[cure-news] White Advocates File Brief in Support of Corporate Restitution Claims

[Ida Hakim]

Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipations
PO Box 156, Red Oak, GA 30272


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Date: June 20th, 2007

Contact: Ida Hakim, 770.964.3963, hakimida at reparationsthecure.org
Craig Webster, 678.755.6064
Hugh Esco, 770.755.1543, hesco at greens.org


White Advocates File Brief in Support of Corporate Restitution Claims
Regarding Profits from Slave Trade

Group Cites ?Double Standard? of Jurisprudence

Counsel for Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation (CURE) 
filed a brief today before the Supreme Court of the United States in 
support of the case of Farmer-Paellmann v. Brown & Williamson, No. 
06-1533. Farmer-Paellmann, leader of the Corporate Restitution Movement, 
is petitioning for Supreme Court review of a decision recently made by 
Chicago?s Seventh Circuit Court. CURE, filing as a Friend of the Court 
(amicus curiae), is not a party to the case but has a strong interest in 
the matter.

"We are privileged to offer assistance, however small, in this historic 
case," stated Ida Hakim, CEO of Caucasians United for Reparations and 
Emancipation. ?The courage and dedication of Ms. Farmer-Paellmann and 
the Restitution Study Group in bringing this to the highest court in the 
country is inspiring to all who work toward justice in America.?

The question at issue in this case is whether the statutes of 
limitations should be suspended (tolled) to permit descendants of 
slavery to bring actions for restitution. The Seventh Circuit Court 
found that an evidentiary hearing on the matter was unnecessary. 
Farmer-Paellmann seeks to be granted a review of that decision.

CURE?s amicus curiae brief was written by Craig Webster, a personal 
injury and product liability attorney from Norcross, Georgia with 
support from CURE member Hugh Esco, a former Georgia Green Party 
candidate. The pleadings were submitted "to illustrate the impact of the 
Seventh Circuit's decision on those who understand the need to repair 
the damage left by our nation's institutional commitment to slavery and 
other manifestations of the ideology of white supremacy."

"After the Seventh Circuit decision I feared that we were once again 
being ruled by Plessy-justice," declared Hugh Esco, referring to the 
1896 U.S. Supreme Court case which found that no Black man enjoyed any 
rights a white man was bound to respect. As the amicus brief filed today 
puts it, "The lower courts have handed the Petitioners a ?double 
standard? of jurisprudence by expecting them to have acted with extreme 
diligence in pursuing their claims when it took over one and a half 
century for our judicial system to even recognize their right to bring a 
civil action against private companies."

"We don?t even begin to have equality in this country, and I don?t 
believe we will until my people are forced to recognize the imbalance," 
said Ferrell Winfree, a CURE officer born and raised in Tennessee. ?As a 
white person living in the South, I am fully and sadly aware of the 
racism that still exists in everyday life for Black people. This will 
only change with real and true reparations, and restitution is a part of 
that."

Organized in 1992 at the suggestion of a Black Reparations leader, 
CURE's mandate has been to educate white America and advocate 
reparations while working in support of Black-led reparations 
initiatives. Since its founding, CURE has worked to be of service to All 
For Reparations and Emancipation (AFRE), an international NGO seeking 
reparations for Afro-descendants; N'COBRA, a coalition of organizations 
doing both domestic and international reparations work; the Restitution 
Study Group founded by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann; the Global Afrikan 
Congress with Queen Mother Dorothy Benton Lewis as one of its leaders; 
as well as a number of other Black-led initiatives. CURE responds, as it 
is able, to calls for specific action that fall within its mandate as an 
education and advocacy organization.

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>From hakimida at reparationsthecure.org  Fri Jun 22 19:26:59 2007
From: hakimida at reparationsthecure.org (Ida Hakim)
Date: Fri Jun 22 19:26:07 2007
Subject: [cure-news] Announcement of Reparations Workshop
Message-ID: <467C76E3.4010000 at reparationsthecure.org>

Announcement of Reparations Workshop

Date: June 28, 3007
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Baymont Hotel, 175 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA
Event: United States Social Forum
Contact: Ida Hakim, 770-964-3963, hakimida at reparationsthecure.org


 From June 27th through July 1st, grassroots activists from all walks of
life will be meeting in Atlanta, Georgia to participate in the United
States Social Forum. According to the Forum?s latest press release, ?The
week-long confab brings the World Social Forum process to the United
States ? a phenomenon that has grown from 15,000 to more than 150,000
people since the first meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001.?

Atlanta was chosen as the site of the USSF because it continues to be
the heart of the civil rights movement. ?The South has seen lots of
repression and lots of resistance,? says National Planning Committee
member Jerome Scott. The forum will be anchored in the Atlanta Civic
Center, but activities are also scheduled at numerous venues and nearby
neighborhoods.

Among the many workshops taking place will be ?Making Reparations a
Reality,? organized by Caucasians United for Reparations and
Emancipation (CURE). CURE was founded in 1992 at the recommendation of a
Black Reparations leader, Mr. Silis Muhammad. Its mandate is to advocate
reparations, educate white Americans about the reparations movement, and
offer support to Black-led reparations initiatives. Among the many
achievements of CURE is an anthology published in 2005, entitled ?The
Debtors: Whites Respond to the Call for Black Reparations,? written by
CURE members and edited by Ida Hakim.

The CURE workshop will begin with a panel of representatives from Black
Reparations organizations speaking to the questions, ?To whom are
reparations owed, and what is being done to collect the debt?? It will
continue with a second panel made up of CURE representatives who will
speak to the questions, ?Who owes reparations and how can we contribute
to making reparations a reality?? Following the presentations, at least
45 minutes will be allotted for discussion.

CURE?s workshop is scheduled for June 28 at 3:30 p.m. at the Baymont
Hotel, 175 Piedmont Avenue, in the Brookwood Room. Confirmed presenters
are Ishmael Abdul-Salaam, Vice-President of All For Reparations and
Emancipation (AFRE); Ms. Raushana Karriem, Commissioner with the
National Commission for Reparations; Atty. Mawali Davis of the National
Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N?COBRA); and Ida Hakim
and Ferrell Winfree of CURE.

On June 29 and 30, there will be four additional reparations workshops
scheduled by various organizations. N?COBRA, will present a workshop on
Friday, at 1 p.m. in the Achilles Room of the Atlanta Marriott. On
Saturday, the Global Afrikan Congress will conduct ?Global Reparations?
at 1 p.m. in the Auburn Avenue Research Library. At the same location,
during the same hour, the New Panther Vanguard Movement, NVPM, will
conduct ?The Global Reparations Movement: Origins, Goals & Objectives.?
Also on Saturday, the International Affairs Commission of N?COBRA will
conduct ?Reparations, Transformation & Reconciliation: Remedying Massive
Oppression? at 3:30 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott.

More information on the U.S. Social Forum can be found at
www.ussf2007.org. To find out more about CURE, visit
www.ReparationsTheCURE.org.