Project 21: Press Releases

President George W. Bush has earned the praise of members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 for his strong, renewed demand that European leaders help in the fight against famine in Africa by dropping their opposition to genetically modified foods. At the Biotechnology Industry Organization conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Bush said that European leaders who are restricting the importation of genetically modified foods and pressuring other countries - particularly those in famine-ravaged Africa - to reject so-called biofoods are "acting on unfounded, unscientific fears." Bush said: "For the sake of a continent threatened by famine, I urge ...
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Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 applaud Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for his selection of Rear Admiral Barry Black to be the new chaplain of the U.S. Senate. Black, a Seventh Day Adventist who is currently the Chief Chaplain of the U.S. Navy, will be the first African-American to hold the job of pastoral counselor to the Senate. In making the announcement of Black's selection, Majority Leader Frist said: "Admiral Black has provided spiritual guidance to thousands of servicemen and women during his 25 years of service. We're honored he has offered to bring his moral leadership ...
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Rioting in the predominantly black city of Benton Harbor, Michigan after a fatal high-speed chase between motorcyclists and local police is being characterized by some as a "race riot." Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 disagree, noting that a distrust of the police as an institution that is held by many blacks is at the heart of this matter, not exploding racial tension. "The rioters in Benton Harbor were motivated by a misguided perception that police are the 'enemy.' Benton Harbor is a predominantly black town with a black administration and a black police chief," noted Project 21 ...
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"Juneteenth" - the oldest official celebration marking the end of slavery in America - is observed nationwide on June 19th. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 ask African-Americans everywhere to use this day to honor and celebrate the progress that has already been made by blacks in America while remembering the challenges that still face the African-American community. Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. The soldiers carried the news that the Civil War was over and that slavery had been abolished two-and-a-half years earlier. The anniversary of ...
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A recent change in federal policy to allow government funds to assist in the restoration of historic churches is applauded by members of the Project 21 African-American leadership network. Project 21 members note that the government's new willingness to work with churches, synagogues, mosques and other faith-based institutions that began with the Bush Administration could help restore many key historic sites affiliated with the civil rights movement. Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton announced in May that the "Save America's Treasures" program would provide assistance to renovate and clean the windows of the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts ...
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Famine in Africa should be addressed at the upcoming Group of Eight economic summit, says the African-American leadership network Project 21. To help avert famine in African countries, President Bush should press European leaders to end their unscientific opposition to genetically modified foods. Genetic modification can be used to produce foods that will grow in adverse climates, repel insects, stay fresher for longer periods of time and provide greater nutritional benefits. Foods also can be grown to administer vaccinations that thwart deadly diseases. Fears of trade sanctions from European powers opposed to genetically modified foods has forced the governments of ...
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High tax rates make it financially unreasonable for American companies to return their international profits to America. Member of the African-American leadership network Project 21 applauds a new plan that proposes easing the tax burden presently placed on the foreign profits of domestic businesses so that the money can return home to the United States and help invigorate our economy and build-up our national infrastructure. Currently, profits that are earned abroad by U.S.-based businesses and returned to the United States are taxed at a rate of 35 percent, minus foreign taxes. Because of this substantial tax burden, many companies instead ...
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African-American environmental achievements are celebrated and concerns are aired by Project 21 as part of the African-American leadership network's observance of Earth Day 2003 on April 21. "Solidarity and Stewardship: African-Americans and the Environment" can be found on Project 21's Internet web site at http://www.nationalcenter.org/CEJEAA.html. "The history of African-Americans and the environment has been one more of stewardship than activism, and I believe that makes blacks more advanced than other environmental activists," said Project 21 director David Almasi. "Blacks have been motivated more by survival than armchair advocacy. It comes from toiling in the fields instead of reaping the benefits ...
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On April 1, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could redefine how affirmative action racial preference policies determine school admissions. A decision is expected by the end of June. As a public service intended to provide educational information about the debate over racial set-aside programs to those interested in learning more, the African-American leadership network Project 21 maintains the "Affirmative Action Information Center" (http://www.nationalcenter.org/AA.html) as an online resource. Project 21's "Affirmative Action Information Center" contains commentary from a variety of perspectives. It also features articles, legislation and legal information related to affirmative action policy as ...
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African-Americans affiliated with the conservative black leadership network Project 21 are outraged by stall tactics being threatened by liberal U.S. senators opposed to consideration of the judicial nomination of Miguel Estrada. Estrada would become the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Project 21 members liken the current filibuster threat to the opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and say that while liberal senators have every right to oppose any nominee they wish, all of any President's nominees deserve the courtesy of a vote. President George W. Bush nominated ...
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A new report taking issue with the fact that the leadership and football coaching staffs of NCAA Division 1A colleges are overwhelmingly white is being criticized by members of the black leadership network Project 21. Project 21 members say the report is little more than a bean-counting exercise that will create unnecessary racial tension.  They suggest the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (IDES), which issued the report, should instead seek ways to raise the graduation rates of black student-athletes. The IDES report quantifies race and gender in positions including institution presidents, athletic directors, faculty ...
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Conservative African-Americans affiliated with the Project 21 leadership network are appalled by comments made by the Reverend Jesse Jackson on January 15 claiming that early non-black Americans came to this country solely to exploit minorities. Some Project 21 members fear this may be another attempt by Jackson to use class warfare to pressure businesses to contribute to his organizations. In a speech at a fundraising event for his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's "Wall Street Project" in New York City, Jackson said the shipping industry created the Wall Street financial district and the shipping industry prospered in early America because of slave trading ...
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Black Conservatives Support Bush Stand on Affirmative Action Challenge African-American conservatives from the Project 21 leadership network applaud President George W. Bush for standing firm in his commitment to a colorblind America by authorizing the U.S. Department of Justice to side with students challenging the University of Michigan's race-based admissions policy. The Bush Justice Department is supporting the students' position in their case before the U.S. Supreme Court with a brief filed with the Court. "The Bush Administration is correct to oppose the University of Michigan's demeaning admissions practices," said Project 21 member Deroy Murdock, a syndicated columnist with the ...
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Congressional approval of and White House support for legislation that will help clean up areas of urban blight is being hailed by members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 as an environmental achievement that will benefit inner-city minorities. On December 20, both chambers of Congress passed legislation to raise annual government spending on the rehabilitation of "brownfields" - abandoned and/or contaminated industrial sites - and safeguard developers from federal penalties related to the pollution caused by previous owners. It is called "the most important environmental action of the 107th Congress" by The Washington Post. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine ...
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Members of the conservative African-American leadership network Project 21 are dismayed by recent remarks by incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS). At a December 5 100th birthday celebration for retiring Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Lott said: "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Thurmond's 1948 presidential candidacy was based on a pro-segregation platform. Lott since has apologized, saying his comments were ...
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Singer Harry Belafonte owes Secretary of State Colin Powell an apology for the racial insults Belafonte made about Powell during an October 9 interview. Furthermore, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 urge the group Africare to rethink honoring Belafonte at a dinner being held later this month unless Belafonte makes a formal apology to Powell.In a radio interview with KFMB-San Diego talk show host Ted Leitner, Belafonte likened Powell to a slave who curried the favor of his master. Belafonte added: "Colin Powell's committed to come into the house of the master. When Colin Powell dares to suggest ...
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Huge "Millions for Reparations: They Owe Us" Rally on National Mall on August 17 Opposed by Conservative Black Leadership Group Paying African-Americans reparations now for the long-outlawed practice of slavery is the topic of a rally scheduled for August 17 in Washington, DC. Member of the African-American leadership network Project 21 oppose the notion that black Americans can only be made whole through monetary compensation, and assert that government interference in the lives of African-Americans has already done more harm that good. "It's absurd to suggest that reparations will cure the ills of people in inner cities across the country," ...
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Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 applaud the Senate's July 15 confirmation of Judge Lavenski R. Smith's nomination to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, but continue to urge senators to curb the partisan bias that is slowing the pace of the judicial confirmation process and denying nominees positions for which they are supremely qualified.Judge Smith is the second African-American jurist that the Bush Administration has been able to elevate to a lifetime appointment to America's second-highest court system. Opposition to Smith's nomination from liberal special interest groups, along with a slow-down in the confirmation process that began ...
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NAACP Chairman's Remarks Threaten Black Political Independence Black conservatives are independent thinkers and not the "ventriloquist dummies" that NAACP chairman Julian Bond called them during his keynote address at the NAACP's national convention on July 7. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are outraged that the leadership of the venerable civil rights organization is casting aspersions on fellow African-Americans explicitly because they do not share the same political views.Bond, a former Georgia state legislator who is 62 years old, was critical of younger blacks who are challenging the candidacies and policies of the current black elected establishment. While ...
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New Web Site Focuses on Reparations Debate African-American Group Seeks to Provide Objective Source of InformationAmericans are sharply divided over proposals for the U.S. government to pay reparations to blacks as part of an apology for the once-legal practice of slavery. To help people understand more about the reparations debate, the African-American leadership network Project 21 has created the "Reparations Information Center" on the organization's Internet web site.Project 21's Reparations Information Center, an information clearinghouse that attempts to cover all aspects and viewpoints of the reparations debate, can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.nationalcenter.org/Reparations.html. "Who qualifies for reparations? Do ...
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