institutions and rights.

We, in the SMNE, have also called on the Ethiopian people to take a stand to protect the Tigrayans, many who do not agree with the TPLF, but fear being targeted, as the TPLF has wrongly used their name to advance and protect their rule.

WE HAVE EMERGING LEADERS AS WELL AS MORE VOCAL LEADERS WHO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE

We should also take note that Ethiopia is not without leaders. Some of these leaders may have been silenced, censored, or imprisoned in the past, but many more are emerging and taking a stand for justice for all Ethiopians.

We also know there are capable Ethiopians from every ethnicity, religious group and walk of life, who care about all the people of Ethiopia. They represent a growing number of Ethiopians who could sit down together tomorrow and come up with a plan for a dialogue, reconciliation and transitional plan for the country. Such a plan could bring greater peace and wellbeing; not only to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, but to the world.

Some of these leaders are those former political prisoners who were just released, as well as other esteemed leaders, elders, religious leaders, our women, and our youth who have given so much as champions of the struggle for democratic change. They could all play a significant role. We also have people in the Diaspora who could contribute, so there is no need to panic. Nor is there reason to listen to short-sighted narratives that attempt to persuade outsiders that the EPRDF is the only group capable of maintaining the peace, stability and the national interests of donor countries. New voices are rising up with new alternatives not readily available before.

What we are saying can be proven by the statements we recently heard from some of the newly released democratic leaders in the country, like Bekele Gerba, Eskinder Nega, Merera Gudina, Andualem Andarge, Muslim leaders and many more. They are calling for discipline among the people, to not destroy property and to protect each other as one people. Instead of hate or bitterness, these voices are calling for a unity around shared values and goals, thus enabling a peaceful transitional approach. This is our country at a crossroads and our people are being put to the test. With God’s help, Ethiopians can do it!

CAN WE WORK TOGETHER?

We believe reconciliation and restorative justice could mend much of the conflict between the people of Ethiopia. We do not need to be enemies of each other. We are family, like brothers and sisters who disagree. For the sake of our descendants, we can solve this conflict peacefully. We should not be blinded to the humanity of each other. We will be judged by how we handle this crisis.

THE EPRDF COULD HELP CHANGE THE OUTCOME FOR GOOD

Right now, the EPRDF has made the right decision to release the political prisoners. It is a good step, but not good enough. They have to realize that the Ethiopia, for which we are fighting, will include them if we are able to bring justice, freedom and reconciliation to the country. It will also be a gift to their descendants as well as to ours.

We have called on those in the EPRDF, to work together to find a peaceful solution to this crisis. The EPRDF can totally change the future for the better by admitting that they have come to the end of their rule and by becoming willing contributors to a transition to genuine democracy. We highly caution the EPRDF from establishing military rule in the country as it could backfire. It is a dangerous alternative that could lead to destruction; however, a non-politicized military could play a positive role in protecting the people instead of protecting and prolonging a dying regime. The military is made up of our people. We have invited the military to be part of the solution for democratic change in Ethiopia.

A CALL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

In the last few days, especially since the news of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s resignation and the initial declaration of a state of emergency, we are pleased to see the international community clearly voicing its stand against it. We welcome this support; but yet, we call for more. We hope the international community can provide needed pressure on the TPLF/EPRDF to engage in an inclusive national dialogue resulting in the creation of a road map to a peaceful solution to the conflict and one which will bring robust democratic freedom and more sustainable peace to all Ethiopians. We urge the international community to strongly call for such a process to begin where by all stakeholders in Ethiopian affairs are meaningfully involved in a transparent process.

A CALL FOR A COMMON STATEMENT OF INTENT TO LAY OUT STEPS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION OF ETHIOPIA

We also call for the development of a statement of intent from leaders that will begin the process leading to a national dialogue, reconciliation and robust democratic reforms. This is not about political party, but instead, it is about establishing a democratic foundation for the next steps necessary to begin an effective and sustainable transition to a free, just and reconciled Ethiopia.

INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY: THIS IS THE ONLY REAL WAY OUT OF THIS CRISIS

Les regaling guests at one of his annual salons. Photo: Colin Benjamin

[Commentary]

Tuesday morning I was having late breakfast at a Spanish restaurant near my home in the Bronx when I got a call from Royal Shariyf.

"It's Les," he said, then paused to give me time to brace myself.

"He passed away," Royal finally added.

I knew those were the only possible words that could follow such a pause in a phone conversation. My shoulders convulsed. Tears flowed.

A diner at the next table walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Whatever it is brother, it's gonna be okay," he said.

"I just lost a brother," I said.

The diner bowed his head slightly then returned to his table.

Royal continued to speak. Les had been seated on the stoop outside his brownstone in Harlem the previous night. He keeled over. A pedestrian saw him. Someone called 911. He could not be revived. Just like that, Les Payne, one of the smartest, most intellectual and forthright journalist was no more.

"I know how much you loved him and I know how much he loved you," Royal was saying. "I did not want you to read about it. The family did not want you to read about it."

"Thank you," I muttered.

I then spoke next with Jamal Payne, Les' son. Les had a massive heart attack, Jamal said. He died immediately. He was pronounced dead at 7PM Monday night. There was no pain, the doctors said. The family is still in shock.

"He spoke about you all the time. He really respected your journalism. He really loved you," Jamal was saying. "The family also wants everyone to know we knew how much he was loved." 

Life is like that.

We must embrace and cherish every day. The last e-mail message we traded was on March 3, the day before my birthday. Les had sent me a note responding to my earlier "political economy" review of Black Panther, the movie.

Here's his message in its entirety:

Milton,

I laid aside your "Black Panther” piece until I saw the film Friday so as to approach it with a somewhat informed perspective. Your scholarly analysis of the "Panther" is brilliant.

Armed with the history of Africa's modern evolution, an understatement granted, you skillfully tread between the reality on the ground and the fantasy on the 3-D screen. Unlike so many critics, your beef was made with precisely what the movie producers delivered on screen and not with what they might have, but did not deliver.

That heroic CIA character, I agree, was a disgrace to the "Black Panther" film, without question. Still, your analysis managed to discard this turd without throwing out the baby, or even the bathwater. Incidentally, it has been my great privilege as a journalist, in addition to all the Black Panthers Party leaders, to have met and interviewed many of those you cite as heroes of the Africa homeland and the Diaspora, men such as Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Samora Machel, Milton Obote, Sekou Toure, Malcolm X, and yes a few of the villains such as Yoweri Museveni.

I await your magnum opus on Ethiopia.

Les

I wrote back:

Thanks much Les,

One of these days (when the weather improves) let's do our infrequent lunch sessions.

The last time I walked away with a good article from your archives.

Best,

Milton

His reference to my Ethiopian magnum opus was to the graphic book I mentioned I was writing, at the end of my Panther review --about Empress Taytu's exploits at the Battle of Adwa when Ethiopia annihilated an invading Italian invading army on March 1, 1896, and helped preserve her country's independence. I referred to her in my review as a real-like Black Pantheress,

I will now never get to do that lunch with Les. The story I walked off with after our last luncheon was an interview Les conducted with Dick Gregory in 1971 and published under a pseudonym in a short-lived magazine he produced; at that time his day job made it hard for him to use his name. We ran that interview on The Black Star News's website on August 29, 2017 under Les' byline 36 years after he first published it.

Les Payne was one of the smartest and most well-read person I've ever met. Calling him a journalist in this era of anti-intellectualism and total disrespect for the facts --beginning in the White House-- seems demeaning.

Les started out wanting to study engineering in college. I think he couldn't bring himself to stand as a mere spectator on the sidelines as history unfolded. He was 76 when he joined the ancestors last night. This means my brother Les --yes, he was like an older brother and mentor-- was already in his 20s during the turbulent and epochal 1960s.

That was the era of Black nationalist struggle in the United States and in Africa the "winds of change" led to formal political decolonization. It was also a time of backlash -- with the FBI's COINTELPRO eliminating many of the nationalist movements and their leaders in the U.S.; overseas, the CIA played a role in the demise of Pan-African nationalist.

