Florida Courier, October 26, 2018

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OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

VOLUME 26 NO. 43

IS THAT ALL? Thank pathological liar Donald Trump, shady Gov. Rick Scott and a politicized FBI for making Andrew Gillum’s alleged ‘corruption’ unbelievable and irrelevant to Florida’s critical 2018 gubernatorial election.

BY CHARLES W. CHERRY II FLORIDA COURIER PUBLISHER

Andrew Gillum’s “October surprise” has finally been revealed.

From the first minute Gillum unexpectedly won the Democratic primary election in August, “woke’’ Black folks knew it was coming, but we didn’t know what it would be.

Would it be allegations of a disgruntled girlfriend (or boyfriend) from his undergraduate days at Florida A&M University?

Baby mama drama? An extramarital “side piece” or “jumpoff”? (That’s “a mistress” for those without online access to the Urban Dictionary.)

None of the above Those of us who keep up with Florida politics knew it would be related to the ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe going on at Tallahassee’s City Hall.

Long story short: The FBI heard of possible backroom deals involving economic development in the city. They put in undercover agents who infiltrated Gillum’s inner circle; “flipped” one of Gillum’s old “friends’’ to feed them information; then took Gillum, his wife, family and friends on some frolics, including trips to Costa Rica and to New York, where they saw the hit Broadway show, “Hamilton.”

Umm. Okay.

Any recordings of a hand-to-hand transaction of Gillum taking cash from an undercover agent? No. Any audio of Gillum talking directly or indirectly about a nefarious plot to use his Tallahassee mayoral office for personal gain? No. Any video of Gillum in a hotel exclaiming, “Bitch set me up!” as the FBI busts open his hotel room door in the luxurious Costa Rica resort? NO.

A text message What evidence has come out thus far?

Via text, Gillum acknowledged that somebody bought theater tickets for him and his brother. But Gillum’s text didn’t indicate who paid for them.

So for the cost of a “Hamilton” ticket (currently about $600 for a decent seat), Floridians are expected to turn over TWO branches of state government ‒ the governor’s office and the Florida’s Supreme Court, since the next governor will pick THREE of seven justices ‒ to Donald Trump’s stooge and manservant, Ron DeSantis?

See GILLUM, Page A2

CAROLYN COLE/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Some pundits and most Republicans think the Florida gubernatorial race should be decided by a Broadway show ticket. We disagree.

Supreme Court’s direction hinges on governor pick

2018 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Getting out the vote

BY LLOYD DUNKELBERGER NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – The future of the Florida Supreme Court is intertwined with the outcome of this fall’s race for governor.

At stake are the appointment of replacements for justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, who are leaving the seven-member court in early January because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.

The Supreme Court ruled this month that the next governor, who takes office in early January, has the authority to make those appointments.

What to expect If Republican Ron DeSantis, a former congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, wins the Nov. 6 election, he has said he will appoint three conservative justices. That would wipe out what is widely viewed as a current 4-3 liberal majority, which includes Pariente, Lewis and Quince.

If Democrat Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, is elected, he is likely to try to shift the appointments more to the center or left, although his ability may be hindered by a nominating process that favors the selection of conservative judges.

OCTAVIO JONES/TAMPA BAY TIMES/TNS

Former Vice President Joe Biden gives a speech to a packed gymnasium while Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, left, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson look on during the Florida Democratic Party rally held at the University of South Florida in Tampa on Monday.

See COURT, Page A2

Some power could remain out until early November FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE ‒ Gov. Rick Scott’s office said Tuesday that fewer than 47,700 electric customers in Northwest Florida remained without power after Hurricane Michael, but electricity might not

ALSO INSIDE

be restored in some areas until early November.

Scott’s office said in a news release that utilities “have set a goal and will have nearly all power restored to customers who are able to receive it by early November. This includes those in the hardest hit areas of Mexico Beach and towns in Calhoun and Jackson counties where the electrical infrastructure required a complete rebuild.”

Michael made landfall Oct. 10 in Mexico Beach as a powerful Category 4 hurricane and knocked out power to more than 400,000 customers as it smashed through parts of Northwest Florida.

Crews from Florida utilities and other states have steadily reduced the number of outages in most areas.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

HEALTH | A6

Black magazine embarks on business tour

Brush, floss to help blood pressure

NATION | A6

Is country really facing border crisis?

OBITUARY | A6

FAMU educator Roosevelt Wilson dies

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: ANTHONY L. HALL: CARAVAN OF MIGRANTS HEADING TO BORDER MUST BE STOPPED | A5

A2

FOCUS

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

On Election Day, it’s the ballot or the booty White Democrats and White Republicans love each other far more than they love you! How do I know that?

I know how they feel because I know political history. I know Americans switch political parties like women switch outfits before the big dance!

Political devils make you think you’re voting for a Democrat, when you’re really voting for people with a Republican mindset.

You think you are voting for abolitionist John Brown, when you’re really voting for Lester Maddox or Bull Connor or some bigoted state attorney that arrested your child for wrongful reasons.

Politicians will prey on you just like a bloody-jawed wolf wearing lamb clothing preys on unsuspecting Black sheep!

See for yourself If candidates of either major political party spends millions to elect candidates for four years and comes around to you, your Internet site, your newspaper or your Black-owned radio station to make the smallest media buy they can four weeks before Election Day, those candidates show clearly that they think your votes have no value or that you are too politically dumb to figure the political thing out.

If candidates and political parties that you love believe their White friends, their White class-

fessionals that is a crazy political concept that will never work and should be discredited and abandoned!

This is the year of the “political pirates, puppets, parrots and ballots!”

Thieves and pirates LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

Black people must exercise their right to vote. Your parents, grandparents and ancestors faced beatings, whippings, attack dogs, water hoses and jail time while risking their careers and their lives to fight for your right to cast ballots for the candidates of your choice. mates or the White children of their campaign contributors can influence and deliver more African-American votes than your community’s most experienced and successful Black political pro-

The state and federal politicians you’ve always voted for have watched political Captain Morgan, Captain D, Long John Silver and Blackbeard conspire with communists from Russia and other nations to steal your political narratives and your elections.

Columbus, Vasco Da Gama and Cortez were colonial pirates. But they never stole political hopes, dreams and elections like the political thieves of today. The next “Taken” movie should be about how Black votes continue to be robbed, burglarized and stolen by major party charlatans, clowns and crooks!

Lamb Chop, Lester, Kermit the Frog, Howdy Doody and other puppets have their strings pulled by puppeteers. But you are guided, pulled and strung along by Internet lines controlled by political liars that feed you tweets and Facebook posts that are as phony and fake as a three-dollar bill!

Oh, but those political parrots!

Too many politicians don’t care about what you want or what you say. They repeat what Donald Trump says. They do what Trump tells them to do. And they vote the way Trump tells them to vote.

Do the politicians you love vote for you, vote for your district or vote for your community? After Election Day, you’ll never even see certain politicians again until the next election cycle begins!

He must deliver Everybody loves the new football coach that’s hired when the team has a poor season. However, when the games begin, all bets are off! The new coach must deliver. He must coach your team to victories. He must get the job done or out he goes like the previous coach.

In politics, to get Black votes, all you must do is say, “I love Martin Luther King,” “I love the HBCU,” or “I eat watermelon and listen to Michael Jackson songs!”

Politicians take you for granted, believe you have no value, believe you deserve no respect and swear to you that White political ice is colder than Black community ice!

How sick can you be?

Same feeling Yes, there is Black voter purging and Black voter suppression. but there is mostly Black voter indifference, because smart Black voters feel the same way that politicians feel about Black people.

No one will tell you, but politicians feel that Black voters and Black political professionals are both incompetent and inferior.

They think you can’t create a political message, can’t print a leaflet or brochure, can’t produce a TV or radio spot, can’t create a direct mail piece, can’t do a poll, can’t set up robocalls or put up a campaign sign in front of the local traphouse or whorehouse the way that conservatives put up signs in front of the truck stop or at Klan rallies and cross burnings!

Black people must exercise their right to vote. Your parents, grandparents and ancestors faced beatings, whippings, attack dogs,

GILLUM from A1

Man, y’all get the hell out of here with that.

This is Trump’s world Americans have been reduced to “squirrels trying to get a nut,” in the immortal words of Oran “Juice” Jones, in King Don’s TrumpWorld.

TrumpWorld includes telling bold-faced lies in the face of scientific fact. It includes making up domestic and foreign “policy’’ as you go along, with the primary goal of making you, your family and cronies even more filthy stinking rich than you already are.

On the state level, “Slim Shady’’ Rick Scott can probably show King Don a trick or two about using the power of elected office to enrich oneself.

How it’s done Remember that high-speed train project to be paid for with federal tax money that Scott cancelled in 2011? He’s changed his mind and is now supporting high-speed rail. Why? Because he and his wife have an investment in one company that would finance it as a privately funded project and had an investment in another company that made parts for the trains.

According to federal documents and published reports, Scott and his wife are worth more than $250 million. Since Scott took office, he’s at least $85 million richer from investments in drug companies, gas pipelines, and the Florida SunPass system ‒ all of which are regulated by state agencies that Scott controls. And he worked with the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature to pass a law that kept his investment portfolio secret while he was in office.

THAT’s world-class corruption. But Scott won’t be investigated or indicted because of his brazenness and wealth.

COURT from A1

‘Monumental’ shift In any event, both sides agree that the winner of the governor’s race will have a significant impact on the Supreme Court.

