‘Sunday Best’ contestant to perform at local event SEE PAGE 3
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CHARLENE CROWELL: Abusive debt collectors target African-American consumers SEE PAGE 4
JETBLUE DONATES HUNDREDS OF BOOKS TO KIDS AT TURIE T. ELEMENTARY SEE PAGE 2
East Central Florida’s Black Voice JANUARY 7 - JANUARY 13, 2016
YEAR 41 NO. 1
www.daytonatimes.com
MLK banquet to draw attention to public health Health care injustice to be topic of Jan. 16 event in Daytona BY DAYTONA TIMES STAFF
“Injustice Redefined: The Health of the Beloved Community’’ is the 2016 theme of one of the area’s main Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. events. And speaking on the subject will be one of the country’s leading public health experts. Dr. Adewale Troutman is an accomplished leader in public
health who has dedicated over 40 years to improving health and health equity. He will be the keynote speaker at the MLK Scholarship Banquet, which will take place on Jan. 16 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Dr. Adewale Oceanfront ReTroutman sort (North Tower), 100 N. Atlantic Ave. The banquet begins at 6:30 p.m. He is the associate dean for
Health Equity and Community Engagement at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health. He has been at the university in Tampa since 2010.
Major policies, initiatives Troutman is the past president of the American Public Health Association, which has more than 25,000 members. He also was featured in the nationally televised PBS series, “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” Troutman formerly was the director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and
Wellness, where he instituted policies and initiatives as a model for community health. He also introduced practical measures to encourage healthy lifestyles, including passing one of the strongest anti-smoking ordinances in the country and establishing the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement to encourage residents to become more active; established the Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities at the department and initiated a partnership with the University of Louisville to research and identify the needs of the underserved in
‘All Lives Matter’ vigil targets violence
Louisville, Ky. “Dr. Troutman is an awesome advocate whose experience is a valuable tool for our community,” said the Rev. John T. Long III, president of MLK Celebration for Florida, Inc. “While we continue to pursue social, civil, and economic equality, health care inequality is an area of injustice that has been overlooked. This weekend’s events will celebrate the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while encouraging action to complete the work that still remains.” Please see BANQUET, Page 2
Local pastor among authors at weekend book festival BY PENNY DICKERSON DAYTONA TIMES
Derek T. Triplett is the founding pastor of Daytona Beach’s Hope Fellowship and the author of a new book for men aptly titled “When I Became A Man.’’ He will be one of the featured authors at the F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival to be held Jan. 8 and 9 at the Midtown Cultural and Educational Center, 925 George Engram Blvd. Triplett has spent over 20 years in pastoral ministry and over 25 years preaching the gospel. A native of East Illinois, he currently serves the Daytona Beach community in numerous civic capacities, including the Daytona Beach Rotary Club and the Civic League of the Halifax Area. He also is past president of the Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance.
Dropping Bishop title PHOTOS BY DUANE C. FERNANDEZ SR./ HARDNOTTSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Krystal Brown of the Families United 4 Justice organization speaks at the “All Lives Matter’’ rally.
City ends 2015 with 10 murders after club shooting BY DAYTONA TIMES STAFF
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Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood addresses the crowd.
aytona Beach residents and city leaders are coming together in hopes that 2016 will not be a repeat of the violence that occurred in the area last year. A candlelight vigil titled “All Lives Matter’’ took place the evening of Jan. 3 outside of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church. It was a call to end the violence in Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood and Commissioner Patrick Henry spoke at the event. Fresh on the minds of those attending the event was the New Year’s Eve shooting outside of the
Biarritz Club on Pearl Street. Two men were killed and a third injured in the shooting at the nightclub. The deaths marked the ninth and 10th murders in the city in 2015. Most of the murders were as a result of gun violence. According to authorities, a warrant for the suspect’s arrest was issued this week. Police were frustrated that the suspected shooter got away with the help of people at the club. Surveillance video shows the incident started as a verbal argument that turned violent. Organizers of the Jan. 3 vigil say similar events are being planned for DeLand and Palatka.
‘Space Cowboy’ Cleon Smith dies at 62 BY DAYTONA TIMES STAFF
Cleon “Fly’’ Smith, a local singer, songwriter and musician who also was known as the “Original Space Cowboy,’’ died Dec. 29 at age 62. Smith, who was born and raised in Daytona Beach, released “Space Cowboy’’ in 1976 and “Space Cowboy II’’ in 1978 under an independent label. He had shared the stage with a number of popular performers from James Brown to Kool and the Gang, his brother Edward Smith told the Daytona Times.
ALSO INSIDE
A memorial service for Cleon Smith will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 16 at Pinello Funeral Home, 1036 Derbyshire Road, Daytona Beach.
Mainland graduate Smith graduated from Mainland High School in 1971 and attended then-Daytona Beach Community College. “At the time, he was vice president of the Black Cultural Society and deejay for the campus radio station,’’ Edward Smith said. He added that his brother was a musician “all of his life’’ and
said the primary instruments he played were bass guitar and the keyboard. Smith came from a family of talented musicians. His grandfather was jazz musician Landis “Pops’’ Adams. Edward Smith, who lives in Orlando, also is a musician. Despite years of setbacks, Cleon Smith continued to perform and write music. His brother stated how he was amazed at the number of songs he had written, which were catalogued by BMI, a music rights organization.
“I choose to not use the title Bishop when promoting my book because we want to make sure the book doesn’t just address the church audience. It’s for men in general, one that every man should study and every woman should read,” said Triplett. Triplett’s book has taken on the challenges of all men through an analysis of their common challenges: balancing a professional, personal and spiritual life in this fast-paced world. From financial issues to dressing for success, Triplett is able to help men who want to get organized and on track spiritually.
Promoting literacy For the past five years, F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival director Donna GrayBanks has remained at the forefront of exposing Volusia County residents to books and promoting established and emerging authors. F.R.E.S.H. stands for fiction, romance, erotica, spiritual and health. “Literacy is the ability to read, view, write, design, speak and listen in a way
‘Creative musician’ Pamela Faison Kirdon, a Daytona Beach native who now lives in California, grew up with Smith. “I remember Cleon him as an aweSmith some, creative musician. Like so many others, he went to Hollywood with big hopes and dreams with his own book of original recordings. The music industry welcomed him under the guise of “a gifted musician” all the while filling his head with it’s just a formality so that your royalty rights are protected. “They made millions off his
Please see FESTIVAL, Page 2
music (“Space Cowboy,’’ “Ride the White Horse, etc.). They didn’t even give him a ticket home. He came back with some new threads, his suitcase, a drug habit and a broken spirit from which he never recovered.’’
Performed local Kirdon said she did recall watching Smith’s band perform years ago at the Daytona Beach Bandshell during a spring break festival. “He and his band were amazing. He introduced his band and told everyone he was Cleon Smith, the Original Space Cowboy.’’
RELIGION: HOW INMATE FOR 24 YEARS BECAME PASTOR AT MEGACHURCH | PAGE 5 SPORTS: BETHUNE-COOKMAN BASKETBALL PLAYER EARNS MEAC HONOR | PAGE 7
Please see SMITH, Page 2