Florida Courier - February 19, 2016

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CELEBRATING OUR 10TH YEAR STATEWIDE!

Florida woman writes book about dad who played in NFL See Page B1 www.flcourier.com

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

VOLUME 24 NO. 8

DEATH, UNCERTAINTY, OPPORTUNITY The unexpected death of U.S. Supreme Court justice may have far-reaching impact, both legally and politically.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON – President Obama will select a nominee to succeed the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, despite fierce opposition by Republican leaders who prefer the seat be left vacant for nearly a year so that it can be filled by the next president.

Scalia, 79, who was found dead at a resort in Texas on Feb. 13, was one of four justices who formed a reliable conservative block, although that broke down on some contentious issues, notably the health care law of 2010. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas are the other three.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is often the swing

vote who could determine whether the court would rule with the conservatives or the four liberal justices.

Scalia’s absence means five votes are less likely to be found for a conservative majority.

Doing his duty Obama said in a statement last week, “I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time.

There will be plenty of time for me to do so, and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They’re bigger than any one party.

They are about our democracy.”

Scalia, one of the most conservative members of the court, died of an apparent heart attack over the weekend while on a hunting trip in Texas. He was part of the 5-4 conservative majority on the nation’s highest court.

Were he to be replaced by a moderate or liberal jurist, that would shift the balance of the court – something Republicans had pledged to fight against.

Under the constitution, the president has an obligation to appoint the Supreme Court justice, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. However, conservatives who normally boast of being strict adherents of the U.S. Constitution, are altering that stance in a presidential election year.

FILE PHOTO

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, (bottom row, second from left) was one of the court’s most reliably conservative votes.

No action Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had already pledged to block any Obama nomina-

tions prior to Scalia’s death, urged President Obama not to submit a nominee and said if Obama does, the Senate will not act on the nomination prior to the ex-

58TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

‘We gonna be alright’

piration of Obama’s term next January.

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next SuSee COURT , Page A2

Playing doctor for real Teen accused of giving medical advice

BY KATE JACOBSON SUN SENTINEL / TNS

FORT LAUDERDALE – A South Florida teenager is in jail after he played doctor with real patients for the second time in just over a year, authorities say.

Malachi Love-Robinson, 18, known as “Dr. Robinson” to his patients, was arrested after he allegedly gave physical exams and medical advice to people – including an undercover officer – at a “holistic medical clinic” he founded in West Palm Beach.

Second time

ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Kendrick Lamar and crew put on a legendary performance Monday during the 2016 GRAMMY awards in Los Angeles.

Lamar’s album, “To Pimp A Butterfly,” won the Best Rap Album award – one of seven awards Lamar won this year.

Sources say Love-Robinson is the same teen caught in January 2015 masquerading as a doctor at St. Mary’s Medical Center, peeking in on gynecology exams and keeping a wardrobe of lab coats in his car.

Dr. Sebastian Kent, an OB/GYN whose office is on the St. Mary’s Medical Center grounds, said he was amazed to hear that the same teen who had introduced himself as a doctor a year ago had been accused of impersonating a doctor a second time.

“I’ve been in practice for 36 years, this is the first time something like this has happened,” he said. “It’s very strange. Very, very strange.”

See TEEN, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

Black Americans disproportionately poor, hungry SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

WASHINGTON – African-Americans continue to suffer disproportionately high rates of hunger and poverty compared to other Americans, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by Bread for the World.

Unemployment and low wages, lack of access to healthy and affordable food, and higher incarceration rates are just a few of the factors that contribute to this problem.

“African-Americans continue

ALSO INSIDE

hold low-wage jobs with few or no benefits. The median income for African-Americans in 2014 (latest data) was $35,398, which is $20,000 less than the median income for other households.

Almost 50 percent of Black children younger than 6 live in poverty. Only 8 percent of them live in areas with a supermarket, and almost 94 percent of the nation’s majority African-American counties are food-insecure.

Kids living in poverty “Food-insecure” means that a African-Americans are more person or household does not likely to be unemployed, and to have regular, reliable access to

to suffer from some of the highest rates of hunger and poverty in the U.S.,” said Eric Mitchell, director of government relations, Bread for the World. “Unemployment and the lack of good-paying jobs are primary causes. But we also have to look at issues like mass incarceration and access to healthier food options to get a complete picture of why this persists.”

foods needed for good health.

The lack of nutritious food causes serious medical conditions, including obesity and diabetes.

The problem is worsened by mass incarceration. AfricanAmericans are more likely than others charged with similar offenses to be incarcerated. Soaring incarceration rates deplete family resources though court fees and lost work hours.

Many states deny returning exfelons access to such government aid programs even while they See HUNGRY, Page A2

FLORIDA | A3

Detzner appeals Brown’s case NATION | A6

Report: Voter ID laws suppress Dems, minorities BUSINESS | B3

Study: Blacks participating more in stock investing

COMMENTARY: GLEN FORD: THE WEST’S WAR AGAINST SYRIA IS OUT OF CONTROL | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. WILMER J. LEON II: TRUMP IS GOP’S FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER | A5

FOCUS

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FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Pulling the puppet strings I wonder what the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the members of various Conferences of Black State Legislators and other Black elected officials are getting for their steadfast, early and comprehensive support of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign?

What has Hillary Clinton done to generate this widespread political support in America’s Black communities?

Perhaps she has hired large numbers of Black campaign workers or Black political professionals. Maybe she has stood up and spoken out about the evils of police brutality and courtroom injustice.

Clinton’s massive Black political support could be the result of her pulling a few strings!

Under control The politicians that represent you, represent your communities and neighborhoods and those that consistently get in excess of 90 percent of all Black votes cast

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

in United States elections may be controlled by the Democratic Party!

Pinocchio, Lamb Chop, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Howdy Doody are famous American puppets. But none of them are better than some of America’s Black community politicians!

I know you don’t like for me to write like this, but it’s true. Our elected officials seem to suffer from “Democratiphobia” – a fear of the Democratic Party!

They are afraid to disagree with the Democratic Party, afraid to stand up to the Democratic Party, and scared to death to question the Democratic Party, the party leadership, the party’s expenditures and contributions, and the Party’s chosen ones for national offices.

A “puppet” is a person whose actions, ideas, etc., are controlled by another. Who controls what Black elected officials say, do and endorse more than the Democratic Party does?

They get nothing And what do Black politicians get for their unwavering support of Democratic Party policies and candidates? Little or nothing!

Compare the money the Democratic Party contributes to the campaigns of Jewish candidates to that contributed to Black candidates. Compare the Democratic support for gay issues of importance, Hispanic issues of importance and women’s issues of importance to the party’s support of issues important to African- Americans.

It has been said that any Democratic candidate is better than any Republican candidate, any Socialist candidate, any Libertarian candidate or any Independent candidate. That is not true!

TEEN Love-Robinson is charged with practicing medicine without a license. He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on $6,000 bail.

State tipped off

Name ‘stands out’ After the tip rolled in, Dalton said the health department reopened its investigation into Love-Robinson. Officials quickly realized he had already been told once to stop what he was doing.

“He has a name that stands out,” Dalton said.

The health department called the Sheriff’s Office and members

PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE / TNS

“Doctor” Malachi Love-Robinson is accused of practicing medicine without a license. of the Palm Beach Narcotics Task Force to investigate. They sent in an undercover officer. After that officer received a medical exam and advice from the young doctor, they arrested him.

Last year, Love-Robinson was briefly detained by West Palm Beach police after he was found

wandering around St. Mary’s Medical Center wearing a doctor’s coat and interacting with patients. Kent said Love-Robinson, then 17, was in his office and introduced himself as an anesthesiologist, but Kent became suspicious because of Love-Robinson’s youthful looks.

from A1

No Black liberal Because of the lack of a progressive Black voice on the Supreme Court, some Obama sup-

The political “code of silence” is just as pervasive in politics as the police “code of silence” is widespread in police departments. Non-Black Democratic Party members can do anything and say anything they want to about Black voters and still get 90 percent of Black votes cast because Democrats control Black members of the party and, to a

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere.

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

We have to judge candidates seeking votes from registered Black voters on an individual basis. Political parties don’t deserve respect; individuals do.

If you don’t know, many of the prosecutors and state attorneys overcharging Black suspects and throwing them in jail are members of the Democratic Party.

Many of the police chiefs and sheriffs condoning and supporting lawmen that utilize police brutality over and over again are members of the Democratic Party.

Many of the bankers that refuse to loan money to businesses in the Black communities are Democrats.

Five-star rating

COURT preme Court Justice,” McConnell said in a statement. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

Democrats countered that the American people made their voice heard in the last two presidential elections, voting Obama into office in 2008 and re-electing him by a wide margin in 2012.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement saying, “The President can and should send the Senate a nominee right away…It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential Constitutional responsibilities.”

The record appears to support Reid. Writing on the Supreme Court site SCOTUSblog, Amy Howe observed, “The historical record does not reveal any instances since at least 1900 of the president failing to nominate and/or the Senate failing to confirm a nominee in a presidential election year because of the impending election.”

Ironically, McConnell and every other Republican voted on Feb. 2, 1988 to confirm Ronald Reagan’s Supreme Court appointment in his last year in office, which was also an election year.

The Senate, then under Democratic control, voted 97-0, with three absent, to confirm Kennedy.

He was supported by 51 Democrats and 46 Republicans.

Singing their song

certain extent, Black voters!

Pull the Black strings and some Blacks in politics will sing any song you want them to sing!

Eight years ago, the same folk endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primary until Black voters came out in large numbers to support Barack Obama, and he began to win primary elections.

We don’t need another hero and we don’t need more political puppets! Instead of putting political parties first, we need to put Black people and Black progress first!

Quit bowing down to and sucking up to political parties.

Vote for the candidates that will vote for legislation that interests you, helps you and benefits you.

If you want to be a puppet, at least get you a Black puppeteer!

“This guy can schmooze his way around, he can tell any story you want to hear,” Kent said.

“That’s what he tried to do with me – he tried to ingratiate himself with me so I would take him around, and after a while it started to not make sense to me. I thought something was wrong.”

Love-Robinson was questioned, but ultimately not charged.

from A1

According to the Florida Department of Health, Love-Robinson came onto the agency’s radar after receiving a tip in October that he had been practicing medicine without a license.

Authorities sent a ceaseand-desist letter, said department spokesman Brad Dalton, but Love-Robinson continued to practice. He opened the New Birth New Life Holistic and Alternative Medical Center and Urgent Care in West Palm Beach. In paperwork for the business, he is listed as the CEO. His title: Dr. Malachi Love-Robinson.

His website boasts that he holds a Ph.D., an “HHP-C” and an “AMP-C,” though it is unclear what the latter two designations stand for.

Dems are everywhere

Kamala Harris

Loretta Lynch

porters have urged him to nominate a Black woman – either Attorney General Loretta Lynch or California Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Howard University graduate – to fill that vacancy.

(Harris removed her name from contention on Wednesday.)

