Project 21: Press Releases

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 ...

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 ...

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," ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 https://nationalcenter.org/Reparations.html. "Who qualifies for reparations? Do ...

Holiday Commemorates End of Slavery, Beginning of Full Self-Determination "Juneteenth," the oldest known celebration marking the end of slavery in America, is observed on June 19. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 ask for people everywhere to set aside some time on this day to reflect upon progress already made by black Americans and consider where challenges still remain. Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news of the end of the Civil War the previous April and the emancipation of slaves almost two-and-a-half years earlier. For newly-freed ...

The U.S. Supreme Court's June 27 decision upholding the constitutionality of school vouchers is hailed by the African-American leadership network Project 21 as a major leap forward in providing inner-city minority children with access to a quality education. "The Supreme Court's decision on vouchers is a clarion call," said Project 21 member Council Nedd. "This is an opportunity for parents to get their children out of substandard schools and be afforded an opportunity to truly learn." In its decision, the Court upheld the constitutionality of an existing voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio by overturning a lower court ruling that claimed ...

An opinion issued by an understaffed federal court which outlawed children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as an unconstitutional promotion of religion has outraged the membership of the African-American leadership network Project 21.A panel of judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted two-to-one that the Pledge's description of the United States as "one Nation, under God" violates the First Amendment's prohibition of the establishment of a state religion. Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, a semi-retired judge serving on the case due to judicial vacancies, wrote the opinion. He was joined by Judge Stephen Reinhardt. "I guess Judge Goodwin was ...

Environmental regulations are harming minorities and low-income Americans while providing little real environmental protection. Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 suggest that Earth Day 2002, observed on April 22, be used as a time to reassess our nation's environmental goals so that no citizen is unjustly burdened by the cost of government rules. As currently written and enforced, environmental regulations unjustly burden minority and low-income Americans. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates an average household pays $3,000 per year to comply with environmental laws. Since black families earn less than white families on average, black families spend approximately 12 ...

Black Stewardship Celebrated in Black History Month ObservanceCall Made for True Environmental Justice: Minorities Should Not Have to Bear Disproprotionate Burden for Environmental ProtectionFrom the "New Segregation" threatened by anti-sprawl advocatesto the disproportionate burden carried by lower income Americans to comply with clean air regulations to the potential loss of nearly 900,000 held by African-Americans should restrictive anti-global warming policies be adopted, African-Americans an other minorities have a keen interest in promoting and monitoring true environmental justice. African-American environmental achievements are celebrated and concerns are being aired by Project 21's Center for Environmental Justice as part of the African-American leadership ...

Calls For End to Liberal Smear Campaign Against Gerald Reynolds Believing the lack of a full staffed U.S. Department of Education is a disservice to our children, the members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 urge the members of the U.S. Senate to work quickly so that a timely confirmation vote can be scheduled on the nomination of Gerald A. Reynolds for the position of Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights. After months of waiting, Reynolds is only now scheduled for a confirmation hearing on February 26, and has had his reputation tarnished by false ...

As the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) prepares to deploy "border patrols" to enforce their boycott of the state of South Carolina, the African-American leadership network Project 21 is highly critical of the NAACP's intimidation tactics and the risk the boycott poses to the state's African-American residents. As a way of enforcing the group's national campaign to discourage South Carolina tourism, NAACP National Field Director Nelson B. Rivers III told The State newspaper: "The border patrol is our way of standing at Georgia and North Carolina borders [asking] that you not stop, not stay in hotels ...

A proposal by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) to reinstate a military draft is under fire from African-American conservatives affiliated with the Project 21 leadership network. Project 21 members call the Rangel proposal a blatant political maneuver meant to inject a divisive racial aspect into the debate over using military force to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "Ironic as it may sound, bringing back the draft would be a good sign for those who seek to destroy us because it would be a sign of strategic weakness," said Project 21 member Captain A.A. Warthen, an active-duty U.S. Marine. "The Rangel proposal ...

Black Group Says Public Housing Residents Wrong to Spurn Community Service Provision Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 sharply criticize a provision in the pending 2002 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spending bill that would repeal a requirement for out-of-work and able-bodied residents of public housing to perform community service. Enacted in 1999, the current law gives housing authorities the ability to require residents between the ages of 18 and 62 to spend eight hours a month doing things around their communities like gardening, security and daycare. Exemptions are provided for the disabled, the employed, students ...

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairman Mary Frances Berry's refusal to recognize the appointment of Commissioner Peter Kirsanow is akin to former governor George Wallace's refusal to integrate the Alabama school system say members of the African-American leadership network Project 21. The fact that Kirsanow is a black conservative is considered to be one of the main reasons for Berry's actions. Kirsanow, a Cleveland labor lawyer, was appointed by President George W. Bush to take a seat on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on December 5. He was sworn in as a commissioner at a White House ceremony on ...

African leaders are appealing to the United States government to ignore the misguided political protests against genetically-modified foods so that those afflicted with diseases and starvation on the African continent might have hope for the future. Project 21 members are supportive of these efforts to help blacks in Africa as well as educating all peoples of the world about the benefits of advancements in food technology. A 1997 report by the World Bank and the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research estimated that biotechnology would increase agricultural production in the developing world by as much as 25%. In Africa, genetically-modified ...

On the eve of the 225th anniversary of American independence, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are appalled that there are prominent African-Americans who refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. These people claim the American flag represents slavery and racial oppression, ignoring the growth of America into a nation that fosters equality and opportunity. "When these American-hating blacks attacked the Confederate flag, I said that if we gave in to their demands, they would not stop there. So it's little surprise that they're back now," said Project 21 member Reverend Jesse Peterson. "Anyone elected to represent the ...

Unlike the administrators of the Rodeph Sholom Day School in New York City, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are proud to celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday. Project 21 members were shocked to learn that the school has suspended Mother's Day-related activities because of concerns for the feelings of children raised by homosexuals, single parents and grandparents. Mother's Day was first celebrated 94 years ago in Grafton, West Virginia, and was proclaimed a national holiday in 1914. Rodeph Sholom Day School director Cindi Sampson, however, told the New York Post that her school was banning activities - like ...

In the wake of the racist remark made by senior Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are concerned by the lack of spirited criticism by the civil rights establishment of the senator's statement in comparison to their treatment of conservatives and then-presidential candidate George W. Bush on matters of race. Senator Byrd was interviewed by Fox News Sunday host Tony Snow in a segment that aired on March 4. While expanding on his comment that race relations are now "much, much better than they've been in my lifetime," Byrd made reference ...