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For Our Children’s Sake

Editor, Our Time Press
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The President’s State of the Union speech dominated the media along with promises of follow-up coverage the day after.  As of this writing, I have only heard parts of his speech since I chose to watch  Dakari’s (my grandson) basketball team , UK,  playing  LSU in New Orleans.  But I will make sure I listen to the entire speech and hopefully hear something that promises more for our children than death in foreign countries via the armed forces and on city streets via gun violence.

I must admit I’m not optimistic. Listening to the first ten minutes of Democracy Now!, airing on listener-sponsored WBAI, one gets headlines of disasters in countries around the world and the involvement of our country.  Needless to say, these never make our corporate-controlled media.

We – parents and grandparents – are the first in line to assume responsibility for the lives of our children which include providing a home environment that supports a healthy self-esteem and allows pursuit of activities of interest, form and maintain relationships with others who demonstrate concern and willingness to take responsibility for the children of the community.

In order to get a sense of what all children are currently experiencing in America, I turn to the Children’s Defense Fund, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman.   Parents, grandparents, adult relatives and educators owe our children more. Through your commitment, the children will be armed to create a world that appreciates life and humanity.  From the Children’s Defense Fund’s most recent report:   Each Day in America for Black Children  – One  mother dies in childbirth, one  child is killed by abuse or neglect, one child or teen commits suicide, three children or teens are killed by guns, four children or teens die from accidents, 19 babies die before their first birthdays, 95 children are arrested for violent crimes, 95 children are arrested for drug crimes, 104 babies are born without health insurance, 199 babies are born to teen mothers, 211 babies are born at low birth weight, 310 babies are born into extreme poverty, 336 public school students are corporally punished, 384 children are confirmed as abused or neglected, 597 babies are born into poverty, 763 high school students drop out, 1,153 babies are born to unmarried mothers, 1274 children are arrested, 6,191 public school students are suspended.

For Each Day in America for All Children, White Children, Hispanic Children, Asian and Pacific Islander Children Combined, American Indian and Alaska Native Children Combined in addition to other important information needed in order to create CHANGE for our children and future generations.

Visit www.childrensdefense.org/

For our children’s sake and the future of the world, it is time to engage in problem-solving, retiring blame….and taking responsibility for creating a different world, starting in our homes, healing relationships within our families, acknowledging and growing self-esteem with the children on our  blocks.  There’s evidence that children do as we do, not necessarily as we say do.  There’s also evidence that human beings are flowers and have a need to be a part of a group.  A popular story is that if one person stands on a street corner and looks upward, soon a group will have formed peering into the skies.

How can this information be used in our mission of parenting?  The Notebook will focus on ways of modeling and use of groups to encourage appropriate behavior and supporting our youngsters in discovering and demonstrating their innate intelligences.  We begin with this rule.   Make sure you live the qualities you want your child to live.  If you’re telling your child not to smoke or do drugs, you should not be smoking nor doing drugs.  Assignment: 1) Observe the things about your child that annoy you and see if you’re guilty of them. (Success depends on the ability to tell the truth about ourselves.) 2) Review the following by Dorothy Law Nolte, who was a family counselor and writer.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn – If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy – If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty. If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient – If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence- If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.  If children live with fairness, they learn justice.  If children live with security, they learn to have faith. If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.  If children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.   We can only change what we take responsibility for.  Send questions, suggestions, comments to parentsnotebook@yahoo.com.

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Super Sunday

Eddie Castro
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By Eddie Castro

Although the Jets or the Giants will not be headlining this year’s festivities in Sunday’s big game, it is still expected to be a spectacular game at Metlife Stadium for those willing and able to pay $1900 for a seat. All week long there has been events going on in Brooklyn and in Manhattan. I visited Macy’s on 34th street and inside it was NFL galore! Mannequins dressed in NFL apparel and lights all over the store as well as the city embracing the Super Bowl invading the New York/New Jersey area. Its not every year the Super Bowl comes our way but New Yorkers as well as Brooklynites are sure partaking in the events and showings that have been provided.

