Florida Courier - March 14, 2014

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MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

VOLUME 22 NO. 11

ALL ABOUT OBAMACARE?

An Obama Internet appearance juiced Obamacare enrollment on the same day a GOP candidate won a Florida special election after calling for the law’s repeal. Democrats point to low turnout rather than the Affordable Care Act for the loss.

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON – News out of President Obama’s interview with comedian Zach Galifianakis: The president will go to pretty much any length these days to plug HealthCare.gov.

And according to the White House, web traffic to HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare enrollment website, shot up 40 percent immediately after Obama’s interview.

Pitching Affordable Care Act In the latest installment of “Be-

tween Two Ferns” – Galifianakis’ irreverent interview show – posted Tuesday morning at funnyordie.com, Obama entertains questions about “Ambassador” Dennis Rodman, the trouble with “North Ikea” and “What’s it like to be the last Black president.”

(Answer: “Seriously, what’s it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to “Have you heard of the Affordable a president?”)

Care Act?” Obama asks Galifianakis.

Obama’s pitch is all straight-man: “Oh yeah, I heard about that. That’s Consumers – especially the “young the thing that doesn’t work?” invincibles” Obama presumably was “HealthCare.gov works great now,” hoping to reach with his online ap- Obama says. pearance – have until the end of March Galifianakis looks at his watch.

“What we want is for people to know to sign up for coverage this year.

that you can get affordable health care,” Obama continues. “Most young Americans right now, they’re not covered. And the truth is that they can get coverage, all for what it costs you to pay your cellphone bill.”

B-CU VS. UM

’Cats take ’Canes to school

See OBAMA, Page A2

President Obama displayed a deadpan sense of humor while plugging ‘Obamacare’ enrollment during an interview with actor Zach Galifianakis on Funny or Die’s satirical Internet talk show, “Between Two Ferns.”

COURTESY OF FUNNYORDIE.COM

Another rally in Tally Second ‘Moral Monday’ event goes national

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

The Rev. Al Sharpton led a crowd of about 1,000 people to the Florida Capitol on Monday, demanding that Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature fix or repeal the “stand your ground” self-defense law.

Sharpton marched alongside the parents of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, two teens the marchers said were wrongly killed under Florida’s first-in-the-nation law, which allows people to use deadly force when they feel their lives are in danger and provides immunity from prosecution.

‘Wicked law’

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER

Bethune-Cookman University pitcher Montana Durapau notched his second win, 7-3, against the nationally ranked University of Miami baseball team on Tuesday in Coral Gables. Durapau has a perfect 3-0 record for the Wildcats so far this season.

“Florida is ground zero for a sick and wicked law that has now spread through 23 other states,” Sharpton told the crowd on the Capitol steps. “It started in Florida, and we’ve come to start the ending of it in Florida.”

Speakers ranged from Black pastors to radio personality Tom Joyner to Democratic politicians who tried and failed to repeal the law last year.

The speakers invoked Martin, who was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford, and Davis, who was killed by Michael Dunn in Jacksonville, both in 2012. They also invoked Marissa Alexander, who faces 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband.

All three are African-American.

“Now, this bill started out fine,” said U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Fla. “Defend your castle. That’s your home.

But there’s something wrong when See RALLY, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Rubio: ‘One bad break away from financial ruin’

Florida Senate backs short sales-tax holiday NATION | A6

Mumia Abu-Jamal case derails Obama’s civil rights pick ENTERTAINMENT | B5

deGrasse Tyson has right stuff in reboot of ‘Cosmos’

ALSO INSIDE

Campaign launched to get more Blacks in clinical trials FROM STAFF REPORTS

For Averi Anderson, seeing more African-Americans participate in clinical trials is personal. The 60-yearold breast cancer survivor said if it had not been for a clinical trial, she might not be alive today.

Anderson was one of the speakers at a Wednes- Averi day press con- Anderson ference in Washington, D.C. announcing a new initiative aimed to get more Blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans involved in clinical trials.

The Pharmaceutical Research

and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the National Minority Quality Forum have collaborated to launch the ‘I’m In’ campaign designed to encourage greater diversity of patients who volunteer to participate in clinical trials.

PhRMA represents the country’s leading biopharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, while the D.C.-based Forum is a not-for-profit independent research and education organization.

Aggressive cancer Anderson, a former health care worker, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. At the time, she was a volunteer with the Buffalo/Niagara Witness Project, an initiative of Roswell Park Cancer

Institute in New York that educates participants on early cancer detection through stories told by breast and cervical cancer survivors in churches and community setting.

“I didn’t just have any breast cancer. I had Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer, a very aggressive form of breast cancer in African-American women,” Anderson shared. Shortly after her diagnosis, Anderson’s oncologist recommended she be enrolled in a federally funded clinical trial.

“I understand the misconceptions and also the Tuskegee experiment where people have a lot of mistrust of medical research.

Even in my family, I heard my grandparents talk about those incidents, but I feel if it were not for other 55 year-old African-Ameri-

can women who participated in a clinical trial, I might not be standing here talking to you today.’’

“I thank God that today’s cures were yesterday’s clinical trials and today’s clinical studies are tomorrow’s cures,’’ she remarked.

Legacy of mistrust Historically, Blacks’ mistrust of clinical research dates back to the use of Black cadavers for experimentation and the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis study, in which White doctors conducted experiments on Black men in Alabama to see how syphilis spreads.

The patients weren’t told they had syphilis and weren’t treated for it.

See TRIALS, Page A2

COMMENTARY: REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR.: A LITTLE COMMON SENSE FOR THE UKRAINE | A4 COMMENTARY: LUCIUS GANTT: REMOVE THE SHACKLES FROM YOUR MIND | A5

FOCUS

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MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

Which promises does Barack Obama intend to keep?

The most important things about a promise, as David Graber in his book “Debt: The First 5000 Years,” explains, are who makes it, and to whom it’s made.

Promises made among equals are freely made and freely kept, or freely disregarded when the parties deem it convenient. If your brother-in-law doesn’t repay you the money you lent this time last year, you might be disappointed, but you’re unlikely to involve the courts and the state in your family affairs.

On the other hand, if your brother-in-law borrowed that money from Bank of America, a late payment or a series of them is certain to bring punitive repercussions down on the debtor, backed up by the full force of the state.

Not the same So the promises which poor men and women make to each

BRUCE A. DIXON BLACK AGENDA REPORT

other are not at all the same as promises the poor are obliged to make to the wealthy or to the state in whatever sort of society they live. Governments enforce the promises the poor make to the rich, ultimately at gunpoint.

But what about when the wealthy and powerful make promises to the poor?

Wealthy corporations and the politicians fronting for them invariably promise thousands, tens of thousands of new good-paying local jobs in return for this or that tax break, suspension of environmental regulation, loan guarantee or other piece of corporate welfare. Nobody blinks an

eye when it turns out they’ve lied, and practically no mechanisms exist to restore the public property malefactors obtain in this way.

The promises of politicians, both during and after their campaigns seem to have the same character.

More promises With a good 33 more months left in the White House, President Obama apparently has a few more promises to make.

By the first days of his presidency, Barack Obama made direct promises to see NAFTA renegotiated, to raise the minimum wage in his first months in office, to close Guantanamo, to create a path to citizenship for the undocumented, to make union organizing easier, to cease kidnappings, secret imprisonment and torture, and craft an open, transparent process for the drafting of what became known as Obamacare.

The thing of it was, that all these were promises made to poor people. Thus, they were of little and soon disregarded.

But they were not his only promises. Barack Obama made other early promises as well – to wealthy interests, to the Pentagon, to Wall Street and London banksters, to charter school sugar daddies, the galaxy of public employees and private contractors euphemistically known as the “intelligence community.”

He promised them that no torturers would stand trial, military manpower and budgets would continue to rise, that greedy drug companies and private health insurers would be protected over the public, that so-called “entitlements” would be reined in, and that Wall Street would be protected against the mobs and their pitchforks, and apparently that public education would be privatized. Unlike his promises to the poor, President Obama has

striven mightily to keep all these.

We already know With a good 33 more months left in the White House, President Obama apparently has a few more promises to make. He’ll likely keep some of them. If the first 63 months of his tenure are any guide, and you want to know which promises will be kept, the handwriting is on the wall.

The promises made to the wealthy and powerful will get first priority. The pledges made to the legions of ordinary people who made his career possible, not so much.

Bruce Dixon is managing editor of BlackAgendaReport. com. Contact him at bruce. dixon@blackagendareport. com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

RALLY

TRIALS

you can shoot a warning shot and get 60 years – Miss Alexander – and you can shoot and kill a Black person and feel threatened when you started the fight!”

But House Judiciary Chairman Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, defended the law against criticism from Sharpton and others.

Minorities underrepresented

from A1

from A1

Sharpton ‘irresponsible’ “This scenario that he’s painted that old White vigilantes are going around hunting down young teenage Black kids and murdering them in the street – he knows that is not what’s happened,” Baxley said. “That fits the myth, and that fits the scenario that he wants to paint, but it’s a very dangerous one. It’s very irresponsible, and it will get people hurt that shouldn’t be.”

After the 17-year-old Martin was shot and killed in February 2012, Zimmerman was not immediately charged; he claimed he shot the teen in self-defense.

Protests spread nationwide, and in their wake, Gov. Rick Scott appointed a task force to review the “stand your ground” law.

The task force, which concluded its work before a jury acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder charges, recommended minor tweaks to the law but concluded it should remain intact.

Zimmerman claimed he shot Martin in self-defense, but did not use “stand your ground” to avoid being prosecuted. The law, however, spawned changes to jury instructions that at least one Zimmerman juror said resulted in the not-guilty verdict.

After Zimmerman was acquitted last July, a group called the Dream Defenders sat in at the Capitol for 31 days, calling

OBAMA from A1

‘See a doctor’ Obama also advises Galifianakis to see a doctor about a rash on his left forearm — the comedian said he had been attacked by spiders. The rash is “one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen,” the president says.

In the end, they reach across the coffee table for a handshake, and Obama quickly pulls back when Galifianakis reveals that the spider rash is on that hand too.

Slowly increasing More than 4.2 million people have signed up for coverage on the nation’s health insurance marketplaces through February, but low participation from young adults and early technical problems with the website have jeopardized the government’s goal of enrolling 6 million people by March 31.

