Florida Courier, June 21, 2019

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PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189

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For many Blacks, 2020 is simply about beating Trump See Page B1

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JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

VOLUME 27 NO. 25

ALCEE UNPLUGGED

The elder statesman of the Florida congressional delegation, U.S. Representative Alcee Lamar Hastings of the 20th Congressional District, shares a juicy secret with longtime friend Everee Jimerson Clarke.

An experienced Florida journalist speaks to a reflective Alcee L. Hastings as he soaks up love from ‘his people,’ – the deep extended family-like network of Black Floridians who love and support him unconditionally.

Many experienced Black attorneys in Florida can tell you the impact Alcee Lamar Hastings has had on their lives as a living, fighting example of a sharptongued trial lawyer; or as mentor, fraternity brother (he’s a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi), or friend.

Though I’m a journalist rather than an attorney, count me in as one of the many whose lives “Alcee” – as he has always been known to the legions of Black Flo-

DAPHNE TAYLOR FLORIDA COURIER EXCLUSIVE

PART 1 ridians who have passionately loved and supported him over the years – has positively impacted.

PHOTO BY ALVIN LUBIN FOR THE FLORIDA COURIER

My “Alcee moment” In the 1980s, I was a young budding writer and wannabe broadcaster living in Fort Lauderdale. In 1988, the owner of WRBD-AM, a Black-owned and formatted radio station there, tapped me to take over a live callin radio show from a very popular community leader.

My first show, he said, would

be to interview then-Judge Hastings, who was in the midst of congressional impeachment hearings. He gave me no instructions as to how to get the judge on the air, but that’s who he wanted.

I didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop, till I made it happen. (How I did it is a trade secret.) Then I contacted the so-called “mainstream” press and informed them that Judge Hastings was going to give his

‘WHEN THEY SEE US’ / NETFLIX

A hard story now at the top

side of the story on the hearings over the airwaves of a local Blackowned AM radio station.

At 5 p.m. on a Sunday, it was showtime. Media from all over South Florida descended upon our radio studios, and listeners from everywhere called in to support the judge. My debut call-in talk show was a huge hit.

See ALCEE, Page A2

Reflecting on his successes Grimes leaned on faith to go forward EXCLUSIVE TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

ATSUSHI NISHIJIMA/NETFLIX/TNS

Director Ava DuVernay is pictured with actor Jharrel Jerome on the set of “When They See Us,” her four-part series about the wrongful conviction and later exoneration of the group of teenagers known as the Central Park Five. The series is now the No.1 show on Netflix, America’s most popular online streaming service.

DAYTONA BEACH – In an exit interview of sorts with the Florida Courier, Bethune-Cookman University Interim President Hubert Grimes spoke personally about a call he had been waiting for. “…To get that call from SACS (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) last week that says, ‘Look, you guys are on the right track, you’ve made progress, you’ve been extended another year to be able to complete the work that needs to be done.’ That certainly was one of the high points (of my administration),” he explained.

Grimes was referring to the June 13 decision of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees to continue to keep B-CU on one-year probation accreditation status.

A special SACSCOC committee visited the institution to evaluate its progress in reforming its governing board characteristics and shoring up and controlling the school’s financial resources.

Losing accreditation would be catastrophic for the university. It would prevent B-CU from accepting federal loans to pay for students attending the institution. It would also prevent graduates from taking licensing exams or entering credible graduate programs, among other restrictions.

See GRIMES, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

On-campus early voting endangered

BY JIM SAUNDERS NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – As Gov. Ron DeSantis decides whether to sign an elections bill that lawmakers passed last month, plaintiffs in a long-running legal battle contend the measure could prevent early voting on college and university campuses.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker had been scheduled to hold a telephone hearing Wednesday in an early voting lawsuit that pits plaintiffs such as the League of Women Voters of Florida against the state. The hearing involved a request by the plaintiffs for a permanent injunction.

ALSO INSIDE

But he issued an order Tuesday calling off the hearing at the request of the plaintiffs.

in early voting on 11 campuses, with about 60,000 ballots cast, according to court records.

Parking concerns a pretext?

On governor’s desk

In an emergency motion filed Monday, the plaintiffs argued that a parking requirement in the new elections bill (SB 7066) “is aimed with laser-like precision at undoing this court’s standing preliminary injunction order, and again imposing an elections regime in which supervisors of election are effectively prohibited from offering early voting on Florida’s college and university campuses.”

Walker in July 2018 issued a preliminary injunction that allowed campus early voting locations, ruling that a directive issued to elections supervisors by former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration was unconstitutional.

In the November elections, that resulted

DeSantis formally received the elections bill from the Legislature on Friday and is expected to sign it before a June 29 deadline.

While the bill deals with a variety of elections issues, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit focused on a provision that said early-voting sites “must provide sufficient nonpermitted parking to accommodate the anticipated amount of voters.”

Many campuses require permits for parking, and some see frequent complaints about parking shortages.

The lawsuit is rooted in a 2014 directive to county elections supervisors by Scott’s administration that prevented early voting sites on campuses.

FLORIDA | A3

Miami cop gets misdemeanor in shooting Another 99 hepatitis A cases added last week

COMMENTARY: AJAMU BARAKA: HOW AUSTERITY AND MILITARISM ARE KILLERS | A4 COMMENTARY: MARGARET KIMBERLEY: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE AND THE LIMITS OF SUFFERING | A5

NATION | A6

Trump’s tax law made Americans less charitable

FOCUS

A2

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

STOJ

A fond farewell to Bethune-Cookman University Greetings, Wildcats!

In a few days, my tenure as the Interim President for BethuneCookman will come to an end. I have served in this role since July 2017. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in the lineage of our founder, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, for “such a time as this.”

In Charles Dickens’ work, “A Tale of Two Cities,” the phrase, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” is an apt description of the past two years of service to Bethune- Cookman.

I was asked to assume the position as interim president by the (B-CU) Board of Trustees in an 18-7 vote, and within 48 hours, I was cast into that role.

A work in progress While some problems had risen to the surface which prompted the need for transition, little did I know the vast array of issues that would be uncovered over the next 24 months. Some have been corrected fully, while others are in various stages of resolution.

Many of these problems have been covered relentlessly by the

HUBERT L. GRIMES, ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

local media, and at times mischaracterized by salacious headlines.

For example, during the week leading up to our most recent graduation, the headline read, “B-CU defaults on 17.5 million in bonds.” The default spoken of was a technical default for not obtaining approval of the 2010 Bondholders when the residence hall project was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2015, not 2019. Buried deep in the article was the statement that the school is current and has never missed a payment on the debt.

Even more recently, a headline stated, “B-CU suffers 10-milliondollar loss under Grimes in 201718.” Again, the positives are buried deep in the story. No mention is made of the fact the school was hit by two back-to-back hurricanes (Matthew and Irma) causing significant repair damage,

and that two buildings were paid off when the bank notes matured during that year. Most importantly, the school remains open in spite of the fights from all sides.

Focusing on successes The President’s Report Card 2018-2019 attempts to capture some of the recent highlights of positive activity occurring during my tenure as interim president.

While the battle for our survival and success remain ongoing, the work of the university continues.

Since 2017, $8,721,484 has been raised. In FY 2018-2019, $6.4 million in annualized cuts have been made.

Over 1,093 students graduated from B-CU in the last 24 months.

Many students walked immediately into graduate school and careers, while others obtained entry-level employment.

When we started this journey, only two students had passed the Florida Teacher Certification Exam. Today, 37 students have done so. After a dry spell, seven new nursing graduates successfully completed their licensing

exam as registered nurses this past spring. Many more success stories are reflected in the Report Card’s pages.

An important ‘first’ One of the greatest remembrances of my tenure will be that of achieving the legislative adoption of Dr. Bethune to represent the state of Florida in Washington, D.C.’s Statuary Hall by a near-unanimous vote. The marble statue will be placed on display in early 2020, as our founder becomes the only African American to represent a state. For a woman who touched the lives of millions through education, government and public service, the tribute is fitting and will inspire countless generations to come.

As I pass the torch to incoming president Dr. E. LaBrent Chrite, let us all join forces to bring about a new beginning. We have and will continue to improve in the areas that make a difference in the life of our university. We will embrace the technological and financial advances that allow us to keep pace with the world

GRIMES Faith inspired For Grimes, taking the interim president position in July 2017 had an emotional component.

“One of the most humbling parts of this process was recognizing that I was in the lineage of Dr. (Mary McLeod) Bethune,” Grimes said. “It was borne out even more for me a few weeks ago when I was invited to Mayesville, South Carolina to serve as the grand marshal of the Bethune Festival there.

“I was able to go to her hometown, and the site which she was born – they have a replica of the cabin where she was born down to the fireplace and all the details – again, I was able to feel her spirit.”

Robotics Club performs

‘How did you do it?’

Statuary Hall high point For Grimes, another signature accomplishment was the Florida Legislature’s 111-1 vote to make Dr. Bethune Florida’s designated representative for inclusion in

ALCEE from A1 From that moment I was permanently propelled into the role of host of the live, call-in talk show called “The Voice of the People,” which became a staple in South Florida.

Father’s Day 2019 As the congressman sat in a West Palm Beach hotel foyer while waiting to receive a Father of the Year award from a local group, I was able to share that story with him and his son Jody.

They were both elated to hear it and it brought joy and laughter to them both.

I was pleased to bring a smile to his face at a time when a moment of laughter could mean so much.

“Thanks,” I said, “for launching me to another whole level in my broadcast journalism career! It gave me a voice in the community.”

And that’s when our most recent conversation started.

Why he came “Daphne, I’ve gotten many awards and honors, but I’ve never gotten one for Father of the Year, so that’s why I’m here,” quipped

Hubert Grimes’s term as interim president of BethuneCookman University ends on July 1, 2019. Log on to http://flcourier.com/ to download The President’s Report Card 20182019.

• The National Science Foundation awarded a grant of $1,199,901 to B-CU for support of a project entitled “Developing Effective Mathematical Sciences School Teachers for High-Need Middle Schools.” It aims to serve the national need of increasing the number of high-quality mathematics teachers.

• After a rigorous eight-week boot-camp style review course and additional studies to prepare for successful completion of the School of Nursing program, six BCU students successfully passed the National Council Licensure Examination to become registered nurses.

from A1

“There were many times on the campus when I would leave the office and say, ‘Dr. Bethune, how did you do it?’ Grimes revealed.

“When you circle back around, it was her fundamental faith in God that got her through all the various challenges, whether it was creating the school, the Ku Klux Klan attacks on the school, and all the host of things that happened. The need to raise money…to me all those things showed her character and her faith.

“Certainly for me, I recognize that faith was a critical factor in trying to carry on this work.”

around us. We will continue to build on the legacy of our founder and her successors.

We will restore the fiscal integrity and expand the confidence in the university through the collective efforts and expertise of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. The achievement of these dreams will require us to “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve and Return to Invest.” Join me in giving our best to the school which deserves and needs our support: BethuneCookman University.

In closing, I appreciate the unique opportunity to serve and the countless number of new friends and acquaintances that I have made in the process. Going forward, it is my prayer that God will bless each of you and in particular, Bethune-Cookman University.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

For B-CU Interim President Hubert Grimes, participating in student traditions was a personal highlight.

• Twelve students from the BCU College of Science Engineering and Mathematics Robotics Club traveled to Huntsville, Alabama to compete in the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) SoutheastCon Robotics Competition. B-CU placed 10 out of 44 schools participating in the competition. The students won second place against the competing schools from Florida, and out of Volusia County B-CU brought home first place.

Sports wins Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building.

“That was exceptional, because here you’re recognizing a Black woman for all the work that she has done. And her work continues. It will inspire generations to come. That was certainly one of the high points,” Grimes acknowledged.

Among those more personal successes, Grimes’s self-published President Report Card 2018-19 cites the following successes under his two-year administration: • Statuary Hall fund raises $293,971.88 toward fundraising

goal – In April 2018, more than 100 friends and supporters gathered to kick off the National Statuary Hall fundraising campaign.

They raised more than half of the $400,000 goal on that day. To date, $293,971.88 has been contributed to the Mary McLeod Bethune National Statuary Hall Fund. The statue is expected to be unveiled in Washington, D.C in 2020.

• Bethune-Cookman University received the MERLOT/Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Service Award attended by more than 1,200 professionals in Denver. B-CU is the first HBCU to re-

ceive this award for its exemplary implementation of Open Education Resources. B-CU’s faculty redesigned 55 courses comprised of the entire general education courses. Two faculty members compiled the data, evaluating the impact of the program, which showed more student engagement and comparable test scores.

the congressman when asked why it was important to be to this event despite the serious illness he made public six months prior.

So on Father’s Day at the Marriott City Place Hotel in West Palm Beach, he accepted the prestigious award from his longtime pal, 92-year old Everee Jimerson Clarke, on behalf of her organization, the Pleasant City Family Reunion Committee, Inc. Clarke has been honoring outstanding men in and around South Florida for 18 years and now it was Congressman Hastings’ turn.

during segregation.

Pleasant City is home to many great success stories in the Palm Beaches, and today remains a predominantly Black town and the center of distribution of Clarke’s newsletter which she has published for decades.

Above and beyond

‘Loved and respected’ “It is indeed a pleasure to have our distinguished guest here tonight, He’s someone I’ve loved and respected for years,” said Clarke, a former model and beauty queen who owned a charm school where she hosted many beauty pageants and taught modeling, poise and etiquette to many young ladies in earlier years.

She and Hastings shared many tender moments on stage reminiscing and sharing pleasantries throughout the evening. He couldn’t help but quip about the name “Pleasant City.”

“I love the name,” he said, referring to the section of town in West Palm Beach where Clarke and so many other Blacks lived

Would he really come?

Her decision to honor Hastings at this time posed an interesting dynamic; not many tickets were sold to the otherwise impressive affair honoring Hastings. It was probably in part because many assumed he wouldn’t actually be there, considering the seriousness of his recently disclosed illness. But as Hastings said earlier, he wouldn’t have missed such an honor.

In typical fashion, Hastings saw the bigger picture of the honor and seized the opportunity to talk about Black fathers. One might have expected the statesman to use his voice to whip Black men into place with his platform – as former President Barack Obama frequently did – considering the broader popular opinion about Black men and the children they father.

But for the most part, Alcee didn’t. Instead, we witnessed a softer side of the congressman as he shared a sentiment that Black men could appreciate.

Top attraction • Trip Advisor rated the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation Historic Landmark as the No. 1 place to visit in Daytona Beach.

“It’s humbling to represent so many dads,” said the father of three as he sat next to Jody. “It’s a good thing this organization is doing because we couldn’t need fathers more. And to salute men in this community is excellent.”

He went on to explain that so many Black men have gone above and beyond their calling as biological dads, and have found the wherewithal to father other kids in the community.

“We have school teachers who are fathers to their students; we have men in recreation who father underprivileged children in the community; we have coaches who become fathers to their ballplayers; we have clergy who father countless kids in their congregations. You find fathers who find the time to spend with countless children in the community,” he pointed out.

Loved and supported Hastings himself has been beloved by children of all ages, as demonstrated during some of the most troublesome moments of his longstanding career. Schoolchildren holding signs of support could be seen on the evening news dating all the way back to the 1980s when he faced impeachment as a judge on bribery charges. Over the years, the chil-

• B-CU Women’s Basketball won the 2019 MEAC Women’s Basketball tournament, gaining a bid in the NCAA tournament against defending champion Notre Dame.

• B-CU won the Florida Blue Florida Classic 33-19. Before the largest Florida Classic crowd since 2011, the Wildcats scored the game’s final 16 points, thus beating archrival FAMU for the eighth consecutive year.

• B-CU won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

dren in his district have loved the man who also loved them.

But he pointed out that young men under 25 must do better taking care of the children they father. “We do have a problem there,” he stressed. “We didn’t always have that problem.”

While also at the podium, the congressman opined over the state of the nation.

Time to go “These are extremely difficult times in this nation,” he indicated. And while he never mentioned President Donald Trump by name, he made it clear that Trump must be voted out of office.

Hastings continued to speak about the political arena.

“And yes, I did read the Mueller Report.....which means I don’t really have a life! But I can’t understand how so many of my colleagues didn’t find the time to read the report.”

With that said, Hastings offered no opinion on the content of the report or whether the president should be impeached. Instead, he closed his speech with words that signified the harsh reality of the current moment.

“I’m fighting another battle right now – a battle with cancer.”

Next week – The fight of Alcee Hastings’ life is now underway.

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

STOJ

FLORIDA

TOJ

A3

Cop gets misdemeanor for shooting therapist North Miami officer who fired at autistic man acquitted

BY DAVID OVALLE MIAMI HERALD/TNS

MIAMI – A jury on Monday night convicted a North Miami police officer of a misdemeanor for firing his rifle three times at an autistic man holding a silver toy truck, but acquitted him of two more serious felony counts of attempted manslaughter.

Jurors deliberated more than three hours in the case of Officer Jonathon Aledda, who admitted he mistook the shiny object for a weapon in a shooting that drew national outrage amid heightened criticism of police tactics.

His bullets missed the autistic man but struck the man’s therapist, who was laying on the ground with his hands in the air.

Sentencing to come Aledda was convicted of a misdemeanor count of culpable negligence, which carries a penalty of up to one year behind bars.

