One of the interesting story lines about civil rights and the Southern movement for equality was its intersections with business. While many companies sided with the white elite that fought integration and civil rights tooth and nail, other "enlightened" wings of business saw it to be in their self-interest to embrace change.

This week, North Carolina Public Radio's talk show The State of Things -- which has recently featured the Institute -- did a fascinating story about Pepsi Cola and NC Mutual Life, a historic black-owned business based here in Durham, NC:

More than fifty years ago, NC Mutual Life - one of America's oldest black-owned companies - replaced all of its Coke machines with Pepsi machines. This seemingly minor event held real significance. It was the work of the nation’s only all-black sales team, which was hired by Pepsi’s CEO in the 1940s, with a mandate to corner the so-called "Negro market".

Author and Wall Street Journal editor Stephanie Capparell joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her book, "The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business" (Wall Street Journal Books/2007).

You can listen to the show here.

Photo: North Carolina Mutual Life employees, circa 1906. Photo courtesy of UNC Libraries

Labels: north carolina, race and racism

Mychal Bell was released from prison today on $45,000 bail after the district attorney said he would no longer seek an adult trial for the youth, who was 16 years old when he was charged as an adult with attempted second-degree murder in the beating of a fellow high school student following escalating racial tensions in the town of Jena, La.

Bell's release comes one week after tens of thousands of people descended on the town for a protest against unequal justice in the case, which began after white students hung nooses from a tree in a public schoolyard after black students sat under it (the white students apparently considered it their own). The students who hung the nooses faced only a brief suspension from school, sparking anger among the town's black residents. That led to a number of other confrontations between whites and blacks, with blacks consistently facing harsher punishment for their actions.

The incident that led to the charges against Bell involved the beating by Bell and five other black defendants of a white classmate, Justin Barker, who reportedly taunted the blacks about an earlier incident in which the black youths were threatened by an armed white man outside of a local store; when one of the black youths wrestled the gun away, the black youth was charged by local authorities with theft of a firearm. Barker was knocked unconscious and suffered bruises and a swollen and bloodied eye in the beating incident, but later the same day he attended a school event, raising questions about the appropriateness of the second-degree murder charges eventually brought by District Attorney Reed Walters.

Walters has faced other criticism for his actions in the case. Following a series of interracial fights sparked by the noose incident, the school held an assembly at which Walters urged students to stop "fussing" over an "innocent prank," and reportedly threatened them that "with one stroke of my pen, I could make your lives disappear." The National Lawyers Guild has called for an investigation of Walters as well as the judge in the case.

At a news conference today, Walters said that last week's demonstration had no influence on his decision to drop the adult charges against Bell. He also said that only God kept the protest peaceful, the Associated Press reports:

"The only way -- let me stress that -- the only way that I believe that me or this community has been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community," Walters said.

"I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that."

Bell will now face a new trial under the juvenile justice system.

Labels: jena six

This afternoon, Institute for Southern Studies Executive Director Chris Kromm was among a panel of experts who spoke at a congressional briefing titled "Addressing Remaining Low Income Housing Needs for Hurricane Evacuees and for the Gulf Coast." Here are Chris's prepared remarks:

Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to this important briefing on the housing crisis in the Gulf Coast.

I am Chris Kromm, director of the Institute for Southern Studies -- a non-profit research and education center that has been closely following the Gulf Coast recovery since Katrina struck.

I and many others across the country are very encouraged by this briefing and this week of debate about the Katrina recovery.

We also agree with many others who believe that Senate Bill 1668 is the single most important measure Washington can act on now to help thousands of people still struggling in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Shortly after Katrina, the Institute launched a special project -- Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch -- to investigate the hurricane's aftermath and promote a recovery that was accountable, fair and wouldn't leave behind the same people who suffered most when the hurricane struck: our children, the elderly, and poor and working families.

Gulf Watch has led over a dozen fact-finding trips to the Gulf, and published 20 investigative reports and in-depth studies on the recovery.

Just last month, we travelled across Louisiana and Mississippi, and talked with more than 40 community leaders working in the trenches, to ask what message they'd like to send to leaders in Washington.

These voices, together with reams of statistical research and agency data, were the basis for our most recent report, Blueprint for Gulf Renewal, published last month in partnership with Oxfam America and the Jewish Funds for Social Justice.

The picture that emerged was shocking. You've heard or will hear testimony that speaks to the scope of the tragedy, but two things are clear.

One, I think most Americans would be horrified to know that, two years after the hurricanes, countless miles of the Gulf Coast still lie in ruins, and that over 60,000 hurricane victims are still living in "temporary" FEMA trailers.

And second, it's important to realize that, for tens of thousands of families, the Katrina crisis never ended -- and I believe the word "crisis" is appropriate when homelessness has doubled in New Orleans, and an International Medical Corps study has found that suicide attempts among residents of Mississippi FEMA camps have skyrocketed 79 times over pre-disaster levels.

This is not what the citizens of the Gulf Coast and our country envisioned when, in September 2005, President Bush pledged from Jackson Square in New Orleans that our country would "do what it takes, and stay as long as it takes" to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

In fact, during the Katrina anniversary last month, President Bush was repeatedly asked about the dire state of the Gulf Coast and why the Katrina recovery has left so many behind. He defended his administration’s response, saying Washington has written a "big check" for the Gulf Coast, up to $116 billion dollars.

But many of the Gulf Coast leaders we talked to wondered if the check bounced.

The reality is that the widely-cited figure of $116 billion doesn’t give an accurate pictures of hurricane spending, and Washington continue to invest in the people of the Gulf Coast if there is to be a full and fair recovery.

According to our analysis of federal spending for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the amount appropriated by Congress and the White House to date comes just short of $95 billion.

That's a significant sum -- although it's important to understand it's still far short of what's needed to truly revive the Gulf Coast. For example, most estimates place the value of infrastructure damage in Louisiana alone at about $100 billion.

But the most important finding of our analysis, which was conducted with the RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights, was that out of the $95 billion, only about 30% of that money has been aimed at the long-term rebuilding projects the Gulf Coast so desperately needs to get back on its feet. That’s through FEMA’s Public Assistance program and HUD’s Community Development Block Grants.

More than two-thirds of federal spending for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to date has been slated for short-term emergency needs -- vital items like the Coast Guard, providing shelter and debris removal.

But that has left only a fraction of the "big check" -- $30-$35 billion -- to tackle big, long-term projects like building and repairing roads, schools, hospitals and -- the focus of this hearing -- housing.

Even more surprising, our analysis revealed that, as of August, less than half of that 30% allocated for long-term recovery had actually been spent.

We can see the impact of these funding shortfalls and bottlenecks in the housing crisis, which every Gulf Coast leader we surveyed said was the #1 barrier to a real recovery.

Out of the $16.7 billion in HUD’s Community Development Block Grants in Louisiana and Mississippi, spending plans have included $12 billion for housing -- 69% of the CDBG money in Mississippi, and 84% in Louisiana.

That's still not enough -- the most recent estimates are now that the shortfall facing the HUD-approved Louisiana’s Road Home plan alone could reach $6 billion.

What's more, aid going to Louisiana and Mississippi hasn't been in line with the housing needs of each state. Although Louisiana suffered nearly 70% of Katrina's housing damage -- with 40% of damage "major or severe" -- it has received just over 60% of HUD’s CDBG funding.

Mississippi, which withstood 20% of Katrina’s housing damage, is in line to receive one-third of the program’s funding.

And again, money has been slow to reach those in need. As of July 2007, only $4 billion for housing rebuilding had been disbursed.

So it's not surprising that, when we asked Gulf leaders what they thought about the $116 billion "big check," to a person they responded like Tanya Harris, who works in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans: "Where did it all go?" Harris asked us. "Show me the money!"

These facts reveal three central points about what's needed now to address the Gulf Coast housing crisis and jump-start the lagging Katrina recovery.

First, now more than ever, the Gulf Coast needs a real commitment from Washington to fully fund the Katrina recovery. Given the staggering scale of the crisis -- especially with housing -- the check Washington has written is still too small, and has left the region starved for the resources it needs to rebuild and bring people home.

Second, a "trickle down recovery" won’t work. The strength of Senate Bill 1668 (and its House counterpart) is that it replaces a scattershot array of tax-breaks and half-measures with targeted assistance to the full range of people who need relief, from homeowners to renters and residents of public housing.

Finally, oversight and accountability are crucial. Congress must exercise its oversight powers and ensure federal aid reaches those most in need. S 1668 streamlines and clarifies our Gulf Coast housing policy, and builds in critical new safeguards to ensure spending for housing is well-spent -- a valuable model for other Katrina recovery appropriations.

This year, new leadership in Congress has given hope to many of us working for a better future in the Gulf Coast. But there’s still much unfinished business, and the lack of decent, affordable housing the crucial “lynchpin” to a vibrant recovery.

Our nation must live up to its promise to rebuild the Gulf Coast. And Washington must take a stand against special interests who threaten to undermine vital legislation like Senate Bill 1668 and its practical vision of a recovery that works for all.

Tanya Harris and thousands of Gulf Coast families will be watching in the coming weeks to see if we make good on that promise.

Thank you.

For more details about the briefing as well as other events that took place this week to draw attention to post-Katrina housing issues, click here.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

Poor New Orleanians are not the only Gulf Coast residents whose post-Katrina housing needs are being treated with disregard by their government: Low-income residents of Mississippi are also facing dire problems that have been exacerbated by the actions of Congress, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and state authorities.

As James Perry of the Louisiana Housing Alliance testified earlier this week before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, of the $16.7 billion that Congress appropriated for post-disaster needs in the form of Community Development Block Grant money, only $1 billion was designated to repair or replace affordable rental housing, including public and assisted housing, he told the committee. At the same time, Congress gave the states what he characterized as "unusual flexibility" in who could be served by CDBG funded programs. While the standard CDBG requirement is that 70 percent of funds should benefit low-income people (defined as those earning at or below 80 percent of the local median income), Congress required only 50 percent of the storm-related CDBG funds to serve this population -- and then gave HUD the authority to waive even the 50 percent requirement for "compelling need."

This has had an especially big impact on Mississippi, Perry told the committee:

Almost 92% of the $5.4 billion Mississippi CDBG allocation has now received waivers from this requirement. Additionally, the recovery allocations that Mississippi has dedicated towards housing recovery have been disproportionately skewed towards homeowners and away from rental repair programs.

But at the same time, Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed diverting $600 million of the CDBG housing recovery funds to expand the Port of Gulfport -- a plan that has provoked a firestorm of opposition, including an editorial in today's New York Times calling on Congress to revisit the waiver process "to make sure that states aren't using it to evade the income restrictions clearly laid out in federal law."

And now there's yet more evidence of the formidable barriers confronting low-income Mississippi residents trying to rebuild their lives after Katrina. The first comprehensive study examining the impact of the storm on housing in the state's three hard-hit coastal counties was released today by the RAND Corporations' Gulf States Policy Institute, and it found that affordable housing recovery lags behind the pace of the rest of the housing market in the region -- and that in turn is impeding the overall pace of the recovery, according to a release announcing the report:

This gap has seriously worsened the pre-Hurricane shortage of affordable housing in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, researchers say. The problem makes it particularly difficult to attract the construction laborers and other workers needed to rebuild the region's devastated infrastructure, the report says.

