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Dec/Jan 2018
12 Caribbean American Teen, Haile Thomas Is one of 5 CNN 's Young Wonders Of The Year
Best Wishes for the Holiday Season From the Mangement and Staff of Caribbean American Passport NewsMagazine GGR Marketing & PR and our Parent Company Roberts & Roberts Management Services We have been blessed to serve you and we look forward to a bigger and better 2018 with you by our side, at events across Florida. It has been our tremendous pleasure to serve you throughout 2017!
Jamaican American, Haile Thomas was recognized as one of 5, 2017 CNN Heroes Young Wonders—kids and teens who got an early start with their passion for giving. This group is determined to promote literacy, environmentalism, coding skills, nutrition, and compassion.
She is 16 years old and lives in New York with her parents who were both born in Jamaica. She is a teen health activist. Her “HAPPY Organization” is leading the next generation toward a healthier future by bringing cooking lessons and nutrition education to children in underserved areas.
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Obamacare open enrollment extended in Florida until Dec. 31st This year, there is a special enrollment period for individuals who have been affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Individuals now have the opportunity to enroll in a marketplace health plan by Dec. 31. However, they have to speak with a healthcare.gov representative in order to complete their enrollment process or can add one of the navigators into a conference call to help with the sign - up.
In addition, individuals who lost their 2017 coverage because their insurer left the marketplace have until March 1 to choose a different plan. The regular special enrollment period also is in place for individuals who have had a major life event, such as relocation, birth or death in the family, or getting a job that pushes them out of the Medicaid gap.
Caribbean Resource Center Opens at Fashion Square Mall
The word is out and spreading very fast about our bigger than life presence in The Fashion Square Mall. Caribbean Resource Center is now the place for us to gather and tell stories about our homeland and mama’s cooking. CRC was created out of a need for people of Caribbean heritage to connect locally. The location at Fashion Square Mall provide answers of integration through connecting to resources either locally or elsewhere. The publishing team of Caribbean American Passport are using their connections and years of experience in marketing to reach, teach and uplift the spirits of our people through the NewsMagazine, Festivals, Carnivals or business networking and educational events.
We invite you to our daily open house Monday to Friday 10 -3 for a presentation of our many services, programs, workshops and entertainment for the year. Evenings are reserved for networking, business development, domino playing, music jam sessions and discussion groups. You’ll be allowed to reserve a space for your creative events on the weekend. For more information or to display your brochures please contact Rosemarie Roth (352) 321-0932.
The new larger space is able to host networking, economic empowering and cultural integration events. This space was identified and secured as the perfect place to gather our growing Caribbean American population. Our new location serves as a greeting place for those relocating here from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands due to being displaced by the recent hurricanes. And, for those who have already called Central Florida home. As a community with diversity in our ancestries we’re ready for this expansion. We are ready to serve mothers, grand parents, couples and children with tangible resources and with insight to those who passed through our lives. We will provide resume preparation, professional clothes for our job seekers, sewing classes, back to basic home economic sessions, senior citizen expos, and religious studies are only a few of the programs in place. Disaster Preparedness training will be foremost for us to be prepared or man made or natural disasters. We cannot be successful without your participation by visiting us, volunteering your knowledge or making donations to pass onto others www.caribbeanamericanpassport.com
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L I F E S T Y L E
Guenet Gittens-Roberts, Publisher/Editor
We have to talk about if you're feeling depressed. We have to! The recent suicide of the Golden Krust CEO, Lowell Hawthorne has rocked us and many others in the Caribbean Community, straight to our core. We are left wondering, why would a successful, rich man, take his own life? Didn't he have anyone to talk to? Was it really that bad? Is there something we don't know? However the truth is that suicide and depression are high in entrepreneurs. When you take a closer look, it's not hard to understand why this is so. To gamble at building your business, you usually have to shut out the naysayers, speak to yourself about what you should or should not be doing at length before you even discuss it with others. Samuel J. Roberts, Publisher/Editor
You really create a dialogue with yourself and then you share the idea with your team of cheerleaders, who rally you on. But before it even gets to them, you've turned it over and over in your own head. You have to believe in it before you can ever convince others. Which means you have to talk to yourself at length about it... AND if we're honest, we would tell you that it makes us very comfortable with our own self in our own head. The other part about being an entrepreneur is that you are rarely satisfied with your success. You look for a different set of goals to set, a new horizon to aspire to. Winning is rarely ever enough, because you are competing with yourself. You work hard, really hard, no seriously really hard, before you can take it easy, and in the process, you lose your core group of die hard friends and family. This could be because you seriously don't have the time for the give and take that true friendship requires. You make lots of networking friends, business acquaintances and perhaps social media friends. But the friends who are the true ride or die friends are sometimes lost...either because you just didn't have the time to grow a business, give time to your family, health and build your wealth if you spend time with friends. Or just because, as you grow, you sometimes outgrow the people around you. It happened to me, and after a while, I realized it, and went back to my friends and asked them to give me a few years to do something that was very important to me. I'd be there for the important things and if they really needed me, they knew to call twice - one call immediately after the other.
The other key part of staying connected to your crew as an entrepreneur, is to attach a level of importance to Family, Friends and Clients. As you get more and more successful, people who played no part in your success, try to monopolize your time. The key part is figuring out who should be riding in your limo, if they weren't with you on the bus. Once it's clear to you who should have your time, then it's time to approach each part of your life with the same passion you give to building your business. Relationships are very important. You could have all of the money, all of the access to money, but if you don't have a ride or die friend that you could call to say Hey, I feel lousy right now, I need to talk and that person isn't able to drop stuff and talk you off a ledge - then all that you've done has been for nothing. Let the final lesson that one of the Caribbean American Community's greatest entrepreneurs teaches us be that " WE CANNOT DO IT ALONE!"
1969 Alafaya Trail • Orlando, FL 32828 Office: 407-427-1800
Fax: 407-386-7925
Toll Free: 877-220-8315 For Media Information email: Publisher: sroberts@caribbeanamericanpassport.com Info: .Info@caribbeanamericanpassport.com
Should you desire to review past copies of the publicationgo to http://caribbeanamericanpassport.com and click on the 'Print Archive'. Editor & Publisher............................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ........................................................... Guenet Gittens-Roberts Graphic Design & Layout .................................................Samuel Roberts Contributing Writers: ............................................................ Tony Dyal ................................................................................................Ryan Davis .............................................................................................Sandra Fatmi ...............................................................................................Gail Seeram ...........................................................................................Sasha Watson ..........................................................................................Kamal Abdool Contributing Photographers ............ ...................................Ted Hollins ..................................................................................................Dilia Castillo .............................................. .......................................Nancy-Joe Brown Central Florida Distribution...................................................Roy Benn South Florida Distribution ...........................................Norman Williams NorthFlorida Distribution ......................................................Theo Jack Jr. Tampa Distribution ...........................................................Kadeem Roberts Copyright (C) 2016 GGR Marketing & Public Relations. All rights reserved.
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CHAMBER NEWS
African American Chamber of Commerce
The Eagle Awards are set for January 13th. It is the AACCCF’s crowning celebration for Central Florida’s most dynamic businesses and entrepreneurs. The Eagle Awards serve as a time to recognize and honor the corporations positively impacting our community and driving the growth and development of our vibrant and diverse business landscape
Accredited & License # ST38788
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Antigua & Barbuda Hurrican Relief Effort at 10th Annual Downtown Miami Riverwalk Festival & Boat Parade The 10th Annual Downtown Miami Riverwalk Festival and Boat Parade, a Signature, Legacy Event in Downtown Miami was enjoyed by over 400 people on Saturday November 11, 2017, from 10:00AM- 4:00 PM. Thirty vendors participated with amazing give-a-ways and lots of smiles. This year’s featured country was Antigua and Barbuda. Jessica Berman, Vice President of the Antigua and Barbuda South Florida Association, represented the country in a double pavilion that included a colorful display of carnival costumes, rum cake, craft and give-aways. Mr. Elliot Mason, Track and Field star from Antigua, autographed his picture for the crowd. The Festival collected two huge bins of personal hygiene products from the downtown community donated to the Barbudans affected by Hurricane Irma.
The opening ceremony kicked off with the Urban Tour Host telling the History of the Mouth of the Miami River” The national anthem was sung by Graham Fandrei of Magic City Opera. Six pageants joined the opening ceremony to include: Miss Jamaica Florida, Miss Runway, Miss Haiti International, Ms. U.S. Earth and Miss International World and the Jr. Orange Bowl. This year’s featured artist is Papaloko, a well-known Haitian Artist who painted a beautiful image of a Seminole Indian in full dress. The helicopter fly the by U.S. Coast Guard followed the City of Miami Fire Boat with their incredible water display in the Miami River. The entertainment lineup included: Kristal Benjamin, soloist, Mocko Jumbie (Caribbean Still Dancers), and the Caribbean Starlets. The amazing cuisine was presented by Bruno’s Bakery and Restaurant and delicious blended beverage delights by the “Juice King.” Over 15 prizes were won in the free raffle. Featured prizes were sponsored by Macys-Downtown Miami, Ocho Rios Foods, Grace Foods, Smokeshop, Cocobee Candles, Educating Hands School of Massage, weekend stay by Yve Hotel. Elite Resorts provided a three night stay at Pineapple Beach Club in “Antigua.” Zest, Cuisine of the Sun, hosted the VIP Party on Nov 10th, 2017. Gift bags were provided by Studio-D in Downtown Miami and Brickell. Photos cont'd on page 6
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10th Annual Downtown Miami Riverwalk Festival & Boat Parade
Taste of Pine Hills raises funds for United Foundation of Central Florida and their mentoring program
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Parang - a bit of Trini Culture Trinidad and Tobago is best best recognized as the land of Calypso and Steelpan, however during the Christmas season, the music is Parang. Parang comes from the Spanish word known as "parranda" (action of merry making, group of serenaders). In Trinidad it refers to folkloric music of Hispanic American origins. In Dominican Republic the music is called "arguinaldo". Parang's origin are controversial. The first theory of parang music is that it originated during Christianity of Amerindians by French Clergy in (Spanish) Missions. Thiere are frequent references to Venezuela and the second theory is that parang music was introduced by Venezuelans imported to work in the cocoa estates in Trinidad & Tobago.
Definitely, the close interactions with Venezuelans where parang is also played has matured to a popular form of music not only in Trinidad & Tobago but throughout the Caribbean. Traditional parang bands often referred to as "Parenderos" consisted of four to six singers accom-anied by musicians who played guitar, cuatro, mandolin (bandolin), violin, cello (violoncello), bandol (bandola), box bass, tambourine, clapper, toc-toc (claves), wood block pollitos, tiple, scratcher (güiro) and maracas (chac-chac or shak-shak). Parang bands would move from house to house in neighbourhoods serenading to family and friends during festive seasons. It is customary for families to greet the Paranderos with drinks and food, following specific steps or rituals that accompanied the entry to a home, the dedication of songs to a host, the eating and drinking, and the departure. The festive season begins in mid October and goes approximately to January 6 which is the feast of Epiphany.
Caribbean American Teen, Haile Thomas Is one of 5 CNN 's Young Wonders Of The Year Continued from page 1
Haile was motivated to learn all she could about food and nutrition when her father was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was 8 years old. With his family’s help, a regimen of nutrition and exercise reversed her dad’s diabetes. Meanwhile, Haile learned a lot about health and the childhood obesity epidemic. She was inspired to create The HAPPY Organization, which stands for healthy, active, positive, purposeful youth. Haile’s group offers cooking lessons and nutrition education through camps and classes, geared toward children ages 6 through 13 in underserved areas. Now 16, Haile is considered to be the youngest certified integrative nutrition health coach in the country. In a
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recent interview, Haile commented that “Nutrition is super important for our growth and development for our brains and our bodies.” Her website www.thehappyorg.org states that their aim is to address health challenges, "by working in underserved/atrisk communities where kids and their families have little to no access to opportunities to engage in life-changing health and prevention education programs. They offer fun and engaging programs and activities delivered in elementary and middle schools, summer camps, and at community events across the United States and internationally. Their programs help to minimize risks for preventable health issues, and empowers youth and families to make healthy choices, and fully understand why they should."
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Christmas/New Year’s Message From the Consul General of Jamaica at Miami It is hard to believe that another year has passed and that we are preparing to celebrate the Christmas Season once again. Of course, the Season symbolizes the spirit of hope, family, togetherness and rebirth. It is also a time for us to reflect on the year that passed, and to focus our minds and energies on the tasks that lie ahead for us as individuals, as a people and as a nation. This year Jamaica celebrated its 55th year of Independence, which was observed under the theme “Celebrating Jamaicans at home and abroad”. This theme recognizes that the strength of Jamaica lies in the talent, resilience and creativity of our people, whether at “yawd” or “abrawd” – a people that continue to rise above what may seem to be insurmountable challenges and who continue to exert their influence at the global level. As part of the celebrations to mark this milestone year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade hosted the Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference in Kingston, which served to reinforce the bonds of nationhood among Jamaicans across the globe and to highlight the areas for opportunity and collaboration with the Diaspora. For our part, the Consulate-General has sought to foster a sense of community within the area under our jurisdiction, as Jamaicans overseas have a key role to play in ensuring that Jamaica becomes the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business. In this regard, I express sincere gratitude to the various diaspora groups and individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Jamaica in diverse areas including education, health, social programmes, business development and the fight against crime. The Consulate-General is committed to doing what we can to deepen this on-going partnership during the coming year and beyond. On behalf of the staff of the Consulate-General of Jamaica at Miami, I convey best wishes for this Christmas Season and a New Year that is filled with countless blessings. One love! Franz Hall Consul General for the Southeastern United States of America, The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands
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Russell Peters comes to Netflix in his own TV Show "The Indian Detective" After a suspension in Canada following a highly public failed drug bust and an urgent phone call from his father‘s hometown of Mumbai, Doug flies to India to visit his ailing father Stanley (Anupam Kher). When he arrives and his dad is in chipper spirits, the extra time that Doug spends in the city is just enough for him to get caught up in a local murder investigation. What starts as a way for him to prove his detective bona fides quickly becomes a sprawling international scheme that may have something to do with the reason he was given temporary leave in the first place.
Russell Peters, a Canadian of Indian descent, plays Doug D’Mello, a Toronto cop who unexpectedly finds himself investigating a murder in his parents’ Indian homeland. The investigation leads Doug to uncover a dangerous conspiracy involving David Marlowe (William Shatner), a billionaire property developer, while dealing with his own ambivalence toward a country where, despite his heritage, he is an outsider. Against a syndicate-run plot that moves between Canada and India, Doug D’mello (Russell Peters) winds his way through the four-part Netflix story that makes for a comfortable watch, especially for those of us who love to see Immigrant or Indian culture on display.
The show embraces both it's Indian and its Canadian backdrop, complete with curling on TV and talk of the Maple Leafs, and even Canadian legend William Shatner himself. Through the food, the people, the images we are taken to Mumbai, India. The unofficial team up between Mumbai and Toronto makes for an interesting intercontinental sync-up, connecting the two cities in a way few shows get a chance to. We get very few chances to enjoy our true culture and the hyphen that most Immigrants straddle. This show and Russell Peters gives us that. Let's show Netflix and other producers that there is a huge audience for them. Peters recently was named in Rolling Stone‘s 50 Best Stand Up Comics of All Time list.
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Avocado The Peerless Pear by Tony Deyal The Times they are a-changin’. It used to be true for Trinis that although the calypsonian, the Mighty Sparrow, sang calypso and not gospel, his credibility was such that “if Sparrow say so, is so”. But now the veracity crown is settled firmly on the hirsute head of Bob Dylan, who is not just the winner of a Nobel Prize, but a prophet with the rare distinction of being honoured in his own country and many others. The Times to which I am referring is the Los Angeles Times, and the change is the latest development in the history of the Avocado.
or damaged. He did not have the same regard for me, since I had to stand under the tree and catch the bag, or, when he used a rod with a hand-shaped ‘cocoa knife’ on the end, I had to catch the zaboca before it fell ¬ and hell if I let it fall to the ground.
According to Reader’s Digest in an article titled ‘The Origin of the Word ‘Avocado’ Is About to Make You Really Uncomfortable:
I suppose that we have become so used to the ceaseless flood of technical innovations that the news of a seedless avocado does not have much impact but even so, given that the trees originally grew from. seeds, it is a major development. It also gives you more bang for your buck, since the seeds account for a lot of the weight and cost.
You’ll never look at an avocado the same way again. “Avocados originally came from Mexico and Central America, where the indigenous Nahua people found them. Back then, avocados were called the Nahuatl word Çhuacatl - which also happened to mean ‘testicles’. Scholars think the Nahua chose the name because the fruit has a, uh, suggestive shape and was considered an aphrodisiac.” It is believed that the Nahua probably used the anatomical definition as slang, like how we might use ‘nuts’ today. TESTICLE FRUIT So how did it become ‘avocado’? National Public Radio (NPR) of the US explained that on May 15, 1915, a group of California farmers got together to decide on the fate of a new crop, a pebbly skinned, pear-shaped fruit, which was a Mexican and Latin American staple since 500 BC and which had never been grown commercially in the US, but was being imported for the very high cost of $15 a dozen. The problem was not selling the fruit, but what to call it. NPR explained the dilemma, “First, ahuacate was too hard for Americans to pronounce. Worse, it was the Aztec word for ‘testicle’, named for its shape and reputation as an aphrodisiac. Then there was the other unappealing name: ‘alligator pear’. The farmers came up with a new name: avocado. They informed dictionary publishers of the change - and that the plural was spelled ‘avocados’, not ‘avocadoes’ - and named their own group the California Avocado Association. However, they did not originate the euphemism. The first written record in English of the use of the word ‘avocado’ was by English baronet, Sir Hans Sloane, an Anglo-Irish doctor and naturalist who coined the term in 1669 in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants. In Trinidad, an avocado is a ‘zaboca’. The origin of the term is supposedly French or Creole, but ‘boca’ in Spanish means ‘mouth’, and that, in the final analysis, is what avocados, ahuacates, and alligator pears are all about. They taste good. SOMETHING GOOD My father loved avocados and even planted a tree in our yard. I can remember him climbing the tree and putting the avocados carefully in a bag to ensure they were not bruised
After eating the zaboca, my father usually kept and planted the seeds hoping they would grow. Had he lived, the news in the LA Times that shows how the times are changing would have stunned him.
The Times report read, “Something good has managed to happen this year ¬ shockingly, out of people’s inability to cut an avocado without hurting themselves. To save consumers from slicing open their own hands, a British retailer has begun selling pitless avocados that don’t require the use of a knife to remove the seeds. UNPOLLINATED BLOSSOM More importantly, this means that when you spend $3 on just one, you get more avocado from your avocado. Never again will you have to open your pricey avocado to find it’s only 10 per cent edible. If you’ve ever experienced that tragedy, you know how disappointing it can be. These avocados are an unpollinated blossom of the fruit, grown without a seed.” The Times says that the fruits, which are two to three inches long, are only available during December and from just one supplier, the British retailer, Marks & Spencer. They are not just seedless, but the skins are edible. The newspaper quips, “If you want to get your hands on one of these adorable fruits before you injure yourself trying to slice a pitted one, you’ll have to book a flight to England. You better do it soon ¬ January is almost here, and they’ll be out of season until winter of 2018.” On the other hand, what The Times does not say is that a woman from Big Island in Hawaii, Pamela Wang, picked up an avocado weighing 5.2lb (2.35kg). She ate the massive avocado with friends and said, “It tasted excellent. The tree is very good. We had 10 people there and didn’t even use up half of one half of the avocado.” If my father had to choose, he would put on a loud multicoloured shirt, buy a grass skirt for my mother and a big bag for me, get his US visa, and head for Hawaii. If asked why, he would say bluntly, “I never cut my hand peeling a zaboca yet and regardless of how big it is, I am not going to start now.” Tony Deyal was last seen saying that Dylan should demonstrate that the times are changing by composing a new hit to compete with Herb Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’. Would you believe, ‘ Avocado Man’?
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Behind the Myth & Hype - 4 Part Series Hemp, Cannabis, Marijuana, THC Hemp 101: What Is Hemp, What’s It Used for, and Why Is It Illegal?
breathes in CO2, detoxifies the soil, and prevents soil erosion. What’s left providing valuable nutrients.
Hemp is one of the oldest domesticated crops known to man. It has been used for paper, textiles, and cordage for thousands of years. In fact, the Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a scrap of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC. So what exactly is hemp, and how is it different from the psychoactive form of cannabis that we consume medicinally and recreationally? Let’s dive into some Hemp 101 so you can better understand this versatile material. What Is Hemp? There are many different varieties of the cannabis plant. Hemp — also called industrial hemp — refers to the nonpsychoactive (less than 1% THC) varieties of Cannabis sativa L. Both hemp and marijuana come from the same cannabis species, but are genetically distinct and are further distinguished by use, chemical makeup, and cultivation methods. What Can Hemp Do? Hemp can be grown as a renewable source for raw materials that can be incorporated into thousands of products. Its seeds and flowers are used in health foods, organic body care, and other nutraceuticals.
Hemp requires much less water to grow — and no pesticides — so it is much traditional crops. What Can’t Hemp Do? Hemp can do a lot, but it can’t get you “high.” Because hemp varieties contain (THC), your body processes it faster than you can smoke it. Trying to use hemp put you in bed with a migraine! Why Is Hemp Illegal? In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act strictly regulated the cultivation and sale of all cannabis varieties. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified all forms of cannabis — including hemp — as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal to grow it in the United States (which is why we’re forced to import hemp from other countries as long as it contains scant levels of THC — 0.3% is the regulation for hemp cultivation in the European Union and Canada). As a result of this long-term prohibition, most people have forgotten the industrial uses of the plant and continue to misidentify hemp with its cannabis cousin, marijuana.
The fibers and stalks are used in hemp clothing, construction materials, paper, biofuel, plastic composites, and more. Last year, the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) estimated the total retail value of all hemp products sold in the U.S. at $620 million. Sadly, all of the raw hemp materials were imported from other countries. (More on that later.) Hemp is an attractive rotation crop for farmers. As it grows, hemp
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Can Hemp Make a Comeback? The 2014 US Farm Bill allows states that have passed their own industrial hemp legislation to grow industrial hemp for purposes of research and development. Several states — including Kentucky, Colorado, and Oregon — are already conducting hemp pilot projects. Many other states are currently pursuing similar legislation and programs. After many years of prohibition, American farmers are finally reacquainting themselves with industrial hemp. The world’s oldest domesticated crop may once again be available to serve mankind in a broad range of environmentally friendly ways. This article is brought to you by: Leafly. Look out for the continuation of this series in the January issue of Caribbean American Passport.
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Gail Foundation's
5TH ANNUAL RED DRESS PARTY AND CASINO NIGHT
The GAIL Foundation Inc. is an IRC 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization dedicated to giving the "gift of play" through building and donating playground equipment to children in need. 100% of ALL donations Help Build Playgrounds.
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African Americans Do Not Understand Their Power By Roger Caldwell
There is something happening in America, and it starts with the power of Black women. It started a long time ago when they were queens, and we see the evidence in their work ethic and their ability to achieve under impossible odds. When Black women are behind you, their passion and drive can move mountains. In the 2017 Alabama senate race, the largest voting segment of the population was Black women, in which 98% of that group voted Democratic. Black men voted at 93%, and together they were the largest core group of Democrats in the election, and many experts think this was the reason Doug Jones won the election. “We learned valuable lessons last month and last night – we invest early and in our communities, we win. The DNC knows black voters are a force to be reckoned with at the ballot box, and that’s exactly why we used a nearly $1 million investment to mobilize Alabama’s African American, millennial, and faith communities. And to help boost turnout, we made sure we had our own staffers on the ground engaging Black leaders and implementing organizing programs,” says DNC Black Caucus Chair, Virgie Rollins. Democrats now have a template that they can use around the country to get the Black vote out. Investing significantly into the Black community will change Black voting habits during mid-tern elections. When Black voters are informed and mobilized, they vote. According to the New York Times, “the Black voters turned out in force, handing Mr. Jones a decisive lead in Alabama’s cities and predominantly Black rural counties. In Jefferson County, home to Birmingham and its whiter suburbs, turnout exceeded the 2014 governor’s race by about 30%, and Mr. Jones nearly matched Hilary Clinton’s vote total there. Other populous, heavily African-American counties, including Montgomery and Dallas County, where Selma is, also exceeded their 2014 turnout.” As I talk to many African Americans in Orlando, many have a pessimistic attitude about organizing and mobilizing the
