The Wichita NAACP joins with Youthville in an effort to encourage more African American families to become foster parents

Did you know that there are 1,226 children from Sedgwick County who are currently in the guardianship of Youthville (the Child service agency contracted by SRS to handle child placements within the State of Kansas)? Did you know that 50% of the children in Youthville are minorities with 41% listing themselves as Black or Bi-Racial? Did you know that if Youthville placed all of the African American children within the existing African American foster homes, each home would have 12 children?

Of the 356 African American children from Sedgwick County, 47% are sent outside of the county to foster homes in more rural areas of Kansas, most often not of the same cultural background. And of the 147 Bi-Racial children from Sedgwick County, 31% are sent outside of the county to foster homes in more rural areas of Kansas, most often not of the same cultural background.

Several months ago, the Wichita Branch NAACP and Youthville held the first of what has been a series of meetings to discuss the possibilities and options available for increasing the number of extended family and/or culturally compatible placements. This weekend we will begin the first of these efforts.

Saturday, September 1st, in conjunction with the start of the Wichita Black Arts Festival, the Wichita Branch NAACP will begin a new campaign to encourage more African American families to volunteer to become foster parents. This effort is intended to compliment the on-going efforts by Youthville to diversify their pool of Foster families.

The Branch will disseminate information to the community concerning child welfare and adoption issues through forums, e-media, hand-outs, and mailings. New FAQ's and data sheets will be available at the NAACP booth during the Black Arts Festival.

If you or someone you know in the Sedgwick County area may be interested in becoming a foster parent, please contact Libby Smith at 800.593.1950, ext 8319

or if you'd simply like more information about Youthville or child placements, you can call 800.593.1950, ext 194

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Jena High School bans T-shirts supporting black students accused of beating white schoolmate

(AP) - JENA, Louisiana-Officials at a Louisiana high school have banned T-shirts supporting six black students accused of beating of a white schoolmate, saying the shirts are too disruptive.
The six students were charged with attempted murder, which has led to outrage in the black community and drawn attention from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is monitoring the cases.

Racial tensions surfaced last fall when students found three nooses hanging from a tree on campus that a black student had tried to sit under. Three white students were suspended, but no criminal charges were filed.
About nine students at Jena High School wore the "Free the Jena 6" T-shirts Tuesday, and the slogan caused too much commotion on campus, said LaSalle Parish Schools Superintendent Roy Breithaupt said.
John Jenkins said his three daughters wore the shirts to make a statement, not to cause trouble.
"They weren't doing anything other than wearing the shirts," Jenkins said. "The school doesn't have a dress code. They were covered. They're trying to tell them what they can and can't wear."
His son, Carwin Jones, is one of the six students charged in the December 2006 beating of 18-year-old Justin Barker. Barker was treated for a swollen and cut face and released the same day.
One of the students, Mychal Bell, 17, was convicted on a reduced charge of aggravated second-degree battery and faces up to 22 years in prison. The other five teens are awaiting trial on attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

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Injustice in Jena: Jena 6 update

In a small still mostly segregated section of rural Louisiana, an all white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial of a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by black students. The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to black students sitting under the “white tree” at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree. The white jury and white prosecutor and all white supporters of the white victim were all on one side of the courtroom. The black defendant, 17 year old Mychal Bell, and his supporters were on the other. The jury quickly convicted Mychal Bell of two felonies - aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bell, who was a 16 year old sophomore football star at the time he was arrested, faces up to 22 years in prison. Five other black youths
await similar trials on attempted second degree murder and conspiracy charges.

Yes, you read that correctly. The rest of the story, which is being reported across the world in papers in China, France and England, is just as chilling.

The trouble started under “the white tree” in front of Jena High School. The “white tree” is where the white students, 80% of the student body, would always sit during school breaks.

In September 2006, a black student at Jena high school asked permission from school administrators to sit under the “white tree.” School officials advised them to sit wherever they wanted. They did.
The next day, three nooses, in the school colors, were hanging from the “white tree.” The message was clear. “Those nooses meant the KKK, they meant ‘Niggers, we’re going to kill you, we’re going to hang you till you die,’” Casteptla Bailey, mom of one of the students, told the London Observer.

The Jena high school principal found that three white students were responsible and recommended expulsion. The white superintendent of schools over-ruled the principal and gave the students a three day suspension saying that the nooses were just a youthful stunt. “Adolescents play pranks,” the superintendent told the Chicago Tribune, “I don’t think it was a threat against anybody.”

The African-American community was hurt and upset. “Hanging those nooses was a hate crime, plain and simple,” according to Tracy Bowens, mother of students at Jena High.

But blacks in this area of Louisiana have little political power. The ten person all-male government of the parish has one African-American member. The nine member all-male school board has one African American member. (A phone caller to the local school board trying to find out the racial makeup of the school board was told there was one “colored” member of the board). There is one black police officer in Jena and two black public school teachers.

Jena, with a population of less than 3000, is the largest town in and parish (county) seat of LaSalle Parish, Louisiana. There are about 350 African Americans in the town. LaSalle has a population of just over 14,000 people - 12% African-American.

