Project 21: Press Releases

Blacks Question Conciliation Toward CubaNetwork Cites Abuses and Anti-Black Racism by Communist Regime Citing government-sponsored discrimination, military aggression on the African continent and a poor human rights record, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 question the support liberal black politicians provide to the communist dictatorship of Cuba's Fidel Castro. Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members Gregory Meeks (D-NY), James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) recently returned from a trip to Cuba, urging the U.S. Government to ease the decades-old U.S. trade embargo on the island. Another CBC member, Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), praised the Cuban government in a ...
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As "Juneteenth," the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in America, is observed nationally on June 19, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 ask African-Americans everywhere to take time to celebrate the progress they have made and independence they have achieved. New statistics compiled by Project 21 show tremendous gains made by the black community that merit recognition. Juneteenth marks the day - June 19, 1865 - that Union soldiers brought word of the end of the Civil War and emancipation of slavery to Texas. As the newly-freed African-Americans encountered uncertainty away from the plantations, they viewed ...
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African-American Network Asks Owner Angelos to Consider Afro-Cubans Recent statements by officials of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team in which they orginially said - but later retracted - that they would not sign Cuban defectors to play for the team concerns members of the African-American leadership network Project 21. Project 21 members cite the discriminatory nature of Angelos's initial actions, and the particularly strong effects it would have on Afro-Cubans in Major League Baseball. Orioles Vice President Syd Thrift told The Washington Times last week that the team would not sign Cuban defectors. The team did pass on meeting with ...
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Black Network Demands Social Security Reform Bipartisan Support for Private Investment of Payroll Taxes Applauded When 48% of young Americans believe they will see a UFO but only 28% believe they will see a Social Security check when they retire, reforming America's retirement security plan must be a top national priority, says a recent statement by the African-American leadership group Project 21. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are pleased with the bipartisan progress now underway toward privatizing Social Security and making it fair for black Americans. As the baby boom generation ages, the increasing strain on Social ...
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Crime control ought to be the message of the upcoming Million Mom March in Washington - not gun control. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 demand the government enforce existing laws against gun violence before considering new regulations to further restrict the ability of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. Organizers of the Million Mom March claim "our children's lives far outweigh the right for just anyone, especially juveniles, to carry a [gun]." They are pushing further restrictions on the Second Amendment freedom to own guns like mandatory licensing and trigger locks. Despite their alarmist descriptions of an epidemic ...
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Improper Racial Attacks are Motivated by Political Differences Racial bias of any sort should be abhorrent to our society, but media coverage of the Elian Gonzalez custody battle shows that the establishment media has not been discreet about its dislike of Miami's Cuban-American community. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 condemn the media outlets choosing to demonize a segment of America's diverse population to enforce a political agenda. News coverage of the legal deadlock over whether Elian Gonzalez should be returned to his Cuban national father or remain with his Cuban-American relatives while his petition for political asylum ...
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High-profile black leaders and politicians appear to be selective in their outrage over commemorations of the Confederacy. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 point out that state observances of the Confederacy in the home states of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who are Democrats, are not drawing the condemnation that has been placed at the feet of Republican politicians. On April 22, President Clinton's home state of Arkansas observes Confederate Flag Day. On April 26, Vice President Gore's home state of Tennessee has a similar Confederate heritage observance. Neither commemoration has elicited the national attention ...
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While Leonardo DiCaprio and other big government environmentalists observe Earth Day on April 22, they are overlooking the suffering that some environmental regulations cause in the black community. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 support promoting a policy of true environmental justice that ensures government actions do not discriminate against the poor or minorities. In promoting dubious environmental scare theories like global warming - which cannot be proven by satellite temperature data, the most accurate measure of the earth's temperature, or long-term temperature trends - the Clinton Administration is siding with radical environmentalists in promoting policies like higher ...
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Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are appalled at the politicization of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in forcing a "poll vote" to condemn colorblind college admissions and state contracting in the state of Florida. Project 21 members see this rush to judgement as detrimental to reforming race-based policies and a cheap shot at supporters of reform. Last November, Governor Jeb Bush (R) unveiled the One Florida plan, which orders Florida universities and government agencies to discontinue their affirmative action requirements. In the case of public universities, admissions policies were changed to guarantee admissions to the top ...
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Government Agency Improperly Weighs In Against Colorblind Justice Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are appalled at the politicization of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in forcing a "poll vote" to condemn colorblind college admissions and state contracting in the state of Florida. Project 21 members see this rush to judgement as detrimental to reforming race-based policies and a cheap shot at supporters of reform. Last November, Governor Jeb Bush (R) unveiled the One Florida plan, which orders Florida universities and government agencies to discontinue their affirmative action requirements. In the case of public universities, admissions policies ...
