Florida Courier - April 26, 2013

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CASSANDRA CHERRY KITTLES!

‘People shouldn’t judge’

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APRIL 26 - MAY 2, 2013

VOLUME 21 NO. 17

UNITED WE STAND

BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER

JOE RIMKUS JR./MIAMI HERALD/MCT

Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins, shown here in action last season, are asking for millions of taxpayer dollars.

Moores’ sacrifice ‘was worth it’

Black Business owners and contractors statewide are not waiting for legislators in Tallahassee to demand that owners of four pro sports company guarantee workplace diversity and inclusion in the billions of dollars of construction projects they want to build with taxpayer support.

Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce (M-DCC) President Bill Diggs met last week with the Miami Dolphins – just one group that is seeking millions of dollars in tax rebates to build new stadiums or upgrade their current facilities.

During the meeting, Diggs said M-DCC told Dolphins representatives that at least 15 percent of the jobs and contracts should go to Blacks and Black-owned businesses if they want M-DCC’s help in getting a Miami-Dade referendum that is tied to multimilliondollar upgrades to Sun Life Stadium.

“We want to build a program that will make sense for our Black businesses. Our community needs

WELFARE QUEENS? PART 3 As pro sports companies press legislators for millions in taxpayer subsidies, Black business owners move to establish a statewide advocacy network.

Stewart is co-founder of the to play a major role,” said Diggs in Tampa Organization of Black Afan exclusive interview this week. fairs (TOBA), which is pushing legislators to establish goals for Miami to Tampa Last week, after reading Part 2 Black business participation in of the Florida Courier’s series on the pro sports legislation – just as construction projects involving it has pushed for local Black busifour separate professional sports nesses and more public-Black pricompanies – the NFL’s Jackson- vate partnerships in the Tampa ville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, Bay area for years.

Diggs and Stewart are considerthe Orlando Lions pro soccer team, and Daytona International ing establishing a statewide orgaSpeedway (DIS), who are collec- nization comprised of Black busitively asking the Florida Legisla- ness owners who would apply ture to give them some $300 mil- pressure in Tallahassee to make lion in Florida taxpayer money sure Black business owners are not left out of major construction over 30 years – Diggs contacted projects that receive taxpayer filongtime Tampa attorney and acSee UNITED, Page A2 tivist Delano S. Stewart.

2012 NBA PLAYOFFS / MIAMI HEAT

Game time, wooo!

Martyrs inducted into Hall of Fame COMPILED FROM STAFF REPORTS

TALLAHASSEE – For 82year-old Evangeline Moore, Wednesday was a long time coming.

She was 21 when her parents, the teachers and civil-rights organizers Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, died of injuries after a bomb blew up their home in Brevard County on Christmas Eve 1951.

Evangeline Moore traveled from her home in Maryland to the Capitol for her parents’ induction into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame, with Gov. Rick Scott in attendance.

“This is indeed an honor, something that I have waited so long for,” Moore said.

“My parents, as you know, were killed in 1951, and I am still striving and struggling to have them proper-

ROBERT DUYOS/SUN SENTINEL

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James, right, is fouled in the first quarter by the Milwaukee Bucks’ Larry Sanders in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Tuesday, April 23.

See MOORES, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

TRAVEL | B3

Veterans could see old claims settled soon

Birmingham embraces its complex history

NATION | a6

FINEST | B5

Blacks cringe over ‘darkskinned’ description of Boston bombing suspects

Meet Ivlore

ALSO INSIDE

Carroll moves from government to guns FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Florida’s former lieutenant governor has an explosive new job.

Jennifer Carroll, who resigned March 12 amid a gambling investigation into a nonprofit for which she once did consulting work, has taken a leadership position at a company that makes military ordnance and grenade launchers.

Carroll, who spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy before entering politics, will serve as a senior advisor for Folsom, Calif.based Global Digital Solutions until the completion of

the company’s planned merger with Elk Grove Village, Ill.based AirtronicUSA, Inc. When the merger is completed, Carroll is expected to be named president and chief operating officer.

“Jennifer’s extensive experience in government and military affairs will be extremely helpful as we complete the Airtronic merger process and continue to implement our global growth strategy going forward,” Richard J. Sullivan, Global Digital Solutions’ largest shareholder, said in a release.

AirtronicUSA produces grenade launchers, a rifle, a machine gun, and a 30-round

Jennifer Carroll’s future new employer, AirtronicUSA, sells grenade launchers similar to this one. magazine, according to its website.

In the release, Carroll said she anticipates the company

“to seize what I believe are truly enormous growth opportunities both in the domestic and global arenas.”

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: WILMER J LEON III : FAILING TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF POOR COST MORE | A5

FOCUS

A2

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

African-Americans are still in the second Great Depression When President Obama formally unveiled his fiscal 2014 budget, a lot of the progressive movement’s focus was on his plan to cut Social Security benefits through a reduced cost-ofliving adjustment called the “chained CPI.” But there will be another scandalous policy decision reflected in that budget as well: There’s no all-out effort to address the Depression-level unemployment conditions among AfricanAmericans.

Bad economics and politics The African-American community is the most solid bloc of what Democracy Corps calls the “rising American electorate.”

It is the bloc whose unity around Barack Obama propelled him into the White House in 2008 and kept him there in 2012.

But there is a significant Black segment that has complained for years that their votes are taken for granted by the Democratic Party. The rejoinder to them continues to be that “the Republican Party is worse.”

But while the Republican Party remains too tied to America’s Jim Crow past to win significant shares of African-American votes, Democrats could still lose in 2014 and beyond when for millions of African-American voters, “not much” to show for their loyalty becomes “not enough” to show up at the polls.

ISAIAH J. POOLE GUEST COMMENTARY

An economic crisis In the latest job report, unemployment among African-Americans was measured at 13.3 percent.

That’s more than one in eight African-Americans looking for work while out of a job. The White unemployment rate is half that – 6.7 percent.

The persistence of disproportionate AfricanAmerican unemployment is a capstone of the “heads-they-win-tails-welose” persistence of African-Americans getting the worst when the economy declines and the least when the economy grows.

That pattern was repeated during the Great Recession. An essay on the Black middle class in the National Urban League’s “State of Black America 2012” report concludes that “almost all of the economic gains of the last 30 years have been lost” since late 2007, and worse, “the ladders of opportunity for reaching the Black middle class are disappearing.”

During the Great Recession, home ownership rates also fell for AfricanAmericans at roughly double the rates of Whites, essentially wiping out the gains in home ownership since 2000. Today, more than a quarter of African-

Americans live below the poverty line, compared to about 10 percent of White people.

Chronic joblessness A newly released report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies focused on Black unemployment rates in 25 states with large African-American populations.

“In 2006, prior to the recession, the unemployment rate in the Black community was already at recession levels in every one of the 25 states we studied, from 8.3 percent in Virginia to 19.2 percent in Michigan, and in 20 of the 25 states the unemployment rate for African-Americans was above 10 percent,” the report said.

In fact, the jobless rate for African-Americans between the ages of 20 and 24 in these states was 29.5 percent in 2011 – two years after the recession had supposedly ended.

“If the national unemployment rate was anywhere near these percentages, we’d be in crisis emergency mode,” said Ralph B. Everett, president of the Joint Center, during a discussion of the report.

Debt ‘crisis’ Instead, the “crisis” that has the attention of the Washington political class is the federal debt, and even the Obama administration has now caught some of the fever. This fixation dictates that the federal government not be able

to devote the resources necessary to address this crisis.

While members of the “Fix the Debt” crowd – overwhelmingly White and disengaged from the dayto-day struggles of AfricanAmerican communities – pleads concern about the debt that will be handed down to their children, no one speaks of the consequences that the continuing economic depression experienced by millions of African-American households will have on the next generation.

Majorities of AfricanAmerican voters consider the inaction in Washington – driven by the conservative fixation on the deficit – to be the real threat to their long-term economic interests.

Other priorities In a Democracy Corps focus group on the economic priorities of the “rising America electorate,” almost three out of four African-Americans agreed with a statement that said that while reducing the deficit is important, we must “invest in education, protect retirement security, and reduce health care costs in a balanced way” in order to “invest in growth that creates good middle class jobs.”

Of those who were surveyed, 48 percent had cut back on purchases at the grocery store, 25 percent had seen their wages or benefits at work reduced, 22 percent had lost a job, 32

percent had moved in with family or had family move in with them to save money, 13 percent had fallen behind in their mortgage and 11 had been affected by cuts to unemployment benefits.

The agenda we need In a generic “who would you vote for if the election were held today” matchup, African-American support for Democrats fell from 90 percent at the beginning of the year to 85 percent in March. And only 71 percent of African-Americans surveyed said they were “almost certain to vote” in the 2014 elections after having voted in 2012, compared to 78 percent of White voters.

It pays to remember 2010, when African-Americans were only 10 percent of the electorate, down from 13 percent in 2008.

According to the Joint Center for Political Studies, 16 of the 60 seats Democrats lost in the House that year were in districts in which at least 10 percent of the electorate was African-American.

What could energize African-American turnout in 2014 that was absent in 2010? The answer is clear: Candidates speaking directly to the economic depression in African-American communities with a plan to rebuild the rungs on the ladder of upward mobility, including putting people back to work at good jobs; quality, affordable education; accessible health care and retirement

MOORES ly recognized. This, to me, is the apex.”

Civil rights ‘cold case’ For decades, the bombing remained a tragic stain on Mims, a small citrus town just north of Cape Canaveral and home to one of the nation’s most horrific unsolved civil rights cases.

For years, Florida Courier founder Charles W. Cherry, Sr. asked then-Senior Editor Toney Atkins to investigate the Moore bombing for a series of articles in both the Daytona Times and the Florida Courier that usually appeared in the newspapers every January or February.

Moore was one of Cherry, Sr.’s predecessors as president of the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Evangeline Moore holds photos of her parents, Harry T. and Harriette Moore, in this 2006 photo.

The Moores were killed Christmas Day 1951 when their Mims house was firebombed.

Case solved In 2006, then-Attorney General Charlie Crist sent state investigators to interview more than 100 people and comb through 50 years of documents. The bombsite was even excavated, though it yielded no new evidence.

But the stories of witnesses did. They told of a particularly violent group of men who were working to squash the efforts of the Moores. Four Ku Klux Klan

members, long dead, are accused of planting the bomb.

Moores’ contributions ignored For many, it’s a mystery why the name of Harry T. Moore isn’t spoken in the same breath with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers and other civil-rights martyrs.

Harry Moore started the Bre-

must that we have a statewide coalition,” Diggs declared.

Linking up with Orlando Bill Diggs

UNITED from A1 nancial support.

“We should have been singing from the same hymnal,” Diggs told the Florida Courier. “There are monies being given to a Hispanic Business Initiative Fund...we (Black busi-

To be fair, President Obama has frequently touted a jobs program that would put additional money into infrastructure spending and schools, and he has in the past championed the kind of green energy investments that can provide a broad range of new job opportunities in high-unemployment communities. He has promised more of the same in the upcoming budget proposal.

But President Obama’s proposals have never been proportional to the need, trimmed by the political constraints imposed by an obstructionist Republican opposition and timid Democratic allies.

President Obama and Democratic party elected officials should want to be seen as leading the fight for economic justice and equality for African-Americans, hastening the day when economic disparities rooted in America’s legacy of racism are eradicated once and for all.

Accepting the limits imposed by the inheritors of the Confederate legacy may appear politically expedient, but it is the way of moral and electoral bankruptcy.

Isaiah J. Poole is the editor of OurFuture.org, the website of the Campaign for America’s Future. This article appears on the site.

Traveled as family

‘Near and dear’

Veronica Anderson

Higher need

honored as he should be, he and my mother.”

But now, looking back, she said, their sacrifice has been vindicated.

“It does seem worth it, because things are so much better,” Moore said. “We’ve had school integration. We’ve had Black senators and congressmen. It’s much, much better than it was when I was growing up.”

from A1

“It was near and dear to Mr. Cherry’s heart,’ said Atkins. “The NAACP worked for years to get something done about the murders. They never felt the case was properly investigated.

“I realized through my interviews and research that it truly wasn’t,” explained Atkins. “I remember it was hard to find information about the Moores. I realized Harry Moore was doing great things in the ’40s and early ‘50’s, like advocating for pay raises for teachers. He was willing to speak out.

“White folks didn’t like that too much. Extremist groups like the KKK, they were afraid of the Moores.”

security.

Anderson Hill

Delano S. Stewart

nesses) all need to get on same the page and help one another.

“Hispanic businesses have built a coalition.

There is a fund that is supported by the state. They get money from the state’s general fund,” Diggs continued.

“What I want for the state of Florida is what we do here (in Miami). It is a

Orlando contractor and former attorney Anderson Hill is owner of HZ Construction, which had a multimillion-dollar contract with Orlando and Orange County several years ago to construct the city’s new arena.

Hill said Orlando’s Black business owners and contractors will be meeting May 2 to form their own nonprofit corporation for minority contractors which will be aligned with a national organization. Hill will reach out to Diggs to see what role Black contrac-

vard County NAACP in 1934, the first of dozens of branches he would found, and registered tens of thousands of Black voters.

He was the first NAACP official killed in the civil-rights era, and the Moores are the only married couple to give their lives in the struggle.

“Dad started the civil rights movement in the South,” said their daughter. “It’s very, very disconcerting that he hasn’t been

tors in Orlando can play in a statewide organization.

“The goals of the meeting are to have a unified approach to have participation in construction of the new soccer stadium and renovation of Citrus Bowl,” said Hill, who is currently working with Orange County on a $40 million high school renovation project.

From top to bottom Hill said the pro sports companies should create goals to ensure diversity in awarding all contracts, and that they must embrace the concept of full participation of minority contractors at all levels.

“More than $90 million went to these businesses as part of our scope of work

The Moores fought lynching and segregation as a family.

Evangeline said her father was followed when he traveled, so they all traveled together, across the state.

“We always had to take lunches and be prepared for long rides, with no stops to go to the bathroom or anything,” she recalled.

“It was hard. But it’s so much better now.”

She said her parents were remarkable people, and not just in terms of their civil rights work.

“They were great educators and wonderful, wonderful parents,” she said. “I miss them.”

Also inducted into the Civil Rights Hall of Fame on Wednesday: • James B. Sanderlin, a lawyer who fought for desegregation in Pinellas County and became the first African-American judge there. As an attorney, Sanderlin won the lawsuit that desegregated the Pinellas County schools and led a strike by sanitation workers. He died in 1990.

• Margarita Romo, champion of migrant farmworkers in Pasco and Hernando counties. Romo established Farmworkers Self-Help, Inc., which provides job training and help on immigration issues, along with a free medical clinic and after-school programs for teens.

(on the Orlando arena). This would not have happened if the owner, the City of Orlando, had not developed its plan called ‘the BLUEPRINT’ for participation of all businesses, and not just purchasing from majorityowned businesses.’’

Hill said minority companies must publicly unite and request outreach meetings.

“Regardless of where the tax dollars come from, then as a taxpaying citizen, my business deserves equal and fair opportunities when any entity receives federal, state and local tax benefits,” he said.

Orlando Attorney Veronica Anderson of Anderson and Associates told the Florida Courier recently that she is worried that the

pro sport subsidies are already earmarked for nonminority contractors.

“They decide who is going to do contracting. They already have budgets for construction. They have already made a lot of commitments,” said Anderson whose firm is recognized in Florida as a leader in small, disadvantaged, minority and women business enterprise consulting.

“The community has to put the pressure on. The community has to say, ‘You are getting our tax dollars and you need to include us.’

The community should demand that Black people get jobs and contracts,” Anderson said.

Next week: Does Orlando’s BLUEPRINT show the way statewide?

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

FLORIDA

A3

Veterans could see old claims settled soon Florida VA plans to deliver decisions on 1,800 cases within 60 days

BY BEN WOLFORD SUN SENTINEL/MCT

FORT LAUDERDALE — Disabled veterans who have waited a year or longer for the government to compensate them could see their claims quickly granted — or denied — under a new Department of Veterans Affairs initiative.

More than half a million veterans have waited at least 125 days to find out how much money they will receive for their injuries and illnesses. The VA considers these claims the “backlog,” which the agency’s head has promised to eliminate by 2015.

New VA programs are often viewed with skepticism by veterans and advocates. But even selfdescribed “jaded” advocates said they are optimistic about this plan. It promises to fast track a provisional decision that could become final after a year. Approved cases could begin receiving compensation immediately.

“I do think that’s going to help because we do have quite a few claims pending in the Broward (Fla.) area,” said Owen Walker, a veteran and director of the Broward County Veterans Services Center. His office assists veterans filing VA petitions.

Thousands in state waiting for years News reports in recent months have detailed excruciating wait times and unseemly working conditions inside VA regional offices. At least one VA building was reportedly compromised because of the crushing weight of the paper files inside.

The VA does not track the number of claims by county, but in the agency’s St. Petersburg Regional Office, which covers all of Florida, the backlog of first-time claims is 34,749.

About 1,800 Florida claims will

GLEN STUBBE/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/MCT

The Amputee Veterans of America Support Team presented the colors at the start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Aug. 29, 2012. More than half a million veterans have waited at least 125 days to find out how much money they will receive for their injuries and illnesses. become two years old in July, said regional office spokeswoman Collette Burgess. The staff will be throwing its weight behind those first.

“These are the Florida veterans who have waited the longest for a decision, and we are committed to providing them with decisions within the next 60 days,” Burgess said in an email.

Many die waiting for decision Once the provisional decision is issued, veterans have a year to send more evidence to try to increase their compensation or overturn a denial. After a year, the decision becomes final and

any challenges must go through the normal, lengthy appeals process.

The initiative, announced late last week, will not affect pension claims or appeals. This fact is likely to upset older veterans who have been mired in the VA bureaucracy for years. One Korean War veteran waited five years for an appeal hearing before the Sun Sentinel brought attention to his case. Many more die waiting for a decision.

Piero Pareja runs the Veterans Services Center in Palm Beach County. Himself an Army veteran, Pareja filed an appeal in April 2012 that has yet been answered.

He said it frustrates him to “see a veteran who died and never re-

EARTH IS A MEMORY WORTH FIGHTING FOR

ceived his pension.”

Complicated cases Some advocates are concerned that appeals, pensions and simple new claims will take longer as the VA prioritizes long-pending claims. In other words, veterans filing new claims for injuries that could easily be rated and paid out could wait longer as VA employees focus on the backlog.

“The ones that are this old are this old for a reason. They tend to be very complicated cases,” said Valorie Reilly, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1594, representing the St. Petersburg office.

VA officials have said it will

Legislators try to shrink waiting list for Floridians with disabilities

BY JIM SAUNDERS THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Backing a proposal by Gov. Rick Scott, House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to spend $36.3 million next year to provide services to hundreds of people with developmental disabilities who have been stuck on a waiting list.

The waiting list has grown to about 22,000 people over the years, as the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities ran deficits in its main program for providing services. But APD officials say they expect to avoid a deficit this year, and Scott included money in his proposal 2013-14 budget to start chipping away at the waiting list.

During budget talks last weekend, the House agreed to a Senate proposal to spend the $36.3 million.

“It’s extremely good news,’’ said Mela-

Governor urges Illinois businesses to relocate to Florida NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Gov. Rick Scott, who last year called on select New Yorkers to relocate to the Sunshine State, has expanded his siren song to Illinois. Scott released an open letter to businesses leaders in Illinois on Tues-

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Targeting people who could be “imminent” dangers to themselves or others, a Senate panel Monday approved a bill that would block firearms purchases by certain people who voluntarily admit themselves for mental-health treatment.

Sponsor Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, said the bill (SB 1000) closes a loophole, as state law already bars firearms purchases by people who are involuntarily committed under the Baker Act. The measure is backed by the National

staff the effort with claims reviewers who had been working on a glut of new Agent Orange cases. These staffers will be reassigned to the new initiative and other sectors will be unaffected, they said.

Reilly said this has not put employees at ease. She expects complicated training sessions and “off-the-clock working.”

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican, has called for resignations in the VA. Last week, he said he hoped the plan was “good policy rather than just good PR.” “The department must not shift resources and manpower away from processing new claims just to clear out old ones,” he said in a statement.

nie Mowry Etters, a spokeswoman for the agency.

‘Waiver’ program The money would go to what is known as a “waiver” program that provides an array of home and community-based services to people with disabilities. About 30,000 people receive services through the waiver, but the waiting list has long been a closely watched issue for the agency and lawmakers.

Scott’s office has indicated that the $36.3 million would allow the state to provide services to an additional 750 people, but Etters said the agency hopes to stretch the money to serve about 1,000.

Intensive needs The state has a system of prioritizing people based on their needs, and Etters said those coming off the waiting list would have what the agency considers intensive needs. She said about 2,000 people on the waiting list have intensive needs.

The additional slots in the program would become available with the July 1 start of the fiscal year. That also will be when the agency expects to finish a statewide phase-in of a new system, dubbed “iBudgets,” that it says will give people more flexibility in deciding how to spend the waiver money on services. day, encouraging them to book “one-way” flights to Florida.

“While Florida’s economic formula is working, we know Illinois’ formula of more taxing and more spending isn’t working,” Scott wrote. “Illinois raised its personal income tax rate by nearly 70 percent in 2011, and the state’s unemployment rate remains one of the highest in the country.”

In March 2012, Scott wrote a similar letter to 100 business owners in New York, inviting them to come to where “the weather is great, cost of living is low and the business climate is among the best in the country.”

Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

“This bill stops dangerous people from being able to purchase guns,’’ said Marion Hammer, a lobbyist for the gun-rights groups.

The Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved the measure, which Audrey is ready to go to the Senate Gibson floor. The bill focuses on people who are found to be an “imminent danger” and face the possibility of being involuntarily committed if they do not admit themselves.

– News Service of Florida

EDITORIAL

A4

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

Failing to address issues of poor cost more President Obama’s 2014 proposed budget is a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. His stated goal is the creation of a “rising, thriving middle class.” He considers his budget proposal to be a “fiscally responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth.”

The president has proposed a $3 million cap on retirement account balances; changing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments to a “chained CPI;” along with “manageable” cuts to Medicare and other social safety net programs.

