Florida Courier, January 25, 2019 by Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC

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JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

VOLUME 27 NO. 4

NO TURNING BACK As the Bethune-Cookman University’s depleted Board of Trustees dumps its latest chairwoman, her successor mentions delaying a presidential search that is in its final stage. Concerned alumni aren’t feeling that.

Judge Belvin Perry

Editor’s note ‒ Read a related article about B-CU’s future on Page A2. BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

DAYTONA BEACH ‒ In a Jan. 18 meeting, Bethune-Cookman University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) removed controversial chair Michelle Carter-Scott and replaced her with retired Circuit Court Judge Belvin Perry. Later that day, Perry ‒ who jumped three positions on the board from third vicepresent because of approximately 20 board vacancies ‒ set off alarm bells among some B-CU stakeholders when he mentioned the possibility of delaying the university’s na-

What’s a ‘murder’?

Hubert Grimes

tional search for a new president. Perry had previously called for terminating the search, thus leaving Interim President Hubert Grimes ‒ also a retired Circuit Court judge ‒ in charge of the embattled university for the foreseeable future. One alumni group, Concerned Constituents Committee for Bethune-Cookman University (CCC/BCU), is vigorously opposed to any further delay. On Wednesday, the organization’s co-chairs, Sumner Hutcheson III and Dr. Sheila Flemming-Hunter, sent out a widely distributed press release.

New president ‘necessary’ “CCC/B-CU stands with the faculty of B-CU who have made it clear that a new president at this hour is necessary for the See B-CU, Page A2

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Bethune-Cookman University’s presidential search has identified three candidates who are scheduled to visit the campus next week.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. / 1929-1968

Happy 90th birthday, Dr. King!

Questions asked about Amendment 4 BY DARA KAM NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE ‒ A key Senate panel on Tuesday began grappling with how to carry out a constitutional amendment that “automatically” restores the right to vote to felons who’ve completed their sentences. At the outset of the meeting, Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Keith Perry vowed not to have “any kind of hindrance or roadblocks” in implementing Amendment 4, approved by nearly 65 percent of voters in November. At the top of the to-do list for the committee: figure out the definition of “murder.”

Crucial definition The amendment granted “automatic” restoration of voting rights to felons “who have completed all terms of their sentence, including parole or probation.” The amendment excluded people “convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.” But a 90-minute Criminal Justice Committee panel discussion Tuesday revealed confusion about the “murder” exception. “It’s an important point that we have to wrestle with here,” said Sen. Jeff

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Members of Fort Lauderdale’s International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1526 marched in the local MLK parade there. Around America, parades and other events were held to commemorate Dr. King’s life. Read a story on Page B1 and see more pictures at www.flcourier.com.

See QUESTIONS, Page A2

Walking while Black in Florida is a killer

sippi, Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Nevada, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, Missouri, Maryland, Michigan, and Kentucky. The report also concludes that American Indians were three times as likely to be killed. Lower-income neighborhoods saw a higher share of pedestrian deaths.

SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

From 2008-2017, Black people were 72 percent more likely to have been hit and killed by a driver than people of other races, according to a new report entitled “Dangerous by Design” issued by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. And Florida is the deadliest state in America for pedestrians. The report ranks U.S. metropolitan areas for the top 20 highest (worst) “Pedestrian Danger Index” ratings. Of the 20 worst metropolitan areas

ALSO INSIDE

Won’t stop for Blacks? STEVE DAVIS/SMART GROWTH AMERICA

Lack of crosswalks is a factor in the increased rates of death while walking. to walk in, nine are in the Sunshine State, with the OrlandoKissimmee-Sanford metroplex listed as the deadliest area in the country for pedestrians. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach is No.2 on the list; Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville is No. 3; North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, No. 4; Lake-

land-Winter Haven, No. 5; Jacksonville, No. 6; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, No. 8; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, No. 9; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, No. 14. The 20 states with the highest Pedestrian Danger Index ratings are Florida, Alabama, Delaware, Louisiana, Missis-

More dangerous roads are located near communities of color and implicit bias may play a role in the increased danger, according to the study. Research by the University of Nevada has shown that drivers are significantly more likely to yield to a White pedestrian in a crosswalk than to a Black pedestrian. “Too often, danger is built right into our nation’s streets, especially in communities with large elderly populations and people of color,” said Nancy See WALKING, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

FLORIDA | A3

DeSantis observes MLK Day at school and festival

Third Supreme Court justice appointed

NATION | A6

FOOD | B6

Trump’s tribute to Dr. King

Hearty dishes for dreary days

GUEST COMMENTARY: CLARENCE MCKEE: SHOULD PRESIDENT TRUMP FIRE TSA NO-SHOWS? | A4 COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A5

FOCUS

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

Anybody tired of B-CU folks talking about everything but saving B-CU? Days after Bethune-Cookman University Interim President Hubert Grimes and Board of Trustees member Belvin Perry held a joint press conference to offer a vague state of the university and to blast Michelle Carter-Scott as board chair, Carter-Scott is out as the head trustee. From “B-CU trustees remove Michelle Carter-Scott from leadership post,” by the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s T.S. Jarmusz: The move comes as tensions between the board and administration at Bethune-Cookman University have come to a head and the historically black university struggles to keep open. Perry, a retired circuit judge who’s been outspoken in his criticism of Carter-Scott’s leadership, said at an afternoon press conference she would remain on the board. “There’s no secret that there was bickering and infighting, which justified the need for new leadership,” Perry said. “We’re taking the necessary steps to right the ship in terms of our financials. Our future is very bright.”

J.L. CARTER, SR. HBCU DIGEST

The future is anything but at BCU. Everyone who had any hand in causing the institution’s financial crisis, and everyone charged with resolving it, is motivated by extraordinary self-interest. Former B-CU Trustee Johnny McCray’s accusations against Perry were published in the Florida Courier last week in a guest commentary entitled, “B-CU presidential search halted in judges’ self-interest.”

Protecting Grimes McCray labelled the retired judge as an embittered former applicant for the B-CU presidency whose role as the newly-installed B-CU board chair will be primary protector for Grimes, a fellow retired judge with whom CarterScott privately clashed and who served as an adviser to former B-

CU President Edison Jackson and the development of the ill-fated dorm deal. Wrote McCray: Perry was neither on the BOT nor otherwise associated with B-CU when Jackson engaged Grimes to advance the dorm deal; he has no first-hand knowledge. Perry does, however, have ample motive to go to great lengths to ensure Grimes continues as interim president, especially with his own ambitions for presidency having been short-circuited. My concerns about Perry and Grimes should in no way be construed as a pass for Carter-Scott. She should also give way to new leadership and step down as chair of the BOT. Once a proud supporter of Jackson and the dorm deal, she has been caught in a power struggle with an ineffective interim president whom she once championed.

Bigger issues As harrowing as the fighting is, the facts about the narcissism surrounding B-CU’s real issues are

far more dangerous. No one is taking the blame for knowledge of the dorm deal. No one is publicly discussing options to save the school from massive financial cuts, or millions owed in vendor commitments and potential lawsuits. No one is talking about ways to stabilize enrollment, which is nearly certain to plummet this fall as the financial drama continues to unfold in the media. People are talking about people because they don’t have solutions and have no clue about how to find them. If B-CU had any semblance of leadership, any real collective notion about saving the school ‒ no one would talk publicly. Period.

Repellent board B-CU’s brain trust is reducing every chance of hiring an experienced administrator who can come in as an unobstructed, short-term president to fix the financial and accreditation issues. No good current or former president with the experience to save Bethune-Cookman would dare to work for this board as it is currently constructed. The jaw-jacking of a select few trustees is convincing the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleg-

QUESTIONS

‘Murder means murder’ Proponents of Amendment 4, as the measure appeared on the November ballot, maintain that voters intended for the exclusion

B-CU from A1

university to reform in hopes of maintaining its accreditation and achieving financial stability,” the release states. According to the release, CCC /B-CU formed in October of 2017 “in the absence of transparency and collaborative dialogue among stakeholders, including alumni, to address issues at B-CU and to initiate solution driven dialogues. We’ve attempted to work respectfully with trustees, administrators of B-CU and the National Alumni Association, often behind the scenes with recommendations, letters, meeting requests, etc.,” according to the release. “Bethune-Cookman University hired a premier executive firm in higher education, AGB Search, to assist with its current presidential search. Amid public statements of B-CU leaders interested in canceling or postponing the search, it should be noted that canceling this presidential search is not in the best interest of B-CU.”

Other ongoing searches According to its website, AGB Search “has conducted more than 750 successful client engagements ranging from small private colleges to large public institutions.” The company bills itself as “the only firm that offers executive search, interim search, and compensation evaluation services exclusively for higher education institutions.” The firm says it has active searches for vacant presidencies at Florida State College at Jacksonville, Thomas More University, Claflin University, Missouri Western State University, Montana Technological University, the University of Pittsburg in

Clearly unstable No one will enroll in an institution where instability among leadership is clear even to a high school student. No one will invest in an institution where the only plan for salvation that has been publicly shared is, “Don’t let Michelle Carter-Scott run the board,” or “Hubert Grimes saw this whole thing happening, so don’t let him be in charge.” Everyone inside and outside of Daytona Beach is sick of the nonsense. So when will the legitimately concerned citizens of the B-CU community stand up and make everyone else have a seat?

Jarrett L. Carter, Sr. is publisher of HBCU Digest (www. hbcudigest.com).

‘Completion’ also questioned

from A1

Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who is on the committee and chairs the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. County elections officials ‒ who use a variety of databases to verify voters’ eligibility ‒ are relying on the state to flag people who are ineligible to vote after they’ve registered. But state Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews said her office needs the Legislature to clarify what types of convictions the murder exclusion captures, noting that the homicide statute includes a broad swath of crimes. “It is a question about, do you include partial birth abortion is in there, attempted murder is in there,” Matthews said. “We have gotten questions from supervisors as to what these terms mean.” Matthews said state officials “wish to apply the law uniformly and consistently” regarding the murder and felony sexual offense exclusions.

es that the board is too involved in the daily operations of the school, and has no plan beyond cutting the budget to resolve its money issues. They are convincing city officials and private donors that any dollar or bond given to B-CU could be wilted by board politics, if not first claimed by lawsuits and outstanding vendor payments. A lot of people want titles and credit for whatever turnaround B-CU is to experience, but there will be no turnaround for as long as people are doing more talking than working.

