Florida Courier - June 17, 2017 by Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC

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JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

VOLUME 25 NO. 24

ONE YEAR LATER

Hundreds gathered at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando for a final ceremony to mark the first anniversary of America’s worst mass shooting to date. BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS, ALICIA DELGALLO AND PAUL BRINKMANN ORLANDO SENTINEL / TNS

ORLANDO – A day of remembrance started at Pulse nightclub and ended there Monday as hundreds gathered for an evening service to honor the victims in last year’s attack. The ceremony was the last in an emotion-filled day that depicted how united Orlando became after the June 12 shooting that left 49 dead and at least 68 other injured.

A wall of flowered hearts, representing each of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre, was installed on the side of the club to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016 massacre that killed 49 people.

Hundreds got in a line that wrapped around the club to get into the ceremony as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played softly.

Random terror Dustin DeVries last danced inside the club in 2012. All he had were fond memories until last year when he learned the club had turned into the sight of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. “It could have been any of us, or anywhere,” said DeVries, 30. Inside, Pulse performer Blue Starr told the crowd, “Don’t stop because we’ve been through one year. Move forward as the brave community we told them we would be.”

JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/ TNS

Honoring victims Thousands flooded The City See PULSE, Page A2

Scott under pressure

DENEE BENTON / TONY AWARD NOMINEE

Dreams can come true

Both sides weigh in on school bill BY BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Orlando’s Denee Benton and her parents, Derryl and Jackie Benton, celebrated Denee’s nomination for 2017’s Best Actress in a Broadway show at the Tony Awards show in New York City on June 11. Benton stars as a 19th-century Russian aristocrat with singer Josh Groban in “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.” She began acting in high school at Winter Park’s Trinity Prep, then studied performing arts at Pittsburgh Carnegie Mellon University.

Fight begins about state supreme court appointments BY BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Gov. Rick Scott may get to replace three of the Florida Supreme Court’s seven justices on his final day as governor.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

A ‘new reality’ after Pulse tragedy

ALSO INSIDE

TALLAHASSEE – The battle over the future makeup of the Florida Supreme Court began in earnest Wednesday, as a pair of voting-rights groups asked justices to determine whether Gov. Rick Scott has the power to reshape the court. A petition filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause called on the court to clear up a simmering dispute about who has the right to name the successors to

three justices whose terms will end the same day that Scott leaves the governor’s mansion.

Liberals dumped? The three outgoing members of the court – Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince – are part of the court’s more liberal majority and have been an annoyance to Republicans for years. Scott has already replaced one liberal former justice, James E.C. Perry, with the moreconservative Alan Lawson. Scott, who is term-lim-

ited, has already indicated that he has the right to appoint the justices’ replacements, because he will still essentially be governor for part of Jan. 8, 2019, the day when their terms end. But many legal observers have questioned that assertion, saying previous Supreme Court decisions and the wording of the Constitution suggest otherwise. In their filing with the court, the voting-rights groups argue that the conflict needs to be sorted out well before a potential conSee COURT, Page A2

NATION | A6

SPORTS | B4

Blacks: Russia probe distracting from our issues

Warriors could skip White House ceremony

Disappointing NASCAR debut for Wallace

TALLAHASSEE – With a controversial and wide-ranging education bill now on his desk, Gov. Rick Scott faces intense pressure from both sides as he weighs whether to sign or veto the legislation. Rumors have begun floating that Scott will sign HB 7069 sometime this week, but officially the governor maintains that he hasn’t made a final decision. Scott received the bill late Monday; he has until June 27 to sign the proposal, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. The 278-page bill, which emerged in the closing days of the regular legislative session, deals with everything from charter schools and standardized tests to sunscreen and school uniforms.

Speaker’s priority The legislation was a priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and opponents fear that Scott agreed to sign the bill in exchange for having his priorities approved during a special session last week. But at an event Tuesday to celebrate the outcome of the special session, Scott told reporters he was still considering the measure. “We all want school choice,” Scott said. “We want to make sure our kids go to the best schools. ... With regard to 7069, I’m still reviewing it. I know the speaker’s very passionate about it. It was something that was very important to him.”

Massive protests The Legislature’s passage of the bill was greeted by a firestorm of protest from school boards, superintendents, the state’s main teachers and other education advocates. Scott even made comments that hinted that he was considering a veto. Critics of the bill said provisions meant to help charter schools move into neighborhoods with academically struggling schools, as well as a portion of the bill that would allow charter schools to tap local property-tax dollars for school construction, would lead to the privatization of Florida’s education system. See PRESSURE, Page A2

COMMENTARY: CLARENCE MCKEE: POLITICAL, MEDIA ELITES ENABLE GRIFFIN, MAHER | A4 GUEST COMMENTARY: CHRISTAL HAYES: REFLECTIONS ON COVERING PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING | A5

FOCUS

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

Let me tell you about the White House ‘Cat House’ When some men want to lie and cheat they go to a “cat house.” A cat house is a good place to get freaky, grind and tap some behinds! Historically, international cat houses have been the destination of choice for ballers, crawlers, pickpockets, peddlers and passport-carrying panhandlers. Cats that live and work in international cat houses wear the finest erotic cat suits.

The biggest worldwide Some people in America believe the White House has become the biggest cat house in the world! The political whores in the White House don’t wear lingerie. They wear dark-colored threepiece suits – with or without the usual vest – accented by red or blue neckties.

LUCIUS GANTT THE GANTT REPORT

If you think you got a firstclass sexing at the international cat house, that screwing can’t even compare to the way citizens of the United States are being banged at the White House Cat House!

They will screw you Residents and workers at the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue intend to screw you out of your health care coverage; screw you out of your health care benefits; screw you out of your voting rights; screw you out of your education benefits; and screw you

out of your Social Security benefits. They want to screw you out of your disability; screw women out of their rights to make childbirth decisions; screw American allies out of long-time defense agreements; screw Hispanics out of immigration rights; screw labor unions out of long-time labor agreements; and screw AfricanAmericans out of equal rights and justice! Yes, the biggest liars and the biggest cheaters are finding their way to the White House Cat House. The prices are appropriate and fair at the ordinary cat house, but it costs much more to get that thing you want at The White House Cat House. How about a million-dollar campaign contribution? Or a multimillion-dollar real estate

transaction, or a billion-dollar bank loan from a foreign bank that may or may not be under United States economic sanctions?

you want to be serviced by someone that knows what they are doing. You want someone to please you with sweets, not tease you with tweets!

Hmmm!

Clean it out!

Don’t forget you might also get business regulators to back that thing up, polluters to ignore climate change, or the military-industrial complex to make more bombs, build more planes and Predator drones, and christen bigger and better warships – if you pay the boss to get your costs! (Yeah, I wrote it right!) It’s not such a good idea to have your children making decisions at the international cat house or the White House Cat House. Inexperience at a cat house is bad for the business. When you spend your money at a cat house

If you don’t like what happens in the cat house, you have to clean out the litter box! At the White House Cat House, you have to fire or impeach the political pimp, the madam and the person that is the Screwer in Chief!

Buy Gantt’s latest book, “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing,” on Amazon.com and from bookstores everywhere. “Like” The Gantt Report page on Facebook. Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants. net.

PRESSURE from A1

They also slammed the lastminute appearance of the legislation, which folded together a slate of education bills that had been debated separately. In recent weeks, though, supporters of the legislation have cranked up their efforts to promote the bill. Some conservative groups and school-choice supporters have worked to get parents of students served by choice programs involved in the fight. They point to the proposal’s more popular components, like teacher bonuses and mandatory recess for elementary students. Backers also emphasize that, while charter schools are often operated by private groups, they are public schools that might help turn around troubled school districts.

For and against The result has been a deluge of tens of thousands of messages for and against the bill pouring into Scott’s office. As of Tuesday afternoon, the governor’s office said it had received 23,440 phone calls, emails, letters or petition signatures backing the legislation. Opponents had generated 22,734 messages against it. Opponents have dominated in phone calls and emails, while supporters of the bill seem to favor letters, perhaps because of letter-writing campaigns by schools that would be helped by the legislation. Those who support the bill concede that they were slower than opponents to organize for the legislation.

PULSE from A1

Ran from the scene William True, 19, had no trouble seeing over the crowd gathered around the memorial outside of Pulse nightclub Monday night. True is 7 feet 2 inches tall. He wore a backward hat and white T-shirt with folded glasses hanging from the neck and #OrlandoStrong written in rainbow colors across the front. A rainbow ribbon was pinned to his left shoulder. Though he towered over everyone else there, his head wasn’t always held so high this past year. True said he was down the street, between Einstein Bros Bagels and 7-Eleven when shots rang out at Pulse the morning of June 12, and he ran as fast he could toward downtown.

Shawn Frost, president of the conservative Florida Coalition of School Board Members, said supporters have now managed to rally parents affected by the legislation.

Education about ‘truth’ “What I’ve seen is, parents have been alerted to the fact of what it would mean to them. ... I think a big part has been educating parent groups about the truth of 7069,” said Frost, whose group supports the measure. The LIBRE Initiative, a conser-

ity education,” Grajales said.

vative Hispanic group tied to the Koch brothers, has launched an online email drive and sent out mail pieces in English and Spanish promoting the bill. In a statement last month, the group’s coalitions director, Cesar Grajales, said the bill “aims to free Florida’s neediest students from this unacceptable education status-quo.” “We urge Gov. Scott to quickly sign this bill and remove unnecessary barriers to new charter schools so our students don’t have to remain stuck in schools that are failing to provide a qual-

Inside Orlando nightclub massacre

Manufactured support? Those fighting the bill question the outpouring of support, suggesting that misinformation and so-called “astroturfing” efforts might be behind some of it. They also highlight reports that some charter schools have offered extra credit or other benefits for families that sent messages of support for the bill to Scott. “I think that what we’re seeing is sort of a manufactured situation,” said Kathleen Oropeza, co-

Pulse Nightclub

49 people were killed last year in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

5:05 a.m.: Police breach the building. Mateen emerges and is killed.

Restrooms

5 Restrooms

2:30 a.m.: Mateen makes three 911 calls and resumed killing.

Stage

3 Bar

Stage

Emergency exit

Reception

Entrance

Orange Ave.

Beautiful from across the state, nation and world to unite with a message of love. Jacob Horn, 31, drove from Tampa to attend the final service of the day. “I debated whether or not to attend the vigil there or come here,” he said. “It’s so much more meaningful to come here at the site where it happened and honor the victims.” He said he was planning to come to the club the night of the attack but his roommate got home late. It would have been his first time there.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Opponents complain that a bill on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk is a secret backroom deal that will eliminate Florida’s public school system and put schools under private ownership.

Esther

Police officers enter the building and engage in a gun battle with Mateen, which they say forced him to retreat to the restrooms.

Main dance floor

Mateen walks back into Pulse and opens fires, trapping dozens of people inside.