It was, for awhile anyway, the era of: Malcolm X; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Stokely Carmichael --a.k.a. Kwame Ture; Patrice Lumumba; and Kwame Nkrumah.

How could a conscious, motivated, intelligent young man who knew how to tell stories --having partly grown up in the South in Alabama-- like Les Payne be a bystander? He was trim and fit, having run track in college, and he ended up in the military's press division and saw the disastrous Vietnam War upclose. Later, when U.S. media was looking to change from its all- White reporting staff after the urban uprisings and the damning Kerner Commission Report which excoriated the apartheid-looking newsrooms of America, Les ended up at Newsday.

At Newsday his journalism skills were rewarded when he was part of a reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the heroine trail-- from its source in Turkey where the poppy seeds were grown, to the streets of New York City, where the devastation was felt.

But, unlike many of our learned sisters and brothers who burst through those closed doors of exclusion and White Privilege, Les opened the window and lowered down a ladder of opportunity. He insisted that Newsday hire more Black reporters; he formed an informal union of Black reporters then later was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), which is today a major organization that exerts major impact on national issues.

Les proved that even while working for a "mainstream" media outlet --translation, 'White"-- a brother could maintain his Pan African outlook and thrive. He continued to excel at Newsday, Iater as a columnist and as a managing editor.

Les was drawn to Malcolm X not only because he preached Black nationalism and was very intellectual--moreover Malcolm was self-taught and had good tutoring by Dr. John Henrik Clarke-- but because Malcolm truly embraced his African heritage. Like Malcolm, Les Payne knew that collaborations between continental Africans and Diaspora Africans, including in the United States, would contribute significantly towards ameliorating some of the challenges on both sides of the Atlantic. We had many conversations dealing with these dynamics.

Les had just finished what I suspect will become the definitive biography of Malcolm X. He was proud of it and told me there was much original reporting in the book.

Malcolm once said, "You can't hate the roots of a tree without hating yourself." Les Payne loved the roots of his tree and so his reporting took him to many parts of Africa. After several rejections by the apartheid authorities he managed to get into South Africa and wrote about the Soweto massacres. He also covered the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe when it was still Rhodesia and even survived the notorious killers of Idi Amin's State Research Bureau in Uganda.

I personally became a big fan of Les Payne during the 1990s. I read his columns religiously when I attended the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia. He was one of the most informed journalist--whether writing about local New York issues, national or international news-- in the whole country. His columns and presentations were always very well-researched. I later got to meet him when he was invited to speak to students at Columbia.

After graduating from Columbia, I worked as a freelance reporter for The New York Times and later as a reporter and a deputy editor at The City Sun, the renowned --now defunct-- Brooklyn weekly newspaper published by the late Andrew Cooper. Through the years, I continued to read and use Les' columns to hone my own journalistic skills.

It was after I started publishing The Black Star News in 1997 and years later, conducting a free weekly journalism workshop, that my friendship with Les Payne developed and grew. He became a regular guest to the workshop, sharing his reportorial and writing skills with the participants.

During his keynote speech at one of our workshop's annual dinners Les discussed the many stories stories he covered or edited while at Newsday. When he referred to the Tawana Brawley story as a "hoax" there was some hissing and heckling from some of the guests. He calmly offered to discuss the case with anyone who disagreed with him after his speech, which he completed without further interruption. "I'm a big champion of justice for our people," Les said. "We must always go with the facts."

Many guests still disagreed with him but respected him.

After President Obama's election in 2008, Les and I --often joined by the historian and Amsterdam News reporter Herb Boy-- were frequent guests on Gil Noble's "Like It Is" weekly news show on WABC TV.

We were all friends --Les, Herb, Gil and myself-- and some of the best conversations we had were before and after the actual program. (Gil himself was a much esteemed and revered giant--on at least three occasions MTA bus drivers refused to accept my busfare, waving me in. I recall one driver saying "Anyone who's a regular on Like it Is, doesn't pay on my bus." On another occasion an attractive young woman abandoned her seat on a subway train and asked if she could sit next to me--because she had seen me on "Like It Is").

Les liked bringing people together. He and his wife Violet hosted an annual "salon"; a gathering of journalists, artists, academics, actors and entrepreneurs during the holiday season. It was an occasion to network, make new friends and exchange views on the State of our world. The Paynes dined and wined the guests well. We also enjoyed his impressive collection of African art. His study had long bookshelves lined with books dealing with politics, history, the arts, biographies and many other topics. Royal, who called me with the sad news, was a regular guest and close friend of Les'.

One of the last plans I had -- and he had agreed to it- was to interview Les and just have him speak about his life and his role in telling many of the important stories; something like Les Payne in His Own Words. His body of work in journalism best represents his own words. He was generous, kind, brilliant and peerless.

In addition to Jamal and Violet, Payne is survived by another son Haile and daughter Tamara.

I can see Les somewhere, chuckling, as Gil Noble points at his watch --as he always did--when "Like It Is" had to go to a commercial, and say "You know what time it is."

Les would invariably respond "Time for a break."

You have done your work Les and earned your break. Rest In Peace beloved brother.

Australia’s national security minister has proposed fast-tracking immigrant visas for white South Africans facing “horrific circumstances” under the newly-elected head of the African National Congress.

[New York: Politics]

The Tenants PAC has endorsed New York City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams' run for the New York Lt. Governor position.

"There is no question that Jumaane Williams is eminently qualified to represent New Yorkers as the next lieutenant governor," said Michael Mckee of Tenants PAC. "His long history of advocacy for tenants rights as an organizer and as the past chairman of the New York City Council's Housing and Buildings Committee means that tenants across our state will have a strong advocate and friend in the State Capitol. Someone who will look out for their best interests and won't be swayed by political winds or undue influence. Jumaane Williams will truly be a people's advocate in Albany and Tenants PAC is proud to endorse his campaign."

"Being a community organizer by training, especially around tenant's rights, I am extremely proud to have the support of the Tenants PAC," Williams said. "I've had the privilege of working side by side with this organization and its leaders throughout my career. Most notably when I worked as the executive director of New York State Tenants and Neighbors, and when I was proudly arrested outside the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, alongside Tenants PAC's celebrated tenant's rights leader Michael McKee and other colleagues in government, as we demanded the governor strengthened rent regulation laws. I look foward to continuing that fight with Tenants PAC as the people's advocate in the lieutenant governor's office, especially when rent regulations are up again next year."

Williams has received the endorsements of the following elected officials, community leaders and organizations:

State Sen. Kevin Parker (D- Brooklyn)

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Brooklyn)

Queens County DA Richard Brown. His office engages in serial prosecution of Queens resident since 2007? 

Kris Gounden is caught in a vicious merry-go-round of arrests and prosecutions that he hopes will soon stop.

Gounden the Queens man who's been harassed by officers from the 106 precinct for about 11 years now hopes the two remaining cases he calls "concocted" against him will be dismissed when he appears before Judge Michelle Johnson in Criminal Court on Mach 22.

It starts with an arrest on concocted charges by officers of the 106 precinct, which leads to what Gounden calls "bogus" prosecution by the Queens County DA and a trial in  Queens Criminal court. The cases keep Gounden tied down and in the last two month alone Gounden was fired from two jobs because of repeatedly needing time off to attend the court dates.

The March 22 appearance could lead to another job loss.

Over the years, a campaign of harassment in the form of thousands of tickets for bogus "violations" from City and State agencies caused him to lose rental buildings worth about $4 million, driving him into poverty. The harassment even involves NYPD officers engaging in sex with Gounden's wife, he alleged in complaints to the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and in letters to NYPD Police Commissioner James O'Neill, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Queens County DA Richard Brown.

Gounden has also written to the State Attorney General and the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Bureau.