STEPHEN M. DOWELL/ORLANDO SENTINEL

Florida legislators are trying to finalize key details regarding the restoration of ex-felons’ voting rights. to apply only to felons convicted of first-degree murder. “Murder means murder,” Neil Voltz, political director of the Florida Restoration of Rights Coalition, told the committee. The coalition played a major role in the amendment’s passage. “We believe the text of the language matters.” Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Brandes, who will carry the implementation legislation, indicated lawmakers aren’t likely to go that far. “I think the Legislature, my

colleagues on both sides of the aisle here, believe that that is not what the voters intended,” said Brandes, calling the murder definition “the only major point of contention” between proponents of the amendment and lawmakers. “I have to believe that, if we have this broad swath of people who are (excluded because of) felony sexual offenses, that there should probably be an equally broad swath of individuals under the definition of murder.” But Desmond Meade, the president of the coalition, said focus

Bradford and Titusville, Richard J. Daley College, Concordia University, Tougaloo College, and Barry University, in addition to the BCU search. AGB Search’s January update as posted on the B-CU website indicates the presidential search is in its closing phase.

mission on Colleges (SACSCOC, B-CU’s academic accreditation agency) probation, The University Senate warning, and the Florida State Board of Nursing probation statuses represents a substantial challenge for a new president,” the document states. SACSCOC sanctioned the university for being out of compliance with governance, integrity, and financial standards.

Campus visit coming “The Bethune-Cookman Search Committee held two days of confidential interviews off campus to screen the large pool of applicants for its next President,” it states. “The committee selected three persons to be advanced in the search along with an alternate, all of whom were deemed qualified for the position. After consultation with candidates, three persons have been invited to the campus for open interviews, with campus constituencies, during the last week of January…The Search Committee hopes to have a recommendation for the Board of Trustees in early February.”

Ethics and transparency In its AGB Search’s presidential search profile, the company states that B-CU’s next president must be “an ethical, visionary, and strategic leader” who will be faced with a number of challenges. “Bethune-Cookman University needs an institutional leader with impeccable and respected academic credentials prepared to gain the respect and support of the trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others in an environment of openness and transparency,” according to the profile. “The next president of Bethune-Cookman University will need to be a strong problem solver who will work to restore faith and trust in institutional efficacy. The current Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Com-

‘Trust the best’ “We hired the best, we need to trust the best,” says B-CU alum, college professor and former dean Dr. Davina Jones. “While BCU does the final selection, it is fair to conclude that given AGB Search’s reputation in the industry, the three finalists are properly qualified.” Canceling the search would be “disingenuous in the face of AGB and the academic community and would taint B-CU’s future attempts to invite qualified presidential candidates to apply,” exclaimed CCC /B-CU co-chair Flemming-Hunter. She is a BCU alum and former senior vicepresident of Lemoyne-Owen College. According to the CCC /B-CU release, “the timeline of B-CU’s search is not out of the ordinary. Its greatest challenge may not be the timeline, but its lack of transparency among stakeholders who do not yet know the list of candidates and their background – a decision of the university, not the search firm which has a reputation to work with institutions to release such information at the appropriate time. “To cancel the search at this juncture sends a message to SACS and all qualified candidates that current leaders of B-CU are not ready for the serious change needed for the university’s survival and progress.”

groups and polls conducted for years before the proposal went on the ballot found voters “have a problem with a person that was convicted of first-degree murder, people that commit rape, people that commit sexual offenses against children.” “That was what the voters throughout the state of Florida have consistently said, and they’re the ones that guided the drafting of the language,” Meade said after the meeting. “So it’s not our opinion. It’s what the voters said they wanted.”

WALKING from A1

Somerville, the executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects. “Strong policies are needed that will allow landscape architects to continue to put good street design to work to reduce unnecessary risks and make sure our transportation systems equitably serve all Americans. As cities begin the process of rebuilding and reimagining our decaying urban infrastructure, pedestrian safety must be among our highest priorities.”

Thousands dead Over the past decade (20082017), the number of people struck and killed by drivers nationwide while walking increased 35 percent, even as overall traffic fatalities have been trending downward. In fact, 2016 and 2017, the most recent years with available data, were the two highest years for pedestrian deaths since 1990. During the ten-year period, 49,340 people were hit and killed by drivers, an equivalent of 13 people a day. “We are killing an airliner’s worth of people walking each and every month, and these numbers are only increasing,” explained Emiko Atherton, director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America. “This is a wake-up call for all of us. “No one should have to risk their life just to cross the street, yet that’s exactly what thousands of people have to do just to get around each day. The good news is that we have the

Exactly what the amendment means about felons’ completion of their terms of sentence is also up for debate. Some proponents believe the amendment does not require full payment of restitution, because it is not specifically mentioned in the amendment. Others maintain restitution should be considered a component of a sentence if it is included in a judge’s sentencing order. But finding out whether felons have paid restitution can be difficult, particularly with new privacy protections for victims included in another amendment, known as “Marsy’s Law,” that also passed in November. Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux, who is president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, said lawmakers could consider creating a clearinghouse that could help elections officials and people seeking to find out if they’ve completed all the terms of their sentences and are therefore eligible to vote. It is estimated that up to 800,000 Floridians could be eligible to have their voting rights restored under the amendment, and another 50,000 convicted felons are released from prison each year.

tools and know-how to fix this, but until we truly prioritize the safety of the most vulnerable people who use our streets, we will continue to see this preventable epidemic continue.”

Few crosswalks, wide lanes Many places still lack the most basic safe infrastructure for walking. For example, crosswalks, if they do exist at all, are often spaced so far apart as to be impractical, or don’t provide enough time for older adults to safely cross. Unnecessarily wide lanes encourage high speeds ‒ a major factor in the likelihood of surviving a collision ‒ and many streets are designed with wide turning lanes that allow cars to make right turns through crosswalks at high speeds. The report calls on states, localities, and the federal government to make improving pedestrian safety an urgent priority and identifies 10 actions that can save lives. Smart Growth America is asking the public to sign a petition for elected officials. The authors urge Congress to adopt a strong, federal “Complete Streets” policy that requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to plan for all people who use the street, including the most vulnerable users. Federal transportation funding that is up for reauthorization next year will have a major impact on whether this public health epidemic is addressed or allowed to continue unabated. Read the full report and get more info at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerousby-design

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

FLORIDA

Governor appoints third Supreme Court justice Muniz, who never served as a judge, has worked for Bondi and Devos. BY JIM TURNER NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – In the final step in reshaping the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday named Carlos Muniz, general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, as his third selection to the state’s highest court. The appointment of Muniz, 49, who served as chief of staff to former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and deputy general counsel to former Gov. Jeb Bush, solidifies a conservative majority on the court after years of justices regularly thwarting the Republican-led Legislature and the GOP governor. “The court is going to apply the law as written,” DeSantis said while announcing his selection outside the governor’s mansion. “You may not agree with every decision, but they are not going to go off on a major tangent. I think that is very good for us. I think that the separation of powers will be strengthened with the newly constituted court.”

Shares ‘judicial philosophy’ Muniz said in his new role he has a “solemn duty to set aside my own policy preferences.” “The role of a judge is to preserve the Constitution, not to add to it or subtract from it,” Muniz said. “I believe strongly in judicial independence, but judges have to earn that independence through their fidelity to the Constitution.” Muniz noted he shares DeSantis’ “judicial philosophy,” which was outlined in the governor’s inaugural address this month. DeSantis said justices should not

Robert Luck and Barbara Logoa were appointed to the Supreme Court earlier this month. “legislate from the bench” and should make the state and federal constitutions their “supreme” guide.

Criticize by Dems In between his state and federal positions, Muniz worked in private practice. DeSantis said Muniz’ lack of a judicial background should be a plus. “One of the critiques I’ve had of the court is that they have not understood their proper jurisdiction,” DeSantis said. “They’ve expanded it beyond where they should.” However, the Florida Democratic Party criticized the selection by noting the appointment leaves the court without a Black justice for the first time since 1983 and that Muniz lacks experience as a judge.

‘No judicial experience’ “From his appointment it’s clear that Ron DeSantis has no respect for the rule of the law and is seeking to stack the courts with his political allies,” state Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo said in a statement. “Carlos Muñiz has no judicial experience, instead comes with a long political resume that in-

cludes working for (U.S. Secretary of Education) Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education and Pam Bondi’s Attorney General Office.” But Senate President Bill Galvano, a Republican from Bradenton, applauded Muniz’s “comments on the importance of judicial independence and the commitment each judge must make to set aside personal policy preferences.”

Praise from Bush In a past role as chairman of the House Rules Committee, Galvano worked with Muniz, who also served as a counsel in the Florida House and as a general counsel of the Florida Department of Financial Services. As Bush’s deputy general counsel, Muniz worked under Charles Canady, now the chief justice of the state Supreme Court. At the time, Canady was Bush’ general counsel. Bush praised the selection. “Carlos Muniz is one of the brightest legal minds I know, and he will serve Florida with integrity and with the utmost respect for the rule of law,” Bush tweeted on Tuesday. Muniz, a Yale Law School grad-

Carlos Muniz, 49, has worked at the U.S. Department of Education since 2017. uate who clerked for two federal judges, was appointed in 2017 to the U.S. Department of Education role by President Donald Trump, an ally of DeSantis and Bondi.

Other new justices DeSantis during the past two weeks appointed appellate judges Robert Luck and Barbara Logoa to the Supreme Court. Luck

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stands with students at Piney Grove Boys Academy.

DeSantis participates in MLK events at school, festival

ADOPTIONS

A home for Tommie SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

One Church One Child of Florida is reaching out to families and individuals in local communities across the state in efforts to help share that there are over 700 children waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor. Many are minorities. Churches are asked to partner with One Church One Child in sharing information with congregations and extending Watch-Care Ministries to children. The Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, state president of One Church One Child of Florida and vice president of National One Church One Child, is challenging fellow pastors to get involved and encouraging families to open their hearts and homes to children in foster care. This series features children located in communities in Florida. They have no family identified to adopt them.

Governor Ron DeSantis participated in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration event on Monday at Piney Grove Boys Academy in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. Piney Grove Boys Academy is a Christian Boys School committed to assisting parents in their children’s upbringing and enhancing the physical, mental and spiritual talents of their students. “I was honored to be at Piney Grove Boys Academy today to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” DeSantis said on Monday.

On King’s legacy “Dr. King understood that our rights are not given to us by the government, but are ours by the grace of God. He fought to have everyone’s rights recognized. I don’t want to see barriers and limits to students reaching their full potential because that is not what our country is about. “We will continue to carry on Dr. King’s legacy and fight to ensure that nobody will be denied an opportunity for reasons out of their control.” The governor was joined by State Senator Manny Diaz Jr., State Representatives Patricia Hawkins-Williams, James Bush III and Kimberly Daniels, Lauderdale Lakes Mayor Hazelle P. Rogers, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, and Jamal Sowell, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida.

and Logoa served on the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami. Lagoa, Luck and Muniz replaced longtime justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, who were required to step down this month because of a mandatory retirement age. Muniz, Luck and Lagoa were among 11 names recommended for the court by the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.

Meet Tommie

Winter Park event

LaNorris Chapman received the Unity Heritage Award in honor of his mother, Hazel Betty Edwards Chapman, a distinguished teacher and civic leader. He is greeted by DeSantis while Jamal Sowell, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida (seated), and Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary look on.

The governor also spoke at the Unity Heritage Festival at Shady Park at Hannibal Square in Winter Park. The annual festival celebrates the life of King, promotes family heritage and raises money for the Educational Fulfillment Fund to benefit local disadvantaged youth.

“It is really great to be here at the Unity Heritage Festival in Winter Park this afternoon,” DeSantis said. “The principles and ideas that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us have stood the test of time and we are a far better country because of his leadership.

“He wanted excellence, instilling in people to be the best they could be in whatever path they choose to take. As governor, I will strive to give all Floridians the tools they need to make the most of their lives and follow their dreams.”

Tommie is an active, inquisitive kid who loves family and having fun. He’s a diligent student who strives for good grades, and he especially enjoys reading. He likes sports of all kinds, but he’s particularly good at football and dodgeball. He’s a natural leader and would make a great coach or mentor one day. Tommie looks forward to being a dad and having a family of “all boys plus a girl.” Family is incredibly important to him, and he’s eager to become part of one. For more information about Tommie and other children in foster care available for adoption, or if you would like to become a foster parent, mentor, partner or volunteer, contact LaKay Fayson, recruitment coordinator for One Church One Child of Florida’s SunCoast Region, at 813707-7113 or lakay_fayson@ococfl.org.

The website for One Church One Child of Florida is www.ococfl.org.

EDITORIAL

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

Should Trump fire TSA no-shows? In August 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work and declared a lifetime ban on their rehiring. Today, during the longest government shutdown in history, the issue is not with air traffic controllers striking or not showing up for work ‒ yet. It is with the 55,000 Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) employees who screen about 800 million airplane passengers each year considered to be essential employees and are required to work without pay.

Refuse to work Notwithstanding the fact that they will be paid retroactively when the shutdown ends, The Hill reports that “hundreds of TSA officers have called in sick… from at least four major U.S. airports…” Hydrick Thomas, president of the TSA Council of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union, stated, “Every day I’m getting calls from my members about their extreme financial hardships and need for a paycheck… The loss of officers, while we’re already shorthanded, will create a massive security risk for American travelers…”

What is the impact? Michael Bilello, TSA›s assistant administrator for public affairs, tweeted “… TSA experienced a national rate of 7.6 percent unscheduled absences compared to a 3.2 percent rate one year ago, Monday, January 15, 2018.” This is more than twice the rate of last

CLARENCE V. MCKEE, ESQ. GUEST COLUMNIST

Just the discussion of a presidential threat to fire “no-show” TSA screeners would create such a political uproar that Democrats would come to the table to negotiate with the president. year on the same date. I can understand the plight of TSA workers; I can empathize with them and their families. However, they do have an obligation to the public. I commend their colleagues who are honoring their commitment to TSA, the flying public, and commercial aviation safety by working. As noted above, they will be paid. A January 16, 2019, editorial in Investor’s Business Daily (IBD), «Government Shutdown: Pampered Federal Workers Don›t Deserve Anyone›s Pity,» conclud-

Kamala Harris destroyed Black lives California Senator Kamala Harris has announced her candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. She is giving speeches in the right states, interviewing with the right talking heads, and recently published the obligatory memoir. She has been on the Democratic funders’ ‘casting couch’ for nearly two years. But Harris is highly problematic for Black voters, perhaps more so than any other candidate. She served as the district attorney of San Francisco and later as attorney general of California. In both roles, she did all she could to support the mass incarceration system and all of its foundations. That is what prosecutors do, but most of them don’t run for president and ask for Black people’s votes.

A red flag Barack Obama was smart enough to choose a career path free of such red flags. As a community organizer, state legisla-

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

tor and United States senator, he took a route that Black people were able to support. Unlike Harris, he was not actively involved in building the prison system that has done more damage to Black people than any other. The movement against mass incarceration and police killings is the human rights movement of our time. No one should be permitted to run for president with an expectation of Black support if, like Harris, they played a role in worsening this ongoing humanitarian crisis. As attorney general, Harris opposed legislation that would have required her office to investigate police shootings. When California was ordered to reduce prison overcrowding, she argued

Economics, not electoral politics, is the key to success I say once again that Black Americans must continue to recognize the importance of maximizing their economic potential. In 2018, as in the previous 100 or so years, we put most all of our time, energy, and resources into electoral politics. We jump for joy when a Black person is nominated for or elevated to some political position without understanding that a group of people may have a limited degree of political influence, but will absolutely never have political power without economic power. No one better understands and

A. PETER BAILEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

explains this better than the perceptive visionary James Clingman, who warns us of this basic fact again in his must-read book, “Black Money Matters.” An excerpt: Our aggregate annual income of $1.2 trillion is mainly used to

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

ed: “The government will eventually reopen. All of these workers will be back on the job. And they’ll all get paid for the days they stayed home. So please, spare us the crocodile tears.” Bullseye! By not showing up, the “no-shows” are putting an extra burden on the shoulders of their colleagues who are working. It is unfair to them.

Others are working TSA employees are not the only Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workers affected by the shutdown. It also applies to the U.S. Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Border Patrol, other DHS entities and several other federal agencies. As far as I know, there has been no significant increase in the numbers of people failing to go to work at these or other federal agencies impacted by the shutdown because they are not getting paid. Several veterans’ groups urged the president ‒ and the Congress ‒ to end the shutdown. They said, in the words of USA Today, that, “tens of thousands of veterans in the federal workforce are facing increasingly difficult financial hardships as they continue to go without pay.” Regis “Rege” Riley national commander of American Veterans, AMVETS, said: “We ask the president and the Congress to get together, get your act together and get this situation resolved.” There were no threats of their members staying home because they were not getting paid which we are seeing with some TSA workers.

against it. She said, accurately, that a low-wage work force would go free. But that is the reason to diminish the carceral state, not continue it. She always sided with law enforcement, which means she acted against the interests of Black people. She still does this in her memoir, “These Truths We Hold: An American Journey.” She says of mass incarceration, “I wanted to tear it down,” but the facts say otherwise.

Poor and incarcerated One disgraceful policy was to victim-shame Black mothers for their children’s school truancy. They were fined and when most of them could not pay, were put in jail and separated from their children. This action is the epitome of modern-day chattel slavery. Harris cannot be given a pass. She constantly hedges on issues of crime and punishment that have been so devastating. In one breath she states the obvious and says that police brutality exists. She then feels obliged to add that police “deserve to be proud of their public service and commended for the way they do their jobs.” She now says, “We need to le-

create wealth for everyone except Black people because we spend the vast majority of it at their businesses. Politics has not and will not solve these issues. We must solve them ourselves by ‘the work from our own hands,’ as Martin Delany told us. This book deals with the potential and economic issues that affect us and between 2008 and March 2015; it directs the readers’ attention not only to the problems we face as individuals and as a collective, but also to practical, achievable and appropriate solutions. It points us to a way out of the economic ditch in which we have remained for decades since the 1960s when we owned more assets, relatively speaking, and controlled economic enclaves across the country…

DAVE GRANLUND, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

Impact thus far The question is, how long and how many more screeners staying home will cause a disruption in commercial aviation around the nation ‒ which would have a negative economic impact? It’s at that point that the president would have to order TSA employees to return to work ‒ within a time certain ‒ with the threat of firing them with a lifetime ban on returning, as Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Just the discussion of a presidential threat to fire “no-show” TSA screeners would create such a political uproar that Democrats would come to the table to negotiate with the president. If TSA workers and their union want to really help end the shutdown, they should be calling their House and Senate Democrat representatives urging them to work with the president. I believe the public would support the president ordering

galize marijuana and regulate it. And we need to expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of the millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.” But as attorney general, she actively opposed marijuana legalization. Harris shows her true colors. She is either a cold-hearted cynic who went along with the everpopular cult of being “tough on crime,” or she harbors true animus towards Black people. In either case, she presents a great danger.

