Florida Courier, May 4, 2012, #18

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Fantastic Voyage 2012, Day 6 B1 www.flcourier.com

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

VOLUME 20 NO. 18

MONEY AND MEETINGS Here’s an update of events surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin as of the Florida Courier’s press time on Wednesday night. Check www. flcourier.com for the latest news.

COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

Judge questions finances Calling it an “oversight,” Mark O’Mara, the attorney for George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s killer, said last week that Zimmerman

did not disclose that a website had raised more than $200,000 for his defense, even though his family told the judge they would have trouble coming up with his bond.

O’Mara claimed the family was not trying to be deceptive, but Seminole

County-area Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester said he wanted to know more about the money.

O’Mara said he learned about the money after Zimmerman’s release. The family used $5,000 from the website as well as a second mortgage on their home to bail out Zimmerman, O’Mara said.

Zimmerman also has used some of the money for living expenses. His lawyer said most donors had contributed in the range of several hundred dollars. He said he didn’t want their names publicized.

ASHLEY THOMAS / FLORIDA COURIER

State Sen. Gary Siplin, left, listens during a town hall meeting in Sanford.

Court file opened Lester refused the prosecution’s request to issue a gag order on those involved in the murder trial. He said he would not stop Zimmer-

man’s attorneys from talking to the media.

Lester also ruled that the court file would be open to the public. If prosecutors or O’Mara are worried about

PRESIDENT OBAMA / WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

‘A new day’ – or the same old?

the release of specific items, they can present their concerns to Lester and he will rule on a case-by-case basis.

See TRAYVON, Page A2

13 charged in death of Champion Arrests under way; no murder charges filed COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

Thirteen people have been charged in the hazing death of Robert Champion, a drum major for Florida A&M University’s “Marching 100” whose death after the band’s performance at the Florida Classic football game last November shook the university and led to the suspension of the iconic band.

Champion, 26, was beaten during a ritual hazing onboard a charter bus. An autopsy concluded that his death was a homicide and that he was beaten so severely that it caused internal bleeding.

His death prompted university officials to suspend activities of the vaunted marching band while the investigation continued.

Felonies and misdemeanors Eleven individuals were each charged with a single count of hazing resulting in death, a thirddegree felony, and two counts of hazing, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to information See CHARGED, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS ALI SAFI/MCT

Smoke rises from a suicide bomb detonated in an attack on a privately-owned housing compound for military contractors in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, just hours after President Obama left Afghanistan after signing a strategic agreement governing future U.S.-Afghan relations.

Read more on Afghanistan in next week’s Florida Courier.

Scott says bring your gun to the GOP convention

BY MICHAEL PELTIER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Gov. Rick Scott has stuck to his guns on, well, guns as he declined a request from Tampa’s mayor to ban firearms from the city’s downtown for the Republican National Convention in August.

Responding to a May 1 request

by Mayor Bob Buckhorn to temporarily suspend Florida statutes prohibiting local gun laws stricter than the state’s, Scott said conventions and firearms go way back and he found no reason to change that now.

“You note that the city’s temporary (security) ordinance regulates ‘sticks, poles, and water guns,’ but that firearms are a ‘noticeable item missing from the city’s temporary, ordinance,” Scott said in a letter. “Firearms are noticeably included, however, in the Second Amendment.”

The Tampa convention is a national security event. Guns are prohibited within the convention center itself and in a safe zone immediately surrounding the facility. Security for that venue is the responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service.

No local restrictions In 2011, Florida lawmakers approved a measure prohibiting local governments from enacting and enforcing gun ordinances that were stricter than state law.

Scott signed the measure, which sent local governments scurrying to remove local restrictions that ran afoul of the new law.

Tampa city officials have been urging the governor to temporarily suspend the state law so that a wider no-gun perimeter could be established in downtown Tampa, including areas that will be used by protestors

during the four-day event that begins Aug. 27.

The request comes as Florida finds itself in the spotlight following the death in February of Trayvon Martin. The shooting has sparked a national debate of the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, but the debate has spilled over into other issues regarding gun ownership. More than 800,000 Floridians have permits to carry concealed weapons.

Buckhorn, a gun owner who has a concealed weapons permit, said he’s not worried about See GUNS, Page A2

ALSO COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 INSIDE COMMENTARY: MARGARET KIMBERLEY: THE WAR ON BLACK WOMEN AND CHILDREN | A5

NATION | A3

New guidelines limit employment background checks FLORIDA | A6

Crime in state drops again HEALTH | B4

FAMU professor creates new mental health drug FINEST | B5

Meet Dione from the Joyner cruise

FOCUS

A2

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

President Obama must solidify his base In 2008, Sen. Barack Obama was elected president by beating Sen. John McCain by six points, 52 percent to 46 percent, of the popular vote. He carried the Electoral College by a margin of 364 to 174.

The Illinois senator campaigned against the failed domestic and foreign policies of the George W. Bush administration. Americans had become disillusioned with tax cuts for the wealthy and two mismanaged wars that contributed to out-ofcontrol budget deficits.

America ‘foundering’ Candidate Obama campaigned with a populist message.

He promised to return America and its government to the people with a “transparent government” and “change we can believe in.” He championed a collective spirit of hope with the slogan “Yes, we can!”

According to The Economist, in 2008, America was “…unhappy, divided and foundering both at home and abroad.” Many voters feared that a President McCain would just support

WILMER J. LEON III NNPA COLUMNIST

more of the same Bush policies that took America to the brink of disaster.

Now, four years later under President Obama, Americans are still unhappy, unemployed, underemployed, divided, and foundering both at home and abroad.

In 2008, the message was “Hope” and “Change.”

The Obama buzzphrase for 2012 is “Are you in?”

Yes, we’re in. We are in trouble.

Important questions To be fair, the Obama administration has done a number of things right.

However, in spite of all the things the Obama administration has been able to accomplish, even with a divided government, his base on the left is raising some very important questions.

Some say the president’s

$787 billion stimulus bill saved the American economy from falling into a full-scale depression. He saved the auto industry and passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women. But why did the Obama administration back away from eliminating the Bush era tax cuts?

While President Obama deserves credit for ending military involvement in Iraq, killing Osama bin Laden and either capturing or killing other highranking terrorists, he also signed the 2012 Defense Authorization Act that allowed the government to indefinitely detain American citizens. Attorney General Eric Holder believes that the government can assassinate American citizens abroad without having to get court approval.

Why did this president choose to pass healthcare reform, yet take the singlepayer option off the table?

That’s something that candidate Obama campaigned on. Maybe most important, why are some of the same people who advocated deregulating the financial industry that contributed to

causing the fiscal crisis, now serving as the president’s key economic advisers?

Even as a senator, Obama supported broader authority for the government’s eavesdropping program and legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in it.

Winning coalition It’s very important to remember that Sen. Obama was able to weave together a very diverse base in support of his run for the White House. He was the first Democrat since President Carter to win more than 50 percent of the popular vote. He captured 66 percent of voters between the ages of 18-29, 68 percent of first-time voters, and 47 percent of White independent voters. By capturing Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana, Obama changed the political calculus for 2012.

These demographics turned out in support of the message of change, hope, and a more transparent government. Now many of these same people believe the Obama ad-

CHARGES from A1 released by the office of Orlandoarea State Attorney Lawson Lamar. Two more people were each charged with a single count of hazing.

Lamar’s office didn’t immediately release the names of those charged, saying they were concerned that doing so might prompt the defendants to flee.

One defendant is in custody and authorities across the state and in Georgia were working to arrest the other 12 individuals.

“No one would have expected that his college experience would have included being pummeled to death,” said Lamar, adding that the cases would be pursued to give justice to Champion’s family.

Tough case Christopher Chestnut, attorney for Champion’s family said the family was disappointed because it had hoped for more serious charges. However, legal experts have said the case will be tough to prosecute because of the sheer number of people – more than 20 – who were aboard the charter bus on Nov. 19 when Champion was hazed by fellow band members.

Lamar acknowledged that “this case is complicated.” He alluded to some charges that are linked to hazing of other students on the bus as well as Champion.

Prosecutors have been mulling possible charges since late

TRAYVON from A1 Task force meets Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, chair of a public safety task force formally named “The Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection” that’s charged with reviewing Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, moved quickly at the group’s first meeting Tuesday to dispel criticism that it was stacked with pro-gun members.

Critics have charged that the panel – appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to review the law that has figured prominently in Martin’s death – includes members who helped pass the law in 2005, but no known opponents.

“Before the task force had even convened its first meeting, the press had already speculated what we will and will not do,” Carroll said. “They have already discounted this task force as politically unbalanced.”

She said that aside from four current or former lawmakers who voted for “Stand Your Ground” – Carroll, House sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland and a co-sponsor, and Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando – she had no idea how the other

JACOB LANGSTON/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Orlando-area State Attorney Lawson Lamar stands with his prosecution team and members and law enforcement officers as he announces the charges filed in the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion on Wednesday in front of the Orange County Courthouse.

March, when investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement turned over their findings to prosecutors.

In a nationally televised press conference, Lamar called Champion’s death “homicide by hazing,” but said he couldn’t charge the defendants with murder because the death couldn’t be linked to a single act. The maximum prison time for hazing resulting in death is six years.

15 members of the Citizen Safety and Protection Task Force felt about the controversial statute.

Most of the panel’s first meeting was devoted to housekeeping –introductions, a review of Florida’s Sunshine Law, the history of Stand Your Ground and the development of a mission statement and work plan.

Meetings set The panel will take public testimony at future meetings. The next will be June 12 in Sanford.

Other dates and locations: July 10 in Desoto County (near Fort Myers); Sept.