Now to the teams that will be playing in the big game that will feature a match up between the number-one ranked passing offense going up against the number-one ranked defense. Whenever you have Peyton Manning as your quarterback, it’s usually another day at the office leading to another “W.” Manning and the Denver Broncos are going in as the favorite in Sunday’s match up. The 37-year old passed for a NFL-record 5,477 yards to go along with an astonishing 55 touchdown passes, breaking Tom Brady’s record he set a few years ago. Denver’s running game will be the key ingredient in Sunday’s game. Running back Knowshon Moreno rushed for over a thousand yards in the regular season. Moreno spent a big portion of his childhood in the New York/New Jersey area so he’ll be even more pumped and poised to have a big game in front of family members and friends. The Broncos will be looking to win their first Super Bowl since 1998 when quarterback John Elway lead them to back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

As for the Seattle Seahawks, it has indeed been a magical season for the team. Quarterback Russell Wilson has been sensational with his play this year, however it has been their tenacious defense that has been the talk all year long. Seattle’s defense was ranked number one in the regular season led by players such as Earl Thomas, Cam Chancellor and arguably the best cornerback in all of football,  Richard Sherman. History is on the Seahawks side. They will be the 16th team in history to reach the Super Bowl having had led the league in fewest points allowed. 15 of those teams went 12-3. Since 1970, the team with the better ranked defense hase gone 28-13. It will sure be a great game come Sunday.

Angela Davis Gives Keynote Address at Brooklyn Academy of Music Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Editor, Our Time Press
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32

Beyond the Dream: This year’s 28th annual celebration of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music hit, yet another home run, featuring on stage examples of the results of Dr. King’s work:  the borough’s first Black District (Ken Thompson) with the first Black Borough President (Eric Adams).   Highlights also included an inspiring keynote address by author, professor, and activist Angela Davis, who attended high school in Brooklyn, with exhilarating, soulful musical performances by modern jazz artist José James and the BCCC Singers of the Brooklyn Christian Cultural Center. Following the events in the Opera House, there was a free screening in the BAM Rose Cinemas of the documentary Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners (2012), which included an introduction by Angela Davis.  Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Sen. Chuck Schumer were among the leaders who paid tribute to Dr. King.  Also, artwork inspired by Dr. King’s message of equality created by students from NYCHA Saratoga Village Community Center is on display in BAMcafé’s annual “Picture the Dream” exhibition.

A transcript of Ms. Davis’ keynote address follows:

I’d like to thank the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Medgar Evers College for having invited me to participate in this wonderful celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  and I cannot tell you how happy I am to be in Brooklyn this morning. Ten years ago, I lived in Bed-Stuy and those were some of the most memorable years of my life.  So it’s real wonderful to be in Brooklyn this morning, especially since the election of a new mayor of New York.

New York City’s “First Couple” Mayor Bill De Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray delighted the crowd at BAM’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration during which he also addressed the serious issues of income inequality, reforming stop and frisk, and the fight to keep both Interfaith Medical Center and Long Island College hospital open. He reminded the audience of the message of Dr. King’s book, “Why We Can’t Wait,” which inspired the “We Can’t Wait” mantra of his inaugural day speech at City Hall, earlier this month. Ms. McCray fueled a cheer to Brooklyn. deBlasio and McCray also volunteered at The Community Kitchen and Food Pantry in West Harlem. New York City’s First Couple later appeared at an MLK Jr. Celebration held at the National Action Network in Harlem, and also volunteered at The Community Kitchen and Food Pantry in West Harlem.
Photo Credit: Bernice Elizabeth Green

Martin Luther King should represent the power of historical imagination, not a single individual.  But rather, the vast numbers of women and men of the last century who were not afraid to stand up and struggle for a future defined by our quest for collective freedom.  He should also represent those of us who want to carry on that legacy of building communities of struggle that will expand the possibilities of freedom.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries was among the many elected officials who came out to join Borough President Eric Adams and artists, activists, civic leaders and community residents at BAM to honor the legacy of Dr. King.

That is to say that it is important to recognize that the creation of this holiday, MLK Day, was not the result of an edict from above.  But rather, it was the outcome of persistent struggle from the immediate aftermath of Dr. King’s assassination in April 1968 until the holiday began to be observed in 1986, so let us not forget that bills were presented in Congress by John Conyers and then by Shirley Chisholm.  And then we demonstrated for this holiday.  We marched, we signed petitions and Stevie Wonder composed and recorded the Happy Birthday song for Dr. King, which in many of our communities has displaced the conventional Happy Birthday song.   The point I’m making here is that vast histories of Africanism have enabled us to come together this morning and extend our discussion of Africanism in the cause of freedom.

