Page 2 The Skanner April 12, 2017
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Opinion
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
Sponsors of Hate Today Must Be Held Accountable
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
O
Jerry Foster
Advertising Manager
Christen McCurdy
News Editor
Patricia Irvin
Graphic Designer
Melanie Sevcenko
Reporter
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2016
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ver the next several
days, across the United
States, people will pause
in solemn remembrance
of the 49th anniversary of the
tragic assassination of Rever-
end Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., in Memphis, Tenn., on
April 4, 1968. Back then, I was
a young, college student and
staff member of Dr. King’s
Southern Christian Leader-
ship Conference (SCLC) in
North Carolina on that tragic
day in 1968.
There is no question that it
has been a long and difficult
road for our communities,
during the past half century,
as we continue to fight for
equal rights and to eliminate
racial hatred, discrimination
and bigotry.
Many in North Carolina may
recall my beginnings in activ-
ism when, as a 13-year-old, I
fought to integrate the public
library in Oxford, N.C., and
was the first African-Ameri-
can to successfully struggle
to get a library card there.
Later, I worked for the SCLC,
CORE, NAACP, and the Unit-
ed Church of Christ Commis-
sion for Racial Justice. Today,
I proudly serve the National
Newspaper Publishers Asso-
ciation (NNPA) as President
and CEO.
Over the years, our work
has taken different shapes
and has required many dif-
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Association and West Coast Black
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the property of The Skanner. We
are not re spon sible for lost or
damaged photos either solicited
or unsolicited.
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BE A PART
OF THE
CONVERSATION
@theskannernews
Benjamin F.
Chavis, Jr.
NNPA
President
and CEO
ferent approaches and levels
of intensity to ensure we con-
tinually push our leaders and
fellow citizens further down
the path of freedom, justice
and equality.
Under the Obama Admin-
istration, we were fortunate
to have friends in the White
“
alt-right movement and its
anti-immigration agenda that
many believe helped to elect
President Trump, we find
ourselves working to main-
tain the status quo in civil
rights rather than advancing
this fight. And we have every
right to be concerned and
frustrated. Yet, as Dr. King be-
lieved, we should work to get
each President of the United
States, including President
Trump, to denounce bigotry
and hatred, as well as to cham-
pion racial equality.
We must tap into that ener-
gy to push our agenda and en-
The Foundation for the Carolinas
has spent tens of millions of dollars
over the years supporting groups
that sponsor hate
House, the Department of Jus-
tice and all across the Admin-
istration, who recognized the
historic opportunities and
worked with us to maximize
them. We saw many advanc-
es for our communities and
the priorities were rightly on
addressing criminal justice
reforms, labor, income, edu-
cation, poverty and access to
health care. We did not arrive
fully there, but we were well
on our way to making more
progress for all people in
America.
With the rise of the so called
sure that our nation’s leaders
do not support bigotry of any
kind and that means identi-
fying individuals and groups
that are sponsoring this hate
and holding them account-
able.
Unfortunately, here in my
home state of North Carolina,
the Foundation for the Caroli-
nas has spent tens of millions
of dollars over the years sup-
porting groups that sponsor
hate and advance this anti-im-
migration and population
control agenda that threatens
our communities. All immi-
grants should be treated fair-
ly and equally without dis-
crimination.
Behind a veil of anonym-
ity created by the Founda-
tion, donors who support
this organization are able
to indirectly fund extremist
groups without any public ac-
countability. The Foundation
prides itself on — and even
advertises — donor anonymi-
ty as a reason to contribute to
the foundation. Large donors
are assured that Foundation
for the Carolinas has “few-
er reporting requirements”
than private foundations that
they might otherwise choose
as a vehicle for their giving.
This condition, afforded to
some of our state’s wealthiest
individuals, has enabled pa-
trons of the organization to
operate unchecked — making
this lack of transparency as a
significant liability for your
organization.