"The challenge for the region is to develop a balanced growth plan that provides housing for people at every income level," said Kevin McCarthy, the study's lead author and a senior social scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "There needs to be more affordable housing to create diversity in the economy and build a new, better Gulf Coast."

For a full copy of the RAND study, titled "Post-Katrina Recovery of the Housing Market Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast," click here.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, mississippi

We recently brought you the story of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's plan to demolish four public housing complexes in New Orleans, despite the already severe shortage of housing affordable to the city's poor.

It turns out that the approval to demolish those housing complexes was rushed through the normal process. So reports Bill Quigley, director of the law clinic at Loyola University New Orleans and one of the attorneys who's been fighting the tear-down plans, in an article titled "HUD Demolitions Draw Noose Tighter Around New Orleans":

HUD told a federal judge ... "the average time [for the process of reviewing applications for demolition] is 100 days." They did suggest that the process could be expedited in the case of New Orleans. So it was. Instead of reviewing the details of demolishing 3,000 apartments and considering the law and facts and the administrative record for 100 days, HUD expedited the process to one day.

HUD and the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO, which HUD has been running for years) argued passionately that residents displaced from public housing (referred to once in their argument as 'refugees') are financially "better off" than they were before. This echoes the Barbara Bush comment of September 5, 2005 when she said, viewing the overwhelmingly African American crowd of thousands of people living on cots in the Astrodome, "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this -- (she chuckles slightly) this is working very well for them."

However, public housing tenants vow that they will continue to fight the demolition plans. As Quigley reports seeing on a sign carried by a protester at a recent public housing rally: "We will not allow the community we built to be rebuilt without us."

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

Testimony comes as Bush administration, Senate GOP seeks to limit housing available to poor New Orleans residents

Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and author of a series of reports on the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery, is scheduled to brief Congress tomorrow in Washington, D.C. on the need for new programs to help tens of thousands of displaced storm victims still without permanent homes.

"More than two years after Katrina, over 60,000 people are still living in FEMA trailers because federal housing programs have delivered too little and too late," said Kromm, who most recently co-authored Blueprint for Gulf Renewal: The Katrina Crisis and a Community Agenda for Action (August/September 2007). Read a copy of the full report here (pdf).

Chris's testimony comes as the Senate considers the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act (S. 1668), a landmark piece of legislation that would boost and streamline programs to help homeowners and renters get back into houses across the Gulf Coast. A similar bill (H.R. 1227) overwhelmingly passed the House earlier this year by a vote of 302-125.

His testimony also comes as the Bush administration and its Republican allies in the Senate are fighting efforts to maintain the same number of pre-Katrina housing units affordable to poor residents of New Orleans, which would make it more difficult for displaced people to exercise their right of return. As we reported here previously, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last week approved a plan to tear down four public housing complexes in the city. During yesterday's hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, HUD officials revealed that they oppose the full replacement of demolished units as provided for in S. 1668, to the shock of the bill's co-sponsor, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

Landrieu expressed surprise at the administration's opposition to the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery bill given that similar legislation glided 302-125 through the House this year with strong bipartisan support, including from the entire Louisiana delegation. Landrieu and Dodd introduced their bill in the Senate in June.

"I'm operating for a year and a half with congressmen on both sides of the aisle with the idea that HUD is supporting our efforts," Landrieu said. "I am perplexed after a year and a half to hear you are not supporting this bill."

Among those opposing the legislation is Landrieu's colleague, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (D-La.), who incorrectly charged in a statement that the bill would "re-create the New Orleans housing projects exactly as they were." In fact, the proposal requires that any public housing apartment torn down be replaced with another form of low-income housing -- either subsidized public housing, partially subsidized "affordable" units or vouchers that offset a portion of rents. The measure allows local government officials and the Housing Authority of New Orleans to decide the appropriate mix.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

UPDATE: In a major new development, the Associated Press reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection in the case of two Kentucky inmates.

A Federal judge has ruled that the state of Tennessee's lethal injection method of execution is unconstitutional:

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger's ruling on Wednesday said Tennessee's newly revised execution protocol left open the possibility that the lethal three-drug cocktail could present "a substantial risk of unnecessary pain," and was therefore unconstitutional.

If anesthesia were not properly administered it could "result in a terrifying, excruciating death," she ruled.

The ruling halted the scheduled Wednesday morning execution of a man convicted of beating a woman to death during a burglary.

The ruling could have a wider impact. It also puts in jeopardy the three-drug "cocktail" currently used in 37 states.

A federal judge's ruling Wednesday that Tennessee's lethal injection procedure could cause excruciating pain is another blow to the three-drug cocktail used by every state that executes by lethal injection.

Federal judges reached similar conclusions in Missouri and California last year, and now states have to decide whether to defend the three-drug method or find a new way to put inmates to death by injection.

Tennessee Gov. Bredesen, a Democrat who supports the death penalty, has said he disagrees with the ruling but has not decided whether to appeal. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel

The state would have a difficult time meeting the criteria to make the state’s lethal injections constitutional under U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger’s ruling, Bredesen told The Associated Press.

"She’s kind of created a Catch-22 for us," Bredesen said Friday. "She decries the lack of medically trained personnel involved in the execution, and, of course ... it’s very hard to get trained medical personnel to participate in any fashion."

According to the article, the Federal judge said the state had not given enough consideration to an alternative one-drug injection. Gov. Bredesen said she is trying to push the state into "uncharted territory" with respect to an untested method of execution, and that he would have to "think carefully about it," and that in the mean time the ruling makes it "very difficult to fix a three-drug protocol."

In related news, Gov. Bredesen had, just one week before, commuted the death sentence of Michael Joe Boyd (also known as Mika'eel Abdullah Abdus-Samad). From the Nashville Post:

Gov. Bredesen's statement read, in part, "this appears to me an extraordinary death penalty case where the grossly inadequate legal representation received by the defendant at his post-conviction hearing, combined with procedural limitations, has prevented the judicial system from ever comprehensively reviewing his legitimate claims of having received ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing phase of his trial..."

The Governor continued, "...this combination of inadequate representation and procedural limitations within the judicial system raises in my mind a substantial and unresolved doubt that the trial jury would have imposed the death penalty had the defendant received competent legal representation..."

That same week, the State of Tennessee carried out the gruesome execution of a convicted killer who requested death by the electric chair.

Before that, the Governor declared a 90 day moratorium on executions after problems with lethal injection procedures were found. Among other things, the instructions mentioned steps to prepare for execution by electric chair mixed in with the step by step procedures for administering the lethal injection.

The ABA recommended at that time that the moratorium be extended until numerous problems with Tennessee's death penalty were resolved. In addition to problems with lethal injection procedures, the ABA found problems ranging from "excessive caseloads and inadequate standards for defense counsel to racial disparities and inadequate review of death row inmates’ claims of actual innocence."

Labels: criminal justice, death penalty, Tennessee

The National Lawyers Guild -- the nation's first racially integrated bar association -- today called for the immediate release of Mychal Bell, one of the six black Louisiana high school students who have come to be known as the "Jena 6." The Guild also called for all charges against the Jena 6 to be dropped, and for the investigation and disbarment of Judge J.P. Mauffray and District Attorney Reed Walters:

Judge J.P. Mauffray and DA Reed Walters have engaged in a string of egregious actions, the most recent of which was the denial of bail for Bell on Friday. The NLG urges that: 1) The United States Department of Justice convene an immediate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecutions of the Jena 6; 2) Judge Mauffray be recused from presiding over Bell's juvenile court hearings or other proceedings; 3) The Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigate Reed Walters for unethical and possibly illegal conduct; 4) The Louisiana Judiciary Commission investigate Judge Mauffray for unethical conduct; and 5) The Jena school district superintendent be removed from office.

"Contrary to what Reed Walters and J.P. Mauffray may think, Jena is subject to the same Constitution that the rest of the United States is," remarked Kerry McLean, member of the executive board of the NLG. "There have been numerous, brazen violations of the constitutional rights of the Jena 6. ... In addition to the constitutional violations, Walters and Mauffray have breached the ethical requirements of their offices. They should be made to answer for all of this."

There is an unequal justice system in Jena, where blacks are routinely the victims of discriminatory and oppressive treatment by officials.

To read the full NLG statement, click here.

Labels: criminal justice, jena six, louisiana

We recently brought you the story of Mississippi's plan to divert $600 million in federal funds from a housing program for low-income homeowners hit by Hurricane Katrina to improve the state port at Gulfport.

Advocacy groups including Oxfam America, the Mississippi NAACP and the Mississippi Justice Center protested the proposal being pushed by the Mississippi Development Authority, we reported. Since then, others have joined in to express concerns about the diversion.

More than a dozen religious leaders with the Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force expressed their opposition to the plan with Gov. Haley Barbour; they also collected 2,000 signatures on a petition opposing the shift, the Sun Herald reports. And today, state lawmakers met with Mississippi Development Authority officials to express their concerns about the proposal, according to the Clarion Ledger.

Today is the last day for people to submit comments about the proposal. Comments may be e-mailed to actioned@mississippi.org, faxed to 601-359-9280 or mailed to Mississippi Development Authority, Attention: Disaster Recovery, P.O. Box 849, Jackson, Mississippi, 39205.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

Despite the severe shortage of housing affordable to low-income residents of the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday approved a plan by the Housing Authority of New Orleans to raze four public housing complexes with a total of 4,500 units and redevelop them as mixed-income housing, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

The developments targeted for tear-downs are C.J. Peete, St. Bernard, B.W. Cooper and Lafitte. The demolition work is expected to begin in the next two or three months, according to the paper.

Among those raising concerns about the plan are U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), the sponsors of the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act (S. 1668), which guarantees that any demolished public housing in the hurricane-affected region is replaced. That bill is under consideration in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which Dodd chairs. Reports the Times-Picayune:

"HUD is moving forward with the demolition of its public housing without adequate plans to ensure that replacement housing is developed in its place," Landrieu wrote in a letter dated Friday to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "To do so in the midst of an affordable housing crisis in the area is shortsighted and undermines comprehensive congressional efforts to solve this issue."

Landrieu is among those scheduled to testify tomorrow before that committee in a hearing titled "Two Years After the Storm: Housing Needs in the Gulf Coast." Also scheduled to testify are Orlando Cabrera, HUD's assistant secretary for public and Indian housing; James Perry of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center; and Emelda Paul, president of the Lafitte Resident Council.

The tear-down plans resulted in a federal class-action lawsuit against HANO and HUD that accused the agencies of violating tenants' rights by refusing to restore the complexes to their pre-Katrina state. But in February, U.S. District Court Judge Ivan Lemelle ruled that HANO could move ahead with the demolition. And last week, Lemelle limited the case to those public-housing tenants who've been forced to pay utility bills since being displaced from their homes after Katrina, because public housing residents pay only rent. The plaintiffs' lead attorney, Bill Quigley of Loyola Law School, said appeals from both sides are likely, which will probably push a trial originally scheduled for November into next year, the Times-Picayune reports.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

It's no secret that young people are drowning in debt. Two-thirds of 20-somethings are in hock, usually a mix of college loans and credit card debt. More shocking, half of Americans in their 20s have missed paying on their debt, having to battle a collection agency, have their car repossessed, or declare bankruptcy.

It's also no secret why youth are sinking into financial insolvency -- and it's not just because they're shelling out cash for iPhones. Stagnant wages and the rising cost of college -- and the shift from college grants to loans to pay for it -- are big pieces of the problem.

Another culprit are banks that prey on the vulnerable -- and keep youth (and others) mired in debt.

The excellent Center for Responsible Lending has issued a new report showing one way banks keep youth in the red: overdraft fees. The Center study, "Billion Dollar Deal," finds that each year, banks fleece nearly $1 billion from 18-24 year olds in questionable fees:

Banks and credit unions across the country are making unsolicited loans to customers without warning when their checking account balance falls below zero, and then slapping them with high fees for each overdraft transaction. This practice generates enormous revenue for the banks and frequently drives accounts even deeper in the red. Consumers are paying $17.5 billion per year in abusive overdraft fees—more than the credit they get when banks cover their overdrafts!

This morning CRL released a new report, "Billion Dollar Deal" (pdf), which finds that 18- to 24-year-olds are paying $963 million per year in fees for abusive overdraft loans. An age group dubbed "Generation Plastic" for their reliance on debit and credit cards, young adults tend to use their debit cards for frequent small purchases like burgers or coffee. Without a warning or denial from the bank, a small overdraft can cause a cascade of additional fees. The overdraft loans are small and the fees are excessively high – young adults pay more than $3 in fees for every dollar borrowed in the form of a debit card overdraft.

The Center is encouraging people who care about this issue to get behind legislation now before the House Financial Services Committee that would "put the protection back in bank overdraft policy":

Tomorrow, September 25, theU.S. House Financial Services Committee will vote on sending H.R. 946, the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act, to the full House. H.R. 946 as written would put a stop to many of banks' most abusive overdraft practices.

There is no time to lose. Please tell your representative today to support H.R. 946 without any amendments. If your representative is on the House Financial Services Committee, it is urgent that you act now before tomorrow's critical committee vote.

For more information and a sample letter to send your Congressperson, visit the Center website.

Labels: predatory lending, youth

With Jena on the media radar, NPR did a story this week about the larger issue of re-segregation of U.S. schools. Citing a recent report from the UCLA-based Civil Rights Project, NPR notes that -- thanks to legal and political advocacy in the 1950s and 60s, the South had become the national leader for school integration.

But a series of Supreme Court decisions starting in the 1990s -- and most recently in the Louisville and Seattle decisions about desegregation orders -- have turned back the clock. As the UCLA report (pdf) notes:

Desegregation is often treated as if it were something that occurred after the Brown decision in the l950s. In fact, serious desegregation of the black South only came after Congress and the Johnson Administration acted powerfully under the l964 Civil Rights Act; serious desegregation of the cities only occurred in the l970s and was limited outside the South. Though the Supreme Court recognized the rights of Latinos to desegregation remedies in 1973, there was little enforcement as the Latino numbers multiplied rapidly and their segregation intensified.

Resegregation, which took hold in the early 1990s after three Supreme Court decisions from 1991 to 1995 limiting desegregation orders, is continuing to grow in all parts of the country for both African Americans and Latinos and is accelerating the most rapidly in the only region that had been highly desegregated—the South.

That's a critical backdrop to stories of race and schools like the Jena 6.

Labels: jena six, schools

Yesterday, thousands of marchers descended on Jena, Louisiana to support the "Jena 6." Despite being ignored for months by the mainstream media, the case has become a defining racial justice and civil rights struggle of our time.

I'll be on WUNC 91.5's talk program "The State of Things" today at noon to talk about the case and its importance. If you're not in the show's listening area, you can tune in online here.

Labels: jena six, race and racism

UPDATE: A cross-post of this has ignited some fierce debate over at Daily Kos; see also Pam Spaulding's valuable take on why the progressive blogosphere is MIA on the Jena 6.

As we reported earlier today, thousands of people -- with African-American youth being the largest contingent, say our sources on the scene -- have descended on Jena, Louisiana for a historic march in support of the Jena 6.

The Jena 6 has become the main topic of discussion on countless black websites, radio stations and street conversations, inspiring countless activists young and old to take action.

But on this historic day for the most high-profile civil rights issue of the moment, where is the progressive blogosphere? I did a quick tour of the major "progressive" sites to see how they were covering it -- and was astounded to find a complete white-out of this historic cause:

* DailyKos features a handful of posts about injustice in Iraq today -- but not a single entry on its main page, or even its user-generated "diaries," about this important case.

* TalkingPointsMemo, a favorite of the DC wonk set, is similarly incensed about foreign policy, but apparently not about racial justice in the South -- nothing there either.

* Long-time progressive blogger Atrios doesn't have a lot of posts up,but found time to touch on Paul Krugman, Iraq and the state of the Euro -- but not this major issue.

* Surely TalkLeft -- which has positioned itself as the leading progressive blog about criminal justice issues -- would have something? Think again -- not a single mention, not even in the quick news briefs!

* What about another progressive favorite, FireDogLake? A rant about Republicans being "little bitches," but nothing on the Jena 6.

When the Jena 6 does make an appearance on progressive blogs today, it's little more than a passing nod. Huffington Post has a blog post buried below the fold; ThinkProgress gives it a two-sentence news brief.

However, many of these blogs are eagerly pointing to news stories which suggest the Republican candidates don't care about black issues.

But who is showing they're out of touch with the issues that matter most to the African American community?

Labels: jena six, race and racism

Today, thousands have gathered in Jena, Louisiana to support the "Jena 6" -- African-American youths facing decades of jail time for a schoolyard fight. Facing South has been following this case closely for months, and today the cause -- which has captured the imagination of a whole generation of black youth -- comes to a head.