Left wing list Republicans such as Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “It’s not a serious plan,

ing, housing, and feeding the least of us, all of us truly benefit. By turning those who depend upon the system into working tax-payers a rising tide will truly lift all boats.

DR. WILMER J. LEON III TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

for the most part just another left-wing wish list.

Budgets are no more than numerical statements about priorities. What’s conspicuously absent from any of the dialogue or rhetoric from either side is a substantive analysis about and commitment to addressing poverty in America.

Conservatives want to cut our way out of debt, primarily on the backs of the poor and working classes. They fail to understand or admit that by investing in educat-

Definition of poverty Let’s start with what is poverty. Webster defines poverty as, “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.

According to the Census Bureau’s preliminary weighted numbers for 2012, a four-person family with two children with an annual cash income of $23,497 is considered poor. For one- and two-person family units, the poverty thresholds

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: KIM JONG-UN AND RODMAN

differ by age; an individual under age 65 with income of $11,945 qualifies as poor, whereas an individual age 65 or older is poor at $11,011 annual income.

This is the generally accepted definition of poverty.

There’s one more group that needs to be mentioned, according to CNN-Money from October of 2012, there is one group that is just a step away from falling into the clutches of poverty.

More than 30 million Americans are living just above the poverty line. These near poor, often defined as having incomes of up to 1.5 times the poverty threshold, were supporting a family of four on no more than $34,500 last year. They are one illness or other set-back

away from poverty.

Even President Obama has contributed to these misperceptions by lecturing African-Americas about changing behavior, habits, and personal responsibility while failing to address the history and conditions that contribute to their circumstances.

Address issues Dr. Frederick Harris addresses this is “The Price of the Ticket,’’ calling it the politics of respectability. While discussing childhood obesity in the African-American community, Obama, “neglected to mention social and economic barriers that may account for … poor decisions-limited food choices in poor and working

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 175 Boston – The politicians are lurching from crisis to crisis, with Boston and “homegrown” terrorism now front and center. Immigration reform may get held up and the NRA is stoking more fear and gun sales (“What if the ‘bomber brothers’ broke into your house before the cops got there?”) The number of Americans killed every three months by gun violence is higher than the number of Americans killed by domestic terror attacks over the last 25 years. Still, the FBI and Homeland Security say they “need more tools” – meaning more money and more intrusive laws – to capture “radicalized” American terrorists before they strike. Fear continues to triumph in America, and Osama bin Laden continues to laugh at us from hell...

War against Western culture or U.S. policies? I’m sick of FoxNews heads proclaiming, “They hate us because of our freedoms.” Naw. ‘They’ hate us because we invade their countries, force ‘democracy’ on them, kill their families with drone strikes, support repressive regimes when it suits our national interests, suck down the planet’s resources disproportionately as we consume conspicuously – and arrogantly remind the rest of the planet of how great we are while we do it all...

Pro sports ‘Welfare Queens’ – There

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

used to be a “four-legged stool” that energized Black progress in America: Black street-level pressure groups like the NAACP before it went corporate; Black entrepreneurs; Black churches; and Blackowned media. (Black politicians came later, and it’s debatable whether they have been helpful to Black communities by and large.) Glad to see Black business people making a move statewide. Miami, Tampa and Orlando can count us in. Where’s Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach? No struggle, no progress...

Former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll – “To hell with y’all. I’m getting paid,” I can hear her say in her slight Caribbean accent.

And she’s right. Selling grenade launchers, high-capacity gun magazines and other instrumentalities of sudden and violent death is a growth industry in America and around the world. Somebody’s gotta do it.

Why not her?

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com.

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

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

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Future growth of Florida tied to African-American traveler As we celebrate Florida’s 500th anniversary, did you know we as a community have not taken advantage of the niche market of the Native and African-American traveler or better yet the “multicultural travel market.’’

Through decades of consistent market research we know that one of the most underserved and undervalued travel market segment in the United States is the “multicultural tourism market.”

According to the University of Georgia, Terry School of Business, this market is estimated to have the largest concentration of disposable income by 2015, and consists of the African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans markets.

GARY MCCOY, CAGLE CARTOONS

class neighborhoods…” It’s one thing to lecture people about eating habits but another to fail to address the fact that too many poor live in what are called “food deserts.’’

America’s failure to address the reality behind the rhetoric prevents American’s from making the proper policy choices to solve its problems and move the country forward. The solutions are not cheap but failing to properly address these issues is costing us more than we can afford.

DEREK HANKERSON GUEST COLUMNIST

tween 1972 and 1991 in the areas of accounting, engineering, computer programming, law, medicine, journalism and management.

The African-American market alone is a large and growing market, approximately 32 million people with close to $300 billion in spending power.

According to the Urban Land Institute, the African-American market increased to Guerilla marketing tactics Our business model for travel and tour- about 38 million individuals by 2010, up ism provides for the use of guerilla market- from about 32 million. ing tactics, sound market data and branding Same as Whites for growth.

As a result, we created travel and tourism The middle and upper class African-Ameropportunities to connect and brand both ican baby boomers present the same travel the National Park Service (NPS) Under- marketing opportunities as White boomers ground Railroad Network to Freedom Proj- for the travel industry, and African-Ameriect (UGGR/NTF) to Fort Mose, City of St. cans took 77.8 million trips in 1991, nearly 8 Augustine and St. Johns County, and con- percent of the U.S. trip market. tinue to work on connecting the NPS GulIf consumers and producers are to tap this lah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor to niche viable market segment they first must St. Johns County, which is the largest four understand the African-American, internastate NPS project and only one of 48 Nation- tional, and multicultural travel consumer. al Heritage Area projects related to African- A more effective understanding of the AfriAmerican History. can-American market is necessary for desIronically, Duval County has the larg- tination marketers to develop the products est concentration of West African Gullah- and services necessary to effectively serve Geechee decedents. Additionally, we at- this growing market. tracted the NPS UGGR/NTF Annual ConferWe always want successful celebration in ence to St. Johns County in 2012 so to serve our area, because it affords us an opportunias the market leader while continuing to ty to showcase the history of African-Amerdrive deeper into this proven market. And ican travel market specifically the City of established that the Underground Railroad Jacksonville and St. Augustine as top travel originally came south to Spanish Florida. destinations.

It is important, because travelers are here Affluent African-Americans and we are properly positioned to “brandMarket data shows that the middle and ing our area appropriately,” for additional upper income segments of the African- economic development growth.

American community have grown enorIt can be accomplished through arts, culmously in the past 10 years, and more than ture, entertainment, heritage, culture, travel 13 percent of households headed by African- and tourism.

Americans have incomes above $50,000.

Derek Boyd Hankerson is the managClose to half of all affluent African-American households (those with household in- ing partner, director and producer of comes of more than $50,000 a year) are lo- Freedom Road Productions and Travcated in the South. According to the U.S. el Host Magazine. Click on this story at Bureau of Labor Statistics on African-Amer- www.flcourier.com to write your own reican, we have gains up to 470 percent be- sponse.

Choosing the best Black candidate to support Since President Barack Obama won his race, more and more African-Americans have become interested in seeking public office.

Everybody, it seems, wants to suck on the government breast. They want a government pay check.

They want government benefits. They want lobbyist paid free lunches and dinners.

Most Black candidates need Black votes to win.

What will a candidate have to do to get your vote in the next election? Will you vote for a candidate that looks “Black?’’

Will you vote for a candidate that acts Black? Will you vote for a candidate that talks Black? Or will you vote for candidates that love Black people and one that will support the Black community by standing up and speaking out on issues that are important to Black communities?

away slaves!

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

nity candidates running against each other, criticizing each other and demonizing each other. How can we tell which Black candidates are best?

Hmmm? Is the Black candidate we know best for us or is the Black candidate “the man” knows best for us? Is the Black candidate that has more campaign dollars best for us or is that Black candidate that spends money with Black political professionals, Black newspapers and Black-owned radio and TV stations best for us?

Whatever candidate you like, don’t “like” them too fast. Blacks are always the first group of voters to endorse and support and the Best Black last group to benefit from candidates endorsements.

With so many commuSince I read about run-

About the Benjamins To me, in a capitalist society it’s all about the Benjamins! I hate contributing money to political campaigns that give all of the money to devilish vendors that hate Black people and only want to rip Black candidates off.

One thing about next year’s elections that will always be true: There will be more Black candidates that will lose than there will be Black candidates that win.

The losers will be unknown, unorganized, unprofessional and unwilling to give Black voters the love, respect and appreciation that Black people deserve.

Buy Gantt’s book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” and contact him at www. allworldconsultants.net.

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

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

Senate has lost its mind voting against gun control bill On Wednesday, April 17, 2013 there was a strange odor coming from the floor of the Senate gallery of the United States of America. The odor was eerily reminiscent of what one would smell if standing near any American landfill that had just received a new load of garbage.

When you stepped outside your home on Thursday morning and your nostrils were overwhelmed by the stench, you are part of the 90 percent of our nation who just had a fresh load of garbage dumped on them, by the refusal of a handful of Republican and Democratic Senators to pass a gun reform bill in Washington.

Never before in the history of this country have we seen lawmakers blatantly disregard the will of the majority of the American people, who are ready for common sense legislation to close loopholes that would prevent guns to be sold to persons suffering from mental disorders, and criminals who now use gun shows and the internet to bypass background checks which would prevent the kind of gun violence we now see on a far too frequent basis.

DR. L. RONALD DURHAM GUEST COLUMNIST

The National Rifle Association used its vast resources and deep pockets to mobilize its members to blanket the Senate with phone calls, emails and letters.

The group spent $500,000 on Wednesday alone, on an advertising campaign criticizing “Obama’s gun ban” and using New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as a foil. “Tell your senator to listen to America’s police instead of listening to Obama and Bloomberg,” the ad said.

The NRA and others in the Republican Party perpetrated that the gun measure would be an attempt to create a national gun registry by the federal government, when in fact the bill stated that there would be a 15 year prison sentence imposed upon anyone attempting to create a registry from the any data collected.

will it take for Congress to act on behalf of the people who have elected them to office?”

If after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, the Aurora Theater, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, President John F. Kennedy, his brother Bobby Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and the 20 small elementary schoolchildren in Newtown Conn., we still have legislative gridlock, what will it take?

Sitting in the Senate gallery with other survivors of recent mass shootings and their family members was Lori Haas, whose daugh- Justifiable indignation ter was shot at Virginia Tech, and With what I believe to be jusPatricia Maisch, a survivor of the tifiable indignation, President mass shooting in Arizona, shout- Obama clearly placed the blame ing together “Shame on you.” where it needed to be, without the usual careful political vocabulary Defeat for us that does not offend anyone.

One Republican Senator (MarIt is clear from this vote by some co Rubio) boldly proclaimed this of our elected representatives in as a “defeat for Obama.” The real- Washington, that they no longer What will it take? ity however is, this is a defeat for represent those who sent them, It begs the question of “what the American people. but they represent the interests

EDITORIAL

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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CONGRESS’ BEST SIDE

CHRISTOPHER WEYANT, THE HILL

of lobbyists hired by groups with their own agenda. They made it abundantly clear by this vote, that the will of the people is of no concern to them.

This then may be the dying gasp of a political party that has completely lost touch with reality.

and now do the bidding of their NRA masters.

Like the NRA we must be mobilized to the point where we do not give up. We can make contact with Senators who voted against commonsense gun legislation today. Text MYVOICE to 877877.

