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LATEST NEWS FROM PROJECT 21

COVID Relief Package Criticized by Black Activists for “Fiscal Irresponsibility”

COVID Relief Package Criticized by Black Activists for “Fiscal Irresponsibility”

Press Release /
Washington, D.C. – Members of the Project 21 black leadership network criticized the $1.9 trillion spending package currently under consideration on Capitol Hill, noting that ...
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“We Will Not Be Cancelled”

“We Will Not Be Cancelled”

ConservativeBlog.org /
Project 21 Co-Chairman Stacy Washington is among the many conservatives who have found their access to social media restricted due to their beliefs. During a ...
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Creating an Effective Black History Month

Creating an Effective Black History Month

ConservativeBlog.org /
It’s the 51st official Black History Month, but – as Project 21 member Christopher Arps notes – it has not always been an effective observance ...
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Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America

About Project 21

Project 21 is an initiative of The National Center for Public Policy Research to promote the views of African-Americans whose entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to family and commitment to individual responsibility have not traditionally been echoed by the nation’s civil rights establishment.

Project 21 participants have been interviewed by hundreds of media outlets, including the O’Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes, the CNN Morning News, Black Entertainment Television’s Lead Story, America’s Black Forum, the McLaughlin Group, C-SPAN’s Morning Journal and the Rush Limbaugh, Michael Reagan, Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and Larry King shows, as well as in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many others.

Project 21 participants live all over the U.S. and have a variety of careers. What they have in common is a desire to make America a better place for African-Americans, and all Americans, to live and work. Project 21 members do this in a variety of ways in their own communities, and, through Project 21, by writing opinion editorials for newspapers, participating in public policy discussions on radio and television, by participating in policy panels, by giving speeches before student, business and community groups, and by advising policymakers at the national, state and local levels.

Project 21: A History

Project 21 is an initiative of The National Center for Public Policy Research to promote the views of African-Americans whose entrepreneurial spirit, sense of family and commitment to individual responsibility have not traditionally been echoed by the nation’s civil rights establishment. This became most obvious during the April 1992 riots in Los Angeles, when the media provided extended coverage of the reaction of liberal civil rights leaders to the events surrounding the Rodney King controversy. Curiously, the media made little mention of those in the African-American community who spoke out in favor of law and order and individual responsibility – and against the rioting.

Rather than merely complain about the lack of attention given to conservative and moderate African-Americans as typified by the coverage of the riots, The National Center for Public Policy Research convened a meeting of conservative and moderate African-American activists in mid-1992 to determine whether it was feasible to construct a network to bring conservative and moderate voices in the black community to the attention of the media. The answer was yes, and Project 21 was born. By March of 1993, Project 21 secured the necessary funding to hire a full-time coordinator to pursue its goals. Project 21’s mission includes the active promotion of conservative and moderate viewpoints by Project 21’s network of members in the media, and the ongoing recruitment of new members to be promoted.

Project 21 acts as a public relations network for moderate and conservative African-Americans, and is interested in promoting those African-Americans who want to discuss their beliefs not only in the privacy of their own homes but in thousands, sometimes millions, of homes across America. Whether a member is a talented writer, articulate speaker, dedicated policy analyst or just have interesting viewpoints on important issues, Project 21 is there to help its members get recognition.

Project 21 has enjoyed enormous success. Project 21’s network of African-American moderates and conservatives have been interviewed by hundreds of newspapers, talk radio shows and television programs throughout the country. Participants have been featured on such programs as CNN & Company, CNN Morning News, The McLaughlin Group, C-SPAN’s Morning Journal, Larry King, Rush Limbaugh, The Michael Reagan Show, BET’s Our Voices, and America’s Black Forum as well as in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, USA Today, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer, and many others.

Project 21 members have been published, quoted or interviewed over 35,000 times since the program was launched in 1992.

Project 21 first burst into attention following the release of Black America 1994: Changing Direction in January 1994. A 77-page volume, Black America 1994 is a comprehensive assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the African-American community. A collection of 15 essays written by Project 21 participants, the report addressed important contemporary issues including economic stagnation, crime, education, health, welfare, and the disintegration of the black family.

In the weeks following the report’s release, its contributors participated in several hundred media interviews, and Project 21 received nearly 5,000 requests for information and numerous offers of support.