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, among others, was also mentioned as a possibility.

However, as of this week, the leading candidate appeared to be Sri Srinivasan, a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals – a popular stepping stone to the Supreme Court. The son of immigrants from India, he clerked for conservative appeals court Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson and Sandra Day O’Connor, a frequent swing voter on the Supreme Court before she retired.

Srinivasan, 48, former chief deputy to the U.S. solicitor general, was confirmed for his present position by the Senate by a vote of 97-0 in 2013, a fact Obama may hope would make his nomination more difficult to oppose.

Important cases delayed?

A ruling in at least a six major court cases may be postponed until a new justice is seated. The cases involve: • Whether universities can use race as a factor in admissions (Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin);

Eric Holder

Sri Srinivasan

• Whether states can change how voting districts are drawn based on total population or the number of eligible voters (Evenwel v. Abbott and Harris v. Arizona Ind. Redistricting); • Whether unions can collect fees from non-union workers to use for collective bargaining (Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association); • Whether states can impose strict medical regulations on abortion clinics that may cause many of them to close (Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole); • Whether religious nonprofit groups can be required to provide employees with birth control that conflicts with their religious beliefs (Zubik v. Burwell); and • Whether the federal government can defer deportation of undocumented immigrants and give them legal protection.

GOP slowdown The threat to sideline any Obama nomination to the Supreme Court follows a Republican slowdown of judicial appointments already underway.

According to a Brookings Institution study in September, “Senate Republicans’ aggressive slowdown in judicial confirmations so far in 2015 – and what is likely to be a continued slowdown through 2016 – are contrary to the confirmation records in the final two years of the oth-

According to Healthgrades. com, a website that ranks doctors, Love-Robinson has a fivestar rating, based on two reviews.

The website gives Love-Robinson’s age as 25, says he can speak French and lists his specialties as naturopathy, psychology and mental health.

According to his grandfather, William Robinson, it’s all a big misunderstanding. He said his grandson never claimed to be a medical doctor, only a holistic doctor, and that he had received proper certification to practice.

Those certificates are from online schools, Robinson said, though he wasn’t sure which ones. He said his grandson’s certificates were hung on the walls of his office.

“He was pursuing things, but I don’t really know what it came to,” Robinson said. “He was pursuing the field that he wanted to get into.”

Passionate person Robinson denied that his grandson had ever seen patients at the clinic. The idea was to open the practice with Loveer two-term presidencies since 1961 – Ronald Reagan, William Clinton, and George W. Bush.”

And the obstruction is not limited to judges. According to an investigation by Politico, “New data compiled by the Congressional Research Service and obtained by politico found that the Senate in 2015 confirmed the lowest number of civilian nominations – including judges and diplomatic ambassadors – for the first session of a Congress in nearly 30 years.”

Political impact Obama’s successor could have the chance to orchestrate the biggest re-make of the Supreme Court’s composition in four decades, further raising the stakes of the 2016 election cycle.

With three justices beyond or approaching their 80th birthdays, voters in November will get a chance to make clear in which political direction they prefer the high court to lean for decades to come.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 82, and will turn 83 on March 15.

Justice Kennedy is 79, but will turn 80 on March 11. And Justice Stephen Breyer is 77. The average American lifespan is currently around 79 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

“So there’s no question – especially if the next president wins two terms – that the next administration will have a chance to really change the court’s make up,” said Stephen Vladeck of American University’s Washington College of Law. That means, as Vladeck put it, “simple averages and actuarial tables tell us the court is about to undergo substantial changes.”

Robinson at the helm, then attract other doctors to come work for him.

He described his grandson as a passionate person who is smart and driven. Among his accomplishments, Robinson said, was his position as an “up-andcoming minister” at New Birth Outreach Ministries, the church where William Robinson is pastor.

On a website offering free ordained ministry certificates, Love-Robinson is listed as a reverend who specializes in “philosophical theology, religious epistemology and Christian apologetics.” His biography states he is working on a doctoral thesis and lists him as a naturopathic physician.

“He’s not out doing drugs, he’s not out trying to rob nobody,” Robinson said. “He’s trying to do something constructive, and if he did do something and the paperwork wasn’t right — he can get ahead of himself sometimes and he may have been trying too hard, but he had good intentions.”

No surprise Upon hearing of Love-Robinson’s arrest, Kent said he was shocked, but ultimately unsurprised.

“I just met him that one time, and I heard a lot about what he had done afterward and various encounters people had with him,” Kent said. “But yeah, it doesn’t surprise me he did this. I knew he would strike again.”

Some ‘what-ifs’ Should Kennedy die or decide to retire during the next president’s term, a swing voter who sometimes crosses the ideological divide and votes with liberal justices would no longer serve.

If Ginsburg or Breyer leave the court, the liberal bloc would lose reliable votes.

Because the president could end up appointing so many justices, and because he or she would be inclined to choose multiple justices of their ideology for the highest court in the land, the 2016 election cycle could be seismic.

George E. Curry, Editor-inChief of George Curry Media; and Todd Ruger and John T. Bennett of CQ-Roll Call (TNS) contributed to this report.

HUNGRY from A1

look for work. For those who land a job, their yearly earnings are reduced by as much as 40 percent.

“The best way to reduce hunger and poverty is with a good-paying job,” added Mitchell. “But we also need to support strong safety net programs, as well as policies that end mass incarceration and offer individuals returning home a second chance.”

Download “Hunger and Poverty in the African-American Community” online at http://bit. ly/1opXX9e.

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

FLORIDA

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Detzner appeals congresswoman’s redistricting case Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown speaks at a Medicare press conference on April 18, 2011, at the Claudia Allen Senior Center in Orlando.

didates for office.”

The notice of appeal filed last week does not provide detailed arguments, but it cites the district-court ruling. The issue will go to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Long, messy fight

merely because he sits nominally at the top of an agency far removed from any challenged conduct. She is challenging the implementation and enforcement of congressional districts allegedly drawn in violation of federal law. As secretary of state, Detzner is connected to and responsible for many aspects of elections in Florida, including maintaining uniformity in the interpretation and implementation of Florida’s election laws … registering voters … bringing actions against local election officials to enforce Florida election law … gathering information on voting irregularities … and certifying the qualifications and nominations of can-

The Florida Supreme Court in December approved new congressional districts after a long – and often-messy – legal fight stemming from arguments that the Legislature violated the antigerrymandering “Fair Districts” redistricting standards approved by voters in 2010.

Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat, has played a high-profile role in the debate as she has sought to block major changes to her district, which has stretched from Jacksonville to Orlando.

Under the plan approved by the Supreme Court, the district will change dramatically, running from Jacksonville to Gadsden County, west of Tallahassee.

The longtime congresswoman argues that the new east-west configuration of the district could violate the Voting Rights Act because it would diminish the opportunity for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

She initially filed the lawsuit in August, naming Detzner and the Legislature as defendants. The case was put on hold in September and then moved forward after the Supreme Court decision in December.

The federal district court has said a hearing could be held March 25, if needed.

driver called 911 and reported that Imperato’s white Mercedes “was all over the road” on Nov. 5, 2013. A Boca Raton police officer on his way home from work Judge Cynthia observed ImperImperato ato’s car “swerve into other lanes” and “nearly

sideswipe another car.”

Imperato – who told the detective “I’m a judge” when he pulled her over – provided her judge’s badge when asked for identification and refused to get out of the car to perform a sobriety test and later refused to submit to a breath sample.

A jury found the judge guilty of driving under the influence and reckless driving.

JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/ TNS

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown says a new configuration of her district could violate the Voting Rights Act because it would diminish the opportunity for Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice.

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – In another twist in Florida’s redistricting legal saga, Secretary of State Ken Detzner will ask a federal appeals court to dismiss him from a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown that challenges her redrawn district.

Detzner’s attorney filed a no-

tice last week that said the secretary of state is appealing a district-court ruling that kept him as a defendant in Brown’s lawsuit, which argues that a new reKen districting plan viDetzner olates the federal Voting Rights Act. The secretary of state, Florida’s

chief elections officer, has contended for months that he is legally shielded from being a defendant in the case. A document filed in September, for example, said Detzner, “as a matter of law, is not responsible for congressional redistricting – that is uniquely a legislative function.”

Argument rejected But a three-judge panel handling Brown’s case in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee rejected Detzner’s argument that he should be dismissed from the case.

That ruling last month said, in part, that “Congresswoman Brown is not suing Detzner

Judge resigns amid disciplinary case A Broward County circuit judge who faced possible removal from office because of a drunken-driving incident has submitted her resignation from the bench, according to documents filed in the Florida Supreme Court. Judge Cynthia Imperato on Feb. 12 sub-

mitted her resignation effective Feb. 29.

The move came after the Supreme Court last month ordered Imperato to show why she should not be removed from office.

A panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission

in October recommended that Imperato face a $20,000 fine, a three-month suspension without pay and a public reprimand. But the Supreme Court has final say on judicial disciplinary issues.

Documents filed in October with the Supreme Court said a

Legislators leave gay marriage ban on the books

BY DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

We Listened.

We Learned.

We Now Invite You to Lead.

TALLAHASSEE – It’s been more than a year since same-sex marriages became legal in Florida, but a state law banning the unions is still on the books, and a proposal to repeal it seems doomed.

Clearing the statutes of the gay-marriage ban is among a handful of measures dealing with LGBT issues either ignored by the Republican-controlled Legislature or fated to fade away before the 2016 session ends next month.

Only one piece of legislation – aimed at giving lesbians the opportunity to be named as a “parent” instead of a “father” on birth certificates – has even a chance of passing this session, and that chance is extremely thin.

The birth certificate measure, the proposed repeal of the ban on gay marriage and a third bill that would allow pastors to refuse to marry same-sex couples – something already guaranteed under the First Amendment – are byproducts of court decisions striking down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional.

Legal fight dismissed A closely divided U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry. The decision came nearly a year after a federal judge in Tallahassee struck down Florida’s voterapproved ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s ruling went into effect in January 2015, nearly six months before the high court decision, but Hinkle has yet to issue a final order in the case. An appeals court in October dismissed Florida’s legal fight about samesex marriage and said Hinkle should consider questions about whether the state is required to pay fees for the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who are seeking $455,000 for their work on the case.

“I just want the door closed permanently in the state of Florida, by the state of Florida, with respect to the statutes and the constitutional amendment,” Jim Brenner, a plaintiff in the Florida case, told The News Service of Florida on Monday.

“We need a final order from Judge Hinkle.”

The “pastor protection” act, which religious conservatives contend is needed to protect ministers and churches that refuse to marry same-sex couples, is headed to the House floor for a full vote and is slated for a final Senate committee vetting this week.

Too controversial In contrast, an attempt to remove the same-sex marriage prohibition from state statutes has not been heard by a single committee in either chamber.

For Republicans, the issue could be too controversial to even debate, especially in an election year.

