Florida Courier, January 12, 2018

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JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

VOLUME 26 NO. 2

HOW FAR HAVE WE COME? One study determines progress has been made in closing the ‘quality of life’ gap between Black and White Americans.

BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

With the nation in the midst of reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a recent study indicates that America’s Black-White racial gap is closing, but there’s still work to be done.

To measure America’s progress in harmonizing the two racial groups (Hispanics/Latinos were not measured), the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2018’s “States with the Most Racial Progress.”

Measuring the gaps WalletHub measured the gaps between Blacks and Whites across 23 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The measurements ranged from me-

dian annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.

It ranked the states and the District of Columbia based on two key measures.

Racial integration was determined by subtracting the values attributed to Whites and Blacks for a given metric, using only the most recent available data.

Racial progress was determined by subtracting the values attributed to Whites and Blacks for a given metric, using the oldest available data and the most recent.

Key statistics Overall, Florida is ranked 23rd in racial progress. The state ranks 13th in employment and wealth, 19th in health, 31st in education, 41st in social and civic engagement.

• The District of Columbia has the lowest gap in homeownership

rates between Whites and Blacks, at 11.88 percent. Connecticut has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970, with a change of 7.71 percent.

• Hawaii has the lowest gap in median annual household incomes between Whites and Blacks, at 8.08 percent. Wyoming has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1979, with a change of 36.50 percent.

• South Dakota has the lowest gap in unemployment rates between Whites and Blacks, at 1.94 percent. North Dakota has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970, with a change of 12.25 percent.

• Hawaii has the lowest gap in poverty rates between Whites and Blacks, at 1.55 percent. Mississippi has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970, See STUDY, Page A2

JOHN ROTTET/RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER

In this 2007 file photo, marchers in Raleigh, N.C. remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK BIRTHDAY 2018

Remembering ‘a drum major for justice’

‘Side piece’ scandal Legislature roiled by affairs, harassment

BY DARA KAM NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – The opening day of the legislative session is typically a pageant in which Florida’s political leaders wax about their agendas and set the tone for the next 60 days.

But a sex scandal involving two married senators – one of them the chamber’s highest-ranking Democrat and the other a powerful Republican – and sexual harassment allegations that forced an influential Republican senator out of office overshadowed the largely ceremonial goings-on Tuesday in the Capitol.

‘Evolved’ friendship

DREAMSTIME/TNS

This statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stands in Atlanta. Events memorializing Dr. King’s life have already begun in Florida and elsewhere around the nation.

Senate Minority Leader Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, and Senate President Pro Tempore Anitere Flores, R-Miami, appeared to admit they had an extramarital affair shortly after videos and photos of Flores leaving and entering Braynon’s apartment were posted on a website “floresbraynonaffair. com.”

Saying they did not want “gossip and rumors to distract from the important business of the people,” Braynon and Flores acknowledged “that our longtime friendship evolved to a level that we deeply regret.”

“We have sought the forgiveness of our families, and also seek the forgiveness of our constituents and God. We ask everyone else to reSee SCANDAL, Page A2

Judge sides with Black farmer in pot dispute FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – A judge issued a final order Tuesday in a dispute over a marijuana license earmarked for a Black farmer, one of 10 coveted medical-marijuana licenses ordered by state lawmakers as part of a law passed last year.

Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson granted a temporary injunction requested by Columbus Smith, a Panama City Black farmer who challenged a portion of the new law, which was designed to implement a voter-approved constitutional amendment broadly legalizing

ALSO INSIDE

medical marijuana.

Organizational requirement Under the law, one of the 10 licenses must go to a grower who had been part of settled lawsuits, known as “Pigford” cases, about discrimination against Black farmers by the federal government. The law also requires the Black farmer who receives a license to be a member of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists AssociationFlorida Chapter.

But lawyers for Smith argued that, while he meets the qualification of being part of the Pigford litigation, he has not been allowed to join the Black farmers association, effectively preventing him from receiving a license. The Florida Constitution bars “special” laws, in part, that relate to “grant of privilege to a private corporation.”

The lawsuit alleges the medical-marijuana law violates that part of the Consti-

tution. Smith tried to become a member of the association after the law was passed last year, but the association was not accepting new members and “has indicated that it does not intend to accept new members” until after the Department of Health issues a license to a Black farmer who meets the criteria laid out in the law, Dodson wrote in the seven-page order. The order also asked both sides to come up with a plan to resolve the issue by June.

SNAPSHOTS

Legislature to reconsider Legislative leaders have said they will address the issue during the 60-day session that began Tuesday. Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who has been instrumental in passage of the state’s medical marijuana laws, said the Legislature will likely strip out the part of the law requiring membership in the association for an applicant to be eligible for the Black-farmer license.

FLORIDA: HOTEL STAYS EXTENDED FOR HURRICANE IRMA SURVIVORS | A3 NATION: SUPREME COURT ORDERS REVIEW OF GEORGIA DEATH ROW CASE | A6

REMEMBERING MLK

‘The Drum Major Instinct’ A4 ‘I Have A Dream’ A5 Celebrating his legacy B3 ‘Our God is Marching On’ B4

FOCUS

A2

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

Risks, sacrifices and rewards For African-Americans, 2018 will be a year of risk, sacrifice and reward –politically speaking anyway!

A risk is a chance. You can take the risk of spending your last two dollars on a Powerball, Mega Millions or a Cash for Life lottery ticket, but if you don’t, you won’t have a chance in the drawing of numbers to have a chance to be wealthy beyond your current means.

Free food, music When I was a little boy, people would try to generate votes or influence votes by feeding you.

Political parties, political interests, political or business associations, candidates or individuals would throw a party, a picnic or some other event and serve you fish, barbeque, or even free chicken and beer to get you to go to the polls.

In my late teens, I remember going to a political primary concert at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Every person that had an “I Voted” sticker would be admitted free of charge to hear a great entertainer like Otis Redding. If you were not a registered voter, there were people at the concert that could register you to vote right at the concert so you could cast

islatures and every council and commission seat, every school board seat and every other seat up for grabs in 2018.

That is good. But that is also a problem!

Not fit for office LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

a ballot in the general election.

Then they would admit you to the concert As an adult, the get-out-thevote (GOTV) flavor of the times was putting fliers on cars at churches. That is what a lot of money is spent on for Black voter generation today.

More than a wave If Democrats and others seek to get rid of elected officials that rode into office on hate for President Barack Obama and supremacist and separatist love for President Donald Trump, a political tsunami must take place!

With so many African-American votes being denied, being subdued and being taken for granted, parties must utilize companies and individuals that can turn out Black, Hispanic, female and conscious White voters at a very, very high rate!

Democrats are suggesting that they will contest every seat in Congress, every seat in state leg-

History has shown that when large numbers of candidates run for important public positions, there will be a significant number of clowns and fools running for office.

Most of the new candidates seeking office in your state, in your city, in your district or in your community didn’t come from your block, your street, your church, your school, your workplace or even your neighborhood.

“Where in the hell did she come from?” or “I don’t know him” are a couple of things you might hear around candidate qualifying time.

Most of the candidates being pushed to voters were never vetted by anybody. We don’t know what they stand for, what they support, whether they are on the same side of issues important to Black people, or what they would vote for if they get elected.

Political devils are tricky They’ll make you think certain candidates love you, when the only love they really have is for their campaign contributors. Not only that. The people AfricanAmericans are told to vote for are candidates that will bow down to and love their political parties far

more than they will ever love you!

Yes, it’s a risk to think politics will change in 2018. But we have to take the chance and vote for a better day and a better life!

Blacks will also have to sacrifice in 2018. African-Americans can’t depend on any political party to fund the Black political professionals, the Black-owned media companies, and the Black community groups that can influence the masses of Black registered voters.

It won’t do America’s Black political sheep must listen to the Black political shepherds that have been standing up for and speaking out for Black people for years and years.

The idea that “any Negro will do” won’t do!

The practice of giving or spending most of the Black outreach campaign money with Black elected officials has not and will turn out the wave of Black voters that have historically been ignored and unappreciated!

Candidates and political parties need to spend political money with people that can access and influence the grass roots!

You know the Black organizations in your town. You’ve heard of Black Lives Matter, the Black Panther Party, the National Baptist Convention, the Fruit of Islam. And you know Black political professionals that can deliver!

Hire qualified Blacks People in politics don’t need

SCANDAL

to do anything to get an ordinary “wave.” But if you want a political tsunami, you have to hire Black political consultants that can get votes out of the trap.

You need a GOTV team that can knock on the door of the heroin house and the “ho house”!

You need someone that can tell Black voters to pick up the Black political slate and put down the White crack pipe!

Increasing your involvement in politics by registering to vote or working to assist desirable candidates comes with risks and sacrifices. But meaningful and organized Black political involvement in 2018 comes with a reward.

Getting rid of politicians that don’t like you, don’t support you, hate your issues and hate your political heroes like Barack Obama is a great start to better political prowess.

Control is best The greatest reward, however, is to move toward controlling the politics in Black communities by controlling who gets the votes in your neighborhoods!

Somebody copy, paste and share this column with people that need to know this information!

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Contact Lucius at www. allworldconsultants.net.

spect and provide our families the privacy that they deserve as we move past this to focus on the important work ahead,” the senators said in a statement released to the media.

for three decades.

“People are not infallible.

There’s always been misconduct between humans. I don’t believe it is going to have an impact as far as the policy and the way the policy is shaped. I believe it will have an impact on the decorum.

I’ve been doing this over 30 years.

We need it to have an impact on the decorum because we lost decorum,” she said.

Watched and recorded

Has happened before

from A1

The anonymous website included a report written by what appears to be a private detective who had planted cameras on the sixth-floor of the Tennyson condominiums near the Capitol, where many lawmakers and lobbyists reside when they are in Tallahassee and where Flores and Braynon lived in units across the hall from each other during last year’s legislative session.

The videos and photos showed Flores entering Braynon’s condo late at night and leaving in the morning four nights in a row in April.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Latest development The revelations about the affair are the latest salacious development to emerge in the Senate, where two members have resigned amid questions of sexual harassment or impropriety over the past three months.

In October, former Sen. Jeff Clemens quit his legislative seat after admitting he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist. Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat, was slated to succeed Braynon as minority leader following the 2018 elections.

And the Senate is still reeling from the resignation of Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who announced his resignation last month, shortly before the Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched a criminal investigation into allegations that the veteran lawmaker had promised legislative favors in exchange for sex.

Latvala made the announcement a day after the release of a report by Special Master Ronald

Anitere Flores

Oscar Braynon

Swanson, who found probable cause to support allegations that the 66-year-old senator had repeatedly groped Senate aide Rachel Perrin Rogers and engaged in a pattern of making unwelcome remarks about women’s bodies.

Latvala has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

Investigation continues Swanson, a retired judge, recommended that the allegations about a possible quid pro quo involving legislative favors be referred to law enforcement. The

STUDY from A1 with a change of 24.27 percent.

• Hawaii has the lowest gap in business-ownership rates between Whites and Blacks, at 38.40 percent. Texas has made the most progress in closing this gap since 2002, with a change of 7.08 percent.

• Idaho has the lowest gap in the share of adults 25 years and over with at least a bachelor’s degree between Whites and Blacks, at 0.07 percent, and has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970, with a change of 6.42 percent.

Legal, cultural causes Irving Joyner, professor of law at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, N.C.,

Irving Joyner

Brian L. Turner

says legalized discrimination is one of the causes of the persistent racial gap.

“Historically, the wealth gap began with slavery, but became more pronounced and widespread during the long-term era of de jure (legal) and de facto segregation and racial discrimination. This discrimination prohibited meaningful participation by African-Americans in politics, business, housing and education and was practiced by individuals,

FDLE investigation is ongoing.

Swanson also recommended that the Senate conduct additional sexual-harassment training for staff and members, along with a review of the chamber’s “culture.” Latvala’s resignation was effective Friday, four days before the start of the legislative session.

In the Capitol on Tuesday, lobbyists and lawmakers had mixed views about the impact of the sex scandals on the session, but they agreed on one thing: Consensual affairs between two elected officials and sexual-harassment allegations that include unwanted groping are worlds apart on the continuum of improper behavior.

Always being watched Senate Rules Chairwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, said elected officials should know they are under enhanced scrutiny.

“We’re all elected officials who stand in the public square, and we do that willingly. And we all have an obligation to behave in a way that honors the time away

corporations and our state and federal government,” he said.

“The effect of the many discriminatory practices, racial bigotry and racial violence prevented the early accumulation and longterm distribution of wealth by African-Americans…(P)resent-day generations of African-Americans were forced to begin their economic life at a sufficient economic deficit, which they had to repeatedly dig out of without having the necessary capital or financial literacy to do so.

“White households and Whites, in general, have never had to confront this prolonged and passionate level of discrimination and racial bias in politics, business, economics, housing and education,” Joyner explained.

Little ‘cross-over’ Brian L. Turner, assistant professor of psychology at Xavier University in New Orleans, cited

from our family and our service on behalf of our constituents,” she said, adding that Braynon’s and Flores’ statement “taking responsibility for their actions and asking their families for forgiveness” was appropriate.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who repeatedly demanded that Latvala resign prior to the release of the special master report, was more blunt.

“I will not defend somebody engaging in an extramarital affair. What I will defend is that it’s a hell of a lot different than being a sexual predator and it’s a hell of a lot different than raping somebody. It’s a hell of a lot different than committing a crime,” Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, said during an at-times combative exchange with reporters Tuesday afternoon.

‘Always been misconduct’ Tallahassee insiders develop a “band of brothers” connection that are almost familial, said Victoria Zepp, who’s been lobbying

cultural isolation as a factor.

“Many of the barriers are caused by continued racial tension set in the lack of cross-cultural experiences. Many Americans still to this day do not have to cross over into different cultural communities. This is even truer for many White Americans, who very rarely have to attend any institution that is not predominately White…. (C)ommunities of color more likely don’t control the access, opportunity, or information possible to achieve a greater piece of the American pie.”

What’s next?

“The solution to this problem is not simple,” Joyner exclaimed. “A beginning could be accomplished by some meaningful form of reparation, but that is not a viable political option.”

Turner focused on small businesses.

“We have to become innova-

Sexual hijinks in statehouses like the Florida Capitol aren’t unusual. During the legislative session, lobbyists, lawmakers and aides – away from home for sometimes weeks at a time – forge bonds while developing and pushing high-stakes policy and budget items, some of which are formulated over late-night drinks or even cocktails served inside the Capitol.

Such intensity can result in “a lot of sparks flying,” Zepp said.

“True predators are out there.

I don’t want to have one broad brush for everyone. Those people need to be held accountable. When we have a no-tolerance policy, no tolerance doesn’t mean you cut off everybody’s head. Some need off with their head. But most of them need a whack upside the head,” she said.

No more hugs In a sign of potential change, male lobbyists and lawmakers exchanged fist bumps with their female counterparts instead of hugs as they gathered Tuesday outside of the chambers on the fourth floor of the Capitol.

“This system is built on trust, and the fact is, right now, there’s a lot of unease because no one is quite sure what the new rules are,” Louis Rotundo, who has been lobbying for decades, told The News Service of Florida.

“The necessary state business will get done. The banter that goes along with a lot of this business will probably be more guarded because people will not be sure how things could be misinterpreted. Perhaps that’s a good thing.”

tive and creative in how traditional entities provide support to businesses, entrepreneurs, and other persons of color, who may not have the traditional or mainstream business model or ‘storefront,’ but they provide a valuable and viable service that provides opportunity and economic equity in communities of color. Examples come to mind of beauty salons, barber shops, tattoo parlors, mom-and-pop restaurants, etc.

These are all entities that if our authorities looked to, they could find real ways to assist in reducing gaps.”

Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Bureau of Justice Statistics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Visit flcourier.com for a link to view more details from the report.

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

FLORIDA

A3

Hotel stays extended for Hurricane Irma survivors Eligible Hurricane Irma survivors receiving Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) may receive an extension to stay temporarily in hotels while they look for an alternative place to live.

FEMA’s TSA, which pays for short-term hotel stays, has extended eligibility from Jan. 7 to Feb. 10, 2018, with hotel checkout Feb. 11, 2018.

Participants in TSA will receive a phone call telling them whether they are eligible for the extension and what they need to do to remain at their current hotel or find a new hotel. Applicants must meet certain requirements to remain eligible.

FEMA pays Hurricane Irma survivors who are not currently in TSA but who may be eligible are notified automatically. Participants must be registered with FEMA and be eligible for disaster assistance.

FEMA pays directly for the room and any applicable taxes.

Applicants are responsible for all other incidental costs, such as meals, transportation, etc. Hotels may require a credit card for incidental expenses.

A household of four or fewer members is authorized one hotel room and a household of five or more is authorized additional rooms based on a limit of four people per room. One member of each household 18 or older must reside in each room.

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

How to get help

Drivers wait in line for gasoline at the Costco in Altamonte Springs on Sept. 6, 2017, ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irma.

TSA-eligible applicants must find and book their own hotel rooms.

The list of participating hotels is on DisasterAssistance.gov, under the link Transitional Shel-

tering Assistance Program or by phoning the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. For TTY, call 800462-7585. For 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

Applicants with disabilities or who have access and functional needs should check with hotels to ensure appropriate accommodations are available. Those with

pets must check to see if pets are accepted. Applicants must show photo identification and adhere to any hotel check-in requirements.

For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov/IrmaFL or the Florida Division of Emergency Management website.

US high court lets stand Florida’s satellite-TV tax

BY JIM SAUNDERS ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

TALLAHASSEE – Ending years of legal battling about the issue, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a challenge to the constitutionality of a Florida law that sets different tax rates for satellite and cable-television services.

The U.S. Supreme Court, without explanation, turned down Dish Network’s appeal of a ruling last year by the Florida Supreme Court that upheld the law.

The state’s communications-services tax is 4.92 percent on the sale of cable services and 9.07 percent on the sale of satellite-TV services.

Local governments also can impose communications-services taxes on cable, with rates varying.

Network’s stance

PAUL BRINKMAN/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

This Olive Garden in Winter Park is one of the establishments owned by the Orlando-based Darden Restaurants.

Darden says tax reform will save it $70 million

BY KYLE ARNOLD ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

Restaurant companies are joining the corporate chorus rushing to praise the tax bill Congress passed last month as Orlando-based Darden Restaurants said the legislation will save it about $70 million.

Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse parent company Darden Restaurants said the new tax reform plan will cut taxes by about $70 million in the third quarter.

The Orlando-based restaurant chain said Monday the tax cut will prompt it to spend an additional $20 million on its 175,000-plus employees this year, but did not give specifics.

18 percent rate Darden (NYSE: DRI) said its effective tax rate will drop from 25 percent to 18 percent going forward.

Darden is one of several companies rallying around the tax reform bill Republicans passed in December and went into law Dec. 22.

Last week, airlines Southwest and American said it would give bonuses to some employees because of savings from the bill. Comcast, Boeing and AT&T also announced one-time bonuses.

The tax bill cut the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

In its last fiscal year, Darden paid $154.8 million in

income taxes on a profit of $479.1 million. Darden has about 1,700 restaurants.

Citing workforce

Dish Network contended the different state tax rates on satellite and cable are a form of protectionism that violates the “dormant” Commerce Clause, which bars states from discriminating against interstate commerce.

“The decision below [at the Florida Supreme Court] is a green light to adopt protectionist measures encumbering the flow of commerce across state lines,” Dish Network argued in a November brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the case.

But Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, which represented the Florida Department of Revenue, argued in a brief that a federal telecommunications law prevents local governments from taxing satellite services.

As a result, the brief said, the state set a higher tax rate for satellite services and shares part of the money with local governments.

On cable services

“One of the best investments we can make is in our people,” said a statement from CEO Gene Lee. “During the remainder of fiscal 2018, we will invest approximately $20 million in initiatives directly benefiting our workforce.

“This investment will strengthen one of our most important competitive advantages – a results-oriented culture – as we continue to improve on the guest experience, and position Darden and our brands for longterm success.”

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said the company was not giving further details on the employee initiatives for competitive reasons.

With the tax boost, Darden raised its fiscal outlook for the year by about 25 cents a share to $4.70 to $4.78.

Meanwhile, local governments can tax cable services.

“If a state taxes communications services at the state and local levels, as Florida does, the only way to ensure that the state receives the same revenue from satellite as other communications services while ensuring that local governments may also receive revenue is to tax satellite at a higher rate and share the revenue with local governments,” the brief said.

The state’s 1st District Court of Appeal in 2015 ruled in favor of the satellite-television industry and raised the possibility that Florida would have to pay refunds to satellite companies.

But the Florida Supreme Court in April unanimously overturned that decision, with justices saying in a main opinion that they did not find the law was “enacted with a discriminatory purpose.”

‘Good for us’

Quince’s argument

Ruth’s Hospitality Group chief operating officer Arne Haak said the tax changes will also benefit the Winter Park-based parent of Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses.

“The tax reform is very good for us,” Haak said at the ICR Conference Monday, a gathering of restaurant and retail industry companies in Orlando.

The tax reform bill will allow Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chao to lower its tax rate and bring money back from overseas, said chief financial officer Tony Laday.

“We are an international company — we do have operations in Brazil — and we were prohibited from a tax perspective from bringing some of that cash back home,” Laday said at the ICR Conference. “There’s a net benefit from the tax perspective and greater flexibility from a tax perspective.”

A key part of the case at the Florida Supreme Court focused on arguments by the satellite companies that the different tax rates benefited cable companies that are “in-state interests” at the expense of “out-ofstate” satellite operators.

But Justice Peggy Quince, writing for the court, rejected such a distinction and noted that the state’s largest cable operators are headquartered outside of Florida.

“Cable is not a local, in-state interest any more than satellite,” Quince wrote. “While it may be true that cable employs more Florida residents and uses more local infrastructure to provide its services, the Supreme Court has never found a company to be an in-state interest because it had a greater presence in a state.”

A4

REMEMBERING MLK 2018

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

CHARLES W. CHERRY II/FLORIDA COURIER

‘THE DRUM MAJOR INSTINCT’ Editor’s note – Here are substantial excerpts of one of Dr. King’s best regular Sunday sermons, ‘The Drum Major Instinct’, at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he was co-pastor with his father “Daddy King.” This sermon was preached on February 4,1968, exactly two months before his violent death. He essentially preaches his own eulogy in its last section.

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him saying, ‘Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.’ And he said unto them, ‘What would ye that I should do for you?’ And they said unto him, ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.’

But Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye know not what ye ask: Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’

And they said unto him, ‘We can.’

You shall follow And Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with all shall ye be baptized: but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.’”

And then Jesus goes on…to say, “But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

James and John are making a specific request of the Master.

They had dreamed, as most of the Hebrews dreamed, of a coming king of Israel who would set Jerusalem free and establish his kingdom on Mount Zion, and in righteousness rule the world.

And they thought of Jesus as this kind of king. And they were thinking of that day when Jesus would reign supreme as this new king of Israel. And they were saying, “Now when you establish your kingdom, let one of us sit on the right hand and the other on the left hand of your throne.”

Same instinct Now very quickly, we would automatically condemn James and John, and we would say they were selfish. Why would they make such a selfish request? But before we condemn them too quickly, let us look calmly and honestly at ourselves, and we will discover that we too have those same basic desires for recognition, for importance. That same desire for attention, that same

A desire to lead the parade desire to be first.

And there is deep down within all of us an instinct. It’s a kind of drum major instinct – a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first. And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life…we all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade...

“Bundle of ego” We begin early to ask life to put us first. Our first cry as a baby was a bid for attention. And all through childhood the drum major..instinct is a major obsession.

Children ask life to grant them first place. They are a little bundle of ego. And they have innately the drum major impulse or the drum major instinct.

Now in adult life, we still have it, and we really never get by it.

