Jimmy Carter: Gingrich Has "That Subtlety Of Racism"

Former President Jimmy Carter says Newt Gingrich knows exactly what he is doing when he uses phrases like "food stamp president" and talks about the poor learning a work ethic. Carter says this rhetoric is "appealing to the wrong element in South Carolina."

"Newt Gingrich is probably as enlightened as I am about being gratified that we’re in the desegregation years in the South," Carter said to CNN's Piers Morgan.

"When you emphasize, over and over, welfare, food stamps, and ‘Why don’t the black people get jobs," and if I’m president, I’ll make sure they turn toward a work ethic, rather than an ethic of welfare and food stamps, that’s appealing to the wrong element in South Carolina," the former President said on CNN.

Jimmy Castor (‘Hey Leroy!,’ ‘Troglodyte,’ ‘Bertha Butt’) has Died

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*Old school Funk saxophonist/singer Jimmy Castor, who recorded a string of R&B hits in the 1970s with his group, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, died on Monday morning in Las Vegas at the age of 71.

According to Castor’s son,  Jimmy Castor Jr., the likely cause was heart failure.

Castor (Senior) was hospitalized in November after suffering a heart attack, and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He died at Saint Rose Dominican Hospital, his son said.

The musician lived with his wife Sandi in suburban Henderson outside Las Vegas.

According to Wikipedia, Castor …

… started as a doo-wop singer in New York. He wrote and recorded “I Promise to Remember” in 1956. Castor then replaced Frankie Lymon in The Teenagers in 1957 before switching to the saxophone in 1960. He had a solo hit with “Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You” on Smash Records in 1966. Castor also played sax on Dave “Baby” Cortez’s hit “Rinky Dink.” He formed the Jimmy Castor Bunch in 1972 and signed with RCA. As leader of The Jimmy Castor Bunch in the 1970s, and also as a solo artist, he has released several successful albums and singles. The group reached the peak of their commercial success in 1972 with the release of their album, It’s Just Begun, which featured two hit singles: the title track and “Troglodyte (Cave Man),” which was a large hit in the U.S., peaking at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100. The track stayed in the chart for 14 weeks and was a million seller by 30 June 1972, and received a gold disc award from the R.I.A.A.[1]

Castor continued the trend in 1975 with “The Bertha Butt Boogie” and later recorded “E-Man Boogie,” “King Kong,” “Bom Bom,” and “Potential.” The Castor band included keyboardist/trumpeter Gerry Thomas, bassist Doug Gibson, guitarist Harry Jensen, conga player Lenny Fridle, Jr., and drummer Bobby Manigault.[1] Thomas, who simultaneously recorded with the Fatback Band, left in the ’80s to exclusively record with them. Castor recorded as a solo performer from 1976 until 1988. He had one of his bigger hits in many years with a 1988 revival of “Love Makes a Woman,” which paired him with disco diva Joyce Sims. Castor had his own record label, Long Distance, in the 1980s.

Many of the group’s tunes have been heavily sampled in films and in hip-hop. In particular, the saxophone hook and groove from “It’s Just Begun” and the spoken word intro and groove from “Troglodyte” (namely, “What we’re gonna do right here is go back…”) have been sampled extensively.

The love story that changed history: Fascinating photographs of interracial marriage at a time when it was banned in 16 states

By LYDIA WARREN

Just 45 years ago, 16 states deemed marriages between two people of different races illegal.

But in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the case of Richard Perry Loving, who was white, and his wife, Mildred Loving, of African American and Native American descent.

The case changed history - and was captured on film by LIFE photographer Grey Villet, whose black-and-white photographs are now set to go on display at the International Center of Photography.

Loving: Grey Villet's photograph captures Richard Loving kissing wife Mildred as he arrives home from work in King and Queen County, Virginia, April 1965

Content: The Loving's children Peggy, Sidney and Donald play in King and Queen County, Virginia in April 1965

Twenty images show the tenderness and family support enjoyed by Mildred and Richard and their three children, Peggy, Sidney and Donald.

The children, unaware of the struggles their parents face, are captured by Villet as blissfully happy as they play in the fields near their Virginia home or share secrets with their parents on the couch.

Their parents, caught sharing a kiss on their front porch, appear more worry-stricken.

 

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And it is no wonder - eight years prior, the pair had married in the District of Columbia to evade the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which banned any white person marrying any non-white person.

