newleadership's Blog

Obama Speech Misses Grassroots and Poor?

As a current community organizer and activist in Chicago's Roseland community, the very community that President Barack Obama got his start as a community organizer, he could have done more to address the rise in crime and how his stimulus would reach the grassroots in properly addressing the social ill's that plague urban communities across the country like Roseland. It was not long ago that Obama's hometown of Chicago was known as "The Murder Capital Of The World."

While some leaders believe that the issue of stronger gun laws would significantly decrease the rise in crime, there are many others at the grassroots level who would argue that the lack of proven strong and effective crime intervention and prevention efforts has led to the increase in Chicago''s and other urban cities crime rates. President Obama inherited the former administration's lack of investment in proper crime intervention and prevention programs, so many expected that with his background in community organizing that the Obama administration would strongly take the lead restoring and providing more focus on financial investments in those proven crime intervention and prevention programs, but it was not mentioned.

But on his website Obama specifically mentions how he would like to use the Chicago group CeaseFire as a model for how urban communities across the country can successfully decrease crime. Yet groups like Ceasefire and others today, are battling for funding to rehire workers and restore programs in areas where crime has increased which in Chicago are the same areas where they used to have effective programs and crime was down. President Obama still talked about challenging the established banking institutions to make access to capital available to ordinary citizens while failing to mention how he could use new growing community based credit unions who work more closely with grassroots citizens in making funding more easily available to ordinary citizens and small businesses.

If the President's statement of "it's not about the banks, but about the people," then he missed an opportunity to indicate his commitment to actively engaging the community financial institutions as a means of empowerment to ordinary people and small businesses. In addition, he could have also made a commitment to the use of these credit unions and other community financial institutions as specific community development banks to empower the many grassroots community organizations, which could in fact create thousands of new community organizing jobs in the urban areas of our country.

In Chicago for example, there are still thousands of ordinary people and hundreds of community based organization's who were not connected enough to the established political processes to know where to go to get their local organizations and communities empowered through this current stimulus dollars. The process of more transparency is still needed at the true grassroots levels in urban communities like Chicago's Roseland community and others like it in Chicago and across the country. Because of The President's experiences in community organizing, he must know that with all dies respect to government officials and his personal words of commitment, people at the grassroots level would believe in the process more when they actually see themselves, their organizations, and the people and issues they represent at the true grassroots level, clearly transparent and see themselves in the stimulus process.

Far too many poor people have yet to see themselves touched directly and preparing to be lifted up by this current stimulus process. I have known The President from the very beginning of his career and know that he would welcome this input and work to see that the people of his first organizing community in Chicago -Roseland and other urban areas like them in Chicago and around the country will truely see themselves in his urban agenda. ________________________________________________

Open Letter To President Obama & National Media - Remember Roseland !!

Dear Mr. President:

You have known me for over 20 years and have always known me to be straight and to the point, so in keeping with that tradition, I'll be straight and to the point. When you come to Chicago, can you shift the attention on How Hyde Park is doing from your relation to that community to HOW IS ROSELAND doing as a result of your affiliation to that community. As a media person, EVERY news wire I subscribe to ALL are doing features on Hyde Park and NOT ONE on Roseland.!! Based upon what I have read in your new urban agenda commitments (www.whitehouse.gov) I know that it is the Roseland community that needs your attention and national focus.

The Roseland community is the exact model of the kind of distressed community that your urban agenda is designed to lift up, but how can this happen when all of the focus on your next Chicago visit in on Hyde Park.? ONLY YOU can get Roseland the attention and empowerment that it desperately needs. I am currently doing outreach and community organizing work in Roseland with The Greater Roseland Community/Yoices Against Violence, and their are youth who made their first trip out of the city to witness your inauguration in DC, but despite that, many of them still feel like they will never have the opportunity to see you in person in the very community that they struggle, and they walk the very same streets that you did when you had your first community organizing job in Roseland.

Our office is located just a half block from The Lillydale church on 107th & Michigan, just one of the many church locations where you used to do site visits with church and community residents. Your urban agenda also mentioned specifically that you would like to see anti-violence efforts across the country modeled after the group CeaseFire. Well as a volunteer with Roseland CeaseFire, how can others use this group as a model when the group does not have the proper funding to clearly show how their programs works.! When Chicago became the Murder Capital Of The World, many of the young people killed were from every area where CeaseFire's funds, staff, and hands-on programs were.

Your attention to Roseland would position Roseland as the prime example to show how a distressed community can benefit from your new urban empowerment initiatives. When you come to Chicago, Hyde Park will be fine my friend, but it's Roseland and other areas like Roseland that needs the attention. I've made this appeal before to the national media and they have not responded, that's why the future of your home organizing community of Roseland and others like it can only benefit when you shift the focus, so that's why I am making this personal appeal to you. SHIFT THE FOCUS FROM HYDE PARK TO ROSELAND. Hyde Park will be fine, but Roseland won't. Guess what Mr. President., just think how we used to talk about our dreams of what we would do in our communities if we had the power. Twenty years later, YOU HAVE THE POWER to direct attention and I have the power to organize.