Unlike other Affordable Care Act timetables and deadlines that the Obama administration has extended, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) doesn’t have the statutory authority to extend the March 31 enrollment deadline, officials said.

In the five-month period from October through February, 2.6 million Americans bought coverage through the federal HealthCare.gov website, while 1.6 million signed up through state-run insurance exchanges.

DUANE C. FERNANDEZ, SR./HARDNOTTS PHOTOGRAPHY

The Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network addressed the crowd at the second ‘Moral Monday’ rally this week.

Rev. R. B. Holmes, Jr.

Dennis Baxley

for a special legislative session on the law. State leaders denied the request.

Davis, also 17, was killed at a gas station in a car with three other Black youths after arguing with Dunn over loud music.

Dunn, a White man, claimed he shot at the teenagers because he thought they had a weapon in the car.

‘Repair or repeal it’ Last month a Jacksonville jury found Dunn guilty of four charges related to the shooting – but could not reach a decision on first-degree murder.

Experts had predicted that enrollments would increase as the six-month enrollment period neared its conclusion. But total monthly signups fell from more than 1.1 million in January to 942,000 in February.

Young adults hesitate And the proportion of young adults ages 18 to 34 who bought coverage remained at 27 percent in January and February, far from the 35 percent to 40 percent level that experts suggest is needed to keep premium costs in check next year.

This group of younger, typically healthy plan members is cheaper to insure and would offset the coverage costs for older plan members who are generally sicker and more costly to cover.

Jolly wins House seat Republicans scored a significant victory in a special congressional election Tuesday, holding on to a seat in a swing district in Florida that Democrats had high hopes of capturing after a campaign that focused heavily on Obamacare.

With all precincts reporting, Republican David Jolly held a 3,400-vote margin over Democrat Alex Sink in the district, which stretches along the Gulf Coast north of St. Petersburg.

The returns remain unofficial until final mail-in and provisional ballots can be counted, but Sink conceded defeat in a statement to supporters shortly after the polls closed.

The Republican and Democratic parties and allied groups

That prompted the Rev. R. B. Holmes, Jr., the vice-chairman of Scott’s “stand your ground” task force, to ask the governor to seek a repeal of the law.

“Mister Governor,” Holmes called Monday. “I served as the vice-chair of your task force. We said to you, ‘Please, sir, study this law.’ If this law (is) being applied unjustly, unwisely and unfairly, then the moral thing to do is repair it or repeal it.”

Holmes has said that Scott should implement the task force’s suggested review of the law “to analyze if Black people and poor people are being the victim of misapplication.”

The likelihood of that is not great. A bill that would have repealed “stand your ground” failed last fall, and lawmakers are now considering expanding the law.

The House Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly last month to approve what has become known as the “warning shot” bill, readying it to go

to the full House. The bill (HB 89), sponsored by Rep. Neil Combee, R-Polk City, would grant immunity to people who threaten to use force, including displaying weapons or firing warning shots, in self-defense.

spent more than $12 million on the brief campaign, according to disclosure reports compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That’s about six times the average full-year House campaign in 2012, and an apparent record for a special election.

The money financed a deluge of television ads, robo-calls and mailers, mostly centered on national issues, which largely seemed to drown out local concerns in the contest.

represented the area for nearly 42 years. Before he became a lobbyist, Jolly had served as an aide to Young.

The winner gets just 10 months in office, the remainder of Young’s term. Jolly will have to immediately begin preparing for another fight in November, although Democrats, who will be hotly contesting the state’s governorship, are unlikely to be able to field as well-funded a challenger.

Fall tryout

Low turnout, not Obamacare

Both parties saw the special election as a good opportunity to try out campaign themes they hope to emphasize this fall.

The Republican theory in this case was that a heavy emphasis on Obamacare would motivate conservative voters to head to the polls, making up for Jolly’s drawbacks as a candidate, which included his current profession – Washington lobbyist – and his relative lack of money.

Dems explain “Republican special interest groups poured in millions to hold on to a Republican congressional district that they’ve comfortably held for nearly 60 years,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

Sink led Jolly in mail-in ballots and other early votes, but she was swamped in the electionday turnout.

The special election stemmed from the death last fall of Republican C.W. “Bill” Young, who had

‘No color line’ In any case, Baxley, the House sponsor of “stand your ground” when it passed in 2005, said the law didn’t apply in the cases or either Martin or Davis, because their killers were charged and tried before juries.

He also said he’d tried to explain to members of the Black legislative caucus that “there is no color line” in the “stand your ground” law.

“As a matter of fact, the numbers show that twice as many African-Americans are protected by our law than the general population, if you look at the number of people who successfully use self-defense claims of stand your ground to avoid prosecution,” he said.

Republicans may point to the president’s health care law as the centerpiece of their election strategy, the subject which the vast majority of their television ads in the Florida race talked about, but Democrats deny that’s the key.

The problem for Democrats, however, is that Republicans don’t have to persuade a majority of voters about their position on the health care law. They only have to convince the people on their side of the argument to show up and vote. Motivating conservative voters to cast ballots has been the main focus of the GOP electoral strategy, and, so far, they appear to be succeeding.

And that – how to motivate their voters – is the problem that Democrats are openly discussing.

David Lauter, Christi Parsons, and Tony Pugh of the Tribune Washington Bureau (MCT) all contributed to this report.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AfricanAmericans represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, but only 5 percent of clinical trial participants.

Hispanics make up 16 percent of the population, but only 1 percent of clinical trial participants.

In a statement released prior to the conference, John Castellani, president and CEO of PhRMA, commented, “PhRMA and our member companies are committed to raising awareness and increasing participation in clinical trials, particularly among historically underrepresented populations. Through this collaboration of health care leaders, we are taking a major step forward to help reduce health disparities through greater inclusiveness in clinical research.”

Accelerating inclusion At the conference on Wednesday, experts noted how developing new medicines is a lengthy and complex process that relies heavily on volunteer participation to evaluate potential therapies for safety and effectiveness in clinical studies.

“According to the FDA, increased diversity in clinical trials could help researchers find better ways to fight diseases that disproportionately impact certain populations, and may be important for the safe and effective use of new therapies,” Dr. Gary Puckrein, president and CEO of the Dr. Gary National Minority Puckrein Quality Forum, said in a statement.

“Through the I’m In campaign, new online resources such as the Clinical Trial Engagement Network will be introduced to empower individuals to learn more about clinical trials and the benefits of participating in clinical research,” he added.

Online access I’m In will support the buildup of the National Minority Quality Forum’s Clinical Trial Engagement Network, which will help accelerate the inclusion of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.

Authorized users will be able to quickly identify potential clinical trial participants by using zipcode level mapping of disease clusters and simultaneously identifying and connecting points of care and community resources that can assist with site selection and patient recruitment.

Others participating in Wednesday’s conference included Dr. Carlos J. Cardenas of Doctors Hospital in McAllen, Texas and Dr. Ho Tran of the National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians. Both expressed the importance of minorities in the trials.

‘For ourselves’ Anderson, who celebrated five years as a breast cancer survivor on Feb. 22, reiterated the importance of African-Americans being involved in clinical trials. She shared the joy of being able to see her grandchildren graduate from high school and to see them possibly get married.

“We have to do this for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren and our community,’’ she added.

For more information about clinical trials and the I’m In campaign, visit www.JoinImIn.org.

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

FLORIDA

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‘One bad break away from financial ruin’ Rubio outlines slipping away of American Dream for many during speech delivered at Google

BY CHRIS ADAMS MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON — Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio laid out a broad plan Monday to boost prosperity in America, saying in a speech that his plans for tax and regulatory reforms would help unleash the economy and restore hope for people “losing confidence in the American Dream.”

“A growing number of our people are gripped by economic insecurity, haunted by the realization that they are one bad break away from financial ruin,” he said in his prepared remarks delivered at the Washington offices of technology giant Google. “Despite their hard work, they feel they can’t get ahead.”

The event was sponsored by the Jack Kemp Foundation, and contained plenty of references to the economic ideas espoused by the late Republican congressman and vice presidential nominee as well as the technological prowess of Google.

Possible 2016 candidate Rubio, a potential Republican candidate for the 2016 presiden-

CHRIS ADAMS/MCT

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, lays out his economic agenda during a speech at the Washington offices of Google on March 10. The event was hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation. tial election, talked about how his grandfather, born in rural Cuba, marveled at the possibility for advancement in the United States.

“My grandfather loved this country and he never took it for granted, because he knew what life was like outside of it,” Rubio said.

But the economic engine of the United States has been throttled, he said, and he suggested ways to re-ignite it. The current econom-

ic recovery from the financial crash of 2008 is weak, and Rubio said that economic trends going forward only offer troubling signs that — despite its many innovations — the nation is failing to reach its potential.

“The power of innovation is present in this room right now,” he said. “You have technology in your pocket that couldn’t fit in an entire room 30 years ago. But 30 years from now, this technology may fit on the tip of your fin-

ger, or in a single blood cell. This progress is happening whether we like it or not. The question is whether Americans will continue to stand at the helm of discovery, or fall behind and watch others take our place.”

Rubio’s plan for growth His plans for helping spur economic growth include: Legislation, soon to be introduced, that would reallocate the

wireless communication spectrum currently controlled by the federal government and make it available for commercial wireless services.

Recently introduced legislation to make it easier for businesses to capitalize on the research of federal labs, allowing that research to come to market.

A push for a territorial taxation system that would change the way profits earned overseas by U.S. companies are taxed.

A proposal for a “National Regulatory Budget” in which federal agencies would face limits on the cost of the regulations they impose on businesses. The system would force federal agencies to enact “only those regulations that serve an essential role,” he said.

Citing the ongoing conflict over the Keystone XL Pipeline, Rubio said too many regulations on the books “are decades old” and in the case of the energy industry, result in a “sluggish administrative certification process that often prompts years of litigation.”

The Democratic National Committee quickly pounced on Rubio’s speech, saying in a statement that it consisted of “a host of failed and recycled GOP ideas.” Democrats directly criticized the territorial tax system, saying it was out of the playbook of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and could allow corporations investing overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

Florida Senate backs short sales-tax holiday Governor proposed extending tax-free days from 3 to 10

BY JIM TURNER NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Senators started moving for-

ward Monday with a salestax holiday for back-toschool shoppers, but the proposal is a week shorter than requested by Gov. Rick Scott.

The sponsor of the bill, however, hasn’t closed the book on extending the proposed discount timeframe

from three days to 10 days.

The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee on Monday unanimously supported the measure (SB 792) by Sen. Anitere Flores that would lift sales taxes on clothes, school supplies and electronics for three days at the start of August.

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Revenue estimates weighed The Miami Republican said a big factor in the eventual length of the sales-tax holiday period would be updated revenue estimates Wednesday from state economists.

“I’m hopeful that there is going to be some more money for us to be able to invest in this,” Flores said after the committee meeting. “To me, the 10 days (for a sales-tax holiday) is more important because the 10 days encompasses two weekends.”

In December, the state economists, formally known as the Revenue Estimating Conference, projected lawmakers would have a surplus of about $1 billion to play with as they craft a spending plan for the next budget year.

Clothing factored in Scott later proposed a 10-day holiday period that his office estimated would save taxpayers about $60 million.

The Revenue Estimating Conference projected a three-day school sales-tax holiday would reduce state and local government revenue by $39 million.

The economic estimate factored in individual pieces of clothing worth up to $100 being sales-tax free.

Scott in his sales-tax holiday request asked for the clothing discount to be $100 or less.

Under Flores’ bill, during the discount period, no sales tax would be collect-

PETER ANDREW BOSCH/MIAMI HERALD/MCT

People lined up for an hour to pay for back to school uniforms at AA Uniforms in Miami on Aug. 13, 2011, during the tax-free holiday. ed on purchases of clothing that costs $75 or less, school supplies that cost $15 or less, and personal computers and related accessories for non-commercial use that costs $750 or less.

Flores said the clothing total will also depend upon the revenue projection.

Supported by retailers The House version (HB 1015) sponsored by Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, includes a 10-day tax-free period starting Aug. 1. It would give a tax break on clothes that cost $75 or less.

Flores’ proposal must

Bondi, political committee rake in more than $200,000 Attorney General Pam Bondi and a closely linked political committee combined to raise $204,250 in February, as the incumbent Republican continued to build on her fund-raising lead, according to newly filed reports.

Bondi collected $114,250 for her campaign account, raising its total to $850,621.

Also, a committee known as “Justice for All” raised $90,000 in February and report-

Legislators taking Easter, Passover break Lawmakers will take a hiatus for the Easter and Passover holidays during the week of April 14.

The Senate will not meet during the week, while the House will not hold any floor sessions. House committee chair-

still get through the Senate Finance and Tax Subcommittee and the Appropriations Committee.

Macy’s, Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Retail Federation expressed their support for the Senate bill on Monday. Retailers are expected to offer additional deals to highlight the discount period and draw people to buy items that will continue to be taxed.

The back-to-school tax holiday has ranged from three to nine days since lawmakers introduced it in 1998. The discount wasn’t provided during the recession in 2008 and 2009 and has been set at three days the past four years.

ed a total of $484,250. Another Bondi committee, “And Justice for All,” did not raise money in February but previously had collected slightly more than $1 million.

One of Bondi’s Democratic challengers, former Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon collected $64,621 for his campaign account in February, bringing its total to $143,133.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate and House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, collected $52,615 for his campaign account, bringing its total to $91,109.

Also Monday, state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater reported raising $210,665 in February, giving his campaign account a total of nearly $1.5 million. men will have the option of meeting April 16 or April 17 if they need the time.

The break in the seventh week of the session will bring the Legislature back to the Capitol on April 21, the day after Easter. Passover begins at sundown on April 14 and lasts until April 22.

After the break, lawmakers will have just two weeks to finish their business, including work on a new budget, before the 2014 session ends May 2.

EDITORIAL

A4

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

A little common sense for the Ukraine Suddenly the crisis in Ukraine engulfs the US. As Russian troops move into Crimea, the White House goes into crisis management.

Secretary of State Kerry takes off to the Ukrainian capital. Our media is barraged with 24/7 instant analyses. Republican Senators and retired generals call for moving American troops to the Polish-Russian border, placing missiles into the Czech Republic, dispatching a fleet to the Black Sea. Threats are issued and rhetoric escalates. The Russian dispatch of armed forces to occupy Crimea is a direct and clear violation of basic international law. The moral force of America’s objection is weakened since

Crimea is ethnically Russian speaking, and historically part of Russia itself. The Ukraine only became independent 22 years ago when the Soviet Union broke apart. It borders on Russia, TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM and is intertwined economiwe trampled international cally, politically, and culturlaw ourselves in our unpro- ally with Russia. voked invasion of Iraq, but that does not justify the Rus- Ukraine divided sian invasion.

Russia considers the The international com- Ukraine vital to its security, munity should speak clear- and is willing to pay a high ly to condemn the invasion price to keep it secure. The and to demand that the Pu- Ukraine itself is divided, tin regime remove Russian with the Western part looktroops from the Crimea. At ing towards Europe and the the same time, the admin- Eastern and Southern parts istration, increasingly bel- looking to Russia. The counlicose Republican Sena- try is bankrupt and in a state tors and the legions of ma- of virtual collapse. cho strategists should take a The deposed government of Viktor Yanukovich good look at reality.

REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: PUTIN’S ADVISOR

was democratically elected. However unpopular or corrupt that government was, the demonstrators that ousted him overturned a democratically elected government.

The demonstrations, clearly encouraged by the US and the EU, began when Yanukovich abruptly turned away from negotiations to join the European Union.

When Russian President Putin offered a tripartite arrangement, the EU insisted that the Ukraine choose between Russia and Europe.

Putin put up $15 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine.

Help from elsewhere The Europeans didn’t come close to matching that, and were insisting on an austerity regime that will wreck further misery on the country. That’s when Yanukovich pulled out of the negotiations.

Neither the US nor the EU is going to offer Ukraine the kind of resources that

Putin has put on the table.

The Republicans calling for massive aid will have a hard time rounding up a majority of their own members in Congress to vote for it. Nor should they.

The US should not pretend to be the policeman of the world. We cannot afford to police every region or bail out every bankrupt country bordering a powerful neighbor. Instead of escalating tensions and issuing threats, the US and its European allies should be engaged in trying to avoid war or the breakup the Ukraine.

We should condemn the Russian violation of international law, and seek to organize international pressure on the Russians to get their troops out. At the same time, we should engage Putin, and seek to create the conditions for an easing of tensions: new democratic elections in the Ukraine, a revival of the Putin offer for a tripartite economic arrangement with Ukraine, the EU and Russia, and commitment

not to integrate Ukraine into NATO or EU military planning in exchange for Russia reaffirming the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Dispatching troops, threatening economic sanctions, deploying missiles all feels muscular. But the US and our allies should be careful not to threaten nor promise more than we are prepared to do.

A Mexican adage bemoans “Poor Mexico, so close to the US and so far from God.” That applies even more to the Ukrainians, far too close to Russia and too far from God. Neither this country nor the EU has the will, the resources or the desire to alter that reality.

And before we end up in a war we don’t want or a new Cold War we don’t need, we ought to recognize that fact.

Jesse Jackson Sr. is President/CEO of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Black women’s history is women’s history too

DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

DOJ affair shows Obama more honorable than Bill Clinton History requires that we say something good about President Obama – at least in comparison with his predecessor and political mentor, Bill Clinton.

In the case of Debo Adegbile, Obama’s nominee to head up the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the First Black President has behaved far more honorably than did Clinton, who nominated Black lawyer Lani Guinier to the same position in 1993.

Guinier, like Adegbile, had once worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She came to national attention by proposing formulas for elections that would avoid allowing majorities to completely shut out minority voters, through a system that would more resemble proportional representation than the U.S. game of winner-take-all.

Predictably, the Guinier nomination ran into fierce opposi-

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

through the process. Ultimately, seven Democrats joined Republicans in rejecting the nominee, on the outrageous grounds that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund had been part of Mumia Abu Jamal’s death penalty defense appeal.

Obama issued a scathing condemnation of the lawmakers and excoriated those who claim that association with Mumia’s legal defense is some kind of crime.

In most political matters, Obama and Bill Clinton are both servants of corporate interests. But in this case, Obama’s behavior was morally superior to Clinton’s.

Obama could have gotten away with dumping his nominee for the Civil Rights Division, too. But he didn’t, and that’s to his credit – comparatively speaking.

tion, just as Adegbile’s 19 years later.

But Guinier never got a chance to testify on her own behalf before the U.S. Senate. Clinton withdrew her nomination as soon as the going got rough. Adding insult to injury, Clinton claimed that he wasn’t backing off Guinier from fear of losing, but because he had finally gotten around to reading what she had written about voting – and didn’t like it. Clinton punked out, left his nominee twisting in the wind, and then blamed her for it – a thoroughly dishonorable political performance.

Glen Ford is executive President Obama, on the other hand, stuck with editor of BlackAgendaReDebo Adegbile all the way port.com.

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

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

Since March is Women’s History month, who are the women you are celebrating?

Do you know about Elizabeth Keckley? Maggie Lena Walker, Sarann Knight Preddy, Gertrude Pocte Geddes-Willis, Trish Millines Dziko, Addie L Wyatt or Marie-Therese Metoyer?

What about Ernesta Procope, Dr. Sadie Alexander, Or Dr. Phyllis Wallace? What about Bettiann Gardner, Lillian Lambert, or Emma Chappell? What about Ellen Holly, Mary Alice, or Edmonia Lewis? If we knew anything about these women, it might cause all of us, African-American men and women, to walk a bit more lightly, hold our heads a bit higher, and revel in the accomplishments of our foremothers and fathers. Ancestors.

History belongs to she who holds the pen, she who will speak up, speak out and tell the whole story. If the names of the sisters above aren’t as well known as others, like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Mary McLeod Bethune, it is because no one has chosen to tell those stories. There are thousands of unsung heroines for every one we lift up and know, women who have made phenomenal contributions to the arts, literature, money, finance, and economic development. Why write this now? African-American history month is usually about notable Black men; women’s history month (March) is about notable and mostly White women. Then, as Gloria T Hull, Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith wrote in All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men Some of Us Are Brave.

