"Resisting Group Thinking"

I was thinking the other day, how hard the democratic party tries to scare African American's in order to keep control of our destiny. I lived in Halrem for about 6 month's and I saw the damage of Harlem. About 60 percent of the people rely on goverment subsidies. The democrats then yell and scare black and latino's that Republican's are out to get there benefits. People of color react with shock that some fat white rich republican's would take away there "rightful claim". The truth of the matter is that while a few people make it off the welfare roll's, many dont. The people who do it though, do it because they have a drive to succeed, and to do better. But being complacent is what to many in our community sucum to. The democrats know that to keep black people in a state of zombie like need , is the best way to maintian order and power. I hope that in this new year, we as Americans reject the politics of identity politics. We are endowed by our creator with the ablitity to be indivisual's. We should remeber the word's of Harlem's Adam Clayton Powell l Jr.'s best speeche "Some of you say to me, ‘I'm not like you, I'm not a Congressman, I haven't got education, I haven't got work.' . . . But you're a human being! And you know what you've got? You've got your hand. . . .
"A young slave boy stood one day by the greatest ruler of his day, and God said to Moses, ‘What's in your hand?' Moses said only, ‘I've got a stick.' He said, ‘Well, let me use what's in your hand.' God used that slave boy with a stick in his hand to divide the Red Sea, march through a wilderness, bring water out of rocks, manna from heaven, and bring his people to Freedomland. The ideas of personal responsiblity and accountabilty are the basic ideas of the Republican party.

Hip Hop Summit honors's Republican Governor's"

Russell Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Network announced that the St. Louis, Missouri Hip-Hop Summit was the most successful ever, registering over 100,000 new voters.
Nelly, Jadakiss, Rev Run, D12, Lazy Bone, Remy Martin and others spoke to more than 5,000 people who showed up for the summit. Organizers said they registered 114,000 new voters.
In addition to the registrations, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network honored Maryland’s Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, also a Republican, for their work on the drug laws in Maryland and their efforts to improve businesses in the African-American community.
“In addition to registering a record number of voters, we honored them for changing the harsh laws in Maryland and for installing programs that uplift black businesses in the state,” Simmons told AllHipHop.com.
Earlier in the day before accepting HSAN's honor, Steele, who is African-American, addressed other African-American Missouri Republicans.
"For most of the 20th century, civil rights was the singular focus," Steele told the Associated Press. "That struggle is over ... It's now about economic and political empowerment. My parents were FDR Democrats. We had the [John F.] Kennedy portrait on the wall. But Ronald Reagan spoke to me. I found [the GOP] just fit once I matured politically."
In April, Gov. Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Steele passed landmark legislation that will dedicate ten percent of Maryland’s contracting dollars for small and minority businesses.
Last month, Ehrlich established the Maryland State Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council, by executive order. Maryland will now coordinate efforts to prevent, evaluate and treat drug and alcohol abuses in the state as an alternative to incarceration.
The honors also come on the heels of Simmons’ victory in Albany, New York Supreme Court, where he and Hip-Hop Summit Action network CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis were locked in a battle with the lobbying commission over a protest of the laws last year.
The State Lobbying Commission was investigating Simmons and Chavis for failing to disclose the costs of their anti-Rockefeller Drug Law really in June of 2003, in front of City Hall in Manhattan.
Under Executive Director David Grandeau, the State Lobbying Commission frequently targeted groups, looking for violations of state lobbying laws.
The Supreme Court ruled that the lobbying laws are unconstitutional and that Simmons is guaranteed a right to protest, protected by the First Amendment in the Constitution of the United States.
On August 30, Simmons and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network will hold another anti-Rockefeller Drug Law rally, the same day as the Republican National Convention.
Simmons said it would be “the biggest Hip-Hop gathering ever.”"The Democrats do not own Hip-Hop," Simmons said. "They rarely discuss poverty in a meaningful way. I found John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Convention offensive to millions of poor black, white and brown Americans who are struggling in this country."

