Click this link to read their full letter of response [link opens pdf file]

Photo by Rich Dennison/The Daily Record

That’s the question I would ask Donald Fry (pictured), head of the influential Greater Baltimore Committee and Governor-appointed Chair of the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission.

The Baltimore Business Journal reported last week that the 7 member commission voted to “ease” [read: ignore] state requirements which would call for 25% of the casino construction project to go to MBE (minority-business enterprise) or WBE (women-business enterprise) certified firms. Likewise, successful licensees won’t have to bother with the Baltimore City requirement that calls for 37% minority-owned or woman-owned business participation either.

Apparently, it’s just that easy to make a state and city requirement – “optional.”

The interim-Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, didn’t seem to know that the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission “eased” the MBE/WBE requirement on the city slots construction project when she was asked about it on the Marc Steiner Show on the evening of Thursday, August 18th – the day after the controversial vote. However, she did say that she takes the MBE/WBE goals very seriously and that many bidding firms are disqualified if their proposals don’t meet them.

Despite her proclaimed convictions related to including minorities and women in state contracts, it’s doubtful that she’ll challenge the ruling of the slots commission given that she’s in the midst of a contentious election and the head of the commission was chosen by her political ally, Governor Martin O’Malley.

She’ll take one for the team on this one.

However, The Baltimore City branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) isn’t laying down so quietly. In the following open letter, Rev. C.D. Witherspoon, President of the Baltimore Branch of the SCLC, challenged Mr. Fry to explain why the state MBE/WBE requirements were removed from the city casino construction project:

Rev. Cortly “C.D.” Witherspoon, Sr.
President,
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Baltimore City Chapter

Apparently, Maryland isn’t the only state opening the door for more gambling. Check out this piece from CNN:

It’s situations like these that remind me of the fact that politicians are generally not the ones who come up with progressive ideas to engage challenging or transformative times. Elected officials all around the country are pushing this “old idea” in a time where many people are searching for a new vision for the future. As the world’s social structures continue to crumble, people are realizing that the kingdoms of this world have long been promoting a way of life that is at best unsustainable and at worst criminal. The gig is up.

While the national and state governments continue grasping for straws; the truly progressive and sustainable ideas are coming from everyday people. That’s right. Not the corporate heads, not the TV talking heads, and not the politicians – but the people.

Even a surface study of contemporary American history will reveal that many of the best and most progressive ideas were NOT born in the halls of Congress or in the committees of City Hall. But the best ideas were often born in the bosom of the community that was most directly impacted by whatever the challenge was at that time. Our celebrity culture helps to mislead the masses into believing in their own inferiority when it comes to proposing ideas for the now and the future. However, it is everyday folks that have what it takes to lay the groundwork for what tomorrow needs to look like. Everyday folks need only have two important ingredients: imagination and at the very least an ambivalence toward the existing political arrangement.

Take for instance what’s going on in Ohio. The CNN video above spotlights the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, who along with his partners spent $50 million to convince voters to put another casino in Ohio – using the same ol’ tired casino-justifications: the money will be used for public education, horse racing, and will bring in jobs.

Now in that same state, while Gilbert and his guys are pushing the old idea, the community has come together to give birth to a progressive, forward-looking idea: Evergreen Cooperatives; a new model of economic development that created a network of employee-owned businesses.

As the Mayor of Cleveland, Frank Jackson, said at the end of the Evergreen video, “Cleveland wants to be where the world is going, not where the world is.” That’s the type of visionary ideas and ideals that we need in Baltimore, Detroit, and many other cities as well.

As Mario Osava says in his article – Another Kind of Economics is possible. And it’s up to us – regular folks to organize, become more informed, and transform our communities from below instead of waiting for help to come down from the top of the political hierarchy. (Here’s a secret: most of them don’t have a clue!)

For more ideas and stories about how communities are coming up with democratic, community-based, economic development options, check out this resource-rich website: Community-Wealth.org.

After six days of deliberation, the jury in the corruption case against Mayor Sheila Dixon (Baltimore, MD) came to a decision today. They found Mayor Dixon guilty on one out of five counts against her. She was found guilty of taking gift cards intended to be given to “the city’s poor.” This according to the Baltimore Sun:

The jury convicted Dixon of embezzlement for violating her fiduciary duties to the city and citizens of Baltimore by using about $530 in Target and Best Buy gift cards purchased in December 2005 by developer Patrick Turner. The developer testified the cards were intended for “the children of Baltimore.” Dixon was City Council president at the time.

