Project 21: Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - On October 1, 2008, a congressionally-mandated ban on offshore oil exploration and expanded development of oil from shale rock in the American West officially expires.  Supporters of increased domestic energy production are calling it "Energy Freedom Day." With the end of the ban, the federal government can begin issuing leases for new exploration along American coastline thought to contain 18 billion barrels of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  As the process of separating oil from shale is perfected, land in the American West could yield between 800 billion and two trillion barrels of ...
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"Jena Six" Defendant Could Provide Example of the Benefit of School Choice Washington, D.C. - Jesse Ray Beard, the youngest member of the "Jena Six," is reportedly interested in spending a portion of his legal defense fund on private school tuition. Beard and five other black students attending Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana are accused of beating a white student in a racially-charged December 2006 incident.  The case received international attention and protests in favor of the black students.  One of the Jena Six - Mychal Bell - has pleaded guilty to a juvenile charge related to the incident.  ...
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Washington, D.C. - Mychal Massie, chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network, today is re-issuing his long-standing request to President George W. Bush for a pardon or commutation of the sentences of Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos.  An appeals court ruling Monday failed to fully clear the incarcerated U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents of the major charges against them. "This is a demoralizing day for those who serve on the front lines to secure our borders," said Massie.  "I am renewing my call for President Bush to treat these incarcerated border agents with at least the same ...
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Washington, D.C. - Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing the Constitution's individual right to own firearms and overturning the ban on most gun ownership in the nation's capital in the first major Second Amendment case in almost 70 years is being hailed by black activists of the Project 21 leadership network. Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli says the decision supporting an individual right to use firearms is a loud and clear declaration that the government cannot pick and choose what constitutional protections are honored and enforced. "This is a great day for law-abiding citizens of the nation's capital who have ...
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Washington, D.C. - "Juneteenth" is the oldest and most recognized commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.  Members of the Project 21 black leadership network suggest the Juneteenth holiday - observed every June 19 - be used as a day for reflection on the struggle for freedom and the ongoing quest for self-empowerment. Project 21 members, who have called attention to the Juneteenth since 1999, urge black Americans to use this day to embrace their inherent talents and strengthen their ties with family and community for the betterment of themselves and future generations. "As we celebrate Juneteenth ...
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Project 21 Chairman Asks Race Officials to Conduct Thorough Investigation and Act Decisively If Allegations are True Washington, D.C. - NASCAR is being sued for $225 million by a black female former employee who says she was the victim of sexual harassment and racial and gender discrimination while serving as a technical inspector for the sport.  Two NASCAR officials are now on indefinite suspension for their reported ties to the charges made in the lawsuit. Project 21, the black leadership network, has supported NASCAR in the past against allegations that a lack of black drivers constituted evidence of racial bias ...
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Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are highly critical of legislation that would open the floodgates for taxpayer spending to honor the questionable legacy of the late labor activist Cesar Chavez.  Project 21 members oppose spending taxpayer funds to honor Chavez as well as other irresponsible spending provisions found in the bill. The legislation has been adopted by Congress and needs just a presidential signature to become law. "To say the jury is still out on the legacy of Cesar Chavez is an understatement," says Project 21 member Joe Hicks.  "Unlike other individuals who ...
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Project 21 and the Center for Equal Opportunity Had Presented an Amici Curiae in Case Washington, D.C. - Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Indiana's photo identification election law is hailed by black activists from the Project 21 leadership network as a positive move toward ensuring that future elections are less likely to be corrupted by vote fraud. Project 21 and the Center for Equal Opportunity had presented an amici curiae ("friend of the court") brief to the Supreme Court in this case that said Indiana's law and other voter ID laws do not suppress voter turnout, as claimed by ...
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Washington, D.C. - In observance of the very first "World Malaria Day," an activist with the Project 21 black leadership network is calling upon establishment environmentalist groups and global health administrators to rethink their opposition to the use of the pesticide DDT. "Malaria is a devastating disease that has ravaged the world.  When the United States virtually eradicated it over 50 years ago, it wasn't by passing out nets and treating the infected.  It was the aggressive use of effective pesticides that eliminated disease-carrying mosquitoes before they could infect people," said Project 21 member Bishop Council Nedd II, who has ...
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Washington, D.C. - Kevin L. Martin, a member of the Project 21 black leadership network and a U.S. Navy veteran, is joining fellow veterans in denouncing the Earth Day-related cover art on the April 21 issue of Time magazine.  Time altered the famous flag-raising photo from Iwo Jima to show Marines raising a tree rather than the American flag to highlight an article promoting activism favoring increased regulation to fight perceived man-made global warming. "For Time to compare the politically-driven hoax about the severity of man-made global warming to one of most pivotal moments in American history is a slap ...