This is solid Bush and David Duke Country - GWB won LaSalle Parish 4 to 1 in the last two elections; Duke carried a majority of the white vote when he ran for Governor of Louisiana. Families earn about 60% of the national average. The Census Bureau reports that less than 10% of the businesses in LaSalle Parish are black owned.

Jena is the site of the infamous Juvenile Correctional Center for Youth that was forced to close its doors in 2000, only two years after opening, due to widespread brutality and racism including the choking of juveniles by guards after the youth met with a lawyer. The U.S. Department of Justice sued the private prison amid complaints that guards paid inmates to fight each other and laughed when teens tried to commit suicide.

Black students decided to resist and organized a sit-in under the “white tree” at the school to protest the light suspensions given to the noose-hanging white students.

The white District Attorney then came to Jena High with law enforcement officers to address a school assembly. According to testimony in a later motion in court, the DA reportedly threatened the black protesting students saying that if they didn't stop making a fuss about this "innocent prank… I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen." The school was put on lockdown for the rest of the week.

Racial tensions remained high throughout the fall.

On the night of Thursday November 30, 2006, a still unsolved fire burned down the main academic building of Jena High School.

On Friday night, December 1, a black student who showed up at a white party was beaten by whites. On Saturday, December 2, a young white man pulled out a shotgun in a confrontation with young black men at the Gotta Go convenience store outside Jena before the men wrestled it away from him. The black men who took the shotgun away were later arrested, no charges were filed against the white man.

On Monday, December 4, at Jena High, a white student – who allegedly had been making racial taunts, including calling African American students “niggers” while supporting the students who hung the nooses and who beat up the black student at the off-campus party – was knocked down, punched and kicked by black students. The white victim was taken to the hospital treated and released. He attended a social function that evening.

Six black Jena students were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder. All six were expelled from school.

The six charged were: 17-year-old Robert Bailey Junior whose bail was set at $138,000; 17-year-old Theo Shaw - bail $130,000; 18-year-old Carwin Jones – bail $100,000; 17-year-old Bryant Purvis – bail $70,000; 16 year old Mychal Bell, a sophomore in high school who was charged as an adult and for whom bail was set at $90,000; and a still unidentified minor.

Many of the young men, who came to be known as the Jena 6, stayed in jail for months. Few families could afford bond or private attorneys.

Mychal Bell remained in jail from December 2006 until his trial because his family was unable to post the $90,000 bond. Theo Shaw has also remained in jail. Several of the other defendants remained in jail for months until their families could raise sufficient money to put up bonds.

The Chicago Tribune wrote a powerful story headlined “Racial Demons Rear Heads.” The London Observer wrote: “Jena is gaining national notoriety as an example of the new ‘stealth’ racism, showing how lightly sleep the demons of racial prejudice in America’s Deep South, even in the year that a black man, Barak Obama, is a serious candidate for the White House.” The British Broadcasting Company aired a TV special report “Race Hate in Louisiana 2007.”

The Jena 6 and their families were put under substantial pressure to plead guilty. Mychal Bell was reported to have been leaning towards pleading guilty right up until his trial when he decided he would not plead guilty to a felony.

When it finally came, the trial of Mychal Bell was swift. Bell was represented by an appointed public defender.

On the morning of the trial, the DA reduced the charges from attempted second degree murder to second degree aggravated battery and conspiracy. Aggravated battery in Louisiana law demands the attack be with a dangerous weapon. The dangerous weapon? The prosecutor was allowed to argue to the jury that the tennis shoes worn by Bell could be considered a dangerous weapon used by “the gang of black boys” who beat the white victim.

Most shocking of all, when the pool of potential jurors was summoned, fifty people appeared – every single one white.

The LaSalle Parish clerk defended the all white group to the Alexandria Louisiana Town Talk newspaper saying that the jury pool was selected by computer. “The venire [panel of prospective jurors] is color blind. The idea is for the list to truly reflect the racial makeup of the community, but the system does not take race into factor.” Officials said they had summoned 150 people, but these were the only people who showed up.

The all-white jury which was finally chosen included two people friendly with the District Attorney, a relative of one of the witnesses and several others who were friends of prosecution witnesses.

Bell’s parents, Melissa Bell and Marcus Jones, were not even allowed to attend the trial despite their objections, because they were listed as potential witnesses. The white victim, though a witness, was allowed to stay in the courtroom. The parents, who had been widely quoted in the media as critics of the process, were also told they could no longer speak to the media as long as the trial was in session. Marcus Jones had told the media “It’s all about those nooses” and declared the charges racially motivated.

Other supporters who planned a demonstration in support of Bell were ordered by the court not to do so near the courthouse or anywhere the judge would see them.

The prosecutor called 17 witnesses - eleven white students, three white teachers, and two white nurses. Some said they saw Bell kick the victim, others said they did not see him do anything. The white victim testified that he did not know if Bell hit him or not.

The Chicago Tribune reported the public defender did not challenge the all-white jury pool, put on no evidence and called no witnesses. The public defender told the Alexandria Town talk after resting his case without calling any witnesses that he knew he would be second-guessed by many but was confident that the jury would return a verdict of not guilty. “I don’t believe race is an issue in this trial…I think I have a fair and impartial jury…”

The jury deliberated for less than three hours and found Mychal Bell guilty on the maximum possible charges of aggravated second degree battery and conspiracy. He faces up to a maximum of 22 years in prison.

The public defender told the press afterwards, “I feel I put on the best defense that I could.” Responding to criticism of not putting on any witnesses, the attorney said “why open the door for further accusations? I did the best I could for my client, Mychal Bell.”

At a rally in front of the courthouse the next day, Alan Bean, a Texas minister and leader of the Friends of Justice, said “I have seen a lot of trials in my time. And I have never seen a more distressing miscarriage of justice than what happened in LaSalle Parish yesterday.” Khadijah Rashad of Lafayette Louisiana described the trial as a “modern day lynching.”

Tory Pegram with the Louisiana ACLU has been working with the parents for months. “People know if they don't demand equal treatment now, they will never get it. People's jobs and livelihoods have been threatened for attending Jena 6 Defense meetings, but people are willing to risk that. One person told me: ‘We have to convince more people to come rally with us.....What's the worst that could happen? They fire us from our jobs? We have the worst jobs in the town anyway. They burn a cross on our lawns or burn down my house? All of that has happened to us before. We have to keep speaking out to make sure it doesn't happen to us again, or our children will never be safe.’"

Whites in the community were adamant that there is no racism. "We don't have a problem,” according to one. Other locals told the media "We all get along," and "most blacks are happy with the way things are." One person even said "We don't have many problems with our blacks."

Melvin Worthington, the lone African American school board member in LaSalle Parish said it all could have been avoided. “There’s no doubt about it,” he told the Chicago Tribune, “whites and blacks are treated differently here. The white kids should have gotten more punishment for hanging those nooses. If they had, all the stuff that followed could have been avoided.”

Hebert McCoy, a relative of one of the youths who has been trying to raise money for bail and lawyers, challenged people everywhere at the end of the rally when he said “You better get out of your houses. You better come out and defend your children…because they are incarcerating them by the thousands. Jena’s not the beginning, but Jena has crossed the line. Justice is not right when you put on the wrong charges and then convict. I believe in justice. I believe in the point of law. I believe in accepting the punishment if I’m guilty. If I’m guilty, convict me and punishment, but if I’m innocent, no justice…” and the crowd joined with him and shouted “no peace!”

What happened to the white guys? The white victim of the beating was later arrested for bringing a hunting rifle loaded with 13 bullets onto the high school campus and released on $5000 bond. The white man who beat up the black youth at the off-campus party was arrested and charged with simple battery. The white students who hung up the nooses in the “white tree” were never charged.

The people in Jena are fighting for justice and they need legal and financial help. Since the arrests, a group of family members have been holding well-attended meetings, and have created a defense fund – the Jena 6 Defense Committee. They have received support from the NAACP, the Louisiana ACLU and Friends of Justice. People interested in supporting can contact: the Jena 6 Defense Committee, PO Box 2798, Jena, LA 71342 jena6defense@gmail.com; Friends of Justice, 507 North Donley Avenue, Tulia, TX 79088 www.fojtulia.org; or the ACLU of Louisiana, PO Box 56157, New Orleans, LA 70156 www.laaclu.org or 417.350.0536.

To sign a petition in support of the Jena 6 please visit teh NAACP National website (NAACP.org)

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Wichita NAACP Youth Council participates in Archeological dig of Historic Nicodemus Kansas

Members of the Wichita Branch NAACP Youth Council traveled to Nicodemus, Kansas to take part in an archeological expedition of the Historic African American town. Nicodemus is the only remaining western community established by African Americans after the Civil War. Having an important role in American History, the town symbolizes the pioneering spirit of these ex-slaves who fled the war-torn South in search of "real" freedom and a chance to restart their lives. The town of Nicodemus has since gained recognition as a National Historic Site.

While they were there, the members of the Wichita NAACP Youth Group attended classes on excavation and became paid members of the Kansas Anthropological Association. After they completed their training, the Youth were taken out to a live archeological dig site and they took part in the excavation efforts.

Nicodemus History:
In the late 1870s the black population of the South was extremely restless, as the Reconstruction following the Civil War failed to bring the long awaited freedom, equality and prosperity. Instead, they were racially oppressed, poverty-stricken, debt-ridden and starving.

At this time, along came a white man by the name of W.R. Hill, who described a "Promise Land" in Kansas to black families in the backwoods of Kentucky and Tennessee. Hill told of a sparsely settled territory with abundant wild game, wild horses that could be tamed, and an opportunity to own land through the homesteading process in Nicodemus, Kansas.

The town site of Nicodemus was planned in 1877 by W.R. Hill, a land developer from Indiana, and Reverend W.H. Smith, a black man, forming the Nicodemus Town Company. Reverend Smith became the President of the Town Company and Hill, the treasurer. Named for a legendary figure that came to America on a slave ship and later purchased his freedom, the two founders aggressively promoted the town to the black refugees of the Deep South. The Reverend Simon P. Roundtree was the first settler, arriving on June 18, 1877. Zack T. Fletcher and his wife, Jenny Smith Fletcher (the daughter of Reverend W.H. Smith) arrived in July and Fletcher was named the secretary of the Town Company. Smith, Roundtree, and the Fletchers made claims to their property and built temporary homes in dugouts along the prairie.

The Nicodemus Town Company produced numerous circulars to promote the town, inviting "Colored People of the United States" to come and settle in the "Great Solomon Valley." The Reverend Roundtree became actively involved in the promotion, and worked with a man by the name of Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a black carpenter from Nashville, who traveled all over distributing the circulars. Singleton, who could not read or write, distributed so many circulars that he was sometimes called the "Moses of the Colored Exodus." The Blacks who decided to emigrate soon acquired the name "Exodusters."

The black refugees associated Kansas with the Underground Railroad and the fiery abolitionist John Brown, and were particularly responsive to opportunities to settle there. Handbills and flyers distributed by the Nicodemus Town Company portrayed Nicodemus as a place for African-Americans to establish Black self-government.

The desperate families of the South listened with rapt attention and in the late summer of 1877, 308 railroad tickets were purchased to take them to the closest railroad point in Ellis, Kansas. Still fifty-five miles away, the families walked to Nicodemus, arriving in September 1877. Within one month the first black child was born in Graham County to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Williams.

Building homes along the Soloman River in dugouts, the original settlers found disappointment and privation as they faced adverse weather conditions. In the Promised Land of Kansas, they initially lacked sufficient tools, seed, and money, but managed to survive the first winter, some by selling buffalo bones, others by working for the Kansas Pacific railroad at Ellis, 55 miles away. Yet, others survived only with the assistance of the Osage Indians, who provided food, firewood and staples.

Though many were disillusioned by the lack of vegetation and the starkness of the land, most of the new settlers stayed. For those who persevered, the spring of 1878 brought hope and opportunity as the new settlers began to farm the soil.

The spring of 1878 also heralded more “Exodusters” from the South and a local government was established, headed by "President Smith." One woman arriving in the spring, Williana Hickman said years later of arriving at Nicodemus, "... "When we got in sight of Nicodemus the men shouted, 'There is Nicodemus!' Being very sick, I hailed this news with gladness. I looked with all the eyes I had. I said, 'Where is Nicodemus? I don't see it.' My husband pointed out various smokes coming out of the ground and said, 'That is Nicodemus.' The families lived in dugouts ... The scenery was not at all inviting, and I began to cry."

Despite the living conditions and their longing for the forested hills of Kentucky, Williana and her husband Reverend Daniel Hickman stayed, organizing the First Baptist Church in a dugout with a sod structure above it. By 1880, a small, one-room, stone sanctuary had been erected at the same site. This structure evolved from limestone to stucco, and in 1975, a new brick sanctuary was built. Today, the church still stands in Nicodemus.

Zachary Fletcher, one of the town’s first settlers, became the first postmaster and the first entrepreneur in Nicodemus, establishing the St. Francis Hotel and a livery stable in 1880. His wife, Jenny Smith Fletcher, became the first postmistress and schoolteacher and one of the original charter members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The complex that Fletcher built, which housed the post office, school, hotel and stable, later became known as the Fletcher-Switzer House and was an important focus of activity in the community. The building still stands in Nicodemus today.

By 1880, Nicodemus had a population of almost 500, boasting a bank, two hotels, three churches, a newspaper, a drug store, and three general stores – surrounded by twelve square miles of cultivated land. As the town began, Governor John St. John made a speech welcoming the new arrivals. Then, possibly at the urging from S. J. Gilmore, land commissioner for the Kansas Pacific Railroad, who said of the blacks, "Indications are that we will be over run with them next year," Governor St. John began to discourage black immigrants and said that conditions in Kansas were not as promising as the blacks had been led to believe.

Edward P. McCabe, who joined the colony in 1878, served two terms as state auditor, 1883-1887, the first African American to hold a major state office.

By 1887 Nicodemus had gained more churches, stores, a literary society, an ice cream parlor, a lawyer, another newspaper, a baseball team, a benefit society and a band. Hopes were high in the community when the railroad talked of an extension from Stockton to Nicodemus and in March of 1887, the voters of Nicodemus Township approved the issuance of $16,000 in bonds to attract the Union Pacific Railroad to the community. Despite the bond issue, the town and the railroad could not agree on financial compensation and the railroad withdrew its offer. In 1988, the railroad established the extension six miles away south of the Solomon River. Leaving Nicodemus a stranded "island village," businesses fled to the other side of the river to the Union Pacific Railroad camp that later became known as the town of Bogue. With the businesses leaving, Nicodemus began a long gradual decline. But to this day, the town of Nicodemus still has permenant residents. There are approximately 20 families (mostly decendants of the original settlers and Exodusters) who still call Nicodemus home.




Pictured to the right are Angela Bates, Descendant of the original families to settle the town of Nicodemus, and Wichita Branch President, Kevin Myles

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Message from Chairman Julian Bond about Katrina and Gulf Coast rebuilding effort

Two years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and laying bare the deep, persistent poverty and racial inequality that still exists in our country today.

