Newspaper Page Text
2A
October 21, 2004
National World
Poll: Kerry has wide support
among blacks, though slightly
less than Gore in 2000
WASHINGTON (AP)
- Blacks prefer Democ
ratic presidential candi
date John Kerry over
President Bush by a
nearly 4-to-1 margin,
though their support for
the Democrat is down
slightly from the back
ing Al Gore received in
2000, according to a poll
released Tuesday. Octo
ber 19.
Bush didn’t get good
marks for his handling
of the war in Iraq or for
his overall job perform
ance, according to the
poll of black Americans
from the Joint Center
for Political and Eco
nomic Studies. The cen
ter is a Washington
based research group
that focuses on issues
concerning blacks.
Bush enjoys stronger
support than in 2000
from those age 50 and
older and those who
consider themselves
“Christian conserva
Jackson and Jackson share spotlight
By STARLA CHERIN
Special to the NNPA
FORT LAUDERDALE
(NNAP) - A son follows in
his fathers footsteps. He
grows to manhood and yet,
still secks the approval of his
elders. On the occasion of the
Fort Lauderdale Branch
NAACPs Freedom Fund
Gala, the Reverend Jesse Jack
son, Sr. witnessed his son giv
ing the keynote address for the
first time. The honor of hav
ing both men in attendance
heightened the importance of
Florida as a pivotal state in the
upcoming presidential elec
tion and the need to get out
the vote.
United States Representa
tive Jesse Jackson, Jr, spoke
decisively and forcefully of
building a better union by
using the vote. “We see rap
moguls like Sean Combs and
Russell Simmons on MTV
advocating voting. They say
vote or die. We're seeing the
engagement of a new genera
tion. They are learning the sig
nificance of voting. They
understand that failure to cast
a ballot means we die. We
Study says wealth gap
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
— The enormous wealtlr
gap between white fami
lies and blacks and His
panics grew larger after
the most recent recession,
a private analysis of gov
ernment data finds.
White households had a
median net worth of
greater than SBB,OOO
(eur070,519) in 2002, 11
*l';tlk .
‘wfi
John Kerry
tives.”
That has helped the
president narrow the
still sizable gap with
Kerry among blacks,
who preferred the Mass
achusetts senator over
Bush, 69 percent to 18
percent.
The group’s poll before
the 2000 election found
Gore with a 74 percent
to 9 percent lead over
Bush.
The poll of 1,642
adults was conducted
See Kerry, page 11A
have to use what we've got or
we are dead,” he said.
But with nearly 600,000
unregistered African- Ameri
can voters in Florida and
seemingly constant attempts
by state officials to undermine
the vote, the situation is pre
carious at best. The Fort
Lauderdale NAACP has been
instrumental in registering
new voters and those who
haven't voted in the last three
elections. Rev. Jackson said he
had been a member of the
NAACP since he was 17 and
lauded their work to get out
the vote.
“The suppression of the
vote is real. We can't take for
granted what we have. It still
amazes me that we have to beg
people to vote. Even when we
vote, the odds can be against
us. Statistically, out of 70 votes
cast by Whites, only one will
be spoiled. For African-
American one in every seven
votes cast are spoiled,” Rev
erend Jackson said.
Nationwide, recent elec
tions show how easily the vote
can be suppressed. Just last
year in Virginia computers
subtracted one in every 100
times more than Hispan
ics and more than 14
times that of blacks, the
Pew Hispanic Center said
in a study being released
Monday.
Blacks were slowest to
emerge from the econom
ic downturn that started
in 2000 and ended in late
2001, the report found.
Net worth accounts for
the values of items such
as 2 home and car, check
Galvanizing the black vote
By CLAIRE ANDERSON
Special to the NNPA
NEW YORK (NNPA) -
An 85-year-old, a homeless
man and a group of ex-felons
will be among first-time voters
in the coming election. How
ever, the group responsible for
their registration cannot join
them at the polls come Novem
ber; none of the political
activists are old enough to vote.
“I'm 15 myself. I'm not old
enough to vote, so I ask them
to vote for me,” said Kimberly
Singletary. She and a group of
Harlem youth created
POWER, Puttin’ Out daVi’lord
to Exercise our Rights, to
remedy the lowmix:mumbersdo%
registered voters p
many urban, impovcrilzgu:d
communities like their own.
The groups work did not end
on Oct. 8, the last day to regi
ter New YorKs voters. PO\%;
will continue their efforts by
conducting get-out-the-vote
drives ff)t:‘:fie Nov. 2 election.
Participants of Action for
Community Empowerment’s
(ACE) Youi;tto-po'lWork ca‘rinxi
found ticians
because of their So the
formed PO% and
%fi registering voters to show
politicians that youth are a
Erwerful and influendal
tion. The youth wagu;
door-to-door campaign and
votes cast for one candidate.
In New Mexico touch screen
voting machines failed to
count 12,000 out of 48,000
votes. In Indiana computers
counted 140,000 votes for
only 19,000 voters.
“In Llinois 160,000 punch
card votes were not counted.
In New York they are still
using the lever system. We
have 20,000 municipal voting
systems and they are all differ
ent. Separate and unequal.
The people in Afghanistan
will have more election sup
port before Americans. We are
guaranteeing democracy in
Iraq but not in America.
“It has been 50 years since
Brown vs. the Board of Edu
cation. It’s been 41 years since
Dr. Martin Luther King was
assassinated. It's been 39 years
since the Voting rights act of
1965. It's been 139 years since
slavery was abolished by the
13th Amendment to the
Constitution. Yet, we ask our
selves why is America still sep
arate and unequal?
“We as Americans have
stopped running the race to
build a better nation. On the
North side of Chicago there is
widened for blacks, Hispanics after recession
ing and savings accounts,
and stocks, minus debts
such as mortgage, car
loans and credit card
bills.