LL COOL J supports Pataki 4 Governor

In an effort to increase voter registration, Players Govern Players Chairwoman Terrie Williams and CEO Xavier Artis, are calling out to LL Cool J, Sean “P Diddy” Combs and Russell Simmons to appear at the NBA Store in New York to debate their endorsements for Governor.
Williams made the challenge to the music super stars after reading an article in the New York Daily News on Friday, in which LL Cool J announced that he would be backing Republican George Pataki. P. Diddy and Russell Simmons have already pledged their support for H. Carl McCall.
Following the debate, Williams will spearhead a voter registration drive. Location is slated for the NBA Store on 52nd and Fifth Avenue and time is still to be determined.
Players Govern Players Inc. is a lifestyle marketing and advertising company founded by Xavier Artis. For more information, please contact the Terrie Williams Agency 212-220-4333

Russel Simmon's and Pataki sign Reform Bill

hip hop activist argues that the proposed revisions to New York's draconian drug laws don't come close to constituting meaningful reform.

"We should be ashamed of ourselves. Rockefeller drug reform – ha! – I don't think so." – State Sen. Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan)
While many are praising the recent reform of the Rockefeller drug laws, many more are not. Although the reform bill will reduce the most severe mandatory sentences for drug offenses, according to data from the New York State Department of Correctional Services, the reform change will affect only 446 prisoners, while 15,600 felons imprisoned under the drug law will remain imprisoned.
Even with the proposed revisions, New York still has the harshest drug-sentencing laws in the country. According to Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, "Absent structural changes to the Rockefeller Drug Laws – which requires restoring to judges the authority to order treatment as an alternative to sentencing – we will not have meaningful reform."
According to the NYCLU the new law will leave in place sentencing procedures that give prosecutors authority to charge and sentence.
Judges have no discretion over sentencing. Prosecutors can demand a sentence of 10 years for an addict with no criminal record who is induced by a dealer to deliver four ounces of a drug to a buyer. A judge who believes justice – and the public interest – are better served by ordering the defendant into treatment instead of prison is prevented from doing so. Even if the judge had the discretion to choose treatment, nowhere in the reform bill is there funding for drug treatment programs. The new law will also do little or nothing to reform the harsh sentences imposed on B felons, those charged with lesser drug offenses, the NYCLU said.
For example, an individual who is caught with a gram of a controlled substance, but has a prior offense still faces three to 12 years in prison. The majority of drug offenders serving time in New York prisons are non-violent B felons. Once again the hip hop community, the overwhelming victims of these drug laws, has been hoodwinked.
"It's because of the artists. There's no way that it would have happened without the help of Jay-Z and Puffy and all the people who contributed," Russell Simmons told AllHipHop.com. "All those people really worked hard, they pushed, and it's really the power of hip hop that made that happen. People came out, it was a big deal."
Unfortunately, once again Simmons is wrong, and his praise of this reform bill has me questioning how relevant he and his organization are. By criticizing the so-called hip hop leader I open myself to attack, but ultimately I am more concerned about the impact of this sham and the 15,600 majority black and brown folks that will continue to sit in upstate prisons.
As someone who has been part of the campaign to repeal these laws – repeal not reform – I, along with many activists are uphappy with this compromise reform bill. Once again, our elected officials, who are supposed to serve the interest of the people, have pulled the wool over our eyes, and just at the right time. November 2005 is a huge election year in New York – what a perfect way to appease the electorate. Governor Pataki and other elected officials are up for re-election in 2005, and we should remember this betrayal when we go to the election booths. The governor and his Republican and Democratic cohorts knew they had to do something, and so they did nothing.
For over 20 years, activists like Randy Credico, Anthony Pappa, and Elaine Bartlett have fought tirelessly to repeal these laws. Credico, director of the Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice and an organizer of the group Mothers of the New York Disappeared, said in The New York Times that he is faced with calling many of the group's members and telling them their children "are not coming home."
In the last five years, Drop the Rock, a coalition spearheaded by Robert Ganagi and the Correctional Association of New York and composed of young community activists, veteran criminal justice reformers, artists, students, former inmates, politicians, and religious, civic and labor leaders has also worked hard to repeal these draconian laws. What happened in Albany was a disservice to all the people who dedicated themselves to this movement.
It's time to dust ourselves off and dig into the trenches. We should no longer as a community be satisfied with answers that leave more questions. Amilcar Cabral, leader of the Guinea-Bissau liberation struggle once said, "Tell no lies, expose lies wherever they are told, mask no difficulties, mistakes or failures, claim no easy victories."
We cannot claim victories that are not real. When Russell Simmons stated in The New York Times, "I am very, very happy," we must ask, what is he happy about?
Rosa Clemente is a hip hop activist, a journalist with WBAI radio in New York and a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

School Choice works!

