Daytona
Flagler sorority’s toy drive helps foster children
‘Fruitvale Station’ on list of top movies of the year
2013
10 STORIES
The Daytona Times staff chose the top 10 of the hundreds of stories our newspaper staff reviewed, covered or wrote this year. Factors considered include newsworthiness, local relevance, uniqueness, and emotional impact. Jackson becomes sixth president of B-CU
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Dr. Edison Jackson was chosen by Bethune-Cookman University’s board of trustees to take over for former B-CU president Trudie Reed as interim president beginning May 13, 2012. He was chosen as the permanent president in March. This is Jackson’s third presidency, having served as president of Compton Community College in Compton, Calif. and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. B-CU also opened a Deltona campus in August.
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‘Justice for Trayvon’ rallies attract large crowds
Locals react to the not-guilty verdict of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. The Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance and local NAACP were among groups protesting the July 13 acquittal of Zimmerman. Daytona Beach was one of the cities holding protests urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to file federal charges for the violation of Trayvon Martin’s civil rights against George Zimmerman.” Local ministers were in Sanford on Saturday, the day George Zimmerman was acquitted, on July 13.
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Jackson becomes sixth president of B-CU.
Yvonne Scarlett Golden Cultural and Educational Center opens
The $2.5 million dollar center, named after Daytona Beach’s first Black mayor, opened on Vine Street in June. The one-story building includes a courtyard in the center showcasing an open-air amphitheater a library, gym, small theater, photography area and rooms for dance classes and after-school programs. Also a permanent historic exhibit featuring memorabilia celebrating Scarlett-Golden and the neighborhood can be found inside. “The building honors her spirit. An advocate for civil and human rights. She returned home to serve us with valor and dignity looking after young and elderly. Her commitment will never be forgotten,” Mayor Derrick Henry said at the grand opening.
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DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014
YEAR 38 NO. 52
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See page 5
East Central Florida’s Black Voice
See page 2
PEOPLE SPEAK OUR TOP
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #189 Daytona Beach, FL
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LEE A. DANIELS: What color is your Santa Claus? See page 4
Speedway reaches out to minority contractors
More than 200 minority, women and local contractors turned out for the Daytona Rising subcontractor outreach forum held July 17 at the Daytona International Speedway (DIS). The forum provided a broad overview of DIS’s $400 million renovation project and its timeline over the next 30 months. Bar-
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Yvonne Scarlett Golden Cultural and Educational Center opens.
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Orange Avenue to see upgrades next year.
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Daytona residents were among the many attending Trayvon Martin rallies. FILE PHOTOS
ton Malow is the contractor for the construction project. All attendees were encouraged to email DIS.Outreach@bartonmalow.com to get on the bidders’ list. A second outreach forum was held in October.
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vided from a 20-year Florida Depart- with the Daytona Times after winning ment of Environmental Protection the seat she will hold for the next four (FDEP) Revolving Loan, Florida De- years. partment of Transportation grants, Volusia County and the City of Daytona Beach. DeLand case attracts
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Orange Avenue to see upgrades next year
Daytona Beach city officials moved forward with the long-awaited Orange Avenue reconstruction and upgrading streetscape project from Nova Road to Beach Street. The project will cost $22 million – $3 million more than residents were earlier told. Daytona Beach Public Information Officer Susan Cerbone said construction is now expected to start in March 2014. “It is anticipated that it will take 2 1/2 years to complete the project due to its complexity and limited right-ofway,” she noted. Funding for the project is being pro-
Ida Duncan Wright sworn in
On Jan. 29, Wright became the newest member of the Volusia County School Board. She defeated retired educator Kathy Williams, widow of the late Al Williams, who died Oct. 1, 2012, after winning re-election on Aug. 16 against Wright. “They say the third time is a charm – I will never deny that statement. I am deeply humbled to serve as the Volusia County School Board, District 2 Representative. I pledge to represent our District 2 Community with a high degree of integrity. Each decision made will be thoughtful and backed by extensive research,” Wright said in an interview
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national attention
Marlon Brown, a Black DeLand resident, was run over and killed by DeLand cop James Harris during a pursuit on May 8. Harris has since been fired. Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s parents, is now representing Brown’s ex-wife who called for an independent investigation of the case. Crump spoke at a town-hall meeting in August at Greater Union First Baptist Church. The meeting called for a petition to have a fired DeLand Police Department officer arrested in the death of Brown. Please see 2013, Page 2
Local photographer shares images of Sanford taken during trial Duane Fernandez, Sr. describes various photographs on exhibit at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center. ASHLEY THOMAS/ DAYTONA TIMES
BY ASHLEY THOMAS DAYTONA TIMES aysheldarcel@gmail.com
The overcut grass and sad low-hanging branches told a story of despair at the home labeled 1507 shot through the lens of photographer Duane Fernandez, Sr. Perhaps a foreclosure? Perhaps an abandoned home? The story and reason behind the shot goes much further than abandonment, desolation or bank ownership. It is left up to discussion by those who visit the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center and Visual Arts Gallery on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University.
This printed moment of Fernandez, along with almost a dozen others are on display through Jan. 24 in the “Stills” exhibit at the 7,000 square-foot gallery. His work is exhibited on both the first and second floors.
