Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 2-23-16 Edition

Editorials
No Trespassing
Empowered
Today as I was going to the of- fice, I saw a sign on a construc- tion site that said ‘NO TRESPASSING.’ I’ve gone past that site on numerous oc- casions and my subconscious mind brought back to my rec- ollection that the sign has been there since the origin of the project. However, today God used that sign to speak to me and I am going to use those two words, “No Trespassing” to speak to you.
Many of you have hope, dreams and aspiration that once you’ve shared them the adversary sent things in your path to hinder them from manifesting. There are those of you that may have been vi- olated as a child or even as an adult and are still trying to cope with the pain of the situ- ation.
Some are yet trying to break out of the cycle of poverty and daily struggle of
MARC H. MORIAL
President and CEO National Urban League
“Apart from being a funda- mental democratic right, voting is essential to a formerly incar- cerated citizen’s rehabilitation. Ex-felons who have been re- leased from prison, and are liv- ing in our neighborhoods, are a part of our community. These individuals who have paid their societal debts are unduly barred from being fully re-integrated back into society by being denied the right to vote. These restric- tions serve only to further alien- ate and isolate millions of Americans as they work to re- gain normality in their lives.” – Rep. John Conyers, April 10, 2014
A wrong has been made right in the state of Maryland.
In a long overdue reversal led by the state’s legislature, ex-of- fenders in Maryland—citizens who have done the proscribed time for their crime—will auto- matically regain the right to vote once they have been released from jail. Prior to this vote, Mary- land required all individuals with past felony convictions to com- plete all terms of their probation and parole before their access to the polls could be restored through what many described as a lengthy and confusing process. The previous policy—which dis-
use people to kill your dream of being successful, steal your joy, peace, happiness and ac- complishments or destroy your confidence that you will stand flat-footed and firm and say ‘NO TRESPASSING.’ Not today! There will be NO TRES- PASSING on my feelings or my emotional state of being. There will be NO TRESPASS- ING on my bank balance or my goal of financial freedom. There will be NO TRESPASS- ING on my family or its stabil- ity. There will be NO TRESPASSING on my busi- ness pursuits or career oppor- tunities to advance my life.
Be encouraged and know that you have the power to say no to anything, anyone and any situation that tries to enter the intellectual property of your mind or personal space without your permission, NO TRESPASSING!
I appreciate all of you that read this column and would love to connect with you in person by attending or partic- ipating in your events. Call 813-956-0185 and invite me to support you in whatever way you deem helpful.
Also let’s stay connected through social media. Face- book: Selphenia Nichols Twitter: queenofsuccess1 Instagram: Selphenia.
those still in prison, but this is a battle that must continue to be fought around our nation.
Among other benefits, voting promotes public safety. When we allow citizens to fully re-integrate back into society that must in- clude more than securing em- ployment or housing. While those pursuits and others are im- portant, civic engagement can es- tablish a vested interest in the well being of the communities where ex-offenders make their homes, work and pay taxes.
Because of the enduring tangle of race and the criminal justice in our nation, the majority of con- victed felons disproportionately come from racial and ethnic communities, effectively disen- franchising not only individuals but entire communities. The restoration movement is there- fore a movement to confront racial discrimination in the crim- inal justice system. Throughout our nation, nearly one in 13 African-American adults is banned from voting because of these laws. And it should come as no surprise that the states that have the harshest policies just happen to be those states with legacies of slavery, segregation, discrimination, voter suppres- sion and the denial of the right to vote. Felon disenfranchisement is a tactic to suppress the vote, as much as voter id laws and it must be stopped.
America should not be in the business of denying individuals the right the vote. We are a stronger and truer democracy when we offer all citizens this fundamental right. Denying an ex-offender the right to vote serves no real purpose other than to undermine the democratic principles on which our nation is founded.
greetings.
maintaining to keep your head above waters. While others are in business and really want to throw in the towel because this is not what you signed up for. You thought your money would be flowing freely and your finances on track. No matter who you are or what you’re facing I want you to make a declaration today that simply states, ‘No Trespass- ing.’