What difference would it make to our daughters and nieces if they knew about Septima Clark or Claudette Colvin? Had they read Lucille Clifton’s poetry, would they find it easier to breathe life into their words? It pains

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

me to watch Black Women’s History so swallowed that we are almost invisible. The most benign interpretation of this phenomenon is those who lift history up are too myopic to consider AfricanAmerican women. Is there is a sinister interpretation?

Is it that both racism and patriarchy combine to swallow Black women’s history?

Progress for all International Women’s Day is March 8. Annually, the United Nations sets a theme for the commemoration. This year, ‘Equality for Women is Progress for All’ is the theme. According to the United Nations, Countries with more gender equality have better economic growth. Companies with more women leaders perform better. Peace agreements that include women are more durable. Parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support. The evidence is clear: equality for women “means progress for all.”

We can’t make progress if we bury our history. We can’t put Melody Hobson in context if we don’t understand Maggie Lena Walker.

We can’t celebrate women’s history unless we celebrate Black women’s history, because Black women’s history is women’s history too, and because both the African-American community and the world community cannot progress if any segment of that community is sidelined.

The place African-American women hold in our history celebrations is quite

similar to the space we occupy in contemporary life.

We can get tens of thousands or more folks to turn out (as they should) in response to the massacres of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, but the killing of unarmed Renisha McBride has caused much less of an outcry’s swallowed. Theodore Wafer, the White man (yes, race matters) who shot young Renisha, will be tried for second-degree murder in June. Will we remember this effrontery in the same way that we remember our black history heroines? Will we be their chanting and demanding justice as we have for Trayvon and Jordan?

Women sidelined The sidelining of Black women is one of the reasons that the late C. Delores Tucker worked tirelessly for more than a decade to ensure that a bust of Sojourner Truth be placed in our nation’s Capitol building. And why not? Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are there. But it took a fight and a victory C. Delores, a lifelong leader and a founder of the National Congress of Black Women, did not live to see.

Who was Hon. C. Delores Tucker? That’s another Black women’s history moment that will be swallowed unless we lift it up. C. Delores is an example of utter tenacity, and a passionate belief in recognition of Black women. If we celebrate women’s history month we must celebrate Black women. If you know nothing about the women I’ve mentioned, Google them, or check my website, www. juliannemalveaux.com for more information on them.

Julianne Malveaux is an economist, author and speaker based in Washington, DC. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Reality check: America’s Vladimir Putins W W W.FLCOURIER.COM Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-3524455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call 877352-4455; e-mail sales@flcourier.com.

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Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1928-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Linda Fructuoso, Marketing Consultant/Sales, Circulation Angela VanEmmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Andreas Butler, Ashley Thomas, Staff Writers Delroy Cole, Kim Gibson, Photojournalists MEMBER National Newspaper Publishers Association Society of Professional Journalists Florida Press Association Associated Press National Newspaper Association

When reading about or watching those trash-talking and belligerent politicians, television talk show “warriors” practically foaming at the mouth about Vladimir Putin, Russia and Ukraine, I wish I had an opportunity to ask them one simple question: “What would be your reaction if the people of Canada democratically elected into its presidency a man whose declared goal is to establish closer military and economic relations with Russia?”

The people of Canada would soon find out that they aren’t as independent as so many of them believe. The John McCains, Bill Krtistols, Lindsey Grahams, Rush Limbaughs, Ted Cruzes and Sean Hannitys in this

A. PETER BAILEY TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

country would immediately demand that the U.S. proceed to get rid of that democratically-elected Canadian leader by any means necessary.

They would talk about the desirability of assassination; they would overtly an covertly support “spontaneous” street protests by Canadians who opposed the leader’s plans; they would use every trick imaginable to undermine Canada’s elected government. And, if all those antics failed to get the

job done, they would create an incident designed to justify military intervention.

In other words, there is absolutely no way that the U.S. operatives will allow an “independent” country on their border to form any kind of military or economic alliance with Russia. If the Canadians even attempted to do so, they would be thoroughly crushed by the U.S. equivalents of Vladimir Putin.

A. Peter Bailey, whose most recent book is Witnessing Brother Malcolm X: The Master Teacher, can be reached at apeterb@verizon.net. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

Remove the shackles from your mind Why we don’t progress is a question that so-called Black scholars have debated for hundreds of years.

Booker T. Washington had an idea about how we could improve our lives and so did WE.B. Dubois.

Martin Luther King had a path he suggested we could take for racial progress and so did Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. The Gantt Report says Blacks in America will never realize their best as a group until we shed the shackles of slavery and not the ones that have been taken off of our ankles. We must remove the shackles from our minds!

Slavery is not merely the Black man’s burden. The things that went on during slavery have negatively impacted everybody in the United States!

Can I prove it? Yes!

Division from within The United States government once considered Black men to be one-fifth of a White man as far as rights are concerned and in 2014 it appears we have even fewer rights than that!

Black people don’t have equal rights under the law, we don’t have equal protection under the law and we certainly don’t have equal opportunities for government or private sector jobs, contracts and desired services!

There is power in Black unity but Black Americans find it diffi-

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

cult to unite. There is no need for slave masters and overseers to divide us, pit us against each other and separate us from our family and community brothers and sisters because African-Americans do it on their own.

We only want to join the organizations and groups that the people that oppress Black people want us to join, we only want to support the efforts and the causes of Black people that the exploiters of Black people want us to support and we only want to love the people, the religions and the cultures that non-Black people tell us to love!

We don’t trust each other.

If something is published in the Black newspaper or media institution is different from what is in the White newspaper or on the White TV or radio show we disbelieve what is in the Black media.

Our racial insecurities are bad enough but everybody else in America believes it is correct to treat African-Americans the way they are treated. The people that just reached America’s shores on an inner tube from the Caribbean think they are more American

The power of right In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a Republican led initiative in the Arizona legislature result in a bill being forwarded to Governor Jan Brewer. The bill would’ve effectively legalized discrimination in public accommodations and commercial businesses under the guise of freedom of religion. On its face, this bill promoted the unconstitutional application of the law to the detriment, instead of the protection, of the rights of citizens.

Thankfully, a national outcry from both sides of the political aisle objecting to the signing of the bill into law seemed to have strengthened the Governor’s position for vetoing the bill. She did just that, and it was right to do so.

During the same three-week period, we were given a microscopic view into the evil that exists in the mind of a dyed-in-the-wool racist who does not function on

DR. E. FAYE WILLIAMS, ESQ. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

truth based information. Most of us were shocked, but not surprised when the aging and unstable rocker, Ted Nugent, spoke these words, “I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame, enough Americans to be ever vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel like the ACORN community organizer gangster Barack Hussein Obama to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America.”

That’s not right; it’s racist.

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

Refuse to work with Obama The Republicans believe that our president is a liberal who borders on socialism, and they refuse to agree with anything he proposes. President Obama has always been a fighter for the rights of workers, the grassroots, the minorities, women, the sick, the seniors, the poor and middle class. This is dialectally opposed to what the Republicans believe, and this is why the Congress has been paralyzed.

President Obama believes the widening income gap as the “defining challenge of our time.” In 2012, the gap between the richest 1% and the remaining 99% was the widest it’s been since the 1920s. Incomes of the wealthiest 1% rose nearly 20 %, but the income of the other 99% rose only 1%.

“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,” says Pope Francis.

It appears that the Republicans are working for the rich, and they will stop at nothing to help maintain

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

and deserve more rights than African-Americans that have been here 500 years.

We have to admit it is bad to be a slave (except in a movie) in America and the only thing worse than that is being a descendant of an American slave.

If you don’t want to stand up, speak out and fight for equal rights and progress at least you should support the Black men and women that risk their careers and risk their lives to stand up for you!

More than marches No, I’m not talking about the poverty pimps running around the USA getting large sums of money to tell us to march, pray and bow down to people that hate you.

I can’t complain about prayer but there is no “march” that can change a devilish political decision like a Stand Your Ground law. Those people telling you to take off from work, march around a state capitol, hold hands with closet klansmen and sing “We Shall Overcome” to get an unfair law repealed are insane in the membrane and perhaps just looking for a media appearance.

If you don’t know, gun sellers and gun supporters like the NRA lobby politicians about what they want every day, all year long! They also contribute millions of dollars to politicians that vote for NRA

The right thing to do

TAYLOR JONES, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

backed legislation.

Devilish politicians in America will watch you march, laugh at your speeches and do the opposite of what you want the politicians to do.

Question? If the enemies of Black Americans don’t control these fake marches why isn’t Louis Farrakhan invited to speak and why isn’t The New Black Panther Party invited to participate? You can’t even pass out a Gantt Report column at these useless marches!

I think we have to look toward the Black youth for our progress.

I love senior citizens. In fact, a lot of people call me a senior citizen. But anyone that knows world history knows that successful

movements have involved young people, young Freedom Riders, young folks sitting at lunch counters, young people registering Blacks to vote, young people protesting apartheid and neocolonialism, young people organizing Black communities even “young” people changing water to wine and healing the sick!

We will never progress until we are able to think for ourselves, do for ourselves and love ourselves!

the failure of the jury to convict him of the murder he committed was tragically reminiscent of the result of the George Zimmerman trial. The hung-jury result on the murder charge left thousands of observers in disbelief. Whether it’s the societal “War on Young Black Men”; or the Republican’s “War on Civil Rights,” “War on Voters’ Rights,” “War on Women” or the obvious “War Against President Obama,” recurring events illuminate the evil intent directed towards all except those who hold the interests of Conservative White men sacrosanct. Moreover, it confirms the belief that, in the minds of many, the lives and ambitions of African-Americans were of little value and unworthy of concern or consideration. That’s not right.

news reports was released. As a result of the health and fitness initiatives of First Lady Michelle Obama, many young people have become more conscious of their health and what to do about it.

The First Lady practices what she preaches. We see her all over the place, using every opportunity to move, to dance, to play sports, to discuss nutrition, and positive reports about health are coming – especially about childhood obesity.

Many adults have shaped up their arms so they can wear sleeveless dresses like the First Lady.

Some have come out of the suits and long sleeves—even on the coldest of days as I shiver for them!

What the First Lady is doing is so right – and there is power in what’s right!

Those obscene, disgusting and morally offensive utterances of Ted Nugent, a draft-dodging, selfstyled pseudo-patriot, merely echoed his venomous vitriol made prior to the 2012 election and gives a clear reflection of the sentiments of the racist wing of the Republican Party. (Yes, some of my best friends are Republicans – but not many!) His words were so offensive that even some of those “mainstream” Republicans who usually ignore or explain-away the ludicrous comments of some of their fellows or supporters were moved to condemn them. The Congressman who brought him to the President’s State of the Union was obviously not one of those condemning Nugent. Condemnation would have been the right Good news ahead thing to do!

In the midst of the associated Sadly, that same three-week period led us to the conclusion of angst, while one bad news event the Michael Dunn trial. Although follows, good news erupts. Last he was found guilty of something, week, one of the most uplifting

The president’s $3.9 trillion budget attacks income equality America is struggling, the majority of the residents are in debt and 50% are not sure every month how they will pay their bills. Very few will tell the truth about their economic condition, so they hide behind the illusion that they are making it. Most Americans are not disciplined so they buy new cars and other shiny objects, which they know they cannot afford.

Our legislators operate from the same mindset, and they spend money that is not in the treasury, so they end up taking out loans.

Most Democrats don’t like the Republicans, but the Republicans are right when they say the federal legislators and the president need to balance our budget.

The 2015 suggested budget from the president is designed to decrease the deficit, but also increase spending for education and infrastructure. The $3.9 trillion budget has included $1 trillion in tax increases, mostly on the rich and corporations.

“Folks are not taking it seriously, because it is not a very serious document,” said Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. The Republicans are already drawing a line in the sand and getting the troops together to fight the president. Instead of making intelligent and well thought out criticisms, they are pulling the trigger without a detailed assessment and evaluation.

EDITORIAL

control and power. They may get upset when the president ask them for more money, but we all know they can afford it, and they will not feel it. They will still buy their spacious mansions, their beautiful cars, and take international vacations.

Create more jobs “It’s a road map for creating jobs with good wages and expanding opportunity for all. My plan would curb budget deficits with higher taxes on the wealthy and other savings, not by putting the burdens on folks who can least afford it,” said the president at an elementary school in the nation’s capital.

President Obama’s budget covers $302 billion in infrastructure over four years, $60 billion to expand income tax credit for childless workers, $66 billion to support preschool programs for all children, and raising the taxes on tobacco. The Republicans may think that the president’s budget is not a serious document, but extensive thought and care went into it.

The president has come this far by faith and hard work, and he is not going to stop now. Our president is compassionate, he wants to level the playing field and expand opportunities for all Americans.

Roger Caldwell is the CEO and owner of On Point Media Group. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Buy Gantt’s book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” and contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is Chair of the Congress of National Black Women, Inc. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.

​ e importance of Th Black entrepreneurship Whoever dismisses entrepreneurship doesn’t understand its importance and significance to this economy. Let me bring this closer to home. Black entrepreneurship is vital to the uplifting and empowering of our community. When companies are laying off workers because of one reason or another, AfricanAmericans need to understand the importance of owning their own businesses. Without having control over one’s future, an individual will succumb to the control of others.

Black entrepreneurship, as I mentioned is vital to the uplift of the AfricanAmerican community. For too long, we have allowed others to come into our neighborhoods to poison us with products and services (e.g. liquor stores, pawnshops, and payday loan establishments) that cripple us rather than build us up. In fact, the more support these businesses get, the less likely it is for people of color to move up. Why do I say this? Because these establishments are destructive and damaging to the spirit in which African-Americans have – that of greatness.

Not taught in school We go to school and yet, we are not taught about the importance of owning a business. Too many of our youth aspire to be athletes or entertainers but fail to dream of becoming doctors, lawyers, business owners, and politicians, just to name a few professions. I want you to think about your upbringing for a moment.

All of us heard these words – go to school, go work for someone, buy a house, get married, have children, and retire at age 65. The problem is that that talk is someone else’s dream. It’s not the dream which provides freedom nor is it a dream that creates a legacy - a legacy that we can leave for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Black entrepreneurship must be taught within every African-American

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

family and community. Not only must it be taught, it must be encouraged and supported. Constantly supporting other businesses that don’t respect nor contribute to the struggles of African-Americans is non-sense.

Support one another No matter what business is started, (as long as it’s legal), we as a people need to support one another. Through supporting each other’s businesses, we are creating employment opportunities for people who can’t find work. In addition to this, the more businesses we own that are successful, we will then control the politics of our community.

You need to know this – the businesses in your community control the politics of the community.

Let me remind you that Black entrepreneurism is about networking and working will all people. That’s right; Black entrepreneurism isn’t just a local thing; it’s a global mindset. I want to challenge you to step out on faith and create a business. Don’t let others discourage you because you were placed on this earth to make a difference. Do it with and through Black entrepreneurism.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, activist, published author, life coach and committed advocate for change.

Contact him at drgrey@sinclairgrey. org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey.

Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

TOJ A6

NATION

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

Mumia Abu-Jamal case derails Obama’s civil rights pick Lawyer Debo Adegbile couldn’t get votes needed to head division at Justice Department

BY JONATHAN TAMARI PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

WASHINGTON — To many Democrats, Debo Adegbile was a renowned voting rights lawyer, the perfect pick to lead the Justice Department’s Division of Civil Rights.

To Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and the Fraternal Order of Police, he was a lawyer who took part in a widespread effort to lionize one of Philadelphia’s most notorious criminals, Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Because Democrats control the Senate, President Barack Obama Debo had the upper Adegbile hand. But with a famous cop killer hanging over the vote, Toomey turned Abu-Jamal’s celebrity status against him and rounded up Republicans and seven Democrats to block Adegbile’s ascent last week.

“A political campaign had been launched, a campaign to discredit America, a campaign to discredit our justice system,” Toomey said after a Senate vote that scuttled Adegbile’s nomination.

“That’s the effort that Debo Adegbile became a part of.”

Embarrassing defeat Toomey made his case and claimed an unlikely victory after his aides dug deep into Adegbile’s role overseeing lawyers at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Decades after Abu-Jamal’s 1982 conviction and years after his death sentence had first been thrown

out, the fund represented him in the fight over his resentencing.

Toomey’s staff compiled records that the senator used to support his argument that Adegbile went beyond legal work and joined in the international campaign to portray Abu-Jamal as an innocent man and a victim of racism.

Enraged Democrats accused Republicans of wild exaggerations, but the shadow of that international campaign helped sway Sens. Bob Case, D-Pa, and Chris Coons, D-Del., to cast critical votes against the nominee even as they praised his qualifications.

Five more Democrats, largely from conservative states, also opposed Adegbile, handing Obama an embarrassing defeat. (An eighth, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, voted “no” for procedural reasons.)

Toomey did not meet with Adegbile. But his staff scoured legal briefs, court opinions, YouTube videos, and obscure news reports to unearth statements by Adegbile’s associates that they tied to the nominee and then used to pressure Democrats to oppose him.

No direct comments His office shared parts of the file with The Inquirer. None of the information they provided cited direct comments or actions

by Adegbile. Toomey said Adegbile was responsible for the public comments of his subordinates.

One of the quotations from the NAACP fund came not from a staffer, but from Adegbile’s boss, who called Abu-Jamal’s conviction a “relic of a time and place that was notorious for police abuse and racial discrimination.”

The speaker is not identified in Toomey’s dossier.

Another citation is from a 2011 report in the New York Beacon, a small African-American weekly newspaper. Under the headline “Innocent Prisoner,” it said the NAACP was trying to get Abu-Ja-

APRIL SAUL/PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

Former Black Panther and convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal was spared the death penalty in 2011. mal out of prison — which Toomey’s document said explained the defense fund’s role.

But that piece of the Beacon story is not attributed to any individual or group, and at that time the only issue being litigated was Abu-Jamal’s sentence.

Deserved fair defense Toomey’s file included comments from one of the lawyers Adegbile supervised, Christina Swarns, who attended pro-AbuJamal rallies, including one at a street named for him in France.

She asserted that race was the reason the “justice system has completely and utterly failed Mumia Abu-Jamal.”

Toomey aides distributed the information before a key Judi-

ciary Committee vote, along with a searing letter from Maureen Faulkner, widow of Daniel Faulkner, whom Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing.

Toomey sent the letter to Republicans and Democrats before calling them to lobby on the issue, and he armed police unions with the information as they leaned on lawmakers to block Adegbile.

Toomey said he supported the principle that even the worst criminals deserve a fair defense, but that “Adegbile very actively participated in this mockery of our justice system.”

Obama blasts vote Toomey “educated people on who this nominee was,” said Don Stewart, deputy chief of staff for

the top Senate Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R.-Ky. Democrats, Stewart added, “didn’t want to be the deciding vote for a guy who was an advocate for a cop killer.”

Adegbile’s supporters argued that Toomey and Republicans unfairly held him responsible for defending an unpopular figure and said the opponents distorted the nominee’s work. Obama called the final vote “a travesty” that “denied the American people a good public servant.”

Six hours after the vote, Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) returned to the Senate floor, visibly angry.

A senator since 1985, he called the vote “the lowest point that I think the Senate has descended into in my 30 years here.”

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IFE/FAITH Celebrating women all year long See page B3

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Wise words from some phenomenal females See page B4

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

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‘I get asked repeatedly about my childhood.

What steps did I take to move on with my life? ... I am so happy that those days are behind me.

I’m always busy.

I keep it moving because my life today is how can I use my life and my mistakes to help somebody else.’

Donald L. Dowridge, who dropped out of school at an early age, attended night school to get his diploma. After a stint in the Army, he became an employee with the U.S. Postal Service, eventually earned a college degree and started his own business.

– Donald L. Dowridge Founder and CEO of DLD Enterprises

From sorrow to

SUCCESS

Florida man who was suicidal as a boy now devotes his life to empowering, building hope

Editor’s note: Jenise Griffin Morgan, senior editor of the Florida Courier, is writing a series of stories on Blacks and mental health. She is a 2013-2014 fellow for the Rosalyn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism.

BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN FLORIDA COURIER

D

onald L. Dowridge’s life is an open book.

He doesn’t hide his past – the fact that he was abused as a child, his multiple attempts at suicide, the short time he spent in a mental hospital, or his years of psychotherapy. In fact, he outlines his early struggles in “The Power of Being a W-I-NN-E-R,’’ his latest motivational book in which he shares the keys to a successful life despite obstacles.

rier. “I work with a lot of kids who, unfortunately, are going through it. Not to the extent that I went through it, but I let them know if I overcame it, you can overcome it.’’

