Notes from Conversation About The Convenant With Black America

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May 18 - Mt. Calvary Baptist Church

Rev. Tyrone Petty of Antioch Baptist Church offered opening & closing prayers. Walter Ridley moderated.

Covenant presentations were not in numerical order, but I'm ordering them here. Dr. James Dula spoke on Covenants 1 (Healthcare) & 2 (Education). Dr. Dula spoke about personal successes with high school students and that mentoring programs have been set up in various areas of the county.

Rev. Tony Lee spoke on Covenant 3 (Correcting the System of Unequal Justice).

Mark Spencer from the police dept. spoke on Covenant 4 (Community-Centered Policing) and said that they are starting to achieve transparency, accountability, integrity and professionalism in the police force. The safest communities are ones that look out for each other, whereas the police are usually reactionary (he quoted stats on #'s of calls which were very high & mentioned that people call the police if they're suspicious of someone hanging out in the neighborhood rather than just talking to them). The officers are being charged to attend community meetings to get to know the people and they're getting trained in dealing with a wide variety of situations and personalities.

Mr. Mel Franklin, founder of the new Greater Marlboro Democratic Club , spoke on Covenant 5 (Ensuring Broad Access to Affordable Neighborhoods that Connect to Opportunity). He spoke about the Golden Legacy Books. We need more coalition-building and to take back the message from the Covenant to create similar goals in our local communities. He spoke about our housing situation and that our county employees can't afford to live here. We need to demand mixed-use housing from the developers. The purple line would have connected New Carrollton to Silver Spring, which would have helped get people to jobs, but it was defeated.

Mr. Gary Flowers of Rainbow PUSH spoke on Covenant 6 (Claiming Our Democracy) about the connection between slavery and states rights in the 10th ammendment to the Constitution. We need a new amendment (28th) for federal protection for voting to get rid of the electoral college and have a federal appeals process for national elections. Maryland can pass a state bill first.

Mr. Gerald Fosom spoke on Covenant 7 (Strengthening Rural Roots) about the small farmers' need to sell directly to the market and that they have difficulty securing credit. He spoke about the need for a national agricultural educational program.

Ms. Carla Nelson, vice president of the Black Chamber of Commerce, spoke on Covenant 8 (Accessing Good Jobs, Wealth, and Economic Prosperity) to the African Americans there. Hiring practices are reducing opportunities to jobs due to poor health. Parents of other races teach their kids about money and business. Kids need to learn to speak properly so they can be understood. She suggested we watch the Wesley Snipes movie, “Demolition Man”. If kids tell the truth about their history with drugs & /or crime, they will not be hired. The county has the highest rate of foreclosure, which means buying houses they can't afford. The Patriot Act took away privacy. They're still expected to "know their place" especially in other communities (particularly the south, but also areas of the north). Do you seek out black merchants and seek out others when one doesn't work out? Use the computer and learn how to be smart - close the digital divide and learn about the stock market.

The question & answer period started 10 mins. before the scheduled end time. They read from index cards participants wrote on. Dr. Chris Bell brought his up first with several questions. He also handed out a petition of appeal to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), who hosted the event, to stop displaying white images in their churches as outlined in a resolution of the Association of Black Psychologists in 1980; and to stop preaching and teaching that "Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and is worthy to be worshipped" (he may put it on his web site www.drchrisbell.com to which he referred in the documents).

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS:

Health Care? There's a health van to go to communities to discuss accessing affordable health care. They're working to keep Prince George's Hospital viable. There are Health Fairs. We need to demand more affordable health care & elminate waste in the health system. South county needs more hospitals - increasing space at Ft. Washington - doubling bed space. Suitland getting new health clinic "wellness center". We need to talk to elected officials about conerns & support our hospitals. Heart surgery is done in Montgomery Co. due to money issues and other political issues limit care here.

Education? The Leave No Child Behind act will leave many children behind. In the 2008-9 school year, they'll start high school assessment with 4 components that need at least a C grade to pass (D is passing now). There will be 3 levels of merit - all 4 components will need to be passed to get an official Maryland HS diploma; only 3 would warrant a certificate of achievement; and less than 3 will be awarded a certificate of attendance. Only the first one will allow them to get a government job or entrance into the military & most will not be able to achieve this. There will still be GEDs, but there's a limited date to get one. The standards are the same for rich or poor with no resources for the poor to gain equal advantage. In 2008, No Child Left Behind comes up for review - we need to at least get it modified. Another federal bill requires a mandate which the state hasn't met. We need to challenge state's rights to demand federal rights in Education, Health Care, & Voting Rights.

How can we speak in one clear voice? We need to have multiple leaders & voices. We can agree on issues but it needs to come from many directions. We need to bring these issues to our communities and then come back to the NAACP, SCLS, or Rainbow PUSH because there's strength in unity.

How many Prince Georgians don't have health care? 90,000. The county executive is working on solutions for this.

Delegate Joanne Benson was recognized for her work to help to put the forum together. She gave a strong talk about making the state representatives accountable and mentioned the elected board issue (bills don't get lost - someone buried it to keep us from getting our 9 elected board members again).

- submitted by Joyce Dowling

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