Florida Courier - April 5, 2013

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VOLUME 21 NO. 14

Page B1

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APRIL 5 - APRIL 11, 2013

SIN – OR CIVIL RIGHT? Black Floridians are on both sides of the gay marriage controversy

BY PENNY DICKERSON SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

In the 50th anniversary year of the historic March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the United States Supreme Court was challenged to determine the constitutional boundaries of marriage and family.

Last week, two pivotal cases were heard by the high court. Now, an America divided over same-sex marriage, and hopeful same-sex couples with dreams of marriage, await what could be groundbreaking legal decisions.

defines marriage only as between a man and a woman. It is widely understood as a ban on gay marriages.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman. (Florida has its own version of DOMA that was overwhelmingly passed by the Florida Legislature in 1997.)

In 2008, inspired by California’s Proposition 8, strong support from Florida’s African-American voters led to passage of an amendment to the state constitution, which now bans gay marriage in Florida. ThenGov. Charlie Crist supported the amendment, as did then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Five years and a presidential reelection later, the legalization of gay marriage is front-and-center at the OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT nation’s highest court. Black Floridians are on both sides of the debate. A young protester stood in front of the U.S. Su-

preme Court on March 27 as the court heard argu‘Church’ speaks ments on a part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Dr. Kevin W. Church, Sr. holds a Act that prevents legally wed same-sex couples Proposition 8 and DOMA biblical position on same-sex mar- from receiving certain benefits by defining marCalifornia’s controversial ballot See CONTROVERSY, Page A2 riage as between a man and woman. initiative known as Proposition 8

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. / 1929-1968

‘A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent’

Legislature at halftime COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

Florida is safe again for Canadian snowbirds. But halfway through the annual legislative session, most other issues are unresolved.

That probably sounds like a bigger deal than it actually is. Legislative sessions move by a time-honored rhythm that culminates in a flurry of deals and bills passing during the final week or two.

What’s more, a brighter economy has given a boost to tax collections. That likely will help the House and Senate agree on the only legislation they are legally required to pass before going home – the state budget.

“The bottom line is, there’s nothing like having some money,’’ Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, said Wednesday, the 30th day of the 60-day regular session.

Real issues ahead The House and Senate, however, will have to grapple with difficult issues during the next month, including trying to find an alternative to expanding Medicaid, revamping the state retirement program and making changes in the education, property insurance and elections systems.

Also, some issues that have drawn huge amounts of attention appear to be on the road to legislative nowhere. As an example, remember the furor about the “Stand Your Ground” law after the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford? Don’t expect any changes to scale back the law.

Legislative sessions start with a burst of attention and then are filled with weeks of bills grinding through committees before the sometimes-frantic end game.

No special permits One exception this spring was a bill to repeal a 2012 law that called for foreign visitors to get special driving permits in their home countries before hitting the roads in Florida. The requirement created confusion and consternation, particularly among Canadians who head south for the winter.

Lawmakers quickly pushed through the repeal bill, and Gov. Rick Scott signed it this week.

“We want everybody to come to our state, both from the other 49 states and from around the world,’’ Scott said. “We love international visitors.”

Another issue that appears on a fast track to Scott is an effort to shut down Internet cafes, which critics have long argued are “storefront casinos” that offer computerized games similar to slot machines. That issue was not a priority early in the session but quickly jumped to the front of the line after raids of Internet cafes across the state – and the resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll because of her past consulting work for one of the industry’s biggest players.

Not as easy

RICHARD L. COPLEY

Forty-five years ago this week, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was marching with these garbage workers in Memphis, Tenn. when he was murdered on April 4, 1968.

Read a commentary on how MLK’s death affected the antiwar movement on Page A2.

But many issues aren’t as easy to resolve as getting Canadian drivers back on the road or shuttering Internet cafes. Republican leaders, for instance, have decided against expanding Medicaid eligibility under “Obamacare” and say they want to come up with an alternative to offer health services to low-income people.

The question is, how? And will RepubliSee SESSION, Page A2

Charges dropped against White supremacy group Rettenmaier, 26, were scheduled to stand trial Monday on charges of participating in paramilitary training and conspiring to KISSIMMEE – Central Florida’s largest shoot into a building. They now join eight domestic terrorism case ever continued to other members who faced similar chargfall apart Monday in Osceola County. es, only to have the charges dropped.

Just before a trial was scheduled to begin, all charges were Little insight dropped against two of the When the arrests began last spring by last three members of the the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, most of American Front accused the 14 defendants were held for weeks with last year of training for a bail set at an unusually high $500,000. race war. No explanation There has been little insight into the was given.

It’s been nearly a year case since the arrests of American Front since 14 members of the members began in May 2012.

The decision to drop the charges Monneo-Nazi white supremMarcus day morning was reached after consultaacy group were arrested.

Faella Only Marcus Faella, 40, the tion with Orange-Osceola State Attorney accused head of the American Front, still Jeff Ashton, according to a written statefaces trial in May. ment released Monday afternoon.

His wife, Patricia Faella, 37, and Dylan Three people have been convicted in

BY HENRY PIERSON CURTIS ORLANDO SENTINEL / MCT

ALSO INSIDE

connection with the case: Christopher Brooks, 28, was sentenced to three years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; Luke Leger, 32, and Kent McLellan, 22, were sentenced to four years of probation for pleading no contest to participating in paramilitary training.

All 14 people arrested last year – after a two-year undercover investigation of paramilitary activities in remote eastern Osceola County – had been accused of training with AK-47s and other weapons with plans to kill Jews, immigrants and minorities.

Faella could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted at trial in May of “directing the activities of a gang evidencing prejudice,” or running a racist criminal gang, according to court records and interviews.

He’s also charged with conspiracy to shoot into a building and teaching paramilitary training evidencing prejudice.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

Professor who used ‘step on Jesus’ lesson says he’s a Christian South Florida contractor to train Blacks for infrastructure jobs

NATION | a6

FINEST | B5

Education taking big hit from sequester

Meet Dwayne

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN: THE NRA IS AFRAID OF THE TRUTH | A5

FOCUS

A2

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

War and peace in the aftermath of MLK’s murder April 4 is an anniversary that I suspect many people in the U.S., including those in government, would prefer that people ignored.

On that date 45 years ago, James Earl Ray, supposedly acting alone, murdered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on a balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. – silencing one of the great oppositional voices in U.S. politics.

Unlike the celebrations organized around the birthday of Dr. King – in which the U.S. government severs Dr. King from the Black movement for social justice that produced him and transforms his oppositional stances into a deradicalized, liberal, integrationist dream narrative – the anniversary of his murder creates a challenge for the government and its attempt to manage his memory and meaning.

Some questions Dr. King’s assassination raises uncomfortable questions – not only due to the evidence that his murder was a “hit” carried out by elements of the U.S. government – but also because of what Dr. King was saying before he was killed about issues like poverty and U.S. militarism.

The current purveyors of U.S. violence will find attention to Dr. King’s antiwar and peace position most unwelcome, especially with a Black president that has been able to accomplish what U.S. elites could have only dreamed of over the last few decades – the normalization of war-making as a legitimate tool to advance the geopo-

AJAMU BARAKA BLACK AGENDA REPORT

litical interests of the U.S. and its colonial allies.

Then and now When Dr. King finally opposed the war on Vietnam, he incurred the wrath of liberals in the Johnson administration, the liberal philanthropic community, and even a significant number of his colleagues in the clergy.

The liberal establishment was scathing in its condemnation of his position and sought to punish him and his organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), in a manner similar to their assaults on the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) when it took an anti-war and anti-imperialist position much earlier than Dr. King and SCLC. In today’s popular imagination of the antiwar and peace movement in the 1960s and ‘70s, the culprits have been re-imagined as the radical right, symbolized

by President Richard Nixon. But it was the Kennedy administration that escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and it was Democrat Lyndon Johnson who dramatically expanded the war.

When Johnson pulled out of the 1968 presidential race, Hubert Humphrey was slated to be

CONTROVERSY from A1 riage – as befits a preacher named “Church.”

He is a man of God who has served his country for almost 20 years as both a U.S. Army officer and chaplain. Church is also a certified hospital chaplain, assists homeless veterans through a not-for-profit organization, and serves as team chaplain for the Jacksonville Giants, the American Basketball Association’s minor league championship team.

Church, an author with a Ph.D., has been married to the same wife for almost 30 years and is the father of three grown children.

Church is a traditionalist. He is not a proponent of same-sex marriage.

Adam and Eve “My view is that first and foremost, the Bible has no errors and does not condone same-sex marriage,” stated Church. “In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve as a male and female. Eve was created from Adam’s rib and Kevin W. the Bible is Church, Sr. clear that same-sex (marriage) does not exist…

God did not intend a man and a man, but He gives all of us a choice.”

The Liberty Universityeducated theologian withholds personal judgment.

“As Christians, we love the sinner and hate the sin,” he explains.

In his career, Church says he has counseled more than 100 couples that were engaged to be married. He is endorsed by the North American Mission Board, which does not allow him to engage in counseling or conduct a marriage cere-

SESSION from A1 cans agree to rely on federal money to help pay the tab?

The Senate is mulling two possible approaches, but House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said Tuesday that House leaders are not ready to release a proposal.

“It’s a grown-up conversation that we’re all having about what our alternative should look like,’’ Weather-

mony between same-sex couples. However, he gives spiritual counsel to all who seek it from him.

“Prior to any session, I always pray and let the Spirit lead,” explained Church. “I ask if there has ever been a time when either has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and offer an invitation to salvation,” he added.

End times Church is aware that younger people are more tolerant these days.

“People are gonna do what they want to do, and Christianity will not reach everyone,” Church muses.

He cites the hit single, “I’m Doing Me,” by Fantasia Barino of “American Idol” fame.

“Folks in society are ‘doing me’ and the economy is a factor,” offered Church, who supports his theory with Bible verses from II Timothy 3:1-7.

It states, “… in the last days, perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy…”

the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. Humphrey, along with the rest of the liberal establishment, was firmly committed to Johnson’s war strategy even in light of growing public opposition.

The Chicago police riot of 1968 against antiwar demonstrators took place at the Democratic National Convention, where the protestors were directing their fury at the Democratic Party – which has controlled the executive branch during the escalation of almost every major military experience by the U.S. from the World War II onwards.

Why change on gay marriage?

One in seven Americans have changed their minds in support of gay marriage. Why people say they now favor it:

Oppose

Favor

2 44%

Always favored

Changed mind

33

14

49

• What made the 14 percent who now favor gay marriage change their mind?