One of the great advantages of having a period during which we can meditate on the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is that we get to think deeply about the meaning of freedom.  About how far we have moved in the direction of its attainment.  About how far we still have to go or even whether it makes sense to think about freedom in such quantitative terms.

We get to think about freedom not only for Black people, but also for indigenous people, for Latinos, for Asian-Americans, for Muslim-Americans; we get to think about human rights for the LGBT communities, about liberties for disabled people, we get to think about an end to anti-Semitism and militarism and violence. We get to think about food justice and we get to think about the environment.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams masterfully handled hosting duties at BAM’s 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday. While former Borough President Marty Markowitz’s shoes may be too large to fill, Adams noted, “I brought along my own pair.” Throughout the 3-hour event, historic on many counts, not the least of which was the presence of the powerful civil rights activist Angela Davis as keynoter, Adams was both witty and serious, weaving a number of subjects into his comments, from women’s rights to youth empowerment through education. The celebration is the largest event of its kind in New York City, and is co-presented with the Brooklyn Borough President and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.
Photo: Althea Smith

We also note that we cannot think about freedom without invoking the institutionalized deprivations of freedom like slavery, Jim Crow, apartheid and the prison industrial complex.  It has taken a very long time to encourage serious discussion about slavery.

Naturalized Citizenship vs. Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Why all the Fuss?

Mary Alice Miller
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By Mary Alice Miller

Last Sunday two babies – Daniela Majia, age 2, and Yoselin Mejia, age 1 – and their 21-year-old reportedly undocumented immigrant mother Deisy Garcia were found stabbed to death in their Queens apartment that the family of four shared with 12 other people. Investigators immediately began a search for the husband, Miguel Mejia-Ramos, a 28-year-old construction worker. Monday night, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Mejia-Ramos, a Mexican national, in Texas on suspicion of fleeing after committing the triple murders. Whether Mejia-Ramos entered the country illegally or is a legal permanent resident, he became a criminal alien upon arrest

Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants become citizens and legal permanent residents in the United States. In 2012, the U.S. naturalized 757,434 citizens. The majority of those new citizens were born in Mexico, the Philippines, India, the Dominican Republic and China.  That year, the U.S. also issued 1,031,631 “green cards” to legal permanent residents. These new citizens managed to comply with U.S. immigration laws and avoided criminal activity.

Legal permanent residency – which authorizes working and living permanently anywhere in the U.S. – is the first step toward citizenship. After five years of LPR, the prospective citizen pays a fee, must interview with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, pass a test on American history and government and prove they can understand and write English. Post-9/11, citizenship applicants must also undergo an extensive background check.

The U.S. has a limit on the number of potential citizenship applicants from each country with priority given to those who have a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or green card holder, foreigners seeking job skills or those who come from countries not well-represented in the United States.

With a clear path to citizenship and legal permanent residency that hundreds of thousands from around the world successfully take advantage of every year, the question becomes why all the fuss about comprehensive immigration reform (CIR)?

Proponents of CIR advocate for persons who seek to bypass normal United States naturalization and LPR procedures. Specifically, CIR (sometimes called amnesty) seeks a path toward legalization and citizenship for illegal aliens who either enter or reenter the country illegally (often by crossing U.S. southern and northern borders) or nonimmigrant foreign nationals who apply to visit the U.S. on a temporary basis (to work, go to school, get married, play sports or vacation), express to the consulate or embassy that they do not intend to establish permanent residency in the U.S., then overstay agreed-upon visa time limits.

In general, any persons who have violated immigration laws are the proposed beneficiaries of CIR. They are also most likely to be subjected to deportation.

Noncitizens who commit certain aggravated felony crimes are also subject to deportation.

Criminal aliens are subject to removal or deportation after having been convicted of: 1) two crimes of moral turpitude at any time after admission to the United States; 2) an aggravated felony, including crimes of violence, murder, drug trafficking, theft or burglary, any firearms trafficking offense; 3) a controlled substance offense; 4) a firearms offense or; 5) domestic violence including violation of an order of protection.

The United States, just like any other country, seeks to protect the safety and health of its citizens by controlling who enters its borders. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), share responsibility for enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. Since the 9/11 attacks, the functions of all these agencies fall under Homeland Security with the overall mission to protect public safety and national security.

ICE’s role is the identification and apprehension of criminal aliens and other removable individuals located in the United States and the detention and removal of those individuals apprehended in the interior of the U.S., as well as those apprehended by CBP officers and agents patrolling the nation’s borders.

With limited resources, ICE prioritizes the identification and removal of criminal aliens and those apprehended at the border while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States. ICE is funded for up to 400,000 deportations annually.

The number of deportations from the U.S. in the last few years were 370,000 in FY 2008, 390,000 in FY 2009, 393,000 in FY 2010 and 397,000 in FY 2011.

In FY 2013, ICE conducted a total of 368,644 removals: 133,551 were individuals apprehended in the interior of the U.S. (82% of whom had been previously convicted of a crime) and 235,093 were apprehended along the nation’s borders while attempting to unlawfully enter the U.S.  Fifty-nine percent of all ICE removals (216,810) had been previously convicted of a crime: 110,115 criminals from the interior and 106,695 criminals apprehended at the border while attempting to enter the United States. Of the 151,834 removals without a criminal conviction, 84% were apprehended while attempting to unlawfully enter the U.S.

The top 10 countries of origin for those removed were Mexico (241,493), Guatemala (47,769), Honduras (37,049), El Salvador (21,602), Dominican Republic (2,462), Ecuador (1,616), Brazil (1,500), Colombia (1,429), Nicaragua (1,383) and Jamaica (1,119).

Interfaith Board and State in mediation to save the medical facility

Stephen Witt
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Both de Blasio and Cuomo express support for longtime Central Brooklyn hospital

By Stephen Witt

Interfaith Medical Center officials expressed cautious optimism late Tuesday night that a court-ordered mediation between two state agencies and the hospital will result in the facility not being shuttered.

The mediation session between the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), the state Health Department and the hospital board of trustees came after a series of moves following a bankruptcy court ordering Interfaith closed on Jan. 26.

However, in late December DASNY gave the hospital $3.5 million to keep it open until early March. Then last week, the board voted unanimously to hold onto their money-making outpatient clinics, which were supposed to go to Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in East Flatbush as per the original bankruptcy order.

This, in turn, caused DASNY to withhold the $3.5 million, which resulted in a raucous rally at the hospital last weekend in which former Interfaith CEO and COO Patrick Sullivan ordered ambulances to not come to Interfaith because the cash-strapped hospital ran out of money.

This order was rescinded after a few hours when the board of trustees replaced Sullivan, who was led out of the facility under a police escort, with Interfaith Chief Medical Administrator Dr. Pradeep Chandra.

Since this weekend, both Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed support for the hospital and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he plans to use part of a $10 billion federal allocation to go to hospitals in Brooklyn.

The court-ordered mediation, though, remains crucial with all parties due back in court this Friday (after this paper goes to press).

“The mediation was very successful,” said Interfaith spokesperson Melissa Krantz. “Both sides have point of view specifics, but they also want Interfaith to continue to exist.  Currently, the clinics are still at Interfaith and different sides are working out the timing and the money, and have to report back to the court at 9 am on Friday.”

Krantz said it appears there will be an agreement that is beneficial to both the state and Interfaith. This includes the $3.5 million still on the table and the facility might possibly get more as a stopgap measure until the federal allocation comes through.

Interfaith is located at 1545 Atlantic Avenue and serves Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. Its clinics include a mental health clinic, an HIV treatment center on Bergen Street, the Bishop O.G. Walker, Jr. Health Care Center, a dental clinic and an urgent care center on Atlantic Avenue.

The facility already filed a notice with the state Department of Labor that it plans to lay off 1,545 workers, including 1,405 union workers.

In its most recent financial disclosure, Interfaith reported being $4 million in the red from operations in October on total revenues of $12.8 million. Total losses from its operations since the Chapter 11 filing last year was $29.9 million.

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