We like to do something good… we like to be praised for it. And somehow this warm glow we feel when we are praised or when our name is in print is something of the vitamin A to our ego. Nobody is unhappy when they are praised, even if they know they don’t deserve it and even if they don’t believe it. The only unhappy people about praise is when that praise is going too much toward somebody else.

Do you know that a lot of the race problem grows out of the drum major instinct? A need that some people have to feel superior. A need that some people have to feel that they are first, and to feel that their white skin ordained them to be first. And they have said over and over again in ways that we see with our own eyes. In fact, not too long ago, a man down in Mississippi said that God was a charter member of the White Citizens Council.

And so God being the charter member means that everybody who’s in that has a kind of divinity, a kind of superiority.

And think of what has happened in history as a result of this perverted use of the drum major instinct. It has led to the most tragic prejudice, the most tragic expressions of man’s inhumanity to man.

National supremacy And not only does this thing go into the racial struggle, it goes into the struggle between nations…What is wrong in the world today is that the nations of the world are engaged in a bitter, colossal contest for supremacy.

And if something doesn’t happen to stop this trend, I’m sorely afraid that we won’t be here to

talk about Jesus Christ and about God and about brotherhood too many more years.

If somebody doesn’t bring an end to this suicidal thrust that we see in the world today, none of us are going to be around, because somebody’s going to make the mistake through our senseless blunderings of dropping a nuclear bomb somewhere.

And then another one is going to drop. And don’t let anybody fool you, this can happen within a matter of seconds. They have twenty-megaton bombs in Russia right now that can destroy a city as big as New York in three seconds, with everybody wiped away, and every building. And we can do the same thing to Russia and China.

But this is why we are drifting.

And we are drifting there because nations are caught up with the drum major instinct. “I must be first.” “I must be supreme.” “Our nation must rule the world.” And I am sad to say that the nation in which we live is the supreme culprit. And I’m going to continue to say it to America, because I love this country too much to see the drift that it has taken.

God didn’t call America to do what she’s doing in the world now. God didn’t call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war as the war in Vietnam. And we are criminals in that war. We’ve committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I’m going to continue to say it. And we won’t stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation.

‘Don’t play with me’ But God has a way of even putting nations in their place. The God that I worship has a way of saying, “Don’t play with me.” He has a way of saying, as the God of the Old Testament used to say to the Hebrews, “Don’t play with me, Israel. Don’t play with me, Babylon. Be still and know that I’m God. And if you don’t stop your reckless course, I’ll rise up and break the backbone of your power.”

And that can happen to America. Every now and then I go back and read Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. And when I come and look at America, I say to myself, the parallels are frightening.

New definition of greatness And we have perverted the drum major instinct. But let me rush on to my conclusion, because I want you to see what Je-

sus was really saying. What was the answer that Jesus gave these men? It’s very interesting. One would have thought that Jesus would have condemned them.

One would have thought that Jesus would have said, “You are out of your place. You are selfish. Why would you raise such a question?”

But that isn’t what Jesus did; he did something altogether different. He said in substance, “Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be.

If you’re going to be my disciple, you must be.”

But he reordered priorities.

And he said, “Yes, don’t give up this instinct. It’s a good instinct if you use it right. It’s a good instinct if you don’t distort it and pervert it. Don’t give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity…”

And he transformed the situation by giving a new definition of greatness. He said, “Now brethren, I can’t give you greatness. And really, I can’t make you first…You must earn it. True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness. And the right hand and the left are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared.”

Anyone can serve And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important – wonderful. If you want to be recognized – wonderful. If you want to be great – wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

My own funeral Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that

“You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”

day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator – that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral.

And I don’t think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, “What is it that I would want said?” And I leave the word to you this morning.

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long.

And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize–that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards–that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind.

I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind.

But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that’s all I want to say.

“If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he’s traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, If I can spread the message as the master taught, then my living will not be in vain.”

Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

Source: www.stanford.edu

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

REMEMBERING MLK 2018

A5

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ ”

‘I HAVE A DREAM’ Here is the entire text of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

America’s promissory note In a sense, we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, – yes, Black men as well as White men – would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check – a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give FILE PHOTO us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of jus- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waves to the massive crowd on Aug. 28, 1963, at the March on Washington. There, he delivered his fatice.

mous " I Have A Dream'' speech.

Now is the time We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of ‘Now.’ This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

No bitterness But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst

for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.

Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all White people, for many of our White brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has

nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Go back I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities – knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification” – one day right there in Alabama, little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little White boys and White girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day – this

will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that – Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Source: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ mlkihaveadream.htm

NATION

TOJ A6

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

Supreme Court orders review of death row case Racist comments could mean new sentencing hearing for Georgia inmate

John G. Roberts Jr. in Buck v. Davis, explaining why that testimony called for a new sentencing hearing.

And in the case of a MexicanAmerican convicted of a sexual assault, the court in Pena-Rodriquez v. Colorado said trial judges should reconsider a jury’s verdict if they learn that a juror made racist comments during the deliberations.

BY DAVID G. SAVAGE TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court voted Monday to give a Black inmate convicted of murder in Georgia a chance to overturn his 27-year-old death sentence because of racist comments made by a White juror years later.

The unsigned opinion prompted a dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas and two other justices, who derided their colleagues for “ceremonial handwringing” that “callously delays justice” for the Black woman who was the murder victim.

In 1990, Keith Tharpe ambushed and assaulted his exwife and shot and killed her sister, Jacquelin Freeman. A few months later, a jury convicted him of those crimes and unanimously voted in favor of a death sentence.

Juror’s statement He was set to be executed on Sept. 26 when his lawyers presented to the Supreme Court a statement from Barney Gattie, one of the jurors in Tharpe’s case.

Gattie had spoken to defense lawyers in 1998 and said he saw “two types of Black people,” some of whom were “nice Black folks” like Freeman and her family. He used the N-word to characterize the others.

“I felt Tharpe, who wasn’t in the ‘good’ Black folks category in my book, should get the electric chair for what he did. … After studying the Bible, I have wondered if Black people even have souls,” according to Gattie’s statement.

Statement disavowed

DREAMSTIME/TNS

A Georgia man was set to be executed on Sept. 26 when his lawyers presented to the Supreme Court a racially charged statement from one of the jurors in the 27-year-old case.

Execution halted The Supreme Court issued a late-night order to stop Tharpe’s execution. And Monday, the justices issued a three-page ruling that told the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta to reconsider Tharpe’s plea for a new sentencing hearing.

The appeals court had previously rejected Tharpe’s request, noting that state judges reviewed what Gattie had said and found no evidence Tharpe had been a victim of a racial bias in the jury room.

“Our review of the record compels a different conclusion,” the justices said in Tharpe v. Sellers.

They said Gattie’s affidavit “presents a strong factual basis for the argument that Tharpe’s race affected Gattie’s vote for a death verdict.”

Not overturned The opinion stops well short of reversing Tharpe’s death sentence, however. It said he still “faces a high bar” in overturning a state judge’s earlier ruling that Gattie’s racist views did not play a role in the jury’s deliberations, the court wrote.

The high court has long struggled with the question of whether and when federal judges should intervene to reopen old death penalty cases that were resolved

in state courts.

Since the 1990s, both the Supreme Court and Congress have said federal judges should generally defer to the factual rulings of state courts and reverse them only for extraordinary reasons.

Cases reopened But last year, the high court changed course somewhat in two decisions involving race.

It reopened the case of a Black death row inmate in Texas whose sentencing hearing included testimony from a crime expert who said Blacks are more likely than Whites to commit future crimes.

“Some toxins can be deadly in small doses,” said Chief Justice

Lawyers for Tharpe cited both decisions in the emergency appeal that spared their client’s life.

“We are thankful that the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the serious implications for fundamental fairness of the clear evidence of racial animus on the part of one of the jurors who sentenced Mr. Tharpe to death,” Brian Kammer, a lawyer for Tharpe, said Monday.

“We look forward to pressing Mr. Tharpe’s case in the 11th Circuit.”

Lawyers for Georgia had told the court that Gattie, who is deceased, had disavowed his initial statement to the defense lawyers and said he had been drinking heavily.

He later testified before a judge and said his views on race did not affect his decision as a juror. The judge also heard from the other jurors, two of whom were Black, and they insisted race played no role in their deliberations.

‘Racist rhetoric’ In a 13-page dissent, Thomas, a Georgia native and the court’s only African-American, said Gattie’s views “are certainly odious. But their odiousness does not excuse us from doing our jobs correctly,” he said.

“The court must be disturbed by the racist rhetoric in that (first) affidavit and must want to do something about it. But the court’s decision is no profile in courage,” he said. Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch joined his dissent.

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Winfrey’s speech prompts 2020 talk See page B5

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JAN. 12 – JAN. 18, 2018 Actor also makes Golden Globes history See page B5

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Remembering Recy Taylor A new documentary and Winfrey’s speech helps to spark renewed interest in the story of a Black Alabama woman gang-raped by White men in 1944.

BY STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

O

n Sept. 3, 1944, Recy Taylor was walking home from an evening church service at Rock Hill Holiness Church in Abbeville, Alabama with a friend when seven White men armed with guns and knives pulled up in a green Chevrolet and abducted her.

The 24-year-old wife and mother was gang-raped by six of them, then dumped back on the road where they found her.

Taylor did not stay quiet about the assault. The kidnapping was reported by her friend and Taylor also came forth and gave details about the attack.

Taylor’s family which included her husband and a little girl, faced violence, death threats, and a firebombing of their home.

She died at age 97 on Dec. 28, 2017, just days before her 98th birthday.

Winfrey’s tribute Recy Taylor’s horror was brought to light this week during Oprah Winfrey‘s Golden Globes speech on Jan. 7. During the speech, she honored Sidney Poitier, the first Black male to win the Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement – in 1982. Winfrey became the first Black woman on Sunday.

While reflecting on the years of abuse and assault that women have suffered, Winfrey also paid homage to Taylor.

“Recy Taylor died 10 days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.’’

Put to film Taylor died just three weeks after “The Rape of Recy Taylor’’ was released, directed by Nancy Buirski, who also was behind the movie “Loving,’’ Richard and Mildred Loving’s 1950s fight against Virginia’s laws on interracial marriage.

Although Taylor is seen at strategic moments in the film, her story is largely recounted by her younger siblings, Robert Corbitt and Alma Daniels, who speak with anguish about the horror their sister endured.

“The Rape of Recy Taylor” chronicles the night of Taylor’s attack and the resulting investigation by authorities. Through interviews with members of Taylor’s family as well as academics, the film charts how Taylor’s story became national news and was a spark for the eventual civil rights movement.

“The fact that Recy had the courage to speak up is mind-boggling given the danger she was in, that she was in fear for her life and her family’s safety, but she immediately spoke up,” Buirski said in a Los Angeles Times interview last month.

“I also realized, about the time period, that AfricanAmerican women had been talking about this happening in their families for generations. They know by looking at their skin colors that it’s a legacy they live with.’’

Inspired by book The documentary was inspired by Danielle L. McGuire’s 2010 book “At the

Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape and Resistance — A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power.”

Before civil rights icon Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955 to a White man, she led a national campaign against sexual assaults on Black women.

The NAACP sent Parks from Montgomery to Abbeville to examine the facts.

Parks’ efforts led to a trial in Montgomery with lawyer and activist E.D. Nixon on Taylor’s legal team. Because the men were never charged, the only witnesses present were Taylor and her family.

An all-White, all-male jury dismissed the matter.

Recy Taylor refused to stay silent about the rape, which made national headlines after Rosa Parks and the NAACP got involved.

2011 apology Parks later appealed to then-Alabama Governor Chauncey Sparks and helped to create the Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor along with other activists.

Under pressure, Sparks ordered another investigation of the rape. On Feb. 14, 1945, a Henry County grand jury still refused to indict the suspects. The men were never prosecuted.

It wasn’t until 2011 that local and Alabama officials issued apologies to Taylor.

Black press coverage “The Rape of Recy Taylor’’ emphasizes that Taylor’s attack only became national news because of the Black press.

“If not for the Black press, I’m not sure the story would’ve ever gotten out there. The White press just wasn’t paying attention to it, and rarely did. The Black press felt a responsibility to portray Black life as it was really being lived,’’ director Buirski said.

McGuire, a historian and author from Michigan, began researching the case in 2003 and later interviewed Taylor.

“I only wish that Oprah could have met her because I think she would have been as inspired by her as I am.

Clearly it sparked something in her to make her talk about (Taylor) at the Golden Globes,” she said in a Detroit Free Press interview.

On Taylor’s tenacity McGuire added that Taylor inspired her for many reasons.

“Whenever I think I have it hard, I think about what she had to endure. Not just when she was assaulted, but growing up in Jim Crow Alabama, the way every single institution said her life didn’t matter. I can never feel sorry for myself or think that I’ve got it bad,’’ she stated.

“The other thing is she spoke out long before the personal was political, before women took back the night, before Hollywood actresses said #MeToo. She did it at a time she could have been killed for it … When I asked her, “Why did you speak out after they threatened you?” She said, ‘Because I didn’t deserve what they did to me,’ ” McGuire added.

Articles by D.L. Chandler/BlackAmericaWeb. com, Georgia Kovanis/ Detroit Free Press and Tre’Vell Anderson/Los Angeles Times and Tribune News Service were used in compiling this report.

The Chicago Defender printed a story with the headline, “Victim of White Alabama Rapists.” It ran a photo of Recy Taylor with her daughter, Jayce, and her husband, Willie Guy Taylor.

NAACP investigator Rosa Parks, shown with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was sent to Alabama to investigate the rape.

REMEMBERING MLK 2018

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JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

STOJ

A LONG AND DIFFICULT PATH TO FREEDOM

BY JEAN NASH JOHNSON THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Martin Luther King Jr.: The name is universal, etched into the American psyche.

Ask any schoolchild and he probably can recite Dr. King’s many civil rights accomplishments.

But long before there was a March on Washington, a Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, bus boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides and an MLK holiday, champions not often found in U.S. history textbooks were making their own marks for freedom.

Dating back to the pre-Revolutionary War period, slavery, abolition and the Jim Crow-era of segregation, other lessknown Americans fought the good fight.

Here is a celebration of centuries of unsung heroes who paved the way for the modern civil rights movement. Pre-1700s • When Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón moved from Spain to settle in what is now Jamestown, Va., he brought Africans with him. He founded a colony that thrived until the mid-1520s, when he died and was replaced by a more repressive leader.

Africans fought the new regime, and many fled and established their own colony in Virginia.

The 1700s • Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave, is believed to be the first American to die in the Revolutionary War. On March 5, 1770, Attucks was at the head of a crowd of rowdy Bostonians taunting British soldiers.

He was believed to have provoked the attack by striking one of the soldiers. The soldiers shot Attucks and 10 other Americans, killing or fatally wounding five of them.

• In 1730, 96 slaves aboard the ship Little George gained control of the vessel from the crew. Some White crew members were thrown overboard, and others were sequestered. The Africans successfully navigated the ship back to Africa, where they escaped to freedom.

• Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was born about 1742 and worked for Col. John Ashley, one of Massachusetts’ wealthiest merchants.

Her face was badly scarred when she took a blow from a hot kitchen shovel intended for her sister. Freeman later fled the Ashley house, vowing never to return. Col. Ashley attempted to recover her legally, but Freeman sought help from attorney Theodore Sedgwick, insisting that she could argue for her freedom. The law said that all were born free and equal, and she said she was certainly included.

Sedgwick took the case and won. The jury even awarded Freeman damages.

Her case set the precedent in Massachusetts that the Bill of Rights in fact abolished slavery.

The 1800s • Black nationalist Henry Highland Garnet was one of the more militant antislavery leaders in the early 19th century.

Along with Frederick Douglass, he was a major player in the abolitionist movement. He argued in 1864 at the National Convention of Colored Citizens in Syracuse, N.Y., that Black people should be equal to Whites and live separately. He had said this to one resistance group: “Brethren arise, arise. Strike for your lives and liberties.

Now is the day and the hour: Let every slave throughout the land do this, and the days of slavery are numbered.”

• On July 2, 1839, the most famous slaveship rebellion took place aboard the Spanish vessel La Amistad.

While the ship was transporting cap-

People throughout history helped pave the way for King and civil rights

tured Africans along the Cuban coast, the slaves, led by Joseph Cinque, tried unsuccessfully to redirect the ship to Africa.

The USS Washington captured the ship, and the slaves were taken to New London, Conn.

The mutiny case went before the U.S. Supreme Court, where Cinque and his fellow Africans were represented by former President John Quincy Adams and won the right to return to Africa.

• In the mid-1800s, Harriet Tubman was one of the formidable conductors of the Underground Railroad, the system that helped slaves, mostly in the South, escape to freedom. Tubman was the most famous, but other Blacks and Whites played pivotal roles in the system’s success.

Levi Coffin, a Quaker, helped nearly 2,000 runaway slaves, and Washington, D.C., cab operator Leonard Grimes used his cab not only to taxi wealthy Whites, but also to carry slaves to freedom.

Tubman was never captured, but Grimes was apprehended on one of his trips to Virginia and spent two years in prison in Richmond. Coffin and other Whites who risked their lives were rarely arrested.

• Abraham Lincoln called author Harriet Beecher Stowe the little woman who started the Civil War. With the publication of her “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in 1852, she denounced slavery with her sympathetic portrayal of the slave Uncle Tom. Her characterization of Tom as a human being set off a new attitude among Northerners toward slaves. The book became a play, which toured the North.

• John Brown is one of the most widely known White abolitionists. He believed he was sent by God to abolish slavery.

With funding from New England antislavery organizations, he and his followers raided several of Virginia’s established plantations. In 1859, with fewer than 50 men, he raided an arsenal at Harpers Ferry,Va., to get ammunition to level an attack on Virginia slave owners. He was captured by Robert E. Lee and hanged after a trial, where he was convicted of “treason, conspiracy and advising slaves and others to rebel and murder in the first degree.”

Brown was urged by his lawyer to plead insanity, but he refused.

Of the five Blacks who also were caught, two were killed fighting U.S. troops, two were hanged, and one escaped.

• J In 1800, Denmark Vesey was allowed to buy his freedom for the $600 he won in a Charleston, S.C., street lottery.

The West-Indian-born Vesey was familiar with the Haitian slave revolt of the 1790s and became dissatisfied with his second-class citizenship. He also was aware that others with no freedom were worse off. In 1822, a frustrated Vesey planned an uprising ofcity and plantation Blacks.

The plan was recorded as the most extensive slave revolt in U.S. history, calling for the radicals to seize guardhouses and arsenals, take arms, kill all Whites, burn and destroy Charleston and subsequently free the slaves.

Though it is a disputed figure, it was believed that 6,000 to 9,000 Blacks were involved.

A Black house servant warned White authorities of the insurrection plan, and because of the massive military preparations to counterattack, Vesey’s plan remained stalled for two months. During that period, 130 Blacks were arrested, and in the trials that followed, 67 were convicted of an attempted insurrection.

Vesey was among about 35 of that number hanged. Four White men also were sent to prison for encouraging the plot.

• Many students of Black history are familiar with the great abolitionist Sojourner Truth, a popular speaker in the 1840s during the revival movement in the Northeast. Her folk manner and wry humor were disarming to many anti-abolitionists. What is probably not as wellknown is Sojourner Truth’s active role in equal rights for women. In the 1850s, she was one of the first Black women to participate in the women’s rights movement.

During one speech on women’s rights, a man questioned her gender and she bared her breast at great embarrassment to him.

• Pennsylvania abolitionist and physician Martin Delaney was one of the few educated Blacks of his time, and he used his intellect to launch a militant opposition to slavery. In the 1840s he started a weekly newspaper, the Mystery, which printed grievances of American Blacks and also championed women’s rights. The newspaper had an outstanding reputation, and its stories often were reprinted in the mainstream White press. In the late 1840s, Delaney worked with abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass in Rochester, N.Y., where they published another weekly, the North Star.

Delaney also was one of the first Blacks to be admitted to Harvard Medical School. He later helped recruit troops for the renowned Civil War 54th Massachusetts Volunteers, which he served as a surgeon. In February 1865, the doctor was made a major, the first Black man to receive a regular Army commission.

The 1900s • There’s no disputing Booker T. Washington’s place in Black history. But his behind-the-scenes operating style is not as commonly known. For instance, on Oct. 16, 1901, President Teddy Roosevelt broke with segregationists and invited the Black leader to dine at the White House. This infuriated Southern Whites but created pride in the Black community, in spite of opposition among some Black Americans to Washington’s moderate style.

Washington did not favor public political resistance by Blacks, but he constantly defended Black social and political rights.

He secretly helped finance efforts to end discrimination on Pullman railroad cars, and he contributed money to lawyers who fought to overturn Texas and Alabama laws that excluded Blacks from participating in juries.

• Trade unionist and civil rights leader Asa Philip Randolph was a strategic champion of fair labor practices for Blacks. In the early 1910s, he and activist Chandler Owen organized an employment agency for Black workers. In 1917, the two started The Messenger, a magazine that called for more positions in the war industry and the armed forces for Blacks. Randolph also established the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and began organizing Black workers groups. (Half the affiliates of the American Federation of Labor barred Blacks.)

When Randolph warned President Franklin D. Roosevelt that he would lead thousands in a protest march on Washington, the president issued an executive order June 25, 1941, that barred discrimination in defense industries and federal bureaus and created the Fair Employment Practices Committee.

After World War II, Randolph established the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, which resulted in an executive order

by President Harry S. Truman banning segregation in the armed forces. The seed planted in 1941 led Randolph to help lead the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963.

• Social activist and writer Mary Church Terrell was co-founder and first president of the National Association of Colored Women, founded in 1896. Terrell was an advocate for women’s suffrage and Blacks’ rights. As a member of the integrated National American Woman Suffrage Association, she particularly fought for the concerns of Black women.

She was named to the District of Columbia Board of Education in 1895, the first Black woman to hold such a position. At the suggestion of W.E.B. Du Bois, she was made a charter member of the NAACP. In her final act as activist, Terrell led a successful three-year fight to end segregation in public eating places and hotels in Washington, D.C., in 1953.

• Newspaper editor and activist Charlotta Spears Bass argued so boldly for civil rights that many believed she was ahead of her time.

Her influential words and style were later used in the early days of the 1950s-’60s civil rights movement.

When she became editor in 1912 of the California Eagle, the oldest Black West Coast paper in the country, the paper directed its focus to political and social issues important to its constituency.

The paper often wrote about unfair treatment of Blacks in education, employment and politics. In doing so, Bass had to face down a strong Ku Klux Klan presence in California in the ’40s and ’50s.

She later went into politics, and in 1952 she became the first Black woman to run for vice president, campaigning for the Progressive Party.

• In the 1940s, actor/athlete Paul Robeson epitomized the use of celebrity influence against racism. The Rutgers graduate was best known for his dynamic theater portrayals in Eugene O’Neill’s “The Emperor Jones” and “All God’s Chillun Got Wings,” and Shakespeare’s “Othello.”

He stirred his greatest controversy in the late ’40s when he publicly denounced U.S. policy against the Soviet Union, proclaiming that Blacks would not fight against a government that was free of racism and prejudice.

He was Blackballed from acting and targeted by the U.S. government. He was not granted a passport.

He also was stripped of his honors as an athlete. His name was removed from the list of All-Americans for the years he played for Rutgers, and he was refused membership in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Robeson never relented and insisted that he had the right to free speech against racism in America.

• It was the vision and influence of Ella Baker, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, that led to the creation of the pivotal Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Baker organized the group in 1960, insisting that students needed a voice and organization of their own. In a ’60s climate of rising Black anger, the committee criticized the conference and other groups such as the Congress of Racial Equality for their lack of immediate leadership in Black communities, and it later spun off, offering a more direct small-group approach to community involvement.

The group elected Stokely Carmichael as its leader in 1966. He coined the phrase “Black power” and led the group away from its original commitment to integration and toward the goal of separate community building.

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JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

REMEMBERING MLK 2018

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A LIFE REMEMBERED Celebrating the legacy of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

BY STACEY HOLLENBECK MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his mark on history during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Motivated by his faith, King fought against the oppression of his fellow African-Americans by protesting segregation. His efforts to combat the injustices were met with hostility and hatred, and eventually led to his early death. But King’s drive to achieve harmony among the races led to the desegregation of the country and set America on the path toward racial equality.

NIKKI KAHN/MCT

Coretta Scott King, pictured here in 2003.

History of the day In 1986, nearly 18 years after his assassination, Americans celebrated the first Martin Luther King Day, a holiday established to pay homage to the preacher and inspirational leader. By this time, 17 states already had established holidays to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Coretta Scott King, his widow, worked hard to make the national holiday a reality.

In 2003, the theme of Martin Luther King Day became, “Remember!

Celebrate! Act! A day on, not a day off.” Although some professionals and students see the third Monday in January as a day off from work or school, others see it as an opportunity to volunteer their time. By working to improve their communities and help those in need, these Americans are acting on behalf of King’s generous spirit.

Famous quotes Through his eloquent speeches, sermons and writings, Martin Luther King Jr. inspired a nation. Here are a few of his most memorable and moving quotations: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

— “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963 “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”

— King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Aug. 28, 1963 “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

— King’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec. 10, 1964 “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place.

But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.

And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”

— King’s “I’ve Been to The Mountaintop” speech, April 3, 1968

Remember!

Celebrate! Act! To truly celebrate Martin Luther King Day and honor its “Day of Service” theme, Americans can work to improve the lives of those in need or help out in their communities. Here are some ways to celebrate the day through community service: • Bring meals to homebound neighbors • Shovel elderly neighbors’ walkways • Serve meals at a homeless shelter To find a volunteer opportunity near you, go to www.mlkday. gov and click “Find A Volunteer Opporutnity Now.''

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DR. KING? How well do you know Martin Luther King Jr.? Test your knowledge about the civil rights leader whose legacy is celebrated every year.

1. How many children did King have?

A. 1 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5 TONY SPINA/DETROIT FREE PRESS

2. How old was King when he was assassinated?

A. 35 B. 39 C. 42 D. 50 3. King gave his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech Aug. 28, 1963, in front of what landmark in Washington, D.C.?

A. The Washington Monument B. The White House C. The Jefferson Memorial D. The Lincoln Memorial

On June 23, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. led more than 125,000 people on the “Walk to Freedom” down Woodward Avenue in Detroit.

4. King was named president of what influential civil rights group in 1957?

A. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee B. Southern Christian Leadership Conference C. Congress of Racial Equality D. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

5. Which president signed the bill establishing the third Monday of every January as the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday?

A. Ronald Reagan B. Lyndon B. Johnson C. John F. Kennedy D. George H.W. Bush Answers: 1-C; 2-B; 3-D; 4-B; 5-A.

Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the audience at the official ceremony of the MLK memorial at the the National Mall in Washington in October 2011.

BOOKS ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS ICON Below are some resources for kids and teens who want to learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy.

Good reads for kids • “A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by David A. Adler and illustrated by Robert Casilla (Holiday House, $6.95) • “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr.” by Jean Marzollo (Scholastic Paperbacks, $5.99) • “My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Christine King Farris (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, $17.95)

MCT

“My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

• “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport (Jump At The Sun, $6.99)

Good reads for teens • “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and edited

by Clayborne Carson (Grand Central Publishing, $15.95) • “A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and edited by Peter Holloran and Clayborne Carson (Grand Central Publishing, $20) • “A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shepard (Grand Central Publishing, $14.95)

ILLUSTRATION BY EARL F. LAM/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS SOURCES: THE KING CENTER; DOCUMENTS FROM THE KING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INSTITUTE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY; WWW.MLKDAY.GOV.

Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life and career to protesting injustice. The following timeline identifies the times and places in King’s short life where he significantly influenced the civil rights movement and the future of America.

• Jan. 15, 1929: Martin Luther King Jr. was born to the Rev. and Mrs. Martin Luther King Sr. in Atlanta, Ga. • 1947: King became licensed to preach.

• June 18, 1953: King married Coretta Scott in Marion, Ala. Coretta Scott King continued her husband’s legacy as a civil rights activist until her death on Jan. 30, 2006.

• June 5, 1955: King received a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University.

• Feb. 21, 1956: King and other demonstrators were arrested for participating in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In December of that same year, the federal government ordered Montgomery buses to integrate.

• Feb. 18, 1957: Martin Luther King Jr. appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

• February 1959: King and his wife spent a month in India studying Mahatma Gandhi’s technique of nonviolence. King was an avid fan of nonviolence, a strategy where demonstrators, instead of using violence, protest peacefully.

• Oct. 19, 1960: King was arrested for trespassing while taking part in a sit-in demonstration at a lunch counter in Atlanta, Ga. Sit-ins were nonviolent anti-segregation protests where Black demonstrators refused to leave restaurants and public places that were designated as White-only.

• Dec. 16, 1961: While protesting segregation in Albany, Ga., King was arrested.

• July 27, 1962: King was again arrested in Albany, Ga., after taking part in a prayer vigil. He was charged with failure to obey a police officer, obstructing the sidewalk and disorderly conduct.

• April 16, 1963: After being arrested in Birmingham, Ala., for participating in a sit-in, King wrote “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” The letter is now one of King’s most famous statements about injustice.

• Aug. 28, 1963: King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech in front of the thousands who gathered for The March on Washington. Afterward, he and other Civil Rights leaders met with President John F. Kennedy in the White House.

• Dec. 10, 1964: King received the Nobel Peace Prize.

• Aug. 5, 1966: King was stoned in Chicago as he led a march through crowds of angry Whites.

• April 4, 1968: King was shot while on the balcony of his second-floor motel room in Memphis, Tenn.

He later died from a gunshot wound to the neck. A day earlier, King gave his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top.” • March 9, 1969: James Earl Ray plead guilty to killing King and was sentenced to 99 years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary.

• Jan. 20, 1986: The first national King holiday was observed.

REMEMBERING MLK 2018

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Selma march

By March 1965, the nation’s new Civil Rights Act was on the books.

But parts of the South were slow to embrace such a paradigm shift.

In particular, in Selma, Ala., African Americans faced corruption, intimidation and gerrymandering on their way to becoming registered voters.

Early that month, two weeks after the assassination of Malcolm X, King and more than 500 demonstrators left Selma on U.S. 80 en route to the state capital of Montgomery to tell Gov. George Wallace their rights had been infringed.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Troopers charging marchers at the Pettus Bridge, Civil Rights Voting March in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 1965.

But six blocks away, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, state troopers and sheriff’s officers attacked the group with bull whips and tear gas.

Prompted by media coverage of the assault, supporters from around the country descended on Selma two days later for a second try. But when King agreed to abide by a federal restraining order, the 2,000-plus marchers made the march purely symbolic, once again halting at the bridge.

That day, after the curtailed demonstration, James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister who had traveled from Boston for the march, was attacked outside a Selma bar. He died two days later.

On March 21, King and thousands more took to the road again.

For four days and 54 miles, they braved pouring rain, roadside naps and “trying hills,” finally arriving in Montgomery, a place often called “The Cradle of the Confederacy.” There — like Jonah in the belly of the whale, as one historical account put it — King faced an eventual throng of 25,000.

“They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, ‘We ain’t gon’ let nobody turn us around.’”

recognize.

“This was a culmination of so many things that were going on,” said Denee McCloud, former director of the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas in Seattle.

“He goes into so many things — where racism comes from, why we are here at this place. He talks about it in terms of class, of voting rights — which we’re still dealing with. There’s still people being disenfranchised. So in that way, I thought the speech was very powerful.”

The passage above, with its potentially controversial linking of religion to oppression, is particularly noteworthy, Briggs says.

“How very revolutionary and forward-thinking,” Briggs says.

“How out of the box. He was just heroic. Somebody could read that as blasphemy — but he was courageous enough to be honest about the role that religion played.”

The imagery of eating Jim Crow also struck a chord. “We talk about food and feeding our bodies, but he’s talking about feeding your mind and your souls and your heart,” she says. “ ... What we put in is kind of what we are. If we’re eating junk, our bodies are going to reflect that. And if your mind’s eating junk, you’re going to reflect that.”

Reaching out for unity They were on the move now.

“Today I want to say to the people of America and the nations of the world, that we are not about to turn around. We are on the move now.

“Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. We are on the move now.

“The burning of our churches will not deter us. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us.

We are on the move now. ...

“Like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are moving to the land of freedom.”

Despite the unnatural divisions King said had led to their circumstances, the speech breathes with hope.

“At the end of the speech, he talks about that great day, not of the White man or the Black man, but of man,” Briggs says. “He’s still holding out hope. ... He’s talking to all people, saying, we can come together. And that hope is always relevant.”

A seemingly inconceivable task.

King knew his weary followers would ask: How long?

“How long? Not long, because ‘no lie can live forever.’

“How long? Not long, because ‘you shall reap what you sow.’ “... How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Weary road

BRUCE DAVIDSON/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Demonstrators participating in a march for Black suffrage.

History lesson They were here to talk about voting rights.

But King saw the injustice they faced was rooted in the post-Civil War period, and he took his listeners there with him, giving focus to a speech at once broad and epic. “There were no laws segregating the races then,” King said.

But “toward the end of the Reconstruction era, something very significant happened,” he said. Segregation became a weapon used

by Southern business interests threatened by the Populist Movement that had united both poor Whites and African Americans.

“If it may be said of the slavery era that the White man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction Era that the Southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor White man Jim Crow. ...

And when his wrinkled stomach cried out for the food that his empty pockets could not provide, he ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a White man, better than the Black man. ...

“And his children, too, learned to feed upon Jim Crow, their last outpost of psychological oblivion.”

‘Revolutionary’ This is a Dr. King many may not

In his conclusion, King offers nothing less than a spiritual call to action, McCloud said. “He’s taking us and shaking us and saying, ‘Listen, people — we’ve been on a long march where we’ve been physically attacked. We’re pushing though a certain moment. It doesn’t matter that the Civil Rights Act just passed — look what’s happened here.’ People were tired.”

The battle, as he said, was in their hands. Against the current backdrop of an oft-divided, election-minded nation, the speech’s relevance remains.

Listen, King was saying. Listen.

And in doing so, he invoked a song with spiritual foundations but whose lyrics carried a powerful, universal reach.

“How long? Not long, because: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; “He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword; “His truth is marching on.”

Within five months, President Johnson had signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

ROBERT KNUDSEN/LBJ LIBRARY

Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

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JAMES H. KARALES/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Americans, both White and Black, marching from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, Ala., in March 1965, in an effort to guarantee voting rights for all Americans.

‘OUR GOD IS MARCHING ON’ Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1965 speech on voting rights resonates still

BY MARC RAMIREZ/SEATTLE TIMES

Listen.

Listen — and you’ll hear the words of a man who was more than just an orator. Listen, and in those words you’ll hear not only yesterday’s struggles but the challenges of today.

Nearly five decades ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech under the most trying of circumstances, forging rays of hope amid tragedy and strife of landmark resonance.

Through his words in “Our God is Marching On,” a much broader picture of King emerges, showing a civil-rights leader who, steeped in the African-American church experience, addressed issues ranging from segregation and poverty to nuclear proliferation and the Vietnam War. “All of those issues are relevant today,” said Timeca Briggs, who has directed a stage production of the famous speech in Seattle. “We saw in the last couple of elections problems with voting, with who gets to vote and who doesn’t.”

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JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

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FLORIDA’S

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

Thousands of Caribbean culture lovers converge on South Florida every year before and during the Columbus Day weekend to attend the annual Miami Broward Carnival, a series of concerts, pageants, parades, and competitions. On Carnival Day, “mas” (masquerade) bands of thousands of revelers dance and march behind 18-wheel tractor-trailer trucks with booming sound systems from morning until nightfall while competing for honors. Here are some of the “Finest” we’ve seen over the years.

Click on www.flcourier to see hundreds of pictures from previous Carnivals.

Go to www. miamibrowardcarnival. com for more information on Carnival events in South Florida.

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Winfrey declares ‘a new day on the horizon’ Golden Globes honoree excites crowd, prompts talk of presidential run

BY MEREDITH BLAKE LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Oprah Winfrey may not be running for president — yet — but on Sunday, it felt like she was kicking off her campaign.

Accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Golden Globes on a night focused on sexual harassment within the entertainment business, the talk show guru brought the crowd of black-clad celebrities to their feet with a rousing speech about the power of speaking out against abuse and injustice.

lywood for months: sexual harassment and abuse.

“Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories we tell, and this year we became the story,” she said. “But it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry.”

Winfrey, a sexual abuse survivor, expressed gratitude to “the women whose names we’ll never know” working in other, less glamorous industries who “endured years of abuse because they, like my mother, had children to feed.”

Honors Taylor

Even before she took the stage, Winfrey was the center of attention.

In his opening monologue, host Seth Meyers joked about his hope that she’d run for president (with Tom Hanks as her vice-presidential running mate).

Award winners Sterling K. Brown of “This Is Us” and Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” both gave Winfrey shout-outs in their acceptance speeches.

She cited the story of Recy Taylor, a Black woman who in 1944 was gangraped by six White men in Alabama. Taylor died Dec. 28.

“She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men,” said Winfrey. “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up.”

As the celebrities in the room rose to give her a standing ovation, Winfrey closed with a message for “all the girls watching here,” telling them “a new day is on the horizon” and expressing hope for a time “when nobody ever has to say ‘me too’ again.”

‘Changed our lives’

‘Full-circle moment’

Winfrey was introduced by Reese Witherspoon, her costar in Disney’s upcoming “A Wrinkle in Time.” A montage highlighted not only Winfrey’s influential 25-year run as host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” but her accomplishments as an Oscar-nominated actress and producer of films and television series such as “Precious,” “The Great Debaters” and “Queen Sugar.”

“Thank you for the grace, the wisdom,” Witherspoon said. “You’ve changed our lives.”

After her speech, Winfrey greeted Tarana Burke, the activist who founded the #MeToo movement, with a hug. Burke, who used Winfrey’s messages in workshops, later called it a “full-circle moment.”

“It meant so much to me. I don’t even want her for the presidency. I just want to create something new for her,” Burke said.

Oprah shoutouts

Poitier tribute The first Black woman to be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Winfrey began her speech by recalling the impact of watching Sidney Poitier win a lead actor Oscar in 1964 for “Lilies of the Field.”

“I’d never seen a Black man being celebrated like that,” she said. “It is not lost on me that at this moment there are some little girls watching as I become the first Black woman to be given this same award.”

Thanks women After a nod to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the role of journalists in a fraught time, Winfrey turned to the subject that has dominated Hol-

ALLEN J. SCHABEN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Oprah Winfrey is the first Black woman to be honored with the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award.

#Oprah2020 trends Stedman Graham, Winfrey’s longtime partner, hinted that Winfrey might be up for a run at the White House. “It’s up to the people,” he said. “She would absolutely do it.”

The reaction from celebrities on social media, where the hashtag #Oprah2020 was soon trending, and in the room at the Beverly Hilton suggested that Winfrey may be a formidable candidate.

But trying out a run at the White House wasn’t her goal for the night.

“I’m just glad I got through the speech,” Winfrey told The Los Angeles Times. “I thought a lot about it. I wanted this to be a meaningful moment.”

Times staff writers Amy Kaufman and Jen Yamato contributed to this report.

JAY L. CLENDENIN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Sterling K. Brown, shown with his wife, Ryan Bathe, won the Best Actor in a TV Drama award at the Golden Globes. He was the first Black male to win in the category.

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JANUARY 12 – JANUARY 18, 2018

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