Seeing is believing As Fernandez spoke about the photos he took in downtown Sanford, he explained, “These show real life.” The home in disrepair mentioned above is one of those photos. It sits in front of other unkempt homes, an area of destitution, poverty. Yet in a picture next to it is a multimillion dollar facility taken on the same Please see IMAGES, Page 2
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DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014
Alpha Kappa Alpha spreads holiday cheer to foster kids in Flagler Remembering the reason for the season as giving, the Chi Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Sorority, Inc., donated 25 gift bags containing clothing and toys. The gifts included bicycles, skateboards, scooters, leap pads, books and games for the foster children served through the Flagler County division of the Community Partnership for Children. The children and adolescents receiving the gifts were placed in foster care due to incarcerated parAlvin ents or special suBell pervision requirements. For many children, this was a fun time of opening the Christmas gifts received through the generosity of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members. Dr. Myra Middleton-Valentine, along with other board of directors, staff and volunteers of Com-
Palm Coast Community news Jeroline D. Mccarthy
munity Partnership for Children, Inc., expressed sincere appreciation and gratitude for the sorority’s annual involvement in the effort.
Bell to sing Dec. 31 at First Church Bring in the New Year with versatility from rhythm and gospel to opera with recording artist Alvin Bell. Attend the Watch Night Service at First Church, beginning at 10 p.m. with Bell, and followed at 11 p.m. with a powerfully strengthening message from the Reverend Gillard S. Glover. Bell will perform highlights from his career, emanating from the major concert halls, theaters and arenas. He’s a former
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The ‘Not My City’ movement begins.
“Star Search” finalist having also appeared at the world-famous Apollo Theater. His vocal credits include “Praise the Lord’’ (TBN) and the “Bobby Jones Gospel Hour’’ (BET). He’ has shared the stage with Tramaine Hawkins, Ricky Dillard, Patti LaBelle and other sensations. He’s immensely talented and best known for his electrifying, powerful performances. First Church can be reached at 386-446-5759, and is located at 91 Old Kings Road North, Palm Coast. ••• As always, remember our prayers for the sick, afflicted and bereaved.
Celebrations Birthday wishes to Henry “Smitty” Smith, Dec. 28; Mary Lee, Dec. 29; John Foti, Dec. 30; Charlotte Walls Prince, Vivian Rowe, Dec. 31; the Rev. Annette Weaver, Jan. 1.
Daytona approves new policy on naming of property
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Sequestration hits Midtown Head Start center
FILE PHOTOS
OUR TOP 10 STORIES
2013 from Page 1
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The ‘Not My City’ movement begins
A “March Against the Madness” was held in the Derbyshire community with numerous elected officials, pastors and the parents of children affected by violence at Derbyshire Park. Facilitator Bishop Derek Triplett of Hope Fellowship Church asked the crowd of 300 to sign a pledge to commit to helping end gun violence, domestic violence and gangs in the community. The movement also followed the death of Ji’Ron Jeffery Dent, a 17-year old who died at Halifax Hospital on March 7 from a gunshot wound to the head. He was shot on March 4 in the Madison Heights subdivision following an argument over a stolen vehicle. This incident and others involving youth sparked Daytona Commissioner Patrick Henry to start a mentoring program.
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Daytona approves new property policy
Prompted by a controversy to rename the Derbyshire Athletic Fields after retired educator Harold Lucas, the Daytona Beach City Commission established new procedures and guidelines for naming and renaming city-owned land and facilities and provides a mechanism for commissioners to recommend names they believe should be considered. The city staff came up with the new policy based on data received from local governments, which will allow the commission to review each request on a case-by -case basis. Any living person whose name is proposed must be willing to submit to a background check, including a criminal history and code violation check.
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Sequestration hits Midtown Head Start center
The East Volusia II Head Start center located in Daytona Beach’s Midtown, no longer exists at that location because of the federal budget reductions known as sequestration. Two other Head Start locations still exist in the area – at Turie T. Small Elementary and on Keech Street. Nationwide, Head Start, the federal pre-K education service for low-income families, eliminated services for more than 57,000 children in the coming school year as a result of sequestration.
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO PASSED ON IN 2013 Former Daytona Beach mayor and popular area football coach Baron Henry “Bud” Asher died at home on July 5. He was 88. Dr. Jake Charles Miller, an educator and author, died Jan. 5 at age 83. Aver Geneva Gray, a retired licensed clinical social worker and former columnist for the Daytona Times, died on July 27 in Tallahassee. She was 89. Bessie Marshall, a popular educator, coach and mentor, died Oct. 3. Walter Morris of Palm Bay, the first Black parachuter, Oct. 13 at age 92. Longtime Daytona Beach resident and business owner Perman Shepard died Oct. 23 after a long illness.
Other notable events • B-CU wins Florida Classic for the third time. The Wildcats defeated instate rivals Florida A&M University for the third year in a row in November. The game, 29-10, was in front of a crowd of 45,321 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. • Vickie Presley was approved by the Volusia County School Board on June 25 to be the Volusia County area superintendent overseeing 34 schools. She was principal of Campbell Middle School from 2003 to 2011. • Todd Snipes, the Volusia County beach patrol officer who posted racially sensitive notes such as “another thug gone,” on his Facebook page, after the Zimmerman verdict, was fired. • Construction on Northwood Village II, a 27-unit property located on 1.93 acres in unincorporated Volusia County, began Sept. 5. The $3.5 million construction will be the first new affordable housing of this type in Daytona Beach in nearly 30 years. • Actor Charles Dutton shared his journey from jail to Yale to stardom during the Volusia County-Daytona Beach NAACP 40th Annual Freedom Fund and Awards Banquet at the Plaza Resort and Spa held in May. The Daytona Times was honored at the event. • Daytona Times Assistant Editor Ashley Thomas wins a second-place award for best feature article titled “Hovering Around the Classic’’ in the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association media contest. The Association has more than 200-member newspapers across the United States and abroad.
