Florida Courier - February 28, 2014

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Brothers at barbershop open up about mental health

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VOLUME 22 NO. 9

Page B1

www.flcourier.com

FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 6, 2014

SUFFERING IN SILENCE The stigma associated with mental illness, mistrust of the health care system, and fear of ‘putting my business in the street’ are some of the factors preventing Black Americans from getting the help they need.

BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN FLORIDA COURIER

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

The days of declaring that suicide is a White man’s disease are long over. Legendary “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, age 75, shot himself in the head on Feb. 1, 2012. Ten months later, Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher, 25, died the same way – after murdering the mother of his infant son. And just six months ago, 29-year-old former Disney star Lee Thompson Young similarly ended his life via a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shocking deaths of these Black men continued to refute the Black

“no suicide” belief that has existed for generations. The numbers belie that belief. Reports show that African-American men commit suicide at nearly five times the rate of Black women. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for Black males between 15 and 24 – after homicides and accidents.

‘Post-traumatic slave syndrome’ Although African-Americans are less likely than Whites to have a major depressive disorder, the condition tends to be more chronic and severe when they do have the disorder. Still, trying to get Black men to

seek treatment when they have “more than the blues’’ remains a great hurdle. In their groundbreaking book, “Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis among African-Americans,” Dr. Alvin Poussaint and Amy Alexander explored the subject of “post-traumatic slavery syndrome,” described as the unique physical and emotional perils for Black people that are the legacy of slavery and persistent racism. “The persistent presence of racism, despite the significant legal, social and political progress made during the last half of the twentieth century has created a physiological risk for

DR. JOHN SILVANUS WILSON JR. / 11th PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

Morehouse’s new ‘top Man’

See SUFFERING, Page A2

‘Shoot first’ debate continues Law examined two years after Trayvon killing FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

Two years after Trayvon Martin’s death, Florida’s “stand your ground” – or “shoot first” law, depending on the perspective – remains a flash point in a still unsettled national debate over the limits of self-defense. After a Jacksonville jury this month failed to decide whether Michael Dunn murdered 17-year-old Jordan Davis, the same questions about the law surfaced anew: Is it too vague or too confusing? Is it being applied as the Legislature intended? And what role did it play in George Zimmerman’s acquittal and Dunn’s partially hung jury?

Session starts

PHILLIP MCCOLLUM

On behalf of Morehouse College, Trustee C. David Moody, Jr., right, presented a presidential chair to newly installed President John Silvanus Wilson Jr. Made of polished cherry wood, the chair stands 6 feet, six inches tall and is designed like a pulpit chair. It features carved images that represent universal truths, academic ideals, and key aspects of ancient African culture and heritage inscribed in Latin and Greek languages and in Kemetic hieroglyphics of Egypt.

Protesters marched in downtown Raleigh, N.C. during a “Moral Monday” July 2013 demonstration. A similar protest kicks off in Tallahassee on March 3. AL DRAGO/ RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER/ MCT

ALSO INSIDE

‘Moral Monday’ to call for political change THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – On the eve of the 2014 legislative session, civil-rights and labor groups will hold an event dubbed “Moral Monday Florida” to call for Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature to address issues such as expanding Medicaid, ensuring voting rights and changing or repealing the “stand your ground” self-defense law. Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches, said Monday during a conference call with reporters that the effort will be similar to “Moral Monday” campaigns in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Among the other groups involved in the effort are the SEIU labor union, the South-

ern Christian Leadership Conference and Equality Florida. “We’re going to be joined together in speaking out on these issues,’’ Obi Nweze said. The kickoff event will take place outside the Capitol on March 3, the day before the annual 60-day legislative session starts. During the conference call, speakers pointed to issues such as the Legislature’s refusal last year to accept an estimated $51 billion from the federal government in coming years to expand Medicaid coverage. Obi Nweze said the groups hope that the “Moral Monday” effort will help educate voters, spur voter registration and get people to the polls in November.

As lawmakers prepare to begin their springtime session, the head of a key committee has vowed not to change “one damn comma.” But others – including the law’s author and Zimmerman’s former attorney – have suggested it could use some tweaking. And like Martin’s parents before them, Jordan Davis’ parents have vowed to seek changes to what they say is a flawed self-defense law in Florida. See DEBATE, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Microsoft makes huge donation to FAMU

Lawmakers look to revamp ‘zero tolerance’ FOCUS | A2

NAACP Image Awards ignores the Black Press FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT | B5

‘12 Years A Slave’ racks up NAACP Image Awards Meet Ashley

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. WILMER LEON III: DAVIS VICTIM OF MURDEROUS HISTORICAL CONTINUUM | A5


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