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Part 3: The life and death of Jimmy Jackson

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FEBRUARY 15 - FEBRUARY 21, 2013

VOLUME 21 NO. 7

‘THEY DESERVE A VOTE’ COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Hadiya Pendleton’s parents sat next to the first lady and listened, President Obama told the nation Tuesday that his gun proposals deserve a vote in Congress because of victims such as the slain 15-year-old Chicago honor student who was murdered at a park a mile from the Obamas’ Chicago home. Delivering his State of the Union address, Obama said that in the two months since the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., “more than 1,000 birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”

President Obama outlined a series of specific proposals in his State of the Union address, ending with a call for an up-or-down vote on gun violence prevention laws.

and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house.” Hadiya’s parents, Nathaniel Pendleton and Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, guests of First Lady Michelle Obama, stood and applauded as the president demanded that Congress consider his gun measures, saying that the parents of Hadiya and other shooting victims “deserve a vote.” More than 30 gun-violence survivors and loved ones were seated in the chamber during the speech. Many of them were part of a group that traveled to Washington this week to lobby for the president’s gun proposals.

leton,” the president said. “She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend. Four areas “Just three weeks ago, she was OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT Obama laid out plans in four here, in Washington, with her main areas – manufacturing, edNathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, the parents of murder victim ‘Loved lip gloss’ classmates, performing for her ucation, clean energy and infraHadiya Pendleton, stood with First Lady Michelle Obama as Presi“One of those we lost was a country at my inauguration,” he said. “A week later, she was shot See SOTU, Page A2 dent Obama gave his State of the Union Tuesday night. young girl named Hadiya Pend-

‘What about us?’

FLORIDA COURIER / OUT AND ABOUT

Blacks concerned about Obama’s focus on immigration

Taking some time off

BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS AND FRANCO ORDONEZ MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS / MCT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – No sooner did President Obama and a group of senators separately outline proposals to revamp the nation’s immigration system than the phone lines on several African-American-oriented talk radio shows heated up with callers blasting the plans. “Amnesty,” complained Frankie from Maryland recently on the nationally syndicated “Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton.” A political payback to Hispanic voters that does little or nothing for African-Americans, reasoned Sam from Milwaukee on Wisconsin’s 1290 WMCS AM’s “Earl Ingram Show.” “Our issues are not being highlighted and pushed, and things like gay marriage and (immigration) are being pushed to the forefront,” the caller said. “Hispanics are effectively organized. For us not to be organized and for us not to hold our leadership accountable is disheartening.”

Blacks ignored? Although the civil rights establishment, from the NAACP to the Urban League and Sharpton, squarely back Obama’s desire to tackle immigration, the president’s call has reignited complaints within the AfricanAmerican community that he is addressing the specific needs of almost all major voting blocs – Hispanics, women, gays – except for the African-Americans who gave him 93 percent of their vote. Obama addressed the immigration issue again Tuesday in his State of the Union address and is expected to do so when he visits Chicago and suburban Atlanta on Thursday

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER

NBA Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took in a college basketball game last week between the University of Miami and the University of North Carolina in Miami. Florida Courier photojournalist Kim Gibson was also at the game.

See OBAMA, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Synthetic marijuana and bath salts still easy to get NATION | B3

Angela Davis still speaking out about injustices

BLACK HISTORY | B4

A look at those who broke barriers FINEST | B5

Meet Ashley

ALSO INSIDE

State seeks balance on drone flights

“If there was a problem and the drone is flying, and the crowd starts to scatter, any evidence that’s caught on that drone, on that camera, cannot be used as evidence,” Fewless said. “So if we have somebody in there with the crowd scattering – their child gets grabbed by somebody else and they take off in a different direction – even though we now have the suspect on video, we cannot use the drone evidence under this current language. And we don’t want that.”

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Lawmakers and police continue to wrangle over when law enforcement should be allowed to use unmanned drones, trying to settle on where the tipping point is on the balance scale of liberty and public safety. State Sen. Joe Negron, the chief advocate in the Legislature for what originally was envisioned as a hard ban on police use of the remote controlled aircraft, has already compromised to allow exceptions, including situations where police get a warrant, or where there’s an imminent risk of something like a terrorist attack. The Senate version (SB 92), of an anti-drone bill has been assigned to four committees, but has already been approved in two of those, and by unanimous votes in both. The House version (HB 119) of the measure flew through its first committee on last week.

Used around the state DON BARTLETTI/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

A Predator unmanned drone flies a training mission over Victorville, Cal.

Cops against bill But Negron and police couldn’t agree on the use of drones as extra eyes in the sky at largecrowd events, such as a football game. Capt. Michael Fewless of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told the Senate Community Affairs Committee that police would like to be able to use drones to videotape big events like college bowl games, where there is no expectation of privacy.

The drones cost about $50,000 apiece, according to Fewless, and require only the cost of gas, compared to $400 an hour to operate a helicopter. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has two drones and three helicopters. Police in Miami also have drones, although so far their use has been limited. Negron said he wants to protect what he considers the right of Floridians against unreasonable search and seizure before the use of drones becomes “ubiquitous.” Florida would be the first state to pass such a ban on the use of unmanned aircraft by police, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which supports Negron’s bill.

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. WILMER LEON: IS THE USE OF DRONES TO KILL AMERICANS UNCONSTITUTIONAL? | A4

FOCUS

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Police defector Dorner went out with a bang Although his fans will argue otherwise, Christopher Jordan Dorner was neither a Nat Turner nor a “Spook Who Sat by the Door.” Nat Turner was a leader of men who inspired approximately 70 enslaved and free Black men in a glorious attempt to overthrow the slave system in Virginia in 1831. The rebellion that goes by his name was a collective struggle that shook the ‘slavocracy’ to its core. It was one of the few U.S. slave revolts that was not betrayed by informers. Christopher Dorner enlisted no one in his fatal and solitary vendetta against those he felt had done him personal harm. He died alone trying to hide his huge Black self in a mostly White mountain recreation area, leaving behind a “manifesto” that was mainly about himself and his service to the national and local armed forces. Chris Dorner was no Dan Freeman, the protagonist “Spook” of the 1973 movie about an urban Black rebellion in the United States. Freeman is a Black nationalist who joins – infiltrates – the CIA, learns all he can about their evil arts, then returns to the Black community to train a cadre of urban guerilla fighters. The war of liberation catches fire.

Captured by myth Christopher Dorner’s manifesto reveals a man who – until the unraveling – had been wholly captured by the myth and mystic of superpower America, a proud reserve lieutenant in the imperial Navy and officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) who wanted only to serve with personal honor as a man-at-arms. Dorner is best described as a disaffected soldier in the ranks of the U.S. global

A rogue cop’s trail Former L.A. police officer Christopher Dorner, whose violent rampage killed two law enforcement officers and two others, is presumed dead after shootouts with officers in California’s Big Bear Lake area.

Some angst over Obama addressing immigration and other issues so soon in his second term has boiled over into public criticism of the nation’s first African-American president by

SOTU from A1 structure – to try to help the nation recover from the worst recession in decades at what he said would be no additional cost. “A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs – that must be the North Star that guides our efforts,” Obama said. “Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?” Obama described a nation that has made progress, ending long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq while clearing away “the rubble” of the Great Recession, but one that still needs addi-

Big Bear resort About 3.5 mi. (5.6 km)

Shootout scene

Rental unit Dorner allegedly entered

Woods

Driveway

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

and local Los Angeles occupation armies, who made his psychologically break with the forces of racial oppression – or was broken by them – only after having first been ejected. He transformed his ejection into a bloody defection, and flamed out – effectively, a suicide-by-cop (and, almost certainly, a victim of execution by white phosphorous-like incendiary). His self-definition could not survive separation from the institution that became his personal nemesis. In the end, he was as lonely as Rambo was in the Sylvester Stallone movie “First Blood” – and just as politically lost.

No Black hero A public death belongs to the public. Dorner’s fans, his African-American public whom he did not serve but who would inevitably embrace his weeklong death-throe defection from the LAPD, imbue him with qualities they wish were reliably available to the struggle: a Nat Turner, a Spook Who Sat by the Door.

The Bronx, New York dope dealer, Larry Davis, who in1986 succeeded in shooting six of seven cops who came to his sister’s apartment to arrest or assassinate him, achieved similar fame. Davis eluded capture for 17 days, then negotiated a surrender at his public housing hideout as residents chanted, “Larry! Lar-ry!” Davis beat the charges of attempted murder of cops. (William Kunstler and Lynne Stewart were his lawyers.) His fans forgave Davis’s dope-dealing ways, just as Dorner’s fans forgave his previous service to the Los Angeles Occupation Army. The enduring lesson of Dorner’s saga is that the transformation of the LAPD into a majority-minority police force does not change its nature as an army of occupation whose mission is racist to the core, regardless of its ethnic composition. That fact finally dawned on Christopher Dorner – and it killed him.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com. E-mail him at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Seven Oaks Drive

RICARDO DEARATANHA/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

many African-Americans, from the grassroots to the political levels. Bernard Anderson, an Obama supporter and a former assistant labor secretary during Bill Clinton’s presidency, recently told an African-American economic summit at Washington’s Howard University that African-Americans should no longer give Obama “a pass” on dealing with issues that directly impact their community. Some members of the

Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are quietly seething because Obama hasn’t met with the 42-member group since May 13, 2011. Rep. Alcee Hastings, DFla., vented to the National Newspaper Publishers Association in Fort Lauderdale last month. He said the CBC sent the White House the names of 61 potential candidates for positions in a second-term administration that already is coming under fire for being heavy on White males.

tional help to prosper. He declared that the state of the union is stronger, but not strong.

the-board budget cuts that could harm the economy in weeks.

Minimum wage hike He proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour. He recommended spending $65 billion on road, bridge and building repairs. He unveiled a plan to save eligible homeowners $3,000 annually by refinancing at lower interest rates. Obama starts his second term with a stubbornly high unemployment rate – higher for women and Blacks than when he first took office – falling consumer confidence and a mounting deficit as he faces often-uncooperative lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He insisted that Democrats and Republicans put aside their differences and take action, mostly immediately to find an alternative to looming across-

Nation before party “The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem,” he said. “They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can.” Obama spoke about other issues Tuesday – including rewriting the nation’s immigration laws and combating climate change – but mostly in the context of the economy. Obama announced that he will form a nonpartisan commission to study changes in the voting system after Americans endured long lines and administrative problems at the polls by singling out 102-year-old Desiline Victor, a North Miami wom-

20 miles

Los Angeles

Torrance

4 3

Riverside Corona

CALIF.

Irvine

San Bernardino County

20 km

San Bernardino

Big Bear Lake

Snow Summit

Seven Oaks Rd.

Big Bear City

2 miles 2 km

Baldwin Lake

7 38

6 River Rd. Sugarloaf Mtn.

Pacific Ocean

San Diego

MEXICO

What happened

1. Feb. 3, Irvine Monica Quan, whose father had been part of the review process leading to Dorner’s firing from LAPD, and her fiance found shot to death 2. Feb. 5, San Diego Dorner allegedly tries to steal a boat 3. Feb. 7, Corona Dormer fires at L.A. police officers guarding a person he had threatened 4. Feb. 7, Riverside Allegedly ambushes two officers as they wait at a stoplight; one is killed, the other seriously wounded

5. Feb. 7, Torrance While searching for Dormer, L.A. officers mistakenly shoot two people in a pickup truck, seriously injuring one; they also fire at another truck, thinking it’s Dorner’s; no one is injured 6. Feb. 7, Big Bear Lake Dorner’s abandoned, burning truck discovered; local schools locked down, skiers called off slopes; officers scour mountains 7. Feb. 12, Big Bear Wardens say they spot Dormer driving a stolen purple Nissan on

Glass Rd.

Highway 38, tailing two school buses; in the ensuing chase and gun battle, Dorner crashes, then runs and carjacks a white pickup 8. The cabin Dormer flees to a nearby cabin and gets into a fire fight with two San Bernardino County deputies, killing one, wounding the other • Police surround cabin, which catches fire and burns; later police find a charred body, presumed to be Dorner, in the rubble

Graphic: Robert Dorrell Source: AP, CNN, Los Angeles Times, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept., Calif. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, ESRI, USGS

Black immigration small, growing

Farm workers pick red bell peppers on a farm near Bakersfield, Calif.

Toward Highway 38, where authorities had spotted a stolen Nissan

Toward San Bernardino, about 15 mi. (24 km)

“Not one of that 61 was selected – not one,” Hastings told Black newspaper publishers.

from A1

Public criticism

Los Angeles

Woods

OBAMA – after the Florida Courier’s Wednesday night press time – to sell his secondterm agenda. “There (are) clearly different views in the African-American community around immigration,” Sharpton said on his radio show last month. “Some have said they’re (illegal immigrants) taking our jobs, they dilute our strength. “Others have said we’ve got to have rights for everybody or we don’t have it for anybody, and this is not just a Latino issue because immigration laws cover the Caribbean, cover Africans, cover South Americans.”

CALIF.

Big Bear Lake

A 2009 report by the Migration Policy Institute found that Black immigrants from all regions of the world accounted for just 9 percent of the overall immigrant population in the United States. However, a 2011 report by the same group discovered that Blacks from Africa, though just 3 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population, are among the fastest-growing immigrant groups in this country. From 1980 to 2009, the number of African Blacks in the United States has swelled from 64,000 to 1.1 million, according to the 2011 report. If that growth trend continues, Africa will supplant the Caribbean as the major source region for the U.S. Black immigrant population by 2020, the Migration Policy Institute an who waited six hours in line to vote in November. He said that by this time next year more than half the U.S. troops in Afghanistan –34,000 – will have returned home as the Afghans take responsibility for security. He condemned North Korea for conducting its third nuclear test hours earlier, warning that it undermines regional stability, violates North Korea’s United Nations obligations and increases the risk of proliferation. He called for a reduction in nuclear weapons worldwide.

Closing loopholes He pressed for cuts in projected deficits by eliminating tax loopholes and deductions benefiting certain industries or the wealthy as well as by cutting projected spending. And he urged Congress to pass a package of modest cuts and tax changes as a way to delay drastic,

study concludes.

A reminder Still, Ingram says many of his listeners see Obama’s attempt to push forward on immigration as a reminder of what the president hasn’t done to improve economic conditions for African-Americans. “I would say a bulk of my listenership is anti-immigration,” he said. “You have to understand that in the community in which I live the percentage of African-Americans who are unemployed. They look at what’s going on with immigration as an affront to African-Americans who can’t pay their mortgages because many of the immigrants come here, they are hired at less than minimum wage.” The African-American unemployment rate is at 13.8 percent, according to recently released government figures, nearly twice the 7 percent jobless rate for Whites. The nation’s overall unemployment rate across-the-board federal spending reductions that are scheduled to take effect March 1. White House officials said the president will pay for his spending proposals by re-prioritizing items in the budget. His proposed budget will be released in mid-March. “Tonight, I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago,” he said. “Let me repeat – nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It’s not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.”

Campaign stops Obama flew to Asheville, N.C., on Wednesday to begin selling his plans to the nation. He is scheduled to make campaign-style pitch

is 7.9 percent. For Hispanics, the rate is 9.7 percent.

Increases Black unemployment A 2009 study by George Borjas of Harvard University, Jeffrey Grogger of the University of Chicago and George Hanson of the University of California, San Diego, looked at 1960-2000 census data and found that as immigrants disproportionately increased the supply of workers in a particular area, wages of African-American workers in that area fell, the employment rate declined and the incarceration rate rose. “Our analysis suggests that a 10 percent immigration-induced increase in the supply of a particular skill group reduced the Black wage by 2.5 percent, lowered the employment rate of Black men by 5.9 percentage points, and increased the incarceration rate of Blacks by 1.3 percentage points,” the professors wrote in the study. with stops in Atlanta and Chicago, including a private meeting with 20 Black boys at Hyde Park Academy High School there to discuss the challenges of growing up in a rough neighborhood. “These students are very honest, very open, very opinionated and passionate,” Principal Antonio Ross said, adding that Obama will “get a real dose of what it feels like, at least from their perspective, of what it feels like growing up in the city of Chicago right now as a teenager.”

George E. Curry of NNPA; William Douglas of McClatchy Newspapers David Lauter of Tribune Washington Bureau; Jason Meisner and Jeremy Gorner of the Chicago Tribune; and Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark of McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) all contributed to this report.

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

FLORIDA

BATH SALTS

What are they? Synthetic cathinones, which are said to mimic the effects of cocaine, LSD and amphetamines, packaged as white crystals that resemble Epsom salts. Often chopped into a fine powder like cocaine, the drug is snorted, swallowed, smoked or injected. What are they called? Popular brands include Cloud Nine, Vanilla Sky, Ivory Wave and White Dove. How are they made? Cooked in a lab, they typically contain synthetic compounds such as MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone), mephedrone, pyrovalerone and methylone, but other ingredients are often added, including hydrochloride salt and caffeine. What do they do? Reactions may include agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, suicidal urges, difficulty breathing, sweating and chills, dizziness, insomnia, psychotic delusions, combativeness, extreme and prolonged panic attacks and death.

SUSANNAH BRYAN/SUN SENTINEL/MCT

Synthetic marijuana, sold in colorful packages with names like Cloud Nine, Maui Wowie and Mr. Nice Guy, sits behind the glass counter at a Kwik Stop in Hollywood, Fla. Police are beginning to crack down on synthetic drugs.

A cheap high, a bad trip Despite crackdown, synthetic marijuana and bath salts still easy to get BY NICOLE BROCHU AND MARNI JAMESON ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

ORLANDO – The names may sound harmless – incense, potpourri, spice, bath salts – but the synthetic drugs popular among Florida’s youth are anything but. Those who have smoked synthetic marijuana and its cocainelike sister, bath salts, describe the experience as “crazy” and “retarded.” They recall a disturbing, mind-addling high. The trips these drugs induce can trigger heart palpitations, vomiting, seizures, paranoia, violent outbursts, extreme agitation and psychotic episodes, say emergency room doctors, who call the reaction “excited delirium.”

Mostly male users Although a new crackdown by law enforcement is starting to curb the abuse, synthetic drugs continue to attract a vulnerable demographic: young men looking for an easily accessible thrill. Although no official statistics exist, media reports have attributed at least nine deaths in Florida to synthetic drugs. Still, young Floridians — users’ average age is 24, and 70 percent are male — think the drugs are OK because they’ve been sold

at smoke shops and convenience stores. “Because this stuff is sold in head shops, kids think it’s a safe way to get high,” said Dr. Timothy Huckaby, an addiction medicine specialist and medical director of the UF & Shands Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health. “That simply isn’t the case,” he said. “The synthetic version is three times more powerful than the marijuana sold on the street today.”

Cheap, easy to find Interviews with Broward County teens in a drug rehab program revealed why the synthetic drug, sold in slick packaging, had become so popular during the past few years. It’s not the high, the boys said. The reason is pragmatic: It’s still cheap, easy enough to find and effective at deceiving most drug tests. “You have to understand: We’re teenagers. It doesn’t sound that bad to say, ‘Let’s smoke spice and be retarded for 30 minutes,’” said former user Sam Hathaway, 17, of Pembroke Pines, using synthetic marijuana’s street name. “It literally changes your brain, like the way you think,” he said.

Paranoid delusions Another teen in the program, Nico Souberville, 18, of Miramar, said that after smoking the drug: “I wanted to do something crazy. I wanted to hurt someone.” That these dangerous products ever made it to store shelves is a testament to drug designers’ illic-

it skills. Drugmakers tinker with their compounds in ways that not only skirt the law but also slip by drug tests. “The bad guys are three to four steps ahead of law enforcement and five to six steps ahead of clinicians,” said Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, director of emergency medicine at the Broward Health System in Fort Lauderdale. El Sanadi said that patients often show up at his emergency room with signs of psychosis: hearing voices, hallucinating, with paranoid delusions of being chased or attacked. Because no laws expressly banned them, the drugs manufactured in labs to mimic marijuana and cocaine were hanging in packets near the candy section in stores.

Tougher state ban Although a statewide ban on such substances took effect a year ago, it wasn’t specific enough. Retailers got around it. Users knew which convenience stores continued to sell the stuff under the counter. So in December, state Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a tougher ban, prohibiting 22 specific substances used in synthetic drugs. Since then, law enforcers across Central Florida have been visiting convenience stores and head shops giving out one-time warnings. Last month, Volusia County deputies inspected 172 convenience stores, smoke shops, liquor stores and other retailers throughout the county, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gary Davidson. They found 15 still selling the banned products. The officers reminded store clerks of the new law and the penalty (a five-year prison sentence and fine of up to $5,000) for selling or possessing the products.

Chemicals constantly changing Similarly, Seminole County law enforcers have been visiting more than 350 retailers during the past several weeks, said Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kim Cannaday. Although the Orlando Police Department does not have a formal crackdown program, officers do routinely check convenience stores to be sure what they’re selling is legal, said spokesman Jim Young. “We also look at city ordinances from across the state and what other departments are doing to address synthetic drugs to find ways to reduce these crimes,” he said. “The chemicals in these drugs are constantly changing, so it’s hard to keep up. The new law helps because it gives us more to go after.”

SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA

What is it? A psychoactive designer drug marketed as “herbal potpourri” or “herbal incense,” meant to mimic a marijuana buzz when smoked. What’s it called? Known on the streets as “spice,” it is also called fake weed, fake marijuana and synthetic weed. Popular brand names include Spice, K2, Mr. Nice Guy, Maui Wowie, M@ ry Joy and Barely Legal. How’s it made? Natural herbs such as damiana or marshmallow leaves are sprayed with a synthetic mixture derived in a lab from a cannabinoid compound. The coated herbs are then chopped to look like marijuana and packaged for sale. What does it do? Reactions may include seizures, chest pain, hallucinations, psychosis, nausea, vomiting, panic attacks, paranoia, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat, memory deficits, violent tendencies and death.

Numbers underreported Still, those who want synthetic marijuana or bath salts can easily score them online. All they need is a credit card and an address, poison center officials said. Mirroring a national trend, calls to state poison-information centers about synthetic marijuana and bath salts began rising in 2010. The Florida Poison Information Center in Tampa received 49 calls that year from five Central Florida counties and 81 calls last year, said Cynthia Lewis-Younger, poison center spokeswoman. Calls about synthetic marijuana outnumber those related to bath salts by 6 to 1. “The numbers are undoubtedly underreported,” said LewisYounger. They represent only the sickest patients. Many others suffer in silence, afraid of repercussions.

spreading about the bad trips, is helping to curtail use of fake drugs. Some, however, worry that the crackdown is just pushing the use further underground. “In my entire emergency medicine career, I have never been exposed to a substance so dangerous and so available,” said Dr. Dale Birenbaum, lead emergency room physician for Florida Hospital’s East Orlando campus. Birenbaum estimates that he has seen a couple of dozen bad reactions, including cases that required law enforcers to use Tasers to control the subject. Some users, especially those on bath salts, become very violent, he said. “That stuff is really, really dangerous, and is almost certainly solely responsible for some horrific crimes.”

Violent reactions

Orlando Sentinel staff writer Jon Burstein contributed to this report.

Call centers and doctors say the new law, combined with word

Former state GOP chair pleads guilty; political spectacle averted By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

ORLANDO – Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty Monday to five criminal counts in connection with his fundraising activities during his time in office, ending a twoyear legal odyssey that had threatened to unearth secrets of the state GOP and former Gov. Charlie Crist. The guilty plea set off a round of political fingerpointing in Tallahassee, with Republicans laying the blame for the debacle on Crist, a newly-minted Democrat who could challenge current GOP Gov. Rick Scott in 2014. Democrats, meanwhile, tried to tag the RPOF with Greer’s ethical baggage. Greer pleaded guilty to four counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering; prosecutors

will ask for 42 months in prison.

Offer he couldn’t refuse? The case against Greer centers on allegations that he used his position as party chairman to steer business to Victory Strategies, his fundraising company. Greer said party leaders knew what he was doing, and that a secret severance agreement between himself and party leaders should have protected him from any criminal liability. Greer sued the RPOF, former Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Sen. John Thrasher, who succeeded Greer as party chief, for the $123,000 he was offered in the severance agreement and $5 million in damages. Greer will drop that suit following the plea deal, his attorney said. Damon Chase, who had fiercely represented Greer

Jim Greer, left, ousted former Florida GOP chairman and his wife, Lisa, are all smiles after entering a surprise guilty plea to five criminal charges in an Orange County courtroom on Monday. Greer, 50, was facing a possible 75 years in prison for fraud, money laundering and theft. Now he faces a possible maximum sentence of 35 years.

during the long-running and multifaceted legal battle, said in an interview Monday that he still believed Greer would have won at trial. “The evidence was overwhelmingly in our favor, but I guess Greer got an offer that he couldn’t refuse,” Chase told the News Service.

Coming to the light Chase wouldn’t elaborate on any terms of Greer’s agreement to plead guilty, saying it was confidential. “Knowing the deal he got, I don’t blame him one bit for taking it,” Chase said. The case had promised to be a statewide legal and political spectacle, with Greer threatening to drag the RPOF’s dirty laundry into open court. Also potentially on the firing line was Crist, a Republican-turned-independentturned-Democrat who is

RED HUGER/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

widely believed to be plotting a political comeback. In fact, RPOF Executive Director Mike Grissom referred to Greer as “the man Charlie Crist personally picked to lead the Republican Party of Florida” in a statement regarding the plea deal. “For the past three years, Jim Greer has tried to damage the reputation of the Republican Party and its leaders, but the truth is

now known that Jim Greer broke the law, stole from RPOF and our donors, and then said and did everything he could to cover up and distract attention from his crimes,” Grissom said. “Everything Jim Greer has said and done over these past few years should be considered in that light.” Democrats, meanwhile, tried to keep Republicans from ducking blame. “Republicans in Talla-

hassee breathed a collective sigh of relief this morning, but they have nothing to feel good about,” said Florida Democratic Party spokeswoman Brannon Jordan. “The former chair of their party admitted to four counts of grand theft before a national audience.” Greer will be sentenced next month.

EDITORIAL

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Should Black History Month be eliminated? I have a rule about this month. If it’s February, I know that somebody somewhere has given an interview or written an article declaring America no longer needs Black History Month. And, sure enough, the conservative National Review Online of Feb. 4 has given us the article of one Charles W. Cooke. Its title is succinct – “Against Black History Month: This month is Black History Month. Let’s hope it’s the last.” That snarky comment is revealing, isn’t it? Even if you’re opposed to Black History Month, no one would credibly think there’s any chance that this month’s, or next year’s, or the year after that’s, or … you get the

LEE A. DANIELS NNPA COLUMNIST

picture … would be the last Black History Month American society commemorates. It’s not a serious comment, of course, and it indicates we’re not going to get a logical argument from Cooke. But then, that’s not entirely Cooke’s fault. That’s because there is no logical argument against commemorating Black History Month. Indeed, now it’s more important than ever that we plumb the facts and complexities of African-

American history. Indeed, it’s clear that Carter G. Woodson, the great scholar who established Negro History Week in 1926, had two goals in mind. One was to enable African-Americans to see that Blacks had a rich history before their capture and transport to the Americas; and that pursuing the truth of the Black experience in America was the only way to construct an America worthy of its ideals.

Out of shadows Cooke’s article follows the usual scheme of the attack on Black History Month. He asserts that the undertaking was necessary before the 1960s, when de jure and

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GOD PICKS A NEW POPE

Daryl Cagle, CagleCartoons.com

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 169 Bro. Prez as ‘executioner’– Got a ration of grief from some faithful readers (Black women) for last week’s front-page headline about the Obama administration targeting American ‘terrorists’ for assassination without evidence or due process. One accused me of even crossing into “Tavis Smiley” territory for criticizing the president’s actions. I’ve written before about how Obama gets rabid protection by Black women that only preachers get. When any brother tries to hold Bro. Prez (or an adulterous/ larcenous/hypocritical ‘Man of God’) accountable for their statements or actions, it’s “haterade” or “jealousy.” Sisters, wake up! The Bible in 2 Timothy 4:4 (New International Version) says people “will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” That’s as true in politics as it is in religion. Examine the facts before you reflexively defend either Obama (or your pastor) in the midst of disagreement or criticism... State of the Union – Good speech, as usual. Bro. Prez. set out a good laundry list, including job-creating investments in infrastructure and education; but they won’t pass the U.S. House. (So what’s next?) And as usual, no mention of Black or minority-owned businesses, or alternatives to massive levels of Black incarceration – critical factors in reducing high

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

Black unemployment... Marco Rubio’s response – A lost opportunity to talk to folks like me who question Obama’s typical “tax and spend” solutions. Rubio parroted the typical GOP talking points and anti-Obama attacks with the same old austerity solutions. The “water break” – Rubio grabbed a bottle of water and took swallows in the middle of the speech – was funny as hell. He was obviously nervous; who wouldn’t be after being called ‘The Republican Savior” by Time magazine? It’s hard being the Great Hispanic Hope... Christopher Dorner – He was trapped in a vacant resort home. What caused it to burn to the ground? I wouldn’t be surprised if cops intentionally set the place on fire; I thought of how cops dropped a bomb on the MOVE folks in Philly in 1985. And did anyone really believe this guy was gonna come out of this alive?

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com.

Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.

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de facto segregation ruled the land. Now, however, it’s outlived its usefulness and in fact is harming the ability of all Americans to gain a shared understanding of American history. Black History Month should be eliminated and the Black American experiences should be integrated into schools’ regular curriculum. “If there is still too little ‘Black history’ taught in America’s schools,” Cooke writes, “or if ‘Black history’ is being taught incorrectly – then we should change the curriculum. If Black Americans remain unfairly in the shadows, then the solution is to bring them out, not to sort and concentrate them by color.”

to broader examinations of American history, as even a cursory perusal of popular and scholarly books would indicate. Most of all, they ignore why over the last four decades other sub-groups of Americans have adopted the “special month” model. Cooke does list some of these: Women’s History Month, South Asian Heritage Month, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Caribbean-American Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, and Alaskan Native Heritage Month.

Black history integrated

American experience

These attacks on Black History Month ignore many things: They ignore how deeply Black history has already been “integrated” in-

In fact, just as Black History Month does, they underscore valid – and widespread – educational practice of focusing on partic-

ular facets of a broad topic and the widespread socialgroup practice of closely examining their particular experience in America. And they do something else. They all echo the question that Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week, now Black History Month set before the nation more than 80 ago. That question was never more powerfully expressed than in the penultimate line posed by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions in the title track of their 1969 album, “This Is My Country:” “Shall we perish unjust,” the song asks, “or live equal as a nation.”

Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His latest book is “Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.’’ Click on this story at www.flcourier. com to write your own response.

Study of great Black men, women deserves more than 28 days Every month is Black History Month for people like me. However, many African-Americans believe they can only honor and celebrate when their modern day masters give them permission to do so. So, around this time of year The Gantt Report likes to share information about great Black nen. There are great Black women too but the lady columnists like Andrea Giggetts and others can do their part to educate African-American females about the contributions made by women. This year’s great Black men include a variety of men from the past and present including the following that you may or may not know as men of color: Aesop – Also known as Lokman, Aesop was a Negro slave and the wisest man of the East. He was used as an authority by Prophet Mohammed in the Koran and his influence on Western thought is profound. Plato, Socrates, Shakespeare, La Fontaine and many other so-called great thinkers found inspiration in Aesop’s words of wisdom. Chaka Zulu – Some have called Chaka the world’s greatest despot because no conqueror was as hard and unfeeling as he was. Chaka had the heart of a tiger and his savagery was very devastating because it was combined with the military skill of Ceasar and Napoleon, the organizing genius

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

of Alexander the Great, the discipline of Lycurgus, the inflexibility of Bismark and the powerful and destructive force of Attila. Chaka only suffered one minor military defeat. Benedict the Moor – Benedict was the most honored saint of the Negroes and also the Christian Indians of Brazil and Peru. Several churches were erected in his honor including a church in New York City. In 1807 Benedict the Moor was canonized by Pope Pius VII. Benedict’s ambition was to reach the heights of patience, gentleness and Christian love. Historians say Benedict was so Holy that wild wolves were afraid to touch him. Toussaint L’ouverture – L’Ouverture burst on the scene when slavery was at its worse in Haiti. About 40,000 Whites lived in luxury in Haiti while 450,000 Blacks lived as slaves that worked to make Haiti the richest of many French colonies. On October 30, 1791 Toussaint L’Ouverture helped to lead a revolt. Even though he was too humane to approve the slaughter of women and children other Blacks in Haiti arose and simultaneously set fire to

thousands of sugar cane fields and butchered White men as they fled from their burning mansions. Napoleon hated L’Ouverture but Toussaint and his small army beat the feared Napoleon like a drum! The United States owes Haiti a great debt because events led by L’Ouverture broke the power of France in the New World and hastened the sale of the Louisiana territory or, in other words, half of what is now the United States, for a penny ante sum. Other great Black men of color include Hatshepsut, Thotmes III, Moshesh, Tippoo Tib, Khama, St. Maurice of Aganaum, John VI of Portugal, Alexandre Dumas, Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Amilcar Cabral, Patrice Lumumba, Jomo Kenyatta, Denmark Vessey and many, many, many more! Enjoy your Black History life and don’t limit the study of Great Black Men and Women to 28 days each year.

Buy Gantt’s book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” at any major bookseller, like The Gantt Report page on Facebook and contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

President Obama: Please call home Last week, I criticized President Obama for his anemic, voiceless, almost whispered response to the tragic death of Hadiya Pendleton. She was a 15-yearold honor student who was shot and killed in Chicago two weeks ago after having performed at Obama’s inauguration. To my total amazement, there was a torrent of criticism from within the Black community about Obama’s tepid public statement about Hadiya’s death. I was proud that many in the Black community finally were angry enough at Obama to finally do something about it. I was happy and sad simultaneously.

Displeasure with Obama I was happy that Blacks stopped hiding their displeasure with Obama, but were totally embarrassed that they had to organize an online petition begging Obama to attend Hadiya’s funeral. This was not necessary for the Newtown killings. It’s almost as though Obama instinctively connected with that community—though there was some type of kindred spirit so much so that his reaction was as natural as his breathing. But, somehow Chicago and Hadiya’s death was different. There was no appar-

RAYNARD JACKSON NNPA COLUMNIST

ent instinctual connection, though her murder took place a mile from Obama’s house in Chicago. As is typical for this president, he couldn’t muster up the nerve to confront this issue directly, so he decided to send a group of surrogates to Hadiya’s funeral – First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. His actions speak so loud, I can’t hear anything he has to say about Hadiya’s tragic death.

Obama needs forcing The NAACP gives image awards to singers, actors, and producers, etc. who dump toxins into our community and call it entertainment. The Congressional Black Caucus is afraid to force Obama to address the issue of values within the Black community because they want to be invited to the next White House’s Christmas party. Obama is like an absent father who criticizes his teenage son for how he turned

out? Well, President Obama, your “son” doesn’t need another lecture from you; he needs your time, your love, your legislation to address the internal problems he and his family has. You find every opportunity to confer your support for a homosexual agenda to the point that you have compared it to the Civil Rights Movement, but in four years as president, you refused to use your presidential bully-pulpit to address the negative pathologies within the Black community or the racism in some sectors of the White community. Did you think so little of Hadiya’s death that you sent surrogates to represent you? Could you not empathize with her family and the broader community enough to make the trip yourself? So, enough with the speeches, your family needs you at home.

Raynard Jackson is president and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his Web site, www.raynardjackson.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier. com to write your own response.

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

EDITORIAL

Is Obama’s use of drones to kill Americans unconstitutional? In an interview in 2007 Senator Obama (D-IL) said, “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation… I reject the Bush Administration’s claim that the President has plenary authority under the Constitution to detain U.S. citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants.” In 2013 Americans are facing a president with a different mindset. A recently leaked White Paper is providing insight into the legal justifications for the Obama administration’s “targeted killing” program. The paper asserts that “high-level” government officials can “use lethal force in a foreign country, against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida or an associated force actively engaged in planning operations to kill Americans.” This legal framework also explains how lethal force can be used even if the “high-level” government officials do not have “clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.”

“the drone program now is run out of the White House, where (John) Brennan, the president’s most trusted counter-terror adviser, helps Obama pick the targets.” The rationale behind the administration’s “assassination by drone” program sounds eerily reminiscent to former V.P. Dick Cheney’s “one-percent doctrine.” Cheney believed the so-called “war on terror” empowered the Bush administration to invade sovereign countries and violate American’s civil liberties without the need for evidence or extensive analysis. The facts did not matter. According to Cheney, “If there’s a 1 percent chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It’s not about our analysis, It’s about our response.”

Assassination by drone

Due process ignored

In September 2011 the administration used drone strikes to kill alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. AlAwlaki’s 16-year old son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was also killed by a drone strike. All three were U.S. citizens and none of them had been indicted by the U.S. government for any crimes. According to The Guardian,

The Obama administrations rationale for targeted killings of American citizens contradict some of the basic framework of American democracy. Due process, habeas corpus, checks and balances, and bills of attainder are civil liberty protections guaranteed by the Constitution. Due process is such an important protection that it is refer-

DR. WILMER J. LEON III TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: DEAD-EYE BARACK

enced in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Due Process Clause acts as a safeguard from arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property by the Government. For the President or other “high-level” government officials to act as judge, jury, and executioner irrespective of “clear evidence.” of any immediate wrongdoing is the clearest example of arbitrarily denying life and liberty that one can imagine. Habeas corpus requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge in order to determine if an individual’s detention is warranted. Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution states, “the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.”

Taylor Jones, Politicalcartoons.com

declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without privilege of a judicial trial. The paper also concludes that the use of drone strikes for targeted killings would not be justified if it violated the fundamental law-of-war principles “if anticipated civilian causalities (collateral damage) would be excessive Executing Americans in relation to the anticipated miliUnderstanding the issues is as- tary advantage.” sassinations not arrest but theoretically, by summarily executing Policy defended American citizens before they can The administration has preeven be detained is a contradicsented and defended drone tion of the highest order. The concept of checks and bal- strikes as an “antiseptic” use of ances is an important part of the technology. CIA nominee, John Constitution. Each of the three Brennan defended drone strikes branches of government can limit as a more humane form of warthe powers of the others prevent- fare. He said that “extraordinary ing any one branch from becom- care” is taken to ensure they conform to the “law of war princiing too powerful. Under no circumstance should ples” but stopped short of saying members of the executive branch they are in compliance. According to the Center for Rebe allowed to condemn American citizens to death, even in times search on Globalization, “at the of “war” without the review of an end of January 2013, the Bureau impartial judge. This also violates of Investigative Journalism was Article 1, Section 9 of the Consti- able to identify by name 213 peotution, “No Bill of Attainder shall ple killed by drones in Pakistan be passed.” A Bill of Attainder is who were reported to be middlean act of a legislature or executive or senior-ranking militants.

An additional 331 civilians have also now been named, 87 of them children. But this is a small proportion of the minimum 2,629 people who appear to have so far died in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan. The Bureau’s work suggests 475 of them were likely to have been civilians.” The administration has championed the use of drones as making Americans safer by killing terrorists. Killing innocent people in foreign countries creates more terrorists. President Obama signed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) containing sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provisions and signed into law a four-year extension of post-Sept. 11 powers (Patriot Act) to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists. The rationale behind the Obama administrations’ approach to civil liberties and warfare sounds eerily like a Dick Cheney moment.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a teaching associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Lawyers’ Committee remains in the vanguard This article – the fifth of a 20-part series - is written in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today. At a time when our nation needed its legal community to step forward and join in the struggle for equality, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights was born. I was privileged to be present in the East Room of the White House on the day that President Kennedy urged a group of 244 lawyers to use their training and influence to further the goals of the civil rights movement. Within weeks, the formation of the Lawyers’ Committee was announced as attorneys from around the country heeded the call of the President. Fifty years later, the Lawyers’ Committee remains in the vanguard of both domestic and international initia-

U.S. REP. JOHN CONYERS TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

tives to protect the rights of diverse communities.

Achieving American dream While there is no question that America has made substantial progress over the last 50 years in creating a more just society, we cannot say that serious challenges to achieving the American dream do not exist for large segments of our society. I ran for Congress in 1964, a time when we battled Jim Crow era poll taxes and institutionalized discrimination. In those days, the battle lines were clearly drawn and easy for anyone to see. Successful litigation and legislation have largely ended the practices of institutional discrimination and the Lawyers’ Committee has played an important role. However, as the civil rights movement has expanded beyond race, we have

While voting rights remain the seen a return of discriminatory practices that continue to chal- touchstone in the quest for equal lenge the goal of equality under rights, millions are fundamentally the law. deprived of their basic liberty by a criminal justice system in a race to incarcerate. The United States Discrimination has the largest prison population repackaged in the western world, with 2.25 The institutional memory million people behind bars. This found at the Lawyers’ Committee figure illustrates the greatest inis vital to ensuring that our sociequality facing the nation. Sadly, ety is not revisited by old discrimmore than 60 percent of the peoination in a new package. Its work ple in prison are now racial and during the 2012 election cycle, for ethnic minorities. example, was critical in protecting the voting rights of millions of Devastating statistics Americans. For the African-American comJust as Jim Crow era poll taxes were designed to erect barri- munity, these statistics are devasers to the ballot box, the current tating, with one in every 10 Black wave of voter purging, citizenship men in their 30s in jail or prison and identification schemes were on any given day. A felony convicintended to make it difficult for tion can stifle economic indepenyoung, minority and older Ameri- dence by restricting voting rights, cans to equally participate in the job prospects and access to government- sponsored training propolitical process. This organized and well fi- grams and subsidized housing. In communities already devnanced campaign to subvert the election process is ongoing and astated by unemployment and a will require a combination of lit- lack of educational and economic igation and legislation to ensure opportunity, the prison pipeline that our campaign finance system has created a lost generation. As progressive advocates like and election laws reflect the important principle of equal partici- the Lawyers’ Committee move to address inequality in the 21st pation in the political process.

Century, the outstanding question for me is whether Congress can shift its focus to tackle the root causes underlying poverty. I fear that the drive to cut blindly entitlement programs - from the Second Chance Act to Head Start and Community Services Block Grants - runs the serious risk of exacerbating the economic isolation of poor communities and their related civil rights burdens. Ultimately, we must act to break the persistent link between poverty and the criminal justice system. Ending inequality in America is a battle that can be won, and although the barriers are still largely the same as those of the 1960’s, our approach in the 21st century must not lack the strength and courage, which brought us those earlier victories.

U. S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr.,(DMich.), known as the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, has served in the U.S. Congress since 1965. For more information go to www.lawyerscommittee.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Men of good character is ever-shrinking commodity If asked to justify violence of any kind directed against their mothers, wives or daughters, I’m pretty certain most men of good character who’re psychologically well-adjusted would reject that possibility in its entirety. While I make this assumption freely and in complete belief of its accuracy, U.S. statistics challenge my belief or suggest that the number of men of good character is an evershrinking commodity. The November 2000 National Violence Against Women Survey indicates that in the U.S.: • 17.6 percent of women have survived a completed or attempted rape. 21.6 percent were younger than 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4 percent were between the ages of 12 and 17. • 64 percent of women reporting being raped,

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

physically assaulted, and/ or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend or date. • About 25 percent of women and 8 percent of men said they were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date in their lifetimes. The survey estimates more than 300,000 intimate partner rapes occur each year against women 18 and older.

More statistics The following statistics are presented by the referenced sources:

• The FBI estimates only 37 percent of rapes are reported to the police. U.S. DOJ statistics are even lower, with only 26 percent of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials. • Factoring in unreported rapes, about 5 percent - one out of 20 - of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. Nineteen out of 20 will walk free. (Probability statistics based on US DOJ statistics). • About 81 percent of rape victims are White; 18 percent Black; 1 percent other races. About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. DOJ, 1994.) • Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone known to the victim; 73 percent were by a non-stranger (38 percent

were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 28 percent were an intimate partner and 7 percent were a relative.) (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2005) • The costs of intimate partner violence against women exceed an estimated $5.8 billion. These costs include nearly $4.1 billion in direct costs of medical and mental health care and nearly $1.8 billion in indirect costs of lost productivity and present value of lifetime earnings. (DHHS, CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, GA, March 2003). • Domestic violence occurs in approximately 2533 percent of same-sex relationships. (NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, October 1996.) • Boys who witness their fathers’ violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later

adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System, 1993). • About 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the U.S. annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor. (U.S. CIA, 2000) • A woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. (UN Study On The Status of Women, Year 2000)

Reauthorize VAWA Despite these statistics, the Republican led House is refusing to reauthorize VAWA. Opposition seems to be motivated by extremely short-sighted and unrealistic reasons, such as objection to provisions to include same-sex couples and undocumented immigrants. When unfettered violence is in the forefront of the national dialogue, I cannot reconcile refusal to sup-

port this law to any reasonable thought-process. For 18 years, VAWA has not been a partisan issue. Now, a law that has clearly been effective in saving lives, preventing violence, holding offenders accountable, and redefining the moral fabric of our society, is in question! Don’t allow VAWA to lay dormant providing service to none of the victims it’s designed to protect. Contact your House Member at 202/225-3121 and express your support for reauthorization of VAWA.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is chair of the National Congress of Black Women. Contact her at www. nationalcongressbw.org. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOj A6

NATION

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Obamas turn attention to street violence First lady attends Chicago teen’s funeral; president promises to work hard to end ‘senseless violence’ HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

For the first time in the Obama administration, the president and the first lady have targeted street violence as part of the president’s political focus. The president was scheduled to head for Chicago on Friday where, in less than 40 days, more than 40 people (42 as of Monday this week) have been the victims of homicide. His visit comes on the heels of First Lady Michelle Obama who attended last Saturday’s funeral of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. The teen, a majorette, performed in Inaugural Parade on Jan. 21. The first lady did not speak publically but reportedly comforted Pendleton’s family friends privately with the words, “Hang on” and “Stay strong.’’ President Obama reportedly sent a letter to Hadiya’s immediate family, promising to work hard to “end this senseless violence.”

New proposals In Chicago, he was slated to speak about the issue of gun violence in that city and across the nation, a topic that was strongly included in his preparations for the State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Pendleton’s mother, Cleopatra Cowley, attended the State of the Union address as a guest of honor. President Obama has advanced new proposals for dealing with gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 20 first grade chil-

JOHN J. KIM/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT

A woman carries a heart-shaped memorial into the Greater Harvest Baptist Church for the funeral of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton on Feb. 9 in Chicago. Pendleton, who performed at President Obama’s inauguration, was killed Jan. 29 when a gunman fired on a group of students. dren in Newtown, Conn. Dec. 14. Those proposals include universal background checks as well as bans on high-capacity ammunition magazines as well as military-style assault weapons similar to those used at Sandy Hook, the movie theater shooting that killed 12 people and injured 58 in Aurora, Colo. on July 12 last year among other mass shoot-

ings in recent years. The president also was scheduled to visit Asheville, N.C. and Atlanta this week on his tour on gun violence. This is the first time he has directly spoken to and legislatively targeted street violence, which are usually the result of handguns.

Arrests in teen’s death Hundreds of thousands

of Black men and women have been killed by gunfire in cities across the U.S. over the past four decades since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began charting gun violence by race in the mid-1970s. Such shootings are often marked by a code of silence afterward during which even eye witnesses refuse to come forward because of fear of retribution.

Chicago police have arrested two men in the Jan. 29 killing of the teen. Michael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, reportedly claim they mistakenly thought the teen was with a group associated with a rival gang when one or both men opened fire, killing the majorette as she and associates gathered in a public park only blocks from the Obamas’ home.

Pendleton and the other youth were actually under a shelter, shielding themselves from rain when they came under fire. An anti-gang advocate in her own rite, Hadiya Pendleton, is still posted on a YouTube video she made in the sixth grade, telling friends: “It is your job as students to say no to gangs and yes to a great future.”

Angela Davis still vocal about injustices in US Activist, scholar talks about prison abolishment, misconceptions during university lecture BY REBECCA NUTTALL SPECIAL TO THE NNPA

As a former leader of the Communist Party USA who was tied to the Black Panther Party during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, 69-year-old political activist, scholar and author Angela Davis has been one of the African-American community’s most militant voices throughout history. Labeled by President Richard Nixon as a “dangerous terrorist,” Davis was once charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder, and spent 18 months in prison before being acquitted in 1972. Today, Davis serves as a distinguished professor emerita at the University of California at Santa Cruz, but still finds time to be active in the prison abolishment and Occupy movements, in between lecturing at colleges and universities around the country.

Speech about MLK/Obama On Jan. 24, she visited the University of Pittsburgh for the Black Action Society’s Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture. “This has been a very

unique Martin Luther King Jr. Day period because it coincided with the second inauguration of the first African-American president,” Davis said refer ring to President Barack Obama. “While we celebrate the historic occasion of Obama’s second term, it’s important to reflect on the conditions that led to it.” Davis was tasked with providing the students and community attendees in the Alumni Hall auditorium with little known facts about King and the Civil Rights Movement. She responded by probing King’s legacy, how his beliefs are often misrepresented and other misconceptions throughout African-American history. “As we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we are actually paying tribute to the millions of people who joined the struggle for freedom,” Davis said. “Martin Luther King Jr. could not have emerged as the powerful figure had it not been for ordinary people.”

Emanciption Proclamation: A military strategy In light of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Davis talked about the truth behind the document signed by President Abraham Lincoln, not delved into in high school history classes. While the document is touted as the end of slavery, Davis said it was used to bolster troop numbers in the Civil War by encour-

J.L. MARTELLO/NNPA NEWS SERVICE

Angela Davis addresses the audience at the University of Pittsburgh. aging Blacks in Confederate states to join Union Army forces. “I think we should be celebrating it, but critically celebrating it, understanding that it was a military strategy,” Davis said. “We often act as if the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, but it was only slaves in states that had seceded from the union.”

Obama’s inaction about race discussed Following her remarks, many in the audience questioned Davis on how to advocate for change in the areas of racial equality, capitalism, poverty, the prison industrial complex, gun control, torture, and more. While both the audience and Davis criticized President Obama’s inaction on these issues, she said the

public should take the lead in demonstrating for the changes they want to see. “What was most important about the election of Obama was the people. I’m totally opposed to many of the policies and Obama’s failure to act, but I still want to support him,” Davis said. “We need to organize the kinds of demonstrations that let him know that we do not agree with his failure to address issues of race.” Davis continues to take part in demonstrations on the issues most important to her, particularly prison abolishment. Two days after her lecture at Pitt, on Jan. 26, her birthday, Davis was involved in protests at two of the largest women’s prisons in the country.

This story is special to the NNPA from The New Pittsburgh Courier.

‘Free Angela’ to focus on Davis’ arrest, acquittal Codeblack Films, a Lionsgate company, has acquired the theatrical rights to the politicalcrime-drama documentary about social activism icon Angela Davis. Hailed by the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival as “a fascinating chronicle of justice and strength,” “Free Angela’’ tells the story of how a young professor’s social justice activism implicates her in a botched kidnapping attempt that ends with a bloody shootout, four dead and her name on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list.

In this documentary, marking the 40th anniversary of her acquittal on charges of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy, Davis recounts the politics and actions that branded her a terrorist and simultaneously spurred a worldwide movement for her freedom as a political prisoner. “We knew that this film was important and would not only shed a spotlight on history, but provide a flashlight for our future,” said Jeff Clanagan, CEO of Codeblack Enterprises. “Angela Davis is a staple in history and continues to cross generational and cultural lines in her plight to fight for the freedom of all people.” The film is written and directed by Harlem filmmaker Shola Lynch.

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD COURIER

IFE/FAITH

February 15 - February 21, 2013

Mel Waiters among artists coming to Florida See page B2

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

City honors iconic R&B group See page B5

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY

SECTION

www.flcourier.com

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Immediate and extended family members of Jimmy Jackson pose at the repast after his funeral in June 2012. His family rallied to his side during a 10-day hospital vigil in Jacksonville.

‘I ain’t gon’ kill nobody’ Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories framing the life of James Roland Jackson, III, known as “Jimmy” to his family. BY PENNY DICKERSON SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Jimmy Jackson didn’t live to become a middle-aged man, much less reach the so-called “golden years” of post-retirement. He will never relive memories of a prosperous and exciting entrepreneurial career, of his daughter graduating from high school and college, of walking her down a church aisle as a proud father of the bride. When asked where her daddy is, five-year-old Denia Jackson points to the sky. She now believes bullets send daddies to heaven.

Wouldn’t carry a gun In a crime investigators are calling a random robbery, eyewitnesses claim two Black males approached Jimmy at the Silver Fox nightclub in Jacksonville at approximately 4 a.m. on June 2, 2012. The club was packed. The parking lot was full of cars that were parked in rows in pitch darkness. Jimmy was unarmed when the killers pumped four bullets into his 6-foot, 1-inch muscular frame. His body was gushing blood until first responders rushed him to Shands Hospital’s TraumaOne. Eleven days later, he was dead. The crime, originally listed as aggravated battery, became a homicide. Jimmy’s older brother Anthony Rozier encouraged Jimmy to carry a firearm for protection while working for his own artist representation company called “Exclusive J” and as road manager for rap artist Young Cash. Jimmy refused. He made a conscious decision not to own a gun. According to Rozier, Jimmy’s response was, “I don’t need

no gun ‘cause I ain’t gon’ kill nobody.”

Family dispatched After the shooting, family members were immediately in contact. Rozier arrived from nearby Mount Dora after receiving a call from his sister Brandi, a Jacksonville resident. The pair informed others with promising reports of Jimmy being “stable.” Jimmy’s father, James Roland Jackson, Jr., known as “Big Jimmy,” lived a parent’s worst nightmare. He endured a five-hour drive from Atlanta recalling a lifetime of fond memories until he reached his son’s bedside. Jimmy’s uncle, Jay Carr, got his call within hours of the shooting and had the heartbreaking task of informing Jimmy’s mother, Stephanye Rozier-Jackson. “I’d always prepared myself to get a phone call like this,“ said Carr. “Three of my four brothers were in prison before I graduated from high school because they couldn’t stay out of the street life.” But he never expected to get the call about Jimmy, an honest, hard-working young man with no criminal record and a bright future.

THE LIFE & DEATH OF

JIMMY JACKSON

No panic It was Rozier who convinced Iowa’s Graceland University to award Jimmy scholarships in football and basketball. “Jimmy couldn’t really play basketball as a kid, but out of nowhere he just got good,” Rozier explained. Rozier thought that his brother’s athleticism would help him endure a lengthy hospital stay. “When I learned my brother had been shot, it really didn’t hit me,” said Rozier. I thought it was once, and in the arm, so I didn’t panic.” One bullet grazed a rib, one hit his abdomen, a single bullet was lodged in his left buttock, and one punctured his right lung and remained embedded there. Following days of specialized medical care, Jimmy struggled to recover from his severe lung injury. His strong body weakened, both kidneys shut down, and he was placed on a dialysis machine.

Football, not gymnastics Shante C., the mother of Jimmy’s only child from their previous relationship arrived from Tallahassee. She reflected on their last conversation. “Jimmy was one for jokes. So when I shared that I was headed to sign our daughter up for gymnastics, his response was ‘What, you mean you don’t want to go sign her up for football?’ “We joked around about that, and he mentioned he had something to send his daughter. He continued trying to talk me into moving to Orlando where there were bigger and better opportunities.” Jimmy’s immediate and extended family would now unite for a 10-day bedside vigil.

to borrow Rozier’s 1971 Chevy Chevelle. He liked being ‘old-school.’ “My brother’s first love was music,” reflected Rozier. “He loved animals and kept reptiles and snakes, but was afraid of spiders. He would slide off a roof before he’d face a spider! Nothing in the world mattered if a spider came along.”

A father’s tough decisions

COURTESY OF SHANTE C.

Denia and Jimmy Jackson wait in line at an amusement park ride.

His brother’s keeper Jimmy gave his older brother Anthony a ‘middle-fingered salute’ and smiled when his sibling entered his hospital room. The lewd gesture was comedic communication between the two half-broth-

ers, who were very close. Anthony Rozier was Jimmy’s “go-to guy” for advice on personal, financial, and even some business decision. The last time he saw Jimmy was three weeks before the shooting. Despite owning a brand new Camaro, Jimmy wanted

Over days and into a second week, Big Jimmy watched his son’s condition deteriorate. Jimmy was transferred to the most critical area of Shands’ Intensive Care Unit and was on life support. He had no medical insurance. His health benefits from his AT&T “day job” had not yet kicked in. He remained heavily sedated, but at various intervals was able to communicate by recognizing simple sign language for “peace” and “I love you.” When surgeons informed Big Jimmy that the

dialysis machine was unable to flush his son’s kidneys, he reached out to trusted expertise. “I sought the advice of one of my Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers, Dr. Harry Marshall, a former Iraq War surgeon. It helped, because surgeons at Shands were using complex dialogue and I was conflicted,” said the elder Jackson. Jimmy was placed on life support. When the family contemplated taking him off, Jackson decided to allow doctors to try aggressive specialized treatment as a last-ditch effort to save Jimmy’s life. Jimmy’s baseline vitals and his medical condition improved, but family members remained by his side. Rotations included round trips to local and distant homes. Employment and domestic responsibilities were left unattended. Expenses mounted. “I hadn’t had a shower in days,” said Jackson. “Prior to a (hospital) shift change, I was assured that Jimmy was once again stable and decided to go back to Atlanta to reconcile my affairs.” He left Jimmy’s hospital bed in Jacksonville on Tuesday morning, June 13 with a renewed spirit of hope. The decision haunts him.

‘He’s gone’ Jimmy was in the hands of the Shands Critical Care Unit. Jimmy’s sister Brandi and his girlfriend Kiara Bailey were both present when his condition worsened with an eerie quickness. On the 11th day after the shooting, the familiar chain of cellular calls and text message once again ensued. Rozier called Carr, who then sent a text message to Big Jimmy, who was driving. “I looked at my phone and it read, ‘He’s gone,’” said Jackson. “I immediSee JIMMY, Page B2

CALENDAR & OBITS

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Popular jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd dies at 80 BY REED JOHNSON LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND

The legendary jazz band continues its tour at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg on Feb. 17 and the Boca Raton Mizner Park Amphitheater March 7. Details: www.preservationhall.com.

GINUWINE

As part of their Ladies Night Out tour, R&B crooners Ginuwine, Tank and Joe will perform at the James L. Knight Center on Feb. 15.

MEL WAITERS

The Jacksonville Blues Festival featuring Mel Waiters, TK Soul, Latimore, Millie Jackson and Theodis Ealey will be held at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts in Jacksonville on Feb. 17.

Jazz trumpeter and band leader Donald Byrd, whose clean, elegant phrasing made his reputation in the 1950s and ’60s before he began experimenting in the ’70s and ’80s with jazz-funk-R&B fusions on discs such as “Black Byrd” and “Thank You ... for F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life),” has died at age 80. He reportedly died Feb. Donald 4 in Dover, Del. Byrd Byrd was born Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II in Detroit and grew up immersed in that city’s rich blues and church-music culture (his father was a Methodist minister). He moved to New York in 1955 and quickly became one of the most soughtafter young trumpeters in America and an exponent of the hard-bop movement. Eventually, he would collaborate with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Critic Nat Hentoff hailed his debut album for heralding “one of the most important jazz trumpet talents in the past few years.”

Prominent conductor James DePreist dies ASSOCIATED PRESS

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Tampa: The City of Tampa Mayor’s African American Advisory Council presents a free symposium from 9 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor Campus. There will be sessions for those interested in running for political office, in identity theft, adult education and community improvement. More information: www.Tampagove.net/MAAAC. Tampa: A “Fruit From the Vineyard’ inspirational open mic showcase hosted by Minister Walter “Wally B’’ Jennings and former WTMP radio personality Big $ Ced will be held Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. at BRYCG Christian Center, 2501 W. Rio Vista Ave. The showcase will feature artistry, soulful expression, games and prizes. More information:

JIMMY from B1 ately turned around and drove back.” “We all thought Jimmy was gonna pull through,” offered Rozier.

No stranger to death According to her mother, Jimmy’s daughter Denia had already been exposed to several deaths at the young age of four. “My grandfather passed away the same night Jimmy was shot,” Shante C. explained. “My daughter is a very smart and bright child. Anybody who knows her can tell you she has the soul of someone who has been here before and I didn’t really feel I needed to wait and tell her. “So I told her the evening I found out. She sat there blank for a few minutes as if she was processing what I told her, and then she broke down in tears and repeated over and over again, “I want my daddy!” Rozier remained his brother’s keeper until the end. “The last thing I said to Jimmy was, “They gon’ have to cut your dreadlocks off for surgery.” He looked at me funny and I

BRYCG.ORG. Orlando: Churches and schools will participate in the Seventh Annual Washington Shores 5K Walk & Health Fair March 9 from 8 a.m. to noon at Hankins Park, 1340 Lake Park Court. Register as a team or individual online at www.orchd.com under the events section. Tampa: Forty contestants will compete for the Top Flan in Tampa Bay at Flan Fest on Feb. 23 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The fest is held in conjunction with Fiesta Day, Ybor City’s official day of celebration of its ethnic heritage and culture. Entertainment, vendors, children’s activities and flan tastings will be at this free event. More information: 813-241-2442. Orlando: Bel Biv Devoe, Dru Hill, El Debarge and other artists will be at Funk Fest 2013 at Tinker Field on April 6 beginning at 5 p.m. Concerts

said, ‘Just kidding.’” Rozier now had a responsibility he never imagined or wanted – getting things together in preparation for his baby brother’s funeral.

Orlando homegoing For an already emotionally stressed family, the subsequent funeral exasperated them from planning to payment. Postell’s Mortuary in Apopka was selected. A glitch elevated their grief when the family was informed two days before the Saturday morning service that Jimmy’s life insurance from his AT&T job could not be used for payment. Rozier had less than 48 hours to come up with $10,000 to pay for his brother’s funeral. “I called any and everybody,” said Rozier. “My grandmother, Mae Smith, gave $2,500 and I got $500 each from several different family members. Rap artist T-Pain also helped. I scrambled and came up with the money in one day.” Carr, a property supervisor who works for the city of Orlando, was willing to borrow from his pension to bury the nephew he remembers as a gentle and soft giant. “Everyone was willing to

also are scheduled in Jacksonville and Tampa. Complete lineup: http://funkfestconcerts.com. St. Petersburg: Youths ages 7 to 11 can enjoy a night of football, kickball, pingpong, foosball, video games and dance parties during “Freestyle Fridays” at the Fossil Park & Willis S. Johns Center, 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. First visit free; $6 each following visit. More information: 727-893-7756.

PORTLAND, Ore. – One of the early African-American conductors of a major orchestra and National Medal of Arts winner James DePreist has died at age 76. His manager, Jason Bagdade, says DePreist died at home on Feb. 8 in Scottsdale, Ariz. DePreist’s wife, Ginette DePreist, told

TOJ

‘Black Byrd’ made Billboard Top 100 In the early 1970s, Byrd joined a number of jazz artists, including Miles Davis, to begin fusing jazz with R&B and funk elements. His album “Black Byrd” peaked at No. 88 on the Billboard Top 100, and Byrd expanded his following among younger listeners who were coming to jazz through jazz-influenced popsoul groups such as Earth, Wind & Fire and other funk fusionists such as Roy Ayers. One standout track from that period, “Loving You” (from “Thank You ... for F.U.M.L.”), lays a trumpet’s guiding melodic line, plus silky lead male and backing female vocals, over a snapping bass line and cracking percussion.

Song heavily sampled by rappers Predictably, however, some jazz purists reacted with horror and condemned Byrd as a heretic. “The jazz people started eating on me,” Byrd recalled in one interview. Byrd also put together a new group, the Blackbyrds, from some of his music students at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Among their hit singles were “Walking in Rhythm” and “Rock Creek Park,” an atmospheric, erotically charged paean to the Washington oasis. The song has been heavily sampled by rap and hip-hop performers such as Public Enemy and Nas, and was used memorably on the soundtrack to the 1991 British film “Young Soul Rebels,” a same-sex love story set amid the tense world of England’s ethnic gangs and subcultures.

The Oregonian that her husband had been in and out of the hospital since a massive heart attack last March followed by openheart surgery. DePreist was director emeritus of The Juilliard School’s conducting proJames gram in New York. He was DePreist the Oregon Symphony’s music director from 1980 until 2003, transforming it from a parttime group into a full-time professional ensemble. DePreist also led orchestras in Quebec, Monte Carlo, Tokyo and Malmo, Sweden. He was the nephew of the celebrated contralto Marian Anderson, who died in 1993.

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.10:30 p.m. More information: 727-393-3597. Tampa: Songstress Alicia Keys brings her World On Fire tour to Florida with performances at the Tampa Bay Times Forum March 24 and Miami’s American Airlines Arena March 23.

help, but we were restricted by time,” said Carr. The family has applied for bereavement reimbursement from the state attorney’s office in Jacksonville and social service agencies. More than six months later, they haven’t received anything as of this writing.

No arms Jimmy Jackson’s body arrived at Postell’s Mortuary without his arms. He was a bone donor. Both limbs had been sawed off to preserve his bone marrow, which can save the lives of people with diseases like leukemia and breast and ovarian cancer. Jimmy’s decision to not carry a gun was as principled as his choice to leave behind two strong limbs to save a stranger’s life. A warm humanitarian until his untimely end, it was perhaps his most valiant contribution to society. The crime against Jimmy Jackson – and his family – remains an unsolved cold case.

Part 4: The Silver Fox nightclub and its violent history. You can read the first three parts of “The Life and Death of Jimmy Jackson” online at www. flcourier.com.

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CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

Stoj

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

PERSONAL FINANCE

How to do your taxes

FOR FREE

From family Features

oing to college; getting your first job; moving into your own place. To these rites of passage add one more: doing your own taxes. And, it’s not as scary as you might think. It’s not scary because there’s help available. It’s called Free File, and it’s offered exclusively from the IRS in partnership with nearly 15 leading tax software companies. About 3 mil-

lion people use it every year. Free File lets you choose brand-name software that does the hard work for you — all for free. And, it offers a fast, safe and free option for everyone. Brand-name tax software is available to those who made $57,000 or less in 2012 — which is about 70 percent of us. Earned more? Try Free File’s online fillable forms, the electronic alternative to IRS paper forms.

To view a video about Free File, use a scanner app on your smart phone to read this QR code.

Three simple steps to getting started

Checklist of materials to do your taxes

Step 1: Gather your tax information

Keep this list as a checklist of the items you will need to do your taxes. The IRS recommends keeping all tax-related documents for three years, in case of an audit. Tracking income-related documents can help you take full advantage of deductions available to you.

n Collect

your tax information and log on to Free File through the IRS website: www.IRS.gov/freefile.

Step 2: Choose an option Me Choose A Company” option helps you pick the brand-name software that will guide you through the tax process. n Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic documents, perform basic math calculations and are for people who are comfortable preparing their own paper tax returns.

 A copy of last year’s tax return

Step 3: Prepare and e-file your return

 Form 1099-G showing any state

n The “Help

n E-file

your return for free. No matter what option you choose, IRS and brand-name software providers use the most current technology to ensure tax information is encrypted, so it’s safe and secure when it’s transmitted. Free File is also available online 24/7, giving you the freedom to choose when and how you do your taxes.

Did you know? n Most

refunds are issued in less than 21 days. n Combining e-file with direct deposit is still the fastest way to get your refund. n Use “Where’s My Refund?” to get personalized refund information based on the processing of your tax return. n You can also use the IRS app, IRS2Go, to check the status of your refund. n Can’t meet April 15 deadline? Use Free File for a free extension; then use Free File to do your taxes by October 15.

 Valid Social Security numbers for yourself, spouse and children

 All income statements, i.e. W-2 forms, from all employers

 Interest/dividend statements, i.e. 1099 forms

refunds

 Unemployment compensation amount

 Social Security benefits  Expense receipts for deductions  Day care provider’s identifying number

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance n There

are thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites nationwide that offer free help to those earning around $51,000 or less. To locate the nearest VITA site, search for “VITA” on IRS.gov. n Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE), which is supported by AARP, offers free tax help to people who are age 60 and older. Locate the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site at AARP. org or call 1-888-227-7669. Some VITA/TCE sites even offer Free File. You can do it yourself on their computers.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) helps you keep more of what you earned No tax benefit offers a greater lifeline to working families than EITC. Yet, one out of every five eligible taxpayers fails to claim it, according to the IRS. Because of the economy, even more people may be eligible if they have had changes in their earned income. Here are a few things to keep in mind: n The maximum credit for 2012 tax returns is $5,891 for workers with three or more qualifying children. n Eligibility for the EITC is determined based on a number of factors including earnings, filing status and eligible children. Workers without qualifying children may be eligible for a smaller credit amount. Learn more at www.irs.gov/eitc and use the EITC Assistant, or ask your tax professional. If you are eligible for EITC, you also are eligible for free tax help at VITA sites nationwide or to use Free File at www.irs. gov/freefile.

EITC: Are you eligible? n You

must have earned income. adjusted gross income cannot be more than the limit. n Your filing status cannot be “Married filing separately.” n You must have a valid Social Security number. n You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. n You cannot file Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ. n Your investment income must be $3,200 or less. n Your

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

TOj B4

STOJ

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Breaking barriers Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States. Here’s a look at other firsts for American Blacks in politics and law:

events 1861 Civil War begins.

1863

President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing most slaves.

1865 J.S. Rock

1865 Rev. Henry Highland Garnet

Lawyer admitted to practice before U.S. Supreme Court

1870 Hiram R. Revels U.S. senator (Miss.) Joseph Rainey U.S. Rep. (S.C.)

Give a speech in the U.S. Capitol

1871 1872 Jefferson F. Long Charlotte Ray Speak in House of Representatives as congressman (Ga.)

Female lawyer allowed to practice in Washington, D.C.

1865 to 1877

Reconstruction. Constitution amended three times to provide equal rights to Black Americans.

1865

Civil War ends. The 13th Amendment ratified, outlawing slavery.

1868

The 14th Amendment ratified, granting citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States.

1911 William Henry Lewis

Appointed to a sub-Cabinet post

1926 Violette N. Anderson

Female lawyer admitted to practice before U.S. Supreme Court

1967 Thurgood Marshall

1870

U.S. Supreme Court Justice

The 15th Amendment ratified, guaranteeing Black Americans the right to vote.

1896

Plessy vs. Ferguson. Supreme Court decides “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

1954

Brown vs. Board of Education. Supreme Court finds segregated public schools unconstitutional.

1964

Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin. — Karsten Ivey, Sun Sentinel

1944 Harry S. McAlpin Reporter to attend White House press conference

1955 E. Frederic Morrow

Hold an executive position on a president’s staff

1960 Andrew Hatcher

1966 Edward Brooke

1977 Patricia Harris

1977 Clifford Alexander Jr.

Assistant presidential press secretary

Female Cabinet secretary (HUD*)

1989 L. Douglas Wilder Elected governor of a state (Va.)

1966 Robert C. Weaver

U.S. senator (first since Recon- Cabinet secretary (Housing and Urban struction) (Mass.) Development)

1967 Carl Stokes

Mayor of a large city (Cleveland)

1968 Shirley Chisholm Female U.S. representative

Secretary of the Army

1989 Colin Powell

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

1992 Carol Moseley Braun Female U.S. senator (Ill.)

2000 Donna Brazile

Manager of a presidential campaign

2001 Condoleezza Rice National security advisor Colin Powell Secretary of State

Sources: African American Registry, U.S. News & World Report, Infoplease.com, BlackPast.org, MCT Photos courtesy of: MCT, Library of Congress

Stoj

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

ashley

randy

Ashley Blake is a current Miami undergrad studying international relations and dance. The 19-year-old plans to use her modeling talents as a way to build up and bring awareness to third world countries. Contact Ashley at facebook.com/ ashleyblakethemodel, twitter.com/ashleyblake_ or ashleyblake.co. CREDIT: JWRPhotography

Randy Corinthian is a saxophonist, producer and educator who holds degrees in music from Florida A&M University and Florida State University. He has shared the stage with Ron Isley and Smokie Norful and his music has been featured on MTV, VH1 and BET. Contact Randy at rcmusicmusicgroup.com or 754-422-1278.

Their day did come: Ohio city honors iconic group, song BY MALCOLM X ABRAM AKRON BEACON JOURNAL (MCT)

MCT

A 1963 photo of Ruby and the Romantics (from left) Leroy Fann, Ed Roberts, Ronald Mosely and George Lee surrounding Ruby Nash. On Feb. 7, the city of Akron celebrated the song, “Our Day Will Come,” and the group that recorded it.

AKRON, Ohio — On Feb. 9, 1963, a bossa novabased, lovelorn, pop tune, “Our Day Will Come,” recorded by an Akron vocal group, entered the Billboard Hot 100. The tune by Ruby and the Romantics became the No. 1 song in the country, a global hit that is still heard on radio, television and films, and has been covered by artists such as Katharine McPhee and Amy Winehouse. Fifty years later, the city of Akron celebrated the song and the group that recorded it by declaring Feb. 7 as Ruby and the Romantics Day in a ceremony at the City Council Chambers. With the seats filled with friends, fans and well-wishers, the group’s lead sing-

er and lone survivor, Ruby Nash Garnett, joined about a dozen members of the families of the Romantics — Ed Roberts, George Lee, Ronald Mosley and Leroy Fann — to be feted by the city.

Emotional program Hosted by Billy Soule, assistant to the mayor for community relations, the program featured proclamations from local representatives of the NAACP and the Akron Urban League, in whose former building the group used to compete in talent shows in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. It also included musical and historical information about 1963, and presentations by Soule and Akron City Council President Garry Moneypenny. Nash Garnett, 78, sat

quietly alongside her husband, Robert Garnett Sr., as the group’s history was recounted. The program ended with a performance of “Our Day Will Come” from Jasmine Moore, an eighth-grader at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts. The rendition nearly brought Nash Garnett to tears and garnered a hug of approval and words of encouragement from the song’s original singer.

‘Overwhelming’ honor Nash Garnett was not originally expected to attend the ceremony, as she still is grieving the loss of her son Reginald Garnett, who died Dec. 25 at age 38. “My husband talked me into coming,” Nash Garnett said following the ceremony. “He said my son would

have wanted me to be here. He couldn’t be here, but I changed my mind and I said I’ll try it, and I’m glad I did. “This right here was a big surprise and it was very nice. … It was really overwhelming, that’s all I can say.” Nash Garnett said that accolades and awards are not particularly important to her. If the honor had come from another source, “it wouldn’t have meant that much,” she said. But it was special receiving the official recognition from the city of Akron, where she returned in 1971 after the group disbanded. “Especially from home, hometown people,” she said. Of the group’s touring days, she said, “even when we were all over the place, I wanted to go home. You know home is home.”

Grammys evenly distributed among a variety of younger acts BY DAN DELUCA PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER (MCT)

British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, bluesrock duo the Black Keys, and the pop band fun. won big at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, where no single act emerged as a dominant force. Mumford & Sons won album of the year for its strummy sophomore release, “Babel.” Fun. took home best new artist and song, for “We Are Young,” its collaboration with Janelle Monáe. The Belgian-Australian singer Gotye and R&B singer Frank Ocean were also significant winners at the 55th annual Grammys, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote this song,” fun.’s Nate Ruess, 30, said in accepting the best song golden gramophone. “If you’re watching in HD,

you can see our faces, and you can see that we’re not very young.”

Prince a presenter Gotye, born Wouter De Backer, won record of the year for his hit “Somebody That I Used to Know” and accepted with the singer Kimbra, who is featured on the song. Better still for Gotye, the award was presented by Prince, who said: “Ooh, I love this song.” Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys won three awards, best rock album for “El Camino” and rock performance and song for “Lonely Boy.” Auerbach also won as best producer. Like a shuffling iPod, the telecast jumped among genres and styles. A country performance by Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley gave way to a tribute to late “American Bandstand” host Dick Clark by Grammy

Frank Ocean performs at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday.

host LL Cool J, who introduced R&B singer Miguel and weed-loving rapper Wiz Khalifa, who gave the award for country song to Carrie Underwood.

Ocean tops Brown Ocean’s “Channel Orange” captured urban contemporary album. He picked up another award for his role in writing JayZ and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” but was shut out in the three major categories for which he was nominated. In the urban contemporary category, Ocean went up against Chris Brown, weeks after the two had a dustup in a Los Angeles parking lot. To cap off a bad weekend for Brown, who crashed his Porsche into a wall on Feb. 2 while he said he was fleeing paparazzi, Ocean won the face-off, with “Channel Orange” topping “Fortune.”

ROBERT GAUTHIER/ LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Other multiple winners, unsurprisingly, included West and Jay-Z, who won three awards, including best rap song and performance for “Niggas in Paris.” More surprising among the multiple-award-winners was jazz pianist Chick Corea, who won best improvised solo for “Hot House,” with Garry Burton, and best instrumental composition. Carrie Underwood also won two, for country solo performance and country song, for “Blown Away.”

Retro-classy performance The most anticipated performance of the night came from Justin Timberlake, the ‘N Sync-er-turnedactor, who in March will release his first album in seven years, “The 20/20 Experience. Timberlake wore evening dress for the single “Suit & Tie” and showed off a fine falsetto as Jay-Z joined him and as the TV screen went black-andwhite, to ensure that every-

one understood how retroclassy it was. More smoking than that was the Black Keys performance, in which the Akron, Ohio, duo were joined by members of New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Dr. John, in full Night Tripper regalia. Better still was a tribute to late Band singer and drummer Levon Helm that featured Elton John, Mavis Staples, Zack Brown, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, and Mumford & Sons, all taking turns singing spirited verses of “The Weight.” Lifetime Achievement Grammys were given to Ravi Shankar, the Temptations, Carole King, bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins, Patti Page, classical pianist Glenn Gould, and jazz bassist Charlie Haden. For the complete list of winners, visit www.grammy.com.

FOOD

TOj B6

TOJ

FEBRUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Cod Moroccan-Style with Mango-Carrot Slaw

Healthy recipes for

Lent

FROM Family Features

Cooking nutritious — and delicious — meatless meals for Lent has never been easier. These recipes start with Alaska Seafood, which is additive-free, lean, and full of healthful vitamins, minerals, nutrients and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. To find more easy, delicious, and healthy Lenten recipes, visit www.wildalaskaflavor.com. Cod Moroccan-Style with Mango-Carrot Slaw Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 4 4 Alaska Cod fillets (4 to 6 ounces each), fresh, thawed or frozen 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (2 to 3 shallots) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger 1 can (14.5 ounces) vegetable broth, divided 1 teaspoon sugar 4 cloves garlic, chopped Large pinch of saffron 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 2 cups dry couscous 1/4 cup toasted almond slices

Mango Slaw: 1 mango, peeled and sliced (about 2 cups) 1/2 red bell pepper, finely sliced 1/2 cup shredded carrot 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon grated lime peel 2 teaspoons orange juice 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Rinse any ice glaze from frozen fillets under cold water; pat dry with paper towel. Heat heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of cod with 1 tablespoon oil. Place in heated skillet and cook, uncovered, about 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Shake pan occas ionally to keep from sticking. Turn cod over, cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 6 to 8 minutes for frozen cod or 3 to 4 minutes for

fresh/thawed fish. Cook just until fish is opaque throughout. Remove from pan; keep warm. In the same pan, sauté shallots in 1 tablespoon oil just until soft, about 2 minutes. Add cilantro, ginger, 1 cup vegetable broth, sugar, garlic, saffron, cinnamon and allspice; cook until thickened. Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package directions, using remaining vegetable broth as part of the liquid. Slaw: In large bowl, combine mango, bell pepper, carrot and cilantro. In separate small bowl, blend lime juice and peel, orange juice, honey and cinnamon. Pour dressing over slaw; toss. For each serving: Place about 3/4 cup couscous on a plate; top with 1/2 cup mango slaw. Top with a cod fillet. Pour 1/4 cup shallot sauce over fish; garnish with 1 tablespoon toasted almonds.

Salmon Penne with Green Beans Vinaigrette Warm Halibut Potato Salad Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Servings: 6 1 pound small white or red new potatoes 4 Alaska halibut fillets (4 to 6 ounces each), fresh, thawed or frozen 1 tablespoon olive oil Pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon dried dill 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped 1 cup fresh (or canned) mandarin orange segments 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt 1 package (5 ounces) arugula Dressing: 1/2 cup green onions, sliced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup orange juice 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Boil potatoes in salted water just until tender; drain and cool slightly. Slice potatoes in 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Meanwhile, rinse any ice glaze from frozen halibut under cold water; pat dry with paper towel.

Heat heavy nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat. Brush both sides of halibut with olive oil. Place in heated skillet and cook, uncovered, about 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Shake pan occasionally to keep from sticking. Turn halibut over; season with pepper and dried dill. Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 6 to 8 minutes for frozen halibut, or 3 to 4 minutes for fresh/ thawed fish. Cook just until fish is opaque throughout. Break into large chunks (removing skin, if any). Mix parsley, celery, red pepper, orange segments, fresh dill, and seasoning salt together in large bowl. Add potatoes to celery mixture; stir. For dressing, sauté green onions in olive oil. Add orange juice and Dijon; whisk. While warm, pour dressing over salad. Add halibut chunks and mix gently. To serve, portion a handful of arugula onto plates; top with halibut potato salad. Cook’s Tip: If using canned mandarins, omit orange juice and use the juice in the can.

Healthy, Delicious Dining All Year Long

Warm Halibut Potato Salad

Eating seafood at least twice a week can help protect against heart disease, according to USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To keep hearts healthy, the USDA recommends eating eight ounces of seafood per week, which is equivalent to two four-ounce serv-

Salmon Penne with Green Beans Vinaigrette Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Servings: 5 (2 cups each) 12 ounces whole wheat penne (or other pasta) 1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 12 ounces Alaska salmon, fresh, thawed or frozen Salt and freshly ground black pepper Lemon wedges and sprigs of thyme, for garnish Cook pasta in boiling water for about 8 minutes, or according to package instructions, until al dente. Add green beans during the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain pasta and beans, reserving 3 tablespoons cooking liquid, then return pasta, beans and reserved liquid to pan. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme leaves, garlic salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. While pasta cooks, rinse any ice glaze from frozen salmon under cold water; pat dry with paper towel. Heat heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of salmon with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place in heated skillet and cook, uncovered, about 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Shake pan occasionally to keep from sticking. Turn salmon over; cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 6 to 8 minutes for frozen salmon or 3 to 4 minutes for fresh/ thawed fish. Cook just until fish is opaque throughout. Break into large chunks (removing skin, if any); add to pasta. Cook and stir gently over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon wedges and thyme sprigs.

ings. Here are ways you can add delicious, heart-healthy seafood to your diet: • Choose seafood such as Alaska pollock, cod, halibut, sole, King and Snow crab, black cod and salmon, which offer nutritional benefits such as heart-healthy omega-3s. • Prepare seafood so it’s lean and flavorful by using healthy cooking methods

such as grilling, roasting or baking, and skipping calorie- and fat-laden methods such as frying, breading, or by adding rich sauces. • Add flavor using spices and fresh or dried herbs as seasonings. • Serve seafood with healthful sides, such as whole grains, roasted vegetables and crisp greens.