“You could see a monumental transformation or shift in the ideology and makeup of the court if Ron DeSantis appoints the three replacements,” said state Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat and veteran trial lawyer.

Republican control of the governor’s office and the Legis-

Andrew Gillum

Sean Shaw

Corruption is baked into American politics through corrupt legislation and gatekeeping lawyers. Personal wealth allows Scott, Trump, and people of their ilk to hire the best lawyers on the planet to beat back criminal or civil charges for what amounts to tip money for them.

And if you are White, male, and shameless, you get the benefit of the doubt. People will disbelieve their own eyes and rationalize their common sense. Example: Supreme Court Justice Brett “Frat Boy” Kavanaugh.

Still the same Don’t forget the FBI. If one good thing has come out of TrumpWorld paranoia, it’s the uncovering of documents and activities that indicate that the FBI’s dirty tricks, political partisanship and favorable disposition toward White supremacy continue unabated, their 21stcentury mythological “good guy” reputation notwithstanding.

U.S. federal law enforcement, in conjunction with racist local police forces and prosecutors, have tried to stymie Black progress and destroy Black leadership since the days of Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. DuBois. Nothing’s changed.

Black politicians doing time African-American elected politicians, in our opinion, continue to be disproportionately targeted by the feds primarily for legal sloppiness regarding campaign laws rather than actual corruption.

lature for the past 20 years has led to the enactment of “extreme policies,” Farmer said.

“The only thing, frankly, that has kept the balance and protected the little guy and little gal in the state of Florida for the past two decades has been the Florida Supreme Court,” Farmer said.

Impact on issues If DeSantis is elected and has power to appoint the justices, Farmer said it will impact a wide range of issues, including laws involving accident victims, injured workers, medical malpractice, abortion rights, public education and gun control.

If Gillum is elected, Republicans said it will lead to more

Nicole Fried

Jeremy Ring

One egregious example: Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown may die in prison for not properly setting up and operating a nonprofit scholarship fund.

Other Black politicians have done federal time for the equivalent of using a campaign debit card to buy a Happy Meal at McDonalds.

All they needed to avoid prison time was a knowledgeable lawyer.

Even now, the FBI, which is part of King Don’s Department of Justice (headed by Jefferson Beauregard Sessions of Alabama), has identified “Black identity extremists,” not White nationalist racists, as the major domestic threat to America.

In other words, the FBI is lumping the Black Lives Matter movement with the same group of disgruntled White (mostly young male) racists who marched and chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2016. (One of their number drove a car through a group of nonviolent protesters the next day, killing one.)

Sessions is presiding over the modern-day extension of the FBI’s notorious COINTELPRO (Counter-Intelligence Program) that criminalized civil rights workers and Black activists, particularly the Black Panther Party, for constitutionally protected activity. Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, now dead, is quoted as saying that “the purpose of (FBI) counterintelligence action is to disrupt…and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge.”

We hope Gillum and his entourage, including his brother,

“judicial activism,” with the court overstepping its role in interpreting constitutional issues and not giving enough deference to its co-equal branches of government: the Legislature and executive branch.

Commission’s role Gillum’s efforts could be hamstrung by the fact that Scott has appointed all of the members of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.

The commission, which is going through 59 applicants for the three vacancies, will advance a certified list of nominees for the next governor to consider.

Bill Nelson

dime-dropping friend and FBI agents, had good seats at “Hamilton” and enjoyed the show.

We hope Gillum and his wife renewed themselves in Costa Rica, ate lots of red velvet cupcakes, and came back to Florida refreshed and ready to put up with the foolishness that surrounds modern elected politics.

Will a show ticket, a second honeymoon, a James Comey/ Hillary Clinton-style announcement setting out the “facts,’’ or even a federal indictment prevent us from recommending that Black Floridians cast their ballots for Gillum?

NO.

Our real concern Andrew Gillum is not corrupt.

Our chief concern is whether Andrew Gillum is a Sunshine State version of Barack Obama ‒ a Black politician who wins with near-unanimous Black political support, but who forgets who put him there immediately after he’s sworn in.

We’ve heard Gillum say he’ll be “the governor of all Floridians.” We understand he has to say that to soothe the insecure egos and fevered brows of White Floridians who get instinctively nervous anytime a Black person is in charge.

What’s Florida’s Black agenda?

It includes (but is not limited to) forcing state agencies to do billions of dollars of business with Black-owned vendors. “Billions” are reasonable, considering Florida’s 2017-2018 budget is more than $82 billion and Blacks are 17 percent of Florida’s population.

Rejecting the list Gillum would have to overcome a 2009 Supreme Court decision that stemmed from thenGov. Charlie Crist’s rejection of a list of nominees for an appellate court vacancy.

The Supreme Court ruled the governor does not have “the authority under the Constitution to reject the certified list and request that a new list be certified.”

But Gillum supporters cite a footnote in the decision that said it does not apply when “the selection of the nominees was tainted by impropriety or illegality.”

The resulting legal dispute will ultimately end up at the Supreme Court – except that, as

water hoses and jail time while risking their careers and their lives to fight for your right to cast ballots for the candidates of your choice.

Malcolm X once described an election time as the year of “The Ballot or the Bullet”! In 2018, it’s the year of the ballot or the booty!

Your behind is on the line! Vote for truth. Vote against lies! Vote for righteousness! vote against wickedness and evil!

If candidates don’t respect you, support use, patronize your businesses or hire you during the campaign, they won’t do any of that when you vote them into office. But you still must go to the voting booths!

The unexpected “Booty” in this column is not the booty you see at Magic City or some other strip club. Booty here described pillage and plunder of treasure taken on land from Black communities, as opposed to booty taken at sea from a merchant or slave ship.

This election should be about a beautiful, bountiful and good life for everybody ‒ or good lives for nobody!

One day after I’m long gone, someone will say, politically speaking, that there once was a columnist that was not afraid to shoot “Liberty Valance” in the street on election days!

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Contact Lucius at www. allworldconsultants.net.

Here’s some historical context.

Republican Jeb Bush ended affirmative action in state procurement during his eight years in office. By 2001, Florida was spending more than $500 million with Black-owned businesses ‒ the highest amount in the state’s history. Why? Because Bush needed to personally prove that Black business activity could increase without so-called “quotas.’’

Subsequent Governors Charlie Crist and Slim Shady Scott haven’t been interested in proving anything. As we reported years ago in our investigative series titled “Approaching Zero,” Black business activity dropped every year under both Crist and Scott and is now below $100 million. The state barely keeps track anymore.

Our ‘to-do’ list Our Black agenda includes reempowering the Office of Supplier Diversity to keep score of whether the state is spending money with Black businesses.

It includes appointing consciously “woke’’ people to state and local agencies. It includes always considering the impact of legislation on Black Floridians, and vetoing such legislation as necessary.

It includes restoring the rights of ex-felons whether Amendment 4 passes or not, and making sure that ex-felons can once again enjoy their rights as citizens as soon as possible.

Gillum may do all this. We know that Ron DeSantis won’t.

So we strongly recommend that you vote for ANDREW GILLUM and for the remaining Democratic ticket on the state level that can help Gillum get the job done: SEAN SHAW for attorney general, JEREMY RING for chief financial officer, NICOLE “NIKKI” FRIED for agricultural commissioner. You can also expect that the Florida Courier will hold them accountable if they win.

We also recommend BILL NELSON for U.S. Senate over Slim Shady Rick Scott.

of Jan. 8, the day the new governor takes over, the court will be down to only four members.

Judicial options Under the state Constitution, it takes five justices to create a quorum, and it requires a minimum of four justices to concur on an opinion.

There are several options to resolve the diminished court, including a little-used procedure that would temporarily elevate a chief judge from one of the state appellate courts to create a five-member Supreme Court.

Another option would be for the three retiring justices to remain on the court in a “senior status” to resolve the dispute.

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

FLORIDA

A3 Michael Clayton, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Great Day Tampa Bay moderated a panel of experts who focused on small businesses and their future.

Seeking solutions

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, left, is shown with Austin Construction’s Kevin Glenn and ONYX Magazine Publisher Rich Black.

PHOTOS BY SHANE VALENTINE

The panel, moderated by Michael Clayton, included Gary Hartfield; Beth Calzon; Derrick Blue and Dr. Cynthia Johnson.

Black magazine kicks off Business Connect Tour Tampa stop includes panel discussion on small businesses SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

ONYX Magazine kicked off the first of five statewide ONYX

Business Connect (OBC) events in Tampa on Oct. 17. The OBC is a networking event designed to connect businesses, communities, and resources around Florida.

Business and community leaders flooded the Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park Boat House to ex-

change ideas, learn more about ONYX Magazine, and to hear an expert panel on small business success.

Expanding footprint “The state of Florida continues to grow at a national leading pace, and the goal is to con-

nect and expose the vast opportunities available throughout the marketplace,” said Rich Black, publisher and CEO of ONYX Magazine.

“ONYX Magazine is expanding its footprint throughout the state. It is through this initiative that ONYX Business Connect brings together businesses, communities and financial organizations to have substantive conversations to further empower black communities.”

Clayton moderates ONYX Business Connect also is scheduling events in Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, and the Panhandle.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn greeted the audience, welcomed ONYX Magazine in Tampa, and encouraged the events to continue.

On the panel were Gary Hartfield, president and CEO of Serenity Village Insurance and Consulting; Beth Calzon, vice president and relationship manager at Bank of Tampa; Derrick Blue, interim CEO of THAPGroup (Tampa-Hillsborough Action Plan); and Dr. Cynthia Johnson, center director of Pinellas County Economic Development.

“The ONYX Business Connect will help us answer the question: ‘How do we move from a philosophical conversation of just talking about the issues in the community and start presenting opportunities for solutions,’” said Gary Hartfield, the president and CEO of Serenity Village Insurance and Consulting. “I want to be a part of the answer.”

Local sponsors Event sponsors were Serenity Village Insurance and Consulting, Bank of Tampa, TAXPRO Tampa, Visit Tampa Bay, Clear Channel Outdoor, THAP-Group and Tampa Housing Authority.

ONYX Magazine celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans and those of the African Diaspora throughout Florida.

USF art exhibit aims to help solve cold case homicides SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

In an effort to identify missing persons and solve cold cases, faces created from the skeletal remains and postmortem photos of 20 unidentified people from around the country became

available for public viewing in Tampa on Oct. 26.

The University of South Florida’s Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science (IFAAS) will present a monthlong exhibition “Art of Forensics: Solving the Nation’s Cold Cases’’ at the Tampa Bay His-

VOTE

S E C O N D

tory Center in downtown Tampa.

‘Make a report’ The majority of these cases are open homicides, and this effort aims to provide closure to the victims’ families and attract potential witnesses to help solve

YES 4

C H A N C E S

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO FIX FLORIDA’S BROKEN SYSTEM BY VOTING YES ON AMENDMENT 4.

VOTE YES ON AMENDMENT 4 1.4 million Floridians with past convictions cannot vote, even after completing their full sentence.

Amendment 4 gives back the eligibility to vote to people who have served their time & paid their debts.

Floridians from all walks of life believe in second chances.

We need to make sure Florida law does too.

their murders.

“This project is so important because it may be our only chance. For decades, the homicide investigations remained open and untouched. They need to be brought up to current investigative standards,” said Erin Kimmerle, PhD, IFAAS executive director and USF associate professor of anthropology.

“I encourage families who have a missing loved one to come forward, no matter what obstacles existed in the past and make a report. With the public’s help, this is how we solve cases.”

Statewide initiative Exhibition displays consist of clay busts and drawings, digital compositions, artifacts and information about the crime scenes.

Kimmerle, USF graduate students and Sgt. Sergio Soto, a forensic artist with IFAAS, created the reconstructions and exhibit.

Their work is part of the ongoing statewide cold case initiative by IFAAS, for which the team conducted a number of forensic meth-

POLLS ARE OPEN 7AM - 7PM Pd. pol. adv. paid for by Floridians for a Fair Democracy, Inc., 3000 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., Suite 503, Clearwater, FL 33759

One of the featured victims is a young girl believed to be between 4 and 6 years old whose skeletal remains were discovered in the backyard of a residential home surrounded by woods in Philadelphia in 1984.

Kimmerle came across her case while assisting Philadelphia law enforcement agencies in an extensive exhumation project.

Several other featured cases include: •A woman found dumped in a steamer trunk in St. Petersburg on Halloween in 1969.

• The remains of a 20 to 30-year-old Black man in Florida who had previously been described to the public as a 19-year-old Hispanic male.

• A man who authorities believed died from a drowning accident in 1989,

FLORIDA COURIER

but was recently discovered to be a victim of homicide in Tampa.

• A 3 to 5-year-old boy found in an abandoned storage trunk in upstate New York.

• Two pregnant teenagers found killed and dumped along Tennessee roads in the mid-1980s.

Additional case information and imagery can be found online at www.forensics.usf.edu.

Assisted by grant This exhibition marks the end of the Cold Case Program IFAAS created in conjunction with agencies locally and nationwide using a $386,537 grant from the NIJ. “The National Institute of Justice fully supports and understands the importance of this event to victims and their families.

As an NIJ grantee, USF has done very well as a leading support agency to those working on missing and unidentified person’s cases,” said Chuck Heurich, senior physical scientist for the Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

FLORIDA’S ONLY BLACK STATEWIDE NEWSPAPER More than 182,000 readers weekly WWW.FLCOURIER.COM Ranked by Google as Florida’s #1 Black newspaper website

for Early Voting Information.

WWW.MAKEAPLANTOVOTEYESON4.COM

Some cases

FC

Early Voting Starts between Oct. 22 and Oct. 27 .

VOTE NOVEMBER 6TH

ods such as exhuming Jane and John Doe graves for skeletal analysis, facial and clothing reconstructions, chemical isotope testing of the bones, hair and teeth, as well as DNA testing.

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

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

EDITORIAL

A4

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Facebook is not your friend, Part 2 Polls have long showed that the U.S. public 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 socalled 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.

Protection 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.”

Obama was calling for censorship of the Internet, and for corporate media to reassert its ideological supremacy in defense of the ruling order. The “danger” was not to democracy, but to the legitimacy of the corporate rule.

A week after Obama’s remarks in Germany, the Washington

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Post published the first salvo in the censorship offensive, with an article titled, “Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say.” The “experts” were anonymous members of a shadowy organization called Prop-or-Not, whose identities the Post insisted on concealing.

BAR ‘blacklisted’ The Prop-or-Not list slandered 200 web sites, including many of the best left-wing addresses on the web, as “witting or unwitting” dupes of Russia. Black Agenda Report had the distinction of being the only Black-owned site on the list.

Facebook was dragooned into the censorship frenzy under relentless pressure from Democrats in Congress, who dutifully embraced the role of chief warmongers when Trump started making noises about improving relations with the Russians.

Fully two-thirds of Americans are active monthly Facebook users who assumed that the service’s constant invitations to share what’s on their minds included political thought. Not any-

Amendment 4 is sensible and offers second chance Who would have thought that a move to grant convicted felons a second chance to regain their voting rights back would be the most sensible amendment question on Florida’s November ballot?

Amendment 4 would end an unfair, draconian clemency procedure that has its roots dating back to the Reconstruction. If the referendum passes, it will reinstate the vote to 1.5 million citizens of Florida, a number that could significantly impact who gets elected throughout the state in future elections. The amendment needs 60 percent of the vote to pass, and if it does, it would be the most impactful change to voting since women’s suffrage.

Recognized and supported Florida’s ‘Second Chance’ movement has already gained recognition by the popular HBO series, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” and it has received the endorsement of almost every newspaper editorial board across the state.

Support for Amendment 4 is growing. The other amendments on the ballot? Not so much.

The bulk of the blame for the long ballot rests with the Constitution Revision Committee (CRC), a panel appointed every 20 years to amend the constitution. Given what they came up with, Florida could have skipped this round and waited another two decades.

The CRC put forth eight amendments that most observers believe don’t belong in the state constitution. Of all the CRC amendments, Amendment 6 is particularly popular and the most reasonable, despite some concerns from public defenders regarding the rights of the accused.

State lawmakers came up with three other amendments to push two initiatives that further caps spending and cuts taxes. One, Amendment 5, requires a two-thirds vote to raise fees and taxes, a terrible idea if the state ever needed additional revenue to address a crisis.

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

more.

Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth, that began as a student social networking service at Harvard 14 years ago, is now valued conservatively at $140 billion and claims to reach 2.23 billion monthly active worldwide users, 214 million in the United States.

Defending censorship Facebook is indispensable to maintaining the global corporate monopoly on truth – as is Google, another mega-monopoly of the Internet. Both have joined the censorship project in defense of empire in decline.

An internal Google document assessed that: “In response to public outcries about the accessibility of unsavory and harmful content, tech firms have been adjusting their software to make it harder to stumble upon it.” The firm was talking about itself, and the “public” it is responding to is actually the capitalist ruling class, seeking to regain legitimacy through censorship.

Google has rigged its algorithms to hide blacklisted sites during web searches, resulting in decreased visitation of up to 75 percent. They are strangling the Left, including Black Agenda Report.

Facebook has signed on to the new Cold War, under the ruse of protecting U.S. elections from Russian interference. “We’re excited to launch a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which

GUEST COMMENTARY

Doesn’t belong Florida’s citizens managed to get two initiatives on the November ballot.

Amendment 3 bans the expansion of casino gambling without a voter referendum.

It is nothing more than an attempt by corporate interests to quash any new gambling that threatens their current monopolies and lucrative entertainment operations. The amendment really doesn’t belong in the Florida Constitution.

That leaves Amendment 4, the only reasonable ballot question that would restore voting rights to persons convicted of felonies, except those found guilty of murder and sex offenses.

Most states restore the voting rights to exfelony offenders automatically after they have served their time and paid any restitution. Florida is one the few states that does not.

No standards Our state has an antiquated procedure that starts with a five-to-seven year waiting period before individuals can apply to regain their rights. Individuals must then travel to Tallahassee and appear in person to appeal to the governor and three cabinet members who make up the state’s clemency board.

Even then, there’s no guarantee. As Gov. Rick Scott told a man whose petition was denied: “There are no standards. We can do what we want.”

Florida voters can establish new and fair standards for those felons who have paid their debt to society, giving them a second chance at life and the ballot box. As Democratic nominee for governor Andrew Gillum has stated, Amendment 4 simply makes sense.

Sean Pittman is the senior partner of Pittman Law Group, a Tallahassee-based law firm with statewide operations specializing in government, administrative and corporate law.