12 in Miami, with an effort to meet in Martin’s hometown of Miami Gardens; and Sept. 13 in Palm Beach County. The panel agreed to hold its October meeting in Pensacola and its November meeting in Jacksonville, but did not set specific dates.

Smith rebuffed Carroll said no changes could be made to a meeting agenda once that meeting had been publicly noticed. She said that was why she had declined Sen. Chris Smith’s April 26 request to speak to the task force at its inaugural meeting.

Smith, who was in the audience, released the recommendations of his own Stand Your Ground task force on

Lamar also suggested that the investigation was continuing.

Other incidents Since Champion’s killing, seven FAMU students have been charged with hazing incidents involving the Marching 100, and two band instructors lost their jobs for allegedly standing by as hazing activities occurred in their presence.

In early December, three students were arrested on charges

Monday. It was started, he said, because the governor had waited too long to convene the public safety panel, and its recommendations included revisions to the law but not its outright repeal.

Despite his concerns, Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, said he had confidence in the “legal minds” on Scott’s panel, particularly Katherine Fernandez Rundle of Miami, the state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

Smith will present his panel’s recommendations at the next meeting in Sanford.

Continued ‘misunderstanding’ Smith said he wanted a special session as soon as possible due to continued misunderstanding of the law.

“I think it’s still urgent,” he said. “Because of the Trayvon Martin case and all the publicity it’s gotten, you’ve got people around the state that still believe that they have the right to have a gun and go out and kill someone, and then you Stand Your Ground, be the aggressor, or patrol your neighborhoods and confront anyone and use this.”

Sanford town hall meeting On April 26, Siplin hosted a “Road to Recovery” town hall meeting in Sanford,

ministration is more Bushesque than Bush.

The president will need to address some of the concerns if he wants to reassure his base that their support for him was not misguided. In 2009, the New York Times wrote, “Until there is true transparency and true accountability, revelations of that unresolved eightyear nightmare (Bush) will keep raining down drip by drip, disrupting the new administration’s high ambitions.”

Many in the Obama administration believe that they are smarter than most and eventually the people will catch up with them. Is it possible that the base is smarter than they’ve been given credit for? Could it be that the base is anxiously waiting for President Obama’s arrival to the place where he told them he would be four years ago?

What’s the message?

Over the past four years, the administration has pandered more to his opposition than his base.

Even against a weak and damaged Mitt Romney, the

of hazing a freshman so severely that her leg was broken. James Harris, Aaron Golson and Sean Hobson were charged with hazing clarinetist Bria Hunter. She told authorities that she was repeatedly punched on the thighs and hit with a metal ruler during initiation rituals to join the “Red Dawg Order,” which is comprised of band members from Georgia.

Hobson and Golson also were charged with felony battery.

In January, FAMU students Hakeem Birch, Denise Bailey, Anthony Mingo and Brandon Benson were each charged with misdemeanor hazing. The four were accused of either participating in or failing to stop the hazing of five pledges who were trying to join a clique affiliated with the band’s clarinet section known as the “Clones.”

Two FAMU music department faculty members, Diron Torriano Holloway and Anthony Edward Simons, admitted that they participated in a hazing incident involving band students in 2010.

Their actions came to light during a Tallahassee Police Department investigation of the incident. Both instructors are no longer at the university.

Hazing crackdown In a joint statement, FAMU Board Chairman Solomon Badger and President James Ammons highlighted steps the school has taken since Champion’s death to crack down on hazing.

“We are vigorously working to eradicate hazing from FAMU and doing everything within our power to ensure an incident like this never happens again,” they

where Trayvon was killed.

Local residents, clergy and organizational leaders expressed their concerns about voting, housing, racial profiling, and the Sanford Police Department. Attendees also were given a form to document their concerns in writing.

Sanford teenager Craig “C.J.” Hawkins II stood before the crowd and posed a question: “What is the one thing that Black teenagers don’t want to be? A statistic,” he answered.

“What is the one way to keep African-American teens off the street?” he asked. “Jobs and activities,” a member of the audience responded.

Hawkins, a mentor for the non-profit, faith-based organization called the Central Florida Dream Center, agreed. “Quality activities also create jobs. The one thing I don’t want is to see little kids that come up to me to play basketball, end up being something I don’t want them to be...selling drugs...possibly even worse, in jail.”

The discussion of the evening turned to the issue of race, profiling and departmental change. Several attendees spoke on the need for adequate housing as well as the importance of registering to vote and going to the polls.

Obama campaign needs to develop and articulate a clear direction, a powerful theme, and cohesive message. People need to understand what they are voting for, not against.

In 2008, the message was “Hope” and “Change” against a backdrop of Bush policies and an America that was “…unhappy, divided and foundering both at home and abroad.” In 2012, the president is running on his record, not against Bush or McCain.

We need to know where he stands on key issues before once again committing our vote.

Am I In? Yes – if the president is.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is producer/ host of the nationally broadcast callin talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon,” and a teaching associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

said. “Our hearts and our prayers are with the Champion family and the extended FAMU family as we all continue to deal with this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, the attorney for dismissed Marching 100 Director Julian White called again for White to be reinstated.

“Most of the decisive actions that the university has taken since Robert Champion’s tragic death were largely based on Dr. White’s reporting both known and alleged incidents of hazing,” attorney Chuck Hobbs said. “...

Dr. White applauds law enforcement for taking the deliberate steps necessary to bring this case to justice, and is relieved that those responsible for Robert’s death will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Second investigation continues During the course of the investigation of Champion’s death, the FDLE revealed that another criminal investigation was being launched against FAMU. Sources at the university say that the second investigation is focusing on improper cash payments allegedly made to band members by FAMU employees.

The investigation is continuing.

The FDLE requested that the university take no disciplinary action until its investigation is concluded.

Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida and Denise-Marie Balona of Orlando Sentinel / MCT contributed to this report.

What’s next?

“After the Trayvon Martin incident is over and Mr. Zimmerman is in jail or acquitted, Black Sanford is going to be here, with the same problems and the same plantation mentality,” Siplin told the Florida Courier.

“We are going to digest what happened tonight, bring in some social service organizations here to hear and discuss some issues, and then some resolutions. I plan to bring my colleagues from the Florida Senate here...everything revolves around money...hopefully they will put money in the budget for next year.”

Siplin said his office would develop a written report with recommendations about issues discussed at the meeting and present the report to the Florida Senate and local Sanford officials.

The task force’s website is http://www.flgov.com/citizensafety. You can e-mail the task force at CitizenSafety@eog.myflorida.com.

Meetings will be streamed live on the site, and minutes will be posted there as well.

Ashley Thomas of the Florida Courier, Margie Menzel of the News Service of Florida and Mike Schneider of the Associated Press all contributed to this report.

GUNS from A1 law-abiding citizens with concealed weapons permits but those who may choose to bring guns into the venue who have not been vetted, or may be carrying their weapons illegally.

Buckhorn said the governor would be within his rights to temporarily rescind the state law, adding that the safety of citizens and visitors during the four-day event would be enhanced.

Scott, however, said political conventions through the ages have been opportunities for citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights.

He saw no reason to curtail the protections offered by the Second Amendment to ensure the rights bestowed under the First.

“Our fundamental right to keep and bear arms has coexisted with those freedoms for as long, and I see no reason to depart from that tradition this year,” Scott concluded.

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

NATION

A3

Some good news for minority job seekers EEOC issues job guidelines that limit background checks

BY GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued updated recommendations that urge employers not to misuse criminal background checks in filling job openings.

By a vote of 4-1 last week, the commissioners noted that African-Americans and Latinos may find it more difficult to find employment because of the widespread use of background checks.

“Arrest and incarceration rates are particularly high for African-American and Hispanic men,” the EEOC report stated. “AfricanAmericans and Hispanics are arrested at a rate that is 2 to 3 times their proportion of the general population.

“Assuming that current incarnation rates remain unchanged, about one in 17 White men are expected to serve time in prison during their lifetime; by contrast, this rate climbs to one in six for Hispanic men; and one in three for African-American men.”

More serving time Those numbers have increased as the proportion of Americans who have had contact with the criminal justice system has risen over the past two decades.

According to the EEOC report, only 1.8 percent of the adult U.S. population in 1991 had served time in prison. By 2001, that figure had risen to 2.7 percent and to 3.2 percent (one in every 31) by the end of 2007.

If that trend continues, 6.6 percent of all persons in the United States born in 2001 will serve time in a

state or federal prison during their lifetimes.

Using background checks to screen job applicants – especially for jobs that are not in such sensitive areas such as banking or law enforcement – could have an intended effect of discriminating against people of color.

“An employer’s use of an individual’s criminal history in making employment decisions may, in some instances, violate the prohibition against employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, as amended,” the EEOC report states.

Guidelines praised Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

“A covered employer is liable for violating Title VII when the plaintiff demonstrates that the employer’s neutral policy or practice has the effect of disproportionately screening out a Title VII-protected group and the employer fails to demonstrate that the policy or practice is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity,” the report observed.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has ongoing projects aimed at eliminating the overuse of criminal background and credit checks in employment, praised the EEOC’s new guidances.

“The use of arrest records, including arrests that occurred decades earlier or had not resulted in convictions, to screen people applying for jobs contributes significantly to the unemployment of African-

DayQuan Reid wants a career in the entertainment business, but has taken an entry-level job at McDonalds to make ends meet and take care of his family.

He plays with his son ZaieQuan Reid-Torres, 4. A new EEOC report states that minorities overall may find a harder time finding work because of the background checks.

American, Latinos and Native Americans,” said Executive Director Barbara R. Arwine.

NAACP responds NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous said, “The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s decision will help balance the playing field for job applicants with a criminal history.

“Our criminal justice system is deeply biased against people of color, and that disparity can carry over to the job search.