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Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 question the Clinton Administration's sincerity in fighting crime that targets specific racial groups in light of revelations that the Clinton Justice Department allowed members of an organized crime operation - including one member who allegedly targeted blacks for murder - to operate freely while cooperating with a federal investigation. John Martorano recently pled guilty to racketeering charges in Boston. Under the terms of his plea agreement with the government, he will only receive up to 15 years in prison. Although he has admitted to 20 murders, the testimony he is providing against ...
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A politician in blackface and the liberal record of a black judge dominate politics in Missouri and raise the ugly and divisive specter of racial politics nationwide. Project 21 members deplore the use of the "race card" and the threat it now poses to a fair and impartial judiciary.In October, the U.S. Senate voted against the nomination of Judge Ronnie White to a federal judgeship. Missouri Senator John Ashcroft, a Republican, led the opposition to White, who is black, on White's lenient "record in criminal, and particularly death penalty cases." Two state prosecutors' offices and 77 of Missouri's 114 sheriffs ...
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The latest boycott called by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - this time against Little Caesar's pizza and the other businesses of Detroit Tigers baseball team owner Mike Illitch - highlights the group's growing reliance on publicity stunts over substance. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are concerned that the NAACP may be rebuilding its reputation on the backs of poor blacks who will be hurt by the economic impact of the boycotts.NAACP president Kweisi Mfume takes issue with the Tigers because no black candidates were interviewed for an open manager position. While ...
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A new study proposing that legalized abortions have caused a reduction in crime is causing great concern among members of the African-American leadership network Project 21, many of whom fear such ideas could be used to resurrect racist population control programs of the past meant to control the black population in the United States."According to this troubling new study by the liberal elite, all it takes to predict criminal activity is to take a look at the color of the skin of the mother. If you can get a black woman to abort her unborn child, you can make the ...
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Findings of a recent study show black Americans are planning to start investing at higher rates than whites. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are excited at future prospects of wealth and prosperity this will create for the black community."We have made great strides in our fight for equality, but without a strong financial base, blacks will never completely reach parity," said Project 21 member Anthony Anderson. "The fact that black Americans now realize the importance of investing gives them the strongest tool to ensure their civil rights." According to the 1999 Black Investors Survey (BIS) commissioned by ...
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When "Juneteenth" is observed on June 19, the members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 ask African-Americans everywhere to use the celebration of education, self-development and respect to examine and reassess the reliance of many in the black community on government support."We need to be mindful of what the Civil War was about: freedom. Americans of all nationalities are becoming less free every single day," said Project 21 member Reginald Jones. "We should use this special day as a reawakening of the American spirit by teaching and reading the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights." Juneteenth commemorates ...
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Black Leadership Network Faults Anti-Minority Environment Policies Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 find fault with the beliefs and goals of radical environmentalists who are celebrating Earth Day on April 22. These activists regularly promote drastic regulations that harm the welfare of average Americans, particularly minorities, as solutions to perceived environmental problems."Black Americans can no longer afford to senselessly follow the belittling policies of the radical environmental movement," said Project 21 member John Meredith. "The leaders of that insidious movement, if indeed they achieve their ultimate goal, would do far more harm to us as a people than ...
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Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 call Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter's March ruling overturning the NCAA's minimum acadmic standards for freshmen athletes a fit of "March Madness" that will devastate student athletics for years to come. Project 21 members say Judge Buckwalter's assertion that the use of standardized tests is "a discriminatory practice" because the tests are allegedly biased against African-Americans demeans blacks because it suggests they cannot be held to the same standards as other races. It also jeopardizes the guarantee that student-athletes will receive a quality education. "I would imagine that Coach Jerry Tarkanian of Fresno ...
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Death Tax and Proposed Cigarette Tax Unfair to Low-Income and Minority Citizens Two taxes in the state of Maryland - inheritance taxes and a proposed increase in the cigarette tax - are criticized by members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 because they are unfair to all taxpayers and particularly hard on lower- and middle-class citizens, particularly upwardly-mobile blacks. On March 11, 1999, the Maryland General Assembly will hold hearings on a bill introduced by Delegate Obie Patterson to repeal the state's inheritance tax, which heirs must pay in addition to the federal inheritance tax. Patterson says, "To tax ...
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NCAA Academic Standards Ensure Accomplishment in Classroom and on the FieldMembers of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are outraged by the March 8 ruling of a federal judge overturning minimum academic standards instituted by the NCAA to ensure college athletes receive an education allowing them to become successful citizens. Project 21 members say Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter's assertion that standardized tests are biased against African-Americans is demeaning because it suggests blacks cannot be held to same standards as other segments of the population. It also significantly diminishes the guarantee that a player will receive the education he or she ...
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