COURTESY OF CHI DELTA OMEGA CHAPTER, ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY
Shown delivering the gifts are Chi Delta Omega Chapter members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority: Dr. Myra Middleton-Valentine; Sue Fray, chapter president; and Dr. Gwen Dunn-Carroll. They are assisted by staff members of the Community Partnership for Children.
IMAGES from Page 1 road, less than a quarter mile away. One could ask, “Why the disparity?” His high-resolution prints are developed in black and white, consistently bringing detail and emotion to every shot. “Those downstairs,” he continued, “are of people talking about life.” The photos on display on the first floor of the gallery are from various events the photographer attended in Central Florida, including a rally and march for Trayvon Martin and a march celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Fernandez took photos during the George Zimmerman trial in Sanford for the Daytona Times. “Sometimes things have to happen for things to change. Sometimes bad things,” he remarked.
Yvonne Scarlett Golden Cultural and Educational Center, and is the president and founder of Team Hardnotts University, a 501©(3) organization. “Teaching youth to shoot with cameras, not guns’’ is the motto. Team Hardnotts introduces each child to therapeutic photography techniques teaching them to view the world through the eye of a lens.
Eatonville next In the near future, Fernandez has plans of photographing historic Eatonville, the childhood home of artist Zora Neale Hurston. The town, located six miles north of Orlando, is known primarily for the Zora Neale Hurston Festi-
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About the photographer Fernandez, who also takes photos for the Daytona Times, graduated with a photography degree from Daytona State College. He teaches photography to students at the
val of the Arts and Humanities held each winter, but his focus will be on the city and daily life. For those wishing to catch a glimpse of his work, the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center and Visual Arts Gallery is located at 698 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free for the exhibit. For more information, call 386-4812774. “Stills” also features photography by Emile Dillon, Raphael Jackson, Thomasina Tasia Jackson, Jennifer Kaczmarek, Mercedez McCartney, Xavier Ryan and Stephanie Salkin.
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MAYOR TECHNOLOGY
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DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY DECEMBER 1, 2014 14 - 20, 2006
Smartphones changing the picture for camera sales BY JOHN EWOLDT STAR TRIBUNE/MCT
MINNEAPOLIS – It’s a modern paradox: People are taking more photographs than ever before, nearly 400 billion this year, yet sales of cameras are shrinking. Overall, global shipments of digital cameras have fallen 30 percent this year, according to Christopher Chute, research director of worldwide digital imaging at IDC, a market intelligence firm. Camera stores are closing, and those that remain are emphasizing customer service or high-end products as they fight to stay relevant. “It’s especially shocking because this was a market that until recently was growing by double digits,” he said. “This is the beginning of the collapse for cameras.” And the obvious reason for the decline? The ubiquitous smartphone — a combination mobile phone, personal computer, data storage unit and camera, small enough to fit in a pocket. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. homes now have one, compared with 70 percent of homes that own more than one camera, according to The NPD Group. But while digital camera sales fell by nearly a third this year, smartphone sales are expected to rise more than 32 percent.
Culture shift Amanda Brady of Castle Rock Township, Minn., recently purchased Nokia’s new Lumia 1020 smartphone with a camera that sports 41 megapixels. She uses it for shots of her artwork to put on Etsy.com but also for nature pics during a recent family vacation to the Black Hills. “We print quite often, and they don’t look pixelated,” she said. It’s a culture shift that many believe started with the release of Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S in 20102011, the first smartphones to have a backlit-illuminated sensor to produce brighter pictures with accurate colors to rival the quality of a decent point-and-shoot. While sales of point-and-shoots have dropped the most, sales of single lens reflex cameras also
RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER/MINNEAPOLIS START TRIBUNE/MCT
Friends Amrita Mohanty, 16, from left, Marta Williams, 16, and Michelle Mao, 15, take a Snapchat “selfie” on Dec .12 while having coffee at the Steepery Tea Bar in Woodbury, Minn. have started to decline, although not as much. Sales through October were down 8 percent this year, said Ben Arnold, industry analyst at The NPD Group in Virginia.
No Black Friday boost Camera manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon, whose stocks have lost more than half their value since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, tried to stop the free fall this holiday season with aggressive markdowns. The lower prices were expected to increase sales nearly 10 percent, Arnold said, but sales on digital single-lens reflex cameras increased only 1 percent compared to last year. Even sales of the new highly touted mirrorless cameras,
which were expected to see 15 to 20 percent growth on Black Friday weekend, fell 1.5 percent. While many in the camera industry were hoping that consumers would continue to buy traditional cameras for lasting, betterquality pictures, Chute said that’s not happening. Consumers don’t care as much about image quality as they do the software that allows them unlimited, immediate sharing on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram, mobile image editing and manipulation, and cloud-based backup. “Image quality is now second to connectivity to Web services like Facebook,” he said. One Minnesota specialty retailer, National Camera Exchange, isn’t ready to accept that. It’s pouring talent and resources into enlightening customers
about what they’re missing by using only a smartphone. When National Camera Exchange President Jon Liss shows young parents close-ups taken with an SLR of a friend’s daughter swinging the bat during a T-ball game, they ask how he did it. “They don’t know that these cameras are better,” he said.
