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Carnival ‘masqueraders’ converge on Miami See Page B1

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

VOLUME 26 NO. 42

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WE’VE DONE YOUR HOMEWORK The Florida Courier staff has analyzed ballot amendments using research from across the political spectrum. Here are our recommendations from an unapologetically Black point of view. BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

Voting rights advocates recommend that you fill out a sample ballot with your amendment choices and take it with you to the polls. (That’s legally permissible.)

Ballots by mail have already arrived to hundreds of thousands of Florida voters who will now vote on 12 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. It’s one of the longest lists of proposed constitutional changes in decades. The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) meets only once every 20 years to review the Florida Constitution and recommend changes (amendments) to it. The CRC met this year and placed eight proposed amendments on the November ballot.

Two additional proposed amendments were placed there by the Florida Legislature, and two more by citizen petition. To be approved, any constitutional amendment requires 60 percent of the vote. Here’s a list of the amendments and the Florida Courier’s recommendations: 1. Increased homestead property tax exemption: NO. This would raise the portion of a home’s value that can be exempted from non-school property taxes. The proposed changes would apply to the assessed value of a homestead property between $100,000 and $125,000, raising the maximum exemption to $75,000. From Florida Tax Watch: “… this new homestead exemption benefits the segment of property owners that needs it the least, while likely leading to tax increases on those already relatively over-burdened by Florida’s property tax system.” Very few Black homeowners would benefit. Additionally, it robs the Florida Legislature of the flexibility it needs to adjust taxes over time as economic conditions change. 2. Limitations on property tax assessSee AMENDMENTS, Page A2

Supreme court at stake

1995 MILLION MAN MARCH

‘Long live the spirit’

Winner will pick three justices BY LLOYD DUNKELBERGER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE ‒ The next governor, and not Gov. Rick Scott, has the authority to appoint three new justices to the Florida Supreme Court, the court ruled Monday. Scott, who will leave office in January and is running for U.S. Senate, had repeatedly asserted the right to appoint replacements for justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, who will leave the court in January because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.

Nomination process halted But in a brief, unsigned order Monday, the Supreme Court said Scott “exceeded his authority” in directing a judicial nominating commission to meet and forward a list of potential justices to him by Nov. 10. More than four dozen judges and lawyers submitted applications by a deadline last week to the nominating commission, which had scheduled interviews with the applicants in early November. But the court ruling Monday blocked Scott’s action through a legal procedure known as a writ of quo warranto, which had been sought by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida. See COURT, Page A2

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Oct. 16 marked the 23rd anniversary of the Million Man March, one of the largest mass gatherings in Washington, D.C.’s history. On that day in 1995, Black men gathered to atone and take more responsibility for their communities and families. See a related ‘No Chaser’ column on Page A4.

B-CU ‘extinction’? Oh, never mind See a related ‘No Chaser’ column on Page A4. BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

DAYTONA BEACH ‒ Late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, media outlets in the Central Florida area received a press release with the title in all caps: “BETHUNECOOKMAN TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TO ADDRESS FRAUD ALLEGATIONS, FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT AND THE FUTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY,” it stated. “A recent audit has revealed questionable financial activity dating as far back as the previ-

ALSO INSIDE

ous administration which put the university on probation and at risk of losing its accreditation,” the release read. “The future of the university is at stake without significant action. The interim president [former Circuit Court Judge Hubert L. Grimes] will address the findings of the audit, a potential lawsuit and why the historic university is on the verge of extinction.” Emailed on behalf of the university by Beth Cocchiarella of the Lake Mary-based public relations and crisis management firm called Absolute Thinking, the release attracted a horde of newspaper, ra-

dio and TV reporters from as far away as Orlando to the campus for the 10:30 a.m. press conference.

Beth Cocchiarella

No news

If they were expecting a sober status report about the current state of the university, a copy of the “recent audit,” or a timeline of action the school would take to dig itself out of an estimated $100 in debt, such information was not forthcoming. Instead, in reaction to a reporter’s question, Grimes said he hadn’t read the press release, and that “we have no

plans” that the B-CU’s doors would be closing. “I don’t see that happening in the near future,” he explained. “But the caveat is that we still gotta work to address our issues.” Grimes also made a pitch to keep his job as interim president, saying “instability” would be a concern as the school’s academic accreditation is under review. Grimes’ press conference came in the aftermath of continuing turmoil at the university, including a social media campaign led by Baltimorebased minister Jamal Bryant to force Board of Trustees chairman Michelle Carter-Scott and other BOT members to resign.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Teachers union elects Ingram as president NATION | A6

First lady’s office wants to boycott T.I. over video

ENVIRONMENT | B4

Neighbor blocks Black man from entering his home

Black residents in Alabama city allege environmental racism

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 GUEST COMMENTARY: CLARENCE MCKEE: HOW LONG BEFORE RAND PAUL’S FEARS ARE REALIZED? | A5

FOCUS

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

Facebook is not your friend, Part 1 Facebook has declared war on political dissent. In a rash of purges last week, the behemoth corporation banned 30 pages, with a total of 22 million fans, claiming the accounts were “created to stir up political debate in the US, the Middle East, Russia and the UK.” At the top of the list were the anti-police lawlessness pages Cop Block, Filming Cops, The Free Thought Project and Police the Police, with a combined audience of 8.1 million. The other banned pages range across the non-establishment spectrum, from the reactionary

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Right-Wing News, to Punk Rock Libertarians and the pro-marijuana page, Hemp.

‘Drive traffic’ These pages are “inauthentic,” Facebook claims, because they “use sensational political content” to “drive traffic to their websites.” Of course, the New

York Times, the Washington Post and virtually every other organ of corporate media also maintains Facebook pages that are designed to “drive traffic to their websites.” The daily content of these imperial propagandists is filled with “sensational” stories that are designed to inflame the public, laying the groundwork for endless wars ‒ most often on evidence that turns out to be fictitious. Yet Facebook has enlisted as “fact-checkers” the same corporate media that vouched for the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, spread lies about Viagra-fueled mass rape by Muammar Gaddafi’s soldiers in Libya, and continue to mask the U.S. alliance with al Qaida fighters in Syria.

These same corporate “news” organs have treated allegations of Russian collusion with Trump during the 2016 elections as fact ‒ without a shred of evidence ‒ to whip up a new Cold War.

Skeptical of media Polls have long showed that the U.S. public ‒ of all racial and political shades ‒ no longer believes the corporate media version of reality, which almost routinely turns out to be false, and which Black people have always known to be false. This crisis of legitimacy for the ruling class and its media organs became acute in 2016, when the wildly unpredictable Donald Trump seemed to threaten the gentlemen’s agreement between the two corporate parties on regime change warfare and so-

COURT The groups argued that the appointment power belonged to the new governor, who takes office on Jan. 8.

‘Sole authority’

Opponent agrees FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Gov. Rick Scott won’t get to replace three retiring Supreme Court justices ‒ something he’s wanted to do for years ‒ before he leaves office.

Will hear arguments Although the court ruled that Scott exceeded his authority in seeking a list of potential justices by a Nov. 10 deadline, the justices agreed to hear oral arguments on the issue of when the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission can certify a list of candidates to the governor. The hearing on that issue is set for Nov. 8. But the court order also noted the 60-day deadline for making the appointments after the nominations have been certified by the nominating commission “begins to run only when the governor with the authority to appoint

AMENDMENTS from A1

ments: NO. This would cement an existing 10 percent cap on non-homestead property assessments which expires next year and make it permanent. Again, it robs the Florida Legislature of the flexibility it needs to adjust taxes over time as economic conditions change. 3. Voter control of gambling: YES. Right now, casino gambling is limited to Native American tribal facilities in most of Florida. This would give voters the exclusive right, rather than legislators, to decide to authorize expansions of casino gambling into other areas in the state. Expect Las Vegas casino owners to spend millions to try to convince Floridians to allow such expansion via future constitutional amendments, which will require them to convince 60 percent of Florida voters. 4. Voting restoration: YES. Would restore voting rights to former felons if they have served their time, except those who have committed crimes like murder or sex offenses. Black Floridians have been disproportionately criminalized and punished since the Sunshine State was established. It’s time for that to end, and this amendment would add more than 1.4 million voters to Florida’s voting rolls and as importantly, qualify them to serve as trial jurors. Ironically, some ex-felons object to the exclusion

Contact Glen Ford at Glen. Ford@Black AgendaReport. com.

judicial direction of the state’s highest court for years to come. Pariente, Lewis and Quince are part of a liberal bloc, which now holds a slim 4-3 majority and has thwarted Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature on numerous occasions since the governor took office in 2011. With the court’s ruling, the judicial makeup of the court will largely depend on the result of the Nov. 6 election between Gillum and DeSantis. Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, said he was “pleased” that the court has left the appointments in the hands of the next governor. “It is a duty I take extremely seriously and, as governor, one of my top priorities will be to restore integrity to the judicial nominating process,” he said in a statement.

from A1

In its decision, the Supreme Court said the winner of the Nov. 6 election between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum “has the sole authority” to fill the court vacancies based on at least two premises. One premise is that the retiring justices, Pariente, Lewis and Quince, do not leave prior to the end of their terms on the midnight that falls between Jan. 7 and Jan. 8. None of the justices have indicated that they plan an earlier retirement. The second premise is that the new governor follows the precedent of recent newly elected governors and takes the oath of office prior to Jan. 8, the inauguration day, meaning he officially becomes governor at midnight at the same time the retiring justices’ terms end. If for some reason, the new governor does not take the prearranged oath, Scott would retain his authority as governor along with his power to appoint justices until the new governor takes the oath. In arguing against the writ, Scott’s lawyers had said he was following the precedent of beginning the appointment process before the vacancies occur, noting numerous justices have been appointed using this procedure to avoid prolonged vacancies on the court.

called free trade. Barely a week after Trump’s surprise victory at the polls, outgoing President Barack Obama, on a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called for the imposition of a standardized version of truth. “…(T)here’s so much active misinformation and it’s packaged very well, and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page or you turn on your television,” said Obama. “If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won’t know what to protect.” Part 2 next week.

of murders and sex offenders. So do we. A debt paid is a debt paid, regardless of the crime. But the substantial positive impact of passing this amendment greatly outweighs the single flaw which can be fixed in the future by a citizens’ petition effort led by newly restored ex-felons, if necessary. 5. Super-majority vote required to impose, authorize, or raise state taxes or fees: NO. Would require a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Florida Legislature to impose, approve or raise state taxes and fees. The higher threshold means it would take only a third of members to hold either the state House or Senate hostage to block any future tax increases or repeal existing exemptions. It robs the Florida Legislature of the flexibility it needs to adjust taxes over time as economic conditions change. It’s mostly a way that politicians can avoid having to take a tough vote to raise taxes by a simple majority vote if necessary.

‘Bundled’ amendments These amendments were submitted by the CRC and typically include multiple unrelated proposals. In our analysis, we treated the bundled amendments like a true-false question. If we didn’t approve of all the proposals in a bundled amendment, we voted NO.

has taken office,” citing the state Constitution. John Mills, a lawyer who represented the League of Women Voters and Common Cause, said the court ruling should slow down the nominating process and allow more judges and lawyers to consider applying to serve on the court.

No rush “While the issue of when the (commission) may make its nominations is yet to be resolved, one thing is clear now ‒ there is no reason for the (commission) to rush through the nominating process as it has been doing,”

FLORIDA COURIER BALLOT AMENDMENT CHEAT SHEET 1: NO 2: NO 3: YES 4: YES 5: NO 6: NO 7: NO 8: NOT ON BALLOT 9: YES 10: NO 11: NO 12: NO 13: YES

6. Rights of crime victims: NO. This bundles three proposals that would create a bill of rights for crime victims and set new requirements for judges. It would also increase the mandatory retirement age for judges to 75 from 70, and would change how judges interact with administrative agencies’ interpretations of a rule or statute. From the American Civil Liberties Union: “Amendment 6 would give huge corporations a new right to inject themselves into criminal proceedings and appear in court with their high-powered lawyers to have a say in sentencing and bail hearings when they accuse people of even relatively minor crimes such as shoplifting.” That’s true because as GOP presidential candi-

Mills said in a statement. He said the “the artificial deadline of applications a month before the election created an unfair chilling effect on many potential applicants, especially those in private practice.” Mills said “the only fair thing” would be for the nominating commission to halt its process and wait for the Supreme Court’s final order and then reopen the application process.

Crucial choices The appointments to the seven-member Supreme Court are being watched closely because they have the potential to tilt the

date Mitt Romney famously said, “Corporations are people too, my friend,” which means they could be ‘victims’ of economic crimes. Blacks are already punished disproportionately at sentencing around the state, as statistical analysis has revealed. No need to add to pain. 7. First responder and military member survivor benefits; public colleges and universities: NO. Three proposals are bundled here: (1) providing college tuition for the survivors of first responders and military members killed on duty, (2) requiring university trustees to agree by a two-thirds super-majority to raise college fees (not including tuition); (3) establishing the state college system in the Florida Constitution. We say let university trustees do their jobs on a simple majority vote, rather than making it more difficult for them. Also, the families of military members are already compensated by the U.S. government for their tragic losses. Amendment 8 was struck from the ballot by the state Supreme Court. 9. Prohibits offshore oil and gas drilling; prohibits vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces: YES. Bundles a ban on oil and gas drilling in state-owned waters with a proposal to add “vaping” ‒ electronic smoking ‒ to the ban on smoking indoors. Given Florida’s world-class beaches, it’s crazy to even consider oil drilling, including “fracking” technology that uses drilling and a high-pressure water mixture to release oil and nat-

DeSantis, a former congressman and Harvard-educated lawyer, had also asserted the next governor would make the court appointments, drawing some criticism in the Republican primary for the stance. He has made it clear that he would favor conservative justices. “It’s important that we have a governor who understands that we have to appoint solid constitutionalists to our state courts, including our state Supreme Court,” he told Florida Chamber of Commerce members last month. Blaise Ingoglia, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the “stakes for November’s election just got higher” with the court ruling, warning that a Gillum victory would result in “radical activist justices,” while DeSantis would appoint “strong constitutionalists” to the court.

ural gas from underground rock which hold our drinking water. And who wants to inhale second-hand “vapor” with unknown ingredients? 10. State and local government structure and operation: NO. It bundles four proposals: one to change the state’s legislative session start dates; one to create a counterterrorism office; one to make the state veterans affairs department constitutionally required, and one requiring five county-level offices to be elected. Florida doesn’t need a counterterrorism office, especially one that could target Black activism or “unusual” religious activity in the state. Think that can’t happen? Remember the Liberty City Seven and Yahweh ben Yahweh. 11. Property rights; removal of obsolete provision; criminal statutes: NO. Revises the Constitution to remove a provision that stops “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from owning property and approves a high-speed rail system. It would also remove a clause which prohibits retroactively applying an updated criminal statute to sentencing for a crime committed before the change occurred. It clarifies that repealing a criminal statute would not necessarily affect the prosecution of that crime committed previously. A high-speed rail system which would cost billions with no guarantee that Black-owned businesses will benefit, is the “poison pill” here for us. 12. Lobbying and abuse

of office by public officers: NO. Would bar public officials from lobbying during their terms of office and for six years following. It would restrict current public officers from using their office for personal gain. This amendment would reduce income and racial diversity in the Florida Legislature. Under this amendment, regulated professionals (lawyers, accountants, architects, et al.) can use their legislative contacts to get clients during and immediately after their legislative terms. (Lawyers make up the 47 percent of the 2017-2018 Florida Legislature.) Meanwhile, under this amendment, middle-class ex-legislators like teachers, coaches, nurses and small business entrepreneurs can’t benefit at all from the contacts they’ve made as legislators. Is that fair? This amendment could disincentivize “average” people from serving in the legislature and would have a disproportionate impact on prospective Black politicians. Six years is too long. And the key to making changes is to more tightly regulate lobbying and money in politics, not exlegislators. 13. Ends dog racing involving wagering by 2020: YES. There are about a dozen tracks left in Florida, but they make more money from permitted gambling than from dog racing ‒ which seems like ‘entertainment’ from a bygone era. We stand with the greyhounds here. We wouldn’t be surprised if bans on horse racing and circus animals are next.

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

FLORIDA

Where AG candidates stand on issues Race and gender

Shaw supports voting rights for ex felons; Moody stands with Bondi on the issue. TALLAHASSEE – The Democratic and Republican candidates to replace Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi offer widely divergent views on how they would run the office. But voters may not be getting the information, as attention focuses on top-of-the-ticket races for governor and U.S. senator. State Rep. Sean Shaw, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, vows to aggressively take on fraud in Florida, as well as policies of the Republican-led Legislature and even President Donald Trump, if elected to the Cabinet position. Former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody, the Republican candidate, wants to build on the work of her friend, the term-limited Bondi, which means expanding the state’s battle against the opioid epidemic and continuing a fight against the federal Affordable Care Act.

On investigating Trump Shaw, 40, a former state insurance consumer advocate, backs the Affordable Care Act, which is being challenged legally by Bondi and Republican leaders of other states. He also supports abortion rights and said he would push lawmakers to carry out constitutional amendments on land preservation and medical marijuana as voters intended. “People want someone that is aggressive and holding everyone accountable,” Shaw, of Tampa, said. “Who do you want to be your lawyer? Someone that wants to go up there and be aggressive and fight on your behalf or someone that wants to act like they’re the general counsel to the Republican Party?” Asked about Shaw’s vows to aggressively use the office, including possibly investigating financial dealings of Trump in Florida, Moody said she will “fully vet” any allegations before making legal decisions. “I’m not going to go out and call press conferences to draw at-

Ashley Moody

Sean Shaw

tention to myself,” she said.

imum age from 18 to 21 to buy rifles and other long guns. Shaw fully supports the law and said he wants to work with the Legislature on further “common sense gun-reform.”

Undercard race Moody, 43, has stressed her prosecutorial experience in the race. She also has called for keeping crime labs updated with the latest technological advances and opposes Amendment 4 – which calls for automatic restoration of voting rights for most felons – while saying the clemency process needs to be streamlined and that nonviolent felons should get automatic restoration. But while Moody and Shaw have been better-funded and received more national support than most other Cabinet candidates, the attorney-general contest remains an undercard to Florida’s gubernatorial and senatorial races. And it hasn’t helped that Moody and Shaw have essentially avoided appearing together on the campaign trail.

Gun-reform stance Kathryn DePalo, who teaches in Florida International University’s Department of Politics and International Relations, said differing views between Shaw and Moody on the Second Amendment may be the most-important issue for voters. After the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, lawmakers approved a wide-ranging bill that included gun restrictions, such as increasing the min-

Expect partisan voting Moody agrees with parts of the new law but has said she wouldn’t have backed it because of the provision related to the age of gun buyers. The National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit challenging that provision, with Bondi’s office defending the law. DePalo and other political experts say that the attorney-general race, as an undercard to the more nationally watched contests, will see strict partisan voting and come down to how independents eventually swing.

Few TV ads Susan MacManus, a distinguished professor of government and international affairs at the University of South Florida, said the attorney-general race, along with the Cabinet contests for agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer, are getting crowded out. “The low-profile nature of these races and the voters’ unfamiliarity with the candidates reflects the power of TV in building name recognition,” MacManus said. “None of these Cabinet candidates have had the funds to run many TV ads … or social media ads.”

Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida, said voters generally are not getting enough information about the Cabinet races. “In this election, political party may be a particularly strong voting cue for Cabinet offices, as many people may turn out to cast their ballot to signal support or opposition to Donald Trump and his policies without much regard to the specific person running for a particular office,” Jewett said. DePalo expects party identification to be a larger factor than race and gender. “I do not think a majority of women will vote for Moody, simply because she is a woman,” DePalo said. “Democratic women will vote for Shaw, and a large number of African-American voters will do the same. If (Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew) Gillum can pull out young people and African-American voters who stayed home in 2016, Shaw has a chance here.”

Shaw’s legacy Shaw’s father, the late Florida Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw Jr., was the first Black chief justice of the court. “I grew up around the law, around a reverence for the law, what the law can do to protect people, what the law can do to even the playing field,” Shaw said. Elected to the House in 2016, Shaw used the backdrop of the Florida Supreme Court this year to announce his run for the statewide office. He has drawn national attention by proclaiming his intention to investigate Trump’s financial dealings. “They may lead you to tax returns, financial records. I don’t know where they lead,” Shaw said. “No one is above the law in Florida. No one. We are going to make it such that if I find bad stuff going on, we’re going to go where it takes us, no matter how big.”

Degrees, careers Shaw received a degree in politics from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law.

Mom dies after responders pull her, four kids from tidal current BY LANGSTON TAYLOR TAMPA BAY TIMES/TNS

ST. PETE BEACH – A Lakeland mother who went to Pass-a-Grille with her six children on Oct. 13 died after being caught in a tidal current, Pinellas deputies said. Samar Aboukhdair, 36, was out that Saturday afternoon near the southernmost tip of the beach. According to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office release, Aboukhdair was watching her children and two of her neighbors’ kids, all between the ages of 5 and 13. At 6:09 p.m., four of the eight children were in the water.

Strong current

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

Fedrick C. Ingram, left, takes a selfie with President Bill Clinton and other Florida Education Association officials during an FEA Delegate Assembly on Oct. 21, 2016 in Orlando.

State teachers union elects Ingram as new leader NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Vowing to challenge the “status quo,” Fedrick C. Ingram has been elected president of the Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teachers union. Ingram, chosen by FEA delegates at a meeting on Oct. 12 in Orlando, will succeed Joanne McCall as president. Ingram, who has been

a vice president of the FEA for the past three years, previously served as president of United Teachers of Dade.

Wants ‘real change’ In comments released by the union, Ingram vowed to pursue “real change” in the state. “To Florida elected officials, get ready. We shall be mobilized, day in and day out, in Tallahassee and all across Florida,” Ingram said. “Our present funding for public schools and higher education is insufficient – and funneling millions of dollars to charter schools with no accountability is unacceptable. The pay scale for Florida teachers, education staff professionals, adjunct professors and the others who serve our students is among the lowest in the nation, so it’s no wonder it’s difficult to attract quality education professionals. The stakes for our students are too high to stick with the status quo.”

Another beachgoer, Richard Grande, 56, happened to be there with his wife, Laura Grande. The two, who live in Seminole, like to look for seashells in the area, he said. They heard a child shout, he said. The children looked to be stuck in a strong tidal current. Grande said he used to work in sanitation in New York and responded after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “I just kicked into rescue mode,” he said.

Mom tried The Grandes, along with two other bystanders, Greg Lynch and Scott Cooper, did their best

Moody is a former federal prosecutor who stepped down as a judge in April 2017 after just over a decade in the position. She has touted her experience as a prosecutor and judge and tried to portray Shaw as someone who hasn’t prosecuted any cases. She used a similar strategy while dispatching state Rep. Frank White of Pensacola in the Republican primary for attorney general.

Moody praises Bondi Moody has received backing from dozens of county sheriffs across the state. “What I have seen is the importance of having someone at the helm of the attorney general’s office that has prosecuted cases and knows how to move the ball on complex criminal-justice issues,” Moody said. “The Democrat Party has nominated a politician who has never prosecuted a case. If you want to see what a difference that can make, look at the last eight years, and the difference Attorney General Pam Bondi has made.”

Moody’s background Moody is from a family with a lengthy history in the legal profession. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and a law degree from the University of Florida and later a master’s of law in international law at the Stetson University College of Law. She practiced commercial litigation at Holland & Knight before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a federal prosecutor. Her husband, Justin, is a federal law-enforcement agent.

Third candidate The contest includes a third candidate, Wellington-based attorney Jeff Siskind, who is running without party affiliation. Siskind paid the $5,210.92 filing fee in June to run but has essentially been inactive since the Palm Beach Post did a story on his financial history, which included feuds with ex-clients and lenders.

to help while responders were on the way, deputies reported. Richard Grande said he managed to get one of the kids out of the water, and Laura Grande saved another. They saw Aboukhdair, who had been on the beach, go in to help. She was “going on just trying to hold her baby up,” Grande said. One of the older children on land also jumped in.

‘A bad scene’ But both became caught in the current themselves. Grande called it “just a bad scene,” seeing the woman start to drown. When St. Pete Fire Rescue arrived, responders pulled Aboukhdair and the remaining children from the water. The mother was taken to Palms of Pasadena Hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office. On Saturday night, deputies reported that she was in critical condition — but stable. But by Sunday morning, she had died.

‘Sad’ ordeal Grande said it was tough to watch the six siblings see what happened to their mother, and that the kids clung to his wife on the shore. He called the whole ordeal “sad.” Lynch said he was sending prayers to the Aboukhdair family. Deputies said three children suffered minor injuries, and authorities took them to the hospital as a precaution, but all were released Saturday night. Aboukhdair’s children were with a family friend Saturday night while they waited for her husband to fly back from another country, deputies reported. The other two children were reunited with their parents.

Shown above is the south end of Pass-aGrille Beach on Oct. 15. SCOTT KEELER/ TAMPA BAY TIMES/TNS

EDITORIAL

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

Shutting down AFRICOM and the new scramble for Africa The U.S. must cease its military occupation of Africans at home and abroad and abandon its attempt to rule the world by force. Marking exactly 10 years after the establishment of AFRICOM, short for U.S. Africa Command, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has launched “U.S. Out of Africa!: Shut Down AFRICOM,” a campaign designed to end the U.S. invasion and occupation of Africa. Although U.S. leaders say AFRICOM is “fighting terrorism” on the continent, in reality AFRICOM is a dangerous structure that has only increased militarism. The real reason for its existence is geopolitical competition with China.

Previously rejected When AFRICOM was established in the months before Barack Obama assumed office as the first Black president of the United States, most African nations ‒ led by the Pan-Africanist government of Libya ‒rejected AFRICOM, forcing the new command to instead work out of Europe. But with the U.S. and NATO attack on Libya that led to the destruction of that country and the murder of its leader, Muammar

NETFA FREEMAN BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Gaddafi, in 2011, corrupt African leaders began to allow AFRICOM forces to operate in their countries and establish military-tomilitary relations with the United States. Today, those efforts have resulted in 46 various forms of U.S. bases as well as military-to-military relations between 53 out of the 54 African countries and the United States. U.S. Special Forces troops now operate in more than a dozen African nations. “The real reason for AFRICOM’s existence is geopolitical competition with China.” Vice Admiral Robert Moeller, the head of AFRICOM, declared in 2008. “Protecting the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market is one of AFRICOM’s guiding principles.”

Same at home AFRICOM is the flip side of the

B-CU interim president not being honest with students Bethune-Cookman University’s Student Government Association (SGA) planned a protest earlier this week because of reports that the B-CU Board of Trustees (BOT) intends to remove Interim President Hugh Grimes during its meeting later in the week. The SGA urged students to skip class under the wrongful conclusion that failure to avert the BOT’s expected vote to remove Grimes would result in closure of the university by the accreditation agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), since the university is currently on probation and a review is scheduled in a few months.

Scare tactic The SGA’s admonition is untrue and is merely a calculated, selfish scare tactic. Some students threatened to withdraw and transfer. Sadly, the B-CU National Alumni Association leadership countenanced this dubious misinformation instead of gathering the proper facts and arming our young students with accurate information. Free speech and peaceable protest are a right, but it must be informed and responsible. B-CU students were misled and lied to. If Grimes truly cared for the students and about honesty, instead of his selfish interests, he would have shared with the students the truth: SACS has no interest in penalizing B-CU for a business decision to terminate an employee.

Flawed report Grimes’ conscious failure to come clean with the students is unsettling and borders on recklessness. The report he submitted to SACS was untruthful, flawed, woefully insufficient, and largely responsible for BCU’s probation. B-CU’s probation stems from failure to comply with accreditation

JOHNNY L. MCCRAY, JR., ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

standards in the area of integrity, among other reasons (e.g. misstated student enrollment). Yet, Grimes untruthfully stated publicly that SACS’ action was “a result of negative media exposure and pending litigation.” Many hoped that concerns of integrity followed Jackson out; apparently not. Grimes, the attorney in Jackson’s administration, has perpetuated such shortcomings. The lack of integrity cuts to the core and the substance of B-CU.

Here’s the truth Students were not told that Grimes is the subject of a lawsuit concerning the $372 million dorm deal which alleges he committed fraud, negligence, misrepresentation, and violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trades Practices Act. Grimes is also a key witness in another lawsuit against B-CU brought by a foreign developer over a project to build a multimillion-dollar apartment complex off-campus. B-CU alleges the deal was approved by Jackson without board knowledge. Grimes is alleged to have reviewed a letter of intent without informing the BOT. Grimes is an at-will employee and may be fired at the will of his employer. The BOT has the right and more than sufficient cause to remove him. If Grimes truly had the students’ best interests in mind, he would have come clean and admitted his removal would in no way adversely impact the upcoming review and not result in the closure of B-CU. In fact, he is aware that SACS focuses on processes and not people.

Johnny L. McCray, Jr. is a Pompano Beach-based attorney. He graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in 1974 and served on its Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2016.

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 324 QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

domestic war being waged by the same repressive state structure against Black and poor people in the United States. The Black power and civil rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was met with the repressive response of the FBI in the form of its COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) that effectively obliterated these movements for social justice and self-determination. In the same era on the continent of Africa, the CIA conspired with other colonizing powers to do the same things, exemplified by the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. BAP’s U.S. Out of Africa!: Shut Down AFRICOM campaign links the resistance to the domestic war on Black people to U.S. interventionism and militarism abroad. Not only does there need to be a mass movement in the U.S. to shut down AFRICOM, this mass movement needs to become inseparably bound with the movement that has swept this country to end murderous police brutality against Black and Brown people. The whole world must begin to see AFRICOM and

Million Man March plus 23 ‒ For me, this year has been “pregnant with meaning,” as Minister Louis Farrakhan famously said on the National Mall on that day. Dad (Charles, Sr.) would have turned 90 this year; our sister newspaper, the Daytona Times, celebrates its 40th year of continuous publication; daughter Chayla turned 18(!) a few days ago.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: HURRICANE MICHAEL

BILL DAY, TALLAHASSEE, FL

the militarization of U.S. domestic police departments as counterparts.

Petition and demands There is a petition that should be signed and distributed by all peace- and justice-loving people in support of BAP’s effort to help shut down all U.S. foreign military bases as well as NATO bases. BAP makes the following demands: the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa; the demilitarization of the African con-

B-CU deserves more than the ‘Blacktivist’ treatment

Like Ferguson, Baltimore and so many other cities which have generated protests in the face of police violence and uneven outcomes in the judicial process, is Daytona Beach the next great site for ‘Blacktivists’ seeking a windfall of social currency in the era of Trump? If it is, then the activists should encourage the students responsibly and thoughtfully. Their skipping class won’t pay BCU’s bills. Their sharing unfounded and incorrect theories about the school losing accreditation because of a presidential firing should be corrected by the adults in the room and on the yard, not egged on or ignored. If celebrities are going to attach themselves to Bethune-Cookman’s plight, then they should prepare for some obvious questions when they arrive. How much do you really know about Bethune-Cookman’s or any HBCU’s financial troubles, and how much have you done to help the institution prior to rushing down for camera time?

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.

Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1928-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members

If you are so troubled by issues at Bethune-Cookman, where were you when other HBCUs like Florida A&M University, Southern University, Morehouse College, Howard University, Morgan State University, Saint Augustine’s University, and South Carolina State University were facing similar controversy and corruption in recent years without a surplus of Black star power?

Needed earlier Bethune-Cookman needed Black star power when students were being shot and killed in a tragic stretch of gun violence years ago. B-CU needed celebrity attention when former president Edison Jackson, who is at the center of the school’s current financial crisis, threatened graduates at the university’s 2017 commencement exercises. And all HBCUs need all kinds of Black star power now to convince wealthy associates to give money, to promote Black students enrolling at HBCUs, and to help center the schools as economic, social, cultural, and industrial strongholds in Black communities nationwide. Unlike other incidents of Black protest in recent years, students aren’t getting arrested in the name of social reform. Unlike Howard University’s A Building takeover, there are no negotiations that will yield what the situation probably requires: a clean sweep of the entire board and executive administration. Black celebrity drop-ins can’t save BCU if the university is in fact doomed. But it can help save some campuses likely to face similar hardship in the years to come if our celebrities are seeking to make HBCUs an advocacy priority.

J. L. Carter, Sr. is the publisher of HBCUDigest.com.

erally “died with his boots on” 11 years later while still serving on the commission. God bless you, Dad. We still miss you every day… B-CU ‒ The latest brouhaha at the university is now between current Board of Trustees Chairman Michelle Carter-Scott and Interim President Hugh Grimes. They remind me of a snake and a mongoose fighting each other for survival (I’ll let you pick which animal represents which person). Now amid the drama, a crisis management firm comically named “Absolute Thinking”

Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM

HBCU DIGEST

The next Ferguson?

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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

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

MEMBER

Florida Press Association

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Society of Professional Journalists

National Newspaper Association

Associated Press

Netfa Freeman is an organizer in Pan-African Community Action (PACA), a member organization in the Black Alliance for Peace, as well as an analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies.

J.L. CARTER, SR.

Students at Bethune-Cookman University skipped class and held protests Monday against rumored plans to dismiss the school’s interim president, Hubert Grimes. The protest drew widespread attention on social media and attracted Baltimore-based pastor (and Morehouse College graduate) Jamal Bryant. So, is Bethune-Cookman ‒ with its debts and lawsuits potentially totaling millions of dollars and possible accreditation jeopardy ‒ on the brink of becoming the next site for Black celebrities and activists to capture fleeting moments of the spotlight?

October 16, 1993 was also the day Dad finally won an election after years of running for the state legislature and the Daytona Beach City Commission. My brother Glenn and I were with our good brother Louis Muhammad when we got the news on that evening 23 years ago. We jumped, hollered, and did a few Omega Psi Phi “hops” to celebrate. We knew it was gonna be a ride while he was on the city commission, and it was. Dad kicked ass, accomplished tasks like rebuilding infrastructure and diversifying the city’s leadership, and lit-

tinent; the closure of U.S. bases throughout the world; and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) opposing AFRICOM and conducting hearings on AFRICOM’s impact on the African continent.

sends out a pants-on-fire email that wasn’t reviewed by school leadership, resulting in a train wreck of a press conference that wasted everyone’s time. Add to all that the social media gang-up from a telegenic, media-savvy but fact-challenged young preacher, and you have all the makings of King Don Trumpstyle reality show. Meanwhile, the separate clocks of the accreditation agency and the three unresolved lawsuits against the university and Grimes himself continue to run. Tick, tick, tick…

Me? ccherry2@gmail.com.

Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-352-4455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call 877-352-4455; e-mail sales@flcourier.com. Subscriptions to the print version are $69 per year. Mail check to P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, or log on to www.flcourier.com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO NEWS@FLCOURIER.COM. Deadline for submitting news and pictures is 5 p.m. the Monday before the Friday publication date. You may submit articles at any time. However, current events received prior to deadline will be considered before any information that is submitted, without the Publisher’s prior approval, after the deadline. Press releases, letters to the editor, and guest commentaries must be e-mailed to be considered for publication. The Florida Courier reserves the right to edit any submission, and crop any photograph, for style and clarity. Materials will not be returned.

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

Jamal Khashoggi and U.S. hypocrisy The disappearance and presumed murder of Jamal Khashoggi puts the corrupt relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States in high relief. The two countries have been partners in crime over many years. Together they used jihadist proxies to make wars in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria that furthered U.S. interests. The brutal Saudi attack on neighboring Yemen could not happen without U.S. diplomatic and logistical support.

Love affair The Donald Trump presidency has brought the two even closer. The relationship is now a true love affair complete with personal dealings between Saudi royals and the Trumps. Khashoggi was a member of a prominent Saudi family with strong ties to the royal house. His uncle, Adnan Khashoggi, was an arms dealer involved in the IranContra and BCCI scandals. But Jamal Khashoggi had a parting of the ways with crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the de facto ruler, and he left Saudi Arabia in 2017. He was a long time Saudi spokesman, CIA asset and a Washington Post journalist. All those credentials made him an elite insider in the United States too. Khashoggi entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2 and was never seen again. According to media reports, the Turkish government has audio and video proof that he was murdered and that his body was dismembered and disposed of elsewhere.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Different standard The Saudis may kill 50 Yemeni children on a school bus and get only a few mild rebukes. But killing a prominent man who has all the right political and intelligence agency connections is another story entirely. Ordinarily compliant American senators are now going through the motions of asking questions and proposing sanctions or other punishments against the kingdom. Corporate media like the New York Times, CNN and CNBC have dropped out of the Future Investment Initiative meeting which is known as “Davos” in the desert. The plight of starving Yemenis gets little attention, but a hit job committed openly and without fear of recourse is too much. Liberal sensibilities were offended by the crassness of the act and by the position of the victim. The outrage is coming long after the Saudis began their war crime against Yemen. They have been bombing and starving that country since 2014 and are responsible for an estimated 50,000 deaths. They have blockaded ports and denied access to food and medicine. Yemen is during a cholera outbreak and millions are displaced refugees. These atrocities were not enough to put Saudi Arabia on the list of infamy where it belongs.

How long before Rand Paul’s fears are realized? One would think that a Democrat Party that lost a President John F. Kennedy; an attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy; saw a civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a black activist, Malcolm X, all killed by assassination in times of inflammatory political rhetoric, would resist speech and actions that could produce similar heinous acts. Not quite. Look at the incendiary and violence-inciting tone and language of former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

‘Time to fight’ Clinton recently said that “you can’t be civil with a political party that works to destroy what you stand for.” The dog whistle meaning: Do whatever you want to them and their families. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, in his own dog whistle message to Antifa and other radical groups, said, “When they go low, we kick them.” Clinton and Holder are telling

CLARENCE V. MCKEE, ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

Democrats’ mob allies we have seen in action over the past several weeks: It’s OK, take off the gloves. Give them more of the same ‒ and more. As President Trump said regarding Holder’s comment on “Fox & Friends”: “He better be careful what he’s wishing for. That’s a disgusting statement for him to make. For him to make a statement like that is a very dangerous statement.” Trump is right. We are now in a full-fledged cultural and political war where violence and intimidation of public officials is a valid method of combat. In a previous column in June I stated, in part: “the caustic and toxic gasoline of hate speech’ was inviting someone ‘to light the match that will ignite a bond fire

Let’s talk about faith and currencies Each nation or government has its own form of currency, i.e. money. We have the dollar. France has the franc, Russia has the ruble, England has the pound and so on. Each form of money is backed up by “faith”. If other nations have trust in it, things will go along OK. A good example of this is the 9/11 experience. That day on September 11, 2001 when the United States was attacked by terrorists ramming hi-jacked airliners into New York skyscrapers the United States was seriously threatened, and the world economy was at risk. What did we do?

Stabilizing actions Our Federal Reserve had to assure the world that things would be stable. They sent cash deposits to all the Federal Reserve banks, then informed the world banks that the United States was cash-

GUEST COLUMNIST

rich and stable. That action kept peace throughout the markets of the world and there was no financial catastrophe. There was a time when we backed our treasury with gold. We kept mountains of gold at Fort Knox, Ky., to back up our currency. President Nixon pulled us away from that concept and since then we act on own faith – “In God We Trust.” Our dollar is accepted everywhere. It is all about faith and daily market closings. That scares me. But it doesn’t scare Kay. She

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE U.S. AND SAUDI ARABIA

Barack Obama was only slightly less subservient to the kingdom than Trump is today.

Not much difference The Yemen attack began during his term in office. He continued the tradition of $100 billion defense deals with the feudal monarchy and made the relationship a top priority. He cut short a 2015 visit to India to meet the newly crowned King Salman and brought along an entourage including Condi Rice, James Baker, John McCain and Nancy Pelosi. Trump differs from Obama and other presidents only in his inability to be diplomatic. When first asked about a possible response to Khashoggi’s disappearance, he made it clear that he would do nothing to threaten war contractor profits. In defending the crown prince, he mentioned Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed by name as he dismissed any talk of sanctions. Trump-style politics provides further complications. Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner has formed a close friendship with Mohammed bin Salman. Kushner’s security clearance gave him access to information which he gave to the crown prince. Kushner is the likely source who turned in Saudi royals ‒ also connected to the CIA ‒ who opposed the de facto ruler. These people were imprisoned, at least one was killed, their assets were seized and many now live under house arrest. Trump publicly supported the move. It is easy to find yet another reason to look askance at Trump and his vulgar and incompetent family, but Saudi Arabia will be a U.S. partner in wrongdoing no matter

PATRICK CHAPPATTE, THE NEW YORK TIMES

who is in the White House. Prince Bandar bin Sultan was known as “Bandar Bush” because of his close relationship with two presidents and their confidantes. The nuances of keeping friends on a short leash are lost on Trump. Media reports say that the Trump administration was aware that Khashoggi was in danger of being detained but didn’t protect a man who had worked with and for past administrations since the 1990s. The Saudis started a near war with Qatar in 2017 and were supported by Trump in the effort. Qatar is a close ally of Turkey, the country where they chose to disappear Khashoggi. They would not have acted so recklessly unless they were certain of U.S. compliance. Trump again tears away the veneer of U.S. foreign policy. He is not smart enough to hide the dirty dealings. He doesn’t know when to reign in friends and he encourages rash behavior. But that doesn’t really make him worse than his predecessors. He is just less savvy and incapable of

behaving within the norms laid down by tradition.

been one word of disapproval from Democrats at any level. Their silence signals their support. Things are so bad that Paul’s wife, Kelley, expressed her anger in a CNN Op-Ed in which she called on Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., to “retract” his earlier statement where he urged his followers to “get up in the face of congresspeople.” She called upon Booker to “condemn violence,” “the leaking of elected officials’ personal addresses” from a Senate directory given only to senators, and “the Democrats, of course Before, during, and after the intimidation and threats that are Kavanaugh confirmation hear- being hurled at them and their ings, political discourse and ci- families.” vility by progressives and Democrats descended to new levels. Re- Not a word publican senators were confrontAs far as I know, neither Booked and harassed at the airport, er nor any Democrat senator has Senate Office Building hallways, condemned any of the violence, elevators, restaurants, and re- intimidation, threats, and leakceived death threats and obscene ing of personal information. In messages. fact, Judiciary Committee memProtesters tried to disrupt the ber Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Kavanaugh Senate roll call vote twice refused to answer a jourand pounded and clawed at the nalist’s question on whether she doors of the United States Su- thought harassing Republican preme Court after Kavanaugh had senators in restaurants was taking been confirmed. things a bit too far. To all this mob rule and disAs Paul asks in her letter, is unruption ‒ including the recent po- civil conduct and actions such as lice-tolerated shutdown of traffic, those the Paul’s and other Repubdamaging of cars, confrontation lican Senators have been the vicand harassment of drivers by An- tim of “…the way to express contifa in Portland, Ore. ‒ there has cern or enact change? Or does it not, to the best of my knowledge, only incite unstable people to vi-

olence making them feel that assaulting a person is somehow politically justifiable?” One thing is clear from their silence: The Democratic Party and its leaders in the House and Senate approve of the mob-like tactics of anti-Kavanaugh protesters during the past few weeks and the harassment of Republican officials in the months before.

and most of the world are accepting a concept known as “Bitcoin.” While we are trying to adjust to the concept of Bitcoin, here comes “blockchain.” I will let her explain it.

poses. However, transactions are trackable, so illegal activity can be detected. To get started, get a Bitcoin wallet and add Bitcoin to it. You can get Bitcoin by receiving payment for a product or go online and buy it from a currency exchange. You can make purchases with the Bitcoin wallet app on your phone. A Bitcoin wallet is like a regular wallet in terms of securing it and your money. Lots of places accept Bitcoin. You can pay for airplane tickets, college tuition, apps for your phone, and many other products. If you are a store owner, consider using Bitpay.com as your secure payment gateway for your Bitcoin payments. You can instantly and cheaply remit money to your family in another country. Some people use Bitcoin as an investment. Some do get rich, but it takes time and attention. I’m sticking with small purchases. Now let’s spill that tea about Bishop Greenleaf.

of political assassinations…’” Since then, political discourse and civility in America has descended to even lower levels. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently told a Kentucky radio station that he feared “there’s going to be an assassination. I really worry that somebody is going to be killed, and that those who are ratcheting up the conversation ... they have to realize they bear some responsibility if this elevates to violence.” And who is ratcheting up the conversation?

We are in HARRY C. ALFORD

EDITORIAL

Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they are produced by computers all around the world. They can only be used on the computer, phone or other devices. A computer expert using the name Satoshi Nakamoto developed Bitcoin in 2008. We don’t know the identity of this person. The idea was to produce a means of exchange, independent of any central authority, that could be transferred electronically in a secure and verifiable way. Some people don’t trust banks and abhor the control that banks have on their money. Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed, which is great for business owners who have experienced chargebacks (where the buyer cancels the payment after receiving the product) with traditional credit card companies. And the sender and receiver are anonymous, identified only by the address on their wallet.

Complicit media The hypocrisy doesn’t end with Trump and Kushner. It can be seen in the corporate media who cover for a war crime against Yemen. They are easily bought off by a prince who opens movie theaters and allows women to drive. But they also know who funds the thinktanks and who has the connections with their bosses. They may despise Trump, but it isn’t for the reasons they ought to dislike him. They are a party to the hypocrisy, as much as the foreign despots or their presidential partners. There are no heroes in this story. There is only a missing man and corruption in high places in two nations.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR and is widely reprinted elsewhere.

No friends You would at least think that Senate Democrat women would vigorously condemn the Women’s March for tweeting a photo of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, emblazoned with the words “Rape Apologist.” I hope that Sen. Collins realizes that they are not her friends. She defended Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Ca., on allegations that Feinstein leaked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s letter to the press. Yet, as far as I know, Feinstein has not returned the favor and criticized Women’s March organizers and others on the left for their attacks on Collins. How long will it be before Sen. Paul’s fears are realized?

Clarence V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc., a government, political, and media relations consulting firm in Florida.

My husband Harry is a doubter. And that’s okay. Both of our sons are in the financial tech arena and both are invested in Bitcoin. Even “Greenleaf,” a show on Oprah’s OWN streaming network, is talking about Bitcoin as an investment strategy. I don’t believe that Bishop James Greenleaf’s strategy is going to fare very well, but that’s a drama best discussed over a cup of tea. Bitcoin is a digital and global money system. It allows people to send or receive money across the Internet, even to someone they don’t know. Money can be exchanged without being linked to a real identity. The system enables payments to be sent between users without passing through a central author- Trackable transactions Harry C. Alford and Kay DeUnlike traditional transactions Bow are the co-founders of the ity, such as a bank or payment gateway. It is created and held where the identities of the parties National Black Chamber of are known for verification pur- Commerce (nationalbcc.org). electronically.

NATION

TOJ A6

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

IRFAN KHAN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Authorities arrested 21 suspected members of MS-13 in Los Angeles County on May 17, 2017.

Justice Department to tackle international gangs Sessions said new task force will focus on five criminal organizations BY DEL QUENTIN WILBER LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced Monday it was creating a task force to coordinate the fight against international criminal gangs such as MS-13 and drug cartels from Mexico and Columbia, the latest effort to control cross-border organized crime groups that the Trump administration has trumpeted as a major threat.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the task force would help to better “coordinate our efforts to take each of these groups off our streets for good.” In a statement, Sessions said the task force would focus on five transnational criminal organizations: MS-13, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Clan del Golfo and Lebanese Hezbollah.

ism offenses last year, including one man who allegedly was scouting John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for a potential Hezbollah attack. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will lead the task force, while five veteran prosecutors from around the country were tapped to lead investigations and prosecutions against the five groups.

Rosenstein in charge

Prosecutors named

Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a foreign terrorist group, long has raised and laundered money in the United States. But several alleged members of the group were charged with terror-

The push against Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel will be led by Matthew Sutton, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of California. Other prosecutors were named in New York, Flori-

Video showing Black man blocked from entering his home goes viral BY ERIN HEFFERNAN ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/TNS

ST. LOUIS – Videos showing a White neighbor blocking a Black man from entering his downtown St. Louis loft got national attention last weekend including more than 5 million views on Facebook and coverage in The New York Times. D’Arreion Toles, 24, was trying to enter his home in the Elder Shirt Lofts building, 703 North 13th St., the night of Oct. 12 when a White woman guiding D’Arreion a dog on a leash blocked him and asked what unit he lives in, according to videos he posted to Facebook.

Used his key The post says the videos show what Hilary Brooke it’s like to be a Black Mueller man in America. “I’m uncomfortable,” the woman says in the video, arguing that he pushed his way into the building. “OK, you can be uncomfortable,” Toles says. He tells her he used a key to get in and said he didn’t have to give her his unit number, which she requests. The video shows the woman eventually getting into an elevator with Toles and following him to his apartment. “I’m going to my house,” Toles tells her as she walks behind him down the hall. “Where I live at — where I pay.”

da, and in Washington, D.C. “This is about being focused on bringing cases and helping to dismantle these organizations,” said a senior Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. “These prosecutors have been bringing cases against these groups for decades.” Associate Deputy Attorney General Patrick Hovakimian was named as the first director of Counter Transnational Organized Crime to coordinate strategies and tactics. Hovakimian, a former federal prosecutor in Southern California, has worked in the deputy attorney general’s office since early 2017.

Cohen leading force Sessions also appointed Adam Cohen, a former prosecutor in Florida who now is a senior lawyer in the Justice Department’s criminal division, to run the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. That task force was created in 1982 and targets major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. It was led until last December by Bruce Ohr, but he was removed after he came under fire from the White House for his actions in the Justice Department’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign.

Police show up The woman continues to watch as Toles enters the apartment with a key. About 30 minutes later, St. Louis police officers knocked on Toles’ door, presumably called by the woman, according the post. It’s not clear how long the officers were at the building or what actions they took. The St. Louis police department did not immediately respond to questions seeking confirmation or details about the call.

Woman fired Toles could not be reached by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The woman [Hilary Brooke Mueller] also could not be reached for comment Monday, but her employer, Tribeca-STL Management, posted on its Facebook page saying that she had been fired. “(We) do not and never will stand for racism or racial profiling at our company,” the statement read. In videos after the encounter, Toles said he doesn’t want to bash the woman, but hopes the negative interaction will lead to less people facing the same kind of behavior.

Other incidents The video is the latest example in St. Louis of outrage after police are called on a Black person doing nothing wrong. In May, Nordstrom Rack leadership apologized to the families of three young Black men after they were falsely accused of stealing from the Brentwood store and police were called. In July, the City of Clayton issued a formal apology to a group of Black Washington University students who were stopped and falsely accused of leaving an IHOP without paying. The police were responding to a dine-and-dash call at the restaurant when they stopped the students. The officers had them return to the restaurant followed by squad cars despite some of the students providing receipts for their meals.

ETHAN HYMAN/RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER/TNS

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt, left, talks with athletic director Bubba Cunningham during a news conference at the university on Oct. 22, 2014.

Chancellor apologizes for UNC’s connections to slavery, racial injustice BY JANE STANCILL NEWS & OBSERVER/TNS

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — On the University of North Carolina’s 225th birthday on Oct. 12, Chancellor Carol Folt issued a public apology for the university’s connections to slavery and injustice to African Americans.

First lady’s spokesman calls for T.I. boycott FROM WIRE REPORTS

Melania Trump’s spokesperson has called for a boycott of rapper T.I. (Clifford Harris) after he released a video featuring a first lady look-alike stripping in the Oval Office. In the rapper’s promotional video for his new album, the stripper had donned

“As chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I offer our university’s deepest apology for the profound injustices of slavery,” Folt said. She told the crowd that the words, though important, are not enough. “Our apology must lead to purposeful action,” the chancellor said.

a jacket that reads, “I really don’t care, do u?” The jacket was similar to the one Mrs. Trump wore on June 21 before visiting a children’s center in McAllen, Texas, sheltering migrant kids. Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokesman, tweeted on Oct. 13: “How is this acceptable? #disgusting #boycottT.I.’’ T.I. had tweeted before releasing the video on Oct. 12: “Dear 45, I ain’t Kanye.’’ After Kanye West’s visit with Trump on Oct. 11 at the White House, T.I. posted on Instagram that he was ashamed to have been associated with West.

IFE/FAITH

career for ‘Daily Show’ correspondent See page B5

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A taste test of coffee creamers See page B6

SECTION

‘GET IN YOUR SECTION’ Thousands of ornately costumed ‘masqueraders’ from as far away as Germany converged on the Miami-Dade Fairgrounds on Oct. 7 to compete in the Miami Carnival Parade of Bands. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ‒ The international Caribbean Carnival season closed this month with the 2018 Miami Carnival Parade of Bands and Concert, one of the biggest cultural events in the state. Carnival celebrated 34 years of the event in the South Florida area. Here are the results of this year’s Parade of Bands competition: • Band of the Year: Ramajay International Mas. Second place: Revel Nation Carnival. Third: Big and Strong/One Island Band. Fourth: Bajan Fuh Evah. Fifth: Mascots International. Sixth: tie between Party Room Squad and Fun Generation. Seventh: D-Junction Mas. Eighth: Euphoria Production. Ninth: Generation X. Tenth: Major Players. 11: Ti Chapo. 12: Wassi Ones. • Female Individual, first place: Jessie Schuster of Revel Nation, portraying Dio Don. Second place: Njeri Plato, Party Room Squad (Aspire). Third place: Erica Hosein, Party Room Squad (Acire). • Male Individual, first place: Jason Edwards, Generation X (Mutant Jelly Fish). • Queen of Carnival, first place: Sheila Boyd, Ramajay Mas International (Asteria the Amazonian Warrior). Second place, Janice Stone, Party Room Squad (Luma the Peacock, Goddess of Illumination). Third place, Joanne Suite, Revel Nation (Mandarin Dragnet). • King of Carnival, first place: Earl Beckles, Generation X (Trini Carnival Jumbie in Rio). Second place; Tony Irish, Party Room Squad (Africa’s King of Kings).

Source: Harris Public Relations

The ‘king’ of Generation X Mas leads the band.

Gorgeous hairdos are also an important part of the total mas costume experience. 2

Major Players’ theme was “The Hunger Games.”

Three spectators memorialize their 2018 Miami Carnival experience. 4

Fast-talking deejays and blasting soca music keep the rolling party going. 5

There’s nothing bands can do when the beat hits but dance. A moko jumbie stilt dancer is a customary feature of Carnival. 8. Mas players hustle to find their bands and ‘get in their sections.’

PHOTOS BY CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

EVENTS & BOOKS

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

TANK

95.7’s Beats by the Bay is Nov. 3 in St. Petersburg. Performers: Keith Sweat, Fantasia, Tank, Next, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh

Pembroke Pines: The Us Against the World tour with David and Tamela Mann stops at the Charles F. Dodge City Center on Oct. 28. Miami Gardens: The City of Miami Gardens will present The Pink Tea at 2 p.m. Oct. 28 at the City Hall Courtyard. Host: Stichiz from 103.5 The Beat

THELMA HOUSTON

The legendary singer’s Motown Experience featuring a tribute to Aretha Franklin is Nov. 16 at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

Jacksonville: Edward Waters College’s homecoming football game is Oct. 20 against Ave Maria University. Details: EWCTigerPride. com

KENNY ‘BABYFACE’ EDMONDS Hot 105’s annual R&B Groove is Nov. 10 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami featuring Bell Biv Devoe, Bobby Brown, Kenny “Babyface’’ Edmonds

Hollywood: Catch actor and comedian Tracy Morgan on Nov. 3 at Hard Rock Live. Tampa: NAMI Hillsborough’s annual walk/ run is Oct. 27 at USF. Details: namihillsborough.org/walk-run.

Novel a moving tale of slavery and escape BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

“Washington Black,’’ Esi Edugyan’s third novel, opens in 1830, on Faith plantation in Barbados. An 11-year-old field hand, christened George Washington Black by his first master, who said, sarcastically, that he saw in the baby the birth of a nation, Esi a warrior-presiEdugyan dent, “and a land of sweetness and freedom,” has become the manservant to Christopher Wilde, brother of the plantation master. A loner, designer of a flying machine, and an abolitionist, “Titch” Wilde forges a bond – of sorts – with “Wash.” Before the novel ends, Wash will find himself (with and without Titch) in Virginia, Nova Sco-

BOOK REVIEW

Review of “Washington Black’’ by Esi Edugyan. Alfred. A. Knopf. 334 pages. $26.95 tia, the Arctic, London, Amsterdam, and Morocco. He will discover his artistic talent. Most im-

Miami Dolphins DCCVIII representatives present the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center with the $5 million donation from this year’s ride/ walk/run event.

portant, he will acquire a powerful understanding of the impact of slavery and the meaning of freedom, forgiveness, and love.

Compelling characters “Washington Black’’ has some Dickensian qualities. The novel’s cast of characters is large and compelling. Big Kit, a fierce, proud, and protective slave, tells Wash that when she dies she will wake up in Dahomey, her homeland, a free woman who “ain’t got to answer” when someone asks a question and “ain’t got to finish no job you don’t want to finish.” When he laments that he was born “here,” she promises to take him with her: “That’s how it works.” John Willard, a vicious slave catcher, quotes Aristotle to support the claim that “some creatures are put here in the service of others.” A Fellow of the Royal Society in England, Titch’s father, a “man with a broken apparatus in place of a heart,” prefers scientific investigation in an Arctic igloo to life with his family.

‘A rare thing’ Edugyan’s novel is also Dickensian in its reliance on improb-

Miami Dolphins raise millions for cancer research SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

The Miami Dolphins announced this week that its 2018 Dolphins Cancer Challenge VIII (DCC VIII) raised $5,079,000 for innovative cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, bringing the event’s eight-year total to more than $27.5M. “Ultimately, our goal is to tackle cancer, and the money we raise goes directly to funding those doctors dedicated to the innovative cancer research at Sylvester,’’ said DCC Executive Director Jennifer Jehn. “This donation demonstrates that we are all in this together, that you don’t have to have cancer to fight cancer and after bringing the DCC’s total to 27.5 million, we are getting ready for DCC IX which we hope will be

Ponte Vedra: Singer Shemekia Copeland will be at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on Nov. 10.

Orlando: Clerks Against Domestic Violence, a workshop with Harbor House of Central Florida, Mental Health Association of Central Florida, and Orlando Police Department, is 6 p.m. Oct. 25. Marks Street Senior Center. Register at www.myorangeclerk. com.

Fort Lauderdale: “Porgy and Bess’’ chorus auditions for the South Florida Symphony’s production are underway. More info: auditions@southfloridasymphony.org

Daytona Beach: Sisaundra Lewis of “The Voice’ performs Nov. 10 at BethuneCookman University’s Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center.

Tampa: The Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s is Nov. 3 starting at Amalie Arena. Register at alz. org/walk.

Orlando: BethuneCookman and Florida A&M will meet in the annual Florida Classic on Nov. 17 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. Details: FloridaClassic.org

Orlando: The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival continues through Nov. 12. Kenny G and Billy Ocean are among the October “Eat to the Beat’’ performers.

Risking it all Looking at Titch’s “sad, kind face,” Wash acknowledges that in joining an abolitionist society, he did “far more than most to end the suffering of a people whose toil was the very source of his power,” risking his own comfort, relationships with family members, and his good name.

FLORIDA COURIER

Tallahassee: Florida A&M’s football team faces Morgan State at Bragg Memorial Stadium. Game time: 4 p.m.

Tampa: The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists’ Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet is Nov. 15 at the Tampa Marriott Westshore. Speaker: Yvette Miley of MSNBC and NBC News. Details: tbabj.com

able events to drive the plot and get Wash to his next destination. Unlike Dickens, Edugyan occasionally uses words like “transnational” and “mind-set” that seem out of place in a 19th-century setting. These flaws do not detract very much (or at all) from Edugyan’s moving, and at times profound, exploration of identity, self-discovery, and the systemic social and cultural forces that divide human beings. Wash cannot forget that Titch chose him, initially, because he had the ideal weight to provide ballast for his Cloud Cutter flying machine. “What else would I have had to go on?” Titch asks. “It is not why I befriended you,” he adds, “You were a rare thing.” “Thing?” Wash shoots back. “Person. A rare person,” says Titch. “Not so rare that I could not be abandoned,” says Wash.

COURTESY OF MIAMI DOLPHINS

Wash knows that Titch had saved him from an almost certain death at Faith plantation. “His harm,” he continues to believe, “was in not understanding that he still had the ability to cause it.”

Some hope Even as Edugyan lays bare the brutality of slavery, she leaves us with some hope that individuals can cut through racist assumptions and embrace one another as human beings. When Wash declares that no person can discern “the true nature of another’s suffering,” Titch responds: “No. But you can try your damnedest not to worsen it.” The two men fell silent, Edugyan writes. Recognizing now that Titch had suffered emotional wounds as a child, George Washington Black walks slowly toward him and “very slowly, very gently,” places a soft hand on his shoulder. Might Wash be fulfilling his role as the founder of a land of sweetness and freedom?

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.

FLORIDA’S ONLY BLACK STATEWIDE NEWSPAPER More than 182,000 readers weekly WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

our best year yet.”

Ranked by Google as Florida’s #1 Black newspaper website

Signature initiative Started in 2010 by the Miami Dolphins as the signature initiative of the Miami Dolphins Foundation’s health impact area, the DCC is dedicated to improving people’s lives through the financial support of innovative cancer research at Sylvester. The DCC IX is scheduled to take place April 6, 2019 and includes five bike routes throughout South Florida, a run/walk 5K and a finish line concert celebration. “The fact that the DCC has become the largest event fundraiser in the NFL speaks volumes about the amount of work and commitment the Dolphins have dedicated to supporting cancer research at Sylvester,’’ said Dr. Stephen Nimer, director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. “To date more than $27 million have been raised and are being used to fund pediatric sarcoma and leukemia research, our Precision Medicine Initiative, startup packages for emerging researchers, community outreach in underserved areas and more.”

1 of only 5 ethnic papers worldwide selected by the Poynter Institute for Obama election front-page coverage and design TO ADVERTISE STATEWIDE OR IN A SINGLE ZONE call 877-352-4455 or email Sales@flcourier.com

Winner of numerous journalism awards from Associated Press, National Association of Black Journalists, Florida Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/flcourier/ Follow us on Twitter @flcourier

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

STOJ

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

HEALTH

Not too young to have breast cancer Because the numbers are relatively small, some doctors don’t always jump to cancer as a conclusion in younger women. BY AISHA POWELL MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Melissa Rojas was a week away from her one-year wedding anniversary when she learned she had breast cancer. The 28-yearold nurse had no family history of the disease. Jasmine Harris was 26 working as a health coordinator at a hospital when she felt a lump in her breast while taking a shower. Joan Bauman was a 45-yearold mother of four running ultramarathons when a lump in her breast grew more painful. All three were considered “too young” for breast cancer. Indeed, fewer than 5 percent of women under 40 are diagnosed yearly with breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

More aggressive However, there will be more than 12,000 diagnoses of breast cancer in women under 40 this year, and more than 26,000 in women under 45, according to NCI. The median age of a breast cancer diagnosis in U.S. women is 62, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the organizer behind the Oct. 13 Komen Miami/Fort Lauderdale More Than Pink Walk at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. Breast cancer in younger women tends to be a more aggressive cancer, researchers say, because it’s often diagnosed later, is farther along when found and insurance companies set minimum ages on mammograms, which can deter detection.

JACQUELINE MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY/BROWARD HEALTH CENTER

Jasmine Harris is pictured with her then 1-year-old son, Stanley Jacques Jr. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 26. She became pregnant after her radiation and gave birth to her son in 2016. saying he couldn’t believe that someone who ran marathons and was relatively young — she was diagnosed when she was 45 — could have breast cancer. “People say you are a survivor and I don’t agree with that because I never felt like I was in jeopardy,” said Bauman, who went through four rounds of chemo and underwent a double mastectomy in April.

Kept running She ran throughout her chemotherapy. After her last round, she ran a 50K — a 32-mile run — the next day. “I did it for myself,” said the elementary school teacher from Palm City, near Stuart. “To show that chemo and cancer can’t keep me down.” The perception that younger women don’t get cancer has seeped into insurance policies. Insurance companies generally don’t cover the cost of mammograms of women under 40, unless they are deemed high risk, which includes a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer or a genetic mutation.

Doctors slow to act In addition, because the numbers are relatively small, some doctors don’t always jump to cancer as a conclusion in younger women. In fact, nearly 80 percent of young women diagnosed with breast cancer found their breast abnormality themselves, according to a 2009 Journal of Oncology study about breast cancer in younger women. As such, they may have to push their doctor to get a mammogram, ultrasound or biopsy. Harris, the 26-year-old, initially brought her concerns to her gynecologist, who thought she had a cyst related to her menstrual cycle.

PATRICK FARRELL/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Melissa Rojas is shown with her family, son Chris Vera, husband Juan Rojas and son Pablo Rojas Oct 7. Melissa was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2013 when she was 28. She underwent a double mastectomy in August 2016 and then went through eight rounds of chemotherapy. In May of 2018, a biopsy of a swollen lymph node revealed the cancer was back. She had 36 lymph nodes removed two months later. “Why would I be checking my breast in my 20s?” said Rojas, who advocates for younger women to do self-exams and get tested. “You either go into flight or fight mode,” she said. “I was going to fight.”

Biopsy, chemo He told her to come back after the cycle was over. She did and asked for an ultrasound, as the lump had not gone away. The ultrasound showed a mass, which required a biopsy. The biopsy, performed in August 2015, came back positive. “The doctor sat me down and just kept apologizing,” Harris said, referring to her radiologist’s reaction. Harris went to Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach for treatment of triple negative breast cancer. After four rounds of chemotherapy, her tumor was gone. She then had a double mastectomy followed by a month of radiation.

Rabbi’s story

‘Just get tested’ Three months later, she learned she was pregnant, a big surprise since she hadn’t frozen her eggs. (Chemo and radiation can render women infertile.) She gave birth to a healthy baby boy nine months later. “Get tested no matter how old you are,” she says. “Just get tested.” Rojas, the 28-year-old nurse, had a similar experience with her doctors. She felt a lump during a selfexamination in December 2012, and went to a breast cancer clinic to get it checked out. There, she was told she was too young for cancer. Rojas underwent a mammogram, which came back negative. Six months later, after the lump grew larger and got more painful, she had a biopsy.

Radiation, pregnancy She was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer, which had spread to her

MATIAS J. OCNER/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Tamara Rodriguez of Davie, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, is the author of “Hair to the Queen!,” an illustrated children’s book that explains cancer to children. lymph nodes. She went to the Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida for treatment. After a year of chemo, her tumor shrunk, she had surgery to remove some of her lymph nodes and began a month of radiation. In September 2014 — six months after finishing her radiation treatments — she became pregnant. Although Rojas froze her eggs, a process that cost her

$20,000 in out-of-pocket insurance costs, she had a natural pregnancy.

Another tumor After her son was born, Rojas felt hardening along the scar tissue on her breast. Her doctor said it was normal for scar tissue to harden over time. She insisted on an ultrasound, which revealed a tumor attached to the scar tissue.

Rachel Greengrass, associate rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Pinecrest, learned that lesson early on. She found a lump while breastfeeding her 2-year-old son. She was 32. She saw her doctor, who suggested it was a cyst caused by hormonal changes after her pregnancy. She insisted on getting a mammogram, which led to a biopsy. In March 2013, she was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer. “As a rabbi, I had known so many women who had gone through cancer treatment,” she said. After six rounds of chemotherapy and a bilateral mastectomy, she has been cancer-free for five years.

More skeptical doctors Bauman, the marathon runner, also found skeptical doctors on her breast cancer journey. She found a lump in her breast in 2015. After getting a mammogram, her doctors said it was nothing. A year later, another mammogram came back benign. Two years later, in February 2018, a biopsy revealed she had stage 2 breast cancer. Her doctor was in disbelief,

No cancer risk But genetic mutations are rare. “Only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancer diagnoses are genetic,” said Dr. Joyce Slingerland, director of the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, where Bauman was treated. None of the women had hereditary cancer or had mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which can increase the risk of contracting breast cancer.

Diagnosed later Slingerland said although younger women are not diagnosed as often, the concern is they’re often diagnosed later, leading to more aggressive cancer. Tamara Rodriguez, CFO of Fatima Group, a conglomerate that focuses on rebuilding Haiti, was diagnosed at 35. She said that she didn’t have a history of cancer in her Haitian family, didn’t smoke cigarettes, ate healthy and had none of the typical risk factors associated with breast cancer.

Words for daughters Her oncologist, Dr. Lauren Carcus at the Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist, said she typically sees patients who are under 40 because she herself is a younger oncologist. Rodriguez, who later wrote a book, “Hair to the Queen,” to explain breast cancer to her two daughters, was told that she was too young to have breast cancer. “I wish I would’ve known that younger women were able to get cancer,” said Rodriguez. “I wish I knew that even though I lived a healthy lifestyle I could get it. I wish I knew what caused it, and I wish there were more tools for families to understand breast cancer.”

ENVIRONMENT

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

STOJ

group’s board, was named in the suit. While not wealthy, Eaton is better off than most in town.

2017 settlement The retired shop teacher built his own house, cutting two by fours and assembling the framing after work. He chuckled when he got the company’s notice, which he called an intimidation tactic. His wife did not think it was funny. “Her life flashed before her eyes. She said we’ve done too much and come too far to let them take this,” he said, gesturing inside his home. “It’s one of the reasons I agreed to the settlement.” With help from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the residents settled the lawsuit without any payment in 2017.

Opposing view

Downtown Uniontown has been slowly shuttering through the years. Many businesses have closed, and there are several crumbling plantations nearby.

Small town vs. big pollution Black residents in Alabama city allege environmental racism BY REBECCA BEITSCH STATELINE.ORG

UNIONTOWN, Ala. – It’s 6 p.m. on a Tuesday in August and residents who have climbed the City Hall steps learn that, once again, there will be no city council meeting. So once again, they will be unable to discuss with local officials the pollution that has been plaguing their small town for the better part of a decade. Uniontown has an inordinate number of polluters for a town of 2,300, and residents say city leaders often dodge their attempts to air their grievances. There’s the landfill next to the historic Black cemetery that residents opposed from the beginning but went apoplectic over when it started accepting coal ash after a spill of the waste in Tennessee.

In their backyard There’s the pungent odor from a cheese plant that has released its waste into a local creek, according to an environmental group’s hidden cameras. And then there’s the wastewater from the catfish processing plant, which contributes to an overwhelmed sewage system that spills fecal matter into local waterways. Many residents feel all this pollution has been dumped in their backyard — and allowed to continue — because for the most part, they are Black, poor and uneducated. “Look at every Black community or poor community,” said Esther Calhoun, a resident who has been involved in numerous lawsuits against the town’s polluters. “The EPA is supposed to be the Environmental Protection Agency, but they’re protecting the rich. What do they do for us? Nothing.”

Complaint nationwide It’s a similar story across Alabama and much of the country. Many minority communities say their towns have been targeted by polluting industries because residents have few resources to put up a fight, and state and federal agencies have largely sided with industry when locals have challenged polluters. Black residents in Union Hill, Virginia; North Birmingham, Alabama; Braddock, Pennsylvania; Burke County and Jessup, Georgia; Waukegan, Illinois, and many others have made similar accusations over the past several years. In Uniontown, residents say the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has not helped. The department rescinded its civil rights complaint policy in June in the face of a lawsuit from some state residents. That means the state now has no process for reviewing complaints that environmental problems are disproportionately impacting people of color.

EPA criticized The department said it cannot comment on the process because litigation is ongoing, but the EPA in July said it will investigate ADEM’s civil rights policies. The EPA also has faced criticism on civil rights issues.

Mike Smith, a Tuscaloosabased lawyer who represents the landfill, the cheese factory and the catfish processing plant, said none of the companies he represents in Uniontown is harming the health of residents. The landfill has disposed of the coal ash properly, he said, and residents have made false statements about the company’s intentions. Landfill owners “are used to people saying that they don’t like the landfill and make generalized statements about them, and they’re pretty thick-skinned people,” Smith said, adding that the defamation suit was more about lost business opportunities than the belief that the defendants had the ability to pay.

Expected response The EPA in March rejected residents’ environmental racism case, citing “insufficient evidence.” The denial was hardly surprising to anyone familiar with the EPA’s record on civil rights complaints. According to a 2015 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit journalism outlet, the department dismisses outright more than nine in 10 environmental discrimination complaints.

EPA record slammed

An agency study published in April found that Black people are more burdened by air pollution than any other group, even when taking poverty into account. And the agency has taken years or even decades to respond to complaints. Earlier this year, the agency denied Uniontown’s environmental racism complaint. The EPA didn’t return repeated requests for comment.

Suzanne Novak, a staff attorney with Earthjustice, said the EPA has only twice made findings of discrimination since President Bill Clinton signed an executive order in 1994 directing the agency to consider environmental justice issues. Marianne Engelman-Lado, who runs the environmental justice clinic at Yale Law School, said other federal agencies that also rely on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 handle far more cases. The EPA’s lack of enforcement gives state environmental agencies the impression the law doesn’t matter, she said. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights also slammed the agency’s record in a 2016 report.

‘A pattern’

Coal ash spill

Spray fields should be relatively dry land that absorbs water while the rest evaporates. But in Uniontown, the water is pooling up across the property, creating a pond that often spills over into nearby Freetown Creek. Fecal bacteria was eight times higher than what is allowed under a state permit, testing by local groups found.

Robert Bullard, a professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University and a prominent voice in the environmental racism debate, said his research shows polluting industries frequently seek out Black, poor and rural towns to open shop. “When you get a series, a pattern, of locating these things in one location, you have to come to the conclusion that this is not accidental.” The law does little to protect communities, Bullard said, because it requires them to prove industries intentionally targeted them because of their race.

Store leaving In Uniontown, the population is 84 percent Black, and 49 percent lives under the poverty level, census data shows. Fewer than 1 in 10 adults have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 1 in 3 nationally. It would be a tough place to live even without the pollution. Many of the shops downtown are vacant or boarded up. Some of the remaining businesses operate out of buildings that appear to be abandoned at first glance. The only grocery store in town recently closed.

Asthma, neuropathy Residents blame a host of health problems on the pollution, including asthma and neuropathy, which causes a tingling sensation in their arms and legs. They worry that the coal ash, residue from coal-fired power plants, dumped in the landfill is part of the problem. Many people do not drink water from the tap, after a University of Alabama-Huntsville profes-

PHOTOS BY REBECCA BEITSCH/STATELINE

Booker Gipson leans against the tank his family uses for water. The 77-year-old grandfather is concerned the landfill across the street is having negative impacts on water and air in his neighborhood. The family was told to boil their water before drinking it. sor determined it may not be safe because of lead and traces of arsenic. They also complain about the odors emanating from the town’s various industries, with descriptions ranging from “nauseating” to “rotten.”

Lime green runoff Residents often point to the cheese factory, Southeastern Cheese Corp., as the main culprit. The factory sprays whey, one of the main byproducts of cheese, onto a nearby field where it quickly pools. ADEM has gone after the company in court because of runoff into Cottonwood Creek, where the water has turned cloudy and glows an unnatural shade of lime green. “It’s one of the worst smells I’ve come across in 15 years of doing this work,” said Nelson Brooke of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper. “Imagine trying to take a breath and the smell is so putrid you immediately start dry heaving. It makes your body involuntarily try to throw up.” Brooke took the company to court, submitting hidden camera footage of employees allegedly opening a pipe into a tributary to Cottonwood Creek, releasing a rush of lime-green liquid. The judge ruled against the Black

Warrior Riverkeeper in the case, citing ongoing ADEM action.

Close to Selma Uniontown is 30 miles west of Selma, and the road between the two is lined with alternating cotton fields and catfish ponds. Despite its proximity to a town famous for its civil rights marches, Uniontown still feels very much tied to its antebellum past. Many residents know which plantations enslaved their greatgrandparents, and people as young as 50 remember growing up with sharecropper parents and no running water or toilets. The town is dotted with crumbling plantations.

The challenge Calhoun and other residents banded together to form a group, Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice, to challenge polluters and the city leaders they say aid industry. Its board members and other residents in town have sued ADEM and petitioned the EPA. The fight has not been easy. In 2016, the company that runs the landfill hit Black Belt Citizens board members with a $30 million defamation suit. Ben Eaton, a county commissioner-elect who sits on the

The EPA’s rejection of Uniontown’s case was disappointing news to Booker Gipson, whose daughter lives right across from the landfill. He spends much of his time at her house caring for his four grandchildren and tending to cows in the pasture behind their trailer home. He doesn’t think it’s fair that coal ash that spilled out into the open in Kingston, a mostly White community in Tennessee, ended up in this mostly Black community in Alabama. After the spill in late 2008, the landfill took in roughly a hundred railcars a day of coal ash for the next two years, according to Smith, the Tuscaloosa lawyer. The landfill property spans 1,345 acres, but most of the waste abuts the road that separates the landfill from the Gipson property.

More landfill problems Smith said the company that developed the landfill, which was permitted in 2006, wasn’t very experienced — it should have centered the landfill in the middle of the property to make it easier to expand. The landfill, acquired by Green Group Holdings in 2011, accepts waste from 33 states, and Smith said the company is open to accepting more coal ash. Standing in the front yard on a summer afternoon, Gipson leans against a metal tank that holds the well water for the house, which was recently tested by the professor. “They told us to boil the water, but every time you want to drink water you’re not going to boil it,” he said. “I’m worried about my daughter and grandkids here in the yard. I don’t want them to get infected by the landfill.”

STOJ

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Tonight Show’ break

racial background. They’re Jamaican but my genetic makeup is West African, European, Asian. My parents would watch “Saturday Night Live” and there was this one Jamaican comedian named Oliver Samuels and they would get his DVDs — the Jamaican Tyler Perry, basically. I think I got into comedy because it was a shorthand establishment of social mores and codes, so it’s how I learned American culture and customs. Because I grew up in a traditional family and the things that (everyone knows) like … the Beatles! It was not passed down to me. So my firsthand American experience starts in like … 2004. Comedy was a way of catching up. Q: Did you try out for “SNL”? A: Last year, I got a call back, but …

Q: I don’t know if this is still applicable, but a stand-up set on “The Tonight Show” used to mean a make or break for a career — do comics still feel that pressure doing that show? Never mind coming out on national TV, you just didn’t appear nervous. A: I don’t give energy into being anxious, but that pressure is there — that is still a huge audience. I still have people who say they only caught the clip. But when I did it, I was thinking, “It’s only this room of 200 people, with cameras.”

Speech champ

COMEDY CENTRAL

Jaboukie Young-White, 24, is on the “Daily Show with Trevor Noah.’ He’s also on the writing staffs of two Netflix shows.

Chicago comedian, writer is newest ‘Daily Show’ correspondent BY CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

CHICAGO – On New Year’s Eve, comedian Jaboukie Young-White posted an image of himself in his first movie, the 2017 Scarlett Johansson comedy “Rough Night.” He played an extra at a costume party, but you couldn’t quite blink and miss him: Young-White was dressed as Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character, in a fake mustache, fake perm, a very unflattering one-piece lime green swimsuit that barely held everything together. It was, if nothing, confident, and he wrote alongside that image: “2017 was a terrible year for me a black/queer person but a GREAT year for me as a writer/ performer.”

Making the lists Young-White grew up in Harvey, Illinois, and at 24, has become one of those rising talents whose name appears on lists of people to know to stay culturally relevant: Rolling Stone’s “25 Under 25,” Variety’s “10 Comics to

Watch For,” et al. In the past year, he has joined the writing staffs of two of Netflix’s best shows, the true-crime parody “American Vandal” and “Big Mouth,” an almost unbearably spot-on animated comedy about young love and hormones (the show’s second season just landed on the streaming service). And last week, he became a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” explaining to the host why millennials don’t vote and why he shouldn’t need an ID to vote: “If you want my ID, my Uber is the best ID there is. It’s got my face. It’s got my rating — 4.8. All my driver’s license will tell you is where I once lived.”

Fallon appearance He has turned a talent for the concise Twitter-friendly quip — “A Chicago hot is a New York cute, and a New York cute is an LA shunned” — into a breakout moment. But so far what Young-White is best known for happened on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” a few weeks before that New

FLORIDA’S

finest

Year’s Eve posting. In a five-minute set, he carried himself like a stand-up veteran, joking about millennial poverty, racial identity and hitting on a male Uber driver. After the set, he posted on Twitter: “i just came out to my parents on national tv.”

‘Great year’ comment When I caught up with him the other day, the new season of “Big Mouth” had arrived hours earlier, and a few hours before that, Young-White had made his second appearance on “The Tonight Show.” The following interview is an edited, condensed version of a longer phone conversation. Q: Backing up, last New Year’s Eve — what did you mean by that post on Instagram, that it had been a terrible year for you but also a great year for you? A: I meant just living in America today and what this country is prioritizing feels like we’re trying to establish a White male ethnostate. You just feel left out of things. Yet, at least as my career is going — it really was a good year.

On coming out Q: How did your family react to you coming out? A: My mom was immediately (supportive), my dad is only now coming around. A lot of the circles and spaces I am in, being gay is so blase at this point, it just means nothing. But after that set, the dual-sidedness of America hit, and I heard a lot of “It meant so much to see a queer person of color on TV,” but also all this totally angry vitriol too — so I was like, oh, wow I guess we do have a long way to go.

Q: Did being a two-time Illinois high-school speech champion help? A: That 100 percent helped me out. When I started out in standup, I was already used to speaking in front of people, how to project, control my voice — a lot of learning curves I had overcome. I went to Marian Catholic High School (in Chicago Heights), and I had gotten injured playing basketball in eighth grade and needed to do something. I knew people doing speech (team), right when Obama was elected. All these people were “You look like Obama!” So I kind of went with that. I started out serious, straight up oratory. By senior year I did two comedic speeches that I wrote and I thought, “Well, I could do this.”

Having his say Q: What did you feel, at 18, you had to say? A: I wanted to say things I couldn’t say in everyday conversations that were taboo. Like, a lot of my speeches were about sex positivity. It was a Catholic school and there was zero of that. Whatever I’m writing has seemed to be about something I don’t feel I could freely express in my everyday life, and stand-up is a really effective medium for getting people to hear exactly the things and viewpoints that they normally don’t want listen to.

Multi-racial heritage Q: You write about the fluidity of identity — in New York everyone thinks you’re Puerto Rican, in Chicago everyone thinks you’re mixed race and in CVS, everyone thinks you’re shoplifting. If you’re being seen differently depending on the context of where you are, does that affect the writing itself? A: Oh, it does. Because standup is not just material, it’s how people see you, and you have to be aware. I brush up against that issue because the way I look and present myself, people assume a certain background and I often have to dispel. I rarely meet someone who has me pegged so I find myself explaining. My parents are Jamaican immigrants and both have a multi-

Nearly homeless Q: Is it true you were homeless in Chicago? A: It never got to the point where I was checking into a shelter, but there were periods with my family that were weird because I was not out to them and I didn’t want to risk the morsel of financial stability they were providing but I couldn’t go home and stay in the closet anymore. So I spent a couple of summers in Chicago, no income, sleeping on friends’ couches. Then I dropped out of DePaul and went to New York with like $1,000 and was, “OK, I might need assistance here.” Then I found cheap rent (in Brooklyn).

He’s multi-hyphenate Q: How did you end up writing for two shows? A: I don’t know if it was one reason. I think we’re past the point in entertainment where you can have one thing and explode. If you have one thing, people ask, “Alright, what else?” You have to be multi-hyphenate. Which is sad but I always wanted that. I know a lot of people who are amazing stand-ups who just want to do stand-up but they do not see the same opportunities as people who do a lot of things.

Jokes on Twitter Q: You’ve become known for working on jokes in plain sight on Twitter, and I wonder, a lot of comics say they hone material online, but isn’t it a worse place to try out their jokes — way worse than, say, a small open mic? Isn’t there a risk of doing damage to a career by failing on Twitter? A: In a lot of ways. There was a joke I just did on Jimmy Fallon that I tweeted first and after it exploded I noticed (similar posts) that do not credit me. It’s weird how you can lose credit. The last time I did “The Tonight Show” some people were, “This guy steals jokes from Twitter!” Which forces you to go, “No, that was me — those were my jokes!’

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

Thousands of Caribbean culture lovers converge on South Florida every year before and during the Columbus Day weekend to attend the annual Miami Broward Carnival, a series of concerts, pageants, parades, and competitions. On Carnival Day, “mas” (masquerade) bands of thousands of revelers dance and march behind 18-wheel tractor-trailer trucks with booming sound systems from morning until nightfall while competing for honors. Here are some of the “Finest” we’ve seen over the years. Click on www.flcourier to see hundreds of pictures from previous Carnivals. Go to www. miamibrowardcarnival.com for more information on Carnival events in South Florida. CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

FOOD

OCTOBER 19 – OCTOBER 25, 2018

Here’s a taste test of various coffee creamers

Would you like cream with that? You can go dairy, from skim milk to heavy cream. You can go nondairy with various “creams” or “milks” made from nuts, seeds or plants. Bill Daley with the Chicago Tribune tastes a variety to see what works best with coffee.

BY BILL DALEY CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

Coffee and cream go together so well that a popular song of the 1920s featured the line “you’re the cream in my coffee” to illustrate two lovers’ closeness. But that bond has been broken. Today you have a multitude of choices when it comes to creamers for coffee. You can go dairy, selecting anything from skim milk to heavy cream. You can go nondairy with various “creams” or “milks” made from nuts, seeds or plants. You can choose nondairy powders. And people are clearly choosing what works for them. New research from Mintel, the market research firm, shows the same percentage of consumers polled, 32 percent, used dairy and nondairy milk in their coffee or tea.

Seeking healthy options “Non-dairy milk brands are responding to consumers’ interest in more healthful nondairy milk products; non-dairy milk drinkers are more interested in milks with health benefits than dairy milk drinkers,” Mintel notes in a trend report published in September. “More non-dairy milks are hitting the market with strong functional claims, stating the products are fortified with vitamins, probiotics, or stating the amount of protein per serving. Many consumers (especially iGens) already perceive non-dairy milks as healthful, and prominent on-pack health claims can help non-dairy milks compete with dairy milk and can help individual non-dairy milk brands stand out in the market.” All well and good, especially for those “iGens,” which Mintel has defined as people born between 1995 and 2007, but how do these various nondairy milks and creams taste and interact with coffee?

From half-and-half to soy milk

DREAMSTIME/TNS

No pumpkin spice I like my coffee strong with lots of half-andhalf and sugar. So, I brewed up a big pot of my favorite morning joe, Cafe Bustelo espressostyle coffee and began tasting that familiar coffee with various creamers and milks. I tried to pick products that looked unflavored — or rather, that they were aiming to taste like whatever they were made of, not pumpkin spice or chocolate. Some of the products were sweetened; some were not. I tasted each of the milks and creamers on its own first, then I poured 1 tablespoon of each into a coffee cup and added coffee. I sipped, and I took notes. Everyone’s taste is different, particularly when it comes to coffee, and that’s why this tasting is a solo effort.

Very white in color, mild in flavor and with the tiniest note of sweetness on the finish, this nondairy creamer coats the mouth before quickly vanishing.

Very white in color with a creamy medium consistency. Had that slight “grassy” dairy flavor. The half-andhalf muted the coffee’s bitterness, but I still found myself adding sugar just as I do at home.

This product had a dairylike blandness with a touch of sweetness from brown rice. In coffee, it smoothed out the flavor but didn’t leave any sense of added creaminess.

This off-white almond milk had an appealing freshness that countered its somewhat chalky mouth feel. It played well with coffee, taking off the bitter edge.

The flavor of this offwhite soy milk is at once bright and nondescript with a light sweet note. The texture is thin, smooth. This soy milk lightens the coffee and tones downs the bitterness, while allowing the coffee flavor to come through. Not bad.