School Choice Research: An OverviewThere is a growing body of scholarly research on school choice programs. Last year, a Brookings Institution report characterized the overall findings about several tax-supported and privately financed programs in urban areas: "Although controversial, research generally shows positive effects for students using vouchers to attend private schools." "How Well Are American Students Learning?" The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Report on American Education, September 2001. In a separate book published last year, Paul Hill, Ph.D., director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington and former Senior Social Scientist in RAND's Washington, D.C., office said: "Rigorously controlled studies of the links between vouchers and student achievement are mildly positive in virtually every case. [T]he weight of evidence is definitely toward positive effects [except for] middle-school boys in the District of Columbia." A Primer on America's Schools, Terry Moe, Ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2001. More recently, in April 2002, Brookings Press published a new contribution to school choice research. In The Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools, the most comprehensive study on vouchers conducted to date, William Howell and Paul Peterson, with co-authors Patrick Wolf and David Campbell, report that African American students participating in voucher programs perform better than their public school peers. According to John E. Brandl, dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, "This is the most important book ever written on the subject of vouchers." Other new research involves Maine and Vermont, where tax-supported school choice programs have existed for more than a century. The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation recently issued research that finds positive outcomes from those two programs (see below). State-Sponsored Evaluations Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida each hired evaluators to review choice programs for low-income children and children at under-performing public schools in those states. "Ohio hired the Indiana University Center for Evaluation to study Cleveland's choice program. Kim Metcalf, Ph.D., is the lead researcher. "[T]he limited, but statistically significant positive impact of the program on students' academic achievement [in Cleveland], particularly as they progress beyond the early primary grades, is consistent with work in Milwaukee, New York, Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio." "Evaluation of the Cleveland Scholarship Program," Indiana Center for Evaluation, September 2001. "Wisconsin hired University of Wisconsin Prof. John Witte to evaluate the Milwaukee program. In a book published in 2000, he observed: "Choice can be a useful tool to aid families and educators in inner city and poor communities where education has been a struggle for several generations. If programs are devised correctly, they can provide meaningful educational choices to families that now do not have such choices. And it is not trivial that most people in America already have such choices." The Market Approach to Education - An Analysis of America's First Voucher Program, Princeton University Press, 2000. "Florida hired a research team directed by Florida State University to evaluate the impact of the A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program on public schools. Jay P. Greene, Ph.D., was the lead researcher. "By offering vouchers to students at failing schools, the Florida A-Plus choice and accountability system was intended to motivate those schools to improve...The results show that [low-performing] schools ... achieved test score gains more than twice as large as those achieved by other schools ...[T]he performance of students on academic tests improves when public schools are faced with the prospect that their students will receive vouchers." "An Evaluation of the Florida A-Plus Accountability and School Choice Program," Florida State University, The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance, February 2001. Other Studies of State Programs "Since the 19th century, the Maine and Vermont choice programs have provided tax-supported school choice to students in communities with few or no public schools. Until 1961 (Vermont) and 1981 (Maine), options available to students included private religious schools. Options now available include non-religious private schools, other public schools and, in some cases, out-of-state private schools. In a study of the Maine and Vermont programs, Christopher Hammons, Ph.D., identified a range of positive impacts. These included: higher levels of academic achievement in areas where competition for students was greatest; benefits from