Project 21: Press Releases

Black Conservatives Commemorate 50th Anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" Speech August 28 Washington, D.C. - A prominent black conservative who attended the 1963 "March on Washington" civil rights rally and heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech firsthand is sharing his reminiscences about that landmark event in light of its 50th anniversary August 28. Project 21's Jimmie Hollis has shared some of his recollections in an audio interview conducted with Project 21. Some excerpts: The first thing that struck me… was the amount of people. It was extremely crowded. My friend and I managed ...
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Washington, D.C. - On August 28th, Americans will observe the 50th anniversary of the "March on Washington" civil rights rally. Black conservatives affiliated with the Project 21 leadership network are sharing their reflections on the anniversary by talking about the lessons learned since that day, how the March affected their lives and how American society has changed since that day in 1963. While it was called the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," the event is now commonly called the March on Washington. It was a major turning point in America's civil rights movement. Hundreds of thousands of people ...
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ID Requirement a Constitutional Safeguard that Helps Prevent Vote Fraud Court Challenges and Threats from Obama Administration are Politically-Motivated, Voter Integrity Activists Say Washington, D.C. - Legal experts with the Project 21 black leadership network are applauding new voter protections signed into law this week by North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. "I'm thrilled to see that North Carolina is joining the brigade of states enforcing Voter ID," said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a former constitutional law professor and Capitol Hill staff member to congressional leadership. "Voter ID is constitutional and legal and, as the evidence demonstrates, it encourages real ...
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Brief Argues Lower Court Allows Discrimination to Thrive Filing Comes Days After Supreme Court's Setback for Race Preferences in Fisher Decision Washington, D.C. - The Project 21 black leadership network has joined an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Michigan voters who overwhelmingly sought to remove preferential race policies in that state. The filing in this case came just days after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the University of Texas at Austin's race-conscious admissions policy back to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for re-evaluation under a strict scrutiny standard ...
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Washington, D.C. - Project 21's Cherylyn Harley LeBon has issued the following statement regarding New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest foray into beverage restrictions: Locking up baby formula and giving government "talking-tos" to hospitalized mothers each and every time they feed formula to their baby: Mayor Bloomberg's latest, his Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, is part of Bloomberg's mode of reducing choice for New Yorkers and continuing to chip away at the free market. According to a CBS report, the initiative will help hospitals educate mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding over baby formula. The program is also sponsored by the World ...
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Washington, D.C. - In the trial of George Zimmerman, the so-called "star witness" for the prosecution, Rachel Jeantel, ended two days of testimony. Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are commenting. Jeantel, a friend of Trayvon Martin since elementary school, spent several hours on the phone and texted with Martin on the day of this death, including during the moments before the altercation with Zimmerman that ended in Martin's death. In the long cross-examination, Jeantel was reported by the Miami Herald to be "annoyed and confused" during portions of the questioning. She was also caught in several lies ...
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Eric Holder's Attempt to Revive Unconstitutional Preclearance Standards is Based on "Phony Claims," Says Author of 2012 Paper Critical of Weak DOJ Claims that Texas' Voter ID Law is Discriminatory Despite Supreme Court Ruling Last Month on Voting Rights Act's Section 4, Holder Says Texas is Just the First State DOJ is Going After in New Push Using Section 3 Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi, South Carolina, Other States May Be in DOJ Crosshairs Washington, D.C. - A legal expert with the Project 21 black leadership network is criticizing today's announcement by Attorney General Eric Holder that the Obama Administration ...
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Washington, D.C. - With members of the civil rights lobby organizing new nationwide protests this coming weekend to continue to voice opposition to last Saturday's not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman case in Florida, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are calling for organizers to tone down their rhetoric and to help promote calm in the wake of earlier destructive protests and violent acts perpetrated against innocent bystanders and businesses in the alleged name of justice. Radical organizer and MSNBC host Al Sharpton is planning protests at noon on Saturday in cities across America that include New ...
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Washington, D.C. - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are analyzing the legal aspects of the George Zimmerman verdict and commenting on the implications: "While I'm thrilled with this outcome, it should never have come to this. This case should never have been brought forward. The grand jury should never have been bypassed and Judge Nelson should never have allowed this case to get this far. There's a reason the investigating officer refused to support an arrest, there's a reason the state's attorney refused to prosecute and there's a reason the grand jury was bypassed. There was no ...
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Washington, D.C. - George Zimmerman, who faced charges of 2nd degree murder and manslaughter in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, was found not guilty tonight by a six-person jury of his peers in Sanford, Florida. Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are commenting on the verdict: "Six women, some of them mothers themselves, found George Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Although Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted, there are no winners in this tragic case. A teenager is deceased and a young man's family is mourning. George Zimmerman ...
