Project 21: Press Releases

A self-syled minority activist group has announced plans to protest a Nextel Cup NASCAR auto race this weekend. Members of the black leadership network Project 21 speculate that this is another attempt to wrest money and influence from the professional racing organization using the threat of bad publicity. A group calling itself the National Association of Minority Race Fans (NAMRF) plans to stage a protest at the EA Sports 500 NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama on Sunday, October 3. NAMRF currently maintains a members-only Internet web site claiming the group seeks to "create a safe racetrack ...

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a briefing September 17 on the potential for voter disfranchisement in the 2004 general election. Project 21 members charge liberal groups are raising the specter of voter suppression in friendly venues such as the Commission to taint the election before it happens. This in itself may keep some voters away from the polls. Furthermore, it creates a climate where these critics can more easily challenge the integrity of the election if they do not approve of the results, even if such charges are groundless. "It's a smear-and-fear campaign," says Project 21 member ...

A reported command from the NAACP's national leadership forcing the NAACP's Ohio chapter to rescind a speaking invitation to Secretary of Education Rod Paige is disturbing to members of the Project 21 black leadership network. Project 21 members say the move taints the venerable civil rights group as overtly partisan and deprives its membership of a high-level briefing on an issue of great importance to the African-American community. "This shows exactly what the liberals are willing to do in order to make sure the black vote stays with them," said Project 21 member Richard S. Holt, an Ohio resident. "They ...

Members of the black leadership network Project 21 applaud comedian Bill Cosby for his continued and steadfast demands for better parenting in the black community. The entertainer began his current criticism of modern childrearing in Washington, D.C. in May during an observance of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education court decision. He most recently spoke up on September 8 during a panel discussion on education hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. In his September 8 remarks, Cosby criticized parents who believe children "can be managed by cell phone... My call is for more, tighter reins ...

Because of the racially-insensitive content of a recent cartoon, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are asking Universal Press Syndicate to cease the distribution of comics drawn by Ted Rall. Project 21 also is challenging several other civil rights-oriented groups to join in the demand. A July 1 comic by Rall suggests "appropriate punishments for deposed Bushists" that parodies alleged treatment of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison. The panel featuring Bush Administration national security advisor Condoleezza Rice has her saying "I was Bush's beard! His house nigga. His..." She is interrupted by a character wearing a ...

Congressional Black Caucus member Representative Melvin L. Watt (D-NC) owes independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader an apology for his use of off-color and racially-insensitive language during a meeting held in the U.S. Capitol. Furthermore, the CBC as a whole should begin to act in a more civil manner, said a member of the African American leadership network Project 21. On June 22, the CBC met with Nader to try to persuade him to abandon his presidential campaign, with the stated expectation that Nader's absence from the race would increase the possibility of President George W. Bush being defeated in the ...

Mychal Massie, a member of the national advisory council of the African-American leadership network Project 21, will appear on the live C-Span program "Washington Journal" on Thursday, July 15 at 9:30 am eastern. He will address recent comments made by NAACP president Kweisi Mfume about black conservatives. At the NAACP's annual convention, currently underway in Philadelphia, Mfume said that conservative black organizations are formed and funded by white Republicans. He said: "When the ultraconservative right-wing attacker has run out of attack strategy, he goes and gets someone that looks like you and me to continue the attacks... They can't deal ...

Activists with the African-American leadership network Project 21 are demanding that Jesse Jackson support a promising black driver who currently lacks the financial sponsorship needed to advance in the sport. Jackson has publicly complained that black drivers have been excluded from NASCAR. In 1999, according to the National Legal and Policy Center, Jackson told a conference attended by NASCAR's then-CEO "The fact of the matter is there is frustration because of exclusion. We were qualified to play baseball before 1947. We are qualified to race cars now." Since then, Jackson's organizations have received a reported $250,000 from NASCAR and NASCAR ...

A renewed financial relationship between NASCAR and the Reverend Jesse Jackson is drawing a sharp rebuke from members of the African-American leadership network Project 21. Last year, public criticism from Project 21's black activists and the National Legal and Policy Center provoked an outcry among NASCAR fans that led the professional racing organization to discontinue their funding of Jackson's groups. NASCAR recently sponsored a Jackson-affiliated luncheon, with a NASCAR executive explaining, "we would want to be in step with other sports and corporations" in supporting Jackson. "I think it's a disgrace that NASCAR is once again aligning itself with Jesse ...

In the wake of Secretary of State Colin Powell's historic visit to Sudan, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 commend the Bush Administration for its efforts to prevent further violence in the African country that some call "ethnic cleansing." "I applaud President Bush and Secretary Powell for taking a leadership role in this attempt to end what I call pure ethnic cleansing in the Danfur region of Sudan," said Project 21 member Kevin Martin. Martin joined other black activists in a human rights demonstration outside the Embassy of Sudan on July 1. Paralyzed by decades of civil war, ...

