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OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE — We have been working to target resources to communities in need across the entire federal government while recognizing that different targeting measures will work better for different programs.
The post OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

10 months ago

July 14, 2023

Oakland Post

By: Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (SC-06)

There is an increased focus on “Bidenomics” as President Joe Biden and his administration implement and communicate his economic policy agenda to the American people. President Biden gave a major speech on the subject in Chicago last month. Listening to that speech, I was struck by one line in particular: “I believe every American willing to work hard should be able to say where they grew up and stay where they grew up.”

Focusing on struggling communities has been a priority of mine for many years. For too long, communities like many of those I represent have been victimized by government policies, overlooked for private investments, and neglected for economic development. President Biden understands that we must make America’s greatness accessible and affordable for everyone, everywhere.

Back in 2009, as we began to plot our recovery out of the Great Recession, I remembered how the New Deal was a raw deal for many of the communities I represent, as it largely excluded African Americans. Careful to avoid repeating that shameful history, I insisted that resources be targeted to long-struggling communities.

We came up with what we called the 10-20-30 formula, which required at least 10 percent of funds in designated accounts to be spent in persistent poverty counties, which are defined as counties that have had a poverty rate of at least 20 percent for at least 30 years. There are more than 400 such counties in America. These counties are as diverse as our country. They are majority Black in the South, majority white in Appalachia, majority Latino in the Southwest, and majority Native American in the Great Plains. Far more are represented by Republicans than by Democrats.

The Recovery Act applied the 10-20-30 formula to three rural development accounts: the Rural Community Facilities Program Account, the Rural Business Program Account, and the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account.

The results were impressive. According to the USDA, the 10-20-30 formula was responsible for funding 4,655 projects totaling nearly $1.7 billion in persistent poverty counties. These projects ranged from drinking water infrastructure in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, to a public safety building in New Madrid County, Missouri, to a “green” administration building for a tribal housing authority in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

We increased the number of accounts subject to the 10-20-30 formula from the 3 in the Recovery Act to 15 for the past several years. Billions of federal dollars have been invested under these provisions, and the benefits have continued. Funded by a USDA Community Facilities Grant, the Bamberg-Barnwell Emergency Medical Center opened in 2019 in rural South Carolina, filling an essential need in two communities where two hospitals had closed in 2012 and 2016.

Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative in New Mexico took advantage of the formula to improve reliability and affordability, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians received a $1.4 million water and waste disposal grant to improve the water infrastructure on their reservation.

A more recent investment by the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce illustrates the promise of these targeted investments in persistent poverty counties. An EDA grant of nearly $4 million was awarded to Panola County, Mississippi, to support the county, and I’m quoting the Department, “with renovating a former outlet mall building for use as a workforce training center that will serve North Mississippi.” That is what the 10-20-30 formula is all about.

Our work to target funds to distressed communities has not stopped with the 10-20-30 formula focused on persistent poverty counties. We recognize that county poverty rates are not necessarily the best metric by which to assess the level of need in urban areas, so we have set aside funds for both persistent poverty counties and high-poverty census tracts, including in the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant program. Late last month, a $22.8 million RAISE grant was awarded to build a pedestrian bridge and multi-modal transit hub in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to connect downtown with surrounding neighborhoods and two HBCUs, South Carolina State and Claflin. This investment will be transformational for that community.

We have been working to target resources to communities in need across the entire federal government while recognizing that different targeting measures will work better for different programs. Last Congress, we developed and introduced the Targeting Resources to Communities in Need Act, which would direct the Office of Management and Budget to work with agencies to take steps to better target funds to struggling communities and report to Congress on the steps that they have taken and the results that they have had.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and I introduced this legislation on a bipartisan basis last year with Hal Rogers (R-KY-05) in the House and Rob Portman (R-OH) in the Senate. It passed the House and was marked up in the Senate. It came up just short of being enacted into law, but our work continues. We have achieved remarkable progress. We cannot help struggling Americans unless we help the communities they call home.

We have a president of the United States who understands that. His vision of a country where “every American willing to work hard should be able to say where they grew up and stay where they grew up” is within reach.

The post OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.