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Black vote in 2018. Many think we have lost our excitement with the voting process, and even with the Democratic Party. But I believe the problem in the Black Community is leadership, financing and supporting the Black media. In order to galvanize our community, our leadership must agree on a strategy, communicate the information with our media, and stay organized and be determined. "And so for all little girls out there who need somebody to believe that you’re better than your circumstances. I need you all to remember that Black girl magic is real,” says newly elected Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Many experts expected Keisha Lance Bottoms to lose this election to a White candidate, but she won by 800 votes. She won with help from the hip-hop community, and a collaboration of progressive Whites, Black women, Hispanics, and the LGBT community. The African American community is making the difference if a candidate wins or loses an election all around the country. The Democratic Party understands the power of the Black vote, but Black folks are not in the powerful executive positions and the leaders are reluctant to spend money in the Black community. If the Democratic Party uses time and money to invest in the Black community before mid-term elections in order to acknolwedge us as a pivotal component of the party, the results will be phenomenal. Democrats have the opportunity to win back the Senate, and make the House more competitive and closer in terms of numbers. There is power in the Black vote, and the Black community is not taking full advantage of their influence and power. Once the Black community takes full advantage of their power, there will be a major transformation in American politics. Our leaders must work for the majority of the American people, as opposed to the rich and major corporations.
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How the New Tax Plan Will Affect You Retrieved from CBS News
Here are some of the highlights in the new tax bill and how they'll affect you: When does it go into effect? If - as expected - the bill is signed before the end of the year, you'll see some of the impact in a couple of weeks, likely by February. The most obvious change will be in your income. Because the income tax rates will be lower, employers will take out less money from many workers' paychecks. So many Americans will see their take-home pay rise. Other changes won't affect you until you file your 2018 taxes, which are due in April 2019. That is, your 2017 income is and was taxed under the current law, so when you file your returns by April next year, it's the law in effect now that will govern your filing. A notable exception is the Obamacare penalties - if you don't have health insurance, you won't have to pay the pretty hefty fee for not being covered. How will the tax bill affect homeowners or home buyers? The mortgage interest deduction will stay in place for all homeowners with existing mortgages. If you're about to buy a home, the home mortgage interest deduction will be available for mortgages up to $750,000. Can I still deduct my state and local taxes? Up to a point, and you'll have to make a choice. Filers will be able to write off the cost of state and local taxes, up to $10,000. And they must choose from among sales, income and property taxes for the deduction, instead of being able to deduct all local taxes.
• Exemption amounts will increase from $84,000 for joint filers under the current law level to $109,400. Single filers will see that number increase from $54,300 to $70,300. • The exemption currently phases out for joint filers at $160,900, and $120,700 for individuals. Under the tax bill, that phaseout would kick in at $1 million for married filers and $500,000 for those who are single. Above the threshold, filers lose 25 percent of their exemption, that is, $0.25 on every dollar in income. Are your children in private school? Under the tax bill, parents will be able to use up to $10,000 per year tax-free from 529 college savings accounts for K-12 tuition. According to the laws on the books right now, those funds can only be used for college plans. Tuition waivers GOP lawmakers had considered counting tuition waivers as income, which would make them taxable. Graduate students who would have owed considerably more can rest assured that their tax bills will not be seeing this hike in the tax plan. What if I'm adopting a child? The tax plan preserves the child adoption tax credit. The maximum adoption tax credit increased in 2017 to $13,570 from $13,460 in 2016. What does the bill do to the child tax credit?
The bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. It's one point higher than the original 20 percent in the House and Senate bills, but still a massive cut.
The child tax credit is doubling -- from $1,000 to $2,000, and during the conference process, Sen. Marco Rubio fought for and succeeded in securing an increase the refundable portion of the child tax credit to $1,400, a $300 increase over the $1,100 that was originally agreed upon.
What's the deal with the alternative minimum tax?
What's happening to the standard deduction?
For corporations, the AMT disappears. That's not the case for individual filers, but fewer will have to pay it, at least.
That's roughly doubling -- from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals, and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.
How big of a tax cut did corporations get?
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