Project 21: Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 leadership network are speaking out about President Barack Obama's long-awaited proposal to create more American jobs. "After all the pomp and ceremony, Mr. Obama's plan comes down to the same old tired scheme of more spending and more taxes," noted Project 21 spokesman Horace Cooper. After last month's zero-growth jobs report and today's Labor Department announcement that jobless claims rose last week, Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Thursday night to promote his new jobs proposal, called the "American Jobs Act," that will finally be formally introduced next week ...
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Washington, D.C. - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are condemning former vice president Al Gore's attempt to injected race into the debate over emissions regulations by comparing those opposed to further regulation with opponents of the civil rights movement. "Coming during the week of the planned Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial dedication, the so-called inventor of the Internet's comments are off the deep end," said Project 21 spokesman Horace Cooper, who is also a senior fellow with the Institute for Liberty. "Equating sincere disagreements over a scientific theory with lynching and Jim Crow isn't just off ...
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Washington, D.C. - Activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are commending Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter (D) for giving young people a blunt wake-up call regarding self-destructive behavior. "Mayor Nutter deserves credit for stepping up and being a leader," said Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli. "Nutter is doing what Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, President Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus have thus far failed to do by speaking out against the epidemic of violent 'flash mobs' and rampant, random crime and violence." Project 21 spokesman Jerome Hudson supports Nutter's get-tough attitude, adding that parents who aren't on the ...
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Washington, D.C. - Project 21 member Cherylyn Harley LeBon will guest-host for syndicated talk radio host G. Gordon Liddy on Tuesday, August 9. "I look forward to guest-hosting for G. Gordon Liddy," said LeBon. "It is an honor to fill in for him, and we have an exciting line-up of guests and a variety of topics to cover on Tuesday." LeBon's selection as a substitute host on the August 9 program came after she was a guest on Liddy's show on August 4 to discuss the conviction of an NAACP official in Mississippi for vote fraud and the need for ...
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Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are rebutting assertions made by rabid supporters of President Barack Obama that the recent downgrade of the nation's credit rating is the fault of the tea party movement. "Our country is at a crossroads, and I'm proud to stand with patriotic tea party activists who are concerned about the future of our nation," said Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli, a frequent speaker at tea party events across the country. "The tea party movement burst on the national scene as a spontaneous reaction to government gone wild -- outrageous ...
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Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 leadership network are once again calling out Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). This time, Wasserman Schultz unaccountably targeted a black colleague, Representative Allen West (R-FL), for specific criticism during the debt debate. West, like 233 other Members of Congress, including five Democrats, had just voted for the "cut, cap and balance" deficit-reduction plan. "Representative Wasserman Schultz's behavior is appalling," said Project 21 spokesman Jerome Hudson. "Just as when she compared laws aimed at preserving voter integrity to segregationist Jim Crow rules, her efforts to demagogue America's debt crisis are childish. Her ...
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Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 leadership network are speaking out about the current deadlock in negotiations related to the debt ceiling and spending cuts currently ongoing between congressional leaders and the Obama Administration. "Don't be fooled by the grandstanding. We do not need to raise the debt ceiling," said Project 21 spokesman Stacy Swimp. "If conservatives are serious about cutting spending, they should focus on corporate giveaways and substantial cuts to big government programs in wasteful departments such as the Department of Education and the Department of Energy. Liberals are lost — guided by special interests ...
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Protecting Against Vote Suppression Not Akin to Segregation Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 leadership network are disappointed that former president Bill Clinton chose to become the latest liberal luminary to sully his credibility by likening state-level voter protection rules to segregationist Jim Crow laws of the past. "It's hard not to ignore the deep historical ignorance in President Clinton comparing voter protection statutes to Jim Crow, and it leaves me deeply disappointed," said Project 21 spokesman Jerome Hudson. "Clinton diminishes himself by engaging in this brand of gutter politics. It's one thing to dispute a state's ...
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Black Activists Oppose Making Vote Suppression Easier Washington, D.C. - An effort by 16 U.S. Senators that may compromise state-level photo ID requirements enacted to protect the integrity of the voting process is being protested by leaders of the Project 21 black leadership network. In a June 29 letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, 16 liberal senators asked for federal intervention to "scrutinize" state laws requiring photo ID as proof of identity at polling places. The senators claim this effort to prevent vote suppression through identity fraud could discriminate against "protected classes" and take America "in the wrong direction." ...
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Washington, D.C. - Veterans affiliated with the Project 21 black leadership network are critical of the speech by President Obama last night in which he laid out plans to begin withdrawing substantial American military forces from Afghanistan. "It is unfortunate that we have a commander in chief who is willing to let political expediency be his guidance for military strategy. President Obama's commitment to a September 2012 withdrawal of the surge forces, coincidentally, will enable him to say he 'ended' the war," said Project 21 spokesman Coby W. Dillard, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and ...