Bar

2 VIP seating

Bar

Restrooms

2:02 a.m.: An off-duty officer working at the nightclub responds to shots at the entrance and exchanges fire with Omar Mateen. Two more officers showed up and opened fire. Mateen fired back.

Stage

Outdoor patio

N Fence

Source: AP, Orlando Sentinel, Google Graphic: Staff, Tribune News Service

He lost four friends that night. “Constant flashbacks,” True said when asked what the last year has been like for him. “Days when I felt like I didn’t need to be here anymore, stuff like that. Thinking if I was here, if I didn’t run – I thought I was a coward.” The Polk State College student drove nearly an hour from his home in Auburndale to be at the Pulse ceremony Monday night. He said he went to be a voice for his friends who died and to tell survivors “God kept them here for a reason.”

Smiling through tears People comforted one other in numerous ways Monday, even by sharing their furry friends. Two large Saint Bernard dogs brought brief smiles to faces filled with sadness. Lady Justice was the bigger of the two and had light brown spots. Her sibling, Justice Oliver, lay on the ground beside her. “We live down the road and brought them out last year,” their owner, Diana Miers, said. “They’re huge so people notice them for sure. Tonight, quite a few people have stopped and

they’ve made them smile.” Following the ceremony, family and friends waited to enter the fenced area to take photos of purple lights illuminating 49 hearts made of white flowers placed along a wall outside the venue. Each had a name of one of those killed. “It was important for me to start here at midnight and to end here at midnight,” said Barbara Poma, the club’s owner. “… We close out this 24 hours we have dedicated to our families, to our victims, to our first responders, to you and to Orlando.”

founder of the advocacy group Fund Education Now, which opposes the measure. And opponents have not backed off. Two Democratic lawmakers issued letters Monday renewing calls for Scott to veto the bill. “While there are small pockets of good policy hidden within this bill, it is a monstrosity when coupled with the multitude of bad policies that have been included,” wrote Sen. Gary Farmer, DFort Lauderdale.

COURT from A1

stitutional crisis engulfs the judiciary.

Forced retirements Pariente, Lewis and Quince will have to leave the court at the end of their current terms because of a mandatory retirement age. “Although the general election is over a year away, there is simply not time for this case to work its way through the circuit court to the district court and back to this (Supreme) Court for final resolution,” the petition says. “The importance of deciding this issue before Governor Scott attempts to make the subject appointments cannot be overstated.” Under the Constitution, the new governor comes into office on Jan. 8, 2019, the same time the terms expire. But governors often are not inaugurated until around noon, a window that could allow Scott to name new justices in the interim. To back up their case, the voting-rights groups point to voters’ decision in 2014 to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would

have given the winner of that year’s gubernatorial race – which was Scott – the clear right to appoint the justices. The proposal, which supporters said would clarify the issue, fell well short of the 60 percent threshold needed to be added to the Florida Constitution. “Although there may be many reasons voters rejected the amendment, there can be no doubt one reason was that a newly-elected governor is not only more accountable, but also better represents the will of the people who just voted than someone elected four years ago,” an attorney for the groups wrote.

‘I will appoint’ The battle has been brewing for months. Scott laid down a marker when he appointed Lawson to the court in December. “I will appoint three more justices on the morning I finish my term,” he said then. An earlier potential conflict over whether an outgoing or incoming governor has the power to appoint a new justice was defused in 1998. Then-Gov. Lawton Chiles, who like Scott was term-limited, and Gov.elect Jeb Bush agreed to jointly name Quince to the court.

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

FLORIDA

RICH POPE/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

Orange County firefighters Jonathan Rivera-Munoz, left, and Matthew Sauerbrun demonstrate new ballistic gear on May 25 that will be on hand should firefighters and EMT’s need to respond to an active shooter or other life threatening situations.

‘A new reality’ for first responders Officers, firefighters adapt to modern threats after Pulse tragedy in Orlando

time to render aid to victims and save their lives,” Mina said. Last week, Orlando was denied the funding it asked for through the government’s Urban Area Security Initiative. The police department has been paying for the training for the past two years without the money. Fire officials say there are no plans to discontinue the joint training, which Odell said are “certainly more real” having had the firsthand experience of Pulse.

BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

ORLANDO – A mass shooting used to seem like an improbable threat for local first responders. Sure, cops and firefighters trained for it just in case, but rescuing plastic dummies in pretend scenarios didn’t feel real. That changed on June 12, 2016. “The human condition is, ‘That’s going to happen to somebody else. The active shooter, that’s something that happens in the Middle East, in Europe,’” said Orange County Fire Rescue Chief Otto Drozd III. “Not anymore. It’s happened in the United States, and it’s happened here in Orlando.” As fire departments continually respond to violent situations alongside police, Drozd said first responders are fine-tuning mass casualty training and using protective gear to adapt to what he calls “a new reality.”

Adapting to new threats “Eli, issue out the vests!” Orlando Fire Department Lt. Davis Odell, Jr., remembers hollering to firefighter Elias DeJesus after learning of a shooting at a Subway restaurant down the block on April 27. It was the first time since the station got its own ballistics gear that firefighters got to use it. After Pulse, both Orlando Fire Department and the county’s Fire Rescue bought ballistic vests, combat helmets and medical kits for each of their units. It cost the city $88,000 to buy 150 vests, and the county spent $325,000 for 334 vests and helmets; another 16 were paid for with a $16,250 grant from the Of-

Moving forward

JACOB LANGSTON/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

Orange Avenue was closed south of downtown Orlando as law enforcement officials investigated a mass-casualty shooting at the Pulse nightclub on Sunday, June 12, 2016. fice of the Orange County Medical Director.

Routine use Before, the departments had reserve amounts of vests and helmets for emergency purposes — but they weren’t at every station. “The theory within the fire service had been (to) have a cache of these in case you have an active shooter event,” Drozd said. “But the reality is that these things happen every day.” Now, they’re using the gear for routine threats of violence, like the Subway shooting call. “Even though the suspects hadn’t been caught, knowing that we had the vests on gave us a little sense of protection,” Odell said. “Our offensive weapons are a hose line when we go into a fire and our medical equipment when we’re addressing medical situations. But when it comes to police matters, we now have body armor.”

UF researcher to work in Nigeria as Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow GAINESVILLE — Folakemi Odedina, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, has been chosen by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to travel to Nigeria to study prostate cancer in West African men. Odedina will work with Dupe Ademola-Popoola, a senior lecturer and urologist at the University of Ilorin, on a research project titled “The Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium Prostate Cancer Study.”

The research study is a global project that focuses on understanding the genetic, environmental and behavioral etiology of prostate cancer in West African men in Nigeria, Cameroon, England and the United States.

2,000 recruits Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and North America, with Black men having the highest prostate cancer incidence rates. Working with more than 20

Up for challenge Though the concept of wearing ballistics gear is still new, Orange County Fire Rescue’s Capt. Troy Broadaway said they are adapting. “I definitely never thought in my lifetime or career that this would happen,” Broadaway said. “But we’re up for the challenge.” Odell said it’s just part of the “different paradigm” of modern fire services that they’ve since learned from Pulse. “Ultimately, nothing can be taken as it once was — it all has to be looked at through this new prism of the world today,” Odell said. “Is it inherently safe? No, but firefighting isn’t inherently safe.”

A new understanding First responder mass casualty training hasn’t necessarily changed, but it’s become more relevant since Pulse, Drozd said. “There’s a new understanding institutions and over 100 investigators in these countries, the UF project will create a familial cohort of West African Black men who will be followed annually. A minFolakemi imum of 2,000 Odedina West Africans and West African immigrant men, including their male relatives, will be recruited for this study.

Range of projects The UF project is one of 43 initiatives that will pair African Diaspora scholars with one of 35 higher education institutions and collaborators in Africa to work on curriculum co-development, research, graduate teaching, training and mentoring ac-

that while we’re going through these trainings, we could actually be called upon to use it,” Drozd said. For years, the Orlando Fire Department and Orange County Fire and Rescue have been training with law enforcement on Swift Assisted Victim Extraction, which teams firefighters with armed officers who protect them in active-shooter situations so they can treat patients closer to the action.

Denied funding

Equipped with their experiences, Drozd and OFD Chief Roderick Williams have presented lessons learned from Pulse to departments across the country. Mina and Demings have been doing the same among the law enforcement community. “I think it’s not only the right thing to do, it’s our responsibility to do it,” Drozd said. Drozd and representatives from OFD have also been working with industry leaders to develop the National Fire Protection Association’s first uniform guidelines for active-shooter responses. After Pulse, Drozd said they looked at recommendations from FEMA and other fire, police and medical organizations and decided one comprehensive set of standards was needed. “There’s this huge body of knowledge out there, but there’s not one document that people can look at and say, ‘this is the best practice,’” Drozd said.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings highlighted this “critical” training when they testified before Congress last year in an attempt to get Orlando counterterrorism funding. “This course is designed to teach law enforcement officers and the fire department the tactics necessary to enter a ‘semisecure’ area, which will reduce

Uniform standards

tivities in the coming months. The visiting fellows will work with their hosts on a range of projects that include research in banking and finance; developing curriculum in therapeutics and environmental toxicology; mentoring faculty in computer science; and teaching and mentoring graduate students in media and communications and in a new interdisciplinary public health program. To deepen the ties among the faculty members and between their home and host institutions, the program is providing support to several program alumni to enable them to build on successful collaborative projects they conducted in previous years.

verse Africa’s brain drain, build capacity at the host institutions and develop long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations between universities in Africa and the United States and Canada. It is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education in collaboration with United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. A total of 282 African Diaspora Fellowships have been awarded for scholars to travel to Africa since the program’s inception in 2013. Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars, either individually or in small groups, and cover the expenses for project visits of between 14 and 90 days, including transportation, a daily stipend and the cost of obtaining visas and health insurance.

In fourth year The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, now in its fourth year, is designed to re-

The NFPA recently agreed to develop uniform standards, Drozd said. A committee to draft the document has its first meeting this month. “What we’re advocating for is if that call comes in and it’s a violent event — just like we equip them to go into fires — we’re going to protect them and give them the right gear,” Drozd said.

EDITORIAL

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

Political, media elites enable Griffin, Maher British Prime Minister Theresa May said after the recent London terrorist attacks that there was “too much tolerance of extremism in our country.” It’s too bad someone in America’s political, religious, and media leadership won’t say the same thing about the newfound tolerance of shameful vulgar, obscene, and tasteless comments of journalists and entertainers flooding the airwaves and social media – mostly directed at Donald Trump.

A few examples The latest example is CNN host Reza Aslan calling the president “a piece of s—t” after Trump tweeted the need for his travel ban. This was preceded by HBO’s Bill Maher using the word “nigger” on his HBO show, “Real Time.” There seems to be no limit to what some unhinged liberals can get away with and what the Democratic, political, and journalism establishments will condone and tolerate when it comes to attacking conservatives, or even making disgusting comments about various groups. Recently, we have seen obscene homophobic comments by Steven Colbert about the president and Vladimir Putin; Bill Maher making incestuous references about the president and his daughter; and, most recently, the sickening ISIS-like

CLARENCE V. MCKEE, ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

image of Kathy Griffin holding a bloody decapitated head of the president.