But when they returned to Virginia, police stormed into their room in the middle of the night and they were arrested. 

The pair were found guilty of miscegenation in 1959 and were each sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for 25 years if they left Virginia.

Tender: Mildred Loving greets husband Richard on their front porch in King and Queen County, Virginia, April 1965

Love: Grey Villet captures Richard and Mildred Loving with their children Peggy, Donald and Sidney in their living room in King and Queen County, Virginia, April 1965

They moved back to the District of Columbia, where they began the long legal battle to erase their criminal records - and justify their relationship.

Following vocal support from the Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches, the Lovings won the fight - with the Supreme Court branding Virginia's anti-miscegenation law unconstitutional in 1967.

It wrote in its decision: 'Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man, fundamental to our very existence and survival.

'To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law.'

A moment: Grey Villet captures Mildred and Richard Loving, their daughter Peggy, Mildred's sister Garnet and Richard's mother Lola, on the porch of Mildred's mother's house, Caroline County, Virginia in April 1965

Family: Richard and Mildred Loving sit in the open door of a car celebrating Richard's winning race, Sumerduck dragway in Sumerduck, Virginia, April 1965

Following the ruling, there was a 448 per cent increase in the number of interracial marriages in Georgia alone.

In 2007, 32 years after her husband died, Mrs Loving - who herself passed away the following year - released a statement in support of same-sex marriage.

She said: 'Not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the "wrong kind of person" for me to marry

'I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry.

Concern: Mildred and Richard Loving in their home. They had been arrested in 1958, shortly after their marriage

Fears: In 1967, the US Supreme Court, in a unanimous verdict, ruled in the Loving's favor in 'Loving v. Virginia' and overturned Virginia's anti-miscegenation statute

Long fight: Left, Mildred and Richard Loving speak with their American Civil Liberties Union lawyer in May 1965. Pictured right, Mildred walks with her daughter near their home in Caroline County, Virginia the same year

'I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.'

Photographs of their content family life and grapple with the law were unearthed by director Nancy Buirski during the making of a documentary about the pair.

Her documentary, The Loving Story, will air on February 14 on HBO.

Twenty of the prints will be exhibited at the International Center of Photography in New York City, from January 20 until May 6. They are on loan by the estate of Grey Villet and by the Loving family.

Together: Richard Loving and his son sit on a sofa in their home in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia, May 196 - two years before the U.S Supreme court threw out the law banning interracial marriage

Struggle: Mildred (center) and Richard Loving (left), with their daughter, on the front steps of the home of Richard Loving's mother (right) in Central Point, Caroline County, Virginia, May 1965

For more information about the exhibition, visit International Center of Photography

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088040/Photographs-Lovings-interracial-marriage-time-banned-16-states.html#ixzz1jpobghYS

High school principal apologises for black students are 'less smart' comments

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

A high school principal has sent out a letter apologising to parents and students for saying the school's black students are 'less smart' according to a state report card issued this month, WREG reports.

Ted Horrell, the principal at Germantown High School in Tennessee, gave out the results of the school's state report card, which breaks down standardized test scores by race and income.

The aim of the assembly was to talk about how the school could close the achievement gap and introduce a new programme to help struggling students. the Huffington Post reports.

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Racial breakdown: Principal Ted Horrell gave an assembly on the state report card which includes race and income data

Instead it led to an outcry with those offended by the presentation questioning why Mr Horrell felt he needed to do it.

They argued it only created a greater divide with black students mocked for 'being dumb.'

It prompted Mr Horrell to write: 'I unintentionally offended a number of students on this campus.

Offended: Parent Deborah Cannon said the presentation was unnecessary

'I apologize to all the students and parents who were offended.'

Mr Horrell said that during assembly, he merely noted that certain groups of students are performing better than others.

'I certainly didn't say that white students are smarter than black students,' he added.

But Germantown High parent Deborah Cannon was one of those who were offended.

Apology: The principal sent out a letter to parents after the outcry

She told WREG: 'My daughter felt he presented this information to basically reflect the African-American students were all the reason the scores were down.'

One student, however, jumped to Mr Horrell's defence. The unnamed student wrote in an email to WREG that 'information is valuable,' and that the principal just wanted to share the facts.

The student wrote: 'As a student there, I do want to know how we are performing when it comes to standardized tests.

'I think (based upon the reactions in the audience at the meeting) that once people were made aware of the data, they made judgments and did not fully listen to Dr. Horrell. The changes Dr. Horrell is making to GHS is to better the students.' 