Do the right thing

Dr. L. Ronald Durham is senior pastor of Greater Friendship Baptist Church in Daytona Beach. He can be reached at rdurham1@bellsouth.net.

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

I have no doubt about the resiliency of the American people to do the right thing. Even if that means replacing, through the only voice many of us have, which is the voice of the ballot, those Senators who have lost their minds,

Women control purchasing power in households Depending on the day, what you’re reading or who you’re listening to, the economy is either still in the tank, in recovery, getting worse or is on the upswing.

Whatever the fluctuating state of the American economy, money is being spent. And, guess what, ladies? The economic oil that keeps the wheels and workings of our world turning is largely controlled by us.

Want to know just how much purchasing power we pack in our purses? Any guesses? Well, if you guessed between $5 trillion and $15 trillion you were correct. This is the collective annual estimated purchasing power range of women in America, which is more than the GNP of dozens of small countries.

Do you know what that means?

An eye-opening report from Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., a global, full-service public relations agen-

near future.

CHERYL PEARSONMCNEIL NNPA COLUMNIST

cy, tells us that women will be in control of two-thirds of the consumer wealth in this country within the next 10 years. No matter what economic position any of us find ourselves in right now, I want us all to feel an integral part of the whole . . . feel your power.

Just think how far we’ve come.

Women couldn’t even vote before 1920 (of course, for those of us who are Black, that right came some decades later), and now we control most of the purchasing decisions in our households. And, the way things are looking, we may even have our first female President of the United States in the

Men stepping up Whether it’s groceries, new clothes, a new sofa, car or even a new house, it’s usually our (final) call. We appreciate their input, but we all know how challenging it can be to persuade the men in our lives to accompany us shopping – and the numbers bear that out.

Women do most of the shopping, or have a major say in it. However, we must give credit where credit is due.

Nielsen research indicates that men are stepping up. In fact, the number of shopping trips we make has actually decreased in most shopping channels between 2004 and 2012. With men, their average number of shopping trips has increased during that time, except for grocery and drug stores.

There is another critical component for manufacturers and mar-

Reparations in order for 1963 Bombing It was terror that shook the nation. On Sunday, Sept.

15, 1963, a bomb exploded in the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Four little girls, all dressed in white — 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, and 11-year-old Denise McNair — died in the explosion, and are remembered in history.

Congress now is considering offering them posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal.

But there was a fifth little girl caught in the blast – 10-year-old Sarah Collins Rudolph – the younger sister of Addie Mae. Partly blinded, she staggered from the basement bleeding from the nose and ears from a concussion.

She spent two months in the hospital, but she survived.

To this day, she bears her injuries, and the traumatic stress that does not go away.

She doesn’t want a medal; she wants justice.

Justice sought, not medal Now she is speaking out, witness to that horrible crime in those mean days. She’s angry because her sister’s body has been lost. When they went to exhume the body, the grave contained someone else’s remains. She wonders why there was no compensation for her injuries, no help for the families.

The Birmingham bombing came days after a court order calling for three schools in

told. So much of what we remember about the civil rights movement are the victories, the great moments.

Too often, Arnwine argues, “we whitewash the history” TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM and shove the victims into a closet to keep them from reHuntsville to open for limited integration had been de- minding us of the reality. fied by Gov. George Wallace, who called out the National Story finally told Guard to bar the students.

Juries eventually convictIt came less than three ed three Ku Klux Klansmen weeks after the March on in the bombing years later, Washington and Dr. King’s and one suspected accom“I have a dream” oration. plice died without ever havVeterans of the civil rights ing been charged. One of the movement were girding four is still in prison and the themselves for the reprisals that seemed to follow any others are dead.

Now Sarah Collins Rusign of progress. dolph has had the courage to stand up and tell her tale.

Bring on bombs She wants Congress to recDr. King suggested that ognize that lives were lost some had misinterpreted the dignified and disci- and scarred, in part because plined march on Washing- of the failure of the federal ton — now so seared in our government to enforce the memories — and thought laws of the land, and to prothe revolution was over. No, tect those who were asserthe told the Southern Con- ing their rights in the face of ference Leadership Conven- domestic terrorism. tion in September, “We are Congress must act now more determined than ever beyond the symbol of medbefore that nonviolence is als to the substance of justhe way. Let them bring on tice and compensation. The their bombs. Let them sabo- victims of Sept. 16, 1963, and tage us with the evil of coop- the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, eration with segregation. We are justly due reparations. intend to be free.”

Sarah Collins Rudolph is in Sarah Collins Rudolph did not choose to be a hero. Her the lineage of those to whom life was scarred by an act of our nation is in debt. terror unleashed against the Keep up with Rev. Jackmost innocent of little girls. son and the work of the As Barbara Arnwine, head of the Lawyers’ Committee Rainbow PUSH Coalition for Civil Rights Under Law, at www.rainbowpush.org. commented, Rudolph has Click on this story at www. been overlooked because flcourier.com to write your the basic story has not been own response.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

keters to keep in mind when examining consumer need and creating new advertising and outreach strategies. Women also outspend men $14.31 per trip at the supercenters and $10.32 per trip to the grocery store.

The big picture Nielsen studies document how women come into the world with the inherent abilities to juggle multiple balls and wear many hats, in addition to being able to see the big picture; so I’m surmising that those God-given female tendencies add up to pre-planning involved for most trips to the market.

Advertisers should pay attention to how much content we consume. In 2012, women over 18 spent more time watching video on all the platforms available than men did. On average, we viewed a little more than 191 hours of video

each month, which is up from 184 hours in 2011.

My senses are telling me that much of that viewing time was logged probably while preparing dinner, picking up around the house or answering emails on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Men over 18 spent almost 175 hours a month watching video, compared to 170 hours the previous year. The bottom line is this: whatever you or I do as consumers – how we shop and how we watch our favorite shows and other content – contributes to the whole. We hold the power.

Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for Nielsen. For more information and studies, go to www. nielsenwire.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Jackie Robinson movie ‘worth the tears’ I hadn’t seen many movies lately, but I’m glad I saw “42” — the Jackie Robinson Story. Everyone, especially young people, should see it and don’t mind the few cuss words. Nothing will be said that your children haven’t heard before.

I cried as I left the theater, but the film’s lessons were worth the tears.

I’d heard many stories about the great baseball player. As far as my daddy was concerned, Robinson was the only player with the Brooklyn Dodgers! At least, that’s all I heard him say when he talked about the Dodgers! He was so proud of Robinson, and when I saw the movie, I knew why.

Viewed through a contemporary lens, much of Robinson’s story may be open to question or critique, but his was a story for the ages that provided racial uplift far beyond the baseball diamond.

We can, of course, be grateful for the vision and insight of the late Dodger President and General Manager, Branch Rickey, who was responsible for bringing Robinson into major league baseball.

Whether his decision to bring Robinson into major league ball was motivated by altruism or profit potential is not relevant at this point. The hiring of Robinson laid another stone in the foundation of social change.

Model of patience Robinson’s understanding of his place in history led to his being a “model” of patience on the field no matter what was hurled at him. His first at bat was symbolic of what his career would signify to the masses – he hit a “Home Run” in the face of insurmountable odds.

His career was symbolic of another reality. His play and participation took a mediocre team to the pinnacle of popularity and success in baseball, as the work and participation of African-Americans in the life of this country brought the U.S. to greatness on the world stage.

Robinson didn’t exhaust his energy fighting every act of racism. He reconciled that there would be those who hated him. He channeled his anger into ex-

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

cellence and achievement that opened doors of opportunity in baseball and society. He’d been given the opportunity to demonstrate his skill, and, picking his fights wisely, he created similar opportunity for others.

‘Hero of non-violence’ Like Dr. King and other civil rights activists, Robinson faced death threats, but he was not deterred from the goal of promoting the “greater good.” Like others, upon whom leadership was thrust, Robinson quietly went about the business of using his notoriety to create positive change.

Until Dr. King came along, Jackie was the hero of non-violence. Unknown to many, he supported Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement — once writing a letter to President John Kennedy expressing the urgency of keeping Dr. King safe.

He worked with the NAACP and SCLC and participated in voting rights activities and raised funds for civil rights. Because of who he was, how and what he had done, Robinson became a voice, as well as an image, for civil rights.

Like King, Evers, and others who died prematurely, he did much to give others a chance. My good friend, Mark Thompson said, “His life should be exemplary for the far too many athletes silent in the face of today’s injustices”, and I would say “Amen!” to that.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Visit www.info@nationalcongressbw.org and www.efayewilliams.com. 202/678-678. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

NATION

TOj A6

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

Blacks cringe over ‘dark-skinned’ description NAACP, Black journalists weigh in on CNN’s controversial comment TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

CNN, which has prided itself as a world leader of news and information, came under scorching criticism after reporter John King, a senior correspondent for the station, erroneously described the Boston Marathon bombing suspect as a “dark-skinned male.”

Both suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, brothers of Chechnyan descent, turned out to be white-complexioned, a fact that has drawn scorching criticism from civil rights leaders and even fellow journalists who described King’s reporting as irresponsible and racially inflammatory. Dzhokhar is now hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Tamerlan died amidst a gun battle while running from police.

“The false reporting by the media in the Boston bombing case was offensive and inflammatory, including specific references

by CNN’s John King who labeled the alleged suspect as a “dark-skinned male” perpetuating a stereotypical characterization devoid of relevant facts about the suspects identity,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton in a statement after criticizing King on his MSNBC show, Poli-

quoting a story by Erick Hayden of the Hollywood Reporter.

Brazile: Apology owed Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

ticsNation.

“It was irresponsible and misleading to characterize the suspect by his race and it made every darkskinned male in Boston a suspect. If I reported that a “white-skinned male” was being sought after, I would be publicly maligned as a “racial agitator.” The media must be responsible and put facts in proper context.”

‘Irresponsible, reckless and counterproductive’ The two bombing blasts that took four lives, wreaked havoc in Massachusetts, causing rippling affects across the nation.

Memories of Sept. 11, 2001 were quick to return; especially with the uncertainties of the motive for the blast and who exactly had committed the attacks. Also similar was the tendency to falsely accuse people of color even before there is evidence or proof.

The NAACP piled on, calling it “inflammatory” reporting.

“The fact that this information was false is only part of the problem,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous in a statement. “Our

MARK GARFINKEL/BOSTON HERALD/MCT

Peter Reed, a resident of Watertown, Mass., moves away from his house as law enforcement evacuates residents in a search for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings in Watertown on April 19. concern is that CNN used an overly broad, unhelpful and potentially racially inflammatory categorization to describe the potential suspect. History teaches us that too often people of color are unfairly targeted in the aftermath of acts of terrorism.”

In the NAACP statement, which described the re-

porting as “irresponsible, reckless and counterproductive,” Jealous concluded. “We ask that CNN and all media outlets exercise caution and weigh the potential implications of such categorizations in future reports.”

Early this week, CNN had issued no statement in response to the criticism.

But King has vehemently defended himself, according to Twitter posts reported by Richard Prince’s Journal-isms. “ ‘Source of that description was a senior government official.

And I asked, are you sure?

But I’m responsible. What I am not is racist,’ the anchor wrote last Thursday,” according to Prince’s report,

Boston attack to prompt ‘larger dialogue’

ter on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University in Boston.