Clarification is yet to arrive pertaining to if she will have to serve some jail time (a scenario that has been deemed unlikely) or if she’ll have to relinquish office as Mayor of Baltimore. I’m sure more details will be provided in the coming days on that.

I’ve personally not written much about this trial because of my disdain for the circus that was born around it and my genuine sadness about Ms. Dixon’s misfortune. I’ve been a staunch political opponent of Mayor Dixon for some years now. I’ve called her out about her involvement in gentrification initiatives in Baltimore, her support of slots in the city, and her lackluster support of Baltimore City Public Schools. I’ve also decried her relentless allegiance to the Martin O’Malley political machine.

However, despite my political opposition, I have no personal qualms with her. We’ve never met so I couldn’t have a sincere personal beef with her. I’m sorrowful for her and her family today. Some might say I need to be more sorrowful for the residents of the city who have had to endure political corruption for decades and that might be true. But watching Ms. Dixon at the post-trial press conference today really tugged at a different place in me. She was noticeably dejected and trying her best to put on a strong face. It was hard to watch.

Given the history of the “injustice system” toward the African in America community – detailed in books like On The Courthouse Lawn by Sherrilyn Ifill – I must confess that it’s hard for me to watch the courts convict a person of color in the name of “justice.” Especially, when many believe that she’s done no more than (and probably much less) than Governor Martin O’Malley – her longtime political ally.

The legacy of the Courts injustice toward those who have been kissed by the sun is so voluminous, that it’s hard to give its decisions much moral weight.

That’s why Black Christians testify in church about Jesus being a “lawyer in the courtroom.” It’s because the courtroom has been a place where Black folks have been humiliated, persecuted, sold, and lynched. To get out of the courtroom unscathed had to be an act of Jesus himself. Only divine intervention could liberate Black folks from the grip of the White Power Structure’s version of justice.

Watching Ms. Dixon at the post-trial press conference made me say to myself, “There goes another one who got caught up in that snare.” I’m not standing for her innocence nor am I suggesting that she’s a paragon of virtue. I’m simply making observation and maybe even trying to articulate the angst in the soul’s of some of Baltimore’s Black folk who’ve been watching this situation unfold.

As I said on my facebook page last week, if Ms. Dixon retains her mayoral position, then for sure I’ll be there to challenge her on those policies that I feel run contrary to our community’s development, but today I’m praying for her and her family.

Despite this, the Mayor still seems marginally popular in the city. The pockets of Baltimoreans who have decried her political activity over the years were no match for the O’Malley political machine which made sure that Dixon won the mayoral election of 2007.

The representative from her camp asked pastors of the IMA to attend the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast which is slated for Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:00 – 11:00AM at the Forum Caterers in Baltimore.

Soon after the IMA meeting, I received a call from the organizers of this event. I was requested to offer an opening prayer at the Prayer Breakfast. I found this quite odd for any number of reasons. First, though the IMA endorsed Sheila Dixon for Mayor in 2007, I could not in good conscience lend my name to that endorsement. After examining her lengthy record in Baltimore politics, I did not think it was in the best interest of Baltimoreans (especially the majority of the city’s residents, i.e. Black folks) to have Ms. Dixon as our Mayor. I respected the decision of elders within the IMA, but chose to stay away that day. Second, I have regularly been highly critical of Ms. Dixon via this blog and other media outlets. I have challenged her policies, decried her staunch loyalty to the O’Mally political machine, and had op-eds printed in the local Afro American Newspaper openly critiquing her record. Just last week, I was interviewed by a freelancer for a national magazine covering Mayor Dixon. Why me? They were looking for a critical voice to add to their piece!

So for them to call me to give the opening prayer at this Prayer Breakfast was highly puzzling. Either they don’t know me or they are attempting something more sinister like eliminating my voice (and the voices of her other critics) by pulling me into the camp.

“I’m not doing it,” I told my wife.

“How are you not going to pray for somebody? Aren’t pastors supposed to pray for everbody?” she quipped.