Project 21 released a major report, The Health Care Ghetto: African-Americans and Health Care Reform, at a National Press Club press conference in August, 1994. The report was the first of its kind to analyze how various health care reform initiatives would affect minority communities.

In January 1995, Project 21 released a second annual report: Black America 1995: A New Beginning. The report consisted of 38 essays by Project 21 members on topics ranging from the information superhighway to crime. In January 1996, a series of profiles were released of black conservatives and moderates who shun government spending and embrace greater community involvement as the way to solve problems. Black America 1996: A Time for Renewal also included an agenda created by black conservatives and moderates outlining what government needs to do – and what it needs to stop doing – if people are going to start solving their own problems.

In 1997, following two years of research, Project 21 released an in-depth report: Black America 1997: How Government Harms Charities… And How Some are Succeeding Anyway. Until now, it has not been widely known that humanitarian groups suffer from government’s regulatory harassment. The 90-page report received front page newspaper coverage in Washington D.C. and led to calls from lawmakers interested in repealing the regulations that harm the ability of charities to help the poor.

Project 21 also has taken a lead role in bringing to public attention the fact that a substantial number of government environmental rules have a disproportionately negative economic impact on minorities. In addition to assisting with the research and publication of over 60 studies, op-eds and press releases on this topic in recent years, in 2002, joining with the John P. McGovern Center for Environmental and Regulatory Affairs to form a Center for Environmental Justice, Project 21 released a comprehensive econometric analysis of the impact of so-called “smart growth” regulations on minorities. The study, “Smart Growth and Its Effects on Housing Markets: The New Segregation” was published in November, 2002.

Project 21 is also actively involved in educating the public on proposals to empower communities rather than the government. For instance, Project 21 was instrumental in promoting the ideas incorporated in the Community Renewal Act, sponsored by Reps. Jim Talent (R-MO) and J.C. Watts (R-OK) in the 105th Congress. Project 21’s Contract with Black America, proposed to the leadership of the Republican Congress in January 1995, started the process that eventually led to the crafting of the Community Renewal Act.

Press Releases

U.S. Supreme Court Meets Today to Decide Whether to Accept Fair Housing Act Case

Press Release /
Does the Fair Housing Act Merely Require that People Be Treated Equally Regardless of Race, or Does it Require Equal Outcomes? Washington, D.C. - Washington, DC - U.S. Supreme Court justices meet today to discuss which cases they will hear during the Court's upcoming term. Activists with the Project 21 black leadership network urge them to approve the organization's request to accept a case addressing "disparate racial impact" claims under the Fair Housing Act. The justices today will consider whether to hear the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, et al. v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., ...
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Resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder Welcomed

Press Release /
Attorney General "Set Back Race Relations, Showed Disrespect for the Rule of Law and Undermined Basic Constitutional Principles," Says Project 21's Horace Cooper "With Appropriate New Leadership, the Justice Department Can Return to its Proper Role as a Steward of the Constitution" Washington, D.C. - Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a black legal commentator who taught constitutional law at George Mason University and a former general counsel for a U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader, has the following comment on the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder and his legacy: Eric Holder's term as the Attorney General is finally coming ...
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Throughout U.S. History, Immigration Surges Have Harmed Black Workers

Data Release /
Washington, D.C. - Surges in immigration have harmed black workers throughout U.S. history. Evidence shows that eras of high black employment and economic mobility directly correspond with periods of reduced immigration. Should President Obama legalize many or all of the approximately 11.3 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the United States,1 black public policy experts with Project 21 warn, black Americans already experiencing a jobless rate far above the national average could be further harmed.2 Outright discrimination in employment based on race, unfair regulations and ethnic networking also have harmed the ability of black Americans to find and ...
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Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper Calls Out Washington Post Columnist for Attacks on St. Louis County Grand Jury