Advice for men: Open up

Donald Dowridge is photographed at a wedding at age 15.

Dowridge, founder and CEO of DLD (Determined to Learn and Develop) Enterprises based in Tampa, also shares his experiences during the many seminars and presentations he does around the country. His consulting firm specializes in executive and personal coaching and youth mentoring. Dowridge eagerly shares how his life changed from one of sorrow to one of success.

A primary goal of the 57-yearold is “to empower and build hope’’ in young people, especially young African-American males.

“I have the opportunity to work with a lot of young people,” Dowridge told the Florida Cou-

Dowridge, who received a degree in marketing in 1995, dropped out of school at an early age, joined a gang and ended up in a juvenile corrections program. He was court-ordered to see a therapist, whom he gives some credit for helping him turn his life around. He has sage words for people, especially Black males, who are reluctant to seek help for their emotional and mental turmoil.

Through DLD Enterprises, he helps others who might be on the brink of depression or even suicide. He admits that while Black men are opening up more, mental health is still a taboo subject.

“We’ve come a long way with that subject. I think AfricanAmerican males are reluctant to talk about it outside of the family. AIDS was a hush-hush subject that was within the family. If you keep it in the family, it just leads to more depression,” he explained.

See SUCCESS, Page B2

Above: Donald Dowridge emcees a concert.

Along with other endeavors, he is the former co-host of a gospelbased cable TV show.

Dowridge shares a fun moment years ago with his brother, Harvey Smith.

Mental health expert provides sage advice on ‘Nerve-us Breakdown’ blog

BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN FLORIDA COURIER

On his “Nerve-us Breakdown’’ blog, Dr. Michael A Lindsey writes how a 38-year-old friend died from six bullets to his chest in front of his sons’ daycare center in Prince George’s County, Maryland. For weeks, his friend Keith had been exhibiting signs of a “psychotic break.’’

Dr. Michael Lindsey, associate proLindsey fessor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, has written extensively on behaviors and depression among AfricanAmerican adolescent boys.

In his blog, Lindsey said he, Keith’s wife, parents and friends inquired: “How did it get to this?”

He noted, “Many Black males fear asking for help because of the male ego. We are reluctant to go to a mental health professional because we are afraid to be called “crazy.” We fear being misunderstood by professionals; told we are psychotic or schizophrenic instead of receiving some understanding about the tough time we’re having as we navigate a bad situation.’’

Don’t take threats lightly Lindsey also cites that Black adolescents living in high-risk settings (i.e., characterized by high levels of substance abuse, violence, and poverty) have been

found to experience depression at greater levels.

He told the Florida Courier this week, “We have to do a better job of making ourselves available to be a source of support.

We cannot take any of their threats or posturing lightly. We have to do our due diligence to make sure they are connected to care. It’s extremely important.’’

Through his blog, he provides information on recognizing the symptoms of mental illness and getting people connected to appropriate resources.

Lindsey earned a Ph.D. in social work an MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, an MSW from Howard University, and a bachelor’s in sociology from Morehouse College.

The researcher’s findings are published

in a study titled “Family Matters: The Role of Mental Health Stigma and Social Support on Depressive Symptoms and Subsequent Help Seeking Among African American Boys.”

He told the Courier this week, “If we want to get Black males connected to treatment, we’re going to have to connect with their families.’’

He added, “The main thing for me is how important that social network, the family is. The family is on the front line of identifying mental health needs. We all need to become more knowledgeable about mental health, the signs and symptoms.’’

For more on Dr. Michael Lindsey’s work, visit http://nerve-us-breakdown.com.

OBIT & CALENDAR

B2

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

S

Democratic leader Perry Thurston’s dad dies at 76 FROM STAFF REPORTS

Perry E. Thurston, Sr., the father of Florida House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston, died on March 6. He was 76.

Mr. Thurston also was the brother of Lauderhill Commissioner Ken Thurston.

According to a statement issued on behalf of Perry Thurston Jr., a wake is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, March 14, at Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, 800 NW Eighth Avenue, Pompano

Beach. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m.

Saturday, March 15 at the Perry E. same location.

Thurston, Sr. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the memory of Perry E. Thurston, Sr. to the Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church Scholarship Fund.

Mr. Thurston is survived by his wife, Vernerva; two sons; 10 siblings; and four grandchildren.

BONEY JAMES ANTHONY HAMILTON

Jazz in the Gardens takes place March 15 and 16 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens. Boney James is on the Saturday lineup. Anthony Hamilton is scheduled to perform Sunday. Complete lineup: www.jazzinthegardens.com.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Fort Lauderdale: A Pastors and Leaders Conference hosted by Dr. W. L. Mitchell, senior pastor of Judah Worship Word Ministries International, is March 26-28 at the church, 4441 West Sunrise Blvd. More information: 954-791-2999.

Donald Dowridge III, left, is shown with his dad during his portrayal of Frederick Douglass at an event in Tampa.

SUCCESS from B1

He says men need to learn to open up, share their feelings and get the help they need.

“While you’re bearing and grinning it, you’re killing yourself, turning to alcohol, drugs, beating up your wife, you can’t keep a relationship,’’ he explains.

Dowridge, who regularly attends church services, says faith and prayer are essential. However, he notes that some people facing mental health issues must seek professional help.

“They need somebody right in the flesh who knows what time it is, who can give some direction.

They might fall on their knees and pray,” he said, “but they need someone to help them cope with the situation.’’

Drank bleach, did drugs Dowridge lived in five foster homes as a kid and suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse.

In 1968, at age 12, he was taken out of his harsh and violent foster care existence in Baltimore and sent to the South Bronx in New York. There, he lived six more harsh and abusive years at the hands of his biological father and stepmother.

He quickly rattles off the ways he tried to commit suicide.

“I drank bleach. I walked out in front of oncoming traffic. I jumped out of a six-floor window. I jumped out of an oncoming bus,” he remembers.

He had no access to a gun and said he never tried to use a knife on himself.

Someone would always intervene during these attempts, he told the Florida Courier.

He was incarcerated at age 13 and became hooked on drugs and alcohol.

“I was quick to catch a temper,” he shared. I had a lot of hate in me because of everything that had been done to me. If you said something wrong to me, I was coming at you. I didn’t want to live anyway. If you came after me, so what?’’

No shame Court-ordered to see a therapist, at age 15 he began getting counseling every Wednesday on the fourth floor of the Empire State Building.

“Ain’t no shame in my game,’’ Dowridge says with a laugh. “I definitely went to see counselors with the issues I had going on.

Amen. Hallelujah. Thank God.’’ Dowridge said he often would utter self-defeating words: “I am a nobody.

Nobody loves me. I quit.

Why is this happening to me? I’m not worthy.’’

Crying and beating himself in the head with his fists would follow.

“I would take an open hand and slap myself just as hard as I could…think about a person who is going through that. You usually find that person in a tub of water with a slashed wrist.’’

Or he added, “that person would get a gun, kill himself and others.’’

School, Army, work At age 17, Dowridge moved to Tampa. Along with counselors, he credits the Rev. Walter Crawford of College Hill Mennonite Church in Tampa, the late Rev. Arthur Jones of Tampa, and a caring godmother for helping him get his life on track.

Dowridge attended night school to get his high school diploma. He went into the Army in 1978 and stayed there five and half years. He later received his college degree and worked at the U.S. Postal Service for about 11 years, then retired to run his business full-time.

Also a Black history buff, Dowridge is an expert on Frederick Douglass and does a one-man show on the famous abolitionist. He has spotlighted Douglass’ life on performing arts stages, in classrooms, churches, at business events. His oneman show has taken him to stages in Detroit, Baltimore, Queens, New York and Washington, D.C.

Relating to Douglass Dowridge shared how slavery took a mental toll on Douglass and how the abolitionist even considered suicide.

In Frederick Douglass’s first autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave,” Douglass describes the beatings and punished inflicted on him by his ‘master,’ a White man named Covey. Douglass eventually fights back.

“It took a toll on him.

He had to build up his strength to fight his master back. His master had beat him so severely,” Dowridge said about Douglass.

In the autobiography, Douglass states, “Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute.’’

“He was whipping Frederick every day to break him. Eventually he broke him. He was annihilated,” Dowridge stated. “His

psyche was destroyed.

Even when he became prominent, he was still dealing with it. … He wrote speeches with a rebellious mind all the way until 1895 until age 77 when he dropped dead. He never stopped agitating.’’

‘Slave mentality’ Dowridge notes that when he travels around the country, he witnesses the despair of fellow Black men, many of whom are impacted by the trauma in their lives.

“You can see a greater picture of it when you travel to Northern states.

From the young brother to the elder brother, they’re in a daze, like they’re in a trance. They find themselves on the lower rung.

Some are still living with the slave mentality.’’

“It can go way back to the slave era. When in order to control the slave, you threatened them with a whip. You whipped them and set them up for total failure. The master is only going to control me. The only way I see my freedom is to be with God.’’

KENDRICK LAMAR

St. Lucie: Christian Cultural Cathedral will host its third annual You’ve Been a Blessing Luncheon” on March 22 at 1 p.m. at the Council on Aging, 2501 SW Bayshore Blvd. Commissioner Kim Johnson will speak. More information: 772-607-7771 or via email at williams241@ juno.com.

Miami: A Throw Back Hip Hop show is scheduled March 15 with Doug E.

Fresh, Slick Rick, Biz Markie and Rob Base at the James L. Knight Center.

Miami Beach: 2 Chainz’ 2 Good to be T.R.U. concert takes place March 18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater.

West Palm Beach: Smokey Robinson is scheduled at the Kravis Center on March 15 and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing arts of Miami-Dade County on March 16.

Sebastian: The Original Wailers will be at Captain Hiram’s at 7 p.m. on April 3.

Miami Beach: W. Kamau Bell will be at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater at 8 p.m. on April 3.

Miami Beach: Mike Epps’ After Dark Tour starts at 10 p.m. on April 5 at the Fill-

Kendrick Lamar is scheduled at the CFE Arena in Orlando on April 20 for an 8 p.m. show.

more Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater.

Boca Raton: The Freaker’s Ball featuring B.o.B., Redman and Method Man is scheduled at 8 p.m. on April 1 at Florida Atlantic University’s Student Union Outdoor Stage.