Today's march, called by civil rights organizations and heavily promoted on black websites, radio and other outlets, was scheduled to coincide with the sentencing of Mychal Bell, a teen whose conviction of aggravated assault was overturned last week because an appeals court found he shouldn't have been tried as an adult.

But organizers are doing the march anway, seeing as Bell is still in jail -- he can't afford the $90,000 bail, despite a $10,000 gift from a famous music star -- and harsh sentences may await other Jena 6 defendants.

The Associated Press offers a glimpse of what is happening and its historic importance:

Traffic jammed the two-lane road leading into the tiny town of Jena early Thursday as thousands of demonstrators gathered in support of six black teens initially charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate.

Rev. Al Sharpton said it could be the beginning of the 21st century's civil rights movement, one that would challenge disparities in the justice system. [...]

Students came from schools across the region, including historically black colleges like Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, Hampton University and Southern University.

Tina Cheatham missed the civil rights marches at Selma, Montgomery and Little Rock, but she had no intention of missing another brush with history. The 24-year-old Georgia Southern University graduate drove all night to reach tiny Jena in central Louisiana.

"It was a good chance to be part of something historic since I wasn't around for the civil rights movement. This is kind of the 21st century version of it," she said.

Stay tuned, we'll be providing more updates and coverage soon. For more background on the march, see Mark Sorkin's excellent piece in The Nation. You can also read updates here.

Labels: jena six, race and racism

It's not only the Iraqi government that wants North Carolina-based security firm Blackwater USA kicked out of Iraq for its involvement in the recent shooting deaths of eight Iraqi civilians. CODEPINK, a national women's peace group, will second the call at a protest that will take place at 3 p.m. today in Washington, D.C.

The action comes in response to an incident that took place on Sunday, Sept. 16 in Baghdad, when an attack on a U.S. State Department motorcade led employees of the security contractor to begin shooting indiscriminately, resulting in the civilian deaths. The Iraqi government has revoked Blackwater's operating license, but the Bush administration is trying to reverse the decision.

The protest will begin at the headquarters of the International Peace Operations Association, which has been defending Blackwater, one of its members. It will make its way to the State Department, where participants will demand it cancel all contracts with the company. According to a CODEPINK statement:

"As a private contractor, Blackwater is subject to virtually no oversight and its employees literally get away with murder," said retired colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, who will lead the march. "The State Department has given Blackwater $678 million in contracts since 2003 to guard U.S. personnel in Iraq, instead of using the State Department's internal Diplomatic Security. We demand that the State Department cancel its contract with Blackwater and instead hire government employees for security who can be held accountable for their actions."

The State Department says it is investigating the incident, but U.S. lawmakers including Congressman David Price (D-N.C.) have raised questions about whether the agency has the authority to take action, the Raleigh, N.C. News and Observer reports:

Price has been trying to figure out for two years which U.S. or international laws might apply to private security contractors working in Iraq. The answer is important, he said, because if the United States has a way to prosecute suspected crimes, that helps its case that the Iraqi government need not bring suspects to court.

"There seems to be a potential conflict brewing about the applicability of Iraqi law," Price said in an interview. "So assuming that there is something here that deserves investigation, and possibly prosecution, then how willing and able the United States is to deal with it is a very important issue and will have a lot to do with the credibility of any case we make against Iraqi prosecution."

Price has sponsored legislation that would clearly place private contractors under the aegis of military law overseas and strengthen congressional oversight of security contractors.

Labels: contracting, iraq, north carolina

Clicking through various TV news shows last night, I caught a number of reports about Andrew Meyer, the University of Florida telecommunications student and reputed prankster who was Tasered for behaving disruptively during the question-and-answer segment of a campus lecture by U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Curiously enough, none of the reports I saw detailed what it was that Meyer was saying when school police attempted to drag him away from the microphone, leading him to resist and ultimately ending in his Tasering.

For that, I had to turn to YouTube.

As it turns out, the exchange began when Kerry was talking about the Bush administration's failed Iraq War policy and acknowledged Meyer standing at the microphone. The student, who reportedly pushed his way to the front of the questioners' line, began his remarks politely enough by thanking Kerry for his time and for being "open and honest." Meyer was holding up a copy of Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans -- Sordid Secrets & Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild by investigative reporter Greg Palast and recommended it to Kerry, who said he'd already read it. Meyer continued:

"He says you won the 2004 election -- isn't that amazing? Isn't that amazing? You won in 2004! In fact, there were multiple reports on the day of the election of disenfranchisement of black voters in Florida and Ohio..."

At that point, a police officer interrupted Meyer and attempted to lead him away from the microphone. Meyer insisted he would ask his question anyway and brought up problems with voting machines in Florida, asking Kerry:

"How could you concede the election ... ?"

Meyer went on to ask Kerry why he wasn't pushing for Bush's impeachment before he could invade Iran. Then he asked Kerry about his membership in Skull and Bones, the same Yale secret society to which Bush belongs. At that point someone cut off Meyer's microphone, sparking the brouhaha that led to his Tasering. As police dragged Meyer away, Kerry can be heard saying, "Let me answer his question."

University of Florida President J. Bernard Machen announced that the school's police chief has called on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct a formal investigation into Meyer's arrest, and two officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the probe's outcome.

In addition, the school plans to assemble a panel of faculty and students to review police protocols and management practices and come up with recommendations, school administrators and police officials will analyze the incident and conduct an internal review, and the State Attorney's Office will conduct an expedited review of the charges against Meyer.

Kerry released his own statement on the controversy:

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody. I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building. I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

Labels: civil rights, criminal justice, Florida

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last week sent subpoenas to five large energy companies -- including three based in the South -- to find out whether their plans to build new coal-fired power plants present undisclosed risks their shareholders should know about.

