14 The Hampton Roads Messenger Rush to Judge FROM PAGE 11


the community standards around appropriate


discipline report suspected and the


requirements of professionals required to


child abuse or


neglect are not as cut-and-dried as one might assume, so we shouldn’t rush to judgment.


Dr. Michelle


As Baltimore-based pediatrician Gourdine


observes,


“In the course of doing a physical examination and discovering injuries, the decision whether to report or not is based on not only that physical exam but also obtaining an additional history based on those findings.” She further explains, “I am not aware of any specific guidelines that state that it has to be a certain type or character of injury on a certain individual. It’s subjective based on your best professional determination.”


New York psychiatrist Dr. Joe


Brewster, with whom I co-authored Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life, and who treats many African-American male


patients, says, “Professionals


use their judgment, and they’re not likely to have the same standard for every individual.” While he clearly states that he’s against using corporal punishment, he notes that when it comes


to parents defending their


actions, “the privileged—judges, doctors, lawyers—are more likely to be given the benefit of the doubt. I see that constantly.”


Protective or Problematic?


Almost all American parents have used corporal punishment. In 2012, 77 percent of men and 64 percent of women reported that they believed “a good, hard spanking” was sometimes necessary. In general, the parents of boys or black children, Southerners, younger and poorer moms, and evangelical


and conservative Protestants are more likely to spank.


“Many of us were spanked with implements, and it was good for us. Many of us were abused with words, and we were forever scarred.


Volume 9 Number 2


The question is, what is the time and tenor of the house?” says the Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller, a family and marital counselor and head of a Philadelphia mega-church.


Peterson hails from Texas,


among the most permissive states in allowing educators to hit children in schools. And the Texas State Library and Archives Commission says about eastern Texas, where Peterson grew up and where cotton was once king: “Historians estimate


70 percent of the slaves American raise reliance


that at least received


whippings at some point in their lives.” Some experts trace


African- upon corporal


punishment as a vestige of slavery. What’s more, many fathers


their sons using authoritarian


parenting practices (which can include corporal punishment). Black fathers often physically discipline their sons to instill


behavioral control and to


prepare their sons for a society that will surveil them and not be forgiving when it


transgressions. “I’m fairly sure Adrian Peterson’s


intent, from what I can see at this


point, was not an evil one. He texted his concerns and his ambivalence, and he made it public,” says Brewster, who worries about both a “witch hunt” and potential criminal-justice fallout. According to a Sports Illustrated legal analysis, if convicted, Peterson could face punishment ranging from 180 days to 10 years in prison.


“Even if he were guilty of an


indiscretion, do we put him in jail or do we make him a better citizen?” asks Brewster, who believes that parenting and discipline classes, family therapy, or periodic supervision would be more helpful. “The United States locks up and punishes people at a much faster rate than any other nation. There’s a price to pay for that, particularly in these areas, which are more gray and ambiguous than we might think.”


“What we hear in the media is never the whole story,” says Gourdine. “We should be extremely careful not to rush to judgment.”


The Root Business Conference FROM PAGE 1


been exposed to topics varying from how to use census data for business development to innovative ways to fund business ventures.


The conference's Community


Development Awards Luncheon is always a crowd favorite. Each city in Hampton Roads nominates a small business to receive an award during the luncheon. Awards are also given to organizations that support the efforts of small businesses.


This year's luncheon 46,000 square-foot speaker


is Maurice Slaughter, owner of MS Family Enterprises and Portsmouth based Bayside Harley Davidson, a


full-service


dealership. Conference goers are in for a treat during the luncheon and not just because of what is on the menu. They will have an opportunity to be inspired by the tremendous accomplishments of Mr. Slaughter. Armed with a master's degree


various industries including a


Burger King franchise and a Toyota dealership.


conference,


On the second the


day general of public


the is


invited to attend a free career and business opportunity fair. The fair will include information about purchasing a franchise, as well as information on traditional


job openings. Attendees


who may be looking for a job could decide that owning a franchise may be a better option for supporting their family.


“Individuals who have been


unemployed for more than a few months should find comfort in knowing that they can create their own opportunity to gain income through franchise ownership,” stated Ms. Jones. According to the United States Department of Labor close to 32,000 people were counted in September 2014 as being unemployed for 27 weeks or more. Franchises


in business administration, he has owned numerous businesses in


unemployed or underemployed.