Rick ‘Slim Shady’ Scott ‒ He might rue the day he decided to run for the U.S. Senate ‒ which I’m sure he’s attempting to use as a platform for a presidential run in 2024 or later.

Why the regret? Slim Shady Slick Rick had it good here in Florida due to our loose financial dis-

NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, OH

has a stellar reputation looking at innovative solutions to hard problems.”

In the real world, the Council is the global public relations and think tank resource for NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance, funded by the whole constellation of war industries. Facebook has outsourced its censorship project to the Deep State. Clearly, the Revolution will not be Friended by such people.

Some celebrating Some Black folks may celebrate Facebook’s purges, glad that White supremacist Trump boosters and other overt racists

Andrew Gillum is the man for the job

SEAN PITTMAN, ESQ.

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 325

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: MODERN POLITICAL POLLING

The television campaign advertisement that is currently being run by the Republican Party basically saying that Mayor Andrew Gillum is corrupt, is demeaning, disturbing, disingenuous, and dishonest.

Mr. Gillum is not corrupt. He is competent, capable, caring, confident and courageous. Andrew Gillum is not corrupt!

I am fully aware that politics is a rough and tough craft. It is not for the faint of heart nor the thin-skinned. Nevertheless, our politics should be better than this. It’s not about “the politics of personal destruction.”

Negative over positive It is unfortunate and ugly that his opponent has taken this negative approach to belittle and smear the character of Andrew Gillum. The Florida gubernatorial race should be about which candidate has the best ideas, policies and vision that can move this great state forward. Florida deserves better.

I believe that Mayor Gillum is uniquely prepared and qualified to become our next governor. I have known Andrew for half of his young and impressive life. He is decent, dignified and positively driven to make a difference for all Floridians.

Andrew Gillum is not corrupt! You may disagree with some of his policies.

That is fair game. But to say he is corrupt is incorrect, inexplicable and shameful.

This young man is a transformational leader. I have observed him closely in various leadership positions.

Outstanding history Andrew Gillum served faithfully and skillfully as the Student Government Association president at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

closure laws. Federal campaign laws are stricter, so when Scott decided to run for the Senate, the public got a first look at his investments. He’s been cutting side deals like crazy as governor, much like King Don is doing as president.

Are these deals indictable criminal offenses or civil violations? In a best-case scenario, Scott loses the Senate race, Andrew Gillum becomes governor, Sean Shaw becomes attorney general, and both the Florida Department of Law

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

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Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (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

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REV. DR. R. B. HOLMES, JR. TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

(FAMU). He was a studious, steadfast, significant, and strategic thinker as a member of FAMU’s Board of Trustees.

He became the youngest elected Tallahassee city commissioner.

As a commissioner, he brought vibrancy, vision, value and valor to that commission. As our mayor, he has been a voice for distressed communities, a fighter for the disenfranchised, and an astute problem solver. The mayor is not perfect, but he is prepared, positive, persistent, and principled. Mayor Gillum is not corrupt!

Let me be clear! Vote for whomever you want to for governor. However, if you want a governor who will fight for better wages; if you want Medicaid expanded for the poor and sick; if you want the civil rights of former felons restored; if you want Florida’s archaic “stand your ground law” to be amended or ended; Andrew Gillum is your man.

Right on the issues If you want clean water, beautiful beaches, a pristine environment and environmental justice; if you want to see the minimum wage increased to $15 per hour; if you want common-sense gun laws; if you want better schools, safer schools, innovative schools, Andrew Gillum is your man.

If you want somebody who will work to save, strengthen and sustain the four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in this Sunshine State, then Andrew Gillum is your man.

On Nov. 6, it is your choice: Andrew Gillum is not corrupt! He is a champion for the people! Be encouraged.

Rev. Dr. R. B. Holmes, Jr., is publisher of the Capital Outlook newspaper in Tallahassee.

Enforcement and the FBI investigate Slim Shady…

Bethune-Cookman University ‒ The snake and mongoose (Board Chairman Michelle Carter-Scott and Interim President Hugh Grimes; you pick which is which) call a truce, but nothing’s changed. No financial transparency; no more board resignations; no forensic audit; multiple multimillion-dollar lawsuits not settled. HBCUDigest.com said it best: “Y’all Crazy As Hell In Daytona Beach!”

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.

are among the targets. But majorities of White people in the U.S. supported Trump, and there is no possibility that Facebook or any other corporation could effectively police – or even recognize – the racism of most of their users. But they do silence the copwatchers.

What Facebook is attempting to enforce is the absolute authority of the corporate media as the arbiter of Truth – a dictatorship of the White moneyed classes. And that can never be in Black folks’ interest.

The football team travels west to play THE Nebraska Cornhuskers who badly need a win. Nebraska is paying B-CU $800,000 to take what is forecast to be a 70-point beatdown. Cornhusker fans online are disappointed “The Pride” marching band won’t perform at halftime. Another $150,000 or so, and problem solved.

And Nebraska, PLEASE don’t send the check in care of either Carter-Scott or Grimes…

Me? ccherry2@gmail.com.

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OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Should caravan migrants stay, or should they go?

People have been illegally crossing into the United States from the southern Mexico border for decades. Some come individually and most come as a group or a band organized by illegal “coyotes.

It has always been risky. Many of the females joining these groups HARRY C. ALFORD are raped and held captive into sex & KAY DEBOW slavery once they get into the United States. Drug smugglers will ofGUEST COLUMNISTS ten use them as “cover” for their contraband coming across the the freeway and into a shopping border. By railcar, truck and foot center parking lot where empty they have been taking this journey. buses were waiting for them.

The key for these illegals, if they Saw it ourselves get caught, is to request amnesty.

We first noticed how crazy the If deported, they may face danger. whole thing is when Kay and I So, we usually give in and let them drove from my hometown of Ox- stay. Hence, they keep coming nard, Calif., to her brother’s res- knowing that luck is on their side. idence in San Diego. As we enPresident Trump is tired of this tered San Diego County, we no- game and insult to our sovereignticed highway warning signs. It ty. I certainly agree with him. was like the “deer crossing” signs There is a proper way to seek imyou see in rural areas but for one migration and most of the world big difference. The image on the abides by it. Why do we allow this? sign was an adult man and woman followed by children. All it said We’ll see was “Warning!”

One of the biggest campaign We thought it was extreme until a few miles down Interstate 5, we promises during the 2016 elecsaw a group of about 50 humans tions was to build a wall on our running across the freeway. Traf- southern border and establish infic came to a standstill while they tegrity in our immigration proran across. They would run across cess. The time has come to test the

This caravan of migrants must be stopped!

Don’t let your hatred of President Trump blind you to this fact.

Trump has threatened to deploy the military to stop these migrants in their tracks – if they make it to the U.S. border. His threat rings as hollow as his promise to get Mexico to pay for the wall, which was supposed to do what he’s now saying the military will.

Not to mention his cut-offnose-to-spite-face threat to cut aid to all Central American countries that failed to stop this caravan. That would only worsen the conditions that gave rise to this mass migration in the first place.

In any event, I suspect most of these migrants will end up huddling along the border. There they will lie in wait to cross illegally, praying they’re not apprehended and deported after internment in the United States.

I don’t care I hasten to clarify that I couldn’t care less for the racist and xenophobic Trump. On the other hand, I couldn’t care more for the huddled masses of asylum seek-

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

ers caravanning towards the border.

But I fully appreciate the categorical imperative Trump must stop them. Because it’s untenable enough to have a few migrants sneaking across, but it poses an existential threat to have them doing so in caravans of thousands.

After all, if they’re allowed to cross the border into heaven on earth with little or no trouble, every one of the tens of millions they left behind will soon be fleeing their hell on earth. in subsequent caravans, too. Then what? And any Democrat who fails to provide a comprehensive and credible answer is being disingenuous.

Never mind that this is a far cry from the dishonesty Trump displays on this and every other is-

The migrant caravan and U.S. policy Washington blames “socialism” when Venezuelans flee their country’s U.S -created economic crisis, but defame Honduran refugees fleeing the misery created by the U.S. in that country.

Men, women, and children are making a desperate effort to enter the United States where their families will be separated even as they seek asylum. This crisis makes a lie out of the Trump administration claim that those cruel measures would stop the flow of migrants. It also reveals how United States interventions have destroyed Honduras, the home of most of these refugees.

The hypocrisy of the corporate media in following official government narratives is also shown clearly in reporting of this story.

When Venezuelans fled from the U.S.-imposed economic destruction of their country, we were told that their departures proved that socialism “didn’t work” and that the government was illegitimate.

No such opinions are directed at United States proxies like Honduras.

American interference In 2009, the elected president Manual Zelaya was overthrown with support from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Activists like the late Berta Caceres were murdered. That disruption has sent many waves of Hondurans to seek refuge in the United States.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Yet there has been no serious discussion about the imperialist role that sent so many people here to seek safety. The dictatorship, disputed elections, and police state violence are never described as not working, even as the evidence of a failed state is clear.

This mass movement is a searing indictment of the U.S. role in destabilizing governments over many years. The wars against leftwing movements and alleged wars against drugs created terror regimes that people want to flee any way they can. That effort goes on with recent U.S.-backed attempts to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, a recurring effort since the days of Ronald Reagan.

The Trump administration defends its practice of separating children from their parents as a disincentive to stop asylum seekers. Surely this is no secret to the people who still hope to get inside what will be a prison for them.

