Florida Courier, February 23, 2018

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Robert Runcie: Steady voice in midst of a tragedy See page B1

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FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

VOLUME 26 NO. 8

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A MOVEMENT OR A MOMENT? A loosely organized nationwide network of high school students is pushing for a ban on assaulttype weapons. Will they have ‘staying power’ to fight the gun lobby?

COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

TAIMY ALVAREZ/SUN SENTINEL/TNS

On Wednesday, Broward County’s Pembroke Pines Charter High School students walked out of class to protest and read the names of the 17 people killed during the mass shooting at nearby Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Student Kenya Rynning, 16, center, lost her brother to gun violence and joined her classmates demanding gun reform.

WASHINGTON – In an unprecedented manner, high school students have taken the lead in calling for increased gun regulation, including through a “liein” at the White House, a rally in front of the Florida state capitol, classroom walkouts and three upcoming nationwide protests.

Spurred by the most recent mass shooting, last week’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, the nation is apparently

‘BLACK PANTHER’ MOVIE

‘Wakanda Forever!’

witnessing the beginning stages of a movement. This time it’s #NeverAgain and #Enough instead of #MeToo, and led by high school students with a plethora of inspiration and passion.

Won’t stop now Longtime advocates of increased gun regulation say they think the teenagers marching and rallying have proven they won’t stop at a few protests and tweets, but they say their movement ultimately must take on the powerful gun lobby to achieve its aims. That’s a mission many have tried and failed in the past no matter how many deaths are blamed on gun violence in the most recent tragedy – or even how young the victims are.

“We’ve had students over the years sporadically reach out and ask what they can do, but after the Parkland shooting we were bombarded with requests from students,” said Taylor Maxwell, deputy communications direcSee STUDENTS, Page A2

B-CU fingerpointing begins Developer demands millions; Jackson, Lucas respond

BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

DAYTONA BEACH – This week, three of the defendants in the Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) lawsuit filed responses to the legal action.

Last month, the school sued its former president, Dr. Edison Jackson; its former Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Gonsalves; its former vice president of Institutional Advancement, Dr. Hakim Lucas; Maryland-based real estate developer Darnell Dailey; and Orlando-based consultant Mark Glover, over what the lawsuit calls “The Ill-Conceived Dormitory Project” that could cost the school millions of dollars.

No evidence

COURTESY OF CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Charles W. Cherry III and his father, Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II, saw ‘Black Panther’ in Atlanta on Feb. 15, the first day of its official release. The movie is setting box office records worldwide less than a month after its premiere.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

County ready to arm teachers Mental health Experts weigh in on shooting NATION | A6

Trump ranks last in presidents survey

ALSO INSIDE

BLACK HISTORY | B4

African-Americans who broke political barriers

Teachers’ fund holds stake in AR-15 gun maker FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – As Florida teachers grieve over the mass shooting that left 17 students and colleagues dead last week, some of them may be

surprised to learn they’ve been helping fund the firearms industry – including the company that made the gun used that bloody Wednesday.

A state pension plan for Florida teachers held 41,129 shares in American Outdoor Brands Co. valued at more than a half-million dollars, according to a Dec. 31 securities filing listing the plan’s holdings.

Formerly known as Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Mass.-based American Outdoors manufactured the semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle that was used in the Feb. 14 attack on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

In an almost identical response filed by the same attorney, Carlos J. Burruezo of Orlando, Jackson and Lucas claim that B-CU’s lawsuit should be dismissed by Circuit Court Judge Christopher A. France for failure to state a cause of action, and failure to sue the necessary parties.

Jackson and Lucas state that BCU’s legal complaint contains no proof that either of them did anything wrong.

“The section of BCU’s Complaint, captioned “The Improper Payment Made to B- CU Officials”…does not actually delineate improper payments,” their response states. “Instead, this section suggests improper payments ‘upon information and belief.’

“However, where is evidence of payment? Where is the wire transfer? Where is the cancelled check?

B-CU has not attached any such support because there is none.”

Attacks Grimes, Dudley The response takes particular aim at B-CU’s current Interim President Hugh Grimes – himself a former circuit court judge and now a practicing attorney – and current General Counsel Sharon Dudley.

“Surely, before filing claims for civil remedies for violations of criminal law, breach-of-fiduciary-duty, See B-CU, Page A2

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 GUEST COMMENTARY: CLARENCE V. MCKEE: MEDIA PROTECTING OBAMA’S LEGACY OF CORRUPTION | A5

FOCUS

A2

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

Don’t believe the ‘no collusion’ hype Seems like every weekend, President Donald Trump feels a need to post a whole lot of tweet sheet on social media. And I don’t mean “sheet”!

I have never in my life seen a president that loves his adversaries, loves his world competitors and admires his international enemies more than he loves the Americans he is supposed to lead, serve and represent.

Slow and quick Trump is slow to criticize domestic terrorists that gun down innocent children in broad daylight. He’s hesitant to criticize countries that meddle in Amer-

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

ican elections and try to influence election outcomes. And he is very reluctant to push back against environmental polluters, beast bankers, the gun lobbyists, crooked cops, hate groups and incompetent and wicked government staffers and employees.

But nearly every day, he is quick to throw salt on the FBI and other intelligence agencies, the Congress, and even Amer-

ican citizens that don’t wear clown hats and sheets or wave Nazi flags!

He loves to say, “There was no collusion”! Well, he used to describe investigations into election interference and other criminal wrongdoing as a “hoax,” a “ruse,” or a “witch hunt.”

Now that investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has revealed evidence to show what really happened to give him an edge in the 2016 elections, all he can say now is, “No collusion.”

Hmmm. I wonder what his thoughts are about conspiracy to commit crimes, about perjury, about obstruction of justice and about his refusal to enact legislatively-approved sanctions against his Russian puppet masters?

Here’s the truth You can say you read it first in The Gantt Report.

Nobody cares about “collusion.” Any child that can read, watch or listen to daily news reports already knows that multiple people on the Trump team met with Russians, talked with Russians, emailed Russians. Many on the Trump team got money from Russians for real estate deals, speeches made or for political consultation with politicians close to Russia in places like Ukraine.

Don’t believe the hype! You can’t trust a habitual liar. You can’t trust a president.

The Gantt Report reads between the lines. The election meddling, the political payoffs, the real estate transactions and the desire of the Kremlin to reduce and/or eliminate economic sanctions are all about the Benjamins!

Trump’s tweet sheet about collusion is nothing but a distrac-

B-CU

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

The legal back-and-forth about Bethune-Cookman University’s $300 million dormitory construction project is now underway.

B-CU’s allegation that Jackson and Lucas bamboozled the uni-

limited to law and accounting firms,” the response states.

“The notion that the Defendants in this cause conspired with each other and duped these accomplished professionals belies logic and crosses the threshold of absurdity. Are they really intending the public and this Court to believe that they were that ill-informed and that each in their own right is an ignoramus?

STUDENTS

need more coordination if it truly is to take on the powerful gun lobby.

tion from high schoolers around the nation, but we have common goals,” Kim said. “We’re all just as upset about this, and we are the ones being affected by this and we want to change it.”

Kaleab Jegol, a 17-year-old Women’s March Youth Empower organizer from Ohio, and Tabitha St. Bernard Jacobs, the youth initiative coordinator of the Women’s March, were also optimistic that coordination will continue and become stronger.

They’ve offered to help organizers of the other walkouts and have planned a conference call with the students from Ridgefield on Thursday. They have reached out to the Parkland survivors but have not yet heard back, though they say they understand it’s a short time after the shooting and the group is still dealing with grief.

In Broward County, where Parkland is located, there were multiple protests. Some, like a South Broward High, were small and tightly organized with assistance from the school’s administrators. Others like at South Plantation High, were more organic and less focused. Students walked out of the school Wednesday and did not return to participate in a rally and memorial service coordinated by administrators there.

from A1 tor for Everytown for Gun Safety. “We’ve had 290 shootings on school grounds since Sandy Hook, and this moment feels different. It feels like a groundswell moment.”

Better coordination needed Student organizers say they acknowledge the need for more organization and communication among their ranks if they are to succeed.

Students who survived the Stoneman Douglas shooting that killed 17 students and faculty last week in Parkland have organized press interviews, protests at home and the Florida Capitol, meetings with lawmakers and press releases. Their efforts have inspired many others, but nationwide coordination among the new activists seems conspicuously absent.

“At first we were just thinking about the protest, but it spiraled into more,” said Eleanor Nuechterlein, who helped organize a lie-in outside the White House Monday. “It’s not about the protest, it’s about what comes after it.”

That would mean supporting gun control regulations and other measures that have long been mired and blocked in Congress and statehouses. For now, though, the focus of the effort is mobilization.

Rallies around the country On Wednesday, high school and college students rallied in front of the Florida Capitol, a day after that state’s House of Representatives voted down a call for a debate on an assault weapons ban. A group of Maryland students marched to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning as well.

More protests are planned by a variety of student groups – but the seemingly disparate nature of the efforts is what some say may

Washington investigations, in the end, will ultimately focus on the money. It may include focus on money laundering, bank fraud, improper and illegal contributions, hush money, tax evasion, theft, illegal loans and purchases or a variety of other things. I just don’t know.

Don’t ever trust a president that doesn’t trust you. Don’t believe the hype!

A hit dog will holler, “No collusion! No collusion!”

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.

Late payments

versity’s board into signing off on a bad deal was also ridiculed.

“The B-CU Board of Trustees at the time was compromised of a wide array of accomplished professionals from myriad disciplines – legal, accounting, business, insurance, governmental and philanthropic. The dorm project was fully reviewed by the Board of Trustees, and outside consultants, including but not

Board ‘ignoramuses’?

Follow the money

tate developer Darnell Dailey is countersuing B-CU to get millions of dollars in dormitory rent he claims B-CU owes to his company, Quantum Equity BCU LLC, under the terms of a sublease agreement the university signed.