No means to refuse or deny. Trespass is to enter a person’s land or property without their consent. Make up in your spirit today that when the pains of the past try to replay themselves in the movie reel of your mind that you’re going to say access de- nied. ‘No trespassing!’ I may not be over this, but it’s not going to stop me from getting to my divinely designed des- tiny.
Get a resolve in your spirit that when the adversary try to
proportionately impacted com- munities of color—was unduly punitive; delaying and denying men and women who paid their debt to society and completed their prison sentences the quin- tessential right of any citizen who lives in a democracy. Such tactics of voter disenfranchisement must not be tolerated or become an acceptable policy option in a nation that professes to be gov- erned by democratic tenets.
Once the Maryland bill be- comes law, an estimated 40,000 men and women currently on felony probation or parole will have their right to vote restored— many of them in time to vote for their local and national leaders, including our nation’s new pres- ident. While there is much to ap- plaud, we must recognize that this victory is a drop in the proverbial bucket. Today, in the United States of America, almost six million citizens are effectively locked out of the democratic process because of laws that dis- enfranchise citizens convicted of felony offenses. Maryland now joins 13 other states, plus the Dis- trict of Columbia, in immediately restoring the voting rights of ex- offenders upon their release. There are nine states that perma- nently bar certain ex-offenders from voting at all. Two states, Maine and Vermont, do not re- strict voting rights to any citizen with a criminal conviction, even
Ending a Lifetime Sentence: Maryland Restores Voting Rights To Ex-Offenders
Conflict In Public School Construction Funding Cuts
Accept the fact we smell a rat (conflict of interest?) in a plan recently submitted by the Florida Legis- lature’s House Education Committee that, if passed,
would limit how public schools and charter schools get money for school construction and would force local public school districts to share some of their local tax dollars with publicly funded and privately managed charter schools.
Such is what proposed House Bill 873 places state caps on the cost per student for school construction. Currently, local school boards determine these costs. But, who are the authors of this most recently pro- posed mayhem?
Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami) and Rep. Michelle Vasilanda (D-Tallahassee) as well as other Republican House members submitted Bill 873 because of alleged excessive cost overruns in building schools during the past 10 years and due to the failure of local school dis- tricts to share some of their local tax monies with charter school competitors.
However, to our minds, this bill appears to be an- other Republican-led attempt to further erode Florida public school systems. Taxpayers’ local property and sales taxes still fund public schools, while charter schools have received most of the state capital funds.
Therefore, could it be that Rep. Fresen and charter school lobbyists have been successful in manipulating data in an attempt to secure more tax dollars for their own private/charter institutions? Rep. Fresen’s obvi- ous conflict of interest should be challenged because he works for a company that would benefit from char- ter school construction.
Furthermore, Fresen has relatives who work for the state’s largest charter school operator. If Bill 873 passes and is placed on the ballot for voter approval, step to the front of the class, and vote this measure down.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
WThe Pontiff And The Don Lock Horns
hat Pope Francis said was GOP presidential
front-runner Donald Trump “is not Christian” as long as he continued to pledge to build a wall between the United States and Mexico and continues to run on a platform that built more barriers than bridges.
But what really stung was when the Pontiff ob- served what President Obama and others outside the Republican Party have been saying for some time now: Donald Trump would not, could not, should not make a good president of these United States.
Well, you would’ve thought ‘all hell broke’ loose, given the news media’s habit of lionizing Trump’s every sniffle. But thus far, Trump is still standing . . .or has the Pope dealt Le Donald a paralyzing blow, and The Don simply hasn’t felt it, yet.
So, what does it mean when the Pope of the world calls you a “wuss?” And more so, what does it mean when most of the people who support you, don’t react.