He says international terrorism is actually rare in the U.S. “The terrorism in this country tends to come, not from politics, but from psychopathology. Most of the terrorist acts are not from other countries. They’re not international. The vast majority are domestic in origin committed by American citizens for personal reasons.”

His words harkened to the mass murders by gunfire that have taken place over the past several years, including the Virginia Tech University, the Aurora movie theater, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

Black leaders in city share thoughts on terrorism, healing

BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

Just as Boston was beginning to hunker down for a 48-hour manhunt that ended in the death of one suspected bomber and the wounding and capture of the other, Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree already was envisioning the healing process that would be needed after the tragedy that took place only hours earlier.

“I’m getting emails from people already talking about what we need to do to move forward and how we need to openly express not only support for this great country and the leadership of our president and our governor and our local mayor and police authorities, but also our willingness to have the conversations with our children and grandchildren, and neighbors and friends and even some enemies about how

we have to come together as communities to combat these senseless acts of violence like this one,” he said in a telephone interview.

“So this will lead to further dialogue and further activities rather than people simply being stunned and angry and disappointed. I think they want to do something that makes a difference.”

Hub for healing Ogletree, who is nationally known as a civil rights icon and thought leader, was among the founders of the Charles Hamilton Houston Center for Race and Justice, which he now directs at Harvard, located in Cambridge, Mass., a suburb of Boston.

In the coming months, he envisions the center, named after the iconic civil rights lawyer of the 1960s, growing as a hub for those conversations that could lead to healing among communities.

“It’s no question that the Charles Hamilton Houston Center will use this as another stepping point to have larger dialogue. Rodney King urged us to think...

more than two decades ago, when he said, ‘Why can’t we all get along,’” Ogletree recalled the poignant words of the now deceased former victim of police brutality.

“I think we could answer his question. We’re going to see to it that happens and we’re going to make sure that whoever is responsible for this goes through the justice system in an appropriate way.”

Suspect charged Later, through video and eyewitnesses, police and FBI quickly narrowed down the Boston Marathon bombing suspects to Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, brothers of Chechnyan descent. During a massive manhunt that shut down the city of Boston and surrounding communities, Tamerlan was killed amidst a gun battle with police.

Dzhokhar, 19, is now hospitalized with gunshot wounds and has been charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property. Authorities say he is lucid and communicating and has reportedly written that the motive was to

Charles Ogletree

Jack Levin

“defend Islam.”

The attacks included the explosion of two bombs near the finish line. It left three people dead, nearly 200 suffering physical wounds, but thousands more emotionally and psychologically traumatized.

Terrorism rare in U.S. Despite what appears to be an increasing number of terrorist attacks on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001, experts say they are minimal compared to those abroad.

“We have far less terrorism in this country than in many others. Countries in Asia, the Middle East, South America yearly have far larger numbers of terrorist acts,” says Jack Levin, co-director of the Brudnick Cen-

Long road to healing Despite the new vigilance and the relief expressed by Bostonians that the suspects were quickly apprehended, Levin predicts a long road to healing.

“We’re not going to heal as quickly as the residents of New York City for one reason alone – the city of New York is so much larger than Boston,” Levin said. “When tourists visit New York, they think of Broadway,” he said, explaining that the larger the city, the less people will

Though King has been apologetic for the error, some of his own colleagues say that doesn’t go far enough. Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor, said the network; not just King, should apologize for the report.

“I cringed when I heard it,” Brazile was quoted in a Prince story covering her during a forum at George Washington University, where she was speaking on “Race and the Race for the Presidency.” She continued, “Without a picture ... just putting that statement out. It brought me back to my childhood, when they would always describe the color of a person’s skin …I believe an apology is owed, not just to dark-skinned people,” she added.

Among others, the National Association of Black Journalists also weighed in on the criticism, giving a bit of advice: “NABJ in no way encourages censorship but does encourage news organizations to be responsible when reporting about race [and] to report on race only when relevant and a vital part of a story,” the organization said in a statement.

“Ultimately this helps to avoid mischaracterizations which might encourage potential bias or discrimination against a person or a group of people based on race or ethnicity.” actually identify the act of violence with the city because of its vast reputation.

Boston – like Newtown, Conn., the location of Sandy Hook Elementary – will probably take much longer to heal from the shock simply because of its size, he says.

‘Be vigilant’ Ogletree agrees the attack has left a city awakened to violence in way it never expected as well as dealing with principles of justice that must be respected.

“This is a tragic reminder of the terror that we all experienced on Sept. 11, 2001.

It reminds us that we still can’t assume that where we live or what we do makes us safe from threats like this. It also is a reminder that when people use tactics like this, it’s no longer a global or national or even state event, it can be very local and can be very public and can lead to this tragedy that we saw here,” Ogletree says.

“So I think it just requires all of us to be vigilant, to respect the need for more security, and yet not to engage in unwarranted and unnecessary profiling along racial, religious or ethnic lines. That can be very dangerous.”

Another Black-owned car dealership closing Number has gone from 532 in 2002 to 261 in 2012

BY FRED JETER TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

After spending most of his life in the automotive business, 60-yearold Harry Lee Harris is shifting gears. Owner of Universal Ford since 1986, Harris will complete the sale of his successful blackrun business on May 1 to Richmond Ford in Virginia.

“There is a time to buy and a time to sell,” said Harris, referring to his dealership in Henrico County near Richmond, Va. “My wife and I are looking forward to traveling all over the big globe and being super grandparents. We’ll play lots of golf, too.”

Few in Virginia Ron Kody, who is White, owns Richmond Ford. The ownership change means there will not be a single Black-owned, new car

dealership in the Richmond area.

In Virginia overall, there are just a few.

Across the nation, the number of Black-owned, new car dealerships peaked at 532 in 2002, but has fallen by 50 percent since. As of 2012, there were 261 such dealerships, according to Automotive News, an industry trade journal.

Those dealerships comprised just 1.5 percent of the 17,653 new car dealerships in the U.S. Harris elected not to disclose his selling price. “The purchase price was sufficient for Mrs. Harris (his wife, Vanessa) and I to retire comfortably, and the Kodys certainly purchased a profitable and premium franchise in the Richmond market, and we wish them luck.”

Started young As of May 1, Universal will change its name to Richmond Ford West. Harris said all Universal employees will be retained as part of the transaction. That includes Geneva Harris, a manager, who is Harris’ daughter.

The youngest of 11 children, Harris was born in Arkansas and grew up in St. Louis. His role model was his older brother, Sam Johnson, one of the nation’s first minority auto storeowners. Harris got his start as a teen when his brother put him to work washing cars at his dealership, Metro Lincoln-Mercury in St. Louis.

An unquestionable workaholic with king-sized dreams, he rose to managerial status. “I fashioned myself after Sam,” said Harris. “I used his blueprint to get where I am today.”

His first car was a pre-owned 1962 Chevy Impala that he purchased for $250. He has been upgrading ever since. Harris and Johnson became partners and transferred to Charlotte, N.C., in 1977 to run Johnson LincolnMercury.

Ready to relax In 1986, with the help of the Ford Motor Minority Dealer Program, Harris purchased Universal Ford.

Harris has been ranked as high

SANDRA SELLARS/RICHMOND FREE PRESS

Harry Lee Harris and his wife, Vanessa, stand in front of the Universal Ford dealership he is selling in Henrico County, near Richmond, Va. as No. 53 on Black Enterprise magazine’s annual list of the 100 top Black-owned dealerships. In 2012, he received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Metropolitan Business League, the area’s largest Black business group, of which he is a longtime member.

Harry’s wife of 37 years is something of an entrepreneur herself.

For nine years, Vanessa Harris

owned and ran a shoe store.

Harris has two brothers, Clyde and Eli Harris, who own and operate used car lots in the Richmond area. The decision to sell will free him and his wife “to do things we’ve never had the time to do,” Harris said. Until now, he said, life had totally revolved around work.

This story is special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press.

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD COURIER

IFE/FAITH A good year to visit historic Birmingham See page B3

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY www.flcourier.com

April 26 - May 2, 2013

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Play on Anne Frank, Emmett Till among events in Florida See page B5

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‘People shouldn’t judge’ Three of Florida’s vocal voices on gay rights discuss their journey and their thoughts on same-sex marriage

BY PENNY DICKERSON SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

A new era of gay rights advocacy has swept the nation.

The Jacksonville chapter of Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) leased billboards in 2012 broadcasting their support: “We love our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children.”

The strategic signage alerted traffic along major thoroughfares.

In November 2012, Jacksonville City Council members defeated a human rights ordinance that sought to ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals in regards to employment and looking for housing while an amended version would have added six words: “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” to the list of classes already protected by the city’s anti-discrimination statute.”

It also was defeated by a 17-2 margin. Liberals and conservatives remain divided.

The responsibility to define gay rights’ parameters belongs to states. Florida advocates are among the most voluminous in the nation and speak with candor regarding human rights and the religious order.

WHAT IS PROPOSITION 8?

California’s controversial ballot initiative known as Proposition 8 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. Then-Gov. Charlie Crist supported the amendment, as did then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Five years and a presidential re-election later, the legalization of gay marriage is front-and-center at the nation’s highest court.

On March 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman.

WILLETTA ‘MAMADO’ SMITH

BRUCE ‘TOBI’ ELLISON

JERONICA BYRD

Willetta Smith has been openly gay since age 14. Her father nicknamed her “Mamado” at the age of two because she always mocked her mama. Decades later, that same loving patriarch brandished a shotgun inside “Club 209,” one of Jacksonville’s historic gay establishments. He came to reclaim his runaway daughter.

“I knew in elementary school I was different,” Smith explained.

“I dated guys because it was the right thing to do, but I’ve never slept with one. There was never love at all.”

When she became a runaway and truant, Smith used a fake ID to frequent gay clubs like the “French Quarters” and “Studs and Drag Queens.”

“A neighborhood drug dealer led my father where I was hanging out,” explained Smith. “He bust in with that shotgun and just embarrassed me,” she joked.

Bruce Ellison is a strikingly handsome 37-year-old spiritual advisor and author of “I Am the Manifester.” The Orlando native is single and the youngest of six siblings; his parents are divorced.

By all accounts, he is apt prey for doting women. But Ellison is gay and believes he was born that way.

“I knew at five years old I was attracted to men,” said Ellison, who prefers to be called Tobi.

“My behavior was unacceptable and my oldest cousin said I was the biggest sissy as a child because I rearranged furniture every week. In school everyone called me fag and a punk.”

Ellison endured painful sentiments that he was morally wrong his entire life but insists his perceptions and views do not represent the majority.

Jeronica Byrd is a 34-year-old lesbian. She has been openly gay since age 17, but recognized gender preference early.

“I knew when I was five, but didn’t know what it was,” said Byrd. “I only wanted to play with girls but was raised in the church and the South. They considered it wrong, so I thought something was wrong with me.”

Byrd became sexually promiscuous with men. She succumbed to social and religious pressure to marry, but extra marital affairs with women led to a divorce after five years from a husband she claims, “thought she was bisexual.’’

She shared, “We are taught the American Dream is 2.5 kids, a white picket fence, dog, and a husband – not a loving mate.’’

Musician, activist

A family meeting followed that critical night; it ended with parental tears. Smith decisively proclaimed her gay lifestyle and never looked back. Attending night class and summer school, she earned a diploma from William M. Raines Senior High School and as reciprocity to Daddy, she became a musician.

The self-taught keyboard player completed advanced music theory and engineering courses at Florida State College at Jacksonville and Edward Waters College followed by an impressive recording artist career.

The next three decades parallel a reality television show.

Smith was in a seven-year relSee SMITH, Page B2

A different view

“Proposition 8 is a distraction,” declared Ellison. “I can’t believe in this day and age we are still talking about homosexuality… when the gay community stops making it a big deal, so will the world.”

Ellison has never formally dated a woman, but has slept with two. Further, he offered that he has kissed one person in the last 10 years and has never lived with another man.

“If I listened to religion, I am going to hell. I experience Christconsciousness. God doesn’t care about your sexuality,” preached Ellison. “People are not rising to a Christ-conscious level, they want to see (homosexuality) in their eyes. Man has created God in His image. I think that is the issue.”

Founded lesbian sorority

Born to a 14-year-old mother in Arkansas, Byrd was raised and educated in Alabama by her great-grandmother and greatgreat-grandmother; her mother left to join the military.

“We grow up hearing that homosexuality is an abomination, so I’m not into organized religion,” stated Byrd. “It’s a tool of oppression not uplift and enlightenment.”

Byrd abides by a moral code to do right and use common sense – don’t lie, steal, cheat – but it’s not based on being a “Bible-thumping Christian.”

At Stillman College in Alabama, Byrd was blacklisted on campus when she “came out.” She then founded Kappa Xi Omega Sorority, Inc., a community service organization and sisterhood for lesSee BYRD, Page B2

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CALENDAR

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FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Tampa: State Rep. Janet Cruz presents the 2013 West Tampa Job Fair July 30 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Higgins Hall, 5255 N. Himes Ave. Admission for job seekers is free and an eight-foot table is free to employers. More information and to register as an employer: 813-6734673.

Tampa: Legendary African-American golfers will host two days of free golf clinics at the Rogers Park Golf Course, 7911 Willie Black Drive, April 27 and 28 at 3 p.m.

Charlie Owens, Jim Dent, James Black and the late Willie Black will be honored. Calvin Peete, winner of 12 PGA tour tournaments, will attend. More information: 813-3912493 or www.Fourgolflegends.org.

Jacksonville: Avant will be at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville May 24 for a 7 p.m. show.

Orlando: An Art of Networking workshop teaching entrepreneurs how to “work a room so it works for you” will be held May 15 from 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce building, 75 South Ivanhoe Blvd. RSVP is required. More information: 407-835-2486.

Jacksonville: Sample barbecue from up to 60 teams and cast your vote for the best barbecue in Jacksonville at the fifth annual Jacksonville Backyard BBQ Championships

from B1 lationship with a woman who birthed twins prior to a prison sentence. Smith became a surrogate mother and managed a strip club for nine years prior to her own conviction, which also landed her in prison. Behind bars she recorded a music CD featuring fellow inmates.

‘God made us’ Smith is now 54 years old and engaged to be married to 26-year-old rap artist/model Alea Janae Davis.

Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage prohibits a legal union, but they are considering other states and remain unapologetic regarding choice. “God is a loving, caring God to me.

We love, we don’t hate,” expressed Smith. “People shouldn’t judge.

God made us.”

BYRD from B1 bian women created to articulate and encourage community consciousness.

A national advocate, Byrd believes there are three major lesbian influences: biological (born gay); sociological (assimilate to society and culture) and psychological (individuals damaged by men who feel women are their only option).

Byrd’s influence is biological. She and her partner of nine years look forward to marriage when DOMA is amended to afford everyone equal benefits.

TOJ

JORDIN SPARKS

Jacksonville: The Jacksonville Children’s Chorus is partnering with A Social Affair Dance Studio for Jacksonville’s “Dancing with the Stars’’ May 3 at 8 p.m. at the Jacoby Symphony Hall in the TimesUnion Center for Performing Arts.

More information: 904-353-1636.

Tampa: 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.

SMITH

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

‘ANNE & EMMETT’

R&B songstress Jordin Sparks will be at the House of Blues Orlando for a benefit concert hosted

by Masters Champ Bubba Watson on May 17.

KENDRICK LAMAR

ALLEN J. SCHABEN/ LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Rap artist Kendrick Lamar will be at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre June 19 for a 6:30 p.m. show.

featuring food, live music and games April 27 from noon – 5 p.m.

More information: danielkids.org.

Jacksonville: The Ideas and Inspiration Home Show will be held May 3-5 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center featuring celebrities from HGTV. More information: www. ideasandinspirationhomeshow.com.

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.

De La Soul and Public Enemy will be at The Mahaffey in St. Petersburg during their Kings of the Mic Tour on June 6 and the St. Augustine Amphitheatre June 7.

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.

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.

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.

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.

St. Petersburg: LL Cool J, Ice Cube,

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

Nevada lawmaker’s surprise during same-sex marriage debate: ‘I’m gay’

By John M. Glionna Los Angeles Times (MCT)

LAS VEGAS - As Nevada lawmakers took a step toward repealing a state ban on gay marriage, the latenight floor arguments in the Legislature in Carson City were emotional and came with a surprise announcement.

One state senator told his stunned colleagues that he’s gay.

The Nevada Senate voted 12-9

Monday night to begin the process of repealing the gay marriage ban from the state Constitution, a move to legalize unions between gays and lesbians.

Supported by 11 Democrats and one Republican, the bill, Senate Joint Resolution 13, would amend the state Constitution to remove a provision declaring that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

The measure also includes wording guaranteeing that religious or-

Applications being accepted for Florida Minority Nonprofit of the Year The Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition (FMCRC) and the host committee of Let’s Do Business Florida and Summit have announced the open applicant process for the 2013 Florida Minority Nonprofit of the Year Award.

Florida-based minority nonprofits and community organizations are eligible to vie for the award. The grand prize is a new 2013 Hyundai Sona-

cost to women-minority-veteran businesses and nonprofits. More information: www.letsdobusinessflorida.com.

St. Petersburg: Athletic dogs from around the country will make their way to Spa Beach Park, 615 2nd ganizations do not have to perform such unions — a move to mollify two senators who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Out of the closet The night’s most surprising moment came when state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, a Democrat from North Las Vegas, told his colleagues that he was gay and proud of it.

“I’m Black. I’m gay,” he said in a shaky voice. “I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a Black, gay male.”

Atkinson argued that gay marriage does not threaten any legal or moral definition of the union.

“If this hurts your marriage,” he said, “then your marriage was in trouble in the first place.”

The measure still has a way to go

The African American Performing Arts Community Theatre presents its production of “Anne & Emmett,’’ a one-act play that explores an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmet Till, both victims of intolerance and hatred.

Performances run through May 12 at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 NW 22nd Ave. Aapact.com. JUAN E. CABRERA

ta. Hyundai Motor America is the presenting sponsor of the event.

Non-profit organizations focused on improving circumstances for minority communities, and service disabled and other veterans are encouraged to apply.

Qualified organizations are invited to submit applications for the 2013 Florida Minority Nonprofit of the Year Award no later than May 31. Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel of judges.

Visit www.letsdobusinessflorida.com for more information and to access an application.

Ave. NE to compete in the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge Eastern Regional on May 4 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. This canine sporting event features dogs competing in a variety of “Olympic-style” events.

Qualifying day: May 3. More information: www.barknetwork.com. before gay marriage is a reality in Nevada. The idea still must pass the Assembly, where the Democrats have a 27-15 edge. It also must be passed by lawmakers next year and approved by voters in 2016.

A woman who answered the phone in Atkinson’s Carson City office told the Los Angeles Times that the legislator was deluged with interview requests and was trying to accommodate them while tending to his Senate duties.

One legislator might be out of the closet, but another says he’s probably in trouble with his church.

State Sen. Ruben Kiheun said his “more progressive” girlfriend nagged him over his resistance to gay marriage, before he voted for the bill Monday.

After the vote, he told fellow legislators: “I don’t know if I’ll be allowed in church on Sunday.”

Gone fishing: Opa-locka hosts annual trip for seniors to get exercise, bond SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

“I am not giving away our spot,’’ City of Opa-locka’s Vice Mayor Joseph L. Kelley jovially responded when asked to reveal the lucky “honey hole,” where the size and the amount of the “catch” would make the most skilled fishermen envious enough to inquire about the location of his annual seniors fishing on April 15.

Blue skies, mild temperatures and a perfect site made for a great day of biting as about 25 seniors cast their lines into the water and waited for mullets, bluegills and catfish to nibble at hooks, baited with earthworms provided by Kelly.

According to one senior, “The frequency in which those fish attached themselves to the line, you didn’t need a lot of patience, because the fish wanted a snack, just as much as they wanted to become a snack!”

Good catches Kelley, who has been doing this

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVID NORRIS

Opa-locka’s Vice Mayor Kelley assists Clara Way in removing her fish from her line at his annual seniors fishing trip. for at least 10 years, stated that he is “always glad to give back a small token of appreciation to the seniors through these fishing trips, where they look forward to bonding on the water.”

Although this event doesn’t cost the seniors anything, they are required to bring their own fishing pole and bucket.

The trip began at 8:30 a.m. and ended around 1 p.m. when Kelley began peeping into a few of the pails.

He discovered that one of the

About 25 seniors participated in Opa-locka’s annual fishing trip. men had caught five fishes while among the women, Mrs. Dorothy Bishop caught four, Mrs. Sadie Jones and Mrs. Ollie B. Kelley each reeled in two. Others proudly displayed the “one that didn’t get away.”

Private hot spot As for Kelley’s hot fishing spot, he would only speak in terms of proximities and generalities as he shared, “The bus took 30 to 40 minutes to get near Highway 27 on Alligator Alley in Broward County.”

Kelly added, “They love the trips, but there is a drawback… they are never ready to leave when it’s time to pack up.’’

For this reason, the vice mayor is considering more fishing expeditions for the group, throughout the year.

“This is the type of quality time and memories they enjoy creating. It enriches their lives and they benefit from the outdoor experience through fresh air, exercise and socializing, during this unique excursion,” Kelly continued.

STOJ

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

TRAVEL

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A statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faces the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where a 1963 bombing took the lives of four young Black girls. The event focused the attention of the nation on the city once known as “Bombingham” and has made the church a freedom shrine.

CAROLYN BARDA/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/MCT

Birmingham

embraces its complex history Civil rights movement anniversary makes this an ideal year to visit the historic Alabama city

BY ALICE SHORT LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When I told friends I was planning a trip to Birmingham, the reaction was universal.

“Alabama?” one asked.

“On purpose?”

I shared their skepticism, viewing the travel literature with the jaundiced eye of a longtime Angeleno who puzzled over the concept of vacationing in the South. But I was flying here for a business meeting that had been scheduled for Presidents Day weekend, so why not take some extra time and look around?

It’s not the oldest or most storied city in the South.

But Birmingham — about a 2 1/2-hour drive west of Atlanta — has a complex history that includes post-Civil War industrialization, the corruption of an establishment that planned to carry out that industrialization with nonunionized and African-American labor and, decades later, its role as a staging ground in the fight for basic human rights.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of some of the most important events in the civil rights movement, and many of them took place in Birmingham: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”; Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor’s use of attack dogs and fire hoses against peaceful demonstrators, many of them children; and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that killed four young girls.