37% 25 18 18

Friends, family, acquaintances who are gay/lesbian Become more tolerant/older/ studied more/more aware

World has changed/inevitable/ more prevalent/doesn’t hurt

Freedom to choose/love and happiness

8%

Equal rights

5

Morals/beliefs/only God can judge

2

Born that way

6

Other

NOTE: Don’t know responses for those opposed: 1 percent; for those in favor: 2 percent; multiple responses allowed for those who changed their mind; total exceeds Source: Pew Research Service poll of 1,502 adults, March 13-17, 2013; margin of 2.9 percentage points Graphic: Judy Treible © 2013 MCT

Ajamu Baraka was the founding Director of the US Human Rights Network. He is currently a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

The marriage advantage

There are 1,138 federal laws that give benefits to married couples; provisions where benefits, rights and privileges are contingent on marital status or where marriage is a factor, by category: Federal civilian and military service benefits Taxation

287

198

Social Security, related programs, housing, food stamps

106

Veterans’ benefits

104

Employment benefits

72

Miscellaneous laws

Limited rights

Jeronica Byrd is a 34-yearold divorced Black female who lives in Tampa. She is gay.

A scholar who earned a Master of Science degree in criminology, Byrd has been in a committed samesex relationship for nine years and is the parent of a 17-year-old son. He is also gay.

Byrd is the founder and executive director of Professional Lesbian Women and seeks to marry her longtime companion. She insists that until same-sex marriage is nationwide and federally recognized, the laws don’t make any sense.

Byrd and her partner share property, vehicles, bank accounts – a life. DOMA angers her because it prohibits them both from receiving over 1,100 federal benefits, the most important of which is the inheritance tax.

“If we were a federally recognized couple and something were to happen to me, my partner would not have to pay the tax,” Byrd explained.

The privileges heterosexual couples benefit from are often taken for granted by Proposition 8 and DOMA supporters.

As an unrecognized legal spouse, Byrd’s partner cannot oblige Byrd’s wishes to be cremated because she can’t enforce a will or defy her surviving family’s decisions. Her partner also cannot make medical decisions, adopt her son or receive parental rights.

“She is the person I love and have built a life with, but it matters not because she is the same gender,” said Byrd. “My feelings for my partner are written on my soul. I need the legal marital protection, not the spiritual.”

ford said.

Many Democrats, meanwhile, are outraged that Republicans would forgo tens of billions of dollars in federal money that would flow to the state during the next decade for expanding Medicaid eligibility.

“House Democratic Caucus members believe that an expansion of health coverage is affordable and achievable,” Florida House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston (D-Fort Lauderdale) said in a written statement.

“As budget talks continue, I believe it is imperative that Republican leaders respond with action and available funding as directed by the nation’s Affordable Care Act. The House proposed budget fails to provide for the full implementation of the health care law. I expect that the Florida Senate will take a better approach in its proposed budget as it concerns the health care needs of Florida’s families.

“I find it highly doubtful that House Democratic Caucus members will

The other side

Changed mind

41

Today, the necessity to stand with the oppressed and oppose war and violence of all kinds has never been more urgent. But that stand cannot be just as individuals.

Individual commitment is important, but what Dr. King’s life reaffirmed was the power of movement – of organized and determined people moving in a common direction. The example of movement-building and struggle is an example that has to be brutally suppressed, as witnessed by how the Obama administration moved on the Occupy Wall Street movement once it became clear that they could not co-opt and control it.

Consciousness, vision, an unalterable commitment toprinciple over pragmatism and a willingness to fight for your beliefs no matter the odds or forces mounted against you – these are the lessons that all of us who believe in the possibility of a new world should recommit every April 4.

The murder of Dr. King was not just the murder of a man. It was an assault on an idea, a movement and a vision of a society liberated from what Dr. King called “the giant triplets” that had historically characterized and shaped the American experience – racism, materialism and militarism.

On April 4, 1967 in the Riverside Church in New York, Dr. King took an unequivocal stand in opposition to the U.S. war on the people of Vietnam. He declared that the only way that the triplets would be defeated was if there was a “radical revolution of values” in U.S. society.

Forty-five years later, with a Black president in the White House, racism in the form of continued White supremacy has solidified itself on a global scale; extreme materialism characterizes the desires and consumption patterns of a debt-constructed middle class, even as it feels the

Today, the array of forces in support of U.S. military aggression is similar to what we saw from the establishment in 1968, except for one important factor. In 1968, there was an organized, vocal antiwar movement that applied bottom-up pressure on the liberal establishment in power and on the Nixon administration.

Today, significant elements of the contemporary antiwar and peace movement voluntarily demobilized during the Obama era.

Many of those individuals and organizations have entered into what can only be seen as a tactical alliance with the Obama administration and provided ideological cover for imperialist interventions around the world.

Operating from the assumption that the White West are the ‘good guys’ and have a ‘natural’ right to determine which nations

Always opposed

Power in ‘movement’

Antiwar stand

Similar to 1968

• Views on gay marriage

weight of a national and global economic crisis; and militarism occupies the center of U.S. engagement with the nations of the Global South.

deserve to be sovereign, when regimes should be changed, who the international criminals are and what international laws need to be enforced, the political elites have been able to mobilize majority support for imperialist adventures from Iraq to Libya and now Syria.

If ‘humanitarian’ missions result in Western companies managing to secure water, oil and other natural resources and shifting regional power relations to favor the West, that is just the price to pay for progress.

‘Don’t need the world’ Conversely, Bruce “Tobi” Ellison does not need a marital or a spiritual ceremony to define his samesex relationships.

The 37-year-old spiritual advisor, life coach, and author of “I Am the Manifester” promotes “power and well-being” as philosophical dynamics people can control. He believes too many in both the gay and Black community don’t approve of themselves. This is the greater problem.

“I do not need the world or government in my relationships to experience the best love scenario I can have,” argues ElBruce ‘Tobi’ lison. “The Ellison government does not control the law of attraction. I can have the life I want without an outside voice dictating what it should look or feel like. I support same-sex marriages because I want people to have the equal rights. I just don’t need it (marriage),” he added. support a state budget that fails to adequately address Florida’s health care needs.

I urge House Republican leaders to continue working toward a better spending plan for Florida.”

But like with most issues in Tallahassee, Democrats don’t have the political muscle to get their way without Republican help.

Retirement a problem As another example of a tricky issue to resolve, Weatherford is pushing

72

Natural resources

63

Trade, commerce, intellectual property

54

Immigration, naturalization, aliens

51

Crimes, family violence

47

Agriculture loans, guarantees, payments

34

Financial disclosure, conflict of interest

30

Native Americans

20

Source: Analysis of U.S. Government Accountability Office data Graphic: Judy Treible © 2013 MCT

‘Stop having homosexuals’ Based in Orlando, Ellison has numerous friends who work for the Walt Disney Company, one of several corporations implementing same-sex policies. Disney allows employees to extend some benefits to same-sex partners without marriage.

According to Ellison, hypocrisy has ruined marriage as a religious covenant.

“Heterosexuals who are against same-sex marfor major changes in the state retirement system. He wants to put new employees in a 401(k)-type plan instead of in the traditional pension program, but the Senate doesn’t want to go that far.

Thrasher, who as rules chairman plays a key role in the flow of legislation, said he thinks the retirementsystem changes will be one of the biggest issues to resolve. But he said he is confident the House and Senate can ultimately reach agreement.

riage and preach what people should or shouldn’t do need a careful analysis.

Their marriage(s) are nothing to hold up to the light, or their five and six divorces,” Ellison admonished.

“How can they talk about the sanctity of marriage?

I want no part of it. Also, if they are so against homosexuals, tell them to stop having them.”

Ellison believes he was born gay; it wasn’t a choice.

Willing to pay the price Willetta “Mamado” Smith agrees with Ellison. She has been openly gay since she was 14 years old, but recognized her orientation as early as age five. She is now 54.

She was an accomplished music industry veteran before doing a two-year stint at Gadsden CorWilletta rectional ‘Mamado’ Institute in Smith Tallahassee.

While there, she used her skills and experience to produce a music CD featuring fellow inmates.

Life didn’t stop for her after she got out of prison.

A serial entrepreneur, she now does audio and video production in Jacksonville, including direct-to-video movies.

Mamado is in love and engaged to marry 26-year-old rap artist and model Alea Janae Dennis. The Jacksonville couple has been partners for three years. They seek all the rights and protections married heterosexual couples enjoy. That’s impossible under current Florida law.

“We’re seeking legal representation to assist us in marrying in another state, perhaps Washington, D.C.,” said Smith. “It may cost up to $5,000, but we’re determined.”

Another issue that will be closely watched during the final weeks will be a battle about a bill that would give parents more power to decide the fate of failing schools. The proposal – known widely as the “parent trigger” bill – likely will pass the House easily, but the test will come in the Senate, where the idea failed last year.

Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

Professor who used ‘step on Jesus’ lesson says he’s a Christian FAU instructor receives hate mail and death threats over exercise

BY SCOTT TRAVIS SUN SENTINEL/MCT

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Atlantic University instructor who assigned his students to “step on Jesus” said Monday he is a “very religious” Christian, and the lesson he taught has been used in classrooms nationwide for 30 years.

Deandre Poole, 32, commented publicly for the first time Monday about the Feb. 25 assignment that provoked nationwide controversy. In it, he asked his intercul-

tural communications students to write the name Jesus on a piece of paper, place it on the floor and step — not stomp — on it.

Poole, who said he served as a Sunday school teacher, said he has used the classroom activity before without incident. He said its purpose was to show the power of symbols, not to disrespect Christianity. It’s unclear Deandre if others at FAU Poole have used the exercise.

“I am very religious,” he told the news website Inside Higher Ed. “I see how the name Jesus is symbolic. For people like myself, Je-

sus is my lord and savior. It’s how I identify myself as a Christian.”

No one forced While student Ryan Rotela voiced strong objection to the exercise and notified the media, several other students in the class said the incident has been misconstrued and blown out of proportion.

“When you’re a college student, you’re going to be challenged and questioned,” said Alejandra Parada, 20, of Delray Beach. “Everyone has different ideas. Dr. Poole took a hands-on approach to the lecture to teach us about symbols.”

Phillip Marquis, 22, of Weston said some in the class of about 20 students stepped on the paper and others didn’t. No one was forced to act and no grades suffered, he said.

“The ones who didn’t (step on the paper) spoke up and talked about it, and it was a good class discussion,” Marquis said.

The assignment came from a classroom exercise in the instructor’s guide of the textbook writ-

FLORIDA

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ten by Jim Neuliep, a professor of communication and media studies at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin.