Press Release /
Cooper Says the Grand Jury Process Plays a Critical Role in the American Legal System Washington, D.C. - In Friday's Washington Post, columnist Dana Milbank claimed the St. Louis grand jury reviewing evidence in the Michael Brown shooting is perpetuating a "farce." "This yet again demonstrates just how far away the liberal media is from providing balanced news and analysis of the Michael Brown shooting," Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper said. "The grand jury plays a critical role in the American legal system and shouldn't be denigrated. It isn't a rubber stamp for the prosecution and it shouldn't be." "Mr ...
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Possible Obama Scheme to Designate Huge Numbers of Latin American Illegal Immigrants as “Refugees” Would Violate Limits on Refugees Set by Obama Himself

Data Release /
Such a Strategy to Circumvent Congress Would Violate Refugee Procedures Set by U.S. Law and Harm Immigration Chances of Desperate Refugee Applicants from Other Continents Washington, D.C. - President Obama reportedly is considering designating Latin American illegal aliens as "refugees" from gangs and drug lords to justify an executive action blocking them from deportation and providing them with a means of seeking American citizenship.1 This scheme, if imposed, would seriously disrupt carefully-crafted rules and limits for accepting refugees into the United States and put refugee candidates from other parts of the world, such as Africa, at a severe disadvantage. Such ...
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Obama Administration Probe of Ferguson Police Called “Well Past a Rush to Judgment”

Press Release /
DOJ May Be Signaling It Does Not Expect an Indictment in Michael Brown Shooting Death Washington, D.C. - Activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are questioning Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to mount a federal investigation of the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department and other law enforcement in the region, saying this is "well past a rush to judgment" and most likely is compensation for the possibility that an indictment may not be handed down in the death of Michael Brown. Obama Administration officials told the media that Holder will soon announce that the Civil Rights Division of the ...
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Public Schools Face Health Threat from Illegal Aliens

Press Release /
Washington, D.C. - An unabated influx of illegal aliens along the southern border of the United States is causing a health crisis in the border region. Actions by the Obama Administration to disperse illegals across America while providing an incentive for more illegals to come could lead to a nationwide health crisis that is likely to manifest itself first within our public schools. Members of the Project 21 black leadership network say President Barack Obama's support of amnesty for illegal aliens and his 2012 executive memorandum deferring enforcement of immigration law for specific younger illegals encouraged an incoming wave of ...
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Obama’s Immigration Policies, if Adopted, Would Prejudice U.S. Immigration Policy Against Immigrants from Africa

Data Release /
Obama's Threatened Executive Actions Would Legalize Millions from Central America and Mexico While His Legislative Agenda Would Cut African Immigration by a Quarter Washington, D.C. - Expected executive action by President Barack Obama to block illegal aliens from deportation would create a de facto preference in immigration law favoring immigrants from the Americas and create a relative prejudice within U.S. immigration policy against would-be immigrants from elsewhere, including Africa, say members of the Project 21 black leadership network. The tens of thousands of Africans who are granted legal immigration status in the U.S. every year are but a tiny percentage ...
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Legal Scholar Horace Cooper Slams Missouri Governor’s Rush to Justice in Michael Brown Shooting Death

Press Release /
"A Rush to Judgment... Demeans the Justice System and the Rule of Law" Washington, D.C. / Ferguson, MO - Legal scholar Horace Cooper of the Project 21 black leadership network is condemning a statement by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon that appears to prejudge the investigation into the death of Michael Brown. Cooper, who is co-chairman of Project 21 and a former professor of constitutional law at George Mason University, said this about Governor Nixon's apparent rush to judgment: A hallmark of the American justice system is that we protect the rights of all Americans, especially the accused. In this case, ...
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Influx of Illegal Immigrant Children Likely to Strain Public Schools

Data Release /
Washington, D.C. - Each of the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border who remains in this country is legally entitled to a free public education. If President Obama allows large numbers of illegal alien children to remain in the United States, the public schools will have to manage an unforeseen and possibly unmanageable influx of new foreign children as early as this fall. This may have a profound impact on public school students – an impact that will disproportionately fall on black and lower-income students, as they are disproportionately likely to attend public schools ...
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Statements of St. Louis Project 21 Members and Others on Continuing Unrest in St. Louis

Press Release /
Washington, D.C. / St. Louis, MO - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network, some of whom are St. Louis residents and eyewitnesses to the unfolding controversy, are speaking out about the continuing protests, looting and rioting in the St. Louis area that have resulted in dozens of arrests. "It's a tragedy what happened over the weekend to young Michael Brown. Cooler heads should now prevail until the investigation is complete. This tense situation does not need outside agitators swooping in fanning the flames of an already tense situation," said Project 21 member Christopher Arps, a St. Louis area ...
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Obama Amnesty Would Hurt Black Americans