Nothing to say Given the general pattern of silence and failure to condemn such actions by most Democratic leaders, liberals and the media – implying that such language and actions are acceptable – there is no wonder why Maher felt so comfortable uttering the word “nigger.” As disgusting as his having no problem using the word, is the fact that his comment was met by laughter and applause by his audience! But that is only half of the distasteful story. Maher was responding to a question from his guest, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who asked him, “Would you like to come work in the field with us?” Maher asked, “Work in the fields? Senator, I am a house nigger.’” Sasse joined with the audience with a chuckle and made no comment on the use of the word.

Upon further review After an all-night flight from

Blacks, progressives under the Democrats’ bus Democratic Party leaders are up to their old tricks. They have lost at every level of government across the country because they fail to give voters reasons to support them. This seemingly inexplicable behavior is quite deliberate. Giving the people what they want endangers their relations with wealthy individuals, corporations and big banks. Because they can no longer fool all of the people all of the time, they have returned to a more open and obvious move to the right.

Cast aside They are already planning to throw Black voters and political progressives under the bus. The people who have been relied upon to give them the margin of victory are cast aside in favor of people who either won’t vote for them at all or who will pull the party to the right.

MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Democrats cry out that Trump voters aren’t all racists and will still vote for Democrats. So says Senator Al Franken among others. He recommends, “You have to go and talk to them. And you have to listen.” Bernie Sanders joins in and says that Trump voters aren’t “sexist, racist, homophobes” – even though many of them fall into those categories by their own admission. Words like these ought to set off alarm bells. While even Sanders talks about winning over people who are quite happy with their political choices, they say little or nothing about meeting the needs of Democrats who

The struggle against filthy music continues The messages of Mahatma Gandhi, M.L. King, Jr., and others whose lives have modeled the benefits of thinking on a higher moral plane still serve as a guide for many of us who consider ourselves warriors for progressive social and spiritual advancement. Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, my predecessor as leader of the NCBW, stood firm against the constant flow of filthy lyrics being piped into the minds of our youth. She was viciously maligned for her efforts, but, since her death, we’ve maintained the fight to teach young people to select more positive expressions of their talents through our College for Kids, College for Teens, internships, Young Ambassadors and scholarship programs.

Great supporters

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Los Angeles, Sasse apparently had time to reflect on his failure to rebuke Maher. In a series of well-scripted early morning tweets, he said he wished he had spoken up: “…free speech comes with a responsibility to speak up when folks use that word. Me just cringing last night wasn’t good enough.” He added, “Here’s what I wish I’d been quick enough to say in the moment: ‘Hold up, why would you think it’s OK to use that word? The history of the nword is an attack on universal human dignity. It’s therefore an attack on the American Creed. Don’t use it.’” Sorry, senator. Too little too late, and don’t tell us – tell Maher. If you had really felt deeply in your gut that way about the word “nigger,” you wouldn’t have chuckled and would have immediately chastised Maher for using it. In fact, you could have become a national hero in many quarters for taking him on.

Was it funny? I wonder if Maher thought it was funny when vandals spraypainted “Nigger” on NBA superstar LeBron James’s Los Angeles home’s front gate. Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. In his weak apology, Maher said he regretted that he used the word «in the banter of a live moment.» I have left the party in frustration.

Nothing in return Black America’s rewards for putting Bill Clinton in the White House were the crime bill and the end of public assistance as a right. Black people got nothing for their Clinton love except higher poverty rates and prisons bursting at the seams. Black voters have been slowly neutered over time and are still recovering from the Obama lovefest. There isn’t even a peep about being so openly taken for granted. In years past, even the most callow Black politician would manage to mutter some complaint about being ignored and disrespected. Neither Hillary Clinton nor her $1 billion team of campaign consultants knew that she was in danger of losing several key states that traditionally voted Democratic in presidential elections. A mere 80,000 votes would have given her an Electoral College victory.

Own Hillary’s defeat the dangerous messages in certain music and the repercussion of those dangerous messages in our schools, homes and communities.

Black youth targeted DR. E. FAYE WILLIAMS, ESQ. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

I was pleased to learn that Bob Law and the National Black Leadership Alliance’s Clear the Airwaves Project and others are joining us in assuming leadership in this decades-long issue. Although faced with much of the same filth, NCBW and others have picketed Viacom, BET, and record stores. We’ve attended and spoken to boards of offending companies and sponsors of programs that repeatedly play and support racially and sexually offensive music. Members of our coalition have staged protests to bring awareness to the link between

These programs are geared toward our young impressionable minds, playing vulgar music constantly promoting sex and violence, while glorifying topics like drug use and peddling, alcohol abuse, popping pills, self-hate, misogyny, date rape and even murder. These stations target African-American youth, while overlooking the inspiring music and messages from which young people could benefit. Proponents of this “music” form suggest that it’s merely an expression of the reality of their circumstance. There may be a measure of truth in that assertion, but, if our race had only glorified the circumstance of slavery, Jim Crow or the persistent exclusion from the opportunity for achievement, it is doubtful that we would be far beyond the brutality of our past subjugation.

DAVE GRANLUND, POLITICALCARTOONS.COM

wonder if the vandals will use that line as a defense. At least HBO’s response was a bit firmer, calling Maher’s comment “completely inexcusable and tasteless.” I bet the HBO response would have been different if a Republican or conservative host had used that term they probably would have been suspended, fired or – even had their show cancelled.

Nothing yet

sional Black Caucus, including Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. But let’s not forget. Maher is a member of their liberal Democratic club. As long as such language and actions are accepted, condoned, and tolerated by the political and media elites, they will not only continue, but will get worse – with ominous consequences for our country and way of life.

No such condemnation as of yet from other liberal entertainers, including Blacks, Black journalists, Democratic leaders, their media friends, or those key Democratic Party allies – the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congres-

Clarence V. McKee is a government, political and media relations consultant and president of McKee Communications, Inc., as well as a Newsmax.com contributor. This article originally appeared on Newsmax.com.

The Democrats won’t own that this debacle is of their making, a result of making vapid appeals to people who wanted to see real change. Instead, they declare that making overt appeals to Trump voters is a new political goal. Bill Clinton won the nomination and presidency by making the case for his conservatism. Barack Obama was even more slippery than “Slick Willie.” He raised more money from Wall Street than any other presidential candidate, while simultaneously marketing himself as a progressive. So great is Democratic trauma regarding the Trump victory that they may successfully use these or new ruses to pull off another presidential win. But the Democratic rank and file always end up being the losers, whether their party wins or doesn’t. The banks always get a bailout and so does the militaryindustrial complex. Even Obamacare was a Republican plan promoted by right-wing thank tanks. Election outcomes never give banksters, defense contractors or

Big Pharma cause for alarm.

Margaret Kimberley’s column appears weekly in BlackAgendaReport.com. Contact her at Margaret.Kimberley@BlackAgendaReport.com.

Must do more

Donald’s to end their support.

It’s time to intensify our action. This music can be blamed for the bad choices too many young people make. We still lose too many to street violence. Too many languish in prison after being encouraged to participate in acts of personal destruction. Radio stations that play unhealthy music threaten the constructive work of many of our organizations. As the current administration proposes cuts for education and programs of uplift, those exploiting this corrupting music for financial gain do so at the expense of options that give young people respectable future choices. The one way to end this marketing of negative music and force more responsible radio programming is to cut the profit! We call upon those who care about ending the filth fed to our young people to join a consumer action on June 19. McDonald’s Restaurants have been identified as a major advertiser for this genre. Unsuccessful appeals have been made to Mc-

Drive past McD’s

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher

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.

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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Won’t go away Former presidents usually disappear from view and write their memoirs. But Obama is openly making election endorsements in France and Germany, and hanging out with royalty in the United Kingdom. His activities are not accidental, they are an extension of what the Democrats do at home. The ruling classes need to be mollified and that apparently is a permanent job for Mr. Hope and Change. The Democratic Party is proving itself to be treacherous yet again. There must be a movement away from them, a debate about how to achieve true political success. If not, there will be more repeats of the past with a party emerging victorious while its voters remain the losers.

Our coalition is asking that YOU find another place to eat on June 19. Bob Law says, “Let them operate without Black consumer dollars.” As Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity learned that White women cannot be disrespected on networks and stations that aired them, our action on June 19 will demand the same respect for Black women and the Black community. We urge Black people to free our minds for just one day on June 19t o show McDonald’s and other advertisers we mean business. Stay tuned for the next action that we’ll continue until advertisers get the message we will not pay for our own destruction.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is national chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Contact her via www.nationalcongressbw.org.

Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-352-4455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call 877-352-4455; e-mail sales@flcourier.com. Subscriptions to the print version are $69 per year. Mail check to P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, or log on to www.flcourier.com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

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JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

EDITORIAL

Clueless Trump thinks he’s pulled the plug on ISIS, Al-Qaida The international Islamic jihadist network, created nearly four decades ago in Afghanistan by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, is unraveling in full view of a planetary audience. Donald Trump thinks it’s all his doing – but he’s wrong, of course. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has rallied most of the Gulf Cooperative Council to isolate – and possibly overthrow – the emir of neighboring Qatar, the world’s third-largest natural gas producer.

Trump has no clue The dispute between Qatar and the House of Saud – the two main funders of al Qaida and its spawn, the Islamic State – is rooted in rivalries beyond the mental grasp of the idiot in the White House, but Trump nevertheless takes full credit. “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology,” Trump tweeted. “Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!” Trump appears to actually believe that the Saudis – the godfathers, along with the US, of international jihadism – have renounced their bankrolling of Islamist holy wars. “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off,” tweeted Trump. “They said they would take a hard line on funding. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!”

Blaming Qatar The Saudis are blaming their fellow Wahhabist, the Emir of Qatar, for “adopting various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region including the Muslim Brotherhood Group, Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, promoting the ethics and plans of these groups through its media... supporting the activities of Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the governorate of Qatif of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain, financing, adopting and sheltering extremists who seek to undermine the stability and unity of the homeland at home and abroad, and using the media that seek to fuel the strife internally....” In addition to shutting off trade, travel and diplomatic relations with Qatar, a tiny peninsula jutting out from the Persian Gulf side of Saudi Arabia, the House of Saud has excommunicated Qa-

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

Does Donald Trump know that the Saudis are blowing smoke in his face? Does he realize that his own CIA and military have no intention of giving up their jihadists, whom they cannot do without? Who knows? Does it really matter?

Pizza, pajamas and “Grey’s Anatomy.” It was my time to unwind after a long shift of reporting on the shooting death of “The Voice” singer Christina Grimmie after her Orlando concert. It was the biggest story I’d ever covered in the 18 months since I graduated from the University of Central Florida and started at the Orlando Sentinel. And it was awful news, like many of the stories I cover as a breaking news reporter. I had no idea more horror was about to unfold.