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Controversial Reverend Attacks Election Day Photo ID Requirements as Racist Conspiracy Washington, D.C. - Spokesmen for the Project 21 black leadership network are critical of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's call for federal intervention against state-level efforts to protect voting integrity, noting that the radical reverend's agenda both belittles blacks and essentially would set them apart for special consideration. "Demanding that all voters — not just blacks — present photo ID cards at the polls is no more 'a radical rollback of our civil and voting rights,' as Jackson put it, than it is an assault on the right of free ...
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Juneteenth Holiday Called a "Celebration of American Freedom" Washington, D.C. - Black conservatives with the Project 21 leadership network urge people to use this year's observance of "Juneteenth" to restore the values and virtues of self-improvement, self-reliance and educational empowerment that are sometimes missing in many communities. "Juneteenth is one of those rich holidays of feasting, dancing and tearful remembrance of how a dark yesterday gave way to the light of opportunity, progress and the rise of black genius across America," said Project 21 spokesman Lisa Fritsch. "As a Texas resident, I know how Juneteenth is likened to July 4th ...
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Washington, D.C. - As President Obama meets today in North Carolina with his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and tours a local "green economy" company, members of the black leadership network Project 21 are reminding him that the black unemployment rate remains over 16 percent and urging him to stop his job-killing war on fossil fuels. "Instead of currying the favor of the global warming crowd, the President should focus on getting people back to work. Green regulations based on junk science kill jobs and minimize productivity. Profits are now lost to accommodating new laws and regulations instead of hiring ...
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America Remembers Jim Crow, and Ballot Security is No Jim Crow Washington, D.C. - Efforts to protect voting integrity are not "literally" equivalent to Jim Crow segregation laws, and claims that they are by a member of the Congressional leadership is disgraceful, divisive, historically-ignorant fearmongering, say members of the black leadership group Project 21. On the June 5 "Washington Watch with Roland Martin" on TV One, host Martin asked Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) about ballot security legislation requiring photo identification at polling places. Schultz unloaded with divisive racial rhetoric, claiming: "...now you have the Republicans, who want to literally ...
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Washington, D.C. - Cherylyn Harley LeBon and Deneen Borelli of the Project 21 black leadership network today are condemning liberal U.S. Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) for falsely alleging that sexism, not policy disagreements, are behind Republican opposition to a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). President Obama is expected to nominate a woman, White House special advisor Elizabeth Warren, to lead the CFPB. Republicans have sought to have the agency run by a five-member commission. At a press conference last week, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) said, "Some people almost unconsciously think that a woman to be ...
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Last Week's Radical Rhetoric Reveals Cynical Behavior Washington, D.C. - Black conservatives with the Project 21 leadership network are condemning the recent rash of radical statements from liberal leaders that betray earlier calls for civility. This extremism, Project 21 members note, calls into question the legitimacy of past liberal shock and outrage over alleged tea party movement behavior. Project 21 member Cherylyn Harley LeBon said: "It's unfortunate that liberals call for civility when it is convenient for them. We are still waiting to see the evidence to their claims that the tea party activists are racist. Sadly, now there is ...
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Calls White House Energy Policy "Wealth Transfer" From Poor and Middle Class to Favored CEOs Washington, D.C. - Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli testified today before the full U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources about the inordinate financial hardship the Obama war on fossil fuels imposes on poor and middle class American households. Borelli's congressional testimony was presented as part of the "Harnessing American Resources to Create Jobs and Address Rising Gasoline Prices -- Part III: Impacts on Seniors, Working Families and Memorial Day Vacations" oversight hearing. A video of Borelli testifying at the hearing is available at ...
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Washington, D.C. - Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli will testify before the full U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources on Wednesday, May 25 at 10:00 AM in room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building. Borelli will provide testimony in the oversight hearing on "Harnessing American Resources to Create Jobs and Address Rising Gasoline Prices -- Part III: Impacts on Seniors, Working Families and Memorial Day Vacations." "I am excited and proud to have the opportunity to testify before Congress after years of writing and talking about America's need for available and affordable energy in the media," said ...
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Washington, D.C. – Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are speaking out about President Obama's performance at a Ground Zero wreath-laying ceremony and related issues today: Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie said, "I applaud the President for displaying a modicum of respect and not turning the solemnity of the moment into any more of a campaign than he did." "President Obama is well within his rights to travel to Ground Zero — and it is especially relevant after he approved the successful operation that brought Osama Bin Laden to justice. But, as Obama does his victory lap, he ...
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Washington, D.C. – President Barack Obama today laid out his plan for dealing with the ballooning federal deficit. Members of the Project 21 black leadership network fault the President for a lack of leadership on this issue and question the lack of innovation, prudence and detail of this new deficit-reduction strategy. "We expect from our President the ability to lead and make tough choices," said Project 21 member Cherylyn Harley LeBon, a former senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Obama's failure has been his inability to recognize — pure and simple — that our country's spending must be controlled, ...
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