Florida Courier - February 12, 2016

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

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CELEBRATING OUR 10TH YEAR STATEWIDE!

HONOR AND RESPECT: Pioneer Blacks in the military See Page B1 www.flcourier.com

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

VOLUME 24 NO. 7

#BLACK VOTES MATTER

As the unexpectedly close 2016 Democratic presidential campaign comes south, Black supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are making the case for their respective candidate.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Hillary Clinton’s allies in the Black community moved aggressively Wednesday to shore up her support with Black voters following her crushing defeat in New Hampshire, as Sen. Bernie Sanders worked to win over the Black and Latino voters who will now be crucial to the outcome of their contest.

Sanders lost little time moving from his victory rally in New Hampshire to a new, more diverse arena. He headed for Harlem for breakfast with Rev. Al Sharpton. Social media was

ablaze with photos of the two eating at Sylvia’s, a wellknown New York soul food restaurant.

From there, he headed for ABC’s “The View,” where he shared his thoughts about police brutality with the program’s 2 million viewers.

On the attack By mid-afternoon Wednesday, Clinton surrogates in the Black community were firing back, charging Sanders with inflating his civil rights credentials.

“Hillary Clinton has been a true friend to the AfricanAmerican community for the last 40 years,” Rep. Ha-

keem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on a media conference call arranged by Clinton’s campaign. “During that period of time, Bernie Sanders has been largely missing in action.”

As her supporters threw barbs, Clinton herself laid low, taking stock of the damage caused by her 22-point loss in New Hampshire and looking ahead toward a debate with Sanders Thursday night.

Yet Sanders can now boast his own support from prominent minority figures.

He recently earned the enBRIAN CAHN/ZUMA PRESS/TNS dorsement of Benjamin Jealous, the former chief ex- Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton shared the debate stage in October 2015 See DEMS, Page A2

in Las Vegas.

MAURICE WHITE, 1941-2016

‘I’ll write a song for you’

B-CU hosts GOP bigwigs Party recognizes Black ‘trailblazer’

BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

DAYTONA BEACH – The Republican National Committee (RNC) hosted its 4th Annual Black Republican Trailblazer Awards luncheon at Bethune-Cookman University on Feb. 4 – a few days before an awards ceremony of the same name was to be hosted by a former Black GOP consultant in Washington, D.C. The theme in Daytona Beach was “Pursuing The Promise.” The annual event celebrates Black History Month by honoring Black Republicans who have blazed a path for future leaders, according to the RNC. The program also highlighted the Republican Leadership Initiative and included Black Republican elected officials, state and county party chairs, supporters, community leaders, students, and local and national media.

Chairman in Daytona

RICHARD HARTOG/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Bassist Verdine White, left, and his brother – singer, drummer and producer Maurice White of the group Earth, Wind and Fire – performed during a tribute at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards show in 2004.

Maurice White died Feb. 3 at age 74. Read more on Page B5.

At B-CU, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus presented the 2016 Trailblazer Award to Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 2004-2008.

Jackson, a former housing authority executive director in St. Louis and Dallas with extensive municipal governmental experience, was appointed under President George W. Bush, then unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Jackson later served as the distinguished university proSee GOP, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

Big legislative issues remain at ‘halftime’

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s 60day legislative session is halfway done. Most of the major issues remain unresolved after weeks of lawmakers debating bills in committees. But that’s not unusual – lawmakers typically put off the big stuff until the end.

Here is a partial update about what has – or hasn’t – happened.

ALSO INSIDE

• Economic development: Gov. Rick Scott continues to put pressure on lawmakers to approve setting aside $250 million for economic-development incentives. Senate leaders have agreed. But it has received a cooler reception in the House, which is more focused on cutting taxes.

• Education: The Senate has looked at the possibility of allowing school districts to use tests other than the state’s Flori-

da Standards Assessments. Right now, House Republican leaders appear to show little interest in making major changes to the testing system. Instead, the House has focused heavily on expanding school choice, including proposals that would bolster charter schools and allow parents to enroll children in any public schools that have available space.

• Gambling: The House has three proposals that would make major changes in Florida’s gambling industry. One would ratify a $3 billion gambling deal negotiated by the Scott administration and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. But the package also allows

greyhound tracks to stop offering live racing and clears the way for slot machines in Palm Beach County. A gambling package has also been proposed in the Senate.

• Guns: The House last week approved two major gun bills backed by Second Amendment groups. One would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on college and university campuses. The other would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry firearms in public. The bills appear likely to die in the Senate, where Judiciary Chairman Miguel Diaz de la See ISSUES, Page A2

NATION | A6

Big donors having little impact on election CALENDAR | B5

Franklin among celebs coming to Florida BOOKS | B6

Professor gives abolitionists their due

COMMENTARY: CLARENCE V. MCKEE: SENATOR SAYS FLORIDA LOTTERY TARGETS THE POOR | A4 COMMENTARY: ROGER CALDWELL: WILL BLACKS BE LOST, LEFT OUT OF PRIMARY? | A4

FOCUS

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FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

State’s first female head football coach hired in Miami

BY ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ, DAVID FURONES AND MANNY NAVARRO MIAMI HERALD / TNS

Miami Jackson High School made history Monday afternoon.

The school announced at a news conference that it has hired Lakatriona Brunson as its new coach, making her the first female head football coach in Florida history. Jackson is also hiring Luther Campbell as an assistant coach.

Historic hire “Today is historic for not only Florida, but Miami Jackson,” Brunson said. “I took a look like, ‘Why can’t I do it?’ We’re just here to change the atmosphere here at Miami Jackson and get some W’s on the board. I know I can do it …

Watch what we’re going to do. It’s some big things coming up.”

Brunson, also known as “Bernice,” has gained plenty of notoriety in recent years for her role as a driver and assistant manager for Tremont Towing, the company portrayed in the truTV reality series, South Beach Tow, which began airing in July 2011.

“We’re not here to talk about music or reality TV,” Brunson said. “We’re here to talk about football only.”

Star athlete Brunson graduated from Miami Northwestern in 1995 and was a former track and field thrower and basketball standout for the Bulls. At Northwestern, Brunson threw the discus and

shot put competing for legendary track coach Carmen Jackson, who has guided that program to a Florida record 12 state championships – including an active seven-year title streak that ranks second all-time in state history.

“I know she was a great student-athlete and she showed a lot of leadership,” Jackson said.

“She was a very good people person and was well-liked by all the students. She was committed and an easy person to coach. She had all the attributes of being a great leader.

“I never envisioned her becoming a football coach, but I always knew she was a born leader and she was going to go on and do big things in the community.”

Brunson also starred on the basketball team at Northwestern and later played at Tennessee State, where she also earned a degree in health and physical education/fitness.

She played football for the Miami Fury, formerly of the Independent Women’s Football League, more than a decade ago.

Shows ‘tough love’ Brunson was joined at the press conference by Jackson principal Carlos Rios, Jr., offensive lineman Donte Morris and senior defensive tackle Javon Hunt, who signed with FAMU. “[Brunson] shows tough love, wants you to work hard, not doubt yourself, give 100-percent effort,” Hunt said.

Morris added: “In the weight room, she makes sure you go hard, not lying around. She’ll be

‘No circus’ Campbell, who became famous in the 1980s as the popular but at times controversial head man of the rap group 2 Live Crew, has served as a defensive coordinator in recent years at Miami Central, Miami Northwestern and most recently at Miami Norland.

Campbell said Jackson school officials had reached out to him in the last month about joining the staff, but he wanted the school to do something special.

Hiring Brunson, he said, fit the bill.

“At first I thought ‘this [expletive] might be crazy because I take football real serious,” Campbell said. “But after a conversation with her, I said, ‘Naw, she knows her football. She’s on point. I don’t take this as a joke. I didn’t want to be a part of no circus.”

Campbell, 55, would likely assume the same role as defensive coordinator at Jackson. His defenses have been ranked among the best in the county at every school he has coached.

PATRICK FARRELL/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Miami Jackson High’s new head football coach Lakatriona Brunson addressed the media on Monday. Behind Brunson are her assistant coach Luther Campbell, left, and Jackson High principal Carlos Rios. a nice addition at Miami Jackson.”

Brunson is a physical education teacher at Jackson, which meets one of the main requirements for her to be hired as a head coach at a Miami-Dade County public school.

“It’s a lot of people that probably applied for this position and look who is here,” Brunson said.

“I’m ready for whatever comes my way. I’m ready to fight, ready to get these guys prepared and ready to win.”

GOP

and violating the trademarked name.

(Raynard Jackson is no relation to Alphonso Jackson.)

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fessor and Director of the Center for Public Policy and Leadership at Hampton University.

Currently, Jackson works as a senior advisor at First Data.

‘Pursued the promise’ “While staying true to Republican principles, Secretary Jackson went from marching for civil rights to creating strong, sustainable, and inclusive communities for all during his time leading HUD. As we honor Secretary Jackson, a Black Republican trailblazer, we draw inspiration for building a better future and continue to pursue the promise of equal opportunity for all,” said Priebus.

“It is special to receive this award at historic Bethune-Cookman University,” Jackson responded. “It is because of the determined sacrifice of trailblazers before me, like (Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune) and (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) that I’m able to be recognized today for my contributions to the country.”

The B-CU luncheon was not without controversy. GOP consultant, newspaper columnist and longtime Black Republican Raynard Jackson

DEMS from A1

ecutive of the NAACP, who has been campaigning in South Carolina.

‘Tough questions’ “You’ll see a real fight for the Black vote…The best thing for our community is for voters to really look at the records of each of these folks and to ask tough questions of the surrogates and of the candidates,” Jealous said in an interview with the Trice Edney Newswire.

“There’s a lot of folks who’ve been suggesting that the Clintons should take our vote for granted.

I think you’re going to see people across the country force them to have to compete for our vote. No Black voter in the 21st century wants to feel like their vote is taken for granted.”

Jealous applauded Sanders’ 100-percent NAACP Legislative Report Card record, while describing Clinton’s record in the U.S. Senate as “complex.” Jealous said she fell short in key areas of importance to African-Americans.

Jackson began a coaching search in January after former coach Earl Little, a standout at the University of Miami and in the NFL stepped down after two seasons.

The Generals went 3-6 during the 2015 season, but Little guided them to a 6-5 playoff season in 2014 in which they beat Miami Northwestern in the Soul Bowl for the first time since 2002 and reached the Class 5A regional quarterfinals.

DUANE C. FERNANDEZ, SR. / HARDNOTTSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson receives a Black Republican Trailblazer Award from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus last week. distributed a column harshly criticizing the RNC’s staff, which he accused of stealing his luncheon idea

MLK’s ‘matrix’ “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us a matrix for judging the agenda of leaders: racism, militarism and greed. Bernie Sanders’ record on each of those is clear. His opposition to them, his history of fighting against them, is clear.

Hillary Clinton’s record on each of those is complex and also contradictory,” Jealous said.

Jealous detailed how Clinton, on one hand, help build the Children’s Defense Fund, but later “championed the superpredator theory which said that a child at age 6 months could be a sociopath beyond redemption. And it’s only used to explain the actions of young Black men.”

On militarism, he said Clinton “opposed the war in Vietnam, but voted for the war in Iraq” – a vote that Clinton recently conceded was a “mistake” only based on information President Bush had given at the time.

As for greed, Jealous concluded, “I don’t think anybody can say…that they believe Hillary Clinton did everything she possibly can to reign in our banks and to make sure that they do not send us whirling into another recession down

Program improving During the past two seasons, Norland has not made the playoffs largely due to playing in one of the state’s toughest districts that also includes Central, Northwestern and Miami Carol City. But the Vikings have finished ranked among the county’s top five in total defense.

This past season, Norland sent two players – linebackers Emmett Rice (FSU) and Vosean Joseph (Florida) – sign with major top-level college football programs.

Jackson, one of Miami-Dade’s oldest schools whose roots trace to 1898, has never won a state football championship although it has advanced to the state semifinals in 1998, 2000 and 2012.

ISSUES

‘Blinded by loyalty’

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“I foolishly allowed the leadership of the RNC to use me and then discard me,” Jackson wrote. “…I was blinded by my party loyalty in my foolish belief that they were finally serious about the Black community….I cannot and will not have any involvement with a national committee that has so little regard for me personally and the Black community at large that they would not only infringe upon my intellectual property rights; but also try to emulate my idea by prostituting it with their incompetence.”

A search of federal trademark records indicates that Raynard Jackson filed a trademark application for “Black Republican Trailblazer Awards Luncheon” on Nov. 30, 2015; the RNC filed a subsequent trademark application for the same name on Feb. 1, 2016. Neither application has been examined or registered.

Raynard Jackson’s affiliated nonprofit organization, Black Americans for a Better Future, will hold its own Trailblazer luncheon on Feb. 14 in Washington, D.C. Former Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll is one of the awardees.

Portilla, R-Miami, has already made clear he will not take up the campus-carry bill. Even if the committee takes up the open carry bill, senators likely would consider changes unacceptable to groups such as the National Rifle Association.

• Health care: The House is considering bills scaling back regulations in the health-care industry. Both chambers also are looking at proposals to boost transparency, an issue that emerged amid Scott’s criticism of the hospital industry.

• Justice system: The U.S. Supreme Court issued a major ruling that said Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional.

That spurred the Florida Supreme Court to put on hold an execution that was scheduled for this week, and has forced law-

the road.”

Jealous said Sanders has a stellar civil rights and economic justice record.

“From his days of going to jail with the Congress of Racial Equality to speed up the integration of housing in Chicago, to supporting Jesse Jackson’s campaign for president in 1988, he is the only candidate that has a comprehensive racial justice platform today.

“Militarism? He opposed the war in Vietnam; he voted against the war in Iraq. Greed? There is no one that the greediest leaders of the greediest banks fear becoming president more than Bernie Sanders,” Jealous said.

CBC backs Clinton The Congressional Black Caucus PAC has voted to endorse Clinton for president and will make an official endorsement Thursday (after the Florida Courier’s press time Wednesday night) CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said Wednesday.

Butterfield said at least a dozen CBC members will be campaigning on the ground in South Carolina ahead of the state’s Democratic primary on Feb. 27.

“President Obama made a very powerful argument

in a way for change, and there has been change under President Obama,” Butterfield said in response to a reporter’s question about candidates who appeal to young voters.

“But what Sen. Sanders doesn’t have is the international experience, the foreign policy experience that Mrs. Clinton has,” Butterfield said. “And I believe she’s going to become more aggressive.”

Clinton has 173 congressional endorsements, including prominent CBC members like Georgia Rep. John Lewis and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

Political firewalls?

The next few weeks will pose a critical test for both campaigns as the competition shifts from the allWhite electorates of Iowa and New Hampshire to racially diverse states whose electorates more nearly reflect the broader population. Nevada’s Democratic caucuses are on Feb. 20; South Carolina’s Democratic primary is on Feb. 27.

The Clinton campaign had long viewed Nevada and South Carolina as bulwarks that would protect them against any unexpected surge by Sanders.

In Nevada, the former secretary of state has several advantages, including long-standing ties to Latino leaders and the fact that the state’s caucuses are closed to independents, cutting Sanders off from a bloc of voters who helped him greatly in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Yet despite those facts, Sanders suddenly finds himself positioned to pose a significant threat.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sanders’ campaign announced that he had raised a record $5.2 million since the New Hampshire polls closed the night before. His campaign has been spending significantly more money on advertising in Nevada than Clinton has, and the infusion of new cash may allow him to continue to out-gun her on the air.

Competitive in S.C. Clinton also faces a significant fight in South Carolina. Over the last 10 days, Sanders has enlisted 1,000 new volunteers in the state bringing the total number to 5,000, according to Chris Covert, the campaign’s South Carolina director. They’ve knocked on 300,000 doors.

The state’s most influ-

makers to try to revamp the sentencing system. So far, the House and Senate disagree about whether juries should have to make unanimous recommendations to judges about imposing death sentences. In the past, majorities of juries have been able to make such recommendations.

• People with disabilities: The House, Senate and Scott quickly approved a package of bills designed to provide more job and educational opportunities to people with developmental disabilities.

• Water: Lawmakers and Scott have approved a wide-ranging bill to set new water policies for the state. Lawmakers also are considering a plan known as “Legacy Florida,” which would direct money to South Florida to address issues related to Everglades restoration and Lake Okeechobee. ential Black lawmaker, Rep. James Clyburn, told MSNBC Wednesday that Sanders, a candidate who was virtually unknown in the state only a couple of months ago, has built an impressive campaign organization in that state.

Spending money Allies of Clinton also announced that they were launching a $25 million get-out-the-vote effort aimed at Blacks and Latinos. The organization will be able to raise unlimited amounts of cash, and the head of Clinton’s biggest super PAC will be its adviser.

The organizers said their effort was aimed at turning out voters to the polls and defending voting rights, and the group will not be engaged in the primary campaign, yet the effort is also a reminder to Black and Latino voters that Clinton is in their corner.

Evan Halper and Chris Megerian of the Tribune Washington Bureau / TNS; Joey Matthews of the Richmond (Va.) Free Press; and Hazel Trice Edney of the Trice Edney Newswire all contributed to this report.

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

FLORIDA

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Senate committee backs unanimity in death sentences

BY DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – After hearing from a former prisoner who spent 17 years on Florida’s Death Row for a crime he didn’t commit, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee unanimously approved a measure that would overhaul the state’s death-penalty sentencing structure.

Monday’s action by the Senate committee puts the upper chamber at odds with the House over how to address a U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, that overturned the state’s death-penalty sentencing system.

Last month’s 8-1 ruling, which centered on the sentencing phase of death-penalty cases after defendants are found guilty, dealt with what are known as “aggravating” circumstances that must be determined before defendants can be sentenced to death. A 2002 U.S. Su-

Florida State Fair honors diverse group of leaders The Florida State Fair in Tampa held its annual Wall of Fame Recognition Ceremony on Feb. 6.

According to the fair’s Diversity Advisory Committee, the recipients are “outstanding individuals who exemplify a commitment to excellence and have enhanced Tampa or Florida’s rich heritage and culture within their respective communities.’’

The honorees are high-

preme Court ruling, in a case known as Ring v. Arizona, requires that determination of such aggravating circumstances be made by juries, not judges.

A House measure (PCB CRJS 16-07), backed by state prosecutors, would require unanimity for the aggravators, but would only require a 9-3 vote to recommend death.

Judges ultimately decide

One of three states

Under Florida law, juries make recommendations regarding the death penalty, based on a review of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, but judges ultimately decide whether defendants should be put to death or sentenced to life in prison.

The Senate proposal (SB 7068) would require unanimous decisions on at least one aggravating factor and would also require a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty to be imposed. Under current law, a majority of jurors has to decide that at least one aggravator exists, but juries are not required to provide information about the votes on each of the aggravators.

Of the 32 states with the death penalty, Florida is one of only three states – including Delaware and Alabama – that do not require unanimous jury decisions for capital punishment. Like Florida, Delaware recently issued a moratorium on executions while the state Supreme Court considers the impact of the Hurst case.

Sen. Rob Bradley, a former prosecutor, grilled 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brad King about the 9-3 jury recommendation, asking if any other state had a lower bar for the death penalty.

“I support the death penalty…but I also have a duty to craft laws that will survive constitutional scrutiny from our courts,” Bradley,

lighted on a Wall of Fame at the state fair, which continues through Feb. 15.

Honored this year are Dr. Walter Smith, past president of Florida A&M University, was selected for the African American Wall of Fame; The Hispanic Wall of Fame honoree is Priscilla Clark, an officer with the Plant City Police Department. Hung Mai, an engineer who is chairman of the Hillsborough County Diversity Advisory Council, was chosen for the Asian-Pacific Wall of Fame.

The 2016 Historical Honorees are Doug Jamerson, a former Florida Commissioner of Education and Victoriano Manteiga, founder of La Gaceta Newspaper.

R-Fleming Island, said.

King repeatedly sidestepped the question, saying that Florida’s “system” differs from that of other states.

“And they just found our system to be unconstitutional,” Bradley pointed out. “Our correcting of that would be to have the lowest threshold of any other state.”

10-2 talk With the exception of the state attorneys, other death penalty experts are recommending unanimity for death sentence recommendations, as is required for jury verdicts in other cases. Because nearly all of the other states with the death penalty require unanimity for death sentences, being so outside of the mainstream puts Florida at risk in a future Supreme Court case, the experts warned.

But, echoing arguments he has made at previous hearings on the issue, King said requiring a

unanimous recommendation would allow a single juror to “hijack” the process.

Under questioning from Bradley, King said prosecutors suggested the 9-3 jury recommendation but had discussed whether “10-2 might be the number we might land on.”

Asked by Bradley if the state attorneys support the 10-2 jury recommendation, King said, “It was more, honestly, a political evaluation of where everybody stood.”

Execution postponed Lawmakers are under pressure to come up with a fix for the death penalty sentencing before the 2016 session ends March 11.

The Florida Supreme Court last week indefinitely postponed the scheduled Feb. 11 execution of Cary Michael Lambrix, shortly after hearing arguments that concentrated on the impact of the Hurst

Left to right: Dr. Walter Smith, Hung Mai, Priscilla Clark, Victoriano Manteiga and Doug Jamerson's son, Cedric.

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Legislators pushing earlier start to session

Ava Duvernay Arts & Entertainment (not shown)

BY JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Jeff Johnson Trailblazer

Marc Morial Humanitarian

Marvin Sapp Living Legend

Caroyln Hunter Owner-Operator

Florida lawmakers are starting to consider if an early start to the regular session should be repeated in two years.

The House Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday backed a proposal (PCB GOAS 16-01) that calls for the 2018 session to begin Jan. 9 rather than in March.

Chairwoman Jeanette Nunez, R-Miami, said the early start helps the budgetcrafting process and gives people who rely on state funding more time to prepare for changes before the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

“There won’t be a need to have any sort of interruption in the regular session like we normally do because of either Easter or Passover,” Nunez said after the meeting. “It also gives agencies, universities, those that depend upon our budgetary decisions, ample time to adapt to whatever decisions we end up making.”

Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who is slated to serve as Senate president in 2017 and 2018, said Monday he supports the proposal.

Senate Rules Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, is expected to file the Senate companion bill.

The regular 60-day session typically lasts from early March to early May, except in redistricting years, which usually happens once a decade.

The state Constitution fixes the start of session to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March in odd-numbered years, but no dates are specified for even-numbered years.

Lawmakers support the March start in odd-numbered years as a way to help newly elected freshmen ease into the legislative process.

T:10”

Tori Turner Community Choice Youth Award Winner

Aaron Johnson Community Choice Youth Award Winner

12 Months. 365 Days. 8760 Hours. 525,600 Minutes.

To those who always find time to reach out…reach back…and bring others along.

McDonald’s® celebrates you, not only during Black History Month, but each and every day throughout the year. Find out more at 365Black.com.

©2016 McDonald’s

decision on Death Row inmates. A flurry of appeals from other Death Row inmates is expected.

Before voting on the measure without any debate Monday, the Senate panel heard from Juan Melendez, who said he spent “17 years, eight months and one day on Death Row for a crime I did not commit.” Melendez, who was exonerated in 2002, told the committee that the jury recommendation for death in his case was 9-3.

Melendez said “it makes no sense” that jury recommendations not be unanimous when all other jury votes are.

“You always can release an innocent man from prison. But you can never and I repeat, never release an innocent man from the grave. Your bill would encourage deliberation when you’re considering a death sentence,” he said.

EDITORIAL

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FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Senator says Florida Lottery targets the poor Congratulations to Senator Tom Lee (R-Brandon) for exposing the Florida Lottery’s dirty little secret – “targeting” low-income Floridians.

Lee’s bill, SB 790 passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee last week. It would limit the number of Florida Lottery scratch-off games to 20 or less and the price of a ticket not to exceed $10. Currently, the Florida Lottery offers up to 75 different scratch-off games with no limit at prices ranging from $1 to $25.

In his comments before the committee, Lee pointed out that scratch-off games have generated $26 billion in the past nine years, and that the top-grossing zip codes “include some of the poorest in our state.”

No ‘dignity’ He went on to state that this was no coincidence, and that Florida Lottery spending “increases in low-income areas,” concluding that “it appears that low-income citizens…are being targeted with advertising....” He added that this does not “mirror the Lottery’s mission of maximizing revenues in a manner consistent with the dignity of the state and welfare of citizens.

Becoming even blunter, Lee told the Committee: We have become “addicted to lottery revenue,” which has “gotten too big.” He called it “too much of a revenue source.” He said the “tail is wagging the dog and must be reined in.”

Lee went on to say that the

Lion’s share CLARENCE V. MCKEE, ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

The gambling business in Florida is pretty much a closed shop: the Seminole Tribe; the state; and members of the exclusive, mostly ‘good-ol-boy’ club of pari-mutuel owners.

Most everyone else is in the ‘donor class’ feeding the insatiable gambling beast. money being raised, at the magnitude it is being raised, is coming out of the pockets of those who “can least afford to pay it.”

Committee Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, agreed and thanked Lee for the bill saying: “We have become addicted to this revenue stream and it is a shame…it takes money from many of our citizens that can least afford it. We need to do something about it.”

Will Black Americans be lost, left out in 2016 primary?

In the 2012 election cycle, Black voter turnout surpassed the White vote for the first time since 1996. This was a phenomenal achievement, and it was due to the massive turnout of the Black women vote. Basically, this confirmed the fact that Black women were the most motivated and organized voter category in the country in 2012.

But in 2014, the Republican Party was more organized and motivated. Now there are 31 governorships. Many of the state legislatures are Republican, and the Republicans control the majority in both chambers of the federal government.

No excitement, outreach There are many excuses that

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

the Democrats can give, but there is no excitement with and no outreach by the leadership of the party. Many in the party think that Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz is the wrong person to lead the Democratic Party, but no group has challenged her authority.

As the 2016 election draws near, the leadership in the Black community appears to be disorganized with no clear-cut plan to rally the Black vote. The Black

Spend your dollars with Black-owned businesses I’m amazed when I hear many of my colleagues chastise me for promoting Black-owned Businesses without including other non-Black businesses. Some have labelled me as being too radical on the issue.

Because we are living in a multicultural society, there’s the notion that I should be diverse in my support. I agree. However, many of us as African-Americans have become brainwashed into not supporting and patronizing our businesses for the sake of diversity.

I’ve written about the need to support, patronize, and value African-American business owners. I’ve also talked about having a Black Business Challenge

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: NFL FANS AND PLAYERS’ BRAIN INJURIES

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COMMENTARY

as follows: • Commit to supporting a Black-owned business as much as possible. Through our support, we’re creating more revenue to be poured into that particular business which will therefore enhance and transform the community.

• Use social media to promote local Black-owned businesses. Because social media has an enormous global reach, let’s use

Lee’s remarks mirror comments of Rep. Frank Artiles, RMiami, who has introduced similar legislation in the House (HB 607). He told a House subcommittee last month that we have seen “the largest expansion of gambling” through the Florida Lottery with scratch-off games constituting 66 percent of revenues and spending being the most in poorer areas.

Like Lee, he has stated that we are “hurting those who need the most help” and that the purpose of his bill was to “rein in the Florida Lottery.”

According to the committee’s staff analysis of the bill, in 20142015 alone, scratch-off games brought in an all-time sales record of $5.8 billion – exceeding those in the prior year by $215 million.

Lee’s concern that the Florida Lottery is the “tail wagging the dog,” and Bradley’s belief that we have become “addicted to this revenue stream,” is equally applicable to the renegotiated Seminole Gaming Compact, where the state stands to collect $3 billion over seven years.

Major expansion It will lead to the largest expansion of gambling in Florida history, including craps and roulette at all seven Seminole facilities; blackjack and baccarat at new Seminole locations; a new casino in Palm Beach and Dade Counties; blackjack at eight slot machine facilities in Miami-Dade

Lives Matter movement initiated civic engagement and communication with the two Democratic presidential candidates, but nothing substantial came out of the talks. Both Democratic presidential candidates together have more than 30 key Black executive staffers, but there is still a major disconnect with Black community.

With nine months until the election, Black leadership has not developed a comprehensive Black agenda to get grassroots Blacks to vote in the primary.

“People don’t think Black folks are going to turn out because President Obama is no longer on the ticket, but we were voting long before that. In order to make change happen, we have to get out the vote,” says Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

Young and old Getting Black Americans out to vote in 2016 is a question that is very hard to answer. There is a it as a means to empower our Black-Owned businesses. Whenever you receive good service, promote it via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. • Incorporate Black-owned businesses in the diversity conversation. Unless we encourage other racial groups and ethnicities to value and support our own businesses, we will see and hear diversity as being anti-Blackowned.

• Educate our youth about the importance of creating their wealth through entrepreneurship. We push them to learn. We push them to excel in sports. We give them the newest and latest technology. Now, let’s push them to start their own businesses.

Shamefully, there’s still some resistance with many people within the African-American community to support their own.

If you ever visit an Asian, Jewish, or Latino community, you’ll find people within their own culture supporting and patronizing their businesses.

Those who want to see change

JOHN COLE, THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

and Broward Counties; and a new gambling racing machine games at every pari-mutuel in the state.

Talk about “gambling creep.”

It looks like Florida has become “addicted” to gambling revenue.

So who is getting rich? Certainly not those in the poorest zip codes!

The gambling business in Florida is pretty much a closed shop: the Seminole Tribe; the state; and members of the exclusive, mostly “good-ol-boy” club of pari-mutuel owners. Most everyone else is in the “donor class” feeding the insatiable gambling beast.

Lower-income communities are particularly vulnerable and asked to support gambling creep with overblown promises of job creation and community benefit that slots will bring hundreds of jobs and “build wealth.”

Getting crumbs

generational divide between the young Black political organizations and the older established civil rights organizations. The younger organizations drive the national conversation around race, but what are the next steps within the Black community?

The Democrats know they cannot win the presidential office without Blacks showing up at the polls and voting. In 2012, Blacks voted and registered in record numbers, but in 2016 there appears to be a lack of enthusiasm and excitement with both of the Democratic candidates. Neither one of the Democratic candidates at this point has spent any significant money in the Black community to get the vote out.

nie Black staffers must reach out to the Black community. It is extremely important that Blackowned media and Black organizations receive funding early in the process, and not be one of the last groups to share in the primary pie.

Hillary and Bernie have been able to raise millions of dollars, but what is their plan to get the Black community engaged? Getting Blacks out to vote is essential for either one of the Democratic presidential candidates to win.

Now is the time for the candidates to spend money in the Black community across the country. It is great that there are more Blacks working on the presidential campaigns in key positions, but to win, the Black community must be engaged and excited about their positions in the campaign.

Early, not late The Democratic Party and its campaigns have a history of waiting toward the end of the election cycle before they spend money in the Black community.

In order for Blacks to not be left out of the Democratic presidential primary, key Hillary and Berwill oftentimes face their greatest criticism from those within their own community. However, I’ve learned from our civil rights heroes and sheroes that determination, commitment, and persistence are traits for every leader to have for change to happen.

When you own your own business, your own home, your own property, you have a voice of what happens in your community, politically and socially. Let me say it this way. If we don’t have anything in our community that’s Black-owned, how can we expect other people who don’t look like us to truly care and/or represent us? That’s why we need to understand the importance of supporting and patronizing BlackOwned businesses.

Make recommendations We can recommend what to drink at Starbucks, but can we recommend a good book to read that’s written by an African-American author? We can boast and brag about the newest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy,

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.

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

Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM

Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources

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

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

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The Florida gambling industry – especially the Florida Lottery – welcomes and profits from Black patrons and low-income customers. Unfortunately, the returns on their investment to the institutions to which they look for news and information about their community – local Blackowned media have been called “crumbs from tables of plenty!”

By showing such disrespect for one of the basic institutions of the Black community, these gaming kingpins show just how little they understand and respect the very Black communities from which they seek to suck hard-earned dollars with false promises of prosperity!

Clarence V. McKee, Esq. is a consultant to No Casinos Inc.

Roger Caldwell, a community activist, author, journalist, radio host and CEO of On Point Media Group, lives in Orlando. Contact him at jet38@ bellsouth.net. but can we boast about quality African-American doctors and dentists? Oh, we can talk about the latest cars, but can we direct people to African-American mechanics, body shops, and detail shops? There’s plenty more, but I hope you get the point.

I’m urging you to commit yourself to the supporting and patronizing of Black-Owned Businesses. Seek out and volunteer with Black-owned non-profits who are committed to giving back to the community.

Am I saying to discredit other businesses that are non-Black?

No. What I am saying is to remember what we were taught years ago: “Take care of home first.”

If we learn to take care of home first, everything will work itself out.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, writer, author, and life coach. Contact him at www. sinclairgrey.org, drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @ drsinclairgrey.

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

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

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

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

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

EDITORIAL

How, why Black Americans vote against their own interests The Bernie Sanders people are quite excited by polls that say their candidate has drawn virtually even with Hillary Clinton among national Democrats.

The truth is, it’s a good thing that Sanders is doing well in the polls. It’s a measure of public sentiment against corporations and Wall Street, among Democrats. We should all welcome such expressions of public sentiment.

No challenge The problem is, the Democratic Party is not a vehicle that is capable of actually challenging Wall Street. It is said that Wall Street is to the Democrats, what Big Energy is to the Republicans: their “sugar daddy.” It’s why Barack Obama’s 2008 race was the first billion-dollar presidential campaign.

The best result that can occur from the Sanders campaign would be that it leads to a split in the Democratic Party – somewhat like the split that occurred in the old Whig Party, over slavery, in the years before the Civil War. That split led to the birth of a new, antislavery Republican Party, and ultimately to Black emancipation.

I would love to see such a split in the Democratic Party leading to the creation of a new, broadly-based, anti-Wall Street and anti-imperialist party – and/or the blossoming of other left-wing parties.

There is also a lot of talk about how Bernie has succeeded in “moving Hillary to the left.” That’s ridiculous.

The Sanders campaign has only succeeded in forcing Hillary to tell the biggest lies of her non-stop lying career.In any case, Clinton and the rest of her ilk will continue to lie about their plans for governance, because they serve the rich people that control the Republican-Democratic duopoly.

Most leftist From what we do know, Blacks are the least likely ethnic constituency to vote for Bernie. This is historically consistent with Black voting behavior in national Demo-

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

cratic primary elections, and presents a great paradox and contraction that goes to the heart of the Black political crisis.

Black Americans are the most left-leaning group on issues of war and peace and social justice. This fact is affirmed by every poll on peace and economic issues over generations, and most dramatically, it is affirmed by Black grassroots movement behavior – when such movements exist.

In terms of pro-union sentiment, at the top of the list is Black women, followed by Black men, then Hispanic women, followed

by Hispanic men, then White women and, at the bottom of the list, White men.

Therefore, the Black Radical Tradition not only exists, it is measureable in the present day – EXCEPT on national primary election days in the Democratic Party.

That’s why the Sanders campaign is all but certain to be derailed by Black voters down South, where Blacks are majorities of the Democratic electorate in a number of states, and the decisive bloc in many others.

Fit Bernie’s politics

America’s grand fantasy of a Project for a New American Century has experienced a serious setback. Yet this country still isn’t dissuaded from pursuing the imperial effort.

For five years, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad stood his ground and ignored Barack Obama’s refrain that he “must go.” Fortunately, Assad didn’t leave or give up the fight. Russian president Vladimir Putin finally stood beside him in deed and not just in words. The alliance is a textbook case of how nations ought to behave within the parameters of international law.

Russian air strikes bolstered the Syrian army and in just four months, ISIS and the rest of its jihadists allies are on the run. The Syrian peace conference in Geneva is now under a “temporary pause” for the simple reason that there is no longer any need for it.

The issue is settled. Assad isn’t going anywhere.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

result of American aggression.

More than 250,000 people are dead and 9 million are refugees in their country and abroad. The humanitarian disaster is a direct result of America’s intervention and blame for the bloodshed should be placed at Barack Obama’s feet.

Now that America’s jihadists allies are losing, there is suddenly concern expressed for the Syrian people who wouldn’t be suffering at all, absent the regime change plot.

While Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, including “socialist” Bernie Sanders, express unending support for imperialism and brutality in Syria, the project is falling apart. The failure is a good thing for humanBlame Obama ity. The United States should not For nearly five years, the Syrian be allowed to act like the schoolpeople have suffered as a direct yard bully who steals lunch mon-

Look out for the ‘come-up’ haters We all know the answer to Malcolm X’s question, “Who taught you to hate yourself?”

Well, Malcolm was assassinated and the original hate teachers are dead and gone. But many in the African-American community continue to hate their brothers and sisters!

Many members of your family, several of your closest friends, and most of your coworkers and business associates are hating you in public and in private.

What are they hating?

They smile in your face, but hate it when your relationship is better than theirs. They hate it when your job is better than theirs. And they hate it when your business is bigger and better than theirs.

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

Too many people hate it when you get a come-up!

Social media is the Promised Land for come-up haters. They will click “like” on your social media posts – and talk about you behind your back.

They hate it when you find your soulmate, hate it when you get married, hate it when you lose weight and they get fat, hate it when you travel and they can’t leave the state or the neighborhood.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: NO AID FOR FLINT

in what Blacks perceive as the purpose for voting in national elections, and how they view the Democratic Party.

Seeking protection The nature of the American duopoly system is that one of the parties will always be the White Man’s Party, with White supremacy as its organizing principle. In this era, it’s the Republicans. In a past era, it was the Democrats. Both of these parties are Rich Man’s Parties.

Throughout U.S. history, Blacks have sought protection from the White Man’s Party in the bosom of the other party – the one that is more inclusive of minorities.

They want the party that opposes the White Man’s Party to pick the strongest possible candidate.

The question of whether that candidate actually agrees with them, ideologically, becomes secondary or even irrelevant.

Blacks will vote against their own politics in order to pick a winner. Huge numbers will even vote against their own race – all things being equal – to pick what they believe is the strongest candidate against the Republicans – the White Man’s Party.

That’s why half of Black voters, and most Black elected officials, refused to support Obama against his ideological twin, Hillary Clinton, until after the Iowa primary in 2008. Only after Obama won in a White state did Blacks abandon Hillary Clinton wholesale.

Blacks are the most re-distributionist constituency in the country, but they rejected Dennis Kucinich, a genuine Social Democrat, and John Edwards, who kicked off his campaign in New Orleans and pitched it directly to Blacks, in 2008. Instead, they rallied around the two corporatists – Clinton and Obama – as the antidote to the White Man’s Party.

The noted Black social demographer Michael Dawson’s studies have shown that the biggest bloc of Black voters are most like Swedish Social Democrats, and that a very large number of them are “more radical than that.”

However, in national primary elections, these Black Social Democrats – these pro-peace, pro-social justice, pro-union folks – fail to express their own political senTwo-party trap timents at the polls.

Black national voting behavior Is there something wrong with is inconsistent with Black ideo- African-Americans? logical characteristics. Black votNo. There is something wrong ing behavior often betrays Black with America, its history and its people’s politics. The reason lies race and class dynamics. There is

America hasn’t learned its lessons about wars

A5

RJ MATSON, ROLL CALL

something wrong about this twoparty system, where both parties are Rich Man’s Parties, and one of the parties is always the White Man’s Party.

The duopoly system traps Blacks in the Democratic Party, and keeps them there on the premise that only Democrats can beat the White Man’s GOP. The numbers in 2016 show Black voters are operating under the same dynamic. They know Sanders is to the left of Clinton, but their priority is victory for the Democratic Party, and they are willing to sacrifice their own politics in its cause.

‘Ooze like pus’

Don’t bet on Bernie

More warfare

Obama will be president for less than one year, but his successor won’t be any better for the rest of humanity. The Democratic and Republican candidates sound alike as they eagerly proclaim their loathing for Putin and their determination to continue war by other means.

Not one of them has dared to call the Syria intervention the unlawful aggression that it obviously is. None has expressed an intention to change foreign policy.

Even liberal darling Bernie Sanders spouts nonsense about “Saudi skin in the game” in Syria, when the Saudis have been an integral part of the regime change effort. Not only has Obama declared unending war against the rest of the world, but so has the rest of the two-party duopoly.

Jesus had Judas Like The Gantt Report says, “Every Jesus has his or her Judas!” We all have someone close to us in our lives that will turn on us, betray us and, in a way, stab us in the back!

Sometimes your favorite relative, your closest coworker, your best friend even the best man or matron of honor at your wedding will turn out to be a come-up hater!

You may not believe it but don’t even try to think that everyone is happy you accomplished your goals, followed your dream, took care of your business or married the person you love that loves you back.

A lot of the people that smile and tell you “good job” or “I’m proud of you” don’t mean it at all!

In a capitalist society, much of the come-up hate is all about the money. If you find money, make money, inherit money or win the lottery, haters will come out of the woodwork!

The money doesn’t care where it

Can’t be transformed Sanders’ supporters think they can transform the Democratic Party “from below.” They are wrong.

Black people ARE the “below” in America, and we make up a quarter of the Democratic Party.

But Blacks haven’t transformed the Democratic Party by our overwhelming presence. Instead, the party has transformed us – and overwhelmed our radical politics.

The solution is to throw off the dead weight of that party. The turning point in history comes with masses of people in the streets, fighting BOTH Rich Man’s Parties.

The Democratic Party is hegemonic in Black America. Black elected officials are overwhelmingly Democratic. The mainline Black civic organizations – the NAACP, the Urban League and the rest – are annexes of the Democratic Party. So are most Black churches. The party’s tentacles even reach down to the Black sororities and fraternities.

The Democrats ooze like pus from every orifice of the Black body politic. And now, with the emergence of an incipient grassGlen Ford is executive editor roots movement for the first time in two generations, the Democrat- of BlackAgendaReport.com. Eic Party has moved quickly to ab- mail him at Glen.Ford@Blacksorb and render it harmless to the AgendaReport.com.

ey for fun.

The Russian success should have taught America a lesson, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

The United States has pursued another brand of warfare against that country for the past two years by overthrowing the president of neighboring Ukraine, and then by exacting sanctions that have damaged the Russian economy.

The corporate media has played its part by fanning the flames with anti-Russian propaganda. One day they claim that Russia threatens European nations; then they claim Russian submarines will cut underwater cables. Any Russian who was ever murdered is now said to have died at Putin’s hands.

The United States is determined to try and snatch some victory from the jaws of defeat. While the Syria project is heading south, the Cold War appears to be getting warm.

The Department of Defense announced that it will take the unprecedented action of installing weapons and personnel in the Baltic states bordering Russia. The most hawkish American presidents respected the old Soviet spheres of influence and didn’t dare provoke so openly. Now it is clear that there will be no respite from imperialism even as it fails.

Rule of the Rich.

Elements of the new movement appear eager to embrace the Democrats back. One leader of a faction of what is called the Black Lives Matter movement is running for mayor of Baltimore – as a Democrat, of course.

Democratic Party politics kills Black politics. The two cannot coexist. If you want a real Black grassroots movement, you have to fight the Democratic Party, tooth and claw.

What social democracy?

The lack of debate among the establishment and the slavish devotion of the corporate media make America a very dangerous country.

If candidates like Obama and Sanders are slick enough, they can market themselves as peacemakers when in fact they will create as much chaos and suffering as any of the Republicans.

How can Sanders bring social democracy to the United States if

he won’t cut the military budget or foreswear interventions? He learned a lot from Obama’s 2008 comment that he was only opposed to “dumb wars.”

Expect more disaster The Republicans openly brag about aggressions, while Democrats dissemble and use weasel words to pretend they won’t do the same thing.

Every global conflict from the small, like Haiti – to the largest, like Iraq and Syria – is the result of American interventions. But presidential candidates and major newspapers won’t acknowledge American responsibility for the suffering of millions of people. It is yet another reason to reject the Democrats and Republicans and their tag team politics of pretense.

No one can say for certain who will be president of the United States one year from now. We do know that he or she will continue to bring disaster all over the world.

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

came from. But the come-up hat- web sites or in Black print or ers hate where the money ends up! broadcast companies, the Black candidates that you love and supIs it hate? port will do business with less Is it hate that will make you fire qualified individuals or companies your brother or sister who has do- of another race just because they ne no wrong just because the dev- hate Black professionals or Black ilish job supervisor tells you to entrepreneurs! fire your friend? Is it hate that will Don’t let the come-up haters get cause you to give false testimony to you. They didn’t help you come in court because some devil will up and they can’t knock you down! promise you a job if help him get rid of your good friend and send Keep on trying him to jail or an unemployment Keep on striving and continue line?

Is it hate when your family and to be successful, no matter who friends depend on you, and you re- throws salt on you or who hates the fuse to keep your promises, show accomplishments you make!

People have always hated The up on time or pay your share of the agreed-upon costs in a personal or Gantt Report and its author, but business venture? they can’t stop it.

Let the haters hate you; but they I think so! can’t kill what can’t be killed! They It’s 2016, an election year. Many can hate, but they can’t do what candidates will show their hate for you can do! you by refusing to consider you for Contact Lucius at www.allpolitical jobs and contracts.

Instead of advertising on Black worldconsultants.net.

NATION

TOJ A6

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Big donors having little impact on election So far, super pac money has had less impact than some people expected on the presidential campaign.

BY NOAH BIERMAN TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON — Money may yet prevail in this year’s presidential election, but the failure so far of big donors to propel candidates to the top of the heap has shown the limitations of even huge stockpiles of cash and put some critics of lax campaign finance laws on the defensive.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has collected more super pac money than any candidate, finished with less than 3 percent of the vote in Iowa, where his super PAC spent about $3,000 on television ads for every vote he won.

Although he says he hopes for a “reset” in New Hampshire, Bush had lagged badly in polls leading up to Tuesday’s primary there.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, another early favorite of the bigdonor class, dropped out four months before the first ballots were cast.

Meanwhile, two candidates who rail against big money and declined to establish their own super PACs, Republican Donald Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist running as a Democrat, finished near the top of their races.

Hidden donors The lesson, says Richard L. Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Irvine and author of a new book on campaign spending, “Plutocrats United,” is that money remains powerful, but not all powerful.

“The simplistic idea that mon-

ey simply buys election outcomes is wrong,” said Hasen.

“Money can’t buy you Jeb, but it is buying you other things,” including influence at levels of government below the White House, such as Congress.

It has been more than five years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United and related rulings in lower courts dramatically reshaped the ability of corporations and interest groups to spend millions of dollars influencing elections.

In the aftermath, huge new sums have flowed into the political system, much of it from donors whose identities remain hidden or obscured, with very few restrictions.

Money wasted The presidential race had seemed to be lining up as a highly visible example of the system’s excesses, with billionaires summoning candidates to public auditions and handing out checks to super PACs established before candidates even declared that they were running.

But as anti-establishment fervor has grown, many of those billionaires have seen their money wasted.

“Certainly, the cataclysmic arguments about super PACs, what was being said in 2010, has not come true,” said Bradley Smith, former chair of the Federal Election Commission, who advocates loosening campaign finance rules. “What I think you’re really seeing here, they’re normal.

They’re citizens spending money. And some citizens are sending votes that way, and some are not.”

Trump’s prominence in the campaign is one reason that super pac money has had less impact than some people expected.

His celebrity and wealth have allowed him to ignore many big super pac donors.

But even Trump may not be immune from the influence of big money.

KIM HAIRSTON/BALTIMORE SUN/TNS

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders talks with the Rev. Jamal Bryant as they take a walking tour of a Baltimore neighborhood on Dec. 8, 2015. Sanders’ campaign raised $20 million in January, almost entirely from small online contributions of $27.

His effort to win Iowa was hampered by his unwillingness to spend his own money to build the sort of get-out-the-vote operation that greatly aided Cruz, who won. But Trump may also have been hurt by a late outpouring of money from an outside group, “Our Principles Pac,” which formed Jan. 14 and spent at least $2.4 million on attacks just ahead of the caucuses, according to OpenSecrets.org.

‘Corrupting influence’ TV and radio ads and mailers from the group drew attention to Trump’s inconsistent record on conservative issues, including abortion, and his financial support for liberal candidates. That may have held down his vote among conservatives in Iowa.

The super pac had to disclose its spending, but will not be required to disclose its donors until Feb. 20, nearly three weeks after the caucuses.

And there is virtual certainty that whoever emerges as the nominee in each party will depend heavily on super PACs in the general election.

Even Trump would be hardpressed to write a $1 billion check if he becomes the GOP nominee.

“We’re just in spring training here,” said Fred Wertheimer, a longtime critic of big-dollar donations who heads Democracy 21, a group that advocates greater restrictions on political money.

“When you get to the general election, one of these super PACs is going to win, and the donors of those super PACs are go-

ing to buy corrupting influence,” he says.

Higher ad rates Still, the campaign so far has complicated the debate in unforeseen ways.

Candidates have discovered some of the practical problems super PACs can pose. Walker learned that in his race, as he could not use the money raised by his PAC to pay staff and other operating costs. When he dropped out, his super PAC had money in the bank while his campaign account was in debt.

Additionally, super PACs have to pay higher rates for television ads than candidates’ direct campaign accounts, which are subject to stricter limits on individual contributions.

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PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE PRICES IN EFFECT 2/10-2/15/2016, EXCEPT AS NOTED. “Biggest denim event of the season” refers to our Spring season from February 1, 2016 through April 30, 2016.

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Sept. 29, 1864: More troops distinguish themselves by winning the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, Va.

INDIAN WARS (1866-1891): Four Black Army units, the 9th and 10th cavalry, and eventually the 24th and 25th infantry regiments, help guard the Western frontier. Native Americans called the units “Buffalo Soldiers” because of their dark curly hair that resembled a buffalo’s coat. Nineteen soldiers earn the Medal of Honor.

June 17, 1775: Peter Salem, a freed slave, fights alongside other colonists against British forces at the first major battle of the Revolutionary War at Bunker Hill. He becomes a hero when he shoots and kills the leader of the British troops.

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March 5, 1770: Crispus Attucks becomes a martyr during the American Revolution when he is shot while revolting against British troops in the Boston Massacre.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (April 25 to Aug. 12, 1898): Buffalo Soldiers help defeat Spanish troops at the Battles of Kettle Hill and San Juan Heights, Cuba. Five soldiers earn Medals of Honor.

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Dec. 7, 1941: Dorie Miller becomes the first to receive the Navy Cross for shooting down Japanese planes at Pearl Harbor.

WORLD WAR II (Dec. 8, 1941 to Aug. 14, 1945): More than 1 million AfricanAmericans serve.

March 7, 1942: The Tuskegee Airmen graduate flight school at Tuskegee Institute and are inducted into the Army Air Corps.

They escort bombers into Europe.

Force Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James is the first four-star African- American general.

s Sept. 1, 1975: Air

KOREAN WAR (June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953): More than 600,000 serve during the war. Army sergeants William Thompson and Cornelius H. Charlton earn the Medal of Honor.

May 1975: Lt. Donna P. Davis becomes the first African-American female doctor in the Naval Medical Corps.

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Sept. 28, 1918: Cpl. Freddie Stowers becomes the only African-American to receive the Medal of Honor in World War I after leading an attack on German trenches, despite injury.

July 26, 1948: Pres. Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 to end racial discrimination and begin equal treatment and opportunity in the military.

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Aug. 1, 1941: Benjamin O. Davis Sr. becomes the first Black brigadier general in the Army and U.S. armed forces.

July 1, 1973: The United States ends the draft and becomes an allvolunteer military.

African-Americans make up about 17 percent of the enlisted force. By the early 1980s, that number grows to almost 24 percent.

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VIETNAM WAR (Sept. 26, 1959 to April 30, 1975): Many AfricanAmericans join the armed forces, including the airborne and air mobile helicopter units. Twenty earn the Medal of Honor.

1954: Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force.

OPERATION DESERT STORM (Aug. 2, 1990 to Feb. 28, 1991): Powell manages military participation. Approximately 104,000 of the total troops deployed who served in Saudi Arabia were AfricanAmerican.

WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA Kids learn about the science, food connection See page B3

SOURCES: BUFFALO SOLDIER MUSEUM; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; BLACK WOMEN’S MILITARY CONTRIBUTIONS; U.S. AFRICA COMMAND; AMERICAN VETERANS HOMESTEAD KWENCY NORMAN/SUN SENTINEL/MCT

Remembering Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White See page B5

Oct. 1, 2007: Gen. William E. Ward is the first commander of the U.S. Africa Command.

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Jan. 20, 2001: Powell becomes the first Black Secretary of State serving under President George W. Bush.

Oct. 7, 2001 to present: Blacks March 23, 2003: make up about Shoshana Johnson 17 percent of is captured by Iraqi military forces. troops, becoming the first Black female prisoner of war. Rescued on April 13, 2003, she is awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

Oct. 1, 1989: Colin L. Powell becomes the most senior AfricanAmerican officer in history when he be-comes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Nov. 1979: 2nd Lt. Marcella A. Hayes becomes the first Black female pilot in the armed forces.

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WORLD WAR I (Aug. 1914 to Nov. 11, 1918): More than 350,000 African-Americans volunteer with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe.

IFE/FAITH

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD COURIER

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

| SECTION

S

B

B2

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

STOJ

Where slavery was introduced in Georgia Historians want to revive plantation site where cotton gin was created

plans a decade ago to raise $8.7 million to build the Eli Whitney Center and re-create plantation life.

Little fundraising and uncertain leadership thwarted the foundation’s dream. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which owns thousands of nearby acres as wildlife refuges, once tried to buy Mulberry Grove.

Holly Gaboriault, the regional director, said the agency would again consider acquiring the plantation and, perhaps, building an interpretive center.

BY DAN CHAPMAN ATLANTA JOURNALCONSTITUTION (TNS)

SAVANNAH, Ga. — No museum graces the most important site in Southern history. No visitors center welcomes tourists to Mulberry Grove.

There’s a historic marker a mile away, but the rush of 18-wheelers discourages passers-by from stopping and learning about the extraordinary events that took place at the overgrown and forgotten plantation along the Savannah River.

It was here that slavery was introduced to Georgia.

The first woman allowed to possess land in Georgia owned Mulberry Grove.

So, too, did Revolutionary War hero Maj. Gen. Na t h a n a e l Greene. And Eli Whitney built a cotEli ton gin here Whitney that radically changed the course of U.S. history.

“The cotton gin breathed life into this institution of slavery, triggered the massive migration of slaves, and set the North and the South on a course to the Civil War,” said Todd Groce, the president of the Georgia Historical Society.

History center?

Groce, other historians and the Mulberry Grove Foundation want the old plantation recognized and memorialized and, perhaps, turned into a living history center where the world could learn of the seminal events that transpired there.

The nonprofit foundation and Georgia Southern University began an oral history project last year to hear from White and Black descendants of the plantation. Fundraising for an archaeological survey of the property is underway.

Memorializing the South’s tortured past, though, is never easy. The cotton gin, after all, singlehandedly led to the importation of hundreds of thousands of slaves and spread America’s “darkest stain” across the region. And scholars even question whether Whitney himself “invented” the gin.

Confederate reminders Ever since nine African-American churchgoers were killed in June in Charleston, S.C., in what authorities call a hate crime, Southerners have been searching their collective soul to understand how and why we honor the past.

South Carolina and Alabama took down Confederate battle flags from Capitol grounds. The University of Texas moved a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis into a museum.

Civil rights groups in Atlanta have called for the removal of Stone Mountain Park’s Confederate flag, as well as its massive bas relief carving of Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

‘Sacred ground’ Groce, at the invitation of The Atlanta JournalConstitution, joined three other historians for a rare visit in December to Mulberry Grove. A fifth historian, Hugh Golson — whose family once owned the plantation — was interviewed the following day in Savannah. Bill Brown, the director of the Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop in Connecticut, chimed in by phone to discuss the significance of Mulberry Grove.

All six historians said the plantation should some-

Vision for site A drawing shows life at Mulberry Grover Plantation in 1794. ers paying him 1 pound of cleaned cotton for every 5 pounds ginned. He built a large model gin on Mulberry Grove. A patent, though, proved elusive as replicas of his design proliferated.

Southern history professor and vice president of the Mulberry Grove Foundation, which unveiled big

Curtis Foltz, who runs Georgia’s ports, said the authority recognizes “the historical significance of the site” and “will continue to cooperate and support proposals that further me-

morialize the site.”

Each of the six historians told the Atlanta JournalConstitution that Mulberry Grove should be preserved, archaeological digs allowed, and natural or interpretive trails built. GoodeWalker, the tour guide, said a dock could be built so boats could run tourists upriver from downtown Savannah.

Groce, the historical society president, said guided tours, a la Historic Jamestowne in Virginia, might be plausible.

“It’s one thing to read about history; it’s another to go to a site and feel what it was like,” said Georgia Southern’s Smith. “There’s so much history here that it would be a loss if nothing’s done.”

Economic impact

DAN CHAPMAN/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (TNS)

A mysterious marker at a gas station near Mulberry Grove honors Eli Whitney. how be memorialized.

“This is sacred ground,” said Vaughnette GoodeWalker, whose Savannah walking tour details the city’s embrace of slavery.

“It should be remembered.

People need to know what happened here.”

Added Stan Deaton, the historical society’s senior historian: “It is the most valuable property in the state.”

History lesson It was nothing but swamp and bluff when Gen. James Oglethorpe settled a dozen miles downriver in Savannah in 1733.

Slavery was illegal in the colony, but that didn’t stop Patrick Mackay, a Scottish officer with a plantation across the river in South Carolina, from ferrying the first boatload of slaves to work the rice fields on what would become Mulberry Grove.

A few years later, Ann Cuthbert became the first woman in Georgia to legally own land when she took ownership of the property.

Her second husband grew mulberry saplings used to make silk. He also cultivated rice until the Revolutionary War, when the patriotic Liberty Boys chased him back to England.

After the war the Georgia Legislature appropriated 5,000 guineas to buy Mulberry Grove and an adjoining plantation for Greene “as a reward for his patriotic activities in Georgia,” according to a circa 1930s account by the Works Progress Administration.

Greene died of sunstroke in 1786, leaving his wife, Catherine, with dozens of slaves and huge debts.

The impact on the nation was profound.

“It was the beginning of American prosperity,” said Brown, who runs the Whitney museum. “Did it come at the expense of slaves and indigenous people from Georgia to Mississippi?

Sure. Let’s be humble about that. On the other hand, it just so happens that’s how we begin as an economy.

There was nothing else its equal in our early American history. The Industrial Revolution doesn’t bloom until that moment in Georgia.”

Catherine Greene, beset by debt and a long-lasting economic depression, sold Mulberry Grove in 1800 for $15,000. A succession of owners grew rice and other crops — but not cotton.

Golson, a pre-eminent Savannah historian, says his fifth-great-grandfather bought the 2,000-acre plantation with 2,000 slaves out of bankruptcy in 1856.

Zachariah Winkler became one of the region’s biggest rice growers until the Civil War sundered the farms, economy and slavery. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops burned Mulberry Grove on Dec. 10, 1864.

National landmark Winkler’s descendants rented out the land to small farmers and timber companies. Chemical giant BASF bought the plantation in 1975. Golson, as a kid, rode out there on weekends to camp while his father hunted.

In 1985, the Georgia Ports Authority acquired the 2,400-acre property.

It later sold half for warehouse development and put the rest into an easement prohibiting development. A portion of Mulberry Grove had already been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

“The layers of history are unbelievable,” said Golson, a retired high school history teacher and Savannah school board president. “What Whitney created supercharged cotton production and slavery. We can’t ignore the man. At the same time, we have to document the damage done.”

Whitney’s invention

The remnants

After two brief visits by George Washington, a more propitious visitor descended upon Mulberry Grove. Whitney, a recent Yale College graduate, had accepted a position as a tutor for a wealthy South Carolina planter. The job, though, fell through.

The Widow Greene invited Whitney to Mulberry Grove.

A farm boy with a penchant for fixing things, Whitney was intrigued by the difficulty separating upland, or short staple, cotton from its green seeds. In 1793, he built a cotton engine (or gin), which consisted of wire teeth in a wooden box that when rotated separated fiber from seed.

Whitney envisioned gins across the South with grow-

It isn’t easy visiting Mulberry Grove. Permission first must be given by the port authority. A fourwheel-drive truck is then needed to maneuver the rutted, oak-lined avenue surrounded by swamp and vine-tangled forest that leads to a bluff overlooking the Savannah River. A pile of bulldozed red bricks is all that remains of the plantation home.

Mosquitoes as big as black flies swarmed one recent, warm afternoon. I-95 hummed in the distance.

If not for the lovely view across the river and into the South Carolina marsh, Mulberry Grove wouldn’t leave much of an impression.

Solomon Smith begs to differ. He’s a Georgia

The Seminole Compact is a Winning Partnership that WORKS for Florida.

The Seminole Compact Means Almost 20,000 New Jobs The Florida Legislature can approve a proposed new gaming Compact agreement between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida. The new Compact guarantees $3 billion in revenues to the state, plus it promises nearly 20,000 new Florida jobs and a cap on gaming that protects Florida’s family-friendly image. u $3 billion to be paid to the state over a

7-year period

u Nearly 20,000 new Florida jobs u Protects Florida’s family-friendly image

“With state funding scarce for critical services in health care, public safety and other areas, those dollars could be put to good use.”

“Lawmakers should aim again this year for a Seminole compact…”

– Orlando Sentinel, 1/8/16

“Seminole gaming compact good for state...”

– Naples Daily News, 1/11/16

“75% of Florida voters believe the legislature should approve the new Compact...”

– Florida Chamber of Commerce Survey, 1/7/16

Keep our Partnership Strong.

Learn more about the New Seminole Compact at www.JobsForFlorida.com.

SEMINOLE

GAMING

JOBS FOR FLORIDA www.JobsForFlorida.com

S

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

SCIENCE

B3

Teaching kids about food, science connection Former White House chef helps create gardens, lesson plans

BY JOYCE GANNON PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

PITTSBURGH — As executive pastry chef at the White House under two presidents, Bill Yosses created desserts for eight lavish state dinners, including those that honored Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

While preparing the menus involved consulting with the president and first lady’s chiefs of staff, the state department and foreign officials, Yosses said the real “mind-blowing” experience was walking out the kitchen’s back door to pick fresh ingredients from the garden on the South Lawn.

Yosses helped develop the White House Kitchen Garden spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama.

Three times a week, he led students on tours of the plot as well as a nearby beehive.

Teaching tool As he observed the children’s fascination with eating tomatoes off the vine or tasting herbs, Yosses noticed food was a powerful teaching tool. That revelation inspired him to leave the White House in 2014 for his next act: Kitchen Garden Laboratory, a New York City-based business that connects cooking with science.

With a focus on delivering programs to children in low-income communities, Kitchen Garden creates lesson plans for teachers that include healthy reci-

pes and explanations of how they align with scientific facts. The organization also helps students create gardens on their rooftops or elsewhere on school grounds.

Last week, Yosses took his message about integrating learning with food preparation — as well as his kitchen skills — to Pittsburgh for an educational event at the Carnegie Science Center.

STEM event The program was sponsored by Covestro, a German-based plastics and chemical company that has its North American headquarters in Robinson; and by greenlight for girls, a Brussels, Belgium-based nonprofit that promotes the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

About 125 girls ages 11 to 15 participated in the event; most were middleschool students from the city and other communities. “There’s a great disparity in a lot of science fields that are male-dominated,” Yosses said in a phone interview.

“We’re trying to get across that there is definitely a place at the STEM table for women and girls in all these fields. Even if they’re not going to do it as a profession, it behooves men and women to learn more about science.”

During his keynote address, Yosses whipped up an eggless, creamless chocolate mousse. He demonstrated how gelatin can be used as a protein source instead of egg yolks and water instead of cream to create something as smooth and tasty as traditional mousse.

“With just a little bit of understanding of chemistry and physical mechan-

PHOTOS BY BOB DONALDSON/PITTSBURG POST GAZETTE/TNS

Bill Yosses, former White House executive pastry chef, demonstrates how to make chocolate mousse without eggs or cream using super-cold liquid nitrogen to thicken the chocolate. ics, you can make great food healthier and just as delicious,” he said.

International experience For the 62-year-old native of Toledo, Ohio, food was an important part of family life. “Dinner time was the sacred time to share stories of the day,” he said.

He studied French language and literature for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and worked in several restaurants in

France, New York City and elsewhere before joining the White House staff during the administration of George W. Bush.

“I’m really not a scientist,” he said, though he has lectured at universities such as Harvard and UCLA on how food can be used to teach scientific principles.

“I had a great chemistry teacher in high school.

When I thought about the science and chemistry behind baking, it made me a better baker.”

Takela Mickens extracts her DNA in a workshop at the Carnegie Science Center.

FOOD

B4

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Hearty

heart-healthy dishes FROM FAMILY FEATURES

It may sound contrary to your healthy eating plan, but the human body actually needs some types of fat for heart and brain health. One common source is cooking oil, such as olive oil.

Of the cooking oils most commonly used in North America, such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil and various vegetable oils, olive oil contains the most monounsaturated fat, which is widely recognized for its poten­tial role in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. In fact, beginning in 2016, olive oils will display the Amer­ican Heart Association’s Heart Check-Mark* to alert consumers about olive oil’s heart-healthy benefits.

Experience the distinctive tastes of different varieties of olive oil in these delicious dishes and find more hearthealthy recipes at AboutOliveOil.org.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH SWEET PEPPERS Serves: 6-8 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed, cut in half and outside leaves removed 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 6 medium garlic cloves, chopped 3 tablespoons basil, chopped 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped salt and pepper, to taste 2 red sweet peppers, large diced 2 yellow sweet peppers, large diced 1 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to light syrup Heat oven to 375 F. Combine Brussels sprouts with all ingredients except peppers and balsamic syrup. Toss Brussels sprout mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer mixture to sheet pan and roast in oven for 15 minutes. Stir sweet peppers into mixture and roast 5-10 minutes more.

Remove from oven and place on serving platter. Drizzle with balsamic syrup and serve immediately.

How can

make your

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VEGETABLE FRITTATA WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND TOMATOES Serves: 6 6 large eggs 1 tablespoon water 2 tablespoons Parmesan Reggiano, grated, plus additional for garnish 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 2 teaspoons shallots, small diced 1 cup russet potatoes, peeled, small diced, boiled until tender, drained and chilled 1 roasted red pepper, peeled, deseeded and diced 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon basil, chopped 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced salt and pepper, to taste 1/4 cup fontina cheese Lemon, Basil and Garlic Roasted Asparagus (recipe below) Roasted Tomatoes (recipe below) Beat eggs with water, then beat Parmesan into egg mixture and reserve.

Combine garlic, shallots, potato, pepper, parsley and basil, and set aside. Heat extra-virgin olive oil in 12-inch non-stick saute pan over high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until they start to brown.

Reduce heat to medium and add reserved vegetable mixture. Saute for about 1 1/2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add additional olive oil, if needed, then add reserved egg mixture to hot saute pan.

Cook 2-3 minutes until egg cooks and sets on bottom.

Transfer saute pan to broiler and broil until light and fluffy, and almost totally set, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle fontina cheese on top of frittata and place back under broiler until melted, about 2-3 minutes.

Remove to cutting board and cut into six triangle servings.

Place one serving in center of plate. Garnish each portion with four stalks of Lemon,

Basil and Garlic Roasted Asparagus and two wedges of Roasted Tomato. Sprinkle each portion with Parmesan.

LEMON, BASIL AND GARLIC ROASTED ASPARAGUS 3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves, finely sliced 1 lemon, zested 1 large garlic clove, minced 24 large asparagus stalks (snap bottoms of individual stalks) 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste Heat oven to 400 F. Combine parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Set aside.

Place asparagus on sheet pan in one layer and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley mixture and place back in oven for 3-5 minutes.

ROASTED TOMATOES 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 6 large Roma tomatoes, quartered 3 fresh thyme leaves 1/2 garlic clove, minced sugar, to taste salt and pepper, to taste Heat oven to 400 F. Combine all ingredients in bowl and tran­sfer to sheet pan lined with baking paper. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until done. *Heart-Check Certification does not apply to recipes.

DAY BOAT COD WITH MELTED TOMATOES AND SHAVED FENNEL AND ORANGE SALAD Serves: 4 olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 4 cod filets (6 ounces each) Olive Oil Melted Tomatoes (recipe below) Orange, Fennel and Olive Oil Salad (recipe below) 4 lemons, cut into eighths Heat oven to 400 F. Heat medium sized saute pan on high. Add olive oil and heat. Salt and pepper cod. Add cod to hot oil and sear very hard on one side,

until fish is golden brown and crisp.

Transfer cod to baking sheet that has been brushed with olive oil. Place cod in oven until it starts to flake, about 12 minutes.

Remove cod from oven and keep warm.

Using spoon, portion Olive Oil Melted Tomatoes onto four large dinner plates. Allow some flavored oil to puddle on plate. Carefully transfer cod on top of warm tomatoes.

Then top cod with Orange, Fennel and Olive Oil Salad.

Squeeze lemon wedge over entire plate.

OLIVE OIL MELTED TOMATOES 8 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut in half salt and pepper, to taste 6 basil leaves, shredded 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped 1 lemon, zested 6 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin extra-virgin olive oil Heat oven to 325 F. Place tomatoes in 9-inch cake pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter herbs, lemon zest and garlic on top of tomatoes.

Drizzle tomatoes with extravirgin olive oil, which should come up about three-quarters of the way on tomatoes.

Cover with foil and bake until tomatoes are tender, approximately 40 minutes.

ORANGE, SHAVED FENNEL AND OLIVE OIL SALAD 1/2 large fennel bulb, sliced thin on mandolin 2 medium oranges, rind and seeds removed, cut into slices 1/2 medium lemon, juice only 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped salt and pepper, to taste Combine all ingredients and gently toss just before garnishing cod.

STOJ

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

Deray McKesson, the Black Lives Matter Movement activist, is running for mayor of Baltimore, Md. Mckesson graduated from Bowdoin College in 2007. Prior to becoming a full-time activist, the Baltimore native worked as a school administrator in Minnesota. Last year, he was hired by Yale University to give a two-day lecture on the movement.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Jacksonville: Edward Waters College is partnering with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra to present “Baby Boomers – The Music of the ‘60s.” The concert is Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. at the Times-Union Center Performing Arts Center. Tickets: Call 904-470-8252 or visit www.ewc. edu.

B5

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.

Beyoncé is making a strong political statement with her new single, “Formation,’’ which she performed at the Super Bowl. The song has references to the Black Lives Matter Movement and Hurricane Katrina. In the “Formation’’ video, there’s an image of Beyoncé on top of a sinking police car.

There are walls strewn with “Stop Shooting Us” graffiti, and a Black boy in a hoodie dancing in front of police officers.

Remembering Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind & Fire

ARETHA FRANKLIN & KENNY ‘BABYFACE’ EDMONDS

The Queen of Soul has been added to the March 18-20 Jazz in the Gardens. Others recently added are Janelle Monae and Kenny “Babyface’’ Edmonds. Details and complete artists lineup: www.jazzinthegardens.com.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Aventura: “Steppin’ Out Live with Ben Vereen’’ is scheduled Feb. 14 at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center.

Tampa: “The Lion King’’ musical

by Disney continues at the Straz Performing Arts Center through Feb. 14.

Miami Gardens: Florida Memorial University is celebrating its Homecoming through Feb. 13. Events will include an annual parade and basketball games on Feb. 13. The Lions will face Voorhees College. Details: www.fmuniv.edu.

Aventura: The Macy’s at the Aventura Mall in South Florida will host Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Taye Diggs and G. Garvin for a conversation on popular culture Feb. 13 at noon as part of Macy’s Black History Month celebrations. It’s Feb. 13 at noon.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS

Maurice White, co-founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, died at his Los Angeles home on Feb. 3 at age 74.

“My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep,” Earth, Wind & Fire cofounder Verdine White said in a statement released to the press.

“While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected as we start what will be a very difficult and life-changing transition in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes.”

The source for a wealth of hits in the 1970s and early ’80s, including “Shining Star,” “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” Earth, Wind & Fire borrowed elements from funk, soul, gospel and pop for a distinctive sound that yielded six double-platinum albums and six Grammy Awards.

Parkinson’s diagnosis

Miami: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes a stop Feb. 16 at the Phillips Center in Gainesville and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami Feb. 18-21.

Artistic director is Miami native Robert Battle.

TALIB KWELI

Fort Lauderdale: “The Abolitionists,” film viewing and discussion takes place at 2 p.m. Feb. 27 at Nova Southeastern University, Cotilla Gallery, Alvin Sherman Library, 3100 Ray Ferrero Blvd. More information: call 954-262-5477.

DEF JAM RECORDINGS

Sarasota: The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is presenting “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’’ by August Wilson through Feb. 20.

Fort Lauderdale: ASCENT: Black Women’s Expressions Art Exhibition is on display through March 4 at Cotilla Gallery, Nova University, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd. Free.

Miami: The UniverSoul Circus will be at Miramar Regional Park through Feb. 15 and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Feb. 17-21.

Miami: The “Walk Together Children” walking tour of Historic Overtown is Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. RSVP at 305-633-3583 or

The Gasparilla Music Festival on March 12-13 will include Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, New Breed Brass Band, the Seminole Indoor Percussion Ensemble and Dunedin Highland Middle School Pipe Band.

Tickets: GMFtickets.com.

e-mail missgail52@gmail.com.

Tampa: The 10th annual Hillsborough Community College Black, Brown & College Bound’s Dr. Sylvia M. Carley Luncheon will feature former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as the keynote speaker on Feb. 19 at the Tampa Convention Center at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are

$125 each. More information: www. hccfl.edu/bbcb.aspx.

Jacksonville: Rihanna: Anti World Tour 2016 makes stops on March 12 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Amalie Arena in Tampa on March 13 and AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on March 15.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and although White had ceased touring with the group since a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in the ’90s, the group had continued to tour.

Born in Memphis, Tenn. on Dec. 19, 1941, Maurice White sang in his church’s gospel choir at an early age, but his interest quickly gravitated to the drums.

He earned his first gig backing Booker T. Jones before the organist founded the MGs. He moved to Chicago in the early ’60s and studied composition at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and eventually found work as a session drummer for the Chess and OKeh labels.

After also backing jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis in the ’60s, White moved to Los Angeles in 1969 with a band called the Salty Peppers. White changed the group’s name in 1971 to Earth, Wind and Fire, which reflected White’s spiritual approach to music.

BOOKS

TOJ B6

Book credits abolitionists for ‘radical, interracial movement’ freedom fighters who launched “a radical, interracial movement” that kept “the peculiar institution” of slavery at or near the top of the political agenda in the 1830s, ‘40s and ‘50s, addressed exploitation and disenfranchisement, and “anticipated debates over race, labor and empire.”

BY DR. GLENN ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

“Let it be remembered,” William Lloyd Garrison often proclaimed, “that the man of color has to labor against wind and tide.”

As Garrison’s uncharacteristically understated comment implied, the treatment of AfricanAmericans in the United States, especially the millions of men, women, and children who were slaves, was horrific. It gave rise, of course, to a movement to abolish slavery that became the midwife of Civil War emancipation.

In “The Slave’s Cause,’’ Manisha Manisha Sinha, a professor Sinha of Afro-American Studies and History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, seeks to give the abolitionists their due.

Drawing on an avalanche of scholarship by American historians since the 1960s as well as newspapers, pamphlets, books, and letters, Sinha argues that the

Diverse movement

REVIEW Review of “The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition’’ by Manisha Sinha.

Yale University Press. 784 pages. $37.50. abolitionists, who were caricatured in their own time and for decades after the Civil War as single-minded fanatics who caused a “needless war,” were, in fact,

Her book, which traces the history of abolition from the 1600s to the 1860s, documents its international character and demonstrates the central role played by free and enslaved Blacks, is a valuable addition to our understanding of the role of race and racism in America.

Sinha reveals that while abolitionism did have a few prominent supporters, it was a diverse movement, by no means limited to White, middle-class men and women. African-Americans formed its core constituency, she writes, and many full-time activists, White and Black, “could barely make ends meet.” Indeed, most of the signatures on urban abolition petitions came from skilled and unskilled laborers.

Many of them, she adds, were

Books to make young minds think TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Here are a few books for young readers during Black History Month that could help them learn about slavery, civil rights and discrimination.

‘We March’ Author and illustrator Shane W. Evans doesn’t use a lot of words — a little over 60 — in his book “We March.” He doesn’t have to. His textured, full-color drawings do the work of tell-

STOJ

FEBRUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ing the story of a young AfricanAmerican family preparing for the August 1963 March on Washington.

Exploring the historical event through the family’s eyes illustrates how much the civil rights struggle was about regular people uniting to peacefully demand change. Dr. King plays an important supporting role in the story.

However, it’s the family — standing together, comforting each other — who is the star.

‘Chocolate Me’ “Chocolate Me” by Taye Diggs and illustrated by Shane W. Evans opens with an unhappy little boy, being taunted by neighborhood boys for his differences in appearance — everything from his curly hair to his wide nose to his seemingly extra-white teeth against his dark skin. But his mother tells him why those things all make him special.

By changing his attitude, which gives him a confidence boost, the boy returns to the oth-

twenty-somethings, representing a new generation. And Sinha indicates that the connection between resistance to slavery, slave revolts, and abolition “was proximate and continuous.”

‘Free labor’ argument Sinha’s claim that abolitionists also “developed an incipient critique of capitalism,” linked the emancipation of slaves with that of all laboring people, opposed American imperialism, and supported “the liberation of all oppressed peoples,” however, is somewhat less convincing.

To be sure, some abolitionists, including Garrison, did on occasion rail against finance capitalists and manufacturers “who grind the face of the poor.” But many others disagreed (endorsing a contractual relationship between employer and employee) and, in any event, Sinha does not make a compelling case that the issue of the exploitation of “free labor” played a prominent role in the movement.

At times, then, Sinha may claim too much for abolitionists. It is a stretch, to cite one additional example, to credit abolitionists for “building legal precedents for modern law stemming from the fugitive slave cases, including the reading to Miranda rights.”

That said, “The Slave’s Cause’’ provides many good reasons to admire the abolitionists. After er boys and teaches them about acceptance and appreciation of peoples’ differences. The book is illustrated with full-page spreads depicting the boy’s story, sometimes with just a few words per page, which help enrich the story for those too young to read on their own.

‘Freedom’s a-Callin Me’ This book by Ntozake Shange with paintings by Rod Brown tells the tale of a slave, following him from working in the cotton fields and getting beaten by his master to his harrowing escape to Michigan. The story is told through a series of poems and is

all, they risked their reputations and at times their lives in a noble, but highly unpopular cause.

And, as Sinha reminds us, they went well beyond emancipation before the Civil War to demand equality for African-Americans.

Template of activism And after the overthrow of Reconstruction in the 1870s, amidst the ascendancy of social Darwinism, “scientific racism,” and xenophobia, they forcefully advocated government enforcement of voting rights and denounced segregation, debt peonage, and lynching.

And so, it seems appropriate for Sinha to conclude “The Slave’s Cause’’ by noting that with its commitment to human rights and its call to action, abolition, the first civil rights movement, remains for many Americans a template of social activism, deserving the accolade given to it by W.E.B. Du Bois: “the finest thing in American history.”

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He wrote this review for the Florida Courier. written in Southern dialect, both of which may be obstacles for younger readers trying to digest the story.

The tale is accompanied by full-page paintings that depict the narrator’s experiences on his journey, and may help struggling readers comprehend the text better. The story introduces readers to a new story form and simultaneously teaches them about the history of slaves in our country, and the brave souls — both Black and White — who brought danger on themselves to help men and women escape to freedom.

February 2016 Join us this February as we salute rising icons of African

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

American culture at

MACY’S AVENTURA 2ND FLOOR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 AT 12PM

Best known for her award-winning performance in The Great Debaters, and for her role on the critically acclaimed series, Friday Night Lights.

Jurnee has appeared in numerous

Join us “In Conversation” with actors JURNEE SMOLLETT-BELL and

films and television shows, and her

TAYE DIGGS for an entertaining look at the next wave of African

newest project, Underground, debuts

American cultural luminaries and taste makers! Then enjoy a special

on WGN America this spring!

reception following the discussion.

Plus, make any $75 purchase during an event and meet the stars, snap a photo with them and take home a signed copy of Taye’s new book, Chocolate Me!*

Taye Diggs Well known for his roles in How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Chicago, Taye has also starred in numerous television and stage productions. He

RSVP and check out our exclusive content at

lives in New York and Los Angeles.

macys.com/celebrate

Event subject to change or cancellation. *Qualifying purchase must be made during the event. While supplies last.