For me, watching John McCain’s speech–and other aspects of the Republican National Convention–was like torture. It was an emotional and spiritual torture that reminded me of why I have been inspired to throw myself behind the candidacy of Sen. Obama. The Republican argument about what facilitates change feels empty to me as a voter, citizen, and advocate for social and political change. First, there was Gov. Palin’s mocking of community organizing. To belittle community organizing is to dismiss one of the most significant voices of change in this country, indeed, this world. It shows how little they know about what drives change. It took nerve–and she clearly has guts–to criticize the very actions that supported her ability to be a woman in political office in the first place. Perhaps someone should remind Gov. Palin that it was the community organizing of the Women’s Suffrage Movement that brought so many of the gains she enjoys today. Then again, she appears to stand against everything that is actually in her best interest. She stands against sex education. Her daughter is pregnant prematurely. She stands for guns. Our nation suffers from the effects of gun violence and victimization like no other comparable society. I mean…really…change is more that spewing the same rhetoric in a dress. It is more than being a “pit bull with lipstick” and it is more than Sen. McCain making awkward, empty promises about how he’ll regain the trust of the American people. How can you reclaim something you’ve never had?

Change is about developing processes that support a departure from the status quo. Change is about admitting if there has been an error and having the foresight and leadership skills to organize people from multiple backgrounds toward a common goal. Change is about using inclusive practices to mobilize thought and action. Like others, I have already grown tired of watching Republicans try to jump on the “change” bandwagon by using the same talking points that have alienated and undermined the progress of millions of American people. The current Republican agenda is absolutely about maintaining the imbalance of equality and justice we see today; ignoring the promise of safety for our communities and recklessly supporting foreign and domestic policies that harm our economy and well-being at home.

And really, can someone tell them how to spell Maverick?

Copyright 2008 Monique W. Morris

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) has introduced the Justice Integrity Act, a bill to examine racial disparities in the criminal justice system. I am very interested in this effort to mandate the collection of data and develop remedies in ten pilot states to address the over-representation of people of color, primarily African American and Latino, in the criminal justice system. For years, the federal government has taken the lead in working with states to address the racial disparities issue in the juvenile justice system. This process, while rewarding, has been difficult to implement, even with the capable support of leading technical assistance providers on the issue. That’s because there are many factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system, and it takes the mobilization of many stakeholders–from the affected person or community to the juvenile and criminal justice systems–to address it.

This bill seeks to “increase public confidence in the justice system and address any
unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process.” Of course, as a critical human and civil rights issue, the staggering rate at which African American and Latino men, women, and children are involved in the justice system is about much more than just increasing public confidence in the process. This is about developing systems of accountability that support public safety by adhering to research-informed reform and intervention strategies that are both culturally-competent and gender-responsive. This is an opportunity to raise not only awareness about this important issue, but also to improve the discourse on race, crime, and justice among policymakers, practitioners, and the public.

Encourage your senator to support or co-sponsor S. 3245, the Justice Integrity Act. For a complete guideline regarding how you can voice your support of this effort, visit this NAACP link. Instructions, a sample letter, and talking points are included.

A link to the full text of the bill is available through The Sentencing Project.
Click here to access Sen. Biden’s press release.

Support this initiative. It is a good start.

Copyright 2008 Monique W. Morris

It is official! With the Arizona Secretary of State’s decertification of Proposition 104, the effort to end affirmative action in Arizona has come to an end. It’s over not only because the people of Arizona obviously didn’t want part of Ward Connerly’s “Super Tuesday” campaign to eliminate affirmative action in multiple states; it’s over because the signatures that were collected to support this initiative were staggeringly ineligible. According to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, over 40% of the “qualifying” signatures were invalid and included the phony signatures of Jimmy Carter and Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi. Monday’s edition of The Huffington Post actually shared a photo of these invalid signatures–empirical evidence of the fraudulent activities used to support this effort to end affirmative action.

Deception has ruled this effort from the very beginning. Calling these campaigns to end the nation’s most effective civil rights policy to date “Civil Rights Initiatives” is misleading. Using jargon to confuse “preferences” with “considerations” of race in decision-making is dishonest. In fact, lies regarding the true nature and prevalence of disparity and discrimination have continued to drive the Connerly campaign. In 1996, many California voters didn’t understand that the “civil rights” initiative they were voting for would actually eliminate programs that were effective in generating equal access to opportunity, resulting in the passage of Proposition 209. The effects were seen immediately in some areas, and now we’re able to quantify them: sharp declines and segregated opportunities for people of color regarding admissions to public institutions of higher education and dramatic declines in public contracting awards to businesses owned by people of color and women of all racial groups have impacted the ability of CA’s diverse population to competitively work toward economic self-sufficiency.

Thankfully, Arizona isn’t having it. What began as a five-state effort has now dwindled to two. The effort to qualify ballot initiatives for the November election in three states–Missouri, Oklahoma, and the latest, Arizona–have failed. Only two more, Colorado and Nebraska, remain.

Congratulations to those freedom fighters who have unveiled–yet again–the deceptive tactics used to support structural exclusion and systems of inequality. Our work is not done, but this is certainly a victory worth celebrating!

For more information about the Arizona initiative, contact Mel Gagarin at the NAACP LDF at (212) 965-2783 or mgagarin@naacpldf.org.

Copyright 2008 Monique W. Morris

« Previous entries