According to the L.A. Times
and others, one individual in
particular, Fred Stanback, has
used the foundation to direct
his money to extreme caus-
es. Behind the cloak of the
foundation, Mr. Stanback has
become a leading supporter,
funneling tens of millions of
dollars, to fringe anti-immi-
grant groups.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com
Trump’s Budget Cuts Hurt the Same People that Voted for Him
I
f you happened to have vot-
ed for the man who now
occupies the White House,
you may be feeling bam-
boozled, right about now. The
man who said that he wanted
to take care of the little peo-
ple, those who were forgot-
ten by the elites, now wants
to cut programs that affect
these working-class people,
ranging from Legal Aid to
Meals on Wheels to housing
assistance to job training. He
would cut the Environmental
Protection Agency by more
than 31 percent, leaving more
than 3000 workers in the cold.
Many of his other budget pro-
visions will call for federal re-
ductions-in-force (RIFs), and
these chaotic RIFs may cause
instability in some govern-
ment agencies, since workers
can appeal, or bump other
workers out of their jobs.
And he’s not using a scalpel
to make the cuts; he’s using
machetes and weed whackers.
His budget makes his position
on the culture wars clear. He
would entirely eliminate fed-
eral funding for the Corpora-
tion for Public Broadcasting,
the National Endowment for
the Arts, and the National En-
dowment for the Humanities,
and National Public Radio.
The Department of Housing
and Urban Development will
get $6.2 billion cut, and even
Julianne
Malveaux
NNPA
Columnist
though the Department of
Education will get a 12 per-
cent cut, $1.4 billion dollars
are slated to support pri-
vate schools through school
choice. HBCU programs have
not been cut, but many of the
“
Though Republicans control
the House of Representatives
and the Senate. I can’t believe
they have all lost their minds.
There are physicians among
those elected Republicans
who must surely understand
the value of the medical re-
search “45” has threatened to
cut. There are educators, who
understand the importance
of summer Pell grants. There
must be a handful of Repub-
licans who will fight the cuts
of the EPA and the cessation
of other climate change re-
The proposed White House budget
is not a fait accompli, and it won’t
be unless we roll over and accept
this madness
programs they depend on,
including work-study pro-
grams, have been cut. It’s an
ugly budget, but it’s the bud-
get that Trump promised, a
budget that “puts America
first with a $54 billion in-
crease in defense spending
and $2.6 billion for the wall
that Mexico is supposed to
pay for.
We need to rail against
this budget even as we tease
out its odious details, but
we also need to realize that
it is too early to panic. Why?
The United States Congress
still has to pass this budget.
search. These are the Republi-
cans who need to step up, and
they are the ones who must be
lobbied.
There will be lots of moaning
and groaning, teeth-gnashing
and horror about this budget,
but there should also be resis-
tance. There will be hearings,
and those who resist ought to
be attending those hearings.
Members of Congress will be
visiting their districts, and re-
sisters need to be there to con-
front them about this budget.
The proposed White House
budget is nothing, but a re-
quest. It is not a fait accompli,
and it won’t be unless we roll
over and accept this madness.
Our 45th President exhibits
an unusual inability to under-
stand our governmental sys-
tem of checks and balances.
He seems to think that he can
unilaterally declare a policy
change. He wants to get rid
of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency. Does everyone?
He wants to put more mon-
ey into private schools. Are
there members of Congress
who would resist? It is time
for Republicans of conscience
(are there any) to step up and
say that it’s not okay to stop
Meals on Wheels. It’s not
okay to damage our environ-
ment. It’s not okay to cut off
funds for medical research.
All of us need to speak up!
People have marched, and
both women and immigrants
have stayed home to express
their resistance. The presen-
tation of this warped budget
offers another opportunity
for resistance, and the very
future of our nature de-
pends on this resistance. It
is unfathomable that these
Bible-thumping Republicans
will turn their back on chil-
dren, the elderly, and those
who desperately need job
training to contribute to the
economy. The key to altering
this budget process is resis-
tance.