Tens of thousands are still living with the aftermath of the hurricanes: FEMA trailers that are making residents sick because of unacceptable high formaldehyde levels, a lack of medical and mental health services, a public education system that has been seriously disrupted, and no assistance for rebuilding their homes. But you and I have a powerful opportunity to make sure that this is not another year of neglect for the people of the Gulf Coast.

Click here to tell Congress to keep their promise to Katrina survivors.

In the next few days, Congress will return from recess with 60 days to decide on the 2008 Federal Budget, including continuing funds for Gulf Coast recovery efforts and assistance for Katrina survivors. But, the President's budget proposal does not provide adequate funding for many of the key programs that provide housing, education and health care assistance in the region.

The President's budget does not renew the $500 million Social Service Block Grant to help hurricane ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast fund child welfare, employment services, and other state and local social programs. And neither the President's budget nor any proposals from Congress include additional funds for The Road Home, a program designed to help those displaced by Katrina and Rita with housing issues, even though this program was forced to stop accepting applications on July 31st because of a $5 billion shortfall.

Tell Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi to increase funding for the Gulf Coast.

We are approaching a moment of truth. In the next 60 days we'll find out if those politicians were telling the truth when they made all their campaign promises and speeches about helping people recover their lives and livelihoods, or if they were just taking advantage of the victims of Katrina for political gain.

The NAACP's local and regional branches are working hard to ensure proper health care, legal representation, education, and housing in the Gulf Coast. The NAACP arrived on the stricken Gulf Coast before the federal government responded and we've been there ever since. As we fought for our inalienable rights during the civil rights movement we must now fight for the rights of the residents New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. We must hold all elected officials accountable for rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward and other devastated areas.

Congress has an opportunity to act with conviction and help hundreds of thousands put their lives back together. Let's make sure that they do just that.

Sincerely,

Julian Bond
Chairman

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National NAACP President Dennis Courtland Hayes; The (National) NAACP has taken no official position on Michael Vick

NAACP chief speaks on Vick

While an NAACP leader in Atlanta urged the door be open for Michael Vick to return to football, the national head of the civil rights group said he would prefer its focus be on basic issues, not on a celebrity case that has sparked national debate.
Vick is to plead guilty Monday in Richmond, Va., to a federal dogfighting indictment that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. His status as an NFL quarterback with the Falcons is on hold.
"Sometimes, politics being local, they (local chapters) speak to issues that we'd just as soon leave to others to deal with," Dennis Courtland Hayes, interim president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in an interview with USA Today. "We would hope that our units, as we do, would be dealing with the larger issues of the day that surround things like jobs and tackle problems that go to the root cause of our affliction as a community, as families, whether it has to do with education or wages or poor health care."
This week, the president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter, R.L. White, said Vick should not be permanently banned from the NFL and that a "new Michael Vick" should eventually be welcomed back. Hayes said he and the NAACP's national board have not taken "formal positions" on the case.

~~~

KM: The NAACP is actually comprised of 1,800 local Branches or units. The units are tied to one another through our shared by-laws and constitution, and by the National office which serves as the administrative head of the organization. However, NAACP units are relatively autonomous, which is necessary in order for us to effectively fulfill our local goals and objectives. While we share common rules and a common mission, the day to day activities of local units are not coordinated on a National level. The only NAACP position espoused on the Michael Vick case has been that of the Atlanta Branch and its President Dr. RL White.

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Drug Paraphernalia info - KC Gas

Yesterday, I told the West Bureau commander of the WPD that I woud provide him with information concerning the changes to the Kansas Drug Paraphernalia statute. I emailed that information over to the Bureau today and I'm posting it here in case anyone else is interested.
The link below will take you to a page containing a annotated PDF document. The provisions dealing with Paraphernalia are highlighted near the middle of the document. There are "Sticky Notes" near each of the highlighted sections. These notes explain the intent and application of the revised language.
During conference committee, 5 separate bills were amended together to form what would finally become HB2062. The bill was signed by Governor Sebelius on May 9th, 2007 and was published in the Kansas Register, thereby taking the force of law on May 17th, 2007.

http://www.wichitanaacp.org/hb2062

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Racial Profiling 'Town Hall' meeting planned for September

The Kansas State Racial Profiling Task Force will host a Town Hall meeting in Wichita on September 20th. The meeting will focus on the activities of the Task Force and the State's efforts to eliminate the practice of Racial Profiling.

The Town Hall meeting is scheduled for 5:00pm - 7:00pm, in the Midtown Community Resource Center (1150 N. Broadway : 316-264-4636) The meeting will be free and open to the public. We would like to encourage anyone having concerns, questions, or complaints related to Racial Profiling or Bias in Law Enforcement to attend. The forum will be moderated by Michael Birzer of Wichita State University and Kevin Myles; Wichita NAACP President...

The Wichita Racial Profiling Advisory Board will also meet on the 20th in the Midtown Community Resource Center, immediately following the Town Hall forum. The Wichita Racial Profiling Advisory Board meeting is also free and open to the public...

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Day #3 for the KC Gas station

I stopped in the KC Gas station this morning and noted that they are STILL selling illegal paraphernalia on a counter display. I spoke with the West Bureau Commander and he let me know that they have gone into the store and spoken with the Manager who was unapologetic about running what is essentially a "mini-headshop" and he basically refused to remove the items from his store unless the Officer could tell him on the spot that they were flatly illegal.
The Department is now working with the Legal Department to build the case. I let the Bureau Commander know that we actually wrote the addendum to the State Statute that went into effect in July and that I would email the Bureau and Legal all the supporting documentation they need to gain clarity on the changes to the law and to build the case.
God willing, this will be over and done in another couple days.

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CNN Report: Student does racial test in elementary school

Oh my... When I saw this video, it really affected me. I'm posting it here because this is something we should all see... We as a society do a lot of pontificating about how far we've come, but these 5-year old children show us that in the ways that matter most, we still have so much more work to do...

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KC Gas station is in Violation of the Drug Paraphernalia law for a 2nd day in a row

I reported this to the Wichita Police Department yesterday, along with the physical location of the store, a description of the merchandise and the location of the items within the store. As yet the WPD has not acted on this complaint, so I will call in and report it again. I will continue to post on this issue daily until the Police take action.

Again for clarity; this effort is not some quixotic anti-drug campaign to save Drug users from themselves. We know and readily admit that eliminating the sale of drug paraphernalia will not end drug use. This effort is a part of our "Broken Windows" campaign, aimed at addressing the neglect and blight that negatively affect our quality of life. So this for us is not an Anti-Drug camapign, this is a pro-community/quality of life campaign. We know that allowing these sorts of practices to take place in certain stores and shops because they are in the "hood" only contributes to the deterioration of those neighborhoods. And to that we say "Enough"! We wrote the bill, State Representative and Branch Member Oletha Faust-Goodeau introduced it into the legislature, we did the follow-up legwork to get the legislation passed, and we will now hold the Police Departments feet to the fire to see that it is enforced.

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Supreme Court rejects school diversity plans

This is an interesting video on the ruling by the Supreme Court because it deals specifically with the internal debate between the Justices and the historical signifigance of their action...

On Thursday, August 30th, Kevin Myles (Wichita NAACP President) will be participating in a panel discussion on the Supreme Court ruling and it's potential effects. The panel will also include Connie Dietz (President of the USD259 School Board) and Denise Sherman (of Carter-Sherman Broadcasting). The discussion will be held at Wichita State University, Miller Concert Hall, at 7pm. the event is free and open to the public.

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KC Gas Station Violates the law banning the sale of Drug Paraphernalia

Since the passage of the passage and enactment of the Drug Paraphernalia bill this past July, we have been monitoring the shops and stores that were known to sell Drug Paraphernalia. Initially it seeed that the stores were all complying with the new statute, however, a visit to the KC Gas station (South Seneca, just south of the Kellogg/54 overpass) this morning tells a different story. The pipes are back; on the counter once more along with the ephedrine (a prinicpal ingredient in the manufacture of Methamphetamine) and the digital gram weight scales. This activity has been reported to the WPD, and we will keep you all informed about the outcome...