On paid leave Neuliep told Inside Higher Ed he has done the exercise for 30 years in his classroom without any complaints. In Neuliep’s class hardly anyone steps on the paper, and that this is in fact the point of the lesson. Students discuss “how important Jesus is to them, and they defend why they won’t step on it. It reaffirms their faith,” he said.

As to why the exercise doesn’t call on students to write “Mohammed” or some other figure, he said it’s designed for the United States, where majority of students wouldn’t have the reaction that they do Jesus.

Poole told the website he didn’t expect students to step on the paper.

“Because of this activity, I have been labeled anti-Christian and insensitive,” Poole said in a statement. “For doing my job, I have been lied on, I have received hun-

dreds of hate emails, I have been demonized by some in the press, and I have received death threats, all for doing my job.”

The class assignment prompted an apology to Rotela and the community from the university, a call by Florida Gov. Rick Scott for a State University System investigation and placement of Poole on paid leave, following reported death threats.

“We can have a healthy debate about the merits of this assignment, but attacks on my character and threats of bodily harm have no place in this dialogue,” Poole said.

FAU officials could not be reached early in the week, despite multiple attempts by phone and email to a spokeswoman and to President Mary Jane Saunders’ office.

Poole is also is an adjunct professor at Broward College, where he co-teaches a speech communication class with another instructor. Poole will be handling his duties online and remotely due to safety concerns, Broward College spokeswoman Aileen Izquierdo said.

Gay retirement home opening in South Florida has been interviewing prospective residents in recent weeks.

BY DIANE C. LADE SUN SENTINEL/MCT

FORT LAUDERDALE – The kitchen features a hutch with lovely antique blueand-white plates. One bathroom has a walk-in shower.

And lounge chairs surround a good-sized shaded pool in the back.

So what makes this sevenbedroom property different from other large homes nearby? It’s South Florida’s first gay retirement home.

Tom Duffy, a retired catering business owner, converted what once was a small Wilton Manors assisted living facility to create his dream: Secret Garden, an independent living center where gay men can be themselves as they age.

“I want it to be like a family, more like a commune, I guess,” said Duffy, 61, who lives on the property and

The 4,000-square-foot Secret Garden will provide a shared or private room, meals and transportation for shopping outings and doctor appointments. Duffy plans to have another person working full time as his assistant, then other parttimers to do housekeeping, cook and plan activities.

Rents will range from $2,500 to $3,500 a month.

The facility does not have an assisted living license, Duffy said, but he will help arrange home care for residents with short-term medical emergencies. And he’ll help them look for gay-friendly nursing homes or assisted living if their care needs grow beyond what he can handle, he said.

Resort in works Who will care for them when they grow old and sick is a constant concern for gay and lesbian elders today, said Chris MacLellan, coordinator of senior services for SunServe, an LGBT social service agency in Wilton Manors.

“Most of them don’t have family they can rely on, so they must turn to their friends and neighbors,” MacLellan said. “Tom is taking a risk. But I think once he gets some referrals, it will

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Gay-friendly care

Duffy, trailed by his three small white dogs, shows off the elaborately decorated sitting room with its coral rock fireplace, wicker chairs and scented candles. Gay men probably would find traditional senior living “too impersonal,” he said. “I’m confident people will come here.”

just start to roll.”

Secret Garden may not be the area’s only gay retirement home for long. MacLellan said representatives from the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing nonprofit group, which has built and operates popular gay and HIV-friendly, lower-income, government-subsidized apartments in other states, recently toured the area.

And Pete Phillips, president of Palm Beach-based Phillips Development Cos., said he’s finalizing financing for Pineapple House in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

The combined LGBT-friendly independent, assisted living and memory care center would feature almost 200 units, and have a relationship with Pineapple Point, an upscale gay men’s resort on Fort Lauderdale beach.

Emerging trend What will make it work, Phillips believes: The units are rented not purchased, it’s in an urban environment, and close to activities LGBT people like.

Whether LGBT care centers and retirement complexes become a widespread reality, however, remains to be seen, despite the fact that demographers are predicting there will be 3 million gay Americans older than age 65 by 2030.

Developing gay-friendly retirement housing has been labeled an emerging trend for more than a decade, and a handful of communities have been built around the country. Most are far larger than Duffy’s version, with complexes containing as many as 100 or more units, and attached assisted living units for residents who may need more care as they age.

Yet while developers have eagerly explored the new potential niche market, one proposal after another has died on the vine. Many among the few communities nationwide that got off the launch pad have floundered, victims of declining real estate values, poor man-

TAIMY ALVAREZ/SUN SENTINEL/MCT

Secret Garden independent living for men owner Thomas Duffy poses on March 13 with his dogs at the Wilton Manor home he has had converted into what he hopes will be the first gay independent living facility in South Florida. agement or a too-shallow financial foundation.

Manasota development Hilary Meyer, director of the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, said it’s “baffling why these places aren’t thriving. There is so much interest. I really don’t have an answer.”

The Palms of Manasota, which was hailed as the country’s first true LGBT senior community when it opened south of Tampa in 2000, today is in bankruptcy.

Ron Lennon, a college professor formerly from Fort Lauderdale, and his partner bought a villa in the Palms 10 years ago for two reasons: Like many retirees, they wanted a scaled-back lifestyle in a quieter place that still had an arts scene. And like many gays and lesbians, “we wanted to be with likeminded people,” said Lennon, who is the president of one of the Palms’ two homeowner associations.

The development failed because it was underfunded, Lennon said, causing it to financially collapse in the market downturn.

Now some of the foreclosed units are starting to sell — in some cases to straight hom-

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Potential market RainbowVision — one of the most widely publicized ventures, catering to lesbians but welcoming to all — also is in bankruptcy. It opened outside Santa Fe, N.M., in 2006. Since then, the roughly 100 residents who envisioned a new utopia found themselves locked in bitter financial battles with management, some filing lawsuits.

RainbowVision Properties, which is no longer connected to the Santa Fe operation, now is involved in creating a Vancouver community with a Canadian partner, Plum Living Properties & Health Services.

Ultimately, the small, creative options like Duffy’s Secret Garden may be the ones to pave the way, Meyer said.

“As record numbers of LGBT people enter retirement, it seems like there will be a potential market.”

South Florida contractor to train Blacks for infrastructure jobs FROM STAFF REPORTS

PULITZER

eowners who think gay men would make good neighbors, he said.

“They say they feel safe and secure here,” Lennon said. “We do things with some of our straight neighbors. We go to dinner and events. It’s interesting how our community has evolved over time.”

South Florida businessman Paul Curtis, president of Curtoom Companies, an engineering, construction services and facilities management firm, says he had a minor epiphany after attending several public meetings in Miami about efforts to revive minority business programs.

Curtis expressed his concerns that African-Americans firms may have been overlooked and unprepared for the coming infrastructure tidal wave happening Paul in Miami-Dade. Curtis says Curtis his firm will finance, train and mentor Blacks to become licensed in engineering and as contractors.

Miami-Dade County is about to begin a $15 billion infrastructure program and no licensed African-American underground utility contractors announced their presence in crowds numbering over 1,000 citizens. Curtis said people will not invest into

licensure if there is the perception of limited or no opportunity.

FAMU grad, veteran Curtis has been appointed to the state’s Transportation Research Board Disadvantage Business Enterprise Committee that provides expertise to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities.

The committee makes recommendations to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration on issues relating to state Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs.

Curtis is a 1979 civil engineering technology alumnus at Florida A&M University and past adjunct professor. He’s also an Army veteran.

Curtoom created a partnership with Haitian shipping vanguard, Vincent & Sons Transport to build a SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) plant to manufacture steel framed roofs for commercial buildings outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

For more information, call 954-594-2299 or email pecurtis@curtoom.com.

EDITORIAL

A4

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

The NRA is afraid of the truth Why is the National Rifle Association so afraid of the truth? There are many misconceptions about guns and gun violence swirling around in Americans’ minds — and in many cases, this misinformation is no accident.

For years the NRA has blocked the truth and actively fought against and prevented research in the causes and costs of gun violence because they don’t want Americans to know the truth about guns, how to prevent gun violence, and how to make themselves and their children safer.

Why else would they have Congress pull gun injury prevention research funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health? Why have we put up so long with efforts to block

Marian Wright Edelman NNPA COLUMNIST

all research on a huge public health threat that injures and kills tens of thousands of Americans every year?

Silencing science As Drs. Arthur Kellermann and Frederick Rivara wrote an article titled, “Silencing the Science on Gun Research” in the February 2013 Journal of the American Medical Association.

They wrote, “What can be done to reduce the number of U.S. residents who die each year from firearms, currently more than 31,000 annually? ... The nation might

be in a better position to act if medical and public health researchers had continued to study these issues as diligently as some of us did between 1985 and 1997.”

Instead, they note that beginning in 1996, pro-gun members of Congress began mounting an all-out effort to eliminate any funding for research connected to gun injury prevention.

And as Drs. Kellermann and Rivara explain, this continued refusal to fund any research isn’t just an academic matter. “Injury prevention research can have real and lasting effects.

Over the last 20 years, the number of Americans dying in motor vehicle crashes has decreased by 31 percent. Deaths from fires and drowning have been reduced even more, by 38 per-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: TWO TOWNS

STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 173 Black gay marriage – Black folks young and old, just like Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s college-aged son, are gonna start coming “out of the closet” left and right as Americans begin to accept gay marriage as a civil right. Who’ll be the last to adopt that attitude? People of African descent worldwide, many of whom are Christians and Muslims. Here’s what I see: Black faith-based organizations in America will tolerate gay marriage at the courthouse, because there’s nothing they can do about it. I’d be SHOCKED if any Black Christian denomination (Church of God in Christ? National Baptist Convention?) or Islamic sect (the Nation of Islam?) EVER approves of gay “religious” marriage ceremonies.

There will be continuation of the current truce – “don’t ask, don’t preach” – in Black American churches. The stereotypic gay minister of music, even if he or she is civilly married, will stay on the down-low. They won’t showcase their husbands or wives in the churches they work in at the risk of losing their jobs. In exchange, there will be little or no preaching against homosexuality from the pulpit.

But believe me, the Africans ain’t playing. Black American churches are flaming liberals compared to Christianity and Islam in African and Caribbean countries, where governments and individuals are still locking up and killing avowed and sus-

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

pected homosexuals with impunity. And the disgust and hostility that some Africans I know display against homosexuality is amazing to see – since Africa is mankind’s original home and there’s nothing new under the sun, if you get my drift.

I don’t see that same level of hostility against European nations who’ve robbed Africa of its human and natural resources for centuries. I don’t see the same energy directed against neglected diseases like rabies, leprosy, tapeworms, etc. that sicken or kill thousands of Africans daily.