Yet their need is so great that they come anyway.

Any discussion of this crisis must be connected to Donald Trump’s very presence in the White House. He is president in

will of the promise keepers.

There is a small army of immigrants assembled in Central America (Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) and moving northward through Mexico. At the time of this writing, it is believed to be over 9,000 persons.

Many of them are men over 30 years old who would not qualify at all for amnesty. In fact, there are some “bad hombres” within the mass of humanity. Guatemala has claimed that they have apprehended over “100 ISIS connected Syrians” from within the caravan.

Showtime will take place within the next few weeks when the caravan reaches our border. In the interim, President Trump is shutting off over $180 million according to Newsweek in normal foreign aid that we give the three highlighted nations and is warning Mexico to become more vigilant. He has threatened a “national emergency” replete with deployment of the U.S. Army along our border. It is becoming a crisis. Who is going to back down?

Economic refugees Sympathizers say migrants were running from scary situations.

That is not true of this group. Journalists have been interviewing them. These grown men say that sue. For example, this mendacious buffoon is trying to convince Americans that this caravan of migrants is a Democratic ploy to smuggle MS-13 gang members from Central America and Muslim terrorists from the Middle East into the United States. And their willful ignorance is such that far too many Americans will believe him.

Here’s the solution That said, I reiterate what I’ve been arguing for years, including most recently in “Separating Immigrant Children from Their Parents. This Is America … Too,” posted on June 20, 2018: The only way to truly stem this tide is to marshal American resources (political, financial, and even military) to change conditions on the ground that are causing people to flee for their lives. …The best way to deal with a neighbor’s house on fire is not to build a wall around your house to keep that fleeing neighbor out; rather it’s to help that neighbor put out the fire, lest it engulfs the entire neighborhood. …It would be refreshing to have a U.S. government offering direct assistance to help regional governments combat indigenous violence and provide basic services for their people, instead of trying to overthrow them. As part of this assistance, it could help those governments build, protect, and sustain large part because he cast Latin immigrants as “rapists and murderers” who would be kept out by a wall he would force the Mexican government to pay for. The inherently racist sentiment propelled him to the Republican nomination that even party insiders never thought he would get. Millions of people agree with him that citizens of “shithole” countries ‒ that is to say non-White countries ‒ must be kept out by any means.

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: IMMIGRATION AND ELECTION DAY

DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR, TUCSON, AZ

they are looking for jobs and they want to send remittances home to their families. They will provide cheap labor for our companies, driving wages down and increasing unemployment for U.S. citizens.

There are many questions surrounding this army of migrants.

Who is feeding and clothing them, providing supplies and medical aid? Most have one small backpack if anything. Where do they sleep? Who is providing the buses? What is the agenda and who organized this so-called caravan?

In the meantime, Hurricane Willa intensified into a Category

4 in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is tracking northeast. Eventually the caravan will cross the path of destruction that Willa has left behind.

Mexico’s resources are already strained in many places and thousands of migrants will make a bad situation worse. Either Hurricane Willa or the U.S Army will turn this caravan around.

safe havens within their respective borders, as well as launch public information programs to discourage people from thinking the reason America is a ‘Shining City on a Hill’ is that its streets are paved with gold (you know, all that glitters is not…)

Ultimately, though, the only way to truly fix America’s inherently flawed immigration system is to kick Trump and his enablers in the ‘cult-like’ Republican Party out of office. Because only Democrats seem committed to comprehensive immigration reform. This would include not only a guestworker program but also incentives for illegal immigrants now living in the shadows to assimilate, assimilate, assimilate!

More to the point, such reform would practically end any need to cross the border illegally.

Incidentally, only the congenitally ass-backward Trump would think that withholding aid from these poor countries – as he is threatening to do – would stop what he says are illegal immigrants ‘infest[ing] our country.’

This June 20 commentary also references America’s mercantile policies and insatiable demand for illegal drugs, which are the root causes of Central America’s migration crisis.

Unfortunately, Trump’s antiimmigrant, America-First policies have alienated most, if not all, Central (and South) American leaders. Therefore, they’d be

forgiven for feeling as hostile towards the United States today as Fidel Castro felt at the height of the U.S.-led embargo against Cuba.

Most leaders would welcome such a Marshall Plan for their region. But nobody should be surprised if one or two of them prove all too happy to create the kind of trouble Castro caused for the United States when he launched the infamous Mariel boatlift.

Mr. Alford is the co-founder and president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce ®. Ms. DeBow is the cofounder and executive vice president.

Trillions wasted Still, I cannot resist sharing this abiding lament: The United States has wasted trillions of dollars over the past 17 years trying to change conditions that make Afghanistan and Iraq breeding grounds for jihadi terrorists. But imagine the salutary benefit if it had spent just one-third of that money changing conditions that make countries in Central America breeding grounds for wretched migrants.

At the very least, the United States would not have caravans of “homeless, tempesttost” souls marching towards the “lamp beside the golden door” that is the U.S. border with Mexico.

Anthony L. Hall blogs at ipinionsjournal.com.

The Trump administration defends its practice of separating children from their parents as a disincentive to stop asylum seekers. Surely this is no secret to the people who still hope to get inside what will be a prison for them. Yet their need is so great that they come anyway.

What should be done?

There are many important questions to answer about immigration policy.

Should this mass of people be admitted to this country? There are thousands of immigrants already living under threat of removal. The Trump administration recently moved to end Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Haitians, Sudanese, Salvadorans and Nepalese. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration and granted a reprieve to the more than 200,000 TPS holders. It is the only just course of action for people whose countries would not be “shitholes” absent U.S. policy decisions.

The men and women in the Central American caravan should be allowed to apply for asylum and they should not be separated from one another. But a just decision should be of greater significance than allowing people to enter the U.S.

Quit meddling The United States must stop interfering in other nations and end its subversion of other countries’ democratic processes. The U.S.

coup against the elected Honduran president began a cascading effect that now involves Guatemala and Mexico, too.

Trump’s overtly racist anti-immigrant sentiments differ from those of most Americans only rhetorically. There is little support for admitting the Hondurans in the caravan or the thousands of other would-be immigrants who are less visible. There is no useful discussion about immigration. It was the Ronald Reagan administration that supported an amnesty for the undocumented some 30 years ago. Now the Republicans who ordinarily revere any other action he took say no to anything except unrealistic plans to deport an estimated 11 million people.

The United States should be more generous to everyone, citizens and non-citizens alike. There would be less resentment of newcomers if people already here did not live in cutthroat competition with one another. A truly democratic United States would not destroy other countries and would do better by its own people. The migrant caravan and fear of it are proof of failure on both counts.

Most won’t succeed In any case, most of the people in this group will never arrive at the United States border. They are now at the southernmost part of Mexico and face a 1,000-mile journey that will defeat most of them. Families with young children may be the focus of news stories, but most of them will return to their homes. The story is a sensational one that drives media attention and helps Trump whip up red meat for his supporters, but it is rarely discussed in any meaningful way.

All over the world, people want to leave their nations in favor of those where they have more opportunity. Intelligent discussion would involve examinations of war, imperialism, racism and the ravages of late-stage capitalism.

All these issues drive immigration policy throughout the world.

But for now, Americans are fixated on a mass exodus of poor people without any understanding of what they are witnessing.

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

NATION

TOJ A6

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

Northern Triangle In 2016, Mexicans made up about 47 percent of people apprehended at the border, according to federal data provided to the Pew Research Center.

At the same time, illegal immigration from the Northern Triangle — Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — in Central America is far higher than it was a decade ago.

The number of migrants from these three countries rose from 45,709 in 2010 to a peak of 239,229 four years later, according to Pew. It has since dropped, hitting an estimated 163,000 last year.

But for the last two years, there have been more apprehensions of migrants from the Northern Triangle than from Mexico.

Fleeing violence RAFAEL VICTORIO/DBA/ABACA PRESS/TNS

Migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are shown on Oct. 21 in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico. There about 4,000 people and they’re being escorted by the Mexican police.

Is the US facing a border crisis?

Here’s some history and the primary factors that are driving Central Americans to the United States.

BY CINDY CARCAMO LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

The images convey a deepening U.S. immigration crisis: a twomile-long stream of more than 7,000 Central American migrants marching into Mexico, heading north toward the United States.

President Donald Trump has seized on the mass exodus, taking to Twitter to call it an “assault” on the southern U.S. border.

Two weeks shy of the midterm

election, he continues to characterize the border as out of control, threatening to send troops there and telling a crowd of supporters in Montana: “Remember, it’s going to be an election of the caravan.”

But is pressure on the U.S. border really getting worse?

Overall, illegal immigration has been at historic lows the last several years.

What data shows The U.S. government gauges trends in illegal immigration by looking at the number of people who are apprehended each year trying to cross the border. That figure climbed steadily from the 1970s through the 1990s, peaking at 1.64 million in fiscal year 2000.

It has dropped sharply since

then, hitting 303,916 in 2017.

Based on the first 11 months of this fiscal year — the most recent data available — the annual total was on pace to rise past 390,000.

That would still be lower than all but four of the previous 45 years.

That’s because illegal immigration from Mexico has been falling.

The factors Traditionally, the vast majority of people crossing the border illegally have been Mexican citizens. For decades, a booming U.S. economy pulled many Mexicans fleeing poverty.

They accounted for more than 99 percent of all people who were caught in the peak year of 2000.

But in recent years, increasing economic opportunity in Mexico has reduced clandestine immigration.

Another factor driving down the numbers is that women in Mexico have been having fewer children on average, reducing poverty rates and the motivation to seek work in the U.S. A beefedup border enforcement presence is also thought to be a deterrent.

Record violence and political instability are the primary factors driving Central Americans to the United States.

The first big wave of migration from Central America occurred during the region’s civil wars of the 1980s. The U.S. helped fuel those wars, backing right-wing governments and rebel groups against what it saw as the threat of communism.

The biggest factor in the current exodus is gang violence.

In the late 1990s, the U.S. deported hundreds of early MS-13 and 18th Street gang members to Central America, where they created offshoots and grew more powerful. As gang extortion and killings became prevalent, many people fled.

Caravan size Many of these immigrants have surrendered to U.S. border officials and requested asylum, studies show. More migrants from the Northern Triangle asked for asylum in the U.S. between 2013 to 2015 than in the previous 15 years combined.

The current caravan is unusual for its size.

Migrant caravans from Central America are nothing new. People have long traveled in large numbers but away from public view

and with not much fanfare.

Some have been organized to draw attention to the plight of Central Americans. They also offer migrants protection from rape, extortion and other dangers along the journey, as well as a way to get to the United States without hiring a smuggler for thousands of dollars.

At more than 7,000 migrants, the current caravan is the largest to date. It dwarfs the group of about 1,200 people that garnered extensive media coverage in the spring.

Long process It’s perfectly legal to show up at a U.S. port of entry and request asylum. Getting it is another matter.

Migrants must first demonstrate to border officials a “credible fear” of persecution based on religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

It can take weeks and even months just to be allowed to enter the U.S. ports of entry for an interview, and encampments have sprung up along the southern border in the last couple of years.

Applicants who pass the interview must then make the case before an immigration judge. Decisions can take years because of a shortage of judges and an increase in cases.

75 percent denied Between fiscal years 2012 and 2017, immigration judges denied about 75 percent of the nearly 11,000 asylum cases brought by Guatemalan immigrants, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a Syracuse University project that collects immigration data.

The percentage of denials was slightly higher for Salvadoran and Honduran asylum seekers.

The Trump administration has made the process even more difficult by ordering immigration judges to stop granting asylum to virtually all those claiming to be victims of domestic or gang violence, a move that could block tens of thousands of people from gaining permanent entry into the U.S.

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Who is Black in America?

Ethnic tensions flare between AfricanAmericans and Black immigrants

BY VALERIE RUSS PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/TNS

As soon as it was announced that filming would start for the Harriet Tubman biopic with British-Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo as the lead, a social-media fury erupted.

An online appeal went up, demanding an African-American woman be recast as Tubman, the woman who, after escaping slavery, made more than a dozen trips to lead others to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

In the Change.org petition that garnered 1,123 signatures by Oct. 17, organizer Tyler Holmes wrote: “We will boycott the film ‘Harriet’ until you hire an actual Black American actress to play the part.”

Onoso Imoagene

Christina M. Greer

Mary C. Waters

Amy Yeboah

Rosita Johnson

Lani Guinier

‘The diaspora war’ This, after a tangle in August when Nigerian-born blogger and author Luvvie Ajayi wrote that Tevin Campbell was too obscure a choice to sing at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.

“Under what rock did they pull that name from?” Ajayi quipped.

Twitter’s response was livid.

But these arguments, dubbed by some “the diaspora war,” reveals more than preferences over movie roles and pop culture.

STEVEN M. FALK/PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/TNS

A video by Melissa DePino, left, of the arrest of two Black men at Starbucks went viral. Michelle Saahene, right, can be heard on the video, telling police the men didn’t do anything.

to redefine themselves as “American Descendants of Slaves,” or ADOS, rather than African Americans.

Antonio Moore, a lawyer in California, and Yvette Carnell, a former journalist and U.S. congressional aide, appear to be leading the charge.

The two make regular YouTube videos, arguing that people whose ancestors were enslaved have a “justice claim” that Black immigrants don’t.

“We have been doing ‘people of color’ politics, but if you want to talk about what people who have been identified as African Americans need and what we are owed, then we have to change that definition,” Carnell said.

A name change The rancor provides a peek into a broader debate about identity in America, raising questions about how a changing Black population — increasingly diverse with immigrants and refugees from Africa, the Caribbean, Britain and elsewhere — sees itself and is seen by the majority.

Who is Black in America? Can there be unity based on skin color alone? Who gets to speak for African Americans?

Although there is more nuance to the arguments, the two sides often go like this: Black immigrants are respected more than Black Americans, all the while benefiting from reparations meant to right evils of America’s past.

It’s led to some Black Americans redefining themselves as “American Descendants of Slaves” to spotlight their special claim on America’s promises.

The Black identity Meanwhile, Black immigrants discover they’re newly identified as “Black” in a White nation — an unnecessary distinction in Nigeria, Ghana or Black Caribbean nations — and say when pulled over by cops, no one cares whether they have a charming accent.

These identity issues are showing up at universities, during marches, at movie theaters, and it raises questions of whether these diverging groups can, or want to, build coalitions for political change.

We talked to a number of experts — immigrants and Americans — to help explain the origins of the tension and how the complicated issue is playing out.

Goal: Diversity One source of contention is who benefits from “diversity’’ efforts.

For decades, researchers have studied how universities are increasing the numbers of Black students at majority-White colleges.

But some of the current tensions between immigrants and African Americans can be traced to a theory that the nation’s most selective universities have shifted away from racial-justice remedies — things like affirmative action that were put in place to right the wrongs of slavery and Jim Crow segregation — by using diversity as a goal instead.

Ivy League discussion A study published in the American Journal of Education

‘Chattel slaves’

SMITHSONIAN

This photo of Harriet Tubman, the most widely known symbol of the Underground Railroad, was taken between 1860 and 1875.

in 2007 found that immigrants or children of immigrants — while making up 13 percent of the nation’s Black 18-19-yearolds — accounted for 41 percent of Blacks admitted to Ivy League schools.

“If it’s about getting Black faces at Harvard, then you’re doing fine,” Mary C. Waters, the former chair of Harvard’s sociology department told the New York Times about a need for a philosophical discussion on affirmative action.

“If it’s about making up for 200 to 500 years of slavery in this country and its aftermath, then you’re not doing well.”

Different and ‘special’ Compounding the tension is a fivefold increase in the Black immigrant population in recent decades.

There were 4.2 million Black immigrants living here in 2016, up from 816,000 in 1980, according to a Pew Research Center report. And as more Black immigrants experience success, they get what Fordham University professor Christina M. Greer calls “elevated minority status.”

“Foreign-born Blacks are often perceived by Whites and even Black Americans as different and ‘special’ — as harder-working and more productive citizens than their Black American counterparts,” Greer wrote in her book

JAY L. CLENDENIN

British-Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo is shown at the 2017 Academy Awards. A boycott was called after she was chosen to play Harriet Tubman in new film.

“Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration and the Pursuit of the American Dream.”

‘Hyper-selected group’ It’s a phenomenon that academics started noticing decades ago — that immigrants generally are “strivers” by nature who work hard to better their lives.

It’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, though.

Onoso Imoagene, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist born in Nigeria, who studies African immigrants and how they adapt to discrimination in America, said although more than half of Nigerians in America are college-educated, just 7 percent of Nigerians abroad have at least a bachelor’s degree.

So those who end up in the United States are the smartest, the most educated — “a hyperselected group,” she said.

The advantage Immigrants also don’t carry the same racial trauma as Americans, experts say.

Even before immigrants come here, said Amy Yeboah, an assistant professor of African American Studies at Howard University and the American-born daughter of Ghanian parents, they have an advantage American Blacks often don’t.

“If you are educated in Ghana, your level of education will

be different from what you get in the Bronx,” said Yeboah, who grew up in New York and earned her undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Temple University.

“Students who apply from Ghana compared to those who are born here will do better because they are prepared better.”

Skin-color issue Harvard University professor Lani Guinier told the Washington Post that immigrants have an added advantage.

“In part, it has to do with coming from a country … where Blacks were in the majority and did not experience the stigma that Black children did in the United States,” she said.

Immigrants are not oblivious to discrimination in their home countries, said Penn professor Imoagene. It’s just that those experiences haven’t involved skin color.

“We have our own axis of stratification, when you think of ethnic lines (in Nigeria) — whether you are Yoruba or Igbo, or Christian or Muslim,” she said.

“Then you come here and find out you’re (also) Black and have to learn the racial meanings attached to that status.”

‘Justice claim’ What’s resulted is a movement to declare who is entitled to what.

Some Black Americans want

On her videos, she has often criticized former President Obama for saying this is a nation of immigrants. “We were not immigrants. We were property, we were chattel slaves. That’s a difference.”

Still, neither Americans nor immigrants are a monolith.

Michelle Saahene’s voice was heard around the world when she spoke up in April at the now famous Center City Starbucks, where a manager called the police on two Black American men because they asked to use the bathroom without placing an order.

“They didn’t do anything,” Saahene, of Philadelphia, said in the viral video of the incident.

The slave experience Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Saahene, now 32, said it was difficult for her to negotiate her racial identity as the daughter of immigrants growing up in Palmyra, a predominantly White town.

Her teachers treated her well because she excelled in school.

But at Penn State and other places, she felt she got the cold shoulder from African American students.