There was a little relief one month ago, on Feb. 22, when Judge Johnson dismissed a case that had dragged on since August 2015. The Queens County DA alleged Gounden switched price tags at a Home Depot so he could pay $80 less than the true price. Gounden denied the charges. The Queens DA spent taxpayers' money to prosecute for 31 months. "There was no case because I never switched price tags," Gounden says. "This is part of the harassment against me that now totals more than 15 arrests by officers from the 106 precinct dating from 2007. In this case from 2015 an officer was following me that day and set up something with some Home Depot employees and arrested me. First of all do you really think anyone would prosecute a case for $80 for three years? They couldn't even make up a convincing lie. It's a vendetta."

Gounden was once on the winning side. An ethnic Indian immigrant from Guyana, he had worked hard and saved for years an bought a home worth over $800,000 in Howard Beach in 2006. But soon, his family was attacked by a racist neighbor who didn't want them there and spit out the N-word. The Goundens got major media coverage which led to around the clock police protection for about six months in 2007. The Daily News compared the harassment from White neighbors to something from the deep South. When the media coverage died down, then the years of retaliation from local politicians, neighbors and police from the 106 precinct started, Gounden says.

The assistant district attorney who handled the Home Depot case seemed like a bumbler. Before the trial started in November 2017, he said the DA's office had a video from Home Depot surveillance showing Gounden switching the price tags. Gounden had been demanding that the DA produce this video since August 2015.

Then when the trial started the ADA, Brian Cox, said the dvd containing the film from the 2015 incident had been lost. He told Judge Johnson during one of the hearings I attended that he couldn't get another copy of the video because Home Depot's police was to destroy all film after two weeks.

The DA was presented with a dilemma when Gounden asked the judge to throw out the case claiming the DA had destroyed Brady evidence. If there was any film, it would show that he never switched any price tags and he'd be exonerated, Gounden argued.

Suddenly, DA Cox, in a Feb. 1 hearing told Judge Johnson that he had managed to secure another copy of the video. He said he had personally gone to Home Depot and searched their storage and retrieved the film. He even pulled out a DVD container.

As I sat there in the courtroom I said to myself "What's wrong with this guy? How could he retrieve something that had been destroyed in 2015?" I waited for Judge Johnson to ask Cox that million dollar question.

She never did; not on that date.

She asked Cox if the video supported the allegations against Gounden and he claimed it did. Judge Johnson then told Cox that she couldn't allow him, in the middle of a trial, to present that video. However, she said, Gounden could be allowed to take it and watch it if he wanted. She adjourned the case.

The next question I asked myself: "Why would Gounden lie that he never switched price tags if there was indeed a vide?"

That question was soon answered.

As I wrote in my previous column, when Gounden --still in the court building with cameras everywhere-- opened the dvd container he found it empty. Gounden charged back into the courtroom and confronted Cox and showed him the empty container. Without even blinking, Cox pulled out another dvd container. He opened this one and revealed that it did contain a dvd and he handed it to Gouden.

As I've before, Gounden went to five professional video experts and all of them told him that they could not play the dvd and that in any case any data contained was so insufficient that it could not be video of the alleged price-tag switch.

What was the purpose of Cox presenting the phantom video? "I think it was for show," Gounden says. "Cox wanted the transcript to reflect that he handed me the video so he would not have to be sanctioned for the DA's office destroying Brady evidence that would have exonerated me."

When I attended the Feb. 22 hearing Judge Johnson did finally refer to the dvd "magically appearing" at the Feb. 1 hearing while she was summing up the case after Gounden asked that it be dismissed on account of the people not proving their case. That afternoon, after lunch break, ADA Cox, had returned with a top gun, supervisory assistant district attorney Kevin Fogarty, whom Gounden later told me gave him the middle finger when he walked into the courtroom. Fogarty told Judge Johnson that the alleged crime Gounden committed --price-tag switching-- was the "oldest trick in the book."

Judge Johnson said a witness --a Home Depot employee-- had testified that he saw Gounden approach a clerk and get a piece of paper and then approach another store clerk, presumably to make purchases. The testimony didn't support the prosecution's case that Gounden was in possession of stolen merchandise or that he had committed theft. Judge Johnson dismissed the case.

Gounden still challenged Cox to show the video he claimed he had; the ADA promised to do so but never did. "A video showing me switching prices exists only in his mind," Gounden says.

The Queens DA will present two more cases against Gounden before Judge Johnson on March 22.

The first one is from a Feb. 5 incident which I also wrote about in my last column. Here's the short of it: 

Gounden claims that on that afternoon he was driving to pick his kids from school when a black BMW tailgating him hit his rear bumper when he was at a stoplight. He claims he pulled over and the driver cursed at him as he drove by. He claims a woman in the car was filming with her iphone. The driver pulled up in the middle of the road ahead.

Gounden took photos on his phone. He also called 911. Gouden claims the driver ran to his car and punched and kicked his car leaving a dent. He says the incident happened at  116-32 117 a few blocks from his house.

Gouden says he drove off, heading back to the house where he lives with his grandmother. "I was afraid for my life. This guy was crazy," he says. Gounden again called 911 when he reached his grandmother's house. Meanwhile, the BMW driver later identified as Joseph Adorno, kept driving back and forth in front of Goundens house, he says.

Gounden was still on the phone with 911 when officers arrived, responding to his call, he says. Gounden's 911 screen shots show that he made his calls at 2:26 PM and at 2:34 PM on Feb. 5.

Gounden switched on a recording device which captured his conversation with the 911 dispatcher and the responding officers. Gounden is heard angrily complaining that the BMW driver was "crazy" and had bumped his car then attacked him. In the recording, Adorno and a woman who can be heard identifying herself as his wife claimed they had videotaped the whole incident. They claimed Gounden had struck Joseph Adorno with his car, while he was walking, and then fled the scene. They claimed the incident happened at a shopping mall in Five Towns, which is nowhere close to where Gounden says the encounter --with Adorno as aggressor--happened.

Gounden can be heard exclaiming incredulously that he had never been to Five Towns on that day. He also demanded that the police officers --one of them is identified in a police report as Officer Bello from the 106 precinct-- have the Adornos show the video they claim they had.

The recording shows the officers taking an aggressive tone against Gounden even though he asks them to listen to his own evidence and the 911 calls he made. Gounden ended up being arrested.

Later, when Joseph Adorno filed a police report at the 106 --signed by Officer Bello-- he now claimed the incident occurred at 116-32 117, which is where Gounden claims Adorno attacked his car.  "You see how he is caught in a lie backed by the cops?" Gounden says. "At the scene, he and his wife tell the cops I hit him with my car at Five Towns, and I have that on tape. When they get to the precinct, when the cops see that this guy is lying, instead of arresting him for filing a false report they let him clean it up by placing himself in the right location where he attacked me."

Gounden was later locked up at Riker's Island and his mother who lives in Florida had to send money to a friend to bail him out.

When I contacted the New York Police Department (DCPI) and the 106 precinct commander on March 21 to ask whether Gounden's side of the story had been investigated and his 911 calls reviewed, there was no response to my inquiry. I also made the same inquiry to Capt. Brian Bohannon, Jr., the 106 commanding officer; he too didn't respond.

Gounden went to the 106 precinct to get a copy of the police report he says he filed with Officer Bello but was also denied, he says. DCPI and the 106 precinct also didn't respond when I asked them about this.

Adorno has since filed an insurance claim with All State Insurance claiming Gounden struck him with his car using the police report signed by Bello. "I already spoke to an All State investigator and I also sent them a letter I wrote to Bohannon explaining what really happened," Gounden says. "I told them that Adorno filed a false police report which means that his insurance claim is also false."

The other case against Gounden is what he calls "the most bogus of all." Here's the short:

After one of his many arrests by officers from the 106, in 2015 Gounden filed a lawsuit against Thomas Pasquale, then the commanding officer. Gounden claims when that case was about to go to trial in late 2016, an NYPD officer named James Wilfinger started going to his home fishing for information about the lawsuit from his wife.  Gounden later filed a complaint with the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau claiming Wilfinger seduced his wife --who was then a teetotaler-- with alcohol and drugs. He hired a private investigator and documented Wilfinger and his wife having sex in vehicles outside bars. Gounden's wife later complained to him that Wilfinger had injured her when he forced her into a sex act she had never performed. Gounden photographed her alleged injuries.