To many of the Africans I speak to, open cultural acceptance of homosexuality is going a bridge too far, even under serious threat of economic sanctions from Western nations. We’ll see if there are some things ‘gay dollars’ can’t buy...

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com; holler at me at www.facebook.com/ ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ccherry2.

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.

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tional gun violence epidemic, ignorance is actually fatal. We need to make decisions based on the truth and counter the NRA misinformation that has been infecting our nation.

The NRA argues that background checks don’t work. The reality is that criminal background checks do work and making them universal at the federal level would make them far more effective.

cent and 52 percent, respectively. This progress was achieved without banning automobiles, swimming pools, or matches. Instead, it came from translating research findings into effective interventions.

Given the chance, could researchers achieve similar progress with firearm violence? It will not be possible to find out unless Congress NRA misinformation rescinds its moratorium on Another bit of misinforfirearm injury prevention mation from the NRA is research.” that universal background checks will lead to a regisPrevention research try of gun owners. The BraPresident Obama’s pro- dy Law explicitly bans the posed gun safety package creation of a gun owner regwould end the freeze on gun istry, and under that law ininjury prevention research stant criminal background although the amounts re- checks have been made on quested are inadequate. more than 100 million gun Ignorance is not bliss or sales in the last decade withsensible or sound policy, out leading to the formation and in the case of our na- of a gun registry. Here again,

misinformation has paralyzed effective gun safety protections.

Please do your homework and decide for yourself. Educate yourself on what the NRA wants you to believe by reading the Children’s Defense Fund’s updated fact sheet “The Truth About Guns.”

Let’s break the NRA lock on the research door to learn and share the truth about the human, economic and public safety costs of gun violence in our nation.

I believe the truth will set us free.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

For more information, go to www.childrensdefense. org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Federal government must step up Forty years ago, the Supreme Court created an unmitigated disaster for our nation’s school children when it ruled on the case of San Antonio Independent School District v.

Rodriguez.

The 5-4 decision allowed Texas to fund school districts on the basis of locally raised tax dollars, confining children in poor communities to underfunded schools.

It was a triumph of states’ rights over human rights, holding that education was not a fundamental right under our Constitution and that citizens could not sue in federal court to when states underfund their schools.

This has led to decades of expensive, drawn-out litigation in most states on behalf of students, parents, and poor communities thirsting for better schools.

National crisis Rodriguez’s legacy runs counter to the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and in Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954, guaranteeing high-quality public education to all children on equal terms. The result is nothing short of a national crisis.

Since Rodriguez, educational attainment in the United States has become even more inextricably tied to social outcomes like employment and earnings, incarceration, and civic engagement.

Yet as a result of inequities like persistent race- and class-based achievement gaps, unacceptably low graduation rates, and more than a million student dropouts each year, millions of people have become trapped in perpetual unemployment and underemployment.

We know for a fact that educational outcomes are linked to resources, yet Rodriguez continues to thwart the possibility of a national solution to a nationwide problem

WADE HENDERSON TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

public education, states have been unable or unwilling to remedy the violations.

In fact, resistance to court orders on requiring greater equity in school funding is perhaps the one political position that has been uniquely bipartisan over the years.

Inconvenient truth History makes clear that simply following the practices of the past will not lead us to the outcomes we clearly need as a nation. Despite right wing calls for more local control and so-called “states’ rights,” the inconvenient truth is that the federal government must be able to step up and assume a greater role in providing equitable funding to schools.

The legacy of Rodriguez is a messy patchwork of state policies that underfund schools in poor communities, resulting in a child’s zip code having primacy over a Constitutional guarantee of equality under the law.

For the last 40 years, state-based solutions have failed our kids. Without an established national right to education, we risk seeing more of the same over the next 40 years.

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition for more than 200 national civil and human rights organizations working to build an America as good as its ideals. This is the 11th of a 20-part series written in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Rights violated

For more information, visit www.lawEven though the vast majority of courts yerscommittee. Click on this story at have made it absolutely clear that state www.flcourier.com to write your own refunding systems violate students’ rights to sponse.

Michigan ‘czars’ strip away rights Imagine Gov. George Wallace of Alabama in 1963 appointing an emergency manager in Birmingham with broad powers to dismiss elected officials, renegotiate contracts, sell assets and become sole authority of the city’s pension funds a month after the voters rejected the emergency manager law in a statewide referendum?

What would Dr. King have written from his Birmingham jail cell?

Emergencies can force people to come together.

They can also be used by the powerful to impose policies that would otherwise be rejected.

make democratic represen-

Rev. tation most important.

Jesse L. Elected leaders must seek Jackson, to gain public support for harsh choices. And the pubSr. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

point virtually a czar with powers to strip elected officials of their powers and their salaries, break contracts, sell off assets and act as a virtual dictator. Benton Harbor, Allen Park, Ecorse and Flint were placed under emergency managers.

Last November, Michigan voters struck down the EM law in a statewide referendum. A stunning 82 percent of Detroit voters rejected it. But the lame-duck Republican state Legislature ‘Shock doctrine’ scorned the majority and Author Naomi Klein called enacted a new EM law the this the “shock doctrine,” following month. using a crisis to overcome democratic resistance.

The state of Michigan is Rights stripped And now conservative in crisis. The Great Recession added to the collapse Republican Gov. Rick Snyof the auto industry. Wrong- der has appointed his czar headed trade policies hol- to take over Detroit beginlowed out a proud manufac- ning this week. Almost one turing center. When the re- half of African-Americans cession hit, revenues sank, in Michigan are governed by these czars, effectively havcosts rose.

Conservatives took over ing their democratic rights the state government and stripped away.

Financial crises force cut funds to cities in revenue sharing. Detroit, Flint gruesome choices. Work and other cities hit the wall forces have to be reduced; services cut back. Pension financially.

Conservative Republicans and health-care promises passed a harsh emergency come under review. These manager (EM) law that em- difficult choices — and the powered the governor to ap- shared sacrifices needed —

lic can hold them accountable if the choices seem unfair or unwise.

Trampling democracy and installing an outside emergency manager opens the way not for tough, accountable choices, but for plunder.

Assets are sold off at fire sale prices. Creditors are made whole, while unions are busted and contracts broken. Appointing an emergency manager will not only, as state Sen. Coleman Young Jr. concluded, “destroy democracy in Detroit,” it will expose people to predatory choices.

When Wall Street’s excesses blew up the economy, Washington devoted trillions to bail out the big banks and ensure that the financial system would not collapse.

Now we need a plan for urban reconstruction, one that will provide hope to cities that are acting responsibly. We need a plan to rebuild Detroit, not a czar to sell off its assets in a fire sale to private interests.

Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. is president and CEO of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

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

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

EDITORIAL

Including us in economic inclusion

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: KIM JONG BOOM

access to capital were to blame for the wealth gap between Whites and African-Americans.

When respondents were asked JAMES if they have ever been overlooked CLINGMAN or felt discounted as a serious NNPA COLUMNIST contender for employment because they were Black, nearly half are shamefully behind Boston’s (47 percent) replied “Yes.” ideal, and according to a recent poll, we are not only behind we Lack of onus are seeking every solution except While the answers are all valid the one that he put forth in 1999. and reasonable, I was struck by The poll was commissioned the absence of any response that

by Robert L. Johnson, founder of suggested what Thomas Boston BET, multiple business owner, and called for over a decade ago: More employer of many. Titled “Black Black businesses hiring more Opinions in the Age of Obama,” Black people. There was a noticeand conducted by Zogby Analyt- able lack of onus put “on us” when ics, the poll brought forth some the subject turned to unemployvery interesting responses from ment and wealth creation/retenBlack people. The area I will ad- tion. dress in this column is Black emI am not trying to wrap all of our ployment. problems into a neat little packWhen asked why they believed age called “Twenty by Ten,” but I the Black unemployment rate was am attempting to point out a flaw double that of Whites, respon- in our thinking and a gap in our dents’ answers included, failure of own responsibility toward Black the education system for minori- economic empowerment. Yes, ties/African-Americans, lack of we have need of solutions to the corporate commitment to hiring many problems we face, but many minorities/African-Americans, can be resolved if we would foland a lack of good government low the perfectly sensible busipolicies. ness model of starting and growWhen asked why the wealth gap ing more Black businesses to the has increased by $70,000 over the point of having the capacity to hire Shamefully behind last 20 years, nearly half (47 per- more Black people.

Yes, the government has a role Of course, we know all of those cent) of respondents said that employees are not Black. Thus, we both the lack of jobs and a lack of to play. Yes, the private sector has Thomas Boston, noted economist and author of “Affirmative Action and Black Entrepreneurship,’’ in which he called for a strategy that would establish and grow Black-owned businesses to the point of having the capacity to employ 20 percent of the Black workforce by the year 2010.

Aptly titled, “Twenty by Ten” – A strategy for Black Business and Employment Growth in the Next Century,” Boston’s charge was right on point, especially since he wrote it in 1999.

When I read his book, “Twenty by Ten” seemed very doable to me. After all, we had 10 years to make it happen, not to mention the fact that if we implemented his plan, Black folks would be well on our way to a higher level of economic self-sufficiency. What an idea, I thought to myself; I was certain government officials and businesses sectors would jump on that idea and bring it to fruition.

Well, it’s been 13 years since Professor Boston called for “Twenty by Ten” and sadly, according to the last economic census, of the 1,197,864 Black firms, only 106,566 were employer firms, and they employed just 909,552 workers.

PAT BAGLEY, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

a role to play. But what is our role?

I am so tired of hearing so-called leaders beg for “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” from folks who are too busy taking care of their own to worry about us. It drives me crazy that there is no call for “Businesses! Businesses! Businesses!”

our own employment base.

According to Bob Johnson’s survey, many Black people believe we should remain the “included” rather than the “includers.”

Let’s look inward as well as outward for solutions to our problems. Let’s have our own economGrowing our own ic inclusion policy by dusting off We must get back to common “Twenty by Ten” and renaming it sense strategies for growth of the “Twenty by Twenty.”

Black economy, which means we must produce more, or at least just Jim Clingman is an adjunct as much, as we consume. And, we professor at the University of must hire more of our people. Oth- Cincinnati and can be reached ers certainly have an obligation to hire us as well, no doubt. But we through his website, blackocannot keep chanting slogans nomics.com. Click on this story and begging them without, at the at www.flcourier.com to write same time, building and growing your own response.

Medical attitudes maintain health disparities Anna Brown, a St. Louis-based homeless woman needed treatment for a sprained ankle. She went to three emergency rooms seeking such treatment. In the third hospital, St. Mary’s Health Center, Brown was emphatic about needing care.