Since those times, she has traveled back to Ghana. At Elmina Castle where captured Africans were held before being taken on ships destined for the Americas, she wept.

Tired of feud “I … imagined what it was like to experience the torture, the rape and murder and I looked out on the ocean and imagined being on a boat, sailing away, and I got sick to my stomach.

“When I got back to America, it was impossible for me to look at all African Americans and not see them as my possible brothers and sisters, neighbors and family and friends in Africa.

“To me this feud between Africans and African Americans, it’s See TENSIONS, Page B3

EVENTS & OBITUARY

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OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

STOJ

FAMU educator, administrator Roosevelt ‘Prof’ Wilson dies SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida A&M University (FAMU) community is mourning the death of former journalism professor and athletics director Roosevelt Wilson. He died on Oct. 21 at 78 years old.

Wilson was known among the FAMU community as a “fair and principled” man, profound teacher, mentor, businessman, administrator and Roosevelt writer, whose command of Wilson the English language and principles of journalism was admired nationally, especially among the Black Press.

“I extend condolences to Professor Wilson’s family, loved ones and many friends,” said Dr. Larry Robinson, FAMU’s president. “He devoted himself to telling

the stories of great Rattlers, and he will be included among those great Rattlers.”

Teacher, then ‘Prof’ Robinson reflected on Wilson’s chronicles and was among the well-wishers, who gathered in January, to celebrate the release of Wilson’s biography of FAMU’s legendary coach, Jake Gaither.

“I am grateful for his commitment to FAMU, the Big Bend area and the countless students who benefitted from his exemplary work,” said Robinson.

A native of Bunnell, Wilson went to FAMU in 1969 as the director of Sports Information, following a lengthy stint as a high school English teacher, service station owner and sports writer in Ocala.

“Prof. Wilson,” as he became known later to his journalism students at FAMU, moved from FAMU Athletics’ Sports Information Department to director of University Publications in 1979, before returning

to Athletics in the summer of 1980 as director of Athletics under then-president Walter L. Smith, Jr., Ph.D.

Owned Black paper He left that role in 1985, moving to the former FAMU School of Journalism, Media and Graphic Arts (now the FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication), where he became one of the department’s most popular instructors.

His family’s acquisition of the Capital Outlook weekly newspaper, in 1991, provided many of his students with excellent work experience, and his leadership turned the paper into an award-winning publication, which provided incisive political and social commentary during his years as publisher.

Columnist too Wilson also inspired many through

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

KEITH SWEAT

95.7’s Beats by the Bay is Nov. 3 in St. Petersburg.

Performers: Keith Sweat, Fantasia, Tank, Next, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh

YVETTE MILEY The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists’ Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet is Nov. 15 at the Tampa Marriott Westshore. Speaker: Yvette Miley of

his “Against The Grain” weekly column.

For decades, it served as preferred reading for many across the social and political spectrum in Florida’s capital city, as he often tackled the burning issues of the day both locally and nationally.

His rare insight, intellect, and wit took the “Against The Grain” column to radio, where he was able to share his views with a wider audience, as well as interact with listeners for several years.

Wilson eventually sold the Outlook in 2009-10, moving into many years of fruitful retirement along with his wife, Cather C. “Cathy” Wilson.

They had three children – sons Van and Vaughn, and daughter Tiffany, and six grandchildren.

Funeral services for Wilson will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29, at the Old West Florida Enrichment Center, 2344 Lake Bradford Road in Tallahassee.

DAVID AND TAMELA MANN

Tampa: The Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s is Nov. 3 starting at Amalie Arena.

Register at alz.org/walk.

Coconut Creek: Thelma Houston’s Motown Experience featuring a tribute to Aretha Franklin is Nov. 16 at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

Orlando: The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival continues through Nov. 12.

Boyz II Men will perform Nov. 5-7.

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

Tallahassee: Florida A&M’s football team faces Morgan State Oct. 27 at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

Game time: 4 p.m.

Hollywood: Catch actor and comedian Tracy Morgan on Nov. 3 at Hard Rock Live.

The Us Against the World tour with David and Tamela Mann stops at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pikes on Oct. 28.

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

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

Lakeland: Edward Waters College will face Southeastern University on Oct. 27. Game time: 7 p.m.

MSNBC and NBC News. Details: tbabj.com

Details: namihillsborough.org/ walk-run.

Tampa: NAMI Hillsborough’s annual walk/run is Oct. 27 at USF.

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

Orlando: Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M will meet in the annual Florida Classic on Nov. 17 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.

Details: FloridaClassic.org

Your Voice.

Your Movement for Florida's Future.

Vote Early: October 22-November 4 Election Day: Tuesday, November 6 Join Andrew Gillum in the fight for: An economy with better-paying jobs Investing in public schools Paying teachers what they’re worth Common sense laws to stop gun violence Protecting women’s healthcare Fair immigration policies

Endorsed By:

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Vote by Mail Early Voting: October 22 - November 4 Vote on Tuesday, November 6

President Barack Obama Secretary Hillary Clinton Congressman Alcee Hastings Congresswoman Frederica Wilson Congresswoman Val Demings

Find Your Early Voting Location at iwillvote.com

G E T I N V O LV E D W W W . A N D R E W G I L L U M . C O M Paid by A n drew G illu m , D em oc rat , f or G overn or.

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OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

HEALTH

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Brush and floss to keep blood pressure in check

BY MELISSA HEALY LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Struggling to bring your high blood pressure under control, even with the help of medications?

Open your mouth and say “aha!” if you see tooth decay or gums that are sore, bleeding or receding. You may have found the culprit.

Researchers reported Monday that in adults whose hypertension was being treated with medications, systolic blood pressure — which measures pressure in the vessels when the heart beats — got higher as the health of their teeth and gums declined.

Major health risk Compared to hypertensive patients who had no signs of periodontal disease, those with inflamed gums were 20 percent less likely to have gotten their blood pressure within healthy limits.

In addition, patients whose dental health was poor had systolic blood pressure readings that were 3 mm HG higher, on average, than similar patients with healthy gums.

The findings were published in the journal Hypertension.

An estimated one-in-three U.S. adults — that’s 75 million Americans — are thought to have high blood pressure, putting them at greater risk of heart attacks and strokes. Hypertension is a primary or contributing cause of more than 1,000 deaths a day in the United States.

Yet only 54 percent of those with the condition have brought their blood pressure readings under control with some combination of medication, diet and exercise.

Dental health effects The new study is in line with a mountain of research linking gum disease with higher rates of heart, blood vessel and kidney disease — all organs that are affected by high blood pressure.

And it breaks new ground by detailing how poor dental health upends efforts to bring hypertension under control.

Indeed, the study found that people with untreated hypertension and healthy gums had blood pressure readings roughly equal to those of people who took medication for their hypertension but also suffered from gum disease.

In other words, poor dental health largely negated the effects of taking blood pressure medication.

11,753 screened The new research doesn’t es-

IGOR MOJZES/DREAMSTIME/TNS

A study shows that poor dental health largely negated the effects of taking blood pressure medication. tablish that gum disease causes hypertension and its negative health effects. Many researchers suspect that, like stiff blood vessels, sore and bleeding gums are just one more manifestation of inflammation throughout the body.

Nor does the study show that treating periodontitis will reduce high blood pressure.

But it does suggest that, when dental health is poor, the challenge of bringing blood pressure under control will be more expensive and is more likely to fail.

Researchers from Italy scoured the records of 11,753 Americans who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and 2014 and were screened for periodontal disease.

Disease rates Some 4,095 of the participants had been diagnosed with hypertension, of whom 88.5 percent were taking medication for the condition and 11.5 percent were not.

Rates of moderate and severe periodontal disease tended to be higher among study participants who were men, older, Latino, smokers, and those with less income and education.

Participants who were 65 or

older and had evidence of longstanding periodontal disease were much more likely than those with less severe and longstanding gum disease to have unchecked high blood pressure — a trend that was particularly evident among Latinos.

Impact on minorities Both hypertension and periodontitis are more common among African Americans and Latinos in the United States.

Those patient populations also have strikingly higher rates of the diseases linked to both, including heart disease, kidney failure and cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and certain forms of dementia.

There’s some evidence to suggest African Americans may have a genetic vulnerability to high blood pressure, but it’s controversial.

Ethnic disparities There’s little doubt that access to health care differs by race and ethnicity, and that impediments to good medical and dental care play a key role in racial and ethnic health disparities.

Dental care, especially, is expensive and far less likely than medical care to be fully covered

by insurance. As a result, economic factors likely play a powerful role in influencing the health of a patient’s gums.

Moreover, many primary care physicians and cardiologists fail to ask their patients about their dental health, or to refer them to dentists unless they are undergoing cardiac procedures and have clear signs of tooth decay. And dentists don’t necessarily check their patients’ blood pressure.

‘Pop-up’ clinics The study authors wrote that patients with high blood pressure should have their gum health taken into account when they consider their treatment options.

“Our data suggest that all racial/ethnic subgroups, especially Hispanics, might benefit of such approach,” they wrote. “Conversely, ignoring the additional burden of poor periodontal status on blood pressure might translate into a higher cardiovascular risk in the long term.”

Charlene Niemi, director of health literacy for Care Harbor, a California-based nonprofit charity that provides free medical, dental and vision care in massive “pop-up” health clinics across the state, said it’s “imperative that individuals are informed

that good oral care and treatment of gum disease does play a role in blood pressure.”

Checkups important While everyone needs regular dental checkups, “those with hypertension should understand the importance of having a dental home, seeking routine follow-up, and practicing good oral care,” said Niemi. Linking underserved patients to such routine care is a key mission for Care Harbor.

At a time when federal health insurance for the poor and disabled is being scaled back and the requirements of the Affordable Care Act are being whittled away, it’s unlikely that patients with gum disease will get better access to dental care any time soon.

But if they did, it might help, said Dr. Gregg L. Fonarow, a cardiologist at UCLA. “It’s suggested by this data, but would need to be proven,” Fonarow said.

In the meantime, he said, the existence of a link is clear: Patients with hypertension should make every effort to improve their oral health, and those with poor gum health should be vigilant for hypertension.

FDA warns about Halloween contact lenses MAYO CLINIC NEWS NETWORK/ TNS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about the risks of Halloween costume contacts.

Seen by some as the finishing touch to a ghoul-

ish getup, the FDA says the poorly fitted contacts could be the beginning of serious eye problems.

When it comes to colored or decorative contact lens — Halloween buyer beware.

“The only safe contact lenses are when you go to

an eye doctor — so somebody who is actually certified in being able to look at your eyes and fit you for a prescription,” says Dr. Vandana Bhide, an internal medicine specialist.

Eye damage Bhide is echoing a recent

All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for election.

warning from the FDA, saying, for contacts, a prescription is a must. The alert specifically lists boutiques, novelty and Halloween stores as places not to buy contact lens.

That’s because contact lenses are not one-sizefits-all devices. Bhide says a poor fit can cause serious injury.

“And, specifically, the part of the eye that’s most concerning is what’s called the cornea, which is the front,” she says. “It’s the clear part of the eye that covers the pupil and the colored part of the eye, and that is a membrane that can very easily get damaged.”

Not worth it Scratches on the cornea,

ANTHONY BEHAR/SIPA USA/TNS

Kim Chin wears colored contact lenses at a past New York Comic-Con at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. Experts say a Halloween with contact lenses can include serious eye infections and even vision loss. infections and impaired vision are all possible results of bad lenses.

“It’s really not worth all of the potential problems that you can have,” adds Bhide.

TENSIONS from B1

terrible and it needs to stop.”

Teacher honored

Vote Tuesday November 6 Text VOTER to 26797

Rosita Johnson, an 86-year-old former schoolteacher, was presented this year with a special award from the South African government for her work helping children who fled to Tanzania.

Earlier this year, Rosita Johnson, a retired Philadelphia teacher, was honored by the South African government for her efforts starting in the 1980s to support a

Her advice is skip the colored contacts and the risks that come with them, and choose a happy — albeit slightly less spooky — Halloween.

school for children who fled to Tanzania after the Soweto protests.

‘Our cousins’ At her Germantown home, the 86-year-old talked about the tensions between some Americans and Africans.

A fractured Black population, she said, only helps those in power.

“It’s a divide-and-conquer tactic,” said Johnson, “because African-Americans are Africans. These are our cousins. If you’re African American, you’re related to somebody over there.

“Unfortunately, because of slavery and colonization, all people of African descent have suffered from racism. I call it a mental illness.”

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CULTURE

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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Zombie apocalypse? There’s a class for that Rollins College professor is expert on the undead

in an acquittal in a 1997 Canadian murder case.

A 23-year-old Canadian man who gambled away not only his family’s savings but money he embezzled from the company where he worked drove 13 miles to the home of his wife’s parents, where he beat his mother-in-law to death and tried to strangle his father-in-law.

Afterward, blood dripping from his clothing, he went to a police station to report that “I think I have just killed two people.” A jury accepted his defense that he was sleepwalking and acquitted him, in a decision that was upheld by Canada’s Supreme Court.

BY GLENN GARVIN MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Reporters get deluged all day long with news releases offering interviews with supposed experts on everything from Japanese whale hunting to polygamist religious sects of the American Southwest. So it’s kind of hard to surprise us.

But a recent email offering help from a zombie expert — a zombie expert teaching at an actual Florida university — was definitely a first, even during Halloween season. Possibly a last, too.

“I don’t know if there are a lot of other zombie experts in American academia,” Eric Smaw admitted in a phone interview. “Actually, I don’t know if there are any.”

Popular course Smaw teaches at Rollins College in Winter Park, where he has to turn away students from his “Zombies, Serial Killers, and Madmen” course every semester.

“The registrar’s office told me it’s one of the most popular courses on campus,” Smaw said. “I guess the students just love zombies.”

Actually, Smaw may have some competition when it comes to expertise in zombie studies. Courses on zombies pop up with some regularity on American college campuses.

Other colleges Michigan State a few years back used the idea of a zombie outbreak as the precept for an online course in disaster planning.

George Mason University in Virginia has an anthropology course that focuses on zombies in non-Western religions. (“May not be repeated for credit,” the course catalog warns somewhat ominously.)

And media-study courses on zombies in movies and TV shows

‘Neurological zombies’

TNS

Professor Eric Smaw teaches a course on zombies at Rollins College and is a recognized expert. like the one at Wright State in Ohio are not uncommon.

Why its unique What makes Smaw’s course unique is that it’s offered through Rollins’ philosophy department.

Zombies like the ones Americans see in “The Walking Dead” are not generally thought to have much of a philosophy beyond “I want to eat your brain,” even that expressed mostly through grunts and snarls rather than through Aristotelian logic.

They do, however, kill people rather profligately. And that’s what interested Smaw.

“I was doing research on the subject of why people engage in murder,” he recalls. “And to figure out that, I had to look into the subject of consciousness — to be guilty of murder, you have to have conscious intent, not just accidentally fire a gun and hit someone — and then diminished capacity.”

Mental condition Diminished capacity is a mental condition in which someone’s judgment has been reduced to a level so low that he or she is no longer able to have specific intent to commit a crime.

Usually it comes into play in the courtroom when an accused killer is under the influence of drink or drugs. But Smaw discovered a few cases where people had simply slipped into a level of brain activity so low that they were barely more conscious than sleepwalkers.

“There really are people in that state who commit murders without being conscious of it,” Smaw said. “There’s even a term for it, homicidal somnambulism.”

Sleepwalking defense The concept is controversial, to put it mildly, among law-enforcement people. But it’s been used in court at times and even resulted

“What the case established is that it’s possible that a sleepwalker could do complex things like drive a car or commit a murder,” Smaw said. “I know it’s hard to believe. But think of it like this: Have you ever been driving a car and suddenly realize that you’ve traveled 20 miles with no memory of how you did it?

“That’s very similar. You went into a state of low neurologic activity, yet you drove a car through traffic and arrived safely. Your level of neurologic energy is not static — it goes up and down all day.

And while performing a mundane task like driving it can drop down a long way.”

Smaw began thinking of people whose brains were in the lowest energy state as “neurological zombies,” and from there it wasn’t a long way to just plain zombies, whose sole purpose in life is eating brains.

“Brain waves are measured in electrical frequencies called hertz,” Smaw says. “Normal consciousness is about 40 hertz. Neurological zombies like the man in Canada are about 37 hertz. And the zombies in “The Walking Dead,” those are maybe 5 hertz.

They are zombies.”

Blood, gore first So naturally they had to be added to Smaw’s course. And pretty quickly they became the first part,

if not necessarily the most important, of his lectures.

“The course meets three times a week,” he notes. “And for the first week and half or maybe two, it’s all blood and gore. The students, I know they want to see zombie movies and scream and be terrified, so I get it out of the way early.

I used to even start the course at midnight.

“So after a while, when they’ve seen a lot of bloody entrails, I show them an episode of ‘The Walking Dead’ where some of the survivors of the zombie apocalypse go to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Is it possible?

There’s a doctor left there, and he talks to them a lot about neurological capacity, the evolved brain and the unevolved, and it starts moving the discussion toward science.

“I say to the students, ‘Hey, what do you think about these zombies, could something like that ever happen? Could a person turn into a zombie?’

They always say no at first, no, human beings have a moral sensibility. And then we go over the Canadian murder case, and they start to settle down and think.”

If it happens As Florida’s greatest zombie expert, Smaw gets asked a lot of questions.

After “couldn’t you change my grade to an A?” the most frequent one is, “What do I do when the inevitable zombie apocalypse breaks out?” His answer: 1. “Make sure you have enough food, water and ammo on hand.

2. “My students say that when you lazily fail to do that, just run to Walmart and hunker down because Walmart has tons of all that stuff.”

3. “Maintain a strong wireless connection so that as the zombies swarm in, you can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s zombie apocalypse web page. Which, believe it or not, is an actual, real thing: cdc.gov/ phpr/zombie/index.htm.

STOJ

OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

FLORIDA’S

finest

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

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Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

Thousands of Caribbean culture lovers converge on South Florida every year before and during the Columbus Day weekend to attend the annual Miami Broward Carnival, a series of concerts, pageants, parades, and competitions.

On Carnival Day, “mas” (masquerade) bands of thousands of revelers dance and march behind 18-wheel tractor-trailer trucks with booming sound systems from morning until nightfall while competing for honors.

Here are some of the “Finest” we’ve seen over the years. Click on www.flcourier to see hundreds of pictures from previous Carnivals.

Go to www. miamibrowardcarnival.com for more information on Carnival events in South Florida.

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

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OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1, 2018

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