Democrats’ history The 2020 election is already presenting dangers to Black voters. The understandable desire to defeat Trump is complicated by the role of the ever-duplicitous Democratic Party. The racist divide keeps Black people trapped in the party that is only slightly less racist. Hillary Clinton spoke openly of “super predator” youth who must “be brought to heel.” Bill Clinton made Republican fantasies come true by ending a 60-year-long right to public assistance. Obama negated the very idea of a Black polity when he wasn’t telling jokes about an imaginary cous-

Each day we can see how much ‘Black Dollars Matter’ to everyone else’s worth and well-being, the question is: How much do they matter to Black people? This is my final attempt to enlighten, to inspire, to challenge and to change our thinking in such a way that it has a positive impact on those who come behind us. It encourages the elders among us, but our passing must be with patience, direction, advice and counseling. This is serious guidance from a brother who now is dealing with a debilitating illness. His book offers concrete guidelines on how to more effectively use our collective economic resources in the campaign against White supremacy and for equal right, equal opportunity and equal justice. Prof. Clingman is not the on-

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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screeners back to work if the situation deteriorates to the point where travelers are forced to stand in security check lines for 1-2 hours, causing a severe disruption in commercial aviation. As the IBD editorial pointed out: “…let’s remember who we are talking about here. While there are certainly plenty of hardworking, dedicated federal workers, they are, for the most part, incredibly pampered. They get better pay and more generous benefits than private sector workers doing the same things. They work fewer hours. And they have far greater job security.”

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.

in “Pookie.” The only thing worse than accepting this long history of Democratic treachery would be electing someone who openly destroyed the lives of Black men, women and children. Kamala Harris is no friend of Black people and she should be treated as such. She should not be allowed to shake hands, kiss babies or walk into Black churches without being taken to task. We know how this movie ends. A Black candidate with all the right credentials makes the case for race pride, but the people end up with nothing to show for their adoration. It can be argued that Obama’s presidency left Black Americans worse off than before he took office. The already-weakened Black radical tradition was jettisoned in favor of representational politics that was devoid of any tangible political benefit. The only thing worse would be to elect another corporate-backed Democrat ready to fool us with false notions of race pride. We must say no to Kamala Harris.

Margaret Kimberley is a cofounder of BlackAgendaReport.com, and writes a weekly column there.

ly one who urges us to do more to maximize our economic potential. Ancestors such as Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, Marcus Garvey, Chancellor Williams, Harold Cruse, Brother Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have also spoke out on our becoming more diligent and intelligent economically. If we chose to ignore their wisdom and guidance in this arena, we will have no one to blame but ourselves if other ethnic and religious groups continue to take advantage of our willful ignorance.

A. Peter Bailey’s latest book is “Witnessing Brother Malcolm X, the Master Teacher.” Contact him at apeterb@verizon.net.

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JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

Do we know the real purpose of celebrating MLK Day? I decided to document a personal sequence of events as to why I and others should really know why we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I have been an active student of the civil rights movement since my childhood in Hernando, Mississippi. I attended segregated schools, from a one-room school house in Mississippi through the 12th grade in Memphis, Tennessee. Blacks were not allowed to attend White colleges in Memphis in 1962, so Lincoln University, a Black college in Jefferson City, Missouri, was my choice. Like most Blacks, I grew up in an all-Black community in Memphis because we were not permitted to live in a White community. Blacks in Memphis were not legally authorized to go to the fairgrounds but once a year, on a Saturday. Blacks had one day, Wednesday, to visit the Memphis Zoo. Ironically, we could only see the monkeys, gorillas and apes.

Brother was lynched My brother was lynched in 1963 in Biloxi, Miss.. He was 21 years old and I was 19. When I was 12 years old and Emmett Till was 14, Emmett was lynched in Money, Miss., not far from Hernando and Memphis. My mother and other ladies in the Black communities were running through the neighborhoods screaming that White folks are killing little Black boys and rushing us into the house. Dr. King was murdered on my birthday, April 4, in my hometown of Memphis in one of the neighborhoods where I grew up. The Lorraine Motel was one of the few places Black high school students could visit after their prom, because it had a small ballroom inside. While growing up in Memphis, Blacks only lived on the north and south sides of town. We had eight traditional Black high schools and eight traditional White high schools.

Went to Washington As a 19-year-old sophomore student at Lincoln University and a member of the Student Government Association, I attended the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. In 1983, I participated in the 20th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech while living in Washington, D.C. as a dean of the College of Education at the (Black) University of the District of Columbia.

DR. WILLIE J. KIMMONS GUEST COMMENTARY

In May 018, I was the recipient of the Civil Rights and Social Justice Award by the National Civil Rights Planning Committee in Philadelphia, Miss. This award was presented to me based on the body of my work in support of human dignity, civil rights, community involvement and social justice for more than 50 years. The award was presented during the 54th Anniversary Commemorative Service for James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, the three young freedom fighters who were torched and lynched by White Ku Klux Klansmen in Philadelphia, Miss., while trying to get Blacks registered to vote in 1964.

Still dreaming and waiting I’ve done hundreds of Dr. King’s speeches celebrating his life and legacy. We Blacks are still dreaming and waiting on another Dr. King to lead us. Too many Blacks have allowed others to suggest that we need a leader. We are all leaders in our own right. God made all of us, made us different, but made us equal. We all can serve. God gave all of us a “niche” and hopefully, we as Blacks will continue to pray and support each other; invest in each other; trust each other; respect each other and our elders; and protect and teach our children about our rich history in this country and the world. We need to teach our people how to use their own leadership skills and stop dreaming and waiting on someone else to decide and appoint us a leader. This is why Black folk cannot move beyond Dr. King’s death and birthday celebration.

They laid the foundation Please don’t get me wrong or misunderstand my love, respect and appreciation for Dr. King’s great work and sacrifice. But we are standing on the shoulders of many giants, kings and queens in Africa and this country. Hundreds of years ago, Nat Turner, Denmark

Observing MLK Day 2019 I commented in “Observing MLK Day 2017,” posted January 16, 2017, as follows: If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he would bemoan that America remains so far from the Promised Land of his famous dream. It speaks volumes in this respect that Presidentelect Trump marked observations of this holiday two years ago with a racist rant against MLK protégé John Lewis. After Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said that Russian interference undermined the legitimacy of his election, the preternaturally thinskinned Trump reacted by impugning Lewis’s character and life’s work: Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to…mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad! ‒ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2017 This he said of a man who bears well-known scars from marching with MLK for civil rights. Lewis al-

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

so happens to be the most revered Black man in America today – as Obama himself would concede. As for his district, far from ‘falling apart [and being] crime infested,’ Atlanta is the very manifestation of that ‘shining city upon a hill’ former President Ronald Reagan envisioned in his farewell address. Moreover, no less a Republican bible than Forbes named his district ‘the ninth best place in America for businesses and career development, and among the best for job growth and education.’

More racism

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

Do we know? We celebrate Dr. King’s Day in January. (I also memorialize Dr. King’s death on April 4, my birthday). Do we really know why we are celebrating? Do we know our real history as a race of people? Or do we just want a day of rest, relaxation, partying and eating? Do we know where our children are? Do we know who is teaching our children? Do we know that we are worse off today as a race of people than we were 51 years ago on April 4, 1968 when Dr. King was assassinated? We can see this digression on every front, including poorer, segregated neighborhoods with schools that have been diluted from public schools to charter schools; loss of small businesses in the Black community; no more real, traditional Black communities; more homeless military veterans, especially Black vets. We have lost many Black two and four-year colleges and are still

comes to immigration, he wants people to be judged by the color of their skin, not by the content of their character. This is why he reportedly huffed that too many are coming from those Black countries and not enough from White ones … “like Norway.” Given the way he marked previous ones, it should come as no surprise that Trump marked observations this year with more racism. After all, he triggered a government shutdown more than a month ago in a temper tantrum because Democrats refused to appropriate the billions he wants to build a wall to keep Brown migrants from “invading” the country. And he’s only compounding his racist huff by insisting that those migrants, who number in the thousands, are creating a humanitarian crisis (in Mexico) that only his wall can solve. He’s blithely ignoring that the furloughed government workers, who number in the hundreds of thousands, are facing a humanitarian crisis of his making.

Yet remarkably, President Trump On tiptoe status marked observations last year Like most Americans, the with a racist rant against “shit- vast majority of those workers hole countries” like Haiti and all live paycheck to paycheck. And those in Africa. Evidently, when it not receiving that paycheck is

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 328 QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

Vesey, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and many Black men and women paved the way before Dr. King was born. My godmother, the late, great Shirley Chisholm; and my mentor, the late great Charles W. Cherry, Sr., both stated, “We need to study and analyze ourselves as opposed to being studied and analyzed by others. Know your history. There is no price tag on experience and exposure. We need to give our people more experience and exposure so they will know how to act, react and understand the real issues in life. But we can’t give our young people this experience and exposure if we don’t have it ourselves, especially if we continue to hate each other and continue to be jealous of each other’s accomplishments.” I served as a vice president of a Black college in Birmingham, Ala., and as president of a Black college in Montgomery, Ala. I met, worshiped, spoke, worked and served on boards and advisory councils in these cities alongside many people who were responsible for Dr. King’s visits to Montgomery and Birmingham, including Reverend Dr. Abraham Woods, Reverend Dr. Garrett, Reverend Dr. John Porter, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. A. G. Gaston and Dr. Richard Arrington (the first Black mayor of Birmingham).

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Long time no column! Seems like politics is still the shiny object that keeps Black folks’ attention from where it should be: economics. My litmus test ‒ In the immortal words of Gangsta Boo, “Where dem dollas at?” Columnist Lucius Gantt has beaten up the political parties for decades about the billions of campaign dollars that have bypassed Black me-

dia, Black political consultants, Black sign printers, Black caterers, et.al. I’m a third-generation entrepreneur. CASH is my metric. If Democrats want to reciprocate in appreciation for the 90 percent of the Black vote they generally get from us, spend money with Black-owned companies. That ain’t difficult… ‘Black faces in high places’ ‒ Want a resolution for a family reunion, an apology for a racial atrocity (without financial compensation), a statue the state won’t pay for, or a memorial street sign on a state highway? Call a Democratic state legislator. But if you want some legislation

EDITORIAL

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: MLK AND DONALD TRUMP

MILT PRIGGEE, OAK HARBOR, WA

losing them every year because of a lack of real support from the Black community. There is a lack of real committed leadership and trained educational professionals that clearly understand our struggle and our history as a race of people. Black churches should do more for our communities and come together as a cohesive group to assist the elderly, the poor and the young. Today, “the most segregated day of the week,” as Dr. King mentioned, is still Sunday.

