Understanding and finding relief for body pain SEE PAGE 8
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DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR.: Black press: The voice of Black America SEE PAGE 4
ONCE ‘WONDER BOY’ OF NASCAR WINS BRICKYARD 400 SEE PAGE 7
East Central Florida’s Black Voice JULY 31 - AUGUST 6, 2014
YEAR 39 NO. 31
www.daytonatimes.com
Election signs are on the way Not to worry. The races in Volusia are heating up. BY ASHLEY D. THOMAS DAYTONA TIMES aysheldarcel@gmail.com
It’s that time of year again. Election season. However, residents in Daytona Beach may have noticed there aren’t a relatively large number of signs up throughout the city just yet. One reason is due to the type and number of elections going to the primary this election year.
But don’t be mistaken. Many, many more are to come. According to the City of Daytona Beach’s Development and Administrative Department, signage can be erected no earlier than 60 days prior to an election and must be removed within 14 days afterward. The Volusia County Department of Elections has scheduled the 2014 primary election on Aug. 26, with early voting beginning Aug. 16 and lasting through Aug. 23, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The general election will be held Nov. 4 and the polls will again be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Early voting will commence on
Oct. 25 lasting through Nov. 1, a mere seven days. Early voting lasted a full 14 days in 2010.
The candidates One of the most hotly contested races this year is for the Volusia County Council at-large seat. But not so fast. There are two women and one man running making up two Democrats and one Republican and two Blacks and one White. Typical stereotypes should be set aside. Webster Barnaby, a Black male Republican, and Patricia Northey, a White female Democrat who also sits on the Volusia County Council, both seek to
unseat current At-Large Council Member Joyce Cusack, a Black female Democrat. Cusack, a former eight-year state legislator says she is the “voice of all people,” and that her “only special interest will continue to be the people of Volusia County,” adding that she will continue to be a tenacious advocate and leading voice for everyday people. Northey, an eight-year Council member says that Volusia deserves a “strong committed leader who understands the issues affecting us.” She adds that she has provided that kind of leadership every day since she took office and will continue to work for residents, making
‘A PASSION FOR PREPARATION’
Campbell Elementary banquet tickets on sale
a difference, every day. Barnaby, a Deltona City Commissioner, born in Birmingham, England, says that he is concerned about the direction of Volusia County, “Almost every day, television, the Internet and print media inundate us with stores about scandals and wasteful spending involving Volusia County Government.” He adds that he believes the council has to find cost effective ways to reduce the cost of government..
Big bucks How does your favorite candiPlease see ELECTION, Page 2
Backpacks for kids, music for adults at Aug. 16 Community Unity Festival BY ASHLEY D. THOMAS DAYTONA TIMES aysheldarcel@gmail.com
COURTESY OF MRS. GENEVA LOPER
A banquet honoring Campbell Elementary’s legacy is set for Saturday, Aug. 23 at 2 p.m. at the John H. Dickerson Community Center, Daytona Beach. Tickets are available at W’s Beatitudes Barber Shop, 522 Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd., Daytona, or from the event organizing committee, including Opal Badie, Dorcas Butts Morris, Sheryl Conage Lewis, Pamela Pandy, Lucy Stewart-Desmore and Percy Williamson, Sr.
Muslims mark end of Ramadan BY ASHLEY D. THOMAS DAYTONA TIMES aysheldarcel@gmail.com
M
uslims across Volusia County celebrated the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday Monday, marking the end of the monthlong fast of Ramadan. About 1,500 people came out to the celebration held in Daytona Beach. “This is one of our two most important holidays of the year,” Imam Belal Shemman Alzuhiry of the Islamic Center in Daytona Beach told the Daytona Times. The three-day-long holiday is a time to celebrate the completion of Ramadan, a month devoted to worship and repentance during
ALSO INSIDE
which observing Muslims abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset every day.
‘Starving’ at the end “This helps us feel the way that the poorest are feeling. At the end of the month, you are starving. We don’t eat and drink for the entire day, from dawn to sunset. You abstain yourself from food and drink and sexual activity during the day. There is a lot of moral and spiritual lessons that we learn from Ramadan. The first of which you come near and close to God,” Alzuhiry explained. “We strengthen our relationship with God. We stand before God at night and we pray. We ask him for forgiveness, we ask him to end the wars and oppression. We have about 4,000 homeless people (in Volusia County). “I told the people in my sermon, ‘You feel hungry for a couple hours, now go out and do something.’ Some people are feeling this their entire life sometimes. They are hungry,
A full day of live music, food and fun is in store for the entire family at the “Community Unity Festival” on Saturday, Aug. 16, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Daisy Stocking Park, 550 Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd. The festival will give residents a family-friendly venue and ageappropriate activities to celebrate summer’s end in the heart of Daytona Beach. Mayor Derrick Henry will complete the last leg of his three area stops at the festival where 3,000 backpacks will have been distributed as part of the Mayor’s Backpack Giveaway from 9 a.m. to noon. The giveaway is now in its eighth year and is for children ages 5 to 18. “I want our youth to have adequate school supplies. Having the right supplies could make the difference between a successful school year and a failure. I am honored to be able to continue this worthwhile tradition,” said Henry, a longtime educator.
Activities for youth, adults There are three distinct times where age specific activities are planned for the festival including the backpack giveaway; a “Youth on the Move,” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring exercise programs, entertainment, games and a DJ sponsored by the Second Avenue Merchants Association (SAMA). Adults, 21 years of age and older, are welcome from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for live music by local favorites LA Robinson & Streetlife. Refreshments will be available for purchase throughout the day courtesy of local Daytona Beach businesses.
Other giveaway dates
DUANE FERNANDEZ/HARDNOTTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Marking the monthlong fast and end of Ramadan, folks Please see CELEBRATE, Page 3 chow down on donuts, brownies and other goodies.
COMMENTARY: WALTER FIELDS: THE LYNCHING OF ERIC GARNER | PAGE 4 SPORTS: CHANGES TO COLLEGE LOAN PROGRAM COULD HELP BLACKS | PAGE 8
Backpacks from the mayor’s backpack giveaway also will be distributed at the following dates, times and locations in Daytona Beach: Aug. 9, Yvonne Scarlett-Golden Community Center, 1000 Vine Street, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Aug. 11, Lenox Park, 825 S. Grandview Avenue 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Water and other beverages also will be served at the above locations. Children must be Daytona Beach residents to receive a backpack and parents’ identification indicating residency may be requested.
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JULY 31 – AUGUST 6, 2014
Miami jury convicts last two defendants in Medicare scam BY JAY WEAVER THE MIAMI HERALD (MCT)
MIAMI — The nation’s biggest mental health scam against Medicare — totaling $200 million in false billings — ended with a quick bang Monday when the last two defendants in a long-running probe were found guilty in Miami federal court. The health care fraud convictions of Roger Bergman, 65, a physician’s assistant, and Rodolfo Santaya, 55, a patient recruiter, capped the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation that sent about 40 South Florida defendants to prison — including Lawrence Duran, the former co-owner of the Miami-based American Therapeutic Corp. Prosecutor Nicholas Surmacz said the two defendants, convicted after less than three hours of jury deliberations, participated in a “massive conspiracy to rip off Medicare.” U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez ordered that Bergman and Santa-
ya, both of Miami-Dade County, be placed in custody at the Miami Federal Detention Center as they await what are likely to be lengthy prison terms.
50-year sentence Federal agents raided American Therapeutic’s seven clinics from South Florida to Orlando in the fall of 2010, leading to Duran’s guilty plea that sent him to prison for 50 years — the longest sentence ever for a Medicare fraud offender. Duran and his girlfriend, Marinella Valera, the coowner and therapist sentenced to 35 years, lived in a Miami bay-front condo and tooled around in a Maserati when their business was shuttered after pocketing $87 million in Medicare proceeds. On Monday, Justice Department lawyers said that Bergman and Santaya carried out the chain’s fraudulent activity at a Homestead clinic, where patients suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other ail-
ments were exploited solely for swindling the taxpayer-funded Medicare program. Prosecutors said hundreds of patients were in such bad condition that they could not have benefited from any group psychotherapy sessions at American Therapeutic. “They didn’t even know what country they were in … they were using trash cans as restrooms,” Surmacz said in closing arguments to the 12-person jury, which convicted the two defendants on conspiracy, fraud and other counts.
Bogus tests The prosecutor said that Bergman conducted bogus evaluations of hundreds of patients and falsified their records to dupe Medicare into believing they needed the costly mental health services. Surmacz said the certified physician’s assistant processed the patients for a psychiatrist, Dr. Alberto Ayala, now convicted, who
was sometimes out of the country despite records purportedly showing he was at the Homestead clinic seeing patients. Bergman was paid $90,000 a year before leaving American Therapeutic in 2008. The prosecutor said Santaya, the recruiter, delivered a stream of patients to the Homestead clinic, which generated $2.9 million in fraudulent Medicare billing activity. Santaya not only received kickbacks from American Therapeutic’s marketing director and others, but he also used some of that money to pay patients with valuable Medicare cards between 2006 and 2009.
Paid to lie Santaya was found guilty of accepting a pair of kickbacks — $9,495 and $8,250 — but the prosecutor said that represented only a snapshot of the recruiter’s cash payments from American Therapeutic. Agents with the FBI and Health and Human Services also discovered that
Brian France trying to keep NASCAR popular BY JIM PELTZ LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)
NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski remembers slamming into a rival’s car in Phoenix a few years ago, only to be summoned after the race by officials who scolded him for being too aggressive on the track. Then NASCAR Chairman Brian France, the third generation of his family to run stock car racing’s empire, walked into the room. France “looked over at them and said, ‘Are we yelling at him?’ ” Keselowski said. “Nobody really answered. Then [France] turned and said to me, ‘I love what you’re doing. Don’t change a thing.’ And he walked out.” Fender-banging is part of NASCAR’s appeal, one reason the sport draws tens of thousands of spectators to tracks each weekend along with the 4 million to 8 million who watch Sprint Cup Series races on TV. It’s a multibillion-dollar sport that France runs as a family business, just as his ancestors did.
Became chair in 2003 His grandfather, “Big Bill” France Sr., founded NASCAR in 1947, uniting the Southern sport and moving it from mostly small dirt tracks to highspeed paved venues such as Daytona International Speedway. Brian France’s father, Bill France Jr., then ran NASCAR for three decades as star drivers such as Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt helped lure corporate sponsors and TV contracts that turned stock car racing into a mainstream sport. Brian France became chairman in 2003 and has implemented some controversial changes that have again transformed NASCAR, while tackling the economic collapse of the late-2000s. But whereas his grandfather and father were outsized personalities who reveled in commanding NASCAR in full view at speedways each week, Brian France is one of the most publicity-averse bosses of any major American sport. He has that luxury because NASCAR, as a family business, is unlike the NFL, MLB or NBA, leagues with individual teams that elect a commissioner to oversee their sport and become its public face. Roger Goodell, Bud Selig and Adam Silver would draw attention in any major city. France probably wouldn’t, and he prefers it that way. On many NASCAR weekends he’s not even at the track or might make a brief, unannounced visit to the speedway. “I’m not part of the show,” he said.
Not a hands-on guy As a result, France, 51, has long battled perceptions that he’s a wealthy, disengaged policy buff more interested in think-tank studies than the earsplitting action on the track. The criticism “bothers me, I’m human,” France said. “[They say] I’m a technocrat ... that I’m somehow aloof, that everything is going on and I’m sort of there having a cup of coffee watching it all happen.” Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, a 22-year Cup series veteran who also drove while Bill France Jr. was in charge, said, “People don’t see [Brian France] as much at the track and they say, ‘Oh, well, he doesn’t know what’s going on.’ Is he a hands-on type of guy like his dad was? No, he’s not. But that doesn’t make him less effective. The world has changed.”
Santaya, a certified nursing assistant, deposited about $50,000 in his bank account in 2009 alone. Surmacz, the prosecutor, said that Santaya paid his patients to lie about suffering from mental health problems and to keep silent. “(He) trained his patients about what they needed to say to fake their mental health problems,” Surmacz said.