Starting point Official Birmingham is embracing this anniversary with a year of photo and museum exhibitions, concerts, plays, symposiums, festivals, workshops and the National Conference on Civil Rights. I scheduled an extra day at the beginning and the end of my meetings to see the city’s historic core, visiting the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and other places that helped me understand the city’s legacy.

After a few short days, I found myself becoming a banner carrier for Birmingham: Anyone who cares about U.S. history should plan a trip here.

Downtown’s Tutwiler hotel makes a good starting point. The original building was torn down in the 1970s, but with a boost

those furnaces and the cars used to transport molten pig iron made us feel Lilliputian, excellent preparation for our next stop: the Vulcan Park and Museum, atop the city’s Red Mountain.

The highlight of any trip up the hill is a gigantic statue of the Roman god of the forge, cast in 1904 and long touted as the world’s largest cast-iron figure. He’s 56 feet tall and sits atop a 124-foot-high pedestal.

from private and government grants, the Tutwiler family transformed the 1914 Ridgely Apartments into a new Tutwiler hotel — with attractive rooms, a restaurant that pays attention to food and a bar that serves a nice selection of cocktails.

On my first morning here, I left the Tutwiler and headed down 6th Avenue North on my way to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a 58,000-squarefoot facility with exhibition space, meeting rooms, multimedia presentations and an extensive oral history collection with more than 500 interviews.

Every few hundred yards on 6th Avenue, I stopped to read the markers along the Civil Rights Heritage Trail, signs with photos and quotes that commemorate significant locations on march routes.

What students saw The markers lead to Kelly Ingram Park, across the street from the institute and cater-corner from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The 4-acre green space is the site of statues and sculptures — some in welded steel, others in limestone or bronze — that commemorate and, in some cases, depict the civil rights movement and the city’s notorious response: police dogs, fire hoses, jail time. The park was once the heartbeat of civil rights activity in Birmingham, but at 10 a.m. on this day, it was empty.

Where were the children on field trips? But then I spotted them, making their way into the Civil Rights Institute. I followed them — fourth-graders, I later learned — into a handsome domed lobby.

“Hope this doesn’t wreck it for you,” a teacher said, smiling ruefully. In truth, their reactions to mid-20th century events enhanced the experience. I trailed the students, waiting to see what engaged them.

Like a benediction Many of the exhibits were designed to re-create life in Birmingham when Jim Crow laws determined how people would function in the segregated city.

Displays include a replica of a burned-out bus that had carried Freedom Riders and timelines that track the progress of the civil rights movement.

Some of the fourth-grad-

‘Wearable sculpture’

ALAN SOLOMON/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT

The Alabama Theatre in Birmingham was once segregated. Now it is open to all. It is one of the many sites important to the Civil Rights Movement. ers lingered to read enlargements of newspaper clippings and quotes from leaders of that movement.

They halted, a few of them bewildered, in front of a replica of segregated classrooms.

Toward the end of the visit, the kids were asked to sit on the floor and watch a short video on a huge screen. “No talking,” a teacher said. “Listen.”

Scenes from the August 1963 March on Washington flickered on the screen, including clips from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The fourth-graders applauded. It felt like a benediction.

Iconic church The Sixteen Street Baptist Church sits across the street from the institute.

Once inside, our guide gently reminded the small clutch of visitors that the church is more than a symbol of the civil rights movement; it’s a 21st-century parish with services, meetings and Sunday school classes. But as we waited, I found it impossible to think about anything but the events of 50 years ago.

On Sept. 15, 1963, soon after the March on Washington, a dynamite blast ripped open the basement of the church, which had become the site of civil rights movement meetings.

Four girls died; at least 20 people were injured.

It took more than a de-

cade for any of the suspects to be convicted of the killings, and the reverberations of the blast — national anguish and anger, a slow serving of justice — continue to this day.

After our small group watched a video that focuses on the history of the church and the headlines of 50 years ago, the tour guide, a parishioner, patiently recalled and repeated details of the bombing and its aftermath. It’s almost impossible to learn too much about this historical site.

Iron landmarks In the afternoon, I ran into a colleague and persuaded her to join me as I explored some older monuments to Birmingham’s past. First stop: Sloss Furnaces, which opened just a few years after the town was founded in 1871.

The men who planned Birmingham (and named it after the industrial powerhouse of Birmingham, England) chose a place close to deposits of limestone, coal and iron ore, paving the way for the growth of local iron and steel manufacturing. Sloss Furnaces, now a national historic landmark, helped propel the city into industrial prominence that continued through the 1960s.

The abandoned blast furnaces, in a park-like setting, have a natural, desolate beauty. The size of

A short elevator ride in a tower attached to the pedestal offered great views of the city (the BirminghamHoover metropolitan area has more than 1 million people) and on this day, Feb. 14, decent views of several weddings taking place. “It’s a big day for weddings,” the woman in the ticket booth explained.

Was this romanticism inspired by the view? The date on the calendar? Perhaps it was Vulcan himself: He wears an apron, but his pants are nowhere to be found.

The next morning, I spent a couple of hours in the Birmingham Museum of Art, where many of the galleries are devoted to European paintings and decorative arts from the 13th through the 19th centuries.

The museum’s collection of American art includes works by Gilbert Stuart, John Singer Sargent, Frederick Remington and Georgia O’Keeffe. The top floor includes galleries devoted to African and Asian art, Native American and pre-Columbian works and, oddly, a large collection of Wedgwood ceramics.

But some of the most striking pieces are displayed in a gallery devoted to recent acquisitions, including a “wearable sculpture” — fabric with applique crochet and buttons and yarn — by performance artist and sculptor Nick Cave.

Grits and margaritas At lunchtime, I picked up three of my colleagues who were eager to dine at Chez Fonfon in the Five Points area of Birmingham. The French bistro was opened in 2000 by Frank Stitt, who, many believe, has almost single-handedly put Birmingham on the foodie map with Fonfon, the nextdoor Highlands Bar & Grill, and Bottega Restaurant & Cafe.

Chez Fonfon did not disappoint. Our group sampled a fennel and blue cheese tartine; gravlax with

potato cakes and horseradish cream; a shrimp and avocado salad; trout with brown butter, capers and Brabant potatoes; and Gulf fish with olives, roasted potatoes and aioli. The relatively small space (it seats about 60) with its high ceilings and stone tile floors made for a civilized midday meal.

A typical Birmingham experience? Perhaps not.

The next night we dined at Saw’s Juke Joint in the suburb of Mountain Brook, southeast of downtown. It was crowded with locals who wore their loyalties — Auburn and Alabama, primarily — on their sweatshirts and kept their eyes glued to the flat-screen TVs tuned to the sports matchups of the day.

Our waitress handled our party with ease, and soon we were feasting on fried okra, onions and pickles, pork with grits and turnip greens, and deviled eggs, all served amid buckets of peppers, barbecue sauce, hot sauce and mustard, rolls of paper towels, and beers and margaritas.

Praise and preaching If Fonfon calls to mind an outing on a sunny afternoon in the south of France, Saw’s Juke Joint is more Oktoberfest in Munich. Almost every member of our crowd departed with a glaze of satisfaction on his or her face.

As we crisscrossed the city to various dining spots and meeting locations, we stopped at several other landmarks — Cathedral Church of the Advent, the Alabama Theatre and the Alabama Power Building.

But a handful of us wanted to return to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church for Sunday services.

We needed more time to look around and take in the beauty of the sanctuary.

We listened to hymns of praise, readings from Luke and Matthew, and a pastor who preached for close to an hour — seemingly without notes.

Inside, the congregation listened to the choir sing “Victory in Jesus.” Outside, runners in the MercedesBenz Marathon passed by, struggling to complete their Herculean task. Just a few minutes away, patrons at the newly opened Todd English P.U.B. at the Westin Birmingham sipped beers and indulged in another type of worship: the adulation of professional sports figures.

Faith takes many forms in Birmingham, and on this Sunday morning they all seemed to be on display.

TOj B4

FOOD

Stoj

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

Fresh herbs flavor the day Lisa Abraham, Akron Beacon Journal

If your knowledge of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme begins and ends with Simon & Garfunkel, this is the perfect time of year to get to know fresh herbs.

Fresh herbs add a powerful punch of flavor to a variety of dishes. The trick is to know which herbs work best to enhance foods without overpowering them.

Here are 15 herbs worth getting to know. Experiment with them in cooking and you’ll soon discover your favorites.

Summer Savory

Basil

While there are many varieties, the large green leaves of sweet basil are the most common. It has a slight anise flavor and is a favorite paired with tomatoes or tomato sauces. It also works well on vegetables and in salads, but it’s bold enough to stand up to grilled meats. Use it on pizza, to flavor oils and vinegars or turn it into pesto to spread on bread or mix with pasta.

Chervil

Fennel Cilantro

Known for its anise flavor, fennel fronds can be used for seasoning fish or in sauces and salads. The seeds from the herb are common for flavoring sausage, sauerkraut, pickles and breads.

It’s that love-it-or-hate-it flavor so prevalent in Mexican food. To some, it tastes like soap. To others, it is as fresh as parsley. This leaf of the coriander plant is perfect for salsa and guacamole, in Thai cuisine and in some Indian dishes. It can be used in soups and turned into pesto.

Oregano

Prominent in Italian and Greek cooking, this herb can be pungent. So use it in lots of Italian dishes, including tomato sauce, on pizza and in pasta, but go easy as its strong flavor can easily overpower food.

Chervil

Often referred to as gourmet parsley, it is used widely in French cuisine.

Its taste is similar to parsley, but with a slight anise background. Because it’s mild, use it on foods that are easily overpowered by stronger herbs, like fish, chicken and eggs, and in combination with other herbs.

Chives

Chives are the miniature version of scallions so use them in any dish that would be improved by their onion flavor. Their tiny size makes them perfect for chopping as a garnish on appetizers, or tossing with potatoes, in salads, in sauces, dips, and in eggs and herb butters.

Dill

Most of us first experience the flavor of dill in pickles. It’s a favorite in sour cream dip for vegetables and with fish.

But it also pairs well with a variety of fresh vegetables, including green beans, cucumbers and members of the cruciferous family — cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.

Sage

When dried, sage is that highly recognizable flavor associated with poultry stuffing or pork sausage.

Fresh sage has a subtler flavor and works well for seasoning meats, particularly pork and poultry.

Fresh sage leaves, fried in browned butter, are a classic pasta sauce.

Savory Marjoram Parsley Similar to oregano but subtler, marjoram can add flavor to a wide variety of meat dishes, from beef, pork and lamb to poultry and even some fish. Use it on vegetables and in soups and stews.

Mint

Its flavor is well known, as mint can be used in everything from drinks to dessert. It stands out when paired with lemon. Stir it into yogurt or sour cream for sauces. Use it in salads and teas and for seasoning red meat, especially lamb.

While fresh and green isn’t a flavor, it is the best way to describe the taste of parsley. Parsley — flat leaf or curly — brightens every dish and provides a fresh balance for even the heaviest of flavors. For full impact, sprinkle chopped fresh parsley onto a finished dish, not into a dish that is cooking.