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Group Calls on Public to Let Justice Peacefully Prevail Washington, D.C. - A week-and-a-half into the trial of George Zimmerman, members of the Project 21 black leadership network say the prosecution's case is faltering, and increased tensions as a result appear to be harming race relations in America. As reported in the Washington Times, state prosecutors trying to make the case that Zimmerman committed second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin have "stumbled" and that "several key witnesses have cast doubt on the state's version of events and on several occasions have portrayed the defendant as a credible, even ...
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Washington, D.C. - With the second week of the George Zimmerman trial underway in Florida, featuring the procedural testimony of officers who were involved with the case and crime scene experts, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are critiquing last week's high-profile coverage of opening arguments and alleged "star witness" Rachel Jeantel. Project 21 co-chairman Horace Cooper, a former law professor, was critical of what he called the overall "rush to prosecution" of Zimmerman. Cooper notes that actual evidence now being presented by the prosecution is hardly living up the hype created by the media after protests about ...
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Washington, D.C. - While the George Zimmerman trial moved on to other witnesses, people are still talking about the dramatic cross-examination of the late Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel. Stacy Swimp, a member of the Project 21 black leadership network, said the demeanor and language exhibited by Jeantel on the stand "was a clear manifestation of the cultural perversions that are normalized throughout many of our urban communities." Swimp suggests that, rather than criticizing Jeantel's actions, Americans should be reaching out to urban communities to "promote spiritual revival" and help teach residents of the inner-city about things such as morals ...
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Supreme Court Rules 50-Year-Old Behavior Inconsistent with Modern Society Decision May End Obama Administration DOJ's Attacks on State Voter ID Laws Washington, D.C. - Legal experts with the Project 21 black leadership network are hailing a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court today to bring American civil rights law into the 21st century by recognizing the evolving racial opinions of the American people and how increased fairness has come with such change. In its decision in the case of Shelby County, Alabama v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., the justices ruled that Section 4 "coverage" provisions within the Voting ...
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Washington, D.C. - A 7-1 decision today in Fisher v. Texas by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the use of race as a determining factor in public college admissions is being cheered by legal experts of the Project 21 black leadership network, which had argued in a legal brief filed with the Court in the case that such preferences violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. "The days of institutionalized racism are long gone, so it should be an accepted fact that public colleges cannot play a racial game of Chutes and Ladders with their admissions policies," ...
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Project 21 Members to Speak on Proceedings in Trial Examining Death of Trayvon Martin Washington, D.C. - With opening arguments beginning today in the trial of George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, the Project 21 black leadership network is announcing that members of the organization will be providing regular commentary and analysis of the trial throughout its proceedings. With this very high-profile case finally being heard in a court of law, Project 21 members are hoping that media coverage will be balanced and all perspectives will be considered and given due ...
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Washington, D.C. - On the 147th commemoration of "Juneteenth" — the oldest and most-recognized observance of the end of slavery in the United States — members of the Project 21 black leadership network are focused on the theme of freedom. In a time of major growth in the size and power of government, Project 21 members are calling upon Americans to use this civil rights-themed holiday to further appreciate the importance of constitutionally-mandated liberties and the threat posed to them by intrusive government overreach. "I proudly celebrate this historic occasion," said Project 21 member Stacy Swimp. "Juneteenth is a commemoration ...
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Black Conservatives Criticize Civil Rights Lobby for Boycotting Some Places They Find Offensive While Relaxing in Another Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on what could constitute major reform of how the Voting Rights Act currently judges certain states and localities on race — a case the NAACP vociferously opposes — the civil rights lobby group will nonetheless hold a "premier" conference in a Florida county that is monitored under such "preclearance" voting standards. Members of the conservative Project 21 black leadership network wonder why the NAACP, which participates in high-profile boycotts of states for ...
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Slurred Supervisor and Manager Who Recorded It Talk With Black Conservative Activist About Feelings, Future and Forgiveness Washington, D.C. - A white elected township clerk in central Michigan was recently caught on tape describing another local elected official who is black by using the n-word. Exclusive interviews with that maligned black official and the person who got the slur on tape are now able to be viewed on the blog of the National Center for Public Policy Research. Both are interviewed by Stacy Swimp, a member of the National Center's Project 21 black leadership network. "In this society… these words ...
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Wants Lawmakers to"Represent All of the American People" Washington, D.C. - In a just-released video, Michigan activist Stacy Swimp of the Project 21 black leadership network is calling upon the Congressional Black Caucus to disband. Swimp says lawmakers have a constitutional obligation to promote legislation that benefits all Americans and not just particular races, classes or other demographic groups. "Does America really need a black agenda? Do black Americans need a black agenda? Or do black Americans need an American agenda that works for all of us?" asks Project 21's Swimp in the video. "America needs an agenda that fits ...
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