Florida Courier - March 27, 2015

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A ‘Cookie Lyon’ approach to advocacy for HBCUs See Page A2

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MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

VOLUME 23 NO. 13

AFGHANISTAN, THE GOP, IRAN President Obama’s full plate this week includes slowing down troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, fighting the GOP budget, and selling a nuclear deal with Iran.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON – Here’s a partial list of issues President Obama is grappling with this week.

Troop pullout slows

his country.

Karzai’s refusal to approve a bilateral security agreement necessary to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan left relations with the White House in tatters last year. Ghani made signing the accord one of his first official acts after his election in the country’s first peaceful and democratic transition of power last fall.

The administration had planned to cut the U.S. military force to about 5,500 troops this year as part of a phased withdrawal. But Obama says he now plans to keep the current force of 9,800 troops there through the end of the year, although he still plans to end America’s longest war before he leaves office.

President Barack Obama has made the steady withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan a top priority for his second term, but his decision Tuesday to change course and slow the drawdown reflects a renewed concern about terrorism threats and a clear rapport with Afghanistan’s new president after years of friction with his predecessor.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, a U.S.-educated technocrat who spent 15 years working at the World Bank in Washington, replaced Hamid Karzai, who often Staying the course At a White House news conferwas harshly critical of U.S. policies and tactics even as American ence with Ghani, Obama said he troops were fighting and dying in hasn’t changed his plan to shrink

Mental health scrutinized Lawmakers may increase coordination, funding

the U.S. force in Afghanistan to a limited security and military aid mission, with several hundred military personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul late next year. He said the “specific trajectory” of that drawdown would be set later this year.

The deadline for the “normalization of our presence in Afghanistan remains the end of 2016,” Obama said. “That hasn’t changed. Our transition out of a combat role has not changed.”

But he said he had decided to leave all U.S. troops in place this year “to help Afghan forces succeed so we don’t have to go back, so we don’t have to respond in an emergency because terrorist activities are being launched from Afghanistan.”

OLIVIER DOULIERY/TNS

President Obama spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani durThousands dead ing a White House meeting on Tuesday. Ghani’s election in 2014 The U.S.-led invasion in late marked the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s See OBAMA, Page A2 history.

JAZZ IN THE GARDENS 2015

Funkin’ in Miami Gardens

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – As Florida lawmakers study the impact of mental illness on the state’s troubled criminal justice and childprotection systems, the House and Senate are proposing major overhauls of services and funding for treatment programs.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed one such proposal (SB 7068), which would change the way mental-health and substanceabuse services are administered, coordinate them with primary health care and seek to increase Medicaid funding for them.

“The bill will lead to more continuity and less fragmentation of services,” Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, said in a prepared statement.

“People suffering from mental illness and substance abuse will receive more effective treatment, and the service delivery system will be more accountable to the taxpayers who fund these important efforts.”

Trumpeter Tom Browne was one of a stellar group of performers appearing at the 10th annual Jazz in the Gardens music festival March 21-22.

See stories and pictures on Page B1 and B2.

Coordinated effort Two House panels, meanwhile, have launched related proposals.

On Tuesday, the House Children, Families and Seniors Sub-

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURER

See HEALTH, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Senate panel approves school gun bill NATION | A6

Obama: Make voting in U.S. mandatory Report shows spending power of minorities FOOD | B6

Not to early to ponder Easter desserts

ALSO INSIDE

Zimmerman blames media, Obama, system

BY RENE STUTZMAN ORLANDO SENTINEL / TNS

ORLANDO – In his first public comments since the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not prosecute him for violating Trayvon Martin’s civil rights, George Zimmerman says President Obama victimized him.

The president should never have allowed the DOJ investigation and is guilty of ramping up racial tension when he said, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman is the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who

killed Martin, an unarmed Black 17-year-old, in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012, setting off civil rights demonstrations across the country and beyond. A Seminole County jury acquitted Zimmerman of manslaughter in 2013.

Low profile Zimmerman went into hiding after the shooting and has rejected most media requests for interviews. But on March 8, he video-recorded an interview in Orlando with his Tampa-based divorce lawyer, Howard Iken.

In it, he faulted the media for portraying him as a racist and the criminal justice system for

bringing him to trial, but saved his harshest criticism for Obama – whom he accused of trying to prosecute “an innocent American.”

“For him to make incendiary comments as he did and direct the Department of Justice to pursue a baseless prosecution, he by far overstretched, overreached,” Zimmerman said.

The president, who he referred to as “Barack Hussein Obama,” should have told the public, “ FLORIDA COURIER FILES ‘Let’s not rush to judgment,’ ” George Zimmerman says Zimmerman said.

On Feb. 24, the Department of he should never have been Justice announced that it would arrested for killing Trayvon See ZIMMERMAN, Page A2 Martin.

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: ROGER CALDWELL: IS SCOTT TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE? | A4

A2

FOCUS

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

‘Cookie Lyon,’ politics, and the evolution of HBCU advocacy Howard University alumna Taraji P. Henson recently earned headlines for insisting that her son transfer to Howard following a racial profiling incident at his previous school, the University of Southern California.

The move, thought by some to be a statement of social justice advocacy, was as powerful a pop cultural statement on the value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as it was on the eroding state of respectability politics for Black students at predominantly White schools.

Around the same time, University of North Carolina Board of Governors Member Harry Smith was declaring a new day of austerity for the state’s higher education system.

Campuses with low enrollments, subpar graduation, retention, and job placement rates, as well as the state’s five public historically Black colleges, will face tough questions, he said. HBCUs are a singular target.

“People have been ducking this conversation for a long time,” according to Smith.

JARRETT L. CARTER, SR. GUEST COMMENTARY

No surprise Henson has long been vocal in her support for Howard and all historically Black colleges, even starring in a film about Tennessee State University’s golf program. For a tenured celebrity to attach HBCU advocacy to a Black America’s trending focus on social justice is not only warranted, but also desperately needed.

Smith’s comments aren’t surprising either. A 2013 New York Times editorial, “The Decline of North Carolina,” revealed the casualties of Republican politics on poverty, public education and voting rights.

We know Those of us reared in HBCU communities and campuses can relate to the anecdotal, lifechanging power of the HBCU ex-

perience. The notions of caring professors, exposure to the diversity of the African Diaspora, professional networking, the legacy of social justice and community mobility is something with which all of our physical senses and cultural sensibilities can identify.

So we fight government attempts to close or marginalize our campuses, all the while knowing that what is best about HBCU culture cannot and is not measured for federal higher education data.

While we know that the HBCU is a conscious choice and not a last resort for most students, we also realize that the lack of success by students given a shot at college who otherwise would not have it is what fuels the anti-HBCU narrative.

The lives that are saved and the communities that are improved because of the HBCU aren’t reflected in graduation or retention rates, or sprawling campuses, or powerful sports teams in NCAA competition.

No. An HBCU is just a place where a Black mother can send her son and know that it is more likely than not that he will complete a degree without being bullied or attacked by police. But in the public square, it is not a storyline good enough to counter the questions of relevance, resources and respect.

Under attack Opponents say HBCUs drain taxpayer investment and inter-

est through race and underperformance. And while they understand that no school that is underfunded will perform as if it is replete with cash, it is an easy argument to move the lunatic fringe to action.

So, we go back and forth in a familiar cycle of hunter and the hunted. State legislators attack an HBCU, alumni and students rally and bring national attention, the legislators fall back and grumble about how Black students and public dollars would be better off going somewhere else, so they withhold more funds during the next budget cycle.

We’ve seen it play out in attacks on Florida A&M University, Southern University of New Orleans, Albany State University, Elizabeth City State University, South Carolina State University, and the University of ArkansasPine Bluff.

These efforts don’t get the same coverage as Black students being attacked at White schools, but they are just as degrading, dehumanizing, and destructive to culture and perceptions about Black people.

So to bring more Black students to HBCUs, to convince more Black people of the importance of HBCU sustainability, both Henson and Smith’s perspectives must become second nature in our advocacy and outreach strategies.

We must do more We must still emphasize the

HEALTH committee approved a measure (PCB CFSS 15-01) similar to the Senate plan. The panel’s chairwoman, Rep. Gayle Harrell, RStuart, said it was part of a coordinated effort with the House Judiciary Committee to boost the roles of mental health and drug courts in judicial proceedings.

Harrell’s subcommittee also approved a study intended to better serve people with mental illness or substance-abuse disorders.

Mostly, the mental-health proposals drew praise – from those who use the services, their loved ones and professionals in the field.

Good start

OBAMA from A1

2001 aimed to eradicate a sanctuary for al-Qaida, the terrorist network that launched the Sept. 11 attacks, and oust the Taliban from power. It proved relatively easy to topple the Taliban, but difficult over the next 14 years to pacify or unify a poverty-stricken country ruled by warlords.

About 850,000 U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan, and 2,356 died there, but the Taliban insurgency remains very much alive.

Afghan security forces took over primary responsibility for combat operations last year.

Since then, more than 9,000 troops and police have been killed in action, a casualty level that a senior U.S. general in November called “unsustainable.”

The Afghan army managed to hold off insurgent attempts to recapture major towns in the south last year, but it still has large gaps that will take years to fill, including the need to build an air force and the capability to keep units supplied in the field, U.S. commanders say.

Obama has come under growing pressure to ease back on his drawdown, or at least to leave the decision to the

Jarrett L. Carter, Sr. is the founding editor of HBCU Digest (www.HBCUDigest.com).

Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

‘Terrible idea’

from A1

“It’s a start on addressing some of the issues we think are important,” Mark Fontaine, executive director of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, said after the House meeting.

“Yet it also builds in that study to look deeper into them, to make sure we can get the expertise to guide us and learn what’s happening in other states.”

But one part of the proposals drew a mixed response. Both chambers would alter the way socalled managing entities, which administer substance-abuse and mental-health treatment at the regional level, bid on contracts with the Department of Children and Families.

“We wanted to make sure that

family atmosphere of the HBCU, but support that with data and examples that show that Black students can achieve professional goals set at HBCUs, and can become nationally recognized in a range of fields, even today.

HBCUs must do a better job of establishing and promoting professional networks, in bringing established alumni back to campus to serve as mentors and donors, and in connecting corporations to the campus for career and philanthropic pipelines. Our institutions must connect with alumni and students, and develop them as recruiters, spokespersons, fundraisers and legislative lobbyists for HBCUs. Those that do not take these steps, or believe that they will always have a decent cross-section of students to make tuition goals, will not have the chance at a rude awakening; they will be dead.

Compassion and productivity are not mutually exclusive.

But until we make the connection between the two, we should be frightened at the prospect of a caring Hollywood star being our best hope against higher education officials with their eyes on the data and their fingers on triggers.

JEFF WHEELER/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS

A magnetoencephalography image showing a human brain at work is one of the tools used to detect and diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder. (the managing entities) had the tools with which to do what we charge them to do, and that is to provide an integrated, coordinated system of care,” Harrell said.

“We want to make sure we have competition in the system.”

Bid system proposed There are seven managing entities statewide, and the House

next occupant in the White House. House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that Obama shouldn’t be “dictating policy preferences divorced from security realities.”

House approves budget House Republicans pushed past their internal divisions to approve a budget blueprint Wednesday, putting the new Congress on track to notch a significant achievement once Senate Republicans pass their version by the end of the week.

The ambitious but largely symbolic spending proposals adhere to Republican ideas for slashing social safety-net programs and lowering tax rates.

But the GOP has drawn criticism for dramatically boosting defense spending in a way that breaks with the Republican pledge to stick to deficit-lowering limits imposed at their own behest just a few years ago.

The Senate, meanwhile, continued working through amendments to its plan. Once both chambers finish their work this week, new challenges await when they return from a spring break next month. They must reconcile their different plans, which could prove difficult if they hope to achieve one of their top goals – passage of a bill to repeal Obama’s health care law.

proposal would require that at least two of them bid on each contract – or the bidding process could be opened to for-profit companies and Medicaid managed-care organizations.

The Senate plan would go further, adding, “Failure by a managing entity to implement a coordinated care organization constitutes a disqualification … and

Constant fight Though the House has voted more than 50 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, legislation has never been sent to the president because it could not overcome opposition in the Senate.

The budget process offers a special opportunity that would allow Republicans to pass a bill to repeal the health care law with only a simple majority, averting a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

Obama would veto such legislation, but getting the measure to the president’s desk would give Republicans boasting rights in future election campaigns.

Passage of the budget proposals also fulfills a GOP promise to break the gridlock in Congress and govern more effectively. Republicans frequently criticized Democrats for failing to pass a budget in recent years when they held the majority in the Senate.

Nuclear deal close If all goes according to plan, U.S. officials will return home from Lausanne, Switzerland next week declaring they have reached a historic agreement that will restrict Iran’s nuclear program forever.

Iranian officials will be in Tehran triumphantly explaining that they have secured a

DCF must begin procurement of another managing entity.”

Both chambers would require the managing entities’ contracts to be performance-based and include consequences for failing to comply.

“We’re not getting the data, so we’re putting a little hook in there,” Harrell said.

deal that will free Iran in a few years to pursue its nuclear program just like any other country.

The nuclear negotiations, which have been underway for more than two years, have reached a crucial phase, with both sides indicating that a deal is near. Agreement on at least the outline of a deal could be reached in a few days, diplomats say.

Over the next few months, U.S. and Iranian officials are likely to be making starkly contradictory cases about the deal they have reached, both seeking to sell it at home.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has set the bar sky high for what sort of deal will be acceptable, saying any agreement must preserve Iran’s “dignity and integrity” by giving it the freedom accorded any other country to pursue a civilian nuclear program.

Under pressure from Congress, Israel and Iran’s Arab rivals, the Obama administration is living under the rule of “distrust and verify.”

David S. Cloud, Lisa Mascaro, Christi Parsons, and Paul Richter (Tribune Washington Bureau) all contributed to this report.

But while Barney Bishop, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance, praised the House proposal Tuesday, he called the change in the bidding process “a terrible idea.” He said the managing entities should remain non-profit because their administrative costs are capped at less than 4 percent.

“You’re probably not going to find a for-profit company that’s going to come in and do it for 4 percent, and even if they do, they’re going to want to make a profit on top of that,” Bishop said.

“A for-profit is going to make one thing: a profit.”

Mike Watkins, who oversees the managing entity for the Big Bend region, said the state doesn’t have enough money to serve all “clients that otherwise have no insurance or funding source to get their needs met. We are not in a position to direct any funds away from those clients.”

Watkins also noted that the most of the managing entities have only been operating for two years. The 2001 Legislature authorized them on a pilot basis, but full implementation did not begin until April 2013.

“I think it’s premature to introduce a new governance structure,” Watkins said.

Fontaine agreed that most of the managing entities are young.

“And anything that’s young takes a while to get their feet under them,” he said. “They are doing a much better job at addressing care coordination in the communities and responsible care. I think we’re making progress.”

ZIMMERMAN from A1

file no charges against Zimmerman and was closing its 3-year-old investigation. According to Iken, federal authorities have not returned to Zimmerman the Kel-Tec 9mm semiautomatic pistol that he used to kill Martin.

‘System failed’ “Do you have a clean conscience at this point?” the lawyer asked about the shooting.

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you wish (it)…had turned out differently?”

“I believe that the American judicial system failed in the sense that I should not even (have) gone to trial, but I do believe that the jury process succeeded,” Zimmerman said.

He said he’s convinced there’s nothing he could have done differently that would have allowed both he and Martin to survive their confrontation that night.

“In all fairness, you cannot as a human feel guilty for living, for surviving,” he said.

“Are you the same person right now that you were five years ago?”

Iken asked.

“Absolutely not,” Zimmerman said.

“I have to have my guard up…I still believe that people are truly good at heart, as Anne Frank has said, and I will put myself in any position to help another human in any way I can.”

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

FLORIDA

A3

Senate panel approves school gun bill Measure would allow designated workers or volunteers to carry weapons

Concerned parents attend a meeting with Sunrise Middle School Principal Michael Walker at the school’s cafeteria on March 2 in reference to weapons found on a student last week. A 13-yearold student was taken into custody after it was discovered that he had a gun, knife, ammunition, mask and fireworks in his book bag on campus.

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – A Florida Senate panel on Monday approved what backers call a “school safety” bill that would allow school superintendents to tap employees or volunteers to carry concealed weapons on school property.

The measure (SB 180) passed the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on a party-line vote of 3-2 – the first Senate committee to approve the bill this year.

Committee Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker, is sponsoring the bill.

This is the third year the proposal has surfaced, and the House version, HB 19

by Rep. Greg Steube, RSarasota, has already been approved by two committees.

Under the proposal, only people with law enforcement or military experience, in good standing, could qualify to become armed school security. They would also be required to hold concealed-

JIM RASSOL/ SUN SENTINEL/TNS

weapons permits, pass background checks and go through a training program created by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Opposed by teachers Several educators, however, spoke against the measure.

“We’re just opposed to the idea that having more guns is a good idea for safety,” Barbara Holley, a retired elementary school

principal, told the Senate committee. “There’s no evidence that having more guns around children will make children safer.”

Barbara Kirby-Bentley, a teacher with the Seminole County School Board, contended that guns are not safe in a school environment.

“You read every day about children attacking teachers in the classroom,” she said. “You read every day about students at-

tacking law enforcement of some other adult who has authority over them. Just think of the anger they’re showing now – and if you put guns on campus, there’s another opportunity for the loss of life.”

Democrats on the panel objected as well.

Dem: Hire officers “In my county, Palm Beach County, we pay to have full-time school police officers,” Sen. Jeff Clemens,

D-Lake Worth. “If we’re going to do this, we should do it the right way and that’s to hire – and the state should pay for – school police officers to be in the school full time.”

Clemens said he thought Steube was trying to do the right thing, “but I’m still not all the way there yet.”

But Steube, who presented the bill to the Senate panel, pointed to part of the bill that would require school boards to consult

with law enforcement to come up with policies and procedures for dealing with active shooters, hostage situations “and anything else that (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) thinks is appropriate.”

“Right now that course doesn’t even exist,” Steube said. “School resource officers don’t even go through any training specific to school safety.”

The bill faces two more Senate committees.

There’s still hope for survival of St. Pete’s only African-American museum

BY SAMUEL JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

The fate of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum is looking less gloomy as of late.

St. Petersburg is poised to

buy the Woodson museum property and then lease it back the museum, as is the case with many of the city’s other museums.

This move was announced this month by Mayor Rick Kriseman and

Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin during a press conference at the museum’s building, which is at the center of the dispute.