Getting More People to Care About Missing Black Women

Stacey English, left, and Phoenix Coldon (Blackandmissing.com)

After years of complaints in African-American circles about the lack of attention paid to missing black women in this country, a U.S. cable network dedicated to black programming begins a revolutionary series this week.

The program, called " Find Our Missing," is scheduled to begin airing tonight on TV One, a black cable network available in 56 million homes.

The network is working with the Black and Missing Foundation, a group of black professionals who keep track of missing black Americans - cases that are often ignored or unreported. The sheer number of faces that peer back from its website is startling. Most of the missing are from New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and Florida.

According to FBI figures, nearly 40 percent of all missing persons are people of color, but critics say that the most media attention is reserved for white women.

Craig Henry, executive in charge of production at TV One, says the presumption in this country is that "black people live in impoverished conditions, so there's not the same sense of outrage" when black Americans disappear.

"We are also accustomed to seeing stories and news reports of black people involved in criminal activity, and not very often the victims of crimes," he said.

Derrica Wilson, the CEO and co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, says it is the public's attention and media  coverage that help find the missing, and this new effort could save lives or give families closure. She said many of the missing black women are victims of human trafficking. Since 2008, her organization has helped to either locate or bring closure to 71 missing persons cases. This January alone, the organization helped find six people, and all six were found alive.

"We all know that black and Latinos, or any person of color, who go missing oftentimes do not receive the much needed media coverage, which could drastically increase the odds of their safe recovery," she said.

"It is time for all people - regardless of race - to be treated equally in their times of greatest need," said Natalie Wilson, another co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation.

"When we hear the term 'missing persons,' most people conjure up images of Chandra Levy, Caylee Anthony or Natalee Holloway," Wilson said. "As a result, the public is misled in believing that victims of abductions and kidnappings are [all]blond, blue-eyed and female."

Both the Black and Missing Foundation and TV One point to the cases of 36-year-old Stacey English of Atlanta, and 23-year-old Phoenix Coldon of St. Louis. Both women went missing at the end of December, and authorities say the cases are strikingly similar.

For example, the vehicles of both women were found abandoned and still running just miles from their homes. And the man authorities say English had last seen was from St. Louis, where Coldon disappeared. Their families say neither case has generated the kind of national attention or questions they believe would have occurred if the young women had been white.

"It's sad that this may be the case," said Cindy Jamison, the mother of Stacy English. She, her husband, Kevin Jamison, and a small army of relatives and friends have been searching Atlanta for weeks. On the phone today she told me, "Here we are crying for everyone to show Stacey's face, trying to get whoever would listen to listen, and whoever would have us to tell her story…. and [the lack of national attention] does make us think."

Craig Henry of TV One says the new series is a set of "mystery tales," and this is the best way to grab viewer interest in these cases, many of them quite cold.

"These are stories, and we immerse you in the lives of these missing people," he said. "These are people you get to know, you see their families, see their normal lives, and then one day you learn that they are gone. We want to get people to empathize and get people to care about these stories."

Obamas greet Tuskegee Airmen at "Red Tails" White House screening

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet Tuskegee Airmen prior to a screening of “Red Tails” in the Family Theater of the White House on Jan. 13. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greeted Tuskegee Airmen at a special screening of the movie "Red Tails" at the White House.

The event was held Friday.

"Red Tails," which opens this Friday, tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black aviators to serve in the U.S. military. The George Lucas film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Tristan Wilds, Nate Parker and Atlanta R&B star Ne-Yo .

The Atlanta Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen hosted an advance screening in Morrow last week. I attended and met several of the veterans. It was such an honor. Here's the blog post about that event .

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com

Gingrich's "Uncomfortable Facts" about Food Stamps Hold Water

http://www.usnews.com

Numbers suggest working off of the program may be tough for many recipients

By DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN

In Monday's Fox News-Wall Street Journal Republican presidential debate, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrichrepeated his assertion that President Obama is a "food stamp president." Moderator Juan Williams pressed him on the issue Monday night, particularly a recent statement that black Americans should "demand jobs, not food stamps." While Gingrich's statements about food stamp participation have numerical basis, it is questionable how the majority of food stamp participants—namely, children and the elderly—can indeed "help themselves" off of the program.

[Read about why Jon Huntsman quit the GOP presidential race.]