Not packing cameras Still, smartphone camera technology continues to improve. Brady, 34, said she’s never going back to a traditional camera. She recently took a picture of her son caroling at a nursing home from 40 feet away. “I leaned in, zoomed in, took the shot, edited it, and I was done,” she said. “I didn’t have to watch the rest through a little lens. I could actu-
ally enjoy the show,” she said. Brady said that even if she went on the trip of a lifetime and got to see every church in Italy, she’d pack her smartphone, not a standard camera. “I love my Nokia,” she said. That kind of customer worries retailers. At National Camera, a nearly 100-year-old company with five locations in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, 2013 has been the first year that sales of point-andshoot cameras were down significantly, Liss said. “Our point-and-shoot sales were down about 22 percent, which is about half of the national decline of 40 percent,” he said. He attributes the decline to smartphones and Amazon.com Inc.
Breach at Target stores exposes holes in credit, debit system BY SEAN SPOSITO ATLANTA JOURNALCONSTITUTION/MCT
tion date, among other vital bits.
The criminals who cracked Target’s defenses, stealing debit and credit card information of as many as 40 million shoppers who swiped at the retailer’s stores, exposed a major vulnerability in the way Americans pay. “The credit card system is inherently broken,” said Jeremiah Grossman, the chief technology officer of Web-application security firm WhiteHat Security. “It’s a shared-secret system, in which everyone has the secret every time you swipe your card in the U.S.” That secret is the data encoded on the back of magnetic-stripe cards: the name of the cardholder, plus the account number, security code and expira-
Banks and other card issuers — not individual consumers — will absorb whatever direct losses result from the Target security breach. That’s a fundamental part of how plastic works: consumer protections shield individual cardholders from liability. But there’s still the hassle of watching for bogus charges or requesting a new card and updating any automatic payments associated with the old one. For card issuers, data thefts on the scale of the Target breach, which occurred between Nov. 27 and the middle of this month, represent a major headache and possibly substantial expenses. To combat would-be thieves, payment networks, banks
Major headache
and retailers are already shifting to new technologies, but the transition will take years. Target admitted on Dec. 21 that hackers had infiltrated the payment system used in all its brick and mortar stores. The admission came a day after digital security reporter Brian Krebs broke the story.
‘Sophisticated crime’ The nationwide retailer stressed that its estimate of the number of people affected, 40 million, is just an approximation. Many of those shoppers will probably never experience any fraud on their accounts. For now, exactly how this particular breach happened is unclear. Target had little to say on that subject. “Clearly this was a sophisticated crime,” Target
This is personal.
Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cancer killer in the U.S., but screening helps prevent this disease. Terrence Howard, actor/musician
If you’re 50 or older, please get screened. Screening saves lives. 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) • www.cdc.gov/screenforlife
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Photo: Andrew Macpherson
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.
C MICHAEL BERGEN/THE STATE/MCT
Late-night shoppers flood the aisles of a Target store on Thanksgiving night in Columbia, S.C. spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in an email. “However, it is an active and ongoing investigation so I cannot comment further.” Still, experts are fairly sure how these schemes take shape. Hackers do business on forums in the deep recesses of the Internet. These meeting places act as eBays for criminal activity. There, malicious actors buy and sell stolen information. After that, crooks can work with separate groups that replicate the stolen card information and place lifted data onto pieces of plastic. Eventually, mules on the street get hold of the finished product and spend the cash. Criminals can also buy goods online.
Change PIN codes Sometimes criminals bolster the price of their wares by validating that the card is still active — a telltale sign that your account has been compromised. They do that by initiating a micro-charge of $2 or less, “something that you’re not going to call your issuer about,” said Yaron Samid,
chief executive of startup BillGuard, which monitors its users’ card accounts for fraud. That means cardholders should be vigilant for months, he said, or at least change their PIN codes if they think they’ve been affected. Criminals, he explained, can hold on to cardholder data for a long time before selling it on the black market. And even more time may elapse before the transactions that bilk cardholders at the ATM or the virtual or physical point of sale. This all puts the affected banks, payment networks (American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover) and merchants in a tight spot. Banks have to make a decision on whether or not to either issue their customers new cards or just put tighter fraud controls on the accounts of customers who might have been impacted.
Chip card standard As they scramble to deal with the Target breach, fi-
nancial services companies are already looking to shift the system. The most prominent way they’re doing this is with the chip card standard that’s being used by issuers of cards in just about every country in the world outside the U.S. Those cards — known as “Europay, MasterCard and Visa,” or EMV — are armed with encrypted chips. EMV technology, experts explain, is just more secure than the magnetic stripes used on American cards. Until EMV takes hold, or something more resilient takes the place of the current payment system, consumers will just have to live with the headaches caused by breaches. “It’s ultimately not the consumers who face the liability here. That’s the one beautiful thing about the credit card system,” said Robert E. Lee, a security business partner at Intuit. “If my card is stolen and used like this, I’m not out of pocket. “There are all these consumer protections in place, even though the entire system is stupid.”