In recognition of the 138th celebration of Juneteenth, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are calling upon black Americans to shake off the shackles of dependency and "victim mentality." Juneteenth, observed on June 19, is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in America. "The knowledge gained on June 19, 1865 symbolized newly-acquired freedom," notes Project 21 member Gregory Parker. "On June 19, 2004, let us - as a people - acquire freedom from the victim mentality that stifles our progress." Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. The soldiers ...

Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 commend the U.S. Supreme Court for dismissing a decision forcing the removal of "one nation, under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance recited by children in public schools in the West. They caution, however, that the effort to alter the Pledge is far from over. Project 21 members note activist judges make it all too likely the High Court will be forced to rule on this issue in the near future. "What's really at the heart of this case is judicial activism," said Project 21 member Mychal Massie. "Liberals are using courts ...

Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are taking issue with remarks being made by members of the television news media who are reporting that the Reagan Administration did not help black Americans during the 1980s and that Ronald Reagan himself had a poor relationship with blacks. For example, during the coverage of memorials for the late president, ABC News host George Stephanopoulos said Reagan "did not reach out to African-Americans." ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, commenting on the public visitation at the Reagan Library, said, "we haven't seen many African-American faces." Project 21 member Mychal Massie, who waited ...

As the nation's capital prepares for the public viewing and state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are expressing their profound sympathies to the late president's family and friends and celebrating his achievements in making America stronger and spreading freedom and liberty throughout the world. To follow are personal comments from Project 21 members about President Reagan and his legacy: * Ak'Bar Shabazz (Atlanta, Georgia): "We all mourn the passing of a great leader. As Americans, we bask in the freedoms that Reagan had the clarity of vision to secure. All future ...

In observance of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation decision, members and staff of the Project 21 African-American leadership network are available for comment. On Monday, May 17, Project 21 director David Almasi will be addressing the Brown legacy on the CNNfn program "Market Call" at approximately 9:50 am eastern. In addition, Almasi is the author of the Brown-related essay "Providing Opportunity" featured in the May 2004 issue of The World and I magazine. "Brown brought opportunity," said Almasi in his essay. "By tearing down racial barriers to education, the ...

Project 21 National Advisory Council member Michael King is scheduled to appear on the Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes" program on Tuesday, April 27 at 9:00 pm eastern to discuss Jesse Jackson's recent criticism of the liberation of Iraq. In comments made before and during a speech at the 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference in Boston on April 3, the Boston Herald reports, Jackson condemned U.S. efforts to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power. He called the U.S. liberation of Iraq "a crime against humanity" and said Iraqi deaths resulting from the actions of U.S. forces are "murder." ...

Black activists from Project 21 are criticizing Reverend Jesse Jackson for comments he made earlier this month in which he claimed U.S. military action in Iraq constitutes "murder" and said U.S. troops are committing "a crime against humanity." In comments made before and during a speech at the 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference in Boston on April 3, the Boston Herald reports, Jackson condemned U.S. efforts to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power. He called the U.S. liberation of Iraq "a crime against humanity" and said Iraqi deaths resulting from the actions of U.S. forces are "murder." He encouraged ...

Minority activists and environmental experts are joining together on Earth Day 2004 to condemn domestic and international environmental regulations that destroy economic opportunity, encourage neo-segregationist housing policies, endanger public health and generally pit human welfare against regulatory goals. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 will be joined by distinguished environmental scientists and activists in the National Press Club's First Amendment Room (529 14th Street NW, 13th floor) in Washington, D.C. at noon on Thursday, April 22, Earth Day, to discuss the need for environmental justice policies that assess the economic and social costs of regulations before they are ...

Mychal Massie, a member of Project 21's National Advisory Council, participated in a CNN focus group watching National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the September 11 commission. His reactions will be broadcast on Thursday, April 8 on CNN's "Paula Zahn Now" program at 8 pm and 2 am eastern. Project 21, an African-American leadership network, has been a leading voice in the African-American community since 1992. In the wake of the testimony, fellow Project 21 member Darryn "Dutch" Martin said of Rice's testimony: "If there were any doubts about Condoleezza Rice's ability as a capable and competent national security ...

In response to actions and comments by members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) regarding American policy toward Haiti, the African-American leadership network Project 21 endorsed a letter to Chairman Joel Hefley (R-CO) asking the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to conduct a formal investigation of the CBC. The letter was originally sent on April 1, 2004 by the Brotherhood Organization for a New Destiny, a family-focused, community-based organization in Los Angeles, California founded by Project 21 member Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson. The call for an investigation comes after members of the CBC alleged the ...