baton
THURSDAY, february 2, 2011
rouge,
louisiana
Vol. 36 • No. 37
a people’s publication
Don Cornelius Dead at 75
Leroy Davis Candidate for Mayor of Baker
Louisiana Civil Rights Family Threatened By Hate Crime
‘Soul Train’ Host, Creator Dies After Apparent Suicide
Leroy Davis
Former Baker Mayor Leroy Davis announces his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Baker. The election will be held March 24. Davis will put Baker first by focusing on Economic Development to bring new businesses and jobs to Baker, La. He will immediately reduce skyrocketing water and utility bills; and he will reinstate Senior Citizen discounts for water and sewer. Davis has served as mayor, interim mayor and has served on the Baker City Council. He has nearly four years experience as mayor and nine years experience as a councilman. Davis is the only candidate with experience as a mayor and as a councilman. As mayor, Davis was a proven job creator bringing hundreds of new jobs to Baker. He improved public safety by equipping the Police and Fire Department with the necessary resources; and Davis improved the city’s infrastructure by paying and fixing roads and streets. Under his leadership as mayor, Super Wal-Mart, Exxon On The Run, Murphy’s Discount Gas, Subway and Wendy’s came to Baker, along with other businesses. Davis considers his experience as mayor and councilman, his knowledge of Baker city government, its ordinances, rules, and procedures, as well as his accomplishments in community service to be some of his most important qualifications. He knows the importance of this position in the Baker city government; and he understands the needs of the community and the need to put the citizens of Baker first when making decisions. Davis earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois. Davis had a distinguished career as a college professor and administrator; and was a nationally recognized economist. He retired from Southern University with 23 years of service, where he served as s Professor and Dean. He is also retired from Alcorn State University after serving eight years as a ProSee davis, on page 3
Don Cornelius, the creator and longtime host of the groundbreaking music show ‘Soul Train,’ has died. He was 75. According to the New York Times, the police responded to reports of gunshots at Cornelius’s Sherman Oaks home. They found Cornelius with a gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. A radio news announcer by trade, Cornelius began moonlighting at WCIU-TV in the 1960s. While there, he toyed with the idea of creating an AfricanAmerican version of “American Bandstand,” Dick Clark’s influential music show, with live dancing five days a week. On August 17, 1970, the first episode of Soul Train premiered on the station, and by the following year, it was being syndicated in other markets. “If I saw `American Bandstand’ and I saw dancing and I knew black kids can dance better; and I saw white artists and I knew black artists make better music; and if I saw a white host and I knew a black host could project a hipper line of speech – and I did know all these things [then it was reasonable to try],” he told the Associated Press in 1995. “Soul Train” would go on to become the longest-running nationally syndicated show in history, airing from 1971 through 2006. Cornelius held down the hosting duties for most of that run, before stepping away in 1993. He remained as the program’s executive producer and expanded the brand into an annual awards show. “It’s just so sad, stunning and downright shocking and a huge and momentous loss to the African-American community
Car boomed in front of Hicks family home.
BOGALUSA, LA - At approximately 3:00AM on the day of the official holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King-Monday, January 16, 2012 -- the daughter of Louisiana Civil Rights icon Robert Hicks heard a loud, frightening knock on the door of her family’s home in Bogalusa. Barbara Hicks Collins ran to open the front door, only to see her car in flames. By noon of that day, fire marshals determined that in addition to Ms. Hicks Collins destroyed car, the burned roof of the Hicks’ home had been an attempt to burn the house down. The Office of Chief Investigations of the Louisiana Fire Marshal, Donald Carter, said early Tuesday January 17th that the fire was intentionally set, and is under investigation as a hate crime. The FBI is now involved in the investigation. The fact that the 2012 fire was intentional is best understood by knowing the legacy of Robert Hicks. Civil Rights lion, who died in 2010 was 81. He played a pivotal role in Louisiana’s Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s
Don Cornelius, the creator and longtime host of the groundbreaking music show ‘Soul Train,’ has died. He was 75.