After the career and business opportunity fair, attendees and employers will have an opportunity to gain more insight into the job market from industry experts by attending an Employability Summit sponsored by Bryant and Stratton College. This summit will bring Human Resource experts from CareerBuilder, ManpowerGroup, HR Policy Foundation and Mainstreet together with job seekers for an “Addressing the Skills Gap” panel discussion. The panel will convey to the audience how to articulate the skills employers are looking for, increase collaboration between


educators and employers,


identify and address contributors to the skills gap and build the workforce of tomorrow.


make


business ownership less complicated and provide easy access to industry expertise. There are some franchises that require very little start-up capital which makes owning a franchise even more appealing to persons who are


The Small Businesses Thinking Big Conference will take place on October 28th from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and on October 29th from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The Employ Hampton Roads Career fair will take place on October 29th from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with the Employability Summit occurring from 2 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. For more information call 757-575-1863 or visit hamptonroadsmessenger.com.


comes to any youthful Refusing Mortgages FROM PAGE 1


all New Yorkers are treated equally, regardless of race or ethnicity.”


The lawsuit alleges that Evans


created a map defining its lending area that included most of the City of Buffalo and its surroundings, but excluding the predominantly African- American neighborhoods on Buffalo’s Eastside. Evans called the included areas on its map its Trade Area. By excluding certain neighborhoods from its Trade Area, Evans automatically disqualified Eastside residents— regardless of their creditworthiness— from obtaining certain


products. Evans designed these mortgage


only to borrowers in certain limited geographic


products to areas,


included the Eastside.


This action is part of an ongoing, wider investigation


by Attorney


General Schneiderman’s Civil Rights Bureau into mortgage redlining by banks operating in New York, and it was prompted by concerns that banks had stopped lending to minority communities in the wake of the mortgage crisis and financial collapse of 2008.


in


Historically, banks have engaged redlining


in racially segregated


areas, and according to U.S. Census Data from 2005 to 2009, New York ranks as the most highly segregated state in the United States. According to U.S. Census data, the Buffalo metro area was among the most highly segregated large metro areas in the nation in 1980, 1990, 2000, and as recently as 2010, when it was the sixth most highly segregated large metro area in the United States.


The lawsuit further alleges that


Evans refused to solicit customers and market its loan products outside its Trade Area, including in the Eastside neighborhoods.


Evans further avoided locating


its branch offices and other facilities in the Eastside neighborhoods, instead


be none


mortgage available of which


neighborhoods. that,


The court papers allege by


redlining the Eastside


neighborhoods, which are home to more than 85,000 people, Evans has excluded an area that is home to over 75% of Buffalo’s African-American population from the marketing and sales of its mortgage products and services.


The lawsuit alleges that a


statistical analysis shows the racially discriminatory effects of the bank’s practices,


demonstrating that Evans


failed to draw mortgage applications from and make mortgage loans to Afri- can-American borrowers and Eastside residents at the rates expected based on the performance of comparable banks operating in the same area during the same period as Evans.


The complaint alleges,


example, that Evans received 1,114 residential mortgage applications


for in


the Buffalo metro area from 2009 to 2012, only four of which were reported as from African-American applicants.


Similarly, of these 1,114


residential mortgage applications, the lawsuit alleges that only eight came from the Eastside neighborhoods, only one of which was reported as from an African-American applicant.


The lawsuit alleges that Evans’s


rates of attracting loan applications from and originating loans to African- American borrowers and Eastside residents lag far behind comparable banks and that these discriminatory effects are the result of Evans’s racially discriminatory policy of redlining the Eastside neighborhoods.


Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said, "It is imperative that we work to close the wealth chasm that exists between African Americans and white Americans. Today's redlining lawsuit is an important part of the economic empowerment discussion happening nationally and in our communities. When banks open their doors for business, they should provide equal and open access to all


individuals,


regardless of race. I thank the Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau for confronting


ongoing redlining


minority communities." Joseph Kelemen,


and of


director of Western New York Law Center, said, "Buffalo


executive Erie


County are still suffering from the mortgage crisis. Redlining compounds the effects of that crisis by denying individuals access to homes, jobs, and economic opportunity, and the result is that entire neighborhoods are


prevented from recovering and


developing. The Western New York Law Center applauds Attorney General Schneiderman for addressing this problem."


The lawsuit alleges violations


of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. L. § 290 et seq., and Chapter 154 of the Code of the City of Buffalo, § 154-1 et seq.


Assistant


This matter is being handled by Attorney


General Mayur


Saxena and Special Counsel Jessica Attie of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau, which is led by Bureau Chief Kristen Clarke. Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice is Alvin Bragg.


www.ag.ny.gov


October 2014


locating them so as to form an exclusionary


ring around those


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