Data Release /
Washington, D.C. - If President Barack Obama takes unilateral executive action to grant work permits to millions of illegal aliens, he will hurt black Americans, say experts with the Project 21 black leadership network. How Black Americans Will Be Hurt by an Obama Amnesty Black Americans will be hurt because the President will flood the labor market with workers who compete disproportionately with black Americans. This will increase black unemployment and discourage some blacks from entering the labor market, and, according to some studies, increase black incarceration rates. Facts and Figures Black Americans are already suffering from higher-than-average unemployment. The ...
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Federal Appeals Court Asked to Rehear Landmark Race Preferences Case

Press Release /
Fifth Circuit Didn't Follow U.S. Supreme Court Instructions, Black Activists Say: The Judges Didn't Do Their Job "Racial preferences are a narcotic for the nation's liberal education elites, and like a drug addiction, must be dealt with..." Washington, D.C. - The Project 21 black leadership network and other organizations today filed a legal brief with the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asking for the entire court to hear an appeal of the race preference case of Abigail Noel Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et al. The Project 21 amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief, written by ...
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House Immigration Proposal a Step in Right Direction

Press Release /
President Obama Should Show More Leadership in Deterring Travel to U.S. Border by Young Central Americans "We need a solution that will plug our porous border and swiftly process and deport those who have come here against the law..." Washington, D.C. - Activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are calling on President Obama to send a strong message to the leaders and the parents in Central American countries that their dangerous efforts to enter America illegally will not succeed. The Project 21 activists also are expressing cautious approval of a plan in the House of Representatives next week ...
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Obama’s Meager Efforts to Fix Immigration Crisis Criticized by Black Activists

Press Release /
Tiny Deportation Effort Just Doesn't Cut It "This is What Happens When Commonsense Principles and Practices are Ignored Because of Racial Guilt and Racial Politics" Washington, D.C. - Helluva job, Mr. President! With the Obama Administration taking a bow for arranging for the deportation of approximately 40 Honduran illegal aliens, members of the Project 21 black leadership network point out this number is infinitesimal in addressing the "urgent humanitarian situation" the White House allowed to erupt. They also point out the unchecked influx of illegal immigrants is a clear and present danger to the well-being of the President's black supporters ...
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Black Conservatives File Supreme Court Brief Asking Justices to Clarify Disparate Impact in Fair Housing Act

Press Release /
Case Could Set Major Precedent for Race and Regulation Court Accepted Two Similar Cases Settled Before Consideration -- It's Time for Court to Finally Rule on the Issue Washington, D.C. - With the U.S. Supreme Court finished handing down opinions for its recently-completed term, members of the Project 21 black leadership network joined a legal brief that was recently filed with the Court that asks the justices to finally resolve the vexing issue of disparate impact claims regarding the Fair Housing Act and government-subsidized housing. "Project 21 and the other organizations joined on this brief believe it is vital to ...
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Black Activists Call 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Act Enactment “Bittersweet” Occasion, Since Many Fail to Recognize the Progress That Has Been Made

Press Release /
"The Civil Rights Act changed American culture... racist sentiment became largely outdated and unacceptable ...black people... are now the masters of their own destiny." "Today, black Americans and other minorities no longer face the daunting obstacles that existed prior to 50 years ago. The public square and corridors of commerce are overwhelmingly accessible by blacks and whites, men and women alike." Washington, D.C. - Five decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are commenting on its impact and legacy. Many believe the overwhelmingly positive efforts of the ...
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Hobby Lobby Decision Hailed by Black Activists

Press Release /
Washington, D.C. - Black activists with the Project 21 black leadership network are cheering today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that frees employers with strong religious beliefs from being forced to pay exorbitant fines to practice their faith. "Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the fundamental principle that government may not impose undue burdens on the free exercise of religion," said Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, a legal commentator who taught constitutional law at George Mason University and also served as a leadership staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. "The Obama Administration clearly over-reached in this case. Being so fixated ...
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Obama Administration Trademark Attack on Washington Redskins Condemned by Black Leadership Group

Press Release /
Federal Punishment for Not Changing Name Sets "Dangerous Precedent" Government Retribution Against Private Business Should Concern All Americans, Even Those Who Don't Like Redskins Name Washington, D.C. - By cancelling protected trademarks of the Washington Redskins professional football team, members of the Project 21 black leadership network say, the Obama Administration's Patent and Trademark Office is setting a dangerous precedent. The Washington Redskins lost six trademark protections on the team's name after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that the protections "must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native American "There are Native ...
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Juneteenth Emancipation Anniversary Doubles as Call for Reform of Big Government Policies Limiting Liberty, Pinching Privacy

Press Release /
Black Activists Suggest People Assess Extent of Their Freedom Washington, D.C. - On "Juneteenth," the oldest and most-recognized observance of the demise of slavery in the United States, members of the Project 21 black leadership network are suggesting that black Americans make a personal assessment of how much freedom they actually enjoy these days and how they may be able to expand upon that freedom in the future through limits on government expansion. Juneteenth, an official holiday or observance in at least 40 states, is on June 19. "For what began as a celebration of black Americans' release from chattel ...
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New Visions Commentary

The Obama Administration’s Cynical Chase for the “Subtle” Racist

New Visions Commentary /
Ironically, for a presidency allegedly ushering in a post-racial America, the actions of the White House indicate the Obama Administration considers political manipulation of race to be a practice that's too big to fail. During his recent commencement address at the historically-black Morgan State University, Attorney General Eric Holder said about comments by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and embattled Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy: "These outbursts of bigotry, while deplorable, are not the true markers of the struggle that still must be waged, or the work that still needs to be done." Holder implied Klansmen still lurk in the ...
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Civil Unions: A Redesign of God’s Family Design, by Stacy Swimp

New Visions Commentary /
Before same-sex marriage became the chief focus and the courts made it an easy-to-accomplish goal, civil unions were the refuge for legal homosexual partnerships. Civil unions are defined as a civil or registered partnership that is legally recognized by governments as something that is similar to marriage. After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013's U.S. v. Windsor struck down the Defense of Marriage Act's federal definition of marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife," state laws and constitutional amendments enforcing the primacy of traditional marriage have fallen like dominoes. But gay men ...
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The Secretary of Education Should Put His Money Where His Mouth is on Teacher Tenure Reform, by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
It's hard to find truer words than those of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu. In his recent ruling that California's teacher tenure laws violate the California state constitution, Judge Treu stated such laws cause "the potential and/or unreasonable exposure of grossly ineffective teachers to all California students in general and to minority and/or low-income students in particular." The case, Vergara v. California, brought by students asserting discrimination from pro-teacher tenure protections, is hailed as a modern-day Brown v. Board of Education because of its sweeping potential. In all but three states and Washington, D.C., teachers in ...
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A Flat GDP is Much More Important than Donald Sterling, by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
While many Americans were distracted by the controversy over a taped private conversation between a billionaire and his mistress, some very scary news from the Bureau of Economic Analysis went largely unnoticed. According to this federal agency's report, the U.S. economy grew at a paltry 0.1 percent (annualized) during the first quarter of 2014. While the implications of this economic news are important and quite upsetting, the press nonetheless seemed to focus more intently on the protests against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racial musings and his subsequent ban from the NBA while relegating this dire economic warning to ...
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Three Ways To Save Your Hood Today, by Nadra Enzi

New Visions Commentary /
Self-defense. Private security. Police-community unity. These are the three pillars that comprise my strategy for successful anti-crime activism. Notice that none of these three suggestions require blessings from on high (or low) from the bureaucrats who often are either indifferent or hostile toward citizens who are seeking safer streets, especially if those concerned citizens happen to be residents of the inner city. In my opinion, "hood crime" is too often deceptively used as a cash cow by what I call "white power liberals." They don't talk very much to the black activists who live in dangerous neighborhoods, but they nonetheless do ...
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Even Obama Can Be Accused of Voter Suppression, by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
At the recent annual convention of Al Sharpton's National Action Network, President Obama said his political opponents are "pass[ing] laws to make it harder, not easier, to vote." It was another attempt by the President and his supporters to energize their base — in this case, African-Americans — through scare stories they hope will move masses to the polls in November. Claims over whether voter ID and other polling place protections are intentional attempts to suppress minority voters generally supportive of liberal politicians continue to garner headlines. Historic attempts to suppress votes cannot be denied, but there have been numerous ...
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Al Sharpton Sets Terrible Example By Hugging Vote Fraudster, by Cherylyn Harley LeBon

New Visions Commentary /
After he has made such a spectacle of himself in professing that voter protection laws are unnecessary, it was unsettling for Al Sharpton to publicly hug a convicted perpetrator of vote fraud at a public event. Yet, there was Sharpton -- hugging Melowese Richardson on March 20. At a rally promoting a referendum to amend the Ohio state constitution to make it easier to register to vote, expand valid identification and guaranteed early voting, he didn't run away from Richardson, who recently served eight months behind bars for voting multiple times. She effectively stole the votes of innocent, law-abiding Americans ...
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Despite Scare Stories, Fears About BPA are Unnecessary, by Cherylyn Harley LeBon

New Visions Commentary /
As soon as someone mentions BPA (bisphenol A), I recall the glasses and glass containers our family now uses to replace the plastic containers that previously populated our cupboards. Like many moms, my top priority is keeping my kids safe, so I was concerned about BPA in the past. When the media began reporting BPA might be toxic, we replaced the plastic products and other things in our home thought to contain BPA. It turns out now that much of the fear surrounding BPA is unnecessary. Over the years, my fears were allayed by proclamations by the federal Food and ...
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War on Poverty Won’t Be Won – Unless We Change Strategy, by Derryck Green

New Visions Commentary /
Afghanistan is not, as the media calls it, "America's longest war." In reality, that is the government's "War on Poverty." In 1986, President Ronald Reagan bluntly said, "poverty won." After 50 years, we're still losing the War on Poverty. The percentage of people living in poverty isn't much different from when President Lyndon Johnson committed us to this war. Right now, over 50 million people — 15 percent of Americans — are living in poverty or dependent on some form of government handouts. It's not that government never helped anyone rise out of poverty, but chronic mismanagement and depressing results ...
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There Should Be Repercussions if Taxes Aren’t Spent Wisely, by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
 Americans are now at the tail end of the most dreaded season of all – tax season. Unfortunately, many people may not be thinking properly about their taxes at all. I have a friend whose knowledge of tax policy is second-to-none. He's also experienced the highs and lows of our current economic insecurity. Armed with this wisdom, he recently explained to me how too many Americans aren't assessing their tax burden how they should. For many, taxes are withdrawn through deductions on every paycheck. That's often not enough, and another lump sum is due on April 15. It can be ...
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“Black Code” Plus “Acting White” Equals Self-Created Racial Disparity, by Demetrius Minor

New Visions Commentary /
Is America seeing a resurgence of segregation? It's not a reinstitution of race-specific water fountains or separate-but-equal accommodations, but a self-segregation among black youth that could cripple upward mobility. It's a variation on the fear of "acting white." In 2004, a relatively unknown politician named Barack Obama said society should "eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white." Now our President, who appears to be very concerned about employment and class issues, might mention that associating with white people as he and many other successful blacks have done all their lives is not a ...
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Free-Market Fixes Could Still Save American Health Care, by Elaina F. George, MD

New Visions Commentary /
As "law of the land," ObamaCare has already fundamentally changed American health care. Despite the partisan bickering and disastrous rollout, government has successfully inserted itself between doctors and patients — controlling everything from doctors' treatment options to patient choices about coverage. A group effort including the Obama Administration, liberal lawmakers, insurers, hospital companies and the pharmaceutical industry broke the doctor-patient relationship. But free-market alternatives remain to re-establish it and fix our health care woes. While politicians focus on winning at all costs, a transfer of health and of wealth has begun. A two-tier system is evolving. It consists of those ...
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If I Were a Liberal, by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
Peggy Noonan, the former Republican speechwriter, recently authored a column the Wall Street Journal titled "Incompetence." She highlighted examples of how Obama staffers "don't have a background in executing" the policies the President seeks to articulate. Rather, Noonan wrote, "they have a background in communicating, but not in doing." Of course, an Obama supporter might say Noonan is a partisan conservative. Despite her resume, however, Noonan gave Obama a chance in 2008. Back then, Noonan wrote a "case for Barack Obama, in broad strokes" in which, among other things, she suggested Obama "shows good judgment in terms of whom to ...
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Get Over It: No Hatred in Obama Critiques, by Christopher Arps