Stuart: Catch The Original Wailers at Terra Fermata on April 9 for a 6 p.m. show.

Tampa: Katt Williams’ Growth Spurt tour stops at the USF Sun Dome on March 15.

St. Petersburg: Branford Marsalis will perform at the Palladium Theater on April 3 and on April 4 at the Curtis M Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Gainesville.

Jacksonville: John Legend is scheduled at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville on April 30.

Always sharing Whether through his empowerment seminars or Black History lectures, Dowridge makes it his mission to present his messages in humorous, entertaining, compassionate and dramatic fashion. He also is the former co-host of a gospel-based cable TV show and has written volumes of poetry and motivational stories that he often shares in his presentations.

And just this month, he was chosen to head the Hillsborough County NAACP’s youth program.

“In mostly every setting I’m behind the mike, I get asked repeatedly about my childhood. What steps did I take to move on with my life? Kids want to know, and adults,” Dowridge said, adding how adults “who are not incarcerated’’ still want to be free.

“They are in their late 20, 30s, 40s, even 60s seeking answers to their freedom from bondage. Something happened when they were 8, 9, 10 that’s depriving them. They’re paranoid of what happened all those many years,” he explained.

Because of his busy schedule, the husband and father rarely has time to reflect on his life when he contemplated ending it.

“I am so happy that those days are behind me.

I’m always busy. … I keep it moving because my life today is how can I use my life and my mistakes to help somebody else.’’

For more information about Donald L. Dowridge and DLD Enterprises, visit www.dldenterprises.org.

The LATCH system makes it easier to be sure your child’s car seat is installed correctly every time. Just clip it to the lower anchors, attach the top tether, and pull the straps tight. To find out more, visit safercar.gov.

STOJ

July 7, 1981: Sandra Day O’Connor is nominated as the first woman Supreme Court Justice.

July 12, 1984: Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., is chosen as the first female to run for vice president. She joined Walter Mondale, D-Minn., on the Democratic Party ticket.

July 19-20, 1848: The Seneca Falls Convention, the country’s first women’s rights convention, is held in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

J A N U A RY Jan. 5, 1925: Nellie Tayloe Ross is inaugurated as governor of Wyoming, becoming the first female governor in the U.S. Jan. 7, 1896: Fanny Farmer’s first cookbook is published with standardized cooking measurements.

Jan. 8, 1977: Pauli Murray becomes the first female AfricanAmerican Episcopal priest.

Jan. 25, 1980: Mary Decker became the first woman to run a mile under 41/2 minutes, coming in at 4:17.55.

Janet Reno

Toni Morrison

AUGUST

F E B R U A RY Feb. 4, 1987: The first National Women in Sports Day is celebrated.

Feb. 15, 1953: Tenley Albright becomes the first American woman to win a World Figure Skating championship.

Feb. 24, 1967: Jocelyn Bell Burnell makes the first discovery of a pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star.

Feb. 27, 1922: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women’s right to vote.

Aug. 9, 1995: Roberta Cooper Ramo becomes president of the American Bar Association. She is the first woman to hold that office.

Aug. 26, 1920: The 19th Amendment of the Constitution is ratified granting women the right to vote.

Aug. 26, 1970: Betty Friedan leads a nationwide protest called the Women’s Strike for Equality in New York City on the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

Aug. 30, 1984: Judith A. Resnick joins the maiden flight of the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the second U.S. woman in space.

Sally Ride

MARCH March 4, 1917: Jeannette Rankin, R-Mont., becomes the first female member of Congress.

March 11, 1993: Janet Reno is confirmed as the first woman U.S. Attorney General.

March 13, 1986: Susan Butcher wins the first of three straight, and four total, Iditarod dog sled races.

March 20, 1852: “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” by HarN AT I O N A L A R C H I V E S riet Beecher Harriet Beecher Stowe Stowe, is published. It becomes the best-selling book of the 19th century.

APRIL April 7, 1805: Sacagawea begins work as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark on their expedition.

April 7, 1987: The National Museum of Women in the Arts opens in Washington, D.C. It’s the first museum devoted to women artists.

April 19, 1977: Fifteen women in the House of Representatives form the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.

April 28, 1993: The Ms. Foundation sponsors the first “Take Our Daughters to Work” day. In 2003, the day was changed to “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work” day.

SEPTEMBER

By Wendy Zang, McClatchy-Tribune

It wasn’t until 1987 that Congress declared March Women’s History Month, in celebration of women’s contributions and achievements.

The month was a step up from Women’s History Week, which had been recognized, first in Sonoma, Calif., in the late 1970s, and then a few years later nationally.

While March provides some time to focus on female accomplishments, great women should be celebrated for more than 31 days.

Here’s a look at some important dates in women’s history to recognize all year long.

M AY May 5, 1938: Dr. Dorothy H. Andersen presents results of her medical research identifying the disease cystic fibrosis.

May 8, 1914: President Woodrow Wilson signs a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. May 21, 1932: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight, flying 2,026 miles from Newfoundland to Ireland in just under 15 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS hours.

Amelia Earhart May 29, 1977: Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to qualify for and complete the Indy 500.

JUNE June 9, 1949: Georgia Neese Clark is confirmed as the first woman treasurer of the United States.

June 10, 1963: Equal Pay Act is enacted prohibiting discrimination based on gender in the payment of wages June 18, 1983: Dr. Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

June 25, 1903: Madame Marie Curie announces her discovery of radium.

Sandra Day O’Connor Rosa Parks

Mary McLeod Bethune

Geraldine Ferraro

Sept. 12, 1910: In Los Angeles, Alice Stebbins Wells becomes the first woman police officer with arrest powers in U.S. Sept. 20, 1973: Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in the battle of the sexes tennis match.

Sept 26, 1973: American Baptist minister Capt. Lorraine Potter becomes the first woman U.S. Air Force chaplain.

Sept. 29, 1988: Stacy Allison becomes first U.S. woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.

OCTOBER Oct. 4, 1976: ABC’s Barbara Walters becomes the first woman co-anchor of the evening news.

Oct. 4, 1993: Ruth Bader Ginsburg becomes second female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

MCT Oct. 8, Ruth Bader 1993: Toni Ginsburg Morrison wins the Nobel Prize for Literature; the first African-American woman to do so.

Oct. 23, 1910: Blanche Stuart Scott becomes the first American woman pilot to make a public flight.

NOVEMBER Nov. 1, 1848: The New England Female Medical School opens becoming the first medical school for women. In 1874 it merges with Boston University and becomes one of the world’s first coed medical schools.

Nov. 11, 1993: The Vietnam Women’s Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., honoring the 265,000 women who voluntarily served during the Vietnam era.

Nov. 14, 1946: Emily Greene Balch, co-founder of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nov. 28, 1881: The first organizational meeting is held for the predecessor group to the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

DECEMBER

LEARN MORE Check out these sites to learn more about women in history: n Library of Congress — www.womenshistorymonth.gov n The National Women’s History Project — www.nwhp.org n The History Channel — www.history.com/content/womenhist n National Women’s Hall of Fame — www.greatwomen.org/home.php n Department of Defense — www.defense.gov/specials/womenshistory n The Biography Channel — www.biography.com/womens-history

J U LY July 2, 1979: The Susan B. Anthony dollar is released.

B3

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

SOURCE: NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY PROJECT, THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS • PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC GOODWIN/MCT

Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white person.

Dec. 5, 1935: Mary McLeod Bethune creates the National Council of Negro Women.

Dec. 7, 1941: Capt. Annie Fox becomes the first woman awarded the Purple Heart for her service while under attack at Pearl Harbor.

Dec. 17, 1993: Judith Rodin becomes the first woman to head an Ivy League school, as president of the University of Pennsylvania.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

B4

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

STOJ

By Alex Kline/McClatchy-Tribune

As March is now upon us, we celebrate Women’s History Month and commemorate the amazing ladies who took women from having no legal existence to being political leaders.

The field is as vast as it is diverse, with martyrs, astronauts, poets and first ladies filling the outspoken — and at times shocking — role as revolutionaries. The memorable women said some incredible things and paved a solid road to equality, all while proving they were so much more than their necessary and important roles as wives, mothers and caregivers.

The changes wrought by these women are best expressed through their own words. Read on for a brief history lesson on the important women of our past and for some inspiration to continue their work.

“The air is the only place free from prejudices.”

— Bessie Coleman (top), Aviator lll

“If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

— Abigail Adams, first lady lll

“As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold the person down, so it means you cannot soar as you thought otherwise.”

— Marian Anderson, singer lll

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

— Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer lll

“We rely upon the poets, the philosophers and the playwrights to articulate what most of us can only feel, in joy or sorrow. They illuminate the thoughts for which we only grope; they give us the strength and balm we cannot find in ourselves.”

— Helen Hayes, actress lll

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.”

— Julia Ward Howe, social reformer and author lll

“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”

— Zora Neale Hurston, anthropologist and author lll

“If they want to hang me, let them. And on the scaffold I will shout ‘Freedom for the working class!’”

— Mary Harris Jones, labor organizer lll

“I have no power of submitting tamely to injustice inflicted either on me or on the slave.

I will oppose it with all the moral powers with which I am endowed. I am no advocate of passivity.”

— Lucretia Mott, feminist and abolitionist lll

“Loosen your girdle and let ’er fly!”

— “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias (above), athlete “Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.”

— Susan B. Anthony, suffragist lll

“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”

— Rachel Carson, marine biologist and author lll

“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”

— Amelia Earhart, aviator lll

“Energy rightly applied can accomplish anything.”

— Nellie Bly, investigative journalist

“I can truthfully say I know of no other recreation that will do so much toward keeping a woman in good health and perfect figure than a few hours spent occasionally at trap shooting.”

— Annie Oakley, markswoman lll

“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”

— Harriet Tubman, slave, liberator of slaves and spy lll

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

— Nancy Willard, poet and writer lll

“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power.

You just take it.”

— Roseanne Barr, actress

SOURCES: BIOGRAPHY.COM, WWW.GREAT-INSPIRATIONAL-QUOTES.COM; HTTP://WWW.LOC.GOV/TEACHERS/ CLASSROOMMATERIALS/PRESENTATIONSANDACTIVITIES/PRESENTATIONS/WOMENS-WORDS/ALTERNATIVE.HTML

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

— Dolly Parton, singer lll

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”

— Peace Pilgrim, teacher, spiritual leader and peace prophet lll

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.”