On November 16, 2016, Gounden confronted Wilfinger in bed with his wife and videotaped the incident. Gounden again confront Wilfinger on January 1, 2017 and claims Wilfinger pulled a gun on him. Gounden claims officers from the 106 precinct refused to arrest Wilfinger. 

Then in February, 2017, after Gounden attended yet another hearing before Judge Johnson in connection with an arrest by the 106 precinct.

After the hearing Gounden was arrested by two officers, including Valerie Cincinelli. "They didn't even have a warrant and didn't know why they were arresting me," he says.

This time, to cover up the fact that they had refused to arrest Wilfinger,  the 106 concocted charges against him -- that he had engaged in "forcible sexual touching" of his 23-year old step-daughter.  "A complete bogus concoction," Gounden says. (Incidentally, Gounden says the BMW Adorno drove resembles the one Wilfinger also drives; the NYPD didn't respond when I asked if Adorno was a police officer or if he knew Wilfinger).

Gounden's mother in law Sati Mohan, who lives in the same home, signed a notarized affidavit stating that the alleged incident never happened. Gounden's wife also signed an affidavit saying her daughter never told her of such an incident.

When I inquired on March 21 about the alleged forcible sexual touching case against Gounden and whether the Queens DA had listened to Gounden's 911 calls or investigated his side of the story in the car incident case of Feb. 5, spokesperson Ikimulisa Livingston said: "We do not comment on pending cases."

Judge Johnson will hear both cases today.

In an unrelated but revealing case, Cincinelli, who was one of the officers involved in arresting Gounden leading to the sex charges, was herself arrested on March 5 for second degree aggravated harassment and criminal contempt in the first degree, the DCPI confirmed to me.

The Queens DA's spokesperson, Livingston, said Cincinelli's next court date is April 13.

According to the charge sheet Cincinelli allegedly violated an order of protection from Queens family court barring her from communicating with her ex-boyfriend John Dirubba. She allegedly called him on the phone and said, in part: "You ruined my life. You'll see what happens to you. You better keep your mouth shut. I hope your daughter dies."
A person familiar with the matter claims Cincinelli pulled out a gun in one incident.

Photo: myfuture.com

[Health]

A care home should essentially act as your "second home"– somewhere where you feel comfortable and content with your surroundings, and are happy and feel supported every day.

Looking for a reputable care home that offers a high standard of care is essential for each resident’s wellbeing. Therefore, whether you’re looking for care homes in Rugby, or you’re located further up North, these are the care home attributes that you’ll want to be looking out for.

A Polished Manager: When looking for a care home suitable for your elderly relative, a good place to start would be inspecting the manager and their personality. The manager of a care home needs to possess several crucial qualities in order to provide a facility that makes residents feel welcome and comfortable. Leadership is essential, as is confidence and enthusiasm to provide a high standard of care for each individual resident.

A Community Of People: A care home isn’t just a place to tend to residents, but instead it’s a thriving community where resident can make friends not only with other residents, but with the carers themselves, too. Rather than focusing on institutional aspects of a care home, a good establishment should put a large focus on the people and the community that’s been built in the care home, zooming in on the communal aspects of the residency instead.

Support For Relatives: While a large focus is placed on the residents and their individual personalities, a reputable care home will also focus on the relatives of these residents, offering them undying support to ensure they’re happy with the care home and that they have someone to confide in should they find it difficult to come to terms with things initially. Ultimately, a good care home will make relatives feel confident, knowing that their elderly relative is receiving the high standard of care that they need.

Interest In Residents’ Backgrounds: A high standard of care can’t be provided in care homes without any knowledge behind their residents! Therefore, if you’re trying to find an exceptional care home, find out whether or not they go out of their way to discover the likes and dislikes of their residents, as this will allow them to tailor their care to each individual to make their stay a pleasant one. Plus, with insights into what their residents enjoy, carers are then able to organise group events to bring the community even closer together over something they mutually love.

Work Closely With The Local Health Community: All good care homes will make a conscious effort to ensure they maintain a close relationship with a local health community, as this will allow them to offer high quality care for the residents that need it. GP’s, nurses and consultants should have regular communications with the care home, and should work with the carers to ensure that each resident has an individual solution. With health communities to hand, you can rest assured that your chosen care home takes the care of residents very seriously.

Putting your elderly relative into the hands of someone else can be a challenge at first, however you can have peace of mind when selecting a care home with all the necessary attributes. If your chosen care home ticks all of the above boxes, you can rest knowing that your elderly relative is in very capable hands.

[Money]

From cover of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

[From The Archives]

The following is a speech by Malcolm X speech from 1965 about how the colonial misrepresentation of Africa created inferiority complexes and hatred towards Africa in the Diaspora African communities. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965. We regularly revisit speeches by our great ancestors.

Why should the Black man in America concern himself since he's been away from the African continent for three or four hundred years? Why should we concern ourselves?

What impact does what happens to them have upon us? Number one, you have to realize that up until 1959 Africa was dominated by the colonial powers. Having complete control over Africa, the colonial powers of Europe projected the image of Africa negatively.

They always project Africa in a negative light: jungle savages, cannibals, nothing civilized. Why then, naturally it was so negative that it was negative to you and me, and you and I began to hate it. We didn't want anybody telling us anything about Africa, much less calling us Africans.

In hating Africa and in hating the Africans, we ended up hating ourselves, without even realizing it. Because you can't hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree. You can't hate your origin and not end up hating yourself. You can't hate Africa and not hate yourself.

You show me one of these people over here who has been thoroughly brainwashed and has a negative attitude toward Africa, and I'll show you one who has a negative attitude toward himself. You can't have a positive toward yourself and a negative attitude toward Africa at the same time. To the same degree that your understanding of and attitude toward become positive, you'll find that your understanding of and your toward yourself will also become positive.

And this is what the white man knows. So they very skillfully make you and me hate our African identity, our African characteristics. You know yourself that we have been a people who hated our African characteristics. We hated our heads, we hated the shape of our nose, we wanted one of those long doglike noses, you know; we hated the color of our skin, hated the blood of Africa that was in our veins. And in hating our features and our skin and our blood, why, we had to end up hating ourselves. And we hated ourselves.

Our color became to us a chain--we felt that it was holding us back; our color became to us like a prison which we felt was keeping us confined, not letting us go this way or that way. We felt all of these restrictions were based solely upon our color, and the psychological reaction to that would have to be that as long as we felt imprisoned or chained or trapped by Black skin, Black features, and Black blood, that skin and those features and that blood holding us back automatically had to become hateful to us. And it became hateful to us.

It made us feel inferior; it made us feel inadequate made us feel helpless. And when we fell victims to this feeling of inadequacy or inferiority or helplessness, we turned to somebody else to show us the way. We didn't have confidence in another Black man to show us the way, or Black people to show us the way. In those days we didn't. We didn't think a man could do anything except play some horns--you know, make sound and make you happy with some songs and in that way.

But in serious things, where our food, clothing, shelter, and education were concerned, we turned to the man. We never thought in terms of bringing these things into existence for ourselves, we never thought in terms of doing for ourselves. Because we felt helpless.

What made us feel helpless was our hatred for ourselves. And our hatred for ourselves stemmed from hatred for things African. After 1959 the spirit of African nationalism was fanned to a high flame, and we then began to witness the complete collapse of colonialism. France began to get out of French West Africa, Belgium began to make moves to get out of the Congo, Britain began to make moves to get out of Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, Nigeria, and some of these other places.

And although it looked like they were getting out, they pulled a trick that was colossal. When you're playing ball and they've got you trapped, you don't throw the ball away--you throw it to one of your teammates who's in the clear. And this is what the European powers did.

They were trapped African continent, they couldn't stay there --they were looked upon as colonial and imperialist. They had to pass the ball to someone whose image was different, and they passed the ball to Uncle Sam. And he picked it up and has been running it for a touchdown ever since.