Instead she was arrested for trespassing, and died in a jail cell!

Was she ill-treated because she was homeless? Black? Broke?

It really doesn’t matter. The fact is that the hospital that failed to treat her may have contributed to her death.

Treated as criminals Too many African-American people are treated in emergency rooms, as criminals, not people in need of health services. After learning of the Anna Brown case, a sisterfriend shared that she had such an extreme anxiety attack that her 10-year-old son called 911.

When she got to the emergency room (with health insurance, thank you), she was queried about her use of drugs and alcohol, not

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

her health condition. It was only after her blood was tested that she was treated. So she spent four agonizing hours on a hospital bed with raspy breath, a frightened son, and no medical care.

They aren’t the only ones. African-American and Latino men, with broken bones, are less likely to get pain medication than others. Even children of color are less likely to receive painkillers than White children, because some physicians think they are faking the level of their pain.

When we look at health disparities and wonder why AfricanAmericans are more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failures, breast cancer, AIDS and then some, one might point to the many ways that doctors, especially those in emergency rooms,

signal that Black pain is not worth treating. The result is that someone who is really hurting chooses to forego medical care instead of dealing with medical condescension and arrogance.

Judgmental attitudes To be sure, and to our society’s shame, emergency rooms often become the health providers of last resort. Those without a regular physician are stuck going to an emergency room when all else fails. A cold becomes the flu becomes pneumonia and only when a patient is struggling for breath does she seek treatment in an emergency room.

I can understand a doctor’s frustration because the patient did not deal with her challenges earlier. But emergency room doctors, well paid, need to do their work without judgmental attitudes getting in their way.

Anna Brown deserved to be treated as a human being. She deserved to be treated as someone who was struggling with pain. Instead, she was treated as a crimi-

April 4 an important date to remember April 4, 2013 will be the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It always puzzles me why so many of those who so vocally celebrate Dr. King’s birthday, let the historic day of assassination go by so quietly.

I am cynical enough to believe that their quietness is another payment for having President Reagan sign a bill making his birthday a national holiday.

I am using this opportunity not only to remember April 4 as the day when the Civil Rights Movement was, for all practical purposes, shattered. But I am also using this opportunity to remember the 33 Blacks and seven Whites murdered by White supremacist/racist terrorists between May 7, 1955 and April 4, 1968.

They are: George Lee, Lamar Smith, Emmett Till, Mack Charles Parker, Herbert Lee, Medgar Evers, Roman Duckworth, Louis Allen, Paul Gulhard, Rev. Bruce Klunders, Henry Hezekiah Dee, Charles Eddie Moore, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, Vernon Dahmer, Ben Chester White, Wharlest Jackson and Benjamin Brown were murdered in Mississippi.

Also, Willie Edmonds, William Louis Moore, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, Virgil Lamar Ware, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Rev. James Reeb, Viola Gregg Liuozzo, Willie Wallace Brewster, Jonathan Daniels and Samuel Younge Jr. in Alabama.

Also, Earl Reese in Texas, Lemeul Penn in Georgia, O’Neal Moore and Clarence Tiggs Louisiana, and Samuel Hammond, Jr., Delano Middleton and Henry Smith in South Carolina. Nine of the Blacks slain were between 11 and 19 years of age. All these names are documented on the walls of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Ala. When those Black people who get some big time job or appointment or other recognition begin thanking people for their

A. Peter Bailey TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

good fortune, they almost never take the time to thank those listed above and the many others who were brutalized, often by those who were supposed to be enforcing the law, who lost their jobs and saw their homes and places of business firebombed

by White supremacist/racist terrorists.

Remember warriors Instead of giving thanks to the warriors for equal rights, equal justice, and equal opportunity, too many of those who benefit from their sacrifices go before mostly White audiences and give the impression that they got their news-making job or appointment because they prayed and worked hard.

They often leave the impression that things in this country changed because the Whites voluntarily decided that “We haven’t been doing right to our Black citizens. Now we are going to repent and do the right thing.”

That delusionary position is a bald-faced falsification of history and a supreme insult to those who put their lives on the line in the late 1950s and 1960s. April 4 is an important day in our history and should be a day to remember and pay tribute to Dr. King and the other warriors for daring to confront what can only be described as terrorism in several of the former Confederate states.

Peter Bailey is editor of Vital Issues: The Journal of African American Speeches. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

nal because she insisted on care.

Thus, she was accused of trespassing instead of being treated as someone who was hurting.

Muddy attitudes While many would describe our society as post-racial that is a specious and inaccurate description of the world in which we live.

Racism muddies the water that we all swim in, and physicians are not exempted. Those who swim in muddy water reflect the muddy attitudes that are prevalent in our society.

Many doctors consider themselves “culturally sensitive” but they have come to conclusions about poor folks, Black folks, and others that they treat. It is easier to write off a woman like Anna Brown than it is to find out what is really wrong with her.

The Hippocratic oath that physicians swear to says, “first, do no harm.”

From the facts that have been published about Anna Brown though, this homeless 29-yearold mother of two children was

harmed by a medical indifference that landed her in a jail cell instead of a hospital bed. The tragedy is that Anna Brown is not the only one who has been treated this way.

Health disparities We have health disparities because people are treated differently in our health care system.

We cannot talk about closing gaps without talking about the ways that medical attitudes shape the medical experience for those who are so underserved that they come to emergency rooms for help.

While the jury is out on the ways that Obamacare will reform our health care system, the intent of health care reform is to eliminate tragedies like Anna Brown’s.

Julianne Malveaux is a D.C.based economist and author.

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

The taxman cometh after Easter As we entered the Easter Season, I reflected on the many lessons I’ve learned from the teachings of Christ. While most focus solely on The Crucifixion and The Resurrection, I attempted to glean as much guidance as I could from the parables that Jesus used to school His followers and adversaries alike.

This is particularly true of Jesus’ response to the tests posed by the Pharisees.

Asked by a Pharisee whether he could accept being taxed, He famously replied “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.”

Whatever logic is used to explain it in church, the takeaway of that statement is the understanding that Jesus modeled the requirement for responsible compliance with government laws.

My personal contacts and conversations lead me to believe that most Americans will, if only for the sake of avoiding unpleasantries with the IRS or the Tax Court, pay what is owed when it’s due.

Few let anything short of critical financial difficulties interfere with the payment of their taxes.

Miscreants citizens Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah apparently believes those citizens who owe overdue income taxes to be miscreants of the worst order – especially those working for the Federal Government.

Chaffetz is so committed to this belief that on March 20, 2013 he introduced the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act. “The very least an individual on the federal payroll can do is pay their taxes,” Chaffetz said in a press release. “If you are thumbing your nose up at the American taxpayer by not paying your taxes, you should be fired or not awarded a federal contract.”

If his bill becomes law, and you owe taxes and are a federal worker, you could lose your job.

Those owing taxes and seeking government employment would not fare any better. Chaffetz’ plan would not only direct the firing of federal employees with tax

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

liens, it prohibits hiring those with liens.

The bill requires applicants to certify that they aren’t delinquent in their taxes.

Federal employers will be responsible for reviewing public records to determine if employees or applicants have active tax liens.

Unpaid taxes The Washington Post reports that 98,000 government workers owe $1.03 billion in unpaid taxes. On its face, Chaffetz’ plan seems to address a serious problem.

Fairness would dictate that those who owe have the responsibility to pay.

Unfortunately, rather than encouraging payment, the immediate effect of such a law would be to reduce the ability of large numbers of taxpayers to pay what they owe.

From Resurrection Sunday (Easter), we are 15 days away from Tax Day when we have to “give unto Caesar.” We do so with the reminder from Rep. Chaffetz that, under the Republican agenda, the least of us will be held accountable for paying a disproportionate amount of the national bill while the wealthy will continue to receive the untaxed opportunity for greater enrichment.

That type of reminder gives new meaning to the word Crucifixion. Don’t forget to tell Mr. Chaffetz that.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is chair of the National Congress of Black Women, www.nationalcongressbw.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

TOj A6

NATION

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

Education taking big hit from sequester Teachers and college students frustrated with Congress, Obama over looming cuts

BY JACQUELINE WILLIAMS TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

With the sequestration in full effect, many students and educators are upset with the large budget cuts to education and lack of compromise in Washington.

“You always hear children are our future and how we must educate the younger generation, but I don’t see how the government expects us to do this if they are playing tug-of-war with them and their education,” said Roberta Martin, 42, the mother of a college junior at the University of California, Riverside.

Education is taking a big hit from the sequester, with approximately $3 billion being cut from education alone, according to the National Education Association’s official website.

Loss of jobs, programs Many education programs such as Head Start as well as after school programs for children will lose considerable amounts of funding. According to www.whitehouse.gov, the sequester will cause over 30,000 teachers and school faculty to lose their jobs.

“It’s a very scary thought because I cannot imagine or afford to lose my job.

I never thought it would come to this because they’ve always found some way to figure everything out,” said Stephen Wright, 38, a schoolteacher in Co-

PETE SOUZA/THE WHITE HOUSE

President Barack Obama greets House leaders before a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus at the U.S. Capitol on March 14.

Standing with him are from left: Assistant Democratic Leader James “Jim” Clyburn, D-S.C.; Chairman Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Vice Chairman Joe Crowley, D-N.Y.; and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md. rona, Calif.

The country entered into this period of sequestration because Congress and the president failed to reach an agreement on how to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion. It is the result of a 2011 agreement that stated if an agreement was not met, automatic cuts would take place the first day of March.

Something smarter?

These spending cuts were originally constructed by Congress and President Obama to discourage its implementation and encourage compromise.

“The whole design of

these arbitrary cuts was to make them so unattractive and unappealing that Democrats and Republicans would actually get together and find a good compromise of sensible cuts as well as closing tax loopholes and so forth. “And so this was all designed to say we can’t do these bad cuts; let’s do something smarter. That was the whole point of this so-called sequestration,” said Obama, according to www.whitehouse.gov.

‘Cuts hurt everyone’ With large cuts to defense, education, and many other areas, many people

are frustrated with Congress and the president.

“These cuts hurt everyone, it’s not just one area either, and it bothers me that the people that are most affected by it are those who really cannot afford to have anything else against them; people are struggling to get by,” said 21-year-old San Jose State University junior Vanessa Parks.

Students enrolled in colleges and universities also are upset with the sequestration as it affects their tuition rates.

“I can barely afford to pay for school now and it’s not easy getting loans; this sequester is just making it that much harder on me

to be honest,” said 20-yearold Shaw University student Paul Schatz.

Officers affected too Students who are enrolled in school that are also enrolled in the military are affected by the sequester as well.

There will be a decrease in the benefits received by those in uniform, including a cut in tuition assistance.

This poses a large problem because many young people often join the military so they can get financial assistance for school.

“I joined the Navy so that I could go back to school and these tuition assis-

tance cuts are upsetting, especially because many of us risk our lives every day and earn and deserve those benefits,” said 22-year-old Navy officer Chadwick Johnson.

Many are hoping that something is done quickly and a compromise is met in order to avert the sequester because of its harmful effects.

Wright stated his faith in an end to the sequester, “I don’t think this will go on too much longer, but only because I think the federal government will eventually understand the disgust the public feels toward it all and act to fix it quickly.”

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How to dress up your dessert See page B3

April 5 - April 11, 2013

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

‘Temptation’ another winner for Tyler Perry See page B5

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY www.flcourier.com

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SECTION

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FROM A SLAVE PLANTATION TO

‘Africa House’ Above: Africa House, a mansion in Tennessee, once served as a plantation to slaves. Ironically the mansion is now owned

by Africans.

An African doctor buys a former Tennessee slave plantation and turns it into a cultural sanctuary with the goal of revolutionizing health care in African countries.

BY DAPHNE TAYLOR SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

W

e can all say that we’ve seen some amazing ironies in life, but few have experienced one like Dr. Arikana Chihombori, a Zimbabwe (Africa)-born physician and frequent Florida visitor and landowner who lives in the heart of Tennessee.

She and her husband, Dr. Nii Saban Quao, are both highly touted physicians. After completing her undergraduate education at Fisk University, she matriculated at Meharry Medical College and earned degrees in general chemistry, a master’s degree in organic chemistry and a Doctor of Medicine degree.

Dr. Quao, a native of Ghana, is a graduate of Yale University, where he earned three degrees: an undergraduate degree in molecular biology and biophysics, then a master’s degree in public health and a Doctor of Medicine degree. He also has a law degree from Vanderbilt University.

They are now the owners of Africa House, an expansive, plantation-style mansion where dignitaries, beauty queens, ambassadors and other luminaries have stayed as their special guests. It is also the couple’s occasional weekend home.

But it’s how Chihombori acquired the sprawling home – and what is taking place there now – that presents one of the greatest ironies ever known.

Left: Dr. Arikana Chihombori (center) is flanked by Dr. Glenn Cherry, left, and her husband, Dr. Nii Saban Quao.

Almost didn’t happen Africa House might not have been if it hadn’t been for a casual business associate, a young man who insisted that the locally wellknown doctor check out a foreclosure auction for a house that he said would go for cheap.

Chihombori was not in the market for another house. She already owns properties in Tennessee, Florida, Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is a shareholder in a major resort property in the Orlando area.

But the young man, who actually came to one of her four medical clinics to get some papers signed, insisted that she go to the auction and bid on the large house. She still didn’t take it too seriously.

Photos by CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Going to look “I had no intentions of going there to buy. I was just going to look at a big house,” she explained.

She left home late that morning and figured the auction might even be over when she got there.

But to her surprise, it wasn’t. Not only was it not over, she later learned that the auctioneer held up the auction because they were told, “the African Queen was coming.”

She was astonished. As fate would have it, she outbid everyone at the foreclosure auction, wrote a check to buy the place and by that afternoon, to her own initial dismay, she was owner of a sprawling plantation.

She estimates she got the house, an adjacent barn, and 30 acres of land

In 2012, an event sponsored by the African Union Diaspora Africa Forum drew participants from African countries as well as from around America to Africa House. for a third of what it was worth. She had to tell her husband what she’d done.

Quao, her spouse – who is himself a longtime collector of African antiquities – just shook his head when he got the news. He’s used to her buying real estate “on a whim.”

Nowhere to go But it was what was to come that blew her and everybody away.

The couple that had owned the home was once extremely prosperous.

They had just lost their beloved mansion and were forced to sell what remained of their family’s legacy, and they were not prepared either psychologically or physically to leave when their property was sold to a wealthy African woman.

They had nowhere to go.

Chihombori could force them to move out of the house immediately, or she could give them a grace period and allow them to stay a while longer.

She didn’t force them

out. But it was then that she learned the rather startling news.

Not just any house She had purchased Chapman Clearing, parts of which had been in the same family since the year 1799. (“Chapman Clearing” was a name given to it by the locals because the landowner was known to tell everyone to “clear the land!”)

The Chapman family history is the history of

America. The family patriarch was an officer in America’s Revolutionary War. In 1799, he bought 200 acres of land in Gallatin, Tenn., then moved there from Virginia with his family. The Chapman family was to buy, sell, and pass parcels of land down to subsequent generations for the next 200 years.

Chapman men fought in the Revolutionary War, the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, and the Civil War. Enslaved Africans and their descendants worked the land for decades, including a few that decided to stay on the property after the South lost the Civil War. The sprawling property Chihombori now owned had once been a part of 300 acres that belonged to the former owner’s greatgrandfather – who had been a slave owner.

The place now known as Africa House had once been the part of a massive slave plantation.

‘An insult’ “He just felt it was an insult losing his home, then losing it to a Black woman, but in the end, he was glad he did because we let him stay there. He said that if a White person had bought See HOUSE, Page B2

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CALENDAR

B2

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

TOJ

9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd. in the student services building.

WAYNE BRADY

Tampa: The Sixth Annual Summer Splash Fair is April 6 from 9 a.m.

– 4 p.m. at the Glazer Children’s Museum, 110 W. Gasparilla Plaza. It allows parents to meet with providers of summer camps, health and wellness, college preparatory, after school and tutoring programs. Cost: $5. Admission includes all day play in the museum. More information: 813-949-4400, www.SummerSplashTampaBay.com or glazermuseum.org.

Tampa: The Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality will host a Nehemiah Action workshop on fairness and justice by resolving problems related to fair hiring, affordable housing and homelessness on April 8 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at Mount Calvary Seventh Day Adventist Church, 4902 N. 40th St. More information: 813-221-4673 or www.hillsboroughhope.org.

Tampa: The Pi Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity invites the public to several events during its 7th District Meeting in Tampa. A picnic at Curtis Hixon Park is from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. A Founders Banquet will be held April 6 at 7:30 at Hotel Tampa-Downtown. More information and additional events: www. piiota.org.

Orlando: Funny man Mike Epps will be at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre on May 24 and the Jacksonville Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts April 12.

Jacksonville: Jillian Michaels’ “Maximize Your Life” tour comes to the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts April 17. Jillian shares her keys to health, success and happiness.

Comedian and singer Wayne Brady will be at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino June 7 for a 9 p.m. show.

LIONEL HAHN/ ABACA PRESS

BIG BOI

Big Boi will be at Revolution Live Fort Lauderdale on June 5.

LL Cool J, Ice Cube, De La Soul and Public Enemy will be at The Mahaffey in St. Petersburg during their Kings of the Mic Tour on June 6. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

LIONEL HAHN/ABACA PRESS

atre Jacksonville along with Harvey Mason, Chuck Loeb and Nathan East April 21 for an 8 p.m. show.

Tampa: The 100 Black Men of Tampa Bay will host a workshop on retirement basics as part of an economic empowerment workshop series on April 13 from 10 a.m. noon at Strayer University, 4902 Eisenhower Blvd.

Jacksonville: Jazz and Blues group Fourplay will be at the Florida The-

Palmetto: Fantasia is scheduled at the 7th Annual Gulf coast Rhythm

St. Petersburg: Youths ages 7 to 11 can enjoy a night of football, kickball, ping-pong, foosball, video games and dance parties during “Freestyle Fridays” at the Fossil Park & Willis S. Johns Center, 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. First visit free; $6 each following visit.

More information: 727-893-7756.

& Ribfest at the Manatee County Fairgrounds on April 14.

Tampa: 1990s rap stars Salt N Pepa are among the artists slated to perform at Funk Fest 2013 at Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park May 3 and 4. Concerts also are scheduled in Jacksonville and Orlando. Complete lineup: http:// funkfestconcerts.com.

Orlando: Eric Deggans, TV and media critic with the Tampa Bay Times who wrote the book “Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation,’’ will be one of the authors featured at the

University of Central Florida Book Festival/Orlando 2013. The festival is April 13 from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the UCF Arena. More information: bookfestival.ucf.edu.

Jacksonville: The 17th Annual Southeast US Boat Show, formally known as the Jacksonville spring boat show, will take place April 12, 13 and 14 at the Metropolitan Park & Marina to include live seminars, live music and hundreds of new boats.

Tampa: Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry Campus will host an annual job fair April 16 from

HOUSE

“To us, it didn’t matter that he was White. We did that based on our African upbringing. That’s an African way. I’m not sure that’s an American way. Everything we do, we draw back from our African values,” she said of herself and her husband.

Today, Africa House – a former slave plantation – has been turned into an oasis of African culture in Tennessee, and the hub of thought, strategic thinking, and activity where great work is taking place on behalf of Africa.

Health-care initiative As a medical doctor, Chihombori is chairwoman of the African Union African Diaspora Health Initiative (AU-ADHI). (The African Union is a confederation of 54 African states.)

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. More information: 727-393-3597.

Fort Lauderdale: The Florida Minority Community Reinvestment along with a coalition of Florida minority non-profits and neighborhood associations are hosting the 2013 Let’s Do Business Florida & Summit June 28-June 29 at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa. No cost to women-minority-veteran businesses and nonprofits. More information: www.letsdobusinessflorida.com.

long as we continue to be divided, we will remain enslaved. The mind must be liberated. We are all children of the same mother – Mother Africa,” she stressed in one of several phone conversations.

from B1

‘The African way’

Winter Park: As a tribute to the 125th anniversary of the City of Winter Park and incorporation of the City of Eatonville, Crealdé’s Hannibal Square Heritage Center will feature an original exhibition through April 13 among the three AfricanAmerican communities – Eatonville, Maitland and Winter Park. Venue: 642 W. New England Ave. Free.

More information: 407-539-2680 or www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter. org.

LL COOL J

Tampa: The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Centennial Torch Tour makes a stop in Tampa on May 18. The day, hosted by the Tampa Alumnae Chapter, will include an event for students at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A Crimson Yacht Soiree on the Yacht StarShip starts at 6:30 p.m. More information: Call 850284-3386 or visit www.dstta.com.

it, they would have wanted him out by 5 p.m. that very day. He said that ironically, it took two Africans to help him out! We changed his entire mindset about Black people,” said Chihombori.