a competitive environment that were not limited to specific demographic groups; and significant cost savings to Maine and Vermont taxpayers. "The Effects of Town Tuitioning in Maine and Vermont," 2002, available at www.friedmanfoundation.org. "The Harvard University Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) has conducted several reviews of Cleveland's scholarship program. Its most recent report says the Cleveland program "has won a strong endorsement from the low-income families participating in it. Parents of voucher recipients are more likely to be 'very satisfied' with nearly every aspect of the schools they attend than are parents of students in the Cleveland public schools. Test scores in math and reading have risen in ...the two schools newly established in response to the [program]..." "An Evaluation of the Cleveland Voucher Program After Two Years," June 1999, available at www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg/. "Princeton University economist Cecilia Rouse, who analyzed test scores of students in the Milwaukee program, reported that "being selected to participate in the [Milwaukee's] choice program appears to have increased the math achievement of low-income, minority students by 1.5-2.3 percentile points per year (emphasis added)." "Private School Vouchers and Student Achievement: An Evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program," Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 1998. "Scholars at the University of Texas-Austin (Jay P. Greene) and Harvard University (Jiangtao Du and Paul Peterson) found statistically significant gains in math and reading scores for students in the Milwaukee program three years. "Effectiveness of School Choice: The Milwaukee Experiment," Education and Urban Society, February 1999. "Harvard economist Caroline M. Hoxby investigated the impact on public schools of vouchers in Milwaukee. She concluded: "Overall, an evaluation of Milwaukee suggests that public schools have a strong, positive response to competition from vouchers... [S]chools that faced the most potential competition from vouchers had the best productivity response." "School Choice and School Productivity (Or, Could School Choice be a Tide that Lifts All Boats?)," Education Next, Winter 2001. "The Urban League of Greater Miami and others hired education researcher Carol Innerst to identify whether Florida schools took steps to avoid "failing" designations. Based on documents from schools throughout Florida, she said the Florida choice program "instilled in the public schools a sense of urgency and zeal for reform not seen in the past, when a school's failure was rewarded only with more money." "Competing to Win: How Florida's A+ Plan Has Triggered Public School Reform," Urban League of Greater Miami, Collins Center for Public Policy, Floridians for School Choice, James Madison Institute, Center for Education Reform, April 2000. Privately Financed School Choice Programs Privately financed K-12 scholarship programs exist in many cities. Most benefit families with limited incomes. Scholarly journals have published studies of programs in four different cities, where researchers used high-quality random assignment methods to measure changes in academic achievement due to vouchers. "Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University and Georgetown University evaluated programs in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Dayton, OH. "[T]he average, overall test-score performance of African American students who switched from public to private schools was, after one year, 3.3 NPR [national percentile ranking] points higher and, after two years, 6.3 NPR points higher...The school voucher intervention, after two years, erases about one-third of" the difference in black and white test scores. "No positive or negative [effects] were observed for students from other ethnic groups who switched from public to private schools." The Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools, Brookings Institution Press, 2002. "The program in Charlotte, NC, was evaluated by The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. "[P]roviding low-income families with scholarships has significant benefits. This finding is consistent with the results from similar evaluations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio as well as the results of evaluations of publicly funded school choice programs in Milwaukee and Cleveland. Receiving a scholarship to attend private school improves scores on standardized math tests by between 5.9 and 6.2 [NPR] points and on standardized reading tests by between 5.4 and 7.7 [NPR] points." "The Effect of School Choice: An Evaluation of the Charlotte Children's Scholarship Fund Program," The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, August 2000.