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7 EDITORIAL
DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014
Dream ticket: Hillary, Michelle The 2016 national elections are not that far away. It is timely and important that we not wait until then to begin having constructive discussions about who should be given the opportunity and responsibility to succeed President Barack Obama. The questions of the future of politics, economics and equal justice should never be avoided. Even with three more years in office, I believe that President Obama will be judged by history as one of the most effective presidents ever. He will be credited for leading the recovery and revival of the U.S. economy by encouraging the passage of the $787 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with Wall Street reaching its highest investment level, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, getting the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress, rebooting the U.S auto industry, signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensuring equal pay for women, signing into law the Fair Sentencing Act that significantly reduced the sentencing disparities in drug laws that have been devastating for African-Americans and Latino Americans, and appointing the first African-Americans as Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security.
Historic opportunity Therefore, any realistic speculation about who could be successful in following President Obama and Vice President Biden to the White House in 2016 should first be made in context of establishing
DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. NNPA COLUMNIST
continuity with the Obama administration’s progress in economic revival, ending poverty, and providing leadership in implementing a more inclusive national agenda for the empowerment of all people who strive for a better quality of life in the United States. Think about how millions and millions of voters would readily desire with great enthusiasm to have the historic opportunity to vote for two former first ladies of the U.S. to be president and vice president. Today, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are the most popular and well-respected women in the nation. But this is not to be reduced to a mere popularity contest. The truth is both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are very qualified, experienced and capable of leading the United States. Hillary Clinton, a Yale law graduate, former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator is an expert on both domestic and foreign policy. The Democratic Party will be victorious in 2016 if Hillary Clinton is nominated for president. Of course, the vice presidential candidate in 2016 will be chosen by the nominee of the Democratic Party. As I have traveled recently around the country, I am pleased to report that there is a growing support for Michelle Obama to
run for public office and being vice president would be a perfect fit. Michelle Obama is a Harvard Law graduate and a seasoned expert on community development and health care issues with a particular commitment to ending poverty for all people.
Both are qualified Let’s be clear: they should not be elected because they are women; they should be elected because they are qualified to lead our nation. And those who profess to have a problem with electing two women didn’t complain when we’ve elected two men throughout the history of this nation. The political and public discourse will need a new stimulus in order to arouse a massive turnout of voters who will be committed to a progressive agenda and further socioeconomic transformation of our society and nation into a better place. What’s your view? Who will you support? Who will you vote for? Let the debate begin. “Forward ever, backward never!” This is not a time for cynicism or pessimism. We must envision the future for tomorrow out of how we see the present today. I see the Hillary Clinton-Michelle Obama ticket as a winning ticket for 2016.
Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is President of Education Online Services Corporation and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.com.
What a Christ-mess Christmas is supposed to be a joyous time of the year. But, political correctness has turned Christmas into Christmess. One way of dissecting the word is Christ-Mas, which in Spanish would be more Christ. If we had more of Christ, I am quite sure we would not have so much deviancy in our society – high divorce rates, high teenage pregnancy, or high crime rates, etc. Some people and corporations no longer feel like they can wish a person a Merry Christmas. On the advice of lawyers, they feel compelled to say Happy Holidays. I wish I were joking, but this the truth. How is it possible to take Christ out of Christmas when the very root of Christmas is Christ?
RAYNARD JACKSON NNPA COLUMNIST
ness makes no sense. So, let me make sure I understand – you want to change the words to a Christian song in order not to offend non-Christians; thereby offending Christians! Huh? Who is the arbiter of what is offensive? In this case, it is an arbitrary principal of a middle school. What happens if the principal is an atheist? Does he cancel the Christmas concert all together? Why is it that we Christians have to give up our beliefs in orEverything isn’t political der to make someone else feel good? How about other groups Two weeks ago, Ralph J. Os- extending to us the same courgood Intermediate School on tesy? Long Island, N.Y., managed to do just that. Their 5th graders Force-feeding performed their annual Christmas carols. One of the songs they others’ beliefs How about the homosexual sang was “Silent Night,” but with a twist. According to radio sta- community accepting the fact tion WCBS, “the school removed that we Christians believe that several religious references from homosexuality is incompatible the song; this included “holy in- with our beliefs and values withfant” and “Christ the savior.” Ac- out calling us names? Should cording to the school, this was they not be required to give up done to avoid offending non- their beliefs to make us heterosexuals feel good? Christians. If their movement is truly about This is why political correct-
understanding and tolerance, as they claim, when will we see this demonstrated by their actions? Not everyone celebrates Christmas and that’s fine; but please don’t force your beliefs on others who do celebrate Christmas. Not everyone accepts homosexuality and that should be fine also. America must get back to its roots – of embracing God, putting Christ back in Christmas, and the continued promotion of freedom of speech. It is inconceivable to me that Christmas has become so controversial. I don’t like the sport of figure skating, but I don’t demand for it to be taken off of TV. I despise radio shock jocks Don Imus and Howard Stern. They both have made a career out of making racially incendiary statements about Blacks. I have no problem with them being on the radio and having major corporate sponsors. I just refuse to listen to their radio shows. So, to those who don’t believe or choose not to celebrate Christmas, that’s okay; but please don’t tread on my right to celebrate this most holy of Christian holidays.
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.com.
Pope wants end to economic inequality Throughout history, the eradication of poverty has been a professed goal of most progressiveminded political and religious leaders. Voices ranging from Jesus, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Nelson Mandela have asserted in their own way the right of every man, woman and child to have the basics of food, shelter, clothing, health care and a decent education. President Obama has focused efforts to end income inequality. But, as we enter another holiday season, dominated it seems by rampant consumerism, we are faced with a worldwide epidemic of poverty. According to the Global Issues website, “Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.” Here in America, nearly 50 million people live in poverty. This includes almost one in four children.
Why are so many impoverished? In a world of plenty and a nation as rich as ours, there is no excuse for this. But the demands of the compassionate and the cries of
MARC H. MORIAL TRICE EDNEY WIRE
the poor continue to be drowned out by the industrialized world’s fixation with materialism and the rising clamor and clout of the rich and powerful for more, often at the expense of the less fortunate. While there is no reason to believe these conditions will substantially change anytime soon, we are encouraged that another prominent voice has been added to the calls for change – Pope Francis. Since his election as the new Pope on March 13, Pope Francis has placed a renewed emphasis on the Catholic Church’s responsibility to assist the poor. The new Pope recently spoke passionately about the “widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs.” He added, “Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CHRISTMAS 2013
wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”
PATRICK CHAPPATTE, THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
What color is your Santa Claus? In case you haven’t noticed, ‘tis the season … to have another controversy illuminating America’s race-driven fault lines. This time we can thank Fox News’ talk-show host Megyn Kelly for responding to a December 12 essay by writer Aisha Harris on Slate.com that criticized what Harris said was the outdated notion of Santa Claus as a White man. Harris wrote of the “two different Santa Clauses” of her childhood – the White Santa of the larger American culture, and the one who existed within her family: her father, whose “skin was as dark as mine.”
Jesus is White too Noting that “Like the holiday itself,” Santa Claus today is far removed from his religious origins and the real-life historical 4th-century Christian bishop, St. Nicholas, Harris asserted the ecumenical spirit of Santa Claus was its most important feature. She recommended that because television programs and films have made children so used to seeing animals with human characteristics and conveying human meaning, Santa Claus should be a penguin. Kelly a few days later declared on her program she was having none of it: “For all you kids watching at home, Santa just is White.” And for good measure she added that Jesus was “White,” too.
A different take Writer Soraya Chemaly’s poignant remembrance in Salon. com of her Christmas’ “growing up in a British colony as it went through independence,” where almost “every Santa I remember seeing … was a Black man.” “When it comes to Santa,” she wrote, “the most ‘real’ thing about him is millions of parents, often but not always mothers, who quietly work away into the wee hours, tiptoeing in darkened rooms so Santa can get everything done before daybreak. … It wasn’t until I had my own small children that I fully realized how much time, effort and thoughtfulness my mother put into making sure that Santa Claus was so amazing and that Christmas was fantastical.”
Santa is a woman She concluded with this: “Given the way childcare is still distributed, most of the time, women and mothers are doing
LEE A. DANIELS NNPA COLUMNIST
the invisible work that Santa relies on to get through his busy night. If there is one thing for sure, Santa will not be a small, brown woman for some time to come. This self-erasure is poignant, and not an entirely positive lesson. Given the history of the United States in particular, the darker a parent, the more poignant the erasure. However, it is a testament of the purest kind of love. The rank parsimony of insisting on Santa’s whiteness with such vehemence is an ironic way to defend the idea of selfless giving.” Confronted with an onslaught of facts about the origins of both Santa Claus and Jesus, Kelly two days later declared she had “learned … [it is] far from settled” whether the color of Jesus’ skin was or was not White. (Actually, it is settled that the color of his skin was not White; the question is what shade of brown was Jesus.) Kelly characterized her earlier statement about Santa as a “tongue-in-cheek,” humorous response to Aisha Harris’s essay. She then added that those criticizing her represented “the knee-jerk instinct by so many to race-bait and to assume the worst in people, especially people employed by the very powerful Fox News Channel.” Soraya Chemaly made just this point about Megyn Kelly’s attempt to place a Whites-only sign on two of the world’s revered icons. “What some people are unwilling to digest,” she said, “is that while they can see themselves, or specific prioritized aspects of themselves, everywhere in culture, they obstinately deny others the exact same right. … they cannot even imagine what it is like to admire and love people who don’t look like them. People of other colors. People of other genders. People of other sexes. ”
Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City. His latest book is Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America. Write your own response at www.daytonatimes.com.
The waiting game Many of those excluded are found waiting in America. They wait while some in Congress would cut $8 billion from food stamps, or cut off benefits for more than a million long-term unemployed citizens. They wait while the President’s proposal and the economic wisdom of a raise in the minimum wage continue to languish on Capitol Hill. They wait while working jobs for wages too low to support the basic needs of their families. As we go about our holiday shopping and celebrating, I ask that you remember the true reason for the season. We must not forget the millions who continue to suffer, who remain unemployed and who have yet to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. As Madiba urged us, in this season of giving, “Let Your Greatness Blossom.”
Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.
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MAYOR
DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, DECEMBER 2014 ENTERTAINMENT 14 - 20, 2006
Chiwitel Ejiofor gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Solomon Northup, who is forced into slavery, in “12 Years A Slave.’’
10 good movies of 2013 ‘Fruitvale Station’ and ‘Slave’ on critic’s list of top films this year BY ROGER MOORE MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
This has been one of those years that makes you think whatever Oscar does, a consensus has pretty much been reached among critics and various critics’ groups about which films will pull down best picture Oscar nominations. With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences now delivering as many as 10 best picture contenders, you can pretty much bet that this year will feature a full house and that the listed films will jibe with that consensus. But there weren’t just 10 good movies, most of them released at the tail end of 2013. Films from “Inside Llewyn Davis” to “Blue is the Warmest Color” or “Blue Jasmine” have their champions. Not me. The Danish film “The Hunt” is in the conversation, the best foreign language film of last year (like “Warmest Color,” a tad too melodramatic, I thought), as are the Japanese animated picture “The Wind Rises” and the surprising Canadian documentary / essay “Stories We Tell.” It was that kind of year. Matthew McConaughey had the best 2013, so good that his mythic turn in “Mud” and his nearlysteals-the-film cameo in “The Wolf of Wall Street” could only sit in the shadows of a film as impressive as “The Dallas Buyers Club.” “Blackfish” sets a new standard for activist documentaries, run in theaters and then parked on CNN for repeat viewings where it convinced musicians to not play SeaWorld, and might encour-
age ticket buyers to spend their theme park cash elsewhere. Oscar bait that we didn’t take? “August: Osage County,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Book Thief” seem to earn that distinction. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” may end up an Oscar contender, but wasn’t a Top 10 movie, in my book. Nominate Forest Whitaker and move on. (Sorry, Oprah.) Best cameo? Peter Jackson chomping on a carrot at the beginning of “The Desolation of Smaug.” Ten best pictures? Pat yourself on the back. Chances are, you saw a few of these — a lot of mainstream movies made their mark alongside the arty indie cinema.
“Fruitvale Station” is based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a young African-American man in Oakland, who was shot and killed by a BART police officer in 2009. Michael B. Jordan is Grant in the film; Ariana Neal plays his daughter.
‘The Dallas Buyers Club’ The tragedy of AIDS, as experienced by a working-class Joe who refuses to be written off or killed off by a medical establishment that doesn’t treat him as a person, this is the first movie on this subject with a swagger. Thank McConaughey. Dude deserves the Oscar. Give it to him.
‘Gravity’ A serenely cerebral space accident thriller that hangs on state-of-the-art effects, George Clooney’s voice and Sandra Bullock’s decades of audience empathy. The state of scifi effects will change but this one will still be touching people, years down the road.
‘Captain Phillips’ A lean, perfectly pitched thriller about a merchant ship hijacking from the director of “United 93,” starring this generation’s Every American, Tom Hanks. It took guts to give us a taste of the hijackers’ point of view. Director Paul Greengrass and co-star Barkhad Abdi gave us that. But
Tom Hanks, right, starts in “Captain Phillips,’’ the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years. Hanks makes us care.
‘12 Years a Slave’
‘Fruitvale Station’
The grim subject matter and the “history we need to know” label take nothing away from this Black man’s eye-view of slavery in the years just before the Civil War. Any arguments over the allegedly “benign” nature of this “peculiar institution” are silenced by this unflinching depiction of its horrors, with Oscarworthy performances by Chiwitel Ejiofor and Adepero Oduye.
Ryan Coogler’s film of the last day of the life of a young man killed by a cop at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station is a moving depiction of a mistake-prone person (Michael B. Jordan) who had the empathy to change. He just never got the chance to. The year’s most touching drama.
‘Her’ The year’s best romance was about a man and his sentient operating system. Spike Jonze made this scifi trope fresh and heartbreaking, thanks to Joaquin Phoenix and the sexy, empathetic voice of Scarlett Johansson.
‘Nebraska’ A Midwestern odyssey that follows a single-minded — and a little simpleminded — old alcoholic as he undertakes one last confused quest for himself and his legacy. Bruce
Dern’s Woody is the performance of a lifetime, set off by hilarious June Squibb as the sort of woman any man would walk away from, given the excuse.
‘All Is Lost’ Robert Redford does his best acting in decades as an old man, struggling with the sea and the small boat that is sinking underneath him. Call it exciting or call it existential, this J.C. Chandor picture is drama at its most elemental and most human.
‘American Hustle’ The cast to this ABSCAM comic-caper picture is so good that burning all the attention and Oscar buzz on Jennifer Lawrence is a
crime. Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper are just as good. And Amy Adams is better, nothing short of brilliant — her grasping, needy but never bitter turn is the heart and soul of the picture.
‘Saving Mr. Banks’ Emma Thompson is gloriously brittle as the author of “Mary Poppins,” a temperamental tempest who descends on Burbank, Calif., utterly immune to the charms of Walt Disney — and Tom Hanks, who plays Walt. Sentimental? Yes. Earnest. And overlong. But witty and ambitious and sympathetically acted by the leads, and supporting players such as B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman and Paul Giamatti.
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DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014
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SPORTS MA YOR
DECEMBER 26,DECEMBER 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014 14 - 20, 2006
James tops list of NBA jersey sales BY TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
MIAMI – Reigning NBA MVP LeBron James was relaxing with his wife not long ago when he looked around and was stunned to see someone wearing his Miami Heat No. 6 jersey. They were on their honeymoon in Venice. “It’s kind of crazy, honestly,’’ James said. “There’s a `wow’ factor.’’ James is again on top of the NBA’s list of top-selling jerseys in the newest rankings released last Thursday. The rankings are based on overall sales from adidas and NBAStore.com in the fourth quarter of this year, along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday sales – both of which were record-setting, the league said. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is No. 2 on the list, followed by Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. “If people love the way I play the game of basketball, love the way I inspire to be better, that’s great,’’ James said. “Everytime I see someone in my jersey, a complete stranger, it’s a ‘wow’ factor. For me to be the No. 1 guy, to have the most jersey sales, it’s crazy.’’ There’s a double-digit percentage growth in jersey sales from last year, according to the league. And with two new versions of the James jersey either hitting, or about to hit, the marketplace, his numbers might keep growing. James’ short-sleeved jersey – the one teams were wearing on Christmas this year – is expected to be a big seller, as will the Name Collection jersey, which the Heat will wear early next year bearing nicknames on the back. James’ is “King James.’’
Wade is No. 7 Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is on the list for the first time at No. 6. Other first-timers on the list include James Harden of the Houston Rockets (No. 12) and Paul George of the Indiana Pacers (No. 14). After Curry, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat checks in at No. 7, followed by Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, George, and then Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 15. Carter-Williams is the lone rookie on the 15-person list. James, who also had the most popular jersey worldwide this year, has held the No. 1 position five times on the league’s list of domestic jersey sales.
PEDRO PORTAL/EL NUEVO HERALD/MCT
Miami Heat’s LeBron James dunks over Utah Jazz’s Trey Burke during the second quarter at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on Dec. 16.
Shaq and Shaunie head to court over family reality show beginning of the year. It is unclear whether Shaq’s win in court is the last word on the matter or if Shaunie will continue to seek permission to film their children.
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is saying “no way” to his ex-wife Shaunie’s plans for a new reality TV show. Shaunie, who is currently the executive producer of VH1’s “Basketball Wives,” has received a deal from the network for a new reality bit, titled “The Shaunie Project.” The show is to follow Shaunie and her children, four of which she had with Shaq before and during their marriage, throughout their daily lives. The project is currently at a stalemate, however, as Shaq is Shaquille refusing to let his O’Neal ex-wife put their kids on camera. Sources familiar with the dispute tell TMZ that Shaunie has told her ex-husband that “The Shaunie Project” will resemble “The Cosby Show,” in terms of the amount of family drama it displays, and that it will showcase “good, wholesome, family fun.” He’s not convinced though.
Judge sides with Shaq Daily Mail reports that Shaunie
He said, she said
Earlier this month, Shaunie released a family holiday photo card. She wants to include her kids in a new reality show. filed an emergency order on Dec. 19 asking for immediate permission to feature her children on the show because filming is slated to begin in the first week of
January and she needs to meet production deadlines. The judge, however, sided with Shaq, who vehemently opposed the request. Apparently, a
hearing for Shaunie’s request is scheduled for late next month, but she also claims that the show will be scrapped if she cannot get approval to start filming at the
TMZ obtained copies of Shaunie’s legal documents, which have created quite the he-said, she-said situation. She claims that Shaq is not actually against the idea of his children appearing on reality TV and that he even tried and failed three times to pitch reality shows that would focus on himself and the kids. She also claims that Shaq told her he was fine with “The Shaunie Project,” just as long as she paid him $1 million, which she refused to do, and that he only actually sees his children eight to 10 days out of each year. Sources close to the former NBA player claim that none of this is true. Shaunie also states that she needs the show in order to pay her bills because Shaq does not provide her with any alimony, but TMZ reports that she actually receives $100,000 per month in child support from her ex-husband.
Another loss for B-CU’s basketball team Men defeated 68-64 by North Florida JACKSONVILLE – Travis Elliott scored a career-high 14 points in Bethune-Cookman’s 68-64 loss to the University of North Florida (UNF) Saturday night. The Wildcats (2-13) tied it at 64 on Clemmye Owens’s three-pointer with 10.6 seconds to play. UNF’s Beau Beech and Jalen Nesbitt each hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining to give the Ospreys (6-7) the victory. Down 11, B-CU took a 49-47 lead on an Allan Dempster lay-up with
13:11 left. UNF pulled away from a 53-53 tie with a 9-0 run to make it 6253 with 3:36 left. Mikel Trapp, Elliott and Malik Jackson combined on 5-6 free throw shooting, than Owens hit a three as B-CU closed to 64-61 with 1:55 left.
17th road loss on road Jackson finished with 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds, and Owens scored ten of his 12 in the second half. Trapp had 10. Beech and Dallas Moore led North Florida with 15 points each. The Wildcats have lost their last 17th straight road games dating back
to a 60-52 win at South Carolina State on Jan. 19. That includes six MEAC games B-CU returns to action Dec. 30 at the University of Detroit Mercy. Game notes: Owens had seven steals, tying him for fifth on the alltime single-game list...Jackson has been in double figures the last three games; this was the fourth time he’s led the team in rebounding ... B-CU is 27-29 in games decided by five points or less since 2008 ... Alumni in the stands included Bernard Hawk, B-CU football’s all-time passing leader and basketball standout Ronnie Weston, one of the program’s 28 1,000 point scorers.
COURTESY OF B-CU ATHLETICS
Bethune-Cookman’s Travis Elliott (with ball), who is from Fort Lauderdale, is shown during the game against UNF last Saturday.
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7DECEMBER 26, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Hoppin’ John!
— W I S H I N G YO U A –
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