These guidelines will discourage employers from discriminating against applicants who have paid their debt to society.”

Arwine said the EEOC needs to take additional action to level the jobs playing field.

She said, “We will also continue to urge the EEOC to issue long awaited guidance on the misuse of credit history to deny employment, a practice which falls most heavily on minorities and the unemployed.”

SHARON GEKOSKI-KIMMEL/ PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

Easy access The EEOC noted that 92 percent of companies run criminal background checks on some or all job applicants. Such information is easily attainable either from third-party suppliers or a check of the Internet.

“Information about federal crimes such as interstate drug trafficking, financial fraud, bank robbery, and crimes against the government may be found online in federal court records by searching the federal courts’ Public Access to Court Electronic Records or Case Management/Electronic Case

Files,” the report said.

The FBI’s extensive record system can be accessed for employment purposes by those seeking jobs in banking, nursing homes, securities, nuclear energy, security guards, transportation, federal agencies and other sensitive areas.

A major problem with these records, according to EEOC, is that half of the entries do not contain final disposition of cases.

Therefore, a person could have been charged with a crime and acquitted, yet

that wouldn’t be reflected in the databases. A similar problem exists with state records.

Problem with records Even if a person has committed a crime in the past, the EEOC noted, employers should look at the nature of the crime, the time elapsed and the nature of the job held or being sought.

“We salute the EEOC’s bipartisan effort to update its guidelines to ensure

that employers are not unfairly excluding otherwise qualified applicants from the job market,” said Debo Adegbile, Acting President and Director-Counsel NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

“No one should be penalized for the rest of their life for mistakes that they made in the past.

Our whole nation benefits when we open up opportunities for people who are willing and able to become contributing members of our society.”

EDITORIAL

A4

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

Fidel Castro is a friend of ours Miami Marlins baseball manager Ozzie Guillen got in trouble recently for comments he made about Fidel Castro, and the Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County got extremely upset. No one said Guillen lied, but the Venezuelan-American former baseball player was suspended for offending Miami's Cuban community.

Not too long ago, Fidel Castro announced his retirement from his position as Cuba’s leader. Cuban-Americans express mixed reviews of the sudden announcement, which came on the heels of an extended illness. Many Florida politicians were quick to disparage Castro, calling him “a dictator” and other less-than-amorous names.

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

Different to us

port, but the U.S. government refused that offer.

When the world’s superpowers turned their heads and allowed racism and colonialism to flourish in Africa, Castro sent troops and equipment to the continent that was essential in turning Africa’s political tides.

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela has spoken highly about Castro and Cuba’s contributions to African freedom. For showing his love for Castro and Cuba, Mandela was routinely booed by Cuban-Americans whenever he visited America.

pared to governments in Western countries. Blacks that hold very high governmental positions there right now.

Though many of the United States’ most vocal critics of modern-day Cuba are not of African descent, Black Cubans living in America oftentimes are not as hostile.

Many Blacks remember when Cuba was a playground for organized crime families. When casinos where thriving and money was flowing into the island, American Jews were a prevalent part of the Cuban community. In fact, a rudimentary investigation will reveal that many Cuban-American politicians, businessmen and professionals in the United States practice Judaism right now.

To many African-Americans and people of African descent throughout the world, Castro regime has a much different connotation.

Blacks see Castro as a friend and a freedom fighter, mainly due to his role in sending Cuban troops to Africa to fight alongside the Africans fighting for their lives against Revolutionary history Cuba has a history of many revo- Let Cubans decide apartheid and other colonialist powers. Castro even offered to lutionaries and freedom fighters of The people of Cuba should dehelp distressed Blacks in New Or- African descent. Today, Cuba has cide what government they want leans with medical and other sup- a very diverse government com- and also which government lead-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE CLASS OF 2012

JEFF PARKER, FLORIDA TODAY AND THE FORT MYERS NEWS-PRESS

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 139 Robert Champion homicide – Florida must look crazy to the rest of the planet, with the widely publicized killings of FAMU drum major Champion and Trayvon Martin. But compare the calm, deliberate pace of the Orlando/Orange Countyarea criminal investigation of Champion’s death vs. how Sanford/Seminole County botched the Trayvon investigation from day one. What a difference a short ride on I-4 makes...

Bethune-Cookman University – Finally, some common damn sense on an HBCU board of trustees! Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed is on her way out after cutting a deal with the B-CU board. Dr. Larry Handfield, the largest single alumnus donor in the school’s history, was reinstated as board chairman after being unceremoniously dumped during a power grab by Reed’s board cronies. Advice to the presidential search committee – do your homework this time! Much of the info the Florida Courier published during our “Crisis at B-CU” investigative series was revealed by googling “Trudie Kibbe Reed”...

GOP crybabies – Republicans are squealing like stuck pigs because Bro. Prez has outmaneuvered them by becoming a moderate Republican. How? Obama has staked out George W. Bush’s positions on national security (continuing torture and targeted drone killings, even of American citizens) deficits (proposing social services cuts), immigration (increasing deporta-

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

tions), Wall Street (running Obama’s administration) and guns and race (silence on both). Obama’s so slippery on ‘Republican’ issues that the GOP can only depend on gut-level hatred of Obama and a hypocritical battle against a health care plan hatched by their nominee, Mitt Romney, to win in November...

Still, Obama can lose – He and his administration’s leadership think they are the smartest folks in every room they enter. Same on the political side. Black newspaper owners have met multiple times with Obama’s political leadership for more than three years. They don’t ask us questions; they give marching orders for us to print more White House press releases.

Think 2008’s Black voter turnout ‘lightning’ will strike again in 2012? Think again.

Mama ’nem said, “A hard head makes a soft behind” – like the beatdown Democrats took in 2010...

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com; holler at me at www.facebook.com/ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ccherry2.

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.

THE 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.

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Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1929-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources Lynnette Garcia, Marketing Consultant/Sales Linda Fructuoso, Marketing Consultant/Sales, Circulation Angela VanEmmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Starla Vaughns Cherin, Karin Davis-Thompson, James Harper, Andreas Butler, Ashley Thomas, Staff Writers Delroy Cole, Kim Gibson, Photojournalists MEMBER National Newspaper Publishers Association Society of Professional Journalists Florida Press Association Associated Press National Newspaper Association

ers that they want, just as we are deciding who we want as America’s governmental leaders right now.

How long will Americans try to influence or decide who runs the governments and countries around the world? Interference in the affairs of Cuba is no different than interfering in Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Grenada, Palestine, Libya, Egypt or anywhere else.

I can understand why some Cuban Americans seek to have a distinguishable change in Cuban politics and/or its government. They certainly have a right to disagree with the status quo.

However, as far as Fidel Castro goes, I ain’t mad at him. May the best political philosophy win this battle of ideologies!

Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.

“Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

Would America let MLK have a job today?

Would a young Martin Luther King, Jr. be able to get a job in America today?

Would one of the thousands who went to jail in support of Nelson Mandela? Or the brilliant kids at the center of Occupy Wall Street? Unless we begin to enforce the Civil Rights Act, many Americans will find the doors of opportunity slammed in their faces.

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sensibly ruled under the Civil Rights Act that it is illegal for employers to disqualify job applicants based on arrest or conviction records unless the criminal record is directly relevant to the job in question. New studies show that companies routinely ignore this ruling – and the EEOC has not updated its guidelines for more than 20 years.

Update necessary Now, under new Chair Jacqueline Berrien, the EEOC is meeting to consider how to enforce the law. It is vital that the commissioners reassert the force of the original ruling and give employers clear guidelines.

A recent study by the National Employment Law Project revealed that more than 90 percent of employers use criminal background checks in hiring decisions.

They routinely deny someone with a record any chance to review the charges.

Nonviolent youth offend-

rests and minor convictions

REV. can turn into life sentences JESSE L. of joblessness.

JACKSON, Records are wrong SR. NNPA COLUMNIST

ers are eliminated, even though data suggest that once an early offender turns 26, many are less likely to engage in criminal activity than the general population. Even activists arrested in nonviolent protests find that their records can be used to disqualify them.

Such arrests can also affect one’s credit rating, and that, too, acts as a negative.

Given the extent to which this country criminalizes behavior, this is a deeply discriminatory practice.

About 65 million people in this country, according to the study, have criminal records, the vast bulk for nonviolent actions.

And, as we know, our criminal justice system is still deeply scarred by racial bias. A disproportionate number of those with criminal records come from low-income communities of color. African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to be arrested than whites, more likely to be charged once arrested, and more likely to be convicted and incarcerated when charged.

For minority job-seekers, as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law noted in written testimony to the EEOC in 2011, old ar-

Moreover, criminal records are notoriously inaccurate. Employers usually draw on an FBI database that relies on state records rife with mistakes that often equate arrests with convictions and too often include information about juvenile and other offenses that was supposed to have been erased.

There has been bipartisan support for updating the guidance, particularly in light of the changing nature of the hiring process. Last year, the EEOC convened a meeting of diverse stakeholders and received about 300 written comments. The lobbyists, as the Wall Street Journal editorial page revealed, are trying to run out the clock, hoping the pending departure of a Democratic commissioner might “diminish considerably” the ability of the board to act.

It is time to act. The EEOC should enforce the law and give employers clear guidelines that ensure everyone has a fair shot at a job.

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is president and CEO of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Why Obama won’t help foreclosure victims The Obama administration’s failure to spend almost any of the $7.6 billion in TARP housing money set aside for the neediest regions of the country seems counterintuitive. Why let all but 3 percent of the funds just sit in the Treasury Department’s accounts for two years, unspent, when millions of the president’s most loyal supporters were struggling to maintain a roof over their heads?

The Hardest Hit Fund was specifically targeted to homeowners in areas most seriously impacted by unemployment and falling home values – a formula tailor made for Black and Latino communities devastated by massive foreclosures and layoffs. With the $7.6 billion already in hand, the administration could have won political points with its base at no cost.