He claims that B-CU filed the lawsuit as a smokescreen. “…(B-CU) initiated this litigation to create a justification for its ongoing defaults under the Sublease, to put pressure on (Quantum) to agree to restructure the Sublease, and to divert attention from other well-publicized issues facing (B-CU),” the counterclaim states.

from A1 and fraud, BC-U – headed by two lawyers – would have conducted some degree of due diligence and found evidence to support its claims – i.e., e-mails, text messages, fund transfers, and other financial documents. The fact it did not leads to the conclusion that it cannot.”

The response calls Grimes and Dudley “material witnesses” in the case, and alleges that Dudley operates “under a conflict of interest, especially since she is driving the instant litigation on behalf of B-CU. She is taking a position adverse to former clients in connection with the same transaction.”

The response also calls for everyone associated with the dorm deal to be joined into the lawsuit.

“Mr. Grimes, Ms. Dudley, members of the Board of Trustees, law firms, accounting firms, and consulting firms, had direct roles in either negotiating, evaluating, or approving the dorm project in question,” it alleges.

It also claims that Jackson or Lucas “could not have moved forward with the project without the consideration, analysis and approval of these other parties.”

tion and an attempted diversion.

Learning experience The lack of coordination, moreover, has caused one awkward interaction that needed to be smoothed over.

A nationwide 17-minute school walkout on March 17 and an all-day walkout on April 20 (the anniversary of the Columbine shooting) in response to the Parkland shooting were originally being promoted by different, unaffiliated students on different media.

The March 14 protest is being organized by the Women’s March Youth Empower group, but started garnering criticism from those who thought the Women’s March, which is guiding youth organizers, was steamrolling over the April 20 walkout.

That event is being organized by high school students who grew up near Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012.

Youth organizers of the two walkouts then put out a joint statement of support, signed by 13 students between ages 15 and 23, from Los Angeles to Newtown.

“It will take sustained action from students across the country to send a strong message to our elected officials that we want to be safe, particularly in our schools,” it read, also expressing support for the D.C. March for Our Lives, though the Parkland shooting survivor organizers did not join in authoring the statement.

What’s next?

Paul Kim, a founding member of the group organizing the April 20 walkout and a senior at Ridgefield High School in Connecticut, said members of the Women’s March have been helping them but admitted there is loose organization at this point. The group is having conversations on what they should do after organizing the walkout.

“It’s a lot of random solicita-

#NeverAgain More communication exists on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where students and adults alike have been joining groups and showing support using hashtags like #NeverAgain.

David Hogg, one of the leading voices among Parkland student survivors, expressed his thanks to those staging a lie-in in front of the White House Monday, but said he didn’t know who they were.

That and an Instagram post are the extent of the direct contact the lie-in organizers, 16-yearold Nuechterlein and Whitney Bowen, have had with any of the Parkland shooting survivors.

They said they organized the lie-in both out of outrage over the shooting and inspiration from

“Each of these additional persons and entities likewise had fiduciary duties to B-CU, and were obligated to faithfully discharge those duties. If (Jackson and Lucas) failed in their duties, these others, by extension, must have failed as well.”

Counterclaim for cash In the same lawsuit, teal es-

the Florida students’ courage in speaking out just a few days after losing fellow students. But they said they did not reach out to the Parkland survivors directly.

Striking a nerve The students of the Washington, D.C., suburban high school thought their protest would just involve them and their friends.

But they were shocked when hundreds showed up.

Now, they’re grappling with what they should do next with their group, Teens for Gun Reform, which already has about 3,000 likes on Facebook. They started getting messages from people asking how to join and what they could do to help from places as far as California.

The minimal coordination comes as right-wing and other organizations allege the student groups are conspiring and being set-up by adults with agendas – a charge that has been roundly repudiated.

More to come Gun regulation advocacy groups say these students are just getting started.

Everytown for Gun Safety officially launched a national Students Demand Action group for high school and college activists, which had scheduled an introduction call Wednesday night (after the Florida Courier’s press time) according to Maxwell.

Maxwell said students have shown themselves more than capable of being leaders of this movement, and Everytown feels it can use its well-established grassroots experience to guide them on the best ways to enact changes in public policy.

The new activists also have some more experienced hands to draw advice from.

Roni Weissman, a 16-year-old junior at Berkeley High School in California, is one teenager who has been working for increased gun regulation for a while.

She co-founded her local chapter of Students Demand Action with Everytown’s help in August 2016, and since then has published an informational on

According to Dailey’s counterclaim, B-CU was to start making monthly payment of $477,050 from January to December 2017.

He claims B-CU’s monthly payments were consistently late, and that the university failed to make a $954,206 payment due in January 2018.

Dailey also claims that B-CU’s late payments are a violation of the signed agreements that allows him to demand all the monthly payments be paid to his company immediately in a lump sum.

According to the documents attached to the lawsuit, B-CU on the hook for 38 years – until the year 2055. That’s approximately 456 monthly payments ranging from a minimum of $477,000 per month to a maximum of $840,000 per month.

shootings in her school paper and is working with the Berkeley mayor and city council to draft an ordinance to mandate safer storage of guns. She also successfully lobbied the mayor to join a Mayors Against Illegal Guns group.

She acknowledged the Parkland survivors and others might have a tougher time than she has had. Her advice: Be patient and take small bites.

Stay focused “We were so overwhelmed in the beginning,” Weissman said.

“There are all of these possibilities on this issue, and you have to narrow your lens to things you’re really passionate about.”

One advantage the new student activists have is they have been able to post short-term successes in raising money for their cause.

The D.C. March for Our Lives on March 24, which was organized by Parkland survivors, has already raised more than $1.3 million in a GoFundMe created by 17-year-old Cameron Kasky.

Actor George and Amal Clooney announced Tuesday they would be donating $500,000 more to help pay for the event, followed by three more donations of $500,000 each from Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Angry young voters Kasky said in the account that all funds raised would go toward organizing and transportation for the event, with leftover funds going to the victims’ families.

“We know that this will require continuous and sustained effort, and we’re all working together in solidarity,” said Jegol, of Women’s March Youth Empower.

“One action may not be enough, but two or three or four will be.”

And if that isn’t enough, then America will have a lot of angry teenagers turning 18 just in time to vote in the midterms, Jegol said.

Kate Irby of the McClatchy Washington Bureau / TNS contributed to this report.

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

FLORIDA

A3

Scott gets advice from mental health experts Coordination of care, early screening and assessment were among the strategies discussed at governor’s workshop.

BY DARA KAM NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Better integration of data, coordination of care and services and early screening and assessment were among recommendations a panel of mental health experts offered Tuesday at a workshop organized

by Gov. Rick Scott in response to last week’s shooting rampage by a troubled 19-year-old that left 17 people – including 14 teenagers – dead.

Nikolas Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder after gunning down students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Cruz had a lengthy history of mental-health issues, and the FBI received at least two reports that he posed a threat to others.

In response to the mass shooting, Scott ordered workgroups focused on education, law enforcement and mental health, with the aim of proposing legislation before the annual 60-day session ends March 9.

Small, angry group Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera posed the first question at the meeting Tuesday about mentalhealth issues led by Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Mike Carroll.

“What is it about the young males in their development or external factors or media or society that drives them to do these unspeakable horrific things? Because It’s males. They’re doing it. And I haven’t heard anything about that,” Lopez-Cantera asked.

The experts said that just a fraction of mentally ill people – between 1 and 4 percent – become violent.

“The angry young men is a pretty big group, but we’re talking about a very small group that present a risk in our schools,” said child psychiatrist R. Scott Benson.

Telltale behaviors But Dean Aufderheide, director of mental health services for the Florida Department of Corrections, said sociopaths need to be identified through screening before they can commit heinous crimes like the Parkland massacre.

“Who are these people? People

MIKE STOCKER/SUN SENTINEL/TNS

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Monday. Cruz faces 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. who tend to have no empathy. No remorse. No guilt,” Aufderheide, a psychologist, said.

Telltale behaviors include isolation, alienation, ostracization, escape and anger, Aufderheide said.

“If you don’t measure for this… to identify these traits you’re doing a disservice,” he said.

Some caution But Florida State University College of Medicine professor Heather Flynn warned against contributing to the stigma of mental illness.

“We have to be careful not to inadvertently contribute to the notion that people with mental illness are dangerous. That’s something we’ve been trying to get away from for all these decades and centuries,” Flynn, a clinical psychologist, said.

Carroll, too, was cautious about branding children with mentalhealth issues.

“How do you integrate that (assessment) into a school system but do it in a way that’s positive, that doesn’t ostracize or target kids?” he asked.

“Parents don’t want their kids

Jacksonville’s Gibson draws challenger NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, is slated to become the Senate Democratic leader after the November elections. But first, she will have to get re-elected to her Duval County seat.

Democrat Reginald Brown opened a campaign account on Feb. 16 to challenge Gibson this year in Senate District 6, according to the state Division of Elec-

labeled. Parents don’t want their kids ostracized. Parents don’t want their kids put in some other group. Because we do that.”

Critical steps Early intervention and identification is critical, several experts said.

“When they reach high school, there are so many other factors that have contributed to them not wanting to be in school, dropping out and having resentment.

“There are all these different factors that eventually lead to something that kind of becomes out of control,” child psychiatrist Bhagi Sahasranaman said.

The experts all agreed that delivery of services, as well as the identification of families and children who may be at risk, are fragmented.

Funding issues Paying for treatment is also problematic because the state doesn’t spend enough on mental health treatment. Also, services that aren’t “face-to-face,” such as psychiatrists calling parents to

tions website.

The only other candidate in the race is a writein.

Gibson was designated late last year to become the next Senate Democratic leader, replacing Lake Worth Democrat Sen. Audrey Jeff Clemens, who reGibson signed from the Senate after disclosures about an extramarital affair with a lobbyist.

She had raised $138,618 for her reelection campaign as of Jan. 31, while spending $17,208, according to a finance report.

for preK–12 students with financial or special needs learn more at

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discuss their children, aren’t reimbursed by Medicaid.

Mary Armstrong, executive director of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida, suggested that caseworkers, parents and others need to “all be in the room” together to share information about children with mental-health problems.