and the world at large,” Aretha Franklin said. “Don Cornelius singlehandedly brought about a melding and unity of brother and sisterhood among young adults worldwide and globally with the unforgettable creation of Soul Train.” The Rev. Al Sharpton, who was a protegé of James Brown, echoed those sentiments. “I have known him since I was 19 years old and James Brown had me speak on ‘Soul Train,’” Sharpton said in a statement. “We have maintained a friendship for the last 38 years. He brought soul music and dance to the world in a way that it had never been shown and he was a cultural game changer on a global level. Had it not been for Don Cornelius we would not have ever transcended from the Chitlin circuit to become mainstream cultural trendsetters.” Cornelius recently told the Los Angeles Times that there were early plans to create a
movie based on the franchise. “We’ve been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the ‘Soul Train’ dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project. It’s going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show.” In 2008, Cornelius was arrested and charged with spousal battery and dissuading a witness from making a police report, and assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to three years probation. During his rocky divorce battle with his ex-wife, Viktoria, TMZ reported that Cornelius made a morbid request in the couple’s divorce papers. “I am 72 years old. I have significant health issues,” Cornelius said. “I want to finalize this divorce before I die.” Cornelius is survived by his two sons, Anthony and Raymond.
and beyond. His legal victories helped to topple segregation in Bogalusa (known as “Klantown, USA”) and change discriminatory practices throughout the South. Robert Hicks is remembered for his role as a founder of the Bogalusa Chapter of Deacons for Defense and Justice, established to protect his family and unarmed civil rights demonstrators from the Ku Klux Klan. The following is an account from an April 2010 New York Times obituary for Robert Hicks: On February 1, 1965, Hicks received a call to say the KKK was coming to bomb the Hicks’ home . . . . The Klan was furious that Mr. Hicks, a black paper mill worker, was putting up two white civil rights workers in his home. It was just six months after three young civil rights workers had been murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Mr. Hicks and his wife, Valeria, made phone calls. They found neighbors to take in their children, and reached out to friends for protection See crime, on page 2
Scotlandville Scouts Among First All-Black Troop To New Mexico Joseph G. Dorsey, 60, and Woodrow Arthur Jr., 60, can recall the details of 1966 like it was yesterday. “We rode a yellow school bus from Scotlandville, Louisiana, to Cimarron, New Mexico, in the summer,” Dorsey recalled, “There was 21 youth and the trip was sponsored by Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Scotlandville.” “We stayed in our uniforms the entire time and that’s what kept conflict down,” said Arthur. Instead of hotel stays, the troop “stopped at military and air force bases to spend the night,” said Arthur. During a time when racial tension reached its peak in this country and segregation was being practiced in the South,
Sisterhood Held Worshipping Service
Boy Scout Pack 492 leader Earl ‘Molee’ Sims and others organized Boy Scouts from across Louisiana to participate in what the American Boy Scouts calls the ultimate Scout experience. Their voyage took them to Philmont Scout Ranch, the largest national camping facility for scouting in America. Once there, the Pack became the first all-Black scout troop from Louisiana to arrive. They were competing to win the highest honor possible: Eagle Scout; and in the process, they made history. “At 13 and 14 years old we knew exactly what we were getting into; although there were not many of us who could come up with the money for the trip, we were able to strengthen our
local & state news
Photo from the Willie Harris Collection provided by James Terry III photojournalist
brotherhood and help break a barrier that Black Boy Scouts faced,” said Dorsey. “Under the direction of our
leader, (Sims), we learned everything there was to learn about Boy Scouts, “, Dorsey said. Pack 492 was represented
Business NEWS
Health news
at the national Boy Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge Penn. See scouts, on page 3
Religion
The Williams Family will hold their 9th Year Anniversary celebration February 10th through February 12th at the New St. Luke Baptist Church pastored by Reverend Joseph Armstrong...See Page 6
INDEX
BREC Hosts Softball League The Sisterhood Ministry of Greater Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (Scotlandville) held Worship and Fellowship Services for the residents of Sterling Place Nursing Home recently..See Page 3
BREC will host its spring softball league meeting Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at BREC’s Womack Ballroom, 6201 Florida Blvd. The softball league includes men, women and coed divisions....See Page 3
Small Business Education Series
Small Business Education Series presents information on school district’s Fair Share Program at tomorrow’s Small Business Education Series KickOff at Southern University’s Global Conference Cente...See Page 5
Health Risk you can not smell
Wiping your hands at work could expose you to lead, cadmium and other heavy metals at levels that exceed health guidelines...See Page 7
Local & State............................2 Commentary.............................4 Business....................................5 Religion....................................6 Health.......................................7 Sports.......................................8
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