Greater wealth means a
greater ability to weather
a job loss, emergency
home repairs, illness and
other unexpected costs,
as well as being able to
save for retirement or a
child’s college tuition,
According to the
AUGUSTA FOCUS
covered the area between 110th
and 155th Streets in Harlem.
“Last election, 573" people
made the difference. We regis
swing it the other way,” Single
tary said. Jobs with Justice, a
New York economic justice
organization, and the National
Hip Hop Youth Summit
adXedmorcdnnß,OOOncwly
registered voters to POWER's
total.
“People arent used to some
one coming up to them with a
voter registration card. It might
happen in Union Square or
NYU, but it doesnt happen
hat,”]uliaßanyofJobsmt'}t
Justice said, referring to
Harlem community.
POWER concentrated its
registration efforts on 18- to
30-year-olds and groups who
are often disenfranchised. In
New York, convicted felons are
not allowed to vote until they
complete their parole. African-
Americans make up a dispro
portionately large percentage of
oonvmd'bomfdorhlrgscufl n:gdo
not er re-registering to
a tative of the Harlem
pmkoflim
“One guy said yes he would
like to regster, then no, then
yes,” Sim said of an ex
felon she recenty approached.
She pulled out a card and
explained to the group that
a high school with four
Olympic sized swimming
pools, tennis courts and a
radio station. All the teachers
have masters degrees and
there are 15 students per class.
This school sends more kids
to Yale and Harvard than any
other school in Illinois.
“We want equal education
for everyone. If we can amend
the constitution to determine
who marries who we can
make an amendment for
every child to receive an equal
education and guarantee the
right to vote. We care more
about the right to own a gun
than we do about health care,”
said Representative Jackson.
Jackson advocates a consti
tuu'l:)lr&al referendgcr(;x that
would guarantee education
and health care. “People always
tell me that will take too long
Jesse. Some amendments have
taken 200 years, some 10-
months and others 10-days.
But the power is not in Con
it 1s in your hands. We
mto believe in the power of
change. We believe that some
one can walk on water and part
the sea then why cant we
believe we can mazc a change
in this world,” he added.
More than 200 people
group’s analysis of Census
Bureau data, nearly one
third of black families
and 26 percent of His
panic families were in
debt or had no net assets,
compared with 11 per
cent of white families.
“Wealth is a measure of
cumulative advantage or
disadvantage,” said Rod
erick Harrison, a
researcher at the Joint
Center for Political and
once parole is completed an
mdmm can re-register. ‘A
whole group was registered
who dnfl’(t) know they could,”
she added.
However, not
Wwas SO easy to mnm S%rn:lcu*3
tary found that when one per
son in a group refused to regis
ter, the others were more likely
to follow suit. “Some dzg's you
ask 10 people and all of them
say no. Ask one who says yes,
and it makes it worth it,” Sin
gletary said.
“Every day they threatened
to quit and every day they came
back,” ACE director Nia
Mason-Francis said.
Dominique Thomas, a 17-
year-old member of
POWER, made it her per
sonal goal to refute the com
munity’s stereotypes about
voting. Thomas and other
participants found many
people refused to register
because they thm?ht voting
made no ifference.
“I believe our apathy toward
voting is like a slap in the
face to the older generation
who worked so hard so we
could choose,” Thomas said.
POWER is a non-partisan
organization, but its mem
bers are not without political
persuasions. “No one wants
Bush to win,” POWER
member Carlos Martinez
said. While members of the
w
_— . -
A
VS,
@ '
Like father like son. Jackson duo mix up on the campaign trail.
attended and Broward School
Board Member Ben Williams
said it showed a commitment
to community. “The timing is
right for an event like this. We
have people from all walks of
life here and it shows we can
together under a common
%heteme. It takes us back and
makes us focus on our respon-
Slblll?', especially for the young
people here. It gives them
direction on what to do in the
future,” he said.
The Freedom Fund Gala is
Economic Studies, a
Washington think tank
that focuses on black
issues. “The fact that
black and Hispanic
wealth is a fraction of
white wealth also reflects
a history of discrimina
tion.”
After accounting for
inflation, net worth for
white households
increased 17 percent
between 1996 and 2002
group acknowledge their lib
eral perspective, Thomas
woultf like either candidate
to address the issues of jobs
and education, the two top
ics she believes most affect
her community.
The activists will continue
their efforts by making sure
those they register go to the
polls on Nov. 2. Brian
Applewhaite, a member of
the group, designed a
POWER voter guide, which
the youth plan to distribute
to the 600 people they regis
tered. The voter guide
includes comparisons of the
presidential, state and local
candidates’ issue positions.
Beyond November, the
members of POWER will
initiate a Harlem-wide
youth council that will be
active in the community and
with the community board.
The youth are also working
in conjunction with The
Amsterdam News to develop
a “youth section” of the
newspaper. They hope this
section will help educate
their peers about jobs, class
es and internships.
“I've come to the realiza
tion that politics affect me
every day,” Thomas said. “I
can complain till the day is
done, but that doesnt do
anything to change it.”
the Branch’s annual event to
garner membership support
and honor thqsc wflose work
out the year.
“This is the time when we
show our appreciation for
those who riought less of
themselves and more of oth
ers,” NAACP first Vice Presi
dent Bobby R. Henry said.
“An old African proverb says
the first man or woman stum
ble so the others will have their
wits about them.” :
and rose for Hispanic
homes by 14 percent to
about $7,900
(eur06,331). It decreased
for blacks by 16 percent,
to roughly $6,000
(euro4,Boß).
Regardless of race and
ethnicity, the median net
worth for all U.S. house
holds was $59,700
(eur047,840) in 2002, a
12 percent gain from
1996.