New Visions Commentary /
Quite often, fellow African-Americans hear me criticize President Obama and ask me why I hate the President. I reject the premise of the question. I don't hate President Obama, but I do strongly dislike his policies and the divisive tone he has set for his presidency and our nation. Unfortunately, in the Obama era, disagreement with the President's policies for conservative, small government reasons automatically makes one a "hater" or racist. Noted Black progressives such as Tavis Smiley and Professor Cornel West, however, can call Obama a "Rockefeller Republican in blackface" or a "global George Zimmerman" with barely a peep ...
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Blacks Must Speak Outside the Language of Race (Part 1), by Derryck Green

New Visions Commentary /
Blacks must become multilingual. I'm not saying that black folk should learn a second language such as Spanish or Chinese — although the fact that Hispanics are the dominant minority and China is ascending economically might make knowledge of these languages a handy skill. No, it's not as much about how things are being said but about what is actually being said: what message the words convey. The new language, for some, will be both a novel way of speaking and a new way of thinking. I believe blacks need to learn to speak above and beyond the language of ...
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Blacks Must Speak Outside the Language of Race (Part 2), by Derryck Green

New Visions Commentary /
Contrary to popular liberal belief, Black Americans don't speak with one voice. It was the same California blacks who, in 2008, voted for both traditional marriage and Barack Obama — the man who helped craft a U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the popular vote for California's Proposition 8. Past polling from Gallup, Pew and the General Social Survey show large numbers of blacks in America self-identified as conservative while also supporting lawmakers who walk rigid liberal political lines, and who often campaign with language steeped in race. This obsession with race must stop. Black America must become "multilingual" — setting ...
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Disproportionate Definitions of “Disproportionate,” by Hughey Newsome

New Visions Commentary /
In a speech this past February, Attorney General Eric Holder said Americans need to reconsider the punishment that convicted felons lose their right to vote. While some states have means for felons, usually those convicted of non-violent crimes, to regain their voting rights, Holder said, "an estimated 5.8 million Americans — 5.8 million of our fellow citizens — are prohibited from voting because of current and previous felony convictions." Holder claimed 2.2 million African-Americans, or nearly one in 13 African-American adults, cannot vote because "[t]hese laws, with their disparate impact on minority communities, echo policies enacted during a deeply troubled ...
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Black Men Can Benefit Better from Sports Opportunities, and Here’s How, by B.B. Robinson, Ph.D.

New Visions Commentary /
Older siblings often provide useful insights. That's why I wasn't surprised when my older brother recently provided some about young black men attending college on athletic scholarships. My brother would probably not describe himself as a conservative, but this particular wisdom is infused with conservative principles. He began by asking a simple question: How many black students currently attend college? According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), about 3.1 million black students were enrolled in colleges and universities in 2011 — the latest year such numbers are available. His second question: How many of those are male? According ...
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We are Black History, by Demetrius Minor

New Visions Commentary /
Every February, we are kindly reminded of the contributions of black Americans in the past. We reflect on the bravery and courage of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, who through the process of abolition liberated many and validated the cause of freedom. We embrace the legacy of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, who braved the hostility of racism and bigotry to pave the way for many to access the American Dream through their own dreams of equality and justice. Black history is rich with many such stories of heroism, but it is far more than a ...
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An Americentric Thought: Let’s Rebrand “Black History Month” as “American History Month,” by Nadra Enzi

New Visions Commentary /
My fellow Americans of all colors and creeds, I have a proposal that probably will offend some and comfort others. It is offered in the spirit of fulfilling the guiding American principle that you see on your money: E pluribus unum — out of many, one. I propose that we rename the annual February observance known as "Black History Month." My suggestion for a new name is "American History Month." Historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded its precursor, "Negro History Week," in 1926 at a high point of open racism against American blacks. It is unquestionable that we blacks, as ...
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