Rosemary

It tastes woody with notes of pine. Its strong flavor stands up well to substantial dishes like leg of lamb, beef roast and roasted chicken, but you’ll also find it in breads and butters, where it stands out against the plain background.

Summer savory is the more popular annual herb (a winter variety is stronger). It is full-flavored, herby and piquant. It’s good for adding life to mildtasting dishes, like chicken or delicate fish. Savory is also popular in Italian cuisine.

Ta r r a g o n There are several types, but French is considered the best for cooking. It has an anise flavor and works well to flavor sauces of all varieties, vinegars, poultry dishes, eggs, green beans and other vegetables.

Thyme

The workhorse of herbs; there are few dishes that won’t be improved by a little thyme. It works well with all meats, is good in slow-cooked soups, stews, casseroles and any number of vegetable dishes. It is excellent with lemon, which enhances thyme’s own lemony tones, and it pairs well with tomatoes.

STOJ

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 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.

lloyd

ivlore

Lloyd Dickenson of Miami was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The 26-yearold enjoys acting, singing, playing pool, and weight training. This aspiring actor has appeared in several commercials and two independent films – “A Mistaken Look’’ and “Baghdad.’’

When he’s not modeling and pursuing his next acting job, he loves having a good time with friends.

Photo courtesy of 1st Million Management LLC / info@ 1stmillionmgt. com.

Ivlore “Eve’’ Desorme is a 21-year-old college student who lives by the motto “I can do anything I set my mind to.” She says modeling fell into her lap last year after she joined a modeling troupe at her college, and she has grown a love for it ever since. Contact Ivlore at ideso001@fiu.edu.

Atlanta production revisits tales of Brer Rabbit Atlanta puppetry center presents ‘more soulful’ version, including Tar Baby and friends

wood complexion call to mind some of the illustrations that accompanied Harris’ stories. “My mother brought me up on these stories.”

Clark is Black. So is director Spencer G. Stephens, and half the cast.

All are eager to reclaim the Brer Rabbit stories as part of their heritage, and the heritage of all Southerners.

Especially Black Southerners.

“I wanted to put more of the African-American flavor in it,” said Stephens, a 10-year veteran of the Center, making his directorial debut. “I wanted it to be a little more soulful.”

BY BO EMERSON ATLANTA JOURNALCONSTITUTION /MCT

ATLANTA — Brer Rabbit was a wily creature, but even he had trouble with the Tar Baby, a trap set for him by the dastardly Brer Fox. “Brer Rabbit & Friends,” the sunny, clever and tuneful production by Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts, is as wily as the rabbit himself, and sidesteps the minefield of sticky traps that dog the history of the Brer Rabbit stories.

The folktales on which the show is based, collected before and after the Civil War by Atlanta Constitution columnist Joel Chandler Harris, concern a trickster rabbit who, by his own wits, overcomes stronger creatures.

They serve as children’s entertainment on one level, yet the tales also work as a narrative of an imprisoned people triumphing in the face of oppression.

But Black stories retold by a White writer such as Harris can suffer from a

‘Tar Baby’ issue

PHIL SKINNER/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/MCT

Renee Clark narrates during rehearsals for the Center for Puppetry Arts’ production of Brer Rabbit & Friends in Atlanta on March 29. suspect heritage, suspicions that were confirmed, for some, by the problematic 1946 Disney movie “Song of the South,” based on Harris’ writings. The movie is criticized for its racial stereotypes and is rarely shown today.

‘Our stories’ Disney’s

Cannon, 50 Cent shows included in lineup on E! EURWEB.COM

Cable network E! introduced a slate of new unscripted shows and specials, including a fan

interpretation

notwithstanding, Harris was wildly popular in the 1880s, achieving Mark Twain-echelon status. He was a writer who appreciated a culture that was, at best, ignored by the mainstream. To his contemporary detractors, he’s a “nostalgic plantation romancer.” The stories themselves?

They not only transcend these issues, they will prob-

who spent two days shadowing 50 Cent, Jason Derulo’s journey back from a neck injury and Nick Cannon giving an extreme makeover to his grandma’s house.

Also, there’s a new competition series from Jack Osbourne that’s designed to challenge racial stereotypes.

‘Nick Cannon’s Big Surprise’ “Nick Cannon’s Big Surprise’’ airs Thursday, May 9 at 10 p.m.

Actor, singer and TV personality Nick Cannon has a big surprise.

Grateful to his grandparents who

ably outlast them.

S. Renee Clark is the musical director of this Center for the Puppetry Arts production. She also serves as the narrator, and pounds an upright piano with the gusto that Aretha Franklin brought to her keyboard work on “Respect.”

“These are our stories,” said Clark, whose high cheekbones and teak-

helped raise him, Cannon shows his appreciation with a surprise home makeover. Through the process, the star will share childhood memories, photos and videos as the audience gets an intimate look back at his life.

‘The Untold Story: Jason Derulo’ Simon Cowell said he would be huge, Lady Gaga said he’s “a freakin’ superstar” and Jordin Sparks calls him boyfriend. He was well on his way to the top when an injury sidelined his career, and could have nearly end-

Stephens says as Clark was developing arrangements of the songs, he kept telling her, “I want it more Black!” That soulful feel comes through in the voices of the characters and especially in the music, funkified by bluesy slide guitar and brightened by upbeat, gospel harmonies.

But ultimately the clever rabbit and the persistent fox shake off the shackles of history, and escape into a different realm.

“Brer Rabbit and Friends” was the first show produced by the Center for Puppetry Arts in 1978, the organization’s first year.

This will be the seventh

ed his life. “The Untold Story: Jason Derulo’’ airs May 14 at 10 p.m. This half-hour special is a turbulent ride with Derulo as he battles his way back from injury.

‘50 Hours with 50 Cents’ What is it like to be 50 Cent?

One lucky super fan gets to find out. This special captures 50 hours with 50 Cent as one of his biggest fans gets to spend exactly that amount of time with him.

Viewers will experience over two full days with this rapper, entrepreneur and businessman as he enters global promotional mode

time the center has presented the show.

The current staging, which includes rod puppets, shadow puppets and full-body costumes, was adapted by puppeteer Jon Ludwig in 1984. Ludwig is now artistic director of the center.

“It’s always been very popular,” said Ludwig, “but that doesn’t make me any less cautious.”

Ludwig’s production lets the fox, the rabbit, the turtle and the bear do the talking, and sidesteps any mention of Uncle Remus or Joel Chandler Harris.

But there is one sticky issue he confronts with each new version: “Tar Baby? Or no Tar Baby?” Ludwig says the play, and the stories, and historical reality, emphatically tell us that the Tar Baby is, in no way, a veiled racial reference, but simply a plot device, based on a trick farmers once used to capture pests.

“You can find the same thing in the Anansi stories” from West Africa, he said — referring to the fabled spider who also runs into an adhesive trap.

So far, the Tar Baby wins.

Brer Rabbit without the Tar Baby, says Ludwig, would be Romeo without Juliet.

For more information about the productions and showtimes, visit www.puppet.org.

leading up to the release of his newest album. The show will air this fall.

‘White People Can’t Dance’ From executive producer Jack Osbourne and Vin Di Bona, this tongue-and-cheek format show features a team of experts who analyze some of the more outrageous stereotypes perpetuated by pop culture. Each episode our team will put multiple stereotypes to the test to determine which are fact and which are fiction.

Check local listings for air times.

TOj B6

FOOD

TOJ

APRIL 26 – MAY 2, 2013

Start the day right with

PROTEIN at breakfast FROM Family Features

Starting the day right with a good breakfast helps set the tone for your day. In fact, studies show that kids who eat breakfast have better scores on math, reading and standardized tests; are better able to pay attention; and have fewer absences and incidences of tardiness, compared to breakfast skippers.

But is your breakfast the best it can be?

Experts recommend 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal, and while breakfast is typically lower in protein than other meals, it’s a particularly important time to include protein in your diet — to help you get the right start to your day.

In fact, when you have your protein can be just as important as how much you have, and research suggests that spreading protein intake throughout the day — rather than just at lunch or dinner — can optimize how your body uses it, and that means making sure you include enough protein at breakfast.

A protein-packed breakfast can also help you feel “healthy full” so you stave off mid-morning cravings and can stick to healthier eating throughout the day.

Help your whole family start the day right and include protein in your nutritious breakfast. Try these tips to maximize protein in the AM: • Make your morning oatmeal with milk instead of water. Top with almonds for extra protein, too.

• Include a glass of milk with your morning meal. An 8-ounce glass of milk has 8 grams of quality protein.

• Make your own smoothie and choose your favorite frozen fruit.

• Grab a latte, instead of black coffee, and pair it with peanut butter toast and some fruit for a balanced meal.

• Whip up a bowl of cottage cheese topped with fruit and honey.

• Create a breakfast BLT with a whole grain muffin, lean turkey bacon and lettuce and tomato.

Find more ways to give your morning a boost with recipes at www.thebreakfastproject.com.

Hearty Oatmeal with Strawberries, Dried Cherries and Almonds Servings: 2 1 3/4 cups low fat or fat free milk 1 cup old-fashioned or quick cooking oats (not instant) 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup sliced strawberries 1/4 cup dried cherries 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds Combine milk, oatmeal, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often to prevent boiling over. Cook until thickened; divide between two serving bowls and top with strawberries, cherries, and almonds.

Serve immediately.

Nutrition: 360 calories; 6 g fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 15 g protein; 61 g carbohydrates; 6 g fiber; 0 mg sodium; 300 mg calcium (30% of daily value). Nutrition figures based on using fat free milk.

Apple-Raisin Breakfast Quinoa Servings: 5 1 cup quinoa, rinsed according to package directions 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 cups low fat or fat free milk 1/2 cup water 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tart-sweet apple (such as Braeburn), chopped 1/2 cup raisins 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts Toast quinoa and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Cook until quinoa is golden and cinnamon is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add milk, water, and brown sugar; bring to a simmer, and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until liquid is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.

Fold in chopped apple, raisins, and walnuts and let stand a few minutes, covered, to heat through. Serve with additional milk.

Nutrition: 300 calories; 7 g fat; 0.5 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 10 g protein; 53 g carbohydrates; 4 g fiber; 5 mg sodium; 163 mg calcium (16% of daily value). Nutrition figures based on using fat free milk.

Go Green Smoothie Servings: 2 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, lightly packed 1 cup low fat or fat free milk 1/2 cup green grapes 1/2 cup honeydew melon, chopped 1/2 cup ice cubes 1 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond butter 1 tablespoon lime juice In a blender, combine all ingredients. Cover and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Nutrition: 240 calories; 5 g fat; 0 g saturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g protein; 45 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 90 mg sodium; 212 mg calcium (20% of daily value). Nutrition figures based on using fat free milk.

Peaches & Cream Smoothie Servings: 2 1 cup low fat or fat free milk 1 cup frozen peach slices 1/2 cup fresh mango 2 tablespoons honey In a blender, combine all ingredients. Cover and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Nutrition: 162 calories; 0 g fat; 0 g saturated fat; 2 mg choles­terol; 5 g protein; 38 g carbohydrates; 2 g fiber; 53 mg sodium; 163 mg calcium (16% of daily value). Nutrition figures based on using fat free milk.