You once called me "one of the best organizers of grassroots people in this country," well I cannot prove it in Roseland when we cant get the proper attention, but we can if you share your attention not just with your Hyde Park home, but also with your community organizing home of Roseland in Chicago. Still Your Brother In The Struggle For Empowerment, Mark S. Allen 773-392-0165

The South Street Journal Newspaper The First Chicago Newspaper To Endorse Barack Obama 449 East 35th Street, 1st Floor Chicago, Illinois 60616 773-373-7000 or 773-392-0165 From The Desk of Mark S. Allen, Associate Editor

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Media Availability Contact Mark Allen @ 773-392-0165

UPDATE ON THE 1st NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS CHALLENGE OF 2009!

WILL ROLAND BURRIS SEATING BE PROTECTED "UNDER THE LAW," CLEARLY ESTABLISHED BY THE U.S CONSTITUTION AND THE EXISTING SUPREME COURT POWELL CASE RULING???

Friends, Tuesday was a good day in that even more national media, national civil rights leadership, legal scholars, political leadership, and more of the American people have recognized that Roland Burris seating has met every requirement by law, so the challenge today is continue to push to get elected officials who still oppose Burris to uphold their oath of office to defend the constitution, a constitution that Burris has followed to the letter, and especially the federal case law of the Supreme Court Powell Case ruling !!

And special thanks to Senior Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, Chair of The Senate Rules Committee who publicly stated that Burris has met all legal requirements to be seated. In Illinois, all advocacy efforts should be directed at the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White who has openly and publicly state he is using his personal dislike for The Illinois Governor as why he is not following the constitution that he took an oath of office to uphold. I reminded you that I talked directly to White on the Gerrard McClendon Live TV show on CLTV and read the Powell case law to White and he publicly responded that he was sticking to his "personal political opinion" not to certify Burris, and then White appeared YET AGAIN on Chicago's news/talk station WVON-AM 1690 and again stated that despite the Powell case law he was not going to honor his "oath of office" and follow his "constitutional" duties to certify Burris.

Did White just "selectively" choose to follow his required duties and certify the Illinois Governors right to choose new special election dates? What is White now saying to the public about his ability to run his own office when he is showing that he picks and chooses when to follow the law and when he won't? And what about Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan? Will she follow the lead that was given by Senior Democratic Senator Feinstein in that there is no legal justification to bock Burris seat and thus fulfill her oath of office and thus instruct White to fulfill his oath of office over his personal political opinion? Those of us who are on The Fairness in Media Watch must continue to engage in direct dialogue with reporters, news assignment editors for fairness, balance, and focused coverage as this racial, emotional, and national political frenzy continues.

Based upon the Powell Case ruling the civil right community and legal analysts must not continue to allow the media to keep from providing more credibility and coverage to the very issues that the Powell ruling clearly says COULD NOT be used as added criteria. Keep providing them with the editorials that have examined and concluded how the Powell case law should have had Burris seating without this national frenzy although its selfishly good for media ratings. No matter how controversial the "clouds" were over Congressman Powell, The Supreme Court ruled that none of those controversies could be used as added criteria and Powell must be seated by law, and the same must be applied today, that no matter the personal political opinions or controversies over The Illinois Governor NONE of that can be used as added criteria in the seating of Burris.

Thanks to everyone across the country who has played any kind of role in WINNING The 1st National Civil Rights Challenge of 2009 ! As we approach the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we can gladly honor his birthday and struggle by preserving the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement that he led "EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW.!" And for those of us as next generation leaders of the civil rights movement we may end up as part of the next Supreme Court Case Law, from Powell to Burris Case Law.

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Mark S. Allen, 46 Over 30 "straight" years in public service on local, state and national levels, including 7 years as a national staff member to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr *Former talk show host on the legendary Black/News Talk Station WVON *Who's Who Among African Americans *Who's Who In Black Chicago Associate Editor The South Street Journal Newspaper

MAJOR COMMUNITY GRASSROOTS SEND-OFF SUPPORT RALLY FOR ROLAND BURRIS, ILLINOIS SENATOR DESIGNEE

 Friends, it is time to show the world that there is major support for former Illinois Comptroller and Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as "uniquely qualified" to serve as the Next Illinois Senator, and that he has the support from a cross section of all levels of leadership. This mass send-off and community support rally for Roland Burris will be this Sunday, January 4th beginning at 6:00pm at legendary New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, located at 740 East 77th Street. where the pastor is Rev. Stephen Thurston and co pastor Rev. Stephen Thurston II.