She and her husband eventually allowed them to stay in the home for three months free of charge, and it didn’t matter to her that he had initially been upset that a Black family bought his mansion.

She said he even grew fond of her entire family and looked forward to their visits there during his extended stay. It didn’t matter that the history of the property included a time during which it was a slave plantation.

“The man completely changed the way he sees Black people, and that’s what it’s all about. “Their preconceived notions of Black people are wrong,” she remarked.

But she’s quick to point out that allowing him to stay there for free was just part of her upbringing in Africa.

Jacksonville: The stage play and musical “Dreamgirls” will be at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts May 21 at 7:30 p.m.

No health infrastructure

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Miss Africa Tennessee 2010 Patricia Kpabar, Miss Sierra Leone USA 2011 Isha Kabba, and Patricia’s sister Marion Bryant greeted visitors to Africa House.

In this capacity, she is charged with mobilizing health-care workers throughout the African Diaspora – that is, people of African descent living outside of Africa – to assist in addressing the health-care crisis in Africa.

At Africa House, Chihombori and her husband brainstorm, strategize and collect information that is then used to make African countries healthier. The main building of the former slave plantation is now a meeting place for people initiating sweeping positive changes in the very place where enslaved Africans slaves were forced from – their own homeland.

“And an African is in charge! What an irony!” said Kwame Bonsu, a native of Ghana, and a childhood friend of Chihombori’s husband. “It’s a great irony and God is a great God!

Regular meetings Along with others who are also concerned about the plight of Africa, the group meets at Africa House once or twice a week to determine how to bring people of African descent together, and how to mobilize to make Africa a healthier nation.

And everyone seems to agree that there is a spirit of togetherness that permeates the place when the groups are in Africa House

working toward a common goal of making the African Motherland a better place for its people. ”The house has a spirit of ujamaa,” (the spirit of working together), she said in a telephone interview.

“It also promotes the spirit of ubuntu (working together toward a common goal),” she said.

“It’s a very nice place,” said Chihombori. “I did the decorations myself. It’s huge and people can’t believe Black people own it. It empowers people,” she said of the house, which hosts parties, weddings, and other functions. “There was a need for such a place.”

“It’s like the White House in Tennessee. It’s a beautiful mansion. It really represents Africa,” said Bonsu.

Focus on the work But it’s more important to “Dr. C,” as she is known locally, that the focus not be on the house itself. Her focus is on the work that originates from Africa House, particularly in the area of health care.

Chihombori is passionate about bringing people from all walks of life together with a common goal of helping Africa. “I’m so passionate because it’s like taking care of your mother,” she said.

She is focusing her efforts on what the African Union calls “the Sixth Region’ of Africa.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on the African Union – African Diaspora Health Initiative, visit the website at AU-ADHI.org; call 615-895-8270; or email info@au-adhi.org.

There are five regions in the continent – North, South, East, West and Central. The Sixth Region is comprised of people of African descent or origin who live outside of the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality.

It includes people of African descent who live in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, or anywhere outside of the African continent, who are willing to contribute to the development of Africa and the building of the African Union.

Stop the denial Chihombori fervently wants to get the message out that we are all one people who should share a common concern about Africa. She wants AfricanAmericans to stop denying that they are African.

“Black Americans ARE Africans. The Jews never deny their Jewishness. As

As head of the AU-ADHI, she has galvanized healthcare professionals who are just as committed to addressing Africa’s dire health situation. According to the AU-ADHI website, there is growing shortage of health care in Africa that’s due to the migration of healthcare professionals and the lack of training facilities.

In certain parts of Africa, there’s only one primary care doctor for every 100,000 people. Some African countries do not even have a specialist. And without a specialist or primary care doctors, African people are dying from undiagnosed problems like hypertension, diabetes, HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria that could be prevented or cured.

The AU-ADHI contributes its own money to go to Africa to help out. In six months, the group made remarkable change in Malawi, an African country with dire health-care needs. The group recently went back to Malawi to meet a container full of $500,000 worth of medical supplies to help the people there. The AUADHI raised the funds for the supplies.

Because of their effective efforts in Malawi, they also were asked by the president of Sierra Leone to help people there. The group plans to do a needs assessment in Sierra Leone to determine how best to approach the help it plans to give.

Health-care pros needed But the group’s greatest need right now is for doctors and other medical professionals to commit to going to Africa with the group to lend their expertise.

They have a dire need for OB-GYN’s, pediatricians, and surgeons.

They are asking if pro-

fessionals could commit to one month in Africa, but they’ll accept two weeks of support if necessary. The professionals are asked to pay their own way to Africa.

But once there, accommodations, food and transportation are provided free of charge. The professionals work a four-day workweek.

“Malawi has called us to assist and free Mother Africa of the disease and help improve the quality of health care,” said Dr. Andrew Hazley, an American-born general surgeon who is an AU-ADHI member. “It’s amazing the work we’ve been able to do in such a short time.”

Chihombori says some individuals may be able to give a longer commitment to help the continent. “If an OB-GYN can spend a year in Malawi, that would be ideal,” she said.

Anyone can help But she’s quick to state that any time commitment is welcomed because any help is needed. They also need help from other professionals and individuals outside of the medical profession. She stresses that anyone who is concerned about Africa and wants to help should contact the AU-ADHI. It’s the cohesiveness of the Sixth Region that Chihombori strives for when they’re strategizing at Africa House. Everyone who knows her knows that she’s all about bringing people together. And according to Hazley, the atmosphere at Africa House is conducive to bringing people together in an electrifying atmosphere.

“Oh gosh, the Africa House...it has a lot of energy. It’s where we brainstorm and collect data. It produces an atmosphere to all of our thoughts about Africa that are positive,” said Hazley.

It is apparent that some of the greatest help for Mother Africa emanates from Africa House, and that makes Chihombori proud.

“That’s what it’s all about.

We’re solving the problems of humanity,” she said.

T

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

Dress up dessert From Family Features

C

lassic sweet treats like pound cake are delicious on their own — and with a few simple ingredients, they can be dressed up to make any day more special.

These recipes highlight the classic, homemade taste of Sara Lee Pound Cake. The newest addition, Lemon Pound Cake, is made with real lemon juice, so the bright citrus flavor shines through.

• Lemon Pound Cake Trifle — Strawberries, blueberries and whipped topping combine with cut-out lemon pound cake shapes to make a showstopping dessert.

• Pound Cake French Toast — Take the flavors of a favorite breakfast and turn them into a mouthwatering dessert the whole family will love.

• White Chocolate Ganache Lemon Glazed Pound Cake — This treat may have a fancy name, but it’s easy to make. And it tastes just as great as it looks.

• Grilled Pound Cake with Berries — Grilled slices of pound cake topped with fresh berries and lemon Greek yogurt are the perfect way to end a cookout.

• Grilled Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Pound Cake Sandwich — Bring out the kid in everyone with this delicious twist on a fluffer­nutter sandwich.

You can find more delicious ways to dress up dessert at www.saraleedesserts.com.

Lemon Pound Cake Trifle Prep time: 15 minutes Makes: 8 servings 1 regular size package (10.75 ounces) Sara Lee Lemon Pound Cake, thawed 3 cups sliced strawberries 3 cups blueberries 1 container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, or whipped cream Slice frozen pound cake crosswise into 3 layers. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter (or any cookie cutter shape), cut pound cake into star shapes. Cut remaining pound cake into 1-inch pieces or into smaller star shapes.

Place half of the cut-up pound cake pieces on the bottom of a trifle or serving bowl. Place star shapes on side of bowl.

Top with half of the fruit and whipped topping; repeat layers. Garnish with small star shapes, if desired. Serve immediately or store in refrig­erator, until ready to serve.

Grilled Pound Cake with Berries Prep time: 5 minutes Makes: 4 servings 1 regular size package (10.75 ounces) Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake, thawed 1 cup Greek style lemon yogurt or ice cream Assorted fruit toppers (such as raspberries andblueberries) Slice thawed pound cake into 1/2-inch slices. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Grill over medium heat until lightly browned (1 to 2 minutes per side).

Top with Greek style lemon yogurt or ice cream, fresh raspberries and blueberries.

Grilled Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Pound Cake Sandwich Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 30 seconds to 4 minutes Makes: 1 serving 1 slice Sara Lee Double Chocolate Pound Cake Slices 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon marshmallow cream 1 teaspoon mini semi-sweet chocolate chips Slice pound cake slice crosswise in half forming 2 pieces.

Spread one slice of frozen pound cake with peanut butter and marshmallow cream. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and second pound cake slice forming a sandwich.

Spray both sides of pound cake slices with cooking spray. Grill sand­wich in a skillet over medium heat about 1 to 2 minutes per side or until crisp and toasted, or place on a micro­wave-safe plate and heat sandwich 20 to 30 seconds or until chocolate chips are melted.

Pound Cake French Toast Prep time: 10 minutes Makes: 6 servings 1 family size package (16 ounces) Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cake, thawed 3 eggs beaten 1/3 cup heavy cream or 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional) 1/8 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Powdered sugar (optional) Slice pound cake into 12 slices, each about 1/2 inch thick.

Whisk eggs, cream, extracts and spices in a medium bowl until well blended.

Dip each pound cake slice into egg mixture making sure to coat all sides, shaking off excess batter into bowl.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add pound cake slices to skillet. Cook 1 to 2 min­utes per side, or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and top with fresh fruit or maple syrup, if desired.

FOOD

B3

White Chocolate Ganache Lemon Glazed Pound Cake Prep time: 20 minutes Makes: 12 servings 1 cup (6 ounces) white chocolate chips 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 tablespoon butter 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1 regular size package (10.75 ounces) Sara Lee Lemon Pound Cake, thawed Place white chocolate chips, whipping cream and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. If needed, heat 10 to 30 seconds more in microwave to melt chips. Stir in lemon peel. Let cool 5 minutes.

Drizzle ganache over pound cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut into slices to serve. Serve with remaining ganache.

Variation: Raspberry Filled White Chocolate Ganache Lemon Glazed Pound Cake — Start by cutting the pound cake in half crosswise down center. Spread with 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam. Continue with prepar­ing the ganache as directed.

TOj B4

HEALTH

SOJ

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

PHOTOS BY PATRICK FARRELL/MIAMI HERALD/MCT

Haiti’s massive earthquake three years ago has led to some good as an AIDS clinic is bringing comprehensive health care to Port-au Prince’s slums. A supervisor looks on as masked technicians Sylvain Dumerlin, Mario Gaspar and Sezard Smith carefully check formulas.