As the dust settles on the city’s proposal, the museum’s administration is re-

servedly upbeat about the future of the museum’s location.

The Florida Courier previously reported that the St. Petersburg Housing Authority voted in January to sell the building and put the museum on a sixmonth notice. This set off a chain of community pressure and support for the preservation of the museum.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Florida Congresswoman Kathy Castor and members of Sen. Marco Rubio’s team also have weighed in on the current and future status of the museum.

Hope VI Grant Ray Arsenault, University of South Florida professor of Florida History and Woodson museum board member, said closer examination by the Feds of key documents started the ball rolling in a positive direction. He said, “a Housing and Urban Development group came. They stated unequivocally that under the Hope 6 Grant... created and allowed us to have the museum.”

The initial charter, The Hope VI Grant, was the bedrock on which the Woodson Museum rested.

In order to examine what exactly the legalese stipulated, the museum board needed a copy of the grant.

Just getting a copy of the Hope 6 grant proved a difficult task. Arsenault thinks he knows why. “ It was just crazy that we were sort of being stonewalled. Being told, ‘Well, you can have the document, but it will cost you $500. So it was clear that someone didn’t want us to see it because I think it had certain statements in it that were to our favor in terms

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority voted in January to sell the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum. of maintaining it as a museum that it could not just be bought by somebody and turned into a restaurant or whatever.”

Centerpiece of trail The future of the current location of the museum, the only African-American museum in St. Petersburg, seems rosier.

Terri Lipsey-Scott, the museum’s chair of the board, said despite the newfound optimism, the reality is that the museum is still on the verge of eviction.

She and the board is requesting a revisit of the housing authority vote.

“We’re hopeful that the board will consider renewing or extending our lease agreement, but to this date it hasn’t been suggested,” she said.

The Woodson museum is located in what is called “The Deuces,” a historically Black neighborhood. It is one of the centerpieces of the St. Petersburg African-

American Heritage Trail.

Strike’s staging ground This trail, which crisscrosses along 22nd Street and Ninth Avenue South, details African-American historic buildings, people and events that helped shape the neighborhood.

Arsenault, who has been one of the expert advisors of the trail, said the building that houses the museum has a rich and important history.

“See, they tore down the original Jordan Park housing project and rebuilt it.

The only thing they left standing was this community center, which is an historic building in its own right. It was the staging ground for the sanitation workers strike of 1968, which was really the biggest event in the Civil Rights Movement in St. Petersburg.”

A resolution to the museum’s crisis has not been finalized and the mid-July vacate date still stands.

Reduction in real-estate lease tax approved THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Florida’s future is only as bright as theirs.

With an education, the sky’s the limit for Florida students.

It’s why we’ve contributed more than $27 billion to education over the past 27 years. That’s more than a billion dollars to education every year. We don’t just believe in the future of our state. We’re investing in it.

Visit flalottery.com/education.do to learn more about our commitment to education. flalottery.com Must be 18 or older to play. Play responsibly. © 2015 Florida Lottery

A Senate committee Monday approved a plan that would reduce from 6 percent to 5 percent a tax on commercial real-estate leases. The Finance and Tax Committee supported the bill (SB 140), which Chairwoman Dorothy Hukill, RPort Orange, said would help small businesses.

Hukill, who is sponsoring the bill, also said the lease tax hurts Florida’s ability to compete for businesses that plan to relocate.

Under the bill, the cut would take effect Jan. 1, 2016, and would reduce state tax revenue by $97.8 million and local tax revenue by $12.7 million during the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to a Senate staff analysis.

During later years, when the cut would be in effect for a full 12 months, it would reduce state tax revenue by an estimated $234.9 million and local tax revenue by $30.3 million. Amber Hughes, a lobbyist for the Florida League of Cities, said local governments are concerned about the reduction in revenue under the bill.

EDITORIAL

A4

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

I am not bitter I went to church during “Women’s Month” and listened to a beautiful message I love to hear about “Naomi,” a woman that had her ups and downs in Biblical days and was often described as being bitter. The story about Naomi can be found in the Bible book of Ruth. I encourage you to read it.

Some people also describe Lucius Gantt as “bitter!”

I don’t describe myself that way but I’m not surprised to hear people say that about me.

God has blessed me with a lot of talent just as he has blessed, in some way, all of the people that choose to read The Gantt Report.

I love God, I love my neighbors, I recognize Jesus as a prophet, a messiah and a savior and I go to church more than most men I know even though Christianity is not my religion of choice.

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

Monkey skin I am a practitioner of Yoruba, an African religion that is tens of thousands of years older than Christianity. If you don’t know, Western religions are highly influenced by African religions.

Certain tenets like commandments, for instance, originated long before Christianity was born and/or accepted about three or four thousand years ago.

Yorubas believe that God made everything including all creatures on earth. We believe humans can learn a lot by ob-

serving and studying animals.

Whenever you see me, I will more than likely have a piece of monkey skin on me. Why? Because I’ve had to be very versatile to survive. I’ve had to go from job to job, city to city, country to country and so forth. I’ve gone from partner to partner in business and, to a certain extent, in my love life.

The monkey skin was given to me by my religious leader, the late Silo Crespo because a monkey is the only animal that never falls! When swinging from tree to tree, if the monkey misses a limb with his hands, he will catch on with his feet. If he misses with his feet, he’ll grab hold with his tail.

‘Help from God’ My leader knew that my career would take me in many dif-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: HEAD TRAUMA AND CONGRESS

ferent directions and heights and he wanted me to be like the monkey and never fall!

Anyway, throughout my life I’ve always tried to help people in my family, in my community, in business and in any way that I could.

People suggest that I am “bitter” because when I needed a job, or a contract, or support from people that I had helped there was no help from them for me.

But that’s OK. Just like the Biblical Naomi, I get my help from God. By the time Naomi became an elderly woman her husband and her two sons had died. She was living in a town with only her two daughters in law to care for her so she decided to go back to the town she came from, alone.

One of the women wanted to stay where she was and the other decided to join her on the trip.

Thankful, not bitter Everyone has to choose their own path. Everyone has to

Invest in residents

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 251 From the New York Times – A recent headline reads, ‘Jeb Bush’s Team Plots Vast Effort to Win Florida,’ and describes how Jeb’s nascent presidential campaign will spend $50 million “to lock up Florida’s best-known political operatives, elected officials and campaign donors – offering them contracts, face time and blandishments.” Will Jeb lock out Black GOP operatives and the handful of hardcore vocal Black Republicans like Rick Scott did? Or will the financial “lock up” include funding Black GOP consultants, vendors, and activities? Money talks.

We’ll see…

Racist Oklahoma frat boy apologizes – A video recently went viral in which a group of Oklahoma University’s (allWhite) chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity (SAE) chants, “There will never be a nigger S-A-E…You can hang ‘em from a tree, it will never start with me, there will never be a nigger S-A-E.” Well, leave it to a bunch of handkerchief-headed Black preachers and spineless Black politicians to use the incident to “start a conversation” about racism.

They flanked one frat boy on the video, Levi Petitt, at a press conference in which he asked for forgiveness and begged pardon. Petitt used Negro leadership to take

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

one for his frat bruhs. How? No other SAE members on the video will be punished.

Case closed! Man, alla y’all Negroes should just siddown….

The sun still rises – My 14-year-old daughter Chayla is heartbroken because Zayn Malik of the boy band One Direction quit the group this week. (If you don’t have a daughter who’s 16 or younger, you probably don’t know who One Direction is.)

All I can do is to solemnly console her. I will remind her, however, that Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, and Dennis Edwards all left The Temptations. Teddy Pendergrass left Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Michael left The Jacksons.

Bobby Brown left New Edition. Beyoncé left Destiny’s Child. K-Ci and JoJo left Jodeci.

And the sun still rose this morning…

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.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.

While it’s a known fact that states determine the number of prisons to build based on the test schools of third, fourth, and fifth graders, we cannot overlook that profit is the underlying means. Do some people get reformed while incarcerated? Yes. However, we cannot leave out the discussion that programs not prisons will change individuals. That’s right; programs such as literacy, financial education, self-esteem, and selfworth are needed. In addition to these programs, the community has to invest in the upbringing of its residents. Simply depending on schools and houses of worship to do it all isn’t going to solve anything.

Let’s face it – the goal of many politicians and law enforcement officials is to lock up as many people as possible. Once again, this mentality lends itself to institutional racism against Black and Brown people.

What’s even more disturbing is that people will brag and boast about shows like Empire and Scandal, but don’t have the same passion, determination, and commitment to end the business of the prison industrial complex.

Get involved In order for us to rally around the need for more programs and less prisons, we need to do the following:

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DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

Get registered to vote and attend local and state meetings to see exactly what’s being proposed. If it’s not helping the community as a whole, then it’s not worth it.

Building more prisons is never effective because those beds will need to get filled and guess what – Black and Brown bodies will be sought after Encourage organizations to do more than collect membership fees and/or dues.

Demand they initiate programs that will help the people they claim to serve Hold politicians accountable who refuse to get involved. Why keep electing people into office who don’t care about their constituents except those who are wealthy and influential Work with the business community to create programs that will teach basic work ethics. In addition to this, solicit Black entrepreneurs and ask them to become mentors to those within the community Talk to local pastors and ministers about creating programs that empower people to excel.