The companies are Arlington, Va.-based AES Corp.; Dominion of Richmond, Va.; Houston-based Dynegy; Peabody Energy of St. Louis; and Xcel Energy of Minneapolis.

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Cuomo, using the same state securities law wielded by his predecessor, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, to investigate corruption on Wall Street, sent subpoenas late Friday to the top executives of the five companies, seeking internal documents. ...

It is rare, if not unique, for a securities law to be used for an environmental purpose, in this case the fight against new coal-fired power plants. The plants’ main emission, carbon dioxide, has been linked by scientists to global warming.

In letters accompanying the subpoenas, the attorney general’s office asked whether investors received adequate information about the potential financial liabilities of carbon dioxide emissions that exacerbate climate change.

To view copies of the subpoenas, click here.

The Southern Environmental Law Center has announced that it is opening an office in Washington, D.C. The public-interest law firm -- which currently has offices in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- will be focusing on national legislation that directly affects the South.

The region plays a key role in shaping national energy policy. As SELC points out, if the six southeastern states where it works were an independent country, it would rank seventh in the world for carbon dioxide emissions.

"In many ways, the South will be the 'canary in the coal mine' on environmental issues given the projected growth of southeastern states," says Nat Mund, the office's new legislative director and formerly the deputy legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters. "How we handle and manage environmental issues in the South will have far-reaching implications for the rest of the country."

Labels: environment

Yet another update on the Jena 6: Today a state appeals court threw out the aggravated battery conviction of Mychal Bell, one of the half-dozen black teens facing unusually serious charges for the beating of a white schoolmate amid escalating racial tensions in a small Louisiana town. The Associated Press reports:

Mychal Bell, 17, should not have been tried as an adult, the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal said in tossing his conviction on aggravated battery, for which he was to have been sentenced Thursday. He could have gotten 15 years in prison.

His conspiracy conviction in the December beating of student Justin Barker was already thrown out by another court.

Bell was only 16 at the time of the beating. It occurred after a series of troubling incidents that started when black teens sat under a schoolyard tree that had traditionally been reserved for white students. In response, a group of white students hung three nooses from the tree, an act for which they were punished with a brief expulsion.

Bell's attorney told the AP that he wasn't sure whether his client would get out of jail immediately or face new charges. Four other teens involved in the beating still face adult charges because they were 17 years old at the time of the fight.

Labels: jena six, race and racism

It's just now making the national Big Media radar, but the case of the Jena 6 -- the African-American youth facing trumped-up charges for a schoolyard fight in rural Louisiana -- has been steadily capturing attention across the country in recent months. Our blog updates here at Facing South have received thousands of hits; reader MP tells us that a Facebook profile on the case gets thousands of new members a day.

So what's the latest? On Monday, charges were reduced for another of the youth, as the Associated Press reports:

Prosecutors reduced the attempted murder charge against another of the "Jena Six," a group of black high school students whose criminal charges after the beating a white classmate drew protests of racism and unequal justice. Robert Bailey Jr. pleaded not guilty Monday to aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery.

He was among five of the six teens originally charged as adults with attempted murder. The sixth was charged in juvenile court.

As the AP reminds us, the "attempted murder" charge never made sense: "The victim of the Dec. 4 beating, Justin Barker, was treated at a hospital for injuries and released the same day."

But another of the youth, Bryant Purvis, still faces the dubious murder charge. And all of the youth could face serious time for aggravated battery -- up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine.

On September 20, the NAACP and other national groups will be leading a march in Jena. That's the day that Mychal Bell -- convicted of aggravated battery -- will be sentenced. Busloads will be descending on the town from places like Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee; meanwhile rallies and vigils are being held in support across the country, like this one in South Carolina.

The case has become a rallying cry and galvanizing force across the country. As Djenaba Sanders, a Nashville activist said:
"If we don't come together to support this issue, it shows we'll let anything happen to us as a people. We need to stick together; otherwise we'll be going backwards instead of forward."

Labels: jena six, race and racism

Women of the Storm -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan alliance of Louisiana women whose lives were affected by Hurricane Katrina and/or Rita -- is working with Dillard, Loyola, Tulane and Xavier universities to encourage the Commission on Presidential Debates to hold one of their 2008 debates at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The proposal has already been endorsed by the Washington Post, New York Times, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and the six U.S. Senators running for president.

Now, Friends of New Orleans -- another nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to support the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort -- has joined the initiative with an e-mail campaign on its Web site. Sending a message of support will take only 30 seconds of your time and is as easy as clicking here.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

A Mississippi agency wants to divert $600 million in federal funds from a housing program created to help low-income homeowners who suffered losses in Hurricane Katrina and use it to spruce up the State Port at Gulfport, the Associated Press reports.

The MDA claims that the housing program has more than enough money to meet demand, making the diversion possible. "This funding will be an important part of helping the State Port Authority restore and enhance port infrastructure for economic development initiatives that will create jobs and improve quality of life for the citizens of the Mississippi Gulf Coast," Gov. Haley Barbour said in a recent statement.

Oxfam America, the Mississippi NAACP and the Mississippi Center for Justice oppose the plan, however. "It's just unfair," Reilly Morse of the Center for Justice told the AP. "We've been told affordable housing was supposed to be a priority. Don't rob the displaced to build a port."