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Washington, D.C. - A Mexican drug smuggler whose testimony under a grant of immunity helped American prosecutors convict and jail two U.S. Border Patrol agents has now pleaded guilty to charges that he conspired to smuggle marijuana into the United States twice after he was granted immunity. In light of this new development, Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is renewing his demand that President George W. Bush pardon or commute the sentences of incarcerated Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.  Ramos and Compean are serving jail sentences of 11 and 12 years, respectively for actions taken in ...
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Washington, D.C. - Revelations that the federal government conducted potentially dangerous sludge-related experiments on children in Baltimore is condemned by Project 21 black leadership network fellow Deneen Borelli, who is demanding more answers about the origins of the experiment and wants to know how much other reckless policymaking is permeating federal agencies. The Associated Press reported April 13 that researchers using federal grant money selected nine families in poor, black Baltimore neighborhoods to test if sludge could reduce child health risks from lead.  Sludge derived from human and industrial waste was tilled into the families' yards and grass was planted ...
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Washington, D.C. - Project 21, the black leadership network, has recruited the support of black churches across the United States to participate in a special day of prayer declared by a member of Congress to call attention to the plight of incarcerated U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. "To many Americans, the radical beliefs and comments of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright have come to falsely personify the Christian church - and particularly those with black congregations.  We hope this show of support for the law and good government will help undo the damage he ...
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Washington, D.C. - Mychal Massie, chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network, will receive the "Conservative Man of the Year" award from the Suffolk County (New York) Conservative Party for his many contributions to advancing conservative principles." The members and staff of Project 21 are extremely proud of Mychal," said Project 21 staff director David Almasi.  "Mychal has earned more than his fair share of criticism from the left for daring to speak his mind and promoting the diversity of opinion among black Americans that is largely overlooked in the media.  It is high time for him to be ...
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Washington, D.C. - While some might consider it a milestone that basketball star LeBron James became the first black man to grace the cover of Vogue for the fashion magazine's April issue, critics are saying the photo of him with supermodel Gisele Bundchen is racially insensitive and "screams King Kong."  Members of the Project 21 leadership network join with James and others in saying those complaining about the photo are making a big deal out of nothing. "There are some people who view everything through the lens of racial stereotypes," said Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli, who has worked as ...
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Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Supreme Court considers its first major case involving the definition of the 2nd Amendment's protection of gun rights in almost 70 years, black activists with the Project 21 leadership network assert that government should not be allowed to pick and choose what constitutional protections are honored and enforced. "As a black American, I would be horrified to hear a state or local government enacted legislation or regulation that gutted the 13th Amendment's prohibit on slavery or the 15th Amendment's guarantee that all races could vote.  Why aren't more people outraged when the 2nd Amendment's ...
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Washington, D.C. - The chairman of the Project 21 leadership network is condemning President George W. Bush's March 25 issuance of a new set of presidential pardons that includes forgiveness for drug smugglers, an embezzler and others but not for jailed Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.  Ramos and Compean entered prison in January of 2007 after a controversial ruling on their actions in apprehendng a fleeing drug smuggler. "I believe the President's stolid refusal to pardon Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean is the most unconscionable act of disloyalty he has perpetrated upon ...
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Washington, D.C. - Concerned that proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations regarding "local programming content and diversity" could lead to a new "Fairness Doctrine," black broadcasting veterans affiliated with Project 21 have submitted comments to the FCC opposing new restrictions on currently-accepted political and social content. "We've seen an explosion in broadcast content since the FCC set aside the political restrictions of the Fairness Doctrine over 20 years ago," said Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli.  "To bring about new restrictions now would hurt businesses, political discourse and the diversity these proposed regulations purport to want to foster.  All it will ...
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Project 21 Members Argue that Voter ID Laws Depress Fraud, not Turnout Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear oral arguments in the combined cases of William Crawford, et al. v. Marion County Election Board, et al. and Indiana Democratic Party et al. v. Todd Rokita, et al.  The cases challenge an Indiana law adopted in 2005 requiring voters to present government-issued photographic identification before being allowed to vote.  Project 21 and the Center for Equal Opportunity presented an amici curiae ("friend of the court") brief to the Court in this case making the argument that Indiana's ...
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Mychal Massie, chairman of the Project 21 black leadership network, is asking President George W. Bush to pardon jailed U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. "This is Christmas, and in the spirit of Christmas, it is time for President Bush to show some compassion and pardon Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean," said Massie. "Earlier this month, the President saw fit to pardon drug dealers, a moonshiner and thieves. It is time to give similar but more deserved relief to two men who have put their lives on the line in their service to our nation." ...
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