“A lot of people still feel firmly that the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds and that it is a states’ rights issue that we should be able to decide who, what, where and when marriages happen within our state boundaries,” House Rule Chairman Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, said in an interview.

Changing the state Constitution, amended by voters to include the gay marriage ban in 2008, would require a statewide vote. But, for many Floridians, leaving the ban in legislatively written statutes carries more than a symbolic threat.

Black lawmaker responds Rep. Alan Williams, who filed the measure to repeal the law, said he wanted to amend Florida’s statutes to reflect the Supreme Court decision and to provide assurances to clerks of court, some of whom initially balked at Hinkle’s ruling, based on advice from their lawyers.

“Obviously, this is one of the most polarizing issues of our time in the Legislature, and in the country. This decision by the Supreme Court has begun to swing doors wide open for individuals that otherwise didn’t have that,” Williams, D-Tallahassee, said. “As an African-American, I understand all too well the significance of being able to have equal rights under the law.”

Repeal called ‘no-brainer’ For Rep. David Richardson, the sponsor of the measure dealing with birth certificates, the issue is even more personal. The Miami Beach Democrat is the only openly gay member of the Legislature.

Richardson tried to get Workman to include the repeal of the gay-marriage ban in what is known as a “reviser” bill, passed by lawmakers annually to clean up state statutes.

But Workman said reviser bills are supposed to correct errors such as punctuation and grammar and aren’t intended to deal with policy issues.

Richardson said he understands that Republicans control the agenda in Tallahassee, but he called the repeal of an unconstitutional law a “no-brainer.”

“It just shows you how far the majority party feels they must go because they don’t want to take a vote on something that may be controversial,” he said. “What they’re saying is that, even in a situation where the Supreme Court has determined that a law is unconstitutional, we don’t want to take it off our books because we don’t want to take the risk that someone’s going to have to vote on it and a member may be punished at the polls.”

EDITORIAL

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FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Why do Blacks love the Clintons?

Let’s start with another question: Why do the Clintons love Blacks?

Pretty simple – they get the vast majority of Black votes. All of those votes and they don’t have to do anything in return. In fact, they use us as expendable creatures. They get White votes by doing harm to us – and we offer no payback.

When Black voters helped get Bill Clinton into the White House, he quickly moved to the center instead of staying left. He wanted to show Whites that he was indeed White himself and not the “first Black President,” as we started to call him.

He wanted to prove that he can be tough on crime. One of his last acts as governor of Arkansas was to execute a seriously retarded Black man. He remarked after the execution, “I can be nicked a lot, but no one can say I’m soft on crime.”

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ECONOMIC FANTASIES

Today, many of us cry about overcriminalization of our youth. Well, Bill Clinton is the “father” of it. Since this milestone, African-Americans account for more than 80 percent of all people incarcerated for drug use. Suddenly, the United States began leading the world in incarceration rates.

Dependent Children (AFDC); and lowered the overall budget for welfare. The prison budget was twice as high as the food stamp budget.

Unemployment in Black communities soared. The statistics cover up the fact that imprisoned persons are not counted in the unemployment rolls. It is like they don’t even exist.

Keep in mind that our Congressional Black Caucus generally supported all of the above.

This was the worst economic tyranny since the beginning of New World slavery. Most just smiled and loved their “First Family.”

It gets worse

Where do we go?

HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST

Hillary steps in and is quoted: “They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.” In essence, they were wild animals.

Then came changes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. No one with a drug felony can live in public housing. If a resident is convicted of a drug felony, the entire family must leave. President Clinton would call this the “one strike and you’re out” initiative.

To add more fuel to the fire, funding for public housing was reduced by 61 percent; he dismantled Aid to Families with

How can we overcome what has happened to our race in this country during the 1990s? Must we go through this again? The thought of that frightens the hell out of me.

As Michelle Alexander writing for Thenation.com states: “It didn’t have to be like this. As a nation, we had a choice. Rather than spending billions of dollars constructing a vast new penal system, those billions could have been spent putting young people to work in inner-city communities and investing in their schools so they might have some hope of making the transition from an industrial to a service-based economy. Constructive interventions would have been good not only for AfricanAmericans trapped in ghettos, but for blue-collar workers of all

Who cares what White America thinks?

as a person, you have every right to promote your “Blackness.” It doesn’t make you anti-anything; it makes you proud of who you are and your history, despite every effort by others to make you ashamed of who you are.

Sadly and shamefully, whenever African-Americans attempt to do something that promotes unity within their own race and culture, many within White America will seek and search for some African-American who is so “pro-integration” that they diss and dismiss the injustice and unfair treatment of people who look like them. Media outlets like FOX News will never truly address the issue of the Black community because they are biased and controlled by entities that promote White America and their so-called value system.

Just the beginning Within two years, he signed a $30 billion crime bill which started a wave of new federal prisons. He provided the states $16 billion in state prison grants and for expansion of police forces. This was in preparation of what he was about to do.

He lightened federal offenses for the use of powdered cocaine and greatly increased punishment for crack. This sent our youth to those new prisons for crack use and gave slack to the Whites using cocaine.

Many people within White America are frustrated about Beyoncé’s performance during the halftime Show at Super Bowl 50.

Some have concluded that her performance was out-of-line for such an event. A lot of White Americans muttered that many White girls are looking up to Beyoncé, so how could she sing a song and give a performance that promotes “Blackness?”

Even though she’s Black and successful, no song – according to those who are insecure within White America – should remind Black people of their struggle or their history. Clearly, no song that references Black pride, Black power, the Black Panthers, or Malcolm X should ever be performed during one of the mostwatched events in sports history.

This misguided ideology is at the forefront of many within White America.

Debates underway Ever since her dynamic and brilliant performance, debates as well as discussions have surrounded what is appropriate and what isn’t. Can we safely say if

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COMMENTARY

the performance is acceptable to White America, then it’s deemed okay? Are we saying that musical performances and songs should not uplift and empower those within the African-American community? Should songs and performances not send a message about the struggles AfricanAmericans faced and continue to face on a daily basis?

Because there are so many questions surfacing around the issue of Beyoncé’s performance as well as other issues, who cares what White America thinks when it comes to promoting and empowering Black America?

For so long, too many African-Americans have been handcuffed with guilt and shame about expressing themselves because they worry how it will make those in White America feel. When you know who you are

The West’s war against Syria is out of control The Obama administration’s web of lies, intrigue, and relentless aggression has turned Syria into the world’s most insane field of battle, where both the United States and Russia provide air cover to Kurdish forces that are being shelled by America’s NATO ally, Turkey.

Turkey has also been shelling units of the Syrian army, operating under Russia’s protection. A Turkish invasion of Syria is considered imminent, and will likely include Saudi Arabian troops and aircraft – all of which would become targets for Russian air defense systems if they violate Syri-

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

an land and air space.

Should Turkey and Russia come to blows, the Turks could close off access to and from the Black Sea, bottling up Russian naval forces and provoking a world war.

‘Plan B’ Meanwhile, Western govern-

Unity is threatening The greatest threat to White America is not terrorist attacks from those in ISIS. It’s not people coming across the border illegally. The greatest threat to White America is the unity (collectiveness) of African-Americans.

If African-Americans came together as a united force, the following things would happen: we will own and control the businesses and politics in our community; we will create generational wealth for our children ments, their royal Arab allies, and the global corporate media scream for some kind of socalled “humanitarian” intervention in northern Syria – a transparent call for the United States to activate its so-called “Plan B” – an all-out U.S. military offensive against...who?

The United States will claim it’s against the Islamic State.

But there never was a U.S. war against the Islamic State, which spread like wildfire until the Russian air force intervened in late September.

The U.S., the Brits, the French, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf kleptocracies financed and armed all of the jihadist gangs that descended on Syria after 2011, and although the Islamic State decided that it had plans of its own, the American “coalition” never tried to militarily de-

ANDY SINGER, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

colors. At the very least, Democrats could have fought to prevent the further destruction of Black communities rather than ratcheting up the wars declared on them.”

We got played Our vote is pretty much worthless if we can’t get our just share of the American Dream. My people we need to let “pharaoh” go. He doesn’t have us. We are clinging to him.

The Clintons admit their mistakes. What we need to know from them is how are they going to correct these misdeeds?

Since we are so forgiving and naïve with our votes, perhaps we should trust them one more time. If we do this, we will go down as the most stupid de-

and our descendants; we will eliminate the prison industrial complex which seeks to profit from the labor of African-Americans; we will promote and elevate our own consciousness through songs and books; we will control the image of how we are portrayed in the media.

Living while Black is a constant struggle. Whether male or female, all of us have to deal with something everyday through unfair stereotyping. We cannot point the finger at each other and say who has it worst. We must come together as a group of people who are willing to make a difference in our families and communities.

The moment when Black America decides to come together, you’re bound to have someone who the conservative party will seek out to say, “Let’s not play the race card because Dr. King’s dream must live on for racial reconciliation.” To that I say the following: Who killed Dr. King? Who tried to extinguish his dream? Who continues to preach and teach segregation through hidden agendas? The answer is many people within White America.

Embrace our culture It’s time for African-Americans to join together to protect our brothers and sisters who feat ISIS in Syria or Iraq. ISIS was still useful, to wear down the Syrian army and keep the Iraqi government off-balance and dependent on the United States.

The success of the Russian intervention changed all that. Under Plan B, the United States and its allies will move militarily to absorb the Islamic State and take over the Syrian territory the jihadists now occupy, de facto dismembering Syria. The surviving ISIS fighters would fight on under U.S. protection, distributed among other jihadist groups and under new political labels. That appears to be the plan.

Turks uncooperative However, the Turks have their own agenda. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has staked his political life on defeating and humiliating the Kurds, in his own

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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mographic living in the entire world.

What we need to do is plan on developing a new generation of people who will be productive and creative. It is imperative that we expect positive results from our elected officials, and fire those who cannot perform the task.

Remember, we do have choices. Reconsider your love for the Clintons – you deserve more.

Harry C. Alford is the cofounder and president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Contact him via www.nationalbcc.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

dare to use their voice to promote “Blackness.” It’s time for African-Americans to do what’s necessary to embrace our culture and help those along the way. It’s time for African-Americans to get over the fear of what White America thinks. Living in such fear will keep us locked up emotionally, physically, and psychologically.

No other group apologizes for expressing their history and culture. African-Americans often feel the need to hide who they are because they don’t want to offend others.

Be proud of who you are. James Brown said it best: “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” To be our best and elevate ourselves above the chains of institutional racism, we must say to ourselves, “Who cares what White people think?”

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, writer, author, life coach and radio/television talk show host (Tuesdays at 7pm). Contact him at www. sinclairgrey.org, drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @ drsinclairgrey. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. country and in Syria. But the United States has made a huge investment in acting as the “protector” of the Iraqi Kurds, in order to dismember and control Iraq, and the Americans are trying to play the same game with the Syrian Kurds. That’s why the U.S. is providing air cover to some Syrian Kurdish units, while the Turks are shelling other Kurds who operate under Russian air cover, 60 miles away.

