Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The Civil Right Institute Announces New Research Project to Examine Kerner Commission


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ANDREW LEE, (678) 517-5138


The Civil Right Institute Announces New Research Project to Examine Kerner Commission
‘Choosing the Future’ Research Project Looking to Create New Data to Influence Better Public Policies


July 6, 2015 – Today, The Civil Rights Institute (TCRI) is excited to announce a strategic partnership with thought leaders around the country to revisit the Kerner Commission in light of recent events.   This particular project, Choosing the Future, will use the next three years to gather the data and convene a national convention in 2018 to share their findings and discussion new solutions.

In 2018 the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Less than 3 years after the 1968 report was released President Nixon declared a “war on drugs,” devastating the same communities that the Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Acts were meant to protect and creating the modern-day prison-industrial complex.  TCRI’s research will use the Kerner Commission, along with recent events, to engage urban communities in discussions about the current public policies and their effectiveness in their neighborhoods.

Noted names who have come together to work with TCRI and its proposed research project are Dr. Nicholas Johnson – Fordham University School of Law; Dr. Glenn Loury – Brown University; Dr. Craig Frisby – University of Missouri; Robert Woodson, a noted civil rights activist and President/CEO of Center for Neighborhood Enterprise;  Stephan Thernstrom – former Harvard professor; Abigail Thernstrom – former Vice-Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Dr. Anthony Bradley – King’s College and Acton Institute  and Prof. John McWhorter – Columbia University.

 “Our country is ready to begin the healing process, especially on race and public policy.” said Regina Roundtree, President/CEO of The Civil Rights Institute. The  “Choosing the Future” research project is exactly what the name says – giving back to local residents the opportunity to have a voice in what policies affect them and their children.”  

TCRI  is using a community based participatory research model to tackle some of the hardest issues facing citizens today like police attitudes, unemployment and underemployment, housing, education and race.  One of their many goals is to create a new research model for effectively engaging marginalized communities in the public policy debate.

For more information please visit http://www.ChoosingTheFuture.org.

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About The Civil Rights Institute www.CivilRightsInstitute.org
 The Civil Rights Institute is a non-partisan, non-sectarian organization created to facilitate the emergence of a society where all humans walk in the fullness of their unalienable rights. TCRI  partners with local advocates to assist marginalized communities via research and culturally-competent public policies that support individual freedom, efficient government and free enterprise.



Friday, April 10, 2015

I Can’t Breathe: How to Reduce Police Brutality | Learn Liberty


Should we have laws we aren’t willing to kill for?

Following tragic deaths at the hands of police, like that of Eric Garner, many are outraged over racism and unaccountability in law enforcement. But George Mason Law Professor Ilya Somin takes issue with the laws themselves, and asks whether all laws are really worth killing for. Police run the risk of injuring or killing Americans every time they arrest someone--and each year, hundreds of thousands are arrested for nonviolent crimes. The more racist and unaccountable you believe the police are, Somin argues, the more you should want to limit the number of situations where they can inflict that abusive and racist behavior on civilians.

Can we justify killing people for nonviolent crimes? Can we justify the death of Eric Garner and countless others?

Howard Husock, Manhattan Institute, "Top Ideas for Revitalizing Cities"

Cuomo’s 'Start-Up NY' program cost $28 million, but has only created just 76 jobs.

Start-Up NY



(Watchdog Arena)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ‘Start-Up NY’ program has been billed as a big jobs creator, but the numbers aren’t matching the rhetoric. 

Companies that invest in certain areas known as “tax free zones” are given big tax breaks for expanding or starting new businesses, and New Yorkers were promised 2,100 new jobs over five years. The state has spent $28 million on a massive advertising campaign for the program, but so far, Start-Up NY has only created 76 of the 2,100 jobs that were promised.

One aspect of the program bothers some current business owners in the state: there are no tax breaks for existing companies that have been paying taxes and creating jobs for years, unless those companies expand into the zones specified by the state.

Read more: http://watchdog.org/210954/cuomo-start-up-ny/

The War on Ridesharing

Jared Meyer, policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, explains the economic and social benefits of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft.