Florida Courier - March 22, 2013

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MARCH 22 - MARCH 28, 2013

VOLUME 21 NO. 12

WAS IT WORTH IT? COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

Billions of dollars spent. Millions of armed services members deployed. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed. Thousands of Americans dead. Ten years after George W. Bush started the Iraq War, we count the cost – thus far.

COLUMBUS, GA. – Every morning, Phyllis Bailey whispers a prayer and lights a candle at her Fort Mitchell home in memory of her daughter, Lakeshia, an Army sergeant who died in 2010 while serving in Iraq. “I find peace within that candle, I don’t know why,” she said softly while re- er of the toll war took on flecting on her life without their families. ROBIN TRIMARCHI/COLUMBUS LEDGER-ENQUIRER/MCT her daughter. “It just helps me.” Sgt. Lakeshia Phyllis Bailey lights a candle every day next to a photoFor survivors like Baigraph of her daughters Lakeshia, left, and Candace, and a ley, this week’s 10th an- M. Bailey family portrait of the Baileys. Sgt. Lakeshia M. Bailey was Lakeshia Bailey was a niversary of the Iraq in23 when she was killed in Iraq on March 9, 2010. vasion is another remind- fun-loving military brat

who wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father, Sgt. 1st Class Tony Bailey. A native of Greenville, Ala., Bailey grew up traveling the world with her military family. She grad-

uated from high school in 2004 and began pursuing an early childhood education degree in college. But she soon decided she wanted to travel abroad. So she joined the Army in February 2006. Her parents were supportive. But Tony Bailey, who served in Bosnia and Desert Storm, warned his daughter of the potential dangers. “She told me in so many words, ‘Well, Dad, if I lose my life, then I will lose my life fighting for what I believe,’” Tony Bailey said. See IRAQ, Page A2

Former State ‘Reasons’ to go to Jazz in the Gardens Sen. Larcenia Bullard dies FLORIDA COURIER / OUT AND ABOUT

South Florida Democrat loved friends, foes COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

Former Sen. Larcenia Bullard, a popular and gregarious figure in the Capitol whose husband and son followed her into the Florida Legislature, died March 16. She was 65. Sen. Bullard, a Miami Democrat who was replaced in the state Senate last fall by her son Dwight, had health problems in recent years. She died in her hometown, Allendale, S.C., while on vacation with her husband, former state Rep. Edward Bullard. She went to the emergency room after feeling ill and later died there. A tearful Sen. Dwight Bullard paid tribute Tuesday on the Senate floor to his mother, calling her his “No. 1 cheerleader.” The Miami Democrat described his mother walking the halls of the Capitol, smiling, hugging and speaking to everyone. “She lived to serve,’’ he said. “Many of us discovered service. My mother was born into it.”

Flood of tributes

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER

Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire belted out the band’s hits at Jazz in the Gardens in Miami Gardens last weekend. Florida Courier photojournalists Kim Gibson and Delroy Cole were there. See story and pictures on Page B1; more pictures at www.flcourier.com.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Public comes to aid of 10 children whose mom died in accident

Jackson becomes B-CU’s ‘permanent’ president BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER

NATION | a6

GOP report: Party must change to win again

FINEST | B5

Meet Rose

ALSO INSIDE

During a scheduled board meeting at Bethune-Cookman University, the B-CU Board of Trustees asked interim president Dr. Edison Jackson if he wanted the job permanently. Jackson – who last month told the Florida Courier exclusively, “If asked, I will serve” – agreed to do so. In a statement released by the university, Trustee Board Chairman John W. Harrington announced Jackson as the university’s 6th president. “President Jackson has

brought the emphasis on academic excellence and our core values that was sorely needed,” Harrington said. Following his Dr. Edison appointment, Jackson Jackson said, “It is quite an honor to be selected by the Board of Trustees of Bethune-Cookman University and serve as the permanent president ushering in a new era of excellence for this university.” Harrington said board members realized during a January retreat that they had in place an interim president who represented the kind of leader they sought to be president.

Three-year term Jackson became B-CU’s interim president on May 14, 2012. He replaced Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed, who retired after seven years with the institution. Reed was the first woman president of B-CU since its founder, Dr.

Mary McLeod Bethune. Jackson’s tenure will begin immediately and will conclude on July 1, 2016. A search committee will be appointed in January 2015 to name a successor before Jackson’s departure. This will be Jackson’s third college or university presidency. He served as president of Compton Community College in Compton, Calif., and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.

Last week, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, sent a memo to senators and staff noting that Larcenia Bullard had been on the Senate floor to be with her son on the session’s first day. “Larcenia Bullard had the biggest heart in the Senate,’’ Gaetz wrote. “A proud Democrat, she was never an uncompromising partisan. A political pioneer among African-Americans, her passion for fairness and justice extended to all people. Every hard fight in committee or tough debate on the Senate floor always ended with her warmly embracing those with whom she disagreed and assuring them of her love.” Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, DFort Lauderdale, issued a statement saySee BULLARD, Page A2

New initiatives Since arriving at B-CU, Jackson has established what he calls Freshman College, which provides new students a comprehensive first-year experience with structured support to ensure a seamless transition from high school to college. He has established an Honors College to provide the university’s brightest students with a variety of opportunities to develop as scholars and what he calls “servant leaders.”

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Larcenia Bullard died a few days after her last appearance in the Florida Senate.

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX: OBAMA SHOULD FOLLOW LEAD OF CATHOLICS | A5


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