Changes on paper So as we continue to “dream,” nothing changes. The 1964 and 1965 laws were supposed to bring about some changes. They did, but mainly on paper. Now we are still trying to get full voting rights, quality education, affordable housing, safe neighborhoods; Blacks’ and other convicted felons’ rights restored; decent-paying jobs; reduce Black on Black crime; and strengthen the family structure which has eroded tremendously. I remember growing up in the 1950s and 1960s when Blacks owned grocery stores. Our neighborhoods were relatively clean and safe. There were small businesses ‒ newspapers, radio stations, banks, funeral homes and many, many other enterprises were flourishing. Today, most of them are gone. What happened? Who do we blame? Do we really know why we are celebrating Dr. King’s Day? My brothers and sisters, we are seeing every day the 1964 and 1965 laws for our civil rights and voting rights eroding in front of us. We, as a race of people, have retrogressed on many fronts and made very little, if any, progress beyond the

1964 and 1965 laws on the books. These past political elections are true indicators of our lack of appreciation and understanding of our struggles as a race of people.

Economics and politics My brothers and sisters, if we don’t have some real political and economic power and if we aren’t active participants at the decision-making table where we can be properly informed of the issues that affect our daily lives, we as a race of people are doomed to continue to fail. If Dr. King was alive today, he would surely be grossly disappointed with our progress. As one of my great heroes, the late great Frederick Douglas said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. The want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will.” God bless each and every one of us as we continue this struggle celebrating Dr. King’s Day.

Dr. Willie J. Greer Kimmons is an educational consultant for pre-K-16 and Title I schools, teachers and parents. He is also a motivational speaker, author, former classroom teacher, superintendent of schools, college professor, college president and chancellor. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

forcing many of them to stand in Soviet-style breadlines, miss mortgage and rent payments, and withdraw children from afterschool activities. (Russian President Vladimir Putin could not have scripted a more gleeful turnabout of events for his Manchurian president to trigger.) Trump is also imposing danger upon airline passengers because many Transportation Safety Administration agents are saying they can’t afford to show up to screen them for no pay. Incidentally, Trump’s racist antics forced John Lewis to lead boycotts of his State of the Union Address in 2017 and 2018. And Trump has given him just cause to do the same this year ‒ except that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have spared him the effort. She has informed Trump that she’s rescinding the invitation for him to deliver it this year until he comes to his senses and ends the shutdown.

with the August 2013 dedication of his memorial, MLK is now perched on the Mall alongside them in perpetuity. All of which might explain why Washington’s monument is glaring down on MLK’s. Seriously, though, am I the only one who thinks the Washington Monument looks eerily like a stonemason’s homage to the Ku Klux Klan? As I wrote in 2011, “Is it not a curious thing that this everlasting monument to the slave-holding Washington pays unwitting homage to this everlasting symbol of White supremacy?” Whatever the case, this holiday is not just a testament to MLK’s greatness. It’s a symbolic down payment on the promissory note that represents the unpaid ‒ if not unpayable ‒ debt America owes descendants of the Blacks it enslaved.

The only one!

Anthony L. Hall is a native of The Bahamas with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com. Click on this commentary at www.flcourier. com to write your own response.

But, hey, it was MLK’s day. It is most noteworthy that he is the only private citizen (Black or White) to have a federal holiday declared in his honor. Hell, even Washington and Lincoln have to share one holiday on Presidents’ Day. And,

passed, if you want to get in the state budget, find yourself a Republican in Tallahassee. Florida Democrats must LOVE to lose. Their lack of long-term strategic thinking regarding gerrymandering/reapportionment, voter registration and get-outthe-vote efforts has made them a permanent minority party in Florida. Losing the 2018 race during a national “blue wave” lets you know how especially incompetent Florida Democratic leadership truly is. We have more Black Democratic state legislators than any time in Florida history. Why? Because Florida Republicans packed Black voters into a hand-

ful of predominately-Black districts, which allows the GOP to win easily everywhere else and keep control of the state House and Senate. Therefore, Black Democrats can only work the margins of legislation and budgets. Like all Democrats, they get locked out of the room when serious deals are cut and get what Republicans give them. It’s time to judge them by the key metric: “Where dem dollas at?” Y’all need to figure out how to win SOMETHING. And if you can’t get dem dollas for us, what use are you?

Leave a comment at www.flcourier.com.

TOJ A6

NATION

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

MLK Day, Trump and 2020 Democrats While the president’s King tribute was ho-hum, Dem candidates were everywhere. BY JANET HOOK AND ELI STOKOIS LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump gave a fleeting, low-key nod to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the civil rights hero’s national holiday Monday, while Democrats who may run against Trump in 2020 fanned out to public events across the nation for more fulsome tributes. The contrast served as a reminder both of Trump’s troubled record on race relations, and of how central Black voters will be in choosing the Democratic Party’s nominee to unseat him. One aspirant, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, chose the day to announce her candidacy; she likely will be the only Black woman in what is becoming a crowded party contest.

Message by Biden PETE MAROVICH/GETTY IMAGES/POOL/ABACA PRESS/TNS

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been weighing a 2020 bid, used his appearance at a Washington event to criticize Trump’s impact on race relations, and acknowledged to a mostly Black audience that Whites are often blind to the racism around them. “We’ve learned in the last two years it doesn’t take much to awaken hate,” Biden said, speaking at a memorial hosted by civil rights activist Al Sharpton. “White America has to admit there’s still a systematic racism — and it goes almost unnoticed by so many of us.”

out a Twitter message of tribute and, with Vice President Mike Pence, paid a two-minute visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to lay a wreath. On Twitter, he said: “Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God.”

No White House events

‘Big mistake’

For Biden and other actual and potential presidential candidates, the holiday was an opportunity to demonstrate their support for a community and set of issues that will be central to unseating a president they view as stoking and exploiting racial divisions. For decades, Martin Luther King Jr. Day typically has been an occasion for bipartisan paeans not only to King, but also to racial equality and community service. Past presidents often engaged in public, high-profile gestures to memorialize the civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968 and would have turned 90 this month. But as Monday dawned, the White House had announced no official events for Trump to mark the federal holiday honoring King.

Democrats’ messages against racism were a measure of how much more focused the party is on the problem even after electing the first Black president a decade ago Monday. Just four years ago, it was considered bold and somewhat controversial for Democratic candidates to talk about systemic racism as bluntly as they are now. “We don’t even consciously acknowledge it,” said Biden, who has faced criticism for supporting 1990s anti-crime laws that subsequently were seen as disproportionately hurting blacks, “but it’s been built into every aspect of our system.” Biden acknowledged the laws had been a “big mistake,” and reminded the audience that he had worked with President Barack Obama to undo some.

Tweet and wreath Sharpton called that “an insult to the American people,” and the White House came under heavy fire on social media. By late morning, Trump put

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Monday in Washington, D.C. They placed a wreath to commemorate the slain civil rights leader.

Taken for granted While many Democratic strategists want to give high priority in 2020 to winning back support from white working-class voters in the Midwest, where Trump scored upset victories,

others warn that the party cannot take the loyalty of Black voters for granted. In 2016, a decline in turnout among Black voters in battleground states was a factor in Trump’s ability to eke out victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Black women, in particular, will be key to winning the Democratic Party’s nomination. Harris declared her candidacy in an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” a program popular with women. And by following her announcement with a press briefing at Howard University, the historically Black college in Washington that is her alma mater, Harris made clear that her racial identity would be a pillar of her campaign — a contrast with former Obama, who played down his race. “We are a diverse country, yes,” she said at Howard. “And some people would suggest that in diversity, when there is a diverse population, that we cannot achieve unity. I reject that notion.”

Booker, Sanders march Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont marched together and attended a King memorial service in Columbia, S.C., a key earlyvoting state where Black voters made up nearly two-thirds of the Democratic primary electorate in 2016. Sanders, who won just 14 percent of the Black vote in the state’s 2016 primary and has been working to improve his standing among African-Americans, ex-

coriated Trump from the steps of the statehouse. “I must tell you, it gives me no pleasure to tell you that we now have a president of the United States who is a racist,” he said.

More appearances Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who announced her campaign last week, appeared at another Sharpton-sponsored tribute in the afternoon. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts attended an event in Boston. The parade of Democrats honoring King paid homage to party unity, but that might not last long as they plunge into a long, potentially divisive primary. At the Washington event Biden attended, he sat at the head table with former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, another potential candidate, who alluded to the uncertainty for both about their plans for 2020: “Whatever the next year brings for Joe and me, I know we’ll both keep our eyes on the real prize, and that is electing a Democrat to the White House in 2020.”

Presidential moves The president they seek to defeat provided another illustration of how much he is willing to depart from tradition, with his perfunctory acknowledgement of a holiday that presidents of both parties generally have observed with more fanfare since President Ronald Reagan in 1983 signed legislation establishing it. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush made King’s widow, Coretta

Scott King, a permanent member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, which oversees the observation of the annual holiday. His son George W. Bush hosted a ceremony in the White House East Room in 2002 at which Mrs. King, who died in 2006, presented her husband’s portrait to hang in the White House. President Bill Clinton signed legislation in 1994 making the holiday a national day of service, encouraging Americans to volunteer to do community service projects. Since then, presidents have led by example, engaging in volunteer work on the holiday.

No Trump service Clinton once helped AmeriCorps volunteers with renovations of a senior center, President George W. Bush helped students at a Washington high school paint a mural as a school improvement project, and Obama served lunch at a Washington soup kitchen in 2010, helped distribute books at an elementary school in 2016 and assisted with a mural of King at a local shelter in 2017. Trump has yet to participate in such a service project to mark the holiday. Last year, he spent it at Mar-a-Lago, his West Palm Beach estate. He spent Monday at the White House, where he has secluded himself during the month-old partial government shutdown. Officials called a “lid” for reporters — meaning he would have no further activities for the day — before noon.

