King Family Under Fire Over Licensing Deal
Two of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s children say they were not aware of the details of an $800,000 licensing deal with a memorial foundation building a statue in his honor, according to the Associated Press.
Bernice and Martin Luther King III acknowledged Wednesday that they favored the agreement between the King Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation to build the monument, but insist that the monetary aspect of the deal was handled badly by their brother, Dexter King, and struck with no involvement from them.
“When we were made aware of it, it was already a done deal,” Bernice King told The Associated Press. “Our understanding was that this was about The King Center being able to survive.”
In a statement last week, the King estate said there was no fee charged for the use of the civil rights leader’s name, image, and words on the memorial, and that the licensing contract does not benefit King’s heirs.
In regard to when money was introduced in the deal, Bernice King said they had no knowledge of when that happened.
The siblings told the AP they have not been involved in decisions about their father’s estate since 2004, and that Dexter King has acted on his own for years as head of the estate and the center.
News of the deal sparked criticism this week, as one leading scholar said King would be displeased.
Harry Johnson, who serves as president of the King memorial foundation, said the fees were not a burden and that the foundation has a good relationship with the King family.
–Janell Hazelwood
Northern Virginia Urban League Honors B.E. 100s
The Northern Virginia Urban League will honor area black-owned businesses at its annual awards dinner tonight. Eight businesses, listed in Black Enterprise Magazine’s 2008 annual report of the largest black-owned businesses, will be honored for excellence in leadership.
“Even in this recession, the business community has provided unprecedented support and the dinner has raised $450,000 in sponsorships that will help the league continue our work in financial education, foreclosure prevention counseling, and mentoring,†said Lavern J. Chatman, CEO of the Northern Virginia Urban League, in a press release.
More than $50,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to 10 area minority high school students. Over 800 guests are expected to attend the league’s sold out gala.
Among the honorees are two auto dealers, including BMW of Sterling (No. 18 on the Auto Dealer 100 list) and Infiniti of Chantilly (No. 52 on the list). Emerging businesses identified by the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce will present awards to the honorees.
–Marcia A. Wade
Vilsack to Review USDA Racism Complaints
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will create a task force to review some 14,000 civil rights complaints against the U.S. Department of Agriculture that had been filed since 2000.
“There have been unresolved claims. There has been a backlog of claims. I want to close the book on all of those claims,” Vilsack told the North American Agricultural Journalists.
In 1999, a landmark multimillion-dollar settlement was reached between the USDA and black farmers who said their applications for USDA loan and benefit programs were unfairly denied. Black farmers also alleged that the USDA failed to investigate complaints of bias. The USDA so far has paid out about $1 billion to compensate black farmers, but the department has yet to review about 3,000 of the complaints.
As a part of that review, the USDA will also suspend foreclosures under its farm loan program for 90 days to examine the loan granting process for possible discriminatory conduct.
–Marcia A. Wade
Unemployment High for African American College Graduates
The benefits of a college diploma are not evenly shared by all graduates with four-year degrees, suggests new research that shows educated blacks are unemployed at a much higher rate that their white counterparts.
Between March
2007 and March 2009 unemployment for white college graduates remained relatively low; increasing from 1.6% to 3.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Conversely, unemployment for black graduates more than doubled to 7.2% from 2.7%.“Some argue that the problem of joblessness among African Americans can be solved by education alone, but at every education level the unemployment rate for blacks exceeds that of whites,†writes Algernon Austin, an EPI sociologist who analyzed the BLS data.
The solution to the disparity, says Austin, is a renewed commitment to anti-discrimination in employment and job creation in black communities.
–Marcia A. Wade
Sojourner Truth Honored with D.C. Memorial
Sojourner Truth will once again make history when the National Congress of Black Women Inc. (NCBW) erects a memorial in her honor in the nation’s capitol. Truth, a slave turned abolitionist, will be the first African American woman to have a memorial in the Capitol building, April 28.
“Sojourner Truth inspired generations of women to demand equality and who later would dare to reach for the ballot,†said President Barack Obama, in a press release announcing the event. “Her Memorial is a milestone, not just for African Americans and women, but for all Americans.”