But instead, hundreds of thousands of the intended beneficiaries were allowed to lose their homes. What could Obama, or his Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, have been thinking?

Didn’t want program The problem was, Obama’s people resisted putting the program into effect. A report by the Special Inspector General for the TARP program found that Geithner’s department hardly even tried to get bankers to cooperate with the Hardest Hit Fund.

Instead of leaning on the

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

banks to participate so that homeowners could take advantage of the federal help, the Treasury Department most often left it up to the states, many of which have little ability to influence banking institutions. Essentially, the Treasury Department behaved as if the program wasn’t there.

That’s quite similar to inspector general reports on the larger Home Affordable Modification Program, which President Obama promised would help three to four million homeowners, but actually assisted less than a million. With this program, too, the administration refused to pressure banks to participate.

Obama has consistently protected bankers’ rights to deal with homeowners as they please. Doing as they please means rigging the market. Wall Street doesn’t know how to make money anymore except through manipulating markets and inflating bubbles. Even though five or six million additional foreclosures are expected in the next couple of years, and millions of homeowners are technically in default, the banks have been carefully dribbling out houses for sale, attempting

to artificially stabilize prices with the goal of pumping up another bubble. That’s a helluva trick, when the truth is that the banks are as deep in the red as the homeowners they refuse to help.

Gaming the market However, the unleashing of billions of dollars in federal loan modification money to hardest hit areas would threaten to upset the bankers’ carefully calibrated market manipulations. The goal is to declare that the housing crisis has hit bottom, and the future is bright. But the banks can only pull off this scam if the government allows them to foreclose properties and put them on the market at times of the banks’ choosing, and allows the banks to control the information on what’s really happening in the housing market.

A real mortgage modification program serving millions of desperate homeowners would screw up the bankers’ game. So the banks resist federal intervention; the Obama administration betrays the homeowning public and leaves billions of housing dollars unspent; and millions of families are ruined.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport. com. E-mail him at Glen.

Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

Clinton, Obama and campaign spam All indications are that Bill Clinton will be the VIP member of Team Obama. The president recently kicked off his re-election campaign with a fundraiser in my neck of the woods featuring none other than Clinton.

But I pooh-pooh any impression that the two have kissed and made up since their nasty political death match during the 2008 presidential campaign, during which Clinton (as Hillary’s campaigner-in-chief ) essentially called Obama an uppity Negro, and Obama essentially called Clinton a redneck racist.

Mutual needs What is playing out between them is a political marriage of convenience. Obama needs Clinton to woo “Reagan Democrats” who favored Hillary and only voted for him begrudgingly, but whose disgruntlement with the slow economic recovery and escalating debt crisis has them thinking that Mitt Romney might be preferable to Obama for the same reasons they thought Reagan was preferable to Jimmy Carter. Obama can also use Clinton to access donors who have made the Clinton Global Initiative a multibillion-dollar cash cow.

Clinton needs Obama because his re-election would give Hillary the best chance at being elected president in 2016. It’s far better to run on the coattails of an incum-

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GOVERNMENT WASTE

I’m being spammed!

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

bent Obama than to run against an incumbent Romney. (I have no doubt that despite her coy denials, Hillary plans to run again.)

I also pooh-pooh the narrative being propagated by (White) Democratic pundits about Clinton spoon-feeding talking points to Obama to help him make his case for re-election. This was demonstrated in brazen fashion last week when former Clinton press secretary (and die-hard Hillary supporter) DeeDee Meyers asserted that Obama’s line about a chasm growing between ordinary Republicans and the Republican Party was “vintage Bill Clinton.”

For more than a year, Obama has been arguing that the Republican Party is lurching so far to the right that Reagan himself could not win a Republican primary today.

As for needing Clinton to feed Obama talking points, this narrative is ironic and laughable.

Clinton could not come up with enough talking points to help his own wife defeat Obama in 2008.

Clearly Obama does not need to be spoon-fed words to make his case.

Then there’s this annoying attempt to squeeze more cash out of me by inviting me to attend the fundraiser for the ‘opportunity’ to meet Obama and Clinton. The problem is that I have already donated all I intend to give to help re-elect Obama.

You’d think team Obama would have some way of tracking long-established donors like me to avoid nickel-and-diming us with e-mail solicitations every week. It’s only April and I’m already treating every e-mail from Obama-Biden as SPAM. I don’t see how they expect to rekindle that 2008 fire by throwing a wet blanket on the enthusiasm of supporters like me.

As for the ‘invitation’ itself, ever since working on the ClintonGore re-election campaign in 1996 – with all of the pre-Monica Lewinsky disillusionment that entailed –I’ve wanted to attend an open campaign event about as much as I’ve wanted to roll around in the mud with pigs.

Adding insult to my growing disaffection, none other than Barack himself just sent me this solicitation that, frankly, I would have expected more from Ed McMahon pitching his patently rigged Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes than from a president: “Anthony, in a few days, I’ll be hitting the trail for my last campaign,” the e-mail read. “Everything we’ve accomplished in the

RJ MATSON, THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH

past three years – and our chance to do so much more – is on the line...Donate $190 or whatever you can before tonight’s fundraising deadline...you’ll automatically be in the running to join me and George Clooney at his place on May 10th. It’s not often I can get away from work, so I look forward to spending a fun evening in L.A. with a couple supporters like you. Thanks, Barack.”

After Barack’s e-mail at 11 a.m., I received another solicitation from Ann Marie Habershaw, chief operating officer for Obama for America, at 4:46 pm. Then another from Rufus Gifford, its national finance director.

Careless and useless Don’t these campaign finance people have better things to do than sit around all day writing and sending out demonstrably useless

The war on Black women and children We are told that the Republicans are waging a war on women. It is true that they are on an endless quest to restrict access to abortion, and they want to prevent insurance companies from paying for contraception. In Wisconsin, the Republican governor recently signed legislation that repealed that state’s equal pay enforcement act.

But if there is a war on women in America today, it is being directed primarily at Black women as a group and at their young children as well. Black women have been criminalized for the most minor offenses – for enrolling their children in schools outside of their home districts, and even when their children are victimized by other people.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

theft and spent ten days in jail for enrolling her children in a school district that was not her own. Her children lived with their grandfather in the district in question, but no matter. Ms. Williams-Bolar had to be taught a lesson and she and her father were indicted.

The governor did reduce her sentence, calling it unduly harsh, but she was still convicted of a crime.

In Connecticut, Tanya McDowell was sentenced to five years in jail after she used her babysitter’s address to send her son to school.

A few examples Ms. McDowell was homeless and In Ohio in 2011, Kelly Williams- living in her vehicle. Only pursuBolar was convicted of felony ing criminal charges and send-

ing this mother to jail would satisfy local prosecutors. McDowell had a drug conviction as well, so the war on drugs and the war on Black women were both used against her.

In Cobb County, Ga., Raquel Nelson’s son was struck and killed by a drunk driver when she crossed the street with him.

Because she was crossing at the green and not in between, Nelson was charged with vehicular manslaughter even though someone else killed her child.

Six-year-old Salecia Johnson was handcuffed after having a temper tantrum in her Milledgeville, Ga. school. The school called the child “violent and disruptive” and the police chief said Salecia was handcuffed to insure her own safety.

Black people are punished for driving, for walking down the street, for having children, for

Students with loans deserve ‘corporate’ treatment President Obama hit a home run when he traveled to three colleges last week. He did the right thing to share his feelings on legislation that would either increase the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans, or take money from essential women’s health programs to maintain the 3.4 percent interest rate.

President Obama is reminding students that their fate is in his hands. An increase in the Stafford loan program would affect 7.4 million students. Cutting $5.6 billion from women’s health programs would affect millions of women. Pitting women’s health against lower student loan rates makes no sense.

We could make headway if we treated students the same way we treat corporations.

In the wake of the bank bailout, banks qualified for lowinterest and even no-interest loans. Why can’t we offer students subsidized interest rates, or even zero interest rates? In this economy, a 3.4 percent interest rate can hardly be considered low interest.

Millions affected If nothing is done, the rate can rise to 6.8 percent, and 7.4 million students will be affected.

Higher interest rates for student loans are a step backwards, often discouraging students from attending or continuing college, or extending the time it takes for them to finish degrees. This is especially true

While these student took on debt knowing they’d have DR. to pay it back, what kind of JULIANNE country makes upward moMALVEAUX bility so unaffordable that students literally shackle TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM themselves to debt so that they can have a shot at parfor Black, working class, and ticipating in our changing first-generation students. labor force?

The average college graduate leaves school with Takes a toll $25,000 of student loan debt The human costs are – the average Black student high. The shattered dreams with even more. The time it are heartbreaking. I’ve seen takes to complete college has Mom and Dad borrow on inched up, partly because their home so “baby girl” can students drop out a semester go to college, only to find the or two to gather funds and amount they have is simply partly because some college not enough. I’ve seen folks have been forced to cut fac- turned away from student ulty so much that essential loan opportunities because courses are not offered fre- their credit is bad, forcing quently enough. them into higher loan opStudents are shouldering tions. I’ve seen students opt a bigger burden on their stu- to work more hours, affectdent loans. Colleges are also ing their grades but paying burdened when state legis- their bills. Some students latures apply drastic cuts to choose off-campus houshigher education budgets. ing because they think it is Many states are also ham- cheaper, only to find thempered because they, un- selves hungry and stuck with like the federal government, costly bus rides. can’t carry deficits from year We have a generation to year. It’s no secret that if shackled by debt, and legiswe invest in higher educa- lators who have only come tion now, we’ll have a stron- up with the option of throwger workforce later. ing women’s health care unHeavy student debt pre- der the bus to lower rates. We vents young people from ful- say we believe young people ly participating both in the are our future. We have a labor force and life. Many funny we of showing it. take jobs because they can make great money, eschewJulianne Malveaux is ing jobs in social work or author of “Surviving and teaching because they don’t Thriving: 365 Facts in pay enough. Many others liv- Black Economic History.” ing with Mom and Dad delay Click on this story at www. marriage and homeowner- flcourier.com to write your ship while they tackle debt. own response.

putting their children in school, for acting the way children act, and even for having children who are killed by other people. We are punished, in short, because we still exist.

Still ‘property’ This imperative is a legacy of slavery, which existed for more than 200 years after Europeans first arrived here. Slavery lasted longer than freedom has existed, and the notion that Black people are the physical property of White people has never gone away. That explains the mass incarceration state, police brutality, and all the other ills that befall us as a people.

The weakest among us have always been the most prone to be victimized, and Black people arrived here as the ultimate victims – property. The level of disdain and hatred directed towards us is

e-mail solicitations? Does this obvious disorganization/carelessness reflect badly on Obama, or is it just me?

It seems not only desperate but also clueless that these nincompoops would think that, after ignoring their pleas to participate in a sweepstakes for a chance to meet Obama and Bill Clinton in his own neighborhood, that any (heterosexual) man would jump at the chance to participate in one to fly way the hell to California for a chance to meet Obama and George Clooney. “Insulting” is not the word...

Anthony L. Hall is a Bahamian native with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. intense, and these recent examples of oppression indicate that it is worsening.

Mass action is the only thing that can possibly keep these forces at bay. The worst atrocities committed against Black people happen when the system doesn’t punish the perpetrators. It is vital that all of these outrages be answered for and that we make it clear we are not fooled by the presence of Black presidents or rich Black celebrities.

We know that the consequences of political disengagement can be deadly. We have no option but to restart the freedom movement and never let it end. If not, Black women will be arrested as soon as they give birth.

Why wait? Punish them and their children as quickly as possible.

Margaret Kimberley's column appears weekly in BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Economy has dumped energy issues onto Obama’s lap Gasoline prices are on the rise – nearing $4 per gallon nationally. Deep public concern is forcing President Obama to pivot his attention back to the rising cost of energy during his presidency.

In a recent speech at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, Obama sought to dismiss former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s claim that he could bring down the cost of gasoline to $2.50 per gallon.

Even though he publicly appears to embrace conservatives’ “all-of-theabove” energy strategy, President Obama still used the speech to compare his critics to the Flat Earth Society.

President Obama’s deflections, and his insistence that there is no “silver bullet” for lowering gas prices, should be seen as an acknowledgment that his advisors are also looking at polls and know the overall health of the economy remains the No. 1 concern of the American people.

On wrong track Recent polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy and that nearly eight out of 10 Americans feel that the nation is on the wrong track under his leadership. A midMarch New York Times/ CBS News poll found

KEVIN L. MARTIN PROJECT 21

Obama’s overall approval rating standing at 41 percent.

Americans are dealing with their cost of living going up over the last three years – the price of basic goods rose 27 percent – as their wages have stagnated. And energy costs play a major factor in the nation’s economic malaise.

Thus far, Obama has downplayed calls for more drilling by saying that domestic energy production is up, but the Energy Information Administration reports that production has fallen off considerably during this administration. It is production on state and private land that fuels Obama’s boast.

The Institute for Energy Research issued a report showing that drilling on public lands has fallen to a nine-year low.

According to the EIA, oil production on federal lands dropped 11 percent between 2010 and 2011 alone.

President Obama’s energy pivot indicates that some congressional liberals are feeling the heat from voters. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for in-

stance, has stepped into the debate by publicly demanding that Saudi Arabia increase oil exports to drive down the market price for a barrel of oil.

Still the economy The president enjoyed a short reprieve lately, as public attention strayed to social issues, such as a contraception mandate on religious institutions and the phony outrage surrounding the comments of Rush Limbaugh about liberal activist Sandra Fluke. But as gas prices near $4 per gallon, many Americans resumed worrying about how they will survive the summer as experts predict a gallon may soon cost a dollar more.

President Obama found a friendly crowd at Prince George’s Community College, which is in Maryland’s largest minority-majority county and is home to a large number of federal employees. Outside the beltway, however, the message is all too clear: “It’s still the economy, stupid!”

Kevin L. Martin is a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 Black leadership network. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOJ A6

FLORIDA

MAY 4 – MAY 10, 2012

State’s crime rate in state at 41-year low NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Continuing a three-year trend, Florida’s crime rate dropped again in 2011 led by decreases in domestic violence incidents and aggravated assault. The overall crime rate, the number of crimes per 100,000 in population, dropped 0.8 percent, with violent crimes dropping by 3.7 percent.

Some of that was due to population growth, with Florida population growing by nearly 1 percent between 2010 and 2011. “We began tracking these crimes in 1971 and Floridians are safer today than at any other time since that date,� said Florida Depart-

Campaign to educate voters about justices The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association and the League of Women Voters of Florida on Monday unveiled “The Vote’s in Your Court,� a campaign designed to educated voters about judicial merit-retention elections.

The effort comes ahead of what is expected to be hardfought retention campaigns for Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince, who face criticism from conservatives as the core of the court’s liberal majority.

Former Gov. Reubin Askew, who pushed for the merit retention system while in office, said Monday the system has served the state well. “As Floridians, we should be proud of our merit selection and merit retention processes,� he said. “They help keep politics out of the courtroom and go a long way in promoting fair and impartial court proceedings.�

According to the Florida Bar, research shows that the overwhelming majority of Floridians don’t know much about retention elections. “As a result of this lack of understanding, I am concerned that there will be opportunities for misinformation and no real way to check misinformation,� said Scott Hawkins, president of the organization. But Hawkins stressed his group is not taking sides in the November balloting. “This is not a partisan effort, and the Florida Bar is not endorsing any particular candidate,� he said. “We are endorsing the system which has operated uniformly for nearly 40 years.�

Gov. Scott signs bill targeting Cuba, Syria Saying it is “imperative� that Florida and the United States continue applying economic pressure, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed a bill that would prevent some government contracting with businesses that have operations in Cuba or Syria. “The shameful record of the Castro and Assad governments (in Cuba and Syria) is undeniable: They brutally oppress their people, actively support international terrorism and seek to harm U.S. interests at ever turn,’’ Scott said in a billsigning letter.

HB 959 would apply to businesses seeking state or local contracts of more than $1 million. But because of potential conflicts with federal law, Scott said the restrictions would not take effect until Congress passes a measure allowing states to impose such sanctions on Cuba and Syria.

ment of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

Not all crime statistics went down, as the state saw increases in some property

crimes and a dramatic increase in simple stalking arrests. State prosecutors placed much of the credit for an overall decrease on decisions made many

ning the war on crime because Florida has eventually and finally gotten serious about doing something about crime,� said Willie Meggs, state prose-

years ago to bolster penalties, build prisons and enact legislation including 10-20-Life. “It goes without saying that I believe we are win-

cutor in Tallahassee. “The Legislature has been great.

Our governor and past governors have signed the legislation that has given us the tools we need.�

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Praises go up, soldiers fall down

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Serious soldiers get their game face on for the water gun battle.

Day 6 of the Fantastic Voyage includes worship with Dr. Bobby Jones and other gospel greats and the traditional ‘light skin’ded vs. dark skin’ded’ fight

I

t was early Friday morning on the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage and hundreds of us were singing like it was 11 a.m. on a First Sunday morning. “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus,’’ “The Presence of the Lord is Here’’ and “When the Saints Go Marching In’’ were just a few of the gospel favorites belted out with fervor aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas.

It was Day 6 and we were just docking in another tropical paradise – the private island Coco Cay in the Bahamas. That alone was something to shout about.

Since Day 1 on the cruise, the “Ambassador of Gospel’’ Dr. Bobby Jones and some of his Nashville Super Choir singers had been taking cruisers to church – from a first-night Gospel Extravaganza that included soul-stirring singers Dottie Peoples, Dianne Barrino (Fantasia’s mom) and even Fantasia herself to a daily morning devotion from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. that featured Peoples, Pastor Duranice Pace of the Anointed Pace Sisters and unscheduled appearances by artists like Tony Terry and Phil Perry.

Lots of ‘Amens’ We had good intentions on other mornings, but Day 6 was the first day we made it to the Ixtapa Lounge for “service.’’ Yes, we had heard all about how good the morning spiritual workouts had been.

On most mornings, as we dragged ourselves to a late breakfast – still a little bleary eyed and weary from attending a late-night concert – we would run into some sistah cruiser who was all radiant and full of joy, jubilantly sharing about how blessed she was from attending the 8 o’clock in the morning devotion. We had vowed to get there before the cruise was over. Apparently, so did a lot of other folks.

There were shouts of “Amens’’ as Dr. Jones and the other anointed singers led us in praise and worship.

The Grammy-nominated Peoples – with her powerful voice and dynamic personality – also got the crowd stirred up when she sang “On Time God.’’ She and Dr. Jones had been gracious during the week, often seen on the Promenade Deck laughing, chatting and taking pictures with cruisers.

No offering Tony Terry, who released a gospel album “Changed!’’ in 2006, sang with the other praise leaders, then did a solo and gave a brief testimony. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve been blessed,” he shared with the cruisers.

Some in the audience urged him to do another solo, to which he teased, “If I do more than one, we’ll have to take up an offering.’’

No offering and – Hallelujah! – no drawn-out sermon. The phenomenal Pastor Duranice Pace – offered a short one, in which she delivered it – to everyone’s delight and amazement – in a nursery rhyme format.

We too left the devotion all full of joy, ready to share what a high time we had in the Lord and with Dr. Jones and his anointed assistants.

S

Dr. Bobby Jones leads the morning devotion.

Tony Terry sings and gives a testimony during devotion.

S

BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN AND LISA ROGERS-CHERRY FLORIDA COURIER

PHOTOS BY LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/ FLORIDA COURIER

‘Light skin’ded vs. dark skin’ded’ Not long after church, it was time to head to Coco Cay for a beach party and the annual water gun fight.

Jenise had awakened that morning with swollen eyes from an allergic reaction (probably too much shrimp in too many fancy sauces) so she had started the morning popping Benadryl tablets.

She decided to skip the festivities at the beach so Lisa hoisted her plastic water gun with one hand, hung her “Big Papa’’ Nikon around her neck and headed toward Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay. It was the site of the traditional “light skin’ded vs. dark skin’ded” water gun battle.

By looking at some of the cruisers you would have thought that we were seriously heading to war. Some cruisers wore fatigue swimwear with black

paint under their eyes, others adorned Superwoman waterproof outfits. Everyone was excited to take part in this year’s water gun fight. Several veteran cruisers brought along their own semi-automatic Super Soakers from home.

A brave group of cruisers started chanting, “Light skin! Light skin!” while onboard the 100 passenger ferry boats that took us to Coco Cay. Others were totally confused about which team they should be on. One male cruiser yelled out, “If you are darker than a paper bag, then you are on the dark-skinned team!”

Injury sidelines Joyner this year A sister who was clearly “pecan tan’’ declared that she was on the light-

skinned team and caused a few darkskinned team members to heckle her.

On the night before the water gun fight, Tom Joyner had jokingly explained that he believed that only the cruisers who were darker than the jet black amplifiers at the concert should be on the darkskinned team. A few cruisers declared that they would start their own team and call themselves “The Tweeners!”

In past years, J. Anthony Brown has proudly served as Captain of the Darkskinned Soldiers and Joyner as Captain for the Light-skinned Soldiers. Both recruited team members early and often.

Due to Captain Joyner’s previous car accident, his soldiers had to march on without him.

See VOYAGE, Page B2

S

CALENDAR

B2

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

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FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Riviera Beach: Dana Mackey, Peppi Hendrix and Remembrance along with other special guests will be a part of a “Thank God It’s Friday” praise celebration, May 4 at 7 p.m. at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1136 W. 10th St. More information: 561-853-8600 or peppihendrix@gmail.com.

Coral Springs: Basil Dawkins presents the stage play “Where is My Father?”

May 13, 7 p.m. at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive.

Tickets are $40 orchestra, $35 general. More information: 954-344-5990.

Miramar: Jeffrey Osborne, Millie Jackson, Ken Boothe and more will be at the Miramar Regional Park in Miramar July 8 for a 3 p.m. show.

Fort Pierce: The Fort Pierce Branch Library will host a “How to Start Your Own Business” workshop presented

by Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) May 8 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. 101 Melody Lane. More information: 772-340-1333 or 772489-0548. This event is free and open to the public. To register visit: www.treasurecoastscore.org.

Homestead: Everglades National Park invites the community to visit their Artist in Residence Mary Keithan at the Anhinga Trail May 6 from 10 a.m. - noon as she provides photographic expertise and suggestions for photographing nature. The Anhinga Trail is located at the Royal Palm Visitor Center.

Miami: Journalist Leonard Pitts, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, will speak about “A Single Garment of Destiny,’’ referring to a 1963 missive from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to his fellow clergymen. The event will be held at the Bankers Club, May 9 from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at One Biscayne Tower, 14th Floor, 2 S. Biscayne

BOYZ II MEN

HOWARD HEWITT

R&B singers Boyz II Men will be at the Broward Convention Center on May 11 for a 6 p.m. show.

The Orange County Branch NAACP 57th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet and Awards is May 5 at 7 p.m. at the Rosen Centre Hotel, 9840 International Drive. The 2012 Theme is “Affirming America’s Promise: The Struggle Continues.” The program will feature Howard Hewitt. Individual tickets are $100 and tables start at $1,000. More information: 407-299-1488, 407-445-2055 or www. orangecountybranchnaacp.org.

Blvd. Tickets are $25. More information: 350-755-6096 ext. 16.

South Beach: The Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation will host its 13th Annual Hugs & Kisses Fashion Show: How Sweet It Is,’’ at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, featuring children on May 6 at noon. The event also showcases the fifth annual I Make a Difference Awards, honoring outstanding student philanthropists and the second annual “Thank You for Making a Difference Award” which recognizes a community activist who sets a positive example for children.

Seats begin at $200 per person. More information: Jeneanne Moralis 786-6242832.

Aventura: Learn how to handicap just in time for this year’s Kentucy Derby. Bour-

Jakes hosting Pastors & Leadership Conference in Orlando this week The International Pastors’ & Leadership Conference is taking place this week in Orlando through May 5 at the Orange County Convention Center.

The conference, hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House and a popular televangelist, is aimed at pastors and their wives, church executives and their administrative support staffs, and will present topdown strategies for balancing the business of church with the spiritual and practical needs of the congregation and community at large.

This year’s theme, “The Mission is Not Impossible,” speaks to the daunting challenges facing most pastorates today. Whether it is addressing a downturn in church revenues, moral failure among leaders, or succession planning; the main and breakout sessions are designed to buck up those pastors on the verge and to undergird those looking to take their organizations to the next level of development.

“Leadership is not just the exclusive domain of the senior pastor. Rather, it is a responsibility shared among those Bishop who lay a solid foundation to ensure a T.D. Jakes structure’s upward stability and proper functioning at every level,” said Jakes. “A well-honed infrastructure allows every joint to supply and frees the senior pastor to attend to the ‘Call’ and not feel as though that task were impossible to carry out.”

Speakers include Joel Osteen Last year’s conference drew nearly 6,000 leaders from 25 different nations and continents including South Africa, South Korea and South America to learn from subject matter experts on important topics such as surviving the recession, overcoming a real estate collapse and what do to do when a crisis hits.

The conference also brought approximately $6.5 million in economic impact to the metro-Orlando area through direct spending over the three-day period in 2011, according to the visitors’ bureau.

Speakers this year will include Jakes, popular televangelist and author Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston; Dr. Cynthia James, a Christian psychologist who pastors two congregations in Oakland, Calif; and Bishop Noel Jones, pastor of the City of Refuge in Gardena, Calif.

For more information, visit www.pastorsandleaders.org.

bon Steak will offer a special Horse Betting Workshop with Ron Nicoletti, the TV host and track handicapper for Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino. Then on Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., watch the race at the restaurant’s chic bar and enjoy complimentary canapés and reduced-priced cocktails. 19999 W. Country Club Drive. More information: 786-279-6600.

Miami: The Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade will host four days of Perinatal Loss Professional Development Seminars. Sessions will provide physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors and hospital chaplains working in the field of maternal and infant health with tools to help families bereaving the death of a baby. The free classes will take place May 16-19 at Homewood Suites: 5500 Blue Lagoon

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY / FLORIDA COURIER

Drive. More information and to register, visit hscmd.org, call 305-541-0210 or email training@hscmd.org.

Fort Lauderdale: Author Nicole Arnoux will talk about her book “In the Mind of an Inmate’s Wife” noon on May 5 at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. More information: 954357-2810 or www.facebook. com/authoressarnoux.

Coral Gables: The Coral Gables Museum invites the public to submit a personal photograph of “The City Beautiful” for a chance to exhibit at the museum and win exciting prizes. This skillbased photography contest is open to all ages. Awards will be determined by a professional jury and a public vote. Submissions must be received by May 21. For

contest rules and to submit your photo entry, visit www. coralgablesmueum.org.

Palm Beach: The ninth annual Jerk and Caribbean Culture Festival celebrating Jamaica’ 50th year of independence will be held May 28 from 2 p.m. - 10 p.m. at the Meyer Amphitheater, 104 Datura St. Children 12 and under free. Adults $15 presale, $25 at the gate. More information: www.pbjerkfestival.com or 561-8568478.

Fort Lauderdale: Broward County Library presents the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center highlights for May to include prearranged group tours available during library hours at 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. More information: 954-357-5950.

Free homework help is also available for students grades K through 12 at 3 p.m. More

Tampa Black journalists to host Trayvon Martin forum The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists in partnership with USF (University of South Florida) News is hosting a free forum titled “Trayvon Martin and the Media” on Monday, May 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the University of South Florida’s Patel Center for Global Solutions, 4202

VOYAGE from B1 His son, Oscar Joyner, accepted the position as “Acting Captain” and represented his dad well, with a huge, double-barrelled Super Soaker with a full backpack for easy reloading. He was fully prepared to drown any and everyone who came within 25 feet of him.

Ready, aim, squirt!

After the “Durty Whine” dance contest, a dodge ball game, Florida’s Finest photos and a few other beachside festivities, the soldiers collected their weapons of choice and within minutes the beautiful beach turned into “Water World War,’’ and no one was safe.

The cruisers, including business owners, lawyers, doctors, police officers, teachers, accountants, actors, singers and others

Eric Deggans is media critic at the Tampa Bay Times.

E. Fowler Ave., in Tampa.

The forum will feature a panel of local media and law experts who will discuss media coverage of the case, how social media played a role

instantly turned into little children, running up and down the beach squirting water guns and forgetting about reality.

For at least 30 minutes, sisters forgot about fancy hairdos, makeup and nails as they screamed, squealed, giggled and tried their best to defend and represent their skin color.

Guys were not discriminating – they were soaking both women and men.

Light-skinned people were feverishly defending their championship title. Dark-skinned soldiers seemed to have the upper hand while consistently squirting, spraying, splashing and reloading their water guns.

They definitely outnumbered the light-skinned soldiers. The dark soldiers fought hard to represent until somehow the lightskinned soldiers wrestled Captain Brown to the ground, instantly giving the light-skinned team the victory once again. Brown reluctantly conceded and

information: 954-357-6157.

Miami: The Best of the Best concert will be held Memorial Day weekend May 27 at Bicentennial Park. Featured artists include Shaggy, Mavado, DJ Khaled, John Holt and Marcia Griffiths. Information: Bestofthebestconcert.com.

Miami: Betty Wright joins R&B singer Monica at the James L. Knight Center on May 13 for a Mother’s Day Special show at 7 p.m.

Tampa: The Fresh Music Festival featuring Guy, SWV, K-Ci & Jo-Jo, Keith Sweat and more will be at the USF Sun Dome July 7 for an 8 p.m. show.

Coral Gables: R&B group New Edition will be at the BankUnited Center May 5 for an 8 p.m. show.

in news coverage, the Stand Your Ground law and other legal aspects of the investigation.

Moderated by Ernest Hooper, the Tampa Bay Times’ Brandon bureau chief, the panel will include Eric Deggans, media critic at the Times; Kenneth Minton, an adjunct professor at St. Leo University and Hillsborough Community College, who is a former sheriff’s deputy and Stand Your Ground law proponent; the Rev. Charles McKenzie, director of Florida’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition; and Karin Moore, an Orlando-based defense attorney and FAMU professor.

For more information, e-mail tampabayabj@gmail.com or visit www. tbabj.com.

vowed to win next year.

Even long after the water gun battle was officially over, the trash talking continued.

Pajamas and packing Later that day back onboard, there were a number of interesting happenings.

There was “Mama’s Gone Wild,’’ Part 2 – an event in which hosts of the web series discussed a variety of events; a “Love Again’’ talk by author Patrick Schafer; a Battle of the Sexes with Dana and Adrian of the “Amazing Race’’ along with a “Pole-Dancing, Stepping Demonstration and Comedy Showcase. ‘’ It had been a week packed with events around the clock, concerts featuring nearly 70 performers and stops in Jamaica and the Bahamas. We would be returning home the next day and cruisers seemed to be spending their last night just chilling.

On the pool deck, a group

of sisters were seen in a corner playing “Scrabble.’’

A group of guys and gals were relaxing in the Jacuzzi and gathered around the bar, many fondling drinks resembling daiquiris.

It was well before dark and a sister sauntered by wearing a red satin nightie and white fluffy slippers.

The Pajama Night Party was scheduled to start at midnight on the Royal Promenade Deck but some apparently were getting their own parties started.

Pajama Night wasn’t as thrilling as some of the other evenings. Perhaps because some people really were treating it as a “might as well night’’ as it’s also called. Or perhaps they were in their cabins packing for the trip home, trying to figure out how to squeeze their souvenirs and their Super Soakers in with all of those elaborate Mardi Gras and ‘70s costumes.

Next: A pictorial wrapup

STOJ

PARENTING

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

B3

Transform your kid’s closet into a fun and organized dressing area with our easy outfit planner, shoe caddy and hanging tags

BY JOELLEN MITCHELL FAMILYFUN MAGAZINE

Your child will feel like a life-size paper doll as she stands before the mirror and “tries on” different tops and bottoms with this simple-tomake outfit planner. Once she’s decided on the perfect look, she can leave the garments hanging on the planner’s mini-clotheslines, ready for the morning rush. Accessories are all within reach, thanks to adhesivebacked hooks and cleverly repurposed kitchen items, such as a tea tin and a grocery-bag holder.

PHOTOS BY ANDREW GRETO COURTESY OF FAMILYFUN MAGAZINE

A Tame those piles of sandals and sneakers by giving each child a plastic utility caddy (ours was $10 at Target). Then kids can gather their wayward shoes from around the house and tuck the holders into their closets. If you like, personalize each caddy with letters cut from adhesive-backed felt. Keep an extra caddy by your home’s entry for stowing flipflops in summer and slippers in winter.

B

C

1. Securely attach a fulllength mirror to the closet door at a height that works well for your child. We used adhesive-backed picture-hanging strips, included with our mirror (Melannco mirror, $20 at Bed Bath & Beyond).

2. On both sides of the mirror frame, mark your child’s shoulder and waist levels. At these spots, adhere four adhesivebacked hooks, sticking them on the frame or just outside, on the door (A). Tie and knot loops at both ends of two 30-inch shoelaces. Slip the loops onto the hooks and clip a pair of clothes-

Divide and conquer your family’s hanging clothes with these fun tags. Made from plastic jugs, they’re especially useful for shared closets. Your kids can decorate the tags with cool clothing pics clipped from magazines or catalogs.

1. To start, draw a 3- by 6-inch oval, trace a hanger hook to size the hole, and cut out the oval (or you can download a template at http://familyfun.go.com/assets/ cms/pdf/crafts/FF0710HOME_

RodTag.pdf ).

2. Cut a flat section from the side of a clean water or milk jug and adhere it to a sheet of adhesive-backed felt. On the plastic side, trace the template. Cut out the tag, then make a slit for slipping it onto the rod.

1. Write a label on the plastic side in permanent marker. Use double-sided tape to add a magazine photo of clothing.

pins to each line.

3. Add adhesive-backed hooks for hair ties and necklaces (B), then repurpose a few items from around the house as organizers for other accessories and grooming gear. Using picture-hanging strips, mount the items within your child’s reach, where they won’t interfere with the door’s functioning.

We used a tea tin as a holder for a hairbrush and headbands, a grocery-bag holder ($3 at Ikea) for corralling socks, and cork coasters (8 for $8 at Bed Bath & Beyond) for pinning up jewelry and a love note from Mom (C).

TOJ B4

HEALTH

STOJ

MAY 4 – MAY 10, 2012

RANCY PENCH/SACRAMENTO BEE/MCT

Brittany Lewis and her 5-year-old son, Santana Jones, have a few moments together before heading off to his school on April 10 in Sacramento, Calif.

Aspiring doctors pressing forward despite economy Students endure medical school, doctoral exams for uncertain job market

BY JENNIFER GARZA MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPER/MCT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For months, Brittany Lewis awoke early, padded into her kitchen and started each day the same. Cereal.

Juice. A medical book by her side. While her 5-yearold son slept in the next room, Lewis fixed on her computer screen and prepared for the biggest test of her life.

In early April, she reviewed her microbiology notes one more time. She then headed to a Fair Oaks, Calif., testing center and took the $530 exam she hopes will bring her one step closer to her dream.

Lewis, a third-year student at the University of California-Davis Medical School, took the United States Medical Licensing Exam, known as the medical boards. The seven-hour, multiple-choice test is the first major exam medical students take on the road to becoming a doctor.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I think all this work is going to be worth it,” Lewis said.

“Being a doctor is all I’ve ever wanted since I was a child. There’s never been a second choice for me.”

Shortage of residency spots The national debate over health care and the affordable care act that has roiled the country may have some questioning the future of medical care, but it has not dimmed the hopes of thousands of medical students like Lewis.

Enrollment is at an alltime high, up about 30 percent over five years ago, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. And many medical schools have waiting lists.

The University of California-Davis received a record high of about 5,000 applications last year. Only 105 were accepted, according to Dr. Fred Meyer, executive associate dean of the school’s Health System.

But for many new medical school graduates, that enthusiasm quickly fades, experts say. The number of residency spots has not kept pace with the number of medical students, and finding a hospital to train has become more challenging.

“It’s our biggest concern right now,” said Christiane Mitchell of the medical colleges association. “There may not be enough resi-

dency training programs in the near future.”

Uncertain about the future New doctors today face additional obstacles, including fewer employment options, complicated health care laws, and tens – sometimes hundreds – of thousands of dollars of debt. The median debt for medical students who graduated in 2010 was almost $160,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

A recent survey reflected just how uncertain many young doctors are about their future. Fifty-seven percent of young physicians (ages 40 and younger) said they are pessimistic about the future of the U.S. health care system, according to a survey by The Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes physicians working with patients.

“The overall mood is that they love medicine, but there is a much higher level of dissatisfaction than we expected once they finish residency and look for a practice opportunity,” said Lou Goodman, president of the foundation.

He said the doctors polled cited the new health care law – that it would increase regulatory burdens – and their debt level as

primary concerns.

Demand still strong for more doctors Still, the demand for doctors is expected to remain strong as many older physicians prepare to retire. More than a quarter of the nation’s physicians are age 60 or older.

To meet demand amid the changing environment, medical schools are broadening the types of students they select into their programs. At UC Davis, Meyer said, they look at a candidate’s scientific expertise and grade point average, as well as the ability to collaborate and empathize.

They’re looking for students, Meyer said, “patients will want to have as their doctors one day.”

In many ways, Lewis, 25, embodies this description. She has wanted to be a doctor since she was 5, the same age her son, Santana, is now. She grew up in Elk Grove, Calif., attended Laguna Creek High School and was pre-med at Texas Southern University in Houston.

At 19, Lewis married her high school boyfriend, and Santana was born July 28, 2006. Lewis never missed a day of class.

Single mom making it work After their son was born, the family returned to California, and Lewis eventually enrolled at Sacramento State. The youngest of three siblings, she was the first to graduate from college. After a three-year marriage, she and her husband divorced and they share custody.

She and Santana live in a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Sacramen-

to. Lewis spends most of her day studying; Santana is in preschool and proudly says he’s “in the class of 2028.”

Santana spends most weekends with his father, and Lewis’s parents help with baby-sitting and meals. But they can’t always be there. On a recent morning, Lewis was getting ready for a day of studying when Santana started coughing and she decided to keep him home from school.

“I didn’t plan on being a being a single parent and going to medical school, but he’s one reason I’m doing it,” Lewis said. Last month, she was named recipient of the 2011-12 Virginia Tooms Scholarship, which is awarded to single parents in medical school.

Lewis is grateful for the $4,000 she received.

“It’s a drop in the bucket, but every drop counts,” she said.

Will graduate $160,000 in debt She receives about $60,000 a year in financial aid, with most of that going toward the $40,000-a-year cost of medical school.

The rest is targeted for rent, utilities and expenses. Lewis expects to graduate with about $160,000 in debt.

“Actually, I’m lucky compared to some of my classmates,” she said. “Some of them have debt from undergraduate school; I don’t.”

She said the reality of paying back the debt will determine what type of practice she will seek. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll probably specialize.”

Medical school graduates earn an average stipend of $48,460 in the first

New drug may combat side effects of schizophrenia BLACK PR WIRE

TALLAHASSEE – One in 17 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that one in four adults – approximately 57.7 million Americans – experience a mental health disorder in a given year.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, which includes symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, movement disorders, and at times violent outbursts. Schizophrenia affects 1.19 percent of the U.S. population and 64 percent of people with the disease receive some sort of

treatment for it, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

However, there is a Florida A&M University professor who has come up with a new drug to help with the treatment of schizophrenia. Seth Ablordeppey, Ph.D. and Donald M.N. Sikawze, Ph.D. have invented and patented a new drug to combat the side effects of the two most commonly used drugs on the market.

Started working on drug in 1993 The two types of drugs that combat the illness – Haloperidol and Clozapine – come with negative side effects. Haloperidol, discovered in the 1950s and used to treat the dis-

ease, often causes Parkinson’s-like side effects such as loss of the ability to control movement and loss of control of one’s hands.

Clozapine may cause little to no Parkinsonism side effects, but causes weight gain that leads to Type II diabetes.

Ablordeppey and Sikazwe were able to take the drug Haloperidol and change the structure to eradicate the causes of the Parkinson’s-like side effects and maintain the structure similar to Haloperidol, according to Ablordeppey.

They started working on the drug in 1993 upon arriving to FAMU. In essence, Ablordeppey and Sikazwe have created a schizophrenia medication that has therapeutic benefits without Parkinson’s-

like side effects. There already has been successful animal testing of the drug.

Ablordeppey and Sikazwe received a patent for their breakthrough drug through the Florida A&M University Office of Technology Transfer, Licensing & Commercialization. The next step is human testing by a pharmaceutical company.

Drug company interested There is a pharmaceutical company interested in developing the drug further. Details are still in discussions among the company and the inventors. It takes close to one billion dollars and 12-15 years from development of a drug to final production of

Dr. Seth Dr. Donald Ablordeppey Sikawze the drug to prepare it for the market.

According to Ablordeppey, this drug could lead to the development of other drugs that may be useful for antidepressants.

“Right now we are developing other drugs that will be useful as antidepressants, they would treat depression. The strategies we are using are also unique and we are hoping to . . . be able to submit a patent application for those as well,” said Ablordeppey.

Schizophrenia is a grow-

year of a residency or fellowship, according to a 2010 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“They are entering a very new world of the practicing physician,” said Mitchell.

“They are less likely to run smaller solo practices.”

Took test and moving forward She said the costs of running a solo practice, such as maintaining electronic health records and an administrative staff, can be too high for doctors starting out.

But that is still a few years away for Lewis. On the day of her medical boards, she arrived 45 minutes early and filed in with the other students.

Each had to pass through security. Lewis lifted her sleeves to show she wasn’t hiding anything, emptied her pockets and had a security wand passed over her body.

“A sign of the times,” she said later.

Lewis knew a lot was riding on the test. The results would determine which residency programs she could apply to. For the next seven hours, Lewis pored over the test, taking a 15-minute break every two hours. When it was over, she met her family for dinner. Everyone, including Santana, wanted to hear how the test had gone.

Her results will arrive in a few weeks – a long wait.

“I think I did ok,” Lewis said a few days later. She was still thinking about some of her answers.

“Whatever happens I’m still moving forward.” ing problem in the AfricanAmerican community. According to the International Journal of Epidemiology, “African Americans have a three times higher likelihood of developing schizophrenia.” Those with schizophrenia often are unaware they have the disease and those that are aware may not take the medications prescribed because of the negative side effects.

For those with schizophrenia and family members of those with the disease, this drug could be an encouragement to seek and continue treatment for the disease. “Mental illness is a family illness. It doesn’t just affect one person, but in a sense the whole family goes through it as well,” said Ablordeppey.

STOJ

MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

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Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution 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.

More than 4,000 cruisers joined nationally syndicated radio talk show host Tom Joyner on the 13th annual Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage 2012 aboard Royal Caribbean’s “Navigator of the Seas,” one of the world’s largest cruise ships. The Florida Courier spotlights some of the best-looking people on board.

Dione, a native of Atlanta, was on her second Tom Joyner cruise.

Ross of Portsmouth, Va., was on his third Tom Joyner cruise.

He was previously featured as one of Florida’ Finest after the 2010 cruise.

DELROY COLE / FLORIDA COURIER

EJPOF SPTT

‘Khloe and Lamar’ ending on E! Network picks up ‘Opening Act’ featuring Blige

EURWEB.COM

Hollywood power couple Salim and Mara Brock-Akil will be featured guests at the 16th Annual American Black Film Festival’s “A Conversation With” panel on June 22 at the Ritz Carlton South Beach hotel.

The duo’s feature film credits are just as impressive as their television success. Salim Akil teamed up with Sony Pictures and Our Stories Films to direct the feature film “Jumping the Broom,” starring Angela Basset, Paula Patton and Laz Alonso.

The film’s success led to the highly anticipated musical, “Sparkle,” also produced by Akil Poductions. Written by Mara Brock-Akil and directed by Salim Akil, “Sparkle” stars Whitney Houston, Jordan Sparks, Mike Epps and Cee Lo Green.

EURWEB.COM

Although E! just re-upped with the Kardashian clan for $40 million, the network has decided to end one of the familiy’s numerous reality shows.

TMZ is reporting that “Khloe and Lamar,” starring Khloe Kardashian and her husband Lamar Odom, will not return for a third season.

The couple decided to pull the plug so Odom can refocus on his NBA career, sources tell the site.

After posting career-low numbers following his trade to the Dallas Mavericks from the Los Angeles Lakers in December, Odom was placed on the inactive list earlier this month for the remainder of the season; the Mavericks will likely try to trade him

by June 29.

Season 2 of “Khloe and Lamar,” currently airing, has focused on the trade and the couple adjusting to life in Dallas. According to TMZ, Odom wants to concentrate on getting his game back and believes he should only have one project on his plate.

The couple is expected to continue to make appearances on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

Brock-Akil working on new BET show

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ ABACA PRESS/MCT

Blige to help find talent In other E! news, the network announced it has picked up “Opening Act,” a new talent competition from “American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, R&B singer Mary J. Blige and producer Antonina Armato from Rock Mafia.

The trio will search the Internet to find talented amateurs and give them a chance to open for an A-list music star, reports Deadline.com. Music acts on board to take in aspiring musicians to open for one show on their current tours are Nicki Minaj, Rod Stewart, LMFAO, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Jason Mraz and Gym Class Heroes.

The unsuspecting band or solo acts will get the news of their big break in person by TV personality Olivia Lee (“The Tonight Show

Film festival in South Beach to shine spotlight on Akils

Mary J. Blige attends the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton in D.C. on April 28.

Left: Khloe Kardashian and hubby Lamar Odom.

With Jay Leno”).

They will immediately be brought to Hollywood for an extreme “performance boot camp,” intense mentoring sessions with top industry heavyweights, lead-

ing to their one-night-only performance opening a major concert.

Produced by Nigel Lythgoe Prods., “Opening Act” premieres July 9.

Salim and Mara Brock-Akil continue to create, develop, and produce projects that entertain as well as bring individuals together and highlight shared human experiences.

This year, Brock-Akil has a new series, which she created and wrote, coming to BET Networks. “Single Black Female,” which will premiere on BET later this year, is a biopic about a woman in search of the missing

Salim and Mara Brock-Akil have racked up some successful film credits. pieces of her successful life as an influential news anchor.

Jeff Friday, founder and CEO of the film festival said, “This year’s “A Conversation With” discussion is special because we have two guests with individual stories and experiences. Yet, as a married couple, the Akils also bring a very unique perspective about surviving the many pitfalls of the industry and being successful as a team.”

For more information about this year’s festival, visit www. abff.com.

Lil Wayne settles ‘Lollipop’ lawsuit EURWEB.COM

Lil Wayne has settled a $20 million lawsuit filed against him by a producer over the Grammy-winning track “Lollipop” and other songs, reports TMZ. Producer Darius Harrison, aka Deezle, sued the rapper over the album “Tha Carter III,” claiming he produced several songs on the record, including “Lollipop,” but was never paid for his work.

According to Harrison, the album grossed over $70 million, but he wanted $20 million to call it even.

Lil Wayne Wayne initially declined the offer, claiming Harrison had no grounds to sue. But the two parties recently reached a confidential agreement, and the case has since been dismissed.

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MAY 4 – MAY 10, 2012

– Chef Jamika Pessoa Celebrity Chef, TV Personality | Atlanta, GA My mother and grandmother taught me how to cook. So it’s an honor for me to cook for them on their special day. I’m proud to share this and other recipes so you can celebrate Mom too. Publix makes it so easy for people to come back to the table. We’re so scattered, but it’s important for families to slow down and spend time together over a good meal.

Pictured

Chef Jamika’s Linguini with Chicken and Artichokes

© 2012 Publix Asset Management Company