The Turks don’t like the game the Americans are playing, and are threatening to invade Syria, confront the Russians, and force the U.S. to choose between Turkey, or the Kurds, or World War III. This is a very dangerous moment for the planet.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com.

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FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Black political discussion is wider, deeper in 2016 Remember the Black presidential discussion in 2007 and 2008?

Barack Obama was the Democrat candidate, and practically all BRUCE A. you could hear was: DIXON “How Black is this Obama dude BLACK AGENDA REPORT anyway? Ain’t his mama White, his daddy African? What does that make him?” Later on it became, “How Black are YOU if you don’t support Obama?”

In 2016, space is “Got demands or just thoughts on issues like housing, foreclo- widening for more of sures, low wages, no wages, Black unemployment, mass incarceration or whatever? Swallow them.” us to realize it takes “Siddown and shuddup before you scare White people out of vot- way more than identity ing for Obama. Keep quiet so he can get elected first.”

“Got a hunger and thirst for politics, its ‘safe Black peace and justice? Grow up and lower those expectations. And re- spaces,’ and being member he’s running for president of everybody, not just Black ‘unapologetically people so keep that peace and justice stuff in your back pocket till after the elections, or after he Black’ to change the gets settled in or maybe for his second term if he gets one.? world.

“He’s Black so he obviously wants what you do, he just can’t say so out loud or he’ll scare the not have a discussion on presiWhite folks. He can’t do nothin’ dential politics that did not begin and end on race and racial solianyway if he don’t get elected.? darity.

Talk about the foreclosure crisis Supporters lied –which was gutting in real time There were also surrogates – 90 percent of Black family wealth who frequently lied outright to nationwide – or Black unemploycredulous Black audiences – mak- ment, or mass incarceration, gening explicit claims the candidate trification, or the war machine, never could about rolling back were all shouted down and made mass incarceration, addressing to give way to the project of electBlack unemployment, and a host ing the first Black president, who of other issues – if only we would would certainly address all these keep the faith by shutting up and things once in office. getting him elected first.

Some tech savvy young pro- Things have changed fessionals I knew even organized While still dominated by fear of a network that scooped up any short racist statement or outrage the Republicans, Black discussion they could find online to make around presidential politics has them viral; then they emailed, been freed from the contradicsent, forwarded and resent mul- tory need to appear unified betiple times to every Black person hind a Black candidate, but quiet about what it actually needs to with an email address.

The emails all had big head- make the lives of millions better. lines instructing recipients to With no Black presidential cansend resend and forward the hot didate, some of us have begun to racist mess to every Black col- talk about what changes can or league, churchgoer, neighbor, might actually make the lives of friend, and family member they millions better in the context of knew. Often these were accom- the 2016 presidential race.

This factor – combined with panied with admonitions to register and vote. My email boxes and the patient work of longtime acthose of everybody I know were tivists before and throughout the clogged for months with the stuff. Obama era – and the current inIn most of Black America in sistence of Senator Bernie Sand2007 and 2008, you simply could ers on putting inequality, liv-

Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster “Although Victor Frankenstein claimed to be creating his monster for the betterment of humankind, it’s more likely that he did so out of arrogance, or out of a desire to become like God.” Cliff Notes As of this writing, Real Clear Politics has Donald Trump 13.2 points ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz (33.6 vs. 20.4) in the Republican race for the White House. A number of conservatives have attacked Trump in the National Review.

Glenn Beck – “If Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, there will once again be no opposition to an ever-expanding government. This is a crisis for conservatism.”

David Boaz – “From a libertarian point of view – and I think serious conservatives and liberals would share this view – Trump’s greatest offenses against American tradition and our founding principles are his nativism and his promise of one-man rule.”

Mona Charen – “Put aside for a moment Trump’s countless past departures from conservative principle on defense, racial quotas, abortion, taxes, singlepayer health care, and immigration…The man has demonstrated an emotional immaturity bordering on personality disorder, and it ought to disqualify him from being a mayor, to say nothing of a commander-in-chief.”

TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

usual either.

According to The American Values Survey, “a majority (55 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who support Trump are White working-class Americans.”

Trump’s racist, xenophobic rhetoric resonates with his “White working-class supporters” because racism has been a tenet of the “so-called” conservative strategy (“so-called” because racism is not a tenet of true conservatives).

Many times it has been the covert sub-text to mainstream Republican dialogue, particularly since the election of President Obama in 2008.

According to The Hill,”…29 percent of Americans and 43 percent of Republicans believe Obama is a Muslim.” Other still believe that he was not born in America.

Republican leadership (except for Sen. John McCain) did not tell the “birthers” they were wrong.

Their deafening silence was seen as tacit agreement and became part of the Republican strategy to delegitimize the president. Historically, the office of the president was more important than the man in the office. The elecWho supports Trump?

According to Real Clear Poli- tion of Barak Obama changed all tics, “Trump’s supporters are a bit of that. older, less educated and earn less than the average Republican… Proof of this strategy One half of his voters have a high Congressman Joe Wilson (Rschool education or less…Slightly SC) called President Obama “a over a third of his supporters earn liar” and former House Speakless than $50,000 per year, while er Gingrich called him a Mau 11 percent earn over $100,000 per Mau in the White House: “What year.” Definitely not country club if (Obama) is so outside our comRepublicans, but not terribly un- prehension, that only if you un-

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA DIES

ing wages, criminal justice reform, unemployment (specifically Black unemployment) and economic justice in general on the front burner has greatly enlarged the space in which Black discussion around presidential politics in 2016 takes place.

That’s progress and good news.

In 2016, some of us have stopped shutting each other up in the name of fake Black unity which only protects our Black Misleadership class and their sponsors.

There’s bad news, too The bad news is that some elite elements of the Black polity, like The Atlantic’s TaNehesi Coates and Bill Fletcher, want to dial the Black discussion back to a purely racial one around reparations and such. It’s bad news too that many Black activists are still conditioned to look for any excuse to avoid anything that directly questions capitalism or mentions the word “socialism” aloud.

As veteran organizer Jamalah Rogers asked the audience at the January conference on Reclaiming the Black Radical Tradition, “We have to describe and bring into being a new system and a new world to replace this one. It has a name; that name is socialism. If an old White Jewish senator can say that word out loud, what are young and radical Black activists afraid of?”

In 2016, space is widening for more of us to realize it takes way more than identity politics, its “safe Black spaces,” and being “unapologetically Black” to change the world.

Movements retarded Black unity and identity politics have retarded Black-led movements to make Black lives better.

Black students are more crushed by student debt than anybody and college is least affordable for them. The fact that no Black-led movement for free college tuition and student debt forgiveness ever emerged isn’t for lack organizing talent or need.

But our emphasis on identity politics made Black families crushed by student debt less important to Black leaders and activists than the risk of contradicting or embarrassing the First Black President. That’s where Black unity gets you.

The foreclosure crisis eviscerated Black home ownership and

Trump’s racist, xenophobic rhetoric resonates with his ‘White working-class

DR. WILMER J. LEON III

EDITORIAL

supporters’ because racism has been a tenet of the ‘so-called’ conservative strategy.

Many times it has been the covert subtext to mainstream Republican dialogue, particularly since the election of President Obama in 2008. derstand Kenyan anticolonial behavior can you begin to piece together (his actions)?”

Gingrich went on to call Obama a conman: “This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result of which he is now president.”

As members of the Tea Party spat on Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), called Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) a nigger and Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) a faggot, members of Republican leadership such as McConnell (R-KY), Graham (RSC) and Cantor (R-Va.) did not tell the Tea Party that there’s no place in the American political dialogue for such bigotry and hatred.

Why? Because they did not want to risk alienating those vot-

NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Black wealth between 2007 and 2009. Lenders deliberately targeted Black homeowners for predatory loans often aided by Black preachers, politicians and celebrities. Black families were impacted in a hugely disproportionate manner. But no Black-led movement raised its head there either, largely because we were too Black & proud to stand up to our elite leaders and for ourselves.

Instead of surrounding the Obama Justice Department, Black America applauded when the First Black President and his First Black Attorney General refused to prosecute banksters and instead made homeowners speculators whole. Eric Holder declared Wall Street too complex to investigate and too big to fail. Loretta Lynch wrote the fine print on “get out of jail free” cards for hundreds of white-collar criminals and their corporations and financial institutions.

Most tellingly in the Obama era, the bankrupt but pervasive notions of Black unity and the treacherous Black Misleadership class have severely slowed the growth of Black-led movements against school privatization, which has disrupted the education of millions of Black children, caused the disproportionate firing of tens of thousands of qualified Black educators and put billions of public education dollars into the pockets of hedge fund investors, charter school sugar daddies and their public reps like Magic Johnson – who fronts for a crooked network of online charter schools in Chicago and elsewhere.

cally Black” activists has emerged whose activism is utterly individualistic, pursued via corporate social media rather than patient face to face and group organizing and struggling for power in workplaces and communities. It’s a hashtag activism that crusades for Twitter followers, Facebook likes and foundation grants rather than studying, educating and organizing to bring a new world into existence and fighting for actual power.

It’s still early in the 2016 presidential campaign. New winds are blowing away some of the fog.

Black folks, as Glen Ford says are waking up from the long debilitating stupor of the Obama era, when Black presidential politics was all about building and maintaining that Black wall around the president, the wall that protected our leaders from critics but didn’t protect not the lives or livelihoods of ordinary Black people from devastation, economic ruin, and the prison state.

But in 2016 some of the Black debate sparked by the presidential campaign has finally begun to open up. An old White man even gave those who needed it coming out of the Black unity stupor permission to talk about socialism.

We can only hope that space will get wider and deeper in the coming months.

ers. Even more, race baiting is one of the few tools Republicans have left to retain an ever-dwindling base. Again, their deafening silence was seen as tacit agreement.

There is a reason that morbidity and mortality rates in midlife among White Americans are on the rise. White Americans are killing themselves at alarming rates according to a recent report.

“When seen side by side with the mortality increase, declines in self-reported health and mental health, increased reports of pain, and greater difficulties with daily living show increasing distress among Whites in midlife after the late 1990s.”

The report concludes, “This increase for Whites was largely accounted for by increasing death rates from drug and alcohol poisonings, suicide, and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis.” Their Whiteness is failing them.

Bruce Dixon is managing editor of BlackAgendaReport.com.

Contact him at bruce.dixon@ blackagendareport.com. Click Individual activism on this story at www.flcourier.

A generation of “unapologeti- com to write your own response.

Speaking direct Now Donald Trump, a twicedivorced, three-time married and four-time bankrupted billionaire and newly proclaimed Christian says very overtly to America that Mexicans are drug dealers, rapists and murdering thieves and Muslims should be banned from the country.

The Republican leadership is now aghast. They spent all that time crafting covertly racist language and policies in such a way that they could deny racist motives by their accusers. Now they are left to ponder, how has Trump captured the party?

It’s simple. Trump is the Frankenstein that Republican’s covert, racist and xenophobic code language has created.

Now Republican leadership is attacking Trump with ads and op-eds, like the villagers attacked Frankenstein with pitchforks and torches. There’s a good reason why Trump’s “I want to make America great again” sounds a lot like Tom Tancredo’s Tea Party chant, “We want our country back.”

Trump is appealing to the White working-class, high-school educated American who feels betrayed. He/she was sold “the American dream” and told that their Whiteness, their White privilege would carry the day. More and more of them have come to realize that it’s no longer true and they are angry, very angry.

‘Resentment’ politics In his book “White Nationalism, Black Interests,” the late Dr. Ronald Walters called it the “politics of resentment.” Whites resent that people of color who they’ve been taught are inferior are “making a claim to equality with the dominant class to which they are not entitled.”

Their language Ironically, billionaire Trump is speaking their language. Trump is speaking directly to a growing number of angry and disaffected White Americans who feel betrayed. The Trumps of the world are watching their assets grow while these disaffected Americans see their wages stagnate and they have been convinced that it’s the fault of African-American’s and the “hordes of illegal Mexican immigrants” who are taking their jobs and depressing their wages.

Trump is saying very clearly what many Republicans, ultraconservatives and neo-cons have been saying with covert language.

He has “jumped their shark.” He’s using a gimmick to attract their interest and beating the Republican establishment at their own game. He is the Republican neocon Frankenstein.

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

NATION

TOJ A6

Research: Voter ID laws suppress Democrats and minorities

BY DANIEL WHEATON SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE (TNS)

SAN DIEGO — Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have created a new statistical model indicating that voter identification laws do what detractors claim — reduce turnout for minorities and those on the political left.

Overall, the researchers found, strict ID laws cause a reduction in Democratic turnout by 8.8 percentage points, compared with a reduction of 3.6 percentage points for Republicans.

The study focused on the 11 states with the strictest voter ID laws, generally requiring photo identification to cast a ballot. Researchers used a large voter survey database to compare turnout in those states to those in states with lesser or no ID requirements.

Several states have passed less strict ID laws.

But in 17 states including California, New York and Illinois, a more traditional honor system still applies at the ballot box.

Participation drop The ID requirements have been pushed by groups who say they want to protect the integrity of the ballot box, but critics say fraud is minimal and the real motivation is to suppress minority and liberal voters.

The report by professor Zoltan Hajnal, a UCSD political scientist, sheds no light on the motivations of lawmakers passing such requirements, but does indicate the laws have an effect on turnout.

“The analysis shows that strict identification laws have a differentially negative impact on the turnout of Hispanics, Blacks, AsianAmericans, and multi-racial Americans in primaries and general elections,” the report showed. “We also find that voter ID laws skew democracy toward those on the political right.”

Along racial lines, the researchers found, minority voter participation dropped an average of 4.7 percentage points among self-identified Hispanics, Blacks, AsianAmericans and mixed race individuals in general elections and 5.7 percentage points in primaries.

Effect of turnout According to the research, the effect on turnout based on ideology is also pronounced.

Self-identified strong liberals tend to turn out by 7.9 percentage points less when confronted with strict identification requirements. Strong conservatives vote at a higher rate, by 4.8 percentage points, in the strict ID environment, the research indicates.

Hajnal wrote the paper with UCSD researcher Na-

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

States with voter ID laws

MT OR

NV CA

MI

IA

NE CO

NY

WI

SD

WY UT

IL

IN

KY

MO

KS

PA OH

WV VA NC

TN AZ

ME NH MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC

ND MN

ID

Photo ID required ID required, non-photo accepted

VT

WA

OK

NV

AR MS AL

ID requested but not required

TX

SC GA

LA

AK FL

No document required HI Graphic: San Diego Union Tribune/TNS Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

Considering adopting voter ID law

Voter turnout after voter ID laws

No strict Strict photo ID photo ID

No strict Strict photo ID photo ID

General election

Primary election

By voter race

80% voter turnout 60% 40% 20% 0

Hispanic

Black

AsianAmerican

Mixed race

White

Graphic: San Diego Union Tribune/TNS Source: Voter Identification Laws and the Supression of Minority Votes, UC San Diego

zita Lajevardi and Lindsay Nielson of Bucknell University.

They used voter data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Studies database, maintained

by Harvard University. The database contained survey results for 50,000 respondents regarding elections from 2006 to 2014.

The authors say their paper contains more recent election data — from states with stricter laws — than previous research that found negligible impact on voter turnout.

Professor issues caution Their paper has been posted online and distrib-

uted among other political scientists. It has yet to withstand peer review or be chosen for publication in an academic journal, but Hajnal has been published repeatedly on matters of race and politics, in the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review and elsewhere.

He is the author of last year’s “White Backlash: Immigration, Race, and American Politics,” from Princeton University Press.

Richard Hasen, professor of law and political science at UC Irvine School of Law, cautioned against drawing conclusions from the paper, which is an outlier.

“Social science is not this kind of thing where

you have one study and it’s a smoking gun and that’s it,” Hasen said. “It’s a situation where you have a ton of studies and they all point in a particular direction.”

Hasen said many confounding factors and changing rules affect voter turnout.

Surveys show wide support for voter ID laws. A 2012 Pew Research Center poll found that 77 percent of registered voters support a photo ID requirement to vote.

For organizations looking to boost voter participation and engagement, voter ID laws present a hurdle.

Jeanne Brown, president of the San Diego League of Women Voters, said that voter ID laws create an inconvenience, resulting in lower turnout overall.

“I like to see any statistics the other side has on voter ID laws doing anything but restricting votes,” she said.

“There are very few cases of people trying to vote when they aren’t qualified to vote.”

Impact on Hispanics In the UCSD study, Hispanics show the largest drop in turnout under strict voter ID laws, followed by Asian-American and mixed race individuals. White individuals showed only a small decrease.

The researchers presented the evidence with a caveat: The reduction in votes could be caused by other factors such as strict ID states also having more rigid registration deadlines and fewer vote-by-mail options. Also, the paper says, strict voter ID laws may simply tend to pass in states that have other environmental factors intimidating minority voters.

“The effects of voter ID laws that we see here are eerily similar to the impact of measures like poll taxes, literacy tests, residency requirements, and at-large elections which were used by the white majority decades and centuries ago to help deny blacks many basic rights,” the paper noted.

“The nature of older barriers and current voter ID laws today remain eerily similar: they were both instituted by advocates who claimed they would help to ensure the integrity and legitimacy of democracy.”

More issues Both Lajevardi and Hajnal said that Hispanics may be turning up less frequently because of a broader set of issues including controversy over immigration policies and enforcement.

Rose Conde, secretary for the League of United Latin American Citizens of the Desert (LULAC), said a combination of barriers including the very process of getting an ID may explain why Hispanics are disproportionately affected by the laws.

“Sometimes it is expensive, and some people don’t want to pay the fees,” Conde said.

To boost participation, LULAC has been focusing on youth engagement in politics, because Conde said, they are the demographic most likely to have the proper IDs.

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IFE/FAITH

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Following in footsteps of C.J. Walker See page B3

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA

A ‘High Note’ for Mavis Staples See page B5

|

WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

SECTION

B

S

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The legend and legacy of pioneer NFL player

Sherman J. Howard is shown at an NFL convention in Florida in 2014.

New book chronicles life of Sherman J. Howard

Sherman J. Howard is on the second row, fourth from the left. He played with the Cleveland Browns in 1952 and 1953. After the NFL, Howard went on to have a successful career as a physical education teacher and high school coach.

BY FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

A

t age 91, Sherman J. Howard is considered the oldest living African-American NFL alumnus.

Howard’s professional football career included playing with the New York Yankees, which later became the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns. He was the 13th draft pick from the first draft of African-Americans in the NFL in 1949.

According to the NFL website, Howard played with the Yanks from 1949 to 1951 and the Browns in 1952 and 1953.

While a notable achievement in those days, he dealt with his share of racial discrimination as a Black player.

Vietta L. Robinson, a Chicago native who now lives in Altamonte Springs and owns a holistic health company, recently released a book that chronicles her father’s life – as a legendary NFL player and his life after football in Chicago, where he lives. This is the first book written about Howard.

Interviewed dad

This is the first book published exclusively about the former NFL player.

Mr. Howard is shown with his children – son Sherwin and daughters Vietta and Yvette.

“Sherman J. Howard: Football and Beyond – The Legend and Legacy of an African-American NFL Pioneer’’ recounts his years serving on the battlefield during World War II and his life as a trailblazer in college athletics and professional football.

The book shares insight on his faith, mentors, family and a wellregarded 26-year teaching and coaching career.

Six years ago, Robinson found a football card on ebay for $45 and realized the significance of her dad to the sport.

In 2009, she traveled home to Chicago with a tape recorder and a list of questions to ask her father.

From 2009 to 2015, she hired editors and consulted with an historian to develop the book. She noted that most of the people who knew him as a player are deceased.

From Army to college Howard moved to Chicago

“...He invested his time and energy into the lives of thousands of Chicago youth. His former students honored him last year at a banquet in Chicago for his contribution to their success. This appreciation has been ongoing for many years.”

ity relationships he developed with his teammates. His Nevada teammates refused to play if Howard wasn’t allowed to play.

“When traveling with his University of Nevada-Reno football team or the NFL team, Black players were not allowed to stay in the hotels. However, there was always a prominent Black person/family in the city they played in who would welcome them into their homes.’’

One of his teammates with the Yankees in 1949 was Tom Landry, who went on to become the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys. They remained friends after their time as players. Landry passed away in 2000.

Treasured coach Vietta L. Robinson daughter of Sherman J. Howard with his mother at age 9 from New Orleans. He attended Wendell Phillips High School and was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in the segregated armed forces during World War II. In June 1945, he ran track in the “G.I. Olympics” in London.

As a veteran, he took advantage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, best known as the “G.I. Bill” and went to college.

Howard became a standout player at the University of Nevada-Reno. His daughter tells of discrimination he dealt with on the college and the professional level.

“He always had to deal with Jim Crow laws but he had no fears.

His mother taught him White folks had a problem not him. He endured a lot of name calling from the stands. There were always racial slurs like “There’s a nigger in the wood pile,’’ Robinson recalls about her dad’s years in football.

She noted that his fondest memories included the qual-

Howard retired from the NFL with a knee injury in 1954. He went on to teach physical education and coached track, football and basketball at Harlan High School in Chicago for 26 years (1959-1985).

“During those years, he invested his time and energy into the lives of thousands of Chicago youth. His former students honored him last year at a banquet in Chicago for his contribution to their success. This appreciation has been ongoing for many years,” Robinson said.

Robinson said her dad remains in good health with no signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s or CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) brain disease. He lives with his wife of 38 years in a Chicago suburb along with his 30-year old son. Howard also has another daughter.

Dr. Michael Dennis Young, a former Harlan High School student and a former vice chancellor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said this about Howard: “Coach Howard taught us how to play football, but more importantly he taught us how to be men. Men in the sense of living a life of hard work, values and integrity.’’

For more information about the book, visit www.shermanjhoward.com.

CALENDAR

B2

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

STOJ

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.

Miami: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Feb. 1821. Artistic director is Miami native Robert Battle.

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.

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

Tampa: The UniverSoul Circus will be at Raymond James Stadium through Feb. 21.

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.

STEPHEN ‘RAGGA’ MARLEY

The Gasparilla Music Festival on March 12-13 will include Steven “Ragga’’ Marley, Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. The event is at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa. Tickets: GMFtickets.com.

JANELLE MONAE

JAZZMEIA HORN

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

Germain Arena on March 15 at 8 p.m.

on March 12 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Amalie Arena in Tampa on March 13 and AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on March 15.

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 e-mail missgail52@gmail.com.

Miami: Beyonce’s Formation World Tour stops at Marlins Park on April 27 and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on April 29.

Jacksonville: Rihanna: Anti World Tour 2016 makes stops

Estero: Nick Cannon will present “Wild and Out at the

Miami: The Lee Boys a sacred steel ensemble, will give a free concert on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. on the Cultural Plaza at the History Miami Museum: More information: Historymiami.org.

Jacksonville: The Black Violin performs March 3 at the Ritz Theatre and Museum at 7 p.m.

‘Behind the Smile’: The rise and fall of Carol Moseley Braun

Inspired new hope Moseley Braun, a longtime Illinois state politician, leapt onto the national scene as feminist voters exerted political muscle.

Many women were enraged by the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court despite Anita Hill’s damning testimony of his sexual harassment. Some male lawmakers brushed off Hill’s claims as inconsequential, inciting women to fight back — at the ballot box.

Moseley Braun’s charisma galvanized voters of all backgrounds and inspired new hope in American politics. She upset incumbent Alan Dixon in the Democratic primary and went on to win the election.

Her campaign served as a harbinger for another Black rising star from the rough side of Chicago: President Obama.

“Behind the Smile,” however, carries a tragic undertone. After 1992, Moseley Braun has never won another election.

Lost re-election During her first Senate campaign, Moseley Braun faced accusations of helping her mother commit Medicaid fraud and avoiding taxes on a financial windfall. Toward the end of the campaign, staffers compiled a report detailing sexual harassment of campaign workers by Matthews.

As a senator, Moseley Braun made trips with Matthews to Nigeria without notifying the State Department or the U.S. ambassa-

Cape Canaveral: The Original Wailers and Third World will perform at the Port at Port Canaveral on Feb. 28. The show starts at 3 p.m.

6 p.m. at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. More information: 954357-6210.

Jacksonville: Herb Alpert takes the stage March 4 at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville.

The show starts at 8 p.m.

Orlando: 2 Chainz will perform at Firestone Live on Feb. 26. The show starts at 10 p.m.

Tampa: The Festival of Laughs featuring Mike Epps, Tony Rock and Cocoa Brown is March 19 at the USF Sun Dome.

Fort Lauderdale: Rasheda Johnson will discuss her book, “Empowered by His Purpose, on Feb. 20 from 2 to

Miami Gardens: The Dr. Fidel S. Goldson Sr. 5K Run in the Gardens event with Vice Mayor Felicia Robinson is Feb.

Miami Beach: Catch Kirk Franklin at the Jackie Gleason Theater on March 15. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Prince protégé Vanity dies at 57 Denise Katrina Matthews, also known as Vanity, died Feb. 15 at a hospital in Fremont, Calif. She was 57.

Matthews was the lead singer of the Prince group Vanity 6 from the 1980s and 1990s. She died from kidney failure and an abdominal illness.

Matthews was born on Jan. 4, 1959, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She was a model in Canada before moving to the U.S. She met Prince at the 1980 American Music Awards and they began dating, according to People Magazine.

BY BIANCA TORRES THE SEATTLE TIMES TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

In 1992, the election of four women to the U.S. Senate was historic enough to prompt the slogan, Year of the Woman.

Among that group, one stood out: Carol Moseley Braun, the first African-American woman to serve in the Senate.

In her book, “Behind the Smile: A Story of Carol Moseley Braun’s Historic Senate Campaign,” author Jeannie Morris delivers a behind-the-scenes view of the inner workings of one very erratic and problematic, but ultimately successful, run for office.

The tale would’ve been gripping enough as one of an unlikely candidate beating the odds. But instead, it twists into one of a brilliant career dimmed because of poor personal choices. In this case, Moseley Braun let a romantic relationship with her campaign manager, Kgosie Matthews, thwart her promise.

The jazz singer performs Feb. 26 at the Ritz Theatre and Museum in Jacksonville.

Singer, actress

BOOK REVIEW “Behind the Smile: A Story of Carol Moseley Braun’s Historic Senate Campaign” by Jeannie Morris; Agate Midway (384 pages, $27) dor at a time when the United States had issued sanctions against that nation. Those trips garnered enough backlash to cost Moseley Braun re-election in 1998.

Juiciest material missing Morris, an accomplished journalist who now lives in Seattle, published the book more than two decades after the 1992 election, because for years Moseley Braun resisted airing the story.

The delay in publication allows for some retrospection. At times, the writing is a notebook-style recounting of Morris’ time embedded with the candidate and her own insights as a supporter. Other times, she uses documents, press clippings and interviews to round out the story.

Morris, however, fails to dish out the juiciest material. She makes numerous references to Moseley Braun and Matthews’ relationship, but sidesteps the details of how that romance materialized and later dissolved.

Perhaps Morris never learned those details from the two people involved. That omission left a glaring hole in the storytelling.

Not enough The campaign narrative provides enough of an engine to be engaging, but leaves the reader wishing for more of Moseley Braun the woman, not just the magnetic candidate.

“Behind the Smile” nonetheless offers a fascinating look at how personality, gender, race, and personal relationships mix in American politics through the story of a remarkable woman — who could’ve gone much farther than she did.

Her biggest hit came in 1982 with “Nasty Girl,’’ a song produced by Prince.

The group toured with Prince on his 1999 tour, but she quit right after that.

She went on to sign a solo record deal with Motown, and starred in movies like “The Last Dragon” and “Action Jackson.”

She was previously married to NFL star Anthony Smith who recently was

Actor reflects on Owens as humanitarian

BY NY MAGEE EURWEB

Stephan James wasn’t director Stephen Hopkins first choice to play African-American athlete Jesse Owens in the upcoming biopic “Race.’’

John Boyega was the frontrunner for the role but then he landed a major part in a little film called “Star Wars,” and James secured the role.

“He’s a great talent, and he reminds me so much of Jesse,” Hopkins said of James. “He comes off as a very sweet and saintly individually but inside, he’s made of steel, and he’s got the anger that you’d have if you’re an African-American living in America in those days.”

“He has a grace around him,” Hopkins added. “We lucked out because the guy really understands honor and dignity and he’s willing to stick himself out there to play this story.”

Playing nationwide The sports-drama centers on Owen’s early life leading up to and including his triumph at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, where he won four gold medals.

20 from 6 a.m. to noon at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex. Register online at goldsonspine.com.

sentenced to a life sentence for murder.

Just months ago, she set up a GoFundMe page after having been diagnosed with sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis, an inflammation of the small intestines.

Denise She had battled a drug Matthews addition, and her a 1994 overdose, her kidneys were destroyed. She had to undergo nearly daily dialysis treatments.

Active in ministry She gave up the entertainment business and drugs and became a bornagain Christian in the mid-1990s. She remained active in her local church up until her death. Reports say she was in church the evening of Feb. 13 and told the congregation she was “ready to go home.”

She is survived by her mother and three sisters.

Information from EURWEB was used in compiling this report.

“I was attracted to just him as a person. I learned so many things about him as a man, as a father. It just blew me away to learn about the type of humanitarian he was.

He was a person who treated everyone exactly how he wanted Stephan to be treated. A person James who was colorblind,’’ said James, 21.

“All he saw was the love for his sport.

Through that, he was able to transcend not only the sport but the world, and that’s what brought me to him mostly. Everyone thinks of Jesse Owens and they hear this big athlete, they think of this big superstar – fastest man alive.

But to me I was like, ‘How do I capture him as a human being and show people a level a humanity to this hero?’’

James said he gained insight about Owens from his daughters, who were “very instrumental in the filmmaking process from the beginning.”

“I think that when people see this film, they’ll see why it really doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from. You’re fully able to accomplish great things. There were so many barriers that Jesse broke down, simply because he loved running. He loved it so bad that he wasn’t going to let nothing or no one stop him,’’ James added.

“Race’’ opened in theaters nationwide on Feb. 19.

STOJ

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

BUSINESS

B3

Perseverance, skill credited for historic growth in Black female entrepreneurship

BY EDNA KANE-WILLIAMS TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

Given the pioneering success of Madam C. J. Walker, America’s first selfmade Black woman millionaire, people wanted to know how she got started in business ownership only decades after the end of slavery in America.

Her answer was short and simple: “I got my start by giving myself a start.”

As for her astronomical success as owner of an Indianapolis-based hair and skin care factory, Walker had yet another pithy saying: “Perseverance is my motto.”

More than a century later, these morsels of wisdom still work – at least according to economic experts and advocates who have observed the historic rise of Black women entrepreneurs over the past 18 years.

‘Creating their own’ According to an American Express Open study released in 2015, there has been a 322 percent growth in Black femaleowned businesses since 1997, making Black women the fastest-growing entrepreneurial group in America. The same selfstart, perseverance and faith employed by Walker is still motivating Black women in 2016, says Julianne Malveaux, an economist and former president of Bennett College for Women.“African-American women have earned degrees, have moved up the ladder, and have found corporate America some-

Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, created hair products for African-American hair and was one of the first American women to become a selfmade millionaire. times wanting and have found the mainstream difficult,” Malveaux said.

“Therefore, the 322 percent increase is a function of people being very skilled and talented and not finding space for themselves in the traditional pipelines.

And so they are going into creating their own.”

Ownership stats Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, agrees.

“Women of color, when you look at the statistics, are impacted more significantly by all of the negative factors that women face.

It’s not surprising that they

have chosen to invest in themselves,” Dorfman told Fortune magazine.

Yet, Malveaux points out, it is crucial to note that despite the growth of Black women entrepreneurs due to their talent and tenacity, they are still a huge minority when compared to White women.

BlackEnterprise.com reports that women in general now own 30 percent of all businesses in the United States, accounting for some 9.4 million firms. African-American women control 14 percent of these companies, or an estimated 1.3 million businesses.

In contrast, White women own 6.1 million, the li-

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

An advertisement shows images of cold cream as well as hair and complexion products manufactured by Madam C.J. Walker. on’s share of the womenowned firms, according to the National Women’s Business Council.

Still lagging Generally, Black businesses owned by men and women still lag grossly behind those owned by Whites, says Malveaux.

“The issue is that AfricanAmericans are less likely to have access to capital and African-American women are even less likely than that. In terms of access to capital, no African American has a level playing field.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2014 that

Black-owned businesses, which once received 8.2 percent of all loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, had dropped to only 2.3 percent.

Realizing their worth From a Black man’s perspective, it has been inspiring to observe the growth of entrepreneurship among determined Black women, says Howard R. Jean, co-founder of the Black Male Entrepreneurship Institute. He concludes the growth is spurred, in part,

by Black women increasingly realizing their worth.

“It comes to a point when women have stopped begging for a seat in the boardroom and began creating their own,” Jean remarked.

“Realizing their value on the open market and capitalizing on the certification pools that increase their opportunities for success in business, women are now in a position of influence in the business community.”

This story is special to the Trice Edney News Wire from AARP. Edna Kane-Williams is senior vice president for multicultural leadership at AARP.

Study: Blacks participating more in stock investing Over half of African-American investors surveyed by Ariel said workplace plans were the most important reason for becoming an investor.

BY GAIL MARKSJARVIS CHICAGO TRIBUNE (TNS)

Long fearful of the stock market, Black Americans generally have stayed clear of stocks and mutual funds for generations, and consequently many with solid incomes have lagged far behind Whites in accumulating wealth.

But the trend is starting to turn, with 401(k) plans making Blacks less reluctant than past generations about investing, a national study by Chicago-based Ariel Investments shows.

And if the trend continues, Black Americans will start to ease the massive wealth inequality that exists between Black and White Americans, said Mellody Hobson, Ariel’s president.

Currently, about 67 percent of African-Americans with incomes of at least $50,000 have money invested in stocks or stock mutual funds. That compares with 60 percent in 2010 and 57 percent in 1998, the first year that Ariel started doing national surveys to compare investing attitudes and behavior of the races.

Over half of AfricanAmerican investors surveyed by Ariel said workplace plans were the most important reason for becoming an investor. During the last few years, employ-

MICHAEL TERCHA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

Desean Moton, 26, of Chicago, gets assistance at the Center for Economic Progress on Feb. 1 in Chicago. The center offers help with tax returns and other financial services. ers have been enrolling their employees automatically in 401(k) plans without seeking permission first. As a result, employees have ended up with stock and bond investments that have been growing during the bull market that began in 2009.

2000 crash impact In 1998, 81 percent of Whites were investing in the stock market. Now 86 percent of Whites with incomes of at least $50,000 have stock or stock fund investments — the highest level Ariel has ever found.

Both White and Black Americans shied away from the stock market after the 49 percent crash in 2000-2001 and the 57 per-

cent crash in late 2007 to early 2009, according to Ariel surveys.

The 2000 crash came after a euphoria about the stock market and tremendous hype over technology stocks that turned out to be misleading. Investing

by Blacks had hit its highest level before that crash scared away investors.

At the peak, 74 percent of Blacks had stock investments either directly or through mutual funds, according to an Ariel survey from 2002. After the scary decline, Black involvement fell to 61 percent, and after the housing crisis and recession, participation by Blacks in the stock market fell to 57 percent.

The lowest level for

Whites during the disappointing period was 76 percent.

Optimistic about future The question not answered by the Ariel survey is what will happen if the stock market falls hard again. The interviews for the survey were done last summer, before the recent stock market slump. In January, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 5.5 percent.

Hobson said she was encouraged by the optimism the survey found among Blacks and sees it as a potential opening to build more investing behavior among African-Americans.

Although only 50 percent of Whites are optimistic about the economy, about 75 percent of Blacks said they feel hopeful about the economy, and 65 percent of Blacks thought the economy had either recovered from the recession or was on its way to a full recovery.

Blacks were hit hardest of any racial group in the 2008 financial crisis and recession and did not bounce back like Whites, in part because the primary source of wealth for Blacks was their homes and not the stock market, according to research by St. Louis Federal Reserve economist William Emmons.

Wealth levels After early 2009, the

stock market climbed more than 150 percent, restoring wealth to people with those investments.

Many Blacks had trouble recovering because they had little equity in their homes, lost jobs, and could not take advantage of low interest rates to refinance, said Emmons.

In 2014, he found that the median Hispanic and Black wealth levels were about 90 percent lower than median White wealth even though income levels were only 40 percent lower.

That suggested the investment choices played some role in the difference.

“The larger wealth gap could be due to Hispanics and Blacks investing in low-return assets like housing, as well as to borrowing at high interest rates,” he said. Historically, he noted, homes appreciate at close to the rate of inflation while stocks — despite scary periods of decline known as bear markets — have averaged much stronger returns.

Since 1926, the average annual return has been about 10 percent.

Prior to the housing crash, Ariel surveys showed African-Americans were strong believers in housing wealth. They saw homes as stable investments. But that has changed dramatically. In 2004, 61 percent said real estate was the “best overall investment.” But that fell to 30 percent in 2010 and was only 37 percent in Ariel’s most recent survey.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Blacks saying the stock market is the “best overall investment” jumped from 28 percent in 2004 to 41 percent in the recent survey.

B4

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

STOJ

THE ENTREPRENEUR

THE SINGER

THE EXPLORER

THE ACTIVIST

Madame C.J. Walker, 1867-1919

Mamie Smith, 1883-1946

Matthew Alexander Henson, 1866-1955

A. Philip Randolph, 1889-1979

She was born Sarah Breedlove, daughter of a poor farm couple who died while she was still a little girl. She was married at 14; when her husband died, she supported herself as a washerwoman. In 1905, Walker perfected a formula for straightening the hair of Black women; it was the beginning of a cosmetics empire that, by the time of her death would make her a millionaire — one of the first Black Americans to achieve that status, if not the first.

Walker denied herself no luxury — her mansion at Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y., is said to have been a regal showplace. But the hair-care magnate was also a generous contributor to good causes; she funded scholarships and gave to the indigent and the needy.

Bessie Smith was better known, but Mamie got there first. Her hit, “Crazy Blues,” recorded in 1920, was the first blues vocal ever recorded and also the first recording by an African-American woman. Despite that distinction, Smith did not think of herself primarily as a blues singer — she was a vaudevillian who sang many different styles. The Cincinnati-born vocalist spent the ‘20s and ‘30s barnstorming across the United States with her Jazz Hounds, a band that included such luminaries as James “Bubber’’ Miley and Willie “The Lion” Smith.

On the day in 1887 that he first met Robert Peary, Henson, though only about 21 years old, already had experience as a stevedore, seaman, bellhop and coachman. Peary thought Henson might make a valuable valet on Peary’s attempt to become the first man to reach the North Pole. But Peary soon discovered that Henson’s abilities and experiences made him even more valuable as a colleague. As Peary once put it, “I couldn’t get along without him.” The men mounted seven expeditions to the Arctic, including the last, in 1908 and 1909, when they finally stood together at the top of the world, the first explorers to do so.

His courtly, Sphinx-like demeanor belied the soul of a fighter. Randolph, a leader of the “New Negro” movement of the early 20th century, was tapped

by Black railroad workers to lead their fledgling union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in 1925. It would take years for the union to even get the Pullman Co. to recognize them, years more before an agreement was hammered out, but when it was over, Randolph and his union had won workplace concessions once unthinkable for Black employees. In later years, Randolph was instrumental in pushing President Franklin Roosevelt to do away with segregation in the defense industry. He was also an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.

THE JOURNALIST

Adam Clayton Powell Sr., 1865-1953

John Russwurm, 1799-1851

Although he was technically born a slave in Jamaica, Russwurm enjoyed many privileges of freedom because his father was a White American bachelor. His father, also named John Russwurm, provided a quality education for his son at Bowdoin College in Maine (he graduated in 1826, the third African-American to graduate from an American college). When the elder Russwurm relocated to Massachusetts, he took the boy with him. In 1827, this child of privilege took up the plight of the American slave. With his partner, Samuel Cornish, he founded Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper published in the United States. The paper’s then-controversial credo: Complete freedom and equality for African slaves. As the editors put it in their first editorial, it was time for Black people to plead “our own cause.”

ometimes, history forgets.

Sometimes, the big names everyone knows crowd out the smaller ones fewer people recall. Sometimes, when it is time to apportion honor and assign recognition, men and women who ought to be singled out are not.

And so, those who inspired the dreams, fanned the flames and stood in the thick of revolutionary change can find themselves left out of the books, short-changed in the reminiscences.

In this annual season of Black history’s celebration, much will be said, and deservedly so, about giants such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois. But here, in 10 fields of American endeavor, are 10 other names, lesser-known women and men whose contributions and heroism we should remember, always.

— Leonard Pitts Jr., The Miami Herald

He was the grandson of slaves, the father of a flamboyant namesake congressman and a towering figure in his own right. As a boy, Powell, a Virginia native, is said to have learned the alphabet in a day. A year later, he was reading from the Bible. A grandfather nudged Powell toward the ministry and he eventually served as pastor of churches in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The pastorate that made him famous, however, was at Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City. Under Powell’s leadership, Abyssinian practiced a social gospel that did not limit itself to the pulpit and pews; the church operated a facility for the aged, helped feed the poor, and agitated for racial and economic justice. By the mid1930s, Abyssinian claimed 14,000 members, making it the largest Protestant congregation in the United States.

THE POLITICIAN

THE FILMMAKER

THE SOLDIER

THE FIGHTER

P.B.S. Pinchback, 1837-1921

Oscar Micheaux, 1884-1951

Henry Johnson, 1897*-1929

Jack Johnson, 1878-1946

Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was the free-born son of a White planter and a woman the planter owned and later freed. In 1862, he was assigned the duty of recruiting African-American volunteers for the Union Army forces, but resigned his captain’s commission in protest of the discriminatory treatment of his men. During Reconstruction, he was a leader in the founding of the Louisiana Republican Party and was elected president pro tempore of the state Senate in 1871. Pinchback became lieutenant governor when the incumbent died. Then, the governor was suspended during impeachment proceedings, and Pinchback succeeded him, too, serving as acting governor of Louisiana from December 1872 to January 1873. He was the first African-American governor in history and, until L. Douglas Wilder became chief executive of Virginia in 1989, the only one.

Oscar Micheaux came of age during the days when filmmakers routinely ignored African-Americans or confined them to subservient, demeaning roles. This was, paradoxically, the key to his success. During the ’20s and ’30s, Micheaux wrote, directed and produced about 30 films keyed to Black audiences. Micheaux operated on a budget of next to nothing, raising money directly from his audiences. Thus, there was no such thing as “Take two” in a Micheaux movie — not even when an actor blew his lines. Not surprisingly, the movies were usually awful. Also not surprisingly, an audience starving to see itself reflected on screen flocked to his films. Micheaux, a consummate promoter, would travel from town to town, screening his current movie while raising funds for the next.