Programs, not prisons isn’t just a slogan or phrase. It needs to be a movement that begins with all of us who care about the next generation. People are quick to boycott businesses but not quick enough to ‘Bankrupt the Prison System. Education must begin with us, if we want to see and make a change.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an activist, speaker, writer, author, life coach, and host of The Sinclair Grey Show heard on Mondays at 2 p.m. on WAEC Love 860am (iHeart Radio and Tune In). Contact him at sinclairgrey@sinclairgrey.org and on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Is Scott telling the truth about climate change?

Governor Scott likes to embarrass Florida by implementing ridiculous policies, which makes the national media ask questions such as ‘Where’s the leadership in the state?’ and ‘What are they thinking?’

In 2011, there was an unwritten policy in Scott’s administration that the state Department of Environmental Protection employees had been ordered not to use the term “climate change” and “global warming.”

Florida Governor Scott has always denied that he ever directed state officials to refrain from using such terms. Even last week Scott said, “First off, it’s not true. Let’s look at what we’ve accomplished: we’ve had significant investments in beach renourishment in flood mitigation.”

Deflection at its best W W W.FLCOURIER.COM

Buy Gantt’s books and contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Programs not prisons Whenever this country spends its time and resources locking up individuals rather than establishing programs that will keep individuals out of the system, a problem exists. When prison systems are being overcrowded with Black and Brown people, we are dealing with institutional racism. That’s right; the more minorities locked up, the perceived threat of crime and violence is eliminated. This is further from the truth because crime happens across the board within all races, ethnicities, and nationalities. However, if we’re honest for a moment, the war on locking up Black and Brown people is very real. Many Black and Brown people fail to get justice from a system that is full of ‘just us’ within a crooked system.

JOHN COLE, THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

choose who they will help, who they will appreciate or who they will support. Naomi understood that and Lucius Gantt understands that.

Sometimes I am disappointed but I am never “bitter”!

I don’t smile much but I am not bitter. I’m never the life of the party but I am not bitter.

I don’t go to many meetings, marches or rallies like I once did but I am not bitter.

Instead of guessing what I am or what I’m feeling all you have to do is ask me.

When you ask, I’ll always tell you, “I’m thankful.”

In good times or bad times, when you get help or when you don’t get help or when you get support or don’t get support you too should always be thankful!

As usual, Scott has learned to never answer a question directly, and with the truth.

Instead, our governor would rather tell reporters the good job he is doing in the state, and what he has just accomplished. By ignoring questions, Scott can keep his distance from reporters and issues that he refuses to address.

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting published a report last week which quoted employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection who claimed that their supervisors advised them to refrain from mentioning the words that scientists have used to describe the global rise in temperatures. Scott’s supervisors told their employees that they would not be allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact.

Despite numerous studies that have put South Florida at great risk due to sea level rise, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has been forced to keep their mouths closed on the subject. In the

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

coming years, Florida will be hit hard by sea level rise. It would make sense now to account for new scientific predictions about sea level rise when making policies that affect coastal communities.

An untruth But since Scott is governor of Florida, the employees have learned to keep their job by keeping their mouths shut. Even though the story broke on March 8 in most U.S. media outlets, and international media outlets in England, Australia, Norway, France, Italy, India, and Japan, Scott denies that his supervisors and department employees were ordered not to use the words “climate change” and “global warming.”

The employees know that Scott will be gone in three years, and there are departments working on climate change even if they are banned from using the words. The Department of Transportation is studying how to accommodate sea level rise in the future road plans, and how to protect existing infrastructure. The state’s water management districts are modeling sea level rise projections. The DEP is managing the damage to the coasts and monitoring saltwater incursions into freshwater aquifers.

Roger Caldwell is the founder and CEO of On Point Media. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

Connecting with businesses in Colombia – Part 1 Where do I begin to tell the story of our trade mission to the beautiful nation of Colombia? It had been in the planning stage for more than 14 years. It began when Oscar Gamboa, who works for the government, came to our office in Washington, D.C. and met with Charles DeBow. There would be numerous communications with Oscar and others but we never solidified anything because we were preoccupied with African nations.

Then, last year at our trade mission to the Dominican Republic, Juan Camilo, a consultant for the Colombian president, and Luis Playonero, president of the newly-formed African-American Chamber of Commerce for Colombia (Camara Comercio Afro Americana de Colombia) came to get a firm commitment from us to visit their nation and formally kick off their new chamber. We pledged to do it.

Planning time We would later decide on the date and begin forming the content and itinerary. Juan would be the champion on their side and Chuck would be the driver for the NBCC. We decided to do it last May, despite that being the rainy season for Colombia. This is when they get more rain than any other period but that didn’t scare us because we learned when we went to Costa Rica that the term

HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST

meant some rain each day but no serious storms. We flew to the nation on Sunday, May 18. We formed a team of 24 people and they put a promising itinerary together. They met each one of us at the Bogota International Airport.

Bogota is a city of 7.5 million people similar to the size of Chicago and Los Angeles. It is high in the mountains with an altitude of 12,000 – more than double the height of Denver. You can immediately feel it when you land. At first, it is a little annoying having to take deeper breaths but after a day it starts feeling normal. The very first thing you see are Blacks walking around everywhere. Colombia has the second largest Black population in South America, following Brazil. However, Blacks in Colombia certainly are in more prominent positions than our Brazilian brothers and sisters.

Down to business It immediately became clear to us our Colombian brothers and sisters meant straight business. The federal representatives we began meeting immediately started showing us projects that

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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GOP RANTS AT OBAMA

are coming up and invited us to join in and also tell all of Black America there is opportunity for them. They want our experience, portfolios and “muscle” to pair up with their aspiring Black entrepreneurs and move forward. The government is quite willing to do what it has to do to make this a success and a permanent relationship between Black Colombia and Black America that will make both nations stronger and secure.

Most of our Colombian brothers and sisters were familiar with us because they have either traveled extensively or lived a few years in America. More than a few had degrees from American colleges and universities. We were challenged and had to start a sharp learning curve. They knew this and were patient. We had meetings in the Executive Building for the President of Colombia.

Time to link up The highlight of the first two days were meetings with our friend, Oscar Gamboa, who is now a front line adviser to the president, and Jaime Miranda, High Presidential Counselor for Competitiveness. We had a frank two-hour session and they made it clear: It is time for Black American businesses to link up with their counterparts in Colombia.

Keep in mind both of these men answer directly to the president.

Jaime ended the discussion with

DARYL CAGLE/CAGLE CARTOONS

“I mean now! Do you want me to put it in writing?” I replied, “Just to hear you say it is all we need.”

Just when you think it cannot get better, we flew off to Cali, a city of 2.2 million people and home to their new Black chamber. Cali is 70 percent Black, vibrant and beautiful. We stayed and met at a fabulous Intercontinental Hotel.

We had a formal execution of our Memorandum of Understanding and were received by the media.

The highlight came at our business matchmaker. They were expecting 150 of their entrepreneurs to come and meet with our participants for about three hours. We were overwhelmed with over 350 Colombian entrepreneurs who came and stayed for more than five hours.

Mining, cosmetics, pharma-

ceuticals, hospital supplies, engineering, construction management, fashion, etc. are some of the deals that are now in process.

Our hospital supply business is staying over a day to close a sale on one of his products to a major hospital (724 beds). One of our mining guys has extended his stay for two weeks. The dearest thing to my heart was to see a Black female engineer from Cali hook up with our Black female engineer from Chicago.

It was a hit. Things will never be the same.

Harry C. Alford is the CoFounder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com.

Top 10 arguments for raising the minimum wage You know the minimum wage is too low when….Walmart announces it will raise its minimum wage to $10 an hour by February next year.

Here are the top ten arguments for raising the minimum wage: One. Seven Nobel Laureates in Economics endorse the higher minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016, saying it does not lead to fewer jobs.

Two. Job losses from raising the minimum wage are negligible. Minimum wage has already been raised 23 times. Every time it was raised it was opposed by some few who said “it is going to lose jobs and wreck the economy” which is factually untrue as study after study has proven.

Three. It is a myth that small business owners can’t afford to pay their workers more, and therefore don’t support an increase in the minimum wage. In fact, a June 2014 survey found that more than 3 out of 5 small business owners support in-

BILL QUIGLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

creasing the minimum wage to $10.10.

More reasons Four. The value of the minimum wage has fallen dramatically. Since the minimum wage was last raised in 2009, the price of apples went up 16%, bacon 67%, cheddar cheese 21%, coffee 27%, ground beef 39%, and milk 21%.

The minimum wage went up 0%.

Plus, in the 1960s the minimum wage was essentially half the average wage. If that was still the case it would be $12.50 an hour.

Five. Saying we have a “free market” that will take care of workers is a myth. No corporations rely on the mythical “free

Why you should never co-sign a loan Everybody needs help sometimes, but if that help comes in the form of asking you to co-sign on a loan, you should politely say “no.”

That may sound harsh but you should think of the long-term implications of co-signing your name to a loan. It can end up hurting you even more than it helps your friend or family member.

When your loved one asks for the favor, it seems like no big deal. You’re just helping your friend get approved for a car that he or she needs to get to and from work. Or you’re just being a good parent by co-signing on a loan for your child to continue pursuit of a college degree for gainful employment.

Future at risk But it’s not that person’s future that’s at risk. It’s yours. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that three out of four co-signors are asked to repay a loan because the primary borrower defaulted, or didn’t pay back, the loan.

Cosigning on a loan is a major risk because you are equally liable or responsible for repaying the loan. So if your friend or family member makes late payments or doesn’t pay at all, the loan company can go after you for the money. Plus, all of those late payments ruin your credit score. And if the person files for bankruptcy, it will show up on your

TENESHIA LAFAYE MISS MONEY SENSE

credit as being discharged in bankruptcy.

‘On the hook’ However with student loans, you usually can’t discharge them in bankruptcy.

They follow you for the rest of your life or until you pay them off. So a well-meaning parent can end up on the hook for a child’s student loan.

I recall a 20-something woman calling a financial advice television program, a couple years ago, to ask what to do now that she can’t purchase her own home because she co-signed on a mortgage for her mom. Her mom let the house fall into foreclosure, ruining the daughter’s credit.

So I don’t recommend cosigning on a loan for anyone unless it’s for a joint business venture that you are partners in.

Teneshia LaFaye is a former award-winning newspaper journalist and a nationally certified financial education instructor. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

market,” why should workers?

Corporations lobby like crazy all the time in Washington DC and before every state and local government for direct and indirect public assistance. All levels of government provide widespread corporate welfare so why not provide some help to low wage workers?

Six. In fact, one way to look at this is that low minimum wage laws are government subsidies to low wage businesses. What do working people do if they do not have enough to eat or get sick or need housing? They turn to government for public benefits. For example in the fast food industry alone research by the University of Illinois and UC Berkeley documents that taxpayers pay about $243 billion each year in indirect subsidies to the fast food industry because they pay wages so low that taxpayers must put up $243 billion to pay for public benefits for their workers.

Support for living wages Seven. There is widespread religious support for living wages.

Catholic support for living wages has been taught since 1891. In 1940, US Catholic Bishops stated: “The first claims of labor, which takes priority over any claims of the owners to profits, respects the right to a living wage.” Protestant churches have been on the record supporting living wages since 1908. Religious support for living wages has a long history and has been recently been reaffirmed by the Episcopal Church, the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, the Presbyterian Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Methodist Church.

Eight. Worker productivity has gone up much faster than wages.

Using the 1968 minimum wage as benchmark, if the minimum wage grew at same rate as worker productivity it would have reached $21.72 per hour.

Nine. It is a myth that the min-

imum wage is only for teens and entry level workers. Raising the minimum wage to $10 would impact over 15 million workers. 4.7 million working moms would get a raise if we raise it to $10.10. As would 2.6 million working dads for a total of 7 million parents.

Ten. There is widespread bipartisan support for raising the minimum wage. In a 2015 poll, 75% of Americans, including 53% of Republicans, support raising the minimum wage to $12.50 by 2020.

As President Franklin Roosevelt said in 1933: “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”

Bill Quigley teaches law at Loyola University New Orleans.

Contact him at Quigley77@ gmail.com. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Fighting for a more inclusive pulpit African-American pulpits across our nation are standing steadfast in condemning the continuous brutality and injustice against Black lives, as it plays out on American streets and often on our nightly news. It is now time for our pulpits to also turn our eyes inward and conduct an exploratory investigation into the massive killing of character and explosive hatred that is continuously aimed at the human rights and dignity of Black gay men and women, all done in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, and our loving God.

‘Misguided leadership?’

The recent press release issued by the National Baptist Fellowship of Concerned Pastors calling for Rev. Forrest E. Harris, President and CEO of the American Baptist College, to disinvite Bishop Yvette Flunder; Allan Aubrey Boesak, who holds the Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice and Reconciliation Studies at Christian Theological Seminary; and Pastor Delman Coates to preach at the 2015 Garnett-Nabrit Lecture Series is yet another example of the misguided leadership of some pulpits that must bear responsibility for some of the erosion that Black families face today.

Crucifixion is being requested for these prophetic, ambassadors of God because they are advocates of human rights for all persons and seek to tear down the walls of hatred, brutality and injustice for same-gender loving persons in our families, communities and world.

Homeless teens The U.S. Department of Education released new statistics on student homelessness, reporting that nearly 1.3 million public school stu-

PERNESSA C. SEELE NNPA GUEST COLUMNIST

have HIV by the time they are 35.

The sin of this is far too many pulpits give comfort and support to families and communities who devalue the lives of their children as they promote homelessness, suicide and death in the name of a loving God who rains fear and evil on His LGBT children. Across our nation, Black Lives Matter banners are being widely flown and worn by men and women of faith. According to biblical scriptures, all Black lives matter, including gay, bi-sexual, transgender and heterosexual lives.

The African-American church is the most influential institution in the lives of Black Americans. This is noted by Pew Research that states African-Americans stand out as the most religiously committed racial or ethnic group in the nation. Eightyseven percent of African-Americans describe themselves as belonging to one religious group or another.

The Balm In Gilead stands solidly with President Forrest Harris and The American Baptist College for your commitment to educating a new generation of faith leaders and advocates who will stand boldly against the dark forces of ignorance and hatred.

dents in the United States experienced homelessness in the 2012-13 school year. This marked an 8 percent rise from the 2011-12 school year. Every day 13 homeless youth die on American streets. The rates of African-American youth are disproportionately higher and steadily increasing every year in many cities.

It is well-documented that as many as 40 percent of homeless teens are LGBT. These youth sleep on streets; eat from trash cans and are often sexually and mentally abused because their parents decided to put them outside of the home because of their sexual orientation.

According to suicide prevention resources, LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide as their straight peers. LGBT youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGBT peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. Suicide attempts are nearly two times higher among Black and Hispanic youth than White youth. 1 out of 6 students nationwide (grades 9-12) seriously Pernessa C. Seele is founder/ considered suicide in the past year. CEO of The Balm In Gilead, Inc., an organization that develops edAll lives matter ucational and training programs For more than 30 years, the Afri- targeting African-American and can-American community has sat African congregations that strive silent while the rates of HIV among to become community centers for Black gay men and Black women reaches the highest in the nation. health education and disease preCDC reports that 1 in 4 Black gay vention. Click on this article at men will become HIV positive by www.flcourier.com to write your the time they are 25; and 1 in 2 will own response.

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MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

Report touts spending power of minorities Blacks, Asians, Hispanics are fastest-growing segment of the nation’s ‘consumer economy’

BY DIANA OZEMEBHOYA EROMOSELE THE ROOT

Advertisers looking to get the most out of their bucks should be looking to multicultural consumers.

According to a Nielsen report released last week, multicultural consumers are exhibiting tremendous spending power and are the fastest-growing segment of the country’s “consumer economy.”

The report, “The Multicultural Edge: Rising Super Consumers,” looked at the spending habits of African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanic consumers and found that aside from the approximate $3.4 trillion they’ve spent on mainstream products to date, the influence that these consumers of color have on White consumers is notable.

Monica Gil, a business executive at Nielsen who looks at multicultural growth, spoke about the significance of that influence.

“The unprecedented in-

fluence of multicultural consumers on the behavior of nonmulticultural shoppers is upending outdated assumptions and enlarging and expanding the multicultural market opportunity, which may be the key to the future,” Gil explained.

Spending influence A Nielsen press release goes on to explain that if advertisers want to understand what the spending market will do over the next several years, it will behoove them to get inside the minds of Black, Asian and Hispanic consumers.

The report suggests that “by understanding the cultural essence that drives multicultural super consumer behavior today, marketers and advertisers can better understand future market trends.”

Multicultural consumers also skew younger and, despite the spending power they wield, make up only 38 percent of the U.S. population, although they’re expected to be in the majority by 2044.

These consumers have a disproportionate spending influence in the dairy, baby food and diapers, laundry supplies and detergents, school supplies, and other family-goods industries.

ANTONIO PEREZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS

President Barack Obama casts his early votes at Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center in Chicago on Oct. 20, 2014.

Mandatory voting?

Obama says yes TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

President Barack Obama recently called for mandatory voting in America.

“Other countries have mandatory voting,” President Obama said. “It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract money more than anything.”

The Joint Center for Po-

litical and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.based think tank for Black elected officials, reported that although AfricanAmericans out vote Whites in federal elections, Black turnout in local elections is dismally low, averaging 27 percent and, in some cases, less than 10 percent.

It was not clear if Obama was discussing federal or

local elections.

Vote or be fined Pew Charitable Trusts reported that in the 2014 midterm elections in which Republicans captured the U.S. Senate and strengthen their position in the House, the national voter turnout fell below 37 percent.

“That means nearly two in three eligible voters, or approximately 144 million American citizens — more than the population of Russia chose to sit this out,” Pew reported.

Some 26 countries re-

quire citizens to vote or they will be fined. In Belgium and Australia, if person doesn’t pay his or her fine, he or she could go to jail, according to the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance, which supports sustainable democracy throughout the world.

Institute officials added that at one time Venezuela and the Netherlands practiced compulsory voting but have since abolished it. Compulsory voting was introduced in Belgium in 1892, according to the International Institute.

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Correspondent reflects on covering White House See page B5

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Chappelle among celebs coming to Florida See page B4

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Erykah Badu was a crowd-pleaser at the music festival. She performed “Bag Lady,’’ “Tyrone’’ and other hits on March 22.

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/ FLORIDA COURIER

JAZZ IN THE GARDENS 2015

FROM R&B SUPERSTARS TO JAZZ GREATS

Miami Gardens celebrates 10 years of great music with legendary artists

BY LISA ROGERS-CHERRY FLORIDA COURIER

M

usic lovers from around the world converged on South Florida for the 10th Annual Jazz in the Gardens March 21-22, a weekend packed with well-known jazz and R&B artists.

The first day of the popular Miami Gardens music festival at Sun Life Stadium was a treat for those attendees eager for some good old-school R&B. Comedians and radio talk show hosts D.L. Hughley and Rickey Smiley served as the weekend hosts.

Saturday was sold out as hundreds of thousands listened and partied to some of the nation’s best R&B performers. The March 21 lineup included local artists Karina Iglesias from “The Voice’’ and saxophonist John Erinosho; drummer extraordinaire Sheila E.; Men of Soul, made up of R&B crooners Freddie Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne and Peabo Bryson; along with soulful singers Toni Braxton and R. Kelly.

The glamorous Sheila E Although R. Kelly was the headliner, the crowd seemed to clearly enjoy Sheila E and Men of Soul the most on Saturday. Sheila E., 57, played the drums and performed with as much pizzazz and vigor as she did when she performed with the legendary Prince.

Still looking absolutely amazing, she performed several of her hit songs, including “The Glamorous Life’’ and “A Love Bizarre.’’

“It was an awesome lineup with Grammy Award-winning recording artists from all over the country. I enjoyed Jeffrey Osborne the most! The performers were as happy to be in South Florida, as we were happy to see them,” said Attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks, who sat on the first row, directly in the center both days.

Plenty of ‘woo, woo, woo’ She wasn’t alone. I heard repeatedly that Men of Soul were the best performers on Saturday. Between singing “Jam Tonight’’ Please see MUSIC, Page B2

Above: Howard Hewitt joins Sheila E onstage on March 21.

KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

Left: Toni Braxton performs hits like “Breathe Again’’ and “Seven Whole Days.’’

KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

Below left: A slender Freddie Jackson entertains the crowd.

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/ FLORIDA COURIER

Below right: Peabo Bryson captivates the audience with “Feel the Fire’’ and other favorites.

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/ FLORIDA COURIER

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and “You Are My Lady,’’ the soulful and very thin Freddie Jackson shared, “I’ve lost 107 pounds, but I’m fine.”

Jackson invited his good friend Howard Hewitt up on stage to sing a song. Osborne “woo woo woo’d’’ the crowd who loudly sang along and danced to his popular songs “You Should Be Mine, “Concentrate on You,’’ “On the Wings of Love’’ and “I’m Only Human.’’

The crowd also went crazy when Peabo Bryson belted “Feel the Fire,’’ “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again’’ and “Can You Stop the Rain?’’ The Men of Soul clearly have not missed a beat and still sing with as much soul as they ever did.

Braxton brings it Toni Braxton looked adorable in a white bodysuit and short shorts as she and two of her sisters who sang back up graced the stage. The fact that many in the audience couldn’t hear her because of sound system issues didn’t stop the talented performer from giving it her all. She invited several men up on stage to sing along and dance with her.

A Miami Gardens police officer was even summoned and Braxton serenaded him with the song “Breathe Again,’’ which was apropos because he looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

The crowd sang along when she performed “Seven Whole Days’’ and “You Mean the World to Me.’’

KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

Tens of thousands of spectators attended Jazz in the Gardens March 21-22 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.

‘Just sing, R!’ I’m not sure if it was R. Kelly’s offensive language, the lateness of the hour, the singer not having a band, his self-promoting videos that he showed during the performance, or the corny gimmicks (including passing out Victoria Secret panties), but the audience had almost totally cleared out before his show ended at 1:30 a.m.

People in the audience were yelling “Just sing, R!’’ He promised to sing something from every album. He moved the women as he performed “Leg Shakin’,’’ “You Remind Me of Something (the Jeep song),’’ “Half On A Baby,’’ “Down Low’’ and many others. He quipped, “Everybody else took their time so I’m going to take my time!” He did just that.

Combo of jazz greats Sunday’s lineup did not disappoint, especially for those hankering for some great jazz.

Even though the event is tagged “Jazz in the Gardens,” the headliners are mainly R&B musicians.

The March 22 performers included local artist Valerie Tyson; the Jazz in the Gardens Allstar Band featuring Roy Ayers on vibes, Lonnie Liston Smith on keyboards, Ronnie Laws on sax and trumpeter Tom Browne; Brian Culbertson; RUN-DMC; Erykah Badu; and Maxwell.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed the jazz musicians who performed on Sunday.

“That’s what I came for,” said an older woman from Tampa who drove down with her two daughters. She and her daughters were grooving to the Allstar Band.

Jazz in the Gardens first-timer, Shalima Mohamed offered, “Overall, Jazz in the Gardens was a well put together event. There was a good variety of genres. My favorite performer of the weekend was Brian Culbertson. I had never heard of him, but I liked him the most.”

Sneakers time Many people waved their Adidas sneakers in the air as RUNDMC performed its popular song “My Adidas.’’ Run of RUN-DMC stated, “I left Rev. Run home today. Don’t get me wrong. I’m still saved, but you are getting Run the Rapper of RUN-DMC today.”

The legendary hip-hop group rocked the crowd while performing “It’s Tricky’’ and “Walk This Way.’’ Run asked for a moment of silence in memory of Jam Master Jay and featured two of the late group member’s sons.

A Badu singalong Singer-songwriter, record producer, activist and actress Erykah Badu was definitely one of the weekend favorites of many of those who attended this year.

“It was cool seeing all of the races together in one place enjoying themselves in a positive manner, but I enjoyed Erykah Badu singing and playing the instruments the most,’’ said Jef-

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/FLORIDA COURIER KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

R. Kelly closed out the first night of the festival.

Roy Ayers, the legendary vibraphonist, was part of the Jazz in the Gardens Allstar Band.

LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/FLORIDA COURIER LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/FLORIDA COURIER

These ladies sample some of the culinary delights offered by the vendors. fery Bryant of Dania Beach. The crowd sang along on every song.

They cheered as she performed “On & On’’ “Window Seat,’’ “Love of My Life,’’ “Bag Lady,’’ “Next Lifetime’’ and “Tyrone.’’ Before leaving the stage, she reminded us: “If you change your perspective, you will change your circumstance.”

‘Amen’ to Maxwell The final performer for the weekend was the once described as the savior of soul music in the 1990s. Singer, Songwriter Maxwell, whose mother was Puerto Rican and father was Haitian, felt right at home as he greeted the culturally mixed audience.

He certainly pleased the crowd with his electrifyingly soulful voice as he sang “Lifetime,” “ Til the Cops Come Knocking, “Fist Full of Tears,’’ “Get to Know Ya,” “Sumthin’ Sumthin’ ‘’, “Fortunate,’’ “Shouldn’t I Realize’’ and “Pretty Wings.’’ Maxwell said, “Standing and performing before a crowd like this is a dream come true.” He then began to sing, “Let the Church Say Amen.”

A hat vendor advertises her product. Vendors had something to sell from head to toe at the festival.

Festival vendors get clever If you wanted fancy hats, sexy dresses, cute shoes, assorted bowties, unique purses, decorative jewelry or books for a reasonable price, you didn’t have to go to the mall. Jazz in the Gardens offered a great selection of everything. The vendors were very friendly and ready to give assistance to quickly find the right colors and sizes.

Some of the vendors were from South Florida while others traveled from Atlanta and other places to participate. If the economy is bad, you couldn’t tell by the money that was changing hands this weekend.

In addition to the various items being sold, the Rev. John White II and some members of Immanuel Temple were ministering to guests in front of their booth.

The largest Black-owned bank in the country, One United Bank had several individuals wear-

More surprise guests Jazz in the Gardens has a history of having surprise guests each year. This year was no different.

Miami’s own comedian Mar-

ing boxers robes and distributing information about their bank near their booth.

On the menu: Fried ribs, fritters There was so much food, that I didn’t know which way to go. Fried fish, fried shrimp, wings, barbecued ribs and chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, turkey legs, chicken tenders, funnel cakes, conch fritters, fried conch, fried ribs, conch salad, desserts, pastries, fresh fruit, fruity drinks and much more.

As in years past, the longest lines were for conch and ribs. Because I had never heard of fried ribs, I had to try them. I must say they were moist and very good. I also ate the fried conch fritters and fried grouper.

“The conch salad in the pineapple bowl was tasty and delicious!” agreed Kimberly and her husband from Jacksonville. “We come every year and wait in the long line. We don’t mind. It’s definitely worth the wait.”

For more information about the festival, visit www.jazzinthegardens.com.

vin Dixon cracked up the crowd as did J. Anthony Brown from the “Tom Joyner Morning Show,’’ who had the audience in stitches.

The biggest surprise came when Lucious and Cookie Lyon’s

two youngest sons Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) from the hot television show “Empire” graced the stage and performed “Drip Drop,” the hit tune from the show.

TOJ

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

PERSONAL FINANCE

B3

Ways you could accidentally commit tax fraud What to consider before sending returns to IRS

one before claiming it to avoid looking suspicious.

For example, if you work from home, you can only claim a certain percentage of your home dedicated to your business activities as a tax deduction. Anything over that might give auditors the wrong idea. Again, using tax software will break down the rules for each circumstance and actually give you an error if you make a mistake, preventing you from accidentally falsifying your return.

BY DANIEL CROSS GOBANKINGRATES.COM (TNS)

It’s that time of the year again.