For the record, we know that the banning of the sale of Drug Paraphernalia will not stop or curb drug usage. We readily acknowledge that fact, but that is not what our campaign was about. The push to ban the sale of Drug Parahernalia was intended to protect our communities from three main threats.

1. The sale of Drug Paraphernalia in the form of Crack and Meth Pipes and digital gram scales invites and concentrates a criminal element into the few standing businesses within our communities. Our corner conveinience stores should not double as supply outlets for drug dealers and drug users.

2. The presence of drug paraphernalia on conveinience store counter displays (alongside the candy bars and bubble gum) exposes and desensitizes children to the drug culture. No 9 year old child should ever have to know what a crack or meth pipe looks like.

3. The presence of these items and elements within our communities lower our property values and contributes to blight.

There are a host of other peripheral issues triggered by these three elements, but we believe that eliminating the sale of these items (shutting down the drug-supply stores) will be a step in the right direction. We will remain vigilant and keep our eyes focused on the handful of shop owners who seem intent on maintaining profits at the expense of the community...

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Th NAACP files a historic lawsuit against 14 Mortgage lenders alledging Discriminatory lending practices

The NAACP filed suit in Los Angeles federal court against 14 of the country’s largest lenders, alleging systematic, institutionalized racism in sub-prime home mortgage lending. This is the first known lawsuit that challenges such lending practices on a broad scale. The suit was announced at the NAACP’s 98th annual convention, themed “Power Beyond Measure,” in Detroit through July 12.
According to the lawsuit, African American homeowners who received sub-prime mortgage loans from these lenders were more than 30 percent more likely to be issued a higher rate loan than Caucasian borrowers with the same qualifications.
“We are asking our members and all African American borrowers who bought or refinanced a home in the last five years to come forward and tell us their stories or at least re-examine their mortgages,” said NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond. “They can help us correct these egregious, demoralizing practices that too often turn the so-called American dream of homeownership into a nightmare.”
Other studies cited in the lawsuit demonstrate that disparities are pervasive. In fact, upper income African Americans are more than twice as likely to receive higher cost loans as their lower income white counterparts. Just this morning, USA Today reported that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s most recent study underscores this point, finding that discrimination against minorities persists in mortgage lending. The Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the FDIC have all made similar observations.
“Lenders named in the suit, on average, made high cost sub-prime loans to higher qualified African Americans 54 percent of the time, compared to 23 percent of the time for Caucasians,” said NAACP Interim President & CEO Dennis Courtland Hayes.
Mortgage lenders named in the lawsuit include: Ameriquest, Fremont Investment & Loan, Option One, WMC Mortgage, Long Beach Mortgage, Citigroup, BNC Mortgage, Accredited Home Lenders, Encore Credit, Bear Sterns First Franklin Financial, HSBC Finance and Washington Mutual.
“The NAACP is bringing this suit as part of its longstanding demand that offending lenders stop discriminatory practices and bring their activities into compliance with federal law including the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Civil Rights Act,” said NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo.
Even when creditworthiness and other risk characteristics are accounted for, African Americans are still significantly more likely to get higher rate loans. According to the lawsuit, these statistical disparities are not mere coincidences, but instead are a result of systematic and predatory targeting of African-Americans borrowers.
“My credit record warrants a better interest rate,” said Amara Weaver of the Waukesha County NAACP in Wisconsin, whose mortgage was shifted to a sub-prime lender immediately after closing on a property in her neighborhood that had been a drug den. “As a professional if I get treated that way, I know those who are less fortunate are victimized more often. This situation lets me know I can’t expect equal treatment and that is frustrating.”
“It’s extremely frustrating,” added Michelle Allison of the NAACP’s Merced Branch in California’s Central Valley. She refinanced with a major lender and was locked into a prepayment loan and now owes $100,000 above what she initially requested. “It’s like being over a barrel. I just wanted to be treated fairly and receive the best service. I was not given options or enough information for me to make an alternate decision. I want to get back to where I was financially before I received my loan.”
NAACP branches across the nation are addressing the predatory lending issue. In Michigan, the Detroit branch’s executive director Heaster Wheeler chairs the state’s Predatory Lending Task Force. He and others have met with Gov. Jennifer Granholm who has instructed the state insurance and banking commissioner as well the state’s civil rights office to coordinate with the branch to craft further legislation and use their authority more strictly to enforce current laws. The Washington, D.C. Branch has partnered with the American Association of Retired Persons. Through workshops, seminars, church meetings and other gatherings it has been discovered that the typical predatory lending victim in that city is an elderly African American female who is single and on social security. They are encouraged to refinance for home improvements and other reasons. The NAACP’s Connecticut State Conference has a committee to address predatory lending issues and has been actively engaged in assisting individuals in their cases. They are also encouraging legislative action and are conducting community education initiatives.
In addition to the NAACP’s Legal Department, the organization and the proposed class of its members are represented by Feazell & Tighe LLP of Austin and Kabatek Brown Kellner LLP of Los Angeles and the law office of Gary L. Bledsoe.

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Annual Arts in the Park is Sunday at Grove Park

Live music in an outdoor family atmosphere is planned this weekend at Arts in the Park.
The event, featuring Don B. and Friends, is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Grove Park, 27th and Grove. Admission is free, but people are asked to purchase a $2 button and make donations to support the annual Black Arts Festival, which runs Sept. 1-3 at McAdams Park. Those attending should bring a lawn chair. For more information, call 316-262-7651.

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WYEP to join the African American Coalition

The 10 Partnering organizations making up the Wichita Youth Empowerment Project met last night with Representative Melody Miller from the African American Coalition to discuss joining forces. The African American Coalition is a loose knit group of approximately 30 local organizations serving the African American Community. The addition of the WYEP partners would give the Coalition a strong youth component which it presently lacks.

The Wichita NAACP was one of the original members of the coalition and it is also a WYEP partner. We believe the cooperation between these two entities should be a blessing for the community at large...

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The Sedgwick County Commissioners agree to earmark $100,000.00 for new voting machines