I have volunteered to help with strategies, media, and of course, grassroots people support !! I am making this personal appeal for us to contact our respective constituent groups and begin the mass mobilization for THIS SUNDAY. I know its a few days, but I know we can meet this challenge because the historic nature of this appointment of Roland Burris. Because of the leadership of the Thurston's I know that the key church community is organizing so I am appealing to the youth and young adult constituency groups, high school and college student government leaders, fraternities and sororities, and other community activists and their organizational contacts.

And of course, we should all be tuned in to our organizing voice, WVON-AM 1690 for of course we will be contacting all talk show hosts and other radio and media personalities and I and other activists will be calling and available for mobilization updates from now until Sunday !! Roland Burris has stepped up to give Illinois its much needed representation, and we the people must step up this Sunday, pack this church, and step up to show Roland that he has the grassroots people's support. ****************************************************************************

MARK S. ALLEN Over 30 "straight years in public service on local, state and national levels, including 7 years as a national staff member to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr *Former talk show host on the legendary Black/News Talk Station WVON *Who's Who Among African Americans *Who's Who In Black Chicago Associate Editor The South Street Journal Newspaper 773-392-0165 **************************************************************************************

STATEMENT BY THE CONCERNED CLERGY OF ILLINOIS PUBLICLY ENDORSING THE SELECTION BY ILLINOIS GOVERNOR BLAGOJEVICH OF FORMER ILLINOIS COMPTROLLER AND ATTORNEY GENERAL ROLAND BURRIS

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

“We applaud Governor Blagojevich’s selection of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as the nominee to fill the vacated U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. Burris is a highly qualified, and dedicated public servant who will help our nation set its priorities during these troubling times. Further, we are requesting that Sen. Dick Durbin grant us a meeting to discuss any opposition he and other U.S. senators may have in refusing to seat Burris and deny African-Americans across the country its place in our nation's history,” said Stephanie Gadlin a spokeswoman for the Concerned Clergy of Illinois, the lead organization, headed by Rev. Walter P. Turner, that worked diligently behind the scenes to ensure the U.S. Senate reflected all of America. The group plans a formal press conference tomorrow. Rev. Turner has called Sen. Durbin to request a meeting. Contact Stephanie Gadlin @ 773-629-5948

Veteran Activist/Journalist, Mark S. Allen BREAKING NEWS Sunday, December 28, 2008 Media Availability Contact 773-392-0165

Sunday, December 22, 2002

The Sun Times Columnist Mary Mitchell wrote.. "Here's the gift I want: Help for the underdogs" .... "I want people like Mark Allen, the long time assistant to the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH to get his due. Who doesn't know that Allen is the one on the front line? Even if he cannot personally help someone, he tries to direct them to someone who can. How long must one labor in the vineyard in obscurity? When loyal people like Allen are overlooked, it parallels the very culture our civil rights groups agitate against."

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Chicago's 500th Murder Victim Connected to Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr !

Monique Bond, a Police Department spokeswoman, said the 500th slaying unofficially had been Monday night, but she wouldn't immediately identify the victim.

(ChicagoBreakingNews.com)

At this past Saturday's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition (RPC) Forum and Broadcast, first it was RPC National Spokesman Jonathan Jackson, then followed by the Rev. Jackson who informed the local and national radio & TV audience that he and the Rainbow/PUSH family deeply felt the impact of Chicago's 500th murder, in that the 500th murder victim in Chicago was a child of a family that has been members of the organization for over 20 years. And one of the parents a current staff member that is a former young musician from the days of Operation Breadbasket, and currently a broadcast floor production person for the regular Saturday forum and broadcast. Chicago's 500th murder victim was 21 year old Kermit Delashment, a graduate of Percy Julian High School, received his Associates Degree from Olive Harvey College, and was preparing for Southern Illinois University and being scouted for professional basketball.

According to some street sources, he was not known to be a formal member of any gang, however, he accepted a ride home from a friend who may have been affiliated and a target of gang activity, and that he was shot by accident. This 500th murder victim brings up the subject matter that I have been raising for over a year that maybe this 500th victim may bring back to public light. In the same area where this promising young man was killed, there used to be full time prevention and intervention workers of the group Ceasefire who provided hands-on work in the streets with dealing with the mindset of those who may have been perpetrators of shootings. Whether its a gun, knife, fists, golf club, baseball bat or whatever, we must deal with working to prevent acts of violence no matter the weapon.

Why doesn't Police Chief Jody Weis have the same active partnerships with groups like CeaseFire, especially if CeaseFire was publicly credited with helping to reduce shootings and homicides under Cline and Starks? If CeaseFire was good enough for former Chief's Cline and Starks then why not Weis? Maybe if Rev. Jackson begins to raise the question again, our media and leadership will respond since my year long commentaries on this issue have been ignored and dismissed as we have just adjusted to the violence, and have no need to demand that successful prevention and intervention efforts like Ceasefire and others be fully restored. Every potential victims life should be just as important in saving and not having to wait until it affects a noted figure as this 500th Chicago homicide affected Rev. Jackson and The members of The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.