Twitter message It started with a message I got on Twitter at 3 a.m. from a reader wondering what was happening near Pulse nightclub. My relaxation quickly turned to dread as I scrolled through my Twitter feed. Mass shooting. Hostages. Bomb threat. “Oh my god. Oh my god. What do I do?” I dropped my pizza and called my editor. Then I woke up my boyfriend before heading out the door.

At gunpoint When I finally got to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where most of the victims from the shooting were being taken, I pulled onto a side street and called my editor to let her know my location. That’s when an unmarked patrol car zoomed in front of me. Three or four officers in SWAT gear got out and pointed long guns at me, yelling, “Get your hands up!” I nearly peed my pants. I hung

CHRISTAL HAYES GUEST COMMENTARY

It was the biggest story

Real contradiction But Saudi Arabia does not tolerate political pluralism, and royal rule is ultimately antithetical to a caliphate. And therein lies the political-theological contradiction. The House of Saud has trod a perilous path to maintain its family’s monopoly on the riches beneath its soil. The deal requires the Saudi state to provide massive support for the export of the clerical class’s Wahhabist ideology throughout the Muslim world, yet it holds temporal power firmly in the hands of the princes. The other pillar of royal rule is Western imperialism. The Brits, then the Americans, partnered with the House of Saud as a bulwark against secular nationalism in the Arab and Muslim world. The Saudis allied with the American CIA to create the world’s first international jihadist network to overthrow a secular leftist government in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, thus bringing forth al Qaida and its offspring.

Bloodied clothing At the hospital, family members had already huddled outside. Little by little, survivors arrived, many of them with blood sprayed on their clothing. It was overwhelming. But I focused on doing my job, sending tweets and video from the scene. Then I met Christopher Hansen, who had been in the club. He told me details: crawling through blood and glass; a possible bomb; bodies outside marked with yellow and red tags. He said he helped save the life of a man by stuffing his bandanna into a bullet wound.

Couldn’t be real

I cover as a breaking

There was no way it was as bad as he was describing, I thought. I figured at most a few people had been shot after an argument outside the club or maybe it was drug or gang-related. But then a loud blast erupted from the club, just a few blocks away. Hansen jumped behind a car and started crying. I sat with him, trying to comfort him. We both thought the worst: the gunman had a bomb that went off, and more people were hurt – or dead. Suddenly, the scene got more chaotic, with pickup trucks speeding people to the hospital. I saw an officer giving a woman chest compressions in the bed of one of the trucks.

news reporter. I had no

Memorable scene

I’d ever covered in the 18 months since I graduated from the University of Central Florida and started at the Orlando Sentinel. And it was awful news, like many of the stories

idea more horror was about to unfold. up the phone, rolled down my window and shouted I was part of the media. Cops were at every corner with long guns, turning motorists away. Some were in SWAT gear with bomb-sniffing dogs.

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE MIDDLE EAST

est range of Islamist political tendencies, from bourgeois electoral party politics to advocacy of a unified, Muslim-wide caliphate.

tar’s emir from the Wahhabist fold – a heavy sanction among he- Different path reditary rulers whose legitimacy The royal family of Qatar, with a is bound up in their relationship citizen population of only 200,000 to The Faith. (the rest of the 2 million inhabitants are non-citizens, mostly lowKey point wage workers from India), is also However, the key point of the nominally Wahhabist. But they Saudi indictment involves Qatar’s chose a different path to political support for the Muslim Brother- legitimacy – while also becoming hood. The Saudi royal family op- exporters of jihadist terror. poses all forms of political Islam The tiny state’s emirs tried to as a threat to its own legitimacy as establish a pan-Arab and panProtector of the Two Holy Cities, Muslim political presence comMecca and Medina. mensurate with their wealth – the Since its final conquest of most highest per capita in the world – of the Arabian peninsula in the through an aggressive strategy inearly 20th century, and in sub- cluding generous support for the sequent alliance with British im- Muslim Brotherhood. perialism, the House of Saud has Qatar gave billions to the shortruled with the assent of the Wah- lived government of Egyptian habi clerical class. president Mohamed Morsi before It is a delicate arrangement, in he was overthrown by the military which the hereditary royals are al- in 2013. (The Saudis then funlowed control of the state and na- neled billions to his jailer, Gentional resources in return for the eral Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who has Saudi state’s support of the cler- predictably joined in the isolation ics’ ultra-fundamentalist Wahha- of Qatar.) bi ideology, which sanctions the The emirs garnered considerkilling of Muslims deemed here- able global prestige through their tics and “idolators” – mainly Shia. news and analysis outlet, but AlThe House of Saud views the Jazeera was often a source of irMuslim Brotherhood, the god- ritation to the Saudi, Kuwaiti and father of modern political Islam, Emirati royals, as well as Westas a challenge to the legitimacy ern imperialists. Al-Jazeera was of absolute royal rule. The Broth- accused of blatantly favoring the erhood has influenced the wid- Muslim Brotherhood govern-

Covering the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando

I’ll never forget the look on that officer’s face. Fear mixed with determination. All I could see was her legs hanging out the end of the truck bed. She was wearing a skirt or a dress. I had to look away. I still don’t know if that woman survived or if she was one of the 49 who were killed. After the truck passed, another woman burst into tears. She was looking for her son. I hugged her and said I’d try to find out any-

SABIR NAZAR, CAGLE.COM

ment in Egypt, and kicked out of In danger the country. The next year, Saudi The Saudi regime, in particular, Arabia and other Gulf states severed relations with Qatar for eight may not survive an end to the Syria war. During the course of the months as punishment. conflict, the Islamic State faction of al-Qaida crossed a political US partners Rubicon, declaring war on Saudi Despite their differences, Qatar, Arabia in 2014 and proclaiming Saudi Arabia and the United Ar- itself a caliphate. ab Emirates are all partners with The only ideological difference the U.S. in the proxy terror war between the Islamic State and alagainst Syria. It’s a matter of self- Qaida in Syria is that al-Qaida is preservation. willing to postpone the establishAs hereditary regimes, they ment of a caliphate, while ISIS is reject democracy. As clients of Western imperialism, they op- not. Otherwise, the two factions pose Arab nationalism and are ul- are identical in their political thetimately subservient to Washing- ology. If the jihadists are defeated in ton. They are allied with the most Syria, they will vent their most inreactionary elements of the clergy who demand support for Islamist tense fury on their co-religionists war. And they wishfully believe and former sugar daddies in the that by exporting terror, they in- Gulf. Al-Qaida will become an sulate themselves from jihadist ISIS, with no mercy on its former patrons. wrath. So don’t believe for a second But the weight of contradictions spell doom for all these au- that the Saudis are abandoning tocrats – and looming defeat for ISIS and al-Qaida, or are attempting to force Qatar to do the same. the United States. Donald Trump seems honest- Neither is the CIA, which simply ly giddy. Perhaps he truly does rebrands its jihadists when their not know that the main actor in names become too notorious. the proxy war is not Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, or Qatar. It Does Trump know? is the CIA, the other and most imDoes Donald Trump know that portant godfather of Islamist jithe Saudis are blowing smoke in had. his face? Does he realize that his The United States has become own CIA and military have no independent on al-Qaida and its cousins as foot soldiers of impe- tention of giving up their jihadrialism in Southwest Asia. If the ists, whom they cannot do withfighters are decommissioned out? Who knows? Does it really through the denial of arms, mon- matter? The criminal U.S. war against ey and protection, then the war against Syria is lost, and the U.S. Syria will unravel from the weight military offensive begun by Pres- of its own contradictions. In the ident Obama in 2011 with the end, Washington’s Gulf “partunprovoked attack on Libya will ners’” necks will be on the chopping block. have ended in defeat. Without the jihadists, the U.S. Glen Ford is executive editor would have to resort to massive deployment of its own troops to of BlackAgendaReport.com. Ethe region – a mission that the mail him at Glen.Ford@BlackAmerican people will not accept. AgendaReport.com. thing I could. I often talk to witnesses and family members who have lost someone because of shootings and other violence. It’s part of my job, and it’s fairly easy to become somewhat desensitized to the violence when you see it and write about it daily. But that night was different.

Anatomy.” When I’d see it in my queue on Netflix, that feeling of dread would come back. Many people said my work during the shooting was “careerchanging” and this was the biggest story I would probably ever cover.

I felt their pain

How could I feel any sense of success from something so tragic? Slowly, things went back to normal. But some stuff stuck with me, like Hansen’s story. In every interview with other news outlets, he’d repeat the names of the Spanish-speaking man he saved, Junior, and a second man who helped translate for him, Carlos. Hansen said he didn’t know what happened to them. That’s when one of my coworkers came across a GoFundMe page for Junior. It became our mission to reunite the three of them. Within days, we found them and discovered they had been looking desperately for one another. We set up for them to meet in Junior’s hospital room and planned to do a story on their reunion.

Strangers felt like friends. I gave hugs instead of shaking hands. This sentiment has been ingrained in my reporting since that day. As the sun came up, I sat in my car typing an interview. Working on no sleep, adrenaline was keeping me going. I was so focused that I lost track of time. These were people my age who were out having a fun night dancing and drinking. It’s something I did on an occasional Saturday night. It could have been me. I needed to let my boyfriend know I was OK. When he picked up, I couldn’t hold it together and started crying. “So many people are dead,” I told him. “There are bodies and there was a bomb threat and hostages.” He didn’t know what to say. The words made no sense. Even now they don’t.

Focus and purpose In the time that followed, the newsroom became my home. It was comforting to be in a place where I had a purpose and a duty. My coworkers were going through the same thing. We could talk about the shooting and how we felt. We ate together and got beers. We were like family. For weeks it was hard to sleep. I had sporadic nightmares that I was inside the club during the shooting. Those nightmares flared up with each new batch of police reports, videos, autopsies and 911 calls that were released. I stopped watching “Grey’s

It felt awful

Three reunited It was a moment of relief when they saw each other again, full of tears, hugging and laughter as they made plans to go out dancing when Junior healed. A burden was lifted for them – and for me. “I feel like I have a reason to smile again, like I can smile again,” Hansen told me as we left the hospital. I did, too. It wasn’t long after that I scrolled through Netflix and clicked play on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Christal Hayes is a staff reporter for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

NATION

TOJ A6

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

Russia ‘collusion’ probe distracting from Black issues That’s the sentiment of African-Americans who want to see focus on quality health care and employment. BY BARRINGTON M. SALMON TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

During former FBI Director Jim Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, the irony of Black people cheering for Comey didn’t escape African-Americans who watched the ongoing saga unfold in public view. In more than three hours of testimony, Comey said under oath that the president repeatedly pressed him for a pledge of loyalty and asked him to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. And after Comey failed to fulfill the president’s wishes, Trump fired him. In casual conversations, political discussions and debates in Black communities across the country, the question has centered on how invested AfricanAmericans should be in the hearings and their outcome given the FBI’s history of unfairness to Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Moreover, with Black progress at stake, some wonder whether the focus on the Trump-Comey controversy is too much of a distraction.

Still not ‘woke’ Mimi Machado-Luces, a documentary filmmaker, photographer and mother of two, said she watched the hearing and believes

Trump is a liar who lacks the skills or temperament to be president. This is all the more reason that Black people must escalate their attention to Black progress. People of African descent in America, she said, were lulled to sleep by eight years of a Barack Obama presidency and now most still can’t rouse themselves to fully confront the dangers that the Trump administration has spawned. “I think that we’ve fallen back onto this lull of ‘Oh…good times are over.’ We’ve fallen back into this reactionary mode,” she said. “Black Lives Matter and other groups like that are grand, but I don’t see anyone coming out aggressively about things we need to be pursuing in our agenda, talking about the effects of things Trump is coming in to dismantle.”

Accepting ‘oppression’ Machado-Luces, an artist-inresidence teaching Digital Media at several D.C. and Maryland schools, said she wonders if and when Black people will come together and coalesce around a meaningful, substantive agenda. “I don’t know if that will happen, probably not in my lifetime,” she said. “All I know is that there’s so much work to do. I don’t want to say we as a people lack vision. We’re psychologically lulled into accepting the oppression. I see some people trying to change things but part of the oppression is written into law. People get off when they shouldn’t.” The intrigue and importance of the topic of possible collusion with a foreign country by a U.S. presidential administration has not escaped coverage by the Black press, which has historically covered the antagonist relationship

OLIVIER DOULERY/ABACA PRESS/TNS

Former FBI Director James Comey is photographed just before he testifies at a U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on June 8 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. between the Black community and the FBI as well as other law enforcement agencies. D.C.-based independent journalist and political analyst Lauren Victoria Burke said she was among those glued to coverage, mainly because of the gravity of the events.

Nothing like it Burke said unlike the Iran-Contra scandal, for example, the ethical lapses and conflicts of interests swirling around this White House is a “much more serious matter because of the possibility of the president or his people being involved in treasonous activity.” She said, “It’s a spy-level novel situation…No. I’ve never seen anything like this. The idea that somehow this is normal - none of this is normal.” Burke, who covers Capital Hill daily, says Black Democratic lawmakers like Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Texas) have been leading the charge in criticizing Trump, calling for a special prosecutor and seeking impeachment.

“They’ve been a little bit more out in front than most people. Green and Waters have called for impeachment. They’re the only members to call for impeachment,” said Burke. “Waters came out in front very early. She talked in a way that people were saying to take it back. But it’s almost mainstream now.”

Diversionary tactic? Sam Collins, a millennial grassroots journalist and activist, said he watched sections of the Comey hearing with a jaundiced eye. He’s tired, he said, of the mainstream treating critical, potentially life-and-death issues and the dysfunction and chaos emanating from the White House as a payper-view event. Even though he has a good handle on the inner workings of government and its relationship with the people it purports to serve, Collins said he’s still not sure whether the entire Russia debacle is just a diversionary tactic. “Our leaders are following Russia while districts are going through issues, such as access to quality health care, unemploy-

ment and other problems that were here long before Russia or Trump,” said Collins, who is a teacher with District of Columbia Public Schools. “It’s proxy war. They’re putting up this proxy war to distract us.”

‘No radical voices’ As he’s watched the Trump White House try unsuccessfully to fend off a rising chorus of accusations of collusion with Russia and a variety of other potential misdeeds, Collins believes Black leaders have become distracted as African-Americans and people of color face more overt racism, unprovoked attacks, hostility from the Trump administration, and the reversal of hard-earned gains by regressive forces. “We need to organize among ourselves,” he concluded. “The NAACP is going through an identity crisis and may be about to fall under. I wouldn’t be mad,” Collins said with a chuckle. “There are no radical voices...All this political stardom and we have no juice to move anything.”

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IFE/FAITH

Millennials reflect on what dads have taught them See page B3

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Heroes and Legends award for Withers See page B5

WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

SECTION

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

The Florida Courier staff pays tribute to their dads with personal photos and narratives

Challenging police power, 1970 To my dad, I miss you each and every day, and I thank you for teaching me how not to take a wooden nickel off of anybody and how to be independent. I will forever be grateful for all you did for our family. On this day, I wish you a Happy Father’s Day and I will always love you. Your daughter, Cassandra Cherry Kittles

Glenn, Charles Sr., Charles II, 2003

To Charles W. Cherry, Sr., 1928-2004: We fight daily to keep the charge assigned to us. Asking, “What would Daddy do?” allows your wisdom to defy time and eternity, as you continue to guide us. We love you, and think about you every day. The Cherry Family

To my Dad, Dr. Glenn W. Cherry. What a Dad gives a family can’t be measured… except by the HEART. Thank you Dad for all the little things and big stuff you’ve handled with strength and dignity, BUT most of all for planting footsteps for me to follow as a young man! Happy Father’s Day! Love You! Jamal

Pa, thank you for being an awesome dad. Giving me great advice and helping to guide me into the person I am today. I appreciate the love and support you’ve given me over the years. Happy Father’s Day, Wig! To our Dad, Gaddy M. Rawls (9-151933 to 3-17-2011) On this Father’s Day, we want to remember you. Simply, thank you for loving us in your way! We miss you! Love, Valerie and Gerod

He was a man of integrity, a mentor to many. There always seemed to be a twinkle in his eye, a kind word on his lips, and laughter came often and easily. The Rev. M.H. Griffin was a visionary who founded a ministry that continues to help numerous families of all races in Naples. Dad’s earthly life ended 24 years ago, but his messages of faith, hope, joy and love still live on in the many lives he touched. Jenise Griffin Morgan Happy Father’s Day to Lonnie Jones, Sr. from the Jones children: Annette, Rebecca, Valerie and Chicago. We love you!

Meeting Charles III (“Wig”) for the first time, 2004

Dear Pa, Thanks for always being there when I need your help. You’re a great pops and I know Dear if I ever have any questions or something I Grandpa Fred, want to talk about, I can go to you. I appreciate (Wardell Lee) you being so open with me since I know you Thanks for everything you do didn’t really have that with Granddaddy when you were younger. It’s also cool that I have for us. We really you to geek out with! Not many other people I appreciate you! know would be so willing to take me to comic Love ya! con or talk about “Star Trek’’ extensively. Chayla and Happy Father’s Day! You’re the best! Wiggles Much love, Your Favorite Daughter, Chayla :) Happy Father’s Day to my father, Willie Goldsmith, Sr. I am so proud of you for creating the Roosevelt High School Sports Hall of Fame. Many deserving men are now honored and recognized because of your desire to acknowledge the incredible talent of those who would have otherwise faded in the wind. Your amazing contribution in the world of sports is second to none! Congratulations on your induction into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame and for all of your accomplishments! Love, Your Daughter, Daphne Taylor

To my dad, the late First Sergeant/ Rev. Wilbert Rogers: Some days I laugh at how similar we are. Thanks for giving me your sense of humor and your never-ending desire to help others. May the works you’ve done, speak for you. I miss you! Love always, Lisa Rogers-Cherry My dad (in the yellow shirt) is the best dad in the world! We celebrated his 97th birthday on June 15. All to Jesus that Daddy is of sound mind, body and spirit. Jeroline McCarthy and Family

CALENDAR

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

STOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

TAUREN WELLS

Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey and Tauren Wells will be in concert on Aug. 10 at the BB&T Center and Aug. 11 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

Orlando: “Last Kall’’ featuring 112 is scheduled Sept. 22 at the House of Blues Orlando. Also on the show: DJQ45, DJ Ghostrider and Tamera James. Jacksonville: Rick Ross and K. Michelle will perform on July 8 at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts. Orlando: An All White Affair starring Ginuwine and DJ Envy is July 21 at Hard Rock Live Orlando. Tampa: Tickets are on sale for the Total Package Tour with Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men at the Amalie Arena on July 15. Jacksonville: Catch Betty Wright on July 22 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Orlando: Full Gospel Baptist presents Rickey Smiley and Friends on June 30 at Hard Rock Live Orlando. Miami: Diana Ross is scheduled June 21 at Miami’s Arsht Center, June 25 at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall or June 28 at Jacksonville’s Daily’s Place. Miami: J. Cole’s Your Eyez Only Tour stops at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Aug. 14 and Orlando’s Amway Center on Aug. 16. Orlando: Plans are underway the 18th Annual Darrell Armstrong Classic Weekend Aug. 11-13 for his foundation that helps premature babies. Sponsorship info: Call 407-252-333 or email jbm395@gmail.com. Miami: Tickets are on sale for Kendrick Lamar’s Damn Tour on Sept. 2 at the AmericanAirlines Arena and Sept. 10 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

DJ KHALED The rapper will be at Coral Gables’ Watsco Center on June 29 for Impact ’17.

SINBAD

The comedian and actor Sinbad takes the stage Aug. 11 at Fort Lauderdale’s Parker Playhouse.

Slave trade ancestors to be remembered on Father’s Day A growing South Florida tradition, now in its 24th year, continues with the annual Sunrise Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage ceremony on Sunday, June 18, from 5:30 to 8:00 a.m. at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. The ceremony honors the memory and the heroism of the millions of individuals who endured the horrors of the Middle Passage, or so-called Atlantic “slave trade,” which lasted more than four centuries.

The annual ceremony is one of a steadily growing number of such remembrances in cities around the United States and the world. It is held in Miami at sunrise on the Sunday closest to the summer solstice, which coincides, fortuitously, with the week of observing Juneteenth. Juneteenth marks the true end of legal slavery in the U.S., in east Texas on June 19, 1865, when the last of the enslaved population received word of the end of the Civil War and of their

‘Raven Rock’ tells story of country’s Doomsday plans Soon after the onset of the Cold War, bureaucrats began to design elaborate, expensive and secret Doomsday projects to ensure “Continuity of Government.” In 1953, Raven Rock, a massive underground “alternative Pentagon,” located 65 miles from Washington, D.C., became operational. A year later, workers began to transform Mount Weather, a forecasting facility in Virginia, into a bunker that could house the civilian arm of government. In 1962, an “off the books ghost structure,” with the code name CASPER, was deemed ready to house members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate (and provide them with a medical clinic, dental services, a 400 seat cafeteria, three 25,000-gallon water tanks and air filters to scrub out radiation) during an emergency. Also among the ever-multiplying Continuity of Government structures was one with a 22,500-square-foot vault that held 9-foot-tall stacks of cash totaling about $4 billion, to enable the Federal Reserve to provide money, credit and liquidity after a nuclear attack.

Terrifying and timely In “Raven Rock,’’ Garrett Graff, a magazine journalist and the author of “The Threat Matrix: The FBI War in the Age of Global Terror,’’ draws recently declassified document and White House records to tell the story of the Armageddon machinery that shaped – and still shapes – America’s national security state. Packed with nutsand-bolts details, his book is terrifying – and timely. Graff raises important questions about Doomsday planning. Post-disas-

BOOK REVIEW Review of Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself – While the Rest of Us Die by Garrett M. Graff. Simon & Schuster. 529 pages. $28.

ter scenarios, he suggests, have been, perhaps inevitably, predicated on the assumption of an executive branch dictatorship that would draw on sweeping and extralegal emergency powers.

Role of secrecy Given the likelihood of full-scale destruction, the massive logistical challenges and the expense, he wonders whether it made or makes sense to build super-fortresses to ensure “continuity of government.” Raven Rock also asks readers to consider the ever-increasing role of secrecy, not only in Doomsday planning, but in the national security agencies that have proliferated since the end of World War II. In the 1960s, for example, the Justice Department’s “Emergency Detention Program” gave the green light to suspension of habeas corpus; blanket provisions for the arrest and search of both citizens and aliens who were deemed dangerous; and the deportation of “nondangerous aliens,” including students and tourists. Planners kept “Operation Alert” secret, Graff indicates, in no small measure because they realized it might well cause “a real storm of controversy.”

Flaws in planning A storm of controver-

official Emancipation.

The program The Sunrise Ceremony begins with a Native American opening blessing followed by a tradition African pouring of a libation and prayers from multiple spiritual traditions, and “Village Talk” – an open forum for sharing of thoughts, performances. Afterward, there will be offerings of fruits, flowers, grains and other appropriate items are wel-

sy might have arisen as well in the 1980s, if the report of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which suggested that “Blacks, Hispanics, and Orientals” were likely to report “a greater problem in being accepted in crisis relocation centers” had been subject to public discussion. When the Cold War ended, Graff indicates, many but by no means all Continuity of Government operations were scaled back or shut down. “You feel like you are walking into a dinosaur,” an enlisted man stationed at Raven Rock from 1988-1992 declared. 9/11, however, revealed the flaws in Continuity of Government planning – and ushered in a wide array of secret operations, “standby authorities,” and procedures for replacing members of Congress, most of them established in the name of national security.

Shadow government? Doomsday prepping and shadow government provisions, Graff indicates, are now “bigger, stronger, and more robust than ever,” and hidden beneath “innocuous sounding” entities like “Balanced Survivability Assessment.” Asked whether a shadow government is in place, President Bush asked, in jest, “A shadowy government or a shadow government?” Garrett Graff is not laughing. “Until an unthinkable catastrophe happens,” he warns, we will not know whether martial law, enemy detention and rationing will be pulled off the shelf. Or what the phrase “Enduring Constitutional Government” really means.

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.

comed to be placed on a raft of palm fronds and carried out to sea as a conclusion. Its location at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park is also significant because this was once Miami’s only official “Colored Beach” during the segregation era.

How to get there

Admission to the event is free and open to the public although there is a toll for Rickenbacker Causeway.

The park is located at 4020 Virginia Beach Drive (off Rickenbacker Causeway. Turn left at second traffic signal on Virginia Key, just before the Bear Cut Bridge to Key Biscayne), in Miami. It is strongly recommended that participants arrive early as some lanes on the Causeway get blocked for a bicycle event later that morning. For more information, call 786260-1246 or 305-8904-7620.

Children featured in this monthly spotlight are waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor. Daily, over 700 children are in need of a family to call their own; many of them are minorities. The Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, state president for One Church One Child of Florida and vice president for National One Church One Child, is challenging fellow pastors to get involved and encouraging families to open their hearts and homes to children in foster care. Churches are asked to partner with One Church One Child in sharing information with congregations and extending Watch-Care Ministries to children.

Meet Marquele

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERICA CSATIOS

ADOPTIONS

A home for Marquele One Church One Child of Florida is reaching out to families and individuals in communities across the state in efforts to help find permanent homes for children.

ONLY

YOU

Marquele is a charismatic young man with a big heart. He loves science and wants to become a chemical engineer when he grows up. He has an insatiable curiosity, and once he latches on to an idea or interest, he’s determined to follow it through. Marquele is a good and loyal friend, and a diehard Seahawks fan! Although he has been through a lot in his young life, Marquele still has the simple desire of any kid - to be special to someone. He will thrive in a home with one or two loving, understanding parents, and will do best as the youngest or only child. For more information about becoming an adoptive or foster parent, mentor, partner or volunteer, call 888-283-0886 or send an email to info@ococfl.org. The website for One Church One Child of Florida is www.ococfl.org.

CAN PREVENT FOREST www.smokeybear.com

F I R E S.

STOJ

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

FATHER'S DAY

What their dads taught them Millennials reflect on lessons learned from their fathers BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY AND ALANTE MILLOW TRICE NEWS WIRE

Ron Busby Jr. was only in elementary school when his mother died of cancer. His father, Ron Sr., was left to raise two young sons on his own. As a single father of two millennials – Ron Jr., 22, and Miles, 20 – Ron Sr. is now seeing the fruits of his diligence. Much has been said about “millennials,’’ the often-used term for young people who have come of age in the new millennium. Somehow, they’ve gotten a reputation for being spoiled, entitled, tech-addicted, even hardheaded.

Listening, watching But, this week on Father’s Day 2017, Black millennials around the country, such as Ron Busby Jr., proved that they have in fact been listening – and watching. In brief interviews, they recalled the best lessons they’ve learned from their fathers – and their father figures. “My father really taught me the importance of service, making yourself a vessel for the wishes of the people around you,” says Ron Jr. “Now, I have that at the forefront of any sort of task or career goal or any interest that I have. It’s servant leadership. I consider that as a big part of whatever else I consider myself trying to do in the future.”

Some similarities While some recall specific words or advice given to them, Ron Busby Jr., a 2017 graduate of Columbia University with a Bachelor’s in human rights, says for him, it was mainly watching his father’s example. “There are some similarities that are exceptionally eerie,” he smiled. “My father ran track in college. I ran track in college. My father became a Kappa. I became a Kappa. My father, one of his first real jobs was at IBM. One of my first real jobs is at Google.” He noted that the most important part of their relationship was the fact that Ron Sr. was there at the pivotal moments of his life. “I think a lot about his presence. Whether it was at a track meet, whether it was at graduations, whether it was at plays, his presence was really important.”

Showing respect Fathers – and father figures – those who have advised, mentored, and guided children who are not even their own, will be celebrated across the nation on

Father’s Day. But, Black men, in particular, face negative stereotypes from inside and outside their communities as well as a constant barrage of discrimination while most of them serve their children and families well. In that regard, some millennials are giving what some dads might view as the best gift of all – respect. They say they have watched, listened and taken heed. “My dad taught me that the most important thing you could have was a strong sense of emotional intelligence,” says Darnelle Casimir, 23, of New York City. Even if you don’t have the best grades or IQ, “emotional intelligence combined with strong verbal and communication skills will set you up for success.”

‘Be the best’ Perseverance against all odds and excellence in the midst of oppression are traits gained by the struggles of African-Americans in general and passed down to their loved ones. “My dad always told me ‘to be the best. No matter what you do, you better be the best. And you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,’” recalls Rachel O’Neal, 24, of Washington, DC. Hameed Ali, 23, of Hayward, Calif., agrees. “My big brother Ibrahim told me ‘They’re going to hate what you stand for so you have to be twice as good.’”

Great advice Honesty and integrity is another one of those important character traits taught by most fathers. “One thing my uncle told me is that your word is your bond. And keep it no matter what,” Says Trenton Harrison, 25, a Pittsburgh entrepreneur. Independence and the ability to make it on their own is something that most parents want for their children. “My dad always tells me to get my life in order so I can take care of myself so he if he dies tomorrow, he knows I’m straight,” says Jaylah Oni, 23, a makeup artist in New Orleans. “I think the best piece of advice I got was from my godfather Martin. He just told me that a man only has two things in this world and that is your wealth and health. He later explained to me that he told me that because I had to realize I had to find something I love doing because I will have the passion to succeed in that field,” recalls Cedrick Lee, 22, of Baltimore.

Mom knows best Not everyone can point to a father figure who was stronger than the mother who raised them. “I haven’t had any father figures around growing up. But I did have a mother [Adrienne] that

EWOMA OGBAUDU PHOTOGRAPHY

Ron Busby Sr., president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chamber, is shown with his son, Ron Jr. played both roles, if even possible,” says Ashley Lorelle, 26, a certified nursing assistant in D.C. “The most memorable thing she told me was that until I loved and valued myself, I would never feel loved or valued by a man.”

Dating advice Some see relationship advice as being among the best life lessons they were taught. Eden Godbee, 29, a media relations manager, smiles as she recalls advice that her uncle, Julian Lewis, gave her that impacts her presence and her future. “He told me when I was in college to not pay too much attention to work and school because then I would be married to it,” she said. At first, Godbee, who was a student at Howard University at the time, thought it was a chauvinistic remark. But, now, as a profes-

Father’s Day gift ideas for film fans BY CLINT O’CONOR AKRON BEACON JOURNAL/TNS

Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner and John Travolta are celebrating movie anniversaries with a rash of recent DVD and Blu-ray releases. The films — from “The Godfather” saga to “The Untouchables” to “Saturday Night Fever” — might especially appeal to the men in your life, if, say, you are fumbling for Father’s Day gift ideas. Hey, if nothing else, they are easy to wrap. Here’s a breakdown.

‘The Godfather’ 45th Anniversary If you’ve never seen Francis Ford Coppola’s original film, released in 1972, you may be sick of hearing that it is “One of the greatest films of all time!” It’s like having the ghost of “Citizen Kane” shoved down your throat, making you feel somehow cinematically inferior if you haven’t seen it. But here’s the thing about “The

“The Godfather’’ could be an ideal gift for dads who are fans of the 1972 movie. Godfather”: It is one of the greatest films of all time. And it’s not all gangster showdowns. It’s more about family and honor and trust. Based on Mario Puzo’s bestseller, Coppola’s film really works on all levels. It’s well-written, well-directed, well-shot and features an exceedingly talented cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, John Cazale and Sterling Hayden. It brilliantly chronicles the Corleone family of New York, the high price paid for leading the life of mobsters, and the intertwined destiny of fathers and sons. The kicker: “The Godfather Part II,” released in 1974, is also an excellent film. It’s the rare sequel that equals the origi-

nal. We see the rise of young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) from Sicily to the mean streets of New York. That is interwoven with the further transformation of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), from reluctant youngest son to crime family kingpin. In honor of the 45th anniversary of No. 1, you can find new Blu-ray and DVD versions of all three. The Blu-Ray discs include Coppola’s audio commentary, behind-the-scenes features and a Corleone family tree. The price: $12 each (cheaper at Walmart, Target and the like, or online at Amazon.com).

‘The Untouchables’ 30th Anniversary Before he became safety direc-

sional woman she says, “I do realize what he was trying to say at the time. That if you put so much emphasis into these things…you really have to become married to them. So, I always make sure that I do my work at work. But I set that boundary, like if I’m going on vacation, I’m not available. “If I’m going on a date, I’m not checking my phone. I leave the phone at home. So, that way I can have this thriving career and I can be successful and I also have things that enrich me and that I can be married to on the outside.”

‘Godly example’ Millions of children do not have fathers or even father figures in their lives per se. Yet, they will unknowingly benefit from receiving kind and encouraging words or just watching the examples set by the men in their lives. tor of Cleveland in the 1930s, and long before a Great Lakes Brewing Co. lager was named after him, Eliot Ness confronted the mob in Chicago. Specifically, he helped take down the notorious Al Capone. Brian De Palma’s gripping drama from 1987 may not have all of its facts straight, but it remains a compelling character study calibrating the great divide between good (Kevin Costner’s Ness) and evil (Robert De Niro’s Capone). Costner’s Ness is an All-American Boy Scout type who, unlike much of Chicago’s law enforcement at the time, could not be corrupted. It helped that Ness’ unlikely team of Treasury Department agents included the young and dashing Andy Garcia, as a deadeye shooter, and the great Sean Connery, in his Oscar-winning role as the hard-bitten former cop Jimmy Malone. The anniversary Blu-ray includes a behind-the-scenes look at the production as well as breakdowns of the cast and shooting script. $12.

‘Saturday Night Fever’ 40th Anniversary If gangsters are not your thing, step into the disco craze of the late 1970s. “Saturday Night Fever” reflected, and was an important component of, a cultural juggernaut. Radio, fashion and nightclubs all rode the wave, and the film and its soundtrack were hugely suc-

One example is the Rev. Alton Sumner, who has been principal at the North Bethesda Middle School in Maryland for 14 years. He and his wife, the Rev. Betty Sumner, have two millennial-age children of their own, a daughter, 23, and a son, 25. But at school, Sumner is aware of the fatherly impact he can make on the 1,130 students that come through the school doors each day. He says he enjoys imparting to them “a godly example” by simply greeting them as they arrive each morning. “To have somebody to give them a positive word or a positive feeling as they come through the door,” he said, “I want them to know that they have so much within them that they can accomplish and I don’t want them to give up. I want them to keep going until they achieve that full potential.” cessful, propelling the Bee Gees to superstardom. It also made a star out of its charismatic 22-year-old lead, John Travolta, whose prior claim to fame was playing the clueless Vinnie Barbarino on TV’s “Welcome Back, Kotter.” (His celebrity was cemented six months after “Fever” hit theaters with the release of “Grease.”) Travolta’s Tony Manero, the young man who lives to dance on Saturday nights, instantly grabs us with his opening-credits swagger as he struts down the sidewalk to Stayin’ Alive: “Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk / I’m a woman’s man / No time to talk.” The film’s lone Oscar nomination was for Travolta, for best actor. The Blu-ray extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a ‘70s Discopedia, plus commentary by director John Badham, and theatrical and director’s cuts in HD. $12. Speaking of 40th anniversaries, 1977 was also the year of “Annie Hall,” “Slap Shot,” “The Turning Point,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Eraserhead.” There was also a little sci-fi flick called “Star Wars,” though it has since been rechristened “Star Wars — Episode IV: A New Hope.”

SPORTS

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

STOJ

NHAT V. MEYER/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/TNS

The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, right, celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 129-120, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday. Durant was named the MVP.

Reports: Warriors could skip White House ceremony

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

The Golden State Warriors may not be going to the White House for congratulations from President Trump, according to news reports. Less than 24 hours after winning the NBA Finals, there was talk that the Warriors had voted to skip the traditional trip to the White House this year, reports state. The Warriors defeated the

Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night 129-120 to win the series. “We have not received an invitation to the White House, but will make those decisions when and if necessary,” the Warriors said in a statement Tuesday. CNBC’s Josh Thomas tweeted Tuesday morning: “NBA champion Warriors skipping the White House visit, as a unanimous team decision per reports.

Smiles for Obama When the team won the championship in 2015, they were all smiles when they visited President Barack Obama at the White House. The Warriors’ decision to forego a presidential shoutout by Trump follows sentiment from some New England Patriots, this year’s Super Bowl winners, who wouldn’t attend a White House ceremony in April.

Atlanta Falcons honor Michael Vick and Roddy White BY D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/ TNS

Former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Roddy White were humbled and appreciative of the franchise’s honoring them as retired former team members on Monday. “He was like a god in Atlanta,” White said of Vick, who ruled over the city for six brief seasons while helping to make the franchise respectable. Vick was elated to recognized in the ceremony, even though he will not officially retire as a Falcon. He also was appreciative with the notion that he’ll be considered for the team’s Ring of Honor. “I plan to help young men with decision-making,” Vick said of his future plans.

Owner salutes Vick In a ceremony in his Buckhead offices, Falcons owner Arthur Blank thanked both of the players for their contributions. Blank said that his family foundation was dedicated to giving second and third chances and had no problems with honoring Vick, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft. He went to federal prison for his

NASCAR drivers Darrell Wallace Jr., left, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. enjoy a moment together during the Daytona 500 Media Day on Feb. 22 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. JEFF SINER/ CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/TNS

role in a dogfighting operation in 2007. Following two years away from football, Vick returned to play with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Vick’s Atlanta highlight was guiding the Falcons to the NFC Championship game after the 2004 regular season. During his tenure, he electrified the fan base, energized the team and sold out the Georgia Dome.

Suspended, jailed Vick fell out of favor during the dogfighting case and eventually pleaded guilty to federal charges in August 2007. He was suspended from the NFL for a violation of the league’s personal-conduct policy. He served 21 months in prison and two months in home confinement. Vick was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Falcons. He also guided the Falcons to a historic playoff victory on the road over the Green Bay Packers after the 2002 season.

White to coach White, the Falcons’ all-time leading receiver, announced his retirement in April. He was released by the team after the 2016 season and did not sign

with another team last season. White, who will join the football coaching staff at Johns Creek High School, was selected by the Falcons in the first round (27th overall) of the 2005 NFL draft from UAB. After a slow start, White de-

veloped into the franchise’s most prolific receiver during the league’s evolution into a more pass-oriented league. White amassed 808 catches, 10,863 yards and 63 touchdowns over 11 seasons with the Falcons.

Black driver hard on himself after rough NASCAR debut BY JAKE LOURIM PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/ TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

amid the post-race frenzy, everyone in sight scrambled to get water to him.

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr.’s first NASCAR Cup Series start did not go as he planned — he finished 26th and even fainted when he emerged from his car. He wanted to be upbeat, but he did not sugarcoat his performance. On June 11 in the Pocono 400, Wallace became the first AfricanAmerican driver to start a Cup Series race since Bill Lester in 2006, but he called it “an embarrassment.” While answering questions outside his car, Wallace stopped midsentence, looked faint, and began to collapse. Reporters and team members braced him, and

No complications Paramedics carted him to the infield care center, where he hydrated and recovered with no complications. He said he passed out from anger about his finish, and he said it has happened before. “I’m beyond (ticked) off at myself,” Wallace said. “I think I did one good job of running every lap — not on the lead lap, but … an embarrassment on my part. Everybody else did their job. I didn’t.”

A dream fulfilled Lost in that, perhaps, was the

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank honors former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, right, and wide receiver Roddy White. CURTIS COMPTON/ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION/TNS

magnitude of Wallace’s start. He fulfilled his longtime dream. His parents and girlfriend flew in to watch him. All of that sank in once Wallace arrived at his news conference. “Aside from (the frustration), I will cheer up and thank everybody involved in this process,” Wallace said. “This was a wonderful day for me, a wonderful day for the sport. I wish we could have got a little bit better finish in our Smithfield Ford, but I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”

Next move Wallace will move on from the excitement of his debut into his next start in relief of injured driver Aric Almirola. “We’re ecstatic,” crew chief Drew Blickensderfer said. “Bubba did a great job. We’re thrilled to have him in the car, some stability back in the 43. We know he’s in the car until Aric gets back.”

STOJ

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

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.

Thousands of Caribbean culture lovers converge on South Florida every year on the Columbus Day weekend to attend the annual Miami Broward Carnival, a series of concerts, pageants, parades, and competitions. On Carnival Day, “mas” (masquerade) bands of thousands of revelers dance and march behind 18-wheel tractortrailer trucks with booming sound systems from morning until nightfall while competing for honors. Here are some of the “Finest” we’ve seen over the years. Go to www.miamibrowardcarnival.com for information on this year’s Carnival. CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Torry defends support of Cosby BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM

Comedian and actor Joe Torry showed up to court last week with the embattled legendary entertainer Bill Cosby at his sexual assault trial in a showing of support. The “Tom Joyner Morning Show’’ talked exclusively with Torry about his decision to be a part of Cosby’s public supporters at the courthouse. According to Torry, he was

Biopic about Tupac debuts June 16 BY FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

Bill Withers is known for such songs as “Lean on Me,’’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Just the Two of Us’’ and “Lovely Day.’’

Bill Withers to receive Heroes and Legends honor EURWEB.COM

Grammy-winning recording artist Bill Withers will be honored with a HAL Icon Award at the 28th annual Tribute to Heroes and Legends on Sept. 24. The exclusive, black-tie event honors achievement in television, film and music, and raises funds for performing arts scholarships. The annual event will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Withers is a multiple Grammy winner, best known for his platinum hits, “Lean on Me,’’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Just the Two of Us” and “Lovely Day.” Withers’ “Lean On Me” was performed at both President Obama’s and Clinton’s inaugurations and his song “I Am My Father’s Son” was performed by Johnny Mathis at the unveiling of

the Bill Russell Legacy Project. In addition to his Grammys, Withers’ multiple honors include induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, induction into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and a Clio Award for songwriting and production in advertising and an NAACP Image Award for Best Male Artist. Most recently, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

About the foundation The HAL Awards spotlight positive role models from many diverse backgrounds, including leaders in the fields of music, theatre, film, television and business each year at the annual HAL Awards and Scholarship Din-

ner. Withers joins previously announced Outstanding Achievement in Film and TV Award recipient Chris Tucker as an honoree for the event. The event is the major fundraiser for the Heroes and Legends (HAL) Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarship funds for talented young people with artistic aspirations.

“All Eyez on Me’’ tells the story of the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist. It also chronicles his imprisonment and controversial time at Death Row Records. Shakur rose to become a cultural icon whose career and persona both continue to grow long after his passing. “All Eyez On Me’’ is directed by Benny Boom and pro-

not paid to be a supporter, he explained, “I never asked Bill for a check. Ain’t never got a check from Bill.” Adding, “I don’t know what you’re [Tom Joyner] thinking about, that I’m doing this for profit. I know people want to hear, ‘Oh that’s why Joe Torry’s there Thursday. There’s got to be a reason. There’s got to be a check.’ No, that’s my frat brother, that’s a Joe Black man that Torry has done a lot for Black America.”

duced by LT Hutton (Morgan Creek Productions). The biopic stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. (as Shakur), Danai Gurira, Kat Graham, Dominic Tupac L. Santana and Shakur Jamal Woolard. The film is being released in theaters nationwide on June 16 in commemoration of the late rapper/actor’s birthday. Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 in New York and died on Sept. 13, 1996 as a result of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on Sept. 7. He was 25 years old when he died.