Well, this was a victory of sorts... The request from the Sedgwick County Voter Coalition was for approximately $600,000.00 which I'll admit was a bit of a reach. The Commissioners did not vote to allocate the money or to purchase new equipment, but rather they agreed to hold back this money from the approved budget and they earmarked it for the purpose of purchasing voting machines. What needs to happen between now and the Presidential election cycle of '08 is we as Oganizations and coalition members must make a more compelling arguement to the Commissioners for the need. The data is there and the evidence and information support our request; between now an '08, we've just got to package and market the information in a way that is clear and undeniable...

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The Sedgwick County Voter Coalition delivers a letter to the Board of County Commissioners requesting an increase in voting machines & polling places

The Sedgwick County Voter Coalition is comprised of the following organizations:

Wichita-Metro League of Women Voters, Wichita Chapter of the AARP of Kansas, The Wichita Branch of the American Association of University Women, The Butler Community College Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Church Women United, Democratic Party of Sedgwick County, North High School-Future Latino Leaders of Wichita, Global Learning Center, GOP Club of Sedgwick County, Inter-Faith Ministries, Wichita Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, Kansas Hispanic/Latino Democratic Caucus, Kansas Sunshine Coalition, Kappa Delta Chi Service Sorority Inc., Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, MANA de Wichita,
The Wichita Branch NAACP, NOW, Peace & Social Justice Center, Republican Women of Sedgwick County, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, Urban League of Wichita, and the Wichita Machinists Union.

On Monday, August 13th, the coalition delivered a letter to the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners requesting funding in the 2008 budget for for the purchase of additional voting machines and the restration of many of the polling places that were eliminated just last year. The text of the letter follows:

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Dear Chairman Unruh,

As final adoption of the 2008 County Budget nears, the Sedgwick County Voter Coalition asks that you take affirmative action to safeguard the constitutional rights of Sedgwick County voters by approving full or partial funding of our request for monies to restore poll sites throughout the county.
The recommendation by the Budget Office to deny our request follows the Election Office in placing too much faith in advance voting to avert a repeat of the lengthy peak voting hour delays and accompanying disenfranchisement at the polls on Election Day that we observed last November. While we support advance voting, General Election voting behavior patterns to date suggest that the great majority of voters prefer to vote in-person at their precinct polling place on Election Day after all campaigning has ended.
We contend that the Election Office’s goal of having 50% of all votes cast by advance voting next November is unrealistic. This goal represents a nearly 100% increase in advance voting over the percentage of all votes cast in advance last November. Yet, neither the Election Office nor the Budget Office provide any evidence that such a fantastic goal is achievable, especially if the only marketing strategy to be employed is direct mailings and the only resources earmarked for marketing advance voting is the Election Office’s $25,000 supplemental request. Coalition members who are marketing experts have made it clear to us that postage for just one postcard (even assuming bulk rate) sent to all registered voters would eat up the entire $25,000. Such a limited investment cannot achieve the radical transformation in how and when voters cast their ballots that the Election Office is depending on in order to avert an electoral meltdown next November.
If no restorative action is taken, we can say the following about next November’s election:
Historically, at least 81% of registered voters in Sedgwick County (or over 188,000) will turnout for Presidential General Elections. This means that more than 70,000 additional voters will show up at the polls over the turnout we saw for the 2006 General Election.
The 70% reduction in poll sites in 2006 means that voters will encounter poll sites with a median of 4,122 assigned registered voters (4,363 within Wichita). Fully 73% of the poll sites within Wichita will have more than 4,000 assigned registered voters; 21% will have more than 5,000.
Voters in disadvantaged central urban areas—which have seen some of the most dramatic reductions in neighborhood poll sites—who have transportation difficulties will be discouraged from participating. The same will be true of voters living at the Timbers, a housing complex for persons with disabilities, who saw the poll site across from their facility closed in 2006.
Given this, the coalition contends that our supplemental budget request is a necessary corrective measure to prevent voter disenfranchisement, ensure voter access, and restore voter confidence.
The benefits of restoring poll sites and adding more voting machines before the 2008 Presidential election will help safeguard the constitutional rights of Sedgwick County voters. Please help us ensure that every voter has an equal opportunity to vote in our neighborhoods and communities.

The letter is signed by Betty Ladwig and Ernestine Kreibel; co-chairs of the Sedgwick County Voter Coalition....

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Wichita Branch looking for new and renewing drivers!

As a part of an upcoming campaign, the Branch is looking for people who are going to get a new drivers license or who are soon to renew their drivers licenses. If you are planning a trip to the DMV in Sedgwick County for either purpose, please contact the Wichita Branch first. We would like to have someone accompany you to the DMV simply to observe the process and to ask a few short questions afterwards.

To contact us for this effort, please send a quick email to: president@wichitanaacp.org

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Wichita Branch receives two new racial profiling complaints

While the media discusses the failure of some Kansas Law Enforcement agencies to report activity related to traffic stops and the practice of racial profiling as required pursuant to Kansas Law, allegations of racial profiling continue to come forth. The Branch just received two new cases alleging Racial profiling; one on the part of the Wichita Police Department, and the other with the Kansas Highway Patrol. Each incident occurred in late July

Both cases have been filed with the Kansas Human Rights Commission for investigation...

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Meeting with Kansas State Commissioner of Education Alexandra Posny

On August 9th, The Wichita Branch NAACP Education Committee met with State Commissioner of Education Alexandra Posny to discuss strategies for improving the Educational outcomes of African American and other minority students. The NAACP presented Commissioner Posny with a copy of the "4-Point plan to eliminate the Achievement Gap" which was developed by the Branch Education Committee in concert with the Wichita Alliance of Black School Educators, and the African American Council of Elders. Collectively, the group contained nearly 40 current and retired educators and administrators who meet consistantly for 2 years to draft the 8 page document.
The Education Committee was joined at the meeting by NAACP State President Charles Jean-Baptiste who along with Wichita President Kevin Myles pledged to assist the new Commissioner in attemping to increase community and parental involvement in the schools by means of community forums and seminars. A copy of the "4-point plan" is available on the Branch web site. (www.wichitanaacp.org/currentprojects)

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Congratulations to District 1 City Councilman Lavonta Williams

The 1st Vice of the Wichita Branch NAACP was recently elected to the Wichita City Council to represent District 1. This is her first Political Office and it came just weeks after she retired from a 30-year career with USD259...

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