Food stamp usage has, as Gingrich suggested, increased dramatically during the Obama presidency, but hanging the increase on the president is difficult. Participation in the Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the program to which "food stamps" refers, has increased from an average of 28.2 million people per month in FY 2008 to 46.2 million as of October 2011, the most recent month for which data is available. However, SNAP participation has been on the rise since well before President Obama took office. Nearly 17.2 million people in FY 2000 participated in the program, a figure that increased by nearly 64 percent by 2008.

Gingrich has also denied racist undertones to his assertions, saying that he was simply using "facts that are uncomfortable." And in many ways, minorities were disproportionately hurt by the economic downturn. Blacks are hit harder by unemployment than non-Hispanic whites and Latinos and are also a larger share of SNAP recipients. While a plurality of SNAP households in FY 2010—35.7 percent—were headed by white non-Hispanics, according to the USDA, 22 percent were headed by African-Americans—a large share, considering that blacks make up roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population.

The question of food stamps, however, is part of a larger narrative that the former Speaker has woven about government assistance programs and the ability of America's poor to work their way to prosperity. His now-famous proposal of having children work as janitors in their schools—a proposal he defended last night—is one key example.

As part of a larger question about unemployment benefits, Gingrich spoke for all of the Republican candidates: "We actually think saying to somebody, 'I'll help you if you're willing to help yourself,' is good. And we think unconditional efforts by the best food stamp president in American history to maximize dependency is terrible for the future of this country."

[Read about Romney's debate performance.]

But it seems that many food stamp recipients may not be able to work themselves off the program. Nearly half (47 percent) of recipients in FY 2010 were under the age of 18, and 8 percent were 60 or older, according to a September report from the USDA.

And a large number of food stamp recipients work. The USDA has touted that the primary form of income for SNAP recipients has "shifted from welfare to work" over the last 20 years. Nearly 30 percent of SNAP households had earnings in 2010, up from 19 percent in 1990. In addition, 41 percent of all participants in 2010 lived in a household with earnings.

Many jobs are simply so low-paying that workers need the assistance to feed themselves and their families,particularly during a prolonged economic downturn.

"The share of SNAP households with children that have earnings has basically stayed flat during the recession, which means the number of SNAP households with earnings has gone up dramatically," says Dorothy Rosenbaum, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Finding ways to get people off of SNAP and onto their feet may be a tougher proposition than formulating reforms to unemployment insurance. Gingrich proposed that "unemployment compensation should be tied to a job training requirement," but has no such proposals for helping people off of food assistance. That will depend on other economic improvements, says Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond in an email: "He hasn't proposed any changes [to SNAP]. He has said create new opportunities so people no longer need the program."

While tough talk about jobless benefits and entitlement programs may get the applause at debates, the candidate who can figure out how to create that economic growth will get the votes in November.

One in three US adults is obese: study

One in three American adults is obese, a national level that has stayed the same in recent years, said US data released on Tuesday.

About one in six children and teenagers are also obese, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association report which showed that obesity remains a significant problem in US society despite efforts to combat it.

"Obesity prevalence shows little change over the past 12 years, although the data are consistent with the possibility of slight increases," said the article.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index, or a formula based on height and weight, that is 30 or higher.

Examples would include a six-foot tall man weighing more than 222 pounds (1.82 meters and 100 kilograms) or a five-foot-seven-inch tall woman weighing 192 pounds (1.70 meters and 87 kilograms).

According to the JAMA report, 35.7 percent of US adults are obese and so are 16.9 percent of children and teenagers age two to 19.

When overweight people are added to the adult tally, the prevalence of overweight and obese people jumps to 68.8 percent of the US population.

"The good news from the report is that rate of obesity in US adults from 2003-2008 and 2009-2010 has not increased significantly," said Nancy Copperman, director of public health at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System inNew York.

"This is a change from previous reports where obesity rates continued to rise. Public health efforts to address obesity may be having a positive effect," added Copperman, who was not involved in the JAMA study.

However, more needs to be done to target such efforts in minority groups who tend to have higher rates of obesity than whites, she said.

For instance, obesity rates among white men were 36.2 percent in 2009-2010 compared to 38.8 percent among black men.

The obesity prevalence in white women was 32.2 percent compared to 58.5 percent in black women.

The data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveywhich included measured height and weight for about 6,000 adult men and women and 4,000 children and teens in 2009-2010.