— Barbara Johnson, best-selling writer lll

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady lll

“I am not afraid… I was born to do this.”

— Joan of Arc, Catholic saint and martyr

“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”

— Janis Joplin (above), singer

lll

“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

— Harriet Beecher Stowe, American abolitionist and author lll

“The soul should always stand ajar.

Ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”

— Emily Dickinson, American poet lll

“Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn’t changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I’m just wearing better shoes.”

— Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and producer lll

“We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.”

— Anne Frank, Holocaust victim lll

“I am prepared to sacrifice every socalled privilege I possess in order to have a few rights.”

— Inez Milholland, suffragist lll

“I was born to swing, that’s all.”

— Lil Hardin Armstrong, bandleader lll

“We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room.”

— Bella Abzug, lawyer and congresswoman lll

“I do not know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it.”

— Susan Butcher, Iditarod winner lll

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady lll

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”

— Mae Jemison, astronaut lll

“In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”

— Margaret Thatcher, British politician lll

“Life is too large to hang out a sign: ‘For Men Only.’ ” — Barbara Jordan (left), politician ILLUSTRATIONS BY MICHAEL HOGUE/ DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

STOJ

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

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james

James Moore describes himself as driven, ambitious and versatile.

The model and aspiring actor is very athletic. Contact James on Twitter and Instagram @greatness1012 or jbmoore1012@yahoo.com.

CREDIT: Dejohn Barnes Quintiara Ford is seeking a criminal justice degree. She has a Bahamian background but is a Miami native. The aspiring model has hopes of being in magazines or commercials in the future.

Big boost in sales for ‘12 Years a Slave’ book ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – “12 Years a Slave’’ is getting a post-Oscar bump – for the book it was based on.

The 19th-century memoir by ex-slave Solomon Northup jumped from No. 326 on Amazon.com before Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony to No. 19 on Monday afternoon.

The film was directed by Steve McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (CHOO’-ihtel EHJ’-ee-oh-fohr). It was among last year’s most highly praised releases and won the Oscar for best picture. It was the first film directed by a Black person to win for best picture.

The book and the movie tell of how the free-born Black Northup was kidnapped and forced into slavery. Thanks to the movie’s success, interest in the book has been revived and public high schools are starting to add it to course lists.

MCT

Chiwetel Ejiofor is Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave.”

Neil deGrasse Tyson has the right ‘star stuff’ in reboot of Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’

BY ERIC FREDERICK NEWS & OBSERVER/MCT

RALEIGH, N.C. – If science, as Neil deGrasse Tyson says, is “the passing of a torch from teacher to student to teacher,” Carl Sagan’s flame is in good hands.

“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” Tyson’s long-anticipated reboot of Sagan’s classic 1980 PBS series, premiered Sunday on Fox and nine sister networks — and its lineage is true.

The debut episode, “Standing Up in the Milky Way,” conveys both the rigor and wonder of science to the masses the way “The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean” stirred viewers of public television on the evening of Sept. 28, 1980.

The archetype series, Sagan’s “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” may have introduced more people to the scientific method and to our species’ intellectual journey than any other piece of popular culture. Nearly 34 years later, it still doesn’t feel all that dated, but Tyson and Sagan’s widow, Ann Druyan, for years have hungered to bring it to a new generation.

Sagan’s heir Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, has been an heir to Sagan since a snowy Saturday in upstate New York in December 1975.

On that day, Sagan was host to Tyson, a 17-year-old aspiring scientist from the Bronx, in his lab at Cornell University. Tyson, in a poignant aside during the new series debut, says he learned that day “the kind of person I wanted to become” — a member of “a community of minds, reaching back to antiquity and forward to the stars.”

Sagan’s sensibility, and even his voice, inhabit the new series, as do many of his narrative devices. Tyson zips through epochs and parsecs in the 2014 model of Sagan’s “ship of the imagination,” and he condenses the life

RICHARD FOREMAN JR./COURTESY OF FOX/MCT

Neil deGrasse Tyson sets off on the Ship of the Imagination to chase a single comet through its million-year plunge toward the sun in “When Knowledge Conquered Fear” episode of “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,” airing March 23 at 9 p.m. on FOX and March 24 at 10 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel. of the universe into a single year to convey its chronology on a tangible scale, as Sagan did. (The Milky Way was born, by the way, on March 15; our Sun on Aug. 31.

Stay tuned for Dec. 17; it’s quite a day.)

And yes, we’re still made of “star stuff.”

Tyson’s in command Tyson, in his own way, is a guide every bit as engaging as his mentor. He’s a big nerd one minute, talking about methane lakes on Titan, and a street sophisticate the next, slipping on shades to shield his eyes from the Big Bang. His awe at the marvels of time, space and the human experience will translate well to the initiates.

Druyan’s script is elegant. New discoveries are woven in (sorry, Pluto). And if fans of Sagan fear that the updated special ef-

fects will overwhelm the story, they needn’t worry. The vessel is sleek, but Tyson is in command.

Some might see a small misstep in the use of animated recreations of historical events in lieu of the original series’ human re-enactments. The animated narratives seem a bit crude amid the dazzling computer-generated imagery.

But it’s to a genius of pop animation that we owe a debt for this cosmic encore. Seth MacFarlane, the man behind “Family Guy” and a fan of Sagan, is one of the executive producers with Druyan, and the quest to update “Cosmos” got a final push when MacFarlane brought Fox aboard after a lunch conversation with Tyson in 2009.

On an adventure Five years later, and nearly 18 years after Sagan died, science

is under attack, even more than it was three decades ago when that geeky-cool astronomer from Brooklyn was its premier evangelist. But the first episode of Tyson’s series, like Sagan’s, is reassuringly defiant.

Sagan’s utter rejection of creationism in the PBS series, a gutsy stand taken on the public dime, reverberates. Any fundamentalists who tune in, perhaps out of curiosity, will abandon Tyson’s ship 15 minutes after it sails.

And that’s fine with him. He’s on an adventure.

“Cosmos” premiered at 9 p.m.

Sunday on 10 networks: Fox, FX, FXX, FXM, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Life, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo. New episodes will air Sundays at 9 p.m. on Fox and Mondays at 10 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.

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F0OD

MARCH 14 – MARCH 20, 2014

MORNING ENERGY MOCHA BALLS Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Makes: 20 balls 1 1/4 cups Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Chocolatey Almond Crunch cereal 1/2 cup walnut halves 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon flax seeds 1 teaspoon sesame seeds 4 tablespoons almond butter 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons dried cranberries 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons espresso powder 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt 1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut for rolling (optional) Place cereal in a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add walnut halves, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, almond butter, honey, maple syrup, cran­berries, vanilla, espresso powder and sea salt to bowl. Process until well blended and mix­ture forms stiff dough. Remove dough and form into compact ball with hands. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in toasted coconut, if desired.

Place balls on wax-paper lined sheet and let stand for about one hour, then transfer to tin or container with tight lid. Balls will keep for at least a week at room temperature, or they can be chilled.

Morning Energy Mocha Balls

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Whether eating together as a family, or enjoying breakfast on-the-go, it’s easy to boost the nutritional value of morning meals by incorporating foods with whole grain, protein and fiber.

Fueling your body and refreshing your brain, a breakfast packed with these nutrients makes for a produc­tive and efficient day. So jump-start your day with a nutritious breakfast that will provide lasting energy and help keep you satisfied.

The benefits really stack up — from lower levels of stress and fatigue, to helping you maintain a healthy weight.

Fuel up the family Make breakfast a priority by stock­ing up on nutritious foods the whole family will enjoy, such as the new Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy cereal. Each serving is loaded with whole grain, 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, giving you the energy to help get you going and keep you going!

Make time for it While many believe their lives are simply too busy to include energy-boosting meals in their day, there are easy ways to work it into your hectic routine. Need an on-the-go breakfast? This recipe for Morning Energy Mocha Balls features Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Chocolatey Almond Crunch cereal. It is an easy no-bake option and you can whip up a big batch to last you through the week. In the morning, just throw a few Mocha Balls in a baggy and enjoy these bite-sized breakfast treats wherever your morning takes you.

Smoothies are also a breakfast favorite, perfect for blending, grabbing and getting you on your way. Fill up your favorite to-go cup with this Mixed Berry Smoothie to enjoy on your way to work or school. Or, gather the family together and warm up your weekend morning routine with this delicious recipe for Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Berries.

For more information, visit: www.honeybunchesofoats. com or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/honeybunchesofoats and Twitter: www.twitter.com/ HBOats

TOJ

CINNAMON BREAKFAST SQUARES WITH YOGURT AND BERRIES Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Makes: 6 breakfast squares 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Cinnamon Crunch cereal 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 3 eggs 1/2 cup nonfat milk 2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup (6 ounces) Greek yogurt 3 cups fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) or favorite fruit of choice Honey, for drizzling Nutmeg or cinnamon, for sprinkling Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly butter and flour 8-inch square pan, or coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

In mixing bowl, stir together cereal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon. While stirring, slightly crush cereal using back of spoon or rubber scraper; set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs until well blended.

Add milk, melted butter and vanilla; mix well. Com­bine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour batter (it will be thin) into prepared baking pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until it is set when lightly touched in middle. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool for 10 min­utes. To serve, cut into 6 equal-sized bars and place on serving plates. Top each square with a dollop of Greek yogurt, surround with fruit and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon and serve immediately.

MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Makes: 4 servings 1/2 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted cereal 2 cups cold fat free milk 1 container (6 ounces) strawberry low-fat yogurt 1 package (4-serving size) strawberry flavor gelatin 1 cup frozen mixed berries Place all ingredients in blender; cover. Blend on high speed for 15 seconds, or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Berries

LITTLE WAYS TO START YOUR DAY Beyond a balanced breakfast, there are other ways to start your morning off right. Try these tips to put some pep in your step and begin your day energized and prepared for whatever comes: Hydrate: Replenish your body with a generous glass of water.

This small action will provide your body with the hydration it needs.

Move around: If you don’t have time to start your day at the gym, work in a ten-minute walk around the neighborhood. Just a few minutes of moving will get your blood pumping and help you start your day off on the right foot.

Make a plan: Do you have anything you would like to accomplish today? Set yourself up for success by writing down all the things you would like to complete for the day.

Mixed Berry Smoothie