That sent me for a mental loop. Yea, that’s right. I am a pastor now. I’m supposed to pray for everybody right? But what if my prayer upsets everything they’re trying to do at this Prayer Breakfast? I gotta be me. My prayer would come from my heart. If I am to be me – and I tend to be authentic no matter the setting – my communication with God on the Mayor’s behalf would be unhindered, uncensored, and probably would have a “oh no he didn’t” edge to it – not outright rude, but truthful. As forthright and outspoken as I can be; I don’t enjoy being unruly just for the sake of it. Why mess up their event?

They don’t want any trouble, but you can’t ignore the cool relationship that the Mayor has with the clergy in my circle right now. Even at the IMA meeting, an awkward silence followed the presentation by the Mayor’s representative. Eventually it came out at the meeting. Mayor Dixon has not been responsive to the segment of the Faith community in which I am a part since she was elected. The IMA endorsed her for mayor and she has given the IMA the cold shoulder as a result. Now she’s in trouble and needs our help?

And even as I type that, I hear a good sister-friend of mine whispering in my ear: “Heber, it’s the people who most don’t deserve our love and support that need it the most.”

I have been wrestling with what Jesus would do in all of this. In his context, would he have attended the birthday party for Herod Antipas and offered an opening prayer knowing full well that John the Baptizer (whom Marcus Borg identifies as Jesus’ teacher) was locked up and facing a dubious future because of Herod’s own decree? I just can’t see it.

But what I do believe is that Jesus would have found an opportunity if some invitation was ever extended to bring forth some creative, nonviolent act of resistance and/or coded critique that would have empowered the oppressed while at the same time disarm the oppressor thus liberating both.

I’m far from Jesus. I’m reaching. I’m journeying toward The Way, but I have a LONG way to go. I’m leaning toward declining being on the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Program (word is she might not even be there!), but prayer was requested so let me fulfill my ministerial duties via an open prayer here:

Most Holy God: I bow today first thanking you for who you are in our lives. You are the unwavering strength and support that provides sustenance in every facet of our earthly experience. No matter the circumstances, you never change. For that we say, “Thank you.” And today at this Prayer Breakfast Lord, we gather to humbly request your guidance on behalf of your daughter, Sheila Dixon. Dear God, during these trying and tense times, give her the internal fortitude to unflinchingly face the persecution that has come her way. Surround her with those who will tell her the truth in love and stand with her in this time of challenge. Bless her with moments of reflection and if necesseary rededication to how You would want her to honor You in her role as mayor. As You bless her with grace might You remind her of the families in East Baltimore who are threatened in the shadow of Johns Hopkins’ gentrification plans. Your grace extends to them as well. As You bless her with support might You remind her of the youth in Baltimore who grow without safe places to play and learn. Your support extends to them as well. As You bless her with love remind her of the families in South Baltimore who will be presented with occassions to stumble by way of slot machines. Your love extends to them as well. Finally, Lord as You bless her with mercy remind her of those whom she has shown mercy to as well. Thank you for making room for redemption. Might we all take full advantage of every opportunity presented us on our own damascus road. Amen.

The Anne Arundel County Council will hold a public hearing, today, Thursday, April 2, at 7 p.m. at Arundel Center North, 44 Calvert St., Annapolis on Bill 10-09. This proposal would change zoning law in the county to allow slot machines at Arundel Mills Mall or other locations.

The current zoning law prohibits slot machines. The zoning legislation was wisely instituted by Anne Arundel County to protect our citizens from the corruption and social problems that inevitably accompany slot machine gambling – and Anne Arundel County citizens can well remember the devastation from the last round of slots in the 50s and 60s.

Please advise your network of this vitally important zoning hearing. We urge as many to attend as possible to show support for our opposition, especially those that live in Anne Arundel County and those who live within 35 miles of the proposed Cordish Arundel Mills Casino that will be subjected to increased crime.

The proponents of a slots casino at Arundel Mills Mall have launched an all out effort to get people to the hearing in support of their casino by offering transportation and food. We do not have that financial advantage. We are hopeful however, that the County Council will not fall victim to the pro-slots propaganda. Among other power voices, a letter from 45 county clergy to the County Council urges members to vote against the change in zoning in order to prevent predatory abuse from returning to our county.

If you want to testify at tonight’s hearing, please sign up no later than 6:30pm, but we suggest that you arrive no later than 6 p.m. No Slots stickers will be available to wear.

Barb Knickelbein, Co-chair
NOcasiNO-Maryland

Thank you to all of those who called Speaker of the House Michael Busch concerning his decision to silence Delegate Jill Carter (D-41) by moving her to a committee other than the Judiciary Committee. Your calls worked and reports are coming out of Annapolis that Del. Carter will remain on the Judiciary Committee where she has served her constituents faithfully. (For those unfamiliar with the legislative process here in Maryland – when a bill is introduced it is assigned to a committee to review and either vote it up or down. In baseball terms, a bill getting to a committee is first base. The committee decides whether or not it goes to second base or gets thrown out at first. That’s why it’s important to have allies on the Committee.)

However, fighting to keep Del. Jill Carter (D-41) on the Judiciary Committee did not come without repercussions. Speaker of the House, Michael Busch did not appreciate at all the flood of calls that came to his office – what he described as “unnecessary shenanigans.” For her punishment, Busch has decided to keep Carter on the Judiciary Committee, but has stripped her of her Sub-Committee Chair position (She Chaired the Estates and Trusts Sub-Committee) and banned her from all “backroom discussions” where real decisions get made. He basically has demoted her to the position of a freshman delegate.

Imagine that. After 6 years of being in office, Delegate Jill Carter has been pushed back down to square one. Can you imagine being on a job for 6 years and making great progress and then all of a sudden being punished because of your track record of doing what your constituents want you to do?

This is the same Michael Busch who came to New Psalmist Baptist Church in January 2005 begging Black Clergy in Baltimore to support him in his efforts to block slots in the State of Maryland. He’ll talk to us when he wants us to get in line behind him. Let’s see if he’ll talk to us now that we want him to get in line with what we want.

We didn’t call and email just so that Del. Jill Carter could keep a seat warm on a committee where she is stripped of all access and responsibility. We called so that she would at least be fully restored to where she was before all of this.

So now it’s time to go to the next phase. Remember, “Power concedes NOTHING without a demand.” Now it’s time to show Mr. Busch that we’re serious. An informal Coalition of the Concerned are looking at taking a trip to Annapolis in the very near future to sit in Busch’s office face to face and let him know what we expect. It’s no time to party. There is yet work to be done. Let me know if you’re interested in taking the trip to Annapolis.

For those in Baltimore, please tune in to The Larry Young Morning Show on WOLB 1010AM on Monday, January 19, 2009 as they will be continuing to discuss this injustice from 6AM – 10AM. Tune in and call in to voice your concern about what is being done to Del. Jill Carter. We’re especially looking for all sororities and female organizations to support. You all stood together strong with City State’s Attorney, Patricia Jessamy in her time of need. We’re praying that you do the same for Del. Jill Carter – another strong sister in the city doing a great work on our behalf.

I just received information that Del. Jill Carter (D-41) is being moved from the House Judiciary Committee to the Environmental Committee as punishment for her outspoken and sincere critique of policies that would harm (or have harmed) Maryland’s Black Community and impoverished community.

As the only Black, female lawyer with a consistent sensitivity and sensibility for the downtrodden and marginalized on the House Judiciary Committee, it is unacceptable to lose her voice on such a critical committee.

Del. Jill Carter is being targeted and isolated because of her track-record of standing up for the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. Put plainly, I am of the belief that Governor Martin O’Malley – a politician who has publicly stated that he “doesn’t support anything that Del. Carter is for”, is attempting to silence the one consistent voice that Black Baltimoreans especially have come to rely on in Annapolis.

Putting Del. Jill Carter on the Environmental Committee under the Chairmanship of Del. Maggie McIntosh – another Baltimore politician who walks in stride with the Governor even when it will harm her constituents – will effectively limit the flow of information and legislative support that many of us have come to expect from Del. Carter.

How does the leading vote getter in all of Baltimore get treated like this?

How does the highest graded state legislator by far get treated like this? (based on the 2008 NAACP Report Card)

How does a consistent and principled champion of our community get treated like this?

Because we allow it.

We allow the opponents of our community’s agenda to treat the true servants of our people viciously and without regard to the community’s response. They do it because they know we won’t do anything about it. We’ll mourn Del. Jill Carter (D-41) when she’s gone and speak in flowery words about her consistent dedication to our community, but will we fight for her now like she’s fought for us? I pray that we will.

