REPARATIONS: Paid in Germany,

Ignored in the U.S.
Jerry Henderson, the election expert just back from Bosnia, sent in a few press clippings appearing in the European press.  In his accompanying letter, Jerry notes, AIt is interesting that the issue of slave labor is now on the front burner in Europe.   You may want to do something with these articles in relationship to the research you did for the articles on reparations.@   Following Jerry=s suggestion, we give you this:

From The International Herald Tribune, September 13, 1998 p.18. AVolkswagen establishes $12 Million Fund for Nazi-Era Victims@ (Los Angeles Times) Berlin – With its announcement Friday of a $12 million Private Relief Fund, automotive giant Volkswagen became the first German company to accept a moral obligation to compensate Nazi-era slave laborers. VW, Europe=s biggest car maker, cast it decision as a voluntary humanitarian gesture rather than a legal obligation, saying it was Amorally called upon@ to redress the wrongs of the company=s World War II forerunner.  Last month, Holocaust survivors filed two lawsuits in New York seeking back wages for wartime slave labor from some of Germany=s leading industrial giants, including VW, Siemens, Daimler-Benz and BMW.  AWe are satisfied with this decision, as it should accelerate other out-of-court settlements@ between German companies and their surviving wartime slaves, said Klaus von Muenchhausen, who represents 150 Nazi victims with various claims against German companies. Von Muenchhausen has pressed and won claims in district courts in Bremen and Bonn on behalf of other slave laborers over the past two years.  He contends that those cases established a legal precedent that companies that used workers enslaved by the Nazis individually are obliged to make restitution even though the German federal government has paid out 100 billion marks, or about $59 billion, in war reparations. AMany companies have said they would pay if a general fund was created,@ said Von Muenchhausen.

(From The Wall Street Journal Europe, September 16, 1998 p. 10 excerpted from  Eric Peters= column.)  AThe industrial companies of Germany played and integral role in the Holocaust,@ said Mr. Fagan (an attorney) whose suit also names Daimler-Benz, BMW, Audi and five non-automotive corporations.  AThey masterminded and implemented with the Nazi regime a conspiracy to purposely enslave and exploit Holocaust victims and to profit from the Holocaust.= All of that is true enough.  Just as the Confederate States of American practices chattel slavery, just as the U.S. government repeatedly abrogated lawful treaties made with sovereign American Indian tribes and stole their land.  But that was a long time ago and the principals are all dead. What happened was indeed tragic, cruel, and grossly, maliciously iniquitous.  But what has that to do with people born years after the fact-or companies whose only connection to their predecessors of half a century ago is a name on a corporate logo? The Volkswagen of the Third Reich died with Hitler in April 1945.  Its factories in Wolfburg lay in ruins….It=s one thing to demand that Swiss banks-intact corporate entities before, during and after the war-be made to account for their activities during the war. (OTP emphasis)  But as for VW and the other German industrial concerns of today, their sins died with the empire they served.@

And finally, this from the January 1998 issue of Our Time Press:

 AStolen Land Stolen Labor -The Case
for Reparations: America=s Real Debt.@

By 1856 the advertised prices for European-owned African-Americans on one document of that time ranged from a high of $2,700 for Anderson, a ANo.1 bricklayer and mason,@ and $1,900 for George, a ANo. 1 Blacksmith,@ to $750 for Reuben, even though he was labeled Aunsound.@  (See Railroad Contractor=s Credit Sale document of a choice gang of 41 slaves.)   The average cost for this lot of people was  $1,488.   As a second reference for this number, we can look at the chart for the cost of Prime Field Hands, and find that it is pretty accurate.   By multiplying the census count of slaves by the average advertised price, we arrive at a value of $5.3 billion ($5,327,079,968).    This may not look like a lot of money now, but compare it to other figures of the day.  The National Wealth Estimate for the entire nation in 1856 was $12.3 billion ($12,396,000,000).  [Note:  All figures, come from Tables in the cited U.S. Bureau of the Census publication]  Total Bank Savings Deposits in 1856 was $95.6 million.  Manhattan Island, Land and Buildings, was worth only $900 million dollars, less than one-fifth of the value invested in African-Americans.  The 1855 total capital and property investment in railroads was only $763.6 million dollars.   Why the $5 billion dollar investment in slaves?   In 1859, the total private production income was $4,098,000,000 ($4 billion).  Of this total, labor-intensive industries like Aagriculture@ and Atransportation and communication,@ accounted for $1,958 million (1.9 billion),   Almost one-half the total private income… The money earned from this investment found its way into a variety of banking institutions, which increased from 506 in 1834 to 1,643 in 1865.  Many of the names remain familiar to this day:  The Bank of New York Company, Inc. – founded 1784,  Fleet National Bank – 1791, Chase Manhattan Corporation – 1799, Citicorp/Citibank N.A. -1812 , The Dime Savings Bank – 1859.    As banks in King Cottons= Achief American market, that of New York,@ it is inconceivable that these institutions, and through them the nation, did not benefit from the profits made on a slaves= wages.   Their business then, as it is now, was to be a source of funds to build empires in a variety of industries, across the continent, to make land purchases, upgrade equipment, save to send children to college, etc.   Railroads could be built using a combination of slave labor and loans taken at banks that held money on deposit from the cotton/slave industry.   Money was also paid to a variety of people who, while not slave-owners themselves, were Ain the loop@ of payments for goods and services.  Thus were assets being used to develop the country for the benefit of Europeans and their heirs.  The nation as a whole benefited, and that=s why the nation as a whole should pay.
 
If Mr. Peters of the Wall Street Journal Europe, supports the notion of Swiss banks being accountable because they remained corporately intact through the holocaust and beyond, then perhaps he also supports the notion that the banks just listed be held accountable for the monies earned from chattel slavery.  After all, Slavery only ended 75 years before the Holocaust they speak of here.   
Additionally, unlike wartime corporations dying and new ones springing up here in the States, many corporations can be found that directly owe the building of their foundations to the work of slave labor.   The push for reparations for the African American community must go forward.         DG

Giving Incarcerated Parents A Fighting Chance To Reunite With Their Children

Sen.Montgomery,Assemblyman Aubry & Children and Families Commissioner join together to protect families from being separated.
Lawmakers and criminal justice reform advocates joined together at the State Capitol last week to garner support for legislation (S.2233/A.5462-A) that will allow foster care agencies the discretion to delay filing papers to terminate the parental rights of parents who are incarcerated or enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program.

Making the Right Connections: Brandon, 13, (center), at State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery’s right, stated at a recent press conference: ‘I’m glad my mom is by my side right now helping other children get their moms back and passing this bill. I just want to say that I’m glad that I have her and I love her.”

The bill’s sponsors, Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Queens), were joined in discussing their legislation by New York State Children and Families Commissioner Cladys Carrion, Correctional Association representatives, and formerly incarcerated women and their children.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) Expanded Discretion bill gives incarcerated parents and their children a greater opportunity to work towards reunification and safe permanency options that do not involve severing family bonds.
“The time is now to pass my bill, which will go a long way toward helping families develop and maintain healthy, lasting connections,” said Senator  Montgomery, who is the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Children and Families. “For too long, we’ve failed to protect the best interests of children in foster care with parents in prison and treatment programs.  I sponsored this bill to give families separated by the criminal justice and child welfare systems the fighting chance they deserve to rebuild and stay whole.”
Almost always, ASFA requires a foster care agency to file a termination of parental rights petition if a child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months. However, the median sentence length for women in New York’s prison system is 36 months and most incarcerated parents are limited to family visiting opportunities, telephone and mail service and unable to participate in foster care planning meetings, making it difficult to fulfill child welfare responsibilities.
More than 100,000 children have parents in a New York State prison or jail, including nearly 10,000 children with an incarcerated mother.
Terminating their parental rights will not necessarily find equal permanency for a child and many continue to stay in foster care. “This legislation will allow parents in prison and residential treatment, who are working towards rehabilitation, an opportunity to maintain and develop loving, supportive relationships with their children and to find permanent placements that do not involve severing important family bonds forever,” said Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, Chair of the Committee on Correction.  “Giving these families the chance to stay connected is the right thing to do – it is also a crucial component of curbing recidivism and enhancing public safety.”
“For over a decade, New York’s ASFA laws have devastated parents caught up in the criminal justice system and their children,” said Tamar Kraft-Stolar, Director of the Women in Prison Project at the Correctional Association of New York.  “This bill takes critical steps toward balancing the playing field for families separated by prison and treatment programs struggling to stay connected.  Its provisions will help ensure that ASFA’s timeline does not trump permanency decisions that are best for the child and the family.”
Susan Jacobs, Executive Director, Center for Family Representation, stated: “Our organization represents hundreds of parents, including parents in prison, in child protective and termination of parental rights proceedings. We know from years of experience that having the time to facilitate meaningful visits and communication can mean the difference between a family staying together and losing ties forever.
In addition, termination hearings are among the most time-intensive and expensive proceedings in Family Court.  When additional time is provided to work on solutions, it is possible to create workable and safe placements for children, and savings for state and local governments.”
The ASFA bill passed the Assembly on January 26, 2010 and now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

Coalition Campaigns to End Prison-Based Gerrymandering

Senator Eric T. Schneiderman and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries joined forces with a statewide coalition today to announce a new organizing campaign plan to end prison-based gerrymandering in New York State before the 2010 Census.
The coalition’s goal is to organize across the state to pass Senator Schneiderman’s bill that would require New York State to count incarcerated persons in their home communities-rather than in the districts where they are incarcerated-for purposes of drawing legislative district lines. If passed, it would be the first law in the nation to count prisoners in their home communities for districting purposes.
“It’s an absolute injustice that New York currently counts people in the districts where they are incarcerated, rather than in their home communities. I am proud to be here to join forces with Sen. Schneiderman, Assm. Jeffries and this coalition to end this unconstitutional practice. If we do not act soon, it will be 10 long years for another opportunity to right this wrong. We cannot afford to wait,” said Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Equal representation under the law benefits everyone,” said Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, the lead sponsor of the bill to end prison-based gerrymandering. “The practice of counting people where they are incarcerated undermines the fundamental principle of ‘one person, one vote’ – it’s undemocratic and reflects a broken system. This legislation is as simple as it is fair: it requires that legislative districts at every level of government contain an equal numbers of residents. The time to act is now.”
Assemblyman Jeffries is the bill’s lead sponsor in the Assembly.
“This bill is necessary to break the back of the prison industrial complex where certain communities benefit from the criminalization of young people who disproportionately come from low-income neighborhoods across the state. Prison-based gerrymandering is unfair, unethical and unconstitutional, and we will not rest until the process is changed,” said Assemblyman. Jeffries.
 ”Prison-based gerrymandering continues to cheat needy communities of fair and equitable representation across the state of New York. This archaic formula perpetuates traditional electoral disparities by insuring that many men and women of color be counted by the U.S. Census in counties where they are incarcerated as opposed to where they resided at the time of their arrest. This practice cheats neighborhoods of much needed resources as well as a fair share of political representation,” said Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, a co-sponsor of the bill.
The new coalition was represented by Citizen Action of New York, The Public Policy and Education Fund, The Prison Policy Initiative, New York Civil Liberties Union, Demos, Common Cause, the Brennan Center for Justice, Fortune Society, Bronx Defenders, Praxis Project, Correctional Association of New York, Community Service Society, New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Center for Law & Social Justice, Nu Leadership Policy Group, Prison Families of New York and Exponents. The announcement was followed by a statewide organizing meeting that included more than 50 community-based organizations focused on passing this legislation.
Eddie Ellis, executive director, Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, said, “This critical piece of legislation speaks to the fundamental principle of a participatory democracy, namely: ‘one man/woman, one vote.’ In additional to violating the constitution of the state of New York regarding residency, the current census counting process for incarcerated people also violates the ‘one man/woman, one vote’ principle in as much as it assigns disproportionate representation to certain counties to the detriment of others. As such, this process must be changed.”
“When the Census tallies incarcerated people at prison locations far from home, the picture of the American civic community is distorted, with profound ramifications for our democracy,” says Erika Wood of the Brennan Center for Justice. “The policy gives public officials in prison districts an incentive to build their districts on the backs of ‘ghost voters,’ packing in prisoners who count toward the district size but who are not permitted to vote.”
“New York State is undermining the core American principles of fairness and equal representation by pretending that inmates are legitimate constituents of the districts where they are incarcerated,” said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “Our state must end this corruption of the political process and count all New Yorkers as members of their home communities.”
“Common Cause/NY applauds Senator Schneiderman and Assembly Member Jeffries for their leadership in righting an obvious wrong,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY. She added, “In order to achieve fairly drawn legislative and congressional districts and insure the efficient use of scarce government resources, it is essential that the census miscount of incarcerated New Yorkers not be the basis for redistricting and distribution of resources. Article II, Sec. 4 of our state constitution demands no less.”

Providence House Proposed 60% Transitional Complex on Kosciuszko Raises Question of “Social” Service Saturation

Are service providers overdosing Bedford-Stuyvesant with affordable housing we can’t afford to have anymore? A nonprofit organization founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph has provided transitional and permanent housing for 30 years, twenty-seven of them in Community Board 3.  Now they want to create affordable/supportive apartments at 273-277 Kosciusko, including 26 apartments for formerly homeless women with a history of incarceration, graduating from Providence House’s other transitional housing programs.  They say 40% of the housing will be available to neighborhood residents who meet low income criteria, but its the 60% we’re concerned about.  We believe everyone should have a place to go.  But how many more transitional places can Bedford Stuyvesant hold. Not to mention, the personal demons that transitional residents face –  echoed all around them in the many transitional, supportive and social services facilities in the area.  By bringing in even more, there is the creation of an enabling community.  And if each housing area has only a 20% recidivism rate, then with the concentration of facilities creates a critical mass of negativity, posing a threat to the family-centered strivings of the hosting community. That the provider wants to bring former Bedford-Stuyvesant residents back to where they’ll find former acquaintances, seems to suggest Providence is tone deaf to the nature of toxic relationships.  We know there’s no use in recommending Providence build academies and learning centers.  But this is exactly what we need –  institutions that encourage healthy life choices and real independent living.  Now that’s something we can afford to have in this community.

MacDonough Street Update,Department of Buildings: “Stay Granted Through March 3″

Markowitz: Lauds Partnerships that Preserve Neighborhoods

First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson’s “Healthy Steps to Albany

FIRST LADY MICHELLE PATERSON:  Making Healthy Steps – and History -  Downstate in Quest to Teach Children Importance of Nutrition and Exercise

 Over the past year, she’s brought her health and wellness message to thousands of New Yorkers at key events and, with her Healthy Steps to Albany campaign, inspired hundreds of middle school students to increase their physical activity and consumption of healthy foods.
Fueling her “healthier New York” missions are the stunning data on obesity throughout the nation – especially childhood obesity.  And, as reporter Andrew J. Hawkins noted in The Capitol newspaper last May, the First Lady “can effortlessly rattle off statistics: one in four children is overweight; one in three in communities of color.  More young people today have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular problems than ever before.”  ”The purpose of the Healthy Steps program is to educate:  exercising regularly improves your physical, emotional and psychological health,” says First Lady Paterson, is also Honorary Chair of the New York State Commission on National and Community Service and Director of Integrative Wellness at Emblem Health.  “Students who eat well will learn and live well, too.”

New York State’s First Lady Goes to Frontlines to Deliver “Healthy” Message: New York State’s First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson, mother of two and a corporate executive, is equally at home on the frontlines educating middle school students about nutrition and healthy lifestyles as she is attending high-profile events. She is seen here in The Bronx at P.S./M.S. 279 Captain Manuel Rivera, Jr. School addressing students as part of her Healthy Steps to Albany: First Lady’s Challenge competition. “Having been a runner for more than 30 years, I know the importance of physical fitness and I want to do what I can to curb the tide of childhood obesity that threatens our city, our state and indeed our nation.” In addition to running, her personal fitness regime includes weight-bearing, exercises, pilates and yoga. The next Healthy Steps competition starts March 1. To register your middle school, visit www.healthystepstoalbany.ny.gov .

“Yet, despite the incredible medical breakthroughs of the past few decades, our children are part of the first generation of kids who may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents,” she said recently. “We have seen an increase in the rates of obesity-related illnesses, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We, as parents, educators and community leaders, must promote healthy activity, eating and living so that our children can lead long, healthy and active lives.”

People Didn’t Believe This was The Big One

By Rachel Pratt and Garry Pierre-Pierre
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Marjorie Louis was sitting in her kitchen eating dinner when she felt the house shaking but she didn’t get up.

“I didn’t think it wasn’t going to be serious…and was waiting for it to stop. But I noticed it wasn’t stopping and finally tried to get up off the table but just couldn’t get up,” said Louis, a banker who lives in Delmas. “I looked outside the window and saw a large cloud of dust and started to hear my children screaming.”

Louis was considered among the lucky, having survived an earthquake that killed thousands of her countrymen. A few days after the seismic tremors, stories of survival, death and destruction continue to engulf this mountainous Caribbean nation of roughly 9 million people.

Her story is similar to those of millions of others after Haiti’s capital was hit with this seismic disaster. Thousands of people were killed and caught under the rubble for the same reason. They didn’t believe this was “the one” and were completely caught off guard. Haitians explained how miniearthquakes had become the norm in recent years. But they never imagined that this catastrophe would happen in their lifetime.
“Now I know that not leaving the house and making my family leave was a mistake. I feel so empty and helpless, ” Louis said. Six others in the house never left. Fortunately, they made it out alive.

According to a Haitian doctor, “There is a five-second rule. If you count to five and it keeps shaking, that’s when it’s serious.” Unfortunately …this one lasted longer than five seconds. But by the time a person finished counting, it was too late to escape.

Lyvee Memon had just arrived home from a funeral at Sacred Heart Church – a historical landmark completely destroyed- was in her living room when the tremors began. She couldn’t believe it was the real thing and planned to wait for it to stop until the walls fell all around her. She survived and was pinned under the rubble. “I was able to find a small little hole that only a child could fit through, to make it out,” Memon said days later.

Herold Guillaume was driving along Nazon Road when his green Toyota sedan began bouncing off, thinking that someone was hitting his car. He looked up to see buildings falling all around him. Debris falling all around him as the sky was quickly covered with a powdered substance.
“I left the car and walked home all the while thinking about my father who was home alone,” Guillaume said.

Emmanuel Jean was on the top floor of his three-story home and his father was in the study on the first floor. The robust building crumbled like matchsticks and Jean said he barely escaped.

“I ran downstairs and looked for my father and got him out,” said Jean, an electrical engineer. Since then, Jean has been living in his backyard while making arrangements to join his mother and sisters who live in Long Island.
“I’m still in shock,” he said. “I never expected this would come. Now we have to start our lives from nothing. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

On Sunday, Mass Was About the Dead

by Garry Pierre-Pierre
The Haitian Times

PORT-AU-PRINCE – Rosemarie Tintin’s black hat and veil barely covered the sorrow on her face. She has recently lost her entire family from the earthquake and the only place she could find solace was at her church.
But that too was not possible. Tintin was one of about 300 parishioners gathered in the courtyard of the Saint King of France Church wearing their Sunday best to attend Mass.
“Help me God,” she said. “Help me God.”
A hand-written note had replaced the glass marquee posting service time. “The parish of Saint Louis advised all of its faithful that there will be a mass at 6:30 AM Sunday, January 17, 2010. PS: There will be only one mass. Thanks and courage.”
This was not just a regular church service. For one thing mass is usually celebrated in the pews, not in the yard. So it was on the first Sunday after an earthquake destroyed this city, survivors struggled to keep to their routine, including attending mass.
“If you can be here today, we have to thank God because those who died did not do so because God doesn’t love them,” said one of the three priests who gave the eulogies. “So let’s pray for them so their soul could rest in peace.”
Even the houses of worship did not escape the wrath of this tremor. Sacred Heart, National Cathedral; Church of Christ… They are all in ruins. At Sacred heart, the crucifix stands erect surrounded by debris from the fallen roof and walls of one of the most popular churches in Haiti.
“God is telling us something,” said Robert Thomas to no one in particular standing in front of the church.
On Sundays, Haitians usually gather at home with family members eating pumpkin soup and patties for brunch. But this Sunday, few people were able to pamper themselves with such luxuries.
Since the earthquake hit on Tuesday, the days have seemed like a blur to everyone and the easiness that is associated with the holy day has been a continuation of the macabre task of digging people stuck under buildings. The government has continued to scoop up bodies, burying them in mass graves, offending the sensibilities of many who feel that there should be a better way.
“Oh my God, look what’s going on,” said Gerard Thomas as health officials scooped up a few bodies that were lined up along Canape Vert Road. “Look what we Haitians have become… some dogs are better than us.”
Prayer and Masses did not start on Sunday. Throughout the week, impromptu Masses have taken place with people giving thanks to God. Most of them feel ashamed for having survived the calamities that have taken the lives of neighbors, relatives and friends.
“My son was standing next to me and I tried to grab him,” said Thomas. “Then the building fell and I left. I got out and he’s dead.”
While some people found time for church, many simply were too shocked and dazed to remember that they should attend service in this deeply Catholic country.
“I forgot,” said Lionel Guillaume when asked whether he had gone to church Sunday morning. “I don’t know what to think.”

A Night on Rue Berne:Living on the Streets

En Route to Witness what is Perhaps the Worst Natural Disaster in this Hemisphere

by Rachel Pratt and Garry Pierre-Pierre (http://www.haitiantimes.com/)

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – A few days after a disastrous earthquake rocked Haiti to its core, many Haitians in the tri-state area, boarded planes to Santo Domingo in hope of reaching their troubled country through the land border. The team of Haitian Times correspondent ran into about a dozen Haitian New Yorkers at Kennedy International airport.

When asked why they were going to Haiti, all of them said they were frustrated at having no news from their relatives and friends in Haiti. Communication in Haiti remains sparse and the suspense was too much to bear. They boarded these planes not even sure whether they would make it to Haiti. At least, they reason, they were in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Everyone encountered, was in a state of shock and felt a sense of helplessness not being able to contact and know if their loved ones were alive. Seeing the mainstream media providing limited visibility of the devastation, their neighborhoods, it was beginning to frustrate people. But by making a move… trying to get to Haiti, finally made them feel as though they are making a difference. They are no longer stuck in front of the TV being fed repetitive information. They have control. They will be able to see the true devastation for themselves.

One of the people traveling with us, a well-known Haitian surgeon Dr. Lesly Guerrier, is also feeling the sense of urgency. To quickly do something and take care of his family and put his skills to help his people. His parents who took time to build their dream retirement home in Haiti, lost their home at the age of 80 years old…they lost their life long dream, their happiness. Now his plan is to get his parents out of the country as soon as possible to a safe area. Unfortunately, in Haiti you build your home on your own risk. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms are the norm but this is now unexpected territory.

Indeed, when we reached Santo Domingo, getting into Haiti was not easy. Haiti’s battered airport was closed only to rescue mission and even some of them had to travel by car to Haiti. At the municipal airport here, scores of passengers had to make alternative plans to get to Haiti. We rented an SUV and got a driver to take us in a van.

We went to a Costco in Santo Domingo and bought food and water, sleeping bags and flashlights ready to tackle on the elements on the ground, which remain a mystery to all of us. We don’t know what awaits us but we’re off to the border.  (For updates, visit.  http://www.haitiantimes.com

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