Helps at-risk youth The foundation was founded by celebrated songwriter and Motown alumna Janie Bradford to aid at-risk youth and to publicly recognize others who share her vision. The Berry Gordy Family Foundation has been the principle sponsor for the last 20 years. Previous recipients of the HAL Icon Award include Chaka Khan, the Isley Brothers, the Temptations, legendary songwriters Holland/Dozier/Holland and Valerie Simpson. Since 1990, The HAL Scholarship Foundation has awarded over 80 scholarships to young people with tremendous talent and big dreams. For more information on the event, visit www.halawards.com.

PHOTO BY QUANTRELL COLBERT

Demetrius Shipp Jr. stars in the film “All Eyez on Me,’’ which depicts the life of Tupac Shakur.

FOOD

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

7 steps to great steak 1. Proper preparation. Clean and heat your grill to high. Make sure to oil grates after cleaning. 2. Prepare your steaks. Pat steaks dry and season food before grilling. Use sea salt and freshly cracked pepper or a complete steak seasoning or rub. 3. Searing. Sear steaks over high heat and avoid moving them before they’re fully seared on all sides to protect flavor and juiciness. 4. Handling steaks on the grill. Use tongs or a spatula to turn meat on the grill; poking with a fork can damage the meat. 5. Controlling your cook. Close grill cover

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

BEEF ON STEAK SALT Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes 1 Omaha Steaks T-Bone (30 ounces) 1 package (3 ounces) Omaha Steaks Original Beef Jerky 3 tablespoons kosher salt Thaw steak 24-48 hours in refrigerator. Using box grater finely shred enough beef jerky to yield 2 tablespoons; mix with kosher salt. Pat steak dry on both sides and season with 1-1 1/2 tablespoons jerky salt. Allow seasoned steak to sit 45 minutes-1 hour, uncovered, at room temperature. Heat gas or charcoal grill to 450 F and oil grates to prevent sticking. Grill to desired doneness based on thickness of steak. Let steak rest 5 minutes.

Garnish steak with remaining jerky salt. SMOKED KING CUT T-BONE 1 Omaha Steaks King Cut T-Bone (48 ounces) 1 tablespoon Omaha Steaks Steak Seasoning 2 tablespoons kosher salt Thaw steak in refrigerator 48-72 hours. Remove steak from vacuum packaging. Prepare dry brine by combining steak seasoning and salt and rubbing into meat on both sides. Place meat on wire rack uncovered; refrigerate 18-24 hours or overnight. Tip: If time doesn’t allow for overnight brining, let rubbed steak sit on wire rack at room temperature at least 1 hour.

Cook to desired doneness with preferred indirect grilling method, placing food next to, instead of directly over, the fire. GAS OR CHARCOAL GRILL For gas grill, ignite one burner and leave others off. Adjust side burner until thermometer in grill lid reads 400 F. Place smoking box or foil pouch of wood chips over ignited burner. Place steak on grate over burners that are off. Keep grill covered and maintain temperature at 400 F. For charcoal grill, arrange hot coals evenly on one side of charcoal grate. Add wood chunks to coals and allow to smoke 10 minutes. Place drip pan with water in center of grate to keep drippings from burning. Place cooking grate over coals and place steak

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on grate, centered over drip pan. Place lid on grill. Adjust air vents to bring temperature to 400 F. Face side with filet mignon away from hottest portion of grill; larger side should be facing heat source. Smoke 40-55 minutes for mediumrare 48-ounce T-bone steak. Flip steak one time, halfway through cooking time. Verify temperature using kitchen thermometer before removing from grill. If desired, finish exterior of smoked steak over direct heat 1-2 minutes per side once it reaches desired temperature. Allow steak to rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving. KETTLE OR BULLET SMOKER Arrange hot coals evenly on one bottom of smoker

as much as possible while cooking to maintain a temperature around 450 F. This helps lock in flavor and prevent flare-ups. After determining the amount of time you’ll need to reach your desired doneness, use the 60/40 grilling method. Grill 60 percent on the first side then 40 percent after you turn the steak over for an even cook. 6. Juiciness. After grilling, allow steaks to rest tented with foil for 5 minutes between cooking and serving. This lets juices redistribute for the best-tasting and juiciest steak. 7. Finish and enjoy. Garnish steak and serve with style. Add colors, textures and flavors to make perfectly grilled steak even more memorable.

grate. Add wood chunks to coals and allow to smoke 10 minutes. Place drip pan with water under rack. Place cooking grate over coals and place steak on cooking grate centered over drip pan. Place lid on smoker. Adjust air vents to maintain 250 F. A medium-rare 48-ounce T-bone steak rested at room temperature for 1 hour prior to cooking should require 1 hour-1 hour and 15 minutes to reach proper temperature, which can be verified with a kitchen thermometer. If desired, finish exterior of smoked steak over direct heat 1-2 minutes per side once it reaches desired temperature. Allow steak to rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

FOOD

JUNE 16 – JUNE 22, 2017

TOJ

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Just ask any dad, he’s sure to agree: a perfectly seasoned steak flame-kissed to perfection is one of the great pleasures of summer grilling. This Father’s Day, you may be able to teach dad a few tricks of your own. Start by selecting a premium-quality steak like those from Omaha Steaks, which are aged at least 21 days to reach the peak of tenderness then flash frozen to stay that way. Then take that guaranteed quality to the grill and try a new method, such as slow, steady smoking, for an ultimate flavor experience. Find tips to make your summer grilling great at omahasteaks.com. BEEF ON STEAK SALT Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes 1 Omaha Steaks T-Bone (30 ounces) 1 package (3 ounces) Omaha Steaks Original Beef Jerky 3 tablespoons kosher salt Thaw steak 24-48 hours in refrigerator. Using box grater finely shred enough beef jerky to yield 2 tablespoons; mix with kosher salt. Pat steak dry on both sides and season with 1-1 1/2 tablespoons jerky salt. Allow seasoned steak to sit 45 minutes-1 hour, uncovered, at room temperature. Heat gas or charcoal grill to 450 F and oil grates to prevent sticking. Grill to desired doneness based on thickness of steak. Let steak rest 5 minutes. Garnish steak with remaining jerky salt.

7 steps to great steak Achieve steakhouse-worthy results at home with these tips from Omaha Steaks Executive Chef Grant Hon. 1. Proper preparation. Clean and heat your grill to high. Make sure to oil grates after cleaning. 2. Prepare your steaks. Pat steaks dry and season food before grilling. Use sea salt and freshly cracked pepper or a complete steak seasoning or rub. 3. Searing. Sear steaks over high heat and avoid moving them before they’re fully seared on all sides to protect flavor and juiciness. 4. Handling steaks on the grill. Use tongs or a spatula to turn meat on the grill; poking with a fork can damage the meat. 5. Controlling your cook. Close grill cover as much as possible while cooking to maintain a temperature around 450 F. This helps lock in flavor and prevent flare-ups. After determining the amount of time you’ll need to reach your desired doneness, use the 60/40 grilling method. Grill 60 percent on the first side then 40 percent after you turn the steak over for an even cook. 6. Juiciness. After grilling, allow steaks to rest tented with foil for 5 minutes between cooking and serving. This lets juices redistribute for the best-tasting and juiciest steak. 7. Finish and enjoy. Garnish steak and serve with style. Add colors, textures and flavors to make perfectly grilled steak even more memorable.

GRILLING | GAS OR RED HOT CHARCOAL

THICKNESS

RARE 120°–130°

SMOKED KING CUT T-BONE 1 Omaha Steaks King Cut T-Bone (48 ounces) 1 tablespoon Omaha Steaks Steak Seasoning 2 tablespoons kosher salt Thaw steak in refrigerator 48-72 hours. Remove steak from vacuum packaging. Prepare dry brine by combining steak seasoning and salt and rubbing into meat on both sides. Place meat on wire rack uncovered; refrigerate 18-24 hours or overnight. Tip: If time doesn’t allow for overnight brining, let rubbed steak sit on wire rack at room temperature at least 1 hour. Cook to desired doneness with preferred indirect grilling method, placing food next to, instead of directly over, the fire. GAS OR CHARCOAL GRILL For gas grill, ignite one burner and leave others off. Adjust side burner until thermometer in grill lid reads 400 F. Place smoking box or foil pouch of wood chips over ignited burner. Place steak on grate over burners that are off. Keep grill covered and maintain temperature at 400 F. For charcoal grill, arrange hot coals evenly on one side of charcoal grate. Add wood

Preheat grill on high, 600 F. Lightly oil and season steaks. Cook steaks covered. Rest 3-5 minutes before serving.

MEDIUM RARE 130°–140°

MEDIUM 140°–150°

WELL DONE 160°–170°

FIRST SIDE

AFTER TURNING

FIRST SIDE

AFTER TURNING

FIRST SIDE

AFTER TURNING

FIRST SIDE

AFTER TURNING

1/2"

2 min

3 min

2 min

4 min

2 min

5 min

3 min

3/4"

4 min

2 min

4 min

3 min

5 min

3 min

7 min

5 min

3 min

5 min

4 min

6 min

4 min

8 min

6 min

1 1/4"

5 min

4 min

6 min

5 min

7 min

5 min

9 min

7 min

1 1/2"

6 min

4 min

7 min

5 min

7 min

6 min

10 min

8 min

1 3/4"

7 min

5 min

8 min

6 min

8 min

7 min

11 min

9 min

8 min

6 min

9 min

8 min

10 min

8 min

13 min

11 min

chunks to coals and allow to smoke 10 minutes. Place drip pan with water in center of grate to keep drippings from burning. Place cooking grate over coals and place steak on grate, centered over drip pan. Place lid on grill. Adjust air vents to bring temperature to 400 F. Face side with filet mignon away from hottest portion of grill; larger side should be facing heat source. Smoke 40-55 minutes for medium-rare 48-ounce T-bone steak. Flip steak one time, halfway through cooking time. Verify temperature using kitchen thermometer before removing from grill. If desired, finish exterior of smoked steak over direct heat 1-2 minutes per side once it reaches desired temperature. Allow steak to rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving. KETTLE OR BULLET SMOKER Arrange hot coals evenly on one bottom of smoker grate. Add wood chunks to coals and allow to smoke 10 minutes. Place drip pan with water under rack. Place cooking grate over coals and place steak on cooking grate centered over drip pan. Place lid on smoker. Adjust air vents to maintain 250 F. A medium-rare 48-ounce T-bone steak rested at room temperature for 1 hour prior to cooking should require 1 hour-1 hour and 15 minutes to reach proper temperature, which can be verified with a kitchen thermometer. If desired, finish exterior of smoked steak over direct heat 1-2 minutes per side once it reaches desired temperature. Allow steak to rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.