We don’t need Del. Jill Carter (D-41) on the Environmental Committee under someone who will work to keep her silent and isolated. We NEED Jill Carter on the Judiciary Committee to continue to speak to those issues that most times have dramatic ramifications on our life under the law.

It’s not just about Del. Jill Carter. It’s about us. It’s about having somebody down there in the midst of those who care nothing for us, to inform, alert, organize, and mobilize the masses on the issues that matter most to us.

Call the Speaker of the House, Michael Busch to demand that Del. Jill Carter (D-41) be kept on the Judiciary Committee! Call him now! His number is: (410) 841-3800.

The message is: KEEP DELEGATE JILL CARTER ON THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE!

The Struggle Continues,

Rev. Heber Brown, III

Delegate Jill Carter, State Comptroller Peter Franchot, City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and others stand against slots at the polls

Though the results didn’t turn out the way we wanted, I remain amazed at the passion, conviction, and determination of the anti-slots allies who stood their ground in the face of amazing odds.

I personally thank you and remind you that the battle is not over. Stay tuned for next steps in this fight. In the meantime – job well done!

Here are five reasons why I’m VOTING AGAINST QUESTION 2 TODAY.

1. I’m voting AGAINST QUESTION 2 ON MORAL GROUNDS. The end – in this case funding for education does not justify the means – problem gamblers squandering away their mortgage money, college tuition funds, etc. All money is not equal. The damage that slots will do to families far outweighs any revenues projected to come in.

2. I’m voting AGAINST QUESTION 2 ON ECONOMIC GROUNDS. Though the language of the question says that the money will primarily be used for education, that is not the truth. About 48% of projected revenues is slated for education. However, there are no NET dollars coming in. Slots money will simply replace funds that are currently being used for education in Maryland. So while slots money is coming in the front door, existing monies will be pulled out the back door. No net gain. you can be for slots and still be against this plan. Who goes to a car dealer and buys the first car they see? Send this plan back to Annapolis stamped “Returned to Sender.”

3. I’m voting AGAINST Question 2 ON RACIAL GROUNDS. Though the slots proposal designates 1.5% toward Minority Business Investment; what it doesn’t tell you is that that money will come in the form of loans that will be doled out to Minority Businesses and must be repaid with interest. The other parties identified in this proposal get a clean cut of the money. The come to the table get their money and walk away. Minority Businesses will have to jump through the red tape of loan applications and interest rates to borrow money that they must repay.

4. I’m voting AGAINST QUESTION 2 ON SOCIAL GROUNDS. Funds for education was the justification that brought the lottery to Maryland. According to Del. Curt Anderson, it started as one drawing a month and now had grown to the mammoth of drawings almost every day of the week. And who do you think buys the most lottery tickets in the state? People from zip code 21215 – Park Heights. $30 Million comes out of Park Heights every year for the purchase of lottery tickets. And what does Park Heights get in return? Crime, blight, concentrated poverty. Park Heights doesn’t benefit from the lottery and Maryland won’t benefit in the long run from slots.

5. I’m voting AGAINST QUESTION 2 ON THE GROUNDS OF COMMON SENSE. Despite the funding allocations designated in the bill, there are still too many loopholes in the language and red flags in the fiscal note that give lawmakers sway in how this proposal will go down. Too much of it requires voters to trust Governor O’Malley to do the right thing and simply stated, I can’t trust him. As the Mayor of Baltimore, he has proven that his word is suspect. Back in 2003, O’Malley called slots a “morally bankrupt way to fund education.” Robert Ehrlich was Governor then and O’Malley was gearing up to challenge him for the top job in the state. Now he’s for slots. His opinion was a political motivated one – not one derived from his morals, values, or virtues. As shared in a previous post, Sheila Dixon wrote an article speaking against slots in 2003, but when O’Malley changed his position, Dixon and most of the other Democrats changed theirs too. There are no morals there. Annapolis is trying to ram this down the throats of its citizens, but I stand with those who are standing AGAINST Question 2 and protecting our state constitution from something as superfluous as slots.

VOTE AGAINST QUESTION 2! NO SLOTS IN MARYLAND!