As we here at the Institute for Southern Studies documented in our recent report Blueprint for Gulf Renewal, there's still a serious post-Katrina housing crisis on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Homeowners found the MDA's grant application process to be difficult and time-consuming, and many are still waiting for checks. In the meantime, there are few affordable rental units available in the region, another barrier facing internally displaced persons trying to exercise their right of return.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development must approve the MDA's proposal, which is open for public comment until Sept. 24. Comments may be e-mailed to actioned@mississippi.org, faxed to 601-359-9280 or mailed to Mississippi Development Authority, Attention: Disaster Recovery, P.O. Box 849, Jackson, Mississippi, 39205.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, mississippi

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently seeking comments from the public about worrisome new information on the disposal of waste from burning coal -- and how the information should affect the way the agency regulates such waste.

In a Federal Register notice published Aug. 29, EPA announced the availability of new information and data contained in documents including a joint U.S. Department of Energy and EPA report titled Coal Combustion Waste Management at Landfills and Surface Impoundments, 1994-2004 and a draft risk assessment conducted by EPA on the management of CCW in landfills and surface impoundments.

The risk assessment examined 181 coal combustion waste disposal sites throughout the country and found that unlined coal ash waste ponds pose a cancer risk 900 times above what the government considers "acceptable." The report also found that coal ash disposal sites release toxic chemicals and metals such as arsenic, lead, boron, selenium, cadmium, thallium, and other pollutants at levels that endanger human health and the environment.

Environmental and public health advocacy groups including Earthjustice, the Clean Air Task Force and the Environmental Integrity Project have long called for regulations on the toxic ash produced by coal-fired power plants. Instead, a common industry practice is to mix the material with water and dump it into unlined or inadequately lined ponds, allowing pollutants to seep into groundwater supplies.

Just today, the Annapolis (Md.) Capital newspaper reported on a rural community grappling with drinking wells that are contaminated with cadmium, thallium and other toxic metals due to a nearby coal combustion waste dump operated by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy. According to Earthjustice, at least 23 states have poisoned surface or groundwater supplies from improper disposal of coal ash, including Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The EPA report found that coal ash dumped in unlined or clay-lined ponds and landfills pose the greatest risk. According to data collected in 1995, more than 60 percent of the country's coal ash disposal units are unlined or clay-lined. While the use of a composite liner significantly reduces the risk of exposure to health-threatening pollution, the federal government and most states do not require such protective measures.

"Strict standards regulating the disposal of coal ash are long overdue," Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans said in a statement. "There is no excuse for further delay. The EPA has the data. They know how grave the health risk is and yet still millions of people remain exposed to this dangerous waste. Coal ash is our country's second largest source of industrial waste, and it's time the EPA made these polluters do their part to clean up."

About 129 million tons of coal ash is generated each year in the United States and dumped in some 600 coal ash landfills and industrial waste ponds. Among the nation's top 15 coal ash-producing states, eight are in the South: Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. For a complete list of coal ash generated by state, click here (PDF).

Labels: coal, environment, public health, regulatory oversight

Daryl Holton, a 47 year old Gulf War veteran said to possibly be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, was executed by the State of Tennessee early this morning at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

An executioner threw a switch that sent 1750 volts of electricity through Holton's body for 20 seconds, paused for 15 seconds, and then shocked the condemned inmate again for 15 more seconds. Holton was pronounced dead at 1:25 AM. He requested no special last meal, and his final words were "I do."

Holton confessed to murdering his three young sons and a step-daughter with an assault rifle in 1997. According to the Tennessee Coalition Against State Killing, Holton had a long history of mental illness, dating back to his time in the military when they say he spent a month in a psychiatric hospital. They also say he had inadequate representation at his trial, and later refused to participate in any appeals.

All of which is no comfort to his ex-wife and the mother of the children he killed, who he had also planned to kill until he turned himself in and confessed to the crimes.

More recently he notified the state of his request to die by electrocution instead of lethal injection. State law provides the option for anyone convicted of a capital crime prior to 1999. Holton reasoned that the electric chair was the penalty in effect at the time of his crimes in 1997, so that's what he chose. The last electrocution by the state of Tennessee was in 1960.

There were concerns that the electric chair would not work correctly. According to the Nashville Tennesseean:

...Fred Leuchter, the man who built the chair in 1989, has asked Gov. Phil Bredesen not to use it, saying it's been modified in such a way that it will be "tantamount to torture."

"It's going to be the most horrible way to die possible," said Leuchter, of Malden, Mass. He worries the modified chair will take far too long to kill Holton.

The engineer who modified the electric chair disagreed:

Leuchter's electric chair was modified in the 1990s by Jay Wiechert, an electrical engineer from Fort Smith, Ark., who has worked on electric chairs for many states.

Tennessee's chair will work as intended, said Wiechert, who modified the controls, increased the voltage and changed the protective devices so it would stay on and provide adequate current.

"I have confidence in the equipment," he said. "The technique has been around. We've been using the same technique since over a century ago, 110 years or so. It's a very well-known science. We're not doing anything new."

The electric chair was tested on Monday, by "running currents through a test load box that is designed to simulate a human body," according to a Tennessee Department of Corrections spokesperson.

Apparently it worked.

Labels: criminal justice, death penalty, Tennessee

Paul Ortiz -- a professor in the community studies program at the University of California at Santa Cruz and an Institute for Southern Studies advisor and former board member -- will be reading from and discussing his book Emancipation Betrayed at Internationalist Books and Community Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Covering the hidden history of black organizing and white violence in Florida beginning in the 1870s, Ortiz's book examines the struggle of black Floridians to create the first statewide civil rights movement. Ortiz documents how blacks formed mutual aid organizations including secret societies, women's clubs and labor unions to fight Jim Crow in Florida, which at the time had the highest lynching rate of any U.S. state. The book culminates in the bloody election of 1920, where white supremacists with state sanction violently prevented blacks from casting ballots.

The talk begins at 7 p.m. and is free. Internationalist Books is located at 405 W. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill. For more details on the book and the event, click here.

Labels: Florida, race and racism, Southern Politics