10/29 News: Black Leadership

MLK's Daughter In Running For SCLC Presidency

Rev. Bernice King is among two candidates being considered to head the civil rights organization co-founded by her father, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (hat tip: The Root). The Southern Christian Leadership Conference will announce its choice for president sometime next week. The organization held a closed-door meeting today in Atlanta. General counsel Dexter Wimbish said ballots were tallied by an independent third party and were sealed. The candidates have not been notified of the results. If elected, Rev. King would be the first woman to head the group in its 52-year history. The other candidate is Judge Wendell Griffen of Little Rock, Ark. He was the first black attorney to work for a major Arkansas law firm and is an ordained minister and pastor of New Millennium Church.

Birmingham Mayor Guilty Of Bribery, Fraud

Birmingham, Ala. mayor Larry Langford was convicted in federal court yesterday on 60 counts of bribery and fraud during his term on the Jefferson County Commission. The liberal Democratic mayor faces a sentence of up to 805 years in prison. Federal prosecutors said that Langford accepted money and gifts totaling $230,000+ from a banker in exchange for $7 million+ in business on county bond deals.

Langford and several supporters questioned the jury’s verdict, some blaming the conviction on race. "In Alabama, black people will never get a fair trial," wife Melva Langford said. "There should be a total investigation of the Justice Department." Prosecutor George Martin said calling for such an investigation was "ridiculous," and he denied that race played a role in Langford's prosecution or the trial's outcome. "It was a diverse jury. It was because of the evidence, not the jury," he said. One of Langford's attorneys, Glennon Threatt, who is black, said he has done previous corruption cases with white defendants, and race was not a factor. The jury had blacks and nine whites. The case was tried in Tuscaloosa, 60 miles away, after Langford requested a change because of publicity.

Carole Smitherman, the president of the City Council, will serve as interim mayor until an election is held within three months.

Wisconsin Farmer Promotes 'Good-Food Revolution'

After years of tilling away in obscurity, Will Allen has found sudden fame as the face of the urban farming movement. In the year since he won a so-called genius grant from a Chicago foundation, the former pro basketball player has mingled with former President Bill Clinton, appeared in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine and spoken to scores of groups across the nation and overseas. "The thing that makes me happiest is that more people of color are joining the good-food revolution," said Mr. Allen. "Ten years ago, an African-American would say, this is slaves' work, why you doing this? Now we have more people of color at my talks. Before this I had never been interviewed by black media, and now I've had stories in seven or eight black magazines."

A former pro basketball player, Allen is the founder and chief executive of Growing Power Inc., a Milwaukee-based company that develops urban farming techniques and teaches young people how to grow food in poor, inner-city neighborhoods. His goal is to teach people how to grow nutritious foods anywhere, in any climate, and the publicity generated by the MacArthur Foundation grant may help him do that. Allen's work caught Mr. Clinton's eye, and he was invited to the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City last month. Mr. Clinton's global action group also committed to helping Growing Power raise $1.9 million to help Mr. Allen to teach his farming methods to women and children in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Mr. Allen said he's focusing on women because they're the primary farmers, and children because they suffer most from the lack of food. "It's about building sustainable food systems," Allen said of his mission, "creating a whole industry around local food systems that can improve communities. That can help end crime and create thousands of jobs. It's about working to make sure everyone has access to good food, to healthy food, high-quality, safe food."