You’re getting all your W-2 forms, deductions and other paperwork together while mentally making sure everything is in order.

Tax laws change every year and a mistake could end up costing you money, or worse — you could be accused of tax fraud.

Minor mistakes happen all the time and won’t necessarily result in a threatening IRS letter requesting an audit coming to your mailbox in May. Still, you want to minimize the chances of anything wrong occurring. Unless you’re a seasoned tax professional, you probably have a few misconceptions about how to file the perfect mistake-free return.

Here are five unintentional errors you might be making that could make the IRS look twice.

Unreported income

Missing or incorrect information One of the most common mistakes people make is simply forgetting to fill out a part of the return or accidentally putting something down on the wrong line. An omission of vital data, like a Social Security number, will almost certainly cause delays.

A simple oversight like putting your deductions on the wrong line might prompt a deeper investigation. If you have to pay out and a mistake on the wrong line ends up changing it to a refund, it could be misinterpreted as tax fraud.

Math miscalculations Odds are, unless it happens on a regular basis, accidentally writing down a deduction of $25,000 in mortgage interest when you meant to say $2,500 won’t label you as a criminal. Still, it’s good practice to double-check every figure before committing it to a tax return. Adding instead of sub-

GARY PORTER/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL/TNS

Jessica Gatzke, right, senior manager at Scribner and Cohen and Co. accounting firm, helps University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee intern Lana Jamerson prepare taxes on March 20, 2014. tracting might be a simple blunder to make, but it could drastically change your actual liability.

And you definitely don’t want to miscalculate your total income.

This is where tax software really helps you out by pointing out inconsistencies. Returns themselves often have redundancies built in as well so it reduces the chances of you making the same mistake twice. Auditors know that calculations can get mixed up and they’re trained to know what to look for.

Using the wrong form You might have been in a rush to grab that 1040 from your local post office but double-check before you send it off. A 1040EZ form is an easy thing to mix up, and it could mean a substantial difference in what you’re actually claiming.

If you have a straightforward return — no IRA deductions, student loan write-offs, business expenses, etc. — then a 1040EZ will be perfectly fine to use. However,

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR BLACK STUDENTS. NO EXCUSES. The classic guide from Florida Courier publisher, lawyer and broadcaster CHARLES W. CHERRY II PRAISE FOR ‘EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE’: “This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success...The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education.”

– Book review, School Library Journal • How low expectations of Black students’ achievements can get them higher grades; • Want a great grade? Prepare to cheat!

• How Black students can program their minds for success; • Setting goals – When to tell everybody, and when to keep your mouth shut; • Black English, and why Black students must be ‘bilingual.’ …AND MUCH MORE!

www.excellencewithoutexcuse.com Download immediately as an eBook or a pdf Order softcover online, from Amazon, or your local bookstore ISBN#978-1-56385-500-9 Published by International Scholastic Press, LLC Contact Charles at ccherry2@gmail.com

Facebook ccherry2 excellencewithoutexcuse

for info on speeches, workshops, seminars, book signings, panel discussions.

Twitter @ccherry2

if you know you need to account for these things, and your return doesn’t ask you about it, you probably picked up the wrong one.

Claiming the wrong deduction Deduction rules vary by type, but they can easily be misunderstood. If you’re an entrepreneur, then you know how valuable deductions can be. Make sure you double-check the rules for each

Are you missing out on college tax breaks?

BY TIM GRANT PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE (TNS)

Families eligible to claim higher education tax deductions and credits can effectively use them to reduce overall college costs, yet about half of American households are missing out on the opportunity by not taking full advantage of tax breaks available to them.

In its annual report “How America Pays for College,” private student loan lender Sallie Mae found less than half of the 21 million students and families who ponied up for college tuition, fees or interest on a student loan in 2014 used tax credits and deductions as a way to help cover college costs.

“Quite frankly, if you are eligible, you don’t want to leave that money on the table,” said Rick Castellano, vice president of communications at Sallie Mae in Newark, Del.

Two credits available The federal government last year provided more than $15.6 billion in education tax credits and deductions, with families receiving an average of about $1,200, according to the College Board. Sallie Mae estimates about the same amount or more of higher education credits and deductions went unclaimed.

“We found less than half of families are using tax credits and deductions as a way to lower tuition costs,” Castellano said. “Some folks just aren’t aware these tax credits and deductions are available to them.”

Two tax credits available to families with children in school — the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit — are education credits that families can subtract in full from their federal income tax bill, not just deduct from taxable income.

Some restrictions With the American Opportunity Tax Credit, eligible families may qualify for a maximum annual credit of $2,500 per student. To be eligible, a student must

You might think that certain income doesn’t have to be disclosed when filing your taxes.

That’s only partially true. If you earned less than $400 from contract or freelance work, you don’t actually have to list it under income. The problem is when you take into account overseas gains.

The myth of offshore banking is that it hides assets from the government.

However, you’re actually required to disclose and report foreign income. That rental property in Costa Rica might not be on the IRS’s radar immediately, but if you fail to disclose it, you could be looking at a stiff penalty.

The good news is that the IRS doesn’t consider accidental mistakes as fraud. A case for intention has to be made before the IRS actually charges you with a crime. Even so, mistakes can cost you a refund at best and a fine at worse. You could face penalties and become a blip on the IRS’s radar for future returns.

If you’re doing your own taxes this year, make use of free software that the IRS makes available on its website or call the Taxpayer Advocate Services hotline.

They’re there to help out so you don’t get into trouble for making errors.

GOBankingRates.com, a leading portal for personal finance news and features, offering visitors the latest information on everything from interest rates to strategies on saving money, managing a budget and getting out of debt.

be enrolled at least half-time in a degree or other recognized educational program and cannot have completed the first four years of post-secondary education before 2014.

While the American Opportunity Tax Credit is limited to undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time, the Lifetime Learning Credit can be claimed by anyone taking classes in order to acquire or improve job skills, including undergraduate, graduate and professional degree courses. Eligible taxpayers may qualify for up to $2,000 per tax return to help pay education costs.

Pittsburgh certified public accountant Howard Davis pointed out that all of the credits and deductions have restrictions.

For example, the American Opportunity Tax Credit is available to taxpayers with a joint adjusted gross income as high as $180,000. The Lifetime Learning Credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of less than $64,000 or $128,000 if filing jointly.

“High-income taxpayers don’t get to take advantage of these credits, unfortunately, due to the phase-out of adjusted gross income,” said Davis.

Help for taxpayers Taxpayers also can only take one of the two tax credits.

As for tax deductions, student loan borrowers are eligible for up to $2,500 in student loan interest deductions to offset income subject to tax. Available for both federal and private education loans in repayment, families with a joint modified adjusted gross income less than $160,000 qualify for this deduction.

Students and families also can use up to $4,000 in expenses for higher education to offset income subject to tax under “tuition and fees deduction.”

This deduction is taken as an adjustment to income, although an individual does not need to itemize other deductions.

Individuals can file for this deduction with a joint modified adjusted gross income of up to $160,000.

According to Sallie Mae, taxpayers can take both Student Loan Interest Deduction and also Tuition and Fees Deduction in the same year. However, if you take one of the two tax credits, you cannot take the Tuition and Fees Deduction.

On the other hand, if you take one of the credits, you may still be eligible for the Student Loan Interest Deduction.

B4

CALENDAR

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami Beach: Hannibal Buress: 2015 South Beach Comedy Festival takes place April 11 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater.

Tampa: Computer Mentors is offering computer training classes for adults beginning April 6 at the Hillsborough County Lee Davis Neighborhood Service Center, 3402 N. 22nd St. Register by calling 813-236-1191. Fort Lauderdale: See Roberta Flack on April 24 at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Orlando: Jazmine Sullivan performs April 13 at the House of Blues Orlando.

Fort Lauderdale: The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Lee Williams will be at the War Memorial Auditorium on April 5.

Orlando: Catch Wanda Sykes on April 25 at Hard Rock Live Orlando.

Tampa: Journalist Roland Martin will be the guest at a ball hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the GZl Educational Foundation on March 28 at the Mainsail Conference & Event Center. More info: gzleducationalfoundation.org or call 813-451-3306.

K-CI & JOJO

R&B Love Fest 2015 features Keith Sweat, Bell Biv Devoe, K-Ci & JoJo along with El DeBarge. The show is April 4 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.

Orlando: Florida Department of Health in Orange County’s 5K walk and health fair is April 4 at Barnett Park, 4801 W. Colonial Drive. Details: www.orange. floridahealth.gov under the events section or call 407858-1464.

Boca Raton: Freaker’s Ball featuring Big Sean, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh takes place at Florida Atlantic University on April 1.

Orlando: Actor and comedian Kevin Hart’s tour makes stops on April 25 at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Amalie Arena in Tampa on May 8 and AmericanAirlines Arena on May 9.

Tampa: Candy Lowe hosts Tea & Conversation every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 3911 N. 34th St., Suite B. More information: 813-394-6363.

St. Petersburg: The legendary Smokey Robinson performs April 12 at The Mahaffey Theater and April 4 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers.

Tampa: Tickets are on sale for the Nephew Tommy Comedy Tour featuring Thomas Miles at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome on April 18.

Ybor City: Nas performs April 23 at Club Skye. The show starts at 10 p.m.

NICOLE HENRY

The jazz singer performs April 9 at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center at 8 p.m.

DAVE CHAPPELLE

Catch the comedian at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater on April 9 and the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on April 13.

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STOJ

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

TikaD

A Philadelphia native, Davon Beale started his career as a hairstylist, model and actor at age 20, graduating from the Paul Mitchell School with his cosmetology license. He has been in such productions as “The Hunger Games” and has received his SAG-AFTRA certification.

Additionally, he has participated in runway shows, including Charlotte and Charleston Fashion week. His goal is to create a brand for himself that will inspire others to be themselves and ultimately encourage them to inspire someone else.

CREDIT: LakeNormonPhoto

Davon

Indiana native TikaD graduated with a criminal justice degree at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne. She loves to travel and is very serious about fitness.

Tika says her friends would describe her as a free bird, down to earth, carefree and sweet.

CREDIT: TikaD

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/TNT

April Ryan, the White House reporter for the American Urban Radio Networks, speaks at a forum at The George Washington University co-sponsored by the White House Correspondents’ Association on diversity in the White House Press Corps on April 28, 2014.

White House correspondent’s new book details experience covering presidents EURWEB.COM

April D. Ryan is veteran journalist who has been a White House correspondent for the past 18 years. She also serves as the Washington bureau chief for the American Urban Radio Networks.

Besides covering the Obama administration, Ryan’s responsibilities include hosting “The White House Report,” a syndicated show airing on about 300 radio stations around the country.

The Morgan State grad still lives in her native Baltimore, which is where she is raising two daughters, age 7 and 12.

Here, she talks about her new memoir, “The Presidency in Black and White,’’ with Kam Williams.

Kam Williams: I have a lot of questions for you that were sub-

mitted to me by readers. Sangeetha Subramanian says: Hello Ms. Ryan. Congratulations on your book. I wish it lots of success and look forward to reading it.

Advocacy seems like a constant tango between knowing which battles to choose and when. How do you find the balance between knowing when to pull back and when to go full steam ahead?

April Ryan: Wow! That’s a good question. You’re right, Sangeetha, it’s kind of a dance we do that’s not scripted or choreographed. We just have to kinda feel our way through. For the most part, you ask questions about current events of the day or about what’s happening in the community. If you think you can get more of an answer, you follow up. But you do have to know when to pull back, otherwise you could make a fatal mistake, be-

cause that room is unforgiving.

It’s just a dance that you have to learn how to do.

KW: What interested you in writing a memoir?

AR: A friend told me that I could not sit in that room and not write one. I basically started journaling from day one. I tried to work out a book deal during the Clinton years, but it was too soon. During the Bush years we did get a bite, but the editor got fired. Then, when President Obama was elected, my agent and I looked at each other, and said, “This is it!” And it was time.

The high points KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: What would you describe as the high point of your years with the White House Press Corps?

AR: There have been a lot of

high points, professionally. But, I’d say it was the 100th anniversary of the White House Correspondents’ Association. My proudest moment was to be the third African-American on the board in the history of the organization. That board was founded by all White men. So, as a Black female I was very proud to be in that picture alongside the first Black president and first lady. Things have changed, and I’m very thankful to be in the history books.

KW: Editor Lisa Loving says: In the fascinating exchange between Nancy Giles and J Smooth about the strange Starbucks initiative that “gives Starbucks employees permission” to discuss race with customers, Giles made a swift reference to the racial blowback a Black president has had on race relations across the board. What impact has Obama’s presidency had overall on how Americans deal or do not deal with racism?

AR: Well, what I would say is that Barack Obama will always have race and politics follow him because of the historic nature of his presidency as the first Black president. But he has made people talk about race, especially in his second term. He’s now more open and conversational about race than he has ever been. And this is a topic that we, as a people, are hypersensitive about no matter where you are on the spectrum. We have to understand that we are a nation that’s browning. I think this is an issue that’s bigger than just this president. It’s dated back to the inception of the enslavement of Africans in America. We haven’t been able to get it right yet. It’s both a heart issue and a legislative issue. I think we need to talk about it, but if anybody can effectuate a major change, it’s a president of the United States. Just look at history… LBJ and the Voting Rights Act… Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation… and also FDR.

Selma experience KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: In your opinion, what are some things the president can do to improve race relations in this country?

AR: I think I’ve already answered that. The speech he delivered in Selma on the 50th anniversary of the march was very powerful. It tore me up when we went over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. However, the most poignant moment of the day was when Congressman John Lew-

is said, “If anybody had told me 50 years ago, that I would be back here introducing the first African-American president, I’d have said, ‘You’re crazy!’” I got goose bumps. It was moving because John Lewis is not only a hero to me but to so many other AfricanAmericans.

If it were not for his getting clubbed over the head and knocked unconscious, along with others who were beaten with Billy clubs, bitten by dogs, and sprayed with fire hoses, we would not have the right to vote, and I would not be in the White House being called upon by name by the last three presidents. That experience touched every part of my being, because that history is a part of me.

Black unemployment KW: Troy Johnson was wondering: What has been your biggest disappointment with the Obama administration?

AR: If I have a disappointment, it would be with the Black unemployment numbers. He couldn’t be expected to make a drastic enough change in six years to get it on par with White America’s unemployment rate, but I would still like to see him focus on it more, because the figure is extremely high.

KW: Who is the most likeable of the presidents you covered, and who was the smartest?

AR: I don’t want to answer that. [Laughs.] Let me say this.

All three are likable. One thing that many people forget is that they are human beings as well as presidents. When I had a soul food dinner with Bill Clinton and other Black journalists, he said, “I came because you invited me and I like you, and I like the food.”

He said it made him feel like he was back home again, and that you’d be surprised how, after becoming president, people only invite you out for a fundraiser or for this or that official function, but not for a simple dinner where you could just relax and be yourself. That was so telling. I actually felt sorry for him.

President George W. Bush and I laughed so much, and President Clinton and I laughed a lot.

They’re more gregarious than President Obama, but he’s funny, too. And he’s a nice guy. But he’s had to be more cautious about he’s perceived. All three of the presidents are very smart, although Bush played on the fact that people had low expectations of him. He looked more like the average person than Clinton or Obama.

B6

FOOD

MARCH 27 – APRIL 2, 2015

TOJ

FAMILY FEATURES

From full-course brunches to simple sit-down dinners, Easter celebrations are a time to enjoy family, friends and the delicious tastes of spring.

However elaborate the festivities, a rich and creamy dessert is the perfect finale to any Easter gathering. Made from fresh milk and real cream, Philadelphia Cream Cheese is the high-quality ingre­dient that makes sweets stand out.

These fresh dessert ideas all feature everyone’s favorite indulgence — cheesecake — along with other lively flavors, such as coconut, lemon and blueberry. Desserts this delicious will have your guests hopping up for seconds. For these and other recipe ideas, visit www.creamcheese.com.

DOUBLE LEMON CHEESECAKE BARS Prep time: 35 minutes Total time: 7 hours, 15 minutes Servings: 16 52 vanilla wafers, finely crushed (about 2 cups) 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 4 eggs, divided 4 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided 3 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons), divided 1/2teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup water Heat oven to 325°F. Line 13-by-9-inch pan with parchment paper, with ends of paper extending over sides.

Mix wafer crumbs and butter until blended; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Separate 1 egg; refrigerate yolk until ready to use. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup

EASTER MINI CHEESECAKES Prep time: 20 minutes Total time: 3 hours, 20 minutes Servings: 18 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 3 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 eggs 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, toasted 54 speckled malted milk eggs (about 9 ounces) Heat oven to 325°F. Mix graham crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter; press onto bottoms of 18 paperlined muffin cups.

Beat cream cheese, vanilla and remaining sugar with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Spoon over crusts.

Bake 25–30 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Top each cheesecake with 1 tablespoon coco­nut; shape to resemble bird’s nest. Fill with malted milk eggs.

Note: To soften cream cheese, place com­pletely unwrapped package of cream cheese in micro­­­waveable bowl. Microwave on high 10 seconds or just until softened.

Add 15 seconds for each additional package of cream cheese.

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL CHEESECAKE Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 6 hours, 45 minutes Servings: 16 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 cup cold butter, cut up 4 packages (8 ounces each Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 cup BREAKSTONE’S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream 4 eggs 2 cups fresh blueberries Heat oven to 325°F. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Reserve 1/2 cup; press remaining onto bottom of 9-inch spring­form pan. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Beat cream cheese, remaining flour, remaining sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust. Top with berries and reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim.

Refrigerate 4 hours.

Note: You can substitute cream cheese with Neufchatel cheese, or fresh blueberries with 1 (16ounce) package frozen blueberries. Garnish with additional berries or cinnamon just before serving.

sugar, flour, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add egg white and remaining 3 whole eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each until just blended. Pour over crust.

Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Mix cornstarch and remaining sugar in medium saucepan; gradually stir in water and remaining lemon juice until blended. Bring just to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir until clear and thickened. Lightly beat reserved egg yolk in small bowl with fork until blended; stir in 2 tablespoons of hot cornstarch mixture.

Return to remaining cornstarch mixture in saucepan; stir until blended. Cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.

Spoon lemon glaze over cheesecake. Refrig-erate 1 hour or until firm. Use parchment handles to remove cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

Note: This lemon glaze can be prepared ahead of time. Cool, then refrigerate up to 8 hours before spooning over individual slices of cheesecake. Garnish with 1/2 cup blueberries, lemon peel and fresh mint leaves.

RECIPES/PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE