October 4, 2012

NAACP Takes Fight for Voting Rights for Ex-Cons to the United Nations
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from GIN (TriceEdneyWire.com) - The NAACP spoke up at the 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, recently for the rights of millions of former felons who have been denied the right to vote. “Today, nearly 5.3 million U.S.
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George Soros Donates $1 Million to Pro-Obama Super PAC
Billionaire George Soros, financial backer of the Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement, has donated $1 million to Priorities USA, a super PAC, that is supporting President Barack Obama’s re-election. Michael Vachon, an advisor to Soros, announced the donation last week during a lunch hosted by the Democracy Alliance, a partnership of business and philanthropic leaders.
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Network Announces $10,000 Grants for Schools that Empower Boys of Color
Schools, pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, that demonstrate promising practices in educating boys and young men of color can apply for grants form the Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color (COSEBOC). The organization announced on Monday guidelines and deadlines for its second-annual series of $10,000 grants.
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Black Caucus Hosted Voter-Registration Drives in 12 Districts
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) recently hosted voter-registration drives in 12 Congressional Districts as part of its voter-protection initiative.
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State of the Black World Conference Aims to Set Post-Election Agenda
by Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.
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Chicago Pastor Finishes Cross-Country Walk
Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks who went from the rooftop to the road has completed his 2,700-mile walk across the country to bring attention to violence in urban communities and to raise funds to purchase an abandoned building.
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American Express Hit Hard in the Wallet for Violations
by Frederick H. Lowe American Express Co. will have to pull out its Centurion, or Black Card, to pay this bill.
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Report: Businesses Added 162,000 Jobs In September
Businesses created 162,0000 jobs in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the ADP National Employment Report announced on Wednesday, the day of the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov.
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Pa. Judge Blocks Enforcement of Photo ID Rule for Nov. 6
by Frederick H. Lowe Judge Robert Simpson of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction to keep the state’s tough photo-ID law from taking effect before the November 6 presidential election.
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Black Consumer Buying Remains Strong, Report Finds
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - As a consumer group that continues to grow, has unique generational behavioral trends and characteristics and has a projected buying power of $1.
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Political Observers Fear Voter Apathy Could Hurt Obama in Virginia
Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Howard University News Service by Christina Downs and Hazel Trice Edney WOODBRIDGE, Va. (TriceEdneyWire.
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We Are One
by Gary L. Flowers (TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Can’t understand why we treat each other in this way…no matter what is said or done, we are one…” - Frankie Beverly and Maze National politics in the United States of America has not been so divisive since the American Civil War 150 years ago.
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Don't Believe the Hype! It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over
by Julianne Malveaux (TriceEdneyWire.com) - In late September the “nonpartisan” website Real Clear Politics reported that President Obama leads Republican nominee Mitt Romney is several battleground states.
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Conservative Whiners Display an Inferiority Complex
by A. Peter Bailey (TriceEdneyWire.com) - One of the favorite sports of conservative propagandists on television, radio and the op-ed pages of newspapers, is to hurl accusations of “whining” at anyone who insists that race is a major force in the economic, political and cultural life of this country.
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Yale University Launches Celebration of Bayard Rustin
The Yale University Law School will show the 2003 film Brother Outsider:The Life of Bayard Rustin to kick off the school’s centennial celebration honoring Rustin, a black gay man who organized the 1963 March on Washington, one of the most successful civil-rights demonstrations in U.S.history. Yale will show the film on October 9, and Walter Naegle, Rustin’s companion, will attend the event to answer questions, said Margaret Chisholm, the event’s organizer and reference librarian at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale.
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Macy’s Plans to Hire 80,000
Retailer Macy’s Inc. announced on Monday that it will hire approximately 80,000 seasonal workers for its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online-fulfillment centers nationwide.
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NorthStar Begins Accepting Ads and Donations
The NorthStar News & Analysis, one of the leading online publications for African-American men, is now offering sponsorship and advertising opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The publication, which is not published for a profit, is seeking support for its operations through small donations and modest paid advertising.
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Round 1: Romney Takes It to Obama
President Barack Obama never went on the offensive in Wednesday’s night televised debate, possibly prompting concerns by some that the president is a better campaigner than debater.
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$2 Million Investment Made for Black-Male Achievement
The Open Society Foundations Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) announced on Wednesday a $2 million investment to launch the Leadership & Sustainability (LSI) Institute for Black Male Achievement.
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The NorthStar’s Week in Black History
October 4 to October 10 October 4 1864 ----- The New Orleans Tribune, America’s first daily African-American newspaper, published its first edition on this date.
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Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for the Lawyers
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Supreme Court May Hear Challenge to Voting Act Preclearance

by Frederick H. Lowe
The U.S. Supreme Court, which began a new term on Monday, will soon decide whether to hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory practices.

Section 5, which Blacks in Government calls the heart and soul of the Voting Rights Act, requires nine states to submit any changes to voting laws for preapproval to either the Justice Department or a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. They are required to seek preclearance because of their histories of discriminating against blacks and other racial minorities who sought to vote. Section 5 also applies to certain counties and townships.

“The court will decide either later this month or early in November whether to hear arguments regarding whether Section 5 is constitutional,” Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, tells The NorthStar News & Analysis. “The decision will affect states and jurisdictions throughout the county.”

The case involves Shelby County, Ala., which wants the court to declare Section 5 unconstitutional. The lawsuit argues that the U.S. Congress exceeded its authority when it extended Section 5. Shelby County officials said that Section 5 exceeds the authority given congress under 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit also charges that Section 5 violates the 10th Amendment and Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.

Section 1 of Article IV says that the full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts. The 10th Amendment concerns powers delegated to the states. The14th Amendment said that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, and the 15th Amendment declares that black citizens’ right to vote shall not be denied by the United States or any state.

Frank C. Ellis, Jr., Shelby County Attorney, said in press release that it is not constitutionally justifiable for Congress to require Shelby County to submit all voting changes to federal officials in Washington, D.C. for another 25 years. He said the legislative record before Congress clearly demonstrated that the campaign of unrelenting defiance of the 15th Amendment that justified enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 no longer exists.

Ellis also argues that sub-sections of Section 5 were reauthorized in 2006 for another quarter century without sufficient evidence that voting discrimination continues. At the time, President George W. Bush signed a 25-year extension of the law.

"The reauthorized statute does not take into account either the substantial improvements that have occurred in these jurisdictions in the last 45 years,” Ellis added.

Shelby County lost attempts to overturn Section 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The county’s legal challenge is financially backed by the Project on Fair Representation, a conservative group, which is based in Alexandria, Va.

Edward Blum, who heads the organization, said in a January 2012 newspaper interview that he receives funds from Donors Trust, a public charity that focuses on limited government and personal responsibility.

The Project for Fair Representation also is supporting a challenge to Affirmative Action at the University of Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear that case on Wednesday.

The Lawyers Committee, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, all represent interveners in the case on the side of the Justice Department regarding Section 5.

Under the Voting Rights Act signed into law 47 years ago, some provisions are permanent, but Section 5 has to be renewed by Congress. It was renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982. The 1982 extension was for 25 years. Six years ago it was renewed for another 25 years.

Three years ago, in a case titled Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 vs Holder, a Texas water utility challenged the 25-year extension to Section 5. The utility argued in April 2009 before the U.S. Supreme Court that Section 5 was unconstitutional.

The water district does not register voters, and it was not accused of discrimination. It wanted to move a polling place from a private home to a public school. Because Texas is covered under Section 5, the water district had to get permission from the Department of Justice or U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to move the polling place.The Justices did not take up the issue whether Section 5 was constitutional. In 2009, some members of the court, including Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, indicated that Section 5 may be unconstitutional.

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

The court, however, redefined the law, allowing any political subdivision covered by Section 5 to request exemption from federal review, known as a “bailout.” This allows jurisdictions to be removed from coverage if they have been in full compliance with preclearance requirements for 10 years. The jurisdictions are not allowed to use test devices that discriminate on the basis of race, color and language. The jurisdictions also can use the bailout clause if no lawsuits alleging voting discrimination are pending.

In the current case, Shelby, Ala., does not meet all of the criteria to qualify for a bailout, Greenbaum said.

Section 5, however, is playing a significant role in the 2012 election. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked Texas’ restrictive photo-ID law on grounds that it discriminated against the state’s black and Hispanic voters.

The District Court is expected to issue a decision regarding South Carolina’s Photo ID law.

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October 4, 2012

Supreme Court May Hear Challenge to Voting Act Preclearance