He’ll be sentenced in the coming weeks, but because the charge is minor, he may still be eligible to remain a police officer.

The case was being closely watched because he was the first police officer in Miami-Dade County to be charged with an onduty shooting since 1989.

The jury’s forewoman, Stacy Sarna, said the jury had a spirited debate but concluded that under “our reading of the law” Aledda was not guilty of the attempted manslaughter counts. However, the misdemeanor count was warranted because Aledda didn’t “take into account” the safety of the community when he fired his weapon, she said.

CHARLES TRAINOR/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Photographic evidence at the June 17 trial shows therapist Charles Kinsey, holding up his arms. With him is Arnaldo Rios Soto, the autistic man.

Second trial It was Aledda’s second trial in three months. His first trial in March was declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on three of four charges.

He was acquitted of a fourth, a misdemeanor count of culpable negligence. Five of six jurors in the first trial wanted to acquit Aledda.

Monday’s verdict was handed down hours after Aledda took the witness stand to say he believed that Arnaldo Rios Soto, sitting in the middle of a North Miami intersection, was wielding a pistol and was on the verge of shooting the therapist, Charles Kinsey, on a sweltering July day in 2016.

“I believed it was a hostage situation,” Aledda testified. “It appeared he was screaming for mercy or for help or something. In my mind, the White male had a gun.”

Video went viral

AL DIAZ/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

North Miami Police Officer Jonathan Aledda takes a firing position as he testifies in his own defense on March 13. He was accused of attempted manslaughter for shooting at Arnaldo Rios Soto, and wounding the man’s unarmed caretaker, Charles Kinsey. and other officers on the scene.

Still, the shooting of an unarmed Black man with his hands in the air sparked disbelief because part of the dramatic confrontation was captured on video that went viral. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office charged Aledda nearly nine months later.

Taking cover behind a car about 50 yards away, Aledda fired three shots, missing Soto but hitting Kinsey in the thigh.

He has long insisted that he was acting in defense of Kinsey

‘Calculated and practiced’

NRA lobbyist files appeal in lawsuit relating to Parkland emails

‘Let alone’ appeal

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Pointing to her privacy rights, attorneys for prominent National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer have asked a federal appeals court to overturn a decision in a lawsuit stemming from emails she received after the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Hammer filed a lawsuit against California attorney Lawrence Sorensen and three other men over emails that she alleged were harassing and threatening, including emails from Sorensen that conMarion Hammer tained photos showing injuries from gunshot wounds.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in November dismissed Hammer’s claims against Sorensen on First Amendment grounds, though he described the emails as “disgusting.”

Sarna, the jury forewoman, said jurors didn’t necessarily believe everything Aledda said.

“What he was saying was very carefully considered. He was very calculated and practiced,” she said.

“We think the verdict as delivered was fair,” Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Don Horn said on Monday night.

Douglas Hartman, Aledda’s defense lawyer, said the team was “extremely disappointed.”

“We thought he should have never been charged to begin with,” Hartman said.

Silver toy truck

‘Rushed to judgment’

The shooting unfolded when the 27-year-old Rios ran away from a North Miami group home where he lived. In his hand was the silver truck, one of his favorite toys.

A motorist passing by called 911, reporting a man with a possible gun in his hand, pointing to his own head. After Rios plopped down in the middle of a busy North Miami street, Kinsey tried coaxing him back to the group home.

North Miami officers rushed to the scene and surrounded the two men.

Kinsey threw his hands in the air, begging the officers to not fire.

Officer Kevin Warren, who was right next to Aledda taking cover behind the same car about 50 yards away, told jurors that he could hear the radio transmissions. Although unsure of what the object was, Warren said he never considered firing his pistol.

Horn told jurors that Aledda was the only cop who considered firing.

“He rushed to judgment and he chose death,” Horn said Monday during closing arguments.

On Monday, Aledda repeated his story from the first trial, saying he never heard the radio transmission that the object might be a toy.

Mistaken on weapon They instructed him to lie on the ground. In the brief standoff, Rios began screaming at Kinsey to “shut up” — mimicking a cartoon he had often watched.

A North Miami commander on the scene mistakenly radioed that it appeared Rios was “reloading” a weapon.

But during trial, prosecutors sought to prove that Rios was no longer a threat. Two officers, Kevin Crespo and Alens Bernadeau, the officers closest to the men in the intersection, testified that they had concluded the silver object was no weapon.

Importantly for the state, Bernadeau even radioed that the object was a toy.

Defense lawyer Hartman said North Miami’s radios were faulty, and not always audible during the frantic situation.

“Nobody heard everything that was dispatched that day,” Hartman said.

Kinsey and Rios’ family are suing North Miami, which lawyers say mishandled the whole scene.

Jurors too were bothered by the botched radio transmissions and the dispatchers who failed to relay enough information to officers on the scene.

“What troubled us the most was the North Miami Police Department,” said Sarna.

Taino Ortiz of Tampa receives vaccinations during a Tampa Community Homeless Outreach event at ACTS Fireman’s Hall in September 2018, where treatments included shots for hepatitis A.

Hammer appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, and her attorneys on June 14 filed a 51-page brief arguing that Hinkle’s decision should be reversed.

“The crux of this case is the sacrosanct but often neglected right of every private citizen to be ‘let alone’ and free from unwelcome interactions in non-public settings,” the brief said.

“Protecting privacy as vigorously as free speech is critical at a time when the internet and social media have connected everyone on platforms where personal interactions are effortless and instantaneous, yet detached and impersonal, and the frequency with which people are being exposed to unwanted and unwelcome speech in non-public settings is exponentially increasing.”

TAILYR IRVINE/ TAMPA BAY TIMES/TNS

Former national president The brief argued that the lower-court ruling did not properly balance free-speech and privacy rights.

“Ms. Hammer is not complaining about images she saw in a movie, videogame, show, or medical journal,” the brief said.

“Ms. Hammer sued over images Mr. Sorensen thrust upon her unwillingly in the privacy of her home.”

Hammer is a longtime gunrights lobbyist in Tallahassee and is a former national president of the NRA.

Suit against department

Another 99 hepatitis A cases added last week NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

A hepatitis A outbreak in Florida continued to expand last week, with 99 new cases reported, according to information on the state Department of Health website.

That brought the total number of cases this year to 1,561, up from 548 cases in 2018, 276 cases in

2017 and 122 cases in 2016.

The disease, which can cause liver damage, can be spread through such things as food or drinks that have been contaminated with fecal matter from people with the disease.

Health officials have urged Floridians to get vaccinated against the disease.

Pasco County has had the most cases this year, with 299.

It is followed by Pinellas County, with 281 cases; Orange County, with 122 cases; Volusia County, with 114 cases; Hillsborough County, with 103 cases; and Marion County, with 91 cases, the Department of Health numbers show.

EDITORIAL

TOJ

A4

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

STOJ

How austerity and militarism are killers Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal reflects another significant increase in military spending along with corresponding cuts in spending by federal agencies tasked with the responsibility for providing critical services and income support policies for working class and poor people.

Trump’s call for budget cuts by federal agencies is mirrored by the statutorily imposed austerity policies in most states and many municipalities.

Those cuts represent the continuing imposition of neoliberal policies in the U.S., even though the “A” word for austerity is almost never used to describe those policies. Yet, austerity has been a central component of state policy at every level of government in the U.S. and in Europe for the last four decades.

Affects Europe, U.S. In Europe, as the consequences of neoliberal policies imposed on workers began to be felt and understood, the result was intense opposition. However, in the U.S. the unevenness of how austerity policies were being applied, in particular the elimination or reduction in social services that were perceived to be primarily directed at racialized workers, political opposition was slow to materialize.

Today, however, relatively privileged workers who were silent as the neoliberal “Washington consensus” was imposed on the laboring classes in the global South – through draconian structural adjustment policies that result in severe cutbacks in state expenditures for education, healthcare, state employment and other vital needs – have now come to understand that the neoliberal program of labor discipline and intensified extraction of value from workers, did not spare them.

The deregulation of capital and privatization of state functions – from road construction to prisons, the dramatic reduction in state spending that results in cuts in state supported social services and goods like housing and access to reproductive services for the poor – represents the politics of austerity and the role of the neoliberal state.

stead is helping to generate support for war with Iran.

AJAMU BARAKA BLACK AGENDA REPORT

The U.S. could find $6 trillion for war since 2003 and $16 trillion to bail out the banks after the financial sector crashed the economy, but it can’t find money to secure the human rights of the people.

Grand theft is coming As I have called to attention before, a monumental rip-off is about to take place once again.

Both the Democrats and Republicans are united in their commitment to continue to feed the U.S. war machine with $750 billion extracted from the working class and transferred to the pockets of the military-industrial complex. The only point of debate now is whether or not the Pentagon will get the full $750 billion or around $733 billion.

The one sector that is not part of this debate is the public. The attention of the public has been adroitly diverted by the absurd reality show that is Russiagate.

But this week, even though the budget debate has been disappeared by corporate media, Congress is set to begin debate on aspects of the budget and specifically on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Raising the alarm on this issue is especially critical. As tensions escalate in the Persian Gulf, the corporate media is once again abdicating its public responsibility to bring unbiased, objective information to the public and in-

The NBCC’s evolution, Part 1 The National Black Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 1993. Kay and I did this together and by ourselves. Such an organization was a long time coming.

Booker T. Washington had such a vision at the beginning of the 20th Century. He called it the National Negro Business League. It had up to 30 chapters throughout the United States. It was challenged by rival groups that were started by liberal White New Englanders.

Two main groups of these rivals were the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League. When Washington abruptly died, these two groups carried on and still exist today.

Our true history The intent of this article is to clear the air on how the NBCC was started and the early challenges that jumped in our way as we grew to be the largest Black business association in the world.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE UNITED STATES VS. IRAN?

HARRY & KAY ALFORD GUEST COLUMNISTS

Kay was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She and her siblings were second-generation Hoosiers. Her grandfather was born in Tennessee and served in the military as one of the last Buffalo Soldiers. Her father was a “chip off the old block,” joined the military during World War II, and became one of the original four Tuskegee Airmen. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.

The DeBows were slaves to the Huguenots, immigrants from France who sought freedom in the New World and specialized in farming in the South, in this in rural Tennessee. Do you remember “Chicken George” in the classic “Roots”? Well, when Chicken George’s son established a lumber company in Hibbing, Tenn.,

No appearance of weakness The Democrats, who have led the way with anti-Iran policies over the last few decades will be under enormous pressure not to appear to be against enhancing military preparedness and are likely to find a way to give Trump and the Pentagon everything they want.

The assumption of post-war capitalist order was that the state would be an instrument to blunt the more contradictory aspects of capitalism. A state’s legitimacy was based on the extent to which it recognized, protected and fulfilled the human rights of all its citizens and residents.

Those rights included not only the right to information, assembly, speech and to participation in the political life of the nation but also the right to food, water, healthcare, education, employment, substantial social security throughout life, and not just as a senior citizen.

The counterrevolutionary program of the late 1960s and ‘70s would reject this paradigm and redefine the role of the state. The obligation of the state to recognize, protect and fulfill human rights was eliminated from the role of the state under neoliberalism.

Historically dangerous Today, the consequences of four decades of neoliberalism in the global South and now in the cosmopolitan North have created a crisis of legitimacy that has made state policies more dependent on force and militarism than in any other time, including the Civil War and the turmoil of the 1930s.

The ideological glue provided by the ability of capitalism to deliver the goods to enough of the population, which once guaranteed loyalty and support, has been severely weakened by four decades of stagnant wages, increasing debt, a shrinking middle-class, obscene economic inequality and never-ending wars that have been disproportionately shouldered by the working class.

he bought his lumber from a DeBow – one of Kay’s forefathers).

Well-educated family Kay’s mother was the beautiful Aurelia Jane Priscilla Stuart who died last year at the age of 91. She was one of nine children born to William Weir and Mae Lewellen Stuart. All the children were formally educated.

Dr. Stuart was a pioneer. He became the first Black dentist in the state of Indiana. That happened thanks to his “sponsor,” the honorable John Philip Sousa.

Is it possible that Mr. Sousa was perhaps his father? Sousa raised him in Indianapolis and they both came from the same area of Alabama.

During Kay’s childhood, the Stuarts were entrepreneurs and quite educated. Stuarts Mortuary and Stuarts Moving are still prosperous today. They lived in upper-class neighborhoods, participated in Jack ‘N Jill, and were active in the civil rights era (they hosted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he came to town).

Harry’s family a contrast James Alford was a slave owner and farmer from Noonan, Georgia who moved and resettled in Alabama with his slaves. After a

BRUCE PLANTE, TULSA WORLD

Today, contrary to the claims of capitalism to guarantee the human right to a living wage ensuring “an existence worthy of human dignity,” the average worker is making, adjusted for inflation, less than in 1973, i.e., some 46 years ago.

One hundred forty million are either poor or have low-income; 80 percent living paycheck to paycheck; 34 million are still without health insurance; 40 million live in “official poverty.” More than half of those over 55 years old have no retirement funds other than Social Security.

America’s poor performance In a report, Philp Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, points out that the U.S. is one of the world’s wealthiest countries. It spends more on national defense than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Kingdom, India, France and Japan combined.

However, compare the other factors he lays out: • U.S. infant mortality rates in 2013 were the highest in the developed world.

• Americans can expect to live shorter and sicker lives, compared to people living in any other rich democracy, and the “health gap” between the U.S. and its peer countries continues to grow.

• U.S. inequality levels are far higher than those in most European countries.

• In terms of access to water and sanitation, the U.S. ranks

short stint there, he took his family and slaves to Bossier Parrish, Louisiana. One of his slaves was Cicero Alford, the great-grandfather of Harry. Harry’s other three great-grandfathers (Bill Brown, Thomas Watkins and John Salter) were also born slaves and freed in 1865 at the end of the Civil War. Bill Brown was a legend. He was a “breeder.” His mother arrived from Africa to the slave market of Savannah, Georgia. He was a tall, muscular man and was used to impregnate female slaves – just like a rancher does with his cattle. It is rumored that he fathered at least 100 children in four states before the end of the Civil War. Thomas Watkins owned 255 acres which were lost to the family when he suddenly “disappeared” in 1875. John Salter was a Presbyterian minister in Webster Parrish, Louisiana and looks “quite White” from his picture.

CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members

Ajamu Baraka is the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and was the 2016 candidate for vice president on the Green Party ticket. Contact him at www.

AjamuBaraka.com.

Harry’s parents, Harry Sr. and Christine Alford, would leave Louisiana for the lure of California during World War II. The state was booming with the war industry and many of their siblings would follow. Veterans were guaranteed jobs at the ma-

Harry C. Alford is the cofounder and president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC). Kay DeBow is the NBCC co-founder. Contact them via www.nationalbcc.org.

Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1928-2004), Founder

The U.S. could find $6 trillion for war since 2003 and $16 trillion to bail out the banks after the financial sector crashed the economy, but it can’t find money to secure the human rights of the people.

This is the one-sided class war that we find ourselves in; a war with real deaths and slower, systematic structural violence. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can be depended on to secure our rights or protect the world from the U.S. atrocities.

That responsibility falls on the people who reside at the center of the Empire to not only struggle for ourselves, but to put a brake on the Empire’s ability to spread death and destruction across the planet.

Post-war migration

Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM

Trillions for war

ny military facilities in the sunny state and that is how most Blacks were lured to it. And unlike Indianapolis and Louisiana, there was no rigid Jim Crow-style discrimination.

Harry’s parents had no high school to go to when they were being raised in rural Louisiana.

The nearest Black high school was 40 miles away in Shreveport.

In fact, the school year was only three months in the winter when there were no crops to attend to. Thus, their education was up to the 8th grade. They were like their peers and became young adults at 16; marriage would come soon. That was better than Harry’s grandparents, who were sharecroppers.

Harry and Kay – two children growing up. One on the West Coast and the other in the Midwest. No one could predict that one day their paths would cross.

The prospect of the beginning of the National Black Chamber of Commerce was far, far away.

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.

36th in the world.

For African Americans in particular, neoliberalism has meant jobs lost, hollowed out communities as industries relocated first to the South and then to Mexico and China, the disappearance of affordable housing, schools and hospital closings, infant and maternal mortality at global South levels, and mass incarceration as the unskilled, low-wage Black labor has become economically redundant.

Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Angela van Emmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Penny Dickerson, Staff Writer Duane Fernandez Sr., Kim Gibson, Photojournalists

MEMBER

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Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-352-4455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call 877-352-4455; e-mail sales@flcourier.com.

Subscriptions to the print version are $69 per year. Mail check to P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, or log on to www.flcourier.com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO NEWS@FLCOURIER.COM. Deadline for submitting news and pictures is 5 p.m. the Monday before the Friday publication date. You may submit articles at any time. However, current events received prior to deadline will be considered before any information that is submitted, without the Publisher’s prior approval, after the deadline. Press releases, letters to the editor, and guest commentaries must be e-mailed to be considered for publication.

The Florida Courier reserves the right to edit any submission, and crop any photograph, for style and clarity. Materials will not be returned.

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

STOJ

The Central Park Five and the limits of suffering As a New Yorker, this columnist will never forget the awful events that unfolded in 1989.

When a White woman was raped, beaten and left unconscious in Central Park, five teenagers were swept up in a police dragnet. Anton McCray, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam, Kevin Richardson and Raymond Santana confessed on video after hours of food and sleep deprivation and in some cases separation from their parents or other adults.

None had legal representation. They were all convicted and spent between 7 and 13 years in prison.

Delayed release They should have been released immediately when DNA testing proved that none of them had assaulted the victim. But they were condemned by people like Donald Trump who paid for a full-page newspaper ad asserting their guilt and demanding the death penalty.

Trump was part of a very large and influential lynch mob.

The tabloid media invented the phrase “wilding” and attached it to every Black teenager in the country.

The case was used to justify treating juveniles as adults in the criminal justice system. The five teens had very few defenders and were largely forgotten until 2002 when a serial rapist was tied to the crime by DNA evidence and confessed his guilt.

Aside from a 2013 Ken Burns documentary the story has gone largely untold. But the new Ava Duverney dramatization, “When They See Us,” brought renewed attention to the case. Duverney responded to a request from Santana to tell their story.

I haven’t seen the movie. I have done so purposefully. I also avoid watching the plethora of videos depicting police violence and murder. Unless viewing these images sparks education and activ-

TOJ

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: DONALD TRUMP’S REELECTION SUPPORTERS

anger the billionaire.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY

More villains

it to every Black

Another unsung perpetrator is Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau, lead prosecutor Linda Fairstein’s boss.

He could have stopped the process at any time. The outcome of the case should have made him unelectable, but he was and is spared condemnation.

Other evildoers in this tale include editors at the New York Times, the New York Daily News and the New York Post. But why is Bloomberg’s name never connected to the five men? Why was Fairstein’s boss given a pass?

That is because these corporate media efforts are not serious.

Their sole purpose is to ratchet up an emotional response and to do so without motivating anyone to action.

teenager in the country.

No change

BLACK AGENDA REPORT

(Donald) Trump was part of a very large and influential lynch mob. The tabloid media invented the phrase “wilding” and attached

ism, it becomes little more than self-inflicted trauma.

What we know

These films have not decreased police brutality or led anyone to start a movement. The victims are commodified and the viewer is exposed to suffering porn. The powerful people who keep the corrupt wheels in motion remain untouched, even on the screen.

Linda Fairstein has finally gotten something akin to just desserts. She parlayed what should have been infamy into a successful writing career. Even after the exoneration, the New York Times and other outlets would often quote her as a sex crimes expert.

But now she is being dropped like a bad habit from publishing houses and non-profit boards.

If “When They See Us” is responsible for her belated comeuppance, it achieved at least one worthy goal.

We know that the police in this country kill an average of three people every day, and that one of those persons will be Black. We know that the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other nation on earth. Every day we see a news story about inmates who are exonerated after serving decades in prison. Those people are almost always Black men.

As for delayed justice, the city of New York did not compensate the men until 2014 –12 years after they were exonerated. Why not?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to allow it. He directed the city to delay and appeal and it was left to his successor to bring some If we were serious measure of justice with a $41 milBut if we were politically edlion settlement. Bloomberg is as ucated and engaged in protest much a villain as Trump. But no with specific demands and serione wants to point that out and ous intent, Fairstein and Morgen-

How poverty incarcerates Black women Ava DuVernay’s blockbuster documentary on Netflix, “When OSCAR H. They See Us,” has heightened the BLAYTON, furor over the fact that, in AmeriESQ. ca, law enforcement means “control” rather than “justice” for peoGUEST COLUMNIST ple of color.

And while the story of how the simply put, is punishment for the American legal system failed the “crime of poverty.”

Central Park Five is horrific, it is only one of many chapters in the Just can’t pay saga of how this country lashes The Prison Policy Initiative has people of color with judicial opreported that in 2015, the median pression. income for Black women incarcerated prior to trial was $9,083, What about women? while the typical amount of bail in We should not avert our eyes those instances was $10,000. It is from the plight of poor women obscene that too often bail is set of color who remain behind bars at an amount greater than the ansimply because they are poor. nual income of a person facing a The nonprofit organization minor charge.

Prison Policy Initiative has reIt is not uncommon for people ported that almost two out of ev- of color to be sent to jail for not ery three women in jail have not paying fines. And it is outrageous been convicted of a crime. They when those people are incarcerare incarcerated awaiting resolu- ated for not paying fines and fees tion of their cases. for violations that are not jailable The main reason for this star- offenses. tling fact is that many women The threat of incarceration and, are unable to raise the necessary ultimately, incarceration has been funds for a cash bail. And this, used by some cities and towns

Orlando mayor, sheriff must go During an arrest in 2015, bank department executive Noel Carter, a Black man, was viciously and brutally beaten, kicked, pepper sprayed, and stunned multiple times with a Taser by two Orlando police officers, David Cruz and Charles Mays.

“Video of Carter’s arrest, which was captured by a resident in an Orange Avenue apartment and by security cameras outside the Orlando Sentinel’s office, drew widespread criticism of the officers’ use of force. The footage showed Cruz and Mays kicking Carter as he lay on a sidewalk,” says Tess Sheets, reporter for the Orlando Sentinel.

It was obvious that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and then-Orlando Police Chief John Mina did not care about the treatment that a Black man received by the Or-

EDITORIAL

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

lando Police Department. This incident would be swept under the rug. If a police person knows there is no penalty for excessive force to people of color, that becomes the policy and no reason to stop that behavior.

Lawsuit filed Last week in a federal lawsuit, “Noel Carter claims he suffered constitutional deprivations, emotional and physical damages when police officers David Cruz and Charles Mays used excessive

PAT BAGLEY, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, UT

thau would have been shunned and discredited as soon as the five men were freed. If telling the story of the Central Park Five is transformational, it should inspire us to take action right now.

The next time someone posts a video of police brutality on social media, ask yourself if you need to watch it. Ask yourself if doing so would be helpful to anyone.

Ask why Black suffering has become an entertainment commodity. The late John Singleton was preparing to direct a movie about the murder of Emmett Till.

There was a documentary about Trayvon Martin and a feature film about Oscar Grant.

It is argued that “When They See Us” and other works like it are informative teaching tools.

One hopes, so but the Black victim genre isn’t necessary to serve this purpose. There is so much material to mine which could be equally informative and far more empowering.

Other examples Where is the movie about the Black Panther standoff with police in Los Angeles in 1969? Perhaps there can be a film about two Black men, Micah Johnson in Dallas, Texas, and Gavin Long in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, whose anger about police murder led them to shoot the police in two separate incidents in 2016. Will Hollywood pay for a dramatization about Johnson and Long?

Obviously not.

We need a consistent plan to fight the racist police occupations of our communities. The attachment to watching brutalization is borne of impotence. It has been many decades since a mass movement effectively confronted the system. Now we settle for well-meaning voyeurism.

Movement-building is a difficult process. Our inaction is caused by confusion. We don’t know what we should be doing and hope that knowing the gory details of a particular case is a political accomplishment. But it isn’t and it is time to say so.

Let us admit that we have to start from scratch and determine how to secure justice for our people. Entertainment is a poor substitute.

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

strapped for money to squeeze tion often results in the loss of sta- By 2000, that share had grown to dollars out of the most vulnerable ble housing.

15 percent; and in 2016, women members of their communities. comprised 23 percent of all adCause, not condition missions.”

A pattern In his 2016 book, “Evicted: PovIn 2015, CNN reported how the erty and Profit in the American Jailing the poorest U.S. Justice Department revealed City,” sociologist and Princeton Women of color work the harda pattern and practice of racial University professor Matthew discrimination within Ferguson, Desmond set out that, “Eviction est for the least amount of money, Missouri, that targeted African is a cause, not just a condition, of and because they have the least American residents for tickets poverty.” And Princeton Univer- money, they are the most likely to and fines. And when these tickets sity’s “Eviction Lab” published an be jailed for their poverty. When and fines went unpaid, those resi- online report in 2018 titled “Why America looks in the mirror, we dents often went to jail.

Eviction Matters” stating that see we are a nation that not only Not only is this practice a grave evictions “disproportionately afinjustice, but it inflicts wounds fect low-income women, in par- jails the poor for being poor, but we jail the poorest of the poor. upon our society. ticular women of color.”

Is this who we want to be? Is The New York Review of Books Drilling down into this injusreports that eight out of 10 wom- tice, we find that, according to the this who we want our country to en in jail are mothers, and most Prison Policy Initiative, “[I]ncar- be? This nation was founded upof them are single parents. There cerated women are more likely on so many injustices, too many should be no need to explain how than incarcerated men to be poor, of which persist to this day. One parental incarceration impacts single parents, primary caregivof those is punishing the poor for negatively on a child. Studies by ers, and to be victims of violence, being poor. the Prison Policy Initiative have abuse, and trauma.”

Gone are the days of debtors’ linked parental incarceration to Because of policies being made that child’s risk of violence and by those who do not care about prisons, but imprisoning the poor victimization, as well as chronic the plight of these victims of pov- is still with us. It is time to take a health problems. erty, women now represent a stand and demand that our lawIncarceration can cause a higher proportion of the U.S. pris- makers turn this practice into woman to lose her job, lose her on and jail populations than in nothing more than a bad memohousing and even lose her child. the past.

Incarceration of the poor is a pubA May 2019 analysis of the Bu- ry. lic policy that creates and maintains a cycle of poverty. It is well known that incarceration usually results in the loss of a job. It is less well known that incarcera-

reau of Justice Statistics data by Oscar H. Blayton is a former essayists in the New York Review of Books reveals that in “1983, Marine Corps combat pilot and women made up just under 9 per- human rights activist who praccent of people admitted to jail. tices law in Virginia.

force on him during the June 4, 2015 arrest. The suit also alleges Dyer and then-OPD Chief John Mina acted with deliberate indifference by failing to implement an adequate use of a force policy that would prevent excessive force,” reported Sheets.

Many residents in Orlando know in the Black and Hispanic communities, excessive force and police brutality is an ongoing issue, and the mayor acts as if it does not exist. Between 2010 and 2014, the Orlando Police Department paid out more than $3.3 million to settle lawsuits against officers for excessive force and police brutality.

ed in the streets.

Just recently, members of Orlando’s civilian police oversight board agreed with the Police Department’s decision to discipline an officer who kicked a 13-year old boy in the chest during an arrest.

It has been discovered by another officer’s body camera that the 13-year old boy was in a “position of submission” when the officer kicked him. They also agreed to discipline another officer, who failed to turn on his body camera during a shooting one month later.

Not isolated event

There is a fundamental problem in the Orlando Police Department that started with Mayor Dryer and continued with Chief Mina. There are still some issues that exist with the current chief, Orlando Rolón, whose performance can’t really be judged because he has only been on the job for five months.

Many of the officers don’t care

The mayor and the city council are ignoring an issue that is neither new nor isolated. Over a series of months in 2015, The National Action Network of Central Florida called for Chief Mina’s resignation many times, but it appeared that the community kept forgetting the way they were treat-

A real problem

how people of color are treated.

Therefore, it is time for a change at the top with Mayor Dyer. For 16 years, there have been lies and cover-ups The dirt is so deep, it is time to clean house.

Now is the time It is time for the people to let their voices be heard and vote.

The silence from the residents in Orlando is appalling, and it is time to put pressure on Mayor Buddy Dyer and now-Sheriff John Mina.

No one really knows how many ongoing lawsuits exist against Dyer and Mina because everything is swept under the rug. Millions of tax dollars are being used to settle lawsuits which could be used to improve our communities and the local transit system.

Roger Caldwell, a community activist, author, journalist, radio host and CEO of On Point Media Group, lives in Orlando.

Contact him at jet38@bellsouth. net.

TOJ

A6

NATION

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

STOJ

and I learned as mayor that you can’t hold hostage progress by holding out for purity,” Booker said.

Mixed views His call for assuring a living wage drew heavy applause at a June 15 forum organized by the Black Economic Alliance in Charleston.

He said in the interview that Americans “should be outraged” that millions of children don’t have access to clean water, and angry at Trump for saying he’s open to accepting help from a foreign government to win reelection.

Booker’s brand of politics hasn’t endeared him to segments of the left.

“Martin Luther King said ‘love without power is sentimental and anemic,’ ” said Waleed Shahid, a spokesman for the leftwing group Justice Democrats.

“Of course, we need more love in our country, but we need candidates who aren’t afraid of naming enemies and rejecting Trump’s friends on Wall Street and in the billionaire class who want to divide and conquer the working people of America.”

Activists wary BOB ANDRES/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/TNS

Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker speaks at the African American Leadership Council (AALC) Summit on June 6 in Atlanta.

Booker adds dash of anti-Trump anger to message of love

BY SAHIL KAPUR BLOOMBERG NEWS/TNS

WASHINGTON – Cory Booker spent the first five months of his presidential bid dispensing a message of love and unity.

But it hasn’t caught on with a Democratic electorate that is seething with anger toward President Donald Trump and desperate to throw him out of office.

The New Jersey senator long seen as a potential star of Democratic politics is struggling to break out of the second tier of candidates.

Now, he is refining his core pitch, melding his vow to unite all Americans in a “common purpose” of healing the country’s divisions with a validation of the rage of his party’s voters.

“Anger and love are not mutually exclusive. You can still be angry and lead with love,” Booker said in an interview in Charles-

ton, S.C., last weekend.

He pointed to the example of unifying figures such as civil rights activists, who “didn’t let the moral vandalism of others contort them so much as to pull them so low as to hate them. If anything I think it inspired them to bring the strength and the truth and the power of love to bear.”

Lower than expected These nuances are out of touch with the mood among many Democrats, for whom President Barack Obama’s “hope and change” has given way to an anxious fury about the state of the country.

His high-wire act stands in sharp contrast to the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination, who mostly bluntly eschew his love-thy-enemy theme and vow instead a scorchedearth campaign to take down

Trump.

Booker’s early underperformance is a surprise for a candidate who was regarded by many Democrats as a top-tier prospect, and who in recent years has been viewed by Republican operatives as a formidable general-election candidate.

Instead, polls show that many Democratic voters are embracing the far-reaching and structural changes pitched by Sens.

Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. Others lean toward the front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, who they believe is their safest bet to win the White House.

Just 2% in polls Nationally, Booker places seventh in a field of two dozen with the support of 2% of Democrats, according to an Economist/YouGov survey released last week.

In South Carolina, where a ma-

jority of the Democratic electorate is Black, Booker is fifth with 5%, according to a Post and Courier poll released on June 16.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is how much Booker, who is African American, has struggled to woo Black voters. Biden is dominating this demographic nationally, with 50% support in the YouGov poll — in second place was Sanders with 10%.

Booker was backed by just 2%, while Sen. Kamala Harris, the other Black candidate in the Democratic race, had 7%.

His platform Booker is positioned at an ideological crossroads between the moderate and left wings of the party. He has signed on to progressive ideas such as single-payer health insurance, but those stances aren’t central to his pitch to voters.

Instead, he emphasizes the need to be an incrementalist when necessary — and he has also backed more modest health care bills such as a Medicare option.

He has called for repealing the Hyde amendment that prohibits federal programs such as Medicaid from paying for abortions.

But when asked if, as president, he’d refuse to sign legislation that maintains the longstanding Hyde restrictions, Booker said he’s “not going to make that blanket comment” but promised to fight to rip out the Hyde amendment.

“I’m a pragmatic progressive,

Shahid and other activists became wary of Booker when he said in May 2012 that he was “very uncomfortable” with the Obama campaign’s attacks portraying Republican nominee Mitt Romney as a corporate predator for his work at the private equity firm Bain Capital.

Though Booker later walked back the remark, it remains a signal to some that the New Jersey senator, who had been mayor of the town of Newark just across the Hudson River from Wall Street, is too cozy with the investment industry.

“Booker criticized Obama for being too much of a populist in 2012 by taking on Bain Capital,” said Shahid, whose group is best known for recruiting 29-yearold House star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress.

“I think that style of progressive populism is exactly what we need.”

‘A fresh face’ For all that, political prognosticators shouldn’t write off Booker, said Jim Manley, a lobbyist and former spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.

“He’s a fresh face, new to Washington, he has a demonstrated ability to work with his Republican colleagues, he’s a strong progressive yet he doesn’t use some of the more divisive rhetoric some of his other colleagues are using,” Manley said.

“Anyone who claims to know how this process is going to play out is fooling themselves,” Manley said, adding that with the first debate next week, all it takes is one viral moment to catch fire.

Trump’s tax law made Americans less charitable

BY LAURA DAVISON BLOOMBERG NEWS/TNS

WASHINGTON – Americans gave less money to charities last year partly because the Republican tax law changes made many people ineligible for tax breaks that can inspire donations.

Giving by individuals fell an estimated 3.4%, after adjusting for inflation, last year, according to a report released Tuesday by Giving USA. The numbers reflect the first year of the 2017 tax overhaul that expanded the standard deduction, a simpler way of filing taxes, but also excluded millions of taxpayers from claiming a tax break for donating to charity.

Total estimated giving, by corporations, foundations, as well as individuals, fell about 1.7%, after inflation, to $427.7 billion.

Individuals account for more than two-thirds of all charitable giving. Increases in donations from corporations and foundations helped offset some of the losses from individuals.

“The environment for giving in 2018 was far more complex than most years, with shifts in tax policy and the volatility of the stock market,” Rick Dunham, chair of Giving USA Foundation, said in a press release.

Fewer itemized The report is based on data provided by donors, fund-raisers and non-profits.

The 2017 tax law nearly doubled the standard deduction to $24,000 for a couple. That change meant it was more advantageous for millions of taxpayers to file using the lump sum deduction, rather than tallying up all their tax breaks from mortgage interest payments, state and local taxes and charitable gifts.

Only about 18 million taxpayers itemized in 2018 down from 46.5 million the year before, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. About 88% of filers last year took the standard deduction, which means they couldn’t write off their donations.

“With many donors experiencing new circumstances for their giving, it may be some time before the philanthropic sector can more fully understand how donor behavior changed in response to these forces and timing,” Amir Pasic, the Dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, said in a release.

Change unlikely Some nonprofits predicted that

MIKE THEILER/CNP/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

President Donald J. Trump signs the $1.5 trillion tax cut bill, stacked on his desk, in the Oval Office of the White House, on Dec. 22, 2017. contributions could decrease substantially following the tax law changes, but the most recent data don’t show the most dire estimates coming to fruition.

Republicans and Democrats

have both contemplated making the charitable contribution deduction an “above the line” tax break, meaning that taxpayers can claim it regardless of whether they itemize or not.

Such a change, however, is unlikely to pass in the near future.

That change could cost as much as $515 billion over a decade, according to estimates from the Tax Foundation.

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A guide to summer movies for the family See page B3

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019 Study tells why buying small pizza isn’t worth it See page B4

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“My pragmatic side says that the person that can win this election is someone more in the middle, that’s not going to come out for (repealing) the death penalty and reparations.”

– Faya Touré, 74, veteran civil rights activist in Selma

MARK Z. BARABAK/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Faya Touré doubts a candidate who shares her views on abolishing the death penalty and paying reparations for slavery could win the White House.

Not about pride or making history For many Black voters, 2020 is simply about beating Trump

BY MARK Z. BARABAK LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

SELMA, Ala. — Catrena Norris Carter is a bundle of conflicting impulses.

As a Black woman, she’s delighted with Kamala Harris’ presidential bid. As a liberal activist, she’s thrilled with Elizabeth Warren’s groaning board of progressive policy proposals.

But as someone consumed with defeating President Donald Trump, Carter is determined to think with her head, not her heart, and that cold calculation is pushing her toward Joe Biden among the crowded 2020 Democratic field.

Bedrock of party The former vice president may not excite her like some candidates. But he boasts one asset that, to Carter’s mind, surpasses all others: As a White male firmly embedded in the political establishment, Biden — more than a female or Black candidate — stands the best chance of winning the White House.

“We really need to be taking the temperature of the entire country,” said Carter, 51, who two years ago helped rally Black women across Alabama to put Democrat Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate. “Not just people who think like us.”

Black voters, and Black women in particular, are the bedrock of the Democratic Party. Given their large numbers in earlyvoting states such as South Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana, they will have tremendous sway in choosing the party’s nominee.

Some believe that tilts the race away from Biden, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke or other relatively centrist White males in favor of a more progressive candidate or person of color.

What polling shows But nationwide polling, focus group interviews and conversations with campaign strategists, voters and political activists across Alabama suggest many African Americans aren’t focused on policy or making history by, say, putting Harris or another woman in the White House.

“They are so sick and tired of

MARK Z. BARABAK/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Kenyan Carter is no fan of Joe Biden. But he’ll vote for him if he’s the Democratic nominee facing President Trump.

MARK Z. BARABAK/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Materia Gipson sees no improvement in the economy under President Trump.

Donald Trump

Cory Booker

Kamala Harris

being sick and tired of Trump, there’s this almost unconscious feeling they’re going to go with the candidate that is more likely to beat him,” said Ron Lester, a Washington pollster who has spent decades surveying the attitudes of Black voters.

For many, Lester said, “that is probably a White male,” given their deep-seated belief “that America is still a very racist place and a very misogynistic place and that a candidate who doesn’t get any White votes is probably going to lose.”

Steven Reed, a candidate for mayor of Montgomery, said that “looking for the safest bet is a recipe for disappointment” in November 2020.

“We need the best candidate with the best ideas and with the best opportunity to win and then implement that agenda,” said Reed, a county probate judge who is neutral in Alabama’s March 3 primary.

“I don’t think playing it safe is the route Democrats should take if they want to win, if they want to excite the base, if they want to get out nontraditional voters and win over swing voters.”

Bringing in Obama

Judge’s opinion Not all agree.

Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPac, a leftleaning political action committee, noted that Barack Obama initially faced deep skepticism among African Americans, who strongly preferred Hillary Clinton early in the 2008 contest.

It was only after Obama beat Clinton in Iowa and demonstrated his appeal to the state’s white voters that Black supporters flocked to his candidacy, delivering him the Democratic nomination.

“People are nervous because the country is in such peril,”

Shropshire said. “People need to have some historical perspective.”

But the stated willingness — for now — of many Black voters to focus on electability or settle for less than their ideal candidate is one reason Biden has emerged as the early Democratic front-runner.

Selma activist’s view It also points up the challenges facing Harris and New Jersey’s African American senator, Cory Booker, who are banking on racial pride to help boost them from the congested pack, and women like Massachusetts Sen. Warren, who are counting on a measure of feminist solidarity.

“My pragmatic side says that the person that can win this election is someone more in the middle, that’s not going to come out for (repealing) the death penalty and reparations,” said Faya Touré, 74, a veteran civil rights activist in Selma.

She sat amid a museumlike collection of African art in her law office, blocks from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where in 1965 Blacks seeking the right to vote were clubbed and attacked with tear gas.

“I would love a candidate that would do that,” Touré continued. “But I don’t think that candidate’s going to win this election.”

Divide after Obama If Obama’s history-making campaign was buoyed by hope and aspiration, many Black voters regard the 2020 election with feelings more akin to resignation and risk aversion.

Far from proving the country’s open-mindedness and racial progress, they said, the backlash to the nation’s first African American president only underscored its deep and abiding racial divide.

“What happened after we elected Obama?” asked Touré.

“Voter suppression laws. White supremacy. Hate crimes. The tea party. … Without an Obama, there would never have been a Trump.”

Blacks and economy The litany of grievance among African Americans is deep and wide: Trump’s reference to Black and brown “shithole countries,” his condemnation of Black athletes protesting police abuse and racial disparities, his equivocal response to the White supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The robust economy is no salve.

While Black unemployment was 6.7% in April, the lowest in decades, that has not translated into widespread African American support for the president or his economic policies.

A recent survey conducted for BlackPAC found 90% of likely Black voters believed conditions See VOTERS, Page B2

EVENTS & FINEST

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‘When They See Us’ now the mostwatched Netflix series

BY LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE NNPA NEWSWIRE

“When They See Us” has been the most-watched series on Netflix in the U.S. every day since it premiered on May 31,” according to Netflix’s Twitter account on June 12.

Though Netflix does not release specific viewership numbers, the internet channel is a worldwide portal for content that has over 145 million paid subscribers.

“When They See Us” relays the miscarriage of justice against five teens — Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — who were convicted of assault, rape, and attempted murder.

Ramifications for prosecutors Their sentences were vacated in 2002 and the City of New York paid them millions in restitution af-

ter Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was blocking their settlement, departed office.

In 2017, Netflix added 22 million paid subscribers.

This put its total subscriber count at more than 117.5 million that year. A year later Netflix boasted 146.5 million paid subscribers.

Netflix reported revenue is $16 billion.

DuVernay’s documentary has had ramifications on the prosecutors who worked on the case. Linda Fairstein, 72, was released from her book company, Dutton, weeks ago.

Another prosecutor, Elizabeth Lederer has not had her contract renewed from Columbia Law School on June 11.

Prior to her resignation, over 10,000 signed a petition calling for Lederer to be fired. Fairstein, was the subject of a protest in New York on June 17. The day before Lederer’s resignation from Columbia was announced, the college’s Black Law Students Association called for her to be fired.

Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer for NNPA as well as a political analyst and strategist as principal of Win Digital Media LLC. Reach her at LBurke007@gmail. com and on Twitter at @ LVBurke.

“When They See Us” relays the miscarriage of justice against five teens convicted of assault, rape, and attempted murder.

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

JENNIFER LOPEZ

Her tour stops in Orlando and Miami next month.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami Gardens: The City of Miami Gardens and the Florida Freedom Writers will present Teen Open Mic Night at 6 p.m. June 27 at Starbucks Miami Gardens.

Orlando: Catch TLC on June 28 at Hard Rock Live Orlando.

Fort Lauderdale: Iyanla Vanzant’s Acts of Faith Remix Tour stops at the Broward Center on Aug. 1 and Jacksonville’s Florida Theatre on Aug. 2. Details: iyanlavanzantlive.com

STOJ

CHRIS BROWN

KHALID

Tickets on sale for Chris Brown’s August concerts in Jacksonville, Sunrise and Tampa.

He performs at Orlando’s Amway Center on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17 at Miami’s AmericanAirlinesArena.

Davie: The South Florida Institute on Aging will host an aging seminar on June 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University. Register at www.theSoFIA.org.

Miramar: The Caribbean Village Festival is June 23 at Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater.

Jacksonville: Mary J. Blige will be at Daily’s Place on July 14.

Boca Raton: Saxophonist and flautist JackieM Joyner will be at the Funky Biscuit on June 28.

Hollywood: Lionel Richie performs July 27 at Hard Rock Live and July 28 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

West Palm Beach: Mary J. Blige and Nas will perform at the Coral Sky Amphitheater on July 11 and MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa on July 13.

Jacksonville: Gospel star Kirk Franklin will be at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville on July 15.

Ponte Vedra: Catch Leela James at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on July 5 and Plaza Live – Orlando on July 8.

finest

FLORIDA’S 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.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS

Vice President Joe Biden speaks as President Barack Obama looks on before signing the 21st Century Cures Act on Dec. 13, 2016 in Washington.

VOTERS from B1 had stagnated under Trump or gotten worse.

Old-shoe familiarity A January Pew poll gave him similarly poor marks.

“The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is spiraling down, while all is supposed to be right with the world,” said Materia Gipson, 61, a retired Birmingham schoolteacher who is shopping for a candidate even though she looks favorably on Biden.

The former senator from Delaware didn’t fare particularly well with African Americans in his two previous runs for president.

But now, at age 76, there is an old-shoe familiarity, along with appreciation for Biden’s unswerving loyalty as Obama’s vice president in the face of what many consider unfair and racially motivated attacks.

“The conversation in the barbershop and beauty salons is that Biden was there for Obama, he had his back … he’s a really close friend, so it makes them feel like they have a relationship, even if they’ve never met him,” said Anthony Daniels, who leads Democrats in Alabama’s House of Representatives. “A lot of times in the African American community they don’t trade old friends for new friends.”

Not all forgiven Parts of Biden’s political past continue to rankle.

More than four decades ago, early in his Senate career, Biden was a vocal opponent of busing aimed at school desegregation. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he was widely criticized for his treatment of Anita Hill during the 1991 confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Biden was also instrumental in pass-

ing a 1994 anti-crime bill criticized for contributing to the mass incarceration of Black Americans.

“Kids whose daddies suffered under Joe Biden aren’t going to forget,” said Shante Wolfe-Sisson, a 25-year-old Birmingham political activist, whose preference runs more toward the left-leaning Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Young voter’s view Polls suggest that older African Americans are more forgiving, supporting Biden to a greater extent than young Black voters.

“We have to learn from things, and hopefully he did,” said Gipson, the retired Birmingham teacher, who brushed aside controversies over Hill and Biden’s tactile campaign style. “I want to look at bigger issues than touching somebody or what happened to Anita Hill. Some things you need to get past and look at the big picture.”

Kenyan Carter, though, has a hard time getting past a lot of things he doesn’t like about Biden.

He’s too old, said the 21-year-old University of Southern Alabama journalism student, as his mother, activist Catrena Norris Carter, alternately shook her head and smiled indulgently.

Still undecided He’s too squishy when it comes to fighting climate change, Kenyan Carter went on, and seems too beholden to corporate interests.

“Biden to me is how you get people like Trump,” Carter said. “Biden is how you get people disassociated from politics because you get people like him in power.”

The younger Carter hasn’t yet settled on a candidate, but he volunteered last month at a Sanders rally in Birmingham and loves “how scared (Warren) makes Wall Street people and CEOs.” That said, Carter will vote for Biden — grudgingly — if he becomes the Democratic nominee.

Anything, he said, to be rid of Trump.

S

JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

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FOOD

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JUNE 21 – JUNE 27, 2019

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THAI BARBECUE DUCK KEBABS Prep time: 25 minutes plus 2-6 hours inactive Cook time: 10 minutes Servings: 6

Spice up your cookout with

GRILLED KEBABS FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Fire up your summer cookouts with crowd-pleasing kebabs, which are easy to prepare and fun to experiment with because you can use nearly any combination of meats and veggies.

Skip the typical steak and try an option like Maple Leaf Farms duck breast instead. Because it’s a red meat, duck has a texture similar to steak. Plus, it’s a lighter option that’s low-

er in fat and calories than other red meats, and its mild flavor easily adapts to a variety of cuisines.

The Asian marinade in this Thai Barbecue Duck Kebabs recipe coats crunchy veggies and chunks of juicy, tender duck with a sweet and tangy glaze. The combination of charred, colorful veggies and smoky, grilled duck can leave your family and friends asking for more.

Find more grilling recipes and tips for cooking with duck at mapleleaffarms.com.

A sweet and tangy summer classic FROM FAMILY FEATURES

While lemon is a traditional summer flavor, you can add a little extra to your gatherings – from picnics and brunches – with this classic dessert. Quick and easy to make, these Lemon Bars feature a soft crust and a tangy, sweet filling topped with powdered sugar.

Find more summer recipes at Culinary.net.

Study tells why you shouldn’t buy a small pizza

LEMON BARS Nonstick cooking spray 2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons, allpurpose flour, divided ½ cup powdered sugar, plus additional, for topping 2 tablespoons cornstarch ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup butter 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest ¾ cup lemon juice ¼ cup light cream, half-and-half or milk Heat oven to 350° F. Line 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil; allow overhang. Grease

foil with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt.

Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Press mixture into bottom of baking pan. Bake 18-20 minutes.

To make filling: In medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, remaining flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and light cream.

Pour filling over hot crust. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack.

Grasp the foil overhang and lift from pan. Cut into bars.

Sprinkle powdered sugar over bars before serving.

Here are some key findings gleaned from Groupon’s pizza survey: A 16-inch pizza is actually two-and-ahalf times more food than a 10-inch pizza. Price-wise, instead of spending $19.23, you’d be spending $32.76 on average on the small pizzas to equal the large. That’s a price increase of 70% for the same amount of pizza.

BY SUSAN SELASKY DETROIT FREE PRESS/TNS

Think again before you order a small pizza. The folks at Groupon analyzed data from 230 plain, specialty (think meat lover’s and Hawaiian) and one-topping pizzas from six national chains to find the best value.

Their conclusion is that you should “never, ever, buy the small pizza.”

Buying a large pizza is a better value and cheaper price than buying a small.

They calculated the surface area of the standard diameter of pizza measurement to determine the best price. Pizza prices from six of the largest national pizza places — Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Casey’s, Papa Murphy’s and Little Caesars — were factored in.

The average price for 2-3 slices of a 14-inch pizza came out to about $5 per person.

1 cup soy sauce ½ cup rice vinegar ½ cup brown sugar ¼ cup honey 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced 2 teaspoons red chili pepper, finely minced ¼ cup cilantro, minced 3 Maple Leaf Farms All Natural Boneless Duck Breasts, thawed and skin removed 1 teaspoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons cold water 3 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks 12 green onions, cut into 3-inch pieces 2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch thick slices In a bowl, whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, red chili pepper and cilantro. Set aside.

Cut duck breast meat into 2-inch cubes and place in container. Pour 1/2 bowl of marinade over duck. Cover and refrigerate 2-6 hours.

In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer remaining marinade 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to sauce. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat grill to medium heat.

Drain duck and discard its marinade.

Thread duck on skewers, alternating with pieces of red bell pepper, green onion and zucchini.

Grill skewers 3-4 minutes on each side.

When done, duck should be slightly pink in center.

Serve kebabs with room temperature sauce.

Sizing them up

Best for money Groupon, an eCommerce business that offers deals on a variety of things to do, restaurants, travel and products, gave huge kudos to Detroit’s hometown local

pizza chain Little Caesars for having just one size, a 14-inch pizza.

They singled out Little Caesars calling them “…far and away the most cost-effective pizza chain out there.”

The average price per square inch for a 10-inch pizza was $0.16 versus $0.096 for a 16-inch pizza.

It’s better to split toppings across larger pizzas rather than ordering multiple small pizzas: an extra large pizza only costs about $4.50 per person, but a small will run you an average of $8 per person.

On average, 2-3 slices of a 14-inch pizza costs about $5. But that same serving size from a 10-inch pizza costs about $8.

Papa John’s was the most expensive, compared to its pizza peers, but it had the steepest drop from their smallest pie to their largest. A small went from $8.70 per person to $5.83 per person for an extra large — a 32.9% discount.

The average calories-per-slice across the 230 pizzas was 305.19 calories.