Sanders calls Trump a racist on Martin Luther King Day BY BRIAN NIEMIETZ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he wants to stop President Donald Trump’s vision to “Make America Great Again.” “Today we say to Donald Trump — We are not going back to more bigotry, discrimination and division,” Sanders told a South Carolina audience Monday at an event marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “Instead of bringing us together as Americans, he has purposely and aggressively attempted to divide us up by the color of our skin, by our gender, by our nationality, by our religion and by our sexual orientation.”

Other Dems agree Sanders made headlines shortly before the midterms when he laid into the president as “the most racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted president in history.” He repeated part of that claim Monday. “We, today, have a president who is a racist,” Sanders, 77, said. Democrats old and young seem to have reached that conclusion. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, said earlier this

month that calling the president a bigot is a no-brainer. “Yeah, yeah, no question,” the New Yorker said during a CBS “60 Minutes” interview after being asked that question.

Examples cited Among the examples she cited were Trump calling Nazi sympathizers in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., riots “good people.” “The president certainly didn’t invent racism,” Ocasio-Cortez pointed out, “but he’s certainly given a voice to it and expanded it and created a platform for those things.” Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a longtime civil right activist who was beaten in the 1965 protests in Selma, Ala., told ABC “This Week” that he, too, thought Trump was a bigot following the president’s alleged remarks indicating nonwhite nations were “s---holes.” “I think he is a racist,” Lewis said. Trump has disputed accusations that he is a bigot on several occasions. “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you,” he told reporters in January 2018.

RON SACHS/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks at the Center for American Progress’ Ideas Conference on May 15, 2018, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C.

IFE/FAITH

festival to include En Vogue, Richie See page B2

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA

JAN. 25 – JAN. 31, 2019

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Spike Lee finally gets Oscar nomination See page B5

WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

SECTION

‘IT’S A KING THING’ There were MLK parades and birthday celebrations over the weekend around the state of Florida. Here’s a pictorial review of the MLK commemoration in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, Jan. 21. Editor’s note ‒ See a gallery of additional pictures from the Fort Lauderdale MLK parade at www.flcourier.com. BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

FORT LAUDERDALE ‒ An MLK festival in the shadow of some of Fort Lauderdale’s most expensive waterfront housing marked the end of the 2019 King Holiday events in Broward County. The events included a day of service on Jan. 17 in which volunteers put their artistic impressions on clay tiles which will be displayed at the local MLK Montessori Academy, as well as a birthday celebration on Jan 18. Pre-school age-children were entertained at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center by magicians and storytellers, and participated in arts and craft projects to enhance their knowledge of Dr. King and his contributions. Later on Jan. 18, folks went to the African American Research Library for an evening of culture, southern comfort cuisine and a signature adult drink – Peace Punch. The night included live music by the Ladies of Soul, a spoken word and musical performance, prizes and more.

Above: Paradegoers waited for the awardwinning Dillard High School Marching Panther Band, known as “The Force,” to pass by. Right: The Affiliated Soul Team Band gave an energetic performance.

Summit and parade

PHOTOS BY LISA ROGERSCHERRY AND CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority marched together.

Local businesses found a way to advertise during the march.

On Jan. 19, there was a Youth Leadership Summit which gave high school students an opportunity to engage discussions on pressing social issues in their community, including mental and physical health, social justice and personal branding. There was also a special panel discussion led by members of the Miami Chapter of the National Basketball Retired Players Association. On Jan. 21, organizations assembled at Lincoln Park for Broward County’s largest MLK Day parade, which proceeded through the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Black community on Sistrunk Boulevard to Esplanade Park, a waterfront venue on the city’s New River. The day ended with the King Holiday Celebration of Unity & Multicultural Festival. A large audience in lawn chairs celebrated Dr. King’s legacy while enjoying cultural cuisine and entertainment from the Affiliated Soul Team Band, the Remixx Band, and others.

A large crowd enjoyed MLK activities at Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity served as parade marshals to keep things organized.

Pungent smoke rises from vendor tents cooking delicious food.

EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

SHIRLEY MURDOCK

Miami Gardens: A free food distribution presented by Miami Gardens is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 26 at Mt. Zion AME Church, 15250 NW 22nd Ave. More info: dcooper@miamigardens-fl.gov

The Zora Neale Hurston Festival’s outdoor concert is Feb. 2 and 3 in Eatonville. Performers: Glenn Jones, Shirley Murdock, Miles Jaye and Camryn LaVertte.

St. Petersburg: A free community health fair is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Islamic Society of St. Pete, 2401 5th Street S. West Palm Beach: Patti LaBelle is scheduled Feb. 6 at the Kravis Center and Feb. 9 at the Times-Union Center in Jacksonville. Tampa: “Black Panther’’ actor Winston Duke will speak at the University of South on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. as part of a free lecture series. Details: www.usf.edu/uls Miami Beach: Meek Mill: The Motivation Tour stops at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater on Feb. 19. Orlando: Lyfe Jennings will take the House of Blues Orlando stage on Feb. 1. Hollywood: Toni Braxton and SWV make a stop at Hard Rock Live on Jan. 29. Orlando: Alice Walker will speak on Feb. 2 at the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities program at UCF. Festival details: Zorafestival.org Daytona Beach: The legendary Johnny Mathis performs Jan. 31 at The Peabody. Jacksonville: “We Shall Overcome,’’ a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is Feb. 5 at the Ritz Theatre & Museum. Fort Lauderdale: The Temptations and The Four Tops perform Jan. 31 at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center.

ANDREW GILLUM

BRIAN MCKNIGHT

The former Tallahassee Mayor and gubernatorial candidate will speak at the Hillsborough NAACP’s Freedom Fund Dinner on Feb. 1 at the Hilton Tampa Downtown. Details: NAACPHillsborough.org

The singer performs Feb. 1 at the Miramar Cultural Center.

Miami Gardens: Tickets are on sale now for the March 9-10 Jazz in the Gardens. The lineup includes Lionel Ritchie, Bobby Brown, Stephanie Mills and the O’Jays. Details: Jazzinthegardens. com

Jazz in the Gardens lineup includes EnVogue, Riley and Richie More than 60,000 concertgoers are expected in Miami Gardens on March 9 and 10 for the 14th annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival. This year’s lineup includes legendary R&B powerhouse Lionel Richie, who festival producers say has been one of the top requested artists from social media, Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Teddy Riley & Friends. It will feature 1990s superstars Blackstreet with Teddy Riley, Dave Hollister, Bobby Brown and Doug E. Fresh with special guests En Vogue and R&B favorites Jagged Edge. Rounding out the R&B lineup will be The O’Jays, Stephanie Mills, eclectic violinists Black Violin and gospel’s Tye Tribbett.

Jazz All-Stars and Sugarhill Gang Back by popular demand, this year’s Jazz in the Gardens Jazz All-Stars will feature neo-soul song-

stress Maysa, Grammynominated guitarist Chieli Minucci, jazz bass guitarist Gerald Veasley, keyboardist Lao Tizer, and saxophonist Nelson Rangell. Produced by the City of Miami Gardens, Jazz in the Gardens will also feature the Film, Music, Arts & Culture Conference, the Women’s Impact Luncheon and the official Opening Night Party with the Sugarhill Gang. “We are excited about the talented artists who will be gracing the stage. The diversity in the music and talent offers something for everyone, from the most requested artist on the JITG stage, Lionel Richie, to gospel and of course jazz,” said Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert. “The city is extremely pleased with the growth of the festival and the opportunity to showcase our home, Miami Gardens, to the thousands of patrons it attracts.” For more information, visit jazzinthegardens.com.

By the time the NeXt iSSUe comeS oUt, yoUr doNatioNS will have helped people earN New joBS.

doNate StUff. create joBS.

To find your nearesT donaTion cenTer, go To Goodwill.orG

The R&B/pop vocal group En Vogue will perform at this year’s Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival.

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GOT NEWS, EVENTS, OR COMMENTARY? E-mail to news@flcourier.com

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JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

HEALTH & NUTRITION

B3 will still mean making significant adjustments and relying on nuts and legumes for protein instead. Essentially, Willet said, “global consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes will have to double, and consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar will have to be reduced by more than 50 percent. A diet rich in plant-based foods and with fewer animal source foods confers both improved health and environmental benefits.” According to the study, the meal plan is meant for people over the age of 2. Researchers recommend people consume 2,500 calories per day on the diet.

Impact of diet Up to 11.6 million premature deaths could be avoided every year, as researchers believe the diet will reduce chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and stroke. We could also prevent severe environmental degradation by minimizing impacts on biodiversity and following the set targets of the Paris Agreement (keeping global warming below 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit; aiming for 34.7 degrees). “It is doable but it will take nothing less than global agricultural revolution,” according to Rockstrom.

Conditions to consider DREAMSTIME/TNS

“To have any chance of feeding 10 billion people in 2050 within planetary boundaries, we must adopt a healthy diet, slash food waste, and invest in technologies that reduce environmental impacts,” a researcher stated.

What is the new planetary diet? Researchers: It could save Earth, save lives and aid world hunger BY FIZA PIRANI ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/ TNS

Our current food production and consumption habits are doomed to “exacerbate risks to people and planet,” according to a landmark study published in The Lancet this month. But if we make a radical change — as in, cut our sugar and red meat by half and double our vegetable, fruit and nut consumption — we could potentially prevent up to 11.6 million avoidable deaths per year without hurting our home. The new research comes from a group of 37 scientists from around the globe, all of whom are part of the EAT-Lancet commission. According to EATforum.org, “food systems are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions” and are “the main user of fresh water, a leading driver of biodiversity loss, land-use change and cause eutrophication or dead

zones in lakes and coastal areas.”

Trials and studies Unhealthy diets offer harmful effects of their own. They’re “the leading risk factor for disease worldwide, causing rapidly growing rates of non-communicable-diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease and cancers.” World hunger is yet another challenge. But despite evidence showing the way we eat and produce food is indeed damaging our planet and exacerbating disease, there isn’t a scientific consensus on what a healthy diet is, how food production can be sustainable and whether healthy diets can meet the demands of sustainability. That’s where the 37 scientists come in. The researchers used the “best available evidence,” including randomized trials, massive cohort studies and controlled feeding studies to come up with what they’re calling the “planetary health diet.”

Reduce and invest “To have any chance of feeding 10 billion people in 2050 within planetary boundaries, we must adopt a healthy diet, slash food

LESS RED MEAT, MORE VEGGIES Here’s what a day on the diet might allow: Red meat (beef, lamb, pork): 14 grams Chicken: 29 grams Fish: 28 grams Whole grains: 232 grams Starchy vegetables: 50 grams Dairy: 250 grams Eggs: 13 grams Vegetables: 300 grams Fruits: 200 grams Legumes: 75 grams Sugar: 31 grams Oils: 50 grams

waste, and invest in technologies that reduce environmental impacts,” co-author Johan Rockstrom of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Impact Research told Phys.org. According to researchers, the Earth can only handle up to 10

billion people. And without the global adaptation of the diet, the planet may not be able to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. “It is about behavioral change. It’s about technologies. It’s about policies. It’s about regulations. But we know how to do this,” Rockstrom said. The new diet provides “governments, producers and individuals with an evidence-based starting point to work together to transform our food systems and cultures,” Howard Frumkin, head of UK biomedical research charity the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet Our Health program, which funded the research, told CNN. Here’s what you need to know about the new diet:

What is it? The planetary diet, or the flexitarian diet, doesn’t mean you’ll have to get rid of all the meat and dairy in your life. “If we were just minimizing greenhouse gases we’d say everyone be vegan,” researcher Walter Willet said. But according to him, a vegan diet wasn’t necessarily the healthiest option. For meat-lovers, though, this

For populations dependent on animal protein or populations suffering from malnutrition and inadequate plant sources, adopting a planetary diet will prove especially challenging. Local conditions must be taken into account. Wellcome Trust senior science lead Modi Mwatsama told CNN that at the world’s current level of food production, the diet isn’t achievable “unless there are structural changes, such as subsidies that move away from meat production, and environmental changes, such as limits on how much fertilizer can be used.”

Strategies for shift Researchers’ five strategies to push for this radical shift: 1. International and national commitment toward a healthy diet based on the aforementioned recommendations 2. Reorienting of agriculture and fishing priorities from high quantity production to producing a diverse array of healthy foods 3. Call for an agricultural revolution driven by sustainability though improved fertilizer and water use; enhancing biodiversity; recycling phosphorous; and more 4. Strong governance of the world’s land and oceans, from providing regional subsidies; restoring and reforesting lands; protecting intact ecosystems and sustainably expanding aquaculture 5. Reduction of food loss during production as well as food waste at consumption levels Read the full study at thelancet. com.

One-quarter of antibiotics inappropriately prescribed, study finds BY MARI A. SCHAEFER PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/TNS

About one-quarter of all antibiotics — especially those given out for viral colds, chest infections and coughs — are inappropriately prescribed, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Medical School. The study looked at the diagnosis codes assigned by health care workers for more than 19 million privately insured outpatients in the United States in 2016. The findings were published this month in the journal the BMJ. Viral and bacterial infections sometimes have similar symptoms, but antibiotics are not effective in treating viral infections.

Rise of ‘superbugs’ The overuse of antibiotics has become a public health concern, as it has contributed to the rise of “superbugs” that are resistant to even the most powerful drugs. On an individual level, taking antibiotics when they aren’t needed — such as for colds and the flu — can mean they won’t be effective when they are. Antibiotics promote resistance even when they may be effective against a specific organism, because they kill other microbes in the process, enabling resistant bacteria to multiply.

U.S. still leads In the U.S., at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection each year, and at least 23,000 people die of these infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there have been efforts to discourage the incorrect use of antibiotics, the U.S. remains the leading user of the drugs worldwide, with 3.3 billion doses administered in 2015. The study found that threequarters of the inappropriate prescriptions were written for adults. Women made up half of those patients, according to the study. About 11 percent of study participants lived in rural areas, with 16 percent from the northeastern states, 17 percent from western states, 20 percent from the Midwest, and 45 percent from the South. Most of the prescriptions were written in a physician’s office. Nearly 8 percent were prescribed in urgent care centers and about 6 percent in hospital emergency departments.

Most common ones The most common antibiotics prescribed were azithromycin, amoxicillin and amoxicillin clavulanate, according to the study. About one-third of prescrip-

SARI O’NEAL/DREAMSTIME/TNS

The most common antibiotics prescribed were azithromycin, amoxicillin and amoxicillin clavulanate. tions were categorized as potentially appropriate, but the researchers stated that even many of these could have been incorrectly administered because

they were given for illnesses like sinusitis and sore throats that often are viral. The three most frequent diagnoses for the nearly 2 million

prescriptions considered appropriate were urinary tract infections, streptococcal pharyngitis/ tonsillitis and bacterial pneumonia, according to the study.

CULTURE

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

STOJ

Reaching women Poets and readers have debated the success of Kaur, who turned a viral Instagram post into bestselling books, a tour and, now, printed canvases. A recent poem, paired with a pen drawing, nabbed more than 200,000 likes: “i am water/ soft enough/to offer life/tough enough/ to drown it away.” Whether Kaur’s hugely popular poetry is “for me or not is not the question,” said Van Cook, of Button Poetry. “But I can tell you, if I talk to people about poetry at a wedding or a coffee shop, people — especially young women, women of color — she’s one of the first names on their lips.” Those young women recognize themselves in her work and find solace in her books, he said.

‘Little less magnificent’

JEFF WHEELER/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS

Tanesha Nicole reads a poem at a “Button Poetry Live” at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, clinching top honors for the night.

More young people reading, buying poetry Book sales have swelled; driven by social media BY JENNA ROSS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS

ST. PAUL, Minn. – People are clicking on poetry on Twitter. They’re listening to poems on podcasts. They’re buying poetry collections on Amazon. But on a recent Monday night in St. Paul, they were hearing poetry in person. A diverse, mostly 20-something crowd snapped and purred as friends and strangers read their verses from Park Square Theatre’s lower stage during Button Poetry’s monthly slam poetry competition. Many were drawn by YouTube. (Button’s YouTube channel boasts more than a million followers.) By Instagram. By the changing world of poetry. “We’re seeing astronomical growth,” said Sam Van Cook, who founded Button, a Minneapolis-based company that straddles poetry’s in-person and online worlds. “Friends who work in book sales … we joke that for the first time in any of our lives, poetry is a growth industry.”

National bump More people — especially young people — are reading and buying poetry. About 12 percent of adults read poetry in the past year, a bump of 5 percentage points over 2012 and a 15-year high, according to a new survey by the National Endowment for the Arts. Sales of poetry books have swelled over that time, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks book sales in the U.S., “making it one of the fastest growing categories in publishing.” Social media are driving the trend. Among the top 20 bestselling poetry authors in 2017 were a dozen so-called “Instapoets,” who attract readers by sharing short, photogenic verse on Instagram and Twitter. Their queen is Rupi Kaur, an Indian-born Canadian poet who boasts 3.4 million Instagram followers, sells out theaters and claps back at her detractors.

New, ‘b-side poems’ But poets published by traditional presses and praised by critics use those platforms too, sharing one another’s work and changing the notion of a poet as

an old White dude. Minnesotans Danez Smith and Hieu Minh Nguyen are among those sharing new and “b-side” poems on Twitter, letting their thousands of followers in on whom they’re crushing on, poetry-wise and otherwise. “There’s a myth around who a poet can be — or who can be a poet,” Nguyen said by phone. “People are seeing that those archetypes, those barriers, aren’t true.”

More diverse As the slate of bards becomes more diverse, so do their audiences. Some of the biggest gains in that NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, released last year, came from people of color. About 15 percent of AfricanAmericans reported reading poetry, up from 7 percent in 2012. Some 13 percent of AsianAmericans had read poetry in the past year, compared with 5 percent in 2012. Minnesota-based Vietnamese-American poet Bao Phi compared it to the shift in Hollywood, where “we’ve seen that representation can actually pay out huge dividends.”

Spoken word success For decades, many marginalized people have hustled to diversify the slate of poets performing and publishing, especially by connecting with students and young people, said Phi, who crafted his reputation as a spoken word artist in the 1990s. Performance-based poetry finally shed some of the scene’s chauvinism. Spoken word artists broke through the glass ceiling of publishing. (Phi didn’t publish his first poetry collection, “Sông I Sing,” until 2011.) “This didn’t happen overnight,” Phi said. “All that work adds up to what we’re seeing now.”

‘Political poetry’ hot Erika Stevens, poetry editor at large for the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Coffee House Press, pointed to “Indecency,” by Justin Phillip Reed, which tackles White supremacy with intimate, sometimes confrontational poems. Last year, that collection, published by Coffee House, won the National Book Award in poetry, showing “how far the institutions have come in terms of what they recognize as innovative and groundbreaking and worthy of award attention,” Stevens said. U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith recently wrote in the New York Times about why “political poetry is hot again,” arguing that poetry “has become a means of owning up to the complexity of our problems.”

Van Cook founded Button because he believes poetry is “most vibrant read aloud, and read by someone who loves it.” Its YouTube videos of readings by welland lesser known poets often amass tens of thousands of views. Composers talk about how film took classical music, which was being relegated to the sidelines, and gave it a new, more prominent home, he said. “People are going to look back and talk about social media that way for poetry,” Van Cook predicted. “What poetry needed was to be a little less magnificent.” At “Button Poetry Live” on Monday night, a few newbies and some spoken word veterans took the stage, reading from iPhones and journals and memory. Many of their poems grappled with tough topics: micro-aggressions, breakups, coming out. Then, the special guest took the stage: poet, performer and podcast host Franny Choi. For one poem, titled @fannychoir for her Twitter handle, she took racist, misogynistic tweets and Google-translated them into other languages and then back again, to English. In short, she garbled their words and made them hers. “Mrs. Great Anime Pornography, the fruit of the field,” she began with a smirk.

Making them think Outside the theater, three friends in their 20s perused Choi’s chapbooks, selling for $12 and $15. They started attending Button’s live events after hearing about them from a friend, finding them to be an inexpensive, fulfilling way to spend a night together. “It’s thought-provoking,” said Katie Snell, 26, of Minneapolis. “I cried.” Snell owns “Milk and Honey,” a book of Kaur’s poetry, she said. But that wasn’t her introduction to the form. Years back, she said, she came across a book of sonnets at a used-book store and brought it home.

Marketing hits, misses: From Kaepernick to IHOP name change BY DARCEL ROCKETT CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

2018’s mistakes result in 2019’s resolutions. Numerous advertisers and brands misstepped in 2018 when it came to getting their message across to a population they were looking to entice. You may have your own opinion of ads or campaigns that stepped over the boundary of taste and capitalism, but here are ours: Remember the H&M ad featuring the monkey sweatshirt? And Melania Trump’s coat? Recall the television ad for pickup trucks during the 2018 Super Bowl that featured the voice of Martin Luther King Jr.? Lest we forget, how about Target’s decision to stock a Father’s Day Card depicting a Black couple with the phrase “Baby Daddy” on the front? And one more: Heinecken Light’s “sometimes, lighter is better” ad, which riled Chance the Rapper to tweet about the inherent racism in it.

Missed the mark By looking at the big brand snafus of yesteryear, one can only hope 2019 turns out better. That’s what Joseph Anthony, CEO of Hero Group Inc., hopes. His New York City-based advertising and digital agency recently

Colin Kaepernick’s Nike advertisement was on top of a building in Union Square, San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2018.

released an ad campaign about marketing misfires over the last two years to highlight the lack of cultural insights and diverse perspectives in general market campaigns. The two-part social media campaign (that runs through March) speaks to all that’s wrong in marketing.

Millennials’ influence The first part raises the question: “Imagine if brands spoke volumes, instead of being loud. Imagine if they made a difference instead of acting like they’re different.” The second expressly says advertisers need to speak millennials and Gen Zers’ “language”: “Moving the needle with me, starts first with making me move my finger.” “Millennials have turned consumerism into a broader conversation around political conduct, about social justice, about the power that the corporate dollar plays in influencing everything,” Anthony said. “Millennials opened up a larger doorway into a larger conversation on what we should be focusing on, and the reality is politics, government, multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion. The social currency has changed, and that’s extended to the expectations that we have with respect to the brands that we choose to bring in-

DINENDRA HARIA/I-IMAGES/ ZUMA PRESS/TNS

to our lives because we do have a choice.”

Brands struggling Mario Natarelli, managing partner at MBLM, a New York Citybased branding/marketing agency agrees. “Consumers are changing, and how much and when and where we interface with brands has changed. And brands are struggling with how to reach or how to gain growth, whether it’s organic or inorganic,” he said. Natarelli recollects IHOP taking a risk on its brand name when it went from IHOP-to-IHOB-backto IHOP and Dunkin’ Donuts dropping Donuts from its name. “As brands continue to proliferate and saturate our collective attention, consumers are gaining more control over when, how or where brands reach them,” Natarelli said. “This challenge has forced the brand owners to take bigger risks. … What we saw this

year redefined the relationship of trust between consumers and brand.”

A matter of trust But what can advertisers do to make 2019 better? Natarelli can’t say there are definable things they should do. But trust is one of them. “Trust is sort of fundamental, right? You can really not play with or take advantage of your consumer’s trust — you can look at Facebook as a prime example of what could go wrong,” he said. “We believe brands and consumers bond like people bond with each other — it’s very organic, it’s very fluid, it’s very emotionally driven. The bonds that we form with these brands are really precious. Brands have to be a little more measured or more careful, in a way, that they’re projecting or affecting their reputation in the market.”

Nike’s move Natarelli said Disney, Netflix and YouTube were companies that held their own in 2018, and Anthony points out that Nike has done a good job of striking a balance between being a competitive, athletic brand and a lifestyle brand. “What they did with Colin Kaepernick showed a marketplace that you can have a position that is somewhat polarizing and still succeed if you know who your target is and you’re not afraid to be brave and go outside the box,” Anthony said. Anthony’s recommendations for brands: Don’t stand on the sidelines in 2019. Awareness is impact, and apathy will kill brands. Brands need to add value to people’s life, and companies need to be able to relate to their audience. Multiculturalism is the new general market.

STOJ

JANUARY 25 – JANUARY 31, 2019

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Oscar nods for ‘Black Panther’ and ‘BlacKkKlansman’ ture nomination, an honor the streaming giant has long coveted even as it has disrupted traditional ways of doing business that stretch back to the earliest days of the film industry. In all, the film earned 10 nominations, including for foreign language film along with nods for Cuarón’s direction and cinematography, as well as for its two stars, Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira. (Adding to the overall tally for Netflix, the Coen brothers’ Western “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” earned an unexpected three nominations, including one for adapted screenplay.)

Seven for ‘Panther’

Above: Spike Lee (left) scores his first Oscar nomination as director. He’s shown with John David Washington, who stars in “BlacKkKlansman.’’ Right: Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira star in “Black Panther.’’

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

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

Historic director nomination for Spike Lee BY JOSH ROTTENBERG LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

One of the more unpredictable Oscar races in recent years finally came into focus Tuesday morning with the announcement of the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards, with two of this year’s eight best picture contenders — “Roma” and “Black Panther” — setting milestones for the film industry. Alfonso Cuarón’s poetic, autobiographical “Roma” earned Netflix its first-ever best pic-

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.

And the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther” became the first comic-book movie to ever land a shot at a best picture trophy, a landmark for a genre that, for all of its importance to Hollywood’s bottom line, has often been dismissed as popcorn fare. The highest grossing film of 2018 earned seven nominations in total. The other best picture nominees are Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the gonzo period dramedy “The Favourite,” the racially inflected road movie “Green Book,” the musical drama “A Star Is Born” and the Dick Cheney biopic “Vice.”

Lee makes list Foreign language films made a particularly strong showing in this year’s nominations, with Cuarón and Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War”) earning directing nominations alongside Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite”) and Adam McKay (“Vice.”). Among the morning’s surprises, “A Star Is Born” director Bradley Cooper, who had been considered all but a lock for a nomination, failed to make the cut, as did “Green Book” director Peter Farrelly.

King, Ali nominated In the lead actor category, the nominees include Christian Bale (“Vice”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”), Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”), Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”). For lead actress, the nominees are Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”) and Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”). In the supporting actress category, the nominees are Amy Adams (“Vice”), Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), Emma Stone (“The Favourite”) and Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”). The nominees for supporting actor include Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”), Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”), Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”).

Top documentaries The documentary feature category, which can often be counted on to deliver some headscratchers, brought two this year, as a pair of the year’s most successful docs, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “Three Identical Strangers” were left out. Two other hit docs — “RBG” and “Free Solo” — made the cut alongside “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap” and “Of Fathers and Sons.”

FOOD

JANUARY 25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; JANUARY 31, 2019

STOJ

Cooking up comfort Hearty dishes for cold, dreary days FROM FAMILY FEATURES

On crisp winter days when the wind blows cold, warming up from the inside-out with hearty comfort foods can feel like a worthy solution. From chili to cornbread to dumplings, flavorful and filling foods prepared without an overload of ingredients certainly can provide a feel-good boost on chilly evenings. Chili, a classic wintertime favorite, can be taken to the next level with a few tasty additions. Make a spicy version by mixing in bacon, sweet potatoes and a chopped jalapeno pepper for a quick warm-up. A simple and somewhat sweet spin on a classic, comforting side, Honey-Pumpkin Cornbread pairs well with the slightly spicy chili. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really looking to put the comfort in a comforting main course, this Skillet Chicken and Dumplings recipe takes less than an hour to create. To make these heart-warming recipes stand out from a crowd, Circulon Symmetry Chocolate Cookware provides dishwashersafe, premium nonstick cookware for easy cleanup and food release that slides right off. Find more information and comforting family-favorite recipes at circulon.com. SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN CHILI Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes Servings: 6 Circulon Symmetry Chocolate 5.5-Quart Casserole 6 slices thick-cut smoked bacon, chopped 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch pieces 2 medium onions, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped 5 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper 2 cups chicken broth 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1 can (15 ounces) no-salt-added black beans 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley 1/2 teaspoon salt Heat casserole over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until browned and crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towelcovered plate. Reduce bacon fat in casserole to 2 tablespoons and return to stove over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes, onions and jalapeno pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano and ground chipotle; cook until fragrant, 15 seconds. Pour in broth, tomatoes, beans and barley; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender and barley is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bacon and salt; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

HONEY-PUMPKIN CORNBREAD Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 12-16 Circulon Nonstick 9-Inch Square Baking Pan 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal 3 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 2 large eggs, at room temperature 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons honey 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon grated orange zest Heat oven to 400 F. Lightly butter baking pan. In bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, honey, buttermilk and orange zest. Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until moistened; transfer to prepared baking pan. Bake until cornbread pulls away from sides of pan and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack at least 10 minutes before cutting.

SKILLET CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Servings: 8 Circulon Symmetry Chocolate 3.5-Quart Saucepan 3 containers (32 ounces each) low-sodium chicken stock Circulon Symmetry Chocolate 12-Inch Essentials Pan 2 medium onions, diced 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch rounds 1 head broccoli, chopped 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2-3 cups chopped chicken 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon powdered garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup half-and-half 2 tablespoons cornstarch Dumplings: 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat or all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup half-and-half Garnish: fresh grated Parmesan cheese fresh black pepper In saucepan, bring chicken stock to boil. In essentials pan, saute onions, carrots and broccoli with butter. Add

olive oil as needed if pan looks dry. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots are beginning to soften. Add chopped chicken, bay leaves, oregano, basil, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and hot chicken stock to skillet. Simmer 20-30 minutes until vegetables are softened. Adjust seasoning, as necessary. Whisk cornstarch into half-andhalf until smooth. Whisk into soup and simmer 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. To make Dumplings: In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and half-and-half. Swirl soup with wooden spoon and add heaping tablespoons into center of soup at strong simmer. Continue adding until all dumpling batter is used. Cover with lid and cook on high 2-3 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan and fresh cracked pepper.