‘Horrible, horrible fraud’ Defense attorneys for the physician’s assistant and patient recruiter tried to portray their clients as “outsiders” who knew nothing about American Therapeutic’s fraudulent scheme that spanned most of the past decade. “There is no question that this was a horrible, horrible fraud,” Bergman’s attorney, Terence Lenamon, told jurors during closing arguments. “But the government of the United States wants you to believe it was absolute.” Lenamon, whose client
testified, said he was just doing his job. “He was an outsider. He was never part of the group,” the attorney argued. “He never fit in. He never did anything illegal.” Santaya’s lawyer, Emmanuel Perez, said his client “never conspired with Mr. Bergman or anyone else to commit Medicare fraud.” To make their case, Justice Department lawyers deployed fraudulent billing records, patient ledgers, bank accounts, corporate emails and key cooperating witnesses. Among them: American Therapeutic’s former co-owner, Valera, and the company’s one-time marketing director, Margarita Acevedo, who was in charge of doling out millions of dollars to patient recruiters and Medicare beneficiaries. Robert Zink, a Justice Department lawyer, countered that the two defendants, Bergman and Santaya, may have claimed “they were not part of the fraud, stink and stench of American Therapeutic. But they were.”
Allen Chapel hosting Family and Friends weekend Aug. 9-10 FROM STAFF REPORTS
STEPHEN M. DOWELL/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT
NASCAR CEO Brian France speaks during a news conference at Daytona International Speedway on July 5.
Pushed for diversity Brian France’s spree of changes included two versions of safer, redesigned race cars (the first bombed with fans). He also implemented a 10-race championship playoff called the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a format so foreign to motor racing, which traditionally awards titles to any driver who accumulates the most points over an entire season, that it “didn’t help my popularity either,” France said. This year he changed the qualifying format for races in hopes of boosting fan interest in the time trials. He has also fostered long-awaited gains in NASCAR’s diversity. A Black driver, Darrell Wallace Jr., won a truck series race last year in Martinsville, Va., becoming the first African American to win at the sport’s national level in nearly 50 years. France also negotiated NASCAR’s first national TV package that started in 2001, and later inked two more huge TV-rights deals. The first was a $4.5-billion contract that began in 2007, the second a 10-year, $8.2-billion deal that starts next year. “Brian’s fingerprints are on billions and billions of dollars of value that have flowed into the sport,” said Paul Brooks, a former NASCAR executive and a close France friend.
Sagging popularity France also dealt with a cheating scandal last year when the Michael Waltrip Racing team used deliberate late pit stops and other actions at a race in Richmond, Va., in hopes of manipulating the finish to get one of its drivers in the Chase playoff. France levied a record $300,000 fine against the team, penalized its three drivers and added another driver, Gordon, to the Chase because France believed the cheating left Gordon at an unfair disadvantage. Then France held a news conference to assure the public that NASCAR’s integrity was intact. “You had no question … who was in charge,” driver Kevin Harvick said. But as NASCAR reaches the midpoint of another season — the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was Sunday — France faces what might be an intractable challenge: NASCAR’s popularity has sagged. Attendance has tumbled 15 percent or more and TV ratings have dropped from their peaks in the mid-
2000s. Tracks are removing thousands of excess seats and sponsors are harder to find. The pullback began when NASCAR was hammered by the recession of the late-2000s, and perhaps that peak in popularity was more faddish than sustainable. But France conceded that he deserved part of the blame, with new cars that produced dull races and too many homogenized drivers who were dull as well. “Our quality of racing for a period of time … I wouldn’t call it boring, but others might,” he said.
‘Car of Tomorrow’ In 2007, France rolled out a new, safer NASCAR race car dubbed the “Car of Tomorrow,” developed largely without collaboration with the auto manufacturers and teams and drivers. The car proved unwieldy to drive and didn’t provide enough of the passing NASCAR fans love. Drivers such as Kyle Busch openly blasted the car’s design. “I was arrogant at that time that whatever we did was going to work,” France said. “I learned a great lesson. That started my collaboration with the teams, team owners, the drivers in a way I hadn’t done.” So NASCAR’s current car, unveiled last year, was designed with the carmakers and NASCAR’s teams.
Empire overseer Brian Zachary France is an inquisitive news junkie. He reads what’s written about NASCAR and about other sports, businesses, politics and regularly watches the Sunday morning news shows on TV. He also studies the operating methods of other big league sports. It’s a penchant that once led to erroneous speculation that France wanted to own a pro football team. “I’ve never had an interest in an NFL team,” he said. France and his family have enough to keep them busy. They own NASCAR, the sanctioning body, and control International Speedway Corp., a publicly traded company with 13 tracks where NASCAR holds races, including Daytona International Speedway. France’s uncle, James France, is ISC’s chairman and Brian’s sister, Lesa France Kennedy, is ISC’s chief executive. Forbes estimates the France family is worth $5 billion.
Allen Chapel AME Church, 580 George W. Engram Blvd. will celebrate its Family and Friends Day weekend Aug. 9-10. The theme is “God made you my family. Love made you my friend. It’s time to fill the house!” The weekend kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday with a church picnic on the church ground, which is free. The community is invited to attend. On Sunday at 9:45 a.m., the Rev. Dr. Frank Madison Reid III, internationally known leader and senior pastor of the Bethel AME Church in Baltimore Md., will be the guest preacher. Reid holds degrees from Yale University, Harvard University, and United Theological SemiRev. Dr. Frank nary. He has been dedicated to the pastoral ministry for 42 years. Madison His preaching has earned him Reid III the H. Beecher Hicks Preaching Award among others and his sermons have been recognized in the “African Pulpit Magazine,” a quarterly journal that serves as a repository for the very best of African American preaching. For more information about the Family and Friends Day Weekend, call the church at 386-2551195.
ELECTION from Page 1
date measure up? Here are the latest treasure reports available by the Daytona Times deadline. Incumbents noted by an *
City Commission Zone 1 * Carl Lentz: Total money in: $25,650 Total money out: $4,183.05 Andrew Moore: Total money in: $3,294.95 Total money out: $3,217.82 Ruth Trager: Total money in: $30,675 Total money out: $1,771.93
City Commission Zone 3 Steve Miller: Total money in: $0 total money out: $0 * Kelly White: Total money in: $15,793.25 Total money out: $11,657.84
City Commission Zone 5 * Patrick Henry: Total money in: $23,800 Total money out: $7,428.45 Stanley Pandy: Total money in: $1,051.06 Total money out: $791.54
Volusia County County Council At Large Webster Barnaby: Total money in: $44,150 Total money out: $20,350.16 * Joyce Cusack: Total money in: $33,132 Total
money out: $9,166.29 Patricia Northey: Total money in: $22,425 Total money out: $9,236.23
Get registered A little more than a year ago, the United States Supreme Court struck a blow against voting rights. Its decision in Shelby County v. Holder opened the door for states to pass discriminatory laws suppressing voting, especially among young voters and minorities. Some states, including Florida and Ohio, have dramatically shortened early voting opportunities, including the weekend before Election Day when many minority voters choose to vote in “Souls to the Polls” efforts. Per Florida Statute, residents must be registered to vote at least 29 days before an election to be eligible to vote in that election. This year that date falls on Oct. 6 by either postmark or hand delivery. Applications may be submitted to any public library in Volusia County, any Supervisor of Elections office within the State of Florida, the Florida Division of Elections office, a driver’s license office, a voter registration agency, or an armed forces recruitment office.
31 –A AUGUST 2014 M Y O6, R
JULY DECEMBER 14 - 20, 2006
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Congregants on bended knee are seen facing east for 9 a.m. prayer.
CELEBRATE from Page 1
they are starving. Ramadan starves the body to feed the soul.”
Open to all People from all walks of life, ages, races and socioeconomic class were at the celebration, including many Black Muslims. Alzuhiry told the Times that the event was open to all religions and welcomed all. “We invited our Christian friends,” he shared. “The (Daytona Beach) City Commissioner (Patrick Henry) was here, the mayor (Derrick Henry) was here. We gathered here as you see. We have African-Americans, Pakistanis, Arabs, we have people from different skin colors and ethnicities. All of them, they came here and have only one bond. That is the bond of Islam. There is no separation. We are all equal in the sight of God. Each and every one of us. We are all equal.” Following the morning and noonday prayer, teens and adults horsed around with a soccer ball while youngsters played on the water slide, took pony rides or played in the Noah’s Landing mobile petting zoo. The men sat separated from the women by request of the women and had lively conversations about current events, Islam and the food they were waiting to eat, which was all prepared in the Zahiba fashion. The food – specifically meats – were prepared following precise details in slaughtering used to comply with the conditions stated in the Qur’an.
ASHLEY THOMAS/DAYTONA TIMES
Iman Belal Shemman Alzuhiry seated in white is pictured with Judge Dawn Fields (center) and other attendants at the EID celebration.
On conflict in Gaza “Our position is that we condemn each and every act of violence,” Alzuhiry told the Times in reference to the current conflict in Gaza and in other war regions. “Our religion is a religion of peace. Anyone in Syria or Iraq who is with what Al-Qaeda or other groups are doing, they are not representing Islam. They are representing some political ideologies that does not represent Islam whatsoever.” “We are against oppression and dictatorship,” he continued. “We have to be clear that anyone who sees the news, they will see that the majority of those that were killed in Gaza were women and children and this is also something that is not acceptable from a humane perspective.” “We are American Muslims here in this country. We feel we are part of this country. We live in this country and will die in this country. We came here as one group from all different parts of Volusia County. A lot of people here are not Muslims but we are all brothers in humanity. We have a strong bond together.”
Train rides around City Island Park (left) were a crowd favorite for kids, while grownups enjoyed a ride in a horsedrawn carriage. Kosher food, including chicken, hotdogs and barbeque, was served at the day’s event. PHOTOS BY DUANE FERNANDEZ/ HARDNOTTS PHOTOGRAPHY
A giant waterslide entertained youth for hours in the 90-degree heat.
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7 EDITORIAL
JULY 31 – AUGUST 6, 2014
The lynching of Eric Garner It was one of the most difficult scenes in Spike Lee’s classic movie “Do the Right Thing,” the brutal strangulation of peace-loving Radio Raheem by New York City police in a Brooklyn pizza shop. That scene touched a raw nerve as it recalled the 1983 death of 25-yearold graffiti artist Michael Stewart, another choke-hold victim of the New York City Police Department. Now, we find ourselves enraged over the police killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island, which was captured on cell phone video as a police officer puts him in a choke hold, with the man pleading that he can’t breathe. Garner was taken away unconscious and later pronounced dead.
Another day in America. Let me be clear – Eric Garner was lynched. He was brutally assaulted and choked to death by a police officer who, supposedly trained, abused his authority with deadly precision. It is not enough to state that the officer used deadly force because when it comes to Black males and police, there is a violent regularity that has persisted for decades. There is no benefit of the doubt, no reasonableness, no dialogue – just force and upon the slightest protest on our part, violence and probable injury or death.
WALTER FIELDS NNPA COLUMNIST
ambiguous about Eric Garner’s death in the larger context of the suppression of Black males. What is experienced by Black males on a daily basis is seldom the experience of White males, and cannot be fathomed by Whites in general. White mothers do not have to counsel their sons on their behavior should they encounter police or worry when their sons step out their door whether they will be a victim of police violence Eric Garner was lynched. He is the most recent case in a gigabyte file of such cases. I have yet to see the movie “Fruitvale Station” because I know how difficult it will be to see the reenactment of the killing of Oscar Grant. It cuts too close to home because I remember the killing of 15-yearold Phillip Pannell by a White Teaneck N.J. police office in 1990. The boy was shot in the back with his arms raised in surrender mode. The White police officer, Gary Spath, was acquitted by an all-White Bergen County jury.
The New York City Police Department is not alone in perpetuating crimes against Black males or operating in a way to violate the civil liberties of Black people. The NYPD just happens to be the largest police force in the country and has perfected the art of police abuse. NYPD Chief Bill Bratton’s order that all officers undergo training on the proper techniques to apprehend suspects is too little in light of the brutality of Garner’s death. For starters, every officer on the scene should be dismissed. If officers sworn to uphold the law can witness a citizen being choked to death and not intervene, they are not capable of fulfilling their legal duty to protect and serve. The video clip clearly shows a man who was not confrontational, who was attempting to defuse the situation and was trying to communicate with the officers. He is taken down by the officers and then thrown to the ground as an officer puts him in a deadly choke hold. Garner can be heard on the video pleading “I can’t breathe,” but his physical condition was of little concern to the officers who were intent on demonstrating that they were the dominant force. Eric Garner was lynched.
Walter Fields is executive editor of NorthStarNews.com. A different experience Eric Garner was a victim of rac- Write your own response at We need to be clear and un- ism. www.daytonatimes.com.
Racism alive and well
The politics of federal judges The two conflicting appeals court rulings last week on the legality of a key provision of the Affordable Care Act – one supporting it and the other rejecting the health law – underscore the nexus between politics and the judiciary. All of the judges voting to uphold the ACA were appointed by Democrats. All of the judges voting to strike down the law were appointed by Republicans. We’ve seen this scenario played out at the U.S. Supreme Court, with most controversial rulings decided on a 5-4 vote, with conservatives clinging to a one-vote margin. But the most important appointments might be those of federal appeals court judges, the last stop before a case reaches the Supreme Court. Approximately 10,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court each year. Of those, only 75-80 are accepted. Therefore, many important decisions are made in cases that never reach the Supreme Court.
Lower courts also important Separate appeals court rulings on a key provision of the Affordable Care Act on July 22 vividly illustrate why looking at lower court judges is extremely important. At issue was whether the federal government could provide sub-
Get out the vote GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA COLUMNIST
sidies to low- and middle-income citizens in the form of tax credits to purchase insurance coverage on the insurance marketplace operated by federal authorities. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said no, with two Republican judges voting against the subsidies and the lone Democrat voting to uphold the provision. In the majority were Thomas Griffith, appointed by George W. Bush, and Raymond Randolph, an appointee of H.W. Bush. Dissenting was Harry T. Edwards, a Jimmy Carter nominee. Hours later, a three-judge panel of 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, all appointed by Democrats, ruled that the Internal Revenue Service correctly interpreted the law when it issued regulations allowing health insurance tax credits for consumers in all 50 states. Judges Andre Davis and Stephanie Thacker were appointed by Obama and Roger Gregory was originally appointed Bill Clinton.
Over the years, the 4th Circuit was considered a bastion of conservatism. With six appointments since he has been in office – and a seventh pending – President Obama has been able to flip the court’s majority from Republican to Democratic appointees. This discussion of appeals court is not intended to minimize the importance of Supreme Court justices. In all likelihood, the next president will make one or two appointments that will determine whether the High Court continues to drift to the right or return to the center. That’s why it’s so important that African-Americans again turn out in record numbers for the presidential election in 2016. This November should be a trial run for mobilizing the Black vote without Barack Obama’s name appearing on the ballot Federal judges have lifetime appointments. And anyone who asserts that a judge’s politics doesn’t impact his or her rulings is living in a make-believe world.
George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.com.
Black press: The voice of Black America – Last of 5 parts Our voice for the cause of freedom, justice, equality, and empowerment is the consistent voice of struggle and self-determination representing the interests of 45 million Black Americans and others who yearn for a better quality of life. The Black Press of America, primarily through local and regional newspapers printed weekly across the nation, continues the long tradition of being the effective voice of social change. It is with both a sense of pride and humility that we serve the cause of liberation and the quest for economic prosperity not only for Black Americans but also for all who believe in equality and the oneness of humanity. We all should never forget that the only reason we have basic knowledge about our long struggle for freedom is because of the continued existence and persistence of the Black Press of America. Thus, this is not the time for us to start taking for granted the value and importance of having and supporting our own newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and other forms of media. In addition to personally telling me that “The pen is mightier than the sword,” James Baldwin also emphasized, “Our Black-owned newspapers are at the vanguard of our struggle for freedom be-
DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. NNPA COLUMNIST
cause they dare to print the truth about our situation in America and in the world. And that is the news that we need to first read!” The eloquent and penetrating words of James Baldwin are still true today. Take for example the recent case of brutal police brutality on a defenseless Black grandmother, Marlene Pinnock, on the streets of Los Angeles that was once again captured on video tape. This whole violent drama is a direct reminder of the Rodney King brutality case that was also recorded by a witness videographer in Los Angeles.
Don’t let it be you If it were not for the persistence of the Black Press of America, this case would have an ended as just another anonymous case of an alleged unprovoked assault on a police office in the performance of duty under the law. Thanks to The Final Call and the Los Angeles Sentinel, millions of people will now know the truth about
that tragic racially-motivated, vicious assault on Marlene Pinnock by a bulky White California Highway Patrolman. National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell, Sr. and publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper stated, “This time it’s a Black woman. Last week it was a Black man. Last week it was our son, and we want to make sure that next week it’s not us…. There is no belief that the highway patrol can investigate itself.” We will assure you that the “Voice of Black America” will do its part to inform, wake-up, organize and mobilize. There are more opportunities to advance the cause of freedom and equality than ever before. Let’s work together. Let’s pray together. And let’s pool our considerable financial resources to invest in our children, families, communities, businesses and institutions.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is the Interim President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.com.
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CEASEFIRE
PAUL ZANETTI, AUSTRALIA
The high cost of injustice What if we didn’t incarcerate people who commit non-violent crimes? Or, if we sentenced them, what if their sentences were reasonable, instead of intolerable? What if a man who steals a $159 jacket while high gets drug treatment and a sentence of, say, two years, instead of a sentence of life imprisonment without parole? How much would we save if legally mandated minimum sentences were modified and nonviolent drug offenses were more reasonably imposed? Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project says that eliminating more than 79,000 bed years, or the amount of time a prisoner uses a bed in prison, could save at least $2.4 billion. That’s enough to send nearly a million students to college if the $25,000 covers the cost of attendance (which it does for most state schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities). It could put nearly half a million teachers in underserved K-12 schools. It could restore availability to libraries and parks. Instead, we spend it incarcerating people, particularly those who are locked up for relatively minor crimes.
Choose rehabilitation The $2.4 billion that the Sentencing Project has calculated may be a low estimate. According to the Justice Department more than $80 billion is spent on incarceration annually. How much of this spending is unnecessary and could be easily converted to drug treatment and recovery? Why do we find it so easy to incarcerate people but so difficult to rehabilitate them, knowing that the recidivism rates are high? Within five years of incarceration, more than three-quarters are rearrested. Most were arrested for property crimes, not for drug offenses, or violent offenses. Much of the property crime could be alleviated if it was easier for ex-offenders to find employment, but after incarceration, many find the doors of employment slammed in their faces. Incarceration combined with education and societal embrace might reduce recidivism and the
JULIANNE MALVEAUX NNPA COLUMNIST
level of property crime.
Smarter Sentencing Act President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are moving in the right direction. First, the president moved to reform drug sentencing laws, reducing the discrepancy between crack and powdered cocaine. This resulted in the Smarter Sentencing Act, which has yet to be scheduled for a vote in Congress and the Senate, despite bipartisan support for this legislation. Advocates of the bill, including the ACLU, the Sentencing Project, the NAACP and many others support the legislation and have encouraged people to reach out to their Congressional representatives to push for a vote on this legislation. The Smarter Sentencing Act, when approved, will make modifications in sentencing requirements. Now, the US Sentencing Commission has ruled that those with drug sentences be applied retroactively. This will affect as many as 46,000 prisoners. It’s not enough, but it’s a reasonable first step. If release were combined with education and access to employment, recidivism rates would certainly decrease. The United States represents just 5 percent of the world population, but incarcerates more than a quarter of the world’s incarcerated. Nearly half of those incarcerated in federal prisons are African-American. There has been some progress in making sentencing fairer. Yet much more must be done until we can claim the “justice” that our Constitution promises.
Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.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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HEALTH MA YOR
JULY 31 – AUGUST 6, 2014 DECEMBER 14 - 20, 2006
Chiropractor Dr. Alan K. Sokoloff treats Naomi Morgan of Maryland who suffered from a slipped disk and had two back surgeries. AMY DAVIS/ BALTIMORE SUN/MCT
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER When consulting your medical professional about pain, he or she will likely ask you a set of ques tions similar to those list ed below. It is essential to prepare before you visit the doctor so you can help pinpoint the pain for the best diagnosis and treat ment:
FROM FAMILY FEATURES
Whether it’s sharp or dull, off and on or constant, pain can be a real pain at times. With the ability to interrupt time with family, lessen productivity at work and create many sleepless nights, under standing the source of your pain is essential for re lief.
The ache and its sources As a source of discomfort, it may be hard to view pain in a positive light. But this natural, protective tool is used by the body as an alert of present or po tential harm to tissues. While pain usually ceases once the stimulus has been removed and the dam age to tissue has healed, there are many different factors involved for the amount of time the process takes. One thing is certain — whether it takes an hour or several months, relief is the main focus for those who suffer from any type of pain. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, approximately 100 million Americans deal with chronic pain, which is clas sified as discomfort lasting six months or longer. While this type of pain can range from minor to de bilitating, it can disrupt the social and physical as pects of life in a major way. Those that suffer from this condition often experience headaches, back aches and neck pain, though it can aggravate other areas within the body. Due to its lengthy nature, chronic pain can often lead to emotional issues, such as depression and stress, which can exacer bate the healing process. The best way to identify chronic pain is to be aware of its symptoms. This pain is persistent and can often be described as aching, burning or shoot ing. The area where the pain is located is often de fined by patients as sore, tight or stiff. Because this type of pain can affect so many areas of life, many in the health community recommend a compre hensive mind and body approach for its manage ment. This can include medication, injections, acu puncture and other holistic treatments. Here are some of the common types of chronic pain and a few ways to end the discomfort, so you can get back to enjoying life.
Back and neck pain What causes nearly 40 percent of missed work days in the U.S. and is the fifth most common cause for doctor visits? Running from the top of the neck to the bottom of the spine, back pain is a com mon complaint among many people. While back pain is typically divided into the most common ar eas of neck, middle back, lower back and tailbone, its symptoms can also be felt in other parts of the body, including arms, hands, legs and feet. Some of the common remedies for back and neck pain include everything from massage ther apy, acupressure, acupuncture, back conditioning exercises and medication. Due to the controversy surrounding the last remedy, many patients prefer a more natural way to ease back pain with hot and cold therapy, such as Thermal-Aid Large Section al Pack, which helps eliminate swelling and eases pain on any area of the back.
Headache pain Though there are many factors that can trigger its
• Where is the location of the pain? unpleasant feeling; headaches can range from a minor sinus head ache to a severe migraine. Though it may feel that your brain is the source for the pain, the discomfort is actually caused by a distur bance to the structures surrounding it, and not within the tissue it self. Some headache symptoms can be as minor as sensitivity to light or noise to the extreme conditions of fever and vomiting. While most physicians typically recommend the use of over-the-counter medications, there are also new natural treatments available. One natural product, the Thermal-Aid Headache Relief System provides fast, safe pain relief and is clinically proven to relieve headache pain in over 90 percent of sufferers. If you suffer from persistent body and head pains, it’s important to understand the source of the pain. For more ways to stop the pain, visit http://thermalaidproducts.com.
HELPING CHILDREN THROUGH PAIN Whether they’re visiting a physician to receive a routine shot or undergoing treatment, it can be difficult for parents to watch their children experience pain. Here are some tips from the American Medical Association for helping your little ones cope: • Stay close during the pain. Regardless of their age, your presence is comforting to your child. • Make contact with your child. If you can, hold or touch your child throughout the process. • Take notes from nature: Some animals, such as kangaroo mothers, carry their young close
• When did it start? • What kind of pain is it? (Some descriptions include burning, dull, sharp, etc.) • Do certain activities alleviate or worsen the feeling? • What treatments have you used? Have you experienced any side effects?
to them. If you have an infant in pain, hold your baby close to your chest wearing only a diaper. This tactic is used worldwide and research shows that it can reduce pain during a procedure. • Offer distractions. Focus the attention on things your child enjoys to help them relax. Some helpful diversions include singing a song together, reading a book out loud or telling their favorite story. Or, give them a playful stuffed toy that also helps ease pain, such as the Thermal-Aid Zoo animals, which offers a 100 percent natural, therapeutic heating and cooling treatment. • Be truthful. Tell your child up front the procedure will cause discomfort but you will be there for support.
7 CLASSIFIEDS
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She was the cornerstone of our family. But my mother died of colon cancer when she was only 56. Let my heartbreak be your wake-up call.
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ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES. ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES. s ms om ko ke eyPlease ybbee aa rr .. ccoomm O N L Y Y O U C A N PPlease REVENT WILDFIRES. smokeybear.com
If you’re 50 or older, please get screened. Screening saves lives. 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) • www.cdc.gov/screenforlife
ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES. smokeybear.com
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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M SPORTS AYOR
JULY 31 – AUGUST 6, 2014 DECEMBER 14 - 20, 2006
Once ‘Wonder Boy’ of NASCAR wins Brickyard 400 Jeff Gordon makes ‘restart’ of his life in Indianapolis BY JIM PELTZ LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)
INDIANAPOLIS — There was a period a few years ago when many wondered whether Jeff Gordon’s best days were behind him. The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion earned only one victory from 2008 through 2010 before he rediscovered his stride in 2011. That seems like ancient history now, a fact Gordon underlined Sunday by winning the Brickyard 400 for a record fifth time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The one-time “Wonder Boy” of NASCAR, who’s now 42, won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. Gordon won the race again in 1998, 2001 and 2004. This year he moved his No. 24 Chevrolet past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne for the lead on a restart with 17 laps left in the 160-lap race and never looked back. “Twenty years later, it’s still awesome” to win at Indy, Gordon said.
Busch was second He acknowledged that he’s not the best driver at NASCAR’s double-file restarts, sometimes spinning his tires as he accelerates, but “I made the restart of my life today. That was our only shot at winning.” Kyle Busch finished 1.5 seconds behind Gordon in second place. Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, Busch’s teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third and fourth. Joey Logano was fifth and Kahne finished sixth. As Gordon passed Kahne’s No. 5 Chevy on the outside as they moved into Turn 2, the crowd erupted and Gordon’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, stood on his pit box and repeatedly pumped his
JEFF SINER/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/MCT
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. He won the race again in 1998, 2001 and 2004. right arm in jubilation. The crowd appeared to be between 80,000 and 90,000, less than half the number who witnessed Gordon’s first Brickyard 400 victory at the sprawling, 2.5-mile Indianapolis track, which has roughly 250,000 grandstand seats.
‘No catching him’ But many of those attending Sunday were fans of Gordon, a favorite son who spent a good part of his teenage years in nearby Pittsboro after his family moved from California to provide him more racing opportunities. Even before the race, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard had declared Sunday as “Jeff Gordon Day.”
Gordon said he could see the crowd standing and cheering on the final lap and “that sends a chill up your spine as a race-car driver in a race that’s so important to you,” he said. After Busch got his No. 18 Toyota to second place on the final restart, he couldn’t close the gap with Gordon. “There was no catching him, definitely not,” Busch said. “Those guys were really, really fast.”
Second cup of season Gordon’s victory also marked the 12th consecutive year that a Chevrolet driver has won the Brickyard 400. Gordon’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, has won
the race four times, so their team owner Rick Hendrick has a total of nine Brickyard 400 victories. It was Gordon’s second Cup win of the season — he also won at Kansas — and the 90th victory of his career. He’s third on the all-time wins list behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). With two wins this year, Gordon also clinched a berth in NASCAR’s 16-driver Chase for the Cup title playoff that starts Sept. 14 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Premonition about race Gordon also leads the Cup title point standings by 24 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr., another of his teammates. Earnhardt finished
ninth Sunday. Gordon had a fast car all weekend — he started second behind pole-sitter Kevin Harvick — and Gordon said he knew he had a strong car the moment he climbed into the Chevy for practice. “It just had that feel, it had the balance that I love to have,” he said. Hendrick said he had a premonition about the race. “I told (Gordon) this morning, ‘This is your day,’” Hendrick said. “He gets around this place so well. It’s pretty special.”
Voting begins for MEAC/ SWAC Challenge’s Walter Payton Achievement Award SPECIAL TO THE COURIER
ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, has announced six nominees for the 2014 Walter Payton Achievement Award, granted annually to a player from each team participating in the MEAC/ SWAC Challenge Presented by Disney. This year’s matchup features the North Carolina A&T State University Aggies of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Alabama A&M University Bulldogs of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) – set to faceoff on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 11:45 a.m. on ESPN. This year’s game – the 10th annual – will be played at Bright House Networks Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Florida, while the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium undergoes renovations. The 2014 nominees include senior offensive lineman Alan Cruz, redshirt junior defensive lineman David Dagrin and junior placekicker Jordan Puente of the Alabama A&M University Bulldogs. Walter Representing the North Carolina A&T State UniPayton versity Aggies are sophomore wide receiver Denzel Keyes, redshirt senior wide receiver Quentin Todd and redshirt junior offensive lineman William Ray Robinson III. “We are proud to announce a great group of nominees for the 2014 Walter Payton Achievement Award,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Events. “All of these student-athletes are well deserving and I am confident that the winners will uphold the standard of excellence that Walter Payton set decades ago for HBCU football.” Started in 2008, the award honors one of football’s greatest players – Payton, who ended his career as the NFL’s leading rusher and starred at Jackson State, a SWAC school, from 1971-74.
Vote through Aug. 20 Finalists are selected by a committee consisting of academic advisers and coaches from the two participating schools. Winners will be selected via online voting, open now through Aug. 20. Award winners will be announced on Aug. 30 at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista during the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Welcome Reception prior to the game. Several additional events will take place around the game, including a high school career panel, pep rally and the halftime Battle of the Bands. Past winners of the Walter Payton Achievement Award include: Jonathan Pillow of Florida A&M University and Kevin Eugene of Mississippi Valley State University (2013); Bobby Wenzig of Alabama State University and Arlen McCray-Nibbs of BethuneCookman University (2012); Nesly Marcellon of Bethune-Cookman University and Raheem Cardwell of Prairie View A&M University (2011); Kevin Green of Delaware State University and Gary Hollimon of Southern University and A&M College (2010); Van Phillips of Grambling State University and Zachary Middleton of South Carolina State University (2009); Kevin Teel of Hampton University and Marcus Smith of Jackson State University (2008). Tickets to the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Presented by Disney can be purchased through Ticketmaster online, by calling 800745-3000 or by logging on to www.meacswacchallenge.com. The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is owned and operated by ESPN Events. For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, visit www.meacswacchallenge.com or at www.espnevents.com.
ELIZABETH FLORES/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/MCT
James Charging Eagle, of Standing Rock, N.D., joins others calling the Washington Redskins nickname a racist slur as several hundred protesters rallied at the Mall of America Field in Minneapolis on Nov. 7, 2013.
Report: Stereotyped mascots harmfully effecting Native American youth BY ROBERTO ALEJANDRO SPECIAL TO THE NNPA
A recent report prepared by the Center for American Progress found stereotypical team mascots have a harmful effect on American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Noting that the American Psychological Association issued a call to retire all team and school mascots based on depictions of Native Americans back in 2005, the study emphasized the psychological effects of such caricatures, including testimony from Native American youth. Among those quoted in the report, “Missing the Point: the Real Impact of Native Mascots and Team Names on American Indian and Alaska Native Youth,” was
Dr. Stephanie Fryburg, a psychology professor and expert on the effects of stereotypical mascot depictions on American Indian and Alaskan Native youth. “American Indian mascots are harmful not only because they are often negative, but because they remind American Indians of the limited ways in which others see them,” said Fryburg. “This in turn restricts the number of ways American Indians can see themselves.”
Higher suicide rate According to the report, the effect on the self-esteem of those youth has serious consequences, including a suicide rate that is 2.5 times higher than the national average: 31 for every 100,000 American Indian youth, versus
the 12.2 for every 100,000 youths nationally. With the report, the Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan educational institute, has joined the fray over the use of Native mascots in sports, highlighted by the current controversy over the NFL’s Washington Redskins. In June, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the Redskins name was disparaging and invalidated the NFL franchise’s trademark over the name. Under U.S. Code, trademarks that disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute are prohibited.
This story is special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper.
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7EDUCATION
JULY 31 – AUGUST 6, 2014
Changes to loan program could help Blacks prison pipeline. “Academically, [boys and young men of color] don’t have the tools they need to be successful and, to really challenge that status quo in a really profound way, we think this is absolutely the right thing to do,” said Duncan. Duncan said that the Department of Education will challenge states to not only take a very open and honest look at the mix of their teachers working in disadvantaged communities, but to also develop plans to address any disparities they find.
BY FREDDIE ALLEN NNPA NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – This fall, the Department of Education plans to announce changes to PLUS loans that officials say will make it easier for parents to qualify for the financial aid program that thousands of Black college students rely on every semester. In an effort to combat a rising number of parent loan defaults in 2011, the department began to enforce more strict borrowing guidelines, a move that disproportionately affected Black parents, especially ones that lost homes and jobs and were burdened by high levels of debt incurred during the Great Recession. “Since the change, we’ve been working directly with the schools to try and re-enroll as many students as possible. Our data basically says that, even in those first cohorts, we were able to get 76 percent of students enrolled into the colleges that they applied to originally,” said Jim Shelton, the secretary of education and executive director of the task force for My Brother’s Keeper. “Additionally, we just finished the rule-making process that allows us to adjust the flexibility around the PLUS loan program and that will come out more formally in the fall.”
More flexible Shelton said that teams from the federal student aid organization are working with college admissions officials at historically Black colleges and universities to help students apply for aid. In private conversations, some HBCU presidents say the damage to Black enrollment is more severe than the White House describes. The policy revisions will make credit requirements for the PLUS program more flexible, according to Shelton. He said the updated eligibility standards that the Department of Education is going to put into effect will allow close to 300,000 students who may have been denied under the old rules
TAP findings
FREDDIE ALLEN/NNPA
Jim Shelton, the deputy secretary of education and executive director of the task force for My Brother’s Keeper, talks to reporters about increasing academic opportunities for students of color as Marco Davis, the deputy director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, looks on. to qualify for PLUS loans without having to go through the reconsideration process. Department of Education officials discussed the PLUS loan program, the My Brother’s Keeper initiative and other topics related to improving educational outcomes for students of color, during a recent meeting with reporters.
Minorities in majority Officials with the department said that for the first time in the nation’s history, public schools from kindergarten through the 12th grade will enroll more minority students than White pupils. “Urban school districts across the nation are already 80 percent African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American,” said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), a national network of urban public school systems. “We are the future.” Casserly said that 40 percent of
Black and Hispanic students that live below the poverty line and 32 percent of the nation’s African American males attend in CGCS schools. The CGCS network, working in conjunction with the president’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, pledged to increase the pipeline of high achieving students of color by expanding access to preschool, advanced placement and gifted classes and decreasing the disproportionate rates of suspensions and expulsions. “What’s nice about what’s happened so far is that we’re starting to gather the best practices from cities that have been working on suspensions issues, that have been working on growing their [advanced placement], gifted and talented programs districts that have been trying to grow the number of African-Americans and Hispanics in their preschool classes,” said Casserly.
Graduation gap Education Secretary Arne Dun-
can said that by any measure, our young men of color are not where they need to be. According to the Schott Foundation for Public Education the national Black-White male graduation gap was more than 25 percent in 2009-2010. Black male students also endure higher rates of suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement than their White peers. Black children, some as young as 3 years old, account for roughly half of preschoolers suspended more than once. Duncan said that he was stunned to learn that schools were suspending students that young. The education chief said that in a lot of ways the research for My Brother’s Keeper came right out of Civil Rights Data Collection project, which talked about the lack of access to advanced placement classes, the lack of access to early childhood education, disparate labeling for special education and the school to
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A Center for American Progress report on improving access to effective teachers in public schools highlighted The System for Teacher and Student Advancement (TAP), an “approach that provides opportunities for career advancement, professional growth, instructionally focused accountability, and competitive compensation for educators.” TAP currently supports 200,000 students and 20,000 teachers. The report also showcased North Carolina’s CharlotteMecklenburg Schools’ strategic staffing initiative designed to assist low-performing students that staffed poor schools with talented teachers and “priority access to district resources.” The CAP report also recommended cultivating talented teachers and school administrators, developing better data collection and evaluation tools, and compensating highly effective teachers when they move to poor schools where they’re needed the most. “If we all believe that great teachers make a difference in students’ lives, if we all believe that great principals make a huge difference in students’ lives, we have to be much more creative in how we attract, support, and retain that great talent in underserved communities,” said Duncan.