Comprehensive health care comes to slums in Haiti AIDS clinic implements strategies to address cholera, other health issues

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES MIAMI HERALD/MCT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – For years, the low-lying slum along the bay and the AIDS clinic across the street lived in separate worlds, a one-way relationship where the sick shuffled out but health care providers didn’t dare go in.

Then Haiti’s massive Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak crumbled the barriers.

“We didn’t ask for any of it,” Dr. Jean William Pape, founder of GHESKIO, Haiti’s leading HIV/ AIDS clinic and research center, said about the disasters. “But now we got them. What are we going to do with them?”

For all the devastation and death both catastrophes unleashed, they also stirred hope of a health care turnaround for the most destitute of Haiti’s poor.

For the past year, a small army of community health care workers has quietly ventured beyond the clinic’s front gate to confront some of the stumbling blocks that have long made providing quality health care in the developing world challenging.

Illnesses, infections On any given day inside Portau-Prince’s slum-by-the-bay, Tshirt clad health workers and physicians can be seen handing out buckets of chlorinated water and other cholera treatment, supervising community clean-ups and stepping into humble homes to deliver primary care.

The intense focus on Haiti’s slums come as an increasing number of Haitians leave tent cities for crowded ghettos, triggering fears of a deepening public health catastrophe in a country where people already contract tuberculosis at a higher rate than anywhere in the hemisphere — except for Peru — and many children never make it to their third birthday because of any number of illnesses, including 21 waterborne diseases.

It also comes in a country with one of the hemisphere’s highest rates of HIV, the genesis for the founding of GHESKIO, the Haitian Group for the Study of Kapo-

si’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections.

City of the Eternal But the current mission has little to do with AIDS treatment.

Rather, the focus is on improving the lives of the poor in a nation where clean water and sanitation are luxuries, and where the government is struggling to raise $2.2 billion to eradicate a cholera epidemic that has claimed 8,048 lives and sickened 650,218, according to Haiti’s Health Ministry.

“When I look at old Paris, old Rome, those were all slums that they improved. So why can’t we improve these slums?” Pape said.

“If you provide them with the tools, they’ll get there.”

Twenty years ago, Pape could look out across a busy Harry Truman Boulevard and see the pristine blue ocean hugging Port-auPrince’s bay.

Today, the ocean is murky, its shallow bay waters filled with trash to create the Village of God and various communities of ramshackle concrete block shanties that make up the City of the Eternal.

Dr. Fedeline Ferdinand examines tuberculosis patient Porky Henry, 25, in the clinic.

March, Haiti National Police launched a surprise raid, arresting 17 gang members including a top leader.

But much of the activities in the village these days center around the work of clinic staff. Throughout the community, there are several oral re-hydration points for those who contract cholera.

Specialized buckets of portable water, created in the clinic’s lab, are also provided to families. Even the water provided by private providers has improved, thanks to negotiations by the clinic’s doctors.

Dangerous area It’s a place where gangs and disease run rampant, where the rain brings down topsoil and human waste, and where residents are more likely to go to the bathroom in plastic bags than outhouses.

But treating disease inside the slums, a refuge of warring gangs and kidnappers, has long been a challenge — even for the clinic.

“My staff was very reluctant,” Pape said. “This is a very dangerous area where people are killed all of the time.”

The first opportunity came with the quake, which forced fleeing residents to set up a tent city in the clinic’s parking lot. Then cholera hit.

“We used to have 14 to 15 cholera victims a day,” Dr. Mireille Peck, a GHESKIO physician and head of its community program, said on a stroll through the Village of God.

Vaccination campaign A year ago February, the clinic, with government support, started a door-to-door cholera vaccination campaign using smart phones. It went even further, teaming with residents to enter homes to conduct a health survey and treat victims.

That relationship made the

Sense of pride Sitting on a bench inside a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Village de Dieu or Village of God, the schoolchildren are among thousands inside the seaside slum who have been vaccinated against cholera. clinic’s staff realize the residents were their neighbors, Pape said.

“My staff is happy they did it.

They realized these are real people who have needs like everybody else, which is to send their kids to school and hope for a better life,” he said.

Paul Farmer, chair of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine said, “Haiti’s progress depends on inclusion, and inclusion depends on some basic services.”

“You can’t do good medicine for poor people without having some strategies to address their poverty,” said Farmer, whose Boston-based Partners In Health/ Zanmi Lasante nonprofit medical organization provided the cholera vaccination to Haitians living in the Central Plateau, where the disease started.

“Anyone who exposes him or herself as a nurse or physician to a lot of patients living in poverty

gets an earful about social conditions,” Farmer said.

Village of God As a result, addressing transportation, food, electricity and housing issues become important in struggling communities such as Village of God. On a recent morning, as workers from GHESKIO toured the Village, some of its 10,000 residents chatted about the transformation.

The tension that normally welcomed visitors has been replaced with pride, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

“This is a zone that used to be very dirty. They have motivated us,” said Gabriel Mizo, 46, a block leader inside the community. “GHESKIO’s doctors have brought a lot of hope.”

Then someone shouts: “There is no more cholera here.”

Surprise raid Crime persists, however. In

On a tour of the village, Peck notes the visuals that are also feeding the sense of pride. Lots once strewn with garbage are clean, and canals normally infested with mosquitoes have been reduced to puddles.

“You don’t see how it is clean?” she said, stopping in front of a group of women who were employed in a clinic-run community clean-up program that closed in November after funds dried up.

“They are still sweeping because they have taken ownership of the project.”

A few yards away, giggling school children pour out of one of the few multi-story structures.

Almost all of the students have been vaccinated against cholera

by GHESKIO’s teams — as well as against several common childhood diseases through an unrelated Ministry of Health campaign.

“If today we have these children sitting here and they are healthy, after God, we have to thank Dr. Peck and the people at GHESKIO,” said Pastor Jean Samson Charles, the school’s director. “They have stood alongside us and fought for us to allow us to be here today.”

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APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

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.

Christina Eliane is a Tampa resident who says she is outgoing, fun, and adventurous.

The 5’ 10’’ senior participated in collegiate basketball and aspires to compete in the WNBA and become a supermodel.

Dwayne Joseph is a 5’10’’ model with six years of experience in the industry, modeling for brands such as Fusion, Dan Smith and Alberto Sanchez.

He says he is known for being flexible, adaptable, stylish and efficient.

Contact him at Daend2007@ aol.com.

CREDIT: Seth London

christina

Perry thanks fans for supporting ‘Temptation’

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant takes a moment during a timeout in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Los Angeles on March 25.

FROM WIRE REPORTS

D. ROSS CAMERON/CONTRA COSTA TIMES/ MCT

A lot to ponder: Kobe will decide this summer about retirement FROM WIRE REPORTS

Kobe Bryant’s contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expires after the 20132014 NBA season, but the 17-year veteran is planning to make his retirement decision as early as this summer, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com reports.

Bryant has mentioned the R-word throughout the season, but has yet to give a firm commitment on how much longer he’s willing to play. His comments came on a night where he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain for fourth in all-time on the scoring list, notching 31,434 points in his career.

‘It’s my decision’ When asked if he felt next season would be his

dwayne

last, Bryant responded by saying that his current sense is that he will end his career after the 2013-2014 season, and that the decision is solely his as the Lakers can’t say anything to change his mind: Howard-Cooper of NBA.com: Is your sense that next season will be your last?

Bryant: “As I sit here right now, yeah.”

Howard-Cooper: Is there anything the Lakers can say that would make it more likely you played beyond next season?

Bryant: “No. It’s my decision. It’s really about what I want to do, if I want to train and be psychotic with my training. That’s what it comes down to.

It’s really how I’m feeling physically.”

Tyler Perry’s movie “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor” landed in at No. 3 over Easter weekend.

Perry, who wrote, directed and produced the film, was evidently pleased with the response and on Sunday he sent out a personal “thank you” email to fans.

“I just want to say thank you for going to see Temptation at the movie theaters. You have no idea what this means to me. After 14 movies, you are still coming,” Perry wrote.

The film, which stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Kim Kardashian among others, grossed $22.3 million, reportedly exceeding expectations. The actionpacked movie “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” took the No. 1 spot, with kids movie “The Croods” coming in at No. 2 “[Temptation] is Perry’s second-biggest opening non-Madea movie after the sequel ‘Why Did I Get Married Too,’ “ E!’s Joal Ryan wrote.

Perils of infidelity Some critics anticipate

Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Robbie Jones star in “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.’’ that the film could go on to become the highest grossing Perry-directed film in which he is not also featured as an actor.

“Temptation” marks Perry’s ninth film to debut over $20 million, putting the iconic filmmaker on par with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. Both famous film directors are the only others to have reached Per-

Miami attorney’s ‘Working Girls’ focuses on work-life balance, office dating, office politics BLACK PR WIRE

Attorney Shavon Jones will have a launch party on April 17 to mark the release of the print edition of “Working Girls: Money, Power & Love,’’ a story about four friends struggling to balance work, life and love.

The book is a timely application of the principles discussed in Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) women’s leadership manifesto “Lean In.’’ Acclaimed biographer Blair S. Walker (“Why Should White Guys Have all the Fun: How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire’’) will give introductory remarks.

“Shavon Jones doesn’t shy away from the thorny issues that can sometimes accompany work-life. ‘Working Girls’ tackles the intersections of racial, gender, and sex-

ry’s distinction, according to CNN. The numbers appear to have paid off for the film’s distributor Lionsgate, with reports claiming the film cost approximately $20 million to make.

‘Temptation’ explores the perils of infidelity and gives viewers elements of humor while teaching a valuable life lesson.

In a recent interview with

The Christian Post, Perry revealed the film’s main message.

“This movie is about temptation,” Perry told The Christian Post. “It’s about making a bad choice [and] how one bad decision can change your whole life.”

Eurweb.com was used in compiling this report.

ual politics with an honesty that is not often found in her genre,” said reviewer Bridget Todd who teaches at Howard University.

Said Jones, “I wanted the book to be relatable so that the readers would see some of themselves in the characters.’’

Party in Miami

Shavon

The launch party is being held at Jones Southstreet Restaurant, a popular woman-owned establishment in the Design District section of Miami. The party is from 6:30 until 9 p.m.

“Working Girls’’ is available at all online retailers, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Shavon’s tips for managing stressful lives also appear in the April issue of Key Biscayne Magazine.

Jones has held positions at PwC, NCR Corporation and a sizeable Florida law firm. She was on the Miami Herald 2012 Top 40 under 40 List and was selected from among 75 candidates as the 2004 winner of the South Florida Business Journal’s Up & Comer’s Award in the Legal category.

For more information, visit http://shavonjones.com.

TOj B6

APRIL 5 – APRIL 11, 2013

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