He was in the clear, he was not looked upon as one who had colonized the African continent. At that time, the Africans couldn't see that though the Unites States hadn't colonized the African continent, it had colonized twenty-two million Blacks here on this continent. Because we're just as thoroughly colonized as anybody else. When the ball was passed to the United States, it was passed at the time when John Kennedy came into power. He picked it up and helped to run it. He was one of the shrewdest backfield runners that history has recorded. He surrounded himself with intellectuals--highly educated, learned, and well informed people.

And their analysis told him that the government of America was confronted with a new problem. And this new problem stemmed from the fact that Africans were now awakened, they were enlightened, they were fearless, they would fight. This meant that the Western powers couldn't stay there by force. Since their own economy, the European economy and the American economy was based upon their continued influence over the African continent, they had to find some means of staying there.

So they used the friendly approach. They switched from the old, openly colonial imperialistic approach to the benevolent approach. They came up with some benevolent colonialism, philanthropic colonialism, humanitarianism, or dollarism. Immediately everything was Peace Corps, Operation Crossroads, "We've got to help our African brothers." Pick up on that: Can't help us in Mississippi. Can't help us in Alabama, or Detroit, or out here in Dearborn, where some real Ku Klux Klan lives. They're going to send all the way to Africa to help.

One of the things that made the Black Muslim movement grow was its emphasis upon things African. This was the secret to the growth of the Black Muslim movement. African blood, African origin, African culture, African ties. And you'd be surprised--we discovered that deep within the subconscious of the black man in this country, he is still more African than he is American. He thinks that he's more American than African, because the man is jiving him, the man is brainwashing him every day.

He's telling him, "You're an American, you're an American." Man, how could you think you're an American when you haven't ever had any kind of an American treat over here? You have never, never. Ten men can be at a table eating, you know, dining, and I can come and sit down where they're dining. They're dining; I've got a plate in front of me, but nothing is on it. Because all of us are sitting at the same table, are all us are diners? I'm not a diner until you let me dine. Just being at the table with others who are dining doesn't make me a diner, and this is what you've got to get in your head here in this country. Just because you're in this country doesn't make you an American.

No, you've got to go farther than that before you can become an American. You've got to enjoy the fruits of Americanism. You haven't enjoyed those fruits. You've enjoyed the thorns. You've enjoyed the thistles. But you have not enjoyed the fruits, no sir. You have fought harder for the fruits the white man has, you have worked harder for the fruits than the white man has, but you've enjoyed less. When the man put the uniform on and sent you abroad, you fought harder than they did. Yes, I know you--when you're fighting for them, you can fight.

The Black Muslim movement did make that contribution. They made the whole civil rights movement become more militant and more acceptable to the white power structure. He would rather have them than us. In fact, I think we forced many of the civil rights leaders to be even more militant than they intended. I know some of them who get out there and "boom, boom, boom" and don't mean it. Because they're right on back in their corner as soon as the action comes.

The worst thing the white man can do to himself is to take one of these kinds of Negroes and ask him, "How do your people feel, boy?" He's going to tell that man that we are satisfied. That's what they do, brothers and sisters. They get behind the door and tell the white man we're satisfied. "Just keep on keeping me up here in front of them, boss, and I'll keep them behind you." That's what they talk when they're behind closed us. Because, you see, the white man doesn't go along with anybody who's not for him. He doesn't care are you for right or wrong; he wants to know are you for him. And if you're for him, he doesn't care what else you're for. As long as you're for him, then he puts you up over the Negro community. You become a spokesman…

Brothers and sisters, let me tell you, I spend my time out there streets with people, all kinds of people, listening to what they have to say. And they're dissatisfied, they're disillusioned, they're fed up, they're getting to the point of frustration where they begin to feel, "What do we have to lose?" When you get to that point, you're the type of person who can create a very dangerously explosive atmosphere. This is what's happening in our neighborhoods, to our people.

I read in a poll taken by Newsweek magazine this week, saying that Negroes are satisfied. Oh, yes, Newsweek, you know, supposed to be a top magazine with a top pollster, talking about how satisfied Negroes are. Maybe I haven't met the Negroes he met. Because I know he hasn't met the ones that I've met. And this is dangerous. This is where the white man does himself the most harm. He invents statistics to create an image thinking that that image is going to hold things in check.

You know why they always say Negroes are lazy? Because they want Negroes to be lazy. They always say Negroes can't unite, because they don't want Negroes to unite. And once they put this thing in the Negro's mind, they feel he tries to fulfill their image. If they say you can't unite Black people and then you come to them to unite them, they won't unite, because it's been said that they're not supposed to unite. It's a psycho that they work and it's the same way with these statistics.

When they think that an explosive era is coming up, then they grab their press again and begin to shower the Negro public, to make it appear that all Negroes are satisfied. Because if you know you're dissatisfied all by yourself and ten others aren't, you play it cool; but if you know that all ten of you are dissatisfied, you get with it. This is what the man knows. The man knows that if these Negroes find out how dissatisfied they really are--even Uncle Tom is dissatisfied, he's just playing his part for now--this is what makes the man frightened. It frightens them in France and it frightens them in England, and it frightens them in the United States.

And it is for this reason that it is so important for you and me to start organizing among ourselves, intelligently, and try to find out: "What are we going to do if this happens, that happens or the next thing happens?" Don't think that you're going to run to the man and say, "Look, boss this is me." Why, when the deal goes down, you'll look just like me in his eyesight; I'll make it tough for you. Yes, when the deal goes down, he doesn't look at you in any better light than he looks at me...

I say again that I'm not a racist, I don't believe in any form of segregation or anything like that. I'm for brotherhood for everybody, but I don't believe in forcing brotherhood upon people who done' want it. Let us practice brotherhood among ourselves, and then if others want to practice brotherhood with us, we're for practicing it with them also. But I don't think that we should run around trying to love somebody who doesn't love us.

Edward Mutesa and Milton Obote

[Letter From New York]

To chart a clear way forward one must always look at the past.

Uganda got off to a bad start with the Kabaka Yekka (KY) and Uganda People's Party (UPC) Alliance.

The effects of World War I and II, the economic depression, the Atlantic and the United Nations Charters and the establishment of the European Community (now European Union) introduced new elements that necessitated reviewing colonial policies in favor of advancing decolonization as Africans were demanding for.

Agitation for decolonizatioo were stepped up. India and Pakistan became independent in 1947 thereby setting the stage for others in British colonies to follow.

Regarding East Africa, Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd fixed in 1959 the independence dates for Tanganyika in 1970, Uganda 1971 and Kenya in 1975. The colonists' strategy still operated in a colonial mindset. His successor Ian McLeod advanced the dates to 1961 for Tanganyika, 1962 for Uganda and 1963 for Kenya (Judith M. Brown and WM. Roger Louis 2001).

When constitutional and other preparations began in Uganda in the early 1950s, it soon turned out that there were serious problems.

Buganda the most populous and wealthiest region was unsure about its status in a unitary independent country fearing its traditional kingdom would be eclipsed. It therefore called for postponement of these talks until her status was agreed upon.

When the request wasn't accepted, Buganda demanded that its affairs be transferred from the colonial to the foreign office as it wasn't a colony but a protected territory. The talks were complicated by a story regarding the possibility of an East African federation which Buganda rejected although there were assurances that that wouldn't happen without the consent of the people. The disagreements between the Kabaka --the title for the monarch-- and the governor resulted in the latter exiling the former to England in1953. The Kabaka's return in 1955 didn't simplify matters because the status of Buganda in Uganda remained undefined. Consequently Buganda refused to participate in the Wild Commission and elections to the Legislative Council (LEGCO) in 1958.

On December 30, 1960 Buganda Lukiiko, the monarchy's parliament, declared that Buganda had become independent effective January 1, 1961. But it had no mechanism for its implementation so the central government ignored the declaration. In return, the Mengo establishment --Mengo was the seat of the Buganda government--boycotted the 1961 national elections which were won by the Catholic-based Democratic Party (DP) under the leadership of Ben Kiwanuka, a Catholic Muganda and a commoner who became Chief Minister.

In 1960 the Protestant-based Uganda Peoples' Congress (UPC) was created to achieve independence for a United Uganda and wouldn't accommodate Buganda demands including a federal status.

However, the election of DP put Catholics into power and that was unacceptable to the Buganda Protestant establishment and Protestants in UPC. Although diametrically opposed, the two groups felt it necessary to join forces in order to prevent DP from leading Uganda into independence. The Protestant Church of England wasn't going to let Uganda fall under the control of Catholics (Onyango Odongo 1993).

Thus Buganda and UPC -- a nationalist party-- formed an alliance of convenience. UPC endorsed Buganda's demands for a federal system and indirect election of Buganda MPs to the National Assembly. In return Buganda agreed to remain part of Uganda. But the thorny issue of who would become head of state remained unresolved. The decision on the "lost counties" --this was territory claimed by both Buganda and Bunyoro regions-- was also put off until after independence upon the request of the UPC delegation that feared it might complicate the talks.

Although Kabaka went along with what had been achieved at the Lancaster House (U.K.) independence negotiations, Michael Kintu the Katikiro --the title for Buganda's traditional prime minister-- was opposed to the deal in large part because he didn't trust Apollo Milton Obote the UPC leader.

Members of Kabaka Yekka (KY) were unhappy with the deal as well. They wanted the constitution to state that the Kabaka was above the Prime Minister. In this regard, members of KY stated in part "We of Kabaka Yekka cannot hesitate to state that if Uganda is ever to be a prosperous and peaceful country, the Prime Minister must always be subordinate to the Kabaka and other hereditary rulers..." (Onyango Odongo 1993). Because the issue wasn't resolved at independence the Queen remained the head of state represented by the Governor-General. The constitution was later amended to create the post of president.

Obote wanted the Kabaka to occupy the office of president. However the majority of MPs proposed William Nadiope III, the Kyabazinga --traditional leader-- of Busoga as the president. To get his way, Obote is reported to have threatened to resign. The Kabaka got the job of president while remaining the Kabaka of his kingdom of Buganda, within the nation of Uganda. Clearly a recipe for crises was there from the start.

During the constitutional talks it became clear that much time was spent on defining the status of kingdoms within Uganda. Fearing that the districts with no kings were being sidelined, the constitution therefore recognized that the post of ceremonial heads of the other regions would be on par with kingdoms in status. This post besides being expensive was politically divisive as in Kigezi where UPC split into two rival groups whose adverse impact hasn't died off completely.

At the Lancaster House talks it was decided to hold a referendum on the lost counties within two years of independence to which the Kabaka had reluctantly agreed. It had been hoped in Buganda that the referendum wouldn't take place at all because of the KY/UPC alliance or ways could be found for the voters to decide to stay in Buganda. However, the voters favored rejoining Bunyoro. Baganda were devastated leading to the resignation of the Katikiro and his government. The alliance melted away.

Now the swords were drawn.

When Prime Minister Obote abrogated the 1962 constitution and replaced it with a transitional one in 1966 abolishing the post of the ceremonial head of state, inter alia, Buganda's Lukiiko rejected the new constitution. On May 20, the Lukiiko met and resolved to kick the central government from Buganda soil --which was now also home to the national government-- within 10 days. This was in effect a declaration of Buganda independence.

This was followed by demonstrations and protests that the central government interpreted as acts of rebellion. There were stories that the Buganda establishment had acquired weapons that were stored at the King's palace. When national troops under the command of then Col. Idi Amin arrived at the palace apparently they were fired at. The intense fight that ensued lasted some eight hours with many casualties. The king, Sir. Edward Mutesa, escaped and fled to England where he died in 1969 in suspicious circumstances. The Kabaka's palace was turned into military barracks and the parliament building into the ministry of defense, a humiliation that those involved haven't forgotten or forgiven. Buganda was placed under a state of emergency, later extended to other parts of Uganda, with all the adverse implications. Obote became president.

These unhappy developments in Buganda are believed to have contributed to the attempted assassination of President Obote in 1969 and the military coup by Amin of 1971.

The Baganda blocked the return of Obote as leader of Uganda after the fall of Amin in 1979. But Obote still had strong support in the military and among Ugandans outside Buganda. He eventually returned through Bushenyi region, participated in and UPC won the 1980 elections. Obote being the leader of UPC became president of Uganda once again.

Baganda rejected the election results and vowed to fight Obote again. A five year guerrilla war devastated part of Buganda where half the population perished. Eventually Yoweri Museveni emerged as leader and formed the government in 1986. Baganda had hoped to be rewarded handsomely. Unfortunately that hasn't happened and Baganda and the rest of Ugandans are bitter once again and the search is on for a new leader. The brutality and destruction of Museveni's militarism has been visited upon every region of Uganda.

Hopefully this time around great care will be taken so that past mistakes will be avoided as Ugandans seek to peacefully introduce accountable government. Experience, which comes with age, character and patriotism should guide the search for a new leader as the time approaches.

Stephon Clark

The family of Stephon Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old Black man who was shot dead in his grandmother’s yard by Sacramento police has retained the noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

Clark was shot dead in his grandmother’s yard by Sacramento police on Sunday. Officers who were responding to a 911 call about a man tampering with vehicles saw and approached Clark, then shot 20 times.

“The shooting death of Stephon Clark is an all-too-common tragedy," Crump told The Black Star News. "It is yet another troubling example of a young, unarmed Black man being shot by police under highly questionable circumstances. From what we have seen so far, Sacramento law enforcement’s actions both before and after the shooting have raised more questions than provided answers. All of us who are committed to social justice are demanding full transparency and answers as to how these tragic events unfolded.”

Clark was the father of two young children and frequently stayed at his grandparents’ home.

Ready for education. Photo-Flickr

When it comes to a child’s education, starting early makes a huge difference. New York City parents can make sure their four-year-old gets a strong start in school and life by signing up for free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K for All by March 30.

Pre-K is the time when children build social skills, develop early reading and writing skills, learn hundreds of new words, and practice critical thinking. The research is clear – pre-K gets children ready for kindergarten and puts them on the path to success throughout their time in school.

In New York City’s safe and supportive pre-K classrooms, children participate in engaging activities and interact with other children and teachers. Pre-K helps kids learn to play together, share and take turns, and put their thoughts into words. They develop coordination by building, pretending, drawing and running around. They become familiar with concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and foods.

Children love their pre-K programs, and so do their families: 92 percent of surveyed families said their program is excellent or good. Pre-K allows parents to go to work knowing their children are in a safe, positive learning environment, while saving thousands of dollars – an average of $10,000 a year – they would have spent on child care.

Pre-K can also be a time for children to learn different languages, at a time when their brains are growing and they are really like sponges – easily absorbing new words and information. In Dual Language pre-K classrooms, students receive instruction in English and a second language, a huge advantage as they go into kindergarten and beyond. It has always been valuable for students to become fluent in two or more languages and cultures – and it has only become more important in the 21st century. New York City will offer more than 60 dual-language pre-K programs in all five boroughs this year, in Spanish, Bengali, Chinese, Russian, and Italian.

All New York City families with children born in 2014 can apply online by March 30 at nyc.gov/prek, over the phone by calling 311, or in person at a Family Welcome Center. The online application is available in ten languages, and families can submit an application over the phone or in person in over 200 languages.

Pre-K programs are available in schools and at community-based early education centers, and parents can list up to 12 programs on their application. To explore program options, check out the Pre-K Finder (https://maps.nyc.gov/prek) and the Pre-K Quality Snapshots (http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/EarlyChildhood/parentfamilies/default.htm). Parents can also visit programs in person to ask questions and meet with teachers. These tools can help you make the best decision for your family.

There is a free, full-day, high-quality pre-K program for every four-year-old in New York City – apply by March 30 to start your child on the path to success

Josh Wallack is Deputy Schools Chancellor

Ethiopia's national flag  

Ethiopia is experiencing a crisis of transition. That’s not surprising. It’s an opportunity for an Ethiopian solution to Ethiopia’s crisis. Let us remind ourselves of a wisdom that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

Ethiopia is not alone in facing a national political crisis today. What’s unique about our country is that we haven’t yet collectively debated our national crisis in a way that allows us to reach a shared solution.

Around the world, many countries that have been going through accelerated economic transformations are also in deep political crises: we see this from Brazil to Thailand, from South Africa to Turkey.

All these crises have something in common, which is that an established political leadership has become too comfortable with power, while large numbers of young people have matured into adulthood with huge expectations of greater life chances and freedoms—and are finding that those expectations aren’t being met.

But the vast majority of young adults are open-minded and open to debate: their energies can transform the present and build the future.Also, with the crumbling of the American world order, middle-ranking countries around the world have a historic opportunity—and obligation—to find their own nationally distinctive paths.

For leaders who are arrogantly sure of their own visions, that can be a recipe for authoritarianism. Where leaders are lacking in any confidence, it’s a recipe for stagnation and confusion. In the middle ground, it’s a chance for a patriotic way ahead, that builds upon what is unique and distinctive about a country.

Where nations are divided and fearful, it makes them ripe for instability—sometimes fomented by malicious outsiders, sometimes by extremists within their own societies. Even the world’s most powerful countries, such as the United States and Britain, find that their publics are being pulled apart by polarizing forces that dominate the national conversation.

As a distinguished statesman observed, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." We can adapt this maxim to our times: moderate voices are quiet, extremist voices are loud and are utilizing the social media effectively.

Ethiopia has its unique qualities and circumstances. We don't have yet an energetic overambitious leader developing a personality cult. We don't have a country run as a family business, whose members have devoured the nation’s resources in conspicuous personal consumption, or an elite whose members have dragged the  national wealth away to hide in tax havens to eat in private. We don't have an army running the country. Let’s be grateful for those mercies.

What we do have is a public realm that is divided by ethnic group, and is being pulled further apart into polarized camps by provincialist agendas and ethno-nationalist social media. At a time when Ethiopians need a unifying national conversation in an open public forum, what we have instead are multiple parallel conspiratorial conversations .

This cannot solve our problems and move our country ahead.

There are two layers to this problem. One is the medium of the public discussion itself; the other is the political structure of the country.In Ethiopia, as in all countries, the majority of the citizenry want nothing more than to be able to pursue the best for their communities, their families and themselves. They occupy the middle ground of political life; and most of the time, national political leaders also occupy this same central ground—and grow lazy in cultivating their constituency and communicating their message.

The most negative outcome of our government’s policies on the media, civil society and free speech is to narrow that middle ground to the official organs of party and government. It’s natural that people become at minimum bored and at maximum distrustful of official channels. Then the alternatives exist only at the fringes, especially the unregulated diaspora social media.

It’s like clearing a field of every plant except a single specially selected strain of maize, and then being surprised when this strain sickens and vigorous pesticide-resistant weeds take over the farm. The answer isn’t more pesticide: it’s sowing barley, wheat, sorghum and teff as well.

I'm calling for a patriotic middle ground.For this to flourish we need an open national discussion: the civil society and media laws need to be revised at once to allow public debate. The anti-terror laws should be applied only to violent terrorists not to journalists, students and bloggers.

Then there’s the deeper problem: a political infrastructure built almost exclusively around Ethiopia’s constituent ethno-national groups. The 1995 Constitution of "a nation of nations" was designed for sound and understandable historical reasons, to remedy deep-seated wrongs in the respect for Ethiopia’s ethno-nations, and to provide all the peoples of this great multi-national country with equal rights. That was a huge and historic step which can never be reversed.

Every large and complex multi-identity country has a federal system, and Ethiopia was right to choose this path.But every federal system is work in progress. It must adapt to changing circumstances. Identities evolve; nations change their character.

The nature of national sentiment is totally different in an agrarian society to an industrializing one. Ethiopia has been transformed over the last quarter century with unprecedented economic growth, but the organization of political parties and administrative functions hasn't adapted accordingly.

For sure, there are crises in the regions: real grievances, real problems needing to be resolved. But fundamentally there is no "Oromo problem" or "Amhara problem" or "Tigray problem" or "Southern Peoples problem": there is an Ethiopian problem in Oromo, Amhara, Tigray, the Southern region, Afar, Gambela, and so forth.

The Ethiopian national problem may take somewhat different forms in each region. But no region can solve its problem on its own, separate from the others.Part of this is for the regions to be the owners of the national problem. Take the example of the Oromos. In the days of the feudal order, the Oromo leaders described themselves as "always on the outside looking in." They had strong historically rooted resentments against the center, even against the idea of Ethiopia itself, which they said had been imposed on them.

The Oromo voice has been heard. Oromos are now unequivocally inside the common Ethiopian house, not knocking at the door. Yes of course there are still many problematic legacies from the past, but it is not possible to go back in history to right every wrong: that  leaves everyone adrift.

Each generation remakes Ethiopia, building on the past, but creating new bonds and aspirations relevant to the present day. I state this as a proud Oromo, an Ethiopian patriot and a committed Pan-Africanist.It’s imperative for the Oromo nationalist to recognize that their aspirations, as Oromo nationalists, can be achieved only as Ethiopians.

There is no way to realizing the rights and aspirations of Oromos separate from those of other Ethiopians. We all rise together. One of the great lessons of the last 20 years is that Ethiopia has a huge potential for growth, and everyone can share in this growth. Ours is not a zero-sum country.

The same is true for the Afars, the people of Beni Shangul and Gambela, the Southern peoples, the Ethiopian Somalis, the Amharas and Tigrayans. In each case, the road to solving the problems of each particular people, lies through everyone coming together to address the national challenges together in Addis Ababa.

The heart of this agenda is common Ethiopian citizenship. However strong our ethno-national cultural, social and political identities, our human rights are secured as citizens of the Ethiopian state. It is the Federal State that is the ultimate guarantor of our civil and political rights. Without a coherent central state authority, we have no meaningful rights, no standing in the world.

Our Ethiopian political settlement is a careful balance between the powers and obligations of the federal state, and those of the ethno-national regions. When our politics leans too much in one direction, it needs to be brought back to the right balance. This is the politics of the middle ground.At the heart of citizenship is the notion of inalienable individual rights and a common civic respect for all as co-equals, without distinction on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. As well as a balance between our identity as Ethiopians and our identities as members of our ethno-national groups, we need a balance between the politics of the cultural-linguistic region, and the politics of a common civic life.

Many of our most important national institutions cut across all identities: our ministry of finance and economic development, and more importantly our national defense force, our missions abroad.This same arrangement should apply to political parties and to our civic institutions: our media and civil society organizations.

In India, another complex multi-identity nation, there are both country-wide and regional political parties. Each must contend for votes, each must strike electoral bargains with the other. This creates a vigorous and healthy dialogue between the different elements of what it is to be an Indian. The same should hold in Ethiopia: those who have a vision for the whole of Ethiopia should be able to run for office on an Ethiopia-wide political ticket.

This should be as valid for the EPRDF as it is for any other party: the EPRDF has long argued that it has a vision and program for Ethiopia as a whole, so why should it still consist of ethno-national parties? Our constitution permits such parties; our shared future demands them.There is not an EPRDF problem, but an Ethiopian problem that is manifest in the EPRDF. There are some in the EPRDF who appear to believe that the EPRDF should resolve its problems first, and then the party can address the problems of the country as a whole.

I humbly suggest that : it is by addressing the Ethiopian problem that the EPRDF will be able to resolve its own problems.The two years before our next general election is Ethiopia’s chance to hold our common national conversation on our country. Everyone should be heard.

Two years is not long, so the debate needs to begin now: enough time for every viewpoint to be aired, and those in the middle ground—those whom I am convinced are the majority—to find their voices. Our country is strong enough to hold together while we conduct this debate. We shouldn't be afraid of the angry and polarizing messages that will attempt to undermine us: these fast-moving and turbulent streams will in good time converge into a slower-moving but far more powerful river that reflects a far better direction for the country.

But it is those who can make a considered assessment of our strengths and weaknesses, our achievements and our challenges who must set the terms of this debate. For sure, polarizing voices will be heard, preaching hatred and promising that anything is possible if we tear down everything that exists today. Such voices cannot be allowed to set our agenda.

Our national conversation must be anchored in the patriotic middle ground. The positive creative energies of our young people should contribute. I have no doubt that in such a conversation, wisdom and moderation will prevail.  

I am so proud of every one of the brave young survivors and opponents of gun violence, organizers, and marchers who will be leading adults in the March For Our Lives and sister marches across the nation this Saturday.

We have so much work to do to build safe communities for all our children. We must follow our marching by electing leaders at all levels of government who will protect children, not guns and stand up to the NRA for every child’s right to live and learn free of gun violence. But that will not happen until mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, neighbors and faith leaders, young voters, and everyone who believes children have a right to grow up safely stands up together with our extraordinary young people in communities across America. We must together make a mighty ruckus for as long as it takes to break the gun lobby’s veto on common sense gun policy.

Until we shake off our sense of hopelessness and exile apathy to our trashcans in the face of persistent tragedy and bullying by the gun lobby, Congress and state legislatures will continue to do the NRA’s bidding, putting their perceived political self-interest ahead of the lives of our children and families and others they are sworn to represent and protect.

It’s way past time to combine “thoughts and prayers” with action and vote out those who place protecting guns higher than protecting babies, children, teens, mothers and fathers, and the public safety of all. It’s way past time for the American people to retire the NRA as the self-appointed head of national security and the leading threat to public health and assure the safety of our children and families everywhere in America. We need a relentless, powerful collective vision and voice joining with young people who are unafraid to lead the way.

Here are ten key facts to know and share with others during and after the March For Our Lives:

Children and Teens Are Dying From Guns in Schools and Communities Every Day

1) 3,128 children and teens were killed with a gun in 2016, enough to fill 156 classrooms of 20 children.

2) A child or teen was killed with a gun every 2 hours and 48 minutes.

3) The crisis is getting worse: 2016 marked the greatest number of child and teen gun deaths in 10 years.

4) Gun deaths remain the leading cause of death for Black children and teens and second leading cause of death for all children and teens.

5) Guns killed more children under five in 2016 than law enforcement officers in the line of duty.

6) Since 1963, over three times more children and teens died from guns on American soil than U.S. soldiers were killed by hostilities in wars abroad.

7. Guns are the only consumer product manufactured in the United States exempt from federal health and safety regulations. We regulate toy guns and teddy bears, but do not regulate a product that kills 3,128 children a year and injures many, many more.

8. Current federal background check requirements do not cover sales at gun shows, over the internet, or other private sales.

9. Today, two in three American voters support stricter gun laws, including half of gun owners. Ninety-seven percent of all American voters and gun owners support universal background checks and 67 percent of voters and more than half of gun owners favor a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons.

10) America’s military and law enforcement agencies have about four million guns. Estimates of America’s civilian gun ownership are as high as 310 million.

The recent school shootings have only reinforced the sad truth that children and teens cannot feel safe anywhere in America. So we are all in the same boat and must act together to stop the plague of violence.

Gun safety laws that apply only in one city or state can’t fully stop our national epidemic of gun proliferation and violence any better than we can stop a flu epidemic by vaccinating one family or neighborhood. From inner cities to rural communities to quiet suburbs, child and adult survivors of gun violence all over America pay an unacceptably high price every day.

Guns leave multiple victims: those who die, those who are injured, those who lose family, friends, pastors, and teachers, and those who must care for them. The physical, psychological, and emotional toll of gun violence on victims, bystanders, and families can be overwhelming and leaves effects that last for years or for life. One of the most valuable immediate effects of the March For Our Lives will be the powerful new coalitions forming in communities and states across the country of all those affected by gun violence strengthened by young voices. On Saturday and every day after the March we must keep shouting along with our children and youths: Enough.

All of us – Democrats, Republicans, and independents, gun owners and non-gun owners – must stand up and demand that our leaders treat gun violence in America as the tragic but preventable public health epidemic that it is and take every step necessary to save the lives of our children, families, and all those victimized by relentless, preventable gun violence. Congress must follow the will of the people instead of the will of the NRA and gun manufacturers whose profits are soaked in blood. Our laws, our common public interest, and respect for the sanctity of life for every human being must define common sense gun safety, not the NRA. The March For Our Lives is an extraordinary turning point signaling a new day in America and a new generation of Americans determined to say never again.

Marian Wright Edelman is President of the Children's Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

For more information go to www.childrensdefense.org

"Bernie" Smith back in the day

Former New York Met minor league prospect Calvin Bernard “Bernie” Smith, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970 and 1971, and who later guided the team’s Single A Danville Warriors affiliate to the Midwest League Finals in 1973, is among the 644 retired major leaguers being hosed out of pensions by the league and the players' association.

Because they are not vested, all these men have been getting since 2011 are non-qualified retirement payments of $625 per quarter, up to 16 quarters, or a maximum payment of $10,000.

Meanwhile, the maximum IRS pension limit is $220,000. Even the minimum pension for a retired ballplayer who played after 1980 is $34,000.

The men are in this position because of a rule change that occurred during an averted strike in May 1980. The players’ union accepted an offer to make eligibility for health coverage for all players only one game day, and 43 game days for a monthly benefit.

Unfortunately, the union didn’t attempt to retroactively include the men like Smith.

Born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Mr. Smith turns 77 in September. He and future Hall of Famer Lou Brock were teammates at the predominantly all African American Southern University in 1960.

As a rookie outfielder for the 1970 Brewers, Smith appeared in 44 games, came up to bat 76 times and collected 21 hits, including one home run.

Neither the league nor the union want to retroactively restore these men into pension coverage; instead, taxes are taken out of the nonqualified retirement payment, which cannot be passed on to a surviving spouse or designated beneficiary. So when Smith passes on, the payment he is currently receiving is not passed on to any of his loved ones, such as his four sons. His wife, Creola, reportedly passed away circa 1985.

Men like Smith are also not eligible to buy into the league’s umbrella health insurance plan.

To date, the MLBPA has been loath to divvy up anymore of the collective pie. Though Forbes recently reported that the current players’ pension and welfare fund is valued at $2.7 billion MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark -- a former All Star first baseman who is the first former player to ever hold that position, by the way -- has never commented about these non-vested retirees, many of whom are filing for bankruptcy at advanced ages, having banks foreclose on their homes and are so sickly and poor that they cannot afford adequate health care coverage.

By any standard, Smith has had a hard life. According to baseball card collector Tony Lehman, he hitchhiked 400 miles to earn a minor league baseball tryout. He then spent eight seasons in the New York Mets minor league system.
Smith was famously convicted in 1985 of receiving $500 in stolen goods at the store he ran on North Railroad Avenue in Lutcher, Louisiana. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but upon appeal, that sentence was set aside. Lehman, for one, believes he was railroaded, and that he was set up by the police.

Twenty-nine-years later in 2014, Smith couldn’t pay property taxes on the store.

What makes Smith’s treatment so especially unseemly is that Clark received the coveted Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, in June 2016. In accepting the award, the former Detroit Tigers All-Star first baseman, referenced a quote from the late Muhammad Ali.

“Success is what you achieve,” said Clark. “Your significance is what you leave.”

How do you say that and then have the gall not to help a man like Smith?

If Clark, who gets a union salary of more than $2.1 million, including benefits, to go with his MLB pension actually does something about this situation, he really would be leaving Mr. Smith and all the other men something of great significance. And that would be a nice achievement on his part.

Douglas J. Gladstone authored the 2010 book, “A Bitter Cup of Cofee; How MLB & The Players’ Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve.” His website is www.gladstonewriter.com

Attorney Antonio Moore , Dr Tommy Curry, and Tiffany Ramm discuss the New Times Article and Harvard Study showing that wealth inequality is highly gender driven by lack of income equality by received by black men. NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html Finding #2: The black white income gap is entirely driven by differences in men’s, not women’s, outcomes.Among those who grow up in families with comparable incomes, black men grow up to earn substantially less than the white men. In contrast, black women earn slightly more than white women conditional on parent income. Moreover, there is little or no gap in wage rates or hours of work between black and white women.