Early on the morning of May 14, 1918, Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts were standing sentry on a bridge near the Aisne River in France when, without warning, they were attacked by a force of 32 Germans. Cut off from their regimental headquarters and armed only with pistols, knives and a few hand grenades, the two Black soldiers somehow stood off the much larger force, pressing the fight even though Johnson was wounded three times and Roberts twice. At one point, the Germans rushed the pair and took Roberts prisoner. By now reduced to using only a bolo knife and the butt of his empty pistol, Johnson nevertheless charged the Germans. He managed to wound as many as 10 of them and to kill at least four more.

The startled Germans dropped their prisoner and ran. Johnson and Roberts were both awarded France’s highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre. *Approximate year of birth

Before there was Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis or Jackie Robinson, there was John Arthur Johnson, a boxer who became history’s first Black heavyweight champion in 1908 with a victory over Tommy Burns. Johnson spent 15 rounds whipping Burns, carrying on a running dialogue with him as he did so. Finally police stopped the bout. The victory was all the more impressive in light of the fact that Burns’ manager served as referee — a concession Johnson had to make in order to get Burns to agree to the fight.

Johnson’s victory polarized the nation — a state of tension made worse by the fact that he was a swaggering, boastful champion given to publicly romancing and marrying White women. Proponents of White supremacy seized upon former champion Jim Jeffries as their “great White hope” for snatching the title back from this unruly Black man. But the overweight Jeffries, who returned from retirement for the bout, was no match for Johnson, who toyed with him for 15 rounds before knocking him out.

PHOTO CREDITS: PHOTOS OF P.B.S. PINCHBACK AND ADAM CLAYTON POWELL SR. COURTESY OF THE OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY; A. PHILIP RANDOLPH COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES; MADAME C.J. WALKER COURTESY OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE; PHOTO OF OSCAR MICHEAUX COUTESY OF SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ARCHIVES; JOHN RUSSWURM COURTESY OF BOWDOIN COLLEGE; JACK JOHNSON COURTESY OF MIKE DELISA; HENRY JOHNSON COURTESY OF THE HENRY JOHNSON MEMORIAL; PHOTO OF MAMIE SMITH COURTESY OF FRANK DRIGGS; MATTHEW ALEXANDER HENSON COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

STOJ

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

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Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

Four-time Grammy Award winner Lionel Richie, was honored at Monday’s show. On Feb. 13, he was named the MusicCares Person of the Year in recognition of his music career and charitable work for causes including AIDS, breast cancer, human rights, famine, poverty and human trafficking.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE

Actress Danai Gurira of “The Walking Dead’’ is the playwright behind “Eclipsed,’’ which will be staged in coming weeks on Broadway. The play, which is getting a lot of buzz, has a Black female cast, which includes Oscarwinning actress Lupita Nyong’o.

Mavis Staples aimed for joyful with new album Staples said. “I loved that idea because the opposite has been true for so long in my life.”

And then there was Justin Vernon’s reflective ballad “Dedicated,” which Staples transformed into a song about lifelong friendship.

BY GREG KOT CHICAGO TRIBUNE (TNS)

Mavis Staples had only one request when some A-list artists were approached to write songs for her forthcoming album, “Livin’ on a High Note” (Anti). “I wanted joyful,” she said. “I’ve been making people cry down through the years, and this time I wanted to make them smile.”

But joy in the Staples lexicon is a complicated emotion. She grew up singing gospel — a genre in which salvation is never far from earthly struggle — in South Side Chicago churches in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Her family group the Staple Singers emerged as among the most outspoken musical voices against racial oppression in the ‘60s and ‘70s. And now, rallying cries such as “Ferguson,” “Freddie Gray” and “Laquan McDonald” echo the most brutal hardships of the civil-rights era.

Life story on HBO A recent documentary about the singer, “Mavis!,” which will debut Feb. 29 on HBO, highlights the relationship between Mavis and her older sister Yvonne, who helped coax Mavis to resume her music career after their father’s death in 2000. Now Yvonne has retired from her long-held position as her sister’s backing vocalist. Dementia prevents her from touring.

“That one got me,” Mavis Staples says of the song. “I think about Yvonne when I sing that, how I fought to keep her with me till I just couldn’t keep her any more. I had to let her go and have her stay home with some really good caregivers while I’m traveling. I sing that song and I get choked up every time.”

Challenging assignment It was a language that Neko Case embraced. Her song “History Now” is one of the standouts on “Livin’ on a High Note,” and it was a challenge for Case, who had never written a song for another artist before.

“When they asked me to write a song for Mavis, I thought it would be the ultimate, but it was also kind of scary,” she remarked.

“I watched a show in which she talked about why the Staple Singers sang certain songs as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

There were horrible things to talk about, but they still managed to be uplifting.”

Case “didn’t think it was right for me as a White person to translate what they said from an African-American perspective,” so she widened her lens to encompass the struggles of women, the gay community, and all people who have felt left out or voiceless.

“What do we do with this history now?” the song asks. “How do we dismantle the sorrow and rage?” Staples turned the song into a stirring duet with one of her backing vocalists, Donny Gerrard.

In her ‘prayer room’ Case says her demo was “a lot

‘Uniting spirit’

RICK MAJEWSKI/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

Mavis Staples performs at FarmAid30 on Sept. 19, 2015 in Chicago. darker,” but Staples underlined the resilience just below the surface. “I was totally bawling when I first heard it,” Case said. “That’s how they (Staples and Gerrard) are. They can just kill you with their voices.”

Producer M. Ward, who contributed two songs to the album, tried to stay out of the way of Mavis and the songs as much as possible.

“The chemistry between Mavis and her band and backing singers was already built in,” Ward said. “We had a week with Mavis in the studio, and with more time, we could have recorded twice as many songs (12 made the final cut).

“The most surprising thing to me was how quickly Mavis came

into the studio and cut these tracks. She called her little vocal booth her ‘prayer room,’ and we ended up using first and second takes most of the time. When you have that kind of singer and force and energy, you just let it happen because anything too artsy-fartsy or oblique (in the production) would only ruin it.”

‘First-take girl’ For Staples, the notion of capturing the moment was ingrained at an early age. Her late father and Staple Singers patriarch, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, “had always told us, from day one, we gotta rehearse,” Staples said. “You listen to the songs, get your feeling for them and know

where you want to take them. I’d get embarrassed if I got behind the microphone and didn’t know what to do. So you prepare. I’m a first-take girl.”

Because the history of the Civil Rights Movement is so interwoven with Staples’ life, she made many of the songs recorded for the new album personal as much as political.

On Ward’s “MLK Song,” which quotes lines from a speech that Staples saw family friend Martin Luther King give in the ‘60s, the singer says she found herself crying over some of the words. Nick Cave’s “Jesus Lay Down Beside Me” flips the roles in an abiding spiritual relationship.

“I read the lyrics, and in the song I’m comforting the Lord,”

The singer’s ability to burrow inside a song and make it her own amazed Ward. The joy was not always apparent in the songs as originally written or as performed on a demo, but the singer had a knack for finding it.

“If there is a window into a song or a lyric that can take you or the listener to a spiritual place, she will jump through it and everyone will follow her,” Ward said. “After seeing the live show, I saw something that I see very rarely. I remember seeing it with Pete Seeger also, the ability to unite thousands of people into some kind of cause that is hard to put your finger on. (Staples and Seeger) know what it is, and how to get people there.

“It’s a spiritual element but also a uniting spirit. If a lyric has something that could possibly be something that brings people together, then she will put the exclamation point on it.”

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FROM FAMILY FEATURES

No matter what kind of events you have on your social calendar, you can pop up delicious treats that are sure to be a hit.

Whether hosting a get-together for the guys and tuning into the game or having a night in with the girls, freshly popped popcorn, which is naturally low in fat and calories, non-GMO and gluten free, can help you please every palate.

Sweet, spicy, salty or served in more non-traditional ways, the possibilities are endless, and perfect for everything from date night to a family movie night or even a sleepover or kids’ party. And since it’s healthy and whole grain, popcorn is a satisfying snack suitable for every occasion that you can feel good about serving.

Find more versatile, nutritious recipes for your next event at popcorn.org.

POPCORN AND PEANUT TRUFFLES Yield: About 30 pieces 6 cups popped popcorn 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup honey In large bowl, stir popcorn and peanuts together; set aside.

In microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips 10 seconds. Stir chips and repeat, stirring after each 10 seconds, until chips are melted. Warm honey in microwave 10 seconds and stir into chocolate until well blended.

Pour chocolate mixture over popcorn mixture and stir until popcorn is evenly coated. With small ice cream scoop, push popcorn mixture into scoop and release onto wax paper to form truffles.

Refrigerate until firm.

Note: Truffles can be stored in an airtight container up to 5 days.

FOOD

FEBRUARY 19 – FEBRUARY 25, 2016

TOASTED COCONUT AND CHOCOLATE POPCORN Yield: 10 cups 10 cups popped popcorn 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional) 1 cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 bag (7 ounces) shredded coconut, toasted Place popcorn in large bowl; set aside.

In small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and coconut extract; stir until melted and combined.

Pour over popcorn, coating well. Spread popcorn onto large cookie sheet.

In glass measuring cup, melt chocolate chips and vegetable oil in microwave on low heat until smooth. Drizzle over popcorn. Immediately sprinkle coconut over popcorn mixture; cool.

Break into pieces and serve.

POPCORN PARTY PIZZA Yield: 8 slices 3 tablespoons butter 1 bag (10.5 ounces) mini marshmallows 2 quarts popped popcorn 1 tube (.68 ounces) red piping gel 1 package red raspberry fruit roll-ups green jelly beans coconut candy-coated chocolate pieces Spray 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In large saucepan over medium heat, heat butter.

Stir in marshmallows until melted.

Stir in popcorn until well coated.

Spread mixture evenly onto prepared pizza pan.

Drizzle red piping gel over “pizza” to make “sauce.”

S

Cut small circles (about 1 1/4 inches in diameter) from fruit roll-up and place on pizza for “pepperoni” slices.

Decorate as desired with jelly beans, coconut and candies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into wedges to serve.

CHEESY PEPPERONI POPCORN Yield: 6-8 cups 1/4 cup nonfat Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves Popcorn and Peanut Truffles 1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves 1/8 teaspoon dried sage black pepper, to taste 12 cups popped popcorn 3/4 cup turkey pepperoni, cut into bitesize bits olive oil cooking spray In small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, sage and pepper; mix well.

Place cooked popcorn and turkey pepperoni in large bowl; spray lightly with cooking spray.

Sprinkle popcorn and pepperoni with cheese mixture and toss to coat evenly.

COOKIES ’N CREAM POPCORN Yield: 12 cups 12 cups popped popcorn 1package (11 ounces) white chocolate chips 2 teaspoons coconut oil 15 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped Place popcorn in large bowl; set aside.

In medium saucepan on low heat, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil; stir until blended.

Pour melted chocolate over popcorn, stirring until well-coated. Stir in chopped Oreos.

Spread mixture on baking sheet and chill until chocolate has set. Break into pieces to serve.

Toasted Coconut and Chocolate Popcorn