The honor is a 10-year effort spearheaded by late civil-rights activist C. Delores Tucker, former chair of the NCBW, and will include the Celebration of Truth campaign. Along with the unveiling, the program will feature a presentation of Truth’s speech “Ain’t I A Woman,†by actress, Cicely Tyson and music by gospel singer, Yolanda Adams.
Born into bondage in New York, Truth was eventually sold John Dumont in 1810, who promised her freedom a year before New York State emancipation laws were to take effect, if she was remained loyal. After Dumont reneged on the deal, Truth escaped claiming her own freedom. Later, working as a travelling preacher, she spoke out against slavery and for women’s rights.
“This accomplishment has been a struggle, but at the National Congress of Black Women, we have learned that it is from our struggles that we gain our victories,†said Dr. E. Faye Williams, national chair of NCBW.
–Renita Burns
Free Workshops for Small Business Owners
The Counselors to America’s Small Business (SCORE) and Hewlett Packard are teaming up for a series of free workshops for small businesses. The program, “For the Good of Your Business —Surviving Challenging Times,†will provide lessons on technology-based strategies to help small business owners weather current economic conditions and sustain long term growth.
The workshops will be held in eight cities across the nation with the first event kicking off in Southern California at the Glendale Hilton. Workshop attendees can expect to gain tips on maximizing revenue, cutting costs, planning for disaster and leveraging environmental strategies. The series will also focus on how to win government contacts.
For those who cannot attend a workshop, HP will provide online resources and tools for small businesses as well as Webinars, podcasts, eGuides and business checklists. These resources a part of a new technology center SCORE added to its Website, “Technology and Tolls for Every Stage of Your Business.
Workshops will be held at the following locations:
April 28–Glendale Hilton, Los Angeles, Calif.
April 30–Huntington Beach Central Library, Orange County, Calif.
May 28–The Corporate College East, Cleveland, Ohio
June 11– Colorado History Museum, Denver, Colo.
September 10– Independence Visitor Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
September 24–The Signature Grand, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
November 11–HP Houston Campus Center, Houston, Texas
December 3–Arizona State University, West Campus, Phoenix, Ariz.
–Renita Burns
Black Architects Chosen to Design Smithsonian Museum
The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be getting new digs, and three prominent African American firms will head the architectural team, the Smithsonian Institute has announced.
African American firms, The Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, and Davis Brody Bond, teamed up with the SmithGroup to create a design concept for NMAAHC, the last museum to be built on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The team, which is calling itself as Freelon Adjaye Bond/ SmithGroup, has designated David Adjaye, a leading British architect from Tanzania, as the lead designer, and the Freelon Group is the architect of record.
The museum will feature a bronze crown, which will allow natural light to flow into the structure through bronze screens, reports the Associated Press.
“Our model illustrates a design concept–not a finished building. The design process now begins in earnest with the full engagement of the museum and Smithsonian Institution staff,†said Freelon, in a press release. The Freelon Group designed the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture in Baltimore.
The museum is estimated to cost $500 million. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2012 and the museum is set to open on the National Mall by2015.
–Marcia A. Wade
Lil’ Wayne Denied Injunction to Stop Documentary’s Release
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge this week denied rapper Lil’ Wayne‘s request to bar the release of QD3 Entertainment’s documentary The Carter. The New Orleans rapper sued the film’s producers last month, claiming he’d been denied approval over its contents of the movie, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
The urban multi-platform media and entertainment company now has freedom to distribute the film via DVD and other media formats.
Shot in 2008, the film includes scenes of Wayne using drugs in Amsterdam and talking about his first sexual experience. Filmmakers had unprecedented access to the music artist’s tour bus, hotels, shows, and press tours.
The platinum-selling, Grammy award winner is no stranger to legal woes. Known for his affinity for prescription cough medicine, he once even declared his dedication to “weed and syrup till I die.”
Separately, Lil’ Wayne appeared in a Manhattan court Thursday regarding a gun-possession charge stemming from a 2007 arrest. Testimony included reports of alleged marijuana use during a traffic stop of his tour bus.
–Janell Hazelwood