MTV's Win or Lose "Princella wins" go girl!

This, is a great piece on the winner of MTV's Choose or Loose,
The winner was Princella Smith, I met here at the convetion. She was a great and had alot of energy, and was on point!
Great Job Princella we love ya girl

This is an article on Princella

A Republican National Convention Arkansas Youth Will Address the Nation at Republican National Convention August 16th, 2004--

The 2004 Republican National Convention and MTV's "Choose or Lose: 20 Million LOUD!" campaign today announced Princella Smith of Wynne, AR, as the winner of the "Stand Up and Holla!" essay contest. Princella was announced as the winner on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) this evening and will join Republicans from across the nation as they convene at Madison Square Garden this month to re-nominate President George W. Bush. Princella will take the stage as an official program participant and address the nation on Tuesday, August 31. Convention officials also announced that each of the top ten finalists for the contest have been invited to attend the convention. MTV's "Choose or Lose: 20 Million LOUD!" aims to get 20 million young voters, aged 18-30, to the polls in November. "America's young people understand what's at stake for their generation in this presidential election and are taking tremendous steps to be involved in the civic affairs of our nation," said Bill Harris, CEO of the 2004 Republican National Convention. "Princella is a distinguished young woman committed to answering President Bush's call to service in her community. We look forward to hearing what Princella has to say in front of a worldwide audience and are proud to have her join our program lineup in New York City." "We are very excited to partner with both the Republican and the Democratic conventions to call attention to the power of young voters -- and to give Princella this unprecedented opportunity to address the nation," commented Ian Rowe, Vice President of Public Affairs & Strategic Partnerships for MTV. "Based on the positive response to this contest, we are more confident than ever that 20 million 18 to 30 year-olds will make their voices heard on Election Day." More than 100,000 votes were cast in the "Stand Up and Holla!" contest and Princella's winning total secured her a spot on the convention program. The 20-year-old Arkansan is majoring in History and Political Science at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, where she is actively engaged in local, state and national politics. Princella said that her generation has been inspired by President George W. Bush to move out into the world and engage in a "higher purpose." In April 2004, Princella was named a Community All-Star for Community Service in her hometown of Wynne, AR for her efforts tutoring students, participating in local afterschool programs, and assisting with church- sponsored events to aid shut-ins and assist the needy. At Ouachita Baptist University, she educates her peers through Black History programs and participates in service projects to clean-up the local community through "Tiger Serve Day," the college's community service program which organizes various outreach events monthly. She's also a part of "Boys to Men, Girls to Women," an organization that uses basketball as a tool to keep kids off the street and out of gangs. In addition her convention speaking engagement on Tuesday, August 31, Princella will be trailed by MTV News cameras as part of MTV's extensive coverage of the 2004 Republican National Convention. From meeting elected officials from across the nation to attending some of the biggest convention- week parties to her final moments before she goes onstage, MTV News will document Princella's convention experience from start to finish.Nearly 1,000 young adults from across the nation between the ages of 18 and 24 submitted essays in just two months time. Contestants were asked to write about the importance of President George W. Bush's call to service and how they have demonstrated it in their own communities. The field was narrowed to 10 finalists and voting was open to the public to select their favorite, Princella Smith. More than 100,000 votes were cast at http://www.gopconvention.com/essaycontest. The "Stand Up and Holla!" essay contest is part of the convention's comprehensive plan to energize the Republican Party's young leaders and equip them with the tools to carry out grassroots efforts on behalf of President Bush. Though only one winner could be selected, each of the ten finalists has been invited to the convention to participate in the Page Program. The Page Program will bring nearly 200 of the party's youth to New York City for the convention. Aside from page duties during convention hours, they will participate in an array of other planned activities and tours at various cultural centers throughout the city. Responding to the president's call to service, pages will volunteer at a service project in the tri-state area and participate in their own mock proceedings at the Youth Convention. The Youth Convention, to be held one day during the official convention, is an exciting opportunity that will allow Pages to access the convention floor and interact with campaign leaders, media personalities, youth representatives and national Republican leaders. MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign along with the convention promoted the essay contest and hosted online voting on its website, http://www.chooseorlose.com/. MTV also worked with the Democratic National Committee on their "Speak Out For The Future" essay contest, which awarded a young person a chance to speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention last month. Originally launched in 1992, "Choose or Lose" is MTV's comprehensive campaign to encourage young adults ages 18-30 to get involved in politics by voting and voicing their most urgent concerns while also challenging leading presidential candidates to address those issues. In 2004, "Choose or Lose" on-air and off-air programming will include regular news segments, issue-based specials, candidate interviews, convention coverage and grassroots events, and will culminate with an election night wrap-up."20 Million LOUD!" is a national campaign of hundreds of organizations, including MTV, that aims to mobilize more than 20 million young adults to vote and be a deciding factor in the 2004 presidential election. Throughout the year, 20 Million LOUD! partners will conduct a series of high-profile, high-impact events on television, online and in communities across the country. The Republican National Convention will be held for the first time ever in New York City at Madison Square Garden from August 30 through September 2, 2004. Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected to visit the city for the event. ,