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Support Color of Change: Fox News Fire John Stossel

Marcie — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:25:26 +0000

Following is an e-mail from the Color of Change asking Fox to fire John Stossel. Click here to the sign the petition.
Dear friends,

On Wednesday, Rand Paul, the GOP’s US Senate candidate for Kentucky repeated his claim that a central piece of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was wrong, and that businesses should be free to discriminate against whomever they please.¹ Paul and his supporters don’t seem to care that without federal intervention, Black people might still be second-class citizens in most aspects of American life: where we eat, where we work, even where we live.

Then, on Thursday, FOX contributor and business anchor John Stossel went even further than Paul and called for the section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that applies to business to be repealed.² And he’s refused to back down.

It’s time to hold FOX accountable:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

While Rand Paul may have started this outrage, he can be taken care of at the ballot box — FOX News can’t.

Stossel’s position is an affront to Black America and everyone in this country who believes in racial progress. It’s one thing to be a candidate with backwards views. It’s another to be employed by a supposed news network and to use that platform to push hateful ideas that our nation repudiated decades ago.

It’s time that FOX drop Stossel. It’s why I’ve joined ColorOfChange.org in demanding Fox do so immediately. If after hearing from thousands of people like you and I, FOX refuses to act, it will make clear that FOX stands with Stossel and his values, and ColorOfChange has pledged to go directly after the network with a major public campaign.

Can you take a moment to add your voice to the call to fire Stossel? After you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

FOX has a history of providing a platform for bigoted views and race-baiting. Most recently more than 300,000 people helped us hold FOX accountable by stripping Glenn Beck of more than 100 of his advertisers, after Beck called President Obama a “racist” with a “deep-seated hatred for white people.”³

But Stossel has arguably gone beyond Beck, echoing segregationist arguments from the Jim Crow era:

“It’s time now to repeal that part of the law because private businesses ought to get to discriminate. And I won’t ever go to a place that’s racist and I will tell everybody else not to and I’ll speak against them. But it should be their right to be racist.”

Stossel went on to argue something that history has disproved time and again — that private business will do the right thing, without being compelled by laws, because no one would patronize a business that discriminates. It’s a blind belief in market fundamentalism that just isn’t in sync with reality. In the ’60s, white-owned businesses that allowed Blacks as customers lost business. Market forces actually perpetuated discrimination; they didn’t combat it. Simply put: segregation would still be active in parts of this country if government hadn’t stepped in.

And recent history has shown that the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act is still needed. In 1994, it was used to hold Denny’s Restaurants accountable, after the chain repeatedly refused to seat Black customers.⁴ Just last year, it was used to go after a Philadelphia pool that prevented Black children from swimming there.⁵

It’s time for Fox News to make a choice. Are they willing to continue to give a platform to racially-divisive rhetoric and revive dangerously outdated perspectives? Or will they move with the rest of the nation into into the 21st century? Please join me in calling on Fox News to fire John Stossel. And once you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/stossel/?id=2255-882966

Thank you.

References:

1. http://huff.to/cjOnxL
2. http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201005200033
3. http://bit.ly/aoJUUy
4. http://nyti.ms/bpVZZY
5. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crt-033.html

Innocent Man Wrongfully Sentenced to Death – This is NOT New News

Marcie — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:00:45 +0000

I received a forwarded e-mail message about this man who was wrongly sentenced to death for killing a police officer. Check out his story below.

On June 30, an innocent man will be given a second chance.

In 1991, Troy Davis was sentenced to death for allegedly killing a police officer in Savannah, Georgia. There was no physical evidence tying him to the crime, and seven out of nine witnesses recanted or contradicted their testimony.

He was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. But it’s not too late to change Troy’s fate.

We just learned today that Troy has been granted an evidentiary hearing — an opportunity to right this wrong.

This sounds a lot like the black men who were lynched for crimes that were not proven after emancipation in the late 1800s and early 1900s according to Ida B. Wells.

The e-mail goes on to say: “Troy Davis may just be one man, but his situation represents an injustice experienced by thousands.”

This is nothing new in history. In fact, the authors of The Reason Why the Colored American is Not in the World’s Columbian Exposition edited by Robert W. Rydelland originally written by Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Irvine Garland Penn, Ferdinand L. Barnett quote statistics from the Chicago Tribune, 1892. They shared the number of Negroes murdered by the mob and the crimes for which they were charged. The two main crimes were rape and murder. They even said that many of the charges against the people were unfounded. The people wanted someone to be held accountable and any black man would do.

This is not surprising. As stated above, there are thousands of people like Troy Davis who are wrongly charged and sentenced for crimes they did not commit.

Clearly, the legal system does not work. What I want to know is: what’s being done to correct these injustices?

One last thing, visit http://www.iamtroy.com/ to sign the petition if you believe he is innocent

Solidarity in Haiti Despite Media Reports on Looting

Marcie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:31:01 +0000

Check out this report about the bonding in Haiti despite media reports on looting and lawlessness.

http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/89265.html

HELP Needed in Haiti

Marcie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:07:22 +0000

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVcLwm3pnsE

As you can see there is a great need for assistance in Haiti. My mentor, Lucius Gantt, President of All World Consultants, has a direct connection to Haiti. Donations of used clothes in good condition, toys, books etc. can be sent to Lucius at:

Box 2071
Tallahassee, Florida 32316
850-222-3475

They can also be sent to one of the groups listed below.
——————–
Subject: Please help the people of Haiti

On the evening of January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti resulting in one of the worst natural disasters in history. Like you, I have been watching the coverage of the aftermath and asking what I can do to help.

Below are a few ways that you can make a difference. This is not a complete list of worthy organizations pledging to help, but I think it is a good place to start. If you know of any other groups, please post them on the wall at my Facebook page. I want to hear from you.

ON YOUR CELL PHONE

* Text the word HAITI to 90999 to automatically donate $10 to the American Red Cross
* Text the word “YELE” to 501501 to automatically donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts

ON THE WEB

Please give what you can. The people of Haiti need our help.

Thank you.