“Funding’s a huge issue. But it’s structural,” Armstrong said. “It’s broken. It’s got to be put back together. … That, to me, it’s disturbing. And we can fix that. We don’t need new resources. We can fix that.”

Start early Early identification and intervention, even for pregnant mothers, could help steer services to families before children begin to act out, according to clinical psychologist Heather Flynn, a professor at the Florida State University College of Medicine.

“You can predict pretty well which families will have this forward trajectory even before the child is born,” Flynn said, saying that behavioral health and physi-

cal health need to be combined.

But identifying and treating every would-be school shooter like Cruz may not put an end to tragedies like the one last week in Parkland, Carroll conceded.

“It is very difficult to develop targeted assessments that are going to be 100 percent foolproof,” Carroll said in an interview during a lunch break.

Early assessments That’s why the workgroup is working on broader strategies, the secretary said.

“You’ve got to lift the level of water in the tank because if we get involved with kids earlier and we can get them treatment, hopefully less kids end up at that place and you have less of a chance of going down this avenue,” he said.

Early assessments can significantly cut down the possibilities of people like Cruz committing similar atrocities, Carroll said.

“We are in the people-helping-people business. So we do the best we can with people, but people do things sometimes that you just can’t explain, that are unspeakable,” he said.

Sheriff on arming teachers: ‘OK, Einstein, you got a better idea?’ of their students with no gun,” he said. “Why not give them a fighting chance?”

BY MARCO SANTANA ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

ORLANDO – The top law enforcement official in Polk County said Monday that his department has started a program that will train and arm teachers in schools to fend off and discourage would-be shooters.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd also said the Baker Act, which governs involuntary institutionalization of people with mental health issues, needs more teeth.

“When a crazed gunman arrives on campus with murder in his eyes, the deed is done within two to five minutes,” he said, adding that criminals will think twice if they suspect someone else on campus might have a gun under the county’s so-called “Sentinel program.”

Adopted by university Several private colleges and other schools have sought more information about the program, which was adopted by Southeastern University in Lakeland in December, Judd said.

Judd made the remarks Monday in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where gunman Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people on Feb. 14.

Cruz appeared in court Monday for procedural motions related to the Valentine’s Day shooting.

Judd said if teachers there were armed, the incident could have had a different outcome.

“We had coaches that ran to stand in front

Disses critics The sheriff took questions for roughly 30 minutes during a feisty news conference, which began with Sheriff Grady Judd Judd announcing several arrests and charges filed in unrelated incidents.

He acknowledged that some would not agree with his plan.

However, he also noted that those who criticize have not offered alternatives, saying “OK, Einstein, you got a better idea?”

Judd said discussions about gun control measures would be “another argument for another day.”

Ready to respond Under his program, a group of teachers or professors who volunteer for the training would go through a certification program that would be more stringent than even police officers go through, Judd said.

The result would be armed teachers ready to respond to active shooters on campuses.

“We would have (shooters) apologizing for even showing up with the gun by the time they have four or five rounds in them,” he said.

“God forbid that terrible day ever occurs.

But we would have a group of people armed with guns to run to the threat and neutralize it before they reach our children.”

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EDITORIAL

A4

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

On the future of BethuneCookman University It is no secret to residents of the Daytona area that BethuneCookman University has recently been beset by troubling financial difficulties. What is far less well known is just how dire the situation at the college really is.

Speaking to the Daytona Beach News-Journal (daily newspaper) about another recently unveiled financial discovery, former university trustee Johnny McCray, Jr. states that “I think that (the uncovered obligation) seriously puts us in danger of closing.”

A local disaster Folks, that one line should send chills down the spine of anyone who lives in the Daytona area.

If B-CU were indeed to shut its doors for good and file for bankruptcy, it would be an unmitigated catastrophe for our alreadystruggling area.

Even for those residents who have never had any personal relationship or attachment to the university, the negative effects of a hypothetical B-CU closure would be felt by everyone living in Daytona Beach.

Besides the grievous cultural and historical losses such an outcome would incur, the shuttering of B-CU would generate crisislevel damage to the city’s already weak economic base.

Daytona is already suffering greatly from low wages, a weak tax base, and high living expenses. What happens to that picture when you take away one of the city’s largest private employers?

The effects of that would be the

MICHAEL CANTU GUEST COMMENTARY

“Fun Coast” equivalent of a Rust Belt city’s manufacturing plant shutting down.

To our benefit Given these facts, it is to every Daytonan’s benefit that Bethune-Cookman University continues existing as a sound educational institution. Ideally, this would mean sorting out all the current financial issues by securing reasonable concessions from the aggrieved creditors, and permanently getting rid of the entire Board of Trustees that allowed such incompetence under its watch.

I really hope the school’s current troubles end in the manner described. But what happens if things don’t exactly go that way?

What happens if B-CU cannot continue making payments on that $306 million dorm and the developer sues for nonpayment?

What happens if Heron Development Group is awarded millions in damages stemming from the botched MLK Lofts deal?

What happens if the courts throw out the school’s lawsuits against the past president and other officials, stripping the university of its best defense against the payment claims of its credi-

A state takeover of B-CU is not the answer I do not know Michael Cantu. I am not aware of the intricacies of the local and state politics of Florida. Therefore, I am at a disadvantage and decline to respond to his proposal from the political perspective. I would, however, like to respond to his Facebook comments about Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) as an alum.

A hard choice When Dr. Bethune ran into financial difficulty with thenDaytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls at the turn of the 20th century, she prayed long and hard about the life of her institution once she could no longer sing herself or depend on the largess of White philanthropists she knew at the time.

She and members of the institution’s board of trustees like James Gamble and Cynthia Ranslow, considered several options for more stable and lasting support.

The Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Methodist Episcopal Churches were all considered. She did not think fondly of the idea of politicians taking over her school, so she and her board immediately dismissed that idea and began to work to make sure the institution remained private.

We know now that the decision was to turn her school over to

DR. SHEILA FLEMMINGHUNTER GUEST COMMENTARY

the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Thus, in 1923 Dr. Bethune – at the crossroads of her dream – decided to place her fate in the hands of the Methodists for financial support.

Where are they now?

Today, the obvious question could be where does the United Methodist Church (UMC) stand on the possibilities for B-CU’s future? What do the bishop of the Florida Annual Conference and leaders of the University Senate and Black College Fund have to say about the leadership crisis that has now become a financial crisis at B-CU? What role did they play in this quagmire?

As we await the response of the United Methodist, let me, as a graduate, respond to Cantu’s well-developed argument.

When I first learned how troubled my alma mater was and who or what would be a “cavalry” for us, I immediately thought of the UMC and reached out to them, but to no sensible avail. I had a fleeting thought –like Dr. Bethune

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 314 QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

‘I can’t protect you’ – I shed tears of sadness and anger driving from Daytona to Fort Lauderdale to see my two school-age kids who were traumatized by the Parkland shootings. Last year, I complained to Chayla’s school about a kid who made online gun threats. My kids knew it could have been their re-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GUNS AND CONGRESS

tors? What happens if, due to all of these troubles, Bethune-Cookman loses its accreditation as a valid institute of higher learning?

Any one of these possibilities by itself would dramatically increase the odds of the school closing. My friends in the legal community tell me that based on what has been publicly released, there is a good chance of all four outcomes happening.

What are the alternatives?

What can be done if the worstcase scenario does come to pass?

Is there any way to preserve Bethune- Cookman and its contributions to our area if its troubles prove too much for it?

I believe that there is a solution, an option of last resort if all else goes against the school.

I propose that if, in the event that Bethune-Cookman University is forced to close its doors due to the aforementioned financial woes, the university itself can be saved by transferring both its assets and liabilities to the only entity capable of using the former while simultaneously getting rid of the latter: the State University System of Florida.

If Bethune-Cookman the private entity is forced to close due to financial mismanagement, Bethune-Cookman the place of learning can still live on as a public institution of higher education.

The state of Florida would ultimately benefit by adding a renowned HBCU to its list family of world-class universities, betin the past –regarding a state takeover. I immediately dismissed the idea because I knew how Dr. Bethune felt about politicians being the ultimate authority for her school.

I don’t think Dr. Bethune had any dislike for politicians, for she was very much a political being and had many friends who were politicians.

Dr. Bethune understood that there is a difference in political leadership and servant leadership. She, herself a servant leader, knew that politicians have access to resources; but to continue to have that access, they must win elections. Thus, they necessarily must be self-centered and they change their priorities, even if it’s only during campaigns.

RJ MATSON, CQ ROLL CALL

ter enabling it to attract a diverse selection of the world’s best and brightest young minds to this great state.

Bethune-Cookman itself would benefit by continuing to exist as a distinct university, instead of being shut down and sold off piece by piece to satisfy the demands of powerful creditors.

And the people of the Daytona area would benefit by being able to continue enjoying the history, culture, and economic benefits of B-CU, keeping a rather large pillar of the yearlong local economy from collapsing and taking much of the area’s recent growth along with it.

the legislation necessary to save the university in the manner so described, but also to effectively fight hard for and sell this plan to Tallahassee’s conservative majority.

Bethune-Cookman University is a valuable and important part of the Daytona community through contributions cultural, historical and economic. If you live in Daytona or the surrounding area, odds are that this university has benefited your life in ways either seen or unseen.

Let us recognize and protect this important local institution by having a plan to save it, should worst come to worst.

I can help

Michael Cantu is a Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, District 26 (Daytona Beach). His commentary was originally posted on Facebook.

Should the situation become necessary, and in the event that I was to be elected to Florida House Seat 26, the citizens of this area can rely on me not only to file earned with thousands of graduates, many of whom will be Florida residents.

In addition, the social, spiritual and cultural impact of the university is enormous. The past leaders of the institution, like Dr. Richard V. Moore, ensured a close link of “town and gown” in all these areas – so much so that it is difficult to speak about education, faith, diversity, and the arts in Daytona Beach and Florida without the mention of B-CU.

the insurance companies and the automobile industry not long ago in our country.

The model would not be about “takeover.” Rather, it would offer resources to allow the institution to be shepherded back to health. And as Cantu points out, “the people of the Daytona area would benefit …keeping a rather large pillar of the…. local economy from collapsing…”

‘On the map’

I therefore propose the following: • Michael Cantu commits to assisting B-CU to remain private, regardless of the outcome of his campaign for House Seat 26; • The state of Florida call for the immediate resignation of all current members of the Board of Trustees who served on the Executive Committee during former President Edison Jackson’s tenure (2012-2017); • The state of Florida assist the new Board of Trustees, as Cantu proposes, in restructuring its debt and provide guidance on “securing reasonable concessions from the aggrieved creditors”; • The state of Florida be committed to assisting B-CU to remain a private institution so that young people will have a private faith-based choice for a first-class education in the state.

I admit that Cantu’s proposal is based on good facts.

Because of B-CU, Daytona Beach and Florida have stronger growth and stronger communities. A study by the United Negro College Fund and University of Georgia in 2014 indicated that B-CU generated 1,469 jobs with $136 million in total economic impact in that year alone.

Since we know that a college degree opens doors to economic prosperity, the 509 graduates of B-CU in 2014 are expected to have total earnings of $1.3 billion over their lifetimes. This represents 71 percent more than they could expect to earn without their college credentials.

In the future, billions (and eventually trillions) more will be

Dr. Bethune placed her institution on the national map as a creative center of teaching and learning. We are blessed that Dr. Moore, Dr. James Colston and later Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, used her foundation to springboard the university to greatness through the support and commitment of the residents of the community and donors throughout the nation.

I agree with Cantu that the state should step in to help B-CU during this period of crisis. But I disagree with Cantu’s proposed methodology.

First, why would the state sit idly by and “Bethune-Cookman University be forced to close its doors….”? The resources Cantu contemplates using at that time could be accessed now to save it as a private entity.

Second, we have seen many examples where public/private ventures are implemented to ensure the best for the people who would be most affected. The state of Florida could develop a new model, like what was done to save

spective schools.

I apologized to both that I can’t protect them against such violence. That made me angry at the shooter, politicians, gun manufacturers, and the Supreme Court that misconstrues the Second Amendment. I’m especially pissed off at the fearful minority of male White America whose paranoia, sense of entitlement, greed and denial drives the gun culture that kills 35,000 Americans per year…

More ‘getting what you pray for’ – King Don Trump; his historically ignorant, xenophobic

base of supporters; and spineless Republicans will build “Fortress America” behind “the big, beautiful wall” costing U.S. taxpayers (not Mexico) billions of dollars.

They’ll always believe in “American Exceptionalism,” the current version of 19th-century “Manifest Destiny” that justified the mass killing of Native Americans and the destruction of their culture.

They’ll make immigration (except from White European nations) tougher.

Post-Trump, immigration won’t be a problem anymore.

Who would relocate to a “Shithole

Good information

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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

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My solutions

Sheila Flemming-Hunter, Ph.D., is a member of Bethune-Cookman’s Class of 1971. She is cochair of Concerned Constituents Committee for BethuneCookman University.

America" awash in a half-billion guns; cheap, available addictive drugs; angry, frustrated, underemployed, self-destructive youth whom, if they are college-educated, are buried in school debt; a sick, elderly population; and 1950s-era infrastructure?

Other than selling us consumer crap that distracts us from our increasingly stressed and joyless lives, our global neighbors will leave America alone to stew in its own isolationist, exceptional juices…

Me? ccherry2@gmail.com.

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FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

Bandit Baltimore cops and the ‘Black Misleadership Class’ Two of the undercover cops that have terrorized poor Black neighborhoods of Baltimore could get up to 60 years in prison following their convictions in federal court on racketeering, conspiracy and robbery charges.

Six other former members of the “elite” Gun Trace Task Force await sentencing, having testified to the defendants’ and their own crimes against drug dealers, large and small, and anybody else that crossed their predatory paths.

Routine corruption The cops’ lawlessness was generalized and routine – part of the job.

According to the Baltimore Sun, “Officers routinely violated people’s rights in the course of their work with Baltimore’s plainclothes police squads – profiling people and vehicles, performing “sneak and peek” searches without warrants, using illegal GPS devices to track suspects they claimed to be watching, and driving at groups of men to provoke them to flee so they could be chased and searched” – dating back to 2010 or earlier.

A dozen cops have been directly implicated, but not charged.

Acting police commissioner Darryl De Sousa put out an all-caps bulletin. “Let me make it clear: I have ZERO TOLERANCE for corruption,” he wrote, promising that his new corruption unit will probe more deeply into the case.

Sherrilyn Ifill.

However, Ifill then endorsed the usual formulas for fine-tuning the existing system of oppression.

GLEN “Residents deserve new proceFORD dures, practices, regulations, safety valves, and training across city BLACK AGENDA REPORT agencies – including the State’s control, contain and terrorize the Attorney’s office – to ensure that this cannot happen again.”

Black community.

Baltimore’s cops have simply become adept at stealing lots of Residents need control money in the process. They are alNo. What Baltimore’s Black resso fearless and shameless, in the idents need is democracy: comknowledge that their true job de- munity control of the hiring, firscription is organized terror. ing and above all, the mission of Former detective Momodu the police.

They don’t need more Black Gondo, who pleaded guilty to robbing various victims of over police. Integrating the ranks of $100,000, testified that he didn’t the oppressor’s machine is what fear being caught. “It was just part gave us salt-and-pepper terrorist duos like Daniel T. Hersl and of the culture,” he said.

Such pervasive police preda- Marcus R. Taylor, the two cops tion is no secret to the residents of convicted this week.

The department’s Gun Trace the targeted neighborhoods, who pleaded in vain for relief from the Task Force has been disbandblue scourge before, during and ed, along with its related Violent after Baltimore’s 2015 Freddie Crime Impact Section, but the White corporate powers-that-be Gray rebellion. in Baltimore already seem impatient to get their thugs back on the System management However, the nominally Black- street. controlled local government is incapable of meaningful response, since the Black political (misleadership) class accepts both its own subordination to the real corporate rulers of the city, and their role as managers of the system of control, containment and terror.

The president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund expressed the frustration felt by most Black people in Baltimore. “Neither City Hall, BPD’s Internal Affairs, nor the State’s Attorney’s Office was able to uncover and hold accountable the officers at the heart of this criminal conspiracy,” said

Good for the community?

Media protecting Obama’s legacy of corruption

There’s more

It’s the mission We can be sure that nothing of lasting value will come out of De Souza’s efforts. The root problem is not “corruption” of the police mission, but the mission itself: to

As a Black American, it was with a great deal of sadness that I said on Newsmax TV’s “America Talks Live” that Barack Obama may go down in history not only as the first Black president, but as the leader of one of the most corrupt administrations in American history! The sorry record speaks for itself.

His first attorney general, Eric Holder, was the first sitting member of a president’s cabinet in history to be held in contempt of Congress. That made him the only sitting attorney general to be so censured.

He had refused to turn over documents related to the “Fast and Furious” scandal. In addition to taking every opportunity to race-bait and accuse criticism of him or the president as being racially motivated, he secretly obtained phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors and former Fox News correspondent James Rosen in an alleged attempt to stop leaks.

Trevor Tim, a co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, called Holder the “worst attorney General for the press in a generation.”

CLARENCE V. MCKEE, ESQ. GUEST COLUMNIST

Collusion with Clintons Obama’s second attorney general, Loretta Lynch, was up to her neck in Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. According to Obama’s FBI Director James Comey, she wanted the Clinton investigation to be called “a matter.”

And let’s not forget her little airport tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton while his wife Hillary was under investigation. Do they really think we are dumb enough to think they talked about grandchildren?

The Obama corruption did not just weaponize and taint the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI. It also extended to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where Lois Lerner and her IRS colleagues abused power and targeted conservative groups whom they deemed political enemies.

No consequences!

So where is Attorney General Jeff Sessions?

U.S. escalates Syrian war The seven-year-old war waged against Syria ought to be over by now.

The jihadist forces backed by the United States, Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were nearly all chased out of the country.

The combination of Syrian, Iranian, and Hezbollah forces utilized Russian air protection to their advantage and ISIS was on the run.

All of the elements needed to bring peace to this country were in place. Far from being the evil force that Americans have been told to fear, Russia took the lead in winning the peace and in seeking a settlement among the various Syrian factions.

Not seeking peace Donald Trump made a campaign pledge not to seek regime change but he has fallen in line with American imperialism and with his Israeli and Saudi allies. If they can’t unseat President Assad they are determined to carve Syria into their own spheres of influence. Peace is the last thing they want to see.

Turkey is always the wild card.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

First among the regime changers, then against them, then using a fight against the Kurds to snatch its own territory.

In just one week a Russian pilot was killed by jihadists, a United States airstrike killed 100 Syrians, and Israel and Iran played a dangerous tit for tat as they carried out attacks against one another.

There can be no discussion about Syria that does not put the United States at the center of the conflict. Absent American backing, none of the other war makers would have ever dared to lift a finger. Barack Obama took the lead in the plot but then demurred against further escalation in the face of British faltering and perhaps his own fear of the outcome.

A new study by the Center for Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins University – the city’s premier employer and gentrifier – admits the police unit has generated lots of public complaints and lawsuits, but claims it’s good for law and order, and that’s what counts.

“The reductions in shootings connected with Baltimore’s VCIS are consistent with the experiences of other cities that have used specialized police units target-

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ‘THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS’ AFTER SHOOTINGS

DARYL CAGLE, CAGLECARTOONS.COM

ing illegal gun possession in areas with the highest rates of shootings,” said Daniel Webster, the center’s director and the study’s lead author.

“But it is important for these programs to be carried out in a manner that is legally justified, professional, and acceptable to the communities they serve with appropriate accountability.”

Webster makes the obligatory bow to (non-existent) “accountability,” but the purpose of the study is to put forward Johns Hopkins’ position on policing in a city largely owned by the university, and which Hopkins hopes to rid of its Black majority as soon as possible.

Running the show

whole units of cops to behave like warlords, be continued – minus the embarrassing robberies.

When Johns Hopkins says “jump,” much of the Black political class says, “How high”?

– which is what passes for “accountability to the community” in Baltimore.

The same groveling relationship to corporate power obtains across Black America. Therefore, in Baltimore and elsewhere, the struggle for Black community control of the police is largely an internal Black political battle.

The first stage of this fight must be the rejection and defeat of the Black political class that turned the Gun Trace Task Force loose on the people.

The top dog in Baltimore’s perGlen Ford is executive editor manent ruling circles is demanding that the same hyper-aggres- of BlackAgendaReport.com. Esive, neighborhood saturation mail him at Glen.Ford@Blackpolice tactics that encouraged AgendaReport.com.

We already know that Susan Rice, her predecessor, admitted Continuing up the corruption unmasking identities of senior ladder, we have Hillary Clinton’s Trump campaign officials.

Department of State using thenU.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to blame the attack on the American Something new It seems that every day brings Embassy in Benghazi on an antinew revelations of how far the Muslim YouTube video.

That is the same State Depart- Obama team went to corrupt the ment involved in the approval of legal process and violate numerthe 2010 Uranium One transac- ous laws in the Clinton email fiastion which allowed the sale of 20 co and what many are calling “FIpercent of U.S. uranium holdings SA-Gate.”

What is truly unfortunate is to Russia’s state-owned atomic energy company. The still-unre- how far that corruption has persolved issue is whether there was meated and tainted the nation’s any quid pro quo with the Clinton mainstream media. It has sided with and protects those associatFoundation.

So where is Attorney General ed with their Clinton-Obama political heroes who may have broJeff Sessions? ken the law!

Even as the stench of corrupAnother scandal tion and its slippery swamp slime And now we are in the midst touched nearly a dozen top offiof a Foreign Intelligence Surveilcials at the Obama DOJ and FBI lance Act (FISA) scandal. As has – including a former attorney been reported, the Obama administration’s FBI and DOJ used general, former associate attorinformation from an unverified ney general, the former director dossier – paid for by the Clinton and assistant director of the FBI campaign and the Democratic – the press has buried its head in National Committee – to get a FI- the “hear, see and speak no evil” SA court warrant to spy on Trump sand. campaign officials.

If that were not enough, we All hate Trump Their hatred of Trump seems to have learned that Obama’s second U.N. Ambassador, Saman- transcend any loyalty to the idetha Power – who had no intel- als of their profession as they turn ligence-related responsibilities a blind eye to possible illegal acts – sought to ‘unmask’ 260 Ameri- committed by their political soul cans even during the final days of mates. the Obama administration.

By their silence, the main-

stream press – and their Democratic cohorts in Congress – are giving tacit approval to corruption at the highest levels of government. Whether corruption in government deserves media exposure depends on whose team or political allies are perpetrating the corruption!

As Victor Davis Hanson writes in Jewish World Review: “Progressives are not supposed to destroy requested emails, ‘acid wash’ hard drives, spread unverified and paid-for opposition research among government agencies, or use the DOJ and FBI to obtain warrants to snoop on the communications of American citizens.”

Israel in a long line of presidents.

He goes along with the influential lobby with complete conviction.

Syria is not the only target in this effort. Iran is also in Trump’s crosshairs as he keeps alive the 40-year old campaign to destroy that country. Of course Israel is implicated in any anti-Iranian activity and as the only nuclear power in the region always poses great danger to the entire world.

The potential for conflict is ripe as the United States is determined to throw a wrench into any process that might lead to peace.

Worse yet there is silence in the United States Congress and blatant warmonger cheerleading in the corporate media.

people who care little about body counts unless there are American victims. But the antiwar movement has no choice but to step up. Our numbers are small but there must be a commitment to stop this slow-motion catastrophe from going any further.

Any lingering connections with the Democratic Party must end once and for all. They will gladly go along with plans for war in Syria or elsewhere. The commitment must be to end United States interventions and declare independence from anyone who is not firmly opposed to crimes cooked up in Washington.

It is a daunting task to revive a movement that has withered so badly. The odds aren’t good, but inaction makes them even worse.

The United States has endangered the entire planet. Only ordinary people can stop the catastrophe.

The left disappears

Leftish Democrats who at one time could be counted on to at least ask questions are long gone.

Supposed progressives like Bernie Sanders support war, and Zionist members of the House of Representatives and Senate are happy to join Trump in supporting anything that Israel wants.

The non-stop Russophobia from the corporate media and politicians has done its damage.

Blindly for Israel Anything that the Russian govTrump is surely the most pro- ernment wants has been labeled

as evil and Democrats are happy to join Trump in bringing the world to the brink.

While Americans are told that Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong un are threats to peace it is American presidents who put the world in danger. The name may be Clinton, Bush, Obama or Trump, but the result is the same: chaos and death in pursuit of full spectrum dominance.

‘Confused’ populace American presidents get away with their criminality because they govern an uninformed and confused populace. The average American is captive to corporate media lies and never looks elsewhere for information. Any narrative that counters the official story is deliberately disappeared from view and the result is ignorance and a tiny, ineffective antiwar movement.

All of the ingredients are present for a great tragedy unless the people speak up. The imperialists learned their lesson from Iraq and know better than to fully commit large-scale troop deployments as Bush did. That is always a cause for public dissent and possible electoral defeat.

Wars by proxy get a pass from

Press goes along He went on to say that the FISA scandal may become more “worrisome” than either Watergate or Iran-Contra because, “our defense against government wrongdoing – the press – is defending such actions, not uncovering them. Liberal and progressive voices are excusing, not airing, the excesses of the DOJ and FBI.” Is anybody listening? Does anyone care?

Clarence V. McKee is a government, political and media relations consultant and president of McKee Communications, Inc., as well as a Newsmax.com contributor. This article originally appeared on Newsmax.com.

Margaret Kimberley is a cofounder of BlackAgendaReport.com and writes a weekly column there. Contact her at Margaret.Kimberley@BlackAgendaReport.com.

TOJ A6

NATION

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS

President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 10, 2016 in the Oval Office of the White House. Obama way outranks Trump in presidential poll.

Trump ranks last in ‘Presidential Greatness Survey’ Political scientists put Lincoln first; Obama in top 10

BY GRAHAM RAYMAN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS

He’s the greatest at being the worst, according to a new poll.

President Donald Trump came in last in a poll of political scientists that ranked all 44 of the people who have served as chief executive.

Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt in order took the top four spots in the Boise State University “Presi-

dential Greatness Survey.”

The poll quizzed “current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association,” described as “the foremost organization of social science experts in presidential politics.”

320 polled Out of the 320 political scientists contacted between Dec. 22 and Jan. 16, 170 complete responses were received.

They were asked to rate each president on a scale of zero to 100, and then the scores were averaged together for each president.

Thus, Lincoln got a rating of

95.03, while Washington got a rating of 92.59.

Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and Lyndon Johnson rounded out the top 10.

Worse than Nixon Trump’s rating? A lowly 12.34 — or last of 44 different presidents.

(Trump is the 45th president, but one of his predecessors, Grover Cleveland, was elected two separate times, making him the 22nd and 24th president. He came in at No. 24 on the survey.)

Trump was rated even worse than President Richard Nixon, who came in at No. 33.

Nixon quit under pressure from the Watergate scandal.

Most polarizing Trump was also rated below William Henry Harrison, who died after only a month in office — from March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841.

Even Warren Harding, whose presidency was afflicted by the Teapot Dome corruption scandal and his dalliances with mistresses, rated higher than Trump at No. 39.

Trump “won” another category — most polarizing president.

He was well ahead of No. 2 — Andrew Jackson.

“Donald Trump is by far the most polarizing of the ranked

presidents,” poll authors Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin Vaughn wrote.

Mostly Dems As for whose face should next grace Mount Rushmore, Franklin Roosevelt was chosen by a wide margin with 108 votes. Obama was second with 12 votes.

Just over 57 percent of those polled identified as Democrats, while 13 percent were Republican and 27 percent, Independents.

Even Republican raters put Trump among the worst presidents at No. 4. They placed Obama at No. 16.

Former editor calls for justice’s impeachment

BY ELIZABETH ELISALDE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS

A woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment has written an op-ed calling for his impeachment from the bench.

Angela Wright Shannon, a former editor at The Charlotte Observer newspaper in North Carolina, wrote in her HuffPost essay published Monday that Thomas should be brought to justice after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment — including herself.

She previously claimed that Thomas had asked what her breast size was and repeatedly pressured her to Clarence date him when they both worked at Thomas the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the mid 1980s.

Not believed Wright says women of color have a tougher time being heard when sharing their sexual harassment stories than White women.

“When the accusers are women of color, justice is not just delayed; it’s often denied outright,” she wrote.

“Even Anita Hill’s sophisticated demeanor and impressive standing as a professor of law didn’t shield her from being labeled ‘a little bit nutty, and a little bit slutty,’” Wright continued, referring to another Thomas accuser. “That’s been the cultural narrative about African-American women throughout history.”

#MeToo hope Wright added that now that a White woman — Moira Smith, a lawyer from Alaska — has also accused Thomas of groping her nearly 20 years ago, there could be a chance of Thomas getting impeached.

There’s also hope amid the #MeToo movement, she said.

“The Me Too movement has underscored the depth and breadth of sexual harassment in our society,” Wright wrote. “Finally, women are being heard and believed.”

MICHAEL TERCHA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

A long-term study found that moderate alcohol consumption can increase longevity.

Study: Drinking alcohol key to living past 90

BY JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS

Cheers to life — seriously.

When it comes to making it into your 90s, booze actually beats exercise, according to a long-term study.

The research, led by University of California neurologist Claudia Kawas, tracked 1,700 nonagenarians enrolled in the 90+ Study that began in 2003 to explore impacts of daily habits on longevity.

Researchers discovered that subjects who drank about two glasses

of beer or wine a day were 18 percent less likely to experience a premature death, the Independent reports.

‘No explanation’ Meanwhile, participants who exercised 15 to 45 minutes a day, cut the same risk by 11 percent.

“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas stated over the weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual con-

ference in Austin, Texas.

Other factors were found to boost longevity, including weight.

Weight matters Participants who were slightly overweight — but not obese — cut their odds of an early death by 3 percent.

“It’s not bad to be skinny when you’re young but it’s very bad to be skinny when you’re old,” Kawas noted in her address.

Subjects who kept busy with a daily hobby two hours a day were 21 percent less likely to die early, while those who drank two cups of coffee a day cut that risk by 10 percent.

Further study is needed to determine how habits impact longevity beyond people’s genetic makeups.

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Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie speaks during a news conference on Feb. 15 near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland where 17 people were killed on Valentine’s Day.

He can’t look away Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, the stately spokesman and tour guide of the Parkland massacre, has become a vocal proponent of stricter gun control laws.

BY KYRA GURNEY MIAMI HERALD/TNS

M

IAMI – For the past week, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie has become a grim tour guide to the deadliest high school shooting in American history.

Between funerals, press conferences and around-the-clock meetings in a makeshift “war room” set up in the principal’s office at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Runcie has accompanied state lawmakers and members of Congress as they visit the school.

With police leading the way, they have retraced the gunman’s path through the freshman building: past bullet casings, shattered windows, walls pockmarked by gunshots and pools of blood.

CAROLYN COLE/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Marla Eveillard, 14, grieves with friends before the start of the community prayer vigil on Feb. 15, one day after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

‘Our babies’ It’s a sickening tour of the carnage that claimed 17 lives on Feb. 14. And it’s one that Runcie has taken many times in the days since. He can’t look away.

These are his students — “our babies” as he calls them — and his teachers. And he wants to make sure no one else can look away either.

“We’ve given them detailed tours and explanations of what has happened so they become sensitized to the tragedy and we can get the support we need,” Runcie said. “We only have one opportunity to make sure they understand what was inflicted on our community.”

In the spotlight Runcie has had little time to grieve.

In a single afternoon, he was thrust into the national spotlight, where he went from being superintendent of the nation’s sixth largest school district to a vocal proponent of stricter gun control laws — and a critic of the lawmakers who he says have “fallen short” when it comes to preventing school shootings.

“This moment is a moment where I feel that the victims’ lives, those that were injured, the community that has been hurt by this, that all of this can’t be in vain,” he said. “We don’t have sensible gun laws or appropriate investments in mental health services. It’s not one or the other. We need both.”

No false alarm Runcie first saw the evidence of blood-

TAIMY ALVAREZ/SUN SENTINEL/TNS

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, staff, parents, friends and community leaders gather for a moment of silence in Parkland on Feb. 15. shed in the freshman building immediately after the shooting. He had just finished awarding the school district’s Teacher of the Year with a new car when he started getting text messages about a possible incident at Stoneman Douglas High.

The vast majority of the alerts Runcie gets about threats against schools end up being false alarms, but he quickly realized that this was different.

His chief of staff, who sounded “shaken,” called with more information.

“It really began to look like a very serious problem,” Runcie said. As he headed toward Stoneman Douglas High, Runcie called Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who was already at the school.

“That’s when he just started describing to me the horrific scene he had wit-

nessed,” Runcie said. “It was almost unbearable news at that time.”

Saw the bodies As Runcie approached Stoneman Douglas High, he saw police and ambulances rushing to the scene and heard helicopters overhead. He had to fight his way through traffic to get to the school.

“It looked like the whole county had descended on Stoneman Douglas with first responders and law enforcement,” he said. “They were just coming and coming nonstop.”

At that point, students were still being evacuated. Law enforcement officers briefed Runcie on the shooting. As they went through the freshman building he See PARKLAND, Page B2

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EVENTS

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

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FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Jacksonville: “The Mountaintop’’ by playwright Katori Hall will be staged on Feb. 27 at the Ritz Theatre and Museum.

Sarasota: The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present “Lady Day at Emerson Bar and Grill starring Melba Moore starting Feb. 28. Westcoastblacktheatre.org Jacksonville: The Jacksonville Children’s Chorus will present “Lift Evry Voice and Sing’’ at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. Special guest: Hampton University choir. Tickets: Jaxchildrenschorus.org Fort Lauderdale: The African Presence Art Exhibition is open through March 12 at Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library.

More info: nova.edu/blackhistory Ponte Vedra: Mavis Staples takes the stage of the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on Feb. 25 for an 8 p.m. show.

AVERY SUNSHINE & WALTER BEASLEY Jazz in the Gardens returns March 17-18 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Performers will include Anita Baker, Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Walter Beasley and Avery Sunshine. Full lineup: www. jazzinthegardens.com

Tampa: Rema Ma featuring 6ix9ine, Jacquees, Ball Greezy and Mike Smiff will perform Feb. 23 at the USF Sun Dome.

MARTHA REEVES

The Legendary Ladies of Motown show is Feb. 24 at The Peabody in Daytona Beach featuring Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. There’s also a Feb. 25 show at The Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

Punta Gorda: The Ultimate Motown Experience is Feb. 27 at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center.

‘Black Panther’ a powerful force at box office everywhere, including Africa ca often depict the continent as a war-torn environment filled with poverty and suffering.

The film’s release also comes less than two months after President Trump was quoted using vulgar language to disparage immigrants from African countries.

“Black Panther” centers on a fictional African nation of Wakanda, which outsiders wrongly believe to be an impoverished country but is a staggeringly wealthy society with the most advanced technology in the world.

BY RYAN FAUGHNDER LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Marvel Studios and Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster superhero movie “Black Panther” has become a legitimate global juggernaut, grossing a jaw-dropping $427 million in global ticket sales and defying movie business assumptions.

It’s also showing strength in the continent where the film mostly takes place – Africa.

Released by Walt Disney Co., “Black Panther” scored the largest box office debuts ever in West Africa and East Africa, generating about $400,000 and $300,000, respectively.

In South Africa, “Black Panther” had the third-highest opening ($1.4 million), coming in behind the two most recent “Fast and Furious” movies. Big-screen company Imax Corp. said its theaters in Kenya and Nigeria had their biggest results ever this weekend.

“Black Panther’’ is making history in the U.S. and internationally.

Fictional Wakanda The $200-million film, starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular comic book hero, is benefiting from its overwhelmingly positive representation of Africa and PanAfrican cultures, analysts said.

Hollywood movies set in Afri-

Tiny market “Black Panther,” which also features Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and a breakout performance by Letitia Wright, is the first global superhero blockbuster with a mostly Black cast and a Black director.

“It’s a positive representation of Africa, and we normally don’t see portrayals like that,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at box office data firm ComScore. “‘Black Panther’ is so important

because it’s obliterating these stereotypes.”

Africa remains a tiny market for films, compared to other parts of the world, and the African grosses for “Black Panther” are a blip in the movie’s overall total, accounting for less than $3 million in ticket sales for opening weekend.

West Africa, a region that includes Nigeria and Ghana, had 32 theaters in 2016, according to data from the National Association of Theatre Owners. Major international theater chains lack a presence there.

Massive rollout By contrast, in the United States and Canada alone, “Black Panther” collected about $202 million in its first three days, representing the second-largest debut ever for a Marvel Studios film.

Its massive rollout continued during the Presidents Day holiday, with $40.2 million in the U.S. and Canada, marking the biggest Monday result ever, not adjusted for inflation. Domestically, it has

PARKLAND could see bodies lying on the ground and blood on the floor.

Dozens of interviews

Jamaican roots It’s an unlikely role for Runcie, a businessman who never planned for a career in education. The son of a Jamaican sugar cane farmer, Runcie immigrated to New York at the age of 6.

He went on to study economics at Harvard, where he met his wife, Diana. The couple moved to Chicago and raised three daughters while Runcie worked in finance and started a computer consulting firm.

In 2003, Arne Duncan, then head of the Chicago school district and later Secretary of Education under Barack Obama, asked Runcie to oversee the district’s

In Poland, Portugal Foster said the film posted big numbers in unexpected countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, Portugal, Israel and Pakistan.

The largest international boxoffice results for “Black Panther,” so far, came from South Korea, which generated $27.1 million in box office receipts for the film.

The industry is still waiting to see how it does in some of the world’s largest box office markets. “Black Panther” opens in Russia next weekend, followed

by Japan and China, the world’s second-largest country for movies, in March.

“Let me just say if we provided every service that we could and did all that in exemplary fashion, if he can still get access to guns, what’s the point of all this?” he said. “This is a systemic problem we have that isn’t about blaming one agency or the other.”

That extends to the FBI. “I don’t want to sit here and be Monday morning quarterback against the FBI,” he said. “The FBI, to their credit, has acknowledged there’s an error made there, a pretty significant one. The question now for them is how to fix this to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

from B1

Runcie and his staff set up a “war room” in the principal’s conference room and got to work planning grief counseling centers and other support for survivors and for the victims’ families.

Runcie also addressed the media.

“It is a day that you pray, every day I get up, that we’ll never have to see,” he said. “It is in front of us and I ask the community for your prayers, your support, for these children and their families. We’re going to do whatever we can to come together as a community to pull through this and we will.”

That was the first of dozens of interviews, many of which Runcie has used to call for “sensible” gun control.

grossed $242 million.

Greg Foster, chief executive of Imax Entertainment, said “Black Panther” could help expand the film market in Africa, and elsewhere.

“It’s brought in people who traditionally haven’t gone to movies, because there’s a message in ‘Black Panther’ that says this is a movie to support,” Foster said.

On students’ protests SUSAN STOCKER/SUN SENTINEL/TNS

Tyra Hemans, 19, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior, hugs classmate Amanda Gonzalez as she boards a bus heading to Tallahassee on Tuesday, where students met with Florida legislators to discuss gun control. technology department.

Gun control stance

Chicago experience

Before last Wednesday, however, Runcie said he had never spoken publicly about gun control.

“But it would be irresponsible for me not to talk about it at this point,” he said. “I know there are lots of different sides to it and folks land on lots of different places, but leadership sometimes is taking a position that some people don’t like. It may be a position that you feel like you’re climbing uphill sometimes.”

That’s not the only uphill battle facing the Broward schools superintendent.

Runcie went on to serve in other administrative roles, including as chief of staff for the Board of Education, before becoming the Broward schools superintendent in 2011.

During his eight years working for the Chicago school district, Runcie saw a different type of gun violence claim the lives of his students.

Every day, he would get messages on his BlackBerry about the students who had been shot overnight, victims of the city’s brutal gang violence.

Hundreds of Chicago public school students were shot and wounded and dozens were killed every year. But none of them died at school.

Questions coming In the coming weeks, Runcie will have to answer tough questions about whether the school

system could have done more to help Nikolas Cruz.

The confessed shooter had a long disciplinary record in the school system, where he bounced between schools, spending time at Pompano’s Cross Creek School — a campus for students with behavioral issues — before attending Stoneman Douglas High and various adult education programs.

Cruz had also been on the Florida Department of Children & Families’ radar and the subject of two tips reported to the FBI that were never fully investigated.

‘Systemic problem’ But Runcie said he doesn’t see the value in blaming the school district, or any other agency, for failing to prevent the tragedy.

Runcie said that if lawmakers don’t pass stricter gun control laws, however, the burden for ensuring it doesn’t happen again may ultimately rest on the shoulders of the Stoneman Douglas High students and the young people around the country who have joined their burgeoning movement.

Since the shooting, Broward students have spoken at anti-gun rallies and chanted “No more guns!” at vigils. They have called for national walk-outs and a “March for Our Lives” in Washington, D.C. “I am more encouraged than I ever would have been previously because our students are on the front line of pushing the change that we need because our generation hasn’t been getting it done,” Runcie said. “Either they’re going to force this generation to get it done for them or they’re going to do it themselves.”

Miami Herald staff writer Carol Marbin Miller contributed to this report.

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FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

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Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

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

‘Black Panther’ soundtrack joins tradition of Black movie music

quality at work here — what the actor Craig Robinson referred to as “a hug for your soul” when he hosted the second of two “Black Movie Soundtrack” concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016.

Those shows, by the way, were overseen by director Reginald Hudlin, who wrote for Marvel’s “Black Panther” comic in the early 2000s — and whose 1992 film “Boomerang” spawned a classic soundtrack of its own.

Lamar plugs into that emotional current on “Black Panther: The Album” without flinching from the tough questions the movie asks about race and identity and the burden of leadership. With luck, the result will propel other musicians and filmmakers toward similar ambitions.

‘Artistic integrity’

BRIAN VAN DER BRUG/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Kendrick Lamar is shown on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., on April 23, 2017.

BY MIKAEL WOOD LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

There’s a scene in “Black Panther” in which a bad guy busy raining fire from the passenger seat of a getaway car commands his driver to turn on some music.

“It’s not a funeral,” the bad guy sneers, and suddenly we’re being pummeled by “Opps,” a throbbing, darkly futuristic hip-hop tune by a trio of rappers led by Compton’s Kendrick Lamar, who put together the movie’s all-star soundtrack and appears on each of its 14 songs.

The villain’s line is a bleak joke of course, but he’s dead-on about his surroundings: “Black Panther” is most definitely not a funeral, and its wildly creative music accounts for much of its vital life force.

Positive energy A superhero movie with a soul, Ryan Coogler’s thrilling and

heartfelt picture radiates positive energy as it follows T’Challa, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, in his struggle to protect his prosperous homeland while simultaneously empowering marginalized people around the world with the use of the Wakandans’ advanced technology.

What’s more, the film — featuring a mostly Black cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett — is being viewed by many with hopes that it will begin a new era of AfricanAmerican representation in Hollywood cinema.

Storytelling device For all the ways in which it looks forward, though, “Black Panther” also proudly adheres to an established tradition of Black movie music that stretches back decades

— through “Boyz n the Hood” and “Waiting to Exhale” in the 1990s to “Purple Rain” and “Do the Right Thing” in the 1980s to “Super Fly” and “Shaft” in the 1970s.

The idea, in contrast with many of today’s more obligatory soundtracks, is not merely to assemble a collection of songs to wallpaper a blockbuster or to extend its pop-culture footprint to Top 40 radio (or to Spotify).

Rather, what connects these movies and their accompanying albums to each other is the shared determination to utilize music as a storytelling device — including tunes delivered from characters’ points of view — and to reflect the sprawl of an ambitious narrative with a soundtrack that coheres even as it showcases a diversity of styles.

Emotional journey There’s also a certain feel-good

Often hailed as the most important rapper of his generation, the 30-year-old Lamar was an inspired choice to handle the project, for which he’s credited as executive producer alongside the head of his record label, Anthony Tiffith, known as Top Dawg.

Like Curtis Mayfield or Prince or Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, to name three earlier soundtrack auteurs, Lamar understands how to package sophisticated concepts to make “entertainment that has artistic integrity,” as Coogler described it to me recently.

The director said he was drawn to the “introspective” quality of Lamar’s work, including last year’s Grammy-winning “Damn” album, with its thoughts on the personal costs of Black achievement in Donald Trump’s America.

Global talent With contributions from a deep bench of international talent, the album roves from Lamar’s native Southern California (also represented by Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, and various members of Lamar’s TDE crew) to Atlanta (2 Chainz, Future) and England (James Blake, Jorja Smith) and South Africa, where some of the soundtrack’s most gripping voices come from, including the singer Sjava and rapper Yugen Blakrok.

Guided by Lamar and his longtime studio partner Sounwave, along with a bevy of additional songwriters and producers, these artists together weave

a dense and often gorgeous fabric of sound.

There are shimmering electro-R&B jams like Khalid and Swae Lee’s “The Ways” and “Redemption,” by the duo of Zacari and Babes Wodumo, a South African club star who imports the dance groove called gqom.

Ballads, fierce rhymes There are slow-motion ballads like Smith’s bluesy “I Am.” And there are rowdy hip-hop posse cuts like “King’s Dead,” which has Lamar trading verses with Jay Rock and Future and features a trippy interlude sung

by James Blake.

“Opps” is another of those, with fierce rhymes from Lamar, Staples and Blakrok over a noisy beat that imagines a SoundCloud-era update of the Bomb Squad’s groundbreaking production for Public Enemy.

Like the movie, which ponders the value of open borders, the “Black Panther” album uses this variety to embody and examine ideas about the African diaspora at a time of increasing immigration control.

In that it shares some DNA with Drake’s globe-tripping 2017 effort, “More Life,” which came out just weeks before “Damn.”

Other voices But where the famously selfabsorbed Drake rarely deviates from his own point of view, Lamar on “Black Panther” frequently adopts the voices of T’Challa and the king’s rival, Erik Killmonger.

“I dropped a million tears / I know several responsibilities put me here,” he raps in the opening title track, before demanding, “What do you stand for? Are you an activist? What are your city plans for?”

That Lamar himself is acquainted with these questions only makes his portrayal more convincing, as was the case when Ice Cube did “How to Survive in South Central” in “Boyz n the Hood.”

“In LA heroes don’t fly through the sky of stars / They live behind bars,” Ice Cube rapped in that song, merging his perspective with that of his indelible character, Doughboy.

Nearly 30 years later, Lamar and “Black Panther” show how much has changed since then — and how much hasn’t.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

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Barack Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. Here’s a look at other firsts for American Blacks in politics and law: EVENTS 1861 Civil War begins.

1863 President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing most slaves.

1865 to 1877 Reconstruction.

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

1865 Civil War ends.

The 13th Amendment ratified, outlawing slavery.

1868 The 14th Amendment ratified, granting citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States.

1870 The 15th Amendment ratified, guaranteeing Black Americans the right to vote.

1896 Plessy vs.

Ferguson.

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

1954 Brown vs.

Board of Education.

Supreme Court finds segregated public schools unconstitutional.

1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin.

— Karsten Ivey, Sun Sentinel

1865

J.S. Rock Lawyer admitted to practice before U.S. Supreme Court

1870

Hiram R. Revels U.S. senator (Miss.)

Joseph Rainey U.S. Rep. (S.C.)

1865

Rev. Henry Highland Garnet Give a speech in the U.S. Capitol

1871

Jefferson F. Long Speak in House of Representatives as congressman (Ga.)

1872

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

1911

William Henry Lewis Appointed to a sub-Cabinet post

1926

Violette N. Anderson Female lawyer admitted to practice before U.S. Supreme Court

1967

Thurgood Marshall U.S. Supreme Court Justice

1944

Harry S. McAlpin Reporter to attend White House press conference

1955

E. Frederic Morrow Hold an executive position on a president’s staff

1960

1966

1977

1977

1989

1989

Andrew Hatcher Assistant presidential press secretary

Patricia Harris Female Cabinet secretary (HUD*)

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

1966

Robert C. Weaver Edward Brooke U.S. senator (first since Recon- Cabinet secretary (Housing and Urban struction) (Mass.)

Development)

1967

Carl Stokes Mayor of a large city (Cleveland)

1968

Shirley Chisholm Female U.S. representative

Clifford Alexander Jr. Secretary of the Army

Colin Powell Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

1992

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

2000

Donna Brazile Manager of a presidential campaign

SOURCES: AFRICAN AMERICAN REGISTRY, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, INFOPLEASE.COM, BLACKPAST.ORG, MCT

2001

Condoleezza Rice National security advisor Colin Powell Secretary of State

PHOTOS COURTESY OF: TNS, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

STOJ

“We March”

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

B5

Reading Black History

Written and illustrated

by Shane W. Evans, Roaring Brook Press, $16.99, ages 3 and up Author and illustrator Shane W. Evans doesn’t use a lot of words — a little over 60 — in his book “We March.”

He doesn’t have to. His textured, full-color drawings do the work of telling the story of a young African-American family preparing for the August 1963 March on Washington.

Exploring the historical event through the family’s eyes illustrates how much the civil rights struggle was about regular people uniting to peacefully demand change. Dr. King plays an important supporting role in the story. However, it’s the family — standing together, comforting each other — who is the star.

— Eric Goodwin

“Chocolate Me!”

By Taye Diggs, illustrated

by Shane W. Evans, from Macmillan books, $16.99, ages 4 and up “Chocolate Me” opens with an unhappy little boy, being taunted by neighborhood boys for his differences in appearance — everything from his curly hair to his wide nose to his seemingly extra-white teeth against his dark skin. But his mother tells him why those things all make him special. By changing his attitude, which gives him a confidence boost, the boy returns to the other boys and teaches them about acceptance and appreciation of peoples’ differences. The book is also wonderfully illustrated with full-page spreads depicting the boy’s story, sometimes with just a few words per page, which help enrich the story for those too young to read on their own.

— Kim Ossi

“When Grandmama Sings”

By Margaree King Mitchell, illustrated by James E. Ransome, from HarperCollins books, $16.99, ages 5-9 Eight-year-old Belle narrates “When Grand-mama Sings” and tells the story of the summer she and Grandmama, who has an amazing singing voice

These books for kids and teens perfect for Black History Month In February, we celebrate the history of Black people in America — a history that we can sometimes find ourselves shying away from because of the shame of slavery and persecution. Luckily there are talented authors and illustrators to educate our children about the true-life tortures and triumphs of Black people who were brought to this country in chains but have risen to a point where one of their own - President Barack Obama - has represented Americans as the president of the United States. Here are several recently released children’s and young adult books that are perfect for Black History Month reading lists.

— McClatchy-Tribune but can’t read, went on a tour with a band. It’s the first time Belle has traveled outside of Pecan Flats, Miss., and she helps her grandmother read while they travel throughout the South. The story talks about the segregation they experience in their travels.

But the overarching message of the story, besides giving young readers a brief history lesson, is the power of music to bring people together. Grandmama also proves to be an excellent role model for Belle – and the reader – about not giving up on your dreams and achieving happiness, no matter your age or how unreachable they may seem when you start your journey.

— Kim Ossi

“My Uncle Martin’s Words for America”

By Angela Farris Watkins, PhD., illustrated by Eric Velasquez, Abram Books for Young Readers, $19.95, ages 5 and up Describing the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement to a young child is a challenge. The average 6-yearold doesn’t comprehend “Jim Crow” or “prejudice” right away. Parents may stumble to find analogies that frame the terms in the proper context. But where parents falter, “My Uncle Martin’s Words for America” succeeds, explaining Dr. King’s life and work in a way kids can readily grasp.

Written by his niece, Angela Farris Watkins, the book describes how Dr. King’s philosophy of love and nonviolence chipped away at U.S. segregation laws.

The key pillars underlying Dr. King’s beliefs — justice, freedom, brotherhood

and equality — are highlighted in the text. Watkins then picks events from the civil rights movement that demonstrates how these pillars were made manifest.

— Eric Goodwin

“Freedom’s a-Callin Me”

By Ntozake Shange, paintings by Rod Brown, HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 8-12 “Freedom’s a-Callin Me” tells the tale of a slave, following him from working in the cotton fields and getting beaten by his master to his harrowing escape to Michigan. The story is told through a series of poems and is written in Southern dialect, both of which may be obstacles for younger readers trying to digest the story. But the tale is accompanied by full-page paintings that de-

pict the narrator’s experiences on his journey, and may help struggling readers comprehend the text better. That said, the story introduces readers to a new story form and simultaneously teaches them about the history of slaves in our country, and the brave souls — both Black and White — who brought danger on themselves to help men and women escape to freedom.

— Kim Ossi

“The Mighty Miss Malone”

By Christopher Paul Curtis, Random House Children’s Books, $15.99, ages 9-12 The author of “Bud, Not Buddy,” finally brings us a full-length story about Deza Malone, who fans will certainly remember from “Bud.” The story follows 12-year-old Deza and her family’s struggles during the Great Depression in Gary, Ind. Deza is an incredibly smart and capable young lady, but her parents have difficulties just putting food on the table when work becomes difficult to find. After a serious mishap that leaves Deza’s gregarious and loving father depressed, the Malones become home-

less, riding the rails and living in a Hooverville outside Flint, Mich., fighting not to be crushed against the heel of poverty. “The Mighty Miss Malone” shows how this family supports each other and presents a united front against the everyday injustices and huge setbacks that so many families faced in the 1930s.

— Merrie Leininger

“The Silence of our Friends: The Civil Rights Struggle Was Never Black and White”

By Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, illustrated by Nate Powell, First Second books, 208 pages, $16.99, ages 12 and up This graphic novel tells a story set in 1968 in Houston. Mark Long’s father, Jack Long, is a TV station race reporter, an eye witness to the violence and anger coming from Whites and Blacks. Jack is attempting to cover the events occurring in town and do justice to the people that he’s covering.

Larry Thompson, an advocate for poor African Americans, saves him from an angry mob at an event. The two become friends and their lives intertwine. But when Long witnesses a shooting at a violent protest that leaves a police officer dead, what will he do?

The story is a bit longer than it needs to be — it is based on events in Long’s real-life childhood — but it is quietly powerful.

— Merrie Leininger

“Black Boy White School”

By Brian F. Walker, from HarperCollins, $17.99, ages 14 and up In “Black Boy White School,” readers follow the presentday story of Ant, from eighth grade through his freshman year of high school.

Ant grew up in a violent neighborhood in East Cleveland, Ohio. With his mother’s urging, Ant applies and is accepted to Belton, a boarding school in Maine.

The world at the boarding school there is so different from his home. Most of the children attending the school are rich and White. There are few other students of color.

Despite the story taking place in present-day, with Obama as president and when equality is all but expected, all is not well for many of the people both on campus and in the nearby town. And Ant finds he’s struggling with identity.

The book forces readers to open their eyes to both subtle and blatant racism, still experienced today by many.

— Kim Ossi

DING H REA

LIST

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R TH RE FO

B6

FOOD

FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 1, 2018

S

Simply SAVORY meals FROM FAMILY FEATURES

FARM-FRESH FESTIVITIES

F

arm-fresh is what many families desire. Straight from the farm to your table is one of the best ways you can ensure you’re delivering a nutritious and delicious meal for family or friends.

Wholesome meals can bring everyone together around the dinner table; even little ones can enjoy flaky, baked fish, a nutritious potato-based side dish and a trendy-twist on a farm-fresh beverage with these fun, flavorful recipes.

Find more farm-fresh recipes at Culinary.net.

DELIGHTFULLY BAKED FISH When it comes to baking fish, flaky and fresh can make for a great combination. For a classic meal with a seasoned flare, try this delicious baked fish with lemon pepper seasoning and onions. Find more traditional, tasty recipes at USDA.gov.

BAKED FISH Recipe courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture Servings: 4 Nonstick cooking spray 1 pound fish fillets (whitefish, trout or tilapia) 1 onion, sliced 1/4teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning (optional) Heat oven to 350 F. Place 12-inch piece of foil on counter. Coat foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place fillets in middle of foil. If fillets have skin, place skin-side down.

Spread sliced onions, salt, pepper and oil on top of fillets. Add lemon pepper seasoning, if desired. Fold foil over fish.

Place foil pouch on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake fish 15-20 minutes until fish reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145 F on a food thermometer and is flaky when tested with fork.

Divide into four portions and serve.

Themed parties can be challenging, especially when you want everything to be perfect for your guests.

Make your party simple and festive with these tips for planning your own farm-to-table gathering.

Mason jars

A SENSATIONALLY SIMPLE SIDE DISH When you’re looking for a delicious and nutritious side dish to complement any meal, look no further than this Fingerling Potato Salad. Made with nutrientrich Wisconsin Potatoes and topped with a lemon dressing, this simple potato side packs plenty of flavor.

Find more potato recipes at eatwisconsinpotatoes.com.

FINGERLING POTATO SALAD Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Servings: 6 1 1/2 pounds mixed Wisconsin fingerling potatoes 2 large lemons, divided 2 cups water 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds 3/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds pepper, to taste 4 green onions, thinly sliced 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill salt, to taste 2 cups baby arugula In large pot of boiling, salted water, cook potatoes until just tender when pierced with fork, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

Slice one lemon into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. In small saucepan, combine sliced lemon, water and kosher salt; bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer

until lemon slices are tender, about 10 minutes.

Drain lemons then coarsely chop.

Cut remaining lemon in half and squeeze out 2 tablespoons juice. In small bowl, mix chopped lemons, lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar and oil. Coarsely crush cumin and coriander seeds using mortar and pestle. Mix seeds into lemon dressing. Season, to taste, with pepper.

Cut lukewarm potatoes in half lengthwise. Place in large, shallow bowl. Mix in green onions and dill. Pour lemon dressing over and toss to coat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Add arugula and toss gently. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.

FROM FARM TO GLASS Many may be surprised to learn that milk is one of the original farm-to-table foods, typically arriving on grocery shelves in just two days (or 48 hours) from many familyowned and operated dairy farms. For a trendy twist on the farm-fresh beverage kids already love, try this DIY flavored milk recipe as a tasty start to the morning. To learn about milk’s journey from farm to glass, visit MilkLife.com.

CHOCOLATE BANANA MILK Servings: 1 8 ounces fat free milk 1/2 large banana 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder Place 8 ounces milk, large banana and unsweetened cocoa powder in a blender and blend until just smooth. Enjoy!

Nutritional information per serving: 140 calories; 0 g fat; 0 g saturated fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 9 g protein; 29 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 105 mg sodium; 306 mg calcium (30% of daily value).

A farm-to-table classic, mason jars can be used for drinks or even to fill with flowers to make a beautiful, seasonal centerpiece for the table. Mason jars are clean, cute and easy to wash when the gathering is over.

Rustic vibe Adding some rustic decor can help spruce up your table or serve as an accessory for your farmto-table dinner party.

Also consider adding a bit of fall-flare with decorations such as pumpkins, squash and brightly colored leaves.

Seasonal fare It’s easy to get inspired with the variety of things you can find at your local farmers market. Ingredients like onions can be used in this Baked Fish recipe